WHO NEEDS A PUBLISHER? Huskies take their books straight to the market
CREATIVITY FOR A VISIBLE COMMUNITY A new mural adds culture and color to the campus
THE POST-MEME EFFECT Life after being turned into a meme
RELEASE + UNWIND A 20-minute yoga sequence to help you relax
12 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Christie Macomber & Meredith Peterson
CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Erin Borst & McKenna Curtis
PRESIDENT
Brian Ambadjes
MARKETING DIRECTORS
Sami Bartlett & Ashley Thon
WEBMASTERS
Lautaro Grinspan & Matt Woolsey
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Marissa Mellenthin
SECTION EDITORS
Glenn Billman, Alex Frandsen, Zoe Gregoric & Leila Habib
COPY EDITORS
Jordan Bashaar, Samantha Rose & Maxim Tamarov
06
WRITERS
Jordan Bashaar, Maya Bur, Julia Guilardi, Bakari Olivetti, Julia Preszler, Samantha Rose, Cayley Ross, Kyle Rossini, Shelby Sih & Michelle Weth
DESIGNERS
Brian Ambadjes, Melvin Chen, Katie Dobberpuhl, Meredith Fisher, Ashley Knehans, Cammy Kuo, Samantha Rose & Cayley Ross
PHOTOGRAPHERS & ILLUSTRATORS
Elly Cheung, Meredith Fisher, Leila Habib, Ben Hackney, Maeve Kelley-Portillo, Justine Newman, Lark Parmalee & Lila Selle Cover Photography by Justine Newman
04
13
FAREWELL SHELBY!
Shelby Sih, our longtime editor-in-chief, will be graduating this December and leaving our staff. Shelby’s commitment to Woof has inspired us all, and many of us wouldn’t have become a part of eboard without her encouragement. Shelby–we will miss you. A few words from eboard as you start this next chapter: “Shelby is passionate about Woof, and compassionate and helpful towards all of those on the staff. She has made every first-time writer feel as comfortable and important as the most experienced one. She will be greatly missed by Woof, but her contributions to the magazine will be lasting. Thank you for everything Shelby, we will miss you!” Christie Macomber “Shelby is one of the kindest and most organized people I have ever met. There was never a Woof meeting she was unprepared for, and she always pushed us all to meet deadlines and make the magazine the best it could be. Thank you for everything, and good luck with your next adventure!” Ashley Thon “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone more passionate about Woof than Shelby. Even though I didn’t get to work with her very much as a designer during my time as a regular member, she was really approachable and super friendly when I first started out! She’s been a member of Woof since I first started, and it will definitely not be the same without her at the front of the room next semester! Best of luck Shelby!” Brian Ambadjes “Shelby was the first person I felt comfortable around when I joined Woof. Whether I was approaching her to ask a question or to have a short conversation about our days, she was always receptive, understanding, and personable. Shelby definitely contributed to my decision to become more involved with Woof, and I wish her good luck on her future endeavors!” Leila Habib “I’m the kind of person who likes to put my headphones on and keep my head down while walking around campus, but Shelby is one of the only people I know that will bother to get my attention and say hi even when I’m totally tuned out from the rest of the world. While that may sound like an annoyance, I have never found it to be, and I actually really appreciate it. Even small gestures like that show why Shelby is such a good leader; she is willing and able to connect with every last person on staff, and she will surely be missed as the core part of the Woof team.” Matt Woolsey
“Shelby and I actually kinda go back (we worked together in the servicelearning department years ago). Both in that job and in this one, I’ve only ever known Shelby as someone who is both always upbeat and always determined to make a positive difference. I think I speak for everyone at Woof when I say that she will be missed. So best of luck in the future, Shelby! Hope it holds many more peaks than valleys!” Lautaro Grinspan “Shelby was the person who really got me invested in being on eboard. Before I knew her well and would just go to her yoga classes I was so intimidated/impressed with all she does and embodies. And now that I know her better and consider her a good friend, I’m just continually impressed. It’s really hard to imagine Woof without Shelby’s grace, empathy, intelligence and encouragement. We love you and will miss you so much Shelby!” Zoe Gregoric “I haven’t had the privilege of knowing Shelby for very long, but I’m so glad I got to know her before her graduation to real life. She’s always kind, smiling and genuinely enthusiastic to strike up a conversation. Shelby helped me to feel welcome at Woof, and I’m excited to see how many other people’s lives she enriches in the future.” Glenn Billman “Shelby pulled me into Woof almost by accident, and I’m so glad she did, because I’ve gained a friend for life. She has brought so much to our little magazine with her unfailing grace, composure, and thoughtfulness. I am continually awed by her dedication to service and justice, and I’m grateful to spend time with someone so warm and welcoming. Shelbs, your future is so bright, and I’ll be rooting for you always!” Meredith Peterson “Not so much Editor as Friend in Chief A giddy Globe trotter, yogi and mentor Patient as Yoda and as wise, in brief The best damn person in your corner” Maxim Tamarov
CONTENTS FRONT
04 2016 In Music 05 Sharing Your Way to Change 06 Creativity for a Visible Community
MEDIA & CULTURE COVER STORY 08 The Post-Meme Effect 09 Did the Media Help Choose Our Next President?
10 Who Needs a Publisher? Huskies Take Their Books Straight to the Market
WE’RE NORTHEASTERN’S STUDENT-RUN LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE. LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? EMAIL US • NUWOOF@GMAIL.COM VISIT OUR SITE • WOOF-MAG.COM
LIFESTYLE
12 A Guide to Marino Group Fitness 13 Self-Care Strategies in the Face of Stress 14 Release + Unwind: A Yoga Sequence
FOCUS
16 (Not Just) Climate Change: DivestNU’s Diverse Coalition 18 Let’s Talk About Sex: How Does Language Affect Consent?
2016 4 • Front
IN MUSIC
Written by Kyle Rossini // Photos by Maeve Kelley-Portillo Between the election and the clown sightings, it can be easy to forget that when it comes to music, 2016 has been one of the most dynamic years in recent memory. Looking back on the year, the first thing one may notice is how many legends passed away. The first blow came when British singer David Bowie passed away from liver cancer on Jan. 10. After this, it seemed as if losses in the music community happened every other day: Maurice White, the leader of the worldrenowned funk group Earth, Wind, and Fire, passed away on Feb. 3 and artist Phife Dawg from classic hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest died on March 22. Perhaps the most debilitating loss came on April 21, when music icon Prince died of a drug overdose. While gaining music to flood Spotify playlists this year, fans were forced to say goodbye to many artists that paved the way for music today. David Bowie started off 2016 by releasing “Blackstar” on his 69th birthday, two days before passing away. The seven-track album, which incorporates elements of jazz and experimental rock, was recorded without public knowledge and received critical acclaim, often being cited as Bowie’s “goodbye.” Rihanna continued the wave of new music with her eighth studio album, “Anti.” With contributions from accredited producers such as Hit-Boy, DJ Mustard, and Timbaland and tracks like female anthem “Needed Me” and club banger “Work,” “Anti” sold 166,000 units in its first week. The most impactful album in 2016, however, may have come on Feb. 13, when Kanye West released “The Life of Pablo,” which symbolizes Kanye’s acceptance of his ego and serves as a messy masterpiece that second-year mathematics major Dan Paszkowski described as “not just a hip-hop album, but a piece of cubist art.”
WOOF MAGAZINE • winter 2016
On May 13, fellow Chicago artist Chance the Rapper released his third mixtape, “Coloring Book,” an uplifting work with sounds that appeal to both the hip-hop head and the Sunday church-goer. Slightly before Chance rocked the music world with his groundbreaking mixtape, British rock band Radiohead released “A Moon Shaped Pool” on May 8, leaving both diehard Radiohead fans and new alternative-rock fans scrambling to listen. Supported by singles “Burn the Witch” and “Daydreaming,” the album is heavily centered around love and forgiveness and is being considered one of the group’s best works by PopMatters and Rolling Stone.
Looking back, the first thing one may notice is how many legends passed away This year, Drake seemingly had a monopoly on mainstream music and radio time. After a busy 2015, Drake showed no signs of slowing down. His album “Views” sold over 200,000 units in its first week and boasts jams like “Hotline Bling,” “One Dance,” and “Controlla.” Drake also appeared as a feature on many other tracks, showing his ability to spread himself around the hip-hop community. Pop icon Beyoncé released the bold and reflective “Lemonade” on April 23, which immediately shot up to number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and sold almost half a million copies in its first week. The album explores police-civilian tensions, feminism, and Beyoncé’s relationship with Jay-Z through singles like “Formation,” “Sorry,” and “Hold Up.” In addition to delving into funk, rock, and trap, “Lemonade” expresses its diversity
through guest features such as The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar. Beyoncé isn’t the only member of the Knowles family to make a splash this year. Solange Knowles released her first studio album in eight years, “A Seat at the Table,” on Sept. 30. Along with strong guest features such as Lil Wayne, Q-Tip, and BJ the Chicago Kid, Solange’s album incorporates funk and R&B to emit a smooth, fluid feel. “A Seat at the Table” reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making her and Beyoncé the first sisters to both release number one albums in the same year. The album was supported by the single “Cranes in the Sky” and commercially successful tracks such as “Mad,” where Solange showcases her voice alongside rapper Lil Wayne. On Aug. 20, Frank Ocean dropped “Blonde,” a greatly anticipated album that he began producing three years prior under the working title “Boys Don’t Cry.” It shot to the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 as loyal fans rushed to hear the sound of new Frank Ocean music. Led by the smooth experimental single “Nikes,” Frank’s impressive performance on this project has brought him right back into the thick of music discussions. Second-year music industry major Allie Gurland was impressed with music this year. “It was cool how a lot of the big albums this year had an element of surprise and anticipation behind them like ‘Lemonade’ [and] ‘The Life of Pablo,’” she said. “There was also a lot of epic music that came out this year that caused a lot of stir on social media.”
Front • 5
sharing your way
TO CHANGE What do #BlackLivesMatter (#BLM), #BringBackOurGirls, and #NODAPL have in common? These hashtags are part of increasingly prevalent online activism regarding current events and political change, including the presidential election and matters of race and identity in America. In part because of accessibility and quick dissemination of information, social media has become a popular tool in campaigns. DivestNU, a coalition of over 20 groups on campus that advocates for university divestment from the fossil fuel industry, has used social media to organize events and mobilize. Fourth-year environmental studies and economics major Charlie Cavallaro helps manage social media for DivestNU and believes the most important role of social media is building awareness of the campaign. “The goal is to get those unfamiliar with the campaign to become aware of it [and] get those who are aware of the campaign to become supportive,” Cavallaro said. With social media, information can be spread in real time — much more quickly than with offline activism. Social media also allows for unconventional ways of sharing information, such as the use of memes. “Memes have actually played a tremendous role in our social-media presence,” Cavallaro explained. “Like the infographics, memes can also be extremely useful for conveying information about the campaign, and often are much more effective because the humor makes them ‘stickier.’” According to a 2014 Digital Activism Study conducted by Cone Communications, 62 percent of surveyed Americans said they are more likely to volunteer, donate, or share information about a cause after liking or following a nonprofit or charity on social media, and 60 percent will continue to read content from that organization. The continued engagement is integral to the advancement of the cause. “Maintaining that enthusiasm and support after the fact is crucial, because otherwise you don’t grow as a campaign. You just get stuck in this episodic boom/bust cycle of relatively fervent support when you’re doing a big exciting action, and then a drop-off when it comes time to get back to the nitty-gritty of organizing,” Cavallaro said.
Written by Michelle Weth // Photos by Elly Cheung
However, followers’ intentions don’t always translate to action; 65 percent of respondents claimed they were willing to make online contributions to a nonprofit or charity, while only 35 percent actually did. This finding is consistent with concerns about slacktivism, which is defined by Oxford Dictionary as “actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement.” However, Cavallaro believes the use of the term is counterproductive. “Grassroots movement-building as a concept is predicated upon the notion that many small, seemingly insignificant actions of individuals can accumulate into something much more powerful than the sum of its parts,” he explained. “Perhaps that person is inspired later on to take action on the issue or … their posting about it inspires others in their social network to get involved.” Another concern surrounding social media activism is the spread of false, unfiltered information. Partially due to the quick pace of online communities, checking the validity of statements is not as commonplace as it is in traditional routes such as newspapers. Looking back at the 2016 presidential election, The New York Times reported much online misinformation, such as a tweet about a rigged voting machine in Philadelphia that was shared more than 11,000 times. The voting machine’s results were, in fact, due to user error. Social media has its benefits and disadvantages as a platform for activism. While false information is always a possibility, social media activism can be essential to changing the political landscape, giving everyday citizens a voice and the power to call out injustices.
winter 2016 • WOOF MAGAZINE
6 • Front
CREATIVITY FOR A VISIBLE COMMUNITY Written by Maya Bur // Photos by Meredith Fisher
WOOF MAGAZINE • winter 2016
Front • 7
In previous years, Northeastern’s Latino/a Student Cultural Center (LSCC) didn’t stand out among the surrounding buildings on Forsyth Street; now, it can’t be missed. During September and October, students and staff from the LSCC worked with Precita Eyes Muralists, a community-based mural arts organization based in San Francisco, on a project to enhance the presence of the Latinx community on campus. The exterior of the two-story building at 104 Forsyth St. is now covered with a vibrant, colorful mural representing Latinx culture. Since its creation in 1997, the LSCC has been a resource for Latinx students on Northeastern’s campus. Third-year human services major and Coalition Coordinator for the Latin American Student Association (LASO), Thalia Carroll-Cachimuel transferred to Northeastern in January 2015. The LSCC was her first home on campus. “When I started here, I didn’t know what to do or where to go, but then I heard about the LSCC, and it was a perfect match,” CarrollCachimuel said. Amy Lyu, a fourth-year design major with a graphic/information concentration, also felt a strong connection to the center. She began brainstorming with her friend Yoshua Rozen, a fourth-year industrial engineering major also involved with the LSCC, about a project to enhance the presence of the center on campus.
“This was our home away from home, so we wanted to find a way to give back to [the LSCC],” Lyu said. After administrators approved the project earlier this year, students from the LSCC connected with Susan Cervantes, founder of Precita Eyes Muralists. “I thought they would just be like any other artists,” Lyu said. “But they really did care about what we wanted the mural to look like.” Precita Eyes says its mission is to collaborate with community members in order to produce art that is meaningful to them. “[Precita Eyes] had a meeting with us where we all drew what we thought of when we think about the LSCC. Everyone had so many different ideas,” said Carroll-Cachimuel. “Then they took all of our paintings and all of our ideas, and that’s how the mural came to be.” The flag of every Latin American country is incorporated into the mural. “The flags, I would say, are the most important part, because each one represents someone’s home,” Lyu explained. The flags of the United States and Canada are included as well, to present the LSCC as a place that welcomes all students. Another feature of the mural is an image of dancers, which Lyu said was the original concept she and Rozen had presented to Precita Eyes. “Dancing is a big part of the culture and there are so many different dances from different regions,” she said. Symbolism can
be found even in details such as the dancers’ clothing. The female dancer’s dress colorfully incorporates every type of attire from every major region of Latin America. “We wanted to honor indigenous peoples from Latin America, so [the mural includes] a Peruvian indigenous man,” Carroll-Cachimuel said of the largest figure in the mural. Next to the figure is a tree with words on its winding roots, representing the Latinx community’s common background and deeply rooted values. Other images include a mother with a baby, a flowing river, a migrant farm worker, and musical instruments. Over 200 individuals in total contributed to the painting of the mural, which took less than three weeks. Volunteering wasn’t limited to students. “There were Northeastern [alumni], staff, and other members of the community,” Lyu said. “It was really nice seeing a group of people come together for art.” Members of the LSCC have received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the project. “Everyone is really, really happy with the result,” Carroll-Cachimuel said. Lyu agreed. “I don’t see how anyone could feel any other way than ‘happy,’” she said. “It’s incredible to see a huge piece of art in such a public space that represents your culture. It’s so vibrant. It’s like a huge story.”
winter 2016 • WOOF MAGAZINE
8 • Media & Culture
THE POST-MEME EFFECT Written by Samantha Rose // Illustration by Lila Selle An endless stream of Twitter notifications. Interview requests. Thousands of new followers. This was Pennsylvania State University first-year student Jessica Taylor’s life after her tweet went viral. Within mere hours, she had drawn the attention of millions online. Memes have become a staple of digital interaction. They are a piece of media that rapidly circulates the internet, usually as different versions of a certain joke — from a dead gorilla to a strange obsession with wrestler John Cena’s theme song. Whatever the subject, a meme can spread across the internet with astonishing speed and often pervades until a new one emerges to replace it. “Bad Luck Brian” became a meme in 2012 when a high-school photo of Kyle Craven became a symbol of misfortune. The picture features Craven, red in the face and wearing a plaid sweater vest, displaying a big, bracesclad smile. The internet turned Craven into “Bad Luck Brian,” an unfortunate boy labeled with fictional situations such as: “Receives note from crush . . . Restraining order.” As it turns out, the photo was intended to be a joke. Craven, the class clown, specifically made himself look awkward for the photo. Six years later, the photo blew up the internet and Craven reaped the benefits. According to the Washington Post, he has made between $15,000 and $20,000 from T-shirt sales and licensing deals to use his photo in ads. Craven did not mind being made into a meme, as the photo was intentionally unsightly. He is hardly recognized in public. He now works at his dad’s construction company, living a normal life. “It’s something to show my grandkids one day, right?” he told the Washington Post.
WOOF MAGAZINE • winter 2016
Taylor’s story is different. Although she wasn’t a meme in the traditional sense, her story went viral and traveled across social media and news sources within hours. Taylor and her roommate, Nikki, had been at odds with each other since the beginning of the school year. When she found Nikki’s Twitter account, she discovered several tweets expressing her dislike of Taylor. In retaliation, Taylor printed out the subtweets, taped them up in their room, and posted a photo of them on Twitter. Taylor had the intention of posting the photo for her followers, most of whom she knew personally, get a few laughs, and then move on. But Nikki did not get the chance to react to the latest addition to their dorm before the tweet almost instantly went viral. “Within five minutes it had maybe 50 retweets,” Taylor said. “Then in an hour, it had 2,000 maybe.” Taylor’s follower count shot up by the thousands. As of press date, the tweet had over 110,000 retweets and over 320,000 favorites. Taylor now has around 16,000 Twitter followers. Her internet fame had both pros and cons. Some followers called Taylor “petty,” while others defended her. Taylor was able to move into a new room of her choice within a week because the school wanted to separate the two as soon as possible. However, Taylor was also removed from her sorority and now has anything she posts online scrutinized. “Everything I do and say now is … under a spotlight. Before this all happened, nobody paid attention to my Twitter, so I could say anything and it didn’t really matter,” Taylor said. “But now … I say anything mildly political or even things that aren’t political, [and] people will start arguing with me.” After everything that has happened, Taylor stands by her actions. “I do not regret making the tweet,” she said.
This is not the only instance of meme fame coming with dark consequences. Ken Bone became a meme, largely due to his happy persona and bright red sweater, after asking a question at the second presidential debate in October 2016. He took advantage of his fame by releasing a “Bone Zone” T-shirt line. However, it did not take long for people to uncover some questionable statements Bone had made on the website Reddit. According to the New York Times, “It seems Mr. Bone had engaged in a discussion of his sex life after having undergone a vasectomy. Using the pseudonym StanGibson18, he had revealed that he enjoyed viewing the nude photos of the actress Jennifer Lawrence.” Some lost faith in Bone after these comments were exposed, while others saw his fame as extraneous to begin with. “The thing that annoys me about him is that people completely overdid him as a meme,” first-year chemical engineering major Navin Mani said. “He got way too famous for doing nothing except for looking funny. He shouldn’t be judged for [his Reddit comments]. The part about him that should be judged is that he’s an overdone meme.” Why are we so fascinated by memes? For one, they have become a part of online culture, a new form of human interaction and humor. They take advantage of the spontaneity of the internet to become a platform for a shared experience. Memes let people feel like they are a part of something, even if that something is a ridiculous joke about Spongebob Squarepants. And oftentimes, they arise from the most unexpected of situations. “My tweet and my situation was so popular for reasons I do not know,” Taylor said. “I wake up every day and think about that. I have no idea.”
Media & Culture • 9
DID THE MEDIA HELP CHOOSE OUR
NEXT PRESIDENT?
Written by Julia Preszler
The 2016 presidential election has arguably been among the most divisive in U.S. history, with two of the most controversial candidates ever seen in an American election. Hillary Clinton has been faulted with mishandling emails, neglecting to take proper security measures at the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya, and being too closely tied with lobbyists and other moneyed institutions in Washington. Donald Trump has also faced various accusations, from incessant dishonesty to sexual assault. Even the media, the supposed arbiter between the two campaigns, has been harshly criticized. Many have wondered whether the media can be blamed for propelling Donald Trump, one of the most untraditional candidates in recent memory, to the top of the polls, allowing him to first clinch the Republican nomination and then the presidency. Clinton has claimed the media unfairly holds her to a higher standard than they do Trump. Her opponent, meanwhile, has embarked on an all-out war against the media, claiming that news stories about his alleged sexual misconduct are “poisoning the minds of the electorate.” But according to Charles Fountain, an associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University, this is probably not true. “If you’re writing stories or broadcasting or posting stories that are pleasing everyone, then you’re not doing your job as a journalist. The fact that Donald Trump is as irritated as he is at the coverage is probably a better testament [to media coverage of this election] than any objective assessment that it’s pretty good,” said Fountain. Trump has also repeatedly accused the media of being part of the Clinton coalition. “If the disgusting and corrupt media covered me honestly and didn’t put false meaning into the words I say, I would be beating Hillary by 20%,” Trump tweeted on Aug. 14. At face value, it may seem like Trump is right about a widespread media vendetta against him. Not a single major newspaper gave its editorial endorsement to Trump. In fact, some newspapers — such as USA Today,
which has a no-endorsement policy — chose to anti-endorse Trump. “By all means vote, just not for Donald Trump,” the USA Today Editorial Board wrote in an article on Sept. 30. Trump has also attacked media platforms that have covered him relatively favorably. On Aug. 9, 2015, Trump singled out Fox News when he tweeted: “It amazes me that other networks seem to treat me so much better than @FoxNews.” However, during the pre-primary period of this election season, the same time frame this tweet was written in, 73 percent of Trump coverage on Fox News was positive or neutral in tone, according to Media Tenor, a media research institute. In fact, media coverage of Trump was largely positive when the candidates officially launched their campaigns in 2015, especially compared to that of Clinton. Out of all 2015 news coverage about the candidates’ stances on the issues, 57 percent of Trump coverage was positive in nature. That number was only 16 percent for Clinton, according to the same Media Tenor poll. Perhaps the largest hand the media played during this election was covering Trump in excess. Many Republican candidates who ran in the primaries were much more politically experienced than Trump. Of the original seventeen candidates in the Republican primaries, nine were current or former governors and five were current United States senators. In the beginning of the race, Trump’s poll numbers were relatively low. A candidate with low polling numbers typically will not get much media attention. This was not the case for Trump. Over the course of the campaign, he received around $2 billion in free media exposure, according to the New York Times. Furthermore, throughout the campaign, Trump consistently received more coverage than Clinton. According to Media Tenor, during the final month of the primaries, 43 percent of candidate coverage was focused on Trump, compared to 37 percent for Clinton. During the month surrounding the Republican and Democratic conventions, Trump got 27 percent of all news coverage, while Clinton received just 20 percent.
Given this information, it is impossible not to wonder how deep the media’s impact has been. “I think there’s sort of an introspection going on now, did [the media] legitimize a candidacy that was not deserving of legitimacy?” said Fountain. It wasn’t until about halfway through the primaries that the media’s coverage of Trump became more oppositional. They began to focus less on positive news about his electoral success and more on negative aspects of his character and stances as his Republican competitors dropped out of the race. “Part of it was people in the media started to realize they had to take Trump seriously as a presidential candidate and part of it was he started saying incredibly outrageous things that drew a lot of negative coverage,” said Dan Kennedy, an associate professor of journalism at Northeastern. When it comes to the rise of Donald Trump, media has arguably played a role. Major news outlets are struggling to find a way to make revenue in the digital age, and they are scrambling for more clicks and more views. Conflict makes for a good story, and Trump’s myriad of insults and inflammatory statements have created content for the media for the past year and a half. As a result of the election, CNN has enjoyed its best prime-time ratings this year since 2008, according to Nielsen. Their primetime ratings were up 165 percent in 2016, compared to the first quarter of 2015. According to Kennedy, “a lot of the media, especially TV and especially cable, were happy to exploit Trump’s celebrity status to boost their ratings, so they would give him unlimited access.” Kennedy said it’s likely that media outlets did not anticipate the consequences of their actions: that voters would eventually make history on election day by choosing Trump as the first U.S. president without any political or military experience.
winter 2016 • WOOF MAGAZINE
10 • Cover Story
WHO NEEDS A PUBLISHER? Huskies take their books straight to the market
Written by Cayley Ross // Photos by Justine Newman
Adrian Kombe 30 Questions Guaranteed to Start a Ruckus At a Dinner Party
One night in a spooky house, you come up with an idea for an equally spooky story. So you write it down. Even though you’re only 19 years old, you keep working feverishly on the story in every moment of your free time. By the time you’re 20, it’s finished. At 21, your story has been published and you’ve become one of the youngest (and soon-to-be most famous) gothic authors of all time. It may sound ridiculous, but this really did happen in 1818 to none other than Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. It also happened, more or less, to then 18-year-old Christopher Paolini, author of the bestselling Eragon series. Students at Northeastern may be capable of the same feats — two of the school’s young writers have self-published their own literary works, bypassing the traditional publishing industry and taking the initiative to create their own personal masterpieces. Second-year mechanical engineering student Adrian Kombe’s book, 30 Questions Guaranteed to Start a Ruckus At a Dinner Party, features controversial questions such as, “Is there a gray area between spanking and abuse?”; “Is the butter that you spread on toast worth the extra fat?”; and, a personal favorite, “Why does Tuesday not have a feel? Monday is dreadful; Wednesday is ‘humpday;’ Thursday is ‘Woohoo! We’re almost there,’; Friday is when the fun begins; Saturday is
WOOF MAGAZINE • winter 2016
relaxing; Sunday is ‘Noooo, work and school tomorrow.’” The first page of the book instructs, “Champagne should be spilled, Martha’s precious pot roast should end up on the floor, and sides should be taken.” That sounds like a dinner party for the books, yes? At first glance, many would think that a book of only 30 questions would be simple, even easy, to write and publish. Many would be wrong, according to Kombe. As he began to conceptualize the idea for his book back in 2015 (the middle of his senior year in high school), Kombe was inspired by discussions he and his friends had about traditionally taboo subjects, so he began to record them. “I just started writing some of those questions down, and through two years I ended up with a bunch of questions. I wrote 800 of them, maybe even over 1,000, and then I picked the best 30,” he said. He chose the dinner table as the setting because, as he put it, “the dinner table is kind of this reserved and sacred space where family is supposed to come together and not argue, not talk about things that are going to create a conflict.” Kombe self-published his book through CreateSpace, which required a lot of work on his part. “It’s a pretty difficult process; you have to do everything by yourself,” he said.
That encompasses cover art, editing, and formatting. For the cover art, Kombe enlisted the help of his stepbrother, Tyler Kelly, an artist who lives in Baltimore. For the questions themselves, Kombe spent many hours in the spring of 2016 editing and revising to make sure everything was just right. The book is available on both Amazon and CreateSpace, and Kombe also sells physical copies on his own. According to Kombe, he wants his book to reach a higherprofile audience. “I’m thinking of targeting more popular people to try to answer these questions. That would generate a lot of discourse and potentially a lot of sales,” he explained.
Cover Story • 11 Meanwhile, fourth-year graphic design major Katie Kerr published a coloring book in conjunction with the adult coloring book craze that’s currently trending. Kerr draws often, and around January she started to form the idea for a coloring book. “My personal style matches up with a coloring book pretty well, because I work a lot with black and white lines and outlines,” she said. “I also don’t like to color in my things, I like to see what other people do with it, so the style serves its purpose pretty well for a coloring book.” She spent the summer drawing every day to add to her existing drawings, then began the process of scanning, editing, and choosing her best images. Luckily, she had a lot of outside help, seeking input from her parents, friends, roommates, and boyfriend. “The book was originally 50 pages,” she said. “I went through a lot of variations of different sections, because there are different types of pages I have … so I was playing around with the order of them, how I should organize them, how should I name them.” It took the whole summer for Kerr to finish the editing process, working every day and constantly getting feedback and constructive criticism. Kerr also self-published, but not quite the same way Kombe did. Instead of using a self-publishing company, she sent the pages to FedEx and had them bound and printed. She sells the books herself and advertises
through social media. Eventually, she wants to sell copies of her coloring book at medical marijuana dispensaries as well. “For all the tourists and recreational marijuana users, it’d be really fun for them to color,” she said. Producing any kind of creative content takes an incredible amount of work and dedication. Throughout the process, Kerr said it was important to be able to accept that not everything would be worthy of the final product. “Learning to put your best work forward and edit yourself instead of [keeping] everything is really, really helpful,” she said.
Kombe commented that catering to the consumer is also incredibly important when creating a successful product. “You have to remember that a book is a product, and you can decide to publish a book that only you care about, but it’s not going to be sold,” he said. He advised that it’s important to make sure your product means something. “It’s easy to build something that isn’t going to do anything,” he said. “Invest your time in something that is going to serve a value.”
Katie Kerr None of This Is a Big Deal
winter 2016 • WOOF MAGAZINE
12 • Lifestyle
A Guide to Marino Group Fitness Written by Julia Guiliardi // Photos by Leila Habib
Before ever attending a Group Fitness class at Northeastern, I imagined it would be a lot like Jazzercise, or some other ‘80s workout program where the instructor sports a leotard and legwarmers and teaches you choreographed dance numbers. Thankfully, once the class — Thighs, Butts, and Guts — actually began, I was proven quite wrong. The class, and most of the Group Fitness courses I have attended since, have incorporated variety into my workout routine and offered me a workout program that I actually enjoy. To save you from the fear of the unknown, I sampled four different classes offered as part of Northeastern’s Group Fitness program.
Interval Burn
Difficulty rating: 4 out of 5 dumbbells I’d always been afraid of any fitness program that includes the word “interval.” My first thought was Crossfit, which I do not have the balance or athleticism to survive. Surprisingly, though, Interval Burn was my favorite Group Fitness class. In the 45-minute class, we completed six circuits, each consisting of two different exercises that we repeated for 20 minutes four times through, with a 10 minute break in between. It moves quickly, and sometimes it can be hard to keep up. However, one of the best parts about this class structure is that if you really hate an exercise — like I really hate burpees — you only have to do it for 80 seconds. Plus, if you’re looking for a workout that will make you drip sweat, the combination of high-intensity cardio and muscle conditioning moves will help you achieve that goal.
Total Body Sculpt
Barre
Difficulty rating: 3 out of 5 dumbbells Barre workouts have been surging in popularity across the country — Pure Barre, which opened in 2009, now boasts 375 studios across the country. Group Fitness began offering barre last month, and I was excited to see if it lived up to its hype. The class I attended boasted an on-point playlist of Beyonce’s greatest hits, which served as the soundtrack to a series of low-impact repetitive exercises designed to target specific muscle groups. Many of these movements are inspired by traditional ballet warm-ups and motions, which is where barre got its name. After taking one 45-minute class, I learned that barre is not for me — it turns out that there was a reason I quit ballet at age 10. If you’re unlike me and you like ballet, or you enjoy yoga and pilates, barre is likely a great Group Fitness option for you.
“To save you from the fear of the unknown, I sampled four different classes offered as part of Northeastern’s Group Fitness program.”
Difficulty rating: 5 out of 5 dumbbells This class is hard, and I mean hard. At one point, I had to leave the room for a few minutes because I was physically and emotionally incapable of doing any more shoulder presses. If you’re signing up for your first Group Fitness class, I would not recommend Total Body Sculpt. This is definitely a class you want to work your way up to taking. In this 55-minute class, you complete exercises that target your whole body. WOOF MAGAZINE • winter 2016
If you work out semi-regularly and are looking for something that will challenge you, Total Body Sculpt is the place to be.
Thighs, Butts, and Guts
Difficulty rating: 4 out of 5 dumbbells Think Total Body Sculpt, but without the upper body workout. That being said, you really burn out the muscles in the target areas. In this 45-minute class, you do many sets of lunges, deadlifts, and crunches. Oh, and you do a lot of squats. Like, a lot of squats. This class is one of the most popular offerings from Group Fitness, according to instructor Jenny Mulroy, and with good reason. Whether you’re a Group Fitness novice or a seasoned veteran, you’ll get a lot out of this class, and it will help tone and define your abs, legs, and glutes. A $50 registration fee allows students to register for up to one class per day. Class registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis, as each class is limited in size. According to Mulroy, more than 350 people sign up for Group Fitness classes each day.
Lifestyle • 13
Self-Care Strategies in the Face of Stress Written by Bakari Olivetti // Photos by Justine Newman
While college is a time for students to study their areas of interest, the work that comes from classes and other responsibilities often creates a common feeling of stress. While it can come from many different places and is sometimes unavoidable, certain strategies may help lessen this stress.
Sadowski also uses apps on his phone to control his breathing and heart rate.
“It’s important to make sure you feel proud of yourself,” Rojas said.
A 2000 article published in Neurobiology and Disease claims stress comes from a change in someone’s homeostasis, or internal balance. Once someone is knocked out of equilibrium, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally, the body may secrete stress hormones to try and re-establish a feeling of balance.
Fourth-year physical therapy major Brian Chen believes that self-care methods differ based on the person — while one person may see junk food as unhealthy, another might eat junk food to escape stress.
“If you want reassurance about something, nodding your head increases pride. Smiling can make you an instantly happier person.”
The trainees learn to take care of themselves first and foremost. In order to help others, Rojas said, she needs to feel supported by the organization and know her counseling is going a long way. Throughout the year, she receives small gifts from Crisis Text Line to remind her of the good work she is doing and that the individuals she is texting at the crisis line are benefitting from her support.
“People are changing the world on co-op, so it feels slightly belittling when you don’t achieve something like that,” said Olivia Eckerson, a fourth-year English major. But Sarah Williams, a second-year biochemistry major, believes people are too critical of themselves and their performances. She makes sure to do one small act every day to make her happy or relaxed, such as buying a drink from Starbucks or reading a book before bed. “Mental wellness, to me, means taking care of and paying attention to your own emotions, feelings, and stress in order to maintain a stable mental state and to stay positive throughout each day,” Williams said. Patrick Sadowski, a fourth-year business major, believes that stress is natural. “The solution is not to prevent the stress, but … to deal with it and not let it overtake you,” he said. To combat stressful situations in his life, Sadowski said he frequents the gym, where he listens to music while he works out. “For the one to two hours, nothing else matters but how my performance is.”
A survey by Harris Interactive for the American Psychological Association found that millennials gauged their average stress level at about a five out of 10. The top stress contributors were work, money, relationships, and responsibilities. More than half of the millennial respondents combatted stress by listening to music. Other popular techniques were eating, exercising, and spending time with family and friends.
“When it comes down to it, it’s really about balancing the two,” Chen said. “Figure out what needs are [most] pressing and don’t let one form of health become too dominant over the other.”
While people have their habitual responses to stress and self-care, there are small techniques that are helpful for everyone — to increase confidence, help you achieve your goals, or simply put a smile on your face.
Chen keeps himself balanced with a calendar and planner to keep track of small deadlines and obligations. These tools provide him with more time to engage in self-care and mindfulness practices, which would be the first to go without his organization tools.
If you are in need of some last-minute confidence, taking two minutes to stand with your legs wide and arms in the air provides an instant boost in morale and a decrease in stress, according to an article by the Association for Psychological Science.
Olivia Rojas, a third-year psychology and criminal justice major, volunteers each week as a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line. A 24/7 online platform, Crisis Text Line trains counselors to support at-risk people in crisis. During her training, Rojas learned selfcare techniques to prepare herself for these conversations, which can be emotionally draining for volunteers.
If you want a quick fix, smiling can almost instantly boost your mood and make you feel less stressed, according to a 2012 study published in Psychological Science. “It’s about how you as the recipient process and perceive [stress],” Chen said. “Do you see stress as an upsetting disaster, or a challenge?”
winter 2016 • WOOF MAGAZINE
14 • Lifestyle
1. RELEASE
+UNWIND: A Yoga Sequence Written by Shelby Sih // Photos by Lark Parmalee The word “yoga” in Sanskrit means “to yoke” or “to unite.” At its core, yoga actually has very little to do with the physical postures we associate with it today and instead is meant to foster connection between the body, mind, and spirit. The purpose then is less about attaining a form and more about building control over the fluctuations of the mind in order to be more fully present. Asana, or the physical poses, are only meant as tools to gain this deeper insight into the nature of our being so that we can live off the mat with a greater sense of awareness and compassion towards ourselves and others. Within this presence, stress and tension can begin to subside — even if just for a moment — as the primary focus remains on the breath and the experience of the body. This sequence is designed to allow the body and mind to unwind and release. It focuses on the shoulders and hips and has many grounding postures in order to soothe the nervous system and provide a sense of stability. The shoulders and hips often hold our emotions, so targeting these areas can be extremely healing. You might choose only one or two poses to practice, or you might go through each pose of this sequence in order, depending on what your body needs. Your breath should be your primary point of focus in each pose so that you stay present within your body. The only prop you might need is a towel or firm blanket. Dim the lights, put on soothing music or be in silence, light some candles, and allow yourself to just be.
Shelby Sih is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher and teaches weekly classes for Marino’s Group Fitness program.
WOOF MAGAZINE • winter 2016
Start Here
Sukhasana with Pranayama, seated breath work Focusing on the breath can sooth the nervous system so that the automatic stress response of fight or flight can begin to ease. Meditation and breathwork increases awareness of the present moment and current state of the physical, mental, and emotional bodies, allowing the practitioner to come into a more open and calm state of being. Sit on the edge of a folded towel or blanket with your ankles crossed and your eyes closed. Feel your spine lengthen up towards the ceiling and relax your shoulders away from your ears. As you become more attuned to the breath, try to let the other thoughts drift to the back of your mind so that you can stay very present in your body. Begin to lengthen out the inhales and exhales to come into Sama Vritti Pranayama, or equal parts breath. On your inhale, count to four, then hold at the top for a breath and exhale for a count of four. Hold at the bottom for a breath, and then repeat. You may use a count more or less than four depending on what feels best in your body. Continue for two to three minutes or longer.
6.
7.
Uttanasana, Forward Fold (with rag doll arms or clasped knuckles) Forward Folds can help to calm the brain and reduce stress, headaches, or insomnia as the head gets a rush of fresh blood as it hangs below the heart. They also stretch and lengthen the whole backside of the body from feet to head. Walk the feet towards the front of the space. Have the feet about hip’s distance apart. Bend your knees and let your torso hang over your legs, feeling the tilt of your pelvis down towards the mat. Shake your head in “yes” and “no” motions a few times to release the neck. You can hold opposite elbows in your hands for Rag Doll, or you can clasp your knuckles at your low back and then reach the arms up and overhead to come deeper into the shoulders and neck. You might gently sway from side to side to release the neck, shoulders, and hamstrings.
2. Thread the Needle Releases tightness or tension through the shoulders/upper back. In Tabletop position, reach your right arm up to the ceiling. On your exhale, bring the right arm down and in between your thigh and left hand, releasing the right shoulder and arm down to the mat with the palm facing up. Place the head down, and keep the hips squared. Stay for 5-10 rounds of breath, then repeat on the other side.
8. Goddess Pose (with shoulder opener) This grounding pose can create a sense of stability and strength while opening the pelvic region/hips, shoulders, and chest. Bring your legs wide, drawing the heels slightly in with the toes slightly out. The knees should point in whichever direction the toes are pointing. Bend your knees, drawing the thighs parallel with the mat while making sure the knees don’t go over the ankle. Press your hands down into your thighbones so that the shoulders shrug up towards the ears. On an exhale, sink your right shoulder down towards the ground, keeping both arms straight, and looking out over the left shoulder. Inhale back through center, and exhale to release left shoulder down, looking out over the right. Repeat three to four times on each side.
Lifestyle • 15
3. Balasana, Child’s Pose This restorative pose allows the body to rest and the mind to turn inward; stretches the hips (if knees are wide) or supports the low back (if knees together); and allows the shoulders and neck to release. Either bring the feet together with the knees out wide to open through the hips, or the feet and the knees together to provide more support to the low back. Walk your hands out in front of you, resting your forehead down on the ground. You might roll the forehead from side to side to massage the temples, place your hands on your neck and shoulders to rub out any areas of tension, or rest the arms by your legs with the hands pointing towards the back of the room to release the shoulders.
9. Supta Baddha Konasana, Reclined Bound Angle Pose (with a blanket/towel) This restorative pose provides a supportive and gentle release of the hips, groin, and low back. It can help ease stress, depression, and menstrual pain and can calm the body and mind down. Bring your feet together with your knees out wide. Take a towel/blanket (if available) and place it over your feet. Then, tuck the sides underneath the ankles/calves so that your legs are supported and it takes some of the pressure off the hips. You can also do this pose without the towel. Lay down on your back and focus on your breathing, allowing the spine to release into the ground and your hips or any other areas of tension to soften. Stay for a few minutes.
4. Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward Facing Dog This foundational yoga pose has numerous benefits, including strengthening and building mobility in the shoulders, legs, and low back, calming the brain, and improving digestion. Come into your Tabletop position. Tuck the toes underneath you and begin to send the hips up and back. Press the ground away from you to send your chest back towards your thighs while lifting the hips up towards the ceiling and back. The neck should be relaxed. You can bend one knee and then the other, peddling out your feet or swaying your hips. Your knees can stay bent if you have tightness in the hamstrings, lower back, or you feel like your back is rounding forward.
10. Matsyasana, Supported Fish Pose (with a blanket/towel) Opens front of the body, including throat, heart space, and chest, as well as the shoulders and back. Counteracts hunching forward. Roll your blanket/towel so that it creates a bolster-like shape. You can play around with how big you want the roll to be, depending on what feels best in the body. Lay down over the roll, with the blanket underneath the shoulders, lifting the heart space. The back of your head should be touching the ground. Bring your arms out into a T position or cactus/goal post the arms over the top of the roll. Make sure that it’s not at your mid-back (lifting the ribs) and is instead at the shoulders (lifting the heart/chest). Your legs can either be straight, bent with feet planted, or in supta bada konasana (see above). Stay for a few minutes.
5. Parivrtta Anjaneyasana, Revolved Lunge Improves balance, core awareness, and digestion while stretching the hips, psoas, and shoulders/back. From Low Lunge, place your left hand down (or the hand opposite the side of the foot that’s in front) and reach the right arm up towards the ceiling. You can keep the back knee down or lift the back knee off the ground. If the back leg is lifted, press the heel back and the leg up towards the ceiling so the leg is engaged. Feel the left ribs reaching up towards the ceiling and try to create one long line from your hand on the ground up to your hand in the air.
11. Viparita Karani, Legs Up the Wall One of the best poses for body and mind, legs up the wall relieves sore feet and legs, low back pain, cramps, headaches, stress, digestive issues, insomnia, and general tightness in the body. This restorative inversion reverses the effects of gravity on the body, moving stuck energy and detoxing the system. If you only do one pose, this should be it! Bring one of your hips to an open wall space. You can take the towel or blanket underneath your hips against the wall for extra support. Swing your legs up the wall, laying down onto your back. You might also place a blanket/pillow behind the head for extra support. Depending how tight your hamstrings are, you can move your hips away from the wall to decrease the angle. Stay for a few minutes. winter 2016 • WOOF MAGAZINE
16 • Focus
Pictured: Annie Tucker, co-president of The Real Food Challenge
(NOT JUST) CLIMATE CHANGE:
DivestNU’s Diverse Coalition
Written by Julia Preszler // Photos by Ben Hackney and Meredith Fisher
F
or nearly two weeks in October, Centennial Common, a place usually frequented by students playing frisbee or soaking up the sun, became the site of a protest organized by DivestNU. Signs and banners cried out against the violence and injustice of the fossil-fuel industry. Bits of orange cloth were pinned to the shirts and backpacks of DivestNU members. Unified voices rang out as students chanted during nightly rallies. Patches of grass withered up and died underneath tents where protesters slept each night. DivestNU, a student group demanding that the Northeastern administration divest from fossil fuels, is backed by a coalition of 30 student organizations, including the Progressive Student Alliance, Green Line Records, Art Collaborative and the Latin American Student Organization, among many others. The conglomerate of interests represented by the coalition accurately depicts many of the social, political, and economic issues intertwined with the reality of climate change. Northeastern’s Feminist Student Organization (FSO) joined the coalition Feb. 26, 2015. Nico Oldfield, co-president of FSO and a thirdyear political science and communications major, visited DivestNU every day during their occupation of Centennial Common. She slept in a tent with DivestNU protesters during the last two nights of the occupation.
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“For FSO, we do a lot of discussion, but we need to make sure we tie that back to actual action,” Oldfield said. “So it’s really cool to be able to participate in some of their actions and … see activism come to life on campus.” Oldfield explained that, worldwide, girls are 14 times more likely to die as a result of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes. This is because in many countries, they occupy a lower status in society and are not given the same amount of attention and care as boys. As climate change progresses, natural disasters will become more and more common, exacerbating the weather-related challenges posed to women and girls around the world. A 2007 study from the London School of Economics found that women have higher death rates in natural disasters due to a myriad of inequalities affecting sensitivity to risk and access to resources. The study’s abstract states, “Biological and physiological differences between the sexes are unlikely to explain large-scale gender differences in mortality rates. Social norms and role behavior provide some further explanation, but what is likely to matter most is the everyday socio-economic status of women.” The intersection of feminism and environmental advocacy is just one example of overlap between activist causes. Climate change has the
The conglomerate of interests represented by the coalition accurately depicts many of the social, political, and economic issues that are intertwined with the reality of climate change.
WOOF MAGAZINE • winter 2016
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Focus • 17
power to affect many areas of life, such as where people live, national security, and worldwide economic well-being. According to a 2015 report by the International Displacement Monitoring Centre, an average of 26.4 million people per year have been displaced by climate- and weather-related events between 2008 and 2015. Five reef islands in the Solomon Islands were recently completely submerged due to rising sea levels — six others have been greatly eroded. A total of 25 Solomon families have been displaced. This is just the beginning of the threat to island nations. As sea levels rise due to glacial melting, islands such as the Maldives, the Seychelles, and Kiribati are being threatened by contaminated water, escalated storms, and, eventually, complete submersion. Residents of the islands will be displaced and the international community will have to figure out where to relocate them, a process that is currently underway. With a skyrocketing world population and an increased number of displaced people due to natural disasters and conflicts like the civil war in Syria, relocation will be no easy task. Furthermore, climate change and environmental degradation have the power to create water shortages for many people around the planet. Northeastern’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a member of the DivestNU coalition, has expressed concern about the drying up and pollution of the Jordan River, an important water source for Palestine, due to a lack of rain and the increasing presence of non-toxic rain. “It’s important for us to fight climate change for a million reasons, but for Palestine, one of the main reasons is that there won’t be access to water. A water crisis will occur unless we think of a more equitable distribution [of water],” said Sara O’Brien, a fifth-year political science major and the vice president of SJP. The United States military has acknowledged and is preparing for the repercussions of climate change. On July 28, 2015, the Department of Defense (DOD) released the “Report on National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate.” In a press release about the report, the DOD wrote: “The report reinforces the fact that global climate change will have wide-ranging implications for U.S. national security interests over the foreseeable future because it will aggravate existing problems such as poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutions that threaten domestic stability in a number of countries.” The global economy will also be upset by this environmental shift in coming decades. A 2015 report in the journal Nature predicts that if climate change continues as is, global GDP per capita will be 23 percent lower in 2100 than it would be if climate change were stopped or reversed.
Fields that rely on certain weather conditions, such as commerce, tourism, insurance, and agricultural industries, will also be negatively affected. The Real Food Challenge (RFC), another DivestNU coalition organization, is addressing climate change and other food-related issues by petitioning the Northeastern administration to increase the amount of “real food” served in the dining halls. “Our main goal is for them to sign ‘the commitment’ that says they will change 20 percent of their food purchases to what we call ‘real food’ which is fair trade, ecologically sound, humane, [or] local,” said Annie Tucker, the co-president of RFC and a second-year environmental science major. Northeastern signed the RFC commitment in 2013, but Tucker said Northeastern lawyers changed the wording in order to make it difficult to enforce. There is a large overlap between the agendas of DivestNU and RFC, Tucker explained. RFC is interested in “divesting” from big agribusinesses that rely on fossil fuels for transportation and farming equipment. As the Earth warms from fossil fuel emissions and other contributors, growing conditions for many crops will decline. “We do recognize that we have very related goals, and especially what we’re doing on campus is very related. We both want the administration to do something and we’re pushing them to do that,” Tucker said. FSO, RFC, and SJP were very involved in the DivestNU occupation of Centennial. During the occupation, all three groups held their meetings in the common and participated in rallies. O’Brien and five or six other members of SJP participated in a mock–oil spill die-in hosted by DivestNU during a prospective student’s day in October. All of the members of these coalition organizations seem to feel comfortable supporting the DivestNU cause, according to Oldfield and Tucker. Speaking about the members of RFC, Tucker said, “All of us really support the Divest group. We all respect everyone in Divest so much [because of] how much effort they’re putting into this awesome cause, and we fully believe divestment should happen as soon as possible.” O’Brien expressed her hopes for the DivestNU campaign moving forward from the Centennial occupation. “It’s important now that it’s over and nothing has happened to critically assess why that is and what we can do differently for next time,” she said. Tucker said about Divest, “They’re a role model for us, too. We would love to be as strong and as talked about on campus. It’s such important work that they’re doing.”
winter 2016 • WOOF MAGAZINE
18 • Focus
Let’s Talk About Sex
Written by Jordan Bashaar // Illustration by Lila Selle
HOW DOES LANGUAGE AFFECT CONSENT?
WOOF MAGAZINE • winter 2016
Focus • 19
“You don’t say that language influences culture, you say it’s the other way around,” said Rob Painter, a Northeastern linguistics professor. “It’s the culture that influences the language.” “Locker room talk.” This phrase has been floating around newspaper articles and conversations quite a lot lately. But what does it mean? Locker room talk has a reputation of being sexually explicit. No holds barred, locker room talk can be uncomfortable to hear in a public setting. It is generally interpreted as vulgar, but ultimately innocent, conversation. Something to be shrugged off. But locker-room talk can be much more insidious. The Harvard men’s soccer team was recently caught circulating “scouting reports” about new recruits for the women’s team, a season tradition since 2012, via email. According to NPR, these scouting reports included descriptions of the players in degrading terms, ranking of attractiveness, assignment of sexual positions, and theories about their sexual behavior. President-elect Donald Trump bragged on video in 2005 about his ability to “grab” any woman he wanted to just because he’s famous. He wasn’t talking about sex; he was talking about sexual assault. He then minimized the situation by calling his words “locker room talk.” This, apparently, is locker room talk in the United States. What does this say about our culture? The shrugging off of sexually aggressive words waters them down to something more innocent. Those who are outraged must now address this “locker room talk” label in order to argue against dangerous language. “You might know that [the label] is entirely untrue, but you then have the burden on you to prove that it isn’t. So it constrains the dynamic of the conversation in very unhealthy ways,” Painter explained. This phenomenon, the two semantic concepts of “tagging” and “labeling,” is quite common in regard to aggressive sex language. From “locker room talk” and “boys will be boys” to “20 minutes of action” labeling obscene acts in order to dilute them perpetuates the power dynamic of men over women. The minimization of aggressive, offensive sex language can also be reflected in the minimization of sexual assault survivors’ experiences within the justice system. In the 2015-2016 Northeastern campus climate survey, 14.22 percent of respondents said they’d been sexually touched without their consent. This university survey was only publicly available after a months-long campaign from Northeastern’s Sexual Assault Response Campaign (SARC). If this percentage were applied to the student population (which in 2014 was 19,798), that would mean that about 2,800 students have been sexually touched without their consent. However, according to Northeastern’s official annual safety report, only 38 on-campus incidents total were reported to the university in the last three years. And what do all of those zeros under “Reported to Local Police” tell us? Why aren’t things reported to local police and taken care of in a real court? According to the latest findings from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 15.8-35 percent of all sexual assaults are reported to the police. The lack of reporting could relate to survivors not wanting to relive the tragedy they’ve experienced; it could also relate to the lack of help they expect to receive. “People are always like, ‘Why did you report to your school police and not the regular police?’” fourth-year political science and sociology major Morgan Helfman said in an interview with the Huntington News. “Because the regular police can’t get this kid out of your classes. […] It’s on you to prove they are guilty. It’s so hard to prove that you
were raped,” she said. Helfman recently sued Northeastern regarding their handling of her assault and has been involved in legal battles surrounding her rape for three years. Could this struggle relate to the power structure that society has created, that of men speaking up and women not being able to? “He was nodding his head and I was shaking mine, and I felt really sick,” said Amelia Kuskin, a fourth-year marketing major, reflecting on a casual sexual encounter where consent was blurry. “I had essentially agreed to this one-night stand, this night — it was sort of like he assumed that it meant free reign in deciding what we’d be doing.” Kuskin’s story is not uncommon, considering the 14.22 percent of Northeastern students who report having gone through something like this. Something is clearly pressuring silence in these situations, and communication is the key to breaking the cycle of unwanted aggression — verbal or physical — towards women. Students Shelby Sih, Kaydee Walter, Rachel Anderson, and Natalie Fei have been working on a project on sexual consent through a survey and focus groups for their health communication capstone. In the research they conducted, participants agreed that consent should be reframed as an ongoing conversation, “a dynamic throughout [the act] where both people are open about what they want to be doing,” according to Walter. However, despite this idea, consent is not always an ongoing conversation. Many of their findings surrounded the role of the woman in a sexual encounter, and how she often plays “the gatekeeper.” Phrases like “did you get in her pants,” or “did she let you in,” liken the woman to a conquest, a bridge to cross. This kind of language makes sex sound like a one-sided encounter. “We’re two people, let’s have a conversation rather than me being a number or an object,” said Walter, who is a fourth-year communications major. Of course, the discussion and explicitness of sex isn’t always inappropriate or offensive. When in a private sphere, with intentions of communicating honestly and respectfully, aggressive language in regard to sex has a very different context. “There’s a difference between someone saying something to take respect away from you, to condescend [to] you,” said Walter, “and when you’re in a setting with someone and they’re saying something to enhance the pleasure of a moment.” “In private talk, people are more willing not to jockey for position, but instead share feelings and communicate about relationships,” said Painter. “It’s more maintenance.” Kuskin said that, particularly with her current boyfriend, she’s become more comfortable talking about sex. “Like just in the car, ‘Hey would you like it if I did this?’” “Now that I’ve been in relationships, surrounded myself with people who speak about sex openly and freely, I like having conversations about it,” said Kuskin. Unfortunately, open communication regarding sex is not large-scale. Many people are still afraid to bring it up. The Harvard soccer team, however, with their “scouting reports,” have been suspended for the rest of the season for their unacceptable behavior. Perhaps consequences are slowly starting to intensify for those who are disrespectful or offensive. These words, these acts, cannot be accepted any longer. When they are accepted and normalized, it becomes clear that a future of dynamic exchange around consent is one that must be fought for, not expected.
winter 2016 • WOOF MAGAZINE
NORTHEASTERN’S LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE DOESN’T END HERE. WWW.WOOF-MAG.COM