February 3, 2020
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Volume 7 Issue 12
FOURTH ESTATE Vegan Society challenges Mason ~ p. 3 ~ @ivestate | gmufouråthestate.com
MASON PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH (P. 6) || THE BOOKSHELF (P. 8) || TEMPCHIN’S SCHOLARSHIP (P. 14) || OPINION: THE (MOSTLY) SAME SOUTHSIDE (P. 15) Fourth Estate is a free publication, limit one copy per person. Additional copies are 25 cents payable to the Office of Student Media.
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FOURTH ESTATE
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HAILEY BULLIS DANA NICKEL Co Editor-in-Chief
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
ALEXANDRIA MCALPINE Art Director DELANEY HARRISON Copy Editor
Hey Patriots, As the semester picks up, so does flu season. So I want to remind everyone that self-care and health comes first. As I read this first sentence out to the room, Jack, the assistant opinion editor, rolled his eyes at me and said, “Yeah, do a face mask to fight the flu.” As cool as that sounds, I’d also recommend a flu shot, which is free at any CVS. Despite the sporadic reports on the coronavirus sweeping the globe, and briefly, Mason, there has been some good news this week as well. Virginia has finally ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). This means that there are now enough states that have ratified the bill, and it could become federal law very soon. On top of that news, I’m super excited to share the great content our staff put together for you guys this week. Mason’s presidential search is well underway, and our News section provided you guys an update this week. Our Culture section is bringing us one final story by Izz LaMagdeleine, the former assistant culture editor. Izz is planning on transferring to another university, and I am sad to see them go. They have been an excellent reporter, editor and friend over the years, and I can’t wait to see their journalism career take off. Nayomi Santos is our new assistant culture editor, and I have nothing but high hopes for her future at the paper and the creativity and ideas she has already brought to the section. One new item the Culture section has brought is a column called “The Bookshelf,” where Mason students can review all their favorite novels. In our Sports section, a Mason student paid homage to the late basketball player Kobe Bryant, and it’s more than worth the read. One writer in our Opinion section compared themes for previous film adaptations of “Little Women,” and explained the importance of the film in today’s society. As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at masonfourthestate@gmail.com.
LAURA SCUDDER News Editor ALEXA TIRONI Assistant News Editor PETER NJOROGE Culture Editor NAYOMI SANTOS Assistant Culture Editor NATALIE HEAVREN Sports Editor DOMENIC ALLEGRA Assistant Sports Editor DOMINIC PINO Opinion Editor JACK HARVEY Assistant Opinion Editor BILLY FERGUSON Online Director LEXI REYES Social Media Editor
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VEGAN SOCIETY AT GMU HOLDS PROTEST
Protest about previous PBR event on Mason’s campus SEAN MCBRIDE STAFF WRITER
The Vegan Society at GMU hosted a student protest for “inaction against the bull riding industry” from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30. The Vegan Society at GMU seeks to “educate students about veganism and vegan options on campus” as well as advocate for “animal rights and actively strives to reduce animal suffering on campus in all aspects.” The protest took place outside of the
Johnson Center in Wilkins Plaza. The demonstration was comprised of under 10 activists who were disgruntled with Mason’s decision to host a Professional Bull Riding (PBR) event at EagleBank Arena. The two-day PBR event took place between Sept. 21-22 of last year. Demonstrators held paper signs, as well as TV screens depicting bulls with their horns sanded down and cowboys
holding electric shock rods. According to one activist, Mason has denied that shock rods were used at the event. The Vegan Society at GMU asserts that this, along with the act of bull riding, is cruel and unwelcome on Mason’s campus. Vegan Society at GMU member Rachael Nicoletta made a point that such activities are not seen at institutions such as Harvard and Yale.
Nicoletta voiced her concern that the bulls were allegedly kept in cramped cages all day while left in the sun, and were transported in such cages for long periods of time to make it to these events.
Mason’s inaction regarding the prohibition of such activities on campus. The Vegan Society at GMU takes issue with “pre-provoking” of what Nicoletta says are “gentle animals” in noisy arenas.
“The bulls look really sad,” Nicoletta said in reference to pictures of the bulls on the TV screens.
Most students walked by the demonstration without question. Some stopped to observe the pictures being presented on the TV screens held by the protesters.
Demonstrators stood in a circle with their mouths taped shut protesting
MASON’S ONLINE MASTER’S PROGRAMS RISE IN RANKS
Multiple programs have risen in rankings since 2019 ALEXA TIRONI ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The U.S. News & World Report’s criteria for ranking universities’ programs is based on engagement, services and technologies, faculty credentials and training, as well as expert opinions from surveys of high-ranking academic officials. Quite a few of Mason’s master’s programs have climbed in rankings, including special education, accounting, engineering, education, industrial/systems engineering and education administration. Mason’s Director of the Master of Science in Accounting Program Scott Broshears spoke about focusing on adaptability when creating curriculum for the accounting program. “We get input from the industry … You wouldn’t think of the accounting industry as changing but it does,” Broshears said. He continued, “We added something called accounting analytics and government and forensics accounting programs … This is something that all the big firms are calling for and so we’ve adapted to fit that.” The master’s program in accounting rose from 39th to 19th nationally since 2019. Broshears spoke of the similarities in the traditional master’s setting versus an online education, saying, “We try to make them as similar as possible. The difference between an online
and face-to-face classes you think of interaction … We have group projects, if it’s an online class we have video presentations, we have them do Blackboard comments on other student’s presentations.”
“The MSA IT program next month will be going through a complete redevelopment of the online curriculum just to freshen it all up, and we suspect that will continue to help the rankings,” he explained.
The masters accounting program offers an eight-week class that only meets one night a week and provides half of the material online as a hybrid class in an effort to cater to the needs of working students and as a way to design flexibility into the program.
He added, “We have been a top 25 program in the nation three years in a row now with that program but nevertheless we’re not going to just sit on that and hope for the best.”
Broshears emphasized the advantages of pursuing a master’s degree. “There may be a hundred people applying [for a job] and here’s a stack of resumes but only ten of them include a master’s degree, they’re going to be the ones looked at first,” he explained. Director of Mason Engineering Online Daniel Garrison spoke about the importance of cohesiveness when developing online curriculum. “Our programs in the engineering school follow our ground-based programs and so that allows students to switch between programs, between semesters … So if they’re doing the on-ground thing and the situation changes and they have to go online or the other way around, it’s an easy transition for them,” said Garrison. The MSA IT program within the engineering masters has remained in the top 25 national rankings for three years. Garrison stated that even though their program is successful and receiving high rankings, that doesn’t mean the department isn’t striving for improvement.
When asked about the structure of an online master’s within the engineering program, Garrison detailed their use of an asynchronous mode of study. This means that all material is constructed ahead of time to allow edits and improvements so that the educational material is as effective as possible. Garrison adds that this style is inclusive to all students, “It allows us to pull in students from around the world, or students who may be traveling for the semester.”
“Here at Mason, there’s no difference. Same degree, the same classes, same syllabus, same fabulous faculty, and I think that is the part that makes this [program] good. I think that’s why we’ve been recognized as offering a quality program because the only difference is the delivery,” said Baker. The special education program rose from 16th in 2019 to their current ranking of 10th in 2020. When asked about this considerable improvement and the department’s reaction, Baker said, “We’re so proud of the spread of the good news. I think that we’ve been doing good work, and the fact that people now know we’re doing good work is really exciting. She continued, “And, I think in a lot of ways it’s the students we’re producing that make that happen.” The special
education program, as of fall 2019, now offers an undergraduate program. Mason’s online MBA has made an impressive leap to being ranked 123 out of 335 considered programs, after being unranked in 2019. Other programs included in the 2020 rankings include computer information technology and education instruction and curriculum. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the fall of 2017 around three million students were enrolled in online master’s, doctoral; and professional doctoral programs. As more and more people opt for online post-Baccalaureate programs Mason will continue to offer accredited master’s courses and create a successful space for themselves in the online academic field.
He continued, “They have the flexibility to do it when they want to — it allows them to also hit pause, rewind, and go back and review something they may have missed,” Mason’s special education online master’s program ranked 10th nationally. Pamela Baker, the director of the Division of Special Education and Disability Research, emphasized the work the special education department has done to make sure that no matter the format, graduate students receive the exact same education and quality of presentation.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ASHLEY KWON
The Mason online master’s program has received its highest ranking yet, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 rankings.
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VIRGINIA GUN LEGISLATION PUSHES FORWARD Virginia looks to push stricter gun violence prevention legislation with a Democratic majority BRAD BYRNE STAFF WRITER
not require a permit to purchase rifles, shotguns or handguns, do not require firearm registration, do not require licensing and do not require a permit to carry a rifle or shotgun.
The 2019 Virginia elections were pivotal to gun legislation, as Democrats became the majority in the Virginia Senate and House Of Delegates. It gives Gov. Northam the chance to pass tighter gun legislation now that his party has the majority.
Gov. Northam’s previous proposal that was rejected last summer will be proposed again, in the hope of getting different results. His proposal would ban assault weapons, silencers, high-capacity magazines and any other weapons considered dangerous; require background checks on firearm purchases; allow no more than one handgun purchase a month, which would reinstate a 2012 repeal; allow law enforcement to keep a person from firearms if they exhibit dangerous behavior and requires lost guns to be reported within a day.
Not all Virginians support the new gun control proposals. Last week, in Richmond, Va. citizens held a gun-rights rally with an attendance of over 20,000. Virginia’s gun laws are not considered strict, with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Violence giving Virginia a “D” letter grading for their gun laws. The gun laws, according to the National Rifle Association (NRA), do
In addition to these laws, the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Violence also pointed out that these laws do not require background checks and do not require a waiting period to purchase a firearm.
This legislation would also ban guns assembled from purchased pieces or kits that don’t require background
Northern Virginia spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky has stated that the governor would include a “grandfather clause” for current gun owners in Virginia to register their guns.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Virginia is in the process of one of the most progressive movements towards gun legislation in the U.S. On May 31, 2019, 12 people were killed in a mass shooting in Virginia Beach. Gov. Northam presented a package of eight gun control measures in a special session of the Virginia Senate, however, the Republican majority adjourned the session and nothing was passed.
The NRA says otherwise, stating in its Institute for Legislative Action that registration of guns is the “first step to confiscation.”
checks and are currently untraceable. The NRA has stood behind the statement that the proposal would violate the Second Amendment. Brian Moran, the Virginia secretary of homeland security and public safety, has stated that this proposal “meets all tests that the Supreme Court has provided.” Virginia gun owners would not have to give up their guns immediately provided that they register the gun with the state.
In opposition to this legislation, there have been “Second Amendment sanctuaries” being declared in certain areas across Virginia to not enforce any gun laws that would be “unconstitutional.” However, these resolutions being proposed would not have any weight in reality, as Virginia state laws would preside over them. College students across the DMV area have been voicing their opinions on the bill. George Washington University student Ethan Somers, the Youth Coordinator for Guns Down America, shared his views on the legislation. “The package of legislation is exactly what we’ve been hoping for. And there are a lot of pieces so there will be quite
a few impacts,” Somers said. “First, it will help to step the illegal guns flowing to D.C. and surrounding states through universal background checks and stolen gun reporting,” he explained. “It will also help keep children safe and will reduce the impact that guns have on suicide, which should bring the number of suicides down quite significantly in Virginia.” He also acknowledged that this new legislation will help college students feel more safe on campus. “For college students specifically who are worried about mass shootings, these universal background checks will prevent people with records of violence from obtaining more weapons, and with ERPO [extreme risk protection orders] laws, we will be able to help people who are in crisis from using guns to hurt themselves or others by removing those guns for a period of time,” said Somers. When contacted for comment, Mason’s Students Demand Action chapter told Fourth Estate they were unable to provide a comment regarding the legislation.
LAST WEEK IN THE NEWS
Monday, Jan. 27
Tuesday, Jan. 28
In 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court allows Trump’s plan to deny green cards to those in need of government aid.
NPR asked State Department to clarify why NPR reporter was denied press credentials in trip to Europe with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
It has been 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz. Holocaust victims are honored with Holocuast Remembrance Day. A plane crashes in Afghanistan. There were no survivors.
President Trump released his Middle East peace plan, giving Israel most of what it wants and requiring concessions Palestinians will likely reject. U.S. budget deficit to reach $1 trillion this year, CBO says, as fiscal imbalance continues to widen.
Wednesday, Jan. 29
Thursday, Jan. 30
Jamaica experiences a 7.7 magnitude earthquake. Tremors were said to have been felt in Miami, Fla.
The World Health Organization declares coronavirus outbreak a “public health emergency.”
Portion of the U.S. border wall in California is blown over in high winds, landing in Mexico.
Vanessa Bryant breaks silence about the deaths of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash with seven others on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Boeing reports its first annual loss in more than two decades.
U.S. life expectancy rises as drug fatalities and cancer deaths drop.
Friday, Jan. 31
Coast Guard lieutenant accused of plotting mass attack on politicians and journalists is sentenced to more than 13 years. A loophole in the FDA’s ban on flavored e-cigarettes is helping teenagers to vape with disposable devices. Senate rejects measures to call witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial. Britain officially leaves the EU.
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MASON HILLEL HOSTS HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY SPEAKER Holocaust survivor Alex Hershaft speaks to Mason about life in Nazi-occupied Poland ALEXA TIRONI ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Monday, Jan. 26, marked 75 years since the liberation of the German death camp Auschwitz and is known as Holocaust Remembrance Day. In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day and the meaning behind it, Mason Hillel invited Alex Hershaft, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto, to speak to students about his life and experiences living under Nazi persecution. The event took place in the Ridge, in a very intimate setting. Hershaft sat in a chair at the front of the room, while audience members huddled around him — some students even sat on the floor at his feet, as if he were their grandfather telling a story Hershaft was 5 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. Hershaft, his family and 400,000 other Jews were ordered to move into the Jewish section of Warsaw under the penalty of death. “We became inmates of what is known as the Warsaw ghetto which was a concentration camp meant to hold people until the gas chambers were built,” he explained. While imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto, the Jews watched as walls were built around them, topped with barbed wire. Hershaft spoke of the disease-ridden, overcrowded and hunger-stricken people of the ghetto. It is estimated that 80,000100,000 people died due to poor conditions within the Warsaw ghetto.
was quite predictable … what many people don’t realize is that the Nazi Party was actually elected, by popular vote. Hitler was elected as Chancellor of Germany by popular vote. It was not a revolution; it was not a push. Germans thought that he would finally vindicate them” Hershaft spoke about the beginning of Nazi persecution and attributed their reign of destruction to the people’s inaction. “By 1933 it was too late … Hitler was so predictable, but not enough people were able to protect the civil liberties and religious privileges and that is what made it possible,” he recalled.. “And that’s the lesson, to fight like hell to protect our civil and religious liberties.” Student Involvement employee Tisheika Snow explained that she came to the event to honor the day of remembrance and spoke about the significance of events like this. “I think it’s important because it was 75 years ago, but if you look at today’s climate you see a lot of the same hatred for people, you see a lot of the same energy from people,” she said. She continued, “I feel that if you don’t have events like these people forget that. The Holocaust didn’t happen overnight, it was a years-long process. I feel it is important to remember and take that information and share it, so that we know that we have a responsibility to not let it happen again.”
In late 1942, to escape the Treblinka roundups, Hershaft was smuggled out of the ghetto by his grandparent’s Russian maid. He went to live with his Christian aunt and was soon joined by his parents. Hershaft’s family received fake identity cards and lived in hiding for two and a half years.
Roberto Malta, a Mason graduate with a degree in Global Affairs, heard about the event through Facebook. Malta had never attended an event hosted by Mason Hillel but was interested in listening to the speaker as well as learning more about the organization.
Eventually, Hershaft’s family was separated by the Warsaw uprising. After the Russian liberation in February of 1945, his mother, having been released from a work camp, found Hershaft in a Polish orphanage and the two were reunited. Hershaft’s father never returned.
“His story was different than many you’ll hear, as it was about the ghettos and living undercover as a Catholic in the countryside, before being turned in to an orphanage and being reunited with his mother … it was fascinating, especially as it is not a side of the story we get to hear often,” Malta remarked.
Hershaft told the tumultuous story of his family and surviving the Holocaust saying, “History plays games with our lives.” Hershaft spoke for 30 minutes and then took questions from students When asked about why Holocaust Remembrance Day and the associative phrase “Never Again” are important, Hershaft responded, saying, “It
After the war, Hershaft moved to America and went on to receive his Ph.D. in chemistry. Hershaft is now president of the Farm Animals Rights Movement (FARM) and works to protest the cruel conditions of the meat industry. FARM was the first U.S. organization to promote a vegan lifestyle and animal rights.
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MASON’S PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH CONTINUES General faculty meeting held to discuss new education developments, presidential hiring process LAURA SCUDDER NEWS EDITOR
A general faculty meeting was held on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The meeting, hosted by Interim President Anne Holton and Provost David Wu, provided faculty the opportunity to interact with administration and covered a variety of faculty-related topics.
HB 510, which “Provides that no discretionary exclusion in FOIA shall apply to protect information relating to the amount, date, purpose, and terms of a pledge or donation made to a public institution of higher education.” Delegate Danica Roem has signed on as chief co-patron.
Holton began the event with a quick introduction, discussing the current legislation — in the Virginia House of Delegates regarding higher education.
According to Holton, students part of Mason DREAMers testified in front of members on Wednesday to advocate for HB 1547, which is legislation that allows undocumented students living in Virginia to receive in-state tuition rates.
Delegate David Bulova has introduced
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Faculty Senate Chair Shannon Davis announced a few important upcoming dates related to the presidential search process. On Feb. 7, there will be a search committee meeting and on Feb. 12, there will be a special session to allow faculty and the faculty senate to talk to Rector Tom Davis. The times and locations for these events
have not been announced.
blog post which discussed the First Amendment and academic freedom.
Davis expressed that they hope to announce a new university president before March.
“In many aspects, the scope of academic freedom goes beyond the First Amendment — it extends beyond the speech rights to include the right to determine the curriculum of the classroom, institutional rules and regulations, faculty recruiting decisions, and other academic decision making that protect broader concerns of academic freedom,” Wu wrote toward the end of his post.
The meeting then got into general faculty matters, including plans for growing the university and education. Janette Muir and Oscar Barton went into detail about the accreditation process and the new Quality Enhancement Project (QEP) that Mason will try to implement within the next few years.
Wu then addressed comments from the faculty. American Association of University Professors (AAUP) President Bethany Letiecq commented on how the idea of academic freedom relates to shared governance.
The Office of Student Scholarships, Creative Activities, and Research, more commonly known as OSCAR, began as a QEP. According to Barton, there will be four QEP options for the Mason community to listen to and provide feedback on.
“We have a problem with secrecy and transparency at this university and without knowledge and access to data, we’re stymied and we’ve been stymied by that,” Letiecq said.
From there, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Development Kimberly Eby discussed the results of a faculty satisfaction survey, which had a 63 percent response rate.
She continued “We hope that the Virginia legislature passes its new FOIA bills, but that’s not going to address those gift agreements that still are locked behind closed doors at the
To end the general faculty meeting, Wu led a discussion pertaining to his recent
foundation that preclude our ability to discern whether we have a problem with undue donor influence here or not, which challenges our academic freedom.” She added, “Likewise, the presidential search, up to right now, continues to be categorized as secretive. We still do not know as a faculty whether we will be allowed as a general faculty … our handbook says we must be given opportunities to visit with finalists for the search.” According to Letiecq, Mason faculty were given zero opportunity to engage with presidential candidates in the last presidential search process. “I’m not saying the policy is perfect. It’s not perfect, we still have room for improvement. However, we did make a significant effort to make our gift acceptance process much more transparent,” Wu said. “It’s certainly in our best interest to make that process as transparent as possible. While this process will be implemented going forward, it does not seem that there will be a way to make past gift agreements public.
NEH AWARDS THREE MASON PROFESSORS
Three Mason professors received $235,000 for their research SUDIKSHA KOCHI STAFF WRITER
History professors Michael O’Malley and Matthew Karush were given $175,000 for their project on “Hearing the Americas.” According to Karush, the idea to pursue their project came when two important institutions, the Library of Congress and the University of California Santa Barbara, started digitizing old records into MP3 versions available online. “These huge collections of historical records, dating from the end of the 1890s all the way to 1925, started
to become a huge deal towards the beginning of the 20th century, and historically, they have been really hard to hear because these records might not all be in one place,” Karush said. “Both of us wanted to pursue this project because it really comes out of our research interest. I am really interested in tango music because I have published a lot on Argentina. O’Malley is a historian of the U.S., but he’s also really interested in music,” Karush explained. Art history professor Michele Greet received $60,000 for her project about abstraction in the Andes. She received a fellowship to travel to places like Peru and Bolivia over the course of the year to expand on her research. “The fellowship goes to give me a year
off from teaching, so that I can focus entirely on research,” Greet said. “The way that it works is that it gets sent to the university, and the university pays me my salary during my leave.”
Greet is examining art from the 1950s–1960s in the Andes using the art form abstraction, which is when artists paint without a specific subject matter. According to Greet, the artwork could consist of color, lines and shapes but doesn’t depict people, landscapes or houses.
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The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded three Mason professors a total of $235,000 for two projects in history and art history. The program sponsored by NEH was the Digital Projects for the Public, and through this program the professors received their grants.
“I’m interested in how this art form spread outside of Europe and the United States, but what’s interesting about the way it went to South America in the Andes is that the artists that I’m looking at are saying abstraction already existed there in the period of the Incas and before because they had abstract designs on pottery and textiles,” Greet said. According to Greet, the artists are using painting form of abstraction and relating it to the past. Her research
allows her to look at who these artists were, what kinds of paintings they did, what sources of inspiration they used, where they exhibited and where their international networks were. “My research is mostly archival, which means I have to go to museums and libraries in different places and use their original sources in order to gather information,” Greet said. Greet is hoping to publish a book that features her research. “My two previous books from start to finish took about 10 years, from the research process to the writing process and that does include teaching at the same time,” she said. “I think if I were not teaching, then it would be closer to four or five years.”
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ARE YOU A PROBLEM?
World debut of “What Problem?” performance closes out Artist-In-Residence at the CFA NAYOMI SANTOS ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR
In its second installation, the Center for the Arts’s (CFA) Artist-in-Residence program continues to foster the collaboration between world-renowned artists and Mason community members. “We started the Mason Artist-inResidence program this year, with the goal of increasing the amount of time that the artists are in our community,” said CFA Director of Programming Adrienne Bryant Godwin, “in order to foster opportunities to have truly meaningful exchange between artists and between community members.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE COMPANY
PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE COMPANY
During the week of Jan. 27, the CFA hosted the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company as the year’s first
Artist-in-Residence. Bill T. Jones and members of the company — which was founded in 1982 by Jones and the late Arnie Zane — taught and collaborated with both Mason and Fairfax community members. By conducting masterclasses and workshops, members of the company offered their expertise in the world of dance. Jones is currently the Artistic Director and Choreographer of Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company, and the Artistic Director of New York Live Arts. In addition to the masterclasses, the program also hosted a town hall on Wednesday, Jan. 29, with Jones alongside Mason School of Integrative Studies professor Wendi
N. Manuel-Scott and Franklin Dukes, a mediator with the Institute for Engagement & Negotiation at the University of Virginia in the Historic Town Hall of Fairfax. The program’s town hall portion is one of the unique instances where the community can directly interact with the Artist-in-Residence. In this case, community members discussed their own experiences and thoughts on the concept of identity with Jones, Manuel-Scott and Dukes, while asking some pretty hard questions. After giving a brief biography of the speakers, including herself, ManuelScott gave the room a prompt to think about. “Tell us something about your biography that was particularly meaningful,” she said, “and that was shaped by a myth, a mythology, and how have you evolved from or started to disrupt that mythology in your own biography.” Jones began by talking about growing up in a segregated neighborhood during the civil rights movement, and how the “free love” crusade of the ‘70s influenced him and his community and how that all plays into mythology. When thinking about myths, Jones discussed one statement that is largely mentioned in talks regarding social justice: the Martin Luther King Jr. quote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
“I’m finding more and more these days, I’m saying ‘I don’t know if I believe it,’” he said. “And that’s a really painful thing to say.”
singing — at times from the dancers themselves — attest to the continuous questioning.
Dukes also offered his take on this “myth.” “I think the moral arc of the universe bends the way we make it bend. I think cynicism is complicity and apathy is complicity,” he said.
This was purposeful. According to Janet Wong, the associate artistic D] director of the company, Jones decided to have the town hall to spark even more conversation and thought that went beyond the show.
One prompt that Jones offered dominated the rest of the town hall. “Why should a person care to make a better world?” he asked. Especially when that someone has everything they need, why should they care? And if they don’t, are they the problem?”
“We didn’t want the conversation to begin and end with the performance,” Wong said. “We believe that the piece can trigger and inspire conversations, even before [the audience] sees the show and, hopefully, after they’ve seen it.”
Several community members ranging from high school students to Mason students to residents of the area all took a shot at answering the prompt. Some offered their own ways of contributing to making the world a better place.
Wong also offered some context for the piece and what inspired its creation. At the center is the character Pip, from Herman Melville’s classic “Moby Dick.” Pip, a young Black cabin boy who jumps ship when the whale bumps the boat and is left to drown by his shipmates, is the beginning of the journey that Jones and the dancers take the audience on. Melville’s writing of Pip’s fate plays a pivotal role in the piece. Jones was also inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech as well as the writings of W.E.B. Du Bois, which prompted the title of the piece.
For instance, J. Bouey, a dancer with the company, talked about how important it is to care because we are all connected. “Where you get your money from is connected to the [prison] industrial complex,” Bouey said. We can make direct connections to everyone in this room.” Dance major Carmella Taitt offered a different perspective on why it is essential that we care for each other. “It isn’t the future, but it’s the past,” Taitt said. “That is the reason that we should be motivated to reach freedom for ourselves and for each other.” Finally, one audience member, a veteran named Troy, concluded the town hall with another prompt. “You don’t have to [care], not only do you not have to, it’s okay if you don’t, as long as you’re willing to accept the consequences,” he said. “In the affirmative that [Jones] asked the question, maybe the answer is in the negative: What happens to a society when you don’t [care]?” Though the town hall wasn’t focused on the CFA’s world debut of the show “What Problem?” on Saturday, Feb. 1, the same prompts and issues raised during the night appeared in the performance. The movements of the dancers along with intermittent
The show is essentially divided into three sections. Beginning with one — Jones — then one plus 10 as the company joins Jones and concluding with Jones, the company and 22 Mason and Fairfax community members on stage. In its impactful conclusion, each dancer gave one sentence that describes them, their identity or community. The inclusion of 29 Mason singers also contributed to the sense of community and collaboration that is critical to the piece. Prior to the show, Wong hinted at the question that the piece attempts to answer. “This idea of the ‘we,’” she said, “the pursuit of the ‘we.’ Is there such thing as a ‘we?’” At the end of the 90-minute show, it is up to the audience and individual to decide.
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CULTURE
THE BOOKSHELF
“Meatspace” by Nikesh Shukla
is not just the absurdity of having an identity stolen, but rather the means in which it is stolen. “Kitab #2” utilizes the original Kitab’s online persona and its overwhelming prominence within Kitab’s life as the medium for his goal, hacking and manipulating the persona Kitab has projected into the cyberspace.
Kitab’s life soon becomes seriously skewed as a man with the exact same name as him arrives, claiming to be the “real Kitab” and begs Kitab for help. Soon after, this stranger begins to strategically steal Kitab’s identity and quickly wreaks havoc on his life. What truly makes the plot unique
Most importantly, the novel’s relevance lies within the generation it was born into. In a world where most lives are dominated by the realities they scroll through on Instagram or by the statuses they post on Facebook, “Meatspace” critiques an idea that is universally experienced by the
This forces the original Kitab to pull himself out of his depressive facade of witty tweets and sarcastic Tumblr posts and enter into a world of chaos, as he is forced to deal with not only his namesake, but also his own raw reality of the meatspace altogether.
majority of its readers. Beautifully written, terrifyingly relevant and culturally universal, “Meatspace” is a hilarious social commentary on the dualities between our real and online selves and the profound effects social media can create in both worlds. Kitab’s journey ultimately questions the nature and relevance of physical existence in a world dominated by online personas and false idealism. It’s a satirical and comical exploration into the isolation and loneliness technology can bring us. Through witty dialogue and an incredibly shocking plot twist, “Meatspace” forces its readers to truly examine the future of technology and the profound effect it can impose on modern society.
FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
NIKAYLA KIRCHNER STAFF WRITER
“Meatspace,” the second novel by Indian author Nikesh Shukla, is a comedic masterpiece that simultaneously blends contemporary social commentary with raw wit and dry humor. The book is a critique on the duality between the physical world — the meatspace — and the online world. The novel chronicles the narrative of Kitab Balasubramanyam, a recently-brokenhearted failed Indian writer who finds relief from his melancholic reality within the deceptive bliss of the Internet and the company of his brother, Aziz.
The book portrays a reality that is not too far off from the average person. It’s achingly realistic and overwhelmingly relatable.
CHOSEN PRONOUNS POLICY UPDATE Students share after Chosen Names and Pronouns Policy released last semester IZZ LAMAGDELEINE CONTRIBUTOR
When asked if his chosen name was a nickname, Ohashi answered affirmatively, not wanting to out himself as trans. He was told that they could only put the name he was registered under on the ID and was directed to the registrar’s office, where he was then sent to fill out the Student Preferred First Name Authorization Form, which only changed his name on Blackboard. At the end of last semester, the Chosen Name and Pronouns Policy was updated online. Banner 9, a software update to the system behind Patriot Web, will give users the opportunity to designate the name and pronouns they use. Blackboard is at the forefront of the policy change, as well as other systems that students use often like Mason360, Student Health, Counseling and
Psychological Services and the Office of Disability Services. “It’s not just for one community that needs this access, it’s for a large number of people who want to be able to use a name that better reflects who they are as people, rather than kind of what is on legal documentation,” Associate Director of LGBTQ+ Resources Josh Kinchen said. Transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming students believe that the new policy is a step in the right direction. “I hope that it makes me get deadnamed in class less,” junior Integrative Studies major Cassidy Pollard wrote about the policy’s impact. “That’s definitely a big thing, but on a larger scale, I hope it generally makes it easier for trans and gender non-conforming students to have university systems and class rosters display their real names.” Currently, students cannot change the name on their student IDs. At this time, they are treated as legal identification,
so student’s legal names are put on the IDs, even if, like Ohashi, they have not gone by it for many years. “It’s just uncomfortable because you’re hiding your ID,” freshman Music Technology major Travis Braunfeld said. He had his name changed on both his email and Blackboard accounts, but when trying to do the same for his ID, was told he couldn’t change it. “I am a music student. And I have to swipe into practice rooms, and I’m with people all the time. And it’s like, ‘Don’t look at my name on my ID,’ which is just weird.” Another concern that students have is feeling like they always have to explain their names and pronouns. Several students interviewed for this piece emailed their professors about their name and pronouns, so they don’t have to explain during class. However, that can become an issue if they don’t let the student know that they received the email, or if they don’t have a chance to see it. “I’ve written a lot of emails explaining
stuff, and it’s nice but it never does the job because it makes you feel like you did something wrong,” junior Theater major Jacob Horowitz said. “I messed up because I’m changing my name, I messed up by wanting to be called ‘he/him’ or ‘they/them’ or ‘she/her.’” Braunfeld emails his professors before the semester begins to make sure they know his correct name and pronouns. This semester, he has had issues with them getting back to him. It’s led to situations where he has to tell professors that don’t completely understand his name and pronouns after class.
Braunfeld is also concerned about the timeline of the policy. “I reached out right after enrolling at Mason over the summer in regards to this whole situation and kind of went in circles with people,” said Braunfeld. “I emailed back and forth with several different administrators trying to figure out what I could do and have each time gotten a little bit of, ‘Oh, this is good. We’re moving towards something,’ but nothing has changed since then. So, the fact that it’s another semester and they’re just still saying it is a little bit concerning.”
FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
When Jax Ohashi came to Mason last semester to pursue an MFA for Speculative Design, he went to the Card Office to get an ID. While there, Ohashi was asked if his name was spelled correctly on the ID. He looked down and saw it was his birth name printed — not his chosen one.
CULTURE
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02.03.2020
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FILM WINTER-WARM UP
Mason Film students collaborate and get creative AHMED FARID STAFF WRITER
This year, the event, called Film at Mason Winter-Warm Up, took place on Friday, Jan. 31, in Dewberry Hall. The event saw a large turnout from Mason filmmakers eager to get a chance to put what they learned in class to use and showcase their talent. Aspiring directors, producers, cinematographers, editors and music composers all turned out to see what they could create together. That’s why Taj Kokayi, a sophomore Film major and student ambassador for the Film school, made sure he attended this year’s event. Despite only being a sophomore, he had the chance to direct a project last semester and came to this event to see if he could collaborate again with
other Mason artists. When asked about the Winter-Warm up, Kokayi was excited. “It’s a great time to connect with other film students,” he said. Although only seniors graduating in May are required to make a film, all the students in Film and Video Studies (FAVS) seemed eager to get to work because, as one professor put it, “The best way to learn filmmaking is to be on set!” After getting a chance to socialize with each other and speak with the directors and producers about their senior projects, a number of FAVS professors went on stage to introduce themselves and give students some advice. Afterwards, directors came on to discuss their projects and their vision for the tone, cinematography and music.
The ideas presented by students for their senior projects were as creative as they were diverse, with topics dealing with issues as serious as freedom of expression and human trafficking to comedies and fantasy. For example, one student presented their idea of making a movie about a town where everyone is a clown! Even though students knew of the topics selected by the seniors, many came undecided and wanted to hear from the directors and producers themselves. Moamen Ahmed, a senior in Film and Video Studies, hoped to find a project that inspired him at the event. “We already know what the movies are because we got it in an email, but so far, there is nothing I really like,” he said. While the Film at Mason Winter
Warm-Up is an event generally only attended by film students, the showcase is open to students from all disciplines. Even if you do not intend to work
on any of the projects, seeing all the ideas that fellow Patriots have come up with is awe-inspiring, and you get to do that all while drinking delicious hot chocolate!
FOURTH ESTATE SONJA PHILIPS-THOMAS
At the start of every semester, Mason film students come together to bring their talents to collaborate and make great films.
Faces of Mason
FACES OF MASON delves into the lives of Mason students, faculty, alumni and organizations every week. This week, we take a look at student Mia Brice and organization Muay Thai Club INTERVIEWS BY CAYLA CADE AND MAGGIE ROTH
Student: Mia Brice wanna go, how to budget things and different companies you’re looking at. And I am also rehearsing and doing student choreography pieces. What do you see yourself doing with a BFA in dance?
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIA BRICE
With my BFA, I would love to be in a company for a little bit because my heart really lies in choreographing. And I would love to have my own company and really make a space for dancers that look like me — a true space. I would like for them to be young adults up until however old I feel like going. There’s no age when you can stop dancing because it’s all up to you. I want to start there and as time goes on, I want to open it up and go to a younger demographic. And maybe open up a second company or a youth ensemble for them As a dance major, what is your day like? I obviously dance all day. But with that, I am taking two technique classes a day. And then I take improv classes,
choreography classes. As time goes on, we have dance history. And [my] senior synthesis, that’s when you have the time to really think about your future, your career — where you
What kind of dancing do you have in mind to teach? I would love to teach the classes that I took growing up. So that includes ballet, tap, jazz, African, hip-hop,
some pointe classes in there … And I also want to bring in some flamenco, it seems pretty cool. I think that’s it but I am not closing off anything else. I’m very open to other classes that may pop up or other styles of dance that I may encounter in my future to incorporate that into my center. Did you always want to be a dance major? I knew I always wanted something in the arts. I didn’t really take dance seriously until I was 9. And it sounds weird when I say it because usually some people are like, “I didn’t take dance seriously until I was like 13.” But I knew at a very young age that dancing was what I wanted to do. This was where my heart was. I didn’t know in what area of dance I wanted to be in. But I knew I wanted to dance, I knew I wanted to move. I knew that sitting at a desk, typing on a computer wasn’t my thing. What advice do you have for dance majors/minors or those
who want to dance for fun? My advice is to just do it. The dance world can be really brutal at times and can discredit you. Or make you uncomfortable just for even trying to be yourself because you don’t look like a certain person or a certain dancer. You don’t fit the stereotype. So everything along those physical attributes don’t matter. Just be yourself and continue having that passion. Because there will be times where you feel burnt out but you always have to remind yourself [of] your own reason for doing it. And I can’t answer that for everybody, you have to take the time out to really look at yourself and ask your own self: ‘What am I doing this for? Why am I doing this? Am I doing this for fun or am I doing this because this makes me feel a certain way? And what does it make me feel?’ So, I think everybody should stay true to that and don’t pay attention to what people have to say, unless it’s in a technique class, that’s the only way. But other than that, it doesn’t matter.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GMU MUAY THAI CLUB
Organization: Muay Thai Club
How did you get started with the Muay Thai Club? It was about a year ago now, I had been doing martial arts all my life and I took the MMA class at the RAC. After class, I was talking with one of the other students, Justin Yang, and we realized we both did muay thai.
He was like, ‘We should start our own club,’ and I thought it was a great idea. That’s how the idea got started. We found some other people from the MMA class who were interested, Khoa Pham and Dev Ghosh, and we branched off from there. I think our membership was about 60 or 70
members at the end of last year, so it’s a fast-growing club.
Do a lot of the new members have experience with martial arts?
What makes muay thai special or different from other forms of martial arts?
It’s varied, we get some people that have done taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, boxing and some have done muay thai, but the majority of our members have never done martial arts, never even thrown a punch. We accept everyone, we want you to come join and you don’t need experience, it’s not a requirement. We’re going to teach you how to do muay thai from scratch. The stance, throwing a jab, cross, hook; all of that we teach.
We call it ‘the art of eight limbs.’ We use two fists, two elbows, two knees and two feet. It’s almost like kickboxing but the Thai kick is definitely different from any other martial arts. It takes people a while to learn because it uses the shin area and you use kind of an ax motion. Elbows and knees aren’t something that many other forms of martial arts use, it’s pretty unique to muay thai.
It’s a free club, we don’t charge dues, and we’re completely open. No discrimination is allowed. We accept any Mason student. If you want to learn martial arts, get in shape or learn muay thai, we accept everybody. There’s no judgment.
Do you get to see a lot of improvement in new members? We have some members that have been with us from the very beginning, and you can definitely tell that they’ve made a lot of improvement; they have good technique and good form. It makes me really happy to see students that start out not knowing anything and now they can throw punches and kicks correctly. I can see what they’ve learned. How do you get to incorporate the culture behind muay thai? We try to incorporate a few Thai words. I have everyone line up shoulder to shoulder and we give them a phrase in Thai to learn that translates into “greetings” or “hello”. Sometimes we try to say something about the culture. When I was learning muay thai I learned a lot about the culture of Thailand and of muay thai, how it’s evolved throughout history.
02.03.2020
CULTURE
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Keep friends and stay frugal LEIGH NORMAN STAFF WRITER
“Let’s split it evenly!” Chills go down your spine. You look around the table. One friend ordered an appetizer, drinks and a steak. Another selected the shrimp and
dessert. In front of you: the ransacked free bread basket. But these are your best friends, and you love them. So, you put down your credit card. Sometimes, friends and
frugality are incompatible. They may come from a wealthier background, have a larger disposable income or just like to spend. Outings with them always come at a price. To avoid being awkward, you buy something — even if you don’t truly want it. A coffee, a shirt, a ticket. Anything to not sit at the table with nothing. How can you overcome this difference? Today, we’re going over tips to save your wallet and your friendship. Be Flexible
FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
Suggest more affordable options. You and your friends can still hang out without breaking the bank. Check out a thrift store and try on vintage silks. Find the fun in walking around town or in nature. Cook dinner together at someone’s house. There are plenty of ways to have fun frugally!
Be Selective Turn down a few hangouts. Say yes to the Walmart run, but skip the Coastal Flats brunch. Try not to reject too many invitations, though. If you start to reject everything, you’re going to have plenty of money, but no friends. Be Blunt Tell them what you need. Before you all go to a restaurant, agree to get separate checks. This prevents awkwardness when the check comes out. Even if your friends don’t agree, stay strong. Simply say you’re getting your own check and that’s the end of the conversation. Know the occasion, though. If it’s someone’s birthday and your group always covers the birthday tab, don’t push back. Make these events the exception rather than the rule. Be Honest It may be embarrassing, but necessary.
Your friend may not know you’re trying to save money. All they see is you turning them down. You don’t need to give them bank statements, but you do need to explain you’re being frugal. Stress that you want to hang out, just at a lower price point. If they’re a good friend, they’ll understand. You are more than your wallet. Your friends know this. Fun (and friends) can be frugal. You’re back at the table. It’s a smaller restaurant this time. You and your friends found it on your last excursion around Old Town. Plates cover the table. Appetizers, entrees, desserts — and the free tortilla chip basket. The bags from the consignment boutique surround your scuffed Reeboks and their new Uggs. The waitress comes by. Since you all agreed to separate checks earlier, there are no chills down your spine as you put down your credit card.
HIDDEN HANGOUTS: KRAMERBOOKS & AFTERWORDS CAFE Serving lattes to the literati since 1976 DANA NICKEL CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF
through pages of riveting prose. The back of the restaurant opens up to a dimly lit, full-service restaurant with lots of windows. According to my waiter, Kramerbooks was the first of its kind in Washington, D.C., opening its doors in 1976. The bookstore-to-cafe business model is used by other trendy cafes all over the city today, but none have withstood the test of time like Kramerbooks.
“This place is like DuPont’s version of church,” was the description I got for this shop from a clerk restocking a shelf once I walked in. The interior feels familiar and comfortable, the walls were lined with wood-clad shelves that were fully stocked with all kinds of books, covering all sorts of topics.
According to DuPont residents, the shop is a landmark in its own right. Not only is it known as an excellent meet-up spot for friends and family, but the shop is also frequented by celebrities, artists, authors and politicians. Famous faces like Barack Obama, Toni Morrison, Margaret Chou and Monica Lewinsky have all frequented the shop.
The store was packed with both tourists and DuPont natives, leaning against the shelves and flipping
In addition to the wide variety of guests, Kramerbooks offers many different kinds of entertainment to
go along with your shopping and dinner. Live music rings through the little shop’s interior on Wednesday to Saturday nights, and the store’s late hours make sure everyone can enjoy. A nod to their dedication to customer service can be found in the late 1990s, when Kramerbooks was caught in the middle of a legal battle with Ken Starr over Monica Lewinsky’s book purchases. When the shop wouldn’t hand over her purchases, refusing to compromise their integrity, the ACLU stepped in to help and the shop ultimately won. In addition to having something for everyone, Kramerbooks is accessible for Mason students without their own means of transportation! The shop is a short walk from the Q Street stop on the metro’s Red Line.
FOURTH ESTATE DANA NICKEL
The DuPont neighborhood in Washington, D.C. is home to many colorful works of art, historic buildings and other attractions that are perfect for a fun outing for college students. On one such outing, I stumbled across this little bookstore nestled within the heart of Washington’s DuPont neighborhood. The brightly-lit red neon sign practically shouted the shop’s name at me: “Kramerbooks & Afterwords a Cafe.”
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SPORTS
02.03.2020
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KOBE BRYANT: A LEGACY THAT RISES ABOVE SPORTS CONOR FORREST CONTRIBUTOR
Life is an incredibly fragile commodity. We get lost in the day to day jobs and duties that fill our schedule. We get into our routines and rarely stop to think: What if my time was now? Kobe Bryant was 41 years old. He was an icon, he was in peak physical shape and he just recently won an academy award. He was only getting started on his next chapter when a routine helicopter flight took everything away in an instant. It reminds us all that we’re not made to last forever.
FOURTH ESTATE DOMENIC ALLEGRA
Week 13 of the 2007 NFL season for the Redskins saw a home game against the Buffalo Bills. It was just five days after the death of Sean Taylor. I watched on TV with my family as the Redskins took to the field on their first defensive snap. They only fielded 10 players, leaving the free safety spot, Sean Taylor’s position, empty in his honor. The Redskins went on to lose that game on a last-minute field goal that brought Washington’s losing streak to four straight games.
I remember exactly where I was on Nov. 26, 2007. I was 9 years old and was in the kitchen with my family starting our day when my older brother came in with a very startling look on his face.
closed. You remember the time you got accepted into college or landed your dream job. You remember the times you failed or were heartbroken. Now and then, there are moments in life that make you stop in your tracks.
“Sean Taylor was shot, and he’s in critical condition,” he said.
Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, was home to one of those moments.
As a die-hard Redskins fan, Sean Taylor was my brother and I’s favorite NFL player. He was one of the league’s premier safeties and arguably the most feared defensive weapon in the NFL.
It was a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas, California that claimed the lives of nine people, including former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his 13-yearold daughter Gianna Bryant. The news spread through social media like a wildfire. It seemed to make everything else that day feel like it didn’t matter.
We ran into the family room to turn on the television and see what he was talking about. “How could this happen? What even happened? Why was he in Miami? Is he going to play next week?” These are all the questions that rolled through my head as a 9-year-old boy. I just hoped he would be okay and be able to come back and play football again. He never did. Sean Taylor died on Nov. 27, 2007, at the age of 24, after being shot by an intruder in his home in the suburban village of Palmetto Bay in Miami. There are certain moments in time that you can recall with your eyes
Kobe Bryant became one of the biggest sports icons of the 21st century. His rise to stardom with the Los Angeles Lakers began at the young age of 17. In a career spanning two decades, Bryant brought the city of Los Angeles five NBA Championship titles. His career awards list reads more like a book than a list. Bryant was a 2-time NBA Finals MVP winner, an 18-time NBA All-Star, a 4-time NBA All-Star MVP, and an 11-time All-NBA First Team Award
winner. That’s only to name a few. Beyond the court, Bryant was a figure beloved around the world. His career filled the league with storylines and drama, both on and off the court. Fans of the game saw the highs and lows of winning and losing build Bryant into the player he was. In many ways, however, the world watched Kobe Bryant grow from a boy to a man. At the age of 17, his parents co-signed his first NBA contract with the Lakers. He was just a kid with a dream hoping to take over the City of Los Angeles. He retired with a wife and, at the time, three children, and walked away from the game of basketball as one of the greatest to ever play. Kobe Bryant’s death, however, extends far beyond the world of professional basketball. The nine lives lost in the tragic accident in Calabasas, California, belonged to people who were doing what so many do every single day: bringing their children out to play sports. The human aspect of a celebrity makes the stories of their lives resonate with millions around the world. What Kobe Bryant was known for in 1996 was only a piece of what he
leaves behind him today. Being good at basketball is only a part of his story. Alongside Kobe and Gianna Bryant, 13-year-olds Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester and their parents John and Keri Altobelli and Sarah Chester, as well as their assistant coach Christina Mauser and the pilot Ara Zobayan, all perished in the accident. Being a father was what Bryant prided himself the most in. Being a parent of four daughters was one of his greatest joys. Celebrities in our culture are seen as figures that transcend being human. They are regarded as glamorous, luxurious, attractive and picturesque figures that rise above the horizon of normality. But when the lights on the stage are off, and the final whistle blows on the field or court, athletes and entertainers are more than just celebrities. They are human beings. What the world lost on that helicopter had nothing to do with basketball. Wives lost husbands, and husbands lost wives. Children lost parents, parents lost children and children lost siblings. Each life on board that flight was a story. Each of those stories ended much too soon.
But nothing on the field seemed to matter. The loss off the field was much more significant than any loss the Redskins could suffer on it. Sean Taylor was gone, and his death left behind his girlfriend and his 18-monthold daughter. In such a similar way to Sean Taylor, after the news of Kobe Bryant’s death spread, the world around the NBA began to feel pointless. The world lost a star, and families around the area lost loved ones. Whether it’s a family member, a friend or someone we know, the pain of losing a loved one is something that everyone, at one point, faces. We hope it’s always later rather than sooner. Bryant leaves behind a legacy that will forever be embedded in the NBA and the world of sports. His dominance on the court will stand on a throne of its own. He leaves the world without giving his hall of fame induction speech. He goes without winning another academy award. He leaves behind the game of basketball. Most importantly, he leaves behind his wife of almost 20 years and three daughters. But his dominance on the court, and his passion for being a mentor, teacher and father off the court lives on. It will never, ever be forgotten.
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SPORTS
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02.03.2020
THE PERFECT FIT
Mason men’s volleyball’s Jack Reese shares his journey to the green and gold ROSS SHINBERG STAFF WRITER
the team leader in blocks, totaling 77 in his freshman year and 86 in his sophomore year. In his sophomore season, Reese blocked 1.15 balls per set, ranking second in the EIVA. His career-high for blocks in one game came is 12, which he recorded on March 15, 2019, against Grand Canyon University. “Blocking has always been a natural thing for me,” Reese said.
FOURTH ESTATE DOMENIC ALLEGRA
Additionally, Reese posted the best hitting percentage in the conference during last year’s regular-season (.407), which was an improvement on his .395 hitting percentage from the previous year. On his offensive attacking, Reese said, “I’ve been pretty efficient with that, but obviously there’s still room for improvement. I feel like that has progressively gotten better each year.”
“[In high school somebody] said, ‘Hey, you should come try out and play basketball,’” Reese said. “I ended up trying out for the basketball team. I didn’t make it; I wasn’t any good at basketball. At that point, I had no sport to play.” However, his school also had a varsity volleyball team, and some of the players recruited him to try out. It was not long before Reese discovered volleyball was a perfect match for him.
after that, Reese felt he needed a change. “At that point, I was just looking to come closer to home,” he said. “I was looking at all of the schools in the area. [One thing] about Mason that really stood out to me was the brotherhood here. I really liked the sense of camaraderie on this team.” After spending more than two years with the team, he still feels the same way about it.
“It’s just more of a reminder that I’m doing the right things, and I just need to continue working hard and getting better. The main goal is obviously to win the EIVA Championship and then go on and make a run in the NCAA’s,” Reese said. Reese’s best attribute on the volleyball court is his defensive abilities. In his first two years at Mason, he has been
“My serve is just not there. My serve is probably the weakest part of my game. I’m always trying to work on that,” Reese said. “Nobody is perfect, there’s improvements to be made in every
Reese and the Patriots are off to a good start in 2020 with a 4-3 record through seven games, with a win over No. 9 ranked Pepperdine University and a three sets to zero win over No. 12 ranked University of Southern California. Some marquee matchups still to come include home games against No. 4 Long Beach State on March 21, No. 5 UC Irvine on March 22, and No. 7 Penn State on April 18. This season, the Patriots have a unique motivational factor that the team has not had in 30 years: potential homecourt advantage in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship. From May 7-9, EagleBank Arena will host the two semi-final contests as well as the National Championship game. For Reese, playing in this environment would be a dream come true. “That would be the coolest experience ever,” Reese said. “That is the goal this year, to get into EagleBank and play in front of a home crowd. I really hope we can make that opportunity happen, and I think we have a good chance at it too.”
“This team is like no other team in the country,” Reese said. “Everyone is so close on this team, and we always have each other’s backs no matter what. It’s really a special thing to be a part of because it’s such a close bond and we all really love each other.”
“I came out to volleyball, and it was almost natural to me,” Reese said. “I was almost instantly good at volleyball. Obviously, I had to work at it a lot, but I had a pretty good feel of the game right away. And then I just fell in love with the game and kept pursuing it.”
The now-6-foot-8-inch middle blocker arrived in Fairfax and made an immediate impact on the team. In his first two years in the green and gold, he earned two second-team EIVA honors along with earning two EIVA defensive player of the week awards.
In his senior year of high school, Reese was named First-Team All-League and First-Team All-State at Fox Chapel High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. He spent his first year of college at the University of Hawai’i, where he redshirted the 2017 season. However,
“There’s room for improvement. Second team two years in a row, I’m going for first this year,” Reese said, with a smile. However, he isn’t letting these awards impact his drive to succeed.
FOURTH ESTATE DOMENIC ALLEGRA
One might expect that a 6-foot-5-inch high school freshman would be the starting center on his school’s basketball team. However, for Mason men’s volleyball player Jack Reese, he would end up blocking a different type of ball.
Through the first seven games of the 2020 season, Reese leads the Patriots in blocks (28), hitting percentage (.463), and is fourth on the team in kills (50). However, he realizes that there are improvements that he needs to make in his game to be more well-rounded.
single facet of everybody’s game. I’m always getting in the gym and giving 100 percent every day and trying to get better.”
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SPORTS
02.03.2020
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THE WRITING’S ON THE BALL
Men’s basketball’s walk-on Jack Tempchin awarded full-scholarship NATALIE HEAVREN SPORTS EDITOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF IBRAHIM AHMAD / GIANTKILLER.CO
it turned out one of my trainers knew Coach Simp [Coach Simpkins] and so they were like, ‘Yeah come take a visit.’ I met with Coach [Dave] Paulsen. I met all the coaches, met some of the players and I knew I didn’t want to take any more visits after that, I knew that’s where I wanted to be.”
Jack Tempchin has never once shied away from a challenge. The five foot seven point guard played baseball, soccer and basketball as a child, but chose to pursue basketball because it seemed like more of a challenge. “I just liked the look that people had when I told them I played basketball. They’re kind of like, ‘oh, what else, what else do you do?’” Tempchin said. “I just kind of like the chip on my shoulder playing basketball. When I was on the court like I would hear things in the crowd and it made me want to be better,” he continued. Tempchin’s biggest challenge he faced in basketball was rejection and doubt. His JV coach would not tell him what he could do to play better, but simply told him he was not tall enough. Tempchin used this as motivation to work harder, but it still impacted how he viewed his talents. “When I faced that doubt, it makes you want to quit almost and that made me stronger mentally and then that’s when I pushed harder and like every time I felt some resistance,” Tempchin said. Despite receiving Division II and Division III offers out of high school, Tempchin kept his eyes on the Division I level. He went to the University of
Maryland with the hopes of walking on to the team. After he found out that all of the walk-on spots were filled he started down the road of just being a normal student, unsure of whether or not he wanted to be a practice player for the women’s basketball team. His plans quickly changed after meeting one of the practice players in one of his classes. Tempchin then spent the 2016-2017 season with the team that eventually made the Sweet 16. “The coaches are great, the players are so nice, and it was very casual but it was really nice to be part of the team. It made me realize that I wanted to be on a men’s team and really continue playing so that was a great experience and one I’m glad I took,” he said. While at Maryland, Tempchin began looking for a school to transfer to where he could become a walk-on. With help, he sent out his film, his story and his grades to 100 different schools, sometimes to multiple coaches on a school’s staff. “[Coach Dane Fischer] was one of the ones that responded to say he really liked my film. And that really helped me,” he said. Tempchin continued, “I took a visit,
Head coach Dave Paulsen believes that Tempchin made a positive first impression. “The first workout knew where he was a little overmatched physically, but he just competed and worked so hard and was relentless and always wanting more. And that just always stuck out,” he said.
Tempchin believed was a joke.
that,” Wilson said.
Paulsen then told him to turn the ball over, and Tempchin read the words “full scholarship” written on it.
“So, when Coach gave him that ball that said he had a scholarship we were all happy,” he continued.
Cheers erupted and his teammates surrounded him in a group hug in a video later posted on the team’s social media.
Tempchin initially did not tell anyone about his scholarship, wanting to tell his mom first. He waited until after the game that evening to tell his family.
“My teammates were so excited for me, I was so excited. Just an incredible feeling of emotion and just felt like so supported, it was really nice,” Tempchin said.
He believes his parents had the biggest influence on his basketball career.
When the team found themselves with an extra scholarship spot, Paulsen knew there was one student-athlete he had to give it to. “Nobody is more deserving and sometimes you can’t always do that ... But we had one and a) he’s deserving of it and b) he’s a galvanizing force on our team,” he said. No one except Paulsen, who got the idea for the scholarship reveal while on a run, and the team’s director of basketball operations knew what would be happening at shootaround that day.
He never forgot the challenges he went through prior to coming to Mason, wearing number 21 as a reminder.
“That was a genuine, heartfelt [reaction], they love the kid and respect him,” Paulsen said.
As a high school sophomore, Tempchin made varsity and got the number 21 because it was the smallest jersey they had.
“I think you want to be in a situation where nothing’s given, nothing’s promised. Everything’s earned, but once somebody earns something, they get the recognition,” he continued.
“I just liked that number. I felt like I had something to prove with it. My number used to be 10. And my mom’s was 11 in high school, so I chose 10, but then I found 21. I was like, I have something to prove with this number, and I kind of stuck with it. I was glad it was available when I got here so I could wear it,” he said. The practice before the team’s Jan. 22 matchup against UMass, Tempchin hit a shot that led to his team’s win. Paulsen told him if he could hit the shot again practice would be over.
His teammate AJ Wilson first saw him play was in high school as they are both from the same area. “He’s a really crafty guard. I was impressed with his game, everyone was kind of doubting him because he’s small. I was awfully impressed with how he saw the floor, his IQ was beyond his years,” Wilson said.
Tempchin hit the shot, eight feet behind the three-point line, again.
Wilson, who has known Tempchin for years, said, “It definitely felt good having somebody from back home at school with you. It’s like having a brother going to school with you, it’s a great feeling.”
At shootaround the next day Paulsen handed Tempchin a game ball with his name on it for that shot, something
“We always told Jack if anyone deserves a scholarship it’s you because you work so hard and everything like
“My dad used to take me and my brother to all these games. And my mom is probably the most competitive person I know,” Tempchin said. “I missed so many family events, school events, stuff like that, stuff that you think that your mom wouldn’t let you miss. [But] my mom was the one taking me to a tournament or practice like I couldn’t miss any of that. And she just pushed me really hard and they both just supported me so much, it’s just unbelievable,” he continued. His mom’s birthday was on Jan. 7, so he told her that he had ordered her something and it had just arrived. She was slightly confused when he handed her the basketball until he told her to flip it over. “She was so happy. She told me how proud she was of me and my dad was excited for me … It was nice to share that moment with her,” Tempchin said. Tempchin is incredibly grateful for the scholarship. “I don’t feel like it was my achievement. Thinking about how many times I wanted to quit, whether it’s been friends, family, coaches — they just told me ‘don’t quit.’ There’s always one person that says no and that’s what you want to listen to,” he said. Tempchin continued, “When I was at Maryland one of my best friends Jamal, who passed away a couple years ago, he told me just not to give up and if I thought I was good enough, he thought I was good enough and [to] just keep pushing. So that was somebody who really helped me and I’m just grateful that I had such a great supporting cast that helped me get here.”
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02.03.2020
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KOBE BRYANT’S IMPACT WAS JUST BEGINNING CHRISTINA O’FARRELL STAFF WRITER
I remember being 10 years old and watching Kobe Bryant win an NBA championship in 2010, thinking, “He won again?” I grew up playing basketball, so naturally I fell into the habit of watching NBA games. I wanted to be
able to learn more about the sport I loved so much, and learn more about how to be a great player. I would classify players in my 10-yearold brain as “good,” and I vividly
remember putting Bryant in that category. But he was so much more than good. He was great. Whenever I’d see the yellow and purple jerseys, Kobe Bryant was the only player who came to mind. The Los Angeles Lakers might as well have been called the Los Angeles Kobe Bryants.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA
On Jan. 26, 2020, the sad news that Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi and seven others passed away broke the internet. Social media immediately paused whatever meme trend they were hopping on and began posting in remembrance of Bryant. But what stood out to me the most was that it wasn’t just people involved in the sports world who were honoring Bryant’s memory — it was everyone. Bryant’s impact wasn’t just on the court, but off the court. You don’t have to know anything about basketball or his stats to know who Kobe Bryant was. His spirit resonated with people.
He came from a relatable background with a heroic story of entering professional basketball at only age 17, so immediately he became a favorite to sports fans everywhere. Besides being an all-star on the court, Bryant did so much off the court as well. He tried to create more focus on women’s basketball and put almost all his focus on being a father. He created the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Ca. to try and inspire kids to compete in sports, placing special emphasis on girl’s basketball. Gigi was very much into women’s basketball which pushed Bryant to become a WNBA advocate. In any interview with Bryant, his happy spirit and love for his wife and kids was apparent. At the 2020 Grammys this year, there was a heavy atmosphere because the legend had passed earlier in the day. The stage even lit up with his jersey, further proving just how
important he was not only to the sports world but to the music world and beyond. I was encouraged to see people talking about how they would view life differently after Bryant’s passing. People on social media have been preaching about telling the ones you love that you love them and holding those close to you as close as you can. The “life is so short” motto has really taken center stage after this tragedy. This death has hit harder than any other celebrity’s death in the past few years, which further proves how influential this man really was. I will never forget watching Kobe Bryant win two NBA championships in a row and thinking, “This is how good I want to be when I get older,” and I will never forget his impact, not just on my life and the basketball world, but on the world at large.
NEW YEAR, (MOSTLY) THE SAME SOUTHSIDE ELI KOHN STAFF WRITER
What exactly are these dining refinements? What are the implications of being open 24 hours a day? Are these changes for the better, or ultimately just a different kind of bad? Surely, changes have been made, but maybe they’re just new cogs in the same, rusty machine. The most impactful change made to Southside is certainly being open 24 hours a day. Previously, Ike’s dining hall, of the freshman-only President’s Park, was open 24 hours a day. However, the much busier, much preferred Southside won the popular vote (a literal vote, that is, within the student government), and took [Ike’s]’s role as the only place to eat before your 8 a.m. Saturday shift. Despite having been voted on, is this better or worse for the student body? Freshmen are the main dining hall customers, and freshmen are also the only residents of President’s Park.
So the shift from Ike’s to Southside is certainly a bit of a blow to the freshman population, who are forced to pay $2,200 for a 10-minute walk in the cold if they want food after 11 p.m.
curiously hard to bite into. This really makes you think, because a mere five feet away is a sandwich bar that offers much better, and much more variable options.
Staying open 24 hours isn’t the only change Southside has introduced. One of these other alterations is the amped-up smoothie bar. By adding eight all-new mixes to their selection, Southside has succeeded in offering several great dessert alternatives. This is a huge improvement from their previous four options, of which Green Pineberry seemed to be the only one anyone was interested in (although damn, do we miss Green Pineberry).
Another disappointing change is their new late-night menu. Every single night — cheeseburger sliders, ham and cheese sliders, meatball sliders. And they actually had a “grand opening” for this... The onion rings, mozzarella sticks, chicken nuggets and buffalo wings that students once excitedly waited until 10 o’clock for are now gone.
Something else is that Southside appears to be training a slew of brand new, very enthusiastic chefs, and maybe this means a slew of new, better food will soon be upon us. Now, I say “soon” because better food is not currently upon us. In fact, Southside seems to have actually changed their food for the worse. There’s a stark lack of variety, for one. Meals at the grilled station are routinely nothing more than various sandwiches, with bread that is
Gone too is the delicious macaroni, the caesar salads and a slew of other meals largely favored by students. Why would Southside actively remove the crowd favorites? Just one more mystery of the bizarre management that we could only hope to understand. While most of their changes have been largely disappointing, the fact that Southside is seeking improvement is a good thing in and of itself. As always, Southside’s strengths are complemented by their faults, but again, if it keeps heading in the direction of change, something good will have to come eventually. Right…?
FOURTH ESTATE ALEX TRUSTY
New classes, new professors, new… Southside? Maybe you’ve noticed that Southside dining hall has been advertising “Southside 2020” — improvements they’ve made in the new year, most notably their shift to being open 24/7.
16
OPINION
02.03.2020
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IN THE MARKET POWER DOES NOT ALWAYS WIN JACE WHITE STAFF WRITER
FOURTH ESTATE ALEXANDRIA MCALPINE
In the business world, there are few opponents more formidable than Wall Street banks. They are the proverbial bad guys, and are frequent targets of scorn from politicians and activists critical of capitalism. But, while
capitalism’s opponents continue to decry Wall Street’s invincibility, the capitalist system dealt a sharp blow to the banks that supposedly control it. It came in the form of Robinhood, an online brokerage that offers zero-dollar stock trading. Traditionally, if people wanted to buy or sell stock, t h ey would have to pay a couple of dollars per share to a brokerage firm like Charles Schwab or TD Ameritrade. Those fees add up, and they prevent
ordinary people from taking advantage of the stock market in the same way that professional traders can. As Robinhood approached the 10 million user mark, it was becoming more and more of a threat to the firms that were charging money to trade stocks. With the pressure mounting, their share prices falling and other free online brokerages now peeling away their customers, the established players all switched to commission-free trading within weeks of each other. This major disruption of an industry despised for its power was brought about by a single app. This should give pause to anyone who believes that big businesses have unlimited power to crush their competition. Yes, these massive Wall Street firms controlled billions of dollars and had millions of customers, but like the Sheriff of Nottingham, they too were susceptible to an attack from Robinhood.
Robinhood found that many users preferred a system with zero commissions and fewer features to the traditional brokerage model in which expensive investment tools were provided for a fee. Despite their power, the established brokerages couldn’t impose a business model on their customers that they did not prefer. Robinhood’s story shows us something about the nature of the market. While there are advantages to being a big, established player, a business is always at risk of seeing its customers leave for a competitor. That competitor can be another goliath, or a small start-up with a good idea. For those who see the free market as a system that funnels money from the bottom to the top and exclusively rewards those in power, this story shouldn’t make sense. It shouldn’t make sense that these big companies would allow their entire business model
to be upended by a single newcomer. One app forced multiple firms to give up some of their coveted profits. For those who choose to conceive of banks as storybook villains, I urge you to fully consider the implications of that analogy. Does the bad guy ever win at the end of the story? No. Their size and their hubris only leaves them more vulnerable to those that want to stop them. Robin Hood may be a fictional character, but his namesake in the corporate world perfectly realized his vision. Often, we only hear about economic competition when it closes down a factory or a locally-owned store, but it’s important to remember that the battle of the free market is being waged everywhere. If they’re not careful, even the most powerful companies might find themselves face-to-face with a scrappy new competitor intent on taking away a chunk of their profits.
PERFECT WEATHER IS OVERRATED ALEX MADAJIAN STAFF WRITER
I’m originally from Santa Barbara, a city on the coast of southern California. I was born there and lived there for 20 years. I had a wonderful time there, but I’m glad it’s over. In Santa Barbara, it was 72 degrees all year. It was always sunny. Perfect. Every. Single. Day. There hadn’t been a record of more than half an inch of snow since the ‘70s. It was so sunny and dry, we would only refer to the state outside as “weather” if it wasn’t a perfect day. To me, living with “weather” is a unique concept. Yet I find many of my fellow students can’t stand it. This saddens me more than seasonal depression. I believe people’s judgments on the weather should not be so clouded, and they should enjoy the diversity of weather showered throughout the week. Now, before you thunder away at me and rain on my parade, let me demonstrate why there is no reason
to fear snow-good weather (OK, I promise that was the last dad joke). When we come across a cold, rainy, snowy or weather-y day, it turns a normal day into an adventure. If you wish to see imperfect weather as a bother, by all means, go about your way! But if you wish to see that rainy day become a quest, then hear me out. Instead of putting on your raincoat and umbrella, imagine you are donning your battle robes and shield. When you set out the door, your journey has begun! The world may try to beat you down, but your will is stronger! You shall become unstoppable as you (internally) shout your weather-fighting battle cry: That unnecessary homework assignment will be turned in! I will arrive before my professor’s awkwardly-scheduled office hours end! And my Chick-fil-A will stay dry! Another benefit of weather’s wonderful wildness is it serves as an equalizer to all pedestrians. Be you a freshman or senior, person of color or white, foreign-born or native-born, politically-active or couldn’t care less, the weather affects us all — and we all must deal with it. In this increasingly polarized world, it seems there
are fewer and fewer things we all hold in common. Perhaps the weather has always been the most common condition connecting humanity, and perhaps it will be the last connection we lose. But maybe the most terrific thing about the weather is the simplest: its beauty. Thanks to daring photographers and storm chasers, even some of the most violent and devastating storms have yielded some of the most breathtaking pictures of the awesome power of nature. It almost feels as though the sound of the calming pitter-patter of rain will detangle the anxieties within our minds. Prior to coming to the east coast, I had never seen snow fall. Walking through it, standing on it or just gazing at it fills me with wonder. It’s easy to complain about the weather, but I’ve lived with the sun and beach for a long time, and like nearly all good things, you get disenchanted with it the more you are used to having it. Furthermore, it does nothing for me to hate what I have now and wish for what I used to have. Instead, I encourage you to reorient your mind — and heart — and teach yourself to love what you have been blessed with.
FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
Here’s the honest truth: sunny days are overrated. Days with clouds, rain, snow — and I’ll go so far as to say hail too — make for far better days than just plain sun. Allow me to explain myself.
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02.03.2020
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17
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “YOUR DATA”
DOMINIC PINO OPINION EDITOR
In last week’s issue, Chris KernanSchmidt — opinion editor emeritus, gentleman and scholar — wrote a piece called “The Best Privacy Protection is Common Sense.” He writes about “your data” and “our personal data,” and I’m not sure what he means. It’s not his fault; those terms are used a lot. But they are incredibly sloppy terms that obscure more than they clarify, consequently causing more fear than is necessary. “Your data” is not yours in any meaningful way. It does not belong to you, and you didn’t make it. It is not your property, and tech companies don’t take it from you — no one can take something from you that isn’t yours in the first place. At first glance, the previous paragraph looks absurd, but what’s truly absurd is the idea of “your data.” The data tech companies collect when you use their products is information about you. It’s essentially your demographics combined with a list of your favorite things. Now, that list of
favorite things is massive, and probably includes some things you didn’t even know were your favorite things, but at the end of the day, it’s a list of your favorite things. It’s information about yourself, and you don’t own it. Imagine a world where you do own information about yourself. For instance, in that world everyone would wear the same clothing. Why? Because clothing is an easy way that people convey information about themselves. As I type, I’m wearing a Calgary Flames T-shirt. By walking outside wearing this shirt, people assume, both reasonably and correctly, that the Flames are my favorite NHL team. And just like that I gave away information about myself. The horror! In a world where I owned that information, the knowledge of my favorite hockey team, I would never just give it away for free. If we all wore the same clothing, nobody would be able to gather information from our unique dress, and our information would be safe.
The grocery store would be a very different place in a world where you own information about yourself. If I happened to be in the chip aisle at the same time as you and saw you buying Doritos, I would assume you like Doritos. Oh no! I just stole information from you, and I wasn’t even trying.
since they would then be taking possession of information about you. Alternatively, you could charge them money for the privilege, but then they would own the information and could broadcast it to the world or resell it to others, so the NDA would probably be safer.
Grocery stores would have to revert back to their old model, where you give a clerk your shopping list and he or she grabs those items off the shelves. Except there would be the added twist that the clerk would bring the items back to you in a sealed box and would be contractually obligated to never tell anyone what you bought. In our imaginary world where you own information about yourself, these clerks would be some of the highest-paid members of society, so important is the information they possess.
That world is not only absurd, it’s miserable. Thank goodness we live in this one, where we don’t own information about ourselves, and massive tech companies can sell data to advertisers and make a profit.
Conversations with your friends would be totally different too. You would still talk about your favorite movies and bands, but it might be smart to have them sign non-disclosure agreements
Before the tech companies came along, you didn’t even know you “had” data. They created data by recycling cybertrash. Whenever you use a website, you leave electronic traces of your visit. They’re completely insignificant to you, and when the internet first came to be, they were insignificant to everyone. Then, brilliant entrepreneurs figured out a way to collect that cybertrash and recycle it into something useful: advertising data. That’s why you don’t have to buy a
subscription to Google search. How much would you be willing to pay per month to have more knowledge than you could possibly imagine a few keywords away? $100? $1,000? Fortunately, you don’t need to think about that because Google figured out a way to profitably provide that service to you by collecting information about you that you didn’t know existed. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but Google search is a pretty darn cheap one. Once you realize you don’t own information about yourself, and tech companies are just recyclers of cybertrash, a lot of Chris’ concerns about data vanish. Tech companies aren’t taking something that belongs to you, and there’s no reason to be vigilant and protect electronic scraps that aren’t yours. What we should be concerned about is not the information tech companies collect about us, but rather the impressions we make on the people around us. That’s where we need Chris’ original prescription: common sense.
SANDWICHED BETWEEN POLITICS AND FOOD NUHA ANWAR STAFF WRITER
As I order my sandwich and waffle fries, my thoughts are then overridden with guilt. As someone who advocates for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S., I feel a sense of betrayal that I spent my money at Chick-fil-A, a fast-food chain known for funneling money into organizations known for anti-LGBTQ+ stances. Yet, it was difficult for me to not spend my money on Chick-fil-A: the chicken sandwiches are delicious. This created a debate in my mind: even if I oppose the political stances of Chick-fil-A, should I continue purchasing their chicken sandwiches? In order to understand the conservative Christian values of Chick-fil-A, I
did research on its history and discovered that it was founded by the late S. Truett Cathy in 1946. Cathy identified himself as a devout Southern Baptist and hoped to instill values of Christianity and family in restaurants he established, including Chick-fil-A. The influence of Cathy’s Christianity on the restaurant played a significant role in defining its purpose to “glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted in us.” Chick-fil-A also has a distinguished reputation of being closed on Sundays, another feature that stems from Cathy’s religious beliefs. By closing on Sundays, Cathy encouraged his employees to take the day off to be with family and participate in religious activities. Identifying with their Christian values, Chick-fil-A has donated to religious organizations through the Winshape Foundation founded by Cathy and his wife, Jeanette. Through Winshape, Chick-fil-A has donated to Exodus
International, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Marriage and Family Foundation. These are organizations that have been flagged by American media for supporting conversion therapy, promoting heterosexual-only marriages and obligating applicants to agree to a statement that “condemns LGBTQ+ for living an impure lifestyle.” Many times in the past, I have reconsidered purchasing a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A because of its political positions. However, through my research, I do believe that this fast-food chain has turned over a new leaf. In 2014, Dan Cathy indicated that opposing same-sex marriage was a “mistake” and that the fast-food chain should focus more on customer service rather than politics. Chick-fil-A still became the face of political backlash, and the LGBTQ+ community protested them for funding Christian
charitable organizations with antiLGBTQ+ histories. However, last November, Chick-fil-A announced that they would cease donating to these organizations and instead donate to charities emphasizing on donating to “education, homelessness and hunger.” Chick-fil-A is caught between left-wing politics and right-wing politics. Chickfil-A donated to more left-wing groups such as the YWCA and Southern Poverty Law Center, an action criticized by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee because it was “surrendering to anti-Christan hate groups.” Yet, if Chick-fil-A resumed donating to organizations known for their anti-LGBTQ history, then they would receive backlash from left-wing Americans. I have decided that I will still continue to eat from Chick-fil-A because the chicken sandwich is delicious. We often feel sandwiched between politics and food, but we should be able to separate the two.
FOURTH ESTATE ALEXANDRIA MCALPINE
It’s a Friday afternoon, a few hours before my chemistry exam. I am in Fenwick Library, exhausted from hours of studying the previous night. My stomach starts growling, making me hanker for a delectable treat. I immediately feel myself craving a fried chicken sandwich and head over to the Chick-fil-A in SUB 1.
18
OPINION
02.03.2020
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THE HEDONIST’S CASE FOR READING FICTION JACK HARVEY ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR
A myriad of possible activities are jockeying for your time: Should you stay up-to-date on the Netflix show your friends have been talking about for the past week? Should you learn meal-prep? Learn about the stock market and invest in commission-free trading? There’s an app for that, after all, and time is money.
Then again, how can you even begin with those texts if your life isn’t organized? Maybe pick up that self-help book your favorite YouTuber has been talking about; that’ll finally pull your life out of its never-ending slow, sickening tailspin. I implore you to pause your pursuit of every aforementioned activity. Instead,
FOURTH ESTATE ALEXANDRIA MCALPINE
Oh, and are you a well-rounded individual? Will you ever read all Shakespeare’s plays like you promised you would in high school? If you do that, will there be time to fit in Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”? Realistically, you have about 60 years left, so better get cracking.
by delayed gratification. Be productive in college so you can get into the workforce. Be knowledgeable so you can be competitive in your field and sociable in networking situations. And so on.
pick up a fiction book in a genre that has piqued your interest in the past. Don’t do it because this book is in some way “important” — in fact, I urge you to pick a book with nothing to prove outside of itself. This means no Fyodor Dostoyevski, no “1984,” no “Wuthering Heights” (unless, of course, you find yourself situated such that you might read these solely for
the hedonistic pleasure of doing so and no broader purpose). Absolutely don’t read because you think it’d be impressive to say you’ve read. Reading fiction is a great way to give a big middle finger to those things in your life, big and small, begging for your attention. These things are different for everyone. For me, it’s the
anxiety of professors in a Mason Core class insisting I must absolutely have a physical copy of a textbook that I know we are going to use at most twice, or the feeling that I must key into the 24-hour news cycle that permeates both my job and social media. Why flip the finger? Because the majority of anxieties are characterized
Instead of the long-term end goal progress, when you read fiction, you, via your immediate comfort, are an end unto yourself. The same goal could be achieved by going to Wendys at 2 a.m. by yourself even though you know you shouldn’t, but it would be so much more decadent, so luxurious, to find a quiet spot to read and spend an hour — an hour! On a text of no cultural significance! — with no one to compete with and no deadline. And, who knows — being a hedonist, I could care less — but you might even learn something new and profound about the human condition that only elevated art can make you feel along the way.
“LITTLE WOMEN” MAKES ITS OWN WAY IN THE WORLD SIDONIA CANNON STAFF WRITER
point, even today.
I’m not the only one falling in love with this revived classic. “Little Women” opened Christmas Day and has grossed over $147 million worldwide. The film has 8.2/10 on IMDb and scored 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. So far, “Little Women” has won 62 of its 165 award nominations, and fans are looking forward to the 2020 Oscars to see if writer-director Greta Gerwig will win her nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Florence Pugh, who plays Amy March, is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
Amy perfectly responds to this timeless problem: “The world is hard on ambitious girls.”
Despite this excitement, audiences still wonder if the film deserves more recognition.“What women are allowed into the club of geniuses anyway?” Laurie asks Amy in the film. He has a
Historically, women directors have been left out of major motion picture awards. This year, the nominees for Best Director are all dudes. Notable women left out of the selection are Lorene Scafaria for “Hustlers,” Marielle Heller for “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood,” Lulu Wang for “The Farewell,” Olivia Wilde for “Booksmart,” and of course Greta Gerwig for “Little Women.”
So long as the world is hard on ambitious girls, “Little Women” will be relevant. It has been adapted into many films (the main ones in 1918, 1933, 1949, 1994 and the latest in 2019). Each adaptation reflects the time period in which it was made. For example, according to YouTube movie reviewer Be Kind Rewind, George Cukor’s 1933 adaptation during the Great Depression highlighted the girls’ selflessness when they use the money their Aunt March gives them to support their mother Marmee instead of themselves. In the 1949 adaptation by Mervyn LeRoy, military service was
a much larger theme, which audiences appreciated following World War II. So, what’s so special about the 2019 adaptation? Inspiration. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gerwig said, “As a girl who wanted to be a writer, Jo March was my North Star.” In our current era of anxiety and pressure, it’s nice, even essential, to have someone to look up to.
terrible American accent distracted from the precise flow and rhythm of the movie. All four actresses who played March sisters are not American, though Watson is the only one who can’t quite seem to get the accent down. Can we forgive this minor error and enjoy the film for what it is — an
absolute masterpiece? Of course. Don’t be discouraged by underrepresentation and systemic challenges. Look at Jo, look at Amy, look at Greta Gerwig — that can be you! “Little Women” was created in 1869 and readapted in 2019 for this very purpose. Go make your own way in the world!
This isn’t just an “eat your vegetables” kind of movie either. The acting is superb. Saoirse Ronan as Jo March and Timothée Chalamet as Theodore “Laurie” Laurence — who also worked together in Gerwig’s 2018 film “Lady Bird” — have magical chemistry. During the monumental scene when Jo rejects Laurie’s romantic love, Chalamet expresses such a strong desire to kiss her. At the same time, he’s trying but failing to hold back his pain. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, Chalamet asserts Ronan’s best scene was when Jo had to gather herself after learning that Laurie and her younger sister Amy unexpectedly married. Oh, the heartbreak! On the other hand, Emma Watson’s
PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXNET
“I intend to make my own way in this world,” Jo Marsh boldly proclaims in Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1868 novel “Little Women.” Like Jo, we need to make our own ways in the world. “We” as in women, “we” as in the American society, “we” as young adults transitioning into adulthood. But we aren’t going to have it easy, and “Little Women” reminds us of the need to persevere.
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02.03.2020