The Language Issue

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Say What? November 2012

BUZZSAW

News & Views

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Buzzsaw  presents...

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

EDITORS’ COMMENT

The Language Issue The ability to communicate is inherent to a successful society, and the base of that communication is language. To take away communication, to truly isolate oneself from the ability to interact with others, is near impos-­ sible. The expressions we make, the words we use and the messages we send bring us together. Language can be in the form of words or a body move-­ ment, through technology or in person. It is easy to take the comfort of our own language for granted, something junior Abby Sophir discovered during her semester in Tanzania (Lost in Translation, page 18). From these bar-­ riers however, come out-­of-­the-­box thinking resulting in global communication. This can be through something as complex as international business translation (Around the World in 80 Languages, page 22), learning a second language (Tongue Tied, page 24) or as simple as coming in contact with new regional slang terms (Word Trip, page 21). With language we pass along our stories, our personal and cultural narratives. Yet sometimes these narratives are overused by Hollywood, an idea explored through (Re-­ peat Offenders, page 29) Even the organic food industry uses language to its advantage to market to eager and sometimes naive consumers (Eating Your Words, page 32). Vulgar language has a way of stirring up controversy SDUWLFXODUO\ LQ KLS KRS EXW DV <VDEHO 0DODUN\ Ă€QGV RXW it’s more than the provocative words rappers use but the corporate censorship of provocative ideas (All Rhyme, No Reason, page 30). Words that were once only considered vulgar are being reclaimed by groups as means of em-­ powerment (A Word of Mouth Revolution, page 14). But it goes without saying that language is beautiful; it is cultural and it is personal. The words we string to-­ gether in meaningful ways are then left to others to take in, interpret, make their own and use however they may. It is this give and take in its entirety, that makes the world connected through language, whether it is com-­ mon, physical or foreign. <3 The Editors

BUZZSAW News & Views Upfront Ministry of Cool Prose & Cons Sawdust Design Art Website Haircut Seesaw Production

Meagan McGinnes Kacey Deamer Gena Mangiaratti Carly Sitzer Jenni Zellner Mariana Garces Danielle West Anika Steppe David Lurvey Jenni Zellner Emily Miles Rachael Lewis-­Krisky

Kayla Reopelle Chelsea Hartman Robert S. Hummel Karen Muller Natalie Paonessa Jeff Cohen

Adviser Founders

Abby Bertumen Kelly Burdick Bryan Chambala Sam Costello Thom Denick Cole Louison James Sigman

Buzzsaw is published with support from Campus Progress / Center for American Progress (online at CampusProgress.org). Buzzsaw is also funded by the Ithaca College Student Government Association and the Park School of Communications. Our Press is our press. (Binghamton, NY) Buzzsaw uses student-generated art and photography and royalty-free images. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editorial staff or of Ithaca College. Feedback and contributions should be sent to buzzsawmag@gmail.com. Front & back cover by Anika Steppe Table of Contents image by Anika Steppe Center spread by Evan Spitzer Upfront divider by Emily Miles Ministry of Cool divider by Kennis Ku Prose & Cons divider by Robert S. Hummel Sawdust divider by Karissa Breuer

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News & Views .................................................4 Current events, local news & quasi-­educated opinions.

Upfront .......................................................12 Selected dis-­education of the month.

Ministry.of.Cool ........................................28 Arts, entertainment and other things cooler than us.

Prose & Cons ............................................36 6KRUW ÀFWLRQ SHUVRQDO HVVD\ DQG RWKHU DVVRUWHG OLHV

Sawdust .......................................................43 Threatening the magazine’s credibility since 1856.

BUZZSAWMAG.ORG Our magazine exists to inspire thoughtful debate and open up the channels through which information is shared. Your comments and feedback are all a part of this process. Reach the editors by email at: buzzsawmag@gmail.com

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N Bews UZZSAW & Views

Check out our daily content at:

Compiled by Meagan McGinnes

buzzcuts

There are roughly

6,500

spoken languages today of those ~2,000 languages have<1,000 speakers

At least half of the world’s population is bilingual or plurilingual. - European day of languages

- Infoplease

Longest word in the English language: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

(I½RMXMSR %R SFWGYVI XIVQ VIJIVVMRK XS E PYRK HMWIEWI GEYWIH F] WMPMGE HYWX - vistawide.com

TOP 5: BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

most spoken languages in the world

1. Mandarin Chinese 2. Spanish 3. English 4. Hindi 5. Arabic - Exploredia

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Taki Taki is the language with the fewest words; it only has 340 words. It is an English-based Creole spoken by 120,000 people in Suriname. - vistawide.com

Language that has won the most “Best Foreign Film” Oscars:

Italian with 12.

- vistawide.com

May The Odds Be Ever In Her Favor

Socialist Party candidate Lindsay takes the ballot By Qina Liu

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As one of the found-­ ing mem-­ bers of the socialist and libera-­ tion party, her goal is to spread her 10-­point program, which in-­ cludes end-­ ing the war in Afghani-­ stan as well as bringing all the troops home. She also supports making universal health care, education, jobs and affordable housing constitutional rights. “There’s a reason that we’re kept out of these debates,â€? she said. “Because , Ă€UPO\ EHOLHYH WKDW LI ZH ZHUH JLYHQ those platforms, that if we were on all the major broadcast stations, that if millions of people actually heard that there was a presidential candidate who was calling for the immediate cancellation of all student loan debt, I believe there would be a million more socialists overnight.â€? Sophomore Nick LeClair said Lind-­ say’s platform to cancel student debt really resonated with him. “Just being a student with $45,000 of student debt after this year, that was one of the things that I was al-­ ways focusing on. I wasn’t sure that I could stay in college after this year,â€? he said. Lindsay’s 10-­point program also ex-­ tends to ensure that women can have free, safe and legal abortions; that anti-­immigration laws are abolished; and that same-­sex marriages are a federal right. Lily Weiner, community liaison for IC Feminists, the organization that hosted Lindsay’s speech at the col-­ lege, said although President Obama also supports women reproductive rights and gay rights, Lindsay’s for-­ eign policy of stopping warfare spoke to her. “I was just looking for a candidate with the same sort of values I have about our imperialistic drives in other countries,â€? Weiner said.

Grace Woodward, president of IC Feminists, also said Lindsay’s plat-­ form was more inclusive of her values. “It was pretty exciting to hear a presidential candidate on the ballot coming to talk about issues that we FDUH DERXW VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ DERXW ZRPHQ but also extending to other issues that we care about,â€? Woodward said. Not only does Lindsay question why the mainstream presidential candi-­ dates don’t talk about the environ-­ ment or poverty, but Lindsay also crit-­ icizes how the debates are conducted. ´:KDW ZDV WKH ELJ VWRU\ RI WKH Ă€UVW debate? Was it poverty or skyrocket-­ ing tuition? Health care services being slashed to save local budgets? No. The ELJ VWRU\ DIWHU WKHLU Ă€UVW GHEDWH ZDV their mannerisms, their demeanor. Romney was so lively and aggressive, Obama seemed so down.â€? For Lindsay, running a presidential campaign is about changing social discourse and organizing people to protest for an alternative. “For us, it’s about entering in (presi-­ dential campaigns) in order to expose them,â€? she said. “We’re entering them to let people know that this is a sham , and this is not how we’re getting real change. But the priority for us is to meet people where they’re at. People are thinking about the elections and we’ll talk to them about the elections.â€? ____________________________________ Qina Liu is a senior journalism major who may move to Canada depending on the results of the 2012 elections. Email her at qliu@ithaca.edu.

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News & Views

hile President Barack Obama and GOP presiden-­ tial candidate Mitt Rom-­ ney were preparing for their second debate on Oct. 16 at Hofstra Univer-­ sity, 28-­year-­old Peta Lindsay, the presidential candidate for the socialist and liberation party, was bringing her message and campaign to the lecture halls of Ithaca College. For the past two months she has been campaigning at colleges and high schools in California, Washington and the Southwest as well as the Midwest, New England and New York. Because VKH GRHVQ¡W KDYH PLOOLRQ RU Ă€QDQ-­ cial support from banks or corpora-­ tions to get on the ballot across the US, Lindsay is only on the ballot in 13 states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wis-­ consin. She also has write-­in status in Connecticut. “It’s funny because they say that anybody can be president, but when you actually run for president, you realize how untrue that actually is,â€? Lindsay said. At 28 years old, Lindsay is not con-­ stitutionally viable to be President of the United States; the founding fa-­ thers outlined in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution that the president must be at least 35 years old to qual-­ ify. “They’re saying wait until 18 to vote and wait until you’re 35 to run, but we’re saying, don’t wait to struggle. Struggle now,â€? Lindsay said. With the average age of congres-­ sional members who can call for war at 60 and the average age of soldiers ZKR Ă€JKW DW /LQGVD\ VDLG VKH doesn’t feel represented by the cur-­ rent political system, which closes the presidential debates from third party candidates like herself. In fact, according to a poll by Helium, most Americans don’t feel represented by the American political system. “This president isn’t our president,â€? Lindsay said. “He is the president of this empire. His job is to make sure U.S. capitalism is on top and Afghani-­ stan is the key in controlling an oil rich region.â€?

Rehabilitation Through Reading IC students volunteer with local prisoner literature initiatives By Timothy Bidon

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

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he cell door closes and the solitude begins. By isolating and incarcerating prisoners as a form of punishment, prisoners are effectively removed and mar-­ ginalized from mainstream society. With such an emphasis on punish-­ ment, why would any of us take the time to think about prisoners’ rights? Though they may not be on our minds all the time, some ac-­ tivists in the Ithaca area are initiating pro-­ grams to infuse literature and encourage cre-­ ative writing in the prison set-­ ting. Gary Fine works at the Alternative Li-­ brary in Ana-­ bel Taylor Hall at Cornell University. Fine started a program called Prisoner Express that has been mailing literature to prisoners for over a decade and has evolved to now serve as a forum for prisoners to gain an education. Ac-­ cording to Fine, the program reach-­ es approximately 2,000 prisoners across the country. Though this number changes frequently, it has had a steady growth since 2004. Ironically enough, Fine never had any intention to start the program until he received a letter from a pris-­ oner who thought his library had a program that sent books to prison-­ ers. The prisoner described his ex-­ perience being separated from the world, which inspired Fine to begin mailing books to prisoners. Since then, the program has grown and evolved immensely. Prisoners from all over the country write to the program for a variety of reasons. Prisoner Express prints a number of publications of poetry, essays, artwork and various news updates

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from different prisoners involved with the program. There is also a component to the program that sends out different academic lessons catering to people’s interests, ranging from history lessons about the Vikings to astronomy lessons for science lovers. One of the resources Fine shared was a packet of quotations written by the prisoners, which included both quotes they found inspirational, as well as quotes from the prisoners themselves. Pris-­ oners like James Murphy wrote, “I couldn’t stand not writing. The pen is always ready and waiting it seems, and the paper nev-­ er fails to listen.â€? R. Plyant wrote, “My concrete walls Image by Georgie Morley give me more free-­ dom than the un-­ seen walls which imprison you.â€? Fine went on to explain his belief that these actions and opportunities for prisoners allow them to break down mental boundaries that seal them away from the rest of society. “There’s a lot of hostility among dif-­ ferent groups [in prison] and they read this paper and see that ‘he’s thinking the same thing I am,’â€? he said. Another man attempting to bridge the gap between prisoners and mainstream society is Jurden Alexander, director of the Books Thru Bars program. Books Thru Bars operates out of Ithaca’s Au-­ tumn Leaves used bookstore and sends donated books by prisoner requests to prisons across the northeast. “We get hundreds of letters from peo-­ ple in prisons asking for readings from every journal of reading that you can think of,â€? Alexander said. Though he tries his best to match SULVRQHU¡V VSHFLĂ€F UHTXHVWV $OH[DQGHU said that what he sees most important is that the prisoners have access to reading materials.

“Our main goal is to send people reading material, whether it’s what they request or not,â€? Alexander said. “I think it’s more important that people have something to occupy their time with when they’re incarcerated.â€? Books Thru Bars largely serves a need to a prison population that has little to no money. “Some prisoners have attorneys that can purchase books for them, but most of these guys can’t even afford post stamps,â€? Alexander said. And though these may both seem like simple initiatives, both Fine and Alexander explained Ithaca is unique in that it has two prison literature ini-­ tiatives in one town. In fact, according to Alexander, there are only 25 differ-­ ent groups of this kind throughout the country. What is so unique about Ithaca that allows these programs to Ă RXULVK" While Fine handles the majority of the coordinating as director of Prison-­ er Express, a crucial part of the pro-­ gram’s well being is student involve-­ ments. Alexander echoed the same sentiment, explaining that he has had large student involvement during his time working with Books Thru Bars. Don Austin, Assistant Director of Community Service and Leadership 'HYHORSPHQW DW ,WKDFD &ROOHJH¡V 2IĂ€FH of Student Engagement and Multicul-­ tural Affairs, has worked closely with Fine and Alexander. Austin explained the importance of student involvement with these groups. “We live in a community that has a lot of resources and a lot of interest in areas of social justice,â€? he said. “I feel that if there’s going to be sustainable prisoner education programs, Ithaca is the type of community that is going to support something like that.â€? A number of Ithaca College and Cor-­ nell students have been involved in both these initiatives. Perhaps Ithaca is exemplifying a new way to think about the prison system. _____________________________________ Timothy Bidon is a junior journalism major whose favorite book is If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Email him at tbidon1@ithaca.edu.

Sustainability for Social Justice 0SGEP -XLEGE ]SYXL KVSYTW ½KLX LYRKIV [MXL LIEPXL] JSSH TVSKVEQW

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you digest it, it exits and then it fertilizes,â€? Linares said. “So just that full circle really helps them see how there ac-­ tions now af-­ fect the things later. That’s why we mainly do farming.â€? Two days a week stu-­ dents make up course work they may be struggling with in a more academic setting with access to computers. As a result, this program gives them both work experi-­ ence and academic credit. The Southside Community Center is RQH RI WKH PRVW LQĂ XHQWLDO SURJUDPV in combating hunger in Ithaca. Nag-­ iane Lacka, program manager, said Southside’s main goals are to “be able to feed the most childrenâ€? and to “initi-­ ate healthy food choices and increase the intake of fruit and vegetables for families, not just the children.â€? Educating families about healthy choices and directing them towards affordable, healthy food choices in Ithaca not only feeds children, but also teaches them good habits for the future. To help children eat healthy foods, Southside Community Center pro-­ vides a place for children to come in and grab a meal in a comforting and welcoming environment. For families that may not be able to afford three meals a day, the center serves break-­ fast, lunch and dinner during the summer, and just dinner during the school year. The program serves fresh food and the menu varies depending on what food is in season. Southside works to increase chil-­ dren’s intake of fruits and vegetables through pairing new healthy foods with other food choices kids generally already like and recognize, requiring each child to try their new vegetables before eating the other well-­known food. Lacka said that the program

changed her own views on children’s taste. “Just this past week, our nutrition DQG Ă€WQHVV FRRUGLQDWRU DQG DVVLV-­ tant made a white bean and vegetable soup, and that seemed very adult to me,â€? Lacka said. “It seemed like some-­ thing upper middle class, white adults would eat, and the kids ate it up with-­ out question.â€? Southside serves 57 people for din-­ ner a night during the fall and 60 to 100 for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the summer. These meals are open to everyone, of all ages and races. In addition, Southside’s food pantry sup-­ plies 59 people per month. Southside’s partnership with Gar-­ dens 4 Humanities helps educate the children in addition to feeding them. Every week Gardens 4 Humanities visits Southside where they go out into the garden to learn about food and where it comes from. $FFRUGLQJ WR WKH QRQSURĂ€W RUJDQL]D-­ WLRQ 6KDUH 2XU 6WUHQJWK RQH LQ Ă€YH children live with hunger in the U.S. In Ithaca, the community has responded to this issue by both feeding children and teaching them about healthy, or-­ ganic foods with the goal that they will apply their knowledge to their home life and change the cycle of poor eat-­ ing habits. “It’s both establishing commu-­ nity and making sure that kids are healthy,â€? said Lacka. ____________________________________ Elizabeth Morris is a freshman journal-­ ism major that wishes she had a farm, E-­I-­E-­I-­O! Email her at emorris3@itha-­ ca.edu.

News & Views

merica has a secret. It may be the seventh richest country in the world, but millions of chil-­ dren go hungry, even those in Ithaca, New York. According to citydata.com, 55.6 percent of Ithaca residents were below the poverty level in 2009. The average poverty rate for New York state is 18.2 percent, making Ithaca’s poverty rate about 37 percent higher than the state average. According to the book Breakthrough Communities, children dealing with hunger are more likely to have problems in school, to develop health issues and to drop out of high school. Ithaca community programs, such as the Southside Community Center, Greater Ithaca Activities Center and Youth Farm, all have incorporated programs to counteract hunger in youth, while simultaneously teaching children about sustainable foods. The Youth Farm grows organic foods and sells them at conventional pric-­ es, making food affordable for public schools and other health programs. Most of the food goes to the Ithaca City School District and other after school programs. The Fresh Fruit and Veg-­ etable Snacks Program at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School provides at least one fresh fruit or vegetable snack a day to every child in the school. The Youth Farm program comprises DERXW VWXGHQWV DQG Ă€YH VXSHUYL-­ sors. Students work with seed trays, planting, weeding and harvesting. Youth Farm helps to “provide an envi-­ ronment where people can have hon-­ est conversations and feedback with each other,â€? said Joseph Amsili, Youth Farm program coordinator. Students also get paid through the Youth Em-­ ployment Agency, this often being WKHLU Ă€UVW ZRUN H[SHULHQFH GIAC provides teenagers with valu-­ able work experience while teaching them about healthy foods. Ithaca Col-­ lege junior Elly Linares started volun-­ teering with GIAC in 2011, and now helps run programs that take high schools students struggling in the tra-­ ditional academic setting and teaches them about farming. “They get to see how you plant the seed, the seed grows into a vegetable, you eat the vegetable,

Photo by Elizabeth Morris

By Elizabeth Morris

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A Major Misunderstanding

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Photos by Katie Currier

By Ryan Butler

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

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So what do you plan on doing with that? Is it like camping for the rest of your life?â€? This is a common reaction I get when I tell people I am an Outdoor Adventure Leadership major. There is an assumption made by many as soon as they hear it: we make Ă€UHV JR FDPSLQJ DQG VKDUH VSRRN\ stories — all the while paying $50 grand a year for it. What people don’t know is that this is a growing collegiate program gaining popular-­ ity across the country. And yes we do go camping, but it is the world of things that we do through these outdoor experiences that shape our learning experiences. Throughout WKH Ă€UVW FRXSOH RI \HDUV ZH WDNH classes in establishing programs, communicating with small groups, being in an administrative position, and learning the history and phi-­ losophies about the outdoors. Then comes junior year: Immersion. This is the OAL semester where about 10 students and two instructors head out into the beautiful western U.S. for an 18 credit, four month semes-­ ter. This past spring we spent three weeks sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands, took a white water rafting guide course, a Wilderness First Re-­

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sponder course, a Leave No Trace Mas-­ ter Educator course during 10 days of rock climbing and three weeks moun-­ taineering in the North Cascades Na-­ tional Park — all of this in Washington state. We do extensive leadership train-­ ing; we evaluate our own group dynam-­ ic and learn to teach; and most of all we learn about ourselves. Will Holets, 2012 OAL grad, said tent groups are a microcosm of soci-­ ety. That rings true in every experience that Immersion has to offer. During the backpacking trip, the members of a tent group split up group gear such as stoves, fuel for the stoves and tent pieces. Without the person carrying the stove, the person carrying the fuel would be useless. Someone else carries breakfast; one carries lunch items; the other carries dinner. Without this co-­ hesive effort and these equal contribu-­ tions, the group would not survive. OAL creates a group of passion-­ ate individuals who take that passion into any career they may follow. Some people take this major into the health Ă€HOGV VRPH LQWR SROLWLFV DQG RWKHUV into education. It has become diverse and applicable to all interests. We leave Immersion with a strengthened passion IRU WKH RXWGRRUV DQG RXU VSHFLĂ€F DUHDV of focus. Chris Pelchat is the brain behind Im-­

mersion and our entire curriculum. He came into this program when it wasn’t much and made it one of the top programs in the country. He has taken Immersion to Florida and Utah, and then brought it to its lon-­ gest known home: the beautiful state of Washington. Chris’s progress of Immersion and the OAL program has become tougher as Ithaca College gave him less and less room to ma-­ neuver. There was even an attempt in fall of 2011 to move the Immersion semester to the Adirondack Moun-­ tains, which caused an uprising of OAL students to demonstrate their passion and prove to the administra-­ tion why we need this semester in a far-­away, challenging place. Chris stood up to many challenges over the years, but when a recent job offer at Stanford University’s outdoor educa-­ tion program came about, he couldn’t refuse. There was an email sent out to the entire Recreation and Leisure Stud-­ ies department on Tuesday, Septem-­ ber 25th. I remember seeing it on my phone. I stopped in my tracks and I froze. It just didn’t seem real that Chris, who has done so much for this school, was leaving in a week. I was frazzled for the next two hours, counting down until I was able to go talk to him; but once that time came, I could feel nothing but happiness for him. He was given the position of Di-­ rector of Outdoor Education at Stan-­ ford University, he was in a position where money didn’t matter and the school wanted him to do whatever he dreamed of doing — something IC always had a hard time with. Immersion will continue on and the program will continue to grow. This coming semester, Patrick Lewis, the newest faculty member of the RLS De-­ partment, will be leading Immersion all over the western United States. “It gets into teaching through activities, not about them. For me that was a breakthrough,â€? Lewis said. He will be working with his previous employer, Colorado Outward Bound, travelling from Colorado to California and Utah while doing a wide variety of activities including rock climbing, canyoneer-­

ing and white water rafting. Lewis is excited for Immersion, but the creator of the program will be missed. Chris has been a teacher and advi-­ sor to me since day one of freshman year, but it wasn’t until fall of junior year when everything got exciting. Fast forward to February of 2012. Chris and a few other OAL majors were at the Wilderness Education As-­ sociation conference in Colorado, and it was the day to leave for Seattle. Stepping off the plane felt monumen-­ tal, and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Immersion, this “thingâ€? Chris created, turned into one of the most incredible experiences of my life. What an amazing evening we had on Clarke Island. After a long day and the earliest wake up of the trip, we arrived on this island before noon, and everyone was in need of a nap. We had the entire afternoon to relax and explore this tiny island. We had class that afternoon as well, which was a discussion about the book we were reading called The Wisdom of The Wilderness. My tent group and I were eating dinner on the beach, sun setting behind us making Mount Bak-­ er, the awe inspiring volcano on the main land, light up in orange and red. We were sitting in silence because we were all embracing this memory. That was a perfect moment. Well I thought it was perfect, but then we heard someone screaming and jump-­ ing. “WHALES! WHALES! WHALES!â€? they yelled. I looked out over the wa-­ ter and there they were. There was

the beautiful sight of black arcs skimming the surface of the water and seeing the blow of mist. Orcas aren’t typically around so early in the season, but there they were for us. Everyone stopped what they were doing, stood in silence and just watched. He left on October 3rd, right after our class. The same class he had with all of us from his very last IC Immersion, and now his very last class at IC. It was such a strange time because we all knew class would be leading to a goodbye. We had the usual discussions, but then it was 6:30 p.m. and time for us to part ways. This goodbye was similar to the Ryan Butler and Chris Pelchat rockgoodbyes at the airport climbing on Immersion. when we all left Immer-­ sion. We had just spent so much time together that VNLOOV +H KDV OHIW D VLJQLĂ€FDQW LPSUHV-­ we almost expected to see each other sion on me, and I know that I’ll have again in a day or two, but this was it. the opportunity to work with him We stood out in the hall, and we gath-­ again. For all you’ve done Chris, for ered around and took turns exchang-­ all of us, I thank you. ing hugs. “Thank you Chris, for every-­ ___________________________________ thing. Thank you so much.â€? That was Ryan Butler is a senior OAL major who all I could really get out at the time. OLNHV Ă DQQHO )ULGD\V ZKDOHV DQG WKH Chris became more than a teacher beautiful state of Washington. Email to us. As he said, we became a family. him at rbutler1@ithaca.edu. He taught us so many things during that immersion semester and it didn’t stop there. Chris has taught me hard technical skills, and innumerable life

Q&A with Chris Pelchat

Q

What has been your favorite part of Immersion as a whole?

A

Q

Why did you originally get involved with this ½IPH SJ WXYH]#

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Originally my being drawn towards Outdoor Adventure Leadership was, I wanted to do something contrary to the societal norm. Just having to submit my life to working in a cubical on a computer was just something that I was not interested in

Q

OAL is sometimes a misunderstood major for students outside of the department. What would you say to try to clear the air of confusion about the program for these students?

A

The things that you learn outside are how to manage people, how to manage yourself. A lot of self-awareness is gleamed from being pushed really hard to physical limits, menXEP PMQMXW [MXL [IEXLIV ERH PMZMRK MR GSR½RIH IRZMVSRQIRXW =SY learn teamwork and collaboration, how to deal with defeat when you have set personal goals and they don’t happen; how do you take that and then move forward.

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News & Views

I think it’s the relationships. When you are teaching academic courses in the fashion that we do on Immersion, you develop much deeper relationships with your students. It almost becomes family. And I have a hard time teaching in environments where it’s not like that anymore. So like when I come back to Ithaca after being on Immersion and I have 30 kids in a classroom and I don’t really get a chance to make any real connections and it’s frustrating and I don’t get a lot of enjoyment out of that anymore.

doing. And this provided me the outlet to just break those boundaries and just pursue something that I’m passionate about, and that is still exciting and energizing at the same time.

Share the Wealth

7TVIEHMRK 1V 4EVO´W TLMPERXLVSTMG QIWWEKI MR E HMJJIVIRX [E] By Jennifer Barish

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

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was initially attracted to Ithaca College because of the Park Schol-­ ar Program; it had the potential to FKDQJH P\ HQWLUH Ă€QDQFLDO IXWXUH DQG I connected with the program’s initia-­ tive “to use the power of mass com-­ munication to make a positive impact on the world.â€? I didn’t make the cut as a fresh-­ man, and when I was FKRVHQ DV D Ă€QDOLVW for the Rising Junior award last spring, I stumbled through the interview and wasn’t shocked when I re-­ ceived a polite rejec-­ tion letter. This piece is not an attack on the Park Scholar Program drenched in my own sour grapes — but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dis-­ appointed. But now, I have an op-­ portunity to see the program from another perspective and voice two years of frustration from my peers and faculty alike. The Park Scholar Program offers approximately 14 incoming freshman and three to four rising juniors in the Park School of Communications a full ride. Fully endowed by the Park Foun-­ dation, the scholarship is completely merit-­based. Scholars receive room, board, a computer stipend and access to distinguished speakers all on me-­ dia philanthropist, Roy H. Park’s tab. Granted, these students are commit-­ ted to “engaging critically, acting glob-­ ally and performing ethically.â€? They also maintain a 3.5 GPA and are often campus leaders. The program is elusive to many non-­

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Park students, and many Park Schol-­ DUV VHHP WR KLGH DOO VLJQV RI DIĂ€OLDWLRQ I am not criticizing them for remaining humble about their $200,000 scholar-­ ships. I actually applaud them. But I think their silence symbolizes an even greater issue. If I had received the award last spring, I, too, would have remained silent; and I wouldn’t be able to look equally high achieving stu-­ dents in the eye and know that someone had decided I was “worthâ€? a small fortune more. Investing so much on so few does not seem prag-­ matic, and quite frankly, I believe that the current model for the Park Scholar 3URJUDP QR ORQJHU Ă€WV ZLWKLQ the college’s philosophical framework. I’ve been a communication stu-­ dent long enough to know that in some part, these large endowments are part of the college’s marketing ef-­ fort. Generous scholarships attract the best students. When a school is deemed prestigious, then enrollment increases, bills are paid and everyone is happy. However, there is still a way to sustain this effective marketing ef-­ fort, strengthen the impact of the mis-­ sion statement and give more equally GHVHUYLQJ VWXGHQWV Ă€QDQFLDO VXSSRUW I strongly believe that a full ride is no longer a sustainable investment. Especially for the Park Scholar Pro-­ gram, extending the award to more students would broaden the impact of their mission. Even if two students shared the sum of each scholar’s $50,000 yearly award, there would be approximately seven more students

whose lives would be dramatically affected. The program may lose the prestige of offering an exclusive “full ride,â€? but with more scholars doing more service and affecting more com-­ munities, the Park Scholar mission would magnify. A larger scholar class would reach more communities, while making more of a global impact. With an an-­ nual $25,000 scholarship, scholars would have the means to invest in others. This viewpoint may seem too utilitarian for some, but the idea is in step with not only the individual pro-­ gram, but ideologies supported by the college. In their community outreach mission statement, IC encourages students to “share the responsibili-­ ties of citizenship and service in the global community.â€? With a new model in which more Park Scholars receive less, the program could not only ex-­ pand volunteer efforts, but stand PRUH Ă€UPO\ E\ WKH FROOHJH¡ V PLVVLRQ and even support IC 20/20’s empha-­ sis on civic engagement. I felt that it was time to talk, but I don’t blame the Park Scholar stu-­ dents for their silence. The program has wonderful intentions to support civically-­minded, student media mak-­ ers; but I challenge the Park Scholar Program and the Park Foundation to restructure and reevaluate their cur-­ rent model in order to heighten their impact on students at IC and the com-­ munities that they are bound to affect. I’m pretty sure Roy H. Park would applaud the effort. ____________________________________ Jennifer Barish is a junior CMD major who doesn’t like sour grapes, but does enjoy a glass of sweet wine. Email her at jbarish1@ithaca.edu.

Buzzsaw Takes A Bite...

SJ -XLEGE´W WERH[MGL STXMSRW By Kait Hulbert

(DW ,Q &ROOHJH 7RZQ %DJHOV Though a fair majority of Ithaca eateries serve a sand-­ wich or two, CTB is one of the few conveniently located, au-­ thentic, deli-­style restaurants in Ithaca. With three locations (one in Collegetown, one on East Hill and one just off the Commons), nearly every Itha-­ can is located near one. Unfor-­ tunately, they don’t deliver; but the Aurora Street CTB is a two-­ minute walk from the Seneca Street TCAT stop and parking garage. They also offer a carry out option. CTB offers a variety of freshly prepared soups, salads and entrees in addition to their di-­ verse selection of sandwiches. Fan favorites include the Pesto Pizza Bagel, with any number of meat/vegetable toppings; the Chicken Melt (homemade chicken salad, tomato and cheese, served open-­faced on a bagel); and the Cayuga Crois-­ sant (avocado, tomato, mush-­

rooms, sprouts and parsley-­ garlic dressing on a croissant). The menu has numerous veg-­ etarian, vegan and gluten free options. In all, they have over one hundred combinations of bagel, specialty and deli-­style sandwiches available for pur-­ chase — including 16 breakfast sandwiches available all day. The Aurora Street restaurant is open daily from 6:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Sunday-­Wednesday, and until 10:00 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Like most deli style restau-­ rants, CTB doesn’t offer waiter VHUYLFH RU D UHĂ€QHG WDVWHIXO atmosphere. It’s probably not WKH SODFH IRU D Ă€UVW GDWH RU D business meeting, but great for dinner with friends or a casual parents-­weekend lunch. It may take a little more ef-­ fort to get to than delivery, but in my opinion, it’s well worth the $2.00 parking fee.

8QFRQYHQWLDO 7KH 0DWH )DFWRU doesn’t provide waiter service. But be warned: as good as the food is, it’s hardly conve-­ nient. Though it’s not actu-­ DOO\ GLIĂ€FXOW WR JHW WR WKH 0DWH Factor is not the easiest place to eat. For one, it seems to be run by people who think it’s perfectly acceptable to charge upwards of nine dollars for a sandwich. They also don’t serve traditional “sandwich ac-­ companyingâ€? drinks, like Coke or Pepsi. The schedule is so odd it almost seems arbitrary. They are closed every Friday afternoon and all day Satur-­ day. Other than that, whether they are or aren’t open is es-­ sentially a guessing game. The upside though, is that if you happen to guess correctly, you’ll be in for a one-­of-­a-­kind cultural experience and some incredible food.

:DIĂ H )UROLF LV DOVR QRW D GHOL in fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if the majority of its patron-­ age don’t realize it sells sand-­ wiches. Mostly, that would be because they don’t sell the type of sandwiches that most people think about. For one, they sell eight distinct varieties of grilled cheese, including a particularly delicious Black Forest Ham and Maple Mustard edition. They also sell turkey burgers and hot dogs. And most importantly, they sell ice cream sandwiches. 7KH :DIĂ H %DU¡V YHUVLRQ RI an ice cream sandwich involves two scoops of Purity ice cream sandwiched in-­between two ZDIĂ HV FRYHUHG LQ KRW IXGJH caramel and whipped cream. $Q\ RI :DIĂ H )UROLF¡V DYDLODEOH toppings — all of which are gluten free — can be added or subsisted; the ice cream can be DQ\ RI WKH DYDLODEOH 3XULW\ Ă D-­ YRUV DQG WKH ZDIĂ H EDVH FDQ be their Original Buttermilk,

Hearty Hemp and Buckwheat RU *OXWHQ )UHH 9HJDQ :DIĂ H $ IHZ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQV FDQ DOORZ for the entire sandwich to be vegan, as well. :DIĂ H )UROLF LV DQRWKHU RI the Commons’ best restau-­ rants, located across from the Mate Factor, just past the Bank of America. It’s a quick walk from a parking garage or the Seneca Street TCAT stop, and is well worth any effort it takes to get there — and the cost of the sandwich. 7KDW VDLG :DIĂ H )UROLF GRHV charge considerably more for a sandwich than one might deem reasonable. A grilled cheese costs six dollars, a turkey burger costs eight. An ice cream sandwich costs just about nine. But unlike an overpriced deli, there’s no other place in Ithaca like :DIĂ H )UROLF )RU WKDW ,¡P willing to pay a little more.

6KRUWVWRS 'HOL Voted “Best Sandwichâ€? by the Ithaca Journal and the Ithaca Times, the Shortstop Deli is no question one of the best delis in Ithaca. Located on Seneca Street just past the Commons, Shortstop is a short walk from the TCAT stop and an easy drive from IC’s campus. The deli has been an Itha-­ ca staple since its opening in 1978, serving over 20 fully customizable sandwiches and pizzas at both their Seneca Street Deli and the Cornell Hot Food Truck. They claim to have pioneered the toasted sub in 1960, serve their sandwiches on bread baked in-­house daily and in the over 30 years they’ve been open, they have never once closed their doors. Both the Deli and the Hot Truck are open 24 hours a day, sev-­ en days a week and 365 days a year. Since they opened, the deli has been serving custom-­

ers for over 12,007 consecu-­ tive days and over 288,169 consecutive hours. Each sub costs somewhere between $3.95 and $15.95, depending on the type and size desired. Subs come in “single,â€? “doubleâ€? and “grand slamâ€? sizes, serving one, two and three people, respective-­ ly. A single Veggie Sub costs just under $4, and a grand slam sized turkey costs $10.95. They don’t deliver, but they do offer a carryout option and limited seating inside. Like most of the previous lo-­ cales, Shortstop is a causal eatery meant for eating at any time of the day. The sandwiches are reasonably priced absolutely delicious and well worth any trouble you might have getting there.

11

News & Views

The Mate Factor is not a deli. It’s a Juice Bar and Cafe on the Commons, owned and operated by a religious group famous for practicing a twice-­removed cousin of Judaism. It is not a place that I would go looking for a great sandwich; but against all common judgment, the Mate Factor’s sandwiches are some of the best in Ithaca. They don’t offer a large vari-­ HW\ Âł XVXDOO\ Ă€YH VDQGZLFKHV DQG Ă€YH ZUDSV Âł EXW ZKDW WKH\ do serve is genuinely tasty. They cover quite a few bases: grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, turkey, vegetarian and Greek-­ style among others. Each sand-­ wich comes with house-­made kettle chips or coleslaw and a pickle. Each is shockingly good. The restaurant itself is as unique as you’d expect. Near-­ ly all the furniture is carved and polished wood, accented by “country kitchenâ€? style dĂŠ-­ cor. Like CTB, the Mate Factor

'HVVHUW :DIĂ H )UROLF

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue Issue

PFRONT. UPFRONT. UPFRON

12

Image by Kennis Ku

All (wo)men are created equal ,S[ VLIXSVMG VIžIGXW TSPMXMGMERW´ EXXMXYHIW EFSYX [SQIR By Bronwyn Bishop

A

izing f a s h -­ ion. In 1990, Texas gubernatorial nomi-­ nee Clayton Wil-­ liams compared the foggy weather dur-­ ing a cattle

roundup to a rape: “If it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it.â€? Williams’ comment was met with widespread condemnation. He lost and never ran IRU SXEOLF RIĂ€FH DJDLQ But today, Akin is still in the run-­ ning for Senate and Mourdock is still supported by presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Politicians have made so many of-­ fensive comments about women with-­ in the past few years that keeping track of them all can seem daunting. According to the Daily Beast, Wiscon-­ sin State Senator Glenn Grothman showed his support for Governor Scott Walker’s decision to repeal the state’s equal pay law with the comment, “You could argue that money is more im-­ portant for men. I think a guy in their Ă€UVW MRE PD\EH EHFDXVH WKH\ H[SHFW to be a breadwinner someday, may be a little more money-­conscious.â€? According to the Alaska-­based blog 7KH 0XGĂ DWV $ODVND 6WDWH 5HSUH-­ sentative Alan Dick said in a House Health and Social Services Committee hearing this March, “If I thought that the man’s signature was required ... in order for a woman to have an abor-­ tion, I’d have a little more peace about it.â€? This year, Wisconsin State Rep-­ r e s e n t a -­ tive Don Pridemore c o -­ s p o n -­ sored a bill designed to enforce the idea that sin-­ gle parent-­ hood leads to child abuse. According to Today’s TMJ4, a local news source for Milwaukee, Pride-­ more advised female victims of spousal abuse is to “get back to why they got mar-­ ULHG LQ WKH Ă€UVW SODFHÂľ instead of seeking a divorce.

These politicians, these men who will never understand the female ex-­ perience, are the ones who mandate forced pre-­abortion ultrasounds. They put into action policies that seem to make sure that as many women as possible get pregnant and stay preg-­ nant, and then they cut funding from assistance programs for low-­income pregnant women and young children. They talk about women, who make up 51 percent of the population, as if they are childlike and need male guidance. These men insist that they have wom-­ en’s best interests at heart and then come out with blatantly sexist state-­ ments that make their real feelings clear. This parade of hypocrisy was on display during the second presidential debate, in which Romney detailed the LPSRUWDQFH RI Ă H[LEOH VFKHGXOHV IRU women so they can make it home in time to cook dinner for their children. If women in America want to keep our basic civil rights, we need to lis-­ ten to what these men say and vote accordingly. No one who disregards the seriousness of rape or proudly declares that he values zygotes over women’s lives should hold public of-­ Ă€FH When deciding who to vote for in the national, statewide, and local elections, think about how each can-­ didate talks about women. Does he constantly link them with families and children? Does he seem to regard pregnant women as secondary in im-­ portance to the fetuses they carry? Does he praise women as virtuous and peaceful while simultaneously condemning women who do not com-­ ply with his ideals? If so, his actions in RIĂ€FH ZLOO UHĂ HFW WKLV Women need to vote for politicians who represent us as their equals. We need to get to the point where state-­ ments like Todd Akin’s or Richard Mourdock’s are seen as laughable ex-­ amples of backward thinking from the past. _____________________________________ Bronwyn Bishop is a freshman TV-­R major who doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry about some politicians’ backward thinking. Email her at bbishop1@ithaca.edu.

Upfront

s the presidential election of 2012 approaches, women’s rights are being pushed to the foreground of national discussion. Abortion rights are being attacked by state legislatures across the country, and contraception coverage is becom-­ ing harder to come by. We are living in a time when women who eloquently explain why birth control is neces-­ sary are called “slutsâ€? and pregnant women are compared to livestock. It is important to pay attention to the way politicians talk about women, be-­ cause the way they talk is an excellent window into the way they think and the way they will legislate. One of the most prominent ex-­ amples of the political rhetoric that marginalizes women is the comment made by Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, who this August claimed, DV D MXVWLĂ€FDWLRQ IRU RXWODZLQJ DERU-­ tion without exceptions for rape, that “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,â€? a statement which is provably false. This comment was followed by Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock’s declaration in a debate against Democrat J o e Donnelly this Octo-­ ber that “even when life b e -­ gins in that horrible situation of rape ‌ it is something God intended to hap-­ pen.â€? Akin and Mourdock DUHQ¡W WKH Ă€UVW politicians to discuss violence against women in a careless and trivial-­

Image by Kieu Anh Truong

13

A Word of Mouth Revolution ,EW VIGPEMQMRK HIQIERMRK [SVHW FIGSQI E TEVX SJ JIQMRMWQ#

Photo by Zachary Anderson

By Kaley Belval

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue Issue

I

n January 2011, SlutWalk To-­ ronto was established in response WR D SROLFH RIĂ€FHU¡V FRPPHQW WKDW “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.â€? Since then, women and men across the world have marched in support of all people who are victimized, slut-­ shamed or abused. As part of the movement, people have reclaimed the word “slutâ€? by dressing provocatively and promot-­ LQJ VH[XDO FRQĂ€GHQFH 0DQ\ SHRSOH have taken issue with the movement, however, because the word “slutâ€? is GHĂ€QHG DV ´DQ LPPRUDO RU GLVVROXWH woman; prostitute.â€? Slut is not the only word that re-­ ceives this range of strong opinions on its use. The word “bitch,â€? which is GHĂ€QHG DV D ´IHPDOH GRJ Âľ LV XVHG WR describe disagreeable women. Some people think that these words, as well as others, are acceptable to use in ev-­

14

eryday life and should be reclaimed as symbols of empowerment. Others Ă€QG WKH ZRUGV GHURJDWRU\ DQG LQDS-­ propriate, no matter the context in which they are used. Grace Woodward, president of Itha-­ ca College Feminists, strongly dis-­ agrees with the use of this language. 6KH Ă€UVW VWDUWHG UHWKLQNLQJ WKH XVH of the word “bitchâ€? when she took a course about women’s lives. “I couldn’t think of the male equiva-­ lent of the word,â€? Woodward said. “I also felt that it perpetuated this idea that if women are ever anything be-­ sides happy or submissive or pleas-­ ant, that it’s wrong.â€? Woodward said she used to use the word “slut,â€? but within the past year has made a conscious effort not to use any language that would offend people. Woodward thinks that words of this type are hurtful and not usu-­ ally taken in a positive light.

“I think that women face a lot of shame for a lot of things and they just don’t need another thing to be upset about,â€? she said. Woodward believes reclaiming words like “bitchâ€? or “slutâ€? doesn’t work because of the cultural mean-­ ing placed behind them. She said that although some people may think of a word as empowering, others do not see it in the same context and there-­ fore any word that is considered of-­ fensive should not be used at all. She said the use of these words comes from a societal discomfort with women who step outside their gender norms, especially in terms of sexual activity. “That these derogatory words are so accepted and that people actually try to debate the use of them I think shows that there just isn’t really enough support for women to be in-­ GHSHQGHQW DQG FRQĂ€GHQW DQG VH[XDO

like “bitchâ€? and “whore,â€? Turkos fully supports people in their decision to reclaim them or not. Turkos said there is a large con-­ nection between our language toward women and the society in which we live, and that as part of a patriarchal and misogynistic society, we perpetu-­ ate a rape culture. “By doing that we say that it’s okay to demoralize women. We say that it’s okay to demean women, whether it be with our body language, whether it’s with violence or whether it’s with our language,â€? Turkos said. She said that because people react to these words differently, you cannot MXVW DVVXPH WKDW HYHU\RQH LV Ă€QH ZLWK their use. For example, they can be a trigger for people who have survived sexual assault or domestic violence. “We really need to be able to seek consent when it comes to anything involving your language, how people choose to speak to each other,â€? Turkos said. “I think it obviously comes from education.â€? Andi Zeisler is the co-­founder and editorial/creative director of Bitch Magazine. She said the idea of call-­ ing her magazine Bitch came from the idea that by speaking out through their magazine, she and co-­founder Lisa Jervis would call themselves “bitchesâ€? and embrace it before any-­ RQH FRXOG FDOO WKHP WKDW Ă€UVW “We were very much inspired by the kind of gay activism around the AIDS crisis in the late ’80s and the reclamation of the word ‘queer’ that came along with that,â€? Zeisler said. “We thought that was a real language reclamation success story and we felt pretty inspired to do something like that, if possible, with the word ‘bitch.’â€? The magazine was started in 1996 and it initially received and still sees a good amount of backlash for its name. People have called to complain that they found it inappropriate, especially when seeing it in grocery stores. “When someone’s in that mindset, they don’t really want to hear about a PLVVLRQ GULYHQ KRPH SURĂ€W RUJDQL]D-­ tion that’s going to reclaim feminism,â€? Zeisler said. “So it can be really dif-­ Ă€FXOW Âľ A lot of women also did not appre-­

ciate the fact that the magazine pro-­ moted feminism under a historically derogatory term. “It can be sort of upsetting when they see a magazine that purports to be about feminism embracing that WHUP Âľ =HLVOHU VDLG ´, WKLQN WKDW¡V GHĂ€-­ nitely contradiction that we’ve had to sort of speak to and that we’ve had to respect that not everyone is going to embrace.â€? She said reclamation of words such as “bitchâ€? is an extremely worthy cause because it takes the insult out RI WKHP +RZHYHU LW LV GLIĂ€FXOW WR VHS-­ DUDWH WKH VRFLHWDO GHĂ€QLWLRQ IURP DQ\ RQH¡V SHUVRQDO GHĂ€QLWLRQ “Just because something is ac-­ ceptable in pop culture doesn’t mean that’s acceptable or appropriate to use in everyday life,â€? Zeisler said. “For example, my magazine is called Bitch. That doesn’t mean that I want to be called a bitch in the sort of gen-­ eral way that people understand that word.â€? She said that overall, the societal GHĂ€QLWLRQ RI ZRUGV FDQ FKDQJH RYHU time. “I think that words adapt and so-­ ciety adapts to words. And as time goes on, certain words come to seem acceptable,â€? Zeisler said. “There was a time where you could absolutely not say bitch, you absolutely could not hear it on the radio; it absolutely could not be the title of a book. Maybe 20 years from now, that’s where we’ll be with cunt, you know what I mean?â€? With efforts to reclaim this lan-­ guage, it is important to remember that it does not mean the same thing to one person that it does the next. The meanings of these words may be shifting, but have not yet changed in their entirety. ____________________________________ Kaley Belval is a sophomore docu-­ mentary studies and production major who says that while sticks and stones might break her bones, words will nev-­ er harm her. Email her at kbelval1@ ithaca.edu.

15

Upfront

and angry,â€? Woodward said. She said people should consider the reason why they think it is OK to use this hurtful language toward women. If there is no clear reason why these words are acceptable, Woodward said the best thing to do is simply stop us-­ ing them. Alison Turkos was an organizer of SlutWalk New York City, which splin-­ tered because many participants dis-­ approved of the event’s title. Turkos thinks that many people in our so-­ ciety have mixed feelings about this language because the words have FKDQJLQJ GHĂ€QLWLRQV Turkos perceives these words as a UHVSRQVH WR SHRSOH ZKR DUH FRQĂ€GHQW about their sexuality. ´,I \RX DUH D FRQĂ€GHQW SHUVRQ LQ WKLV VRFLHW\ VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR sex, we automatically just shrivel up and don’t know what to do,â€? Turkos said. “Then we just project that un-­ comfortableness onto that person, and by doing that we then just pro-­ ceed to make them want to feel un-­ comfortable.â€? Turkos said that the goal of the Slut-­ Walk movement was not to reclaim the word “slut,â€? but to stop slut shaming and victim blaming. Participants were praised for reclaiming the word “slut,â€? but also for joining the movement for its message, without necessarily em-­ bracing its terminology. 7XUNRV Ă€QGV WKH XVH RI WKHVH ZRUGV unique to each person’s individual GHĂ€QLWLRQV “I don’t think that it’s my place to tell them that it’s a word that should be reclaimed or a word that shouldn’t. I think that it’s their decision and it’s your decision what you choose to re-­ claim and what you choose to not,â€? she said. “That’s one of the reasons why I really wanted to get involved with the SlutWalk movement last year, was because I liked the idea.â€? Turkos believes that the more these words are said, the more they become accepted and normal in our society, whether the effect of their usage is positive or negative. She said that she LGHQWLĂ€HV DV D IHPLQLVW DQG LV UHFODLP-­ ing that word, but many people will never identify with it or think it is ac-­ ceptable. So in terms of other words

From Lingo to Lexicon 8LI EHHMXMSR SJ WPERK [SVHW XS XLI HMGXMSREV] By Jack Brophy

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue Issue

“

Dude, that girl is bootylicious.â€? Is there anything wrong with this phrase? Other than its possible offense to women, this sentence is ac-­ tually perfectly acceptable in the Eng-­ lish language. Phrases such as “bootylicious,â€? which would cause the founding fathers (and mothers) of the English language to turn in their graves, are in fact being accepted as not only spoken lingo but real words. As in, they are making their way into English dictionaries. Words can begin to gain popularity from something as simple as a song. For instance, Beyonce was able to dis-­ tribute the word bootylicious to such an extent that dictionary editors took notice. A representative for Merriam-­ Webster, who chose to remain anony-­ mous, said editors spend hours per day just reading through published mate-­ rial. The key is that it has been pub-­ lished. From newspapers and maga-­ zines to paper scraps. “We have thousands and thousands of slips of paper that go back to the 1800s, just citing word usage in writ-­ ing,â€? the representative said. Editors make notes of new spellings, new combinations of words, or new words altogether. “It’s all about evidence in written lan-­ guage,â€? the representative said. Richard Mulcaster drafted the origi-­ nal English dictionary in 1592, accord-­ ing to the British Library. It listed 8,000 words. Currently, The Oxford Diction-­ ary contains over 171,000 words. De-­ spite the fact that Mulcaster may have missed a few words, clearly, the English language has been an accepting one. Using the English language for three-­ quarters of a century and teaching it for about half that time, Julie Woods, a 75-­year-­old retired English teacher from Massachusetts was not surprised how language has changed. “I know that it is human nature, re-­ DOO\ IRU HDFK JHQHUDWLRQ WR Ă€JKW WKLV new slang that is brought up by the younger generation,â€? Woods said. “But it is the way the world works, and peo-­ ple change as generations do, and we might as well embrace it.â€? Woods doesn’t mind the introduction of new words into the language and never discouraged students from utiliz-­

16

ing these new words. She even recalled how her mother noted the changing of words and meanings. “It is interesting to hear things hold different meanings or just new words in general,â€? Woods said. “I remember when my mother would tell me how WHUULĂ€F XVHG WR PHDQ WHUULEOH Âľ For example, the word “dudeâ€? has become a popular term of endearment between friends. It is ingrained in many young peoples’ everyday lives. However, DQ ROGHU GLFWLRQDU\ GHĂ€QHG WKH ZRUG dude as the hair on someone’s back-­ side. According to an article in The Atlan-­ tic Wire, bootylicious is among a group of words added to the dictionary from the lingo of today’s youth. Over the last two years, this group has included: sexting, f-­bomb, gassed, energy drink and man cave. The Merriam-­Webster representative said that the words have been popular in spoken language for a time, but the deciding factor is when they make their way into the printed English language. “I suppose that since we have more space with the online dictionaries than we used to have when it was all print, we do have room for more new words,â€? the representative said. “However, spo-­ ken language is still not what we look for. It’s not about what we hear, it’s about what we read.â€? Although print is considered a dy-­ ing medium, it is still not enough to hear words over the radio or on televi-­ sion. Words even so ridiculous as boo-­ tylicious have to be seen in print often enough for the dictionary’s editors to consider it proper evidence. Words will continue to change with each generation. Each year, and each day, new words are born and new meanings created. It is going to happen DV \RXWK Ă€QG ZD\V WR PDNH WKHLU PDUN on the English language. Who knows what word will make it into the diction-­ ary next? Perhaps dictionary editors will start to look at online publication, even Facebook or Twitter, as credible evidence for the inclusion of new words. ____________________________________ Jack Brophy is a freshman TV-­R major who still won’t use the word “bootyli-­ cious.â€? Email him at jbrophy1@ithaca. edu.

Lost in Translation

% WXYHIRX´W I\TIVMIRGI [MXL E JSVIMKR GSYRXV] ERH E JSVIMKR PERKYEKI By Abby Sohpir

A

Muzumbai rainforest, a little-­known paradise in eastern Africa, we ven-­ tured into a neighboring mountain vil-­ lage to hold focus groups with villag-­ ers on a variety of topics with the help of translators. As we were leaving, one of my friends bravely attempted to ex-­ press her gratitude in Swahili. “I thought I had said ‘It was nice to meet you’ but was confused when everyone started to laugh. When we walked out of the home, someone told me that I had said, “It’s nice to be fat!â€? Mia Pamisano, a fellow SIT student and junior at the University of Wash-­ ington, said. When my name was called, I eagerly ran down the porch stairs to meet my 15-­year-­old homestay brother, Levis. With only a few words exchanged, Le-­ vis took the bag off my shoulder and escorted me down a dirt path, through PDL]H DQG EDQDQD Ă€HOGV DFURVV D river and up a steep hill, arriving at home half an hour later. 7KDW Ă€UVW GD\ ZDV RQH RI WKH PRVW awkward of my life. I was shown to my bedroom and given food via hand gestures, and struggled to even intro-­ duce myself to the people that were so generously providing accommoda-­ tions for me. I was simply incapable of saying “I am fullâ€?, excusing myself to use the restroom or attempting small talk. That afternoon Levis and I sat out-­ side pointing at objects and labeling

Image by Kennis Ku

them in English then Swahili. “Tree.â€? “Mti.â€? “Cow.â€? “Ng’ombe.â€? “Road.â€? “Barabara.â€? The oldest of my three siblings and a secondary school student, Levis had the best English of anyone in my fam-­ ily. Like many Tanzanians, his vocab-­ ulary was actually quite extensive but once more than a couple words were strung together, he was lost. Levis seemed entertained by the game so I pretended to retain the exhaustive amount of Swahili vocabulary he spat off for several hours. The following days were full of mis-­ communication and misunderstand-­ ing. I yearned to engage in conversa-­ tion, to ask questions and learn, and to explain myself, but the language barrier was all-­pervasive. It prevented me from getting to know the people around me and made simple tasks unnecessarily complex. The helpless-­ ness was extremely frustrating. On day two, I was woken abruptly in the middle of the night by my Mama banging and yelling outside my bed-­ room door. Since I had no idea what she was saying and didn’t know the Swahili for “hold onâ€?, I jumped out of bed and hurried to cover up my legs with a kanga, a skirt-­like covering warn by Tanzanian women. She came LQWR WKH URRP VKLQLQJ D Ă DVKOLJKW around, still yelling, as I stood in con-­ fusion repeating “Sielewi! — “I

don’t understand!â€?. Mama pulled me into another bed-­ room where the she shined the light on a bunch of ants crawl-­ ing around the concrete Ă RRU DQG FKXFNHG VDOW DW them. I was then dragged back into my room where the spotlight was shone once more before she left. Unsure what had just happened or what to do next, I crawled back into bed. The reason for all the

17

Upfront

s the 28 of us stood waiting on the porch of the village guest-­ house, my eyes scanned back and forth across the crowd of smiling faces gathered below us, soon to be our families for the next three weeks. The nervous smile glued to my face and quiet giggle reverberating from my throat revealed the concoction of apprehension and excitement that Ă€OOHG HYHU\ LQFK RI P\ ERG\ One-­by-­one, in seemingly no order, my classmates were called down to meet their homestay mothers, fathers, sisters, or brothers and big embraces were exchanged. My heart beat so loudly that I swore I would miss hear-­ ing my name, at best, or internally combust, at worst. A week earlier we had been given a photo of our family, a list of their names and the amount of livestock they owned, and a village map of Ban-­ gata, Tanzania. However, what we ZHUH ZDLWLQJ WR Ă€QG RXW ZRXOG EH E\ far the biggest factor in shaping our homestay experience: their English-­ speaking abilities. It was my third week in Tanzania with the School of Internatonal Train-­ ing’s “Wildlife Conservation and Po-­ litical Ecologyâ€? program. Due to the nature of the program, we’d spent the majority of our time so far on safari, observing wildlife in national parks, isolated from people. Therefore, my Swahili vocabulary was embarrass-­ ingly still limited to phrases from The Lion King. Since English is technically one RI WKH RIĂ€FLDO WRQJXHV RI 7DQ]DQLD our program did not have the same requirements as many other study abroad programs, most of which ex-­ pect students to have several semes-­ ters of college-­level language classes under their belt before applying. In retrospect, the study abroad website should probably have included the disclaimer: “Language requirement: None. BUT student will be completely lost and confused and must be will-­ ing to repeatedly make a fool of him/ herself.â€? In the few Swahili lessons we’d had, we were taught basic greetings, num-­ bers and time-­telling, but our knowl-­ edge had hardly been put to the test. When it was, it hadn’t gone so well. A week earlier while studying in the

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue Issue

excitement remains unknown. For over a week I referred to my younger brother as Mbwa, the Swa-­ hili word for ‘dog’ instead of Mba, his name. I messed up plans to go hiking with my neighbor Mary and lacked the ability to give a sincere apology. During an open-­casket funeral, I mis-­ interpreted my Mama and accidental-­ ly got in the line of people walking up to view the body. Eventually, I decid-­ ed I should befriend the one person in my family I felt I could really relate to, my 4-­year-­old sister— although her vocabulary undoubtedly surpassed mine. To my relief, I was not the only one struggling. “Tara and I spent a week point-­ ing to bugs saying “doodoo” in weird voices to make my little sister laugh and then realized that she was laugh-­ ing because doodoo actually means a child’s penis while mdoodoo means insect,” Palmisano said. It began to seem like the language existed for the sole purpose of provid-­ ing common relief to our families. While limited by communication, the prescribed silence forced us to take a step back, to spend more time observing and less time speaking. Since my words were few and far be-­ tween, each syllable took on consider-­ able meaning and as a result I found

in Swahili, the greeting is the most important part of a conversation. It typically includes several questions— “How are you? How is your family? How is school?” What makes it easy is that the answer is always ‘nzuri’— ‘good’. Even if you’ve been in bed with malaria for weeks, the answer is

myself thinking a lot more before spewing out thoughts. Luckily, we had four hours of Swa-­ hili class each morning and the learn-­ ing curve was extremely steep. One RI WKH ÀUVW WKLQJV ZH OHDUQHG LV WKDW

‘nzuri kidogo’— a little good. Despite my vexation with the language barrier and the isolation that ensued, I tried my best to mirror the “Tanzanian at-­ titude” and remain positive. Each day I looked forward to the

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excitement on my Mama’s face as I showed off my new vocabulary. I VORZO\ ÀJXUHG RXW KRZ DOO RI WKH FKLO-­ dren running around the house were related, how to offer to carry my own water to the wash closet and how to politely refuse a third helping of rice at dinner. I was slowly able to identify the names of the food I helped Mama cook and distinguish verbally between the cows and chickens in the yard. As the weeks went on, the language bar-­ rier transformed from a pesky little sister that follows you around to a more mature adoles-­ cent whom I reluctantly grew to respect. I had previously viewed lan-­ guage as a static tool that enables people to express themselves, and this was most cer-­ WDLQO\ FRQÀUPHG E\ my homestay experi-­ ence; however, I began to gain an appreciation for language as a larger UHÁHFWLRQ RI WKH YDOXHV and attitude of the cul-­ ture I was living in. For instance, every-­ one in the village was referred to by their age group or po-­ sition in the family; All women are addressed as Mama, men as Baba, young girls as Dada, boys as Kaka, elderly people as Bibi or Babu. Al-­ though these generic names seem un-­

personalized and being called “Mama” or “Bibi” would likely insult many women in the US, the names take on an endearing quality. As you watch a woman get in a dala dala (a form of public transportation) and hand her baby to a stranger in the back seat to hold, the language is manifested. A Tanzanian woman is not just respon-­ sible for her children and her house-­ hold, she is everyone’s Mama. It turns out the phrases Hakuna matata (meaning ‘There are no wor-­ ries’) and UDÀNL (meaning ‘friend’), made popular by the Lion King, weren’t bad words to know. Although the former is actually only used by businesspeople to attract the atten-­ tion of Disney-­loving tourists, the phrases hamna shida, hakuna mata-­ tizo, and haina shinda have the same meaning. Tanzanians have options when they want to express that there ‘ain’t no worries,’ which happens on DQ KRXUO\ EDVLV ³ D GLUHFW UHÁHFWLRQ of the laid-­back attitude that pervades Tanzanian culture. One night on our walk home from dinner, fed up with relentlessly being called UDÀNL by strangers, a friend of mine half-­jokingly replied, “I am not your friend.” The Tanzanian man calmly went on to explain, “In Amer-­ ica, you have to know someone for years before you call them your friend. In Tanzania, everyone is your friend.” From then on, all human interactions made more sense. I’d like to believe that by the end of the three weeks I had become slightly PRUH WKDQ D EXUGHQVRPH Á\ RQ WKH wall. I’d learned how to express an interest in my family member’s lives, share my thoughts and opinions, and

even joke around a bit. I continually noticed new lin-­ guistic subtleties and made connec-­ tions to the larger culture. As I re-­ peatedly screwed up, grew frustrat-­ ed, persevered and was rewarded, I learned more and more about myself and those around me. )RU P\ ÀQDO project of the se-­ mester, I made the rash decision to travel alone to an isolated vil-­ lage called Wasso to conduct a re-­ search project. I saw the oppor-­ tunity as a chal-­ lenge to test my language skills. To my contentment, it turned out I was then capable of making travel ar-­ rangements and functioning in-­ dependently in a city. I was conver-­ sational enough to form meaningful relationships with Tanzanians who did not speak Eng-­ lish and perhaps most rewarding, I earned the respect of many Tanzani-­ DQV ZKR DW ÀUVW JODQFH SUHVXPHG , ZDV a random tourist ignorant of the local

Photos by Abby Sohpir

19

Upfront

language. When bartering in Swahili, starting prices were automatically cut in half. Though I had a translator helping me with my research project, I was able to ask interview questions in Swahili and understood the gist of most responses I received. As easy as it was to see the as lan-­ guage barrier as a hindrance to my ex-­ perience in Tanzania, I came to accept that in large part, it was the experi-­ ence. As I studied Swahili, I learned about Tanzanian values, attitudes and humor. I was more aware of non-­ verbal communication — body ges-­ tures and facial expressions — then ever before. And perhaps most use-­ ful upon return to upstate New York where Swahili-­speakers are few and far between, I learned that when all else fails, even something as powerful as a language barrier can be overcome with a smile. ____________________________________ Abby Sophir is junior TV-­R major who knows the true meaning of “The Circle of Life.” Email her at gsophir1@ithaca. edu.

Losing a Native Tongue The death and rebirth of languages By Amanda Hutchinson

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

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s globalization becomes in-­ creasingly more vital in both the professional and social worlds, stress is continually being placed on multilingualism. Children are taught Spanish, French, Chinese and many other languages in school, and international business relations often necessitate the use of transla-­ tors or the hiring of bilingual employ-­ ees. While some languages are seeing DQ LQFUHDVH LQ Ă XHQW VSHDNHUV RWK-­ ers are seeing declines and even com-­ plete losses. Indigenous languages in particular are suffering as they fail to be passed down through families. In the 21st century alone, eight lan-­ guages have gone extinct, including one that went extinct on Oct. 2, ac-­ cording to the BBC. However, many communities are teaming up with linguists and scholars to revive their native languages through immersion programs, social events and archive maintenance. The Cayuga language, which is part of the Iroquois family of languages, is one that is in the process of being revived. The Cayuga people currently OLYH LQ 1HZ <RUN 2QWDULR DQG 2NOD-­ homa, and many regional communi-­ ties are developing programs and cur-­ ricula to pass on the language. &DUULH '\FN SULQFLSDO LQYHVWLJDWRU in the Cayuga: Our Oral Legacy proj-­ HFW KDV EHHQ ZRUNLQJ ZLWK WKH &D\XJD language since 1993 and published a dictionary in 2000. After a three-­year grant for the archiving and mainte-­ nance of Cayuga language recordings H[SLUHG LQ '\FN VRXJKW D &RP-­ munity University Research Alliance grant, which would provide $1 million LQ IXQGLQJ RYHU D Ă€YH \HDU SHULRG “The idea [of CURA grants] was that the research you could create ZLWK D XQLYHUVLW\ ZRUNLQJ ZLWK D FRP-­ munity is different and newer and in VRPH ZD\V EHWWHU Âľ '\FN VDLG ´,W¡V D new type of research that universi-­ WLHV FRXOG UHDOO\ EHQHĂ€W IURP DQG WKH communities as well.â€? A large component of COOL is its Master Apprentice Program, which ZDV GHYHORSHG LQ ´<RX OLQN XS elders, or masters, with language ap-­ prentices, who are adults or younger

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people who are learning the language DV D VHFRQG ODQJXDJH Âľ '\FN VDLG ´,W¡V D PLQL LPPHUVLRQ SURJUDP ZLWK two people, basically.â€? Students would learn the language through transcription, recordings, JUDPPDU VWXG\ DQG DVNLQJ TXHVWLRQV RI WKH Ă XHQW HOGHUV DQG LQWHUPHGLDWH VSHDNHUV IRXQG WKDW WKLV ZDV WKH PRVW effective way to learn the language. &22/ DOVR ZRUNV LQ FXUULFXOXP development so graduates of the ap-­ prentice program can return and teach others. Many schools in the area, including Six Nations Polytech-­ QLF ,QVWLWXWH LQ 2KVZHNHQ 2QWDULR and McMasters University in Hamil-­ ton, Ontario, are offering night class-­ es for adults interested in learning Cayuga. Alongside COOL, the Woodland Cultural Center in Brantford, Ontario KDV EHHQ ZRUNLQJ RQ WKH SUHVHUYD-­ tion and revitalization of Cayuga, as well as the other languages of the Six Nations territory. Angie Monture, the language administrative assistant at the center, said the facility offers in-­ VWUXFWLRQ LQ &D\XJD DQG 0RKDZN IRU school-­aged children and adults, and more emphasis is being placed on the younger generations learning the lan-­ guage. ´7KH DYHUDJH DJH RI D Ă XHQW VSHDNHU is 60 years and up,â€? Monture said. “They are trying to get the babies VSHDNLQJ WKHLU RZQ ODQJXDJH DV D Ă€UVW language instead of using English.â€? CURA has also provided funding for the Yawenda project, which has ZRUNHG WR UHYLYH WKH +XURQ :HQGDW ODQJXDJH RQ WKH :HQGDNH UHVHUYH LQ Quebec. Huron-­Wendat has not been VSRNHQ LQ RYHU \HDUV DQG ZDV resurrected using research from a 2007 CURA grant awarded to Louis-­ Jacques Dorais, a retired anthropol-­ ogy professor at UniversitĂŠ Laval in Quebec. Dorais was approached by some of his students from the Wen-­ GDNH UHVHUYH ZKR ZHUH LQWHUHVWHG LQ a revival program. Dorais said the primary goals of the project were to reconstruct the language as well as WUDLQ WHDFKHUV IRU :HQGDNH VFKRROV ´7KH Ă€UVW PLVVLRQDULHV ZKR FDPH WR WKH :HQGDW DUHD EDFN LQ WKH WK and 18th centuries wrote a number of

grammars and dictionaries of the lan-­ guage,â€? Dorais said. These archives were analyzed using historic linguis-­ WLFV DQG NQRZOHGJH RI PRGHUQ ,UR-­ TXRLV ODQJXDJH WR WUDFN WKH HYROXWLRQ of Huron-­Wendat to its most modern form. Funding for these projects is crucial to their success, and many of these programs could not have happened without government grants. Mon-­ ture said that the center used to of-­ IHU 0RKDZN LQVWUXFWLRQ IRU SUHVFKRRO students but lost funding, reducing WKH HGXFDWLRQ WR RQO\ &D\XJD ´7KDW¡V the biggest issue with anyone who is ZRUNLQJ LQ WKH Ă€HOG RI ODQJXDJH RU revitalizing a language, getting fund-­ ing,â€? Monture said. $QRWKHU FRQĂ LFW WKHVH SURJUDPV have encountered is the question of traditional education over the cur-­ ricula developed from these grants. Six Nations began a private immer-­ sion school program for children from NLQGHUJDUWHQ WR JUDGH EXW WKH FXU-­ ricula developed by the community had to be replaced to meet provincial standards; while the program is still taught in Cayuga, it also includes math, science and other subjects that students have to learn. However, the most important com-­ ponent to these programs is the com-­ munity aspect of language. Monture said that the Woodland Cultural Cen-­ ter has “really made a differenceâ€? in the development of the Cayuga lan-­ guage, as children who went through WKH SURJUDP DUH FRPLQJ EDFN WR WHDFK or perform the ceremonies, which is crucial for the continuation of the cul-­ ture. The community involvement is also largely responsible for the suc-­ cess of the programs. ´, WKLQN WKDW LQ D ZD\ LW¡V ZK\ WKH project, in my opinion, had good suc-­ FHVVÂľ 'RUDLV VDLG ´, WKLQN WKDW WKLV NLQG RI SURMHFW WKH XQLYHUVLW\ FRP-­ munity research project, has a better chance of succeeding if it comes from the community.â€? ____________________________________ Amanda Hutchinson is a sophomore journalism major who wants to re-­ YLYH WKH ODQJXDJH VKH LQYHQWHG LQ Ă€UVW grade. Email her at ahutchi2@ithaca. edu.

Word Trip

A cross-country look at societal slang

By Jared Corwin

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Image by Georgie Morley

pon entering college, I found myself profoundly confused by the dialects of everyone else around me. I was a naĂŻve seven-­ teen year-­old from Long Island with-­ RXW PXFK H[SRVXUH WR NLGV RXWVLGH the tri-­state area. Now as a junior at ,WKDFD &ROOHJH ,¡YH IRXQG WKDW P\ H[-­ posure to people from a wide array of regions, both close and far from my native island, has opened me to a whole new array of words and termi-­ nologies. These regional slang words have even carried over into my own personal lexicon, expanding my abil-­ ity to communicate with people all around the country. I spent my freshman year at Boston 8QLYHUVLW\ )RU WKH Ă€UVW WLPH LQ P\ life, SHRSOH ZHUHQ¡W

LQJ ZRUGV OLNH ´PDGÂľ DQG ´GRSH Âľ KH also frequently says various Philadel-­ phian terms and expressions that I have never heard before. A word that really stands out from the others is “jawnâ€? (/jah-­n/). I found it very dif-­ Ă€FXOW JUDVSLQJ WKH WUXH PHDQLQJ RI WKH ZRUG EHFDXVH DV 0DUN SXW LW ´,W literally could mean anything.â€? Jawn could be used to replace any person, place or thing that you are referring WR LQ D FRQYHUVDWLRQ ,W¡V HVSHFLDOO\ XVHIXO IRU ZKHQ \RX FDQ¡W LGHQWLI\ VRPHWKLQJ VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ , UHPHPEHU D WLPH ZKHQ 0DUN RXU RWKHU URRP-­ mates and I were all hanging out in RXU EDFN\DUG 0DUN WROG XV WR ORRN DW D IXQN\ ORRNLQJ EXJ RQ WKH JURXQG WKDW ZDVQ¡W D EHHWOH Ă \ VSLGHU PRV-­ quito or any other distinct species of LQVHFW 6R QDWXUDOO\ 0DUN VDLG ´/RRN at this jawn.â€? 6LQFH ZH¡UH RQ WKH WRSLF RI 3HQQV\O-­ YDQLD OHW¡V WDON DERXW LWV RWKHU PRVW SRSXODU FLW\ 1R ÂŤ 1RW 6FUDQWRQ ,¡P WDONLQJ RI FRXUVH DERXW 3LWWVEXUJK 6LPLODU WR KRZ SHRSOH IURP %URRN-­ lyn may use the expression, “yousâ€? instead of “you,â€? people from Pitts-­ burgh use the term, “yinz,â€? in replace of “you.â€? For example, “Yinz guys go-­ ing dahntahn to watch dem Stillers?â€? is an expression one might hear very frequently in Pittsburgh. When trans-­ lated out of “Pittsburgheseâ€? (The lan-­ guage of Pittsburgh), this sentence would read, “You guys going down-­ town to watch the Steelers?â€? Many people associate the use of VODQJ ZLWK D ODFN RI HGXFDWLRQ RU MXVW general ignorance. I highly disagree ZLWK WKLV ,Q PDQ\ ZD\V VODQJ EUHDNV down the barriers of race and social status. When people from different ar-­ eas expose one another to their varia-­ tions of the English language, society melts into a less judgmental nation ZKHUH RXU GLIIHUHQFHV GRQ¡W OLPLW RXU ability to communicate with one an-­ other as people. ____________________________________ Jared Corwin is a junior TV-­R major and a wicked cool jawn. Email him at jcorwin1@ithaca.edu.

Upfront

JHWWLQJ ´PDGÂľ GUXQN RQ WKH ZHHNHQGV 7KH\ ZHUH JHWWLQJ ´ZLFNHGÂľ GUXQN DQG ´KHOODÂľ GUXQN , ZDV SHUSOH[HG E\ these foreign terminologies and genu-­ inely curious as to why, “You must be IURP 1HZ <RUN Âľ ZDV WKH UHVSRQVH , would get from various people when-­ ever I said the word, “word.â€? ,W JRW PH WKLQNLQJ DERXW WKH VODQJ terms I use. I had friends at sum-­ PHU FDPS WKDW OLYHG LQ 1HZ <RUN &LW\ They would frequently use the word, “wordâ€? as a term of agreement, and I suppose it just rubbed off on me. But it really got me to wonder why little -HZLVK NLGV ZHUH XVLQJ D YDULDWLRQ RI the term, “word up,â€? a phrase coined

and popularized by the urban popu-­ ODWLRQ RI WKH V 7KDW¡V WKH WKLQJ about slang words; they have a way of appealing to a wide array of people in an area. Soon enough, an expres-­ VLRQ URRWHG LQ D FHUWDLQ FXOWXUH PDNHV its way through the entire population and becomes a regional term. While accents can signify where one was raised in the country, dialects re-­ Ă HFW WKH FXOWXUH RI WKDW UHJLRQ )RU example, the term “hellaâ€? comes from &DOLIRUQLD¡V %D\ $UHD ´+HOODÂľ LV D YHU\ interesting slang term because people of all races, ethnicities and socio-­ economic levels use it. In this sense, “hellaâ€? is more than just a shortcut to saying “hell of a lot of,â€? it is a unifying WHUP WKDW OLQNV SHRSOH RI DOO GLIIHUHQW EDFNJURXQGV WR WKH VDPH OH[LFRQ Being that my friends at Boston University intermixed people from the West Coast, the South and Bos-­ ton, I was constantly exposed to all of t h e i r various ter-­ m i n o l o -­ gies. I a s s o -­ ciated ´ Z L F N -­ edâ€? with M a s s a -­ chusetts, “hellaâ€? with Cal-­ ifornia and ´\D¡OOÂľ ZLWK WKH 6RXWK , ZDV NLQG RI under the impression that the vast distance between these different sec-­ WLRQV RI WKH FRXQWU\ LQĂ XHQFHG WKH YDULDWLRQV LQ WKH ZD\ WKH\ WDONHG , associated regional closeness with similarity in slang, and assumed that people from New Jersey and Pennsyl-­ vania used the same slang words that I used. But that was before I really NQHZ DQ\RQH IURP 3HQQV\OYDQLD One of my roommates here at Itha-­ FD MXQLRU 0DUN 0HOFKLRU JUHZ XS just outside of Philadelphia, in a town called Media. Being from the tri-­state DUHD 0DUN XVHV PDQ\ RI WKH VDPH slang words that I do. But while us-­

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Around the World in 80 Languages How translation plays a role in an international community By Bethany George

T

VWRS DQG WKLQN DERXW KRZ WR VD\ LW in Chinese in order to get the correct response, because the way I worded WKH TXHVWLRQ \RX FDQ¡W MXVW UHSHDW WKH words directly,â€? Terry said. One of the best improvements in international business is the tech-­ nological ability to have video-­con-­ ferences. Video is crucial for reading language, a feat that is impossible over the phone. “From an interpretation stand

to act as a middleman to ensure each party understands what product is needed, what the buyer is willing to pay and when the order is going to be delivered. “The biggest hurdle with doing business internationally is interpre-­ WDWLRQ Âľ 7HUU\ VDLG ´,W¡V QRW QHFHV-­ VDULO\ MXVW FRPPXQLFDWLQJ EDFN DQG IRUWK LW¡V ZKDW \RX VD\ DQG KRZ \RX say it.â€? Vocabularies vary from lan-­ guage to language because of cultur-­ al differences, but it is also essential WR Ă€QG D LQWHUSUHWHU ZKR XQGHUVWDQGV the terms of the business you are involved in. “Sometimes when I say things, I will see my trading partner

point, body language is probably more important than the actual spo-­ NHQ ODQJXDJH EHFDXVH , FDQ WHOO LP-­ mediately when they are giving me a OLQH RI EXOO RU ZKHQ WKH\¡UH VHULRXV Âľ Terry said. Otherwise, Terry has adapted by OHDUQLQJ NH\ ZRUGV DQG SKUDVHV to gauge how successful the meet-­ ing with the buyer is going. Terry VDLG LW¡V LPSRUWDQW IRU KLP WR OHDUQ WKHVH ZRUGV EHFDXVH LW ´PDNHV VXUH that I am getting the right informa-­ tion from the translator.â€? He said the trading partner could perhaps be in cohorts with the buyer so he might not be getting the information he

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

Photos by Anika Steppe

erry*, founder of a small com-­ pany that assembles mechan-­ ical products as requested by the buyers, sits down in front of his computer for a business meeting. He RSHQV 6N\SH DQG ZDLWV DV WKH FDOO connects to another computer over seven thousand miles away in Tai-­ wan. The person receiving the call is +HQU\ 7HUU\¡V LQWHUSUHWLQJ WUDGLQJ partner who helps him communicate ZLWK D SRWHQWLDO EX\HU +HQU\¡V UROH LV

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WUXO\ QHHGV 7KH NH\ ZRUGV DUH LP-­ portant so follow up questions can be DVNHG DQG DOO LQIRUPDWLRQ GLVFORVHG When Henry and Terry are dis-­ cussing details about product to be VROG 7HUU\ KDV WR VSHDN LQ D FHUWDLQ way for Henry to understand him. Terry explained that Chinese sen-­ WHQFH VWUXFWXUH GRHVQ¡W H[SUHVV SOX-­ ral words or tenses. For example, if 7HUU\ ZHUH WR DVN ´:KHQ LV WKLV JR-­ LQJ WR VKLS"Âľ +HQU\¡V UHVSRQVH PLJKW UHVHPEOH ´, GRQ¡W NQRZ , DVN \RX WRPRUURZ Âľ 2U LI 7HUU\ DVNHG ´+RZ many are shipping?â€? Henry would re-­ ply, “Two thousand piece.â€? Interpretation and translation are XVHG LQ RWKHU ZD\V EHVLGHV PDN-­ ing business deals. Marella Feltrin-­ Morris, an assistant professor of the Department of Modern Languages and Literature at Ithaca College, compared the art of translation to “a bridge to connect languages and FXOWXUH Âľ %HFDXVH RI WKH VNLOO FRP-­ munication and content can be read and heard by many. Businesses are able to outsource internationally, fa-­ PRXV OLWHUDU\ ZRUNV FDQ EH SDVVHG around the globe and the instruc-­ WLRQV IRU ERDUGLQJ WKH PRYLQJ ZDON-­ ways at airports are stated in various languages. Marilyn Rose founded the coun-­ WU\¡V Ă€UVW 3K' LQ 7UDQVODWLRQ 6WXG-­ ies at Binghamton University. Rose translates text from French, Spanish and German into English. When she travels to France, she said there is a transformation that is necessary for VSHDNLQJ WKH ODQJXDJH ´, KDYH WR SUHWHQG ,¡P D GLIIHUHQW SHUVRQ Âľ VKH VDLG ´, GR QRW WKLQN WKH same way in French as I do in Eng-­ lish. I have to be a French person and I have to imagine what I would say if I were French.â€? +RZHYHU WKH WUDQVIRUPDWLRQ LVQ¡W always easy. Eric Bruner, a senior at the University of Montana, spent this past spring semester as a merchan-­ diser at Formosa Luggage Manufac-­ WXULQJ LQ &KLQD ,Q %UXQHU¡V RSLQLRQ

TECH TALK By Natalie Paonessa

Is it possible that the communication devices of the 21st century — such as texting, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, email and many more — are in fact destroying communication skills and creating an obsession in the younger generations? The line between the words typed or texted, and the words spoken is slowly diminishing, creating a world where saying things like “OMG� and misspelling words such as “wat� instead of “what� is not only acceptable but also normal. In fact, it is abnormal to not be immersed into the technological world.

in something because with transla-­ tion also comes terminology and re-­ search.â€? According to the Discovery Chan-­ nel, the world population of ap-­ SUR[LPDWHO\ ELOOLRQ SHRSOH VSHDNV around 6,800 languages. Nations Online stated the most widely spo-­ NHQ ODQJXDJH LQ WKH ZRUOG LV 0DQ-­ darin, followed by Spanish, English, Arabic and Hindu. With the ability to translate between different lan-­ guages, the barrier of language dis-­ DSSHDUV DQG SHRSOH FDQ WDON ZLWK each other all over the world. Terry, with the help of Henry, was able to start his own international busi-­ ness. Feltrin-­Morris has the oppor-­ tunity to be enlightened in subjects VKH QHYHU WKRXJKW VKH¡G HQFRXQWHU and Rose started a program to al-­ low people to experience language in their own way. /DVW QDPH KDV EHHQ NHSW RXW RI WKH article to protect the indentity of the interviewee. ___________________________________ Bethany George is a sophomore journalism major who thinks Google Translator is the best internation-­ al travel companion. Email her at bgeorge2@ithaca.edu.

Before calling or talking face-to-face, 45 percent of adults prefer texting before any other form of contact. Eighteen to 29-year-olds receive more than 3,000 text messages in one month. Not only are technology devices affecting younger generations, but also 73 percent of adult Americans have texting and use it regularly. Socialnomics gathered statistics concerning social media usage in the age range of 45 to 54 year-olds. Use through 2012 has grown, showing how adults are beginning to use the internet more. Social media use is also proving to be very addictive, Facebook users check-in usually 4 times daily. Since last year, there are 12 million more social media users. A general infographic on social media by Go-Gulf, made for Spring 2012, shows Facebook, Twitter, Google Chrome, LinkedIn and Pinterest as the top social media websites. Overall it appears that women use Facebook and Twitter more than men, with 60 percent of Facebook users and 57 percent of Twitter users being women. Out of the 901 million users of Facebook and 555 million users of Twitter, people spend over 426 minutes a month using social media.

23

Upfront

the Chinese language is one of the PRVW GLIĂ€FXOW WR PDVWHU EHFDXVH there are four different tones that are applied to syllables. If the cor-­ rect phonetics are used but the tone is incorrect, something com-­ pletely different will be expressed. ´, ZDV VLFN LQ &KLQD IRU D IHZ GD\V DQG WROG VRPH FR ZRUNHUV WKDW I needed some sleep,â€? Bruner said. ´%XW RI FRXUVH ZKDW WKH\ NHSW KHDU-­ ing for two days was how badly I wanted to be pretty. When the lan-­ guage barrier complicates oral com-­ munication, people are forced into the most elaborate game of cha-­ rades ever witnessed.â€? More commonly, people are intro-­ duced to translation through litera-­ ture. Feltrin-­Morris has translated a variety of texts from Italian to English. In the past, she has trans-­ lated things from instructions to D PDFKLQH WKDW PDNHV FURLVVDQWV descriptions of war ships and is QRZ FXUUHQWO\ ZRUNLQJ RQ D ERRN describing architecture on social KRXVLQJ LQ 1HZ <RUN )HOWULQ 0RUULV said she has always had a passion for translating because she encoun-­ ters topics that require her to learn about before translating. “Every translation is an oppor-­ tunity to discover something that , GLGQ¡W NQRZ Âľ VKH VDLG ´<RX KDYH WR EHFRPH RU IDNH EHLQJ DQ H[SHUW

According to the NPR coverage and Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life project, 46 percent of Americans say computers affect their free time but over half of Americans also say they choose to spend more time on their computer than with their family and friends. Due to the convenience and the accessibility of texting and email, people have begun to feel as if their technology communication can compensate for face-to-face social interactions.

24

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

Tongue Tied The ins and outs of English as a Second Language &] /VMWXMR 0IJ¾IV

25

Upfront

T

LI [LSPI [SVPH ¾I[ JVSQ XLI LERHW of an Iraqi man to the hands of a Burmese woman. With the world at her ½RKIVXMTW WLI ORI[ MX [EW LIV XYVR XS WTIEO One thumb bobbed in the Atlantic while she thought. She quietly said a few broken English words, and her classmates encouraged her.

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

´*RRG MRE ¾ $OD¡D WKH PDQ IURP ,UDT said in his usual booming voice. Oth-­ ers around the circle nodded, smiled or held up a thumbs-­up to show they were in agreement. The woman tossed the globe toward the next student, who had to respond with a food or beverage WKH\ GLG QRW OLNH $QG WKH ZRUOG NHSW RQ PRYLQJ OLNH WKDW IRU WKH ODVW WHQ PLQ-­ utes of a 90-­minute English as a Sec-­

ond Language (ESL) class. For more than 20 years, the Tomp-­ NLQV 6HQHFD 7LRJD %RDUG RI &RRSHUD-­ tive Education Service (TST-­BOCES) has offered rolling admission adult ESL classes to local refugees, immigrants DQG IRUHLJQ ODQJXDJH VSHDNHUV 7KH\ offer seven classes in the morning, four in the afternoon and one at night. The program gives priority to refu-­ gees and permanent residents whose livelihood in the U.S. requires some level of English comprehension and FRPPXQLFDWLRQ VNLOOV $FFRUGLQJ WR the Department of Homeland Security, 1HZ <RUN UHFHLYHG SHUFHQW RI WKH 56,384 refugees in 2011. Sally Wes-­ sels, coordinator and teacher of ESL at 767 %2&(6 KDV ZRUNHG ZLWK PDQ\ students throughout her 20 years with the organization. “I try to give them tools to help them improve their English,â€? she said. “Part RI P\ MRE LV D ORW OLNH UXQQLQJ KRXVH-­ KROG %XW , DOZD\V OLNH WR VD\ WKH WHDFK-­ ing part of my job is the icing on the FDNH ,W HQJDJHV P\ FRJQLWLYH VHQVLELOL-­ ties on how to effectively help people learn more.â€? There were over 25 million Limited (QJOLVK 3URĂ€FLHQW /(3 LQGLYLGXDOV living in the U.S. in 2010, accord-­ ing to the Migration Policy Institute. /(3V DOVR NQRZQ DV (QJOLVK /DQJXDJH Learners (ELLs), are those who do not VSHDN (QJOLVK DV WKHLU Ă€UVW ODQJXDJH and have limited ability to read, write DQG VSHDN (QJOLVK ,Q DQ H[HFX-­

tive order mandated that LEPs have access to federally funded English learning programs. $GXOW (6/ SURJUDPV OLNH WKH RQH at TST-­BOCES are funded under the Adult Education and Family Literacy $FW 7LWOH ,, RI WKH :RUNIRUFH ,Q-­ YHVWPHQW $FW :,$ 2QH RI :,$¡V PDLQ purposes was to better educate, pre-­ pare and train employees in order to improve earnings and the overall quality of the U.S. ZRUNIRUFH 7KH act, however, has been up for reau-­ thorization since 2003, and the Na-­ tional Conference for State Legis-­ latures called its outdated polices “barriers to inno-­ vation in states.â€? Chhandasi Pan-­ dya, policy ana-­ lyst and program coordinator with the Migration Policy ,QVWLWXWH¡V 1DWLRQDO &HQWHU RQ ,PPL-­ grant Integration Policy, helps provide research on LEPs and immigrants to SROLF\PDNHUV “Programs have been carried out WKH ZD\ WKH\ KDYH IRU \HDUV :H¡UH VWLOO waiting on reauthorization [of WIA] in order to see any systematic change,â€? she said. “There has been a general de-­ cline in funding for English language DFTXLVLWLRQ SURJUDPV WKDW¡V DQ REYL-­ RXV FKDOOHQJH %XW WKHUH¡V D VWURQJ constituency of different state and non-­ state actors across the country trying WR ZRUN ZLWKLQ WKH V\VWHP LQ FUHDWLQJ

innovative ways to continue to provide these services for immigrants despite a general trend of decreasing funding.â€? ,Q :HVVHOV¡ FODVV EHLQJ LQQRYDWLYH DQG Ă H[LEOH LV YLWDO WR VWXGHQW VXFFHVV She encourages movement and par-­ ticipation in her two-­and-­a-­half-­hour DIWHUQRRQ OHVVRQ NQRZLQJ WKDW PDQ\ of her students would lose interest in a traditional lecture-­style class. After reading a story together, the students sit in a circle and retell what happens in their own words. They roll dice over a homemade board game and practice DVNLQJ HDFK RWKHU TXHVWLRQV 7KH\ VLW face-­to-­face and discuss their child-­ hood experiences, or race to the “trueâ€? and “falseâ€? signs on the opposite side of the classroom when Wessels reads them sentences. ´, GRQ¡W WKLQN WHDFKHUV ZKR MXVW WDON at students endlessly produce results,â€? Wessels said. “One underlying prin-­ ciple that I have is that the students VKRXOG ZRUN QRW MXVW WKH WHDFKHU There are lots of agonizing long silenc-­ es, and usually out of discomfort you ZDQW WR Ă€OO WKHP LQ $ OLWWOH ELW RI GLV-­ comfort and tension on part of the stu-­ GHQW WR FUHDWH D FRUUHFW VHQWHQFH LVQ¡W D EDG WKLQJ EXW LW¡V LPSRUWDQW WR NHHS it light.â€? Liliana* stood in front of the class ZLWK KHU VFULSW VKDNLQJ VOLJKWO\ LQ KHU KDQGV 7KH VWXGHQWV KDG EHHQ DVNHG WR UHFLWH D IHZ OLQHV RI D MRNH ZLWK D SDUW-­ ner to practice pronunciation and com-­ prehension. Liliana stumbled over her line and began to laugh, shyly covering her mouth with her paper. “Today was challenging,â€? Liliana said DIWHUZDUG ´,W¡V D FKDOOHQJH IRU PH WR VSHDN LQ IURQW RI SHRSOH , GRQ¡W IHHO WKDW

4LSXSW F] /VMWXMR 0IJžIV

26

ment. The National Reporting System receives test results and logged contact hours for all adult education programs WR PDNH VXUH UHTXLUHPHQWV DUH EHLQJ met. Apart from federal and state fund-­ ing, TST-­BOCES also receives fund-­ ing from the Greater Ithaca Activities Center and pays reasonable rent at the First Presbyterian Church. With the fu-­ tures of students dependent on public IXQGLQJ WKHUH¡V D lot of pressure to perform. ´7KHUH¡V DO-­ ways a little bit of anxiety about whether we have a good ratio of students and teachers because we have costs, namely paying teachers, and we have revenue coming in based on contact hours with students,â€? Wessels said. English lan-­ guage learning is not only impor-­ tant to individu-­ DOV RI ZRUNLQJ age, but also to millions of young students across the nation in ESL programs at their elementary, middle and high schools. Although funding for youth ESL pro-­ grams is separate from that of adults, budget constraints also cause chal-­ lenges. Fengju Zhang, Educational 3URJUDP 6SHFLDOLVW DW WKH 2IĂ€FH RI (QJ-­ OLVK /DQJXDJH $FTXLVLWLRQ NQRZV KRZ important facing these challenges is to education as a whole. “Our funding is very limited,â€? she said. “This is a growing population and LW¡V DPRQJ WKH ORZHVW DFKLHYLQJ JURXSV If we want to improve education, this part needs to be improved the most ‌ WR KDYH WKLV JURXS RI NLGV DFKLHYH RQ the same level as their peers.â€? Funding for in-­school ESL programs LV Ă€OHG XQGHU 7LWOH RI WKH 1R &KLOG Left Behind Act. The program provides aid to school districts to help develop programs that teach ELLs. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 10 percent of students, or 4.7 million, were ELLs in 2010. Aside from funding, Zhang says the pro-­ grams need to be structured to meet professional standards. “In a lot of places, they are still teach-­

LQJ NLGV HQRXJK (QJOLVK IRU WKHP WR function socially, but the academic ODQJXDJH LV QRW IRFXVHG RQ 7KDW¡V WKH FKDOOHQJH IRU WKH Ă€HOG QRZ :H KDYH WR Ă€JXUH RXW KRZ WR GR WKDW Âľ VKH VDLG As in-­school ESL programs focus on preparing students for future jobs down the road, adult ESL programs PXVW TXLFNO\ SUHSDUH WKHLU VWXGHQWV IRU employment so they can begin to sup-­ port themselves. ´7KH\ FDQ¡W VWD\ LQ FODVV XQWLO WKH\¡UH Ă XHQW WKH\ KDYH WR get jobs,â€? Wessels said. Although Liliana often struggles to OHDUQ VKH NQRZV LW is important. “If I learn English, I will have more op-­ portunities,â€? she said. “Here you need English and LW¡V GLIĂ€FXOW WR JHW D job without it.â€? The class gives students a safe place to practice WKHLU (QJOLVK VNLOOV as well as a way to build a social sup-­ port system. Between lessons DQG GXULQJ EUHDNV VWXGHQWV XVH WKHLU EURNHQ (QJOLVK to complain about the results of last QLJKW¡V VRFFHU JDPH JLYH DGYLFH DERXW KRZ WR PDNH D JRRG .LPFKL GLVK DQG teach each other how to Salsa dance. “I became really good friends with the women from Burma,â€? Liliana said. “I KDYHQ¡W VXIIHUHG ZKDW WKH\¡YH VXIIHUHG WKURXJK LW¡V D GLIIHUHQFH EHWZHHQ XV Âľ Although they all have their differ-­ ences, they are joined together by a simple desire and necessity to commu-­ nicate. “We understand each other in the (QJOLVK ZH VSHDN Âľ VKH DGGHG *Name has been changed to protect the identity of the interviewee. Note: Interview was conducted in Spanish and later translated. _____________________________________ .ULVWLQ /HIĂ HU LV D MXQLRU MRXUQDOLVP PD-­ jor who is still trying to master English DV KHU Ă€UVW ODQJXDJH (PDLO KHU DW NOHI-­ Ă H #LWKDFD HGX

27

Upfront

FRPIRUWDEOH WDONLQJ (YHU\RQH ODXJKV ZKHQ VRPHRQH GRHVQ¡W VD\ VRPHWKLQJ well, and they laugh at me more be-­ cause I really GRQ¡W VD\ LW ZHOO Âľ At 57, Liliana attends English class-­ es between her shifts with a local FOHDQLQJ FRPSDQ\ 6KH Ă€UVW FDPH IURP Guatemala in 1988, leaving her family in search for a job that could support them. To this day, she continues to VHQG PRQH\ EDFN WR KHU GDXJKWHUV DQG grandchildren. “I came because in my country, WKHUH¡V QRW ZRUN >, FDPH@ WR EH DEOH WR push my daughters forward in their VWXGLHV $ PRWKHU GRHVQ¡W OHDYH KHU children,â€? she said. $GXOW (//V PDNH XS SHUFHQW RI WKH DGXOW HGXFDWLRQ OHDUQHUV PDNLQJ them the largest group helped by WIA. Aside from funding barriers, Pandya FLWHG DFFHVV WR VHUYLFHV IRU ZRUNLQJ DGXOWV OLNH /LOLDQD DV RQH RI WKH V\V-­ WHP¡V ELJJHVW FKDOOHQJHV “Going to traditional classes when \RX DUH DQ DGXOW ZKR LV WDNLQJ FDUH RI D IDPLO\ DQG KDV D MRE LVQ¡W DOZD\V HDV\ Âľ VKH VDLG ´6RPH ZRUN SODFHV DUH SURYLGLQJ LQWHJUDWHG WUDLQLQJ ZLWK ZRUN SODFH VNLOOV DQG (// VNLOOV 7KDW KDV been a trend in the industry to improve access to these services.â€? /LOLDQD¡V HPSOR\HU RIIHUHG WR SD\ IRU her apartment if she enrolled in Eng-­ lish classes. ´)RU PH >WKH FODVVHV@ DUH GLIĂ€FXOW EHFDXVH LW¡V KDUG WR XQGHUVWDQG EXW ,¡P JHWWLQJ WKHUH FOLPELQJ RQ WR VHH LI I can get some words. The class is re-­ ally good because the teacher focuses on listening and conversing,â€? she said. /LOLDQD KXUULHG WR NHHS XS ZLWK Ă€OO-­ LQJ LQ WKH EODQNV DV WKH\ OLVWHQHG WR D VWRU\ DERXW .LQJ 0LGDV 6KH PDVNHG her frustration with low giggles, which KHU FODVVPDWHV WDNH DV WKHLU FXH WR KHOS KHU RXW $OD¡D XVHG KLV SHQFLO WR point to the ones that were incorrect DQG KHOSHG KHU Ă€OO LQ WKH FRUUHFW ZRUG “Every group is really different. This group varies tremendously in their DELOLWLHV DQG WKHLU RZQ HGXFDWLRQ EDFN-­ grounds,â€? Wessels said. “I learned that Ă H[LELOLW\ LV FUXFLDO LQ UHVSRQGLQJ WR student needs. And that means end-­ OHVV HYDOXDWLRQ DQG UHĂ HFWLRQ DQG UH-­ evaluation on the part of the instructor. What will help the students? What do they need? Each one needs a different thing.â€? When students arrive at BOCES, their English level is evaluated with a state-­mandated exam. When a stu-­ dent leaves the program, they must WDNH DQ H[LW H[DP WR VHH WKHLU LPSURYH-­

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

OL. MINISTRYofCOOL. MI

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Repeat O ffenders %R STMRMSR SR XLI JI[ TPEGIW [LIVI QSHIVR ½PQW HVE[ MRWTMVEXMSR By Robert S. Hummel

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biopics and highbrow adaptations of classic literature, a shameless surge of remakes and reboots has emerged, from Total Recall to Red Dawn to Dredd to The Amazing Spider-­Man. And many more are on the way: Car-­ rie, Evil Dead, Man of Steel, Oldboy and RoboCop are all slated for a 2013 release. Some studios have taken their deri-­ vation a step further; this past year saw the emergence of 3-­D re-­releases RI IRUPHU Ă€OPV VXFK DV The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. 7KH Ă€OP is manipulated to create a 3-­D effect, often at a relatively low cost to the studio: Indeed, Beast cost a mere $10 million for the conversion, and went on to make more than $47 million DW WKH ER[ RIĂ€FH +ROO\ZRRG ELJZLJV James Cameron, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have all jumped on WKLV SURĂ€WDEOH EDQGZDJRQ DQG 'LV-­ ney has already slated Monsters, Inc., The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo for the 3-­D treatment. In a conversation with The Wrap, Disney’s head of distribution Dave Hollis said that these re-­releases are “new opportunities; found money, if you will,â€? and that is ultimately what this growing trend boils down to — money. From the perspective of studio executives looking to make a quick buck, the prospect of making millions RI GROODUV IURP SUHYLRXV Ă€OPV LV WRR good to be true. Unfortunately for the people who crafted t h e

Ă€OPV WKH VDPH FDQQRW EH VDLG $F-­ cording to The Hollywood Reporter, the Disney animators who spent countless hours bringing the stories of Simba and Belle to life will receive nothing from the re-­releases. The brunt of the suffering, how-­ ever, hangs over the next generation RI Ă€OPPDNLQJ 7R 'LVQH\ PLOOLRQ may not seem like a lot of money, but IRU LQGHSHQGHQW Ă€OPPDNHUV DURXQG the world, even a fraction of that pot would be enough to effectively bring their original stories to the big screen. ,QVWHDG WKH\ Ă€QG WKHPVHOYHV FRPSHW-­ ing against familiar studio schlock that audiences gobble up for, if noth-­ ing else, the sheer novelty value of re-­ visiting a replica of a half-­remembered Ă€OP 0XOWLSOH[HV DUH FORJJHG ZLWK GH-­ ULYDWLYH Ă€OPV DQG ZLWK HYHU\ SDVVLQJ year it becomes that much harder for RULJLQDO Ă€OPPDNHUV WR UHDFK D ZLGH audience. I have no ill feelings toward the idea of adaptation. Nor do I fear so much for a growing audience for adapta-­ tions as I do a shrinking audience IRU RULJLQDO Ă€OPV +ROO\ZRRG LV OLPLW-­ ing the access of fresh talent, and the paradigm is going to have to change in order for the system to survive. ____________________________________ Robert S. Hummel is a freshman cin-­ ema and photography major who is adapting this Buzzsaw for the big screen. Email him at rhummel1@itha-­ ca.edu.

Ministry of Cool

uring any trip to an Ameri-­ can multiplex, viewers are bombarded with advertising WKDW KDZNV WKH ODWHVW Ă€OPV ERDVWLQJ the latest in technology and featuring often-­recognizable plotlines. Indeed, almost every screen in the house is playing a big-­screen translation of a literary sensation, comic book series, prominent biography or tumultuous moment in history. For as familiar as the stories are, the selection is saturated with them, and there is little room left for new ones. Any conscious moviegoer can notice the pattern: There is an indus-­ try-­wide reliance on pre-­existing sto-­ ries and adaptation. Adaptation is nothing new, of course; most of Hollywood’s most rec-­ RJQL]DEOH Ă€OPV RI GHFDGHV SDVW EHJDQ on the printed page. Gone With The Wind, The Godfather and The Wizard of Oz, among others, are canonized as VRPH RI WKH Ă€QHVW VWRU\WHOOLQJ +ROO\-­ wood ever created, and rightfully so. Today though, it seems as if the in-­ dustry has turned its back on the rich tradition of great, original storytelling that is the crown jewel of classic Hol-­ lywood. What is particularly startling is that 43 of the 62 Best Picture Academy Award nominees of the past decade were derived from some sort of previ-­ ously written work or historical anec-­ dote. Moreover, only two of the past 10 winners were shot from original screenplays, and, personally, I shud-­ der to think that Hollywood perceives The Artist and Crash to be the best WKDW RULJLQDO QDUUDWLYH Ă€OPPDNLQJ KDV to offer. The trend goes far beyond critical recognition, though. Lately, Hollywood has be-­ come enamored with the idea of a preexisting au-­ GLHQFH IRU Ă€OP SURMHFWV and, as a result, pro-­ GXFHUV DUH Ă RRG-­ ing the market with deriva-­ WLYH Ă€OPV Aside from the usual comic book franchises, tween fantasy series, stately

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All Rhyme, No Reason

A deeper examination of modern rap lyrics By Ysabel Mullarky times you are exposed to that word,â€? he “These niggas won’t hold me back [x4] said. These hoes won’t hold me back He argued that These hoes wanna hold me back [x3] c o m p arecord nies Nooooâ€? – Rick Ross, “Hold Me Backâ€? have found a genius way to harness what people want and heard these lyrics blasting in a return it to FDE RXW RQ D Ă€HOG WULS WR WKH JRUJHV them in a nice and easily processed with my seminar. The driver was SDFNDJH 6XUH VRQJV DUH Ă€OOHG ZLWK playing the song at full volume, almost violence, but none of it is directed at drowning out any conversation and the cops. You can rap about shooting yet no one seemed to notice. Racial up as many crowds as you want, as slurs, negative images of women, and long as they’re not white. This, he the markers of capitalist oppression explained, is not the message rap or were pouring out of the stereo and music in general should be sending. all I could think was, “Does no one Rhymes stressed, “Music takes us else hear this? Am I hallucinating?â€? from where we are to where we should Talking to people about race in hip-­ be.â€? hop and rap music had turned on When rap music employs words the lights for me, and suddenly I was with such a charged political past, it “That Person,â€? the one who complains becomes important to consider where about things like capitalist oppression this language is taking us, and more on the radio. importantly, whether or not that’s So I’m sorry, in advance, for making where we want to be. you “That Person.â€? But once the lights Derek Ball, associate professor were on, I couldn’t turn them off. of communications studies at :KHQ , Ă€UVW FRQWDFWHG (GZDUG Oregon State Rhymes, director of race relations U n i v e r s i t y , and advocacy for the YWCA of agreed with greater Pittsburgh and author of When Racism is Law and Prejudice is Policy, to discuss an article he had written about language use in rap, he laughed. ´7KDW DUWLFOH Âľ KH VDLG ´(YHU\RQH always wants to talk about that article.â€? And for good reason; Rhymes has taken on the position that language in rap is not the issue — it is corporate rap that we ought to be scared of. The problem is not that rappers use racially charged language, it is that we only see this language. Rhymes said that language can be something that makes positive changes, but that corporate rap, controlled by the predominantly white producers, is not that change. “It’s not a question of what the words are, but think about how many

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

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Rhymes that violence is incorporated into rap but that the messages that might create real change are started within the labels. It’s a question of who we fund. “There’s more great rap music ‌ being made in this country and around the world than ever before,â€? he said, but noted that this music is never what we see. We see Kanye West, we see the people who labels are paying millions of dollars to keep producing. He saw this as censorship of a particularly dangerous nature. Ball isolated two outlets for this music, one being black radio and one being the white left. However, he believed that black radio was still controlled almost exclusively by white interest and the white left as having “always had a problem with black radical expression.â€? He said he believes that real rap, real expression, could never be integrated into the culture. “I know I’m in the minority here,â€? he said with a sarcastic laugh. “My argument is that no, we cannot do that [integrate]; it’s part of the imperial, colonial mechanism.â€? Ball felt that as long as there was money involved in music it would be censored, made more palatable. So even if

Images by David Lurvey

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WRITOR’S NOTE:

we d o s e e racial slurs or bits of culture in rap, it is all mediated through the white recording labels. There is no genuine sense of what Jessica Barros, assistant professor at Ithaca College, called “the black sound of language.” She viewed rap as a way to express the black experience, a “form of black language.” So then every rap song, mainstream or underground (a distinction that Barros herself disapproved of, saying that with the Internet it’s impossible to call anything underground anymore) is an expression of what it means to be black in America. The way she saw it, even those people who end up sponsored by large companies or became part of mainstream corporate America were a part of black culture. What everyone agreed was that current rap music makes racial slurs and sexist language ever present. As Ball explained, “I can’t think of any other group whose most known racial slur would be welcomed as part of mainstream, prime time, program.” While none of them supported further censorship, it seemed clear that there was discomfort around the popularizing of such a painful term. Barros explained that this is part of

what complicates the issue. “Rap has made the word such a part of main stream culture, sometimes what people forget is it does belong to a certain history,” she said. “And there is a context to it and that context is important.” Ball agreed that the emphasis belongs on the context. “The context shifts, so a lot of times the language may sound the same but it’s deployed differently … other underground rap groups will use words like nigger and bitch and say fuck you … it’s a different context,” he said. ____________________________________ Ysabel Mullarky is a freshman applied psychology major who thinks it is time for everyone to open their ears and their minds. Email her at ymullar1@ ithaca.edu.

“I particularly don’t like the word nigger. I like less than that the use of the phrase n-word. I try to ask them [my students], of all the different things that descendants of Africans have tried to use to describe themselves, that is the one phrase or the one term that has been welcomed more than any by the mainstream. So … why is that?” – Dr. Ball.

31

Ministry of Cool

It is with this comment in mind that I chose to use leave the word nigger uncensored in this article. It is not used uncritically or without reference to the historic and current suffering it represents, rather, that the use of the term is meant to highlight a reality. To censor these racially charged terms would be antithetical to the aim of this article and to genuine representation of how race is discussed in this genre of music. My goal is to start a dialogue, not censor one, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

Eating Your Words

A look at food’s branding and advertising By Rachel Maus

H

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

RZ GR \RX ÀQG D YHJDQ DW D party? Don’t worry, they’ll let you

storefrontâ€? 40 years ago in Seattle where it originated. The mentality is things always automatically become know. more appealing when there’s some There is a sub-­culture of snobs home-­grown, good ol’ American emerging as self-­proclaimed “foodiesâ€? ingenuity spirit behind its conception. over the last few years, who indulge in Word choice makes it seem more like this phenomenon in which everyone a local business instead of a lobbying, thinks they know what is best for multi-­billion dollar corporation. everyone else to eat. Whether it’s Starbucks is not the only offender. the organic-­loving, Whole-­Foods Go to almost any food corporation’s shopping, pseudo hippie, the aspiring website — even artery-­clogging screenwriters of Starbucks or even the calorie-­fests like Burger King — and indie-­loving non-­conformist buying the content is the tale of how “The indie products made on indie farms Little Business That Couldâ€? took off and sold in their local Shop Rite, the and became what it is today. snob mentality has spread to food. So, why all the hype on the humble Thanks to hipsters, society is beginnings? Perhaps it has something becoming increasingly anti-­big to do with the recent fad of eco-­ corporation, so the big chains have conscious consuming. Nowadays had to adapt their marketing tactics there can be no better marketing than in order to appeal to those prone to stick a label saying “organicâ€? on to this independent scene. This is some fruits and veggies and expect accomplished simply by making their SHRSOH WR FRPH Ă RFNLQJ $QG DW DOPRVW “humbleâ€? roots known. For example, twice the price of “regular groceriesâ€? Starbucks’ website reiterates it’s it better be worth it. One local farmer history as one of “just a narrow said that going organic essentially means the food is completely free of all pesticides and not chemically altered, and therefore is overall better to eat because of those absences. He also went on to point out that while he was not sure of the number, he was sure that organic food translated to a lower calorie and fat count. However, research from Cornell University Food and Brand Lab shows that there is no substantial evidence to show that going “organicâ€? is nutritionally superior to not doing so. A study they conducted noted that participants who ate Oreos labeled as “Organicâ€? thought they had eaten 40-­percent fewer calories, which was a gross underestimation, and therefore ate more because of it. So, if there is no real nutritional advantage to going organic, it makes little sense to splurge on something simply because Photo by Leslie Thompson it markets itself as being

32

“healthier.â€? And there’s no denying there is a sense of entitlement amongst people who eat exclusively organic. But if it makes them feel better about themselves by paying more for “cage-­ free eggsâ€? and “grass-­fed beefâ€? labels then c’est la vie. Another thing that often makes people feel like they are do-­gooders is to buy from the smaller companies that might not have had the chance to Ă RXULVK \HW ,Q UHDOLW\ WKHUH LV QRWKLQJ wrong with indulging in a box of say, Oreos as opposed to a vegan, gluten-­ free company advertising a “chocolate sandwich cookie.â€? There is something that feels better about seeing a familiar brand that is nostalgic, relatable and downright delicious. So are brand names and messaging like this cookie becoming obsolete because of this trend? Certainly not. Danielle Brown, senior associate brand manager for Oreo, explained that not only do people still go for the classic cookie because of the name, but because of the story behind it. “With a brand as old as Oreo, you’ve got a lot of history to go on,â€? she said. “If your parents’ parents had [them] in the house, then your parents probably have it and so might you.â€? Brands have become an integral part of the average household, and many old ones don’t have to go back and try to prove their back-­story though deceptive marketing and language. So the point is, don’t be an aggressive food snob based on marketing campaigns. Starbucks is no different from any other big corporation, organic food is essentially a language-­ induced hoax, and sometimes it’s okay to enjoy the little things, even if it’s a brand name item with long-­ standing tradition. Plus, being a picky eater stopped being okay after grade school. ____________________________________ Rachel Maus is a sophomore cinema and photography major who is a closeted kale lover — but only if it’s from the farmer’s market. Email her at rmaus1@ithaca.edu.

Guided Tour By Anonymous

I

After drinking wine and talking for DERXW DQ KRXU RU WZR ZH Ă€QDOO\ ZHQW up to his room where I immediately collapsed onto his bed. It was about 5 a.m. at this point; I had a great buzz; I was lying on the bed of an exception-­ ally good-­looking guy and he was into me. I didn’t even care what happened at this point, I could still brag about simply being in his room. He might have said a few things to me — I don’t remember — but what I do know was WKDW KH ZDV Ă€QDOO\ RQ WRS RI PH ZLWK his tongue in my mouth. Suddenly, I was too drunk to even enjoy this amazing victory, I was only focused on getting more, which I got — quickly. I immediately realized that this was nothing like the college guys that I’d hooked up with before; he was just so much older, way more experienced and just so skilled. If I didn’t fuck him, I would never forgive myself. Some-­ how, all of our clothes found their way WR WKH Ă RRU DQG KLV WRQJXH IRXQG LWV way down there. He went to town and acted like he could be down there all day, which made me feel absolutely amazing about myself. Then, we were Ă€QDOO\ doing it. :HOO Ă€UVW KH VWRSSHG PH D IHZ WLPHV to ask if I was sure, and to tell me that we didn’t have to and that “I re-­ ally don’t want you to wake up in the morning and hate me.â€? God, I’d never been so sure of any-­ thing in my life. I think I told him to shut up and get a condom, although I might have been more polite. I just needed him to stop being so nice about it and just fuck me, for god’s sake. After initial and inevitable discom-­

fort, things started getting really good, really fast. He didn’t ask me if he could do something, he told me what he want-­ ed me to do. Flip over, stand up, touch this, do that. This was not only help-­ IXO EXW DOVR H[WUHPHO\ VH[\ (YHU\ dirty thing he said to me was serious-­ ly intoxicating, and I was practically getting off on his words alone. After a very long night of sex with a guy who did everything as close to perfect as I could imagine, I had one concern: I liked it way too much. He KDG PDGH P\ Ă€UVW H[SHULHQFH VR HQ-­ joyable that I was scared I would drop any morals I had left to become more promiscious. I spent every weekend night for the rest of the summer in his bed, and the more comfortable I got with trying new things, the more I worried about my future integrity. It is not like I was in love with this guy—I was just in love with the sex. If I have any good advice to offer, it’s this: Sleep with someone who’s at least 6 or 7 years older than you in the next few years. It feels nice to leave the world of college hook ups for a few nights. Clean and expensive sheets, no roommates, a kitchen full of actual food — not just frozen pizza and about 10 years more experience than you in bed. We still hook up when I’m home, and to this day, I’ve still never had better sex than I do with him. And, out of all the stories I’ve heard from friends about losing their virginity, mine is hands down the best. Not that it is a competition. Wait, yes. Yes it is.

Ministry of Cool

ZDV IUHVK RXW RI P\ Ă€UVW \HDU of college, armed and ready for WKH VXPPHU ZLWK P\ Ă DZOHVV IDNH ID. It was a full four months of bars, ERR]H DQG Ă LUWLQJ VKDPHOHVVO\ ZLWK older guys. The only thing holding me back was the frustrating burden of my virginity. However, a few minutes after enter-­ ing my favorite bar one Friday night, I was approached by my friend’s older brother. He bought me a drink, and we talked. He was 29, attractive, en-­ tertaining and laidback. After a few weekends of simply talk-­ ing to him at the bars, he leaned down and whispered into my ear, “I would really love it if you came home with me.â€? If I had been sober, I would have been too nervous and would have found some excuse to say no. But thanks to my alcohol-­induced cour-­ age, I calmly agreed to his proposi-­ tion. I’m not sure how many people have been in my position (about to KDYH VH[ IRU WKH Ă€UVW WLPH HYHU ZLWK D guy who you’ve talked to probably a total of 5 times), but I felt obligated to tell him that I was a virgin. (DVLHU VDLG WKDQ GRQH DV , Ă€JXUHG out. Or, rather, easier thought than said. In what I still think has been my most uncomfortable conversa-­ WLRQ WR GDWH , Ă€QDOO\ PDQDJHG WR VSLW it out. Not only did he already know, but he thought it was fantastic. This took a ridiculous amount of stress off of me that I didn’t even realize I had. As long as he knew what to expect, I was no longer worried. This situation was getting more perfect the more I thought about it.

33

RAW SAW

Concert Review

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

The Mountain Goats

FROM THE

34

Two years ago, I wrote a review for Buzz-­ saw of the Mountain Goats concert at Cast-­ aways that was essentially the best concert of my life. The room was intimate, the crowd was 100-­percent locked into the show, and front man John Darnielle was in full-­on Pen-­ tecostal preacher mode, connecting with the audience and practically jumping into them. It helped that he also was making jokes with me during the show and cradled my face in his hands during “No Childrenâ€? when he came into the crowd to sing. That feeling of intimacy and connectedness was in full ef-­ fect for that show, leaving the audience feel-­ ing like we had just been a part of something important and almost bordering on spiritual. So maybe it is hard to compare any show to that, but the comparison was inevitable. While the Mountain Goats played an awe-­ some show at the Haunt on Oct. 19, as they always do, that atmosphere was nowhere to be found. Instead, the audience was distract-­ ed, which in turn threw off Darnielle. The Haunt is a big venue, which already took away from the intimacy, but he has a way of making the audience feel like he’s sing-­ ing directly to them, so I was not worried. 7KH RSHQLQJ DUWLVW 0DWWKHZ ( :KLWH played some really fantastic folk music, ac-­ companied by a kick-­ass brass section and some empty wine bottles for percussion. This sound was appropriate coming from them since every single member of the band had D EHDUG (YHU\ 6LQJOH 2QH 7KH DXGLHQFH was into it and bobbing their heads a little, but clearly waiting for the main event. White didn’t mind, though, and even said how much he appreciated that Mountain Goats fans paid attention to them at all. :KHQ WKH 0RXQWDLQ *RDWV Ă€QDOO\ FDPH RXW they jumped right into a crowd favorite, “Love Love Loveâ€? from their 2005 album The Sunset Tree. From there, the set list progressed from old favorites like “You or Your Memoryâ€? and “Up the Wolvesâ€? to songs from their newest

album, Transcendental Youth. For his more somber songs, Darnielle put down his ever-­ present guitar and walked over to the key-­ board he had set up on stage. A lot of the new songs were quiet and in-­ trospective, just Darnielle, the keyboard, and some light drums. Most of the crowd was hushed while he played these songs, which were full of dramatic pauses. But there was a portion of the crowd in the back that just would not shut up. They continued talking even after Darnielle said, “I don’t mean to be a bitchy diva, but these songs work better if you’re quiet.â€? They still continued talking even after he said that he knew who each per-­ son at the bar was going home with, since he could hear their conversations. It was clearly affecting Darnielle, and he looked noticeably annoyed for the rest of the show. It ruined the mood of the rest of the crowd as well, who were trying so hard to listen. Intimacy is a crucial part of Mountain Goats shows be-­ cause the die-­hard fans who usually attend are the type that sing along to every word and beg the band to play songs from old albums. After the show, the band came out and played two encores for the enthusiastic audi-­ ence that tried to make up for the losers in WKH EDFN WKH Ă€QDO HQFRUH FRQVLVWLQJ RI WKH FXOW KLW ´7KH %HVW (YHU 'HDWK 0HWDO %DQG LQ Denton,â€? However, we still couldn’t escape the overarching feeling of distraction that pervad-­ ed the whole show. There were a lot of factors that contributed to that — the bigger venue, the chatty crowd or the frustrated front man. The songs were beautiful and the band was energetic as always, but they felt more dis-­ tant than they had in Castaways, and I could not focus on the music. Darnielle himself has said that he likes to make a personal con-­ nection with his audience at every show he plays, so it is no surprise that he was upset he could not accomplish that at the Haunt due to things he could not control. -­ Brennin Cummings

8LI 4IVOW SJ &IMRK E ;EPPžS[IV 'EX 4S[IV

Movie Review

Miller took the character to heights the book never could, bringing the audience to tears both from his unbeatable comic timing and exceptional dramatic scenes. &KERVN\ FRXOG QRW Ă€W DOO RI WKH QRYHO¡V VFHQHV LQWR RQH Ă€OP \HW VKRW DOO RI WKHP WR ensure the utmost accuracy in storytelling. :KHQ WKH Ă€OP ZDV SLHFHG WRJHWKHU VRPH RI the most memorable chapters were not in-­ cluded. However, they were not missed, the PRYLH Ă RZHG ZLWK DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG VHDPOHVV-­ ness. After the movie, I considered all of the neglected scenes, and realized that their in-­ FOXVLRQ ZRXOG KDYH LQWHUUXSWHG WKH Ă RZ RI WKH Ă€OP %HFDXVH &KERVN\ LV VR LQYHVWHG LQ the story himself, he ensured the movie ad-­ aptation would best honor his work. Also, so many of the book’s lines have become famed in pop culture and run the risk of becoming trite. However, a simplicity in delivery cre-­ ated an understated grace to these quotes. “We accept the love we think we deserveâ€? as-­ sumed a new meaning to devout fans. 7KH Ă€OP ZDV PRUH WKDQ MXVW D VFKHPH WR monetize an incredible novel; it acted as a visual accompaniment to a work that in-­ spired dreamers worldwide. With three other Perks fanatics by my side, we walked into the theater with high expectations that were ultimately met. We were all too familiar with the scenes; we knew that Sam was going to stand up in the back of a pickup truck as it drove through Pittsburgh’s Fort Pitt Tunnel, and we knew that Charlie was going to look back at her in awe. Still, in that moment, I swear we were in-­ Ă€QLWH -­ Francesca Toscano

Cat Power, stage name of singer-­ songwriter Chan Marshall, began her tour for her recently released album Sun at the State Theatre on Oct. 18. I am a huge fan and having never seen her before, of course I built this show up as the must see show of the year. Now, whenever I do this I am usually disappointed for one reason or another but this show was different. I can safely say that this was the strangest concert I’ve ever been to. Marshall struggled with sound techs during songs, mumbled apologies about her fuck ups and forgot the words to “I Don’t Blame Youâ€? mid-­song. It was capped off with her telling her band to “just play somethingâ€? and coming down into WKH DLVOHV SDVVLQJ RXW ZLOWHG ZKLWH Ă RZHUV and posters to fans daring enough to go meet her as she hummed a song I didn’t recognize. Then she simply walked away and that was it. Marshall is known for her unorthodox stage presence and performance anxiety,

sometimes playing entire shows with her back to the audience. I knew this going in, but with her new material taking a decidedly more positive turn on Sun, I expected a more FRQĂ€GHQW SRVLWLYH SHUIRUPDQFH This is not to say that this performance had no highlights. She played almost all new material and really hit the mark on “Cherokeeâ€? and “Nothin’ But Time.â€? The stripped down “Bullyâ€? felt the most true to her apparent state of mind, but maybe not surprisingly it was the saddest song of the set. I left not knowing if I was disappointed or just sad for her. I felt like I witnessed something so honest and tragic that it feels wrong to criticize. I saw an artist who struggles and is vulnerable and wears her heart on her sleeve. I saw her as herself. I think sometimes we can expect too much from performers, expecting that they can put aside their personal issues and just play the songs we like. For Marshall, that’s not so simple and in many ways I appreciate the honesty. It was a tragic performance from someone who knows tragedy all too well. -­ David Lurvey

35

Ministry of Cool

Concert Review

There are few perks to high school. There are few perks to feeling ostracized, alone and afraid of self-­expression. There are few perks to struggling with sexuality, mental illness and abuse. However, as proven in Stephen Chbosky’s acclaimed novel and adapted screenplay, there are many perks of being D ZDOOĂ RZHU 7KH 3HUNV RI %HLQJ D :DOOĂ RZHU, published in 1999, has become a celebrated coming-­ of-­age story during its 13 years in print. The character of Charlie became a modern-­day +ROGHQ &DXOĂ€HOG IRU WKLV JHQHUDWLRQ¡V ORVW VRXOV Âł WKDW LV LI &DXOĂ€HOG KDG LQFUHGLEOH taste in ‘90s indie music. With a cult follow-­ ing of fans personally invested in these char-­ acters and their struggles, there was pres-­ VXUH WR FUHDWH D Ă€OP WKDW KRQRUHG WKH ERRN¡V UDZ KRQHVW\ DQG WUXWK &XH WKH Ă€OP adaptation, which was adapted and directed by Mr. Chbosky himself. 7KH Ă€OP YHUVLRQ RI The Perks of Being a :DOOĂ RZHU managed to remain as candid, sincere and un-­cliched as the novel, while transcending the limits of pages through ex-­ FHOOHQW SHUIRUPDQFHV DQG JRUJHRXV Ă€OPPDN-­ ing. Logan Lerman portrayed Charlie with charming likeableness yet unexplainable darkness; although his veiled past is hidden XQWLO WKH Ă€OP¡V HQG KH HOHJDQWO\ KLQWHG DW his history with brilliant subtlety. Viewers IRUJRW (PPD :DWVRQ¡V ZDQG WRWLQJ EURRP Ă \LQJ WKHDWULFDO SDVW DV VKH FRPSOHWHO\ LP-­ mersed herself into the character of Sam, perfectly channeling the character’s offbeat beauty and kind heart. The biggest scene-­ stealer, however, proved to be newcomer (]UD 0LOOHU LQ KLV FRPLF WXUQ DV 3DWULFN

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

ROSE&CONS. PROSE&CONS

36

Monosyllabic By Sabrina Dorronsoro

Just run. Run so fast your lungs start to bleed, run so fast that the wind and the air and your skin all blend to one, run and run and run and when you can not bear to run one QSVI WXIT VYR WSQI QSVI VYR XS WXST XLI [SVPH VYR XS ½RH XLI [SVPH VYR JVSQ me, run from her, run from you, run out of words to say, run out of thoughts to speak, run out of rhymes to sing, run so fast your tear ducts peel from your eyes, run your self blind, run your self bare, run to stay, run to leave, just run and run and run and when you reach the end of the world, which we all must, I’ll be there, just past the edge, and you will run once more. You will run to reach the sea, you will run to reach the land, you will run to greet the moon and the stars, you will run and you will run and you will run and when you are done you will stop and you will breathe and you will know in the pit of your heart that you ran past all the things you need and you will go back and you will search. You will search for the sea, you will search for the land, you will search for that small scar on the top of my left hand, you will search for me, you will search for you, and when you know there is not one thing left to be found, you will run.

For that is all you ever knew how to do.

Prose & Cons

37

Love Letter By Robert S. Hummel

My dearest friend, Why must you sigh into the tall woods, send your whispered thoughts away as a solemn puff? Where we lay together was miles, horizons away from anyone who could hear them (except for myself, though you knew that I wasn’t listening). Perhaps you met someone deep within, passed one during a solitary march through the depths of that forest, surrounded by the darkness even in the light. A nymph, drawn to the light of your eyes – in your careful blinks, you’d send morse-code messages to whomever could understand. She would listen, hold your head in her pale lap, her white dress of lightest silk.

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

Have you run off with her? Or are you truly alone? I was there, somewhere, when you lay on the ¾SSV SJ ]SYV XIQTPI EPSRI GYVPIH MRXS E WXSRI and ignorant to the light of day, the birds calling you out of that room. Mother cried, shed tears for us both, and you did nothing but bruise your face and bite your arm. Could you see me then? Or was I lost among everything else? Smothered by the ghosts that surrounded you behind your door, a portal shut tighter than a tomb. On the bank of that river where we lay I would lean this way and that, shifting about, my words too soft to arouse your weary mind. You longed for our embrace, but there on the hot

38

WERHW - [EW SYX SJ QMRH E HEVO ½KYVI JVSQ E vague dream, a specter from a distant time (but what does that make you, friend?). I had tried to lead you there before. “Follow me,” I said, held my hand out, my cold, small hand, the same as yours. With it I beckoned XS ]SY FYX ]SY VIQEMRIH QYQQM½IH F] ]SYV thoughts, staring across the waters to the far shore. In the end, you resolved to break the spell, rise from your spot on the sand: together, we trudged on through foul weather. It drowned your spirits, but you carried the weight of your soul all the way (always downhill, farther away from a summit we couldn’t remember). We stood atop a shelf of gray rock and deepest green; to this day, water falls from that fateful precipice into the deepest blue below. Smooth, shining stones stood in stacks built by those who came and went before us. When you turned back to face me (you stood ahead, leading us as you had in those last days), your eyes were glassy and colorless. Not a soul could doubt the age of your spirit in those days. Was it wisdom that made you old? When you plunged, so suddenly, I stood back, frightened at the thought that I may have given you a nudge (or even a shove). Now I don’t doubt that you made the leap yourself. There was no splash as you entered nature’s pool, and when I peered over the cliff I waited, breathlessly watching for your face to appear as it always had before, at all those other perilous falls

(of course, those were mere graceless tumbles, this was something else). I was paralyzed at the prospect of being alone then, but is it wrong to admit that, after I knew you were gone, my grief was replaced with liberty? It disappeared under a wave of relief. 9RPIWW© (MH - HMZI MR EJXIV ]SY# (MH - ½WL around with my arms on the surface, splashing and screaming and gasping? Even if I did, I wouldn’t have found you. I would have given up, shed a few tears, then turned my thoughts to myself, as I always do. Either way, I abandoned you, crossed the river and started my way through the woods, chasing my fancy, getting tangled in the underbrush, only occasionally stopping to sleep, to dream. For as similar as we are (our hands, our hearts), I lack your love of the woods, and now it looks to bury me. The air that once refreshed your tired spirit chokes me, the trees that made up the walls of your cathedral now block out the sun.

No… My feelings for you are like the tide. Yesterday I wished I could have held my breath ERH HSZI HIIT XS ½RH ]SY HS[R XS [LIVI XLI sun’s rays are smothered by the dark. Even if I’d found you, pulled you up to the surface, I would have been carrying a corpse. And if I didn’t? We’d be together in death, suspended in the void, instead of where I am now, eyes ½\IH SR [LEX´W ELIEH A dream: I was there again, staring into the water, the rippling image of your silent face staring back at me, eyes forever open – you disappeared back into the deep, gone forever except for what I have of you with me. Shining years of solitude, faint in the far distance. Speak with me again. I move too quickly; I’m out of breath. I follow the sun, and each day I move ever closer to nowhere. Each day the light threatens to envelop me, the heat hopes to ignite me. My eyes strain to see the way ahead, and I cannot bring myself to look back. Just come a little closer. Step into the light. You’ve been gone so long… My dearest—

I go in search of a future, a life full of the love you couldn’t give or receive. The love I missed. We were alone together, and now I am simply alone. You were not made to last, and I’ve out-

39

Prose & Cons

I still tremble at the dawn, pick up stones along the way, traces of you. But I don’t dawdle at the fork, I never look back – I’m afraid of what may be following me. I’m afraid of your ghost. Do you stalk me from above? In the canopy? In the wind?

lasted you. So why should I weep? I don’t envy you now. I made it above the water, and you let yourself sink.

Dorm Room Alaska By Jesse Muse

Grey cinderblocks painted off-white, yellow MR XLI ¾YSVIWGIRGI SJ XLI TPEWXMG HSQIH FYPFW the bed rolls with the folds of a yellow comforter. The room’s almost a backyard, green grass in the way of a shag carpet, the outside world in stills, and a caged animal in the form of a slight red headed girl. A girl whose brilliant blue eyes are being eaten by dark pupils as they eat the words of the book before her. And eat, and eat. Monstrous their hunger, these devourers of knowledge, forcing ink into sustenance. Her eyes are just blue rings around black holes like molten ebony. 8LI] EVI JI] I]IW VMRKMRK SJ ¾EWLMRK [MPP S´ XLI [MWTW SJ the nymphs that drowned men in times of old, beautiful and otherworldly dangerous. Full of the power of deep water.

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

Blue is the color of her knowledge, of the pill residue on her desk. Of childhood sadness, and of being too quick for the world itself. It’s the color of frustration, of a processing speed you wouldn’t know from the dancing of those rings, so bright and curious. Yellow is the light of the lamp after midnight, of work through the witching hour, of an inability to sleep,

40

and it settles over the backyard like a sun. It caresses her skin, caged animal of soft white GYVZIW ERH ½IV] VIH LEMV WYTTPI ERH FVMKLXP] SVREQIRXIH caresses the way she leans and stretches, WSJX ¾YMHMX] FIPMIH F] XLI LEVH MRXIRWMX] SJ LIV I]IW Homer’s Iliad lies open in her hands, Sheets curled and shuddering like some caught prey as she gazes into its depths, engrossed, and no book has ever been so interesting.

Prose & Cons

41

Mother By Emma Markham

Cacophony. I stalk you as you scatter. You bleed and I drink your ruby juices. You weep and I bathe in your salty secretion. Catastrophe. I castrate you and you shudder in acceptance. I pull at the strings of your fate and you dance. I drown you DQG \RX Ă RDW face down. Contemplation.

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

As you fall one by one I feed upon you. I digest your fragile bones in the passing of a faint breeze. I gave birth to your precious homeland. Your loved ones still stink RI WKH Ă XLGV IURP P\ ZRPE You will always lose. And I will always love you.

42

Sawdust

AWDUST. SAWDUST. SAWDUS

43

Urban Dictionary to Buzzwords Release Urbancyclopedia By Karen Muller

Not your mother’s reference book By Karen Muller

BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

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ew York, New York—Fans of the popular online language resource Urban Dictionary will soon have another street slang guide to add to their arsenal. The Ă€UVW HGLWLRQ RI Urbancyclopedia hits shelves in early December. The guide is expected to contain in depth, formal explanations of thousands of emerging terms, from “screwvenirâ€? to “bropacalypse,â€? along with a discreet pocket-­sized version for on-­the-­go comprehension. The publisher has also recently revealed the encyclopedia’s patented color-­ coded system, which will allow users to easily distinguish which of the four main Parts of Urban Speech a term falls under: Synonyms for “Wastedâ€?, Blatantly Offensive, Miscellaneous Profanity, and Frighteningly Obscure Sex Acts. In perhaps the biggest step up from the classic and concise Ur-­ ban Dictionary, Urbancyclopedia con-­ tains over 1,000 detailed, full-­color GLDJUDPV IRU PD[LPXP FODULĂ€FDWLRQ As editor Vernon Herrell explained, “With Urban Dictionary, we kept get-­ ting the same complaint over and over again. People would look up terms like ‘aardvarking’ and ‘kerchinging’ and ask themselves, ‘Hang on, what does that mean?’ For certain kinds of terms, words alone simply don’t SURYLGH HQRXJK FODULĂ€FDWLRQ DQG ZH would hate for anyone to come away from one of our books confused, or worse, misinformed. We’re really just trying to remedy the ignorance about some of these issues.â€? Though the encyclopedia still has time until its release date, it has al-­ ready sparked a particularly heated argument amongst the mom-­blogger community. While groups like Parents Against Bad Books In Schools are al-­ ready rallying around petitions to keep the reference guide off shelves,

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other parents look to Urbancyclopedia as a shred of hope to regain “street credâ€? with teenage children. “You know, since he’s started high school, I’ve felt like Jeff has just been speaking this other language,â€? said Paula Marshall, a self-­proclaimed “cool mom.â€? “I don’t get it. How am I supposed to know what it means when I eaves-­ drop on his conversations? If I didn’t know better I’d feel like he was try-­ ing to keep me in the dark lately. ‘Ed-­ ward Forty-­Hands,’ ‘sloptarts’ and the weird things I’ve been hearing‌ I mean, I know my Jeffy, and I’m sure it’s all innocent fun, but I’d sure like to know what’s good with him and the broskis these days.â€? Luckily, Marshall placed her order weeks ago. Releasing just in time for the holidays, Urbancyclopedia has already received thousands of pre-­ orders from readers eager to make their friends feel unhip and naĂŻve. 6LQFH WKLV LV WKH Ă€UVW WLPH DQ 8UEDQ-­ Dictionary guide will ever be available in hard copy, editions will be snapped up quickly by an audience of young adults and urbanites desperate to de-­ fend their own use of politically incor-­ rect terms. The publisher had originally intend-­ ed to share the encyclopedia’s release date with the launch of Urbancyclo-­ pedia Junior, a slang guide for the playground set, but the release has EHHQ GHOD\HG LQGHĂ€QLWHO\ DV WKH ZHE-­ site has only generated eight pages of youngster-­friendly content. ____________________________________ Karen Muller is a junior IMC major who will only read the Urbancyclope-­ dia when it comes out on CliffsNotes. Email her at kmuller1@ithaca.edu.

Bomber: (n.) A mysterious, nonviolent and non-tangible concept intended to encapsulate the spirit and spunk of the college’s 27 varsity athletic teams. Sure, we don’t quite know what a Bomber actually is — but thanks to the discarded mascot search in spring of 2011, we’ve started to narrow down what it isn’t: it’s not a phoenix, or a lake QSRWXIV SV E ž]MRK WUYMVVIP ERH MX LEW absolutely nothing to do with bombs or bombing. As determined by so many students and alumni, having an actual mascot is just too mainstream. Cortaca: (n.) A giant, outdoor daydrinking party held in mid-November that purportedly also involves some kind of sporting event. Domelet: (n.) Campus Center dining hall’s famous weekend brunch omelets made exclusively by Dom. There is no WTIGM½G VIGMTI SV PMWX SJ MRKVIHMIRXW XLEX are included in a Domelet; the only way to elevate a regular omelet breakfast to Domelet status is to have it made by the man and legend himself. The Domelet is the center of a growing, cult-like following on campus. Ithacalves: (n.) Those sexy, sculpted gams hard-earned by the Ithaca College WXYHIRX FSH] 8SRIH ERH HI½RIH F] eight rigorous months of climbing up and down the countless staircases and slopes of one of the most vertically demanding college campuses in the country, it’s safe to say that your legs look good in shorts — if only it was ever warm enough to wear them. See also: Ithaquads. Ithacating: (v.) Relentless, all-atonce pounding of sleet, hail and snow, concocted by freaky lake effect weather patterns and almost certain to pop up just in time to ruin your Saturday night plans. The one form of precipitation that might stand a chance at actually freezing hell over.

In Gerd We Trust

New translator allows for communication with socially handicapped By Christopher Thomas

have put effort into websites to develop vaccines for deadly diseases around the world, but I think they’re are miss-­ ing the point. What we have now is a connection between those who wear retainers and those that don’t. Have you heard these people talk?â€? Already many retainer owners say that this translator has helped them reconnect with friends who previously had no idea what they were actually VD\LQJ ,Q D VFLHQWLĂ€F VWXG\ QLQH RXW of ten subjects that wear orthodontic retainers now have an average of 3.4 more friends since the translator was created. “I NER HERV FRERNDS!â€? says Irma Goorde, a sophomore at Ithaca High School. She’s struggled with orthodon-­ tia all her life, but now she doesn’t have to. “I CERNT ERXPRERS HER ERX-­ CERTERD I ERM ERBERT THERS. ERTS A DRERM CERM TRER!â€? ERMAHGERD has not only acted as a tool for those with retainers, but also as a popularity tool. Across the

A Minor Ink-cident

country, kids with retainers have rose above those with-­ out, hanging in the coolest cliques. Other kids are striving to get work done on their teeth, just to wear the re-­ tainer. Orthodon-­ tia is booming. Due to the success and growth of the lan-­ JXDJH WKRVH ZKR KDYH EHQHĂ€WHG IURP it founded a charity organization “Re-­ tain the Wayâ€?, that will try to give all children retainers in the future. Maybe RQH GD\ (50$+*(5' ZLOO EH DQ RIĂ€-­ cial language, taught in schools, even-­ tually becoming a major in colleges around the world. ____________________________________ Christopher Thomas is a freshman TV-­R major who can’t wait to get his own headgear some day. Email him at cthomas5@ithaca.edu.

When tattoos get lost in translation By Lizzy Rosenberg

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through her tears. “I’m blaming this entire situation on my mother. She convinced me to take Latin through-­ out my years of school, rather than Chinese. If I had taken Mandarin Chi-­ nese, none of this crap would have ever happened!â€? The D.J. and famous tattoo artist are trying to move on from this trag-­ ic, inky mess, and after hearing her apology, Screwdriver agreed to stop publicizing Kat’s mistakes. Kat Von D ended up agreeing to give him a larger tattoo for free, to cover up his “necro-­ philiaâ€? character. Screwdriver put a lot of thought into what he wanted to cover his left bicep, and he chose a very large, realistic portrait of Sarah Jessica Parker’s face. Is a tattoo of SJP’s face better than “necrophiliaâ€? in Mandarin Chinese? For D.J. Screwdriver’s sake, hopefully it will truly get him some “Sex in the Cityâ€?— at least more than his other tattoo did. ____________________________________ Lizzy Rosenberg is a freshman CMD major who will stick to henna tattoos for now. Email her at erosenb3@ithaca. edu.

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Sawdust

arlier this week, Miami Ink make me feel better, I know I’m hated fans and tattoo enthusiasts ev-­ by all Chinese people.â€? Screwdriver erywhere were shocked when explained, choking up to our inter-­ legendary D.J. Screwdriver, tweeted viewers. “Who could love a big, stupid something unforgettable. According necrophiliac?â€? Journalists were also lucky enough to Screwdriver’s twit-­ to speak with the D.J.’s ter, “that mother-­lovin’ current girlfriend, to Kat Von D sucks at tats ask what she thinks of #learnchinese, #think-­ the tattoo incident. beforeyouinkâ€? to his mil-­ “I always knew what lions of followers. my sweetheart’s tattoo After an investigation, meant. I majored in it has become apparent Mandarin in college. I that famous tattoo artist just never questioned Kat Von D made a perma-­ it. In fact, it was al-­ nent mistake on Screw-­ ways the reason why driver’s left bicep. Years I get so festive for Hal-­ ago, she thought she was loween every year. I Image b y E rika F eldman giving the D.J. a Chinese character that meant “bravery,â€? the assumed it was a turn-­on for him to Chinese symbol she actually gave him have so many fake corpses and plas-­ means “necrophilia,â€? the morbid and tic skeletons around the house,â€? the D.J.’s girlfriend explained. erotic attraction towards corpses. Since the discovery of Screwdriver’s “It was never quite clear to me why whenever I was on tour in Shanghai tattoo tragedy, Kat Von D has been or walking through China Town, peo-­ hiding out in her Hollywood apart-­ ple were obviously avoiding my gaze. ment, humiliated, sulking and blam-­ Now I know the cold, hard truth,â€? ing her childhood. “First off, I would never do anything Screwdriver vented to the press. “De-­ spite what my friends may tell me to like this on purpose,â€? Kat said sternly

Image by David Lurvey

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wise man once said, “GERV MAH LERBERTER ER GERV MAH DERTH!â€? and now you can too! With the ERMAHGERD Translator just type in any statement, question or famous quote you want and behold with your very eyes the transformation of something once comprehensible to something that can only be described as ERMAHGERD. The ERMAHGERD language is based on a speech impediment due to the use of an orthodontic retainer, and those that have to wear them cer-­ tainly can relate, having to repeat their ZRUGV RIWHQ VLQFH LW¡V GLIĂ€FXOW WR VSHDN through one. As incredible as this device is, critics around the world are wondering why creators didn’t put effort into some-­ WKLQJ PRUH EHQHĂ€FLDO WR VRFLHW\ :KHQ asked about the translator, world lan-­ guage expert at the Urnerverserter erf Mahrsercherserts, Reed Tainer re-­ plied, “Some people say we could

Philanthropy in the Back of the Bus

High School Drop Out Teaches Local Children the Language of Swears By Christine DubĂŠ

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BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

ave you ever wondered what *@#%$ means? The children of Agloe, NY do, thanks to a wonderful, new program started by high school drop out, Dicky Cox. Cox, age 17, rides on school buses and teaches the local children all the bad language they will ever need to know. No age is too young for this teacher; his classes include all ages, K-­12. Local parents are thrilled that they no longer have to explain the mean-­ ing of a motherfucker to their chil-­ dren. “He really is a saint,â€? said Sam Davidson, father of one of Cox’s stu-­ dents. “He’s taught my son so much. I just know this new vocabulary will eventually help my little Jack on the SATs.â€? Cox uses his unique mobile class-­ rooms to introduce young children to the world of foul language. George Carmichael, one of Cox’s brightest students, told us about his experience: “I overheard some ninth graders talking about blowjobs, so I asked someone at school what it meant. He laughed at me and told me I was stu-­ pid. The next day I went to the back of the bus and asked Dicky.â€?

After this encounter, George soaked up all of Cox’s teachings. He became the best in the class, and proudly shows off his high-­ er form of vocabulary. The kids on the playground all look up to George and his grown-­up way of speaking. “Dicky really turned my life around,â€? said George. “Without him, I would still be the kid who doesn’t know what a blowjob is.â€? “I never had no one tell me noth-­ ing when I was young,â€? Cox said in an interview on his bus. As a child, Cox had to ask his fellow peers the meaning of curse words, and fre-­ quently got bullied for being igno-­ rant. He became so embarrassed with his lack of knowledge that he dropped out of high school. After many weeks of research, Cox was ready to help the next generation of children avoid his fate. “I’m really glad to be able to make a difference in kids’ lives. Just yesterday I noticed one of my students cussin’ out some jack-­ ass. It made me so proud.â€? Cox showed us his well-­equipped seats in the back of the number 56 bus, en route to the middle school. Cox even brings a whiteboard to

the back of the bus in order to more ef-­ fectively teach. Cox hopes one day to be able to afford a smart board for his class. “Kids keep givin’ me their lunch mon-­ ey, and I know I will use it to further their education.â€? When asked what she thought of the curriculum, middle school student Sally Johnson said, “Fuck off!â€? Sally’s par-­ ents are very proud of her. “Dicky is a hero in our town,â€? said Ms. Johnson. “He is really making a differ-­ ence in our children’s lives.â€? Cox also spends his spare time read-­ ing to the elderly. ´, Ă€QG LW YHU\ UHZDUGLQJ WR ZDWFK WKHLU wrinkly faces light up when I come to read to them,â€? said Cox. His favorite ERRNV WR UHDG WKHP DUH HURWLF Ă€FWLRQ and the elderly love it, too. “We don’t get much action here,â€? Marge Kenny says, “but Dicky brings us the next best thing.â€? It seems Dicky Cox has something to offer all the people of Algoe, NY. He truly is a goddamn town hero. ______________________________________ Christine DubĂŠ is a freshman English major who learned a few strong words under the jungle gym in her time. Email her at cdube1@ithaca.edu.

Image by Kennis Ku

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Words Best Left Unspoken How a Deliciously Moist Cake Ruined My Relationship By Jennifer Pike

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hy is everyone so offended by the word moist? It is just a synonym for damp or wet. What is the big deal with that OLWWOH ÀYH OHWWHU ZRUG" My interest in the concept of moist-­ ness began three weeks ago at my girlfriend Mandy’s twentieth birthday party. We had bought her a three-­lay-­ er cake with pudding, fudge, choco-­ late chips and frosting in the middle and topped with sugary writing. We were all chatting and having a great time when I opened my big mouth and said, “Mmmm! This cake is so moist!” Mandy’s eyes grew wide. She screamed and her eyes rolled back in her head. Before anyone could re-­ act, she fainted right in the middle of that perfect three-­layer cake. When she awoke a few minutes later, she screamed to at me to get out of her life until I gained some “human de-­ cency and sensitivity.” According to our mutual friends, my now ex-­girlfriend still gets nau-­ seous whenever she sees baked goods. In order to get my mind off the fact that my ex blocked me on Facebook, I decided to give myself a mission: a moist mission. I wanted desperately to know why people hate the word “moist” so much. I started by asking a girl from one of Mandy’s class-­ es, Ally O’Doyle,

Halloweek

Ah, alas. The Great Pumpkin Week of 2012. How lucky are we, privileged college students in a constant state of stress and unnecessary delusion, to be blessed with Halloween on a Wednesday. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?? That means, my dear colleagues, that we can not only celebrate All Hallows Eve on Wednesday, but EVERY day before and after it! For nearly a 10-day span! Jumpin’ pumpkins, it’s a miracle! Whoever would think that Halloween has XS FI GSR½RIH XS SRI [IIOIRH XLMW ]IEV# If the greatest drunken excuse for a holiday (excluding St. Patty’s) has to occur on a weekday, than we should be entitled to the weekends before and after. Halloween is the one time of year where it is not only acceptable to gorge on sugary orange, pumpkinshaped treats, but also to parade around the streets of Ithaca in the most ridiculous attire you can think of. And to all of those people that complain about not having enough costumes for the extended period: Get off ya lazy bums and get creative!!! ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG. IF THE MUSIC IS TOO LOUD, YOU’RE TOO OLD. Embrace the creative challenge to come up with more than two or three costumes LIGO XLMRO SJ ½ZI JSV XLI [IIOIRH ;L] you muse? Because Halloween is the perfect college holiday, and here are our reasons: 1. Constant use of accents/yelling 2. Finally having the excuse to dress like the weirdo that you are 3. NO SLEEP TIL PUMPKINS 4. Lots of candy. And beer. 5. Lots of beer. 6. Legitimate excuse to act like a toddler So, go out to Moonie’s, trick-or-treat, eat candy corn, don’t do your homework. BUT REMEMBER, don’t regret any of it. You Are Only In College Once: YAOICO. %RH MJ ]SY IZIV ½RH E FIXXIV TPEGI XS WXVMOI up conversation than the TCAT at 2 a.m., jam-packed with drunk people in costume, let us know.

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Sawdust

Image by Alexis Lanza

whether she hated the word “moist.” She responded promptly by kicking me in the shin. Unfortunately for my shin, many of my other inter-­ views went the same way. Finally, I got a revealing answer from classmate Kaylee Saltsman. “That word gives me shivers every time I hear it,” Saltsman said. “If that word was a person it would be the equivalent of a creepy guy stroking the back of your neck in a subway.” “The word just sounds too moist,” said Mark Woodell, my roommate. “I mean listen to it. Moooiiiissst,” Ac-­ cording to Woodell, it’s not just a word that makes girls squeamish. Poor, onomatopoeic “moist.” I needed a more unbiased source. I needed someone to agree with me about how foolish it is to dislike a word based on its tonal qualities and GHÀQLWLRQ According to a professor of linguis-­ tics at New State University, Emily Strout, “Certain words have a dis-­ pleasing sound to the ear. The ha-­ tred of words like “moist” or, dare I say, “panties,” is considered by many to by a natural evolutionary trait. The fact that you don’t cringe when you hear words like those makes me question whether you are actually human.” I’m done with this. There is nothing wrong with the word moist. The word is nothing more than a clever synonym for damp, clammy, drippy, drizzly or oozing. ...Oh wow. Ew. I think I get it now. Just reading that last sentence makes me want to throw up. I think I’m going to just crawl under my nice dry covers and wait for the nausea to pass. ____________________________________ Jennifer Pike is a sophomore writing PDMRU ZKR FULQJHV DW WKH ZRUG ´ÁHVK µ Email her at jpike1@ithaca.edu.

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Buzzsaw Asks Why Not...

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BUZZSAW: The Language Issue

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