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The Daily Campus, Page 5
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Senior Scoop 2013 winner
» FROM THE WRITER’S DESK
Writing The Class of 2013 flavor is mint Oreo fudge; up to seniors to pick official name about other cultures
By Zarrin Ahmed Staff Writer
Continuing a tradition started last year, student judges decided on a Senior Scoop for the Class of 2013 in the Student Union. The winner was a mint Oreo fudge flavor. The Senior Scoop is a collaborative effort between the Senior Transition and Engagement Program, the UConn Dairy Bar and Dining Services. Making over 26,000 pounds of ice cream each year and having over 200,000 visitors from all over New England, the Dairy Bar has won numerous awards and will hold the newest flavor chosen this year. The Senior Scoop event was created by President Susan Herbst as a way for seniors to leave their mark on the school. “Last year was the first year UConn kicked off this idea,” said Navi Cheema, the hostess of the event, who was crowned Homecoming Queen on Tuesday night. “We had so many more participants this year. I think it’s gonna stick around.” Cheema was the Master of Ceremonies for the Senior Scoop where UConn seniors were able to select an ice cream flavor combination that represents their class. To begin the process for the selection, the Senior Transition and Engagement Program sent out emails to seniors with choices for ice cream flavors. They were able to choose between 15 to 18 base flavors of ice cream, 10 to 12 mixes to put in the ice cream and 10 to 12 different kinds of swirls. “We took seven or eight flavors that had the most entries,” said Dan Doerr,
By Jason Wong Staff Writer
ZARRIN AHMED/The Daily Campus
UConn’s homecoming queen Navi Cheema hosts Senior Scoop for the Class of 2013. The panel includes five judges: Stephanie Elliot, Heng Chen, Molly Callahan, Nisarg Chhaya and Darlene Desir. Of three final flabors, the group chose mint Oreo fudge.
Director of the Senior Transition and Engagement Program. “We gave the panel those flavors and they decided what they thought would best represent their class.” The panel included five judges who were present at the Scoop Selection to make a final decision between three flavors. They included Stephanie Elliot, Heng Chen, Molly Callahan, Nisarg Chhaya and Darlene Desir. Cheema gave brief introductions the judges while sharing
information about them with the audience, including their favorite ice cream flavor and asking what they have on their UConn Bucket List. There were three finalists. The first flavor had a mint base with Oreo mix and fudge swirl. Each judge had their own sample, and after tasting each sample, they were able to share their opinions with the crowd. Chen liked the first flavor, claiming that it was “something you could eat after a spicy
meal that’s refreshing.” The next flavor was a red velvet cake ice cream that had chocolate chips and fudge swirls in it. Finally, the last scoop had peanut butter cups and fudge swirls in a banana base. Desir thought that, although the peanut butter wasn’t overwhelming, the taste was really rich. Cheema gave the judges time to deliberate while making announcements about “One Ton Sunday” where students are able to get buckets
of free ice cream outside of the Student Union. She also encouraged seniors to submit creative names for the flavor chosen and reminded them that voting begins next semester. After announcing the mint Oreo fudge flavor as the Senior Scoop of 2013, students ate complementary ice cream.
Zarrin.Ahmed@UConn.edu
UConn music group Prank Skate opens up
Photo courtesy of Prank Skate’s Facebook page
UConn band Prank Skate, made up of Tessara Baldi and her fiance, Jenn Jewett. The group mixes genres like rap, dubstep and electronic, creating a hybrid sound all their own. The group prides themselves on their performances, which incorporate smoke machines, strobe lights, glow sticks and confetti cannons.
By Zarrin Ahmed Staff Writer “PS no BS” is the motto for Prank Skate, a group that mixes a variety of flavors including rap, dubstep and electronic to create catchy songs and memorable performances. Formed last year, Prank Skate started with UConn student Tessara Baldi, her fiancé Jenn Jewett, and Jewett’s cousin who has since faded
from the group. The trio was just joking around at first and spitting raps to beats they made for fun, which Jewett described as “three ridiculous white girls who would just rap battle.” They decided to take a shot at recording a song and threw a house party in which all the guests had to rap. What began as shenanigans among friends evolved into a serious musical endeavor, and Baldi and Jewett got into touch with a music producer, Sean Brennan.“He was a miss-
ing puzzle piece,” Jewett said. Jewett and Baldi started collaborating on their single “Breathe Out.” Why Prank Skate? The group adopted the name after a store that Baldi envisioned owning. “I had been telling Jenn how bad I wanted to open a skate shop where I’d sell longboards,” said Baldi. “I was going to name that skate shop “Prank Skate,” and that was going to be our headquarters,” As a present, Jewett let Baldi
name the group. (Just to go on record, the girls of the group DO longboard.) Prank Skate’s first show was April 20 at another house party, but this time they performed three of their songs with Baldi’s sister, Toni Baldi. Setting up blacklights and strobe lights throughout their house, the group set up equipment in their dining room for all the guests. They set up several house parties for friends before moving on to play at a venue in Vermont and playing
clubs in Hartford. “We like to bring the show way bigger than the venue,” said Baldi. The group prides itself on giving memorable performances that include glow sticks, smoke machines, strobe lights and confetti cannons. Their next show is Saturday, Oct. 13 at Vibz Uptown in Hartford. They plan to have more shows within the next few months. Taking every opportunity to do house shows, the group puts on performances for crowds of all sizes and encourages anyone looking for a show to contact them. “We definitely have some electronic components to our music, we definitely have a pop twist and maybe three of our songs hit the R&B range,” said Baldi. “But most of it is pop and rap.” Or as Jewett described, their music would be the baby of Ke$ha, Beyonce, Skrillex and Wiz Khalifa. Having already made a selftitled CD with 11 tracks, Prank Skate is working on a mixtape that’s dropping before the end of the year called “Party of 3.” The group will give the CD away for free. “It’s just what we love doing,” said Brennan. “We just want people to hear our music. We just want to rock out with a million people.” The group has a Facebook page, an Instagram page, a Twitter, a YouTube channel, an OurStage page and a SoundCloud which they update frequently with new songs and events, and where they check in to make sure they’re doing all they can for their fans.
Zarrin.Ahmed@UConn.edu
Due, at least in part, to the English classes I’m taking this semester, this week’s column is going to discuss writing about other cultures. Writing about other cultures is a surprisingly difficult and intensive process – it’s not the sort of thing you can research for a day and call it “good enough.” As society becomes increasingly globalized, I suspect writing on other cultures will become more popular, so I also write this in the hopes that it is relevant. First off, I should clarify what I mean by “other cultures.” Basically, I mean a culture in which you have not lived or grown up. Especially in today’s politically correct climate, it is important when writing about people or places of different cultures to be as authentic as possible. In general, I’d say there are two basic things to keep in mind when writing about different cultures: cultural accuracy (is what you’re writing based on fact?) and cultural immersion (is what you’re writing relatable to somebody of that culture?). There are other things to think about, but I think these two questions offer a good starting point. The most important advice I can offer is to not, under any circumstances, write a romanticized account of any culture. Not only has it already been done (and overdone), it can easily be construed as ethnocentric, inaccurate and even racist. For example, “The Last Samurai” overly romanticizes Japenese samurai culture. On a related note, be careful not to reinforce stereotypes about any culture in your writing. The Disney movie “Pochahontas” portrays Native Americans as serene, spiritual nature-worshipers. A more recent example occurs in “Frankenweenie” with the character of Toshiaki – an über smart Japanese student who speaks broken Engrish. Doing any of the above connotes both casual racism and lazy writing. So should we write people and places of different cultures? In my opinion, places are generally easier. If you’ve spent time in the foreign place you’re writing about or have read memoirs/stories by people who have lived there, you’re in a pretty good position to write. People are far more difficult to write about. For one thing, it is easy to fall into the aforementioned clichés and stereotypes. A lot of writing can and has become successful despite being unpalatable on that front. I recommend talking to people of the culture that you’re writing on, or at very least, reading literature about or by them. For example, if you’re writing an Asian-American character, try reading books like “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri, or “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua. Books like these can provide immeasurably useful information to help your writing along. At the end of the day, I think any character of another culture should resemble Albus Dumbledore, in the sense that while he is gay, that aspect of him is not the defining measure of personality. It should be the same with characters of another culture – if their race/culture is defining who they are, you’re nearing dangerously trite territory.
Jason.Wong@UConn.edu