Charter 2013-2014

CHARTER Gonzaga’s Journal of Scholarship and Opinion

The American Dream 2013-2014

Charter Gonzaga’s Journal of Scholarship and Opinion 2013-2014 Editor Assistant Editor Layout Editor Advisor Student Publications Manager

Caitlin Sinclair Mitch Wright Alexandra Roland Dr. Robert Donnelly Joanne Shiosaki

Charter is a publication of the Gonzaga University Publications Board. All questions and comments regarding Charter can be directed to charter@zagmail.gonzaga.edu.

All contributions to Charter are created and designed by current students and faculty of Gonzaga University.

The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Charter staff, the Publications Board, or Gonzaga University.

All content Š 2014.

Index 1. DEFINING THE DREAM Keeping Up With Culture Kailee Haong

Neither American nor a Dream Scott Companario

Hard Work Does More Than Pay Off Kiara Serantes

The American Promise Corwin Bryan

2. DAYDREAMS Dreamers

Katie Cronin

Transparent Doors Josslyn Clews

Flower Children to Stress Addicts: The Fear of Tomorrow Mitch Wright

The Dream Has No Home Mary Kate Koch

Come Back

Kassi Picchi

3. THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE

8 10 12 14 16

20 22 24

26 28 31

34

The American Dream Dr. Kent Hickman Professor of Finance

35

Living Buying the Dream Mollie Picha

36

A Reality for a Few Dr. Mark Chakoian Philosophy Lecturer

Our American Nightmare Matt Friedman

4. REMEMBERING OUR DREAMS Planted in America Claire Meskers

38 40

42 44

Surviving the Holocaust: Jewish Refugees and the ‘American Dream’ Heidi Jeanne Kyle Adjuct Professor of History

A Family Business

Samantha Marziello

Dreams from Our Fathers Nicki Affonso-McMorrow

5. DARING TO DREAM Turn and Burn Carl Jacobson

Are You Carrying the Fire?

Nick Turner

See It Through

Garick Sherburn

Please Be Happy Andy Newman

A Note on the Dream Ned Fischer

46 49 51

54 56 58 60 63 65

Letter from the Editor Dear Readers, It has been a while since I have been proud to call myself an American. From the polarization in our political system, to the growing disparity between the richest and poorest members of our nation, to the chaos and violence affecting major cities and small communities, it has been a while since I have been able to see more good than evil in our society.

For me, it took over a month in Africa – completely removed from our culture – to see America, to love America. One day, at a market in Livingstone, I told a vendor I was Canadian because I was fed up with being treated like bag of money. I mumbled out fake hometown in French Canada. I admit it was a halfbaked plan, but I was desperate for a schism from my culture.

Embarrassed by my pretty inconsequential lie, I quickly backed out of his merchandise stall and away from my cultural immersion. At that moment, I realized America and all of its ideals are very much a part of me.

I should not have been as surprised as I was. The American Dream runs deep in my veins.

My mom’s family was about as American as it got in the 50s and 60s. Her dad was in the Navy, her mom maintained the household. She had two brothers and three sisters. They teased each other, played “hooky”, and went to sock hops in poodle skirts.

Whenever I ask my dad about his stories, he is happy to tell and retell the series of plans and jobs which all lead up to our family.

My parents have always been showing me the American Dream. I just didn’t know it.

They agreed on a dream for my sister and me a long time ago.

They put their heads down, put their backs into it, and they worked. They worked in welfare personnel, financial advising, and retirement planning. They are still working (in jobs that I don’t dream of having) because their shared dream has always been to make their daughters’ dreams come true.

The American Dream is living in a house that you want to keep clean. The American Dream is a vision, an ethos, a hope, a goal.

It’s a first generation college graduate with plenty of debt and a whole lot of courage. It’s the attempt for a better life The American Dream is be6

hind every sit in, every rally, every march, and every riot. It’s in every fearful glance at the chaos.

It’s in every question about how we got to where we are and how we will change in the future.

We dream this dream every day.

I see it behind the eyes of my friends and classmates as they realize their passions. I see it in every laugh line and wrinkle on my professor’s faces. It’s in the tremor of my grandpa’s hands, and it’s in the interest I owe on my student loans.

America is in a period of transition, and students will be the ones who usher in the changes that will define our generation and our nation’s future.

I present to you the 2013-2014 edition of Charter. As we work in this pivotal moment to redefine ourselves as a people, this exists as but one transcript of an ongoing conversation.

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Defining the Dream

The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.

-President James Truslow Adams

Keeping Up With Culture: The Evolution of the American Dream throughout History KAILEE HAONG

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he US is a nation where “pursued a rigorously expanpeople are generally sionistic agenda” and sparked united by a common the idea of “Manifest Desset of ideals, moral standards, tiny.”1 Unification and authorand ethics. We have witnessed ity represented the American the evolution of these traits Dream for the pro-expansion through battle, economic president and his loyal patriots.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The strife, political radicalism, and Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby sheds the constant fluctuation of social norms. It is safe to as- light upon the values held dursume that colonial America’s ing the 1920s. For Gatsby, “the settlers of Jamestown and to- acquisition of a high-status day’s incredibly diverse and woman is an essential commultiracial American citizens ponent of [his] dream.”2 The do not share identical values. Golden Age of America was In the United States, there is filled with prosperous wealthone preeminently controversial seekers hoping to find their idea around which the masses riches and make it big in the tiptoe, for fear of disturbing city. For these city-goers, the the peace and sanity of the rest American Dream stood for acof the country: The American knowledgement, ostentatiousness, and pure show. The paDream.

The colonists’ original expan- trons of the Roaring Twenties sionist and imperialistic mo- concerned themselves solely tives founded the concept of with wealth and power.

Citizens in the 21st century the American Dream; it was all about gaining control of a possess fundamentally diverse quickly growing nation. One ideas on what the American of the earliest and most revo- Dream means to them. Dr. lutionary of its supporters was Heim, a professor of political Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson science at California University, 10

stated in 2011, “The American Dream consists of…the idea of almost endless possibility.”

Further, that the purpose in life is when “individuals are free to search and find the meaning of their lives.”3 Today, youth and adults alike are captivated by the transcendentalist, nonconformist aspects of society which allow them to express their personal freedoms.

Though deriving knowledge from the past was a fundamental idea held by the forefathers of this nation, the ideas once held are no longer applicable in today’s society. For me, the American Dream is no longer achieved by reaching the top of the economic food chain, or by gaining power and becoming a key political figure. It is about choosing your own fate and encompassing both happiness and contentment. There are large numbers of people present in society who are no longer doing what they love and merely settling in careers or situations simply because it is easy. One thing, however, remains unchanged: the Ameri-

can Dream has always been an ideal that seems virtually unattainable from the outset. But to realize the dream, priorities and goals seem to fall into place throughout the journey. It is crucial that we, as a nation, do not lose sight of the American Dream. Though it has varying definitions and connotations, it is still wholly applicable to the lives of the citizens and should be regarded appropriately.

William Bauer. Dismantling Indian Country in the Nineteenth Century. 2008. University of Kansas Press. <tandfonline.com>.

2 Roberts, Marilyn. “’Scarface,’ ‘The Great Gatsby,’ and the American Dream”.

2006. Literature Film Quarterly. <questia.com>.

3 Lisa Pfaff. “The ‘American Dream’ in Modern Society.” Cal Times. 2011. Calfornia University of Pennsylvania. <sai.calu.edu>.

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Neither American nor a Dream SCOTT COMPANARIO

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s a child, I always viewed the American Dream as the idea that anything was possible. My childhood naivety dictated that I could accomplish anything as long as I gave it my full dedication. I suppose this outlook on life was a healthy view for a child. However, as I developed in my college years, I came to realize something quite ironic about the American Dream. I realized that the American Dream is neither explicitly American, nor is it a dream. Rather, I believe that the American Dream is a recurring phenomenon throughout the history of the world. It is the assertion of human beings that we have the right to try.

Before discussing why the American Dream is not explicitly American, I want to first discuss why it is not a dream. A dream is protected by your own mental capacities. No authoritarian can enter your mind and strip you of your dreams. Sure, one can tell you to stop dreaming, but your dreams are ultimately protected by you. Freedom, on the other hand, requires a proactive effort to protect. It is susceptible to all sorts of abuses from outside forces. The American Dream is 12

more like the latter. It is not a dream, but rather the right to act on said dream.

Specifically, the American Dream relies on the notion of economic rights; we move upward as a result of our freedom to start our own businesses, to innovate and create, to compete with others, and to provide our creations to society. We may have different motives. Some may have the end goal of individual prosperity, such as the small business manager who wants to go global with his or her products or the engineer who wants to “make it big” on a revolutionary new product. Others may have the end goal of philanthropy, such as the non-profit CEO who wants to spread a message and work for the good of others. Regardless of the end goal, we all share the desire for the right to be free to better ourselves. This right requires economic freedom. It is with this economic freedom that individuals can succeed in achieving their goals.

However, this longing for the economic freedom to achieve one’s goals is not an explicitly American phenomenon. Rather, the intrinsic desire to be free from

authoritarian control is found in both other cultures as well as a number of different time periods.

For example, the Magna Carta was written to limit the authority that the English king had when ruling his subjects. The Declaration of Independence was an assertion of the notion that authorities cannot take the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s money without adequate representation.

And, more recently, the civil rights movement of the 1960s reiterated the idea that all men and women are created equally and free to enjoy equal economic and political rights. These are but three of the many examples throughout history where people asserted their natural right to be free. This leads me to believe that it is our human nature to seek freedom from control. Thus, unlike its title would suggest, the desire for freedom is not specific to Americans. Rather, it is a desire for all of humanity. Although the culture of America may be one that has traditionally emphasized individual freedom, it is the natural, inalienable right of all people to be free.

Of course, there may be flaws in our system that can prevent some from being able to accomplish their goals. Consider, for example, the Federal Reserveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monetary policy of printing money in hopes of stimulating the economy. Many people as13

sume that more money is good for the economy because that leads to more economic activity.

However, this unchecked money printing actually hurts the lower classes. To elaborate, when more money is inserted into the economy, prices rise due to the decrease in the value of the dollar (inflation). In addition, when this new money is printed, the first to receive the new bills are the well-connected and upper class individuals, who can spend it before the prices rise. This means that the elite often enjoy the new money and cheaper prices while the lower and middle classes must endure increased prices. Thus, one could make the claim that there are institutional flaws that may inhibit others from being free to pursue their dreams. However, we must realize that these are flaws of the system, not flaws inherent in the right to being free, and these flaws are constantly debated and researched. In addition, some may be born into circumstances that prevent them from being able to act on their dreams. We must emphasize as a society the notions of goodwill and service to account for this. In sum, the American Dream is not an end goal. Rather, the American Dream is the means by which people attain their specific dream.

It is the right of all humans to be free to live better.

Hard Work Does More Than Pay Off KIARA SERANTES

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older African-American halfbrother. You could say I was a surprise. My mother had minimal education and almost no work experience. She had to take care of my brother and me on her own, so our family fell below the poverty line pretty quickly. I remember moving from home to home in an almost rhythmic pattern, switching residences almost every six months. While I had no shortages of happiness in my childhood, the concepts of stability and success were foreign ideas covered by the heavy storm clouds of my motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s struggles to support us. It was seeing these struggles unveiled that sparked the fire of determination within me and spawned a pressing dream: that I would one day bring stability and support to myself and my family - that I would have an actual lasting career.

My dream to achieve a stable career had clear obstacles from the get-go, including the obvious and pressing issue of finances. I knew from a young age that in order to get a career which was

he American Dream has evolved since its original use and now represents an idea that has been greater and more profound throughout human history. This idea, this dream, is the power of change, of amelioration of not only your social status, but of your general standards of living. More importantly, the American Dream is the ability to grow toward individual and common betterment while preserving the fundamental values of equality, freedom and order for all. The American Dream is, in essence, the power of the people and the citizens to chase after and achieve their own goals in life, despite any limitation from a higher power. Simply put, the American Dream is the ability to change your life for the better, no matter who you are or where you came from. Without the existence of this ideology my life would undoubtedly be different today.

I was born to a Cuban-American woman who had barely reached the age 19 when I came around, and before me was my 14

stable and well-paying I would have to attend college. Considering my background, I knew I wouldn’t be seeing financial support for a college experience from my own family, not to mention my mother never made it past high school and was therefore not familiar with the college process in general. Instead of letting the finances win, I turned the situation into motivation to do well in school; if we couldn’t afford college maybe scholarships and grants could.

I turned my focus to academic achievement and community involvement, including working at a fast-food restaurant as soon as I was old enough. Ultimately, I graduated seventh in my class with financial aid and a scholarship pointing me in the direction of Gonzaga University, where I am currently seeing my dream become a reality. My determination undoubtedly got me where I am today, but I know the future isn’t going to be some walk in the park full of flowers and sunshine. This drive within me will continue to push me toward my career goals, and after I reach those goals, my determination will live on, inspiring me to strive for the best that life can offer until I live no more.

The saying that “hard work pays off ” is an understatement

of the power in which working hard can actually have. Determination can do much more than pay off; it can change your entire life. This determination is timeless thanks to the values of my country, and there isn’t a day that goes by where I do not feel blessed to live where I do. The American Dream, this fundamental ability to make your life better, immortalizes this determination; through hard work we can do so much as to change our lives, futures, and even our destinies.

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The American Promise CORWIN BRYAN

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he American Dream is a bit of a silly thing. It appears at first to refer to a dream held by each and every American. But even on the shores of Virginia in 1607, when the settlement that would become the United States was culturally homogenous, there was no dream held by every American.

Thus, this definition loses meaning, and we must seek another.

Perhaps the American Dream refers to a dream held by most Americans, or by the quintessential American. Each of these definitions, however, encounters a similar problem. So, when one American dreams of nothing besides maintaining the family farm, another dreams of becoming a research biologist, and still another dreams of writing beautiful and evocative poetry, the situation begs the question: what is the American Dream?

I would argue that, despite their great differences, all of these dreams reflect the American Dream, to the extent that they are predicated on a common assumption. I will refer to this assumption as “the American Promise.” The Promise is

this: If you want something, work hard and you will get it. Predication on the American promise seems to be the only trait which unifies all definitions of the American Dream.

The American Promise, however, is not some nebulous concept floating about in the realm of the Forms. It exists somewhere much more concrete: in the minds of Americans. To show this is the case, we must first ask the question of whether Americans still believe the American Dream is attainable. According to a 2010 study conducted at Xavier University, nearly 70 percent of Americans believe they will achieve the American Dream in their lifetimes.1 Even the jobless—whom we may expect to be the most skeptical— more often than not say the American Dream is attainable.2 The question then becomes about the means: how do we attain it? What does it take? According to the Xavier study, over 70 percent of Americans see the American Dream as dependent mostly upon hard work.3 According to another study by Public Agenda, around 90 percent of 16

people (on both sides of the party line) view it as absolutely “essential.”4 Observable American behavior further supports these findings, based on the unbelievable amount we work compared to other countries,5 and the significantly less time we spend vacationing.6 Thus, in each of these studies, we can see the idea of the American Promise made manifest a reality.

However, the American Promise is fraught with problems.

The first problem is one with which we, as Gonzaga students, are most likely familiar. This problem arises from those two little words: “work hard.” Having been educated by a Jesuit institution (an institution anxiously concerned with issues of social justice) each of us has in all likelihood unmasked and confronted the tragic reality that hard work alone is not enough.

We are all limited. Both women and men, both racial minorities and majorities, from the working class to the wealthy—we are all, from birth, confined to certain spheres. Escape from these spheres is possible, but it is exceptional and remarkably difficult. Perhaps in some other, differently structured society, hard work would be sufficient for us to break out, but in our society it is not. To believe otherwise,

as the American Promise would have us do, is blinding and harmful.

However, the issue of hard work is only one of the problems embedded within the American Promise. Another arises from the final phrase: “you will get it.” Your efforts will lead to success. When believers speak these words to us, especially when we are young, it begins to sound like a promise—like success is a guarantee. If we trust the people telling us this, we begin to expect success. We begin to feel entitled.

But we live in a universe where laws of entropy drag it constantly towards chaos, and in this environment even the best-laid plans can abysmally fail. Thus, once failure comes, instead of the success we expect, and if we are then still entitled, we become upset and indignant. We pass the blame to anything nearby, rather than questioning our fundamental belief in the American Promise. “You will get it” imbues us with the misleading tendency to develop grandiose goals and become enraged when they fail.

One final danger lurks within the American Promise, and it is the greatest of the three. It arises from the words with which it begins: “If you want something.” The American Promise exists for our wants. The Ameri17

can Promise does not first check whether those wants and desires are worthy or noble or excellent, and it will not confront them if they are not. Suppose one young man or woman comes before the American Promise with aspirations to start a non-profit for autistic children, and is doing so to better his or her corner of the world; and say another comes before it with selfish desires driven instead by lust and sloth and greed. The American Promise treats both desires the same. It will never play the role of parent or prophet; it will never chastise or challenge. Unless our desires are already wholly good, we need a world which challenges and resists us, thus forcing us to reflect and grow. The American Promise is not conducive to such a world.

If the American Promise truly exists in this form, and if this diagnosis of its flaws is sound, then the American promise is fraught

with problems. And if predication on the American Promise truly is the distinguishing feature of the American Dream, then the American Dream too suffers the same. And if this is so, then the idolization of the American Dream should at the worst inspire dread in the hearts and minds of its celebrants. It should at the very least inspire critical reflection.

Michael Ford. “The American Dream?”. The American Dream Survey. March 2010. Xavier University. <.xavier.edu>.

2 Harry Bradford. “Majority of Jobless Still Say American Dream Within Reach”.

The Huffington Post. March 2012. <huffingtonpost.com>.

3 See 1 4 Juan Williams. “The Invisible Dream”. Oct 2012. GaleWiLL Center. <publicagenda.org>.

5 “Workaholism in America”. Business Insurance Quotes. 2011. <businessinsurance. org>.

6 Rebecca Ray. “No-Vacation Nation”. May 2007. Center for Economic and Policy Research. <cepr.net>.

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Daydreams

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles.

-President Barack Obama

Dreamers KATIE CRONIN

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ur minds are architects and carpenters, building up worry, drama, and our own problems into larger than life towers of stress.

Study. Work. Sleep. Repeat. In our minds, we are kings, romantics, determined scholars, and up-and-coming CEOs. Yet, we have to be reminded that we are small. We are a blink in time. We are just one person in the seven billion of our time, and just one person out of the one-hundred billion people who have ever lived. Judging by the names in our history books, less than one percent of us are even remembered fifty years after death.

What is the American Dream?

Is it the pursuit of one man or one woman starting with nothing and working and working until they have a respectable life that can give a better life to the next generation? I would not say so. The work and dreams of an individual, while significant in his own context or his own mind, cannot define the American Dream as a whole (for he defines his dream alone).

The United States declared independence in 1776, but settlers

have been coming to America since the early 1600s. The earliest Americans came to this land of discovery looking for a change.

Full of hope, they worked the land and nurtured a new life. The Dream grew out of vigor, out of fear, of uncertainty, of exploration, of destruction, and of war.

It came with advancement, pioneering, and hard work. These became the cornerstone of the American Dream.

The next generations continued moving, growing, and doing.

People from different cultures and societies came. Some came by force, some out of desperation, some as their last hope, and some to give a better life to their children. The American Dream melds these generations, cultures, and years of hard work.

The American Dream lives in suburban neighborhoods, the ghettos of the major cities, on the farms in the plains, along the coasts, and in the hearts of dreamers. The cultures came and they mixed, and they fought, and they loved, and they bonded together, and they made a new cultureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;American culture. This culture was united by a young na22

tion with a significant past. This culture mixes ethnicities, classes, and mind-sets. This culture grew out of the past with all generations working together. The American Dream adapts, but it’s grounded in and built with each new fad, each new immigrant, war, and recession. It’s grounded in a culture of cultures – strictly American.

The American Dream is heroes and villains. But more importantly, the American Dream is my mother, who works fulltime as a school principal and cares about better education for all children, on top of working to inspire, teach, and love her own. The American Dream is my father, who constantly traveled and worked to ensure that his children could have easy and safe childhoods.

The American Dream is the in hearts of the ones we call losers, and the words of the marginalized, and the minds of innovators, inventors, and entrepreneurs. The American Dream is not one person’s journey from nothingness to success. The American Dream is in our ancestors, built by generations. The American Dream began in Ireland, Mexico, Germany, China, Japan, Australia, Kenya, and Nigeria. The Dream holds roots in every continent. It crossed bor-

ders, oceans, and cultures, and it came together to create a new dream. The American Dream is relative. The American Dream is survival. The American Dream is thriving. The American Dream is the love and sacrifice of our parents, grandparents, and their parents before them.

We are small. We are a blink in time. Yet, together we continue to create, to mold, and to build.

We join together the architects and carpenters in our minds. We continue to dream.

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Transparent Doors JOSSLYN CLEWS

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itting in a coffee shop on the corner of a busy intersection on a chilly Saturday morning in February, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m approximately halfway through making a study guide for a Monday midterm when I peer out the window to my left.

On the curb, only 15 feet from where I am sitting is a bus stop.

From the post hangs a cylindrical trashcan, which is overflowing with Coca-Cola bottles and depleted Starbucks coffee cups among other miscellaneous receipts and paper wrappings. Beside this post, near a trafficked intersection stands a man, probably in his sixties. He wears oversized spectacles (the kind that were popular about twenty or thirty years ago), an oversized windbreaker, black Velcro shoes, and brown corduroys, which he continues to pull up around his waist. He peers vacantly at the road for several minutes until he shifts his duffel higher up onto his shoulder. Moments later he begins to fiddle with his maroon gloves to gain more pliable access to the pouch he clutches between his forearm and chest.

His fingers shake against the

cold but he successfully extracts what I assume to be a bus ticket.

Replacing his gloves, he spots an uncapped yet only half-finished Coca-Cola bottle from the trash.

He carefully removes it and begins to drink, propping it up in the trash between swigs so he can keep his hands warm in his pockets.

I return to my senses and realize I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t typed a word in the past ten minutes on my study guide.

My attention is fixed on the man, from whom I am merely separated by a pane of glass. We smile at one another for a moment and I think of grabbing a coffee and a scone for him. As I consider this, another man arrives at the bus stop. His jean jacket falls baggily against his right side. His attire says veteran. The two men interact as if they know one another. I consider inviting the two in for breakfast, but question if the institution would frown upon that. A minute later, two more join them and I realize that my original intention of a kind gesture was growing in expense.

I sat, trying not to look out the window for the next fifteen minutes, yet too distracted to make 24

any progress on my studies.

I cannot comprehend life on the other side of this glass windowpane. I know not what the day of these men will be like, nor their story. I can only wonder what the man who smiled back at me through the window was thinking of me, with my rather large cup of coffee next to my MacBook. I cannot imagine his thoughts were positive.

I am a white, middle-class, female, American college senior born into a life of privilege. I live the American Dream - a life of opportunity. My concerns are trivial: passing my exam on Monday. At that thought I become disgusted with myself.

Recognizing all the similarities between us, I fail to distinguish any innate differences or understand why it is that our lives are so vastly different. What burns more is the thought of his companion; the one I assume fought for our country and sacrificed his life to make my American Dream possible, who now braves the cold, pacing the street.

Why am I effortlessly—on this side of the glass windowpane— living the “American Dream?” I don’t deserve to be here, and too often, those who should be sitting at my table, never will.

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Flower Children to Stress Addicts: The Fear of Tomorrow MITCH WRIGHT

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n 1969, the world watched as kids in hippie vans donned their dresses and vests and added flowers to their hair. The peace and love movement blossomed (no pun intended) into the greatest expression of carefree living: Woodstock. But this phenomenon wasn’t only a manifestation of the hippie counter culture so rampant in the sixties and seventies; it was the outcome of a world that simply allowed the youth to live without the fear we know today.

Sure, the Vietnam War had people scared of the draft. Hyperinflation and soaring housing prices under Carter meant that life outside of college was more expensive. But the key difference between the flower children of the counter culture era and the millenials is the intense fear of the job market outside of college.

The 2008 Recession caused a fundamental fear and insecurity of post-graduate life.

Students aren’t just worried about what job they want. They’re worried that even if they find a job after graduation, the job might not provide the financial security 26

expected in the so-called American Dream. The lack of jobs, high rate of layoffs, outsourcing of low-skill jobs, and the decline of traditionally “safe” jobs have scared students into finding the safest route, and we are dragging their feet as we approach graduation. Therefore, in my opinion, the American Dream has become a nightmare, and students will do anything to escape the fear.

This generation of college graduates is growing up in the face of three realities. The first is that the 2008 housing and financial crash led to a skeptical outlook of financial security for students’ families, and by association, their future families. According to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between December 2007 and October 2009, unemployment doubled in the United States, rising from 5 percent to 10 percent.1 Many of those newly unemployed citizens were parents of students, which affected financial security of their families as well as their own outlook on the job market. They fear, therefore, for their own job security and the prospects that they will be hired

in such a poor economy.

Second, globalization of world markets and the spread of multinational corporations led to massive outsourcing. Since 2000, multinational corporations (MNCs) have shipped 5.5 million manufacturing jobs.2 With MNCs perpetually finding the cheapest labor possible, manufacturing and low-skilled manufacturing jobs find their way to China, Indonesia, and other low-wage countries. This means that many jobs students would usually use to put themselves through college or to lean on in a tough economy no longer exist.

Third, the technology explosion means that traditional jobs are under fire. Everyone has heard the line from their parents: “Why don’t you just become a doctor?”

Typically, professions like doctors and lawyers were almost guaranteed financial prosperity. Now science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs are on the rise. Gonzaga alone saw a 6.8 percent rise in STEM majors over the last 5 years.3 Further, the U.S. Department of Commerce pro-

jected that jobs in STEM fields will rise 17 percent from 2008 to 2018.4 While this does not mean society will not progress, it does mean that students feel limited to the STEM careers instead of their other possible passions.

They pursue the safest route for employment after college instead of one about which they might be truly passionate.

I do not think students’ views of the American Dream has changed all that much. They still want a fulfilling job that will offer them financial security, to raise a family, and to enjoy the luxuries that America offers. What has changed is their confidence that they might achieve the dream. They fear that if they find a job, they might not keep that job, and if they do, it might not provide them with the security their parents were able to provide for them. In the seventies, students weren’t as concerned with becoming doctors as they were with changing the world.

Now, we recognize that the world has changed, and we just want to survive in it.

“The Recession of 2007-2009.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. 14 Nov 2013. <www.bls.gov>.

2 Mike Elk. “Obama Solution to Stop Outsourcing.” Huffington Post. 03 Mar 2010 <www.huffingtonpost.com>.

3 Meg Maclean. “GU Not Exempt from Nationwide Trend.” Gonzaga Bulletin. 07 Nov 2014. <gonzagabulletin.com>.

4 “STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future.” Economics and Statistics Administration. U.S. Department of Commerce. 14 Nov 2013. <esa.doc.gov>.

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The Dream Has No Home MARY KATE KOCH

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hile studying abroad in Scotland, I had the opportunity to join the university basketball team – a team with an eclectic international roster. After a late game one night, my Bulgarian teammate and I shared a cab ride home and began to reminisce together about growing up in our respective countries. She waxed nostalgic about the fig trees that lined her backyard, listening to her uncles argue over government conspiracy theories on the patio, and playing ball with her sister in the yard. It sounded like the dream suburban childhood.

In fact, these are the very things of which the American Dream is supposedly made.

When James Truslow Adams first coined the phrase “the American Dream” in 1931, home ownership likely was not the most pressing issue on his mind. However, it is the ideas that constitute home ownership, freedom and opportunity, which Adams believed everyone had a right to pursue and could pursue in America. Having a stable job, family, and a comfortable house with a white picket fence in the

suburbs has become the standard vision of this Dream. However, this may no longer be an accurate measuring stick of the “better and richer” life Adams envisioned for everyone.1 Bulgaria currently ranks fourth in the world for home ownership amongst its citizens with 95.6 percent of the population owning a home. In contrast, the United States has a home ownership rate of 65.4 percent.2 Is Bulgaria really doing a better job at creating the opportunity for its people to achieve the Dream than the United States? Not quite. Houses and land are cheap in Bulgaria in part because of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the massive push for privatization that ensued. Additionally, the Bulgarian population has been steadily decreasing, falling from 8.2 million people in 1998 to 7.3 million people today, one of the slowest growth rates in the world.3 Housing ownership does not necessarily equate to wealth and opportunity. This is a rather shallow measuring stick that suburban America has been using for years.

A house can be owned any28

where. This is not the end goal of the American Dream. Rather, it is the larger concept of the opportunity to improve that Adams believed America provided, and that it still does provide today.

My Bulgarian teammate once told me about a time when teachers once went on strike for two months during the middle of the school year. She left her home country to attend a Western university because of the increased opportunity for education. After completing her business degree, one of my Scottish teammates plans on working in America for the opportunity to be in a larger business market where she’ll have more career options and mobility. They still see America as a place to improve their conditions, even if it’s a place they’ll never call home and put up a white picket fence.

As the world becomes increasingly globalized, people all around the world do not even need to leave their home countries to take advantage of such opportunities. The rapid growth of online education is allowing top-tier American universities to provide teaching around the world. The internet is also providing people the means to telecommute to work in an American-based company should they happen to be located elsewhere

on the globe.

Although America may be different on the surface from the nation about which Adams once wrote, the roots of the country remain the same. America still provides the freedom and opportunity that have always constituted the pillars of the American Dream.

Before we parted ways after getting out of the cab, my Bulgarian teammate turned to me and said, “I feel sorry for you that you belong to the Englishspeaking Western culture because it means that you don’t get anything for your own. I get to come here for school and be a part of it, but then I also get to go home to Bulgaria, which is special all to myself.”

While I respect my teammate’s Bulgarian pride, I disagree that this is anything to feel sorry about. The special thing about my home is that it’s deeply connected to all parts of the world and isn’t just isolated by itself.

America gets to touch the cultures of the world, and in turn all the cultures of the world get to touch America.

Right now, America is in the position to provide opportunity not only to U.S. citizens, but also to more and more people across the globe. Our ability to provide educational, economic, or social 29

opportunities is crucial to defining ourselves as a nation, and it is a responsibility America cannot take lightly. Although the Dream was first conceptualized with “American” in the moniker, this dream of a better and richer life belongs to every person, regardless of nation.

James Truslow Adams. The Epic of America.

Alice Pittini. “2012 Housing Europe Review”. Oct 2011. CECODHAS. <housingeurope.eu>.

3 “Population Growth (Annual %)”. 2012. World Bank. <data.worldbank.org>.

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30

Come Back KASSI PICCHI

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hen I think about the American Dream my mind wanders far away from school and family and careers. I do not think of America.

Instead, I think of Africa. This summer I had the opportunity to spend five weeks studying in Zambia. On the first night at the campfire, my classmates and I were encouraged to meet some locals like Albert, Mary, and Innocent, as well as fellow researchers at camp with us.

I took the opportunity to chat with Albert, the Camp Manager at Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage. He seemed like a wonderful and interesting man, and I am always eager to learn from others. He did most of the talking at the start of our conversation.

He asked me, “Who is Kassi?”

I started to describe myself. He asked me what I wanted to do after studying psychology. I felt that “work as an FBI profiler” would not be an acceptable answer either because it may not make sense to him or because I thought it was insensitive to mention a US agency in that particular setting. Either way, I responded, “I’m not sure yet,” and

started to justify my answer by describing the Child Psychology course I was taking while working at Chimfunshi.

At that point in the conversation, Albert started asking the hard questions. “Why?” he asked, “You all come here for classes, but no one comes back.”

He asked me, “Why not stay in Africa? We need experts here.

People need help here. Africa and America are friends. Why not come back, Kassi?” “We all need your help.” He talked about the Peace Corps volunteers who give up their lives at home to serve others in the developing world. He mentioned that the local food lacked nutrition, and he described how long it took to develop the homes at the compound and the soccer field on the dambo. He said, “People come to Africa and see, and then they don’t do anything to help. There is no money here, so people don’t want to stay.” This broke my heart; it made me feel sick and worthless.

“Kassi, would you come back to Africa? Why won’t you come back?” I tried to defend myself and my career goals, but it was 31

not good enough. There was nothing I could have said to this man to satisfy his inquiries.

Albert’s questions got me thinking. Why me? Why do they need my help? Is there a reason for it? Could I leave America for Africa after graduation to contribute my knowledge, compassion, and service to this place and these people? Could I leave behind my family and the comfort of America to serve others in a place where my efforts may not really change much, if anything, in my lifetime?

When I hear “the American Dream,” I think back to a time that has since passed when these words described a land of opportunity, freedom, and white picket fences. What I often fail to recognize – and I think many Americans can relate – is that the American Dream might still exist, just not as we used to envision it. We take for granted much of what America has to offer: how it protects us and how it challenges and encourages us to become whoever and whatever we want. My conversation (more like interrogation) with Albert taught me that there is so much that I can do simply because I am an American citizen. Maybe the American Dream has evolved into something more than an opportunity to pursue a success-

ful life in America. Maybe now the American Dream is the act of taking our life experience in America and using our knowledge to pursue a successful life elsewhere, to learn more from others, and to accept foreign opportunities and challenges.

The best part about the American Dream is that it is limitless.

Maybe I’ll buy a sailboat and travel from dock to dock; maybe I’ll build schools across the US. Maybe my American Dream is to buy a one way ticket back to Africa.

32

The American Nightmare

The American Dream is for quantity over quality; But accumulate quality if you can afford it.

It’s signaling your taste, your material success, your hipness, and your “brand”.

From adjacent vacant lots filled with prized junk To McMansions with a closet stuffed with Cabbage Patch collectables To the carbon fly rods hanging in my garage We manifest our dreams.

Not satisfied to play out our dreams privately Their realization must be signaled to attain fulfillment Witness Facebook.

The American Dream is untold diversity in the ice cream section of the grocery store.

Choosing from 100 craft beers.

It’s living forever.

It’s attaining “elite” status in your mileage account or your child’s sports team.

It’s having the most tattoos.

It’s luxury goods And private schools for your kids.

We’re livin’ the dream.

-DR. KENT HICKMAN Professor of Finance

Living Buying the Dream MOLLIE PICHA

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he first thing I think of when somebody says “The American Dream” is a white picket fence. Back in the good old days, before I was ever born, this meant a literal white picket fence. Now, I do not personally know a single individual that has one of these relics surrounding their home or garden, protecting their family from the neighbors’ dogs or any other trouble that might come walking down the street. The white picket fence itself had almost no utility value. It had large spaces between boards and its beautiful white shine did not last long as it soon was dirtied with mud and dust. Not to mention the fence was too short to be effective.

And that is what the American Dream does today – it falls short.

The American Dream has turned into consumerism at its finest. In the 1940s and 50s, the dream of owning a car and a home with a white picket fence was not about those things at all.

Those material items represented so much more. Inside that house lived the real American Dream.

There was a family to cherish, enjoy, and protect. The car and

white picket fence were also representations of this essential American Dream. They were manifestations of a family’s sense of safety, security, and mobility.

Although the fence is not a part of the picture anymore, the car and house sure are. And so is the computer. And the smart phone. And designer clothes.

And. And. And. The more we have, the better Americans we are. The more we consume, the better we are doing at living the American Dream. We work to get money to buy things. We buy things to show that we have money. We export and we import – it’s all part of the American Dream.

We have now gotten to the point where our values have become commodities. One of the leading exports of the United States is now the American Dream itself.

When studying in Chile, I got to see the exportation of the American Dream in full force.

Chile is one of the most developed countries in Latin America.

On a national level, the country has adopted countless neoliberal economic policies similar to those in the United States. These trade ideals enforce the idea of 36

consumerism and have trickled down from the national level to the individual level. Not only is there influence from above, but there is also influence from abroad. The indirect American influence by way of the Chilean government is not the only force acting upon the Chilean people.

Direct influence from America through news, music, TV shows, and especially consumer goods is abundantly obvious in Chile.

Television is the most influential vehicle in spreading the American Dream to Chile and other countries around the world. Other than news channels, there is one (count it: one) television channel in Chile that actually airs Chilean-produced shows. The rest of the channels air American television shows – and the Chileans love it. They see just what we see: an unrealistic and often unattainable American Dream, and they fall into the same trap of reaching for this warped American Dream. They choose to adopt our practices in hopes of living a better life. The combination of these American TV programs and the commercials, which are also often for American products, is a one-twopunch in drawing Chileans into the American Dream. Chileans want to lead happy and successful lives like the Americans they

see on TV – and therefore literally buy their way into it.

Chileans, and citizens of other countries all over the world, are getting closer and closer to the consumerist American Dream of today and further and further away from the familial American Dream of years past. We might appear to be happy with our “stuff ” and believe ourselves to be living a good American Dream filled with money, success, and recognition. These certainly are not the only values of today, but they were not always central to our ideas of success. Instead, the American Dream included values such as those of family, honesty, and community.

Sadly, these are ideals of the American Dream that have been forgotten. How are we supposed to find them again? We have to stop and ask ourselves, “Toward what dream are we working?”

Just a few moments of reflection can end in inspiration and cause for change and a revival of antiquated American values. The world often sees the US as one of two things: consumers to be scoffed at or successes to be emblemized. The American Dream has gained shine over the years, but has simultaneously lost its substance. Are we really “living the dream?” Or are we just “buying the dream?”

37

A Reality for Few DR. MARK CHAKOIAN Philosophy Lecturer

I

f the American Dream is the subjective feeling that one has a good chance at achieving whatever station in life one desires – dependent only on one’s drive and ability – then the dream is alive and well; ask any number of individuals who are fortunate enough to be born into a position of relative security and privilege, and their answers will likely reflect the reality that hard work and dedication will take them far in life. If, however, the American Dream is more than just a feeling – if it requires not only that some believe it to be true, but also that it actually is true for all – then our society has fallen far short of its ideal.

Those born into the wealthiest quintile in the United States will more likely than not remain in the top two fifths of earners as adults, while almost two-thirds of those born into the poorest quintile will remain in the bottom two.1 Furthermore, we have to acknowledge that despite our vision of this nation as fundamentally meritocratic, bias – on the basis of sex and race, most 38

prominently – continues to determine who among us are able to improve our situations and to what extent. Research has shown, for example, that given the same qualifications, applicants thought to be black (based on their names) are less likely than their white counterparts to be called for an interview after submitting a resume. Even more, one study found racial disparities in the rate of improvement of the number of calls received when resumes represented more highly-qualified individuals: a strong white candidate received a 30 percent increase in calls over a less-qualified white candidate, while the same degree of improvement garnered black candidates only a 9 percent increase.2 Drive and ability may help you fulfill your dream, but race may be a more important factor.

Similarly, discrimination on the basis of gender affects how women are perceived at work: greater dedication may not make them more likely to advance in their careers, especially as compared to their male counterparts.

As it turns out, hard work and

willingness to help others pays off much better for men than women. Despite being more likely to be asked for assistance in the workplace – and more likely to aid others when asked – one study found that help coming from women was viewed less favorably than help coming from men.3 While men are viewed as adding to their workloads in ways that go above and beyond, women are often seen as simply fulfilling an expectation of helpfulness. As such, a hard-working man adds to the perception that he is willing to double-down when it counts, while a woman doing so just reinforces her profile as a happy helper.

Our insistence that we are unbiased and our persistence in the belief of the American Dream only serve to hinder our progress. If you are a white man born into the middle or upper class, then yes, the American Dream lives on; but not so for the majority of Americans. As long as we continue to deny that many are born into situations that they

cannot change – no matter what they as individuals may be capable of accomplishing – we will continue to fail at achieving the American Dream.

Jason DeParle. “Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs.” 4 Jan. 2012.

The New York Times. 22 Nov. 2013. <nytimes.com>.

2 Marianne Bertrand. “Racial Bias in Hiring: Are Emily and Brendan More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?” Chicago Booth School of Business. Spring 2003.

The University of Chicago. 22 Nov. 2013. <chicagobooth.edu>.

3 Sharon Meers. “Women, Work and the ‘Girl Scout Tax.’” WSJ Blogs. 29 Oct. 2013. The Wall Street Journal. 22 Nov. 2013. <blogs.wsj.com> 1

39

Our American Nightmare MATT FRIEDMAN “F E A R you listening?

Red, white, and blue won’t look out for you F E A R you listening Land of the free? Where is our liberty?

We the people just want to feel safe By destroying ourselves and everything in our way We the people live in fear and faith While we struggle to get by on a minimum wage We the people just want to feel safe By destroying ourselves and everything in our way We the people live in fear and don’t want to break the chains We’re enslaved by our ignorant ways” -Stray From the Path, “False Flag”

D

reams can be all too real.

In the midst of a truly deep sleep, we may find ourselves transported to another world, free from the laws of time, space, or rationality. Though time seems to pass in the throes of a particularly potent dream, eventually, we all must wake up.

America, however, is a land of sleepers.

We sleepwalk our lives away.

Held in a near-comatose state through the cultural anesthetics of consumerism and egotism, we blindly tread through a seemingly endless cycle. We trudge through the years of our lives as if they were merely a means to an end. All we do is in the desperate and misguided pursuit of a dead symbol known as “the American

dream.” In our myopic pursuit of this American dream, however, we have completely lost the essence of what that dream truly meant. Asleep and unaware, we are caught in the throes of a horrific American nightmare.

America has leaped across the line between self-betterment and egotism. No longer is America a land of opportunity. Rather, America is now a land of opportunists looking out for number one; a land of self-entitled hypocrites in unearned repose, standing on the shoulders of giants with ingratitude, seeing only what more we can gain. We build walls around ourselves in order to protect our sacred dream. But in reality, we are merely protecting our individualistic, sheltered 40

lives, and hiding from the ugly world beyond our white picket fences. We assuage our American guilt with conspicuous gifts to charities serving far away issues, rather than personally helping those in need. We hide behind the electronic fences of our computers, televisions, and phones, terrified to our very cores that if we look each other in the eyes for even a second, the delicate dream we’ve constructed for ourselves will be shattered. More than anything we choose to hide behind our own ignorance. America is the embodiment of the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality.

The iconic American dream of our predecessors represents all that was pure about our forefathers—the pursuit of a better life through hard work and selfsacrifice. Sure, even this noble and genuine dream had its dark side—nothing but an idea is wholly sacred. But this American dream, though idealized, was something to strive for, to toil after. The American dream of our time has been twisted and manipulated into something it was never meant to be: the pursuit of a job that provides enough monetary wealth to ensure enough material wealth to fill the

immense chasm left where our morality and reason used to be.

We are one of the wealthiest countries on earth, but also one of the most unsatisfied and depressed—nearly 1 out of every 10 Americans suffers from depression.1 Insatiable, we are enslaved by the Hobbesian leviathan that is the American dream—we are enslaved by our very freedom.

Why do we surrender ourselves to the monster? Why do we not choose to break the chains? Each and every one of us silently accepts our enslavement—no one is totally innocent. Every status update and credit card swipe lacerates us deeper and deeper as human beings. But how can we stop the bleeding?

We must abolish the American dream as we know it. We must raze to the ground all we believe about our country, and start anew. The new American dream we build may not be ideal, but we don’t live in a world of ideals.

The world is an ugly place, but a dream gives people something to strive for, to toil after. A dream is essential to drive us to action.

The American dream is dead.

Good riddance, too. Free of our shackles, it is up to us to construct a new dream.

Wake up.

“An Estimated 1 in 10 U.S. Adults Reports Depression” . March 31, 2011. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. <cdc.gov>.

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41

RememberingOurDreams

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Planted in America CLAIRE MESKERS

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he was able to immigrate to the United States on a workerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visa and the support of Oregon Bulb Farms. Helene originally came on a tourist visa, but because it is hard to stay for any substantial amount of time on that type of documentation, Martin and Helene bought an 18-acre nursery stock farm the same year Helene arrived in the United States.

Through the purchase of this nursery they were able to apply for an Investorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Visa; however, as with all visas, Martin and Helene had to leave the country every year to renew them, this required many weekend trips to Vancouver, Canada.

In 1985, Martin and Helene moved from Sandy, Oregon, to Aurora, Oregon, and had their first daughter, Jacinth. At this farm in Aurora they were able to grow bulbs on contract, but it was not an easy business. Even getting the loans necessary to begin a business was difficult without the status of a permanent resident. Every year since 1980, Martin and Helene applied to the green card lottery, and while on an Investors Visa they had two more children: Tyler in 1988 and

any Americans have lost faith in the American Dream; they believe it is unattainable. I know differently. I still believe in the American Dream because I have seen it happen right before my eyes. I am a first-generation American and I have witnessed the privileges that I have that my parents did not. I understand that the illusion of America has dimmed to my fellow Americans, but the immigrants still coming to this country see it as an opportunity to provide for their families what cannot be provided in their home countries.

My parents, Martin and Helene, came to the United States from the Netherlands and, after many hurdles, became American citizens in 2002.

Martin came to the United States from the Netherlands in 1979, at just 21 years old. He came because he had an opportunity to work for a bulb farm in Oregon. His girlfriend, Helene, came one year later at the age of 23, and in 1981 Martin and Helene wed to begin their American Dream. Since Martin had an opportunity to work in Oregon, 44

Claire in 1991. In 1992 Helene won the permanent resident lottery and was able to get Martin a green card as well. In 1993 Martin and Helene, with family in tow, flew to the Netherlands to fill out the Dutch paperwork to become citizens, and upon landing in Boston were able go through customs as permanent residents for the first time. Nine years later, they began to take the steps towards becoming naturalized American citizens. Martin and Helene have been naturalized citizens since September 2002.

My parents are the hardest working people I know, and have been a source of inspiration to me for my entire life. They came to the United States with very little and have created so much from it, all in spite of the challenges immigration created for them. My parents own and operate a cut flower business and employ 25 people year-round. If it hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been for their hard work and determination, I would not be where I am today. They saw the American Dream and used it to their full advantage. I find it astounding that many Americans do not believe the American Dream still exists, especially since I have witnessed it firsthand.

It took my parents 23 long

years to become American citizens. This sizeable commitment would dissuade many others from attaining naturalization.

Those who persist anyway, like my parents, are the dreamers.

What we as Americans donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see is that many people would risk so much simply for the possibilities America has to offer.

45

Surviving the Holocaust: Jewish Refugees and the ‘American Dream’ HEIDI JEANNE KYLE

Adjunct Professor of History

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y May 8, 1945, the war in nations such as the United States Europe ended, and the had set quotas based on nationAllied forces liberated na- ality. However through new legtions, concentration camps, and islation, in particular the 1948 death camps across Europe. Displaced Persons Act, “which This, however, was not the end first recognized refugees in U.S. of the Holocaust story for survi- Law,” more survivors were able vors. After liberation, the death to enter the United States.3 Sonia Brodecki came to the toll continued to grow as some individuals were too sick to save United States in September or did not receive the aid needed 1949 and realized her American quickly enough.1 Additionally, dream. She was a Polish Jew, survivors found themselves with who survived a ghetto in Poland no identification, no money, and and three concentration camps often no family and no home to in Germany. When reflecting which they could return. While on her liberation she said, “You some survivors welcomed the know we couldn’t believe it and opportunity to return to their we didn’t know what to do with home countries, many others ourselves. Where we gonna go? were anxious to immigrate out- Who do we have?”4 She decidside of Europe and start new ed to return home to look for her lives. Thousands of survivors re- family. She did have one cousin mained at concentration camps who survived the camps, but she that were transformed into Dis- discovered nobody else had surplaced Persons (DP) camps; later vived. Sonia returned briefly to DP camps were moved outside her family home to find a woman of the original Nazi concentra- living there and using all of her tion camps.2 Initially, immigra- family’s possessions from furnition after the war was difficult as ture to decorations. After being 46

let into the home and having a moment alone, she was able to go to the attic and find the gold coins her father had hid behind a brick for safe keeping. Sonia then decided to return to Germany to the Landsberg Displaced Persons Camp. Of Poland she said, “I just didn’t want to be there. I didn’t see any future.”5 In the camp, she began her new life. At the age of 16, she married a man she had known for 3 months, and in December 1946 she gave birth to her first child.

While in the camp, she “signed up” to move to the United States.

With the passing of the DP Act, more survivors were able to enter the U.S. with aid from Jewish agencies. Even though Sonia had an uncle in Israel with whom her new and growing family could have gone to live, she chose America because it had been her childhood dream. Sonia had learned about the United States before the war had even started from an older friend who had family living there; her friend spoke of a prosperous land and showed Sonia gifts she had received from America.

At the age of 10, Sonia’s dream of coming to the United States formed, and she carried that dream with her through the war, the camps, and liberation. Sonia’s dream became a reality in 1949 when she traveled by plane to her new country. Sonia and her husband moved into an apartment in Richmond, Virginia, and one month later she gave birth to her second child. Her two youngest children were also born in the United States. After 5 years, she “ecstatically” became a U.S. citizen. In the United States, Sonia’s American dream was realized with tolerance, opportunity, and happiness. She was able to own a home, build a family, and provide her children with education opportunities. She reflected, “We could go and do whatever we want to.”6 For thousands of survivors and refugees of World War II, the United States offered new opportunities and a new dream.

Nearly 400,000 Displaced Persons, including 96,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors, came to the United States between 1945 and 1952.7

Ben Shephard. After Daybreak: The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen, 1945. New York: Schocken Books.

2 Harold Marcuse. “The Afterlife of the Camps,” in Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany: The New Histories. 2010. New York: Routledge. <academia.edu>.

3 Rubén G. Rumbaut. “Origins and Destinies: Immigration to the United States since World War II”. December 1994. Sociological Forum 9. <papers.ssrn.com>.

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47

Ben Shephard. After Daybreak: The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen, 1945. New York: Schocken Books.

2 Harold Marcuse. “The Afterlife of the Camps,” in Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany: The New Histories. 2010. New York: Routledge. <academia.edu>.

3 Rubén G. Rumbaut. “Origins and Destinies: Immigration to the United States since World War II”. December 1994. Sociological Forum 9. <papers.ssrn.com>.

4 Sonia Brodecki. Oral History Interview with Sonia Brodecki. August 25, 1995. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. <http://collections.ushmm.org>.

5 Sonia Brodecki. Oral History Interview with Sonia Brodecki. July 26, 2003. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. <http://collections.ushmm.org>.

6 See 5 7 “Refugees”. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. <ushmm.org>.

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48

A Family Business SAMANTHA MARZIELLO

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for a better life and hoping to fulfill the American Dream.

For my Great Grandpa, moving forward meant living this Dream of which he had heard many stories. It was his chance to run a business and to own a house. It was the ability to pursue any religious belief or to live in any part of the country that he pleased.

Furthermore, he saw America as an opportunity for his children.

It was a place where they would have access to a proper education. It was a place where they would no longer be isolated from society. They could play sports, join a church, or participate in other organizations where they could interact with others and develop into community leaders.

These dreams were all unattainable for my Great Grandpa in Italy, and they were the enticing and exciting new opportunities that my he could not refuse.

From New Jersey to a small town in upstate Massachusetts, my Great Grandpa Andre struggled as a laborer to make enough money for his wife and children to follow him in his voyage to this prosperous new land. He served as a conduit to his small village

hy would anyone want to leave the safety of their homeland or travel across the ocean for thousands of miles, risk their lives, and leave their families behind? It’s all for an idea—the American Dream.

My Great Grandpa Andre left Cairano, Italy, because his family’s economic status was in dire need of improvement. Going to America would be a chance for a new beginning.

In Italy, my family members were sharecroppers. My Great Grandparents lived in a small home on top of a mountain for safety. They used their basement as a stable for their animals, would travel down the mountainside for two hours in the dark to the fields where they worked from dawn to dusk. At lunch, they would clean their dishes with dirt and at the end of the day they would walk back up the mountain. This was their life.

It would be their life for years to come, and the cycle would continue for their children as well.

There was no room for advancement in this lifestyle, and for this reason my Great Grandpa Andre traveled across the ocean hoping 49

of Cairano in Italy, spreading the word of opportunities.

Fulfillment of the American Dream was my familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assimilation into society. They were no longer living a secluded life on top of a mountain with no chance of improvement. My Great Grandpa Andre, a laborer, was promoted to a foreman, and his son, my grandpa, became a public servant as one of the first Italian-American firemen. My father was raised in upstate Massachusetts. As a family, we took a trip back to Italy to visit distant relatives and to see the place to which my great grandparents never wanted to return. Now, as a student at Gonzaga University, I am receiving a private Jesuit education. It is an opportunity that would not have been possible without my Great Grandpa Andre pursuing, and in my opinion, fulfilling the American Dream.

50

Dreams from Our Fathers NICKI AFFONSO-McMORROW

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tion they made to my American Dream was not their money, but their sense of culture and tradition. Their phrases and customs are evident in my family today— you don’t give an insult, you give a guina, you aren’t throwing a temper tantrum, you’re being a piaga face. God forbid you are rude or a polenta mala; you would be kicked out of the house! My family laughs loud, smiles wide, and loves fiercely, and I would not have it any other way! I am a product of all of the decisions, changes, and triumphs my family has made.

This history of my family, however brief, may not seem very important from the outside. How many European-Americans are there in the US? At Gonzaga?

My heritage is not unique, but it means the world to me. I never understood how people could be so disconnected from their heritage, so caught up in their individual lives that they forget to see where they came from. Do you realize that at some point in the past, someone sacrificed for you?

In my case, many of my ancestors sacrificed their entire lives.

My Irish ancestors boarded a

am, simply, one step in the process of attainment of the American Dream. Sure, I’m in the process of attaining my own American Dream, as most of us are. Yet, I am also a piece of a larger American Dream, a family’s American Dream that began many decades ago.

I am Irish, German, Italian and Portuguese, representing four ethnicities that did not have an easy path upon entering the United States. My Irish ancestors came over during the famine, leaving behind everything they knew. My grandmother is from Germany, and met my grandfather after the war in England.

When they arrived in the United States, they opened their own medical supply store that my parents still run today.

My Italian and Portuguese relatives settled in San Jose, California, in the 1920s, eager to farm the land that looked the most like the land they had tilled at home. Poor, they took jobs as stone cutters, butchers and hardware store owners. Most of the Italian and Portuguese were poor too, so they knew everyone in town. The biggest contribu51

ship to a place with which they were completely unfamiliar and endured a journey that lasted for weeks. They were cold, hungry, and scared, with no inkling of what they would see once they disembarked. My grandmother left Germany without even telling her mother where she was goingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;probably because she did not know herself. In spite of the fear and the challenges, my ancestors each made that leap of faith because they knew they would have better lives. Because they knew that sometime very far down the line, one of their descendants would benefit from their sacrifices. Because they sacrificed for the American Dream, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m allowed to create my American Dream too.

Thus, the American Dream, in my mind, is not something that is achieved by one person, but through many generations. It is something that begins when one person makes a leap of faith, and, if done correctly, is carried on by subsequent generations.

As descendents of the initial American Dream, we are expected to keep reaching, to keep pushing ourselves to higher and higher standards in order to honor the sacrifices of our ancestors.

I am not just going to college. I am also going to graduate school to get my masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree. I am

not going to settle for an easy job, I am going to work for a challenging career. Every choice I make in my life is done to both push myself and to honor those that gave me these opportunities through their sacrifices. Working hard now means that my ancestors did not make their sacrifices in vain.

I urge everyone to learn more about where they come from and to discover the people whose sacrifices have allowed you the opportunities that you have today. If you are reading this page, if you have access to food and water, if you dream of a better future for your family, then you have someone to thank. And if, like me, you feel that you are a descendent of an American Dream, do not take it lightly. We are so lucky to be in this great country, that we should do all we can to both take advantage of our opportunities and to assist others in fulfilling their own American Dreams.

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Daring to Dream

Why am I trying to become what I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am!â&#x20AC;&#x2039;

-Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman

Turn and Burn CARL JACOBSON

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and crop prices along with it.

Compounded with this decline, drought in the Dust Bowl in the Midwest resulted in the loss of land for many farmers. The definition of successful changed.

The land could no longer provide, so people looked more and more to industry and blue collar jobs to bring home the bacon.

Success meant a job.

Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industry grew, and we fought another war along the way. Then I think we wanted to capture a little piece of the American Dream. It was no longer good enough simply to have a job. You had to have a little piece of America; you had to own a home.

Thus began the most iconic American Dream in history. You can already see the image of a house with a white picket fence in the suburbs. That dream more or less endured until the housing crisis in the late 2000s. That American Dream endured other financial crises, but this one tore the heart out of it. Presidents gave speeches about how every American should own a home, and the same mantra brought our economy dangerously low.

have lived an American Dream, an American Dream from a bygone era but an American Dream nonetheless. I have grown up, lived and worked all my life on a small family farm, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Let me explain what I mean by an American Dream and not the American Dream.

An American Dream starts just an idea of what it means to be successful that sits quietly in the back of your mind. It grows and it spreads until it is on the tips of everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tongues, and in the zeitgeist of the nation, the American Dream is what that particular dream is for our current generation.

The dream I grew up in was focused on harkening back to manifest destiny and the West; it is tied up intimately in the identity of the immigrant. The dream is to go to America and grab a piece of its bounty and provide for your family. To be bound up in the land so much so that you might as well have married it and, by extension, truly become part of America. Then, the West filled up, the maps were filled in and the stock market crashed 56

Once again the definition of successful has changed, and with it, the American Dream changes again. The dust has not yet settled, and our generation has not yet offered up a definition of this dream for ourselves.

It is up to our generation of the Millennials. We have been called lazy, shiftless and morally reprehensible – a cry yelled out by the older generation to the young since ancient Greece – to decide the new American Dream. It has already begun; I have talked to my friends about what they want to do after graduation, and not a single one of them has said, “I don’t care so long as it makes me rich.” One is a computer science major who is passionate about comedy. Another is a biochemistry major who loves to dance.

They are more than their skills and their future professions.

They want to do something that makes them happy, and they want to do something that is meaningful.

Those who say the American Dream is dead are fools or misanthropes. It changes, and the members of our generation are the architects. We have already seen what the previous generation built. No one can cast down judgment until they see what we build. This is our time.

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Are You Carrying the Fire?

NICK TURNER

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long, treacherous voyages across the seas. It sustained factory workers, laboring in horrific conditions because they truly believed that through these trials, they would achieve the dream.

It sustained caravans on their journey to the West through disease, famine, weather, and battle.

Soldiers have died defending the dream on faraway beaches and in their own backyards.

The American Dream is not dead. Far from it. To paraphrase Steinbeckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s everyman, Tom Joad, it lives within each of us.1 It lives in every good deed we do for each other, in every bead of sweat and drop of blood we shed, and in every daunting challenge we overcome. We perpetuate the dream in our communities when we come to the aid of the less fortunate. We perpetuate the dream in our nation when we stand together against tyranny and oppression. This dream, this pursuit of happiness, will be sustained so long as there are Americans willing to sustain it.

Therefore, it is a challenge - a call to arms. For the privilege of

he American Dream began as a notion that inspired millions of people to leave behind everything they and their ancestors ever knew for the selfless goal of creating a new future. The scale of the initial pursuit of the dream cannot be overstated. It is so vast that it has sustained hope, dreams, and ingenuity since the Minutemen fired those fateful shots at Lexington and Concord. Yet the American Dream is constantly questioned. It seems that there are more Americans than ever debating the very existence of an idea that has driven the men and women who built this country for generations.

The question, therefore, becomes: What is the American Dream? Is it the attainment of wealth and power? The accumulation of a massive cache of consumer goods? The achievement of a certain level of social status?

I submit that it is simply one of our unalienable rights - the pursuit of happiness.

This plain, yet noble pursuit sustained immigrants enduring 1

John Steinback. The Grapes of Wrath. 2006. Penguin Group.

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calling ourselves Americans, we vow to defend and pursue happiness. We defend the American Dream. As the boy in McCarthy’s The Road asks, “Are you carrying the fire?”

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See It Through GARICK SHERBURN

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veryone has a dream. In America that dream is supposed to fall in line with the status quo. When I was younger, I wanted to be just like my parents. I wanted a household full of love and happiness. I wanted holidays to be filled with family and celebration. But most importantly, I wanted to give my kids the best life possible because that is exactly what my parents did for me. At a young age I knew I had a long road ahead of me, but I smiled at the prospects of the future. My dream still aligned with the typical American Dream. However, I never would have anticipated telling my dad that I was gay while we were in a Panda Express drivethru when I was 18-years-old.

Yes, you did indeed read that right. Most people are fooled into assuming that all coming out stories are emotional and heartbreaking or perhaps “the scariest moment of my life.” Well, that’s not always the case. I told my dad that I was gay seconds before he was about to order dinner at the drive- thru. The conversation went something like this: Me: “Dad, you know that thing 60

I wanted to tell you? I like boys.

I’m gay.”

Dad: “Garick, I am so proud of you. You know mom and I will always support you.” He then continued with “Yeah, can I get an entrée plate with fried rice and orange chicken?”

That was the conversation. In hindsight, I should have picked a better time or maybe recorded a video and put it on YouTube. But anyway, that was my last meal as a closeted straight man: orange chicken with a side of gay.

So now what? Fresh out of the closet and with a new college identity intact, it was time to discover what was waiting out there for me. Like many Americans, I started my pursuit of the dream with college. I began working on a degree in psychology, a field of study that always fascinated me.

Each of my parents has a strong presence in the medical field, so it was no surprise to them when I made my decision. In fact, I remember I went to my dad’s pharmacy job as a kid because I had a bead stuck in my nose. The glory of blowing that bad boy out with the assistance of my father made me want to someday be a dad

who helps his son. However, I think there is more to my choice in major than that. I love to help people. Its sounds absolutely cliché, but I revel in the fact that I can help someone each day. I have even sacrificed my own happiness on multiple occasions to help someone else. Of course a degree in psychology requires lots of schooling, but the reward will most likely be a fulfilling career as well as a happy bank account.

I am still chasing the dream I had as a little kid. Regardless of how my life or how my personal being has changed, my dreams have remained intact. I find it extremely disappointing when people give up on something that they think they are not cut out for. Why would you ever sell yourself short of greatness? To that nonsensical idea, I say balderdash! I believe, and I think many Americans would agree, that everyone should pursue anything their heart desires and see it through until the end. Last semester, I was on an intramural softball team. I agree, I was not cut out for the job, but it was something I wanted to do, so I saw it out until the end. Perhaps the softball that hit me in the face for my lack of attention at one of the games was my punishment, but that was a meaning-

less chip on the windshield of trying something new.

Often in life we get caught up in hysterics or troublesome times, and we lose sight of the big picture. Each day we come one step closer towards accomplishing our goals. Isn’t that a cool thought? You just finished your homework, and that puts you one step closer to getting an “A” in stats! You just texted a cute boy and he responded with something besides “lol”!

That puts you one step closer to a fancy dinner date. Boom!

Big steps or small steps, small dreams or huge dreams, we are always striving for a lifetime of success. What could be more American than that? We cannot let our struggles or problems interfere with who we are or what we want for ourselves.

While I have been changed by my sexuality, my dream has not.

I still want the things I wanted for myself as a little kid. No one should ever let their dreams go because of who they are; that’s just crap. We are capable of anything we set our minds to. If we honestly give the things we want the good ol’ college try, it is truly amazing the things that we can accomplish. I still want a house full of love and happiness. I still want festive holidays full of family and excitement. I still want to 61

give my kids the best life possible because that is what my parents did for me. The only difference?

I will be doing all of this alongside my future husband, Aaron Tveit, Channing Tatum, any member of One Direction, the love of my life, and I am so excited for that.

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Please Be Happy ANDY NEWMAN

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live a very blessed life. I have a loving family who have faithfully supported me through every up and down of every chapter of my life. No matter what I have wanted to pursue in my short life, I’ve been given the opportunity to do so. Good friends, loyal classmates, dedicated coaches, caring teachers, and protective adults watched over me, taught me, and nurtured me throughout my upbringing. I heard the term “American Dream” repeatedly during my upbringing and through the first 17 years of my educational journey. A discussion surrounding the subject seems to occur in almost every History or Social Studies class I’ve ever taken. The same theme appears every time: America stood as a symbol for a new beginning. It provides the opportunity to achieve something or make something of yourself through hard work and dedication, or the opportunity to live comfortably. I could never relate to the American Dream – until now, that is.

I am a Caucasian male student and accomplished athlete from an upper middle class family that 63

has been given every opportunity to succeed in life. I’ve attended private, Catholic schools from kindergarten through Gonzaga University. I can grasp what the definition of the American Dream is, but I cannot honestly claim to understand it. It is hard to claim that I understand the American Dream because I only recently obtained my first job and have lived comfortably throughout my upbringing, it is not an idea that can be explained, and it is something that needs to be experienced in order to truly comprehend it.

I want to talk about something that I hold dear to my heart: GUSR (Gonzaga University Specialized Recreation). As I am writing this, I am guessing that you have no idea what that is. As a matter of fact, I would wager that three-fourths of the Gonzaga population has no idea what GUSR does. GUSR is a program that works with developmentally disabled community members from the Spokane area.

We hold two events every week: play practice on Thursday nights and bowling on Saturday mornings. If you have any experience

working with developmentally disabled people, you will understand what I mean when I say that Thursday nights and Saturday mornings are my most cherished times of the week.

One specific event comes to mind when explaining to people why GUSR is so special. It occurred in the fall of 2013 during one of our play practices. At a weekly meeting for the leadership team, we learned that the original founder of GUSR had passed away. One of our coordinators decided that we should send the family a card signed by all of our participants. Play practice began and everyone had signed the card; I was busily talking trash about the Seahawks game with our biggest die-hard fan, Joey. As play practice was winding down, I decided to look at the card and read what everyone had written.

Joan, one of our participants had written something on the card that hit home to me, “Lots of love and think of you always. Please be happy.”

For me, my American Dream had always been to flourish financially, make a significant difference in people’s lives, and have a loving family. My time with GUSR has changed my definition of the American Dream.

I want to live my life as our participants do: lovingly, selflessly,

optimistically, and full of excitement over the smallest things.

I want to live like Spencer who cannot contain his excitement as he constantly reminds us of the upcoming Holidays and what decorations or plans he has for them.

As a sophomore in college, I realize that society expects me to have my life more fully planned out than I do. However, I know one very important thing: If I live even half as beautifully as my developmentally disabled friends who participate in GUSR, my life will be blessed and well worth living every day to the fullest. I am not sure whether or not you have made it all the way to the end of this essay, but I challenge you to live this way as well. Don’t take things for granted, take in every day as if it were a gift, ignore the petty things, and, most importantly, be happy. This really should be the foundation of the American Dream for everyone. I would venture to guess that our country and our world would be a much better place if we only attempted to live this way. If you get nothing else out of this, take this with you: “Lots of love and think of you always. Please be happy.”

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A Note on the Dream NED FISCHER

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loss. I sat on that curb, sweating and trying to cry while my uncle patted me softly on the back.

After the funeral and burial, the rest of my family was rummaging around my grandparents’ knickknacks: old photos, letters, and saved trinkets, my dad came across a little tin box. He must have opened it without any of us paying much attention as we were all working our way through a massive pile of forgotten junk. I don’t remember the exclamation, but I know my dad was very taken aback. Amidst a jumbled stack of little letters, my dad found a note.

The note was from my grandfather Donald’s dad. In hurried handwriting, on a torn strip of brown grocery bag paper, the note read:

hree years ago, my grandma died. She was preceded in death by her husband, the loss of whom had left her a very sad person. To attend the funeral my mom, dad, and I flew from the Spokane airport to Tampa Bay where my grandparents lived. I don’t remember the trip that well, but one of the things I remember is returning to the same funeral home I had been to for my grandfather’s wake. I was dressed in khakis and a lilac shirt with a suede jacket, black tie, and cheap gas station sunglasses. Thinking back it was an absolutely ridiculous outfit given the horrible Floridian heat and humidity. I remember sitting out on the curb next to the hearse after the casket had been placed in the back, sweating inside that jacket… a lot. I remember sitting on the curb just staring and exhaling and starting to cry. But I wasn’t crying because I was sad; I was crying because I wasn’t sad. I was never very close to my grandmother, but nevertheless I had just lost a family member and the mood was somber. My uncle came over and consoled me, thinking I was disturbed by the

To My Family, I am sorry for what I must do. Forgive.

I am trapped and very sick. I hope you can be brave and strong. Don, be good and take care of your mother. God forgive me.

Here was my dad reading a letter aloud to his family that his grandfather had scrawled on a scrap of brown grocery paper to 65

his family.

My great-grandparents, whom I know very little, came to this country seeking “The Dream”. I know that my great-grandfather worked his whole life as a janitor, a salesmen, and boiler repairmen.

That’s what I’ve been told.

We all understand America as a land of opportunity, a place where with a little diligence, gumption, and luck you can have it all. We’ve been fed this “Dream,” this lie.

We are told when you work hard enough and wait patiently things get better and better; that we’re on this upward arc and pretty soon we’ll be soaring. We’ll soar so high; we’ll soar far above everyone else. We’ll elect better presidents who will listen to the people; we’ll create technologies that will allow us to communicate with the rest of the world; soon enough we’ll make medicines that let people live much longer lives.

But that’s just the thing. No matter where you stand, as a part of the Dream, you always want more. This is what we believe. Up we go. Everyone will get a slice of the rising action. No one ever stops to think that maybe we’ve been duped, that the rat race is all for naught. All that we’ve been told to work for, all that we’ve been expected to aspire to… Not only is it not attainable for all of us, but we’re chasing after some-

thing that doesn’t exist. This is how my great-grandfather must have seen the world around him.

My great-grandfather decided that the race couldn’t be won by the rules given to him. Therefore he bowed out of the race.

Living in Spokane, I see people holding those “anything helps” signs: another example of where the Dream failed, where they slipped through the cracks and were forgotten, doomed to haunt sad places for some unknown reason. The Dream didn’t even give these people a chance. Or maybe the Dream recognized them, but spat them back out when they weren’t fitting neatly into the system. I see my great-grandfather in these people; I see in all of them the Dream unrealized and unforgiving.

Recently, I read a letter assigned to me in American History talking about the lives of people in early American factories. The author, this girl working in a textile mill says, “The girls here are not contented; and there is no disadvantage to their situation, which they do not perceive as quickly, and lament as loudly, as the sternest opponents of the factory system do. They would scorn to say they were contented, if asked the question; for it would compromise their Yankee spirit- their pride, penetration, independence, 66

and love of ‘freedom’ and equality to say that they were contented with such a life as this.”1 I read this and the words just hit me.

This girl, so hopeful and quaint, expressing her version of the early pure form of the Dream knows exactly what’s wrong with it.

I guess this is just what the Dream calls for: we must work jobs in which we are not “contented” in order to better our situation, so we can get nice things, so we can work harder. For this path of progress to continue on its arc we must be unhappy with the present. We must be unhappy with where we are, but we must look to the future, bear the burdens of today, and pass the past off as unfortunate. Disenfranchisement My great-grandfather took his life when my grandfather was only ten, and left nothing more than a scrap of brown paper to tell his story. That scares me. I am scared not of the fact that my ancestors are a part of me but that I am doomed to repeat their mistakes or at least live with their mistakes for my entire life.

I am happy to say that America forgets. Because of this land of opportunity, I can live and forget, and allow my great-grandfather’s

passing affect me only as much as I let it. The note from my greatgrandfather, the girl’s letter from 1844, those signs of the people on the street corners… those are all me; and I am them. We are all in this together: hopeful and the hopeless, have and have-nots, dreamers and the broken-hearted.

I hope that in my life I am able to step outside the parameters constructed by the Dream, transcend the walls that are placed before us that separate us from ourselves.

I want to say that I hope we can find what’s important once again, but maybe that’s not possible. Perhaps the boundaries the Dream has placed on us separate us from what’s important. Perhaps my great-grandfather was misled by the Dream; his vision clouded and his thoughts consumed by something unimportant and intangible. Maybe this is why my great-grandfather killed himself… because he lost sight of himself and what was really important. I am a part of my family and our legacy. I am a part of this country, its values, and its Dream.

The note is as much a part of me as the name Fischer. The note is a memento of why I am here today: taking one step forward hoping for a better tomorrow.

Melvin Yazawa. “A Mill Worker Describes Her Work and Life (1844)”. Documents for America’s History. 2011.

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Thank you to everyone who made Charter possible!

Thank you to all the students and professors who submitted their thoughts, reflections, and research to this year’s edition of Charter! We could not have done it without your support.

Special thanks go out to Joanne Shiosaki, Manager of Student Publications, and Dr. Robert Donnelly, Advisor to Charter.

If you would like to contribute to next year’s edition of Charter, we would love to hear your thoughts! Stay posted for next year’s theme. Tell us what you think, and get published.

E-mail us your questions, comments, and submissions at: charter@zagmail.gonzaga.edu

CHARTER Gonzagaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Journal of Scholarship and Opinion

The American Dream 2013-2014