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CATALYST
THE FORUM MOVIE pg.
WALL PREVIEWS pg.
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MAY 6, 2015 VOLUME XXXVV, ISSUE XI
A student newspaper of New College of Florida
WHAT’S Protest held in St. Pete over the death of Freddie Gray INSIDE BY GIULIA HEYWARD
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STREET ART
6 VE R E ES W YOU
12 FOUR WINDS CONCERT
Yet another instance of police brutality, this time in Baltimore, has resulted in the death of a young, black male and brought the issue of race relations in America to the forefront. Following protests in major cities including Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia, the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) organized a protest that took place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday, May 1. In an attempt to avoid the riots taking place in their hometown, the Baltimore Orioles had chosen the location to play against the Tampa Bay Rays. Attendees to the baseball game were greeted by a rally of protesters outside the stadium. The protesters waved signs with slogans such as “Orioles Strike For Freddie Gray!” and “No Justice, No Peace, No Matter the City!” InPDUM member, Gaida Kambon, led the group as it marched in front of the stadium, shouting powerful chants such as “No Justice, No Peace!” “We are here today to express our support for the courageous black community of Baltimore and to reiterate our demand for Black Community Control of Police as the only real solution
Giulia Heyward/Catalyst
Professor of Physical Chemistry Steven Shipman in attendance at the protest alongside students Ijeoma Uzoukwu, Yara Rincon, Brianna Nieves, and Haiwen Yu.
to end the police violence terrorizing our people,” InPDUM said in an official press statement. “The vicious police torture and murder of Freddie Gray by the Baltimore police is not unusual. It happens to young African people every day throughout the U.S. and in every country where we are located because we exist as a colonized people. We will not rest until the killing of African people by police stops everywhere.”
On April 12, Freddie Gray was arrested by police officers who reportedly “made eye contact” with the 25-year old, and proceeded to chase him after he ran away. Gray was handcuffed behind his back for possession of a knife, which is illegal in the state of Maryland. Police ignored Gray’s request for an inhaler, shackled his ankles, and
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Virtual Desktop paves the way for future of technology on campus BY CAITLYN RALPH Educational Technology Services (ETS) and Information Technology (IT) have been testing new, special software called Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), which grants students the ability to access Windows and Linux desktops from any personal device. As the program advances and becomes more widespread, VDI has the potential to frame the future of technology at New College. According to a recent ETS presentation, in the context of computing, virtualization is the process of creating a virtual display of something, such as a virtual operating system or virtual storage device. VDI is software that runs an image hosted from a server of a desktop with preloaded applications. There are currently two options available. The first is a Linux, open source desktop called Virtual Computer Lab (VCL), which can be found at https://vcl.ncf.edu.
Caitlyn Ralph/Catalyst
VDI allows students with Macs to access Windows software, which comes with an array of Windows-specific applications as well.
The second, Windows desktop through VMware Horizon, is more developed and can be found at https://vdi.ncf.edu. For the Windows desktop, there are two desktop images available: one with a variety of applications loaded and
another simply with Microsoft office and Google Chrome. Currently, New College has the licenses for up to 20 students using the VDI at one time. VCL is not currently available off campus, but VMware
Horizon is available anywhere. With VMware Horizon, users can access the Windows desktop with two methods: the desktop client can be downloaded on the user’s device or the image can be accessed through the Web on a browser. The only difference between the two methods is that peripherals, such as USB drives, can be used with the downloaded desktop client, but cannot be used with the web-based version. This forces work to be saved with an online Cloud service, such as Google Drive or Dropbox. The desktops right now are non-persistent, meaning that once you leave the image, or go over the three-hour time limit, all unsaved work is lost. However, the usefulness of VDI technology is boundless. First, by using the browser version, the desktops can be accessed on tablets, and even on phones. This pairs the power of a Windows desktop with the
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BRIEFS
PAGE 2
briefs by Haley Jordan
Dog infects four Colorado Students residents with rare vote for pneumonic plague Swamp PCP theme Fog, foliage and the tombstones of past thesis projects will soon decorate Palm Court and the remainder of campus as Swamp Palm Court Party (PCP) takes over New College. Students have voted in favor of thesis student James Carillo’s Swamp PCP, opting for mist and Spanish moss over a Cosmic Atlantis, South Florida or C.O.W. theme. The Black Box Theater (BBT) will be transformed into “deep swamp,” with some source of moonlight-like lighting while Palm Court will likely contain a DJ and will be surrounded by Spanish moss, microwaved to kill any bugs it might be housing. Decorations may also include stone fixtures, a possible “black lodge” theme in the old mail room, and perhaps even murder mystery puzzles and games. “A couple friends and I really like the idea of setting up interesting environments for PCP,” Carillo commented via email. “I’ve always thought atmosphere to be the most important thing […] so we started with the basic idea of what’s a cool environment with low cost... I think this PCP will be really immersive as grad PCPs should be.” When asked if there is need for help with organization and decoration Carillo replied, “There’s still room! We’re open to all the hands and ideas we can get. When the day of PCP rolls around all the fourth years involved will be MIA doing family stuff and graduating so all years are needed for PCP to be successful and it’s a great learning experience in organizing for the future.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a plague-infected dog spread its disease to four Colorado residents, the first report of a dog infecting a human with the plague in the U.S. The 2-year-old American pit bull terrier fell ill last summer with a fever and jaw rigidity along with other symptoms, and was euthanized the following day at a local veterinarian’s office due to rapid decline in health. The dog’s owner was admitted to the hospital four days later with a fever and a bloody cough. The first blood culture performed was misidentified, but when redone, the disease was identified as pneumonic plague, according to the CDC report. The remains of the dog also tested positive for the plague bacteria. The owner recovered from the potentially fatal disease after 23 days. A close contact of the owner as well as two veterinarian employees that treated the dog were infected as well but have fully recovered.
“Frankly one of the biggest surprises of this outbreak is the source,” said John Douglas, of Tri-County Health Department in Colorado to ABC News. “Primarily ... dogs don’t get sick at all or they get a minor illness [after being infected with the disease].” Janine Runfola, of the Tri-County Health Department in Colorado noted that cats are more likely to infect humans than dogs because they exhibit more symptoms after being infected. The plague is known to kill prairie dogs in the American Southwest in large numbers, which can then cause small outbreaks in domestic animals or humans. With only eight estimated infections each year, the disease is very rare in the U.S. and pneumonic plague accounts for only 3 to 5 percent of these cases. Information for this article taken from abcnews.go.com and nwpr.org
California governor extends ambitious global warming reduction plan California’s Governor Jerry Brown has issued an executive order to expand the state’s current program; he aims to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared to that of 1990. Brown stated that global warming is “an ever-growing threat” to California, and that he hopes to set an example for not only the remainder of the country but the world through his urgency. Current state law aims to reduce emissions by 80 percent by 2050. “It’s a real test,” Brown relayed in his speech at an environmental conference in Los Angeles. “Not just for California, not just for America, but for the world. Can we rise above the parochialisms, the ethno-centric perspectives, the immediacy of I-want-
“Me being born was the best thing that ever happened to you,” - Colton Dodd © 2015, the Catalyst. All rights reserved. The Catalyst is available online at www.ncfcatalyst.com, facebook.com/NCFcatalyst, @ncfcatalyst The Catalyst is an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria Vesperi. It is developed in the New College Publications Lab using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign and printed at Sun Coast Press with funds provided by the New College Student Alliance.
I-need, to a vision, a way of life, that is sustainable?” Brown attributes some blame for California's drought to global warming, faster melting snow, rising sea level, increasing intensity and frequency of wildfires, heat waves, increasing smog, and land degradation. In his State address in January, Brown called for the reduction of gas consumption by cars and trucks by up to 50 percent in the coming 15 years. “With this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations,” Brown said. “But it’s one that must be reached – for this generation and generations to come.”
Prosecutor claims Islamic extremists planned failed attack on Vatican Italian prosecutor Mauro Mura believes the Islamic extremists who are suspected in a bomb attack in a Pakistani market also planned an attack against the Vatican in 2010 that was never carried out. Mura reported in a press conference in Cagliari, Sardinia, on April 24 that wiretaps were found indicating a suicide bomber had arrived in Rome meant for the Vatican and that they gave “signals of some preparation for a possible attack.” The Italian news agency ANSA claims there were originally two bombers but they were warned and fled from possible police investigation. Mura said the plans remained just that, and the suicide bomber reportedly left Italy. Italian police report they are arresting 18 suspected extremists, including two men said to have been bodyguards for Osama bin Laden. These results are that of a decade-long investigation into an Italy-based terror network aiming to end Pakistan’s actions against the Taliban. The police stated that the group was “an organization dedicated to transnational criminal activities, inspired by Al Qaeda and other radical groups that have called for armed struggle against the West.” Information for this article taken from nypost.com and www. heraldandnews.com
Information for this article was taken from www.nytimes.com and www. huffingtonpost.com
General Editor Managing Editor Copy Editor Online Editor Layout Editor Staff Writers & Photographers
Sara Mineo Pariesa Young Yadira Lopez Caitlyn Ralph Bianca Benedí Colt Dodd, Katelyn Grimmett, Giulia Heyward, Haley Jordan, Sydney Kruljac, Jasmine Respess, Ryan Paice; Kaylie Stokes
Direct submissions, letters, announcements and inquiries to: The Catalyst 5800 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, Florida 34243 ncfcatalyst@gmail.com The Catalyst reserves the right to edit all submissions for grammar, space and style. No anonymous submissions will be accepted. Submissions must be received by 12:00 p.m. Friday for consideration in the next issue.
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NEWS PAGE 3
Thesis project ‘The Forum Movie’ to show intimate look at student life BY GIULIA HEYWARD Living in the digital age with various methods of mass communication can create an almost too close for comfort level of intimacy. One student, Sara Gruber, has chosen to make the school’s form of mass communication – the Forum – the topic of her thesis in the form of a film, “The Forum Movie.” “For a couple years, I didn’t even check the Forum,” Gruber, a Humanities AOC, said. “There was a big chunk of the research phase that was reading a lot of the Forum that I had never seen before or been exposed to. It was cool to see what had been going on.” When Gruber spent a semester abroad in New York, she turned to the Forum as a means of keeping up with what was going on while she was away. “While it was fun, there were also times when I realized the narrative I had in my head of what New College was, and what it meant to me, isn’t the one that was told on the Forum,” Gruber said. “I don’t think there is one narrative that is told on the Forum, and that is what the movie is supposed to show.” The film is described on its website as an “adaptation of a social network that is itself a simulacra of a community, the university, a world devoted to a care of information.” The film also plans on implementing aspects of Social Cinema. Gruber drew inspiration from works such as the 2010 film, “The Social Network.” She has implemented a program that will allow individuals to “live text” while viewing the film. Students can send a message to an
SMS provider and have their message projected alongside the screen for the rest of the audience to see. “A big part of it is the incorporation of the text-to-screen function and letting people participate in it,” Gruber said. “Whereas, “The Social Network” [...] was a movie about Facebook, what I tried to do with this was a film adaptation of the experience of the Forum. And a big part of what the Forum is, theoretically, is an open forum for students at New College. And what that means is that anyone can participate, anyone can contribute to the discussion. So a film adaptation of that experience would be one in which people can participate too.” Making the film required hundreds of hours of editing and research. Additionally, Gruber enlisted the help of fellow classmates to look through Forum archives and assist in the filming process. The film used more than 50,000 threads from the Forum as well as audio recording of these emails, and what the website describes as “candid footage” taken on campus. This introduces a legal concern over whether or not Gruber is allowed to record and use footage of student activities without the written consent of the subjects. Gruber said that according to the Sunshine Law, emails of any sort of organization are available to the public for three years. For Forum posts that were older than three years, Gruber obtained permission from the original posters of the emails. The photos used in the film were posted to the film’s Facebook page where students were aware that these photos would be used for the project. Gruber described the
photo courtesy of Sara Gruber
This image of thesis student Grayton Cloos is one of the candid shots that will be featured in the “The Forum Movie.”
legality surrounding the footage as “rocky” but stated that students should not be worried. “I understand students’ concerns,” Gruber said. “I don’t think this is going to be seen by anyone that doesn’t go here, and the people who go here see you outside every day. I think when you tell people that there’s candid footage in something, it’s totally reasonable for them to be worried that I have footage of them doing something that they might not want to be seen. But I think people will be surprised by how tame it is. A lot of it is also stylized to the point where you can’t tell who is in it.” Gruber also points out that students signed consent forms at the beginning of the year, allowing pictures of them to be added to the school’s
website. “I understand people being upset,” Gruber continued. “If I wasn’t making this movie, I would probably have my own concerns. But I would also wait until the screening to say something. [...] I think if you’re worried, that says more about you than me.” According to Florida law, all participants in any type of confidential communication must give permission to be recorded. However, under statute 934.03(2) d., consent is not required when a person “does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy” during this type of communication. Some of the candid footage was filmed
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Caitlyn Talks Science Detecting the strength of lightning strikes BY CAITLYN RALPH With summer fast approaching, thunderstorms are about to become a regular occurrence once again, especially in Florida. Lightning, the result of these storms, in many aspects is an enigma, but new research out of the Netherlands found that cosmic rays may pave the way to uncovering some of those mysteries, specifically relating to the strength of the actual bolt. Cosmic rays constantly beam down into the atmosphere, colliding courtesy of Wikipedia into atoms and creating new waves of particles. A new finding in earth space Cosmic rays may be the key to unlocking mysteries surrounding lightning. science concluded that, in a single storm, the structure and electric field strength was 50,000 volts per meter. waves, which, in fair weather, react radio waves due to the reflection off the The cosmic ray detects this data normally with the Earth’s magnetic fields electrons. LOFAR, the observatory in through a relationship between the to instigate predictable polarization. However, during thunderstorms, the the Netherlands that conducted the rays and electrons. Electrons from the waves of cloud’s electric fields build unique experiment, measured the electrons cosmic ray particles release radio signatures of polarization with the and their polarization through particle
detectors and small antennas. Published in the April edition of “Physical Review Letters,” the research adds to the hypothesis that cosmic rays may be the cause of lightning bolts by actuating the spark. Current research methods, such as balloons and airplanes, are inadequate for acquiring that kind of information from the thundercloud because they are difficult to control in the storm conditions and may actually trigger the lightning. Using this research as a jumping off point, and by comparing the timing of lightning and cosmic ray cascades, co-author Pim Schellart plans to explore the connection between cosmic rays, which could be sectioning off conductive channels in the atmosphere, and the formation of lightning. Read the full article at www.sciencenews.org.
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NEWS PAGE 4
Devastating earthquake strikes Nepal BY SYDNEY KRULJAC On Saturday, April 25, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rattled Nepal near its capital of Kathmandu, killing at least 7,000 people, and injuring 14,000 others. The earthquake leveled sections of the city’s historic centers, and affected eight million across the country. Seismologists have been expecting a major earthquake to hit Nepal due to increased pressure from the grinding of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Rescue efforts were described as chaotic during the first hours after the earthquake hit; emergency workers and volunteers used tools and bulldozers found from construction sites, dug with hacksaws, and even their bare hands. Though many have expressed concern for the stability of the concrete high-rises precariously built in Kathmandu, most of the damage was seen among the historic part of the city, clad with centuries-old temples and palaces made of wood and brick. Four of the world’s heritage sites were severely damaged due to the quake: Bhaktapur Durbar Square, a temple compound built in the shape of a conch shell; Patan Durbar Square, a complex dating back to the third century; Basantarpur Durbar Square, the site of Nepal’s royal family until the 19th century; and Boudhanath Stupa, one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in the Himalayas. According to many, one of the most devastating architectural losses was the nine-story tower, Dharahara Tower, built in 1832 by orders of the former queen. The government had recently reopened the building to the public, and its visitors could climb up the spiral staircase to a platform, allowing a view of Kathmandu at around 200 feet. Despite being made of bricks around one and a half feet thick, when
photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Devastation from the earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25.
the earthquake hit, the walls collapsed. Nepalese police reported having to pull 60 bodies from the debris of the tower. Writer and photographer Kashish Das Shrestha spent much of the day in the old city, yet still had a hard time believing the tower was gone. “I was here yesterday, I was here the day before yesterday, and it was there,” he said. “Today, it’s just gone. Last night from my terrace I was looking at the tower. And today I was at the tower – and there is no tower.” Throughout the city, many disturbed residents are sleeping in the open. Many lost their homes, and others were afraid to stay in buildings, fearing they would be vulnerable to a devastating after shock.
Encampments of large capacity have shown up in open areas, including a space belonging to the military that is generally used for parades and celebration. Kisnor Raj Giri, a 22-year-old man from Kathmandu who lost members of his extended family said he was too afraid to return home. He joined the others at the military encampment despite the frequent rain. “Many people are crying, and sharing their hardships,” he said in an interview with CNN. On Mount Everest, several hundred hikers were attempting to climb the mountain when the earthquake occurred, causing avalanches and killing 19. At least
15 injured climbers returned to Kathmandu, including Bhim Bahadur Khatri, who was working in a meal tent at a base camp on Mount Everest. “I managed to dig out of what could have easily been my grave,” he told the Associated Press. “I wiggled and used my hands as claws to dig as much as I could. I was suffocating, I could not breathe. But I knew I had to survive.” This region has been the site of the largest earthquakes in the Himalayas, including an earthquake in 2005 in the Kashmir region and another in 1905 in Kangra, India. Information from this article taken from nytimes.com, cnn.com, nbcnews.com, usatoday.com.
Starbucks finds new home close to old spot leather chairs in sight. While the new location seems to support casual Starbucks on University Parkway conversation, its atmosphere seems has officially moved to a new space on less supportive of students pulling allTuttle Avenue. Whether this move will nighters in sweatpants. “This location is a lot more benefit New College students is yet to be determined. Although there is another organized than the previous,” thirddrive-thru Starbucks across town, this year Daniel Anderson-Little said. The coffee machines allow location seems more appropriate, since it is located on a stretch of road with customers to adjust the temperature multiple fast food restaurants. according to the region where their Typically, the Starbucks drive-thrus coffee is cultivated. A mix of people gather at the new are hard to navigate – not a positive attribute when caffeine-deprived people spot, with a hodge podge of different and driving are involved. The parking ages and races present at all hours. lot is confusing to get to in the dark, Given its recent opening, the store is but that will not stop most people from ofering promos in the form of edible chocolate straws. getting their coffee fix. “You need to take a few sips Unfortunately, this new location is not open 24 hours like the previous and take a bite of the straw to get the location on University had been. Its true chocolate flavor,” third-year Dirk current hours are listed as 4:30 a.m. to Warner said. “Last semester I used to go to [the 12 a.m. every day. There is a menu featuring exotically Starbucks north of school] to escape named coffees that a customer may the big NCF crowds,” second-year Kayla expect at a more specialty or artesan Evens said. “Hopefully everybody won’t coffee shop. The look of this location flock to the Tuttle one.” is also more sophisticated; no cushy
BY JASMINE RESPESS
Bianca Benedi/Catalyst
The drive thru is a new addition to the updated Starbucks.
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NEWS PAGE 5
Free Comic Book Day highlights pastime BY SARA MINEO AND BLAKE DAVIDSON America in the 1930s was a time of turmoil. The Great Depression had quickly bulldozed through the nation, abruptly creating an end to the Roaring ‘20s and leaving a majority of the population struggling to breathe in its dusty wake of a crippling monetary crisis. While the ‘30s may not have been a time of prosperity, a budding new form of literature and art was beginning to emerge and would soon become an integral part of American history: Comic Books. Now, almost a century later, we still commemorate comic books by celebrating Free Comic Book Day during the first Saturday of May. This year, it was held on May 2 at local Sarasota stores such as The Comic Shack and Dark Side Comics. The first Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) was held in 2002 and was celebrated across the world, giving comic books to every patron who came into participating locations. “[Free Comic Book Day] is a good way to let people know that comics are still a hobby that is still alive and well or maybe introduce some one to a title they never heard about” Mark Wolfking, Senior Partner of The Comic Shack, said. Wolfking got into comics as a kid in the mid 70s. His first comics were a Disney Star Wars three-pack. Located on the southbound side of U.S. 41, The Shack has been in business for seven years and has participated in almost every FCBD since then. “For the past few years, free comic
book day hasn’t been as big and a lot of comic book companies don’t send us free comics to give out,” Wolfking said.“This year, a lot of the comics give out were from the past few years because only one company sent us any new ones.” Dark Side Comics on Beneva also had events for FCBD. The store was packed full of customers dressed up in their favorite costumes, playing tabletop games and perusing the sales. “The line was all the way around the corner to the post office,” a Dark Side employee told a customer. “I road by everyone in the Batmobile and yelled ‘Happy Free Comic Day!’ I got to cross that off my bucket list.” Information for this article was taken from www.freecomicbookday.com all photos courtesy of Blake Davidson
Patrons waiting in line at Dark Side Comics. Some people dressed up for the occasion.
Comic books line the walls of Dark Side Comics.
Synthetic marijuana, “spice,” causes the hospitalization of many users
BY RYAN PAICE
In the month of April alone, more than 1,000 people have reported sickness due to synthetic marijuana, also known as “spice” or “K2.” According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, synthetic marijuana usage has been the cause of 98 hospitalizations in the state alone. Having also been the cause for several deaths since it began to be used in the early 2000s, the supposedly safe drug has proven to be dangerous time and time again. Synthetic marijuana is a combination of chemicals that are sprayed onto an herbal base material. When smoked, the chemicals mimic the effects of cannabis. A variety of psychoactive artificial cannabinoid families exist, and many different brand names had been distributed and used legally in the United States up until 2012 – when Barack Obama signed the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012. Despite the alteration in legality, synthetic marijuana continues to be used and distributed. In fact, the new street drug has been used more than ever. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the 1,000 reported instances of negative reactions to
“spice” in April would mean that the April totals are more than double the totals of all reported instances so far in 2015. This year has already seen four times the number of reported instances in 2014. With the increased use of the drug, experts are not able to correctly assess the total number of fatalities to which the substance might have been linked. Studies have found that synthetic marijuana may cause acute psychosis, trigger a chronic psychotic disorder previously unknown, or bring the worsening of previously stabilized psychotic disorders. The dangers of synthetic marijuana were brought to attention after 18-year-old Iowa teen David Rozga committed suicide June 6, 2010, reportedly an hour after smoking the substance with his friends. In addition to the extensive mental complications that might occur when synthetic marijuana is used, the drug can also bring on many other unpleasant physical effects. When abused, synthetic marijuana can lead to seizures, hallucinations, high blood pressure and increased heart rate. Along with those symptoms, synthetic marijuana has proven to alter an individual’s mood, making users aggressive – sometimes to the point
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Spice is typically sold in packets like this in gas stations and convenience stores.
of violence – and extremely paranoid. While the drug tries to mimic cannabis, the often unpredictable mix of chemicals involved in synthetic marijuana leads to the causation of some of marijuana’s worst side effects. While synthetic marijuana was originally legal within the United States because of its purported safety, the drug has proven to be risky. The usage rates have not dropped like they were
supposed to after it was made illegal – in fact, some reports claim that usage has quadrupled – but the unpredictability and risks associated with synthetic marijuana seem too apparent to ignore, as many continue to be hospitalized or even killed. Information taken from thinkprogress. org, cbsnews.com, and narconon.org, and sciencetimes.com
STREET ART
in Sarasota and Bradenton
BY SARA MINEO Charming little boutiques and cafes line the cobblestone streets of downtown Sarasota. Everything appears to be tidy and normal. Until you look up. Tucked away in a corner is a mural that takes up a large portion of the facade of Fruition Tattoo Company. Across the street on the face of an apartment building, another mural
depicting an old-fashioned city scape peaks around a shop. These two murals, along with a handful of others, were a part of the Sarasota Chalk Festival’s 2011 “Going Vertical,” an initiative that promotes street art and attempts to take away some of the stigma that surrounds it. Sarasota and Bradenton have many murals that seem to hide in little areas across the two cities. These murals shed light on the younger, more artsy side of the area.
Sara Mineo/Catalyst
ARTIST: Michael Parker LOCATION: Bradenton Police Substation This mural depicts the faces of two Manatee High School Students. “By working together, they’ve gotten to know each other,” he said. “It’s helped to create an ongoing relationship that wouldn’t be there if the project didn’t exist. That’s the one thing I could hope for” Parker said to The Bradenton Patch.
Sara Mineo/Catalyst
A mural located in Burns Court on the side of Fruition Tattoo Company.
Pariesa Young/Catalyst
ARTIST: Anat Ronen LOCATION: Burns Court, on the side of a parking lot. QUOTE FROM THE ARTIST: “For the first time, it had a “going vertical” addition – meaning murals and graffiti art. The wall belongs to a photography studio, and the owner took the reference picture that was the basis for the mural. I came up with the idea, and him being a photographer, took a picture of his own favorite camera. I work with brushes – the main mural measures 15’x20’ and was completed in 3 full days,” Ronen stated to Leica Rumors.
ARTIST: Max Ehrman LOCATION: An alleyway off of South Pineapple Ave.
Sara Mineo/Catalyst
ARTIST: Eduardo Kobra LOCATION: Burns Court, in front of a parking lot.
Pariesa Young/Catalyst
QUOTE FROM THE ARTIST: “Collectively, we are surrounded by a beautiful organic world that is the basis for all we know and all we are from. The smallest molecule to the largest solar system, we are involved in this cosmic dance on a daily basis. The environment around us intrigues, excites and elevates the art I produce. Perfection is found in the harmony and balances that are in nature. The laws of the natural world control and influence my art. A leaf is perfect in its composition and functionality as the form of a dolphin gliding through the ocean. I look to these harmonies and relationships as a way to understand light, color, shading, texture and composition in my paintings. By understanding the guidelines and rules of nature, only then can you break these rules and create a new world.”
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FEATURES
PAGE 8
20 Feelings My New College Education Helped Me Realize While Being Abroad in Mozambique for Two Years.
hard. You’ll leave a lot of relationships behind. Relationships with lovers and friends and family. Try not to expect 1. Sometimes you’ll stick out worse certain outcomes. Try not to say we should do this, this, and this. Instead, than a townie at a wall. Embrace it. communicate as often as you can your 2. Integration does not equal honest sentiments. blending in. Sometimes you’ll wish your accent wouldn’t give you away. 5. Go put all your shit in the And that the clothes you carried freestore. Give it to a first year. Give it didn’t always out you as foreign. But to a stranger. Learn to live your life out integration into a different culture isn’t of a backpack. about mimicking the local customs to look the same, but learning how to 6. Trust strangers. Find faith in symbiotically slide your way into your people. Try hitchhiking at least once. new community to jive with the people You’ll have trouble encountering people much weirder than Novo Collegians. you call neighbors.
SUBMITTED BY SALOME GRASLAND
3. School is just one place to learn, and not always the best place. Sticking to academia is one course of action, but not the only one. Consider what you want to know and try learning about it somewhere outside of academia. New College teaches how to critically think about any situation. When you put every experience under the microscope you’ll learn things in places you never expected.
7. Never stop challenging your beliefs and traditions. Especially the things you believe most strongly. 8. Listen before you speak. Learn how to ask people questions, and honestly care about the response.
9. Let people see you vulnerable. As college educated westerners we can seem intimidating. And often we want to appear as if we know what’s up, that 4. Your relationships will change. we are put together humans, capable New College forges a strong community, of handling anything. We want people leaving that support network can be to know we graduated from one of the
best colleges in the states. But while people admire a person who has their life in order they also enjoy seeing that everyone is fallible. So, let people see you fuck up a little. 10. Never judge a culture by its idiots. The people who give you rude glances and leers turn around at the end of the day and do something equally insulting to their neighbors and friends. Everywhere has its fools and crooks. 11. Even in the fanciest of clubs dance like its the middle of palm court. Dressing up real nice and sippin’ fine wine is fun and all, but remember under all that clothing we’re always naked. 12. Success takes a lot of failure, like a lot. Sometimes you’ll just unsat life. But embrace confusion, it means you’re learning. Embrace failure, let it shape you as much as your successes. 13. Everything is a hustle. You’re trying to make your life as much as the person next you. 14. Remember your privileges. Before passing judgement ask yourself “what would the forum do”.
15. We all have feelings, despite our circumstances. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sour-faced lady farmer in the bush of Mozambique or a duchess of Monaco. We all feel love, ennui, and hate. 16. Say yes. We’re alive to experience. Be a human. Be a human with other humans. Treat life like a New College scavenger hunt. 17. Find beauty everywhere. A place can be ugly, sacred, scarred, plain, common, rustic, foreign, but despite it’s facade there is beauty there to be found. 18. Take risks. People will tell you to be afraid. People will tell you not to travel. People will tell you to stick to safe places, but there is no such thing as a safe place. You can die choking on a tofu dog in Ham. 19. Help. Ask for help and give help. 20. That the natural state of the human spirit is ecstatic wonder! That we should not settle for less!
This week’s Netflix pick: ‘The Babadook’ might just give you nightmares BY PARIESA YOUNG I’ve never been a huge fan of the horror genre; just watching the previews for scary movies as a kid would keep me from sleeping for weeks. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to understand the merits of horror films, and gotten better at telling myself the shadows in my room are just tricks of the eye. “The Babadook,” written and directed by Jennifer Kent, brings those childhood fears of dark corners and monsters in the closet back to every viewer’s mind. Amelia (Essie Davis) and her creepy son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) are a family wrought by tragedy and trauma. We learn early on that Amelia’s husband died in a car crash on the way to the hospital where she had her son. Seven years after the accident, Amelia is still visibly depressed. Every time she sees her son, she is reminded of the love she lost. And it’s not like Samuel seems very lovable at first. He is peculiar, afraid of the dark, disobedient and doesn’t get along with other children. He speaks his mind, giving this dark film moments of wry humor, such as when he admits to visiting social workers that his cousin won’t attend his birthday party because
he broke her nose in two places. When the movie began, I thought Samuel, with his shaggy hair, black and blue stained eyes, and shaky voice, was the villain. Turns out, nothing I expected from this movie really happened quite like I thought it would. Amelia is a fatigued single mother, juggling a caretaking job and Samuel, whose habit of sleeping in her bed leaves both of them tired and dysfunctional. The characters follow strict, unintentional routines, watching T.V., checking closets for monsters, reading a bedtime story and, finally – hopefully – falling asleep. One night, the routine is broken when Amelia lets Samuel pick a book to read before bed. A book that neither of them have seen before appears on the shelf: “Mister Babadook.” A red, scrapbookish, pop-up book, “Mister Babadook,” Amelia soon realizes, is not a children’s book. The book describes a monster that enters people’s homes and torments them, making a silly but shockingly terrifying cry of “Ba-ba dook-dook-dook!” when it is about to attack. Mister Babadook, always lurking in unseen corners, is suited in black, with long fingers sprawled at its side. Although the monster takes many forms
in the film, from possessing humans to appearing as a slick, spidery creature, it is always terrifying in the sparse moments it is onscreen. Its minimal screentime adds to the Babadook’s intrigue, and I began searching for its shape in the dark backgrounds of different scenes. The Babadook, the film seems to say, can appear to any family and change their lives like a whirlwind. With Amelia and Samuel’s tragic history and tense relationship, it was only a matter of time before this thing took over their home. It is clear that the Babadook was born of family trauma, as it manifests often in the basement where Amelia keeps her late husband’s belongings. Much like trauma, the Babadook makes these characters do terrible things, pushing them to the very edge of sanity. As a psychological horror movie, “The Babadook” shows us what people are capable of after experiencing fear and heartbreak. Juxtaposed with utter insanity, the film also shows that recovery from the terrifying is not impossible, even if fully escaping it is. Content warning for this film: death, animal cruelty, violence, family dysfunction
image courtesy of Wikipedia
“The Babadook” was shown at the 2014 Sundance Festival and is now available for streaming on Netflix.
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Shell BBQ caters ‘We Serve You’ BY KAYLIE STOKES Hamilton “Ham” Center was filled with New College Student Alliance (NCSA) student representatives and employees dressed in plaid hurriedly transforming the cafeteria with the help of sunflower centerpieces, tablecloths, red napkins and candles. Finishing just in time, the NCSA successfully entertained and fed around 200 people with a Southern, down-home cooking menu partially catered by Shell BBQ, at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 3. The "We Serve You" dinner is an event that has been held annually over the past few years by the NCSA with the intent of making students more familiar with their representatives, who make up the wait staff at the event. "It's sort of a mingling thing,” thesis student, and chief of staff, Hannah Gilbert said. “You have people with the name tags and what their positions are. I specifically assigned the wait staff to tables of people that they don’t know so that they are talking to people that they may not know that well." The event, which was RSVP only, was incredibly successful with nearly every table full. Along with students, a few select administrators and professors were also present. The general consensus of attendees seemed to be positive. "I'm very impressed with all the decorations and the adherence to the theme," thesis student Hilary Ramirez said. "It was really great. I enjoyed the meal a lot. I'm really glad that they were able to support Shell BBQ," first-year Eugenia Quintanilla said. The entire event cost around $1,200. This was the first year that the dinner was partially catered by an outside vendor, yet even with the help of having some of the food catered, cooking for the event started the day before. "We made a bunch of food yesterday – all the cornbread, the pudding, the soup. We shredded five pounds of cheese for the macaroni and cheese," Gilbert said. The macaroni and cheese with broccoli was made earlier in the day before the event. "It takes at least a month and a half to plan the whole thing," Gilbert said. RSVPs had to be sent out weeks in advance in order to get everyone's orders and make a budget to take to the Student Allocations Committee (SAC). Flowers for the handmade arrangements also had to be ordered in advance. Referring to the task management system that the NCSA cabinet uses to organize projects and delegate, Gilbert said, "I've completed over 60 tasks related to We Serve You." "It was really cool that people came out and dressed up with the theme," Gilbert said happy with the success of the event.
President Donal O’Shea sits and eats a hearty meal with students.
Second-year Francisco Perez wears a themed hat and serves hungry students.
all photos Kaylie Stokes/Catalyst
Tasty barbecue catered by Shell BBQ was paired with macaroni and cheese and cornbread made by students.
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Wall previews BY GIULIA HEYWARD Friday, May 8: Kiss Your Crush/ Just Dance - Hilary Ramirez, Sara Linares and Miranda Margolis Kiss Your Crush/Just Dance Wall will be hosted by thesis students Hilary Ramirez, Sara Linares and Miranda Margolis. “I’ve always wanted to throw a Wall with amazing dance music,” Margolis said. “Dancing is my favorite part of Walls. The three of us are about to graduate, and we wanted to have one last chance to go to Kiss Your Crush, since it’s pretty much everyone’s favorite Wall.” Wall attendees are told to expect outstanding dance music from a variety of different genres and decades as well as a kissing booth. Saturday, May 9: Stop Making Sense- Jessica Wopinski and Hedda Cooper Stop Making Sense Wall, co-hosted by thesis student Jessica Wopinski and third-year Hedda Cooper refers to the famous 1984 live concert film by the band Talking Heads. This Wall was last held two years ago. Stop Making Sense will feature a projection of the namesake film, interspersed with clips of “funky, new wave rarities.” “People can expect to jive and let loose because let’s be real, this year has stopped making sense,” Wopinski said. “There may be Cheetos, bears, lamps, pant suits, deviled eggs and probably a lot of my post-Bacc tears.”
A history of BACCs BY SYDNEY KRULJAC With BACC Week having just ended, most graduating students can finally decompress as the infamous theses are printed, bound and placed to rest on the bookshelves of the Jane Bancroft Cook Library. Since 1967, the Senior Thesis Project has been “a capstone worthy of an honors college” according to the New College website. In its early days, a New College education was three years long, and scheduled in trimesters: fall, summer and spring. Due to this scheduling, many theses were defended in May, June and July, during what librarians Sarah Norris and Ana McGrath believe to be the “Comprehensive College Tests” on the 1966-1967 New College academic calendar. “This is the earliest calendar that I could find that could represent something like a BACC week,” McGrath said. “In 1968 there was news about three students graduating early, or doing their exams early with a month long of BACC exams daily.” Thesis procedures have not changed much. According to a news release by New College to the Herald Tribune in 1968, a committee of four or more members of the faculty met with a candidate for graduation and questioned them primarily about their specialized field of study, on the content of their thesis, and on other studies for which
courtesy of the New College Digital Archives
A picture of a student browsing books at the Jane Bancroft Cook library in the 19661967 New College Student Handbook.
the student was held responsible. The examinations were an hour-long and “generally the cause for considerable foreboding among students.” Beginning in May, orals were given several times daily through the rest of the month to other members of their class. Furthermore, thesis students also had to take a written baccalaureate. Although the thesis format has not changed much since then, there are only 34 theses from 1967 bound in the library out of a graduating class of about 100. “To our knowledge, again this is sort of what we’ve been passed on informationally, they were not required
to write a thesis,” Norris said. “They were also not required to turn said thesis in. Some alum said they did a thesis but it never came to the library. I don’t know when they formalized the requirement that you did have to write a thesis, but there were certainly students early on who, it seems like, from what we know, did not write a thesis.” However, there were other requirements in order to graduate. “From 1969 of September, they kind of offered two ways to graduate: contractually or non-contractually,”
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EVENTS: MAY 6-MAY 12 On Campus
Wednesday, May 6 • 2 p.m. “Threads” dance performance with Anjali Austin @ Fitness Center • 7 p.m. “Threads” dance performance with Anjali Austin @ Fitness Center • 7 p.m. Mental Illness Support Group meeting @ LBR 248 • 8:30 p.m. Anime Club meeting @ Old Mail Room Thursday, May 7 • 12 p.m. Technology Brown Bag @ ARC Seminar Room • 2 p.m. “Threads: Master Class for Dancers” with Anjali Austin @ BBT • 6 p.m. Artists’ reception: “Octonocular” @ Caples
Off Campus
Friday, May 8 • 2:30 p.m. Guest speaker Prof. Rob McMillan “Estimating Racial Price” @ ACE 115 • 10 p.m. Kiss Your Crush/ Just Dance Wall
Wednesday, May 6 • All day Davinci and Michelangelo exhibition @ Bradenton Auditorium $15.95 • 7 p.m. Team Trivia Night @ Growler’s Pub
Farmer’s Market • 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sarasota Craft Fair @ Downtown
Saturday, May 9 • 10 p.m. Stop Making Sense Wall
Thursday, May 7 • 9 p.m. Vinyl Night @ Growler’s Pub
Monday, May 11 • 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Gleaning @ Jessica’s Organic Farm
Sunday, May 10 • Mother’s Day
Friday, May 8 • All day Big Guava Music Festival @ Tampa • 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Live music @ Burns Square
Monday, May 11 • 9 p.m. STOP Meeting @ GDC Tuesday, May 12 • 7:30 p.m. Aced It meeting @ GDC
Saturday, May 9 • All day Big Guava Music Festival @ Tampa • 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dowtown
Sunday, May 10 • 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sarasota Craft Fair @ Downtown
Want your event to be featured on our calendar? Email ncfcatalyst@gmail.com by the Friday prior to your event.
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Freddie Gray
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neglected to put a seatbelt on him after placing him in a police truck. Gray was said to have screamed that he was going to harm himself, but his cries were also ignored. By the time the officers had arrived at the Western District Police Station, Gray had stopped breathing. Donta Allen, another passenger who was picked up along the way, claims that Gray was not screaming or behaving in an aggressive manner. “The only thing that I heard was a little banging, like he, I thought he was banging – someone was over there banging their head or something,” Allen told CNN. A week after his arrest, a comatose Gray passed away. On May 1, six police officers were charged with misconduct and second-degree assault. Three of the officers were charged with involuntary manslaughter. The demonstration at Tropicana Field was the first of several events scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg. A solidarity rally and speak-out were held at Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Park the day after the protest. “It’s the only way of true rebellion,” first-year Brianna Nieves, who attended the protest, said. “It’s the only way to show how you feel and since we live in America, we really can [protest]. I just had a really eye opening experience and realized that this affects people more than I thought it would. I got to see a lot of human faces.” More information on InPDUM and how individuals can get involved can be found on their website: uhurunews. com
convenience of a mobile machine. More importantly, VDI transcends the barrier between computer hardware, bringing specialized software to all devices. For example, some applications only run on Windows, but, with VDI, students can run a Windows desktop and access those specialized applications, including Microsoft Office, on a Mac. “I think specialized applications is a great use of [VDI], and, so you don’t have to go through installation and deal with the licensing issues and expenses,” ETS Coordinator Allen Goldberg said. “I think from a student’s perspective, having the convenience of access from a Starbucks, Panera, anywhere I have internet, is much more convenient to me than having to come to a lab,” Ben Foss, director of networking services at IT, said. “This is the future of technology. Everybody is into mobility and making things accessible from nonconventional access methods.” Professor of History Carrie Beneš is currently utilizing VDI technology through a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) project that is using a software program called ArcGIS. Beneš and a few students are editing a volume called “A Companion to Medieval Genoa.” The project entails creating maps for the book as well as a database of medieval Genoese cartographic material. After attempting to do the project on the computers in the Academic Resource Center (ARC) and the Social Science Research Lab (SSRL), Beneš and her students decided to switch to VDI technology because of the increase in processing power and convenience. Her students not only increased their speed using the actual ArcGIS software, but also increased their productivity.
Information for this article taken from cnn.com and touch.orlandosentinel.com.
Because they could just call up the virtual desktop from their own computer, they did not need to trek all the way to the SSRL every time they wanted to get work done. “I think [VDI] will be used a lot in the future of any project like this that needs major processing power and specific types of software,” Beneš said. “The other thing about the virtual desktop is that ArcGIS software only runs on Windows, it’s not Maccompatible. Using the virtual desktop, I can actually run a Windows desktop on my Mac here.” “It’s super convenient,” third-year Nicole Rockower, who is part of the ArcGIS project, said. “I like it because I can run programs that my Macbook can’t run. I can pretty much do anything for the research.” ETS and IT both addressed how VDI technology will shape the future of technology at New College. “Going forward, I personally would rather see us spending more of our resources on improving the virtual desktop environment and not worry about upgrading computers in the lab so much. Because that is an expense that once you spend the money those things start getting old right away,” Goldberg said. “I’d much rather see us invest there in that environment than on putting lots of new computers in classrooms.” “From an educational technology perspective, I think it will be more of a cost-savings for the college as a whole,” Foss said, adding that the school’s computer labs are aging. “Each one of those computers costs a lot more because they need X amount of power to run all the software and hard-drive space. By having a virtual desktop environment, we can replace a computer with what’s
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at Walls, and it is difficult to ascertain how much privacy an individual can expect. “[Walls] do qualify as campus events and they do receive SAC [Student Allocations Committee] funding frequently,” thesis student McAlister Grant said. Grant maintains that he is not someone with professional legal authority. He has, however, served as both Vice President of Student Affairs and Supervisor of Elections and he has had ample experience with student government. “Events can be reserved as either being open to the public, meaning any person who feels like showing up [...] or private, meaning open only to New College students and their guests.” “Even if Walls are legally private, Sara [Gruber] is legally a guest,” McAlister continued. “So [while] it’s entirely possible that Wall-goers have a legal expectation of privacy from persons not invited to the Wall, they might not have a legal expectation of
JUMPS
privacy from [other students].” Despite this controversy, Gruber is hopeful that others will leave the film screening satisfied with its portrayal of the school. “This is a love letter to New College on all accounts,” Gruber said. “And I hope that it is taken that way.” A public screening of The Forum Movie was planned to occur on Thursday, April 30 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. in Hamilton Center Classroom (HCL) 7. This event was initially postponed, and then later cancelled, by Gruber due to technical difficulties. Information from this article taken from rcfp.org and theforumovie.com
McGrath added. “Contractually kind of has what we have now where you have a thesis and a BACC exam. Then non-contractually was like a fifth [Independent Study Project] kind of thing. So there would be the same nine terms because they were still shooting for the three years, but by then they had a four-year option as well. So the students with the contracts had the oral BACC defense, but the non-contractual students had a BACC exam.” In 1970, a deadline was marked for all theses to be finished on April 30, and a BACC week officially showed up on the New College academic calendar designating May 17-21 as Baccalaureate Examinations.
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called a thin client.” Basically, similar to an energy saving appliance, there are upfront costs from servers and licenses, but over time, the savings that accompany not having to update all the lab computers will surpass that initial cost. The thin client, for example, is about two-thirds the cost of a standard computer. However, that does not mean the computer labs around campus will disappear. The key is keeping the balance between having enough computers up-to-date for students who do not necessarily have their own computer, and allocating enough resources to VDI. “I think we’ll always have some number of machines here,” Goldberg said. “We might have fewer machines in the future under the idea that people have computers.” As the technology progresses, many of the VDI issues will be smoothed out, especially the issue of non-persistent desktops. “This is our trial run, so we can identify these issues and make it better before this really becomes larger than it is. I could see it going 100 seats, 200 seats even,” Foss said. Nothing is set in stone, but there are also preliminary conversations about initiatives to improve Wi-Fi access on campus. “If we can continue to work to expand our wireless outdoors, it would only make using this product even better. Could you imagine being at the bayfront and accessing a lab computer right in front of you? How cool would that be?” Foss said. “I envision a campus where the Wi-Fi is everywhere and where students can access these resources anywhere on campus, not just inside.”
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La Fin absolute du monde plays at Four winds BY CAITLYN RALPH On Thursday, April 30, at around 9:00 p.m., a crowd gathered outside Four Winds, chowing down on pizza and enjoying the break from the hot weather. The cafe was hosting a free concert, with headlining California band La Fin Absolute du Monde (“the absolute end of the world” in French), Voice Hoist (recent alum Dylan Robitaille), and MSH RM (third-year student Kamron Scruggs). Eventually, the lights inside the cafe went out, and patrons knew the show was beginning. With the chairs and tables cleared away to the corners of the room, the center of the floor was vacant, giving the audience enough room to fill the space. MSH RM played a concise and intimate set. Voice Hoist followed up with an equally cozy set, during which attendees sat down in front, close to Robitaille. In between acts, Four Winds cleared, and everyone went on the patio and the porch to converse and share. By the time La Fin Absolute du Monde came on, however, the entire cafe was packed with dancing, bobbing and moving students. Events such as this truly make campus feel like one small, integrated community. “The show was really fun. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the diverse array of music that was performed,” thesis student Chrissy Bisch said. “It’s impressive that for such a small school we’re able to get up and coming bands from places as far as California to come play for us.” First-year student Griffin Matthews echoed Bisch’s sentiment. “Shoutout to Kamron for booking the show. Sick night with great energy.” all photos Caitlyn Ralph/Catalyst
(right) La Fin Absolute du Monde merch was available for purchase during the show. (middle) As people sat on the floor around Robitaille, Voice Hoist’s performance pulled the whole room together. (bottom right) La Fin Absolute de Monde, a California band, putting on an energetic set. (bottom left) La Fin Absolute de Monde setting up before the show.