November 2018 by Reporter Magazine

REPORTER NOVEMBER 2018 reporter.rit.edu

Please Recycle

REPORTER EDITOR IN CHIEF Frankie Albin PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Cayla Keiser ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Kristin Grant COPY EDITOR Ramya Shankar NEWS EDITOR Kasey Mathews TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Karina Le LEISURE EDITOR Anika Griffiths FEATURES EDITOR Morgan LaMere SPORTS EDITOR Victoria Sebastian VIEWS EDITOR Taylor Synclair Goethe WRITERS Taylor Synclair Goethe, Kasey Mathews, Liz Peterson, Morgan LaMere, Tyler English, Cayla Keiser, Joshua Maroney, Marisa Langlois, Kevin Zampierion, Karina Le

ART ART DIRECTOR Alyssa Minko ONLINE ART DIRECTOR Monica Nguyen-Vo SENIOR DESIGNER Lily Garnaat DESIGNERS Dhensel Dorji, Cassy Smithies, Kendra Murphy, Lauren Perttula, Kathy Liu, Nancy Perez, Kevin Zampierion, Alexis Scott, Elin Smith, Lily Garnaat ILLUSTRATORS Jasmine Eustache, Monica Nguyen-Vo, Asher Bozman, Maliheh Rahrovan, Angela Krieg, Stephanie Chan, Sara Calhoun, Ting Chu, Maggie Dybas, Lily Garnaat

EDITOR’S NOTE Dear RIT Administration, We are all members of RIT’s community: tens of thousands of people who live and work on this campus in a brick city that we call home. We are, in essence, citizens of this city. As citizens, we deserve to know more about the decisions and processes that impact our school, our home and our lives. Transparency is an essential component of any community — especially that of a college campus. A lack of transparency creates a deficiency in trust, stifles creativity and precludes universal consensus. Though lack of transparency is often perceived that way, this is not to say that all cases are malicious. But they can be. Either way, it creates a fundamental problem. Students are the largest piece of this community. As tuition-paying and contributing members, we deserve to know about what decisions are being made and why. We deserve to know about and to be involved in these decisions. Student input can help compose and direct ideas towards a more universal direction. Tell us why you make the decisions you make. Tell us what’s going on. Tell us what you’re planning. If you don’t, we have to assume that you’re not listening — and sometimes you aren’t. If you don’t know how to reach us, tell us that too. Students have a right to know what is happening at their university, and they have a right to a voice, too — whether we’re talking about a new building or a new tiger. We need transparency not just because we want it, but also because it is fair. A university led in pieces cannot move forward. Every step we take as RIT, dots or no dots, is only possible with public and consistent transparency. In order to do that, we all need to have a voice, a hand and perhaps a foot in those steps we take. We should not, and will not, be dragged along through change that lacks our representation.

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November 3

TA B L E O F

CONTENTS

cover and TOC illustration by Lily Garnaat

NE WS 6

VOTING DISCRIMINATION Are votes being suppressed in American elections?

T E CH 8

BLAME IT ON THE ALGORITHM A look at Twitter’s newest algorithm

LEISURE 10

@reportermag 4 November

ALCOHOLS OF THE WORLD Delve into different wines and beers in the classroom

HOW TO ROC THE FALL How to enjoy the fall season while it’s still here

FE AT URES 16

AYL: A GUIDE TO THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS Don’t throw them out, recycle them!

SCIENTIFIC DISTINCTIONS Humans have a tendency to categorize everything

THE FUTURE OF RIT RESEARCH Positives and pitfalls of RIT’s increased focus on research

SMIRKING TIGER, HIDDEN DOTS RIT just rebranded itself: does it hit the mark, or is it a dud?

SPOR T S 24

AMERICAN FOOTBALL: A NATION’S TRADITION From pigskins to touchdowns, this is the history of football

BLACK FRIDAY BRUISES Black Friday is a day of deals, but are they really worth it?

WORD ON THE STREET What’s your opinion on Black Friday?

RINGS Text or call (585) 672-4840

reporter.rit.edu November 5

VOTER SUPPRESSION: Does My Vote Count? by Taylor Sinclair Goethe | illustration by Jasmin Eustache | design by Dhensel Dorji

ecent controversies in the Trump administration have renewed calls for young people to vote. #VoteThemOut is a national campaign aimed at young millennials and Gen Z-ers to vote in the midterms. From targeted ads on social media to celebrities making calls to register on the American Music Awards, the message is clear: we need to vote. “RIT students have not historically been super engaged in national politics — even just in voting,” said Kerry Foxx, director for the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement.

Who Votes? The youth vote has always been low, particularly during midterm elections. A mere 28 percent of young adults ages 18–29 are estimated to vote compared to about 74 percent of senior citizens, according to recent election polls. So why don’t young people vote? Assistant Professor of Political Science Sarah Burns claimed that young voters’ low sense of political efficacy is partly to blame. “There’s two different kinds of selfperceptions. There’s internal efficacy, which means ‘I can shape my life. I can do what I 6 News

want’ and external efficacy: ‘I can change my life. I can change the world,’” Burns said. “It tends to be [that] younger people, below the age of 29, are more internally focused and more interested in trying to shape their lives. So they spend less time on politics and don’t think their voice can affect change in an election.” On the flip side, baby boomers who are generally retired and therefore have more free time can devote more of their personal attention to politics. Foxx pointed out that voting is habitual and many young voters have yet to establish the habit. Voting is also a tedious, analog process that requires a lot of

28%

74%

paperwork and strict deadlines that are hard for millennials to follow. This is even harder in the case of absentee ballots. Foxx also runs the ROAR the Vote initiative, which encourages students to vote. Much of their effort is dedicated to teaching students how to register and fill out the various paperwork. One thing is for sure, as Foxx said — “Voting isn’t easy.”

Who Can’t Vote? During the 2016 presidential election, many politicians, including President Trump, claimed mass voter fraud had occurred during the elections. Although voter fraud in American elections is often blown out of proportion, Burns said the issue of voter suppression is a growing concern. “State officials are sending out mail to people who live in their area, so if you’ve moved or you just didn’t look through your mail you may not get that letter. And if you don’t get that letter, then they’ll drop you off the list of registered voters,” she said. “In a way this is how you disenfranchise voters. You think you’re registered and you show

up for voting but you can’t vote because you’ve been knocked off registrations.” In 2013, the Supreme Court opted against renewing key parts from the Voting Rights Act, including a component that monitored southern elections to make sure racial discrimination had not occurred. Since the decision, some states have adopted the “use it or lose it” approach that automatically purges voters from registration if they are inactive for more than one election cycle. In the span of four years, Georgia state officials purged an estimated 1.3 million registered voters. That’s one in 10 registered voters, a decision that disproportionately affected millennial and black citizens. It doesn’t stop there. States also institute other limitations on voting that furthers suppression, such as voter ID laws that require specific kinds of identification to vote. States like North Dakota have gone as far as requiring IDs that have street addresses to vote. This ruling almost entirely disenfranchises their native populations who live on reservations, as reserved lands do not have street addresses. In Alabama, an estimated 15 percent of African Americans

have been permanently disenfranchised due to laws that ban convicted felons from voting for life, even after they’ve served their time.

“That’s being called the New Jim Crow ... it’s just a new way to disenfranchise traditionally-oppressed minorities,” Burns said.

Why Vote? Fortunately, RIT provides many resources to increase student participation in elections. RIT will have a polling location on campus for the first time ever, which students can utilize if they are registered to vote with a local

“Voting is one of those inalienable rights and we need to make it as easy as possible to exercise it.” address.. This is a step in the right direction, but Foxx emphasized that there’s a lot more that can be done to increase voter turnout. “As a country we agree that voting is one of those inalienable rights and we need to make it as easy as possible to exercise it,” Foxx said. A lot more can be done, from digitizing voting processes, to automatically registering all citizens when they turn 18, to eliminating the additional paperwork for absentee ballots, and the list goes on. However, it’s important for students to get into the habit of voting regularly. “Often I hear people say, ‘Voting doesn’t matter. My vote doesn’t mean anything or nothing will change if I vote,’” Foxx said. “My counter to that is if voting wasn’t important, then there wouldn’t be so much effort on the part of so many to keep people from voting.” News 7

blame it on the algorithm by Liz Peterson | photography by Tess Roberts | illustration by Asher Bozman | design by Kendra Murphy

echnology today is similar to opposite sides of a coin. There’s the face where all can be cast into the limelight, and there’s the backside where most of the behind the scenes action tends to go unnoticed. Not a lot of people consider all of the mechanics that go into crafting social media. Though platforms are meant to be personable, it’s easy to forget how technological they are. Last year, of over 330 million Twitter users, 74 percent utilized the social platform for news, according to statistics gathered by the Pew Research Center. When the platform first aired, its sole purpose was to connect family and friends. Now, the reasons for one to create a Twitter account are endless. Jack Dorsey, CEO and co-founder of Twitter, set out to create a public medium for anyone to use. Of course as technology evolves, so do the standards they’re bound to. Twitter has adapted to keep up with the change in people’s interests and the reasons they use social media. Social media outlets are designed to run based on an algorithm. This formula can be adjusted and manipulated to address whatever the creators’ main concern for the platform is at the time.

Dorsey aimed to take Twitter to the next level. He and his team crafted an algorithm that would eliminate harassment on the platform, while also encouraging users to have meaningful dialect on popular discussion topics. “The spirit of the [algorithm] is that we want to take the burden off the person receiving abuse or mob-like behavior,” Jack Dorsey told The Guardian. However, the newest edits to the algorithm have created user issues, most notably the debacle where users were falsely shown as having liked tweets published by President Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz.

from Stony Brook University, understands the logistics behind the algorithm. “Sometimes I like what I see, sometimes it has nothing to do with my interests. Same issue when Twitter shows me what people I follow have liked,” he said. Social media often has the misfortune of people constantly criticizing it. People rarely seem to be satisfied, which leads the teams behind the platforms to do whatever they can to keep users active. According to The Statistics Portal, between 2010 and 2018, a million of Twitter’s active users have decreased their activity or given up the platform altogether. Though that may seem minor compared to the remaining 335 million users, it’s an alarming sign of rough times ahead at their corporate office. “While they [social media platforms] are trying to help get more people content, they

are really preventing people from seeing new content, in my opinion,” Swartzenberg said. “I mean look at Facebook ... the algorithms came all from a business standpoint. They are trying to make money off of as many people as possible, so they’re optimizing that.” For those who are old enough to remember, MySpace used to be everyone’s go-to social media outlet. Then came Facebook and Twitter, followed by Snapchat and Instagram, each platform having advantages over the previous one. Perhaps that’s just social media’s circle of life. “In with the new, out with the old,” as the saying goes.

No Clear Lines Last month, The Guardian released an article posing the idea that algorithms should be held responsible for the issues and damage they cause. Technology does as we we order it to.

Algorithms were meant to solve flaw after flaw that social media platforms encountered. They were created by people to ideally offer a better virtual environment. These are the unseen bumps in the road that sometimes pop up. They don’t have any obvious right or wrong ways to address them. Sometimes, they just work. Other times, they don’t. Swartzenberg and Brauchler both agree that Twitter’s current algorithm needs some tweaking. As users push to have Twitter’s algorithm changed, negative commentary from users on Twitter is what drives the initiative to change the platform. With technology comes a trial-and-error period. Social media will probably never be perfect, nor should that be the goal. Creators of the beloved platforms can adjust these algorithms with endless outcomes, but at the end of the day users are always going to find an aspect to critique.

In The Public’s Eye Twitter recommends content based on the accounts users interact with. This creates awkward tension especially when it comes to political views. Some users, like Felicia Swartzenberg, a fourth year Journalism and Museum Studies double major, exhibit contempt towards the false interaction. “I’m not trying to have my friends and followers thinking I support someone who I am very much against,” she said. Apart from that slight glitch, some users find that the algorithm has its moments. Andy Brauchler, a fourth year English major

“Social media outlets are designed to run based on an algorithm.” 8 Technology

Technology 9

“Educational exemption. I’m allowed to serve wine to students under 21,” she said. Wines of the World is not a way to get legally drunk underage — rather, it is a strictly educational experience. During her years of teaching, Hems has developed a unique instruction style that allows for the art of professional wine tasting to be applied in a college classroom. The first portion of the class covers the history of various wines and where they come from. The second portion is dedicated to the tasting. Hems said that it’s the second sip of wine that’s important for tasting. “First sip of the day, throw it away,” she recited. The wines themselves each have unique flavors and scents that make the class what it is. One might not expect a wine to include bell peppers and green beans, but those are some of the flavors one might experience while taking this course. While exciting enough on its own, Wines of the World is but one of several courses like it.

Alcohols

of the World by Morgan LaMere | photography by James Porras | design by Lauren Perttula

IT is well-known for its engineering classes and expansive wellness options. However, there are some lesser-known courses where students have the opportunity to explore and taste wines and beers of the world. If you’re going to drink while underage in college, you might as well get credit for it.

WINES OF THE WORLD Wines of the World is a two-part course where students learn about various wines from regions across the globe and how to properly taste them. Lorraine Hems, a professor in the Hospitality and Service Management Department and the Wines of the World course instructor, explained the purpose of the class.

10 Leisure

“The goals ... are to stay current [with] the trends, to try a wine every week that represents the highest quality wine that fits within a college budget,” she said. Hems wants students to feel comfortable when ordering in restaurants and purchasing alcohol in liquor stores. Despite its purely educational focus, there is still plenty of enjoyment to be had. “This course was listed in the top 99 things to do while at RIT,” Hems said. “I want students to enjoy themselves without it being a drunk fest. We literally talk about tasting wine.” What she didn’t expect was the passion students had, the bonds she would form and the interesting things she’d learn. Students are constantly bringing new things to Hems’ attention. Some student remarked that the

taste of the wine was reminiscent of spice, that it had a perfume-like scent and one wine tasted distinctly of a dusty attic. “I’ve had three students tell me the classroom smelled like their grandmother,” Hems said. Students seem to appreciate Hems’ approach to teaching and the connections she forms with students. Sumin Oh, a fourth year Industrial Design major, has found her experience to be worthwhile. “My favorite part about this class is I get to learn about wines in a safe environment. It’s educational, you learn about the history of the wine and what makes it special,” she said. “[It’s] a good class if you don’t like to party, but want to learn.” This course isn’t just limited to students above the legal drinking age. Hems explained why.

ways beers used to be made,” Ganster said. “There is an old German technique where they would actually put white hot stones into the beer to get it to boil.” David Whitman-Kinghorn, a fourth year Software Engineering student, enjoyed the class despite having never gotten into alcohol. “I never really tried new things or got to know different styles,” he said. “When I first took Beers [of the World], I was really curious. People would come into bars and ask for a stout, and I had no idea what that means. Since then, I’ve been trying many more things and have been able to pick up on flavors you might not have noticed otherwise.” Whitman-Kinghorn mentioned being able to taste certain flavors, like fruit. “I really enjoy the different flavors ... You’d never expect all the flavors you can get from [the basic ingredients],” he said.

These courses aren’t simply opportunities to get cheap liquor or boost your resume; they also have more direct career application to appeal to certain students. “I’ve had a handful of students reach out to me and say, ‘thank you for the beer course, I’m now working for Sam Adams ... talking about your class really helped me get through the interview,’” Ganster said. Both courses are offered during fall and spring semesters. As the classes are very popular, spots tend to fill up quickly. Whitman-Kinghorn suggests that students sign up if their schedules allow. “I’d recommend [the class] to both those who are curious about alcohol, or people like me who want to expand their experience.”

BEERS OF THE WORLD A similar course to its wine counterpart, Beers of the World is a very popular elective. Edward Ganster, a professor in Hospitality and Service Management, likes to take his students to breweries both in and outside of Rochester. Each trip provides a unique experience. Ganster’s favorite brewery is the Rohrbach Brewing Company. “One of the times we visited them, they had a release party of their Octoberfest beer,” he said. While these trips are infrequent, there is plenty of in-class content to keep students engaged. “One of the more interesting things for students is when they find out some of the

I’d recommend [the class] to both those who are curious about alcohol, or people like me who want to expand their experience. Leisure 11

when?

HOW TO

ROC THE FALL by Tyler English | illustration by Jasmin Eustache | design by Kathy Liu

s summer comes to a close and the Rochester winter fast approaches, figuring out how to spend your free time might prove to be a tricky task. The fall season is full of ever-changing weather, but luckily Rochester is full of activities for whatever the sky is up to.

Keeping it Classic The Greater Rochester area and the Finger Lakes Region offer a variety of local apple orchards, such as Becker Farms, the Wayne County Apple Tasting Trail and G and S Orchards, where you can go to pick fresh apples. New York has such a diverse apple selection that even the pickiest of palates can find a favorite. If you are looking to sink your teeth into a crisp and sweet apple, try the Jersey Mac. For those looking to find the perfect apple for a pie, try the Fortune. Its slightly spicy flavor is the perfect way to add a spin to a signature dessert. From apples and berries to pumpkins and squash, G and S Orchards offers a diverse selection of fresh in-season produce. With picking hours every weekend and a farm stand open during the week, G and S Orchards has something that is sure to get you your daily servings of fruits and vegetables. They also offer tips to new fruit pickers on their website, such as to not throw the fruit. Dropping apples into your basket could easily bruise them, and no one wants to bite into a mushy apple.

Buying on a Budget For those who love fresh and locallysourced produce but are looking to stay within a budget, try exploring the Rochester Public Market. Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays year-round, the market offers an assortment of goods and experiences. From freshly roasted nuts (from the Florida Nut House) to maple syrup (from Maxon Estate Farms), the market has almost anything you might desire.

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With prices lower than the local supermarkets’, the Rochester Public Market offers savings across the board. They offer a college student discount sheet specifically designed for college students trying to stay within a budget. You can pull up the sheet on your phone or you can pick up a physical copy at the Market Office. Not only does the market offer goods to buy, but there are also artists sharing their talents. Musicians playing original music fill the market with life as dancers gather to show off their skills. Artists sit and sketch you as you wait in line for food. The Market offers something for everyone, whether that be people-watching or affordable, locallygrown produce.

The Perfect Shot Who doesn’t love the perfect Instagram or Twitter post? From aesthetic scenery to detailed artwork, Rochester has numerous backdrop options for the perfect fall post. Highland Park is a nice touch of nature in the city. Known for the varieties of colorful flowers that bring the park to life in the summer, the park is a staple of Rochester. With hiking paths, benches and picnic tables to pose with, you can walk | the grounds under the changing leaves and capture a seasonal photo. Highland Park is also home to the Lamberton Conservatory, a space where seasonal plants thrive free from the harsh Rochester weather. For a small fee you can escape the cold and explore displays of tropical plants, the perfect way to fight off those late fall and early winter blues. For those looking for a more artistic photoshoot, Wall/Therapy provides a plethora of murals to strike the perfect pose. Wall/Therapy is an intervention project with hopes of inspiring the community. The murals offer aesthetics ranging from punk rock to modern day hipster with giant whales and portraits of Jimi Hendrix painted on the sides of buildings. Whatever your style may be, there is a mural to match.

G AND S ORCHARDS Picking Hours Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Farm stand hours Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

LAMBERTON CONSERVATORY Hours Monday-Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Price $3.00 for one adult ticket

Rainy Day Reservations Unfortunately, the Rochester fall loves to shower us with rain whether we like it or not. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to stay dry and still enjoy the season. If you are looking to reawaken your inner child, The Strong Museum of Play welcomes patrons of all ages. You can explore the history of toys and then go for your weekly Wegmans trip at the Play Wegmans, where you get to play the role of customer, cashier and manager all at the same time. Plus, college students get a discount, so long as you remember to bring your RIT ID. For those who are looking for a day of shopping, Eastview Mall in Victor is the place to go. Not only does the plaza have the mall, but there is also a Regal Cinemas where you can kick your feet up and watch a movie once you’re all shopped out. However, if you don’t want to make the 20-minute drive to Eastview, Marketplace Mall also offers the classic mall experience. If you’re feeling lazy, what better way to spend a rainy fall day than wrapped up under a warm blanket in your pajamas? With a cup of coffee or hot chocolate in hand, you can curl up in front of a TV to watch a movie or your favorite show. Fall is the perfect excuse to use to stay inside and enjoy some well-deserved you time.

ROCHESTER PUBLIC MARKET Hours Tuesday and Thursday 6 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday 5 a.m.-3 p.m.

STRONG MUSEUM OF PLAY Hours Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday Noon-5 p.m.

Price General Admission: $15.00 General Admission plus Butterfly Garden: $20.00

Discounted prices with RIT ID General admission: $10.00 General Admission plus Butterfly Garden: $15.00

MARKETPLACE MALL Hours Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Leisure 13

Winterim

At Your Leisure

A Guide to Thanksgiving Leftovers by Cayla Keiser | illustration by Maliheh Rahroven | design by Nancy Perez

DECEMBER 10, 2018 - JANUARY 9, 2019

3 COLLEGE CREDITS IN 4.5 WEEKS ONLINE!

üMaintain your Excelsior Scholarship üLighten your Spring course load üCredits transfer easily

Let’s face it: Thanksgiving is a great time to gather around with friends and family saying what we are most thankful for, but we’re mostly just in it for the delicious meal. But once everyone and their food baby have left the table, what do you do with all the leftovers? Reporter’s got you covered with some family recipes.

GOING GREEN: REPURPOSED CHRISTMAS WREATH Ingredients:

Directions:

Green Beans Cranberry Sauce Turkey Twine

1. Using the twine, tie each individual green bean together. 2. Pour cranberry sauce on the green beans. 3. Resist the temptation to eat your wreath. 4. Hang on the front door for all to admire.

866-CALL-GCC

www.genesee.edu/winter

GENESEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION INSTITUTION

STUFF-A-BEAR Ingredients:

Directions:

Leftover Stuffing Unstuffed Teddy Bear

1. Bring the teddy bear to life. 2. Place bowl of stuffing next to the teddy bear.

3. Let the bear stuff itself full. 4. Hug your new friend.

If he had hands, he’d probably write for us too. We’re hiring writers! If interested, send your resume and a writing sample to rpteic @rit.edu. Writing is a paid position.

14 Leisure

@ reportermag

Scientific

Life versus non-life is kind of an arbitrary attempt to split.

by Joshua Maroney| illustration by Sara Calhoun| design by Kevin Zampieron

cience aims to define natural and observable phenomenon as simplistically as possible. When scientists have to use words, issues can arise. The precise definition of scientific terms can be unclear or vary depending on context, and the expansion of scientific knowledge means that there is sometimes a delay for terms to catch up to newer, broader meanings. Boundaries are arguably difficult to define because many concepts exist on a spectrum. “If you ask a hundred scientists what a species is, you’ll get a hundred different answers,” said Larry Buckley, associate dean for Academic Affairs and associate professor in RIT’s School of Life Sciences. This is due to the distinctions people make when using scientific vocabulary. Using words that can have a range of meanings or interpretations to describe precise scientific meanings can be clumsy. Gregory Babbit, an associate professor in the School of Life Sciences, discussed how words are imprecise. “I had a graduate adviser, Jane Brockmann, who said, ‘The words we choose are almost the most dangerous thing about science,’” he said. “Our knowledge base ... is in our vocabulary. We use a lot of words [or categories] in science and put precise definitions on them because we think they have some meaning that’s precise. The reason the jargon exists in most fields is because of the precision you need when you speak to other scientists.” Trying to restrict the meaning of words for precision can be useful as well as limiting. An example is the cell, which many define as the smallest unit of life. Although the pieces that make up a cell follow the same laws of physics and chemistry, those pieces aren’t

16 Features

defined as being alive. The cell is the first case of several emergent properties such as reproduction, a metabolism and response to stimuli, which biologists use to define life. “It’s a way of attempting to make things simple. Life versus non-life is kind of an arbitrary attempt to split. We already know the physical chemistry is the same. There’s no ‘living force’ like many people would look for in the past,” Babbit said.

Defining Life Babbit gave an illuminating example of something that’s hard to define as alive or not. “A lot of the chemistry of the cell takes place on surfaces and there’s no reason why those chemical processes couldn’t take place on other types of surfaces like porous rocks,” he said. “[This could show, possibly, that] living chemistry actually started to evolve long before there was an envelope of a living cell.” Biologists struggle to agree if scenarios like these can be defined as living. Andre Hudson, a professor from the School of Life Sciences, found it easy to define life. “It comes down to metabolism. If you don’t have that, you’re non-living,” Hudson said. Likewise, Buckley said, “I think there’s a much broader distinction between things that aren’t alive and things that are when you look at molecular structure.” Hudson made a point about everyone’s tendency to mess up this categorization process. “There are many instances of things that look like they are related, but actually on the genotype level, they are very distinct. There are [also] things that look very distinct but on the genetic level they’re almost a perfect match,” he said.

Distinguishing Life Placing species on the tree of life can be challenging. Some things struggle to get on the tree at all. Viruses require a host to reproduce and don’t have their own metabolism, according to Scientific American. “When I was in school, we didn’t say viruses were alive. Now some people say, ‘Of course they’re alive,’” Buckley said. “I don’t agree with what I was taught 35 years ago because I don’t see the distinction philosophically between a virus’ dependency on a host for reproduction and a tapeworm’s. I see [viruses] as having 99 percent of the characteristics that other living organisms have.” Dogs are much closer to humans than viruses are, but there are obvious differences in appearance that can be the expression of slight DNA differences. “We give them two entirely different classification terms that would imply that there are huge differences. But, if you were to look at every single protein, I think you would find that they don’t have a single protein that’s actually different,” Babbit said. The genetic differences between humans and everything else are smaller than most would guess. According to Business Insider, we share 60 percent of our DNA with bananas, about 96 percent with chimps and 61 percent with fruit flies. Human categorization is inelegant, and countless examples exist to illuminate this. It can be hard to define where life starts at the molecular level, and this may reveal an underlying issue. Babbit suggested there is a connection between biology and mineralogy. “The more we study these two separate things the more they come together. The

Distinctions

geochemistry of the earth depends on life and life depends on certain geochemistry. At some point, we might want to call it all the same thing. We’re not there yet but maybe biology will cease to exist,” he said. This may reflect a trend yet to come. Chemistry and physics also have the potential to merge, and one day chemistry could be macro-molecular physics. As human knowledge expands, the gaps between previously specialized fields of study could diminish.

Human Tendencies “Knowledge is a tension between trying to discriminate, which is essentially figuring out how things are different from each other, then trying to make sense of it all by having some kind of unifying theory around it. I think we all have a tendency to want to do both of those things. That’s how we reach for knowledge in almost two opposite ways,” said Babbit. “It’s who we are; humans are biased by nature,” Hudson said. “I think it’s linked to evolution, and we wouldn’t be human unless we have those tendencies.” Babbit corroborated this idea. “The bottom line is we should be careful,” he said. “We should know that it’s a tendency of our limited human brain to try to make sense of the world.” This is often countered by our attempts to unify everything under all-encompassing theories. “Those are the only two things we have,” Babbit said. “When you put them together, it creates tension in science, but it’s also what’s allowed science to progress.”

We already know the physical chemistry is the same. Features 17

THE FUT U

R E T I S R E f AR o

most passionate professors only have so much time to devote

E R

Passion can make professors successful and well-loved by their students, but even the

to their work.

n 2014, under then-President Bill Destler, RIT released its 2015–2025 strategic plan, titled “Greatness Through Difference.” This plan focused on five dimensions of RIT for improvement, investment and reshaping over the coming decade: Career Education and Student Success, the Student-Centered Research University, Leveraging Difference, Affordability, Value and Return on Investment and Organizational Agility. “Yes, the plan is ambitious, even audacious,” Destler told RIT University News. “But it is very achievable.” When David Munson was named the president of RIT in 2017, he praised this plan and named several areas at RIT where he planned to make improvements. “To be sure, there is still much work to be done at RIT in program development, recruitment of top-notch faculty and students, planning of facilities [and] fundraising,” President Munson said at the announcement of his selection as president. Since then, President Munson has revised the “Greatness Through Difference” plan to narrow its focus. “We initially reduced the number of goals from 121 to 44 to provide more focus and clarity,” Munson said at his address to the RIT community on Aug. 24, 2018. “We are now expecting to further reduce the number of goals, by eliminating those that already have been accomplished and combining others.”

Munson’s revised strategic plan whittles Destler’s five dimensions down to four broader and more alliterative areas: People, Programs, Places and Partnerships. The original and revised plans are largely in accordance with each other. “The revised plan contains goals reflecting our collective strategic vision while preserving critical dimensions of President Destler’s 2015 plan — including student success and diversity,” Munson said. One goal that both President Munson and President Destler seem to find particularly important is establishing RIT as a prominent research university.

THE WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN SITUATION Santosh Kurinec, a professor of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering, agrees with the importance of research at RIT. “[Enhancing RIT’s reputation would] attract high-quality faculty and high-quality students,” she said. In fact, RIT’s increasing focus on research has already improved its reputation. An increase in research and the number of Ph.D. graduates has been cited as the reason for RIT ranking among the top 100 universities in the nation according to the 2018 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges Rankings. Furthermore, an increase in RIT’s reputation as a research university is likely to increase the amount of research funding it earns. Reputation, for better or worse, is

a huge factor in the amount of funding an institution receives. According to research from the University of Arkansas, prestigious, big-name institutions such as Johns Hopkins University or Harvard Medical School tend to be awarded more research funding. This can create a self-perpetuating cycle; a better research reputation increases RIT’s funding, which allows us to conduct more research, which continues to increase our reputation. 2018 has already been a banner year in terms of research funding, thanks to the record $78 million that RIT has been awarded. To put that in more relatable terms: $78 million is approximately 1,375 years of tuition and costof-living expenses for an RIT undergraduate student living on campus. At every step, the members of RIT’s administration are careful to emphasize that RIT’s strategic plan for research is focused on students — RIT is a “student-centered research university,” as Destler’s strategic plan puts it. No one is saying that RIT should become a “research mill” or a “Ph.D. factory” where the quality of the education that the university provides declines in favor of boosting the school’s research productivity. Instead, focus is placed squarely on the positives of research as a component of education. “Participation on research teams enhances critical and creative thinking, collaboration and cross-disciplinary competencies,” Destler’s strategic plan reads. Kurinec, too, believes that integrating research with teaching

by Marisa Kay Langlois | illustration by Stephanie Chan | design by Alexis Scott

18 Features

Features 19

THE COMPLEXITIES OF CASH

There are two big uncertainties in President Munson’s strategic plan on research at RIT: will tuition go up, and by how much? And will it be worth it?

is beneficial for both students and their professors. In fact, it’s a crucial part of her teaching philosophy. The skills that students — undergraduate and graduate alike — can obtain by participating in a research program are invaluable. According to a 2008 study from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., a good undergraduate research program creates a win-win-win-win situation: students benefit, faculty benefits, the university benefits and the scientific community at large benefits.

STRETCHED THIN However, a university’s hyper-focus on research can stretch faculty members thin. A study of Boise State University found that faculty members are only able to devote approximately 24.5 hours a week on their teaching responsibilities; the rest of their time is spent on administrative tasks, meetings and research. As a result, these faculty members work long hours to keep up, working approximately 54.4 hours a week. Faculty members at other institutions report working 60 hours a week, or even more. Kurinec suggested these findings agree with her personal experience. 20 Features

“We work hard,” she said of herself and of her colleagues. “It’s not a typical 9-to-5 job.” Kurinec noted that she and her colleagues are motivated by their genuine passion for their careers and for the subject matter they teach. Passion can make professors successful and well-loved by their students, but even the most passionate professors only have so much time to devote to their work. In an article written by Joya Misra and Jennifer Lundquist for Inside Higher Ed, one anonymous faculty member at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst expressed their frustration with the difficulty of balancing teaching and research. “Something else that probably cuts into my research time is my unproductive habit of actually preparing for my classes and giving students feedback on their work,” they said. “It’s totally self-harming behavior because then you just end up with more students who expect you to teach well.” Not only are students’ academic careers hurt by lack of feedback and professor unavailability, but professors can find their own mental health harmed by their stressful careers. This can lead to professors being

even more unavailable and unable to provide useful feedback to their students. Professors and faculty members who are overwhelmed may find teaching to be the easiest of their responsibilities to cut back on. Student evaluations are a large part of how faculty performance is evaluated, and students tend to rate their professors based on the grades they expect to receive. Therefore, the easiest way for a faculty member to get good evaluations from their students is to hand out A’s like candy. This results in tenured professors who can’t actually teach and happy students who haven’t actually learned anything. In fact, the incentive for professors to coast on good student evaluations has been pointed to as one cause for a decline in academic rigor that has been seen nationwide in colleges over the past few decades. Addressing this issue would likely require a huge culture change in academia — but ensuring professors aren’t too stretched thin and overwhelmed by their research to teach effectively could be a step in the right direction.

RIT’s increased focus on research also comes with a great deal of complicated economic considerations. Does conducting research make money for a school? It turns out that can be a difficult question to answer. For a faculty member, the first step in beginning a research project is to secure funding through grants or industry partnerships. The complexities of winning research funding are so tangled and fraught that they have had lasting effects on academia and on the entire field of scientific research. Securing funding is both crucial to any type of research and difficult to pull off. Because of this, researchers are often forced to choose between grant money and good science. In the pursuit of scientific knowledge about the world around us, the results of a study that failed to support the study’s hypothesis are just as valuable to the scientific community as the results of a successful study. But a researcher with a series of failed studies on their resume is far less likely to secure grant funding in the future, so they may be tempted to misrepresent the results of their study in their own best interest or in the best interest of their university. Together, funding from industry organizations and private donations make up 23 percent of private research universities’ revenue. Industry funding can also be fraught because it often causes conflicts of interests to arise. The most glaring examples can be found in nutritional studies funded by the food industry or drug trials funded by the pharmaceutical industry — but researchers in any field can find themselves beholden to the private money that their careers rely on. “There’s a lot of potential for conflicts of interest,” said Ryne Raffaelle, vice president for research and associate provost at RIT. “But most of the things that we do, we can still do. It’s just that they have to be managed appropriately.” Both public and private grants typically cover all the direct costs of research — for example, the purchase of lab equipment or the hiring of research assistants. But what about the indirect costs of research — for example, the electricity that runs the lab equipment and keeps the lights on in the research assistant’s office? Despite the fact that federal grants often take into account these overhead costs, many argue that universities actually lose money on research due to this high overhead. Research does bring in money too. As President Munson has emphasized, a focus on research will indirectly increase RIT’s revenue by boosting RIT’s reputation and attracting more potential students. Research can bring in money directly as well, by

bringing in royalties from patents or revenue from stake in student-run startups. This money can be a sizable chunk — American universities earned $2.6 billion in total from royalties in 2012 — but only for a small minority of universities that have gotten lucky with blockbuster patents. Basically, research sucks up a lot of money without much return. “Best case scenario, it’s going to be break even,” Raffaelle said. “What you don’t account for when you just look at an individual grant ... the fact that you did that work — some student got a very valuable educational experience. Did you account for that? They may have parlayed that [research experience] into a wonderful job and got a higher starting salary — well, did we account for that? So, your little grant there may have broke even, but the results of it may have attracted a hundred new students to want to come here.” However, all of that spending has to be justified somehow: as research into the economics of higher education has shown, an increase in research spending is usually accompanied by an increase in tuition. There are two big uncertainties in President Munson’s strategic plan on research at RIT: will tuition go up, and by how much? And will it be worth it?

WILL IT BE WORTH IT? Of course, change can be good. An increasing emphasis on research may bring a lot of positives to RIT — prestige, more research opportunities for students, high-quality faculty — but also comes with pitfalls and complications. How will it be guaranteed that RIT will continue to provide a rigorous and competitive education to its students, even when faculty may be distracted or overwhelmed by their increased research responsibilities? How will it be guaranteed that RIT will remain affordable and valuable to its students? How will RIT remain committed to diversity when underrepresented groups are unable to cover tuition increases? In short, will the tuition increases that are likely to accompany the increased research spending be worth it? Answering this question only leads down a rabbit hole of more questions about the value of higher education in a world of skyrocketing tuition. In the end, only time will tell.

Features 21

Smirking

rati

ona “I unde le, b rsta ut i n t’s a d the tige r.

Tiger, Hidden

Dots

They were born to be fierce.”

by Kevin Zampieron| illustration by Sara Calhoun| design by Kevin Zampieron

ou may have noticed some changes going on around campus. Some changes are little, while others can be quite startling. But rest assured: everything that’s happening is completely natural. Like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon, RIT’s new brand will spread its wings and soar — soar with a new branding identity system that perfectly unifies RIT’s disparate visual elements. But when RIT launched its new branding and identity system on Sept. 27, 2018, reactions were mixed. But what about a professional opinion? How does the redesign hold up in the eyes of RIT’s graphic design faculty? Circle Circle, Dot Dot Removing the dots separating the letters in RIT’s logo was an attempt to refresh its look. In addition, the logo had to be updated for digital use — “in digital advertising and other small applications, the dots tend to disappear” according to the Brand Portal’s FAQ. To Chris Lyons, a professor of graphic design and brand consultant, this change suggests a switch away from our university’s full name

22 Features

to its acronym. When it comes to marketing, there’s a lot in a name. “I think a name can throw people off. I mean, Rochester Institute of Technology doesn’t sound like a place a designer or an artist is going to go to. It’s not going to resonate,” said Lyons. For Lyons, the shift towards the acronym and away from the name is part of a larger move towards creativity. “It’s less about the visual, it’s more about a positioning change than a branding change,” he said. The removal of the dots, however, comes at a cost: the negative space between the letters in RIT’s logo becomes uneven. While removing the dots was an uncontroversial and necessary change, those dots also fixed the spacing problem inherent in the Baskerville typeface — the official typeface of the RIT logo— according to Carol Filip, a professor of graphic design. “It was a spacing issue that naturally happens between the I and the T,” said Filip. “What they’ve done to it in taking out the dots, it feels uncomfortably close in some

areas and far in others.” Most gaps between letters can be filled through the process of kerning. But to resolve this particular spacing problem, RIT would have had to change its primary typeface. Such a change would be expensive, as typeface licensing for a large university could easily cost tens of thousands of dollars — not to mention the cost of application over such a large college campus. But in an attempt to change it up without actually changing it up too much, the administration replaced one visual problem — the presence of the dots — with a new one. This challenge is echoed in the changes to typography — specifically in the switch from Helvetica to Neue Haas Grotesk for a secondary typeface. Neue Haas Grotesk is heavily inspired by Helvetica to the point of being nearly identical, but lacks Helvetica’s name recognition. This makes things more complicated for non-designers who are working with the new branding’s style guide, according to Filip. “For a non-designer, it’s a lot to remember and a lot to figure out,” she said.

Filip envisioned a situation in which a non-designer, confused by the similarity of the two typefaces, would use the incorrect older typeface. “I think it’s more complex than it needed to be,” she said. The rebrand chooses to make incremental changes over bolder ones, which was Professor and Graphic Design Department Chair Nancy Bernado’s principal issue with the rebrand. “I would like to see the logo of the university represented in perhaps an even more innovative way,” said Bernardo. “I was on a focus group for it and was a minority in my thinking about the logo and what I liked. It seems a little safe to me and I think we had a great opportunity to really shift our look.” If the core of the rebrand is highlighting RIT’s unique innovative spirit, the rebrand itself should follow suit, according to Bernardo. “MIT has [a] really interesting logo that seems to play off of the conceptual notion of innovation,” said Bernardo. Rebranded by rockstar design firm Pentagram, the MIT Media Lab’s rebrand was lauded as

conceptually bold and technologically advanced throughout the design community. “I think with this new version, we don’t really grab at the essence of who we are or show that we are cutting edge or innovative,” Bernardo said. Why Is The Tiger Smiling? Of course, logos and Swiss typography weren’t what had people talking. Perhaps the most forward facing update of the rebrand was the update of our Ritchie, specifically its non-athletic variation that was redrawn to have a smile. Almost immediately after the redesign was released, the smirking tiger Spirit Mark became the subject of ridicule on social media; comparisons to Tony the Tiger and furries — people who recreationally dress as and identify with animals — were made. Professor of Graphic Design Patti Lachance, who is in favor of all other aspects of the rebranding, is not on board with Ritchie’s new grinning makeover. “I understand the rationale, but it’s a tiger.

They were born to be fierce,” Lachance said. Unlike typefaces or colors, Ritchie’s face is something that students, faculty and alumni have an emotional connection with — that’s the idea of having a mascot. Dramatic changes to that particular brand element will always be more visible and more talked about. It’s good to get people talking, but ideally, the talk should be more positive. There’s no such thing as a perfect rebrand. This is especially true when it involves such a diverse community, all with their own needs. It truly is a challenge to create an identity system that’s flexible, but consistent. The designers must toe the line between understanding the needs of the audience and dictating standards to create a cohesive visual identity. Even when it is great, it still takes people a while to warm up to it. Some criticize the rebrand for changing either too much or not enough, while others praise the move as a long awaited step in the right direction. But will the new rebrand grow to represent the school? Or will the school grow to represent the rebrand? That’s a question that can only become clear with time. Features 23

AMERICAN

FOOTBALL: A NATION’S

TRADITION

by Karina Le | illustrated by Maliheh Rahrovan | design by Kendra Murphy

or some families, gathering around the TV to watch a football game is a tradition. Sunday afternoons are spent eating food and being with friends and family, bonding over favorite teams or talking about exciting plays. But for people who aren’t fans of football and who don’t really understand the hype, it’s hard to see what makes football such a spectacle. Knowing the roots of the sport could peak an interest.

English Beginnings Football has its roots in British sports like rugby and soccer, according to History.com. Harvard was the first university to integrate these two sports into one, as an innovation to the game. The “Boston Game,” as this combination was called, was one of football’s first iterations, but not the modern version we know today. Harvard later embraced a more rugby-like style, which was made more popular after they played their first intercollegiate match against Yale. This more rugby-orientated version of football was continually innovated, as the game was played differently depending on the university. This made competition between schools difficult to organize. Simply merging the two sports was not

24 Sports

enough to truly turn it into American football. To make the sport more inclusive, Walter Camp, known as the Father of American Football, took elements of both sports and made football a unique sport. Camp was a Yale student and had previously participated in the hybrid sport Harvard had concocted during the 1870s. Using his experience — as someone in a position equivalent to a current head coach — Camp helped erect the rules for the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA). His innovations created gridiron football, which was named by the use of vertical yard lines, and it’s the football that is played today. Leagues with paid players started to arise near the start of the 1900s, as stated by The People’s History. Due to the lack of rules for football at the time, many players had the habit of moving from team to team in search of the highest bidder. Leagues were hard to maintain since teams were often unequal. Better teams often had the most money to finance players, while smaller universities didn’t.

American football really started picking up with the creation of the National Football League, which was called the American Professional Football Association at the time. They strictly set the league divided into 18 teams, and separated the teams into two conferences. The NFL changed the way people saw football by hosting a radio broadcasting of the first Super Bowl in 1967. This attracted around 50 million listeners, according to Forbes. The popularity of the broadcast cemented the sport in the hearts of American households.

The Spirit of Football Matthew Hulbert, president and defensive player for RIT’s Football Club and third year Biomedical Science major, talked about what makes football special to him. “I think it’s really interesting to watch plays [and strategy] ... because people think, ‘Oh you just grab the ball and run into a guy’ ... but there’s actual strategy behind their play ... and that’s interesting,” he said. Vincent Darmohray, vice president and defensive player for the Football Club, focused on the community feeling which football envokes. “It just feels like you’re part of [the team and the community] … when you go to games and share a win … you high-five [complete strangers],” the third year Biomedical Science and Biotechnology double major said.

sport — both players still have large amounts of passion and pride for the game. The Super Bowl distinguishes football from other sports with its extravagance in both the game and the halftime events. Darmohray discussed the Super Bowl’s popularity and how the amount of viewers genuinely show the mark the sport has on modern day audiences. “Every year it’s the most viewed broadcasts,” Darmohray said. “[The NFL] broadcasts it all around the world and everybody in all these countries are watching it. It’s crazy.” Football is an intense sport for Hulbert, who feels constantly pressured to win while playing. Stakes are high in football since there are only 16 games a season, whereas baseball sees 162 games a season.

“[Sometimes] it all comes down to one game and it’s over. It’s really high stakes,” he said. In the wake of loss, however, the players often have to face anger from their supporters and their own disappointment. “It’s really crushing,” said Darmohray. Hulbert spoke about the feelings he gets when participating and going to tournaments. “There’s this big sense of gratification when [you play well] ... but there’s this sense of urgency ... [feeling] like you have to score ... it puts a lot of pressure on you,” he said. Similarly, Jordan Williams, a third year Film and Animation major, provided a watcher’s perspective. He talked about how he got into the sport at a young age and what kept him such an avid fan.

“It’s the excitement ... there’s the extreme passion that you don’t get a lot in any other sports [in America] ... the [football] atmosphere is very alive and it feels like family,” he said. Williams enjoys watching football with his family and community. It’s a tradition and has made the game incredibly enjoyable for him. Football has been an integral part of the American family tradition, bringing complete strangers together to share in the game’s excitement. The Super Bowl especially has brought entertainment to fans of the game and halftime show for years. With a rich history and love surrounding it, football’s spirit holds a special place many people’s hearts.

“The [football] atmosphere is very alive and it feels like family.”

“People think, ‘Oh you just grab the ball and run into a guy’... but there’s actual strategy behind their play.” Hulbert and Darmohray talked about how they got into football. They each mentioned their interest in watching football while they were younger and were encouraged by their families to continue their passion for the sport as fans. They both only started playing towards the end of high school. Even though they play flag football — a sport that revises the physical aspects of football by making it less of a contact

Sports 25

BLACK FRIDAY by Kasey Mathews | illustration by Aria Dines | design by Elin Smith

he moon shines bright on this late November night. The air is cold, but alive with untold passions. Under the gentle hum of fluorescent lights, laborers hurry to their positions in a preparation for a sacred ritual they know all too well. An unease blankets the atmosphere — an uncertain future lies ahead. It wraps itself around every worker’s psyche in its own special way. A mass writhes behind locked doors, slamming up against them mercilessly. Will the thin glass hold? As the night ages on, the mass begins to grow larger and more impatient. A cacophony of shouts and growls echoes through the storefront, down every aisle. The doors are vibrating under the pressure of the lawless throng’s wrath as one thing becomes clear. It wants in. As the clock strikes midnight, the doors unlock. Friday has come, and with it a flood of the untamed masses, their eyes ravenous for opportunity. A mother flings her child over her shoulder, grabbing a cart with the other hand. A group of teens laughs maniacally as they bang against the walls, rubberbanding to-and-fro like a spazzed out video game. A woman runs down the aisle with a brand new television, viciously fighting off

other customers like wolves over a deer’s carcass. A father wanders aimlessly around the store trying to find his lost child. It was his weekend with the kids. Black Friday is a mess of deals and bargains, with shoppers stampeding stores to take advantage of the best deals. Yet, what many regard as the best shopping day of the year may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

ARE DEALS FOR REAL? According to Fortune, there are many deals advertised to trick shoppers into believing them to be more significant than they actually are. In some cases, there are no discounts on certain products at all, but a simple “Black Friday Deals” sticker still leads to many additional sales of the item. In 2017, the rule of thumb was to never settle for less than 37 percent, meaning an item must have been discounted at a minimum of 37 percent to be deemed a good deal. Anything less was comparably mediocre. While the details of this measure varied between product categories, sticking to this general rule allowed consumers to better

gauge the value of a given deal. Doorbuster deals — those that are the most lucrative and apply only to a limited number of items — also tend to sell out within the first few hours. They largely only serve to bring customers in the door. If they’re too late to take advantage of the doorbuster, they still end up buying other items they don’t really want or need. Companies still manage to profit off of doorbusters long after they’ve sold out, all thanks to customer manipulation.

CHAOTIC CONSUMERS Beyond the terrible advertising schemes, other horror stories have taken the world by storm. From YouTube videos to friend-ofa-friend style stories, everyone knows how quickly a quick Black Friday outing can turn into a dangerous riot or stampede. Back in 2016, a Reno, Nev. man was fatally shot due to a fight over a parking spot. Yet even with the rise of Cyber Monday, Black Friday sales have not dropped. On the contrary, sales just seem to add on top of one another. More and more money is being fed into the corporate scheme through these psuedodiscounts. Although sales may ebb and

flow from year to year, the general trend is still upwards. Are the deals really worth a potential trip to the hospital? According to Laurie Dwyer, senior lecturer in the Saunders College of Business, it’s all a part of a ritual. “[Black Friday] is sort of the unofficial start of the Christmas season,” said Dwyer. “[But] if you think about it from a consumer behavior perspective, it’s much more than that.” Like Christmas time, Black Friday sees a lot of shopping. While most would expect the biggest target market for Black Friday deals to be “value shoppers” looking for the cheapest prices, that’s just not the case. Instead, we see treasure hunters — those interested in a specific product — and social shoppers as the most common consumer types. It’s all part of the ritual of things. Shoppers get together with friends and family and make a day out of these deals.

BLACK FRIDAY AIN’T IT Why do we need to follow these rituals, though? Black Friday isn’t worth it. As much fun as it sounds, I would like to keep my life and limb intact. The deals are often subpar, the shopping process can be dangerous and overall it’s just unnecessary. Most deals can

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be taken advantage of from the comfort of one’s own home — pants optional! Black Friday in its purest sense is a great idea. Everyone can go out shopping on one day and take advantage of great prices and sales across virtually every consumer industry. It’s been so bastardized, though, that the glitz and glam have faded away. Now, Black Friday is practically a week-long event with many deals being the same, tired recycled promotions from the year before. It’s almost as if stores have stopped trying because they know people will go shopping on Black Friday no matter the quality of the deals. Wow. Imagine that. Despite it all, people still go shopping en masse on the day after Thanksgiving. It’s almost as integral to American culture as Thanksgiving itself. It’s made the transition from a day of sales to a time-held tradition among the American populace. The spirit of Black Friday, a day of discounts and deals, has gone. Now, friends and family take to the shopping centers, tugging and pulling at the best doorbuster deals in town, all the while blissfully unaware of just how overrated the whole ordeal really is. And for what? The fun of it all?

“

AS MUCH FUN AS IT SOUNDS, I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP MY LIFE AND LIMBS INTACT.

Maybe that’s really what Black Friday is all about. It’s not about the deals, it’s about the experience. No one makes a casual run to the store the day after Thanksgiving. No, no, no. They go Black Friday shopping — it’s completely different. It’s an event, not an errand. It’s an experience. And, as Dwyer said, “Consumers crave the experiential.”

“I think it’s awful. I feel like Thanksgiving is a time to devote to your family. People usually buy stuff they don’t need anyways.”

(word on the street)

Darci Lane-Williams Director of Center for Women and Gender Studies and Student Affairs

What’s your opinion on Black Friday? photography by Noah Winslow | illustration by Ting Chu | design by Lily Garnaat

“I’ve never gone, but I do like a good deal. I just hate how it makes humans act that day.” Kayla Donnellan Interpreter

“I think the chaos it causes is exciting, like is a good thing. Makes it fun to go shopping.” Alex Shetler Physics First year

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“I think it’s corporate America, like you know you give thanks for something the day before then go out the next day and sabotage that.” Sarah French ASL Interpreter Education Second year

“I’m planning on going this year. I think it’s good, you get things at a fair deal.” Hitesh Sapkota Ph.D. Student in Computing and Information Science

“Haven’t people like died from that?” Regina Bass Web and Mobile Computing First year

“Tragedy. In one word. This should be a time where you’re chilling with your family watching the football game. I do support Small Business Saturdays though.” Brandon Stroude Residence Coordinator

R ING S

T e x t o r c a l l R i n g s . R I T ’ s o n ly digital confessional.

What about a diet change causes an increase in the frequency of my shits? Sep 24, 2018, 1:04 AM

After the fourth time on the toilet today, I was to eat the same thing every day forever. Sep 24, 2018, 1:05 AM

compiled by Taylor Synclair Goethe |illustration by Maggie Dybas| design by Cassy Smithies

See I am an all day everyday type of stoner

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Sep 13, 2018, 3:32 PM

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