Feb 15 2019

The

PROMETHEAN Vol. 32 Issue VII

The Student Voice of Siena College Since 1938

Gretchen Rohr Calls the Siena Community to Action: How We Can Embody Change

By Kiera Mitru, Staff Writer

On Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019 at 6 p.m. in the SSU, the Sister Thea Bowman Center for Women, as well as the Center for Academic Community Engagement, welcomed their 2019 St. Clare Leadership Series speaker Gretchen Rohr to campus.

“It is an amazing time for culture change. I have never in my life seen the energy that this generation has,” Rohr remarked.

Rohr teaches at the Georgetown University Law Center and has studied due process and non-adversarial judicial options, inclusive civic leadership development, and has looked into effective and restorative responses to community violence.

She received her BA from Macalester College and a law degree from Oxford University where, as a Rhodes Scholar, she focused on international human rights, and a JD from Georgetown. Gretchen currently works with the justice team at the Open Society as a program officer. Before her time at the Open Society, Rohr served as a magistrate judge in the superior court of Washington, D.C., where she diverted those involved in drug-based offenses away from detention centers and into communitybased treatment.

As Rohr addressed the issues regarding incarceration in America, she shed light on the fact that there are more cis-gender men of color, transgender individuals of color and queer individuals of color behind bars than their white counterparts. Rohr’s work primarily focuses on incarceration reform and legal advocacy for individuals of color.

In the spirit of celebrating female leaders, as the St. Clare Lecture Series intends to do, Gretchen Rohr highlighted the work of Tarana Burke, the founder of the #MeToo movement.

Rohr noted that Burke’s initial mission within this movement was to support young women of color involved in sexual and domestic violence. The #MeToo organization existed for 15 years helping victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in Chicago, before it gained significant attention.

“In America, 1 in 6 women have reported sexual assault. At the same time, we find that 1 in 10 women that are part of Central American migrant caravans have experienced sexual assault.” Rohr addressed these statistics to arrive at the point where she explains that so much time and money is dedicated to the protection of internal citizens from external forces that, as people, we become distracted from the internal threats and pain of those living in the United States. The perpetuation of illegitimate narratives that are written about foreign individuals has a strong impact, since people are accustomed to grabbing on to the first opinion or perspective that they are exposed to, instead of looking beyond the surface of the issue to discover the facts regarding the topic.

In her conclusion of the lecture, Gretchen Rohr challenged those in attendance to look for what resources the wrongdoer needs and how the community can be held accountable for the issue,

rather than punishing them via incarceration. She brought up a quote written in an article by Twitter user @PrisonCulture who wrote, “No one enters violence for the first time by committing it." As Rohr engaged with members of the Siena community during her visit to campus, she encouraged all that desire to help marginalized communities to lean into the suffering of others and show empathy to the emotional and physical harm they experience.

This lecture pointed out that the systems built and designed to serve the American people may not always do so, and it is up to us to complete the jobs and address the injustices that the government fails to.

To summarize Rohr’s resounding message, it is in intersectionality among cultures, genders, races, religions, social classes, backgrounds and avenues of understanding that steps to joint liberation and social equity are made, and the future of America and the lives of millions of individuals become brighter.

Class of 2019 Kicks Off Final Semester

By Megan Kelly, Opinion Editor and Maria Gigliello

The Class of 2019 kicked off their final semester at Siena by breaking out their cocktail attire and raising money for the Senior Class Gift.

The 10th annual Senior Gift Kickoff Party was held in the Maloney Great Room on Jan. 12, 2019. This was a perfect opportunity was for the students to add a night to their senior year. Many pictures were taken, no hors d'oeuvres went to waste, and the raffle items and silent auction were quite the hit. $750 was raised from the raffle items alone, with items including: Siena swag bags, bar tabs, gift cards to local establishments, Orange Theory and Hot Yoga certificates. Attendance reached 125 people for party, including our beloved Brother Ed, Brother George and Father Dennis.

The Senior Gift Committee continues to make efforts to raise money for the Senior Class Gift, which is a beautification project to the Academic Quad-side of the Sarazen Student Union.

The Nigro Family Plaza will provide a new outdoor congregation area where students will be able to hang out, grab something from the food truck or get work done at new tables and benches. Upon completion of the Nigro Family Plaza, a plaque will be set to honor the Class of 2019 Gift. The plaque will also include the names of all those donors

February 15, 2019 newspaper@siena.edu who contribute $100 or more over the course of the year to the Senior Class Gift. After events like the Senior Gift Kickoff Party, Fair Trade Sale and Bottle Drive, the committee has raised $7,893 (39% of their goal), with 32 donors who have already given $100 or more to become members of the Gold Dome Society.

The committee has several more events planned in order to raise money for the Gift. These events include Trivia Night on March 15, Brunch & Bubbly on April 14 and the annual Senior Week Champagne Toast on May 10 at Serra Manor.

The committee also has more bottle drives planned for March 18 and April 14. More information about these events can be found on the Senior Gift website at siena.edu/seniorgift.

Students will also be able to register for these events on the website and additional information on the gift, fundraising and information on the Gold Dome Society can be found there as well.

Fast Facts

2019 Senior Class Gift: Contributions to campus beautification project: The Nigro Family Plaza 2019 Senior Class Goal: $20,000 Amount Raised as of 2/11: $7,893 Last Year’s Amount Raised: $21,743 (for Grotto Candle Endowment) Giving Levels: 1) Gold Dome Level of $100 to have your name on a plaque 2) Saint Level of $50 3) Senior Level of $20.19 4) Any other gift amount of choice Why Donate?

Be a part of your class legacy. Think of all the opportunities Siena has offered you! Help them improve your college Who Can Donate?

Anyone can donate! Students, friends, family, professors etc.

How To Donate: Visit siena.edu/seniorgift

Febr uar y 15, 2019

Editorial Board Emily Radigan Editor-in-Chief Samantha Deragon General Assistant Editor Annamaria Walden General Assistant Editor Emily Rhoades Academic & Social News Editor Jaymie Hoelldobler Arts & Entertainment Editor Megan Kelly Opinion Editor Hugo Castro Politics Editor Julianna Sebastian Sports Editor

Editorial Policy The opinions and views expressed in editorial and opinion columns are solely those of their author and do not represent the views of The Promethean staff or of Siena College. Any response to an editorial without intent to publish should be submitted directly to the author of the article. If you wish to send your reaction to The Promethean or its Editor-in-Chief, it falls under the guidelines of Letters to the Editor. Letters must be no longer than 700 words. Submission to the paper does not guarantee publication.

Opinion and editorial articles submitted are edited strictly for basic spelling and grammar only.

The editorial board reserves the right to make any and all decisions and editorial changes on newspaper content, with the final decisions belonging to the Editor-in-Chief. Any changes besides spelling and grammar will be run by the author before publication.

Article Submission Guidelines The Promethean reserves the right to deny publication of any article that is deemed by the Editor-in-Chief to be • Slanderous or libelous • Advocating violence or harm to any person or group of people • Advocating discrimination of any sort • Advocating performance of illegal actions • Improperly researched and cited • Lacking sufficient journalistic integrity References must be formatted in AP style and will not be accepted in any other form.

Statements made as fact in letters to the editor and editorials/opinions are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Promethean, its staff, or Siena College.

Next Issue: March 8, 2019 Article/Advertisement Deadline: February 25, 2019

The Promethean

Academic & Social News | 2 on March 15 at 3:30 p.m. in room 26 of the Standish

Academic & Social News

School of Liberal Arts Hosts Research Symposium

By Madison Lemke, Staff Writer

The School of Liberal Arts hosted a symposium on Feb. 8, 2019, to honor the great research done by faculty during sabbatical. The four speakers that presented their ideas were Drs. Lisette Balabarca-Fataccioli, associate professor of Spanish; Laurie Naranch, associate professor of political science; Wendy Pojmann, professor of history; and Keith Wilhite, associate professor of English.

Dr. Balabarca-Fataccioli presented her book in the making, "The Female Other: Muslim Women in Early Modern Spain." She spoke about her plan to use different women protagonists from three different books to show the role of fathers within the lives of their newly religious daughters.

These daughters choose to pursue a life full of religion rather than over their toxic relationship with their fathers. Another conclusion that Dr. Balabarca-Fataccioli made was that faith was used as a substitute for a maternal figure within all the daughters' stories. The comfort of the Virgin Mary or journey to the Motherland profoundly influenced the lives of the three women.

Within Dr. Naranch’s presentation, “The Narrative Self: Adriana Cavarero with Sojourner Truth,” Dr. Naranch argued that “Cavarero’s concept of the narratable self can be extended to better capture the political purchase of the concept which interacts dynamically.” Dr. Naranch expressed her concerns regarding Cavarero and how she did not look closely at privilege and power when she discussed uniqueness of self that is written by others. Dr. Naranch explained that she chose to add Truth to the conversation to better help push Cavarero’s ideas further. Also, she used Truth in order for readers to better see her as a political philosopher rather than “just a strong black woman.”

Dr. Pojmann has always had a passion for espresso. This led her to cultivate her upcoming book, “Espresso: The Art and Soul of Italy.” Her captivating love for the taste of espresso began during the hectic years of graduate school.

The idea came to her while visiting the beloved country of Italy a year ago. She was fascinated by everything about espresso and wanted to become immersed in all of its detail and upbringing. Dr. Pojmann divided her book into six chapters, from its transportation within the technological aspect of coffee to the process from the bean to the savory drink. Dr. Pojmann spent hours in countless Italian coffee bars to see how they differ and why.

Although each of the various Italian coffee bars brought its own uniqueness, one thing stayed the same - that being, as Dr. Pojmann described it, “well-ordered chaos.”

English professor Dr. Wilhite presented “Contested Terrain: The Suburbs, U.S Literature, and the Ends of Regionalism.” In this presentation, Dr. Wilhite focused on issues that arise from the development of suburbia and the desire to own a piece of countryside outside the city. He noticed that racial tension increased as well as privacy concerns. Dr. Wilhite used cultural texts and how it has affected the vision of a suburban household.

The texts used were the notable literary works "Kingsblood Royal," "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Clybourne Park," which responded to the postWWII racial and economic exclusivity of the home building projects. He also used sources like the Federal Housing Administration, Home Owner’s Loan Corporation, GI Bill and the Housing Act of 1949-1954.

f you were unable to attend the symposium or are interested in attending another, the School of Liberal Arts will showcase more research. Stop by and acknowledge our ambitious Siena faculty

Library.

CAC Unites for World Cancer Day

By Sophia Henneman, Staff Writer

Cancer is a disease that affects almost everyone. That’s why Siena Colleges Against Cancer Club spends all year planning events to raise money and awareness for cancer research and care. Their latest event was held on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019, which is World Cancer Day. According to the World Cancer Day website, World Cancer Day is an international day that is meant to spread awareness of cancer and to encourage individuals to help through prevention, detection and word of mouth. Colleges Against Cancer club felt that it was necessary to hold an event for this day to advocate to Siena’s campus.

For the event, the club held a table in the Sarazen Student Union with ribbons students can take and pin to their backpacks in honor of cancer awareness, purchase cookies where the proceeds go to the Siena College Relay for Life total, and learn facts and trivia about cancer to be more educated on the disease. In addition, the table was also spreading awareness for the Mary Ruchalski Foundation. This foundation was established to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer, specifically rare cancers. It was started by a Siena alumnus that lost her 12-year-old sister to cancer while she was at Siena. To find out more about this foundation or to donate, check out their website.

To learn more about the event, I spoke with Lauren Bayer '19 who is the marketing chair of Colleges Against Cancer. She explained more about why Colleges Against Cancer hosts events like this. Bayer said, “CAC does this event because our goal and purpose as a club is to spread cancer awareness to the Siena College community. We feel this is important because each spread of awareness can eventually turn into a cure for cancer.” Every little event that the club does go towards raising this awareness and the fight for a cure.

Speaking of events, Colleges Against Cancer’s biggest event, Relay for Life is coming up in a little over a month on March 23 from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. in the MAC. Relay for Life is a big fundraiser for the American Cancer Society where people sign up with a team and participate in ceremonies and walking to commemorate cancer survivors, caregivers, and those who lost the fight to cancer.

There will be free food, games, and performances.

Sign up at relayforlife.org/sienany!

Healthy Hangouts Help Students

By Maria Gigliello, Staff Writer

Since October, the Office of Health Promotion has been putting on Healthy Hangouts as a part of Wellness Wednesday sessions. These sessions are held in Snyder Hall to promote a healthy lifestyle of wellness and how to manage stress as a college student.

Healthy Hangouts focus primarily focus on how stress and anxiety play a part in student’s lives. Students are able to come together and talk about the things they are mutually struggling with.

Sessions start with about eight to ten minutes of teaching about cognitive and behavioral science and then they transition to a discussion based session. At the end, students leave with one or two skills they can use during the week that can help them with stress and anxiety in their lives. The hangouts are led by Kate Kaufman Burns, Director of Health Promotion at the Office of Health Promotion.

On Feb. 6, 2019, in Snyder Hall, the latest Healthy Hangout was held with the theme “What We Say and What We Don’t Say.” This

3| Academic & Social News session highlighted how communication is vital to the important relationships in our lives and it's important to know how to communicate effectively without being stressed out. There are many skills we can use in order to articulate what and how we’re feeling. This session is designed to help take the stress out of communication in important relationships whether its friendships, romantic relationships or even just talking to your professors.

“These sessions let students know that what they’re going through, they’re not going through alone. All themes are based off of what students are telling us they want to talk about and learn about and what to deal with better,” said Office of Health Promotion Communications Intern, Kelsey Baron ’21, on how these sessions benefit students. The whole message of the Office of Health Promotion is “to be well,” and often times it is easy as college students to accept stress as just a part of college life, but it is important to take care of yourself, make healthy decisions and positive lifestyle choices. One easy way to start is the ten-second breath. “You breath in for four seconds, and out for six, slowly and calmly,” Baron said of her favorite anti-stress technique.

You can find more of these tips and tricks at the Healthy Hangouts or visit the Office of Health Promotion in Snyder Hall.

Siena Celebrates the Year of the Pig

By Kaitlyn Winkler, Staff Writer

On Feb. 5, 2019, Siena College welcomed in Chinese New Year with the help of the Asian Student Association at the Sarazen Student Union.

The Year of the Pig was celebrated with tasty food, vibrant decorations and a presentation on the background of the holiday.

Chinese New Year, otherwise known as the Spring Festival, is a three-week long celebration that begins with Little Year in late January and continues until the Lantern Festival, which occurs in the middle of February. Each day has specific celebratory activities like cleaning the home, cooking special dishes or giving gifts to family and neighbors. Because the holidays follow the lunar calendar, the New Year begins on what is considered the first New Moon of the year sometime between January 21 and February 20.

ASA decorated the room with bright red lanterns and Spring Festival Couplets, which are signs placed on doors meant to keep away evil spirits. The color red is used because it represents happiness and good fortune to the Chinese people. Among the decorations, students could enjoy a photo booth while holding up traditional decorations a well as other fun New Year props.

The highlight of the night was the food brought in from Hong Kong Bakery. Students filled their plates with dishes including fried rice, chicken and beef skewers, lo mein and spring rolls.

Along with the food, ASA gave out their version of lucky red envelopes. Usually full of money, they were stuffed with Asian candies. The event received a great turnout, but that, unfortunately, meant that the food ran out much more quickly than expected.

While the students enjoyed their meals, ASA Vice President, Jasmeen Johal, showed a presentation on the Chinese zodiacs. There are 12 animals that represent each year, beginning with the rat and ending with the pig. Each zodiac has unique characteristics and compatibility with other zodiac animals. 2019 is the Year of the Pig. Pigs are energetic and realistic, however, they have a tendency to be materialistic. They are most compatible with Tigers but may not get along with Snakes or Monkeys. The ASA President, Nabila Ahkter, believed that the event was a success, stating, “The students not only got to eat good food, but they also received a cultural experience about Chinese New Year.”

Make sure to keep your eyes open for other exciting ASA events on Saints Connect and

The Promethean the Daily Digest. Xīn nián kuài lè! Happy New Year!

Tim Wise Wows

as MLK Speaker

By Emily Rhoades, Academic & Social News Editor

When acclaimed author and anti-racism activist Tim Wise took the stage in the Marcelle Athletic Complex on Jan. 30, 2019, he immediately brought up the sanitization of Martin Luther King Jr.’s memory in national history, clarifying that the public memory actively strips the activist of his radical and revolutionary content. “See, everybody will tell you that they marched with Dr. King,” Wise said. “If everybody who says that they marched with Dr. King had actually marched with Dr. King, we wouldn’t be having to have this conversation about racism in 2019.”

Siena College welcomed Tim Wise as the keynote speaker for the 32nd Martin Luther King Jr. & Coretta Scott King Lecture Series on Race and Nonviolent Social Change. Wise is a renowned public speaker, author of seven books and the host of the podcast, “Speak Out with Tim Wise.”

He has spent over twenty-five years traveling to colleges, high schools and conferences across the country, teaching on how to deconstruct racism.

The annual lecture series hosts an impressive array of scholars, educators and activists who honor the legacy and teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. Wise’s lecture was titled, “Challenging the Culture of Cruelty: Understanding and Defeating Race and Class Inequity in America.”

Following Wise’s visit, I spoke with Dr. Lisa Nevarez, chair of the MLK Advisory Board, who commented on the success of the event. “The MLK Advisory Board was excited to bring in Tim Wise as our 2019 speaker. During his lecture and his Q&A with the audience, he talked about what it means to be aware of race and privilege,” Nevarez said. “We were happy to see so many turn out to hear his message. We’ve since heard from many attendees how inspiring it was.”

At the core of Wise’s lecture was problematic historical memory, which he cites as the root of America’s divide. There are recurring themes and problems embedded throughout history, he explained, yet America keeps trying to “reinvent the wheel” rather than acknowledge the original problems. Drawing on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential slogan - “Make America Great Again” - and its now infamous red hats, Wise heavily critiqued the catchphrase alongside the current political administration. He stated that “America was never great for millions of people,” and cited some of the minority groups who have suffered under Trump’s presidency, including people of color, women and the LGBTQ+ community. The slogan, according to Wise, ultimately demands a lack of historical memory. “It doesn’t necessarily require that you be a racist if you rock that hat, but it definitely requires that you have an indifference to the lived experience of millions of your fellow countrymen and women,” he said. “And that is just as much of a problem - indifference to the suffering of millions of people is almost as bad as actually committing the act. It’s collaboration with injustice, but a lack of historical memory makes it hard for us to understand that.”

I spoke with English professor Dr. Keith Wilhite, who shared some of his takeaways from Wise’s lecture. “I was most struck by the emphasis on white America’s historical amnesia when it comes to discrimination and racism in this country,” Wilhite said, “not only in terms of a failure to reckon with that history, but a tendency to relegate racial discrimination, racist violence and white nationalism to some distant, long ago past.”

Wise utilized his sentiments on the current political administration to segue into historical examples of systemic racism and its structures, explaining how the system of policing was born from slavery. After joking that the statute of limitations had expired, Wise shared a personal anecdote from his college years during which he

Febr uar y 15, 2019 was pulled over for exceeding thirteen miles per hour over the speed limit in a small Texas town.

Unbeknownst to the cop who pulled him over, Wise also harbored an arsenal of narcotics in his briefcase and a fake ID in his wallet. The cop eventually let him go with only a ticket, though Wise admitted he should have been arrested on the presence of a clearly fake license, let alone for possession with intent to distribute. “Moral of the story: if you think that encounter would have gone down like that had I been black or brown, thirteen miles an hour over the speed limit in Gonzales, Texas in 1988 or next week, you are not paying attention. I don’t mean to this lecture, I mean to life in general in this country,” he said emphatically, drawing strong applause from the crowd.

During the Q&A portion of the lecture, a student posed a question to Wise about how faculty should handle the topic of white privilege in the classrooms, adding that some professors often shut down in the presence of uncomfortable topics. White privilege has been a prominent topic at Siena since the article, “White Privilege: Injustice Does Not Fix Injustice,” was published in a 2017 issue of The Promethean. The opinion article questioned the existence and validity of white privilege, which fostered widespread, polarizing discussion across campus. Wise emphasized the importance of engaging each other in uncomfortable but civil conversation, as well as recognizing the various forms of one’s own privilege. Dr. Wilhite praised Wise’s handling of white privilege topic during the Q&A. “I was also impressed with the way Wise addressed the issue of privilege. To deny white privilege, is, in effect, to deny the experiences of people of color, to suggest that, as a white person, you somehow have a better understanding of what life is like for a racial minority in this country,” Wilhite said. “But there was also a glimmer of hope in his message: if people can begin to acknowledge the privilege they hold, perhaps we can begin to engage in more honest conversations about race.”

The Martin Luther King Jr. & Coretta Scott King Lecture Series on Race and Nonviolent Social Change is co-sponsored by The Times Union, the Center for Academic Community Engagement, the Damietta Cross-Cultural Center, the Diversity Action Committee, and the Greyfriar Living Literature Series.

Mr. Siena 2019: A Recap

By Tianny Ocasio, Staff Writer

On Feb. 2, the annual fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity was held. The fundraiser is a show called Mr. Siena and has taken place every February for the last several years and features eight male students competing in a talent show/beauty pageant in hopes of receiving the title of Mr. Siena. There are three categories and participants have to act in a skit promoting Habitat for Humanity, showcase one of their talents, and dress in formal wear with an escort to answer a question. This year, freshmen Aidan Hoskey and Matt Duncanson, sophomores George Ghobriel and Cooper Humpf, junior Jason Padilla, and seniors Sam Upson, Dan Heslin and Thomas Schlink, competed for the crown.

The show kicked off with the return of last year’s Mr. Siena, Adam Villanueva. He was full of energy and came out in a white tank and sunglasses, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Freddie Mercury. He performed to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” and rounded up this year’s contestants.

They did a masterfully choreographed dance to a medley of famous songs like “Laffy Taffy,” “Bye, Bye, Bye,” “Sicko Mode," and “Don’t Cha” that could have easily convinced me that they all had a dancing background. After the performance, they disbanded to prepare for their individual performances.

The first category was “Habitat.” The contestants performed in order of class year so the freshmen were up first. Matt went the comedic route and took on the persona of the

Febr uar y 15, 2019 famous “Mayhem” from the Allstate commercials to illustrate how Habitat for Humanity repairs and builds homes. Cooper included funny references to the ever-present game Fortnite to advertise for Habitat, George acted in a Three Little Pigs skit to discuss how sturdy the houses Habitat builds are, Jason did amazing impressions of figures from pop culture, including Marge Simpson, Rick from “Rick and Morty,” and Mickey Mouse while talking about the importance of Habitat. Sam did a skit in which he was walking his dog and found a paper advertising Habitat, in which he also included references to Fortnite. Thom took another comedic approach and did a parody to highlight the importance of Habitat. To close off the category, Dan defended Habitat by participating in a rap battle that emulated "White Chicks."

Each contestant then showcased a talent, ranging from singing to comedy. Matt started by doing a spectacular cover of “Japanese Denim”

by Daniel Caesar with a band by his side. Aidan told a hilarious “true story” revolving around his experience with the FBI because of a group chat, George did an amazing cover of the song “Gravity” by John Mayer and Cooper played the piano and performed a tribute to members of the military. Jason brought the house down with his ukulele and covers of “Count on Me," “I’m Yours” and “Saturday Sun” and Sam started his performance by doing a solo dance, joined by two fellow members of the Bhangra team, dancing to “They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson.

Thom dedicated his performance to the Siena community, especially the Class of 2019, and did a reworked version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. He made the song about Siena College and as a senior, the lines “Siena College, my alma mater, take me home” struck a chord with me. Dan played the saxophone and described his journey at Siena with different Disney songs. His younger brother acted as him navigating each semester on the side while John Ruquet narrated his story. He played classics like “A Whole New World," “Man Out of You," “Beauty and the Beast," “Go the Distance” and ended with “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”.

The last category saw the boys walking down in formal wear accompanied by an escort.

They were each asked questions pertaining to Siena, and they all gave wonderful answers.

Matt discussed his goal to inspire others; Aidan described Siena as his new family; Cooper opened up about a friend he recently lost and the challenges surrounding that; George advised everyone to find their niche; Jason talked about how important Siena is. Sam said the best decision he had ever made was deciding to become a Siena Saint; Thom wants his legacy to make a difference after he graduates; and Dan showed gratitude for the Siena community and his fellow contestants, saying everyone was Mr. Siena in his eyes.

The crowning ceremony followed and despite the fact that all the contestants did an amazing job, there could ultimately only be one Mr. Siena and Thomas Schlink took the crown!

George won for Best Habitat, Dan took home the award for Best Talent, Sam was crowned Mr. Congeniality, and Jason was the First Runner-Up.

The show was truly spectacular and I’m still surprised it was able to be packed into two and a half hours. The contestants, both young and older, were wonderful. The entire show is available on Facebook if anyone missed it, it’s a show well worth watching!

"Fences" At Siena

By Carli Scolforo, Staff Writer

August Wilson’s play “Fences” ran from January 31 to February 10 in Foy Hall. Put on by the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY, this play explores the lives and relationships of an AfricanAmerican family in Pittsburgh in the 1950s. The show features a relatively small cast, with only eight actors appearing on stage throughout the entire production. All the events of the show take

The Promethean

Arts & Entertainment | 4

Arts & Entertainment

place on the main character, Troy's, doorstep.

The play, by and large, examines the various plights of Troy, a man in his fifties struggling to provide for his wife, his sons and his mentally handicapped younger brother. Throughout the course of the production, Troy struggles with race relations, affairs and feelings of inadequacy related to his failed baseball career. All of these factors together lead to a precarious and eventually estranged relationship with his family.

While the show focuses on Troy, played

by Emmet Ferris, one standout actor, particularly in the second half, was Sharon DeSilva, Esq., who played Rose. As the only female actor who appears throughout the entire show, her energy on her own was able to balance out that of the other five men who appeared the most. Her emotion and humanity was something that was incredibly easy to latch on to and relate to as an audience member.

It was DeSilva who was able to successfully deliver one of the most iconic lines of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “From right now, this child got a mother. But you a womanless man.” Her performance as a caring mother and selfless wife was the perfect counterpart to Ferris’s endlesslytormented Troy.

Overall, the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY were able to pull off an engaging and highly emotionally charged show in their borrowed space at Siena through this run. Those who weren’t able to see their performances of “Fences” can look forward to performances of a new show yet to be announced at Sage College this summer, according to the theatre company’s website.

Local Artists Showcase at 2019 Mohawk-Hudson Regional Invitational

By Alexis Oldfield, Staff Writer

Even the most avid Christmas fan might believeDowntown Albany was home to the opening night of the 2019 Mohawk-Hudson Regional Invitational this past Friday, Feb. 8. The Albany Center Gallery, located on Broadway Ave, had pieces created by local artists celebrated with the public at the artist’s reception. Amy Cheng, Susan Meyer, Karin Schaefer and Amelia Toelke are all distinguished artists that were selected to have their art showcased at this year’s invitational.

Many from the area came out to enjoy the food, art and good company that the occasion provided.

The Albany Center Gallery selected this year's recognized artists from a pool of originally 371 accomplished creators. The final decision was made by the gallery’s executive director, Tony Ladicicco after juror Jean Shin for the MohawkHudson Regional show whittled the original number down to 38. Sponsors that made the invitational possible included Ann Pfau and David Hochfelder as well as ParkAlbany, New York State Council on the Arts and The Albany Wine and Dine for the Arts Festival.

The Albany Center Gallery’s website shared information regarding the artists displayed before the invitational. According to the site, Amelia Toelke is a visual artist located just half an hour outside of Albany. She focuses her creative talents on commonplace subjects and challenging the concepts of object, image, reality, and representation through her work. Amy Cheng, another featured artist, channels the traditions of the Middle Eastern Islamic, Eastern Hindu-Buddhist and European Judeo-Christian throughout her artistic vision. Cheng is another visual artist and her work includes geometric and floral designs that reflect the cosmos. Susan Meyer created many of the sculptures that were displayed at the showing and is from Hudson, NY. She calls her

creative influence “experimental communities” and uses such to make artistic, geometric pieces.

Finally, Karin Schaefer’s “Meditation Series” was showcased at the invitational and embodied her work that explores the place of mind as well as the nature of nature.

There was an overarching theme across of the gallery’s walls of bright colors and geometric shapes and patterns. In the heart of a central New York winter, there was almost a spring-like feel to the invitational. The contemporary art displayed had a wide range of styles including paintings, sculptures, and a particularly large, mirrored acrylic piece. "Dragonfruit," a 2015 piece by Amelia Toelke covered an entire wall in the gallery with reflective, pink, geometric shapes. It definitely caught the attention of most of the attendees as modern and unique art. Basically, "Dragonfruit" resulted in many selfies of the pink reflections. It was really too beautiful and mesmerizing to miss such an opportunity.

In the case that you missed the opening reception, do not worry. The art will be on display at the Albany Center Gallery through March 16.

The art being showcased is intriguing, thoughtprovoking, and all created by talented creatives right from our local region. This exhibition is completely free to the public and would truly be a shame to miss out on.

Conspiracy Theories

By Jaymie Hoelldobler, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Even if you’re not a fan of the videostreaming website Youtube, the name Shane Dawson is probably familiar to you. In 2008, when Youtube was not nearly the immensely popular site that it has come to be, Shane, at nineteen years old, began creating sketch-comedy videos and very quickly gained a massive amount of fans.

So much thought, creativity and pure passion went into his early videos, full of original characters, dark humor, impersonations of celebrities and mocking of pop culture. He's done a mix of things in recent years, like testing products, trying different foods, and eventually made his first conspiracy theory video in 2015. It quickly became his most popular series. In the past year, he has put out much less content, but what he does put out is TV-level quality and production. He and his videographer, Andrew Siwicki, put out content with hours of footage and break it up into series released on different dates. The Youtuber took a few months off, and fans waited eagerly for his comeback video, especially once it was announced that it would be about conspiracy theories.

On Dec. 8, 2018, Shane tweeted, “working on stuff for 2019” using the triangle emoji, hinting at the Illuminati, alluding to the idea that his next release would be more conspiracy theories. On Jan. 30, 2018, the almost two-hour long video was posted. Within 15 hours, the video reached over 8 million views, and fans, not surprisingly, were loving it. Shane brought up the Woolsey fires that raged in California, which burned almost 97,000 acres of land and lasted thirteen days. Three people lost their lives, thousands lost their homes, neighborhoods and memories, and over 300,000 people were evacuated. People compared it to the apocalypse. Shane had a lot of unanswered questions about the fire, and wanted to take a trip to Calabasas to see the fire damage in person to get the full effect. While the damage was heartbreaking and terrifying to see, something was off. As they walked down the street, whole houses and garages were burned to pieces with nothing left. But the surrounding trees on the property were fine, as well as houses next door. If it was a wildfire, like those of authority announced, this doesn’t make a lot of sense. Theories were flowing on Twitter as soon as the fires started, the

5 | Po l i t i c s most popular theory being lasers. The fire is said to have started from a research site at a lab that had a partial nuclear meltdown in the '50s. But pictures and footage show harsh lines that people claim are lasers coming from military aircrafts, the reasoning behind this being population control.

The theory might sound a little far-fetched but when you see a house burned completely to the ground next to a house and trees that are not even touched a little bit, it’s hard to completely blame it on a simple wildfire. They ended the segment with exploring a burned playground, and an eerie “to be continued.” This theory is terrifying and elicits a lot of thought about what the government is hiding and what they might have to gain from something like this.

One other theory that was interesting to me was Shane’s discussion of an app called Deep Fake. It’s an extremely advanced iPhone software that resembles the face swapping filter on Snapchat. Most of the drama that has come from the app is that people are using it to morph celebrities heads onto adult entertainment videos.

Young actresses like Selena Gomez and Emma Watson have had their faces morphed on top of pornography videos, making it seem as if the celebrities were the ones taking part. As of now, there are absolutely no laws prohibiting this sort of thing, which Shane, along with many experts, say could be extremely dangerous. Shane showed a clip of Barack Obama bad mouthing Donald Trump and calling him names, and revealed the clip to actually be Jordan Peele, showing just how easy it is for people to use the app. It absolutely looked like it was Barack Obama saying these things. This is dangerous for the world, as Shane used the example of someone being able to use this app, perhaps, to make it seem like Trump announced he has sent off a nuclear weapon. After the fake video release, it would become viral, and there would be an immediate response from other countries - a response that might be catastrophic for our country. This is a terrifying thought, as Shane made it clear that it is very easy to do, and could happen to anyone, celebrity or not.

These were just two of the theories he talked about. He also talked about a few different iPhone glitches and subliminal messages in childhood shows about suicide. The video has you on the edge of your seat for the entire hour and forty minutes and I highly encourage anyone to watch it, as it talks about serious things and events that are happening in our society.

Ralph Northam Under Fire for Surfaced Blackface Photo

By Elizabeth Vinal, Staff Writer

Ralph Northam was an Army doctor, pediatric neurologist, state senator and Lieutenant Governor before being elected as Governor of Virginia. On his website, Northam is shown working with sick children and veterans, but recently his past has come back to haunt him. A photograph from Northam's personal page on his medical school yearbook surfaced recently, that shows one person in blackface with a beer in hand and another man wearing a KKK robe. Northam is alleged to be one of the men in the picture.

There is also a quote under the picture that states: “There are more old drunks than old doctors in the world so I think I’ll have another beer.” This photo was not the only one of its kind. According to a team of CNN reporters who looked at the rest of the yearbook in question, the rest was filled with similar displays of racism, including many medical students in blackface. The frequency of these problematic pictures speaks to a larger issue of racism and accountability that Northam is currently facing.

The conservative news site, Big League Politics, was the first to report the photo, which was then quickly picked up by major news sources.

Upon the photo breaking, Northam first stated that

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Politics

he was in the picture, and was quick to apologize, though he could not remember which costume he was wearing. He stated at a press conference at the Virginia state office that the costumes were "clearly racist and offensive” and he understands now that what he did was wrong. Northam has since stated that it was not him in the picture, although he did not give a reason as to why it was on his personal yearbook page. Throughout all of this, there were rumors circulating that Northam was planning on resigning, but he was quick to refute these claims to the press and constituents.

The Democratic Party of Virginia released a statement the Saturday, quoted by The Nation, following the news that Northam has no plans of resigning, stating that he no longer has the confidence or support of the Democratic Party of Virginia. They stated that he should step down and allow for the Lieutenant Governor to take his place. There have been similar calls from Virginians for him to resign because of the scandal, who told the Washington Post that he no longer represents their beliefs, as well as Democrats from across the nation who had similar statements. There were immediate calls from the Virginia Black Caucus for his resignation, and they remain very vocal on the issue, as they told the Washington Post as well.

Across the nation, 2020 presidential candidates and other Democratic heavyweights have come out against Northam and called for him to step down, including those from the more moderate sect of the party. Even with all this backlash from constituents, state party members and the old and new Democratic elites, Northam has made it clear that he has no plans of stepping down in another press conference. Those who call for his resignation state that not doing so would normalize racism and that leaders must be held to a higher standard as they represent the state and its citizens.

The call for Northam to step down is enhanced by who would be replacing him. The Lieutenant Governor is Justin Fairfax, an AfricanAmerican man, considered more progressive than Northam. However, there have been allegations of sexual assault made by staffers against Fairfax, along with other elected officials being found to also have worn blackface in their college and graduate years, including those who are in the line of succession after Fairfax, which muddles the problems even more. It remains to be seen what will happen to the Virginia government and its leadership.

The Fight for the Oval Office

By Sean Buff, Staff Writer

It’s that time again -- the fight that occurs every four years. That fight being for the highest office in the United States: the office of the presidency. 45 men have held this position as the result of 58 separate presidential elections. At this time, the American people must ask themselves, “Should we keep our current president, or is it time to elect a new one?” As of right now, President Donald Trump is campaigning to keep his position in the highest office of the United States. According to ballotpedia.org, President Trump is the only Republican at this time who has filed to run in 2020.

Democrats have been gearing up for a heated campaign trail. So far, multiple well-known Democratic politicians have filed for candidacy to run for president, according to ballotpedia. org. Some of the current candidates are Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey, Senator Kamala Harris from California, Senator Kristen Gillibrand from New York, and Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts. Also, on the Democratic ticket are various congressional, state and local

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representatives. On the independent side, former CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, has filed with the Federal Elections Commission to run for president. In a speech, he claimed to be running as an independent centrist, according to Fox News.

There also happens to be many Democrats who are rumored to make a presidential run but have not declared so. Former Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton has tossed the idea of running for president a third time but has not made it official. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Former Vice President Joe Biden are seen by many Democrats across the country as potential candidates, but neither has commented whether or not he will run for president. Former Texas Congressman and candidate for U.S. Senate, Beto O’Rourke, is another person Democrats across the country see as a possible presidential candidate.

However, he has not mentioned anything hinting at him running for President.

In regard to party platform, the Democrats are advocates for Medicare for All, immigration and defeating President Trump, according to the New York Times. There is also the question of which candidates would shift further to the left of the political spectrum, and which ones would try to be more moderate to appeal to a larger voter base. According to the New York Times, the answer to this question depends on what each candidate believes is the best approach to defeating President Trump and, at the same time, reaching a larger voter base.

Another factor to consider in the 2020 race is the energizing of voters on the left during the 2018 midterm elections. The takeaway from the 2018 midterm elections was that many American voters embrace leftist ideas, including Medicare for All, and are unsatisfied with President Trump since Republicans lost the House of Representatives.

However, Republicans were able to keep the Senate. Many Americans wonder if this is a sign that Republicans are unhappy with President Trump. It is uncertain whether this is true since the political party that holds the Executive Branch often loses congressional seats and/or chambers of Congress.

Another question that comes up is if the energized feeling that voters on the left felt in the midterm elections will carry on in 2020. This is also uncertain, but recent events, such as the partial government shutdown, could change this.

Events that have yet to happen could also change this. Even though incumbents have a great chance of keeping their political power, the 2020 election results are still uncertain at this time, given the current political climate.

Andrew Cuomo's Approval Rating Drops to Its Lowest

By Hugo Castro, Politics Editor

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's approval rating has dropped to its lowest in his eight years in office, according to the New York Times. Despite his overwhelming victory in the 2018 midterm elections, and a string of popular laws passed in recent weeks, Cuomo's drop in approval rating is quite surprising.

As reported by the New York Times, 778 registered voters were polled. Siena College Research Institute found that Cuomo had an eightpoint drop in his favorability rating, reaching down to 43 percent from 51 percent last month. Siena reports that 50 percent of those who were polled looked at Cuomo unfavorably.

Siena also reported that Cuomo's job approval rating is even lower than the favorability rating. Only 35 percent of registered voters surveyed said that Cuomo was doing an "excellent" or "good" job. 64 percent said that Cuomo was doing a "fair" or "poor" job.

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The poll, conducted from February 4 to February 7, came in the middle of a wave of legislation passed by Cuomo as he seeks to make New York "the most progressive state in the nation," according to the New York Times.

Expecting a honeymoon phase with New York voters, the polls have shown that the string of progressive legislation passed was not enough to grant Cuomo favorability.

The results of Cuomo's favorability rating remain surprising, though, as polls have shown that voters have displayed more support than disapproval of the recent laws passed. It can be speculated that the drop in approval ratings come from voters who oppose Cuomo's recent abortion rights bill. It is likely that Catholics now disapprove of Cuomo after passing the controversial bill, along with other groups who vehemently oppose late-term abortions.

"Self-proclaimed liberals," as reported by the New York Times, still remain loyal to Cuomo (63 percent). 71 percent of African-American voters are also in support of Cuomo, as well as 63 percent of Latino voters. Cuomo's ratings fell primarily with Democrats, Republicans and independents, according to Siena.

Cuomo recently passed the Child Victims Act, which allows childhood sexual abuse survivors to sue their abusers. One of the nation's tightest statutes of limitations on molestation resided in New York, so this bill is noteworthy and important for sex abuse survivors. Cuomo also recently passed tighter gun control laws in New York and passed legislation prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression. This, along with his recently-passed late-term abortion law compose a favorable base for liberal proponents.

New Yorkers have also expressed support for legalization of recreational marijuana, of which Cuomo has promised to make possible this year. If done, Cuomo will continue his liberal bill-passing trend, and possibly gain favorability in response to his dramatic drop in the polls. For now, the recent bills passed have not been enough to save Cuomo's approval ratings, but perhaps over time when New York has a chance to feel the differences made by the laws passed, their view towards the governor will shift. Only time would be able to tell, but in the meantime, New York and the rest of the United States will have to wait and see what kinds of bills Cuomo will pass next.

The Highest Grossing Film This Year Showcased A Non-White Lead, Yet Hollywood Still Feels the Need to Whitewash

By Alyssa Guzman, Staff Writer

Hollywood has been criticized for whitewashing for years now, but has this stopped them from doing it? The simple answer is no. You will constantly see foreign characters or even foreignborn Americans constantly being portrayed as strictly obvious white characters. What is their defense? According to Jenny Han, author of "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before," “One producer said to me, as long as the actress captures the spirit of the character, age and race don’t matter. I said, well, her spirit is Asian-American. That was the end of that.” Early on in the production of the movie, she was pressured to whitewash the cast of her novel for this film adaptation. Unlike most movies, Han refused to allow it to happen.

In general, it doesn’t matter how many times the public demands a change from the Hollywood executives, it simply is not going to happen unless the insiders push for it. However, that is not to say that Hollywood hasn’t conquered whitewashing in some instances. Take "Crazy Rich Asians and, as stated before, "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before." "Crazy Rich Asians' was the first film with an all Asian cast. It was also nominated for major awards, such as two Golden Globes and

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one Screen Actors Guild Awards, just to name a few. This film also broke box office records for romantic comedies in a single weekend. "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before" was one of Netflix’s biggest anticipated films last year – ranking in at eight out of ten for Netflix’s biggest films of 2018.

Doesn’t this prove to Hollywood that foreign actors are just as good as white actors?

So why does Hollywood continue to whitewash, despite some of the biggest films last year containing nonwhite actors as the leads?

The highest grossing movie in the box office this year was "Black Panther," estimated to have earned over 700 million dollars throughout its 25-week theater run. In its opening week alone, it grossed roughly 200 million dollars.

Yet, viewers constantly see executives continue to make decisions to recast or cut out foreign races' roles. It’s a bit tiring, don’t you think?

Clearly, 2018 proved that movies without a majority white cast or lead can still produce good quality work that breaks records. Not only does casting Asians as Asians and South Americans as South Americans and Africans as Africans attract the minorities even more to the theaters, but it also indicates to the growing youth that being you is not wrong.

On top of that, white people are not going to stop going to the movies just because there is a decrease in white characters, especially as the tide continues changing and supporting minorities.

Hollywood is missing out on some amazing actors and actresses by whitewashing, and honestly, it’s time to change.

Representation is important. And come on, can you really imagine an all-white cast in "Crazy Rich Asians"? It wouldn’t make sense, and neither does whitewashing.

Whitewashing in Comic Book Films and Television is an Issue

By Samuel Shulman, Staff Writer

As comic book inspired films and television series continue to be more mainstream, these stories provide us with amazing and characters.

Marvel Studios under the Walt Disney Studios umbrella is one of the most successful companies that make comic book based films and television shows. One of the bigger names in Marvel comics was Stan Lee, who unfortunately passed away in November of 2018. Stan Lee co-created characters many know and love such as SpiderMan, the X-Men, Iron Man, Doctor Strange and the Fantastic Four. Most Marvel characters are instantly recognizable.

Some of these characters though suffer from unfortunate whitewashing, which is the casting of white actors for a role about non-white characters. One of these characters that comes to mind is Danny Rand, or Iron Fist. This idea came to me when I was sitting at the gym in my hometown and thought, “Has there ever been an Asian Iron Fist?” Needless to say, there has not. In the comic, Danny Rand loses his parents in the snow-covered mountains of Asia, while his father is searching for the mystical city of K’un-Lun. Danny makes it to the mystical city and trains there with Yu-Ti the August Personage of Jade and Lei Kung, the thunderer, and inherits the power of the Iron Fist.

The canceled Netflix series based on the Iron Fist comic follows a similar narrative. The issue I have both with the comic and the Netflix series is the idea that when Asian culture is represented in pop culture, it is treated as an object rather than a subject. Other films have the same problem such as the "Karate Kid" and "The Last Samurai." In the case of Iron Fist, martial arts is treated as a skill that Danny Rand uses to move his agenda forward,

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which is to get revenge on Harold Meachum, Danny’s father’s business partner who betrayed him on the snow-covered mountains. The Iron Fist story also follows the idea that when Asian men are in these stories, they are only there to propel the white hero into greatness: in Iron Fist’s case as a superhero.

I love Doctor Strange but he also suffers from the same problems Iron Fist has. Doctor Stephen Strange is a renowned neurosurgeon, who loses the use of his hands in a car accident.

Stephen Strange travels to Tibet in search of a way to heal his hands. In Tibet, Stephen Strange meets the Ancient One who teaches him the mystic arts and was eventually given the powerful artifact, the Eye of Agamotto, which helps him become the next sorcerer supreme. Similar to the Iron Fist story, an Asian male trains and propels a white man into greatness. In the film "Doctor Strange" that was released in 2016, the Ancient One was portrayed by Tilda Swinton. In the comics, the Ancient One is an Asian male but the film version is a white woman, which represents another level of whitewashing.

Whitewashing is an issue that not only affects the superhero genre but other films as well. It is a roadblock for diversity in films. Recent films such as Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians are two films that have broken the trend of whitewashing and created stories that represent diversity and embraces cultures as a subject.

Whitewashing also distances people from films or television that relates to them, whether through their race or ethnicity. To me, Iron Fist would be a more relatable character to me if he was AsianAmerican or even Asian. The Netflix adaptation could have created a narrative where Iron Fist was an Asian American but failed to do so and thus created another example of Asian culture and people being treated as an object rather than a subject.

New NY Abortion Law: “A Women’s Right to Choose” or to Murder?

By Nicole Commisso, Staff Writer

A bill that was first introduced in 2006 and blocked by Republicans in the New York state Senate, has now passed the legislature in January of 2019. Co-signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York’s Reproductive Health Act (RHA) is praised by the left and pro-choicers as an “essential protection for women.” This repulsive bill legalizes abortion from week one of pregnancy up until birth for women in New York. It’s incredible how this law is supposed to support “reproductive health,” meanwhile, it hypocritically terminates that very statement entirely.

According to this New York statute, life starts at birth. Therefore, under New York law, a baby in the womb is not a life, regardless of how old that baby is. The mother could be far along in the pregnancy or even in labor, the fetus could have all ten fingers and toes, a beating heart and functioning body parts, and still is not considered a life that has rights by New York State. It is said that the bill will preserve the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, which deemed abortion a fundamental right by the Supreme Court in 1973, from the fear of the new “conservative” Supreme Court overturning it.

The law now allows medical professionals who are not doctors to perform abortions. It also protects doctors (and now, these medical professionals) who perform abortions from criminal prosecution. By removing abortion from the state’s criminal code, any unborn child that is killed in the womb, whether that is from a car accident, a domestic violence dispute, or even the pregnant mother being murdered, it is not

7 | Po l i t i c s considered homicide of the baby inside the womb, no matter how many weeks old.

How does this in any shape or form protect women? You would think the new-age feminists and the social justice warriors who fight for women’s rights and are against domestic violence abuse would be against late-term abortion. I mean… there are female babies, right?

The main argument that the left proposes for late-term abortion is that the women’s health has to be in danger or the fetus is not viable in order to have one. This is true; however, what people forget is that physical health and mental health go hand in hand. If a pregnant woman was having a mental breakdown, anxiety, depression, etc., she would technically be eligible to terminate her pregnancy past 24 weeks in New York.

This, of course, would be determined by the woman’s healthcare provider who obviously gets compensated for the abortion. Yes, doctors make money when they “treat” patients.

The most common second-trimester abortion in the U.S. is the procedure of a secondtrimester surgical dilation and extraction (D&E) abortion (which is illegal federally and also in many states). According to Dr. Anthony Levatino, a former abortionist, at this point in the pregnancy, “the baby’s bones and skull are too strong to be torn apart by suction alone. The abortionist uses this clamp to grasp an arm or a leg. Once he has a firm grip, the abortionist pulls hard, in order to tear the limb from the baby’s body.”

Dr. Levatino further explains, “The head is grasped and crushed. The abortionist knows he has crushed the skull when a white substance comes out of the cervix – this was the baby’s brains. The abortionist then removes skull pieces…

The abortionist then collects the baby parts and reassembles them to make sure that there are two arms, two legs, and all the pieces. Once all the parts have been accounted for, the abortion is complete.”

This is the ugly truth of abortion. This is the terror that no pro-choice advocate is willing to face. This is what we need to wake up and see, we are brutally dismembering and killing our littlest Americans before they even have a chance. Who the hell are we to take away a life?

It astonishes me how as a society, we can take the most innocent form of life and execute it as a selfish need of our own; not being able to deal with consequences of our own actions. We need to reevaluate our choices and decisions as we make them and accept the results. How about we start pushing “A Women’s Choice to Have Sex”? Even if both sexual partners do everything right, yes, there is still a chance that you can get pregnant. Shocker!

We should be teaching personal responsibility to our children and younger generations. If you have consensual sex, even if you take precautions, there is no perfect ten in life.

Think about these questions: Are puppies not puppies in the womb? Are tadpoles not baby frogs? Are cocooned caterpillars not butterflies?

Are fetuses in the womb not humans? Try to remember, you were once “just a clump of cells.”

Imagine if your mother took your life away from you.

Responses?

Comments? Letters to the Editor?

Email newspaper@siena. edu

The Promethean Letters to the Editor Brendan Savage, Secretary of Siena College Democrats

On January 25th, 2019, Donald Trump’s campaign advisor, Roger Stone was arrested by the FBI and charged with seven counts including obstruction, making false statements, and witness tampering. The investigation accused Stone of being the main communicator between the Trump campaign and hackers outside of the United States.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because on April 15th of last year, Stone got to speak to students at an event called “Let Freedom Ring,” here at Siena College. Stone’s visit was sponsored by three conservative-leaning political clubs on campus, including Siena College Republicans, Young Americans for Liberty, and Turning Point USA.

The arrest by the FBI was far from the first indicator that Stone is not a good guy. Although readers of our student newspaper might not know that if they had read Promethean’s article about Roger Stone in the December 7th, 2018 issue -where Stone was declared a “Political Icon”. The article left out important information about Roger Stone’s past actions, including racist remarks he made against an African-American CNN Commentator, Roland Martin, or him working as a writer and internet personality for Alex Jones’ website Infowars.com.

According to the Washington Post, Alex Jones is a far-right conspiracy theorist who has spread many disrespectful false claims including that 9/11 was an “inside job,” that Sandy Hook and Stoneman Douglas school shootings were “false flag operations” and were faked by “crisis actors,” and that “Hillary Clinton was running a child sex ring out of a pizzeria” in Washington, DC. These lies have had real-life consequences, including the relentless harassment of the families of school shooting victims, and a shooting at the Washington restaurant by a man who drove to Washington to “self-investigate” the claim.

Roger Stone was not the only terrible person who was invited to speak at Siena last spring, however. Our college’s three conservative clubs chose to invite political activist James O’Keefe. No matter what your political beliefs are, O’Keefe is unquestionably morally repugnant. One of his claims to fame is a failed attempt to discredit nine different female victims of childhood sexual abuse and misconduct by Alabama Judge Roy Moore by planting a false story in the Washington Post.

All this information raises a few questions: Why are Siena College’s conservative clubs promoting these two men? Why is an openly racist man who pals around with Alex Jones being invited to speak here? Why is a man who attempts to discredit victims of childhood sexual abuse being brought onto our campus? I’m sure there are plenty of decent conservative political speakers who would add to the much-needed civil discourse at our campus, but Roger Stone and James O’Keefe don’t fit into the category of “decent”. And they certainly don’t fit into our college’s Catholic and Franciscan mission.

Racist name-calling disrespects the diversity and inclusivity our college claims to promote. Discrediting survivors of abuse empowers the evil among us, while only serving to demean the dignity and value of those who have suffered.

What can be done to discourage abhorrent political figures from speaking on our campus?

That is a question that three of our college’s conservative clubs are going to have to reckon with. First, I believe they should stop inviting morally reprehensible people who degrade our nation’s civil discourse. Instead of focusing on which speakers will be the most provocative, I believe that the presidents of these clubs should

Febr uar y 15, 2019 seek out conservative speakers who will enlighten our students and give good faith arguments on why their ideology is the right one to subscribe to. If these clubs are trying to bring more people into a conservative ideology, speakers like Roger Stone and James O’Keefe actively harm their movement’s chances of attracting new members, especially women and minorities.

If clubs want an example of quality conservative speakers, they don’t have to look far. Last semester the Political Science Society hosted a bipartisan discussion between Former Congressman Chris Gibson, a Republican, and Congressman Paul Tonko, a Democrat. Although the two politicians came from different sides of the political aisle, both have long records of being dedicated public servants, and both are clearly decent and upstanding individuals. That event was truly educational and informative, and it was a model of how our politics can be decent and civil.

Events like the “Let Freedom Ring” conference have the opposite effect. It took what could have been an opportunity to educate students on conservative beliefs, and replaced it with an embarrassing attempt to be edgy and provocative.

Because clubs like Siena College Republicans, Young Americans for Liberty, and Turning Point USA have generally been allowed by the College to invite whoever they want, the quality of the speakers will be reliant on the decency and goodwill of the leaders of the clubs who invite them. These clubs will need to selfregulate and ask themselves which speakers will positively add to the much-needed free exchange of ideas. In addition, they should disavow previous speakers like O’Keefe and Stone and make it clear that they don’t agree with their actions.

In the meantime, Siena College should encourage free speech, but also be able to draw the line somewhere. While just being a provocative loudmouth shouldn’t be an automatic disqualifier from being able to speak at Siena, we should remember that as Private Catholic school, the College can and should occasionally say “no” to a speaker who has clearly acted against our school’s Franciscan values. This in itself would not be stifling free speech, as the speaker could still speak freely with a megaphone on the public sidewalk on Loudon Road. We should also remember that no outside speaker has the absolute right to reserve a room and a microphone at a Private Catholic College, and Siena College has the right to not let racist or divisive speakers use our campus to spread their ideas to our students.

Michael Bove, President of Siena College Republicans

Apparently, some of us forget the purpose of an institution of higher learning. Siena’s right-leaning organizations had an incredible opportunity to host speakers that had greatly influenced American politics. Roger Stone, for example, is a seasoned political operative with a deep insight and knowledge into the workings of political campaigns since the 1970’s.

Now let me be perfectly clear: I do not condone all of his actions or statements. Our organizations provided the Siena community with an opportunity to gain insight into the inner workings of our political system. Let’s not forget that our conference was open to ALL students. We encouraged everyone, even those who strongly opposed him, to attend the conference and use the “question and answer” session to challenge him. Did anyone? No. Instead, the opposition launched a campaign to shut down our event.

Their efforts culminated in a very weak and small “protest” outside of Snyder Hall.

I must also denounce the utter hypocrisy of the individual who suggests that we have invited morally reprehensible speakers. Where was this concern when a multitude of organizations hosted Michael Brown Sr. on campus? His event featured statements that lied about our legal system and his team played music that advocated for violence

Febr uar y 15, 2019 against our police force. And how about when Siena hosted Michael Reyes? Mr. Reyes, prior to his visit at Siena, had performed poetry that entertained the idea of assassinating then-President George W. Bush. Certainly, these speakers do not fit into our Catholic and Franciscan mission, do they?

I did not feel that either Mr. Reyes or Mr. Brown Sr. were “right” or good speakers to be brought to campus. I still feel that their ideas are morally reprehensible. However, I believe that we will do more harm to discourse by starting to censor these political perspectives that some disagree with.

College is a place of learning. It’s a place to be exposed to competing ideas so that we can become more robust in our understanding of the world. By censoring those whom we disagree with, we weaken our institution of learning and we limit the level of the conversations that we seek to enhance.

Despite the Hype, Super Bowl LIII Proves To Be Unexciting Matchup

By David Le Blang, Staff Writer

On Feb. 3, 2002, a second-year quarterback by the name of Tom Brady found himself thrust onto the world’s stage as an underdog against the league-leading St. Louis Rams; the “greatest show on turf” versus the league’s leading defense.

Despite the Rams being a fourteen-point favorite, with the league’s most high powered offense, the New England Patriots handled their business and won their first Super Bowl title in franchise history. 17 years later, to the exact day, Tom Brady found himself in a peculiarly similar situation – going to the Super Bowl as an ‘underdog’ against what most would say is the second coming of the greatest show on turf, led by the hot new coachquarterback tandem of Sean McVay and Jared Goff. The second time around, like before, the Patriots stuck to their guns and pulled out another Super Bowl win. The only difference this time – it was their sixth in a span of seventeen years and set a multitude of records in its wake.

What was predicted to be a record-setting, high octane score fest, with most predictions gauging both teams scoring in the 20-30 point range, ended up delivering – but in opposite ways.

The final score, Patriots 13 – 3 Rams, set the record for being the lowest scoring Super Bowl in NFL history. (Note: the Rams offense during the regular season had averaged 32.9 points per game. In this game, they scored three.) The Patriots' 13 points were the fewest scored by a winning team in Super Bowl history, as well as the teams’ combined six points through three quarters. With Tom Brady being at the helm for all six of the Patriots Super Bowl wins, Sunday’s win makes him the only individual player in NFL history to have won six Super Bowls.

In addition to the game being a let-down for many viewers, there was also another aspect, while usually a major highlight, also proved to be disappointing for those watching: the halftime show. For those unaware, the creator of the Nickelodeon show, SpongeBob SquarePants, Stephen Hillenburg, had died last November at the age of 57 from ALS. As a result, fans had petitioned and consequently teased, with a performance of the song “Sweet Victory” from one of the show’s most iconic episodes, "Band Geeks." However, when the time came, fans who tuned in specifically to see this were presented with a newly-animated snippet of Squidward talking, then played all of five seconds of the original episode, only to use it as a cue for Travis Scott to come on stage to perform his part of the set, headlined by Maroon 5, himself, and fellow rapper Big Boi.

Although the game and halftime show might not have been the most riveting things as expected, the myriad of commercials provided by various companies helped give an opportunity to fans to stay tuned in for the entirety of the game.

The Promethean

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Study Abroad

Some notable highlights were Burger King’s revival of a 1982 film snippet of Andy Warhol eating a Whopper with the tagline, “Eat Like Andy,” Olay’s mesh of the horror genre with skin care in the “Killer Skin” ad, M&M’s “Bad Passengers” ad, with Christina Applegate driving a van with M&M candies/"passengers" meshed together into the company’s new chocolate bar, Walmart’s “Famous Cars” ad, which brought in many iconic vehicles among pop culture to advertise their new pickup grocery store, and Michelob Ultra’s reminder that although robots may be superior to humans, and can now do much of what we can do, they still can’t enjoy beer as we do.

Although this year’s Super Bowl was, in many aspects, far less than all the hype had led to anticipate, there are still some things certain fans can rejoice in. Tom Brady isn’t going to retire anytime soon, the Patriots' dynasty still stands strong despite the predictions of many. And although the Rams lost this one, the amount of potential this new squad has is mirroring of that of the 2002 Patriots.

Life in the Global City

By Julianna Rauf

I came to my study abroad destination – London, United Kingdom – unsure of if I made the right decision. I was nervous because as a commuter I have never lived away from home, I was afraid of leaving my family (dogs included) and friends for four months, and I did not know if studying abroad the semester before I graduate was a good idea. But I quickly realized there was no reason to question my decision. I am in the right place.

I am only in my fifth week of study abroad and have already had a countless number of experiences. Some highlights of my time here include when I went on walking tours for The Beatles and Jack the Ripper, visited Stonehenge and Bath, spent time in Brixton, and went on a weekend trip to Paris. From walking on Abbey Road and standing in the presence of a 3,000-year-old World Wonder to awing over black Caribbean street art and watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night, my travel abroad experience has been nothing short of life-changing. Of course, there are times I miss home, but I have been so busy enjoying my time here that I cannot grasp the fact it has already been a month.

My study abroad experience is through the CAPA London Internship Program. So, aside from taking classes, I am also an intern.

While only six percent of American students study abroad, only three percent intern. This number needs to grow. I am a travel writer for the Travolution sector of Travel Weekly, whose parent company is Jacob’s Media Group. I write articles about how technology revolutionizes travel. While interning abroad requires time management skills and leaves less free time to travel, it is an amazing way of getting to know London better. I am constantly surrounded by people who speak British English, so I get to learn about different spellings, phrases, sayings and words. Working among English citizens also teaches me more about London culture, politics and history, and they give me wonderful recommendations on what to do and where to go. There are so many hidden gems that I would never have known about if I had not worked here.

I believe there needs to be a bigger push for study abroad and international interning. We live in a global community, and cultural empathy and global fluency are now more important

than ever. Through attending school or working in a foreign country, people are better able to understand how other parts of the world function. When we stay stationary in where we were raised, we form a bubble that keeps us from understanding the people who share the world with us; we grow a subconscious ego that prevents us from growing as a global community.

This ties into what I hope to get out of my study abroad experience. When I go home, I want a better understanding of different cultures and ways of life. The American way is not the only way, and it certainly is not always the best way.

I want to learn from the people surrounding me so that I can take that knowledge and apply it to my life in the States. When we travel, we realize that it is not only us sharing our ways with the world but the world sharing its ways with us.

If I had any advice to give to future study abroad students, it would be to take chances and keep busy. You will make the most of your time by forcing yourself to step out of your comfort zone and, ironically, by tiring yourself out. Try new foods, go to places you would not usually visit in the States, visit somewhere every chance you have, and leave Netflix alone for a bit. There are so many things to do, so you might as well take advantage of it while you can. You may never end up having the same chance again.

I look forward to seeing more of London and Europe in the remainder of my time here.

I have plans of visiting Kew Gardens, the Royal Observatory, Borough Market, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Natural History Museum, the Tower of London, the London Eye, the Tate Museum, the Harry Potter film set and more. I am also looking into visiting places throughout England such as Dover Castle and the White Cliffs and already have Oxford and Stratford planned. Regarding adventuring through Europe, I will be visiting the Canary Islands in Spain for spring break and I have weekends planned in Amsterdam (Netherlands), Lisbon (Portugal) and Scotland. You can follow my study abroad experience by reading my blog https://yoursmineourworld.wordpress.com/. I cannot wait to see what the rest of my time in the United Kingdom brings.