The Student Review Issue 5 by Student Review

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 5

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

STUDENT REVIEW5 thestudentreview.org

2 Student Review

Staff EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Tamarra Kemsley Hunter Schwarz

COPY EDITORS Teresa Arroyo Jennifer T. Duque Megan Hoefflin Shannon Sorensen

WEB EDITOR Derrick Lytle

CALENDAR EDITOR Rachel Dabb

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Erik McCarthy

ART DIRECTOR Nick Smith

DESIGNER Craig Mangum

PHOTO DIRECTOR Sarah Kay Brimhall

PHOTOGRAPHERS Heather Hackney Johnny Harris Felicia Lynne Jones

CONTRIBUTORS Andy Andersen Bronwyn Bent Haley Bisseger Christopher Diep Shirley Grover Nathan Grout Grant Harper Bryce Johnson Christopher Michaels Ben Miller Hunter Phillips Dustin Robinson Andy Simmonds Jeffrey Stott Preston Wittwer

Letter from the editors Dear Reader, Since our last issue, the Daily Universe announced major changes that included shifting to a weekly print run and eight full-time employees being let go. Many Student Review writers and editors have written and worked for the Universe and we are grateful for the lessons learned there. The Review owes a lot to the eight Universe staff members for their mentoring and insight. We hope both publications can continue to serve and inform the campus community, each filling a niche needed for a healthy and productive campus culture. As always, we encourage the student body to contribute to the Review through letters to the editor, article ideas and comments online. We hope you enjoy this issue and our stories about the all too often untold stories of your colleagues. Sincerely, Tamarra Kemsley Hunter Schwarz

BUSINESS MANAGER Hunter Phillips

The Student Review is an independent publication serving BYU’s campus community. By providing an open forum, all students are equally eligible to submit articles to the Student Review. Articles should examine life at BYU, sometimes humorously, sometimes critically, but always sensitively. Opinions expressed in the Student Review are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of BYU, the Student Review or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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Jimmer and the NBA?

Police beat

by ben miller Wednesday, police saw the best minds of their generation destroyed by madness. An investigation is ongoing. Friday, police stopped a group of angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night. The hipsters were escorted back to their apartments.

by christopher michaels Monday, Police responded to a report of students publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull. The offenders were gone when police arrived. Police heard reports that students bared their brains to Heaven under the El and saw Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs illuminated. The students were charged with indecent exposure.

Tuesday, police caught several students smoking in the supernatural darkness of coldwater flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz. Officers issued citations for smoking on campus before releasing the students to return their contemplations.

Let’s get right to it, Jimmer Fredette… what is happening? At least that is what keeps popping up on blogs and Google. The answer: the same thing that happened when he jumped from high school to college: adjustment. Any sportologist (yes, I made that up) knows that from college to the pros is a huge jump and not every player who did well on the first tier is geared for the second. But that’s not Jimmer—Fredette just landed in the worst possible position. First, The NBA lost the pre-season. Second, the Kings are full of young talent and very little expertise on how to succeed in the NBA. Finally, add in the new coach a quarter of the way through the season and you have a recipe for disaster. Currently, the Kings are just an awful team—they have no defense and no consistency. And when that happens, no one is allowed a bad night without it being blatantly obvious. Okay back to Jimmer. He has what is called a high basketball IQ. This means he

Tweet, tweet: SR metioned by you Rachel Dabb @rcheld tweets: “Oh hey, @YStudentReview reference on CNN today.”

Geoff Openshaw @TheShippingLane tweets: “@YStudentReview The article about how the Honor Code actually restricts religious freedom was excellent.” Brig B @Effinbrig555 tweets: “@YStudentReview also, issue 4 was off da heazy. Let's make this bigger and better, people. Lots of potential to it”

cartoon by wes hotchkiss. visit hotchkisscomics.tumblr.com for more.

knows the game, he knows how to read a defender, he understands what will work and what won’t work and he adjusts his game accordingly. Why did Jimmer do so well in college? He did great because he had two years to watch and study the college game so when his time came he was ready for whatever could be thrown at him. Unfortunately, with the Kings he doesn’t have the luxury of being able to study the game as he did in college. He was thrown into the lion’s den, if you will. Yet we have seen him learn how to adjust his game on a weekly basis. He has put up double figures in a few contests and has shown less fear in taking a more leadership role on the court, because let’s face it, someone on that team has to. Overall, Jimmer is progressing well; he has a unique style which may take him longer to harness for the NBA, but when he does the critics will keep their peace. ▬ wmichaels16@gmail.com

4 Student Review

Joanna Brooks by tamarra kemsley

How did your time at BYU play into your spiritual journey and affect your faith? Profoundly! From the time I was a little girl watching the Donny and Marie Osmond show on television, I felt certain that my destiny was Provo, Utah! And destiny it was. I arrived in 1989. The experience was life-changing, as college should be. As someone who grew up outside of Utah, I couldn't wait to get to a place where everyone around me would understand Mormonism. I dreamed we'd all just mind-read each other because we all came from the same faith zone. I had amazing experiences with BYU faculty who introduced me to Mormon literature, history and culture in a way I'd never experienced before. Of course, I also discovered at BYU that not all Mormons are alike, and that—most shocking of all—I was actually a big old Mormon liberal at heart. Those were difficult years too for Mormon liberals—tons of campus controversy, especially over feminist issues. But what is life without a little challenge? How does your husband perceive your faith? I was very lucky to marry David. He's always been a true ally in my spiritual life. He's known how important my religion is to me, and he's certainly seen me wrestle with it through the 15 years we've known each other. He's also seen more than his fair share of the fascinating world of Mormonism—but he's an anthropologist, so I think his adventures in our culture suit him fine. How has your family reacted to your choices regarding activity in the Church? My parents have been very active my whole life: multiple bishopric stints, stake presidencies, temple workers—the whole thing. I don’t think they ever expected for me to turn out as an unorthodox, liberal Mormon feminist. Then again, neither did I. I was just born this way, and we've all grown into it. I know I caused them some worry over the years, but these days we are closer than ever. How does your family feel regarding your outspoken role in Mormon society? No one ever asks to have a writer in the family. That's just the facts. I try not to talk shop when I'm hanging out with the family—it's really not important, you know? And plus, me and my brother and sisters have 11 kids 8 years old and younger between us, so who has time to talk? When we're together we're chasing and feeding kids.

What have been some of the most difficult moments in your role as a spokeswoman for a less traditional strain of Mormonism? What have been some of your most rewarding moments? When I started my column Ask Mormon Girl, I used to get screaming messages from more conservative members accusing me of all sorts of heresy and ill will. I had to grow a thick skin, but I also learned to be very careful and deliberative about what I say and how I say it, to always look for the best possible outcome in a situation, to write from the heart and to admit when I am wrong. There is a delicate balancing act in writing about Mormonism for the public. I find I'm most successfully when I speak candidly, from my own experience, in ways that stress how human Mormons are. Being willing to be candid and vulnerable and share my own experience—the ups and the downs—is very powerful, I've found. There is so much stress in Mormonism on being perfect and presenting a perfect picture of ourselves to the world. I think it's okay to admit that we struggle too, that struggle is a normal part of any life of faith. In The Book of Mormon Girl, I'm pretty frank about my own experiences—all those awkward growing up experiences like puberty—mistakes made along the way. These days, I get an email or a Facebook message from someone, somewhere, just about every day. People tell me they feel less alone because of what I write. That always gives me goosebumps. What would you suggest to students like us to do to in order to take the greatest advantage of the Mormon faith? Read. Read. Read. BYU is an amazing place to learn our history, our culture, our tradition. Know it well. That knowledge may end up being surprisingly useful to you down the road. I often find myself sitting in front of a radio microphone, being asked tough questions about Mormonism by strangers, and I am so glad that I have a knowledge base. (The other thing I do when I'm sitting in front of a radio microphone is pray my standard radio prayer: "Please, help me not screw up.") Describe your experience as the editor of the Student Review. Every semester, we held big recruitment meetings in the Maeser Building—always on the look-out for smart, cute boys back then, and SR certainly attracted quite a few of them. On Friday afternoon, the Campus Life section—our humor section—got together in a little borrowed office in the

photo courtesy joanna brooks

Testing Center. One of our writers, Scott Whitmore, had a part-time job delivering cookies for a bakery, and he'd bring the extra cookies in and we'd just binge on sugar and hang out into the evening, through those long winter afternoons, laughing and laughing about all the silliness of the BYU world. The Campus Life staff would also pull all these pranks on campus too— sneaking around in the steam tunnels underground and trying to spend the night in the HFAC, until we got kicked out by security. And on Monday nights, we used to lay out the pages for SR in the attic above the old "Women's Gym" on University and 5th South—it was the CTR Thrift Store back then. It was this awesome space with big windows. SR was really the highlight of my college experience. If you're not writing for SR, you're missing out. What is your hope and your goal for the Mormon faith? This is such an important moment for Mormonism. With the elections, we are coming in for greater scrutiny than ever before. It's so important that we learn to be courageous and candid at the same time. I hope we can develop a more open approach to our own history, because I truly believe we have nothing to be afraid of in the truth. I also hope that Mormon communities are increasingly welcoming places for people who don't fit the mold—whether you're gay, or a feminist or a liberal. I think there is tremendous capacity in our faith to become more welcoming. Yes. We. Can. What is the goal of the book? I wrote The Book of Mormon Girl because

I was hungry for a book that reflected the richness, beauty, and humor of contemporary Mormon life. Shelf after shelf full of memoirs—and how many are about Mormon experience? One, or two. Phyllis Barber. Terry Tempest Williams. And even their wonderful books were only indirectly about Mormonism. I just felt someone needed to tell a Mormon story that would make room for other Mormons to tell their stories too. Howdy, America! Meet the Mormons! We are human beings! How long did it take you to write the book? I've been working on this book since 2008. The best part about writing it was when I got a fellowship to go to this feminist writer's retreat in Puget Sound. I had a cabin of my own in the woods and they fed us and the ocean was a mile away. It was awesome. I was one of seven women writers there, including Gloria Steinem. I about passed out when I saw her name on one of the mailboxes when I arrived. Every night for a week I had dinner with Gloria Steinem. *The* Gloria. She's a gorgeous 75 year old and she told me some amazing stories about fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment at a time when the Church strenuously opposed it. How do you expect it will be received? Already I've gotten mail from folks who have read it on Kindle, telling me about sobbing their eyes out in public places because I said things they wanted to say or needed to hear. I love it when Mormons cry those good tears. It means we feel alive and at home. That's how we should all feel in our faith, right? ▬

RELIGION

This I believe by bryce johnson

When I told my mom I was reading Bertrand Russell, she asked why and encouraged me to stop. I don’t blame her; Bertrand Russell was an atheist well known for writing, “Why I am Not a Christian,” and being brusquely critical of all things religious. As much as I loved (and still love) my mom, I kept reading because I found the material insightful, interesting, and inflammatory enough to hold my attention. After Russell, I stumbled upon Feuerbach —another atheist—and then Foucault, Heidegger and Derrida, all of whom wrote in the wake of “the death of God.” As it turns out, my mom was right to worry that reading these texts would shake my faith. As I learned that most of what religions and governments have called “universal” or “innate” has been heavily shaped by history, culture and the interests of power, I wondered if that was the case for my faith and activity in the Church. The more I read, the more I was convinced it was. The times I’d “received revelation” seemed, in retrospect, so tied up in social pressures and expectations that I couldn’t honestly keep calling them

“divine” or “inspired.” For years I’d been conjuring up emotions and naming them things I’d heard in testimony meeting to set myself at ease. From there, it was a small step coming to terms with the fact that whatever I had, it was not a testimony. Admitting that felt like the floor had dropped out of the room I was standing in. I felt queasy at church, and uninterested in maintaining relationships with people who assumed I was your everyday, believing member of the Church. I was angry that the beliefs I had allowed to shape my identity for so long suddenly seemed like a ridiculous charade. Before long, I asked to be released from my calling, I stopped going to the temple and I gave up on prayer. I could not understand how in all my years of going through the motions, God had not revealed himself to me in a way I could latch onto when the lights went out. Even though for two or three months I oscillated between anger, numbness and despair, it was refreshing to feel like I was being honest with myself. For the first time in my life, I felt comfortable with who I was, even if I wasn’t the Mormon all-star I’d al-

ways thought I wanted to be. Then, after finally opening up to one of my professors, my bishop and a close friend, I summoned the courage to go back to square one—yep, investigator status—and start reading the Book of Mormon again. I resumed praying every night to the God I admitted I didn’t know, telling him I just wanted to know if he was there, and that I would stay in the Church if he said to, or leave if he didn’t respond. “Please say something,” I thought many times. There was no bitterness; I was just trying to be honest. And finally, one night, while I sat in my kitchen reading the conference Ensign, I got the clarity I was looking for. It was like light filled up my mind. No fireworks or tears, just an awareness of a correction I needed to make, and a new, sincere desire to forge ahead. So, it’s true: philosophy obliterated my testimony; but that’s because it had always been built on some pretty flimsy ideas and emotions. I wondered until very recently why God allowed me to go so long serving in the Church without giving me some ultra-convincing, other-worldly witness fit to withstand the postmodern bludgeoning

I put it through. But I can see that over the years he gave me as much as I was asking him for. Deep insecurities and fears of alienation kept me from asking the hard questions; it was just easier to believe what my parents and friends expected me to believe. However, when philosophy gave me the tools to submit my beliefs to more intellectual scrutiny, I became ready for the deeper, more honest conversion God was willing to give. And now I think I’m finally discovering what love and faith are, and who I want to be. I can see how the Church is a blessing in my life, and I want to raise a family in it. Most importantly, I can finally say I sincerely believe that God is real and so is Jesus, and that they help me make choices that make me and the people I love happy. I guess when I put it like that, it sounds like all the darkness and doubt and pining and prayer over the last year of my life have helped me be able to say something I probably learned to say in nursery—and there’s something really beautiful in that. ▬

ensures that the authority to select and control who will minister to the faithful is the church’s alone.” The court did not develop a “rigid formula for deciding when an employee qualifies as a minister.” In his concurring opinion, Justice Thomas believes that “a good-faith understanding” should be given to religious organizations. Justice Thomas cites a Supreme Court case wherein one of the plaintiffs, Arthur Frank Mayson, was fired from his job at Deseret Gymnasium for failing to obtain a temple recommend. Mayson simply worked as an engineer at the public gym. (Corporation of Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints v. Amos, 1987). Religious organizations would set their own limits in determining who is a minister. The term minister, as shown in this case, may apply to quite a few types of employees in the case of the LDS Church. At BYU, Jeffrey Nielsen was fired in June 2006 for blatantly decrying the LDS Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage. Nielsen, a part-time BYU philosophy professor, wrote his op-ed piece for the June 4, 2006 Salt Lake Tribune. Subsequently,

BYU Department of Philosophy Chairman Daniel Graham sent Nielsen a letter. "In accordance with the order of the church, we do not consider it our responsibility to correct, contradict or dismiss official pronouncements of the Church," the letter states. "Since you have chosen to contradict and oppose the Church in an area of great concern to Church leaders, and to do so in a public forum, we will not rehire you after the current term is over." Nielsen’s main concern was to still be a member of the Church after the ordeal. BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins described the BYU faculty as demonstrating a commitment to the religious and educational mission of BYU. Although not every member of the faculty is LDS, they still have an obligation to represent BYU. For instance, the faculty are all required to live by LDS dietary rules, including abstaining from tea and coffee. Dr. Juliana Boerio-Goates, a Catholic chemistry professor at BYU, said she understands the unique position BYU is in as a religious university. “BYU wouldn’t be BYU if it couldn’t give preference to LDS people," she said. "I do think I serve a valuable function here and so my words of wisdom, whenever I have the opportunity, are always to re-

mind people: ‘Yes, I think you have that preference. I think you have that right. But I think you should be prudent and occasionally hire a good, wise person who is outside the Church because you get a different perspective.’” In regards to employees disagreeing with their religious institutions, she believes “there are ways of working in the system and if that doesn’t work, leaving is certainly an option you could consider.” Boerio-Goates said all religious organizations may not have a fair system because people will have their biases. Furthermore, she agreed that religious organizations do have the right to dismiss employees disrupting their purpose. Like all other university faculty, Boerio-Goates was interviewed by a General Authority. Elder Paul H. Dunn interviewed her and expressed sincere concern for her happiness in such an environment. Overall, she said, her experience at BYU has been good because the faculty has treated her professionally and courteously. Fundamentally, employers and employees together create the working environment. For religious organizations, they act on their deeply held convictions. ▬

Hire and fire by christopher diep

Last month, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled the first amendment prevents the government from interfering with the employment affairs of religious organizations, a ruling that could have implications for BYU. Cheryl Perich, a teacher at HosannaTabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, developed nacrolepsy and was on disability leave for the 2004–2005 school year. She requested to return to work in Feb. 2005, but the school principal told her the position was filled. Expressing concern for her health, the principal asked her to resign. Perich refused and sued, asserting her termination violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court, ruling in the church’s favor, concluded religious schools were free to make these decisions. The case called Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission et al. stated the following: “The purpose of the [ministerial] exception is not to safeguard a church’s decision to fire a minister only when it is made for a religious reason. The exception instead

6 Student Review

Singles' ward cupid by haley bisseger

A look at local singles’ wards here at BYU shows a growing trend of bishops playing an increasingly proactive role in members’ dating habits. This change is largely reported and visible in the context of the council system used throughout congregations in the Provo area. Bishop Scott Baird was called to preside over the Provo, Utah YSA 100th Ward a little over a year ago where, he said, he soon discovered an overall hesitancy among the men to approach the women of the congregation. About six months ago, Bishop Baird instituted his solution: a matchmaking committee. The committee is overseen by the bishopric’s wives and is aided by a computer program created by a ward member in which a young man is randomly assigned to a young women every two weeks. “In addition, you can influence the system,” Baird said. “If you want to go out with somebody you can put your names in a box

passed around during Relief Society and Elders’ Quorum and you will be matched.” Once the couple is paired, it is the young man’s responsibility to call his match and set up a date. After working out a couple glitches in which engaged couples or those in a relationship were not removed from the system, the program has been running smoothly. And the dates, Baird emphasized, are often simple ones. “The only thing required on the dates is to get together face-to-face and talk. You don’t have to go out or spend money,” Baird said. Overall, he feels the program is a success, pointing out two engagements that have come out of the program and a tripling in attendance at ward activities. In fact, Baird said he has received four or five calls from bishops and stake presidents from members’ home wards about “how the program has had a positive impact on [the students’] confidence and asking how they can institute it in their singles wards.”

The Daily Universe: A look at behind the changes

by dustin robinson

Last month, the BYU communications department announced the Daily Universe would be switching to a digital-first news format beginning spring semester, and that such changes would necessitate the elimination of eight full-time staff positions. According to the administration of the communication’s department, finances played a heavy role in the restructuring. While the Universe is directly affiliated with BYU, it does not receive full funding and financial support from the university and instead must largely support itself through money it can bring in through advertising. Until recently, the daily paper had no issue being self-sustaining, but as ad revenue declined, those involved with the publication took a hard look at both what was sustainable and what was in the best interest of BYU students. Ed Adams, a communications professor, was tasked with performing a financial review of the Universe to explore various

options the paper and communications department could try and experiment with. “We’ve been looking at this since 2007,” Adams said, pointing out that “back in 2007 we were still profitable, so why kill it?” While 2007 was a good year for the paper, the years following have been less kind. Adams reported that last year the Universe ran between a $120,000 and $130,000 deficit since then. Around this same time, an educational challenge emerged: the field of journalism is moving towards an increasingly digital format and administrators and professors don’t want students to be left behind. Brad Rawlins, a communications associate professor, pointed out that “the decision to go to a digital-first news lab was as much curricular as financial.” He went on to explain that with audiences interacting with information through social networking, smart phones and other digital media in increasing amounts, the curriculum needed adjustment to better

Critics of the program argue that for many students the system is irrelevant or intrusive. Becca Ricks, a recent graduate from BYU in Middle East Studies/Arabic and a member of the 100th Ward when the program was instituted, is one of its critics. “I feel as if I date a sufficient amount and don't really need a religious authority dictating who and when I should date,” she said. “Perhaps this kind of system serves shy or introverted people in the ward who do not date often, but I never included myself in that category.” On the other hand, Baird affirms everyone in the program has agreed to it, and nor is he alone in his quest to see BYU students successfully married off. Leslie Ostler, a BYU student graduating in Art History this coming April, cites a similar ward program called “Connect Up.” In this program, the bishop randomly assigned a number to those interested. He would then randomly assign a boy and a girl and they could either walk to and from church together and sit with each

other during meetings, or set up a group game night. “Everyone felt like it was a little weird but they went along with it,” Ostler said. “Most people did the church thing. I think the people who did that enjoyed that more than the game night.” Kristen Beck, a hairstylist from Kaysville, Utah living in a BYU singles’ ward, was called as the Friendship Committee co-chair in her ward. Upon being called, she was told “‘you know you guys are super important because you’re helping people make friends and those can be eternal friendships.’” Beck said it didn’t thrill her, but that she wasn’t very upset about it, either. “It never really bothered me—it’s one of those things where after being in a couple BYU singles’ wards you kind roll your eyes like ‘great,’ but it didn’t bug me,” Beck said about her duties to encourage friendship and dating. Ultimately, Ricks said, “I never liked dating in my ward—it’s like peeing in the pool you swim in.” ▬

photo by johnny harris

prepare journalism students for the professional world. A digital-first format, Rawlins argued, provides the possibility for more students to submit greater amounts of articles and for more learning experiences to be had. These were the conditions that led up to the January announcement that the Universe would be subject to a reduction in force and an organizational restructuring. Eight full-time staff members were informed their positions would be eliminated in the coming months and it was announced the Universe would switch to being a printed weekly publication with greater emphasis added to updating its daily online content. Reactions were, inevitably, mixed. While many expressed frustration that some of their friends, mentors and coworkers will soon be unemployed, they also recognize that changes needed to be made. “I think the changes were long over-

due,” said Marty Twelves, a Universe web editor. “Still, I think you need mentoring in the newsrooms. You need people that have experience in the field. You can’t have students teaching students.” Twelves’ comments on mentoring reflect a student concern that losing eight experienced staff members could have a negative effect on both learning and quality of news submissions. New positions will replace those recently eliminated and will be open for all to apply to, but Susan Walton, communications department associate chair, explained new positions would likely be fewer in number and require a different set of skills. In the end, while those involved in the decision remain firm in their belief that it was the correct one, all emphasized that it was not without its challenges. “There were a lot of good people there,” Adams, the communications professor, said about those laid off. “It was hard.” ▬

CAMPUS LIFE

Jon McNaughton: An interview by tamarra kemsley and ben miller

The following are excerpts taken from an interview with Jon McNaughton. On the switch from landscapes to political paintings

It was a gradual change. I’ve always liked to paint the figure and I had an inclination to move toward religious art—not that I thought there was any money in it, but I was making a good living with the landscapes and I thought, "I want to paint some spiritual-type work." So I started doing [spiritual paintings] and I really enjoyed [them]. Then, starting in 2008 during the election, that’s when I first got the idea for the "One Nation Under God" thing. That painting came to me like a bolt of lightning: I knew who was going to be in the picture. I thought, this is going to be the most politically incorrect painting I've ever done but I painted it anyways. In 2010 they passed the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. I resented that Obama pushed that through even though most Americans didn’t want it and I felt inside it was unconstitutional because it goes against everything we believe in terms of limited government. Even now half the states are filing suits against the federal government and that’s never happened before. The painting I felt strongly would represent not just my feelings but I knew but others'. Being at the center of controversy

Well, I’m not trying to join a movement. I’m just one guy who has an opinion about what’s happening, and as an artist you express that through your work and I use my paintings as a way to communicate. For several months nothing happened. A lot of people came into the gallery and said "Oh, that’s interesting." Then, all of sudden, a couple of BYU students who were a little more on the liberal side starting poking fun at the painting on one of their blogs and that got picked up by the Huffiington Post and that went all over the country. Suddenly I had enemies who hated me and I never—I mean, I was just a landscape painter—and that just caused the floodgates to open and those who agreed with this sentiment saw it and just loved it so it switched back to this other direction. Like a tsunami I had all of this support. So that was the first experience and I started selling it at the BYU bookstore and for a year and half it was their best-seller according to their manager. You know, it's weird when [public criticism] first happened with the "One Nation Under God" when it got onto the Huffington Post. I never experienced anything like

that before. It was like standing in a stadium in your underwear and everyone’s staring at you and making fun of you. It was really unnerving–really. But after a week of that I got used to it and now it doesn’t even bother me. You know I think BYU has a lot of different opinions about what I do–it’s a mixed batch. I’m not surprised BYU has a lot of conservatives, more than others, but you’re still going to have a lot of the liberal side and they really hate my paintings. And that’s okay. I’m not a militant right-winger. I like to talk to people with different opinions. They come into the gallery all the time and I talk with them. I don’t like to argue and yell at people. Some people are like that. Some people believe that because my paintings are so full of emotion that I must be a real angry person and I’m not. I’m just using them to express my views on politics and what’s happening in our country. As far as the Internet, someone says something to someone at the right time and it goes viral you have no control over it. [Positive versus negative opinions] are hard to measure because around here there are a lot more conservatives. Around the country, I feel it’s more equally divided. On the Internet you’ll see everything from "This is the most horrible guy who’s ever lived" and others: "Praise the Lord someone actually painted this." It’s interesting from an LDS perspective in that I get a certain percentage that’s really upset about the pictures although I think most members of the Church support ["One Nation Under God"]. I’ve gotten a lot of calls from senators and congressmen who support what I’m doing. His time at BYU

I started in ‘86 and went on my mission ‘87–’89—finished up like ‘93 or ‘92, something like that. It’s interesting. I went to BYU on an art scholarship and BYU is far more conservative than most universities out there. But even so, the BYU art program leans toward a liberal side and it's very progressive the way they work with artists. What I mean about this is they like to promote contemporary art. I felt like a fish out of water when was I at the BYU art school. It came time to start the BFA program and you had to be a professor's protégé so you have to either fall in line and do what they approve of, or you’re not going to get anywhere in the program. I went to talk to Brother Bob Barrett. Very good man. I respect him a lot. I kind of just wanted to do my own thing and he let me do that. I felt like an artist without a country. Still feel like that.

"One Nation Under God" by Jon McNaughton, used with permission.

They all kind of looked at me suspiciously, you know “Why are you doing [traditional art]?” After I graduated I wondered if I ought to get a masters in painting and I went to the art department and talked to the secretary and I told her I just graduated with a BFA in illustration and design and that I was thinking of getting my masters in painting. She looked at me and says, "You’re really going to have to think like an artist if you want to get in the masters program.” I just turned around and thought there is no way I’m going to pursue a masters program at BYU with that attitude and it was probably for the best because I learned to forget about what everyone thinks and just paint what’s true to [my] heart. I stopped entering contests and anything that would skew my personal vision. I have a lot of opinions—I’ve always been that way. Even the way art is taught around the country, if you want to be a traditional artist good luck because you’re not going to get a lot of that in art school. Thoughts on Obama

I don’t know what’s in [Obama's] heart. When I painted the picture I tried to do it in a serious manner, not like a political cartoon. I wasn’t trying to make fun of the way he looks. I painted him very serious. He’s got his arms folded; he’s very resolute as he puts his foot on the Constitution. I think his view of what the Constitution might ... be different than mine. I think the Constitution really defines the role of government and any time you do something that’s outside the spirit of the Constitution, in my opinion that’s unconstitutional, whether or not the Supreme Court says so or not. I don’t have a lot of faith in everything the Supreme Court does these days. But it’s still the law of the land. So when I say unconstitutional, I mean stepping outside of the bounds of the executive branch’s role of government, trying to grow the size of government, and trying to move us toward a more socialistic form of a democratic government. The thing that drives me the most crazy is when people will say “Well, he was a Constitutional attorney—don’t you think he would know?" Just because you’re a Constitutional attorney doesn’t mean anything. I think that

a lot of what he has done has, in my opinion, weakened the country, inflated the size of government and I don’t think it’s going to help us in the long run. You see, we’ve already lost our triple rating status and our national debt he wants to increase another 1.2 trillion. He’s asking for more money even though most of the country doesn’t want to do that. So he just kind of have his own agenda and it bothers me and that’s why I feel that way. Thoughts on 2012 election

I think it’s going to be a tough election. Even with all this baggage Obama has I don’t think the Republicans have it in the bag. I’m not crazy about one single candidate. I like a little bit of all of them. I’ll probably vote for the Republican nominee because we want to get Obama out of there. I think Romney has the best chance of beating Obama. You know, a lot of people think that way—that’s why he’s leading in the primary now, because they’re voting for the guy they think has the best chance at beating Obama even if there might be things about him they don’t like. I mean Ron Paul has some things I like about him, but I don’t think he can beat Obama. It’s a tough one. One thing is for sure if we don’t repeal Obama care and get the economy going and make some big changes in how the government works we’re toast. I guess I feel like what I’m doing now is more important than simply painting landscapes. You know every person has their own mission in life and the more people you can affect in a positive way in what you do, the better. So I suppose in that regard I’m doing right now what is the most important thing I can do until I feel there’s not a reason for me or it’s not going to make a difference I’ll probably just keep the direction I’m going. Separation of Church and Art?

I’m sure [my beliefs] played a factor in [the art]. We’re all molded by our upbringings. I’m very patriotic in the sense that I believe in America and the Constitution but at the same time I don’t wave the Mormon flag and say: I’m an LDS artist and you have to see my paintings because it represents the LDS point of view. It’s just a personal reflection of what I paint. That’s the angle I’m coming from. ▬

8 Student Review

Medieval club: Keeping the Renaissance real by jeffrey stott

Go online for exclusive content featuring the Quill and the Sword club at: bit.ly/wxdAGf

photo by derrick lytle

You’ve seen them: students dressed in medieval garb from head to toe. They are in our classes, they sit together at tables in the Wilk and every so often they set up camp on the lawn at Brigham Square. Compelled by a desire to make the unfamiliar more familiar, I went to a meeting for the Quill and the Sword. I brought with me a list of questions—most of them along the lines of, “Do you fantasize about participating in a medieval joust?” and, “Do you think a guy in chain mail is hot?” Immediately upon walking in, I could tell which students were long-time members and which were first-timers based on how they were dressed. Of the 19 students there, three were newcomers. (Though one member did come in late wearing a regular suit and was chastised by the rest of the group for “wearing a modern piece of garment.”) This particular meeting was special. The coronation of the new club president was to take place. The new president’s name was Ibbet (every member has a medieval alias; Ibbet’s real name is Leigh Averett). Ibbet wore a purple dress, a green shirt with fluffy sleeves and a flowing black cape. Ibbet began the meeting announcing, “The author of Eragon is to speak at the Provo Library and I encourage everyone to attend. We need volunteers who can dress up and bring an air of magic to the attending crowd.” “But Eragon is not medieval at all!” responded one fully-costumed member. “True, but regardless of who the Library invites to speak, we will support the Library because reading is magic.” The members nodded in agreement. Ibbet then went on with other announcements, including information about an April Fools’ event where members would “spontaneously” gather at Brigham Square like a flash mob and act out a campus-appropriate “Viking raid” on students. There was also a question as to whether they could carry swords at the Homecoming Parade.

“As long as the swords are sheathed,” Ibbet said. Following announcements, Ibbet gave a short presentation on the Magna Carta; a brief argument then ensued about whether Charlemagne crowned himself. There was then a proposal of a new coronation charter, which members read and signed. Then came the climax of the meeting: the coronation. Ibbet sat in a chair on stage. Tabitha, the past president, walked down the isle with her two small children, also dressed in garb. Once on stage, Tabitha placed a thin silver crown on Ibbet’s head. Ibbet then bowed and the group shouted in unison, “Hip Hip Hizzah!” The meeting ended with the group joining in medieval song: “Hey down, ho down, derry derry down, among the leaves so green-o!” Afterward, I spoke to several of the members. I met Julia, who had a warm smile and a certain excitement about her. Although she was the head of the Musicians’ Guild, Julia explained how she had made her own medieval clothes by hand—something more attune to the Sewing Guild (the Quill and Sword has several guilds). Julia recounted how she joined the club when she was just a freshman and how just a year later she married one of the other members she met there. I met Corbin Averett, who was responsible for most of the witty comments from the audience. Corbin informed me that the following week the leader of the Fighters’ Guild would be dubbed with a sword. “Fighting is just one small part of the Fighters’ Guild,” he said. “It’s more about history and culture.” When asked whether he was bothered by the fact that many students think members of the club are just weird, he answered, “If they think it’s funny to laugh at my passion then they can laugh all they want—it doesn’t bother me.” I asked Ibbet the same question. She gave me a confident smile, as if to say ‘we know—we’re not stupid.’ But instead, she said, “I hope when other students see me, they think ‘there is somebody who enjoys doing what she loves and isn’t afraid to show it.’” ▬

BYU's Deep Throat: David Kennedy bust mystery by tamarra kemsley

On July 23, the Student Review received an email from an individual referring to himself as BYU’s Deep Throat. A second email from the same source— deepthroatbyu@gmail.com—stated the author knew the whereabouts of something that had been stolen from BYU and the possibility that it would be returned. Further investigation revealed the missing object to have come from the Kennedy Center and that Deep Throat himself being among the responsible party. It started like this. Almost in perfect “Sandlot” style, a group of friends came together around a central meeting place though instead of a baseball field, this group of friends used a bust of David M. Kennedy. “I spent a lot of time in the Kennedy Center for International Studies and my brother was a student here at BYU as well,” Deep Throat said. “We had a couple of friends and all of us over the course of a number of months would just find ourselves coincidentally meeting in front of the bust of David Kennedy.” For the group, it was a place to talk politics, and generally catch up on each other’s lives. Eventually, the crowd graduated—Deep Throat in 1998—and moved away. “But we would be back in town every once in a while at the same time,” he said, “and we would always meet at the bust.” Several years later, when the group reunited the bust was gone. Questioning the administration of the building they learned the bust had been relocated to an accountant’s office. “We felt robbed,” Deep Throat said. “That accountant wasn’t part of the Kennedy family—it didn’t belong to him.” The group left it at that until the next visit rolled around a year later. “The only time we could all meet was 10:00 p.m. It was a summer semester and no one was around, and the more we talked about it the more wronged we felt. That’s when we decided,” Deep Throat said, “there had to be a way to get it back.” There were two doors leading into the suite of offices in the Kennedy Center which included the accountant’s where the bust supposedly sat. One entrance was locked; the other was not.

“We’re talking a ‘guided like Nephi of old, not knowing beforehand the way we should go’ sort of experience as we entered the interior offices,” he said. But they couldn’t make it any further— to get to next set offices a person needed a key. “We just felt like the unlocked door was too much of a sign to give up, so we’re rifling through secretaries’ drawers trying to find a key and playing with the lock but eventually we walked back into the main lobby, dejected,” he explained. This was the moment where Deep Throat looked heavenward and found his answer. “I’m looking up and I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’—the ceiling was made of acoustic tile.” Deep Throat’s brother lifted him up on his shoulders until he was able to crawl up into he ceiling. His main concern was whether the walls extended high enough to cut off access to the next rooms over. Once up inside, he was relieved to find they were low enough to crawl over. Locating the accountant’s office, Deep Throat lowered himself as far as he could until he was left hanging with several feet below him. Having removed his shoes, however, he was able to open the door for his brother with his bare feet while still hanging from the ceiling. Once in, his brother lowered him down and the two of them looked around. “We look around and there’s the bust on the guy’s shelf,” Deep Throat said. “It’s a life-size bust of the man’s chest and up. We get it and we take it out to the main suite where my friend tries to cover the bust with his sweater, but because it’s life-size it’s just a bust wearing a sweater now.” Walking out of the building with the bust in their arms (which is hollow and therefore manageable among the four of them) the group tried to decide whether it was to best to run or walk as nonchalantly as possible as they made their way to the nearest of their cars.

The group of four men all in their thirties, most of them with jobs and kids, pulled into Smith’s parking lot elated and rejoicing, but only for a moment. “We left in a hurry and never got a chance to clean up the crime scene, and we’re starting to think, it’s summer and the cops are bored—what if they decided to do a sweep for finger prints?” The anxiety was especially high for the brothers who both held top secret clearance federal jobs. After a long, tortured discussion, the group went inside Smith’s, bought a box of wipes and made their way back to campus. By this time it was midnight which, the group realized, made them that much more suspicious. Worse: now all the doors to the Kennedy Center were locked. “So we walked around the building and in a way that could only be described as God’s mercy,” Deep Throat said, “one person’s office window is open.” The four of them reversed into the distance, trying to decide who was going in. “I’ll go,” said the one among them who, due to his lack of job and career and his current residence at his parents’ house, felt he had the least to risk. But, said Deep Throat, he kept “chickening out,” approaching the window over and over again and retreating every time. “So I’m like, forget this—this guy is going to draw attention. I’m going in,” he thought. Once again Deep Throat’s brother lifted him up, this time so he can get through the window where he lands on someone’s desk. “I’m stepping over this person’s monitor and cleaning it up with these wipes until I make my way back to the suite and it’s the same routine,” he explained. Once inside, Deep Throat let the others in and all of them got to work on what, as

it turned out, was a pathetically dirty crime scene—big chalky footprints and ceiling remains dusting the floor. “We’re like, ‘We’ve got to vacuum’ and we sent a guy out to look for one and start picking the stuff off the floor with our hands,” he said. “The guy comes back without a vacuum, but it was looking pretty good so I scooted books and files where the bust used to be imagining to myself the accountant coming back in the next morning and thinking ‘Something’s different here but I can’t quite put my finger on it.’” At that point the get away and the rejoicing were real. “We took the bust to a business’ parking lot in Orem and did a victory dance around it,” Deep Throat said. “We had liberated David M. Kennedy.” From there the decision had to be made what to do with it. At first the group seriously considered traveling the world with it, taking pictures of it in front of famous places and emailing the results back to the Kennedy Center. “But the thing is too big to just zip up in a suitcase,” Deep Throat lamented. Second, they decided to make the David Kennedy bust a Facebook group with a consort of high profile friends. That only half-worked. Ultimately, the group realized where they really want it to reside is in the Kennedy Center. “We want to give it back,” Deep Throat explained, “but only if we have the promise that it will remain available to the public. "This,” he said, “is a bust of the people.” ▬

FEB & MAR 2012

10 Student Review

Sunday

MONday

Valentine’s Day

7:00 p.m. Better than FHE comedy! at Dave and Cranky Chuckie’s (746 E 820 N, Provo, UT).

11:05 a.m. BYU Devotional: Elder Patrick Kearon.

6:30 p.m. FHE at the Education in Zion Gallery Auditorium (JFSB). History of Black Mormons.

7:00 p.m. Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour @ UVU (Feb. 15 also). $10 a night/$18 for both nights

7:30 p.m. Learn to Cha-Cha! at SCERA (Tickets: $15/couple).

TUESDAY

Presidents Day No School

7:30 p.m. New York Piano Trio @ Madsen Recital Hall, BYU.

8:00 p.m. Valentine’s Day Jazz Night! @ Guru’s Cafe.

Monday Class Schedule

8:00 p.m. Open Mic Night at Sammy’s (25 W Center Street, Pleasant Grove, UT). 8:00 p.m. Open Mic Night @ Velour ($3 to watch, $2 to perform)

First day of Second Block

6:30 p.m. FHE at the Education in Zion Gallery Auditorium (JFSB). History of Black Mormons. 7:00 p.m. “The Crusades” BYU Motion Picture Archive Film Series @ HBLL Auditorium. 8:00 p.m. “Miss Representation” Movie Screening @ Velour.

Second Black Add Deadline

11:05 a.m. BYU Forum: Dr. Benjamin Carson @ BYU Marriott Center. 12:00 p.m. Graduation Fair @ BYU Bookstore. 8:00 p.m. Open Mic Night @ Velour ($3 to watch, $2 to perform)

7:00 p.m. FHE @ The Museum of People and Cultures: Student Tour.

11:05 a.m. Devotional: Dallan Moody.

7:30 p.m. The 39 Steps @ Hale Center Theater Orem

8:00 p.m. Open Mic Night @ Velour ($3 to watch, $2 to perform)

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

7:00 p.m. BYU’s Got Talent @ BYU Varsity Theatre.

7:00 p.m. Women’s Basketball vs. San Francisco (Marriot Center)

7:00 p.m. Kennedy Center Lecture @ HBLL Auditorium.

7:30 p.m. Wind Symphony @ BYU De Jong Concert Hall. 9:00 p.m. Open Mic at The Madison (295 W Center St., Provo).

8:00 p.m. Storytellers at Guru’s Cafe. 8:00 p.m. Open Mic Night @ Muse Music Cafe. $1. 9:00 p.m. Open Mic at The Madison (295 W Center St., Provo).

7:00 p.m. Black History Month: Perspectives @ BYU (WILK).

7:00 p.m. English Society Love/ Hate Poetry Night. B105 JFSB. 8:00 p.m. Poetry Open Mic @ Coffee Pod.

FRIDAY

6:00 p.m. Documentary Cinema Film Series: Life in a Day @ BYU (HBLL).

7:00 p.m. Men’s Volleyball vs. Cal Baptist @ BYU (Smith Fieldhouse).

7:00 p.m. Dallyn Vail Bayles in Concert at SCERA ($8 w/ Student ID).

7:30 p.m. Clubhouse Show! Raintree Apartments.

7:00 p.m. Winterfest 2012@ Conference Center Theatre

5:30 p.m. Men’s Tennis vs. Nevada @ BYU (Indoor Tennis Courts).

Last Day of First Block

6:30 Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons (HBLL Auditorium)

7:00 p.m. Winter 2012 Film Series: The Crusades at BYU (HBLL).

7:00 p.m. BYU’s Best Dance Crew @ BYU (WILK).

7:00 p.m. Men’s Volleyball vs. UC Santa Barbara (Smith Fieldhouse).

7:00 p.m. Women’s Basketball vs. Santa Clara @ BYU Marriot Center.

8:00 p.m. John Allred @ Guru’s Cafe

8:00 p.m. The Porch Storytelling Night @ Muse Music Cafe. $5 for students.

Leap Day

10:00 a.m. Graduation Fair @ BYU Bookstore.

MARCH

12:00 p.m. Kennedy Center Lecture (238 HRCB).

9:00 a.m. “Exploring Mormon Conceptions of the Apostasy Conference @ HBLL Auditorium.

7:00 p.m. Acoustic Explosion @ BYU Varsity Theatre.

8:00 p.m. Poetry Open Mic @ Coffee Pod.

8:00 p.m. Open Mic Night @ Muse Music Cafe ($1)

9:00 a.m. “Exploring Mormon Conceptions of the Apostasy Conference @ HBLL Auditorium 3:00 p.m. Church History Symposium. Conference Center Theater. SLC. 6:30 p.m. BYU Hunger Banquet 7:00 p.m. Men’s Volleyball vs. Pepperdine

8:00 p.m. Open Mic Night @ Muse Music Cafe ($1)

8:00 p.m. Cary Judd @ Velour.

7:00 p.m. Winter Carnival @ BYU (WILK). Free.

5:00 p.m. Tarot Thursdays with Elia McNeill at Coffee Pod.

SATURDAY

1:00 p.m. Women’s Basketball vs. San Diego@ BYU (Marriot Center).

10:00 a.m. Passover Seder Service Workshop @ BYU (3228 WILK). Tickets $15. 1:00p.m. Women’s Gymnastics: BYU vs. Utah State & Southern Utah (Smith Fieldhouse). 4:00 p.m. Men’s Basketball vs. Portland (Marriot Center).

9:00 a.m. Church History Symposium. BYU Conference Center 1:00 p.m. Baseball vs. Southern Utah (Miller Park). 7:00 p.m. Men’s Volleyball vs. Pepperdine (Smith Fieldhouse). 8:00 p.m. Imagine Dragons @ Velour. Tickets $10.

7:00 p.m. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at BYU @ Varsity Theatre.

7:00 p.m. Men’s Volleyball vs. Pacific (Smith Fieldhouse).

6:00 p.m. Mystery Dinner Date Night @ BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures.

7:00 p.m. Men’s Volleyball: BYU vs. Pacific. 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Divine Comedy @ BYU (151 Tanner Building).

6:00 p.m. Mystery Dinner Date Night @ BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures.

7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Divine Comedy @ BYU (151 Tanner Building).

Ongoing Events Utah Lyric Opera: La Traviata @ Covey Center for the Arts (425 W Center Street, Provo UT). February 17-18, 7:30 p.m. Tickets $10-$18 Karaoke at Guru’s @ Guru’s Cafe (45 E Center Street, Provo UT). Every Saturday night.

12 Student Review

and

BYU

a world of pain and shame by shirley grover and grant harper

In a 2008 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Research, James S. Carroll found “roughly two thirds (67%) of young men and one half (49%) of young women agree that viewing pornography is acceptable, whereas nearly 9 out of 10 (87%) young men and nearly one third (31%) of young women reported using pornography. Within the LDS Church, attitudes concerning pornography tend to differ from those reported in this study due to a heavy cultural stigma surrounding it; however, usage rates by LDS people do not seem differ significantly from the overall population. For example, in a a 2009 national study conducted by Benjamen Edelman and published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Utah is number one in paid subscriptions to adult entertainment websites (5.97 subscriptions for every 1000 broadband users). This is in spite of the state also being the highest in LDS membership. While the numbers do not necessarily show Church members subscribe to pornography, they do highlight the issue that members of the Church struggle with pornography. Warnings about the pernicious nature of pornography saturate LDS Church meetings, but with the overwhelming

statistics of usage, some argue that the teachings of avoiding rather than overcoming pornography are misplaced. In interviewing a number of current and former BYU students about this issue, many complained of the lack of understanding in Church circles of the real issue at hand. Jeff, a married BYU graduate who has used pornography over a period of eighteen years said, “I feel like [pornography avoidance] is taught in an unintelligent and uninformed way … it is strictly discussed with those who never have [used porn] ... which I believe is a very small cohort.” According to those who struggle with pornography usage, this lack of understanding and tacit assumption that the problem is soluble by an abstinence-type approach often exacerbate the feelings of inadequacy and guilt caused by the already deep void between these people’s values and their actions. David, a current BYU student who was first exposed to pornography in sixth grade said, “I would say that a large reason why I have problems with pornography is because of the Church and the BYU stigma around it; I think that some of my initial exposures to it would have passed easier had I not felt so much pressure, tension and frustration over it.” Often, those interviewed said, women

who use pornography are at a disadvantage to men because of the assumption that they do not deal with this issue. Dr. Stephanie Buehler, a licensed sex therapist, author, and founder of the Buehler Institute in California, shares her insights on the issue. “I think maybe with women it would be more secretive,” she said. “Women tend to, especially in a conservative setting, suppress their sexuality and so you are going to find more men than women [reporting this issue].” Ashley is a BYU student who struggles with the use of porn. Of it she said, “Recently I’ve wanted to shake some people and say, you know, men aren’t the only ones with this problem.” BYU student and second counselor in her ward’s Relief Society presidency, Lisa argues that because of the assumption that pornography is a male problem, many women feel an increased amount of shame surrounding their actions. “When pornography comes up in the Church, it’s a guy’s issue and if a girl would ever confess to that issue in an open forum, she’d be seen as a complete pervert,” she said. “She’d be seen as a freak. She’d be seen as this thing against nature.” Lisa explained her feelings surrounding the issue this way: “I feel a lot of shame. I

14 Student Review

feel a lot of self hatred. I feel like after I use pornography there’s this high afterwards and then there’s just this slump and this can be anywhere from a day to a week ... I just completely cut myself off socially from other people.” This is not to say, of course, that issues of shame are exclusively an issue for women; all six interviewed, both male and female, expressed frustration directed at themselves in dealing with pornography. David shared that after all these years, “I find it impossibly hard to forgive myself. I hate myself. I literally cannot live with myself. I don’t feel successful. I have seen so many people judge me solely on that one event, on that one weakness ... that I’ve started to view myself in the same way.” Concerning interactions with peers and praise received for accomplishments, Carl, a current BYU student lamented, “I thought that if they knew who I really was, they wouldn’t want to be my friend. Having to take all of those accompliments and completely devalue them because of this one flaw that happens to be very significant in the minds of most people has been extremely disheartening.” With these feelings in tow, these people often seek help from ecclesiastical leaders as well as professional counselors. One therapy group here at BYU called the Sexual Concerns Group focuses on reducing the shame, fear and self-loathing that facilitates the continued use of pornography. Dr. Mike Buxton, a clinical professor in the BYU Counseling Center is a leader of one such group. Speaking of those that attend the group, he said, “It’s fairly common [for them] to come when they’ve gone through a prolonged time period of an overwhelming urge to look at pornography and/or masturbate. Sometimes they’re different from each other, sometimes they’re together.” Speaking of the involvement of bishops, Dr. Buxton pointed out that for many this can prove to be a productive first step. “The culture provides [bishops] as at least a means to have an initial person to come talk to and begin to open up about it,” he said. “And my experience is frequently that’s been a very supportive person and an important person in the whole process.” Josh, a former BYU student who has at-

tended Dr. Buxton’s therapy group said, echoed these sentiments. “I’ve had a few bishops who have kind of emphasized that point that you need to work at it, you need to avoid pornography ... and you won’t be perfect ... just worry about being better, and that was very helpful for me, just knowing that one slip up was not a big deal,” he said. Even so, experiences with ecclesiastical leadership have not always been helpful to those interviewed. David shared the following concerning ecclesiastical disciplinary action: “It never ceases to amaze me the inconsistencies. I literally am terrified of getting a new bishop and moving to a new ward and not knowing my fate.” The effects of pornography are not the only place where consistencies emerged among the interviewees. In every case the subject of sexuality was rarely discussed at home, if at all. Such was the case for BYU student Carl who said the lack of discussion assisted his use of porn. “I feel like my attitude towards sexual development was that it was bad and was something to be shunned and not talked about,” Carl said. “I didn’t feel like there was any legitimate way to express sexual feelings and that led to antisocial behavior.” Lisa, also, emphasized the traditional approach taken in her home concerning sexuality. “Sexual development was never discussed in our house,” she said. “It was, you get married and that’s when sex happens. You’re not even allowed to think about it until that point.” Fellow BYU student Josh shared, “[My parents] never brought it up, so I had to be the one to initiate the discussion, and as a teenager [that] is pretty scary. Sex is a taboo topic, so trying to talk about something sexual where I have to initiate the discussion [is] pretty intimidating.” According to Dr. Buehler, this kind of hesitancy regarding sex and pornog-

One therapy group here at BYU called the Sexual Concerns Group focuses on reducing the shame, fear and self-loathing that facilitates the continued use of pornography.

raphy are often found at the core of porn addictions. “If sex is all kept secret, there’s no space for a teenager to come to their parents and say ‘What do I do with myself? I have all of these urges.’ I would say have an open communication about sexuality,” he said. At times, the discussion was left entirely to the responsibility of the individual and even the Church itself. “I was left to what I learned in the scriptures and in the For the Strength of the Youth handbook and what I got at church,” Jeff said. In speaking about her experience, BYU student Amber said, “Asking my parents about birth control, my mom didn’t want to talk to me about it until I was engaged, so I remained silently curious.” Furthermore, those interviewed pointed at this same lack of discussion often leading to misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding pornography use and those who use it and, perhaps most of all, why it’s used. “Day to day, it’s more like a way to deal with anxiety, loneliness, or boredom— something to give me a boost of some kind, make me feel something when I’m not feeling anything, or when I’m feeling depressed,” Josh said. Dr. Buehler addresses pornography usage in her clients as any other coping mechanism. “When somebody is using a substance,” Buehler said, “they are often abusing it because they are not coping well with something else ... I mean we use all kinds of unsavory things: we use food, chocolate, even exercise or video games. We have all kinds of ways of dealing with things that stress us out that aren’t optimal.” She concluded, “The main reason people turn to pornography would be not being tuned in to what one really needs and therefore not communicating or doing anything about [it]." Commonly, treatment comes as a last resort after individuals have sought to rectify the habit by themselves with little success. “I’ve tried everything,” Lisa lamented. “I’ve tried reading my scriptures every night. I’ve tried numbers on my wrists to count the days since it’s happened. I’ve tried turning off my computer before a certain time of night. I have

tried everything.” From the description of a pamphlet distributed in the counseling center, “surface-level interventions, such as keeping a calendar, setting a goal or just staying busy do not tend to work over time—these methods over-focus on the behavior without giving understanding to constituent influences and personal growth.” Those interviewed agreed that therapy was very helpful, but it does not serve as a cure-all. “The challenge is acknowledging that it is out there but still being able to keep it away or if I slip up being able to get away again,” says Josh. Lisa shared the biggest challenge that she faces in moving forward with her life. “Shame is the biggest challenge I face,” she said. “Shame about who I am. Shame about what I do. Shame about the problem I have. Shame about my family. Shame that I will one day have to talk to my spouse about this. And the fact that such shame resounds in our community, I fear his reaction because I am a woman.” When asked about his biggest challenge in dealing with pornography, Jeff pointed to a lack of success stories in the general community in overcoming porn addictions. “I’ve never heard any,” he said. “It’s really damning … maybe our answers to the pornography problems really aren’t there. And I don’t want to believe that." In dealing with these challenges, those interviewed have found different ways of moving forward and leading healthy lives. “I feel like the minute that I admitted to myself that [pornography] didn’t matter, my problems evaporated,” Carl said. “With that pressure that had just been taken off, that it didn’t matter anymore, there was no longer this strong aversion that I was fighting and therefore the pornography stopped fighting me.” Dr. Buxton stressed silmilar points when he said, “I think that people do much better when they take the courage to move ahead with their goals, their values and their priorities in their lives, rather than waiting somehow for this problem to subsist and to go away before you can move on. I think it actually works the other way around.” “You know I’ll have to deal that with that for the duration of my life, but I don’t think that means that I will be an addict my whole life either." Josh said. Amber said her relationship with God is a highly useful instrument in fighting her struggles with pornography. “I think I need to do the best I can everyday and if I slip up and do something against Church warnings, I’ll talk to God about it and make it right with Him,” she said. “I talk to Him about it every time and I come to peace and that’s how I’m coping.” All names of those interviewed have been changed to protect privacy. ▬

VIEWPOINT

A case for a fluid Honor Code by nathan grout

cartoon by jon uland. visit mimeintheforest.com and follow on twitter @JonUland

One does not have to read many comments listed below articles like “Religious freedom at BYU” to realize some students become quite defensive when the idea of changing the Honor Code is addressed. Certainly, there is value in following rules and in following traditions. There is also value, however, in reflection and introspection, both on a personal level and on the level of institutions like BYU. Certainly, reflection and introspection are at the heart of the questions that the young Joseph Smith asked in the Sacred Grove. And so I hope that the comments I make are accepted for what they are: the result of thoughtful and prayerful reflection. As a graduate in the class of 2010 and having recently finished my first semester of grad school at a university other than BYU, I feel that I am in a good position to assess what BYU's Honor Code meant and still means to me. I remember when I first visited BYU, I felt at home. I was surrounded by people that I did not know who had the same values as me; it just felt right for me to be at BYU. As I applied to BYU and committed to living by the Honor Code, I knew that those rules would help foster the values that were the basis for my feeling comfortable at BYU. During my years at BYU, I began to wonder if the Honor Code was as effective as it could be. Certainly it encourages righteous behavior, but does it encourage it in the most effective way? The Honor Code is like the Law of Moses; it is composed of specific rules that are designed to help us live what we should be believing. As a divine command, the Law of Moses served an important role for those who followed it. The Law of Christ, however, is based on the idea that when we truly believe, we will not only live up to the laws of Moses' day, but will live to an even higher standard. It was based on the Law of Christ that Joseph Smith famously said, “I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.” Notice that he teaches correct principles or fundamental truths, not correct rules or explicit regulations. I believe that it would be beneficial to the student body if BYU's Honor Code were changed to better encourage students to think about the principles by which they

should govern themselves. Now, an honor code based purely on principle and ignoring rules would be problematically flimsy. There is a lot to be said for the specificity of the current Honor Code. What if the Honor Code were amendable by the student body? This would necessarily be a lengthy process so that the Honor Code would not be tossed about by every whim and fad of a student body of twenty-somethings. However, an amendable Honor Code would allow students to “govern themselves” while still providing the clarity of fixed rules. Even more importantly, giving the student body the power to change the Honor Code would foster discussion about values. As individual students discuss the values held by the student body as a whole, they would be forced to consider their own values. Ultimately, it is my own introspection about my values that I have taken with me as I have moved on from my BYU education, not the Honor Code itself. There are parts of the Honor Code that I have adopted and others that I have abandoned. I choose not to partake when my new school serves alcohol at social events, but I also don't shave every day. I have decided that the principle of not staying out too late is important to me, but sometimes that means 11:15 and sometimes 12:05. Ultimately, every BYU graduate has to make similar choices about which parts of the Honor Code to retain through life and which to abandon. Giving current students the agency to make this choice would better help to prepare them for life when they go forth to serve. ▬ Thoughts or opinions? here.i.am@nathangrout.com

16 Student Review

Transfer troubles by andy simmonds and bronwyn bent

What’s harder than moving from Hawaii to Utah? Transferring from the University of Utah to BYU. (You can imagine the amount of hate mail one might get from the former.) But you have before you two individuals who have each accomplished one of these things. Please, hold your applause as merely transferring to BYU is only a fifth of the accomplishment. To students who have been attending BYU their whole college careers, to whom we will from now on refer as “TrueBlues,” transferring to a different school might seem like peaches and gravy, but oh, au contraire. There are many trials and tribulations that our young transfers face that remain unbeknownst to TrueBlues. You may (or may not) be surprised to learn that more than 90% of the transfer students we interviewed agreed that although BYU students are friendly at church and at home, when on campus they’re all business. You don’t come between a TrueBlue and his walk to class. A transfer student who wished to retain her anonymity recounts her first couple weeks at BYU by explaining, "No one says ‘hi’ to each other or even looks at each other unless they already know each other. I tried waving and saying ‘hi’ to people but they just looked away or didn't hear me because they were listening to music. It made for an awkward first couple of weeks until I caved and started listening to my iPod all the time too." This phenomenon often makes it hard for the new kids to feel accepted on this foreign campus. But a lonely walk to class isn’t even the beginning of the trouble. Tori Cornelison, a transfer from BYUHawaii, portrayed the view of many others when she said that the weirdest thing about BYU is the four questions. You've all heard them, and I'd bet my tithing that you've said them yourself. Every time you meet someone, it's, "What's your name? Where are you from? What's your major? Where'd you serve your mission?" Like many other transfer students, Tori doesn't understand this phenomenon, but tries to by saying, “It's just what you do. If you sit down in class, someone's gonna sit next to you, and they're gonna ask, ‘What's your name? Where are you from? what's your major?’ Every time. I promise. And I don't know if that's like, our attempt to be friendly, you know, ‘Oh we're Mormons, we have to be nice to everybody.’ But it makes for like, a hundred boring conversations a day that no one's going to remember.” Jason Kim, a transfer student from BYU-I, lamented that it’s so hard to make friends because many students are “closed

off.” His fiancé, Emily Schulte, agreed that though people are nice, they’re not willing to approach others. They’ll talk to you, sure, but they seldom initiate the contact. Tori’s biggest struggle is something that everyone has dealt with at one point or another: a constant attempt to retain selfworth and confidence amongst 30,000 equally strong and talented individuals. For her, coming to BYU was a reality check. She grew up in a small town and went to a small high school where she was one of the best in her class. Here, she said, “everyone in the ward sings. Everyone in the ward plays piano. Everyone is pretty. And everyone is smart, ‘cause that’s what it takes to get into BYU.” Compared to many other transfer students who struggle with making friends, feeling important and trying to find their way through our labyrinth of a campus, Jarom Hulet’s experience thus far has been smooth sailing. A transfer from Austin Community College, he said the weirdest thing that TrueBlue’s do that he’s had to deal with is “play games like Apples to Apples.” Yes, that game in particular. He also admits that he really doesn’t understand religion-based jokes, and that his biggest struggle has been trying to figure out acronyms like “DTR” (we explained NCMO to him in the course of the interview). Yes, BYU is awash with many norms; some are detectable and some are more nuanced. So what’s a person to do? It seems that both parties—the transfer students and the TrueBlues—are required to contribute something to make peaceful assimilation a possibility. To Transfers: • Don’t be afraid to make friends. There are many ways to about this. Let’s say you strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you before they can get to the Big Four (I know, hard to imagine). • Form study groups. Find a club or service organization to join. Y Serve is full of opportunities. Get involved; get friendly. Inching out of your comfort zone can do wonders as you acclimate. And perhaps there is another, more inward action that will do as much good as leaving the comfort zone. • Learn to put stereotypes aside. William Smith, a sophomore and transfer student, had this to say: “I would tell transfer students not to get caught up in all the rumors about BYU. Not every couple gets married after two dates.” Are they funny? Yes. On the other hand, you as a transfer student need to define your own BYU experience, rather than letting others define it for you.

photo by heather hackney

Your experience is yours, and will be what you make of it. To the TrueBlues: • Keep in mind we newly arrived are accustomed to the Church’s moral standards and probably the local culture as well, but not in its entirety. Give us time to pick up on the little things. • Be friendly! While transfer students would do well to leave their comfort zone,

LOVEads

not all are extroverts. Show by your actions they are valued and welcome. • As for the several BYU rumors, why perpetuate them? It can be fun to talk about them as if they are that exaggerated. In the end, however, you may be doing more harm than good. A well-informed transfer student is a happy one. ▬

HUMOR

Warren I’m tall and lanky with brown eyes and brown hair. I am secure & happy with myself, but... life is meant for 2!... or 3... or 86. I am very religious, and I enjoy romantic walks in the deserts of Northern Arizona and Texas. I am looking for a blonde, blue-eyed girl. 16 and under preferred.

Maddie OMGosh I was sooo excited to come to BYU!!! But this is my second semester already and I’ve only been on 24 ½ dates, 25 if you count ward prayer...these guys just want to “hang out” and not date for realz. Looking for a serious relationship with my eternal stripling warrior!

Caydee 19 yrs old, brown eyes and blond hair for now, but im in beauty school and my hair color changes pretty regulary lol! Just want someone who wont take me for granted, I’m tired of tools and just want a nice boy... I can be shy but once you warm me up, I’m good to go!

Sterling I have a six pack. Enough said. I enjoy chillin’ with my bros on the 5th floor of the library. Sweet. Don’t call me unless you’re a total babe—blonde hair, super tan, big sunglasses. I’ll even let you ride up front in my Hummer when my friends aren’t with us.

Jarom Following is a list of necessary wifely qualities. Please contact me if you meet these standards: righteous, humble, obedient, meek, submissive, motherly, fertile, creative, faithful, divine, worthy, knowledgeable, accountable, goodly, virtuous, sweet, healthful, trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

HUMOR

5 reasons why flexibility is the ultimate blow off class

by preston wittwer

In my time at the Y I have taken precious few classes that on their own have been more appealing than staying home to watch “The Price Is Right” (what can I say, I’m a sucker for Plinko). This semester I have found one: STAC 125: Flexibility. That is the actual name of the class. I have only been in the class for a few weeks, but I can tell you already the five reasons this class is worth staying up till midnight on your registration date to try and get a spot. 5. The easiest final you'll ever take

Attendance is almost everything when it comes to the pass/fail grade. You are only allowed five absences and you have to pass the final. However, you only have to get a 75% to pass the final (if I’m not mistaken academics call this the grading bell curve of the French). Here’s the kicker though: straight from the syllabus we read that if you don’t pass the final, “the test may be retaken any number of times.” Too bad I already took a cheap shot at the French or I could made a great joke here about the number of French Revolutions, too. 4. The music never stops

From roll call to the end of class, music can be heard playing in the flexibility classroom. Anyone with two ears and a heart will appreciate the simple joy of listening to some good and mellow music during class. The grad student who teaches the class will usually provide the playlist, but students can bring music for the class to listen to as well. Granted, sometimes you have to listen to a few weirdy new age Enya songs, but there are plenty of tracks like highlights from the “Sherlock Holmes” soundtrack and some classics from old Coldplay albums to balance that out. I don’t think I’m alone in my hoping for Ke$ha to drop an acoustic CD, because I think she’d be a welcome addition to the class. 3. It is full of attractive and athletic people

In what could be considered by some to be a genetic rigging of the deck, most athletic people tend to be pretty easy on the eyes too. One the biggest (and most pleasant) surprises for me was seeing just how many of our collegiate athletes people take this class. It felt like I had snuck into a beautiful people’s club where they always have samples of elegant cheeses and where you learn the fancy way to pronounce the word Jaguar. I’m not mincing words when I say I snuck in—it quickly became clear to

me I had some catching up to do with these beautiful people as I was the only person to break a sweat on the first day of a class called flexibility. 2. The actual immediate health benefits

I have been hearing for years from my older brother how much I needed to take this class. One of the pieces of evidence he brought up time and again was the fact that he increased his height by half an inch taking this class. He attributes the class with straightening out his vertebrae or something like that. I’ve yet to determine if my posture has been improved enough to make me taller, but I can tell you I am already more flexible. And, we have been learning all the different types of stretches for meant for certain muscle groups used in each sport. Some pun-tastic examples include stretches I’ve named Stretchy And I Know It, Bends Like Jagger, and Reaching In The Deep. 1. Two words: power nap

This is the reason most people take this class: you get to sleep for the last 15 minutes of the class. As if sitting around and stretching to the musical stylings of Jack Johnson wasn’t relaxing enough, over the course of the semester students can perfect the delicate art of the power nap. On the comfort of the padded and springy floor of the gymnastics squad practice room, students are instructed to spread out, find some room to relax and take a much needed siesta at the end of every class session. I can’t even bring myself to think of a possible punchline to include here; the idea of sleeping for credit is just too beautiful and rare to sully with cheap jokes. Taking this class should be added to every Cougar’s Provo bucket list. It should be right up there with time honored traditions like “no-shave November” for the guys and “be creeped out by mustached guys” for the ladies. If I am asked to speak at graduation (do students even speak at those? Maybe I should finally read one of those emails about the graduation process I’ve been receiving since my freshman year), I would title my remarks “Wear Sunscreen Take Flexibility.” Maybe a joke like that is ten years late and it doesn’t make any sense to give advice like that to my graduating class, but that advice is timeless. Take Flexibility. You won’t regret it. ▬

Monopoly on matchmaking by christopher diep

Inaugurated in Summer 2011, the Freshman Mentoring program has been enriching the lives of all incoming freshmen. In the program, freshmen gain easy access to University Core requirements and to a peer mentor who can assist in their needs. William Hatch, a freshman with an open major, says, “I really enjoy how all freshmen are in Freshman Mentoring. We’re all in this together.” The success has inspired a new university-wide initiative for all single undergraduate students at BYU. In an effort to promote the pairing up of compatible personalities, this promising program will be outsourced to the successful Ministry of Matchmaking. The Ministry of Matchmaking has been serving the British Royal Family for many years. Its most recent accomplishment, the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, garnered a worldwide viewership last year. Maximillian Fudge, the spokesman for the Ministry, stated in a public announcement, “We wish to make BYU a place for love to flourish like a flower blossoming from a harsh cold winter. We are prepared to tackle the challenges that come with this large scale program.”

The Ministry has observed “dating committees” some bishops use to make church fun. “Our assessment of the effectiveness of such systems is inconclusive.” Fudge continues, “However, because we have a much wider scope, we are going to test innovative methods.” One such method begins with single students taking personality tests and being sorted into one of four categories. Students will be paired with another from the same category. Then, married mentors will encourage and support students in their pairings. The Ministry will be hiring married mentors. The requirements include both the husband and the wife to work together. Like peer mentors, they will facilitate the matchmaking process. BYU is currently considering to place the Ministry of Matchmaking in the Harold B. Lee Library temporarily. The Widtsoe Building is under consideration for the future home. Fudge graciously comments, “I believe people take love seriously here. I love this privilege of working with BYU.” ▬

18 Student Review

Vinyl goldmine by andy andersen

In an age where music is so easily obtained at the click of a mouse, a record player may seem to some an extravagant and elitist investment catering to nostalgic delusions. For true music lovers however, the joy of vinyl has a highly significant appeal that reaches far beyond frivolous nostalgia. It is the quality and richness of sound that the music lover craves and appreciates in a vinyl record; a richness unmatched by the digital recreation that has lowered our collective listening standards since the birth of the Compact Disc. I admit, I didn’t fully understand this concept until getting a record player of my own for Christmas. As a family of music lovers, my two brothers and I were very pleased to finally obtain the missing piece to our listeners puzzle, as were my parents to be able to blow the dust off their old record collections and put them to good use again. While the bulk of my parents’ respective collections left me wanting, by listening to a few choice sides from the stack, (including Abbey Road, Led Zeppelin IV and Neil Young’s Harvest) the superiority of the analog sound over any digital recording I had heard before quickly became apparent. A vinyl record is an analog recording, which mirrors the original sound wave of a track and can capture it in its entirety. A digital recording, however, is a series of snapshots of the original recording at a certain rate, a process which loses a portion of the information and leaves the complete sound wave uncaptured. What this all means is if you care about a richer, more authentic sound, analog is the way to go and the difference will present itself upon listening to a favorite album on vinyl for the first time. Such was the cause of my conversion, at least, after my brother and I picked up three of our favorite albums and instantly recognized the value of vinyl. What follows is a short review and recommendation for these albums, as well as a few things I noticed while listening to them on vinyl for the first time. Bitches Brew (1970), Miles Davis

In comparison to 1959’s Kind of Blue (arguably the definitive Miles Davis album), Bitches Brew presents a more dangerous side of the seminal jazz artist through a masterful composition of rockinfluenced experimentation and beautifully aggressive free-form. Though a definite departure from Davis’ previous achievements in the world of jazz, the free-form style of the album maintains skeletal remnants of the “cool” jazz sound that Davis pioneered earlier in his career while instigating a lively dialogue between jazz and rock through an expansive rhythm section, the use of electric instruments, and the aggressive nature of Davis’ trumpet playing. The rhythm section in particular is especially rich on vinyl and gives the album a deep, glacial soundscape that makes even the most aggressive moments sound as smooth as anything Miles Davis ever recorded.

photo by felicia lynne jones Fun House (1970), The Stooges

When heard on vinyl, the audial assault of Fun House is nothing short of glorious. From the industrial clang-bang of the album’s opening track, “Down on the Street,” to the tribal, free-form jazzinfluenced final track, “L.A. Blues,” the sound and fury of The Stooges’ second album gives impenetrable integrity to the band’s reputation as proto-punk legends. Fun House is often cited by a variety of artists as the definitive rock album (among them Joey Ramone, Nick Cave, Henry Rollins and Jack White) and holds up to its praise by virtue of a quintessential punk sound that predates the height of the punk movement by nearly a decade. As a showman, The Stooges’ front-man Iggy Pop is a punk icon. As a singer, he sets THE punk vocal standard with raw sensual musings of songs like “Loose” and the stomach-wrenching screeches of “1970.” Iggy is the model of what punk should be—chaos with precision. And for fans of either chaos or precision, Fun House is a “must hear before you die” album. New York Dolls (1973), The New York Dolls

If The Stooges were the forefathers of the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, the New York Dolls were the strand of punk DNA that connected them. Their self-titled debut album is one of the most underrated in rock history and reignites an urban mythology missing since the demise of The Velvet Underground. The album is grounded in a no-nonsense rock-and-roll sensibility, more honest than any other album of the early 1970’s. As is always the case with vinyl, the album’s cover art in larger scale—a slick black-and-white photograph of the band in drag with their name written out in bright pink lipstick—plays a pivotal role in conveying the attitude and impact of the New York Dolls’ stage presence. Even during the height of glam, their look had a twisted machismo that was ahead of its time (and would later be exploited by a plethora of 1980’s hair-metal bands). Just as the influence of the New York Dolls is central to the body of punk, their debut album is a timeless classic and an essential for anyone who claims the title of “rock enthusiast.” ▬

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Reviewing Sundance by hunter phillips Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie

Save the Date

Black Rock

Indie Game: The Movie

Tim and Eric, the comedians behind Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and Tom Goes to the Mayor on Adult Swim, have a style that simply can't be imitated. They're masters of highly-specific, visually-bonkers avant-garde comedy that has won them equal amounts of fans and critics. Their first feature film, which debuted during the Sundance at Midnight series, makes no effort to win those critics over... Continue reading the review online and leave your thoughts at: bit.ly/yhm92G

If the horror genre has grown tired in recent years, romantic comedies have been absolutely bastardized. Audiences looking for a dash of originality would be hardpresed to find anything worthwhile at the megaplex, which makes Save the Date even more refreshing... Continue reading the review online and leave your own thoughts at: bit.ly/wO7lIo

The horror genre has become saturated with typical stories filled with typical characters taking typical routes to typical conclusions. Black Rock, a film by Katie Aselton (known for her role on The League, and as wife and frequent collaborator to Sundance favorite Mark Duplass) tries to make horror interesting again... Continue reading the review online and leave your own thoughts at: bit.ly/zw7xkz

Sundance always hosts a huge variety of documentaries and most of this year's offerings focused on the darkness of recessions, poverty, or foreign wars. Among those bleak films, Indie Game shines as a look into the lives of the men who develop video games free from the studio system... Continue reading the review online and leave your own thoughts at: bit.ly/xMtSu3

Price Check

The Shorts Porgram 2

Withering Heights

Read the review online and leave your Read the review online and leave your own thoughts at: bit.ly/xe0naU own thoughts at: bit.ly/y6yH1g

Read the review online and leave your own thoughts at: bit.ly/z1P8aL

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