A N I N T E RV I E W W I T H C A R R I E A N N B A A D E
13 2013 SPRING
The
Yeti
Justice for Vince Binder
Get to know J. Ivy
Mentally Awake and Morally Straight
www.TheYetiOnline.com Issue 13, April 2013
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The Yeti
The
Yeti Monster Coverage.
Yeti Editorial Staff Editor in Cbief Managing Editor
Catalina Chiang Perry Petruccelli
Finance Editor
Tyler Davis
News Editors
Danielle Befeler Taylor Rao Kari Kitchen
Views Editors
Mary Fernandez Nina K. Guzman
Letter from the Editor Even before I joined The Yeti three years ago, the origins of the name of our publication—of our emblematic monster—have and continue to be just as fuzzy as white hairs on the back of the furry cryptid itself. What business does a Himalayan monster have in Tallahassee, Florida? As a freshman intern, I remember hearing parts and pieces of the lore exchanged between the editors and my eavesdropped encounters all point to one source: SkiFree. Originally released in 1991, this 32-bit computer game challenges players to ski down an endless slope and avoid the obstacles. The player must continue skiing until he or she encounters an “abominable snow monster” that chases and attempts to eat the skier. From that point on, the player can ski until the monster catches and eats them. One of our founding fathers was an avid player of the game and he saw the snow monster as the pinnacle of perseverance and engagement. Thus The Yeti was born. The symbolism resonates now more than ever. )BWJOH TFSWFE JO FWFSZ MFWFM PG 5IF :FUJ BT B XSJUFS JOUFSO FEJUPS BOE JO NBOBHFNFOU * BN mSN believer in The Yeti’s adaptability. It can be anything you need it to be: a vehicle of social change, a lesson of our accountability to those around us, or even a source of camaraderie. Through The Yeti I am connected to so many amazing individuals. I want to thank you for being a source of learning and inspiration for me. I am so honored to know you all. Now is the time to start believing. Allow yourself to be chased, caught, and maybe eaten. Pick up an issue, come to a meeting, or write a story. It will likely be among the best monstrous encounters of your life. For the last time,
Sam Levine Arts & Life Editors
Kelly Sawtelle
Catalina Chiang Editor in Chief
Ella Schaefer Sports Editors
Shea McGlynn Jack Carenza
Literary Editors
Ruwani Dharmakirthi Sara A. Beale
Photography Editors
Kristen Alberico
Design Editor
Emily Skarda
Design Assisstant
Olivia Quinn
Faculty Advisor Cover Artist
Paul Rutkovsky Carrie Ann Baade
The Yeti operates only with the help of a dedicated staff of volunteer writers. We thank them for their hard work and support. If you’d like to get involved with The Yeti, e-mail fsuyeti@gmail.com or visit our website: www.theyetionline.com.
Want to Advertise with The Yeti? We love supporting local businesses and Tallahassee events. Contact us at fsuyeti@gmail.com for pricing and other information.
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Mission The Yeti is a student-run, conversation-driven media outlet in Tallahassee that serves our readership by providing an alternative to corporately funded, commercial media. We publish in print twice a semester and online twice a week. We focus on providing new perspectives on current events and investigating under-represented and under-reported local issues. Our aim is to convey the voice of the community in hopes of sparking a dialogue between students and community members, and to create an educated exchange of information that will motivate our readership to be aware and active members of society.
Campus Progress works to help young people — advocates, activists, journalists, artists — make their voices heard on issues that matter. Learn more at CampusProgress.org.
The opinions expressed in the Views section are those of the writers, and do not necessarily represent the views of The Yeti itself.
Table of Contents
NEWS
VIEWS SPORTS ARTS & LIFE
LIT
4 10 16 22 28 6 12 18 24 30 7 14 20 26 31 8
Who’s Your Daddy
Boy Scouts
Religion and Sports
Carrie Ann Baade
Featured Writer
The God Spot
Domesticity
Loyalty Jimbo
Resolution
Detour
White Tigers
Women & Illness
FSU Cycling
J Ivy
Alluding to the Physical
Vince Binder
Issue 13, April 2013
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News
WHO’S YOUR
COLLEGE GIRLS FIND A WAY TO PAY FOR TUITION By Jeanette Horowitz, Contributing Writer College students are no strangers UP mOBODJBM TUSFTT 8JUI UIF $PMMFHF #PBSE SFQPSUJOH UIBU JOTUBUF QVCMJD GPVS ZFBS JOTUJUVUJPOT IBWF TFFO BO JODSFBTF JO UIF QBTU ZFBS mOBODFT BSF CFDPNJOH NPSF BOE NPSF PG B XPSSZ #VU XIBU JG ZPV DPVME TPMWF BMM PG UIFTF QSPCMFNT CZ KVTU TJHOJOH VQ GPS B XFCTJUF 8FMM 4FFLJOH"SBOHFNFOU DPN NJHIU QSPWJEF UIBU BOTXFS 4FFLJOH "SSBOHFNFOU BO "NFSJDBO CBTFE XFCTJUF UIBU MBVODIFE JO JT TPMFMZ EFEJDBUFE UP DSFBUJOH B NVUVBMMZ CFOFmDJBM TVHBS EBEEZ UZQF SFMBUJPOTIJQ CFUXFFO VTFST PO UIF TJUF 4VHBS EBEEJFT NPNNJFT BOE CBCJFT nPDL UP UIJT EBUJOH TJUF UP mOE B NBUDI XIP TIBSFT TJNJMBS EFTJSFT 5IJT NFBOT UIBU XIJMF UIF TVHBS CBCZ JT QBNQFSFE XJUI HJGUT
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BOE NPOFZ UIF TVHBS EBEEZ PS TVHBS NPNNZ HFUT DPNQBOJPOTIJQ BOE TPNFPOF UP TQPJM 5IF XFCTJUF XPSLT CZ BMMPXJOH ZPV UP DSFBUF B GSFF QSPmMF XIFSF ZPV DIPPTF XIJDI DBUFHPSZ ZPV BSF NPNNZ EBEEZ PS CBCZ BOE UIFO XIJDI ZPV BSF MPPLJOH GPS 4PNF PG UIF TVHBS EBEEJFT FWFO IBWF i%JBNPOE $MVC .FNCFSTIJQw XIJDI NFBOT UIBU UIFZ BSF DFSUJmFE CZ UIF XFCTJUF BOE UIFJS JEFOUJUZ BOE OFU XPSUI IBWF CFFO WFSJmFE 5IFZ BSF QSPNJOFOUMZ EJTQMBZFE UP BMM TVHBS CBCJFT " +BOVBSZ QSFTT SFMFBTF GSPN UIF TJUF OPUFT i"T UIF DPTU PG MJWJOH SJTFT BOE UVJUJPO IJLFT DPOUJOVF DPMMFHF TUVEFOUT BSF GPSDFE UP MPPL GPS BMUFSOBUJWF NFUIPET UP SBJTF BO FOPSNPVT BNPVOU PG GVOET JO PSEFS UP QVSTVF UIFJS FEVDBUJPO 4PNF
DIPPTF UP UBLF PVU TUVEFOU MPBOT PS SFDFJWF IFMQ GSPN UIFJS QBSFOUT BOE PUIFS TUVEFOUT BSF UVSOJOH UP TVHBS EBEEJFT w 8IJMF UIJT NBZ OPU CF B OFX USFOE BNPOHTU DPMMFHF TUVEFOUT JU TFFNT UP CF JODSFBTJOH BU BO BMBSNJOH SBUF JO TPVUIFSO TUBUFT FTQFDJBMMZ JO 'MPSJEB 4FFLJOH "SSBOHFNFOUT SFDFOUMZ SFMFBTFE UIFJS i5PQ 'BTUFTU (SPXJOH 4VHBS #BCZ $PMMFHFT PG w *O UPUBM DPMMFHF FOSPMMNFOU PO UIF TJUF IBT JODSFBTFE CZ JO UPUBM BOE UIF BWFSBHF DP FE 4VHBS #BCZ SFDFJWFT BQQSPYJNBUFMZ JO BMMPXBODF BOE HJGUT B NPOUI XIJDI JT VTVBMMZ FOPVHI UP DPWFS MJWJOH FYQFOTFT BOE UVJUJPO BT NPTU TDIPPMT i1FSTPOBMMZ * XPVMEO U EP JU BOE * EPO U IBWF GSJFOET XIP XPVME #VU JG
While only four Florida universities placed in the top 20, here are all of the major sugar baby colleges in Florida by the numbers:
Increase University SIGN-UPS in 2012 #4 University of Central Florida
221
330%
#5 University of Southern Florida
212
228%
#7 Florida International University
187
95%
#11 Florida State University
111
64%
University of Florida
64
53%
52
98%
University Miami
it works for you, then go for it,� said Elizabeth Martinez, a senior psychology major. While students around campus might be more open to the idea of a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship as a means to pay for college, what happens when someone goes and signs up for this website? To investigate this question, I signed up for the site to see what a young college student would go though once they decided to use this site. :PV mSTU CFHJO XJUI mMMJOH PVU CBTJD information like on most dating sites (age, height, body type, eye color, hair color). Then you are asked to upload a picture of yourself. You are only allowed to submit unaltered portraits, with a black block covering your eyes, or with your face blurred.
If your photos do not meet the rules set by Seeking Arrangements, they will not approve your photo and it will be taken down. 0ODF ZPVS QSPmMF JT TFU VQ ZPV are free to search for sugar daddies in your area, around the nation, or around the world. In the course of three days since I activated my site, I received 9 messages asking me to reply with an email of my own, Skype with them, and even how old of a man I would consider. My QSPmMF XBT WJFXFE UJNFT BOE UIF site lets me see every single person XIP IBT WJFXFE NZ QSPmMF .FO GSPN Miami, Australia, and New York have WJFXFE NZ QSPmMF BOE POF NBO GSPN .JDIJHBO TBWFE NZ QSPmMF UP IJT “favorites.� “I think it would be a good option
of
to pay for school as long as I didn’t have to sleep with them. The thought of having a sexual relationship with someone who is older than my dad kind of creeps me out, � said Caitlin Tharp, a sophomore exploratory major at Florida State. Funding a college degree through sources like Seeking Arrangements has become increasingly popular. Whether or not this new form of imOBODJBM BJEw CFDPNFT B OFX standard at universities across the nation has yet to be seen, but for now this website and its users will continue to be a point of controversy on campus.
Issue 13, April 2013
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News
IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD THE INTERNAL MAP OF SPIRITUALITY By Madeline Perrotta, Contributing Writer
F
or the last several decades, our society has delved deep into exploring and discovering the amazing beings of our world. Our generation is more curious than ever in researching the keys to science and beyond. From space storms, super bacteria to the always-adored red panda, we are surrounded by splendor left to right. Yet without doubt one of our world’s most fascinating things is a lot closer than you think--in fact, it’s been right in your head all along! The brain. A super organ that scientist’s claim holds UIF LFZ UP PVS CJHHFTU TDJFOUJmD RVFTUJPOT On February 12th in his State of the Union address, President Obama set the brain at center stage with the prospect of exciting new discovery on the horizon in brain research. 1SFTJEFOU 0CBNB JTO U UIF mSTU QSFTJEFOU UP put the brain in the spotlight. On June 17th, 1990 president George H.W Bush initiated the “Decade of the Brain,� sending the next 12 years into phenomenal brain research including most famously, religious psychology. President Obama is looking to further that
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research. “Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer’s,� he said. “Now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation. Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race.� The Obama administration is looking to spend about $3 million dollars annually for the next decade to continue this research and launch “Brain Activity Mapping.� The main goals of the project are to study neurons BMM BDSPTT UIF CSBJO BU NPSF TQFDJmD MFWFMT hoping to cure strokes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Besides research that will lead to medical cures, the initiative hopes to continue research in the psychology of religion. This addresses RVFTUJPOT TVDI BT 8IZ EP TPNF QFPQMF believe in religions and others do not? Is there a “God spot� in the brain? Through advances in neuroscience, scientists are now able to look at a human’s brain while they pray and meditate and see how their brain activity cor-
relates to wonder, self-awareness and imagination. President Obama’s science administration is hoping to even further this research pioneered by great minds like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. “Finding keys between religion and the brain could be a huge game changer for the SFMJHJPVT mFME w TBJE #SBE 4UPEEBSE 3FMJHJPO professor who was excited to hear of the research. I really can’t wait to see where this goes.� “It’s about time we focus on something we DBO BMM CFOFmU GSPN BOE TUPQ XPSSZJOH TP NVDI about some of the other petty stuff in politics right now,“ said Courtney Showalter, an FSU student majoring in biology. This could be the OFYU )VNBO (FOPNF QSPKFDU BOE * EFmOJUFMZ UIJOL XF XJMM SFBQ B MPU PG CFOFmUT w The research and another “Decade of the Brain� is amongst us, and we are at a peak of monumental discoveries. The possibilities of this research will hopefully lead us to the excitement of the space age and beyond.
BREEDING BEAUTY THROUGH DEFORMITY By Breeze Navarro, Contributing Writer
Tigers are an expected staple at zoos. The Tallahassee Museum housed a Bengal tiger for two years, transferring him from Gainesville. In 2011, the Association of Zoos and Aqariums banned zoos from breeding tigers, lions and DIFFUBIT XJUI UIF TQFDJmD JOUFOUJPO PG QSPDVSJOH a rare genetic trait: the white tiger. This ban is threatened by international breeders, such as the recent birth of four white lion and white tiger cubs in the Serengeti-Park Zoo in Germany in January. White tigers are not albino tigers or even their own species, but the white tiger is actually the result of a mutated gene. To acquire this mutated gene, tigers are repeatedly inbred in hopes that eventually the desired white tiger will be born. “In breeding� is the continued breeding of close relatives aiming to combine two copies of the rare recessive white gene. “I think they are exotic and I would want to see them. It’s not every day you see a tiger, especially a white one,� said Hannah Klein, a student at Florida State. Klein, however, said she wasn’t aware of the side effects of inbreeding. Inbreeding results in a variety of defects. Most white tigers are cross-eyed in at least one eye. Growing up, they will have trouble understanding spatial relationships. The white tigers are likely to have kidney problems or shortened tendons. As
a result of these adverse effects, many tigers die of birth defects. As it is, 80% of white tigers are stillborn. Additionally, the tigers that are not born white face uncertain futures. Zoos deem them useless, sometimes they are only kept in case they are carrying the gene for a white coat. The tigers that aren’t born as ideal white tigers often do not have anywhere else to go. Rescue centers such as big Cat Rescue are reluctant to take in white tigers. They are afraid it will become a dumping ground for zoos to leave their “defective� tigers. “I thought it was more like a species,� said Amber Hamilton-Smith, a freshman at FSU. Hamilton added that she liked white tigers better than more common orange ones, but hadn’t been aware of how they are created. Many maintain a misconception about the white tiger because of the illusionists Seigfried and Roy. They purchased white tigers from the Cincinnati Zoo set up their own breeding program, using the tigers in their act. These illusionists misinformed the public, calling the tigers “royal white tigers,� giving the impression they were saving an endangered species by keeping and breeding these tigers. Their show ended when a tiger mauled Roy, but their website continues to claim that white tigers are endangered. Currently, many tigers are bred in captivity
simply to keep the species alive. As of now, there are 4,000 tigers in the wild, and 10,000 kept in captivity. Some zoos such as the National Zoo in Washington and the Minnesota Zoo participate in a program to prepare tigers for their natural habitat, namely jungles in Asia. The goal is to eventually release the tigers back into their home. “You have to bring in tigers from outside to avoid this or the lineage will die out. It is no way to maintain a species. They will not survive back in the wild anyhow,� said Dr. Dave Gilbert, a Professor of Science at Florida State University. The white tiger gene is a recessive gene CFDBVTF JU JT EJGmDVMU GPS XIJUF UJHFST UP DBNPVnBHF JG MJWJOH JO UIF XJME 5IF OVNCFS PG CJSUI defects that come with their white coat would also prevent them from surviving in the wild. The number of birth defects that come with their white coat would also prevent them from surviving in the wild. Despite these facts, every zoo has a portion of space devoted to a whit tiger. This takes up space, money and resources UIBU DPVME FGmDJFOUMZ CF QVU UP VTF SBJTJOH UJHFST whose species may one day be extinct.
Issue 13, April 2013
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Vince
News
BINDER:
DELAYED JUSTICE (By Danielle Befeler, News Editor) Three years after three escaped convicts murdered FSU graduate student Vince Binder, his friends still wait for justice. On April 1, 2010, graduate students Beth Frady, David Frady, Rebecca Edwards, and Vincent Binder just wanted to enjoy Thursday night and the start of the weekend. Both Edwards and Binder were Media Communications Studies students. Edwards ran into Binder on campus and he helped her load camera equipment into her car. They made plans for later as she drove him to his house on Lipona Drive. The group of friends went to Byrd’s Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack for dinner and then stopped for a few beers at the Fermentation Lounge. Afterwards, they went to hang out at the house shared by Edwards and the Fradys on Airport Drive and Eppes Drive. i7JODF XBT B mYUVSF BU PVS IPVTF )F MJWFE about three quarters of a mile away from us,� TBJE &EXBSET i)F XBT PVS GPVSUI SPPNNBUF w Beth described their group of four friends like a little family. Binder often came over to cook, study, and watch TV. They decided to watch the /$"" CBTLFUCBMM UPVSOBNFOUT UIF OFYU XFFL since Binder was a huge fan. On Thursday night, Edwards and Binder
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were working on a term paper for their RheUPSJDBM $SJUJDJTN DMBTT %BWJT )PVDL XBT #JOEFS T UFBDIFS BU UIF UJNF )F TBX QPUFOUJBM JO #JOEFS “I learned very quickly that Vince was someone I could go to with my hard questions,� said )PVDL i* DPVME BMXBZT HP UP 7JODF BOE HFU IJN to articulate a point of view that was sharp.� Binder was working on a rhetorical analysis PG 4DSFBN "GUFS )PVDL TBX B mSTU ESBGU IF XBT impressed. “Vince wrote this really wow paper. 4P XPX UIBU * FNBJMFE IJN BGUFS * SFBE JU w )PVDL BTLFE IJN UP DPNF UP IJT PGmDF IPVST BU BN UP EJTDVTT UIF QBQFS )F VTFE UIJT UJNF XJUI IJT students to discuss the students’ interests and future plans. They discussed the direction of the paper BOE )PVDL DPNNFOEFE IJN PO IJT BCJMJUZ i5IBU XBT UIF mSTU UJNF * SFBMMZ UBMLFE UP IJN PVU PG UIF DPOUFYU PG UIF DMBTT KVTU UP TBZ A-PPL * XBT SFBMMZ impressed by this. Where is this coming from BOE XIFSF EP ZPV XBOU JU UP HP w TBJE )PVDL i5IBU XBT UIF HJTU PG PVS mSTU DPOWFSTBUJPO BOE unfortunately our last conversation.� Edwards was writing about King of the Hill so they watched a few episodes and some Family Guy together that evening. Sometime between midnight and one in the morning, Binder decided
to head home. Usually Edwards or David offered to give Binder a ride home, but in the early morning of April 2nd, he insisted on walking home claiming that it was a beautiful night. Beth had already gone to sleep and David was
working on his computer. Binder told Edwards not to get up since she was already snuggled in
“
I just want this done right; I want everything possible to have been done to prove these guys were responsible for his death. her blankets on the couch. “So he leaned over, gave me a kiss on the GPSFIFBE BOE TBJE A* MM TFF ZPV PO UIF nJQ side.’ And of course I walked downstairs and locked the door and that was the last time I saw him,� Edwards said. &EXBSET XFOU UP B mMN GFTUJWBM JO 3BMFJHI North Carolina, that weekend and Binder’s friends didn’t worry too much when they didn’t hear from him. Binder was a 29-year-old grad student and he was one of the coaches of the '46 4QFFDI BOE %FCBUF 5FBN 5IF 4QFFDI BOE %FCBUF 5FBN PGUFO USBWFMFE PO XFFLFOET and Binder would sometimes go without notifying his friends of when he would be USBWFMJOH &MJ[BCFUI )FOSJRVFT B TPQIPNPSF VOEFSHSBE BU UIF UJNF QBSUJDJQBUFE PO UIF 4QFFDI 5FBN “I remember he was a funny guy. He volVOUFFSFE UP KVEHF BU PVS 4QFFDI 5PVSOBNFOU PO DBNQVT BOE IF XSPUF POF PG UIF GVOOJFTU and most memorable ballots, evaluations PG QFSGPSNBODF * IBWF FWFS HPUUFO w TBJE Henriques. Beth started to worry after noticing that #JOEFS IBE OPU BUUFOEFE 3IFUPSJDBM $SJUJDJTN PO 5VFTEBZ )F XBTO U SFUVSOJOH BOZ UFYUT PS 'BDFCPPL NFTTBHFT )F EJEO U TIPX VQ UP UFBDI IJT 1VCMJD 4QFBLJOH DMBTT GPS XIJDI IF XBT UIF 5" 4IF TFOU NFTTBHFT PVU UP #JOEFS T acquaintances and noticed he wasn’t with the debate team. Finally, she contacted the QPMJDF 'PS EBZT #JOEFS T GSJFOET GFMU IFMQMFTT 5IF QPMJDF XFSF DPOEVDUJOH BO JOWFTUJHBUJPO CVU UIF GSJFOET XBOUFE UP IFMQ 5IFZ DPOUBDUFE OFXTQBQFST BOE UFMFWJTJPO OFXT PVUMFUT GSPN UIF MPDBM 8$57 UP $// 5IFZ NBEF nZFST XSPUF UP UIF '47JFX BOE NBEF 'BDFCPPL HSPVQT i"U mSTU QFPQMF KVTU XBOUFE UP LOPX XIFSF IF XBT "U POF QPJOU B GFX QPTUFE B QJDUVSF PG IJN BT B QSPmMF QJDUVSF UP TFF JG BOZPOF LOFX XIBU IBE IBQQFOFE w TBJE )FOSJRVFT On the night that Binder walked home, he was confronted by three men. Kentrell +PIOTPO 2VFOUJO 5SVFmMM BOE 1FUFS )VHIFT walked away with Binder and returned without IJN 5IF UISFF GVHJUJWFT IBE QSFWJPVTMZ CFFO JO QSJTPO GPS SPCCFSZ BOE NBOTMBVHIUFS CVU FTDBQFE BGUFS UISFBUFOJOH B HVBSE XJUI B LOJGF Later, a Miami gas station owner became TVTQJDJPVT PG UIF USJP T VTBHF PG #JOEFS T "5. DBSE )F SFQPSUFE UIFN 6QPO JOWFTUJHBUJPO B SFDFJQU GSPN #JOEFS T "5. DBSE XBT GPVOE JO UIFJS USVDL BMPOH XJUI B CMPPEZ LOJGF 5IFZ had also robbed a woman in Pensacola and DPNNJUUFE UXP PUIFS SPCCFSJFT JO 5BMMBIBT-
TFF "DDPSEJOH UP 8$57 ,FOUSFMM +PIOTPO later revealed they had killed Binder before SFBMJ[JOH UIBU UIF QPMJDF IBE OPU ZFU GPVOE B body. i8IFO XF GPVOE PVU XIBU IBQQFOFE JU XBT SPVHI %VSJOH /BUJPOBMT XF BMM XPSF XIJUF ribbons on our suit jackets in memory of 7JODF w TBJE )FOSJRVFT 5IF '46 4QFFDI BOE %FCBUF 5FBN NBEF JU UP /BUJPOBMT UIBU ZFBS TPNFUIJOH #JOEFS XPVME IBWF CFFO QSPVE PG .FNCFST PG UIF $PNNVOJDBUJPOT EFQBSUNFOU 4QFFDI BOE %FCBUF 5FBN GSJFOET BOE FWFO B DPVQMF PG DPVTJOT GSPN PVU PG UPXO WPMVOUFFSFE UP EP XBMLT TDPQJOH PVU BSFBT PG 5BMMBIBTTFF )JT GSJFOET PSHBOJ[FE B i7JHJM GPS 7JODFw PO -BOHGPSE (SFFO PO "QSJM UI
Beth maintained constant communication XJUI UIF QPMJDF PWFS OFX mOEJOHT 3JHIU CFGPSF the vigil, investigators called her and said they GPVOE UISFF NFO JO .JBNJ XIP XFSF FTDBQFE convicts from Louisiana who may have killed her friend. i&WFSZUIJOH KVTU HPU SFBMMZ SFBM 5IFO UIF WJHJM kind of changed because the news changed. 8F XFSF USZJOH UP LFFQ QFPQMF QPTJUJWF CVU FWFSZPOF XBT KVTU EPXO 5IFSF XBT MFTT BOE MFTT IPQF w TBJE #FUI 0O "QSJM QPMJDF GPVOE #JOEFS T CPEZ near St. Augustine off of I-95. In May, the three NFO XFSF DIBSHFE XJUI mSTU EFHSFF NVSEFS BOE LJEOBQQJOH UP GBDJMJUBUF B GFMPOZ #FTJEFT Johnson’s original statement, no other inforNBUJPO PO #JOEFS T MBTU IPVST JT LOPXO 5IF UISFF NFO BSF GBDJOH UIF EFBUI QFOBMUZ 5IFZ XBJWFE UIFJS SJHIU GPS B TQFFEZ USJBM BOE BSF CFJOH USJFE TFQBSBUFMZ BO VODPNNPO PDDVSSFODF 5IFZ IBWF CFFO JO 4U +PIO T $PVOUZ
�
+BJM TJODF BOE BDDPSEJOH UP UIF 4U +PIO County Clerk of Courts records, at least one of UIFN JT IBOEMJOH KBJM XJUI EJGmDVMUZ *O "VHVTU )VHIFT XBT DIBSHFE XJUI CBUUFSZ PG GBDJMJUZ FNQMPZFF *O 0DUPCFS IF XBT DIBSHFE XJUI QPTTFTTJPO PG DPOUSBCBOE JOUP DPVOUZ EFUFOUJPO GBDJMJUZ BOE JO %FDFNCFS IF XBT DIBSHFE XJUI JOEFDFOU FYQPTVSF Binder’s friends just want the trial to start. i7JODF XBT TP QBTTJPOBUF BCPVU EFCBUF BOE rhetoric, right and wrong, and the justice system. I just want this done right. I want evFSZUIJOH QPTTJCMF UP IBWF CFFO EPOF UP QSPWF UIFTF HVZT XFSF SFTQPOTJCMF GPS IJT EFBUI w said Edwards. 5IF USJBM EBUF JT TFU GPS "QSJM 5IF DBTF XJMM UBLF QMBDF JO 4U +PIO T $PVOUZ BOE UIF KVEHF QSFTJEJOH JT 3BVM ;BNCSBOP “On one hand, it’s really frustrating because you want justice to come. On the other hand, it’s been a healing 3 years. You inhabit the SFBMJUZ UIBU 7JODF JTO U IFSF BOE FWFSZEBZ ZPV inhabit that reality, it gets a little easier,� said )PVDL i8F XBOU UP LOPX XIBU IBQQFOFE JO those last hours of his life, as hard as they would be to relive.� #JOEFS T GSJFOET BSF TUJMM LFFQJOH IJT NFNPSZ BMJWF #JOEFS T BVOU PSEFSFE i3FNFNCFS 7JODF #JOEFSw SVCCFS CSBDFMFUT BOE IJT GSJFOET QMBO UP EJTUSJCVUF UIFN BSPVOE DBNQVT BOE OFBSCZ 5BMMBIBTTFF CVTJOFTTFT Beth described Binder as “charismatic, fun, and always good for a laugh.� She said, i7JODF BOE * IBEO U IBE UIF CFTU MJWFT BOE OP matter what he went through, he never lost his sense of humor and we could always laugh about things.� Binder was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved down south to Florida with his mother. )F BUUFOEFE +VQJUFS )JHI 4DIPPM XIFSF IF XBT LOPXO GPS IJT %FCBUF 5FBN QSPXFTT )F XPO UIF /PWJDF 4UBUF $IBNQJPOTIJQ JO Before coming to FSU, he attended West (FPSHJB 6OJWFSTJUZ BOE DPOUJOVFE UP QMBDF IJHIMZ JO OBUJPOBM TQFFDI UPVSOBNFOUT 5PEBZ UIF /BUJPOBM "TTPDJBUJPO GPS 6SCBO %FCBUF -FBHVFT PGGFST UIF 7JODFOU + #JOEFS 6SCBO %FCBUF 4DIPMBSTIJQT GPS TUVEFOUT XIP TIPX QSPNJTF JO UIF mFME PG 4QFFDI BOE %FCBUF &EXBSET OPX FODPVSBHFT QFPQMF UP OFWFS walk home alone. She and her friends are still dealing with the aftermath of their friend’s death. “We were grad students. We thought PG DPVSTF XF SF TBGF 1FPQMF BSF PVU EPJOH stuff at all hours of the night. You don’t think of someone leaving your house and never returning.�
Issue 13, April 2013
9
SCOUTING FOR EQUALITY
By Breeze Navarro, Contributing Writer
Boy Scouts of America’s Problematic Views on Homosexuality
While the Boy Scouts of America has maintained popularity amongst young boys well into the 21st century, the organization’s stance on civil rights for the LGBTQ community seems to be a relic of their early 20th century founding. As of print, the Boy Scouts still do not allow for UIF NFNCFSTIJQ PG BOZ DIJME XIP JEFOUJmFT as transsexual or homosexual, and gay and lesbian individuals are barred from working for or volunteering with the organization. A decade ago, Supreme Court Case Boy Scouts of America v. Dale concluded that, “freedom of association allows private organizations to exclude persons from membership.” The application of this ruling within the Boy Scouts of America is now being challenged. In the summer of 2012, the policy of banning openly gay individuals from joining Boy Scouts XBT PGmDJBMMZ BGmSNFE CZ UIF #4" /BUJPOBM Executive Board. In early February of 2013, after recieving a petition containing over 1.4 million
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signatures from individuals opposing the ban, UIF &YFDVUJWF #PBSE CSJFnZ SFDPOTJEFSFE MJGUJOH its previous stance against those in the LGBTQ community. An outpouring of opinions from members and parents for and against lifting the ban caused the group to postpone the decision until May 2013, as the board supposedly wanted more time to receive opinions from members and involved families. Churches supporting and sponsoring the Boy Scouts, political groups of both left and right leanings, and parents of LGBTQ children have all been involved in the debate. Even the President, as well as prominent politicians, such as Governor Rick Perry and California Senator Leland Yee, have made statements concerning the matter. Senator Lee, who openly criticized BSA for its backwards policies last year, released a statement regarding the delay, bringing up the case of 18-year-old Ryan Anderson, a Boy Scout who was denied Eagle
Scout standing for his sexual orientation. “Justice delayed is justice denied. The Boy Scouts of America are wrong to claim this is a complex issue that needs further discussion. This is in fact a simple issue—it is long overdue for this organization to stop discriminating against people like Ryan Andrerson. He and others deserved the opportunity to participate in the Boy Scouts. Postponing the vote to fully recognize gay scouts is simply unacceptable.” There are those who are against lifting the BSA ban, ctively wishing to continue the systematic oppression of gay, lesbian, and trans individuals within American society. The February 2013 ad posted by the Family Research Council proclaimed that changing policy would be a “grave mistake,” and that UIF #PZ 4DPVUT TIPVME iTUBOE mSN GPS UJNFMFTT values” in order to remain “morally straight.” Ironically, the particular types of “family values” often cited in arguments against lifting the ban
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“Justice delayed is justice denied. The Boy Scouts of America are wrong to claim this is a complex issue that needs further discussion. This is in fact a simple issue—it is long overdue for this organization to stop discriminating against people like Ryan Anderson. He and others deserved the opportunity to participate in the Boy Scouts. Postponing the vote to fully recognize gay scouts is simply unacceptable.�
Ironically, the particular types of “family values� often cited in arguments against lifting the ban have torn apart some families within the Boy Scouts community. In 2012, Jennifer Tyrell, who was the leader of her son’s Bridgeport, Ohio, Tiger Cub den, was dismissed by her local Boy Scouts troop for being a lesbian. Tyrell’s presence in the troop was not damaging, and it did not dissuade other families from enrolling their children. Rather, upon learning of Tyrell’s dismissal, many of the troop’s parents chose to remove their children from the group, to avoid supporting a discriminatory organization. There are concerns about the loss of support from some churches, many of which sponsor Boy Scout troops. However, some organizations that fund local troops, such as United Ways chapters and Levi & Co, have ceased to contribute to the Boy Scouts for their current policies. Additionally, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, which supports much more progressive stances on LGBTQ rights and sex education, have had no issue with receiving funding and cultivating relationships with churches and religious organizations. In stark contrast to the BSA, the Girl Scouts situationally allow for the membership of both boys and girls (as opposed to the strictly male-only membership policy of the Boy Scouts), trans individuals, atheist and agnostic scouts and volunteers (banned by the BSA), and children of gay and lesbian parents. Many GSUSA troops have
partnered with Planned Parenthood to help spread sexual-education and body image awareness within their community, and GSUSA does not require or ban prayer at troop gatherings. They hold a “don’t ask, don’t evangelize� position on all matters of sexuality and faith, and they do not ban members based on disabilities. Girl Scout National Director, Marsha Johnson Evans, states that while the group does not promote or advocate BOZ TQFDJmD MJGFTUZMF i5IF (JSM 4DPVUT organization does not discriminate.� Girl Scouts spokesperson Ellen ChristieAch condemned the Boy Scouts’ stance on sexuality, contrasting it to the manner in which the GSUSA handles all matters concerning sexuality and religion. “Girl Scouts is not like McDonald’s. The councils are not franchises. We allow Girl Scout councils to know best how to operate in their communities. That’s what our founder wanted.� According to a study conducted by Quinnpac University 55% of those polled are open to the removal of the ban, while BSF PQQPTFE *U JT EJGmDVMU UP QSFEJDU what will happen in regards to the Boy Scouts of America and their decision on homosexuality, but one can only hope that the members of their National &YFDVUJWF #PBSE TUBZ USVF UP UIF PGmDJBM slogan of the BSA, “Do a Good Turn Daily,� because without a turn for the better, thousands of LGBTQ citizens of the United States will continue to be discriminated against.
Issue 13, April 2013
11
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The New Cult of Domesticity By Amanda Perez, Staff Writer
Within the span of a week, I’ve been treated to an array of delicious dinners prepared by my roommate: Philly cheese steak-stuffed peppers, chipotle-black bean chicken, mashed DBVMJnPXFS XJUI NFMUFE QBSNFTBO cheese, and spaghetti squash. When I went home for winter break, NZ TJTUFS JO MBX DPPLFE B mWF TUBS meal that consisted of fried eggplant, homemade bread and butter, organic asparagus, and an apple pie that was beamed from the heavens. For my roommate and sister-in-law, their ascent to culinary eminence was a sudden transition, and their accomplice in this change was none other than the internet giant, Pinterest. Since its inception in 2010, Pinterest,
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an image-blogging website, has blown up in the cyber world, allowing users to collect recipes, weddings ideas, and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) crafts on their virtual pin boards. Pinterest is a part of a growing trend dubbed “The New Cult of Domesticity�; the name is employed tongue-in-cheek by many of the website’s members. Despite the cheeky appropriation of the 19th century term, it may carry with the movement some troubling implications. The original Cult of Domesticity dates back to the Victorian era, when the four cardinal virtues of XPNBOIPPE XFSF EFmOFE BT QJFUZ purity, submission, and domesticity. Perhaps the cardinal virtue of the
New Cult of Domesticity can be summarized as “DIY.� The Internet is riddled with millions of blogs and websites dedicated to teaching the common person ways to cook organically and deliciously, to raise children naturally and independently, and even to take care of chickens and other small livestock. Pinterest allows users to keep all of this information in one easy-to-access location. This so-called New Cult of Domesticity, for which Pinterest is the largest consolidated hub of activity, is dominated by a particular demographic of women. According to a 2012 study conducted by the Internet and American Life Project at the Pew Research Foundation,
at the Pew Research Foundation, Pinterest’s members are primarily college-educated, white women. Less than 5% of Pinterest’s users are male. Although women of different religious BOE QPMJUJDBM BGmMJBUJPOT BSF JOWPMWFE BOE JOWFTUFE JO UIJT i$VMU w UIF NBKPSJUZ PG JUT participants come from fairly substantial socioeconomic backgrounds. Money is an issue. A single mother working two NJOJNVN XBHF KPCT QSPCBCMZ IBT CJHHFS priorities than to sit online and learn how to knit sweaters for her kids. When we consider the battles women IBWF GPVHIU GPS NFBOJOHGVM QPTJUJPOT JO the workforce, it is hard to conceptualize XIZ FEVDBUFE XPNFO IBWF CFDPNF infatuated with domestically-oriented ideals. In a world where, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women EP PWFS PG UIF IPVTFXPSL FWFO in households where both parents are employed full-time, perhaps women want their housework to be recognized—to feel WBMJEBUFE GPS UIFJS FGGPSUT i* MPWF HFUUJOH GFFECBDL GSPN PUIFS XPNFO XIP FOKPZ DPPLJOH BOE CBLJOH from scratch, because my kids don’t really understand how much [work] I QVU JOUP JU w TBJE +BDRVFMJOF $BSWBKBM B part-time working mother of two. When women post about their work on blogs and on Pinterest, they get comments, feedback, and appreciation.
But the trend places high expectations upon women who embrace their careers. It suggests that, in addition to educational TVDDFTT BOE UIF FGGPSU UP QSPWF UIFNTFMWFT BT FRVBMT UP NBMF DP XPSLFST XPNFO NVTU OPX MFBSO UP LOJU BOE DPPL TFWFO layer cakes from scratch, all while dealing XJUI UIF QBZ EJTDSFQBODZ UIBU TUJMM exists in the modern workforce. These expectations become more fraught when they are placed upon those for whom it JT OPU mOBODJBMMZ GFBTJCMF UP SFNBJO JO UIF IPNF BT B iIPVTFXJGF w BOE GPS UIPTF experiencing single motherhood. The NPWFNFOU BT JU FYJTUT XJUIJO UIF NJOET of many of its followers, is also extremely IFUFSPOPSNBUJWF 5IF OPUJPO PG iUSBEJUJPOBM IPNFNBLJOHw recalls images of a simpler time, escaping the fast pace of our contemporary "NFSJDBO TPDJFUZ BOE SFWFSUJOH CBDL UP a time when women made homemade banana pudding and read French literature aloud to the kids. This painted JNBHF PG iUJNFT QBTUw JT VMUJNBUFMZ BO illusion; the years in which women were solely relegated to the home were not as idyllic as some users’ pin boards might suggest. It would be incorrect to say that the information shared on these websites does not uphold some extremely JNQPSUBOU WBMVFT TVDI BT JOEFQFOEFODF the maintenance of family traditions, and
resourcefulness. The websites are also, by no means, inherently anti-feminist. In order to fully capture the condition of NPEFSO XPNFO IPXFWFS UIF OPTUBMHJD idealization of the past should be consigned to an aesthetic appreciation. While Pinterest may stand testament to the modern woman’s dynamism in her BCJMJUZ UP NBOBHF B KPC XIJMF SVOOJOH B household, the fetishization of Victorian WBMVF TZTUFNT TBSEPOJDBMMZ PS PUIFSXJTF is extremely dangerous. Rather than reinforcing mainstream, aspirational GFNJOJOJUZ 1JOUFSFTU BOE PUIFS iGFNBMF PSJFOUFEw TJUFT TIPVME TUSJWF UP TVCWFSU society’s expectations of what being a modern woman entails. By shedding UIFJS JEFOUJUZ BT NFNCFST PG B OFX $VMU of Domesticity, the websites can continue to emphasize that women are now able UP BDIJFWF NPSF JOEFQFOEFODF BOE QFSTPOBM JEFOUJUZ UIBO FWFS CFGPSF XJUIPVU perpetuating backwards ideals. Pinterest DBO TIPX IPX XPNFO IBWF BDIJFWFE XIBU UIFZ IBWF GPVHIU GPS UIBU XPNFO can be farmers, housekeepers, bakers, small business owners, seamstresses, DPSQPSBUF FNQMPZFFT PS BMM PG UIF BCPWF Meanwhile, I’ll be sitting at my sister-inlaw’s kitchen table, which was paid for with her own hard-earned money, eating IPNFNBEF MBTBHOB BOE TVSmOH UIF XFC
Issue 13, April 2013
13
CAUGHT IN THE LINE OF DUTY:
Gabrielle Giffords and Women Who Deserve More By Katie Avagliano, Contributing Writer
P
resident Obama honored a remarkable woman named Gabrielle Giffords during the State of the Union address. You’ve probably heard of her; two years ago, the Democratic Representative from Arizona was shot in the head during a “Congress at Your Corner” speech. When the President highlighted Giffords in conjunction with gun control laws some individuals took offense. Giffords, although no longer a Congresswoman, is still one of the most vocal proponents of stricter regulation for the gun industry and gun ownership. During an interview with conservative radio host Alan Stock, Joe Heck, a Nevada GOP Representative, agreed with Stock’s statement that Giffords “can’t even clap her own hands…I think it’s shameful putting her up there as a prop.” Heck agreed; he agreed that Giffords was a disabled
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prop in a political power play, lacking intellectual autonomy. He later backtracked, revoking his statement. Besides the fact that the hostile political climate perpetuated by individuals such as Stock and Heck played a part in encouraging an assassinaUJPO BUUFNQU JO UIF mSTU QMBDF PS that their words paint the millions of disabled individuals in the United States as nonautonomous puppets, their beliefs are indicative of an even larger issue, one concerning the stigmatization of wounded women. The rampant discrimination against women injured in the workplace needs to be recognized by society at large. 8IJMF JU NBZ BU mSTU HMBODF seem to be a stretch to link the shooting of a female politician to the issue of discrimination towards injured women in general, one should consider the alternative. If a man had been shot in the head by an attempted-assassin and was well enough to speak in public two years later, he would be nothing less than respected and applauded. The public would hear everything he had to say about gun regulation, and put thought into it, because that man had been through gun violence and lived to tell the tale. Why is it not the same for a woman? The issue has its roots in antiquated attitudes towards gender roles that extend back for centuries. In Victorian times,
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1 “hysteriaâ€? existed as a catch-all term for “woman’s troubles,â€? and it was a popular diagnosis well into the 20th century. Thousands of women were marginalized due to the stigma of this “disease.â€? Women, such as Virginia Woolf, Kate Chopin, and their contemporaries, were discredited as retribution for revealing the fact that not all women existed within the binaries of good or evil, for revealing that women had just as many values, nBXT BOE EFTJSFT BT NFO Charlotte BrontĂŤ explored the phenomenon in Jane Eyre through the character of Bertha Mason, the DSB[Z mSTU XJGF PG .S 3PDIFTUFS XIP spent decades locked out of sight PG TPDJFUZ #FSUIB XBT UIF mDUJPOBM representation of real-life women who, because of supposed mental illness, were kept out of sight and mind. Even today, people don’t want to see women with scars, especially when they’re willing to speak out about how they received them and want to make radical reform to avoid the future victimization of others. Women are feeling this pressure. In law enforcement, a woman injured in the line of duty usually behaves one of two ways: she either accepts an administrative job (statistically at much higher percentages than men in a similar position, assuming she is given a choice in the matter), or she will work very, very hard to get back to her original position (statistically at a much faster rate than a man). Whether it is a genuine or perceived SFBMJUZ GFNBMF QPMJDF PGmDFST CFMJFWF
that more time spent recovering from injuries equals a greater chance of being replaced by a man before they return. These fears were validated in the case of Baldwin, Pennsylvania QPMJDF PGmDFS 5SBDFZ -BQBHMJB 4IF mMFE B GFEFSBM DJWJM SJHIUT MBXTVJU last year for being forced into a secretarial position after a workSFMBUFE JOKVSZ /P NBMF PGmDFS XJUI equivalent injuries had ever been relegated to similar work within the precinct, and the secretary position HJWFO UP -BQBHMJB XBT XFMM CFMPX IFS RVBMJmDBUJPOT BOE QBZ MFWFM QSJPS UP her relatively minor injury. The danger exists, and injured women are still today ferreted away from the public sphere. If they’re not hidden quickly enough, they’re replaced. Or, as with Ms. Giffords, dismissed and discredited as a “prop� in a grand plan that a poor, hurt woman couldn’t possibly understand. Women understand perfectly well: we’ve been taught by our mothers, who were taught by their own NPUIFST UIBU XPNFO IBWF UP mHIU for their own agency in this patriarchal world. Yet women continue to mHIU GPS UIFJS SJHIU UP TFSWF BMPOHTJEF men, their right to be heard, not as a woman, but as a professional. If you’re a man about to judge a woman for her scars, think about whether you’d say the same thing about a man. And if you’re a woman, soldier on. You can be the person who changes everything.
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2
1. Protesters at a February 2013 gun safety rally in Nevada 2. Conservative radio host, Alan Stock 3. Nevada GOP Representative, Joe Heck
“
THEIR WORDS PAINT THE MILLIONS
OF DISABLED INDIVIDUALS
IN THE UNITED STATES AS NONAUTONOMOUS PUPPETS �
� Issue 13, April 2013
15
From Tebowing to Divine Intervention
RELIGION IN SPORTS by Katie Avagliano, Staff Writer
You turn on a football game and you see it: players pointing to the sky after a touchdown and talk of God and Jesus in post-game interviews. Flash to Tebow‌ and well, he’s Tebowing. Throughout the history of sports in the United States, there has long been a connection between faith and QIZTJDBM mUOFTT :.$"T :PVOH .FO $ISJTUJBO "TTPDJBUJPOT BOE :8$"T :PVOH 8PNFO $ISJTUJBO "TTPDJBUJPOT came into being in the 1800s, started by Protestants with the intent to nurture bodies, minds, and souls. Today, these organizations have thousands of locations across the United States alone, providing after-school sports teams to disadvantaged areas. “It was all God’s will,â€? said Santonio Holmes, wide receiver for the NY Jets, in a post-game interview with National Public Radio. “You know, he placed the ball where it needed to be, and the QMBZ DBNF UISPVHI GPS VT w "T JU UVSOT PVU UIF CBMM XBTO U EFnFDUFE CZ BO opposing player; instead, it landed in IJT IBOET " GFBU PG UIBU LJOE EFQFOET on no small amount of skill and at least a grain of luck. Or perhaps divine intervention? Religion’s presence in athletic environments exists in various forms, and it is very much an established feature within the larger culture of sports. The -PT "OHFMFT "OHFM T mSTU CBTFNBO "MCFSU 1VKPMT QPJOUT UXP mOHFST UP the sky when he crosses home plate. 0LMBIPNB $JUZ GPSXBSE ,FWJO %VSBOU
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is spotted reading the Bible at his MPDLFS CFGPSF HBNFT "O JOWPDBUJPO JT PGUFO HJWFO BU /"4$"3 SBDFT CFGPSF you hear, “Gentlemen, start your engines.� Troy Polamalu, of the Pittsburgh Steelers, crosses himself before every play, and oftentimes after. Sports fandom provides a comfortBCMF GBNJMJBSJUZ GPS UIF SFMJHJPVT .BOZ sports inspire a kind of pseudo-religion in their fans. There are rites and rituals, priests and performers, and times of worship where believers gather in stadiums, arenas, or in front of the TV to display their undying devotion to their own particular sect. The passion of fans rivals that of a choir in a Baptist church. In fact, sports games can literally rival DIVSDI TFSWJDFT $ISJTUJBOT VTVBMMZ attend services on Sunday, but, during football season when there’s a game on, it can be hard to get people into the pews. .JOPS -FBHVF #BTFCBMM UFBNT JO the Bible belt started capitalizing on religion by organizing a series of “Faith Nights,� including pre-game fellowTIJQT BOE B QPTU HBNF $ISJTUJBO 3PDL concert. “Faith Nights� yield about $250,000 of additional revenue for the TUBEJVN 5IF "UMBOUB #SBWFT TUBSUFE their own “Faith Nights� in 2006. Since UIFO TFWFO .BKPS -FBHVF #BTFCBMM teams host these events, which tend to mMM UIF TFBUT Former NFL quarterback and man PG GBJUI ,VSU 8BSOFS VSHFE 5FCPX UIF GBNPVTMZ $ISJTUJBO RVBSUFSCBDL
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to tone down his display. “There’s almost a faith clichĂŠ, where [athletes] come out and say, ‘I want to thank my Lord and savior.’ The greatest impact you can have on people is never what you say, but how you live‌You set the standard with your actions. The words can come after.â€? Warner’s statements underline the importance of acting out one’s faith through good deeds and service, instead of merely evangelizing; this concept is pivotal to many sects of religious belief. In a theoretically secular country, one can understand the complaints of sports fans when too much religion is interjected into their enjoyment of a game. Many took offence to Tebow’s appearance in a pro-life advertisement during 2010’s Super Bowl XLIV. Likewise, overtly religious atmospheres in sporting events can be alienating to nonreligious and non-Christian fans. Attributing a team’s win to God is problematic for the moral implications it projects onto the losing team. While some might argue that having a religious sports star can provide a positive role model in a career awash with ethically questionable individuals, such as Tiger Woods, Ben Roethlisberger, or Pacman Jones, history shows us that religious faith alone does not a good person make, even if it is a contributing factor in one’s behavior. Parents should instead search for role models that behave honorably, regardless of their faith. In the case of Tim Tebow, his spotless drug test records, history of volunteering in economically disenfranchised communities, and lack PG JOUFSFTU JO EPH mHIUJOH TIPVME CF IFME in just as high regard as his personal faith. In an era of steroid use, multi-million dollar contracts, criminal charges, and scandals, there are frankly larger issues that should be prioritized over the policing of sports stars’ faiths and the appearance of said faiths on the playing mFME *U TIPVME CF DPOTJEFSFE IPXFWFS that a goal post and a pulpit are two separate entities, and that God doesn’t have money down on either team.
Issue 13, April 2013
17
Sports
“LOYALTY� IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL: THE ROLE OF RELATIONSHIPS
By Nathaniel Wallace, Staff Writer
A
“too close for comfort� relationship exists between Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher and University of Florida head coach Will Muschamp. The sunshine state rival coaches share a bitter rivalry and a beach house in Pensacola. However, their relationship is hardly an anomaly in a business where loyalty is unrealistic. Fisher and Muschamp’s relationship demonstrates how these coaches became the men they are today, and why it is important FSU students and sports fans to understand a little bit about their not so distant past. Many fans are angered at the betrayal college coaches consistently demonstrate in this mercenary business. It is a fairytale to demand that coaches SFNBJO MPZBM UP B VOJWFSTJUZ POF UIBU XJMM mSF UIFN XJUIPVU CBUUJOH BO FZF UIF moment things turn south. The relationship between Jimbo Fisher and Will Muschamp was born at Auburn University in 1995. Muschamp, the recently graduated captain and safety of the Georgia Bulldogs, had just landed a gig as a graduate assistant under Terry Bowden (son of Bobby) at Auburn. Jimbo Fisher was Auburn’s quarterback coach at the time and over the next two years, Fisher and Muschamp came to realize their philosophical congruence in managing a program. The two shared an apartment and began to develop distinctive coaching styles. Their similarities can be traced to the time they spent together at Auburn in the mid-1990’s. The transient nature of the college
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coaching profession is evident simply from observing the career paths most coaches take in hopes of landing a gig as head coach at University of Florida or Florida State. Muschamp was a solid safety for the University of Georgia in the early to mid-1990’s. The cries of Benedict Arnold coming from Georgia fans were ubiquitous upon Muschamp’s decision to leave Texas where he had been named the school’s head coach in waiting upon Mack Brown’s retirement. Fisher was also named head coach in waiting, as former Florida State President, T.K. Wetherell bestowed that title VQPO IJN GPMMPXJOH IJT mSTU ZFBS XJUI UIF Seminoles in 2007. While Muschamp has certainly taken the harshest criticism for
his perceived lack of loyalty, Fisher walks a tight rope each day: evident in the sizeable chunk of the fan base that was anything CVU TBUJTmFE EFTQJUF XJOOJOH HBNFT in 2012. Fisher demonstrated immense loyalty to Florida State by resisting overtures from traditional SEC powers Auburn and Tennessee. It is yet to be seen whether Fisher’s loyalty to Florida State is a one or two way street, as I would contend that anything less than double digit wins in 2013 could spell the end for loyalty from the administration and boosters at Florida State. It is clear that coaches, who demonstrate loyalty to a fault, often learn the hard way that loyalty is not a virtue held dear to universities in this day and age. Top tier %JWJTJPO * QSPHSBNT mSF DPBDIFT GBTUFS UIBO ZPV DBO TBZ CPPTUFS JOnVFODF 0GUFO times, one poor season is all it takes in this cutthroat business. Job instability is due to UIF MVDSBUJWF mOBODJBM JNQMJDBUJPOT BTTPDJated with winning and losing. The same Auburn staff that included Fisher and Muschamp also included current FSU offensive line coach Rick Trickett, and was quarterbacked by former FSU quarterback’s coach, Dameyune Craig. Trickett has been everywhere under the sun, coaching at Southern Mississippi, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Glenville
“the loyalty they so often clamor for is a two way street�
State, Auburn, LSU, and now at FSU. Craig is still fairly young, but has already racked up stops at South Alabama, Tuskegee, and FSU from 2010-2012 until being paid by his alma mater Auburn, to be their recruiting coordinator and wide receiver’s coach. Trickett’s and Craig’s travels highlight the nature of the business for countless assistant coaches who are uprooted any UJNF UIFJS CPTT JT mSFE 'JTIFS XFOU PO UP become the Cincinnati Bearcats’ offensive coordinator in 1999, following his dismissal from Auburn along with the entire staff. "T #PXEFO T mSJOH GSPN "VCVSO JT RVJUF TJHOJmDBOU JU JT BOPUIFS HMBSJOH FYBNQMF of the lack of loyalty on behalf of university administrators and boosters. Bowden had FYQFSJFODFE B HPPE EFBM PG TVDDFTT BU Auburn, but was essentially sabotaged when things went south in 1997 and 1998 by kingmaker-like boosters such as the outrageously corrupt Bobby Lowder. -PXEFS VTFE IJT JOnVFODF UP OPU POMZ IBWF #PXEFO mSFE CVU IF BMTP BUUFNQUFE B coup of his successor, Tommy Tuberville, in 2003. Universities must draw the line when it comes to rogue boosters attempting to run the athletic department by way of their JOnVFODF BOE DIFDLCPPLT 8IFO /JDL 4BCBO nFE .JDIJHBO 4UBUF JO 2000 for LSU, he was lampooned for a “lack
of loyalty.� Saban ultimately named Jimbo Fisher as the Tigers’ new offensive coordiOBUPS 'JTIFS DBMMFE .VTDIBNQ UP UFMM IJN to make the drive up from Valdosta State where he was the Blazers’ defensive coordinator because LSU was in need of a linebacker coach, and largely due to Fisher’s FOEPSTFNFOU UIF KPC XFOU UP .VTDIBNQ After coaching the linebackers and helping LSU win the 2001 SEC Championship, .VTDIBNQ XBT QSPNPUFE UP EFGFOTJWF DPPSEJOBUPS BOE GSPN -46 XPO B MPU PG HBNFT XJUI 'JTIFS BOE .VTDIBNQ DPordinating the Tigers’ offense and defense respectively. The relationship between the two grew even closer in Baton Rouge, as both men had wives and children who were also very close friends by that time. Fisher BOE .VTDIBNQ QVSDIBTFE UIF CFBDI house together while under head coach Nick Saban. The trio of Saban, Fisher, and .VTDIBNQ OPU POMZ XPO UIF BOE SEC Championships, but also secured the 2003 National Championship for the Bayou #FOHBMT .VTDIBNQ UIFO GPMMPXFE 4BCBO UP UIF .JBNJ %PMQIJOT JO BOE TQFOU 2006 and 2007 at Auburn as defensive coordinator. After a stint as the defensive coordinator and “head coach in-waiting� BU 5FYBT GSPN .VTDIBNQ XBT named Florida’s head coach in 2011.
'JTIFS TUBZFE BU -46 JO BOE BT -FT .JMFT PGGFOTJWF DPPSEJOBUPS Coaches are in inherently precarious situations in terms of job security, which is XIZ .VTDIBNQ EJE OPU UIJOL UXJDF BCPVU MFBWJOH UIF QPTUT PG 5FYBT IFBE DPBDI JO waiting for the immediate head coaching gig at Florida. Whereas Fisher made LSU fans angry with what they perceived to be a lateral move, taking the same KPC BU '46 UIBU IF DVSSFOUMZ IFME BU -46 however, Fisher knew that his ultimate goal of becoming a head coach was likely in the near future since Bobby Bowden was nearing the end of his glorious run in Tallahassee. No joy is taken in identifying the nature of this cut-throat profession, but fans need to be realistic in understanding that the loyalty they so often clamor for is a two way street. It is simply how business is done and will be done as long as the results of college football games carry such overarching mOBODJBM BOE JNBHF CBTFE JNQMJDBUJPOT GPS universities across the country. 8IJMF UIF QSPHSFTTJPO PG 'JTIFS BOE .VTchamp’s coaching careers have led them UP UIFJS JO TUBUF SJWBMSZ ZPV DBO TUJMM mOE UIF two loyal to their beach house, granted it’s POMZ nZJOH POF TDIPPM nBH BU B UJNF
Issue 13, April 2013
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Sports
FSU CYCLING (not your average leisurely bike ride) By Jake Hoag, Staff Writer
We all know that Basketball and Football take the spotlight in today’s collegiate sporting world, but many sports lurking in the shadows are often overlooked and don’t receive the spotlight they deserve. Many students are unaware of the “underground” TQPSUT UIBU nZ VOEFS UIF SBEBS FTQFDJBMMZ UIF athletic clubs that we tend to overlook. One of these sport clubs is Collegiate Cycling. FSU’s own Cycling Club in Tallahassee offers riders of any skill level a chance to compete. Founded in 1994, the Florida State Cycling Club is a great way for riders of all skill levels to compete and progress in the sport. Greg Buker, Cycling Club President, says the goals of their organization are to “improve the cycling skills of every member, regardless of their individual level, and create a fun and friendly community for all cyclists at FSU.” The club offers competitions in Road, Mountain, Track, and Cyclocross (a type of race that forces you to sometimes get off your bike and carry it over obstacles). All of these races require immense strength and endurance. Within the past three years, the Florida State Cycling Club has earned three 2nd place mOJTIFT JO 3PBE BOE .PVOUBJO DPNQFUJUJPOT as well as back-to-back championships in Cyclocross. The team sent three riders to the 2012 Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships in Angel Fire, New Mexico, and three riders to the Road Bike Championships in Ogden, Utah. In 2010 the FSU Cycling Club was awarded the USA Largest
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Growing Collegiate Team Award, demonstrating cycling’s ever-growing presence here in Tallahassee. Jean-Charles Lebeau, a third year member of the club and former French State champion, compares Cycling here in the U.S to France. “Until recently, Lance Armstrong did a good job in making a good name for Cycling in the U.S. and although America does not have the big races like Tour De France and others,
“Mountain biking, as well as other branches of the sport, have evolved from an individual, getting-in-touch- with-nature type of hobby, towards a more competitive, performance based sport amongst riders from around the globe.” they have some very talented riders.” Andrew Fisher, new to the cycling club this year, has been riding mountain bikes for
years and has seen dramatic changes within the sport. Fisher explains, “Mountain biking, as well as other branches of the sport, have evolved from an individual, getting-intouch-with-nature type of hobby, towards a more competitive, performance based sport amongst riders from around the globe.” This evolution is drawing more and more people to the sport. Cycling is becoming a widely spectated event internationally, linking a competitive energy to the opportunity for casual exercise, giving the sport validity. Florida State Cycling prides itself in organizing trips to races far outside Tallahassee’s city limits. Last season the club organized trips to the University of Georgia, East Tennessee State, and Georgia Tech. They also competes in the Southeast Collegiate Cycling Conference (SECCC), which houses schools such as Alabama and Tennessee, as well as rivals Florida and Clemson. Thirtyeight schools from all over the southeast make up the SECCC, creating quite a competitive cycling culture. While the FSU Cycling Club competes throughout the Southeast, they also organize rides and races through Florida’s capital city, offering riders a laid back outdoor activity closer to home. As the sport of cycling continues to grow, the Florida State Cycling Club presents an opportunity for cycling enthusiasts of Tallahassee to compete and enjoy this growing sport.
Issue 13, April 2013
21
Arts & Life
Reclaiming the Past for the Future:
Carrie Ann Baade By Casey Crowley, Staff Writer
Passion, originality, and unmatched skill: these three qualities are sought after by artists, but are rarely epitomized by one person. Here at Florida State, we are not far from an artist and teacher who embodies all three. Carrie Ann Baade, an Assistant Professor in the Fine Arts Department at FSU, injects her original work into masterpieces of the past, creating innovative, beautiful pieces of the present by visualizing existing art. The combination of vibrant colors, meticulous detail, and surreal images demand the onlooker to spend minutes, hours to absorb the effect of these paintings. She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago for her Bachelor of Fine Arts and the University of Delaware for her Master of Fine Arts. Baade has received a nomination for the United States Artist Fellowship and currently resides in Tallahassee.
YETI: Most of your paintings resemble art from the Renaissance. What is it that inspires your
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renditions of this period?
CAB:
My desire is to reclaim the past and preserve lost techniques for the future. By cutting up images of old paintings and using them to create collages, I combined the power of these historical masterworks with my own experience as a contemporary artist. Using this fragmentary “bone yard,� I took historical images that appeared meaningless and breathed new life--my life--into them. My reverence made me a scavenger salvaging lost aesthetics but also a technician who was researching processes and methods that were lost or underground during the 20th century. I do believe I am a “visionary� because I see the complete image in my mind, or I hear the title and then I seek out the source material needed to construct the vision into reality. In a sense, it is like reverse engineering—starting with the end result, UIFO mOEJOH NZ XBZ CBDL UP UIF CFHJOOJOH My art has been an attempt to reconcile the
irreconcilable, resulting in fragmentation; I’ve become a kind of Dr. Frankenstein attempting to piece together the sublime.
YETI:
This summer, you are set to begin teaching classes overseas in FSU’s London Abroad Program. Have you ever gone abroad before as a teacher?
CAB:
In 2011, I was teaching for FSU in Florence, Italy. Jersey Shore was there the exact same weeks we were. The producers created a frenzy of sensationalism among the students by texting and organizing nightly debauchery. By the end, I wanted to call the United Nations and complain that the unchecked 9,000 American students from 24 programs “in school� for the summer were destroying the birthplace of the Renaissance with the Jersey Shore! I felt like I had an intimate understanding of the story of Pinocchio and his trip to Pleasure Island. The shop fronts had signs that read: JERSEY GO
JERSEY GO HOME. At the end of our summer session, I invited my students to return to Florence because they had only experienced it with other Americans and as tourists. One of the students raised her hand and said in a reluctant huff, “I just wanted to say, you totally changed my life. I better understand the purpose of art.â€? Several others shook their heads in agreement but I would have liked there to be more joy‌I feel like we were there for different reasons.
YETI: Is there one painting that you XPVME TBZ EFmOFE ZPVS DBSFFS PS served as a turning point for you?
CAB:
I am working on those right now: Allegory of Good Government and Allegory of Bad Government, and Our Lady of Psychotic Optimism ø 5IFTF BSF JOnVFODFE by Lorenzetti’s 14th century mural cycle in Sienna by the same name. * mOE UIFTF UP CF FYQMPSBUJPOT PG both external and internal states of consciousness. Commissioned for their city hall, these paintings served as a constant reminder to remain just leaders by showing comprehensive cause-and-effect situations of corrupt, tyrannical governing in comparison to those of virtuous governing. In the fresco cycle, Lorenzetti expresses the idea that the cause of peace lays not only from the effects of good government, but also from the citizens acting in accord with the temporal and astral force that governs them.
useful as you can motivate yourself by “not being good enoughâ€? to clean the house and get straight A’s. Beating yourself up may create a high achiever...no one would fault a demon who was so productive and made you successful‌that’s helpful! 8SPOH 5ISPVHI SFQFBUFE OFHBUJWF thoughts and actions, the golem builds strength, and may discover where you keep the alcohol, or where you keep the all-you-can-eat buffet of fear and self doubt‌you will pay for it later. Whether you can see them or not, I am sure you can agree in the idea of turning your own energy against yourselves tears you apart. My version of Allegory of Bad Government SFnFDUT B NJOE JO a highly developed state of illness. Everyone is there to perform a duty but instead of anything productive done, their monstrous personality defects are going to create drama and destroy everything. I interpreted 5ZSBOOZ 3BHF 4FMG *OEVMHFODF PS 5SJTUJUJB 1SJEF PS )VCSJT BOE Vainglory which I like to say is the Masturbator‌the futile person who pretends to participate but is really jacking off under the table to the tune of their narcissism. I picked these to represent a spectrum of identities I have observed in HPWFSOBODF 5IJT XJMM CF GVO UP QBJOU if I don’t go insane. Last, but not least Our Lady of Psychotic Optimism‌what’s that about. Imagine Delacroix painting Liberty Leading the People but it’s America now.
YETI:
Can you go into more detail about these particular pieces?
What is the best advice you could give anyone looking to go in a similar direction?
CAB: Allegory of Good Government:
CAB: I have always been someone
5IJT QBJOUJOH SFQSFTFOUT UIF SFJODBSOBUJPO PG B XPSME 5IPNBT Jefferson said, Every generation needs a revolution.� I think this is also required every decade or so, of each of us, internally, as humans. 5P SFCJSUI SFOFX SFDMBJN UIFSF NVTU CF TPNFUIJOH TBDSJmDFE BOE CVSOFE BXBZ 5IJT TIFEEJOH NBZ feel like death... by letting go and embracing the new. It takes courage and faith, yet I am a true believer in the process. Allegory of Bad Government, resembles Alice and Wonderland on acid‌which is sort-of-fun. If you allow unchecked thoughts to run amok it’s easy to be your own worst enemy. Demons can be real. A little obsessive compulsive one can be
who writes down lists of their goals and what they would like to do or CF 5IJT JT UIF mSTU TUFQ * IBWF EPOF nearly everything I have ever put my mind to. I have been learning to be much smarter about what I want. One of my favorite intentions was to start meeting the greatest living artists of this time, not just SFBEJOH CPPLT BCPVU UIFN 5IJT IBT made an enormous transformation JO NZ MJGF 1 4 EPO U GPSHFU LFFQ JU QPTJUJWF 5IF VOJWFSTF XJMM HJWF ZPV what you ask for and it does not understand negatives. So if you say, I don’t want to write any more letters of recommendation that is exactly what you will get.
YETI:
Issue 13, April 2013
23
-Â-ÂAaron Moorhead Interview By Chris Donato, Contributing Writer Filmmakers constantly strive to go where nobody has gone before, but creating a new and unique piece of content in today’s modern era is easier TBJE UIBO EPOF 0OF PG UIFTF mMNT JT Resolution. Resolution is a critically BDDMBJNFE mMN EJSFDUFE CZ "BSPO Moorhead, Florida State alumni, and Justin Benson, Moorhead’s co-director. 5IF mMN DFOUFST PO UIF QSPUBHPOJTU Mike, and his attempt to help his addict friend, Chris, off drugs. What starts PGG BT B mMN TJNQMZ BCPVU BEEJDUJPO RVJDLMZ FWPMWFT JOUP NVDI NPSF "T encounters with drug dealers and /BUJWF "NFSJDBOT CFHJO UP HFU JO UIF way of Mike’s hard work, mysterious happenings and cryptic clues create an intricate mystery that pushes the viewer closer and closer to the edge of their seat. By the time the credits roll, JU JT FBTZ UP TFF IPX UIF mMN CFDBNF BO PGmDJBM TFMFDUJPO GPS UIF 5SJCFDB 'JMN Festival and the winner of the Most *OOPWBUJWF 'JMN BU UIF 5PSPOUP "GUFS %BSL Film Festival. Moorhead, who acted as co-director, cinematographer, and WJTVBM FGGFDUT BSUJTU GPS UIF mMN SFDFOUMZ took time off of his busy schedule to answer a few of the questions about UIF mMN
YETI:
"GUFS XBUDIJOH JU Resolution certainly is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. What aisle would Resolution be in if you were to put it in a video rental store?
AM: It’s a horror movie. But the reason
Resolution?
QFPQMF mOE JU UP iEFGZ HFOSFw JT UIBU we don’t really worry about or even UIJOL BCPVU DPOWFOUJPOT PG mMN HFOSFT especially low-budget horror, while we’re making it. There’s never a time when we say, “Man, this scene should have someone jump out at them right here if we’re making a horror movie.� It doesn’t matter to us what other horror/ IVNPSPVT ESBNBUJD mMNT IBWF EPOF before, we just wanted to do it the way that makes sense to us and is tonally appropriate moment-by-moment. The character drama begets the levity PG UIF mMN XIJDI NBLFT VT MPWF UIF characters and become afraid when bad things start to happen to them.
AM:
YETI: Resolution has won the award for
YETI: What was your inspiration behind Justin and I try not to let our PVUTJEF JOnVFODFT BGGFDU UIF NPWJF although of course they creep in. If we ever think “Let’s make this scene like that other scene in this movie!�
24
we instinctively feel like we’re doing it wrong. Homage has a time and a place, but not in our movie. The literal inspiration for me taking the project, though, would be Justin approaching me with a killer script and some solid ideas on how to make it happen, and me seeing a lot of upsides and no downsides to doing it.
TheYetiOnline.com
“Most Innovative Film� at the Toronto "GUFS %BSL 'JMN 'FTUJWBM )PX EJE ZPV BT DP EJSFDUPS BOE DJOFNBUPHSBQIFS mOE ways to make the movie so unique?
AM:
Justin’s script is what makes the movie really stand out, as do the performances of the two leads. I think the reason the aesthetic stands out is its extreme commitment to the script. There’s a script and character reason—a very MJUFSBM POF‰GPS UIF XBZ UIF mMN JT TIPU the way it’s lit, the way people act, and the things that happen to them. I won’t give the central mystery of the movie away, but the answer to that will tell you exactly why we directed and shot the movie the way it is. So really, being so completely in service to the idea, more so than I’d ever been given reason to, was what made the choices that I made as co-director and cinematographer seem to stand apart.
YETI: 5IF mMN T TUPSZ JT CBTFE BSPVOE B friend looking after another friend after GPSDJOH IJN UP HP iDPME UVSLFZ w %JE ZPV do research to fully understand the withdrawal symptoms?
AM: What Michael, the main character, knows about withdrawal is limited to his searches on Google. Ours was a little more extensive, but the result is almost the same. However, the key point is that the movie isn’t really about the drugs at all—that’s just a reason to give the movie stakes. It’s just a framework for the actual story going on beneath about friendship, control, and whoever or whatever is manipulating their situation. That said, we have had a lot of people with drug problems in
Arts & Life
their past come up after the movie and said, “That’s how it is! It’s painful and awful, but it’s not all misery and pallid faces. We deal with it like all men try to deal with their problems; it comes and goes and we still crack jokes like human beings.�
YETI: With it being so different in these ways, did the warm reception of the mMN TVSQSJTF ZPV
AM:
directing. Co-directing with Justin is the secret—we both intuit a lot of each other’s moves, and we share all burdens. We know that in order to move upward, we’ll be moving to CJHHFS CVEHFUT UIBU XF DBO U mOBODF ourselves. But in order to take someone else’s money and have them trust you to deliver it back to them in spades, you have to have a solid relationship with your investors
do have a leg up now.
and producers—one where they truly believe that you can do the things you claim so you don’t get idiotic notes that ask you to give the character a pet raccoon or something. Unfortunately homogenized movies are the ones that BSF WJFXFE BT QSPmUBCMF TP NBSLFUJOH PVSTFMWFT BT CPOB mEF OBSSBUJWF SJTL takers that require a lot of creative control make it tougher. Fortunately, the only reason that Resolution is successful is its unique quality, so we
been doing music videos. We had our MTV premiere earlier this month along with some interesting new media projects and commercials. At this moment we’re headed overseas and to Tribeca again for most of April and May to tour Resolution UP mMN GFTUJWBMT QSFNJFSF PVS OFX TIPSU mMN HP UP UIF $BOOFT mMN NBSLFU BOE TDPVU locations for our new features.
YETI:
What should our readers look GPSXBSE UP GSPN ZPV JO UIF OFBS GVUVSF
AM:
Justin has written three new scripts that are similar to Resolution in that they’re genre-bending, and BSF FRVBM QBSUT HFOSF mMN MFWJUZ BOE character drama. We’re currently packaging them with celebrity talent BOE SBJTJOH mOBODJOH 8F BMTP IBWF
Yes! We were prepared to have made a polarizing movie, and in fact were told so many times before the release. We thought we were doing something pretty unconventional, and no one makes a movie thinking “this is gonna be bad,� but when it seemed much more universally accepted than we were prepared for, it became UIF JOEJF mMNNBLFS T dream. It’s also proof that you can do something pretty risky and new without it being hated. It’s a huge sigh of relief. At the time of this writing, we’ve been at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for a few months now, and statistically we might OFWFS IBWF B mMN UIBU T TP well received again. It’s an incredible feeling.
YETI:
Did you feel that being able to do other work like cinematography and special effects gave you more creative control over the process of NBLJOH UIF NPWJF
AM: %FmOJUFMZ * EPO U BMXBZT XBOU UP do the visual effects myself, although it’s occasionally a pleasure, but cinematography is never something I want to have to give up in lieu of
Issue 13, April 2013
25
“I’M A POET, THE BEAT FOLLOWS ME.�
Arts & Life
A Night and a Personal Conversation with J. Ivy
By Amanda Perez, Staff Writer
The crowd at Club Downunder was made up mostly of poets and authors. They eagerly clutched composition notebooks to their chests, anticipating the arrival of renowned poet, author, and Grammy winner, J. Ivy. A large majority of the audience belonged to Poetic Lyricism, Florida State’s TQPLFO XPSE QPFUSZ HSPVQ BOE BNPOH UIFN mWF QPFUT QFSGPSNFE QSJPS to J. Ivy. Each performance was heartfelt, passionate, and memorable, each well deserving of the symphony of snaps and clinking of keys heard throughout the performances. J. Ivy was warmly welcomed onto the stage by President and Vice President of Poetic Lyricism, Jenai Hicks and Kendra “Sweet� Jones. The environment was intimate and open, and J. Ivy made an easy connecUJPO XJUI UIF BVEJFODF )F XBT DPNGPSUBCMF BOE DPOmEFOU TQJUUJOH IJT most personal poems to us with no reserve. Hesitantly, he even shared a poem with us that he told us not to post online because of its “freaky� n a t u re . It had to have
been this poem that prompted members of Poetic Lyricism to throw fresh panties on stage; his delivery was sensual and honest. In between poems, he told us the back-story of “Never Let Me Down,� the poem that is featured as a verse in Kanye West’s song of the same title. He was living in Brooklyn, a broke, struggling artist, when his friend called him from Los Angeles. Kanye West, fellow Chicago native, had requested a poet to write a verse for his song. “I wrote the verse in ten minutes, called my friend up, and spat to him as if I had said it a million times,� said J. Ivy. He proceeded to repeat it for the studio “for at least thirty minutes, and it’s a one minute poem.� J. Ivy relayed another intriguing anecdote involving a Grammy-winning R&B singer. He was in the studio with Kanye, when Mr. West asked J. Ivy if he wanted to hear the tunes of up-and-coming singer, John Stephens. “This guy reminds me of someone in the old days. Like someone my folks would listen to.� A few days later in the studio, while everyone was complimenting Stephens, J. Ivy called out to him, dubbing him, “John Legend!� The occupants of the studio looked at J. Ivy, then at John Stephens, and that was that: J. Ivy had coined yet another Hollywood success. Ivy’s performance embodied what writing should be about. He uses writing to express himself to the world, and to relay that one man’s QSPCMFNT SFnFDU UIF QSPCMFNT UIBU NFO GBDF BOE DPOTFRVFOUMZ UIBU POF NBO T TPMVUJPO DBO IFMQ PUIFS NFO mOE TPMVUJPOT UIFNTFMWFT )F FOEFE UIF night by telling all of us to get out and mentor someone, to contribute to a good cause. J. Ivy is involved with the cause to stop to street violence. He performed a poem that advocates mentorship and talking as a solution, as opposed to violence. The day after his performance, The Yeti sat down with J. Ivy before he was due to give a workshop for the members of Poetic Lyricism.
“
We are all here for a reason on a particular path, You don’t need a curriculum to know that you’re a part of the math -Âexerpt from J.Ivy’s poem featured on Kanye West’s “Never Let Me Downâ€?
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�
W E I V R E T N THE I The day after his performance, I sat down with J. Ivy before he was due to give a workshop for the members of Poetic Lyricism.
YETI: When did you know that you wanted to pursue spoken word poetry as a career?
J. IVY: $IWHU WKH ÀUVW VKRZ WKHUH ZDV VXFK DQ RYHUZKHOPLQJ UHVSRQVH , ZDV UHFHLYLQJ D ORW RI SRVLWLYH IHHGEDFN IURP SDUHQWV WKDW , ZDV VXFK D JUHDW LQÁXHQFH RQ WKHLU NLGV , ZDVQҋW UHDOO\ D WUXH EHOLHYHU XQWLO , ZDV DW ,OOLQRLV 6WDWH 7KH SRVLWLYH IHHGEDFN ZDV DOZD\V RYHUZKHOPLQJ $W WKDW SRLQW , EHJDQ EHOLHYLQJ ,WҋV IXQQ\ EHFDXVH XS XQWLO FROOHJH , DOZD\V KDWHG P\ PLGGOH QDPH ´,Y\ µ , ZDV QDPHG DIWHU P\ GDG VR WKDW ZDV MXVW WKH QDPH , ZDV JLYHQ EXW , DOZD\V KDWHG LW EHFDXVH , WKRXJKW LW ZDV D JLUOҋV QDPH $QG P\ PRP FDOOHG PH DQG WROG PH WKDW , VKRXOG WKLQN DERXW XVLQJ LW DV D SHQ QDPH 6KH VDLG DOO JUHDW SRHWV KDYH D SHQ QDPH , EHOLHYHG ZKHQ VKH VDLG WKDW ´DOO JUHDW SRHWV µ YETI: What inspires you? J. IVY: $W WKLV SRLQW ZKDW PRVW LQVSLUHV PH LV OLIH LWVHOI ,ҋYH VHHQ D ORW RI SHRSOH JR -XVW GLIIHUHQW DVSHFWV RI OLIH 6RPHWKLQJ RQ WKH QHZV D VWRU\ , KHDU RU VRPHWKLQJ , KHDU RQ WKH UDGLR WKHUHҋV D ORW JRLQJ RQ LQ WKH ZRUOG 6RPHWKLQJ PLJKW MXVW FOLFN DQG UHJLVWHU P\ WKLQNLQJ ,ҋP MXVW KDSS\ WR EH KHUH DQG , ZDQW WR ZULWH DERXW LW 0XVLF GHÀQLWHO\ LQVSLUHV PH +LS KRS PRVWO\ ROG VFKRRO , PLJKW EH GULYLQJ DQG OLVWHQLQJ WR PXVLF DQG JHW DQ LGHD 0RVW 0&V ,ҋP LQVSLUHG E\ OLNH &RPPRQ DQG .HQGULFN /DPDU DUH DOVR SHRSOH , ZDQW WR ZRUN ZLWK &RPPRQ DOVR EHLQJ IURP &KLFDJR LV P\ IDYRULWH 0& ZKHQ , OLVWHQ WR KLV PXVLF , IHHO OLNH KHҋV VSHDNLQJ GLUHFWO\ WR PH
YETI: What’s your writing process like? J. IVY: , XVXDOO\ ZULWH WKH ÀUVW WKLQJV WKDW FRPH WR P\ PLQG 6RPHWLPHV SLHFHV ÁRZ RXW , DOZD\V YLHZ ZULWLQJ OLNH SXWWLQJ D SX]]OH WRJHWKHU , KDYH QRWHV PD\EH RQH OLQH KHUH RQH OLQH WKHUH DQG WKHQ ,ҋOO SXW WKHP WRJHWKHU DQG ZULWH D SRHP )RU PXVLF , WU\ WR KHDU WKH VWRU\ LQ WKH WUDFN , DOZD\V WKLQN ´LI WKLV VRQJ FRXOG WDON ZKDW ZRXOG LW VD\"µ
YETI: Tell me about your new book. J. IVY: 7KH ERRN LV FDOOHG ´+HUH , $P 7KHQ DQG 1RZµ DQG LWҋV D IROORZ XS WR WKH DOEXP 7KH DOEXP LV WKH VRXQGWUDFN IRU WKH ERRN 3DUW RI WKH ERRN LV D VWRU\ DQG VRQJ O\ULFV DQG WKH RWKHU KDOI LV DGGLWLRQDO SRHWU\ 7KH ERRN GLYHV GHHSHU LQWR WKH LQVSLUDWLRQ IRU WKH DOEXP ,WҋV KRZ , VHH WKH ZRUOG DQG KRZ WKLQJV KDYH FKDQJHG DQG WUDQVIRUPHG $V SRHWV ZHҋUH KLVWRULDQV ZH GRFXPHQW ZKDWҋV KDSSHQLQJ
YETI: If you could talk to your twenty year-old self, what would you tell him? J. IVY: 7UXVW \RXUVHOI WR OHDG ZLWK QR IHDU $FFHSW PLVWDNHV EHFDXVH WKHUH DUH YDOXDEOH OHVVRQV LQ WKHP 7KHUH LV QRWKLQJ LQ WKH ZRUOG \RX FDQҋW GR +DYH IXQ DQG HQMR\ HYHU\ PRPHQW (YHQ ZLWK 'HI SRHWU\ RQ +%2 , ZDV VR QHUYRXV EXW EHIRUH , NQHZ LW LW ZDV RYHU $IWHU WKDW , YRZHG WR QHYHU JHW QHUYRXV DQG MXVW HQMR\ Issue 13, April 2013
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Literature riter ed w featur
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I’m studying for my BA in Creative Writing, as well as working toward my BFA in Studio Art. I’m originally from Saint Petersburg, Florida, but am currently living in Tallahassee and attending FSU. 6FLHQFH ÀFWLRQ VRFLDO LQWHUDFWLRQV DQG IDVKLRQ DUH VRPH WKHPHV ZKLFK LQVSLUH P\ ZULWLQJ DV ZHOO DV my visual art, which tends to go hand in hand. One of my short term goals is to create an illustrated FROOHFWLRQ RI VFLHQFH ÀFWLRQ VKRUW VWRULHV PRVWO\ DERXW DOLHQ URPDQFHV
Abalone Erotica Fatigued abalone on the shore. Her spotted gray tongue, à XVKHG ZLWK ZHDN EORRG UDZ IHHOHUV VWLII OLNH ULQJOHWV RI FKDUFRDO \RXQJ EUDQFKHV RQFH VZROOHQ ZLWK UDLQ KHUH FKDUUHG LQ D IRUHVW ÀUH 7KHVH LULGHVFHQW SDOPV hidden beneath salty RYDOV EOHDFKHG VLQFH sunrise ,Q WKLV PDUEOHG SODQH RI GLUW\ VDQG FU\VWDOV &UDGOH VKH WKH UHIXJHH LQ KHU RZQ VOLSSHU\ KROORZ
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Monique splashed in the Live Oak RV and Trailer Park community pool, watching Cat light a sparkler; now that her older brother was in junior high and twelve, he always had a lighter in his pocket and thought he was too cool for school. The day was the Fourth of July, year 2000. Most of the people living at Live Oak danced the polka, the foxtrot, and other goofy, coordinated steps in the main entrance parking lot, which had been decorated with red, white, and blue streamers and balloons. The children were BMXBZT CPSFE BU IPMJEBZ QBSUJFT DPOmOFE UP plastic chairs and good behavior, sipping Tang from paper cups. But tonight, Granny and her two sisters, Tia Elena and Tia Isabel, grew weary of the loud music and alcohol at the Independence Day dance, and walked home to smoke cigarettes in their front porch’s wicker rocking chairs, singing songs the matriarchs had inherited from their own grandmothers in Panama. Then Cat and Monique had slipped away to swim under the moon.
Cat’s smile faded, his arms lowered; and he looked humiliated‌ The moment crystallized his desire to reveal to his friends something about himself, who he was. His breath was heavy, as if groping in the darkness for something masculine, adult — shamelessly manly —, an irreparably cool recovery of his personality, immortalizing forever who he was, not who he wanted to be; an eternal and destined self.
Cat’s buddies threw open the metal door and cannonballed into the pool.
“Hey!� Monique.
“Shut up, you dickholes,� said Cat as he pulled a smelly Altoids tin from his wallet. “I was just about to spark this.� The tin revealed a lumpy joint. He put it between his UFFUI BOE IFME UIF TNBMM mSFXPSL VQ UP UIF tip. His grin faded as the sparkler consumed only itself.
He threw the lizard at her; its small body silently collided with the concrete, painted the color of coral. Only a little bit of blood stained the white lace embroidering Monique’s Sunday school dress.
Blossoms over Arcadia
“Watch this.� Cat clenched his jaw and clutched the exhausted sparkler. He pushed the blackened rod through the lizard’s mouth, into its body, piercing skin. screamed
“Nice trick, asshole,� said Don. “Fuck you,� he muttered, snatching the matchbox from Don’s hand before he could light his cigarette. Fumbling with the XFBSZ nBNF CVET FSPEFE GSPN UIF GSBHJMF spliff before the thick aroma of pot wafted around the poolhouse. Monique dangled her legs in the pool and opened a can of Rite Aid root beer. A big, dead moth — yellow like starfruit and fuzzy like kiwi, with big brown eyes on JUT XJOHT ‰ nPBUFE JO UIF XBUFS .POJRVF cupped her hands and scooped it up. Colors BOE mCFST QFFMFE GSPN JUT CPEZ BOE DMVOH UP her hands. Why would it go swimming if its wings would get wet? “Gross!� shrieked Zeke, “That lizard pooped itself!� An anole lizard, stretched out on a frond of one of the potted palms, its rosy-orange wattle erect, dripped brown and white liquid from its small anus. Cat grabbed the lizard and held it up over his head triumphantly. Monique smiled — Cat loved catching lizards in grade school, but it seemed none of his old self had clung to Cat’s soul during puberty. “Why are you touching its shit, dude?� Don and Zeke’s laughter pierced through the chorine and moonlight.
“Yow, yow, yow!� whooped Don and Zeke, imitating Indian war chants heard throughout their father’s Westerns. Monique picked the lizard up off the ground. Its nFTI EJEO U GFFM SFQUJMJBO PS DPBSTF CVU MJLF mOF HSBZ velvet. She pulled the rod from its belly and walked over to Cat. In a swift blow, she wiped the sparkler on his shirt before he could pull away, smearing blood and gestative goo across the collar. Cat would have to clean the red streak before granny saw his dress shirt was soiled. “Woah, chick, cool off,� snickered Don. “Cat, that lizard had a life, it had a soul and you hurt it for no reason.� Monique began to cry. Cat looked at the lizard, who IBE GBMMFO UP UIF nPPS *UT FZFT IBE DMPTFE not completely, but the energy holding its MJET PQFO TPGUMZ nJDLFSFE PVU )F LJDLFE JU into the pool. “Well you fucked up my shirt, and now I’ve gotta go get the stain out.� Lighting a cigarette, Cat eyed Monique’s moth — she had been playing with it. Pinching one
wing, he plucked it from the puddle on the concrete, and left. 5IF PME XPNFO T TOPSFT mMMFE UIFJS home. Cat unbuttoned his shirt and stuffed it into the trailer’s small metal sink; he would erase the stain later. Cat walked out onto the porch and lit a tall candle stickered with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe — “the crying candle,� granny called it, because the wax dripped even when unlit. Why did the Latina Mary always have fuller lips and a coy smile when the white Mary had little boy’s hips and an austere nose? Cat wondered who designed the candles’ virgins. He removed the plastic lace tablecloth from beneath the silled marigolds and wrapped it around the Virgin. Laying down the moth, he prayed to Her — She was the protector of women, granny always told them —, he said he was sorry, and here, please resurrect this CVUUFSnZ IF EJEO U LOPX UIF EJGGFSFODF GPS Monique.
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Literature
DETOUR By Peter Williams
“Why are we going this way?� my mother always asked on our way back from church. “It’s shorter if we take Pineview to Miller.� “I like Lark because it’s longer; gives me time to think.� My father never did anything fast. Every home repair took a week and every steak he grilled came long after the rest of the meal had gone cold. My mother was just the opposite. When you grow up in a big family you’ve got to be fast. Take too long to serve your plate and there’s nothing left. Don’t get to Mom BOE %BE mSTU TPNFPOF T already asked to borrow the car. Spend too much time in the bathroom and you come out to an angry mob. In the end my father did do one thing fast. None of us could have seen the aneurism coming. My dad went into the kitchen to get a beer from the fridge and just dropped. Doctors said he was probably dead before IF IJU UIF nPPS
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Mom told me without a hint of emotion in her voice. 4IF OFWFS DSJFE OFWFS SFBMMZ seemed to realize someone had died. She treated everything leading up to the funeral like she was getting ready for any other family gathering. She cleaned house and cooked with the same attitude she chose the suit for Dad to be buried in. At the funeral Mom MPPLFE BU %BE T DPGmO UIF same way she’d looked in display cases when she took me to the museum. I sat next to her during the TFSWJDF IPMEJOH IFS IBOE XBUDIJOH IFS XBJUJOH GPS UIF EBN UP CSFBL GPS IFS UP show any sign that the man she’d known for forty years was gone. I don’t remember XIBU XBT TBJE XIP TQPLF GPS my father. I only remember XBUDIJOH IFS FZFT GPS B UFBS B nVUUFS BT UIFZ TBU MPDLFE PO the casket. I watched them UISPVHI UIF TFSWJDF UISPVHI the drive to the church DFNFUFSZ BOE XIJMF UIF DPGmO XBT MPXFSFE JOUP UIF
ground. The entire time they never passed a single tear or looked anywhere other than straight ahead. Walking back to the parking lot I moved to take the keys from my mother’s IBOE 5IBU XBT UIF mSTU UJNF her eyes changed that day. 4IF HBWF NF B EFGZJOH MPPL one that hadn’t lost an ounce PG QPXFS TJODF * mSTU TBX JU at age three. I withdrew my hand and climbed into the passenger seat. We drove from the cemetery in silence. Even the car seemed to hold its QFBDF UIF SVNCMJOH UJSFT BOE whistling heater both quiet for UIF mSTU UJNF JO ZFBST * TUBSFE PVU UIF XJOEPX XBUDIJOH UIF backdrops of my childhood pass by. We were coming up on Pineview when Mom abruptly spun the wheel. The car rumbled onto Lark. We TMPXFE .PN UVSOJOH UP UBLF JO FWFSZ USFF TUPOF BOE CJSE It was a long drive back to the house. It gave us plenty of time to think.
Alluding to the Physical By Anjali Ajmani
Stepping out Of Khe’s car outside Golden Corral Teasing, “I could turn lesbian because my girl friend gave me $40 ;)” He says, “That’s a bad reason.” I argue, “That’s what you think.” “You wouldn’t.” “How do you know?” “I just know.” “We’ll see.” He laughs through the phone, Glass of water with ice, in a line for food; I pile my plate with popcorn shrimp, macaroni, steamed cabbage, “At least she won’t wake up one day and tell me she doesn’t care anymore,” sit down to the unexpected, “Are you still a virgin?” To which I say, “Yes.” I tell him about the guy who grabbed me roughly because I said the wrong thing, that when I tried to escape, he blocked my way, followed me into the restroom. I locked the door, to avoid his slap. ………………………………….. He asks me, “What kind of guys are you dating?”
I say, “Clearly been around the wrong ones.” He agrees. ………………………………………………………………………. Tonight I paint a ceramic heart and accent it with calligraphy, some weird shapes that translate to , “Fire,” * SJOTF UIF CMBDL BOE XIJUF HMB[F PGG NZ mOHFST XBUDI UIF JOLZ water assault the drain, think about our conversation a little while ago… I tell him that I miss Virginia, the snow, the people, everything that the best thing about Florida is this campus, the beach, and my family He says, “True that, but I want to be there.” I joke, say, “No you don’t. The temperature is better than the people. Most of the time.” He smirks and whispers, “I want that.” I reply, “That’s a good thing to want.” I mess with him, “I want food,” Thinking he’ll say, “I want you,” Giggling when he admits, “Me too.” Smiling all the way out the door, down the steps, “I’m walking to it.” In the shower, I let it show, tears betray me cause he knows just how much I wish I could go back to that familiar reconstruction to break all the promises of our manifesto. Forget all the unspoken norms UIF iEPO U EPTw XIFO * XBT mGUFFO smile and let’s see where it goes let’s reenact what I was dreaming. Regret nada because it’s our right not feel guilty on this night MFU T NBLF mDUJPO PO UIFTF USBDLT get it published and burn this contract.
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