MODERN LOVE

With inspiration from classic Americana fashion trends and the romantic era, Modern Love is a celebration of the whimsical styling of a fairytale love story.

Horses are commonly symbols of power and status. They’re also associated with the romance of classic fairytales. Alongside Navya Kulhari is handsome bay thoroughbred horse, Toronto.

Shop the look for less: Kulhari’s white blouse is thrifted from Goodwill, her leather pants are BlankNYC from Revolve and her corset and hat are available on Amazon.

Colin Jones is styled in a black pussybow blouse. Neutral colors are elegant and timeless— they represent simple sophistication.

Gillian Parkinson is wearing a silk calf-length dress and gloves with leather riding boots. The look takes inspiration from classic Americana silhouettes and the Romantic Era.

The backdrop of our the shoot, a horse farm in Wellington, Florida, gives off the light and whimsical aura to paint a scene straight out of Bridgerton.

What is modern love? It’s the best from the old and new—the fairytale mood of the renaissance and the contemporary notion of nonconformity.

Main event tackles the hot topics and happenings of society—take a look into the increased hate against Asian Americans, local businesses who have survived gentrification by selling their products in a collective space and one local art dealer who is catering to the Gen Z demographic.

If you’ve taken an Uber or been delivered a meal from Postmates lately, you might not have thought about the

From full time jobs to side hustles, carshare and food delivery services provide a way for just about anyone to earn extra cash. But COVID-19 has changed the nature of these apps and the way drivers do their job. These are the stories and perspectives of some Miami locals that were on the roads during the pandemic.

Yamilca Vieida grips the steering wheel of her Toyota Camry with blue latex gloves and peers in the rear view mirror through her face shield. Even though she’s wearing a surgical mask, the squint in her eyes tells you she’s smiling at her backseat passenger. Her cup holder doesn’t have a bottle of Pepsi, but a can of Lysol.

When the pandemic first steered the public away from confined indoor spaces and close contact over a year ago, food delivery and carshare drivers were faced with a choice: Risk your health or lose your income. For some who do the job full-time, the latter wasn’t an option. For others who use it as a side gig, the risk to their health was worth the extra cash in their pocket.

According to Uber’s annual report, carshare trips (not including those for delivery, frieght and other segments) dropped by 50% in 2020. “In 2020, many drivers stopped driving because they couldn’t count on getting enough trips to make it worth their time. Dennis Cinelli, Uber’s vice president of mobility in the United States and Canada, said in a recent blog post.

For others like Vieida, 29, it was a concern for health and safety. Until the recent widespread availability of vaccinations, every day was a step (or drive) into the unknown. She said she stopped driving in March of 2020 to avoid being exposed to COVID-19. “It was scary,” Vieida said. “I worked for Amazon during the pandemic because it was more safe.” Vieida moved to Miami from Venezuela with her husband about three years ago, and has worked for Uber for about one year.

She eventually returned to driving in November of 2020. And today, she said she no longer feels it necessary to wear a face shield or gloves. And although she has an upcoming appointment scheduled to receive her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, she said she is still very precautious.

“I’m scared to get sick,” said Vieida. “I go to get tested regularly, like every 15 days.”

Jose Mendez, 38, never stopped driving during the height of the pandemic. He has driven for Uber and Lyft for the past four years part-time, but now averages eight or nine hours on the road each day. “I was scared, but I needed work,” said Mendez, who moved to Miami eight years ago from Cuba and has two children.

Even so, Mendez said he feels safe with the added safety precautions—the apps require both drivers and passengers to wear face coverings at all times. “I’m not nervous to drive because of the masks, the sanitizer and God. Only God knows if I will get it.” Mendez said he has already gotten his first COVID-19 vaccination dose and has his second dose scheduled.

In a poll on Distraction’s Instagram, 76% of the 225 respondents said that while their use of carshare services has decreased during the pandemic, their use of food delivery apps like Uber Eats, Postmates and Doordash has gone up. But this isn’t just a college student trend. Take out has been the lifeline of many local restaurants— ordering in gave those stuck at home a break from cooking and a taste of their favorite foods when going out wasn’t an option. So it’s no wonder that Postmates, for example, reported a 226% growth in revenue for 2020. And one UM alumna has reaped the benefits.

Sophia Espinosa, a 2020 graduate, began doing deliveries for Uber Eats and Doordash during her sophomore year at University of Miami. “Whenever I was bored and had an hour to spare, I would go and do it,” said Espinosa. She now has a full-time job, but still considers it her “side hustle.” On her days off from work, she said spends a few extra hours making deliveries. “Even though I’m fine with my finances, it’s nice to have extra money,” Espinosa said.

But for a time, she forfeited the cash. In March of 2020, Espinosa took a hiatus from making deliveries.

“The chances of you getting it [COVID-19] from handing something to someone really quick are obviously very low,” she said. “But during the big months of COVID, you didn’t want to even see other people.”

However, the following November, Espinosa said she felt comfortable enough to start taking advantage of the apps again. The major food delivery services, according to her, made a major transition in response to the pandemic. Espinosa said that there’s now hardly any interaction in most of her orders—many restaurants have designated areas for food pickup and orders are set to be left outside by default, rather than directly handed off.

That, in addition to the PPE requirements, is what Espinosa said made her feel safe. “To be honest, I’ve felt really safe doing it because of the fact that everything has switched to contactless and that the app always asks if you’re wearing a mask and makes you take a photo,” she said. “The job itself has been a positive experience.”

Apps like Uber Eats and Doordash pay drivers the delivery fee, tips plus a small percentage of the total food order’s cost. As for services like Lyft and Uber, drivers earn a base fair plus amounts for how long and how far they drive and tips. But for another Miami local, working for Uber wasn’t exactly what he expected.

David Afkham, 31, said he wanted to try out Uber Eats deliveries after her saw a video on TikTok of someone who claimed to make over $200 a day. He said he focused on lunchtime deliveries only, averaging about eight to 10 hours each week. At the time, August of 2020, Afkham didn’t have another job. “If you have no other options for work, it’s a good deal. You can set your own hours, you drive when you want to, you have no boss and the job itself isn’t very hard,” he said. Even so, Afkham decided to stop just two months later. “But in Miami, distances are far and there’s always traffic, so it’s tough to be quick with deliveries, which will impact your chances of making a substantial income. I wouldn’t do it again because it didn’t live up to my expectations.” Next time you need a lift to the beach or want Thai food without actually leaving your apartment, strike up a conversation with the driver or leave a generous tip. Chances are, they’ve put their life on the line at some point during the pandemic to provide that service.

*Some interviews in this article have been translated.

“PPE items are completely free, including shipping, for all Dashers who have completed a delivery on the platform and can be reordered on a weekly basis,” Taylor Bennett, the global head of public affairs at Doordash, told Distraction.

Can you remember? Believe it or not, Uber became the first ride-hailing app on the market—all the way back in 2009!

Here’s a look at how the pandemic has taken a toll on rideshare and delivery services— by the numbers.

The pandemic was a give and take for Uber—their gross mobility bookings were down about 50% in 2020 from 2019, but gross delivery bookings were up by about 130%.

Doordash, which saw a 226% growth in revenue for 2020, added nearly two million new “dashers” (AKA drivers) to their platform from mid-March through September of 2020.

Things may be getting back to ‘normal.’ Customer spending on Uber and Lyft increased 30% from February to March, according data from market research firm Edison Trends.

Coconut Grove—the home of Ladies Night at Sandbar, PK3s at Monty’s and rapidly rising rent rates. Nestled in the heart of this iconic neighborhood is the Coconut Village Collective, an eclectic bazaar where customers can browse a range of products from potted plants to fresh coffee and trendy roller skates sold by a diverse group of the Grove’s oldest and newest retailers.

Over the years Coconut Grove has been home to hippies, yuppies, “Cocaine Cowboys” and college students—and according to the owners at the collective, it’s coming back in a major way. With the newly finished CocoWalk leased up, home prices rising steadily and even University of Miami students beloved Sandbar getting a makeover, big things are happening in the neighborhood.

As the Grove evolved and rents skyrocketed, local business owners like Vivian Jordan, whose clothing shop, The Maya Hatcha, is the oldest in the area, found themselves without a home and chose to band together instead of being forced out. The result was the Coconut Village Collective, which is home to plant shop Kreative Gardens, artsy destination Kcull (pronounced “cool”), Catch a Wave surf shop, The Maya Hatcha, Cafe Vidita coffee shop and Therapia by Aroma, an essential oil shop.

Jordan, a University of Miami alumna, opened her doors in 1968 with a vision of sharing her Guatemalan heritage with the community and selling a funky collection of goods from her travels around the world. At the time, her rent was just $100 a month. The laid-back Grove, she said, was the perfect neighborhood to launch such a business with her sister, who’s now a social worker.

Six businesses, one building, six unique stories. This colorful sign guides shoppers through the one-of-akind collective.

The Maya Hatcha sits in the middle of the collective, offering customers a unique selection of goods ranging from authentic Sioux dreamcatchers to African tribal jewelry. Among the most popular items, Jordan said, are “worry dolls,” thumb-sized fabric dolls that hail from her Guatemalan culture.

“You tell them your worries,” she said, “and they worry for you.” As to whether Jordan herself is worried, she told Distraction: “I’m sad to see the old Grove go, but I’m receptive to the new.”

When rising rent prices forced her out of her old storefront, Jordan somewhat reluctantly opted

to join the fledgling village collective in order to stay in the neighborhood that her business had become such an integral part of.

“I couldn’t start all over again,” she said. “Everybody knows me in the Grove. I had to stay here.”The Coconut Village Collective, said Jordan, was the brainchild of Sam Noddle, a realtor with The Comras Company which owns both CocoWalk and the collective’s building. One of its first members was Catch a Wave, and Jordan said she was initially hesitant to mix the two brands. However, she said, as owners like Renee Molina of Kreative Gardens signed up, she bought into it.

The concept for the collective, Noddle said, came out of a desire to keep shops in the neighborhood that “make the Grove the Grove.” When Comras decided to revamp CocoWalk, he said, it became his responsibility to negotiate rent relief with tenants—offering lower monthly payments in exchange for the right to take over their space when it came time for new construction. Many owners likely had little choice. When The Maya Hatcha’s lease was up, he said, Jordan’s new rent would have roughly quadrupled in her old space.

Noddle said he would have felt bad if these tenants had to leave the neighborhood, so he came up with a solution. Coconut Village Collective, he said, has been around for roughly two years now and, despite growing pains, is in a good place. Early on there was squabbling and the layout was poorly organized. Then

Bob Dunbar, owner of Catch A Wave, stands behind the counter of the business his family has owned for over 40 years.

Cafe Vidita serves fresh coffee grown in Nicaragua on family-owned farms that have been around since 1930.

COVID-19 came, closing the doors altogether. Comras, he said, offered the owners five months of free rent to help out—under the condition that they reorganize the store and move the shops around. Now, customers are greeted up front by the potted plants of Kreative Gardens and the Cafe Viditas coffee stand, and can wind their way along a colorful path to Kcull, The Maya Hatcha and Catch a Wave in back of the collective.

Bob Dunbar, a lifelong ‘Canes fan who owns the surf shop with his brother Paul, said that Catch A Wave is happy to be part of the Grove’s “comeback.” Dunbar’s father Colin started the family business in 1979, making it one of the oldest businesses in Coconut Grove. Back then it was “Upwind Surfing,” a hotspot for, well, windsurfers. Now it’s “Catch a Wave,” and patrons can find everything from wind surfing to skateboarding equipment and beach apparel. TikTok trendy roller skates, he said, are the hot product right now and are featured prominently behind the front counter.

“We were here in the crazy days of Coconut Grove in the 80s when it was on fire,” he said “and the 90s when it was super popular. Then it got slow for years and we watched it slow down, but it feels like it’s coming back.” High rent, he said, has often been an issue, but local businesses make the vibrant neighborhood what it is. There has to be the right mix, he said, of small, family joints and big businesses to keep that local flair.

For the record Dunbar, who remembers the University’s “glory days” as well, believes the Miami Hurricanes Football team is also poised for a triumphant comeback…eventually.

Jennifer Noll manages the Collective in addition to owning Kcull.

While the collective is home to two of the Grove’s oldest businesses, it’s also ushering new retailers into the neighborhood. Both Kcull and Kreative Gardens opened their second locations here after thriving elsewhere.

Kcull, owned by Jennifer Noll, is a collective within a collective, featuring stunning art, jewelry and apparel from Miami artists and creators. Painted denim jackets, digitally enhanced photography prints of iconic Miami locations and recycled jewelry grace her racks and walls.

Noll got her start in retail selling cigars in Little Havana, but when that lease ended she set her sights on a new shop. Kcull was born in 2017, and today carries clothes and creations from more than 40 local artisans. “The thing I love about this,” she said, “is feeling like I’m helping artists with a platform. It’s really rewarding to see them grow.” Noll is a Miami native, who says the possibility of commercialization is at times worrying but that local businesses can survive if they get creative. “With all the new construction and rent hikes,” she said, “I think we’re going to see more collectives where stores come together into a shared space. For a small business, it’s hard to compete with big corporate retailers.” Creativity, is something Kreative Gardens owner Renee Molina has in spades. Born in Nicaragua, Molina spent her childhood playing in the rainforest before emigrating with her family in 1978 due to civil unrest. Her plants adorn the front section of the shop, spilling out onto its expansive sidewalk displayed on refurbished furniture and wood pallets.

Molina studied architecture, and the recycled structures that now showcase her goods are not her only invention. The “Root Orb” is Molina’s patented product, a ball made out of organic material woven with the plants’ roots that can take the place of a traditional pot. The orb doesn’t just provide a unique look; it gives owners a visual guide to watering their plants. When the orb is dry, depending on the species, it’s time to add some H2O.

“The number one reason why people kill their plants is that they don’t understand its watering needs,” she said. “So the store has become sort of like a learning garden; the plant itself talks to you.”

So far the talking plants have paid off for Molina, who now has three locations including her shop in the Grove, a pop-up in Wynwood and her main store near Tropical Park. She leads a small team of local employees including a production team, sales team and carpenter and believes in treating them the way she’d like them to treat her.

Outside of work, she leads the nonprofit Maderas Rainforest Conservancy, which focuses on protecting rainforest ecosystems, increasing awareness and empowering local communities.

“I was trained as an architect and born as an artist,” she said “so everything I see in the forest I see as art. The nonprofit was born because of that sadness I had watching the rainforest disappear.”

Like the nonprofit, the shop owners at Coconut Village Collective are conserving a neighborhood and a culture, coming together as a group that represents the Grove’s past and future. It has become a landmark itself, designated by the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau as the “Official Welcome Center of Coconut Grove.” Each Sunday, even more local vendors flock to its 30-foot-wide sidewalk for a farmer’s market that brings the community together and let’s them enjoy some BBQ and pie, according to Noll. While the future of the Grove is unknown, Noddle said these iconic businesses will likely have a place in the neighborhood for as long as they wish to.

The Coconut Village Collective’s bright facade lights up Coconut Grove, and local businesses set up shop on their sidewalk each weekend for a farmer’s market.

When most people have a bad day they take a nap or push through a workout to cheer themselves up. But in March of 2021, a man police claim was “having a bad day” drove to three spas in Atlanta and opened fire, murdering eight people—six of whom were women of Asian descent. It sparked a worldwide conversation about discrimination and an outcry for change.

Unfortunately, the Atlanta shooting wasn’t the first attack on Asian Americans this year. In February, a video of Vicha Ratanapkadee, an 84-year-old Thai immigrant, being tackled in San Francisco went viral. The video shows a man rushing across the street in broad daylight to charge at Ratanapkadee, who later died. Chesa Boudin, the city’s district attorney, told the New York Times that there was “no evidence to suggest” the crime was racially motivated. The suspect’s lawyers said he had an “outburst of rage.”

While the number of hate crimes reported in major U.S. cities decreased last year, crimes directed at Asian Americans spiked. According to a study from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, hate crimes in 16 metropolitan areas, including New York and Los Angeles, dipped seven percent from 2019 to 2020—but those targeting Asian Americans spiked nearly 150%.

Stop AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Hate, a national reporting center, documented 3,292 anti-Asian incidents in 2020. And by February 28 of 2021, their national report stated 503 more incidents had already occurred. “The number of hate incidents reported to our center represent only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur,” the report said. “But it does show how vulnerable Asian Americans are to discrimination, and the types of discrimination they face.”

Most of the discrimination documented in the report are incidents of verbal harassment (68%) or shunning (20%). It said 11% of incidents were violent —a fact that University of Miami senior Sarah Simon said is new and scary. “Anti-Asian hate crimes are at an all-time high,” the exercise physiology major said, “and the physical violence is new for me. I’ve never really had to worry about that, and it’s crazy that I feel that way now.”

Across the United States, many Asian Americans are on high alert. After the February attack on Vicha Ratanapkadee, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Los Angeles warned Thai individuals in California to be keep their guard up when in public. According to the Tennessean, just 48.7% of Asian American students in Tennessee returned to in-person schooling when given the option to stop learning remotely—the smallest percentage out of any ethnic group. In New York City, Asian Americans make up 18% of students, but less than 12% of them returned to attend in-person classes.

“I spoke to a school principal who said a woman brought her child on the subway to school, and she was harassed on the train,” said Washington Post education reporter Moriah Balingit. “And after that, she decided to keep her daughter home. She was afraid to ride the subway. Asian Americans are disproportionately making the decision to keep their children home.”

The Coronavirus is commonly cited as a major reason for the rise in anti-Asian American hate. “Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have definitely seen an increase in anti-Asian hate,” said senior Jamie Harn. “At first, it would just be people joking about Asian food and how it’s ‘sketchy and disgusting.’ But I think as more people started blaming China for the virus, people would always ask me if Vietnam was a dirty country or if our food can also cause a pandemic.”

She said that even people close to her would say that they had to stay away from Asian food just in case.

Some far-right groups and individuals including former president Donald Trump referred to the disease as the “China” or “Wuhan” virus. “A recent report by the University of California in San Francisco directly linked Trump’s first tweet about the Chinese virus to a significant increase in antiAsian hashtags,” said Yunqiu (Daniel) Wang, a senior lecturer and biology adviser at UM.

“The election has corresponded with a resurgence of anti-Asian hate,” Joel Finkelstein, the co-founder of the Network Contagion Research Institute, told the Washington Post “There are a lot of people looking for others to blame.” In January, they reported, “Terms including ‘China,’ ‘Wuhan’ and ‘flu’ surged on far-right forums like Telegram, 8kun and TheDonald.

Harmful stereotypes and phenomena including the “model minority” label and fetishization of Asian women may also play into the violence. The “model minority” myth,” University of Maryland Baltimore County professor Charissa Cheah told the Washington Post, perpetuates the idea that Asian-Americans as a group have succeeded in this country and have “moved beyond discrimination.” She said another harmful and sometimes conjoined issue is “the sexualization and exoticization of AsianAmerican females in a very disturbing way.” The Stop AAIP Hate report showed that Asian-American women are 2.3 times more likely than men to report hate incidents.

For Abby Pakk, a freshman at UM, “I feel like jokes towards the Asian race are often overlooked. Being called Jackie Chan or Ching Chong isn’t ‘just a joke,’ but actually so racist and hurtful. Ever since I was young I just laughed it off, especially because I grew up in a really white area,” said Pakk. She said that recently a man approached her while at a restaurant with friends and ask if she believed in God or studied the Bible. “When I said I didn’t, he said ‘oh, you study the Karate Kid right?’ Comments like that are often very unnecessary and just not funny.”

When the Atlanta shooter confessed to his killings, he told authorities they were not racially motived, but that he was a “sex addict” trying to “eliminate temptation.” But many advocates, activists and academics don’t buy it. Instead, they note that such violence and sentiment lie at the intersection of racism and misogyny.

“Violence can be racially and gendered motivated—that is, racialized misogyny,” said Donna

Coker, a professor at the UM School of Law. “That the two are intertwined. There is a long history of white men fetishizing Asian women, of presuming them to be sexually available. In addition, there is a long history of blaming women—and particularly women who are of racially subordinated groups—for male sexual desire.”

“The killer showed that for him, these women were not worth respect as human beings, but were sexual objects,” said Claire Oueslati-Porter, a senior lecturer in gender and sexuality studies at the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences. “He specifically went to Asian businesses with Asian workers. There were other businesses on the same street that he could have attacked but didn’t. The fact that he felt he had the power to ‘eliminate’ Asian women means that he was engaged in white supremacist patriarchal violence. He denied racism, but a lot of racism isn’t understood as such by the racist. The killer justified his violence by using his religiosity, describing these human beings as ‘temptations.”

For all the claims of “bad days,” tantrums and sexual fanaticism, the numbers don’t lie: Attacks on Asian-Americans have skyrocketed in the past year, and it’s hard to chalk these incidents up to coincidence.

There are things people can do to combat anti-Asian discrimination, even if they aren’t personally affected by the phenomenon. “People should learn the history and culture of Asian countries and see all the beautiful parts of them,” said Harn. “It’s unfair to blame one single country for the pandemic when one, pandemics could and have originated from many places and two, other countries could have helped with the spread of it.” Pakk agreed. “I think UM students can help in combating the issue by always being an ally and watching what they say,” she said. “I know some people think they are just making a joke but it isn’t as funny as they think it is.”

*Some reporting courtesy of UM Communications.

Football runs in Janet Kalaniuvalu’s family. It was only natural for her admiration of the sport to turn into more than just something she enjoyed from the sidelines. Kalaniuvalu recalls her uncle Lewis Powell, a coach at the University of Utah, sneaking her into football camp, handing her shoulder pads and telling her “Here’s some pads, just go.” It was that simple. As a young girl, Kalaniuvalu ran the field calling plays and throwing touchdowns. With pads and a helmet on, she blended right in with the boys. So much so that when her up in Orem, Utah, a town 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, she attended Mountain Valley High school, where she was known as the volleyball team captain and “boogie robot”—a nickname she garnered from a childhood email address. Her parents were always strict, telling her to “go to school, go to college and hopefully earn a scholarship to play college volleyball,” she said. And she did just that and accepted a scholarship to Southern Utah University to play college volleyball. In that moment, Southern Utah University was a good fit, especially because it was only 223 miles away KNEEPADS Janet Kalaniuvalu left the mountains for the ocean. All the way from Orem, Utah, the young woman is spiking through life—on and off the court. With her passion and drive, she is unstoppable. Her first love was football, but now she commands the court as she plays volleyball for the Miami Hurricanes. words._lauren mokhtarzadeh. photos_um athletics. design_giselle spicer. helmet came off, shock could be seen on the from her family’s home. However, she needed faces of her male teammates. Kalaniuvalu was to push herself more, especially when it came destined to stand out. But not on the field— to her sport. She decided to trade the snowy instead she found her place on the court. mountain tops for the warm blue ocean and As she grew older, the reality of transferred to the University of Miami, 2,481 Kalaniuvalu playing football was out of miles away from her home. the picture because of her gender. She was This was a big change. Not only for heartbroken, but she could not stay away Kalaniuvalu, but also for her greatest from sports. In the seventh grade, she treasure, her family. Her and her siblings traded in the shoulder pads for knee pads are extremely close. Each time Kalaniuvalu and started her volleyball career. Growing returns home to Utah, she goes back to her

first flame—football—tackling each of her siblings, one by one. The Kalaniuvalu family has many traditions surrounding football, specifically on Thanksgiving. They host a Turkey Bowl and enjoy a good old game of classic American football.

She notes that the biggest lesson she has learned from her siblings is the concept of unconditional love. “No matter how much we’ve argued or all the crap that we went through growing up as kids, even being apart from them, I’ve learned that they’ll always love me, and I’ll always love them and be able to take care of them,” she said.

Kalaniuvalu has a special bond with her younger sister, Teisa. Not only are they the only girl siblings, but they also played high school volleyball together. In fact, Kalaniuvalu is the reason why Teisa played volleyball in the first place. In the middle of her season at Southern Utah University, Kalaniuvalu drove four hours for Teisa’s high school senior volleyball night. “I watched her walk through the doors and I started crying, even though it wasn’t a big deal,” said Teisa. “But she just knows what’s important to people and she pulled through for me that time because she knew that her presence mattered. She found a way to get there for me.”

Today, Kalaniuvalu is an outside hitter on UM’s volleyball team. “I wouldn’t say that she has changed,” Teisa shared. “I think that her opportunities have definitely gotten bigger. And her chances at playing sports at an even higher level have gotten bigger.”

Reflecting on her time at UM, she said, “I just think I’ve matured a lot. She expressed how easy it is to get distracted in college environments but says she has become more focused on her future. And because of that, she feels that her volleyball skills improved. The advertising student is still deciding what her plans are after college and if playing professional volleyball will be in her future. “It’s been one of my goals for so long that I can’t really see myself not doing it, even if it’s just for a little bit,” Kalaniuvalu said.

Kalaniuvalu views playing volleyball as a blessing. The journey of getting to play the game she loves was not easy. From day one, she said, her father instilled the definition of hard work and she has made it an expectation of herself to make her family proud. “My family is my biggest motivator,” she said. “They just have worked really hard, so that I could even have the opportunity to play volleyball,” she said. At five years old, Kalaniuvalu had a flaming passion, relentless drive and wanted to be the first girl to play in the NFL. Today, she continues to embody that energy and proudly represents the Kalaniuvalu name just this time with knee pads instead of shoulder pads.

Kalaniuvalu transferred from Southern Utah University to the University of Miami for her last two seasons of volleyball, where she serves as the outside hitter for the Hurricanes.

Marcel Katz has become a well-known art dealer and curator in both South Florida and around the world. Katz, born and raised in Miami, got into the art world through working in the bustling Miami nightlife industry. He began collaborating with local artists and started his art marketing and curation business, The Art Plug, out of his mother’s bedroom.

Over six years, Katz business has grown into an international success—at the age of 30, Katz became the youngest authorized Salvador Dali dealer, and now has access to famous works from renowned artists like Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. Katz is “disrupting the U.S. art scene,” according to Forbes. “My main mission is to make art more accessible for all,” Katz said. “Art is something that can open people’s minds and I think that if people were more open to it, the world would be a better place.”

The Art Plug is a creative art and marketing agency where Katz curates mural advertising, brand design, digital content creation and experiential production. He has curated campaigns with brands like Lyft, Foot Locker, Red Bull and Stella Artois. The Art Plug Power House, a branch of the agency, is a platform that incorporates art with interactive

The “Saint George & The Dragon” was presented Pope John Paul II in 1995 by the Dali Universe for display in Rome’s Vatican collection, according to one caption on @ theartplug’s Instagram. “In this sculpture, Dali focuses on the duality between life and death and good and evil.”

The Real Surreal and The Real Surreal 2 were curated by Marcel Katz and Bertrand Epaud in partnership with The Dali Universe, a group that organizes Salvador Dali artworks from around the world.

Marcel Katz is bringing a new vision of art to Miami. His creative marketing agency represents a global network of artists and his art platform is redefining what the traditional art fair looks like.

Ticket information for The Real Surreal 2 is available at artplug. com. Frontline workers, creatives, students and teachers can email hello@artplug. com to claim their complimentary tickets. experiences. Katz aims to exhibit an interactive experience for the viewer. His shows cater to youth culture, often exhibiting extreme performance art and live interactive experiences which feature monster trucks, stuntmen and a variety of performance art that defy the very definition of the tradition of art itself.

“Art is you embracing your own approach and direction, and concepts of life and living,” Katz said. “I felt with the Power House this was the only way to do that. You can keep people young and we are still able to play with monster trucks, motorcycles, trains, airplanes and helicopters. We can be kids forever.”

Katz’ commitment to pushing the boundaries through sensory experiences have come to define true creativity. At Art Basel 2018, for example, an event he curated transformed a 30,000 square foot police impound into a contemporary art gallery garnering major attention.

Even during the pandemic, when Art Basel was cancelled and many galleries suffered, Katz didn’t stop. He brought the first ever museum show of Salvador Dali to Miami. The free museum show, “The Real Surreal,” is still on display and located at the Confidante Hotel. It features works on paper and the famed bronze sculpture, “St. George and the Dragon,” along with a free virtual version. This COVID-friendly show, first opened (both inperson and virtually) in November of 2020. The second installment, “The Real Surreal 2,” opened in February.

Katz believes in bringing culture to the masses and works to make his shows accessible for all. “Culture should be free, my shows are free, art is an experience and I know how to give the world the right medicine,” said Katz. “I feel like I stand for Miami and I feel like it’s my job to make sure Miami preserves its culture and continues to thrive,” said Katz. “As a person in the forefront of the art world, I think Miami is a great place to start.”

The Confidante Hotel, which houses The Real Surreal exhibit, is located in Miami Beach at 4041 Collins Avenue.

Have you ever wanted to learn more about the furry friends you see walking around campus? Distraction was lucky enough to get a few one-on-one interviews with our campus’s finest four-legged cuties!

I am: 10 months old I am a: German Shepard/Husky Mix I love: Chasing birds outside, feeling the wind in my fur and playing with water. I hate: Playing fetch. Fun fact: I just graduated from Advanced Dog Training and am trained in English and German. I also have an Instagram, @grootsayswoof. I’m sorry but: I can be very stubborn when I’m not in the mood to listen What Mom loves most: “He is a very protective pup, but he’s also extremely friendly and loves affection.” –Michelle Marino

I am: 3.5 years old I am a: Chihuahua I love: Walks, outside and visiting friends. I hate: Being left alone. Fun fact: I love to see my owner’s friends and even know the way to their apartments. I’m sorry but: I eat iPhone cords. What Mom loves most: “She gets so excited over the simplest things, every morning she gets so excited to see my roommate and it just brings a lot of joy to us. I think having a dog here has really helped my mental health, she brings so much positivity and makes me leave my apartment to go outside.” –Riley Stewart

I am: 1 year old I am a: Maltese I love: Running around like a maniac and barking at bigger dogs to assert dominance. I hate: Kibble (unless I am being hand fed) and getting my nails done. Fun fact: I am constantly stretching and doing yoga poses. I’m sorry but: I hate being alone and follow my owner everywhere. What Mom loves most: “Even though she is spoiled and yappy sometimes, she has such a big heart and is SO SMART. She acts like a human, it’s so weird!” –Shreya Arun

I am: Just over 1 year old I am a: Mini Labradoodle I love: Chasing lizards and birds. I hate: Swimming in the ocean. Fun fact: I can dance on my hind legs. I’m sorry but: I hate boys. What Mom loves most: “Besides the fact that she is the cutest thing ever, she is so smart and loyal. I can let her off the leash and still feel comfortable that she will stay close by.” –Ali Ferris

Did you pick up the special sticker cover of our summer 2021 issue? Hint: If this cover has 12 cute icons on the front, you’re in luck! If not, be sure to head to the nearest Distraction bin on campus to search for it. Inside you’ll find fun and nostalgic stickers to slap on your laptop or water bottle. Let the hunt begin!

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@DistractionUM Peek-a-boo! We want you to join our award-winnng staff. We’re always accepting writers, designers, photographers, videographers, PR pros and business-savvy sales reps. However you’d like to get in the swing of things, we have room for you. Contact our Editor-in-Chief, Olivia Ginsberg, at oag27@miami. edu for more information. Anyone is welcome to contribute!