Amor Zine by AmortheMagazine

Amor

Issue 01

Fall 2023

SDSU’s Contemporary Arts Magazine

EXCLUSIVE:

A LOOK INSIDE THE MIND BEHIND

KOCEAN

Y2K TRENDS:

GEN Z CELEBRATES

POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERAS

Behind-The-Scenes of Pipeline

Where is LODO Zine mascot Lodito?

Letter from the Editor Welcome to the first issue of AMOR Magazine, a student-run publication dedicated to exploring the contemporary art scene at San Diego State University. AMOR, which translates to “love” in Spanish, embodies our deep admiration for the arts. As a publication, we are committed to spotlighting rising talent that thrives on campus. SDSU has been the birthplace of limitless creativity and its students have fearlessly pushed the boundaries of art. Our team of dedicated writers, photographers and designers have poured their artistry into bringing this magazine to life. In each profile piece, you’ll discover the heart and soul of the individuals contributing to the creative landscape at SDSU. As we venture into art studios or rehearsal spaces, we aim to uncover the passion within these environments—where imagination knows no bounds. AMOR is not just a publication but a collaborative effort to amplify voices in our artistic community. To our contributors, thank you for sharing your stories and sharing a glimpse into the worlds you create. And to our readers, thank you for joining us on this exciting journey. Your support is the heartbeat of AMOR, and we are thrilled to share what we have in store for the future. So, without further ado, we introduce to you AMOR Magazine! We hope you enjoy the content in our first issue and continue to stay inspired. Editor-in-Chief

Photo by Maya Mejia @Mayaisa.png

Contents 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

Meet the staff Serafina Gargiulio: Society Perspective Nico Demers: Poetry and Prose Student Guide to Alternative Purchasses Sarah Garcia: Ceramics Journey Diego Delgadillo: Mastering Comedy Resurrection of the Digital Camera Kaitlyn Thomas: Finds Her Calling Uncomfotable Artists: Pipeline Renee Roldan”s Eight Pages of Anarchy

Jazlyn Dieguez is a senior majoring in journalism and minoring in creative editing and publishing. She holds the position of social media editor on The Daily Aztec’s 2023-2024 editorial board and also volunteers as a staff writer and photographer. Previous to becoming editor-in-chief of AMOR, she served as the writing and copy editor for The Look Magazine’s print and online sections throughout the 2022-2023 school year.

Gabrielle Houser is a fourth-year graphic design student from Dallas, TX. She is the graphics editor of The Daily Aztec, president of The Fashion Club, and vice president of Hue. With a background in fine arts, fashion and design, Houser hopes to pursue a career as a multimedia artist. Outside of school, Gabrielle works as a tattoo artist and sells custom-painted clothing.

Kaitlyn Donivan is a senior studying journalism. She is a storytelling consultant for LPL Financial and a staff writer for The Daily Aztec. She was a production assistant for the DA’s web series “Basement Beats.” Donivan runs the San Diego-based food blog Green Out Of 10. Her story “People Like Us,” published in Grossmont College’s The Summit, won the newsroom award for “Best Feature Story.”

Brittany Cruz-Fejeran is a senior journalism student with a minor in history. She transferred from Southwestern College where she served as editor-in-chief for the 2019-2020 school year. She worked at The Daily Aztec as the photo editor and is currently a staff writer and photographer with the publication. She has bylines with CalMatters, inewsource and Voice of San Diego. Cruz-Fejeran works as a freelance photographer for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Meet t

Serena Neumeyer is a fourth-year honors student studying journalism with a minor in interdisciplinary studies. Outside of her studies, she is involved with The Daily Aztec as a staff writer and social media editor on the 2022-23 editorial board. She has also explored broadcast reporting in her festival coverage of Rolling Loud 2023. For her contributions as a student journalist, Neumeyer was recognized by the San Diego Press Club Foundation with the Frank Saldana Memorial Scholarship.

the

taff

Jennifer Aguilar, a senior journalism student, is a transfer from San Diego Mesa College. She was previously the editor-in-chief for The Mesa Press for the 2021-2022 school year. Currently, Aguilar is the Mundo Azteca editor for The Daily Aztec, where she edits and translates stories for the Hispanic section. Outside of school, she works with the NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 street team and interns with La Vocera.

Justyn Frutiz is a senior majoring in journalism. He transferred from Los Angeles Valley College where he served as a staff writer at The Valley Star during the 2020-2021 school year. Some of Frutiz’s journalistic interests include film, politics and sports coverage. Outside of a newsroom, Frutiz can be found enjoying a movie at a theater or playing pick-up soccer at the park.

Michelle Armas is a senior journalism student who desires to document obscure stories of the world. She is a staff writer for The Daily Aztec, and former radio show host for KCR. She is proficient in Spanish and French and hopes to use these language skills to connect with a broader range of people. Outside of journalism, she spends her leisure time in her ceramics studio, exploring the infinite possibilities of clay. 5

pective

Society Pers highlights the world of storytelling

through journalism and social media

Serafina Gargiulo spotlights strangers and their stories through her Instagram and YouTube channel

Written By Jennifer Aguilar “Everyone has a story,” is true for Serafina Gargiulo. With a camera and microphone in hand, the 20-year-old student approaches strangers with the curiosity of learning more about who they are. Inspired by her subjects’ diverse stories and perspectives, Gargiulo founded Society Perspective in 2022. She created the segment “talks with society” to provide a platform for voices within the community. As a result, her idea drew in over 18.6k Instagram followers. One of her most viral videos, garnering over 1.1 million Instagram views, highlights the story of an elderly Iranian woman who ran away from her country when Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini assumed leadership. “A lot of people that get the spotlight in videos are usually celebrities (and) athletes — of course, it is well deserved — but what about the people that you can relate to? Where are those people?” she said. “Where are they getting their shine in the media? I kind of wanted to turn the angle toward strangers and interviewing people.” Gargiulo tries to be unassuming and open-minded when choosing people to interview. “It kind of is a feeling, sometimes I’ll get,” Gargiulo said. “You can’t really judge right off the bat because some of my best interviews were the ones that I didn’t even want to go ask. It is all random for the most part.” 6

Society Perspective bridges the world of journalism to social media by being an unbiased platform that allows people to share their stories. “There is no agenda with any of my videos,” Gargiulo said. “I feel like a lot of times with journalism it is like, ‘Okay, what am I trying to get to the audience with? What is the agenda?’ type of thing. With (Society Perspective), it is none of that.” As a student, Gargiulo said she tries to maintain a balance between her creative outlet, school and work in a healthy way. “As much as I love doing these videos and YouTube and everything, school definitely comes first.” Gargiulo said. “That is why I am here in the first place—why I am able to be in San Diego because I would not have been able to start YouTube or anything if it wasn’t for (school).” Gargiulo’s love for interviewing people has grown her desire to turn her platform into a potential career. “Eventually, I want it to reach as many people as I can — not in terms of views. I want people to recognize it and have it be a conversation starter,” Gargiulo said. “ I would love to see it expand to different areas.” Regardless of where she ends up, Gargiulo hopes to remain inspired as she continues to share stories of people around the world.

“I hope that you are

sticking true to yourself and you are getting

out of your comfort zone.

Traveling the world interviewing people.”

-Serafina Gargiulio

& An alter Nico Demers uses his artistic flame craft of writing to reignite a love for literature through social media

Written By Michelle Armas After realizing a fading fire in his long-winded wrestling career, SDSU student Nico Demers took a deep dive into his “alter artistic flame” of writing poetry and prose. Demers is in his final year of college, pursuing a degree in English. He is a writer who shares his journey with the world through social media — exploring themes revolving around body image, love, religion, nature and death. “Poetry is my vessel to the present moment; when I am writing poetry, I am in a complete state of happiness and bliss,” Demers said when sharing about what poetry meant to him. Demers explained that he was a “late bloomer to poetry.” Throughout his adolescence, he invested the majority of his energy into wrestling. In his senior year, he won the California Interscholastic Federation championships and planned to continue the sport in college. After a while, however, the symptoms of burnout became inevitable. He discovered poetry as a potential outlet for his tensioned feelings around wrestling. He soon began to write about the male body and his experience with disordered eating. “I was so moved by its profound capability to give a pulse to so many feelings,” Demers said. When he realized he had a knack for the craft, he decided to challenge the nature of this, according to him, “high and unapproachable” art form. He did this by sharing his poems on social media. “It’s always this tongue and cheek thing,” he said. He explained that sharing his work online is another way of showing people what poetry can be. Demers’ content gained unexpected traction on TikTok and Instagram, which he described as the first “boom.” Despite the success, he warns against the limits social media can have on art. “As you get bigger and bigger, you put a veil over who you are,” he said. “You’re so preoccupied

by this constant surveillance.” However, his desire to “revamp a love for literature” remains and he continues to post – aiming to be as authentic as possible. Like any other creative, Demers has played with different writing styles and genres to find his own voice with the craft. He has derived much of his inspiration from the Beatnik movement, a literary and cultural phenomenon of the 1950s that emerged in the post-World War II era. This counterculture movement rebelled against the conventional image of “white picket fence America” and, according to Demers, “exploded the bounds of poetry with rules and form.” Through the ebbs and flows of the creative process, Demers found a style he resonates most with. “I went into a spontaneous wild way of writing and then a vulgar way of writing – kind of like Bukowski – and now I’m in this arc where I’m finding a beautiful medium of heavily restricted form, classical poetry that collides with contemporary forms that are more free verse,” he explained. He sees writing as a vessel and said it “is a way for us to, in our most vulnerable states, communicate with each other.”

A student guide to

alternative purchases: Invest in practices that are beneficial to your wallet and the planet

From DIY to thrifting Written by Justyn Frutiz

Finding affordable, high-quality clothes is a significant challenge for college students on a tight budget. In our current economic climate, students often buy from fast fashion companies like Shein, which profit from making cheap clothes through exploitative working conditions. However, social media users on platforms like TikTok have voiced their disdain for fast fashion practices, pivoting their interest in purchasing clothes in alternative ways. “I honestly do not really remember the last time I’ve bought in-store, and part of that is because I just try not to go into fast fashion stores,” said Yaya Khatib, an SDSU student and crocheter. “Even with my hijabs, I try and only buy my hijabs from one company that I’ve done research on and I know that they have a small group of women in India that are paid fair wages.” Khatib, known as @yassuck on YouTube, Instagram, Depop and Etsy, crochets items ranging from sweaters to headphone covers. She sells online and participates in pop-up shops, such as the recent Makers Market hosted by the SDSU Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Center on Oct. 18. She also provides step-by-step tutorials on her channel for those beginning to crochet their own clothes. One of her products, a crochet daisy bucket hat, even found the head of British pop star Harry Styles. After realizing her videos were gaining traction, she decided to prioritize her YouTube channel.

Khatib explained that she wants to make the art of creating your own clothes accessible for those looking into sustainable, DIY fashion. “I definitely want to continue making YouTube videos and making tutorials because if they help me or anyone else, then it definitely is worth all the manpower it takes to edit them and put them out,” Khatib said. Another small but frequently overlooked piece of fashion is accessories. Purchasing accessories, even a simple pair of sunglasses, can be challenging due to their high price range. An easy workaround for avoiding this issue is to explore swap meets or flea markets that offer inexpensive DIY and recycled jewelry to purchase. Artist and SDSU Jewelry Co-op President Hana Foo, a student in the jewelry and metalwork program at SDSU, spends her free time selling jewelry creations at these markets. Foo reminisced on a project made of scraps from a local jeweler to point out how much work goes into crafting. “Me and my best friend in jewelry went, ‘Oh f-ck, should we buy our own silver or can we find a discount?’ We could not find our own silver,” Foo said. “My friend asked (the local jeweler) if they have scraps and we actually made all our rings and silver bands out of scraps that didn’t work.” The SDSU Jewelry Co-op is still new to campus compared to other organizations. With a new $30,000 infusion into their budget, the co-op has been able to schedule more local artists and events. Learning methods of making and repairing your own clothes can prevent them from becoming waste in landfills and contributing to harmful greenhouse gasses, according to Earth.org. Buying second-hand clothing can also help to avoid this. Lila Zeichner, the vice president of the SDSU Jewelry Club and industry coordinator of the SDSU Fashion Club, has an array of experience that ranges from sewing, knitting and tailoring. As of right now, she has a unique way of attaining clothes. “I feel like not enough people share their clothes with their friends,” Zeichner said. “If somebody wants to get rid of something, it is mine because I hate to see good clothes go to waste.” This type of sharing is called swapping. Once a semester, Associated Students at SDSU organizes a “swap shop” with the most recent one occurring this past October. The next swap shop is in April, according to A.S. Sustainability and Greenlove Chair Antonella Giorgi. “The benefits of thrifting clothes and giving them a second use is that you are being part of a circular economy where you are giving things a second

usage instead of purchasing new things and being part of consumerism,” Giorgi said. Swap meets and flea markets are similar to the A.S. Swap Shop. These markets serve as platforms for local artists and fashion designers to showcase their work, offering a wide array of thrift clothes that are cost-efficient in comparison to newly manufactured garments. A popular swap meet near SDSU is Kobey’s Swap Meet at Pechanga Arena, which operates on the weekends from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Many young consumers have shifted away from buying new items from their local mall. Thrift stores like Goodwill and second-hand e-commerce sites like Depop evolved their niche consumerism to become a common way for people to shop. Much of the popularity surrounding recycled fashion can be attributed to trends on social media. For example, TikTok influencers and users often make videos showcasing their thrift hauls. This content contributes to the normalization of buying second-hand clothes within the community. The alternative methods to acquiring clothes are beneficial. Whether it’s swapping, crocheting or smithing, the mere purchase or crafting of clothes can help fill your wardrobe, reduce landfill waste and maintain the state of your bank account.

MFA student

Sarah Garcia

braids, unbraids the past with clay

Garcia talks about her journey with how sculpture and clay are an entrance into investigating patterns of past generation Written by Michelle Armas “Do-un-do” is the name of a clay sculpture showcased in the student art gallery on the upper level of Art North at SDSU. On a white platform, there are four clay hands clasping thickly woven braids. The plaque underneath reads the name of the piece and the name of the artist, Sarah Garcia. There is no description. Garcia is a Master of Fine Arts student, ceramics artist and mother of a daughter named Frida, who is 13 years old. She wears a braid that cascades down her back which resembles the sculptures that brim her studio. One can’t help but wonder what it all means. Garcia shared that her sculptures are all part of a series she has been working on for the past year.

“I’ve really been focusing on the women in my family — my mother, my grandmothers… different people I know stories about, but have never met,” she said. Her clay practice is an investigation of the patterns that were inherited through her family experiences, approaches and understandings. “I’m interested in hair, braids and weaving... (it’s) sort of how we sometimes protect ourselves, how we present ourselves and how we connect and relate to others,” she said. Garcia is also a member of the Chahta tribe. While she didn’t grow up living on a reservation, she said a family connection still exists. “It does play a part in looking back into the

past,” Garcia said. “Do-un-do is sort of that process of thinking about these patterns and inheritances. It’s the process of undoing things in order to understand how something is made.” Her journey through motherhood has also been an influence on this series and her art. “I’ve been thinking about my experience as a mother as well and what sort of things I want to pass on to my daughter,” Garcia said. “Part of understanding these patterns is making sure I can protect patterns that are important, that are vital, that require some custodianship… and it’s also understanding the patterns that are ready to be reworked or altered.” Garcia usually begins her process with pencil and paper sketching. “Sometimes it comes from a visual idea, but sometimes it comes from a conceptual place… I think about how I can solve something in a physical way,” she said. While studying for her undergraduate education, Garcia was interested in art therapy. She noted how the process of art therapy helped her workshop her ideas and feelings. After becoming inclined in that form of art, Garcia would then earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology. Shortly after, Garcia gave birth to her daughter, Frida, prompting her to take some time off from work. There, she began her personal art practice. “I started mostly painting at the time or doing things I could quickly put away or get out while she was asleep,” Garcia said. After Garcia became interested in sculpture

and ceramics, she worked as a tech at San Diego City College for six years. After that, she then began the master’s program at SDSU. Her favorite aspect about clay is the memory it holds, and how it records the force it comes in contact with. “I’ve pushed it and pulled it and asked it to be in this place, so there’s all this intentional force, but it also records all the unintentional force,” Garcia said. “Even if you can correct that, these memories will express themselves.” In the past, Garcia said she has tried to create flawless vessels, but the material will still express itself. Nevertheless, she wants to give space for that. Since the work she does is personal, she doesn’t want to have a specific message, but instead just create an opening for a thought or conversation. Her intention is to lay a foundation for work that she is interested in doing later on. The next show Garcia has scheduled is the temporary exhibition at the airport: Espacios & Lines in January through December 2024. For a further look into her work, visit her website at www.sarahebgarcia.com.

Brevi

Mas come split-s

ity and astering brilliance:

edy in a second

Diego Delgadillo spends his school days writing articles for journalism classes at SDSU. At night, he moonlights as a stand-up comedian despite often being the youngest person in the room.

Written By Kaitlyn Donivan Comedy is an art unlike any other — its artistic value is decided in a fraction of a second, with either a burst of applause or a room of silent glares. “Look at a painting, and anyone can be like, ‘Yeah, it’s pretty,’” stand-up comedian Diego Delgadillo said. “If you tell a joke, and it’s not funny — it’s not a joke. It’s the only art that is qualified by the audience as good or bad in that moment.” Delgadillo remembers the first time he experienced the “undeniable” feeling of landing a joke with an audience. He was 18 when he participated in his first open mic in downtown San Diego. In the dim lighting of the Madhouse Comedy Club, the Chula Vista native was forced to sit by the bartender because he was underage. Despite being sequestered, Delgadillo fondly remembers his first stage. “It’s the worst place on Earth, but it’s the greatest,” he said. “It’s not the best comedy, but it’s the heart of San Diego standup.” He wasn’t expecting a crowd that night, but he got one. Another performer’s friends and family had attended, and Delgadillo had them roaring with laughter. He said he did so well that the bartender offered him a job. He remembers how big that moment felt as he screamed in his car, “I f—ing did it!” He was hooked on the instant gratification that accompanies entertaining.

Delgadillo started at an age considered young for most comedians. Still, he doesn’t believe his youth puts him at a disadvantage because the human experience is at the core of comedy. As a journalism major, Delgadillo is trained to notice storytelling details among life’s mundanity, and he applies those observations to his comedy. “Being a person is half the experience, and everyone knows what being a person is like,” he said. “It’s like writing for journalism, you know, what’s niche and what’s not.” Delgadillo’s quick wit is suited to the rapid rhythm of comedy, and you can bet the end of his sentences will be peppered with an off-the-cuff joke. As a kid, he was always the one who got in trouble for talking and joking. More than wanting to make people laugh, he wants to be good at something that comes so naturally. “This is something that I’ve always done,” he said. “I want to be able to prove that it’s something I do well and not just something that I do out of bullsh—ing.” He isn’t the 18-year-old kid at his first open mic anymore because comedy taught him about his identity and how it influences his art. Through Delgadillo’s observations of patterns, he can create humorous yet insightful observations of silly human encounters. While he holds his breath for a laugh between those decisive seconds, Delgadillo finds a way to fulfill a promise to his younger self. 15

CAMERA

Written by Jazlyn Dieguez Point-and-shoot digital cameras are capturing the attention of Gen Z. Once the hottest gadget of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the pocket-sized camera that defined a majority of Gen Z’s childhood is now making its resurgence in the age of social media and smartphones. The revival of digicams can be attributed to TikTok, with the hashtag #digitalcamera amassing over 1 billion views. Celebrities including Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and Charli D’Amelio are joining trends online by reposting photos taken on digital cameras or using them as stylish accessories. Young adults, especially college students, are repurposing digicams with their personal touch of capturing memorable moments. Among these individuals is Tallie De Leon, a fourth-year marketing student who uses a digital camera to document her college experience at SDSU. “I take pictures of everything and everyone,” De Leon said. “I took (my digicam) to Vegas for my friend’s 21st, and I took photos of her, us and everyone. It was really cute.”

IN A GEN Z

ERA Photos taken on digital cameras range from a grainy, overexposed look to a sharp, colorfully vibrant aesthetic. Because of this, Gen Z has taken to the internet to compare the quality of digital cameras to smartphones. In doing so, this generation has found an appreciation for natural, low-light shots of digital cameras that capture the raw moments often lost in over-enhanced smartphone photos. The versatility of digicam photos has also made its way onto Pinterest boards and Instagram explore pages, increasing the traffic to purchase one on second-hand e-commerce sites. Thanks to Gen Z, the digital camera market is expected to grow annually by 2% through 2028, according to Statista. Based on online observations, the average used digital camera costs anywhere from $50 to $200. While many are flocking to Facebook Marketplace and eBay to purchase a digital camera, some individuals like De Leon are fortunate enough to have one passed down through family generations. “I noticed that people were using (digicams) on Pinterest, and I was like, ‘Wait a minute, do we have one of those? It looks really cool,’” De Leon said. “My nana

gave me hers because she doesn’t use it anymore.” Aside from saving one of her grandma’s Cancun beach photos in her camera roll, De Leon has captured more memories on her Canon PowerShot ELPH 190 IS to photograph time spent with her sorority sisters and at fashion photoshoots. In the wake of the Y2K movement, Gen Z is responsible for resurfacing past fashion trends, including low-rise jeans, baby tees and velour tracksuits. Digital cameras are the primary focus of the Y2K movement, contributing to the technological revival of disposable cameras and film photography. Katie Flores, director of fundraising for SDSU Photography Club, believes the ease and convenience of using a point-and-shoot digital camera might entice people to pursue photography as a hobby or career. “I started on a point-and-shoot, then upgraded and wanted to learn manual,” Flores said. “You meet other people who have their own camera equipment. I feel like they enjoy it more.” Despite Gen Z’s preference for point-and-shoots over smartphone devices, the image quality they consider “high-quality” isn’t reaching its maximum potential. “With the image quality, you’re not getting the cleanest shot because you don’t get to manually control everything,” Flores said. Although digicams capture low-quality images, Gen Z still loves its raw, unfiltered look. Many praise the nostalgic and candid feel these photos evoke. “I think photography is just meant to be fun,” Flores said. “I feel like it’s just a way to capture moments and memories of your friends… or trying to experiment. You don’t have to take it seriously.” With the rising use of digital cameras, only time will tell what trends will be resurrected from the past. “Everything that happened in the past is coming full circle,” De Leon said. “The rise in quality photos is coming back, and I feel like people see that. I think it’s fun, and it’s more expressive.”

Embracing chaos within the music

Photos by Maya Mejia @Mayaisa.png

Kaitlyn Thomas finds her calling and influences ‘rage state’ with the sound of Kocean

Written by Serena Neumeyer Front and center on stage, with flaming red hair shredding a baby blue guitar, is not only the voice behind Kocean’s lyrics but the mastermind behind the band. The sound of Kocean is a familiar melody dominating nightlife at SDSU that all started with a teenage girl who wrote songs about f*ckboys and mean girls from the safety of her bedroom. For Kaitlyn Thomas, pursuing music was a happy accident that came from playing a few keys on the piano while she was home alone after school. She wasn’t a complete stranger to music, but she hated the thought of playing after taking five years of classical piano and a few basic guitar lessons. It took being alone in her parent’s house with a baby grand piano to dust off her old sheet music and fill the silence around her with music. Her mom was also influential in helping her see another side to music by teaching her how to harmonize and buying her first ukulele. Eventually, Thomas began to stray away from classical piano and discovered her own sound through “joke songs’’ she wrote on the ukulele with her friends. With some wired headphones and a computer, Thomas experimented with producing her own music to post online. “After school, I found my own joy and love with it…from songwriting, producing and playing these instruments. It was not planned, but when you do anything, you kind of just build upon what you know. You grow and you change within any art business,” Thomas said. “That’s kind of how it got here because you start out with your soft indie music and you find your voice as you go on.” In high school, that same soft indie music inspired Thomas and her friends to form a band. Under the name Kaitlyn Elizabeth, her songs had the chance to be heard beyond the walls of her bedroom and on stage. She and her friends performed together in front of live audiences at local venues in San Diego, including the House of Blues, SOMA and Che Café. It wasn’t until college that Thomas transformed into a punk rock performer and brought her band Kocean to life. Her

latest project can be heard across the house party scene at SDSU, drawing in college students with the promises of moshing and crowd surfing. Thomas hopes the energy she brings on stage will encourage Kocean fans to push boundaries and not be afraid to embrace a little chaos. “I just like being my loudest self. I’m a very extroverted person but on stage, I get to do it with no excuses… I can chug a beer, shake ass or say ‘F*** men’ in front of a crowd of people and that’s what they want,” Thomas said. “This is my opportunity to be this extra persona that I can’t normally be because, you know, society is blinding.” The beauty of Kocean is how unexpectedly the band came together. After a few jam sessions and phone number exchanges, Thomas found herself ripping chords on stage alongside Isaiah Hand, Nick Kusior and Zen Yokel — three guys who became a second family to her over the years. Zen Yokel, the bassist of Kocean, shared how music brought him and Thomas together while they were president and vice president of Aztec Music Group. As friends, they’ve been able to support each other in their music endeavors. But as band members, they’re able to create something extraordinary through Kocean. “Me and Katie have had the highest of highs — and I wouldn’t say the lowest of lows— but whether it’s good times or bad times, we always stick it through and look out for each other,” Yokel said. “In terms of the skills, I’ve learned to deal with people in the music scene in San Diego, both in college and in the actual professional industry. I would say I learned about 75% if not more of that stuff from Katie.” Although Thomas loves being a performer, she has plans to pursue a career in the business side of the music industry. For now, she hopes to spend the rest of her senior year bringing Kocean fans the greatest performances and recordings of their latest songs to further cement their legacy among the Aztec community. “This year is dedicated to just playing and recording and promoting all the songs because we just want everyone to hear it…To my SDSU fans, y’all rock, y’all f*ck and I can’t wait to see you guys at the next one.”

Uncomfortab At SDSU, Black Renaissance is a theater group that goes beyond entertainment; it taps into discomfort and reality to create hope and compassion. Written By Kaitlyn Donivan “There’s always going to be art that makes you uncomfortable. No matter what. Art is completely subjective,” actor Booker Schrock said before hurrying to the backstage of Black Renaissance’s first show of the fall semester. “Pipeline,” by American playwright Dominique Morisseau, was directed by Black Renaissance’s President Donae Swanson, a third-year theatre arts performance major, and JaVon Clarke. The contemporary play grapples with the tumultuous story of a Black family fighting against the school-to-prison pipeline. It is not a show meant to be mindless entertainment; the actors see it as a piece of art meant to leave audiences pondering a new perspective on the education system and how it treats students of color. Swanson said that one of the biggest obstacles she faced while directing this show was helping her cast understand roles they couldn’t deeply relate to. Mothers, fathers and school teachers fighting for their kids’ right to a second chance is a bag of intense emotions many young actors have yet to tap into. During one of the last dress rehearsals, the show’s female lead, Sydney Pippen, explained what it’s like to play a character that feels just out of reach. Pippen plays Nya, a teacher and single mother with a deep love for her son Omari. The main action of the play centers around Nya’s attempt to shield her son from punishment after he physically assaulted a teacher at school. “I definitely struggled. And the reason behind that is this is actually my first drama. I’m usually, like, comedic relief,” Pippen said. Already, Pippen felt at a disadvantage and out of her element, but she was prepared to accept the responsibility of telling a delicate story. Learning how to embody a motherly figure sensitively was something

that Pippen had to study to shift her perspective. She found her creative muse for her character in a close friend’s mother. “I just looked up to her as a very strong, independent woman, and she’s definitely someone I kept in mind as I was thinking about my character’s background,” Pippen said. The artistic process continuously challenges actors to make choices that transcend social boundaries and impact their audience. An authentic performance that intertwines reality with fictional narratives can move people emotionally and raise awareness for social issues such as the prison pipeline. To enhance the authenticity of Nya’s bond with her son Omari, Pippen fabricated memories and drew upon them during the show to portray the desperation and pain a mother contrives from a threat to her child. Schrock, a third-year theater performance major, also had to portray a character that carries a heaviness they were unfamiliar with. “Upon first reading the script, I felt like, oh, this is hard to watch. This is hard to read. This is hard to perform,” Schrock said. Laurie, the tough and outspoken inner-city school teacher, was one of the most challenging roles Schrock had ever played. Schrock analyzed Laurie’s passion for her job and why she gets fulfillment working in a school riddled with violence and poverty. They had to understand Laurie’s motivations were honest, no matter how misguided she came across. Art can be beautiful and pristine while simultaneously inhabiting a dark space of unnerving emotion and sobering realism. Art that makes audiences feel pain and discomfort is the same art that makes them feel empathy and hope. The cast’s decision to trespass into the unfamiliar to seek understanding encourages audiences to embody their boldness even after they leave the theater.

ble Artists: Refocusing reality through theatre

Renee Roldan’s

eight pages of

anarchy

LODO Zine , a palm-size work of art, peers into the mind of its author Brittany Cruz-Fejeran A party in hell, cannibal flower-eating daisies, petty theft and a thoughtful worm with teeth can all be found in SDSU junior Renee Roldan’s LODO Zine. The journalism major created LODO Zine in 2021, a little eight-page work of art with a punk attitude and little characters causing trouble. With lodo meaning mud in Spanish, Roldan encourages her readers to get dirty and play in the mud. By that, she hopes whoever reads her zine will find some amusement in it, regardless of what you do with it. “Enjoy it, give it to your friends or set it on fire,” she said. LODO Zine is Roldan’s antidote for overthinking. Her minimal and fleeting approach to her art is a cure for her indecisiveness and a true representation of herself. “I don’t typically have a lot of steps between, like conception and creation,” she said. “I like to keep it more simple.” Art has always been a part of Roldan’s life, whether it’s doodling on the margins of her tests or being inspired by her mother’s work. “Cartooning has always come very naturally to me so I feel like zines are kind of a natural progression of that,” she said. Originally, Roldan wanted LODO to be a T-shirt brand with fun characters called Loditos on it, but LODO Zine was born out of her passion for the San Diego punk scene. She sold merch for local bands, attended shows and emerged from the mosh pit with a black eye and a smile, but she wanted more. Roldan said she wanted to give back to the subculture she enjoyed for so long.

How could she do that? Roldan’s mom gave her the answer. Her mom, she said, made zines of anarchist scenes in Mexicali during the 1990s and taught Roldan how to make them when she was little. “So now I’m a second-generation zine-maker,” she said confidently. She first grabbed inspiration from her “scum journal,” which is what she called her high school diary. She didn’t write much, but it was full of doodles inspired by her day with friends. Now, it is whatever she wants it to be, whenever she wants it to be. “I make the zine to express myself and communicate my worldview, so for other people to enjoy that is a nice feeling,” Roldan said. Even if it means setting it on fire, according to the LODO website. She sells her zine at Verbatim Books in North Park and at any zine/art event. You can also ask her for one on her Instagram, @ wormwithteeth, or her website. Roldan said followers can expect the next issue to come out whenever she finishes it. “It’s actually just part of the brand identity and it’s not because I’m, you know, disorganized?”

Photos by Back cover @Dipdie Cover @Mayaisa.png