state press magazine

state press magazine VOLUME 17 // ISSUE TWO

HOMELESS, NOT HOPELESS How one ASU alumna went from living on the streets to mentoring at-risk youth

// OCTOBER 12, 2016

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from the editor There are some stories that touch you on a deeply personal level. There are some sources that open up and expose their wounds to reporters so that others may see and understand their personal journey. The story of one such individual is the subject of our cover piece, Mona Dixon. Reading Dixon’s story is a powerful experience, and one that ought to change the way you view people on the streets the next time they ask you for change.

More often than not, as a reporter you are sent to talk to people on the absolute worst day of their lives. The day a loved one died. The day their child drowned. The day their home caught fire. The day Donald Trump began his candidacy. But it isn’t often that we get to write about something positive, something that is as close to a Cinderella story as you can get in the real world. My hope is that by reading this story, and all the others, you take something away from it as I have. Enjoy our second issue, see you back for issue three in November.

the staff Executive Editor Sydney Maki

Editor-in-Chief Alexa D’Angelo

Managing Editor Savanah Yaghsezian

Multimedia Editor Heather Hudzinski

Design Editor Charlie Francis

Copy Editor

Jessica Suerth

Lead Reporter Andrew Nicla

Reporters

Madison Alder Ashley Ballard Taylor Bishop Aashini Choksi Amber Franklin Nicole Gimpl Lauren Intrieri Andres Guerra Luz Nina North Melina Zuniga

Lead Photographers Katie Malles Willow Greene Smith

Photographers Heather Hudzinski, Charlie Francis, Alexa D’Angelo, Savanah Yaghsezian Photo by Reilly Kneedler

join the conversation & follow @statepressmag

Gabriela Della Corna Jordan Neel Elena Pelkey-Landes

Cartoonist

Adam Zanzucchi

contents

VOLUME 17 // ISSUE TWO

18

12

CAMPUS CULTURE 06 Study Blues: When Using Online Study Materials Can Go Wrong

20

22

08

Luxury Over Commodity: Why Did ASU Choose a Nail Salon for the Downtown Phoenix Campus?

10

On Air With Professor La Torre

FROM THE COVER 12 Homeless, Not Hopeless ASU ALUMN 18 ASU Alumnus Works to Reimagine Phoenix

20

Behind the Camera

STUDENT LIFE 22 Hooking Up, Getting Hitched and Everything in Between

26

26

Q&A With the Underground Foundation (TUF)

local happenings in

october

My Wishes To The Absent

By Ranjani Venkatakrishnan

We don’t talk

That coping with stress

And that’s ok,

You can still play,

But sometimes

That you may shine

I still might pray

Like Saturn in May,

OCT 14

That you have

That evil and darkness

Ra Ra Riot @ Crescent Ballroom

A brilliant day,

Are kept at bay,

Anthony Green @ Joe’s Grotto

That you’re sunny

That you know I wish

Trevor Noah @ Comerica Theatre

In the rain,

To once more say “Hey”

Los Lobos @ Talking Stick

That your life

Even though I’m miles

OCT 15

Is bright always,

And miles away.

Kismet @ Crescent Ballroom

That you’re safe

We don’t talk,

Drive-By Truckers @ LiveWire

In every way,

And that’s okay.

Willie Nelson @ Celebrity Theatre

That every obstacle

I’m not with you,

Machine Gun Kelly @ Marquee Theatre

You will slay,

But I’m here to stay.

OCT 12 The 1975 @ Comerica Theatre

OCT 16 Metro Station @ Joe’s Grotto

OCT 18 Steel Pulse @ Livewire Chance the Rapper @ Mesa Amphitheatre

OCT 20 The Fray @ Comerica Theatre

OCT 21 Country Thunder Launchfest @ Talking Stick

zan-doodles “So, you see, if we pinpoint these locations here, we just might be able to take over all of ASU.”

OCT 22 The Spill Canvas @ Marquee Theatre Amy Schumer Live @ Gila River Arena Jerusafunk @ Valley Bar

OCT 23 The Sound of Music @ ASU Gammage

OCT 26 Seven Lions @ Marquee Theatre

OCT 27 Zeds Dead @ Marquee Theatre

OCT 29 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Marquee Theatre

*Bee Headquarters

CAMPUS CULTURE

STUDY BLUES

WHEN USING ONLINE STUDY MATERIALS CAN GO WRONG

BY MADISON ALDER PHOTO BY CHUCK DRIES

IT’S 11 42 P.M You frantically race against the clock to get that assignment in by 11:59 p.m. You told yourself you wouldn’t procrastinate like this again, but here you are, scrambling to complete your homework as if your life depends on it.

11:46 P.M. The minutes tick by faster. You’ve already factored what grade you need in this class to get your dream GPA and you’re so close. So, in a moment of sheer panic, you turn to Google.

When the results display, you find one source that matches your question perfectly … too perfectly. You click on the link and lo-and-behold you find not just that question, but your entire assignment. Copy. Paste.

11:58 P.M. Confidently and guiltily, you hit submit.

That search is where it all goes wrong, according to those who enforce Arizona State University’s academic dishonesty policies.

Study websites like Studyblue, Course Hero, Chegg and others make documents with all of the answers to an assignment or test readily available to students at the click of a button.

Privied information that feels like contraband often pops up in student’s search engine queries, linking them to sites that appear to be legitimate study tools.

Something about these “study sites” always felt wrong to me, and I was determined to figure out what it was. So, I started with my most basic question: is it illegal for students to share the exact answers for course materials on a website?

LEGAL TROUBLE The short answer is “yes,” Kimberly Holst, a professor at ASU law school says to me over the phone.

“There is definitely potential that a student could get into legal trouble,” Holst says.

Technically, a professor or school could own the copyright to the material, and if that information is posted online without consent, that is copyright infringement, she says.

“Under the copyright protections, the person who creates the work is in control of how the work is circulated,” Holst says.

However, schools probably would not go as far as to sue, she says.

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VOLUME 17 // ISSUE TWO

Schools typically have their own ways of dealing with the cases and a suit against a student would be a longer, more expensive process, Holst says.

So, there. My work was done, right?

Wrong. I may have had my original question answered, but now I wanted to dive deeper into the issue and find out what schools and students had to say about the use of study sites for college classes.

THE SCHOOLS To answer the question of how schools respond to the use of these sites, I turned to two schools at ASU: The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and The Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.

“Sites like Course Hero have come before the Cronkite board because students have seen it as a study material,” Mark Lodato, Cronkite School assistant dean, told me, adding that there’s a big difference between students referencing materials for ideas about format and approach versus students submitting copied material as if it were their own.

In his capacity as assistant dean of Cronkite, he also chairs the school’s standards committee.

Although Lodato couldn’t give me specific information about cases, he says the majority of cases at the Cronkite School “come down to the point where students feel they’re under pressure and have no other options.”

But, on average, Lodato says the Cronkite School sees few cases of academic dishonesty.

“We’re fortunate that the Cronkite academic integrity policy is very clear, so we see very few cases of academic dishonesty,” he says.

That’s a contrast to the 250 to 300 cases Assistant Dean Brian Skromme says he estimates the Fulton school has per year. In his position as assistant dean, Skromme processes all of the academic dishonesty cases that come through the Fulton school.

With his hands folded over his small office conference table, Skromme tells me, his general rule is that the exchange of electronic files between students is bad and is the first turn down wrong path. Sending email, sharing a flash drive, borrowing information off of a friend’s laptop and even use of study sites to share materials is included in his blanket rule, he says.

“You’ve got to be careful to protect your own interests because sometimes you could be facilitating something,” Skromme says, adding it doesn’t matter if it was intentional or unintentional.

The Fulton school, he tells me, has even called back people after graduation because their work was being used improperly — sometimes knowingly and sometimes after their work was stolen from something like an online portfolio.

“If you post something on a public site, it’s as if you’re walking down a public mall, handing out copies of your work to everyone you see,” he says with a chuckle.

Typically, Skromme says that if they are aware that copyrighted information — such as an exam or a review guide — is on a website, the school will contact the website and ask that it be taken down.

“Most of the sites will comply if they receive a notice of copyright infringement,” he said.

TO USE OR NOT TO USE When asked how students should be using these sites, if at all, both assistant deans told me students should air of the side of caution.

“Those sites are dangerous for students if they are used in the wrong way,” Lodato told me.

He says that in his experience, most students realize that using the information on these sites is wrong, but ignore the feeling.

“Students should recognize gut feeling and say ‘wait a minute it’s time to step back,’” Lodato says. “Nothing’s going to derail their academic careers faster than stepping over that line.”

Skromme says he believes that the best way that students can protect themselves from getting into trouble with study websites by steering clear of them completely.

“Our biggest concern isn’t to prosecute students, we’re more concerned with academic integrity.”

Skromme says the school encourages students to help each other learn because that’s one of the best ways students can learn.

“Our motto in engineering is that engineering is a team sport because nobody gets through engineering school completely on their own – that’s extremely rare.”

THE SITES I had a chance to talk to talk to a representative from Chegg, a website that sells study tools, tutor assistance and textbooks to students, to narrow down exactly what the website expects of its users.

User Liberman, vice president of communications for Chegg, says there are two facets to Chegg Study.

The first facet is textbook help.

“The proper way to think of that is as a study guide and as help for learning and mastering the materials,” Liberman says.

You can get an answer anywhere but learning how to actually solve the problem is what Chegg Study is supposed to help you with, he says.

The second part of Chegg Study is expert Q&A where students can query a database of more than 7 million answers and get solutions back immediately, almost all the time, Liberman says. And even if the question isn’t in the database, students can expect a response back in about 4 hours, he added.

“But again, that shouldn’t be used to do your homework,” he says. “It should be used to help you understand the problem and how to go about solving it.”

Out of their 1 million subscribers, Chegg receives very few complaints of academic dishonesty per year, Liberman says.

Course Hero and Studyblue did not respond to my requests for comment.

THE STUDENTS Alex Lee, a sophomore studying electrical engineering at ASU, uses Chegg everyday for the textbook solutions.

“I practice and then check the solution on Chegg,” he says.

“Studyblue has flashcards, so I use them to review for my final exam.”

Lee pays for accounts on all three major sites — Chegg, Studyblue and CourseHero — and says they are important resources for his studying.

Other ASU students, like Michael Du, a computer science freshman, don’t use the sites frequently themselves but know others that do.

Du says he knows “quite a bit” of people that use the sites as a crutch as opposed to a tool in high school.

“I assume that is going to carry over (to college),” he said.

Alex Salaices, a interdisciplinary studies junior at ASU, told me he doesn’t use the sites after he used one and was prompted to pay for a subscription.

But according to him, students don’t even have to visit a site to be prompted to join.

“In one of my classes we get spam from an ‘official notes taker,’” Salaices says, putting air quotes around the phrase.

“But she really works for StudySoup and wants you to subscribe.”

Salaices says that some of his classmates might buy into this but probably only at the last minute, the night before an exam.

CAMPUS CULTURE

Luxury Over Commodity Why Did ASU Choose a Nail Salon for the Downtown Phoenix Campus?

BY KATIE MALLES

O

n Arizona State University’s Tempe campus, there are five Starbucks, two Jamba Juice and Subway restaurants, a Mexican grill and about a dozen different cafes — not to mention another restaurant serving up crepes and a milkshake machine in the Memorial Union’s P.O.D Express.

At the Downtown Phoenix campus, students waited with anticipation for the opening of new eateries that might come along with the shiny new law school building.

But there was a glimmer of hope for students – a new business opening up on the first floor of Cronkite school, right on the corner of First and Taylor streets.

What could it be? A Panda Express? An Einstein Bagels?

A Jamba Juice (because who couldn’t go for a smoothie in 100-degree heat). Or how about a … nail salon?

Scheduled to open this October, the Downtown Phoenix Campus should get ready for the addition of Vera Icon, a nail salon and spa. But, a nail salon on a college campus? Is that necessary?

This isn’t an entirely new concept, the University of Michigan welcomed a nail salon in 2013 because the nearest one was more than five miles away, according to the Ann Arbor News. And just down the street in the Arizona Center is another nail salon.

Patrick Panetta, director of project management for ASU real estate development, says the project is a partnership with the City of Phoenix designed to open spaces underneath Cronkite and Taylor Place to make it accessible to the public.

The goal is to make the campus and surrounding area more pedestrian-friendly “There wasn’t a specific mandate that the spaces had to be one type of retail or another. The idea was not to put classrooms or offices there,” Panetta says. “We quickly filled out three retail spaces on Central Avenue in the Cronkite building with restaurants, and we had this other space available for a number of years. We entertained it for restaurants. There was a lot of different interest on it.”

The women who run the Arizona Broadcasting Hall of Fame in Scottsdale looked at the space for relocation and took a pass on it, according to Panetta. A smoothie business was also interested, but decided not to commit.

“Ultimately, the one we settled on and who we signed the contract with was the woman who wanted to do a nail salon,” Panetta says, referring to salon co-founder Veronica Hurtado.

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VOLUME 17 // ISSUE TWO

source: vera icon website

While the idea of new business taking up space on the the Downtown Phoenix campus is exciting, skepticism does come with a nail salon beneath the school.

“I think a salon should be at a mall or shopping centers,” says Heidy Martinez, an elementary education senior at ASU. “I prefer for that location to be a restaurant since there isn’t a lot of variety of food on our downtown campus. There’s a couple of food locations around us, but it’s more than a 10 minute walk to get there. In my opinion, we’re here to learn and get a degree, not get our nails done.”

Alexus Washington, a journalism sophomore, says she is unhappy with the idea of the nail salon.

“I think it’s just kind of random putting a nail salon there,” Washington says. “ I think they could have put something else there, like a study area for students. I don’t think students are going to want to spend their money on getting their nails done.”

Most students feel the same as Washington, preferring that the university instead opt for something more practical than a nail salon. Food is important, nails a little less so seems to be the sentiment amongst most Downtown Phoenix campus students.

“It’s always really dead on the weekends in downtown

Phoenix. I think it’ll get revenue on the weekdays, but that’ll be its most popular time.” says Kelly Broderick, a journalism sophomore. “I don’t know if that’s the right place for a nail salon. I think they could have put something else there that benefitted the students more.”

But not all students were angry at the placement of the nail salon.

“I think it will be great that there will be a nail salon in the middle of campus because it lets people with really busy schedules get their nails done and go straight to meetings or class,” says Heidi Gurtz, ASU nursing student. “It will also allow more students to have jobs on campus but not regulated by ASU so the 20 hours a week limit won’t apply.”

While some students may be confused about why a nail salon is coming to their campus, there are a couple factors to consider about the Cronkite space: How much space there actually is: There isn’t enough square footage in the space to be a full restaurant. According to Panetta, 1,300 to 15,500 square feet is on the lower end for the ideal amount of space needed for a restaurant. The space which the nail salon will go into is only about 1,100 square feet.

Infrastructure: While Bowl of Greens and Subway have access to building exhaust and other building infrastructure, the space on the corner of First and Taylor streets does not have those same luxuries.

“Gas was brought to the space, but it didn’t have the same infrastructure capabilities, so that was one of the drawbacks of trying to make it into a restaurant,” Panetta says.

But perhaps students should not be quick to jump the gun on this one. Vera Icon is offering special deals to customers, including ASU students. New patrons of the salon, set to open in early October, can expect “Karma Hour” and “Kindness Appointments.”

Karma Hour will be Monday through Friday from 4 to 5 p.m. and will serve as a happy hour, where a portion of Vera Icon proceeds are donated to a local non-profit. They have partnered with One n Ten to bring awareness to Aids Awareness Month, as well as the LGBTQ community.

Kindness appointments will be limited appointments which are offered to women who are survivors of domestic violence and attempting to gain employment. “Kindness” will also be offered to “students who have overcome an adversity and have shown academic excellence,” Hurtado says.

Hurtado is a graduate of the Walter Cronkite school and has been working on this project for the last three years.

The addition of a nail salon to campus could bring a lot of new revenue and attention to downtown – a community that is constantly growing.

“The energy of the campus (drew me into downtown Phoenix). It just feels good to be here,” Hurtado says.

Student Media Housing Fair November 10 & 11, 2016

Join the ASU Off-Campus Students Group on Facebook to connect with off-campus students.

Hayden Lawn Tempe Campus 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Are you looking for a place to live? Come to the Fair!

The bi-annual ASU Student Media Housing Fair features services that can assist with your transition to off-campus living. Representatives from a wide range of residential communities and businesses on and off campus will be available to answer your questions. Come by for free food, giveaways, & more!

statepressmagazine.com

CAMPUS CULTURE

ON AIR WITH PROFESSOR DE LA TORRE

BY MELINA ZUNIGA

T

he first time Monica De La Torre heard her voice on the radio, she hated it. She cringed at the sound of her words emitting from the airwaves. But now, she uses her voice to incite social change and spark discussion within the community.

De La Torre is a Chicana/o film professor at Arizona State University who produces community radio from a feminist perspective while providing an understanding of her work and influences through her unique voice and artistic practice.

She was one of many creative artists interested in sparking social change within their communities who united in Phoenix during an Arts & Social practice panel hosted by Arizona State University’s “Performance in the Borderlands Project” earlier this month to discuss the potential art plays in starting a movement several weeks ago.

Six experts in the areas of racial justice, policy-making, LGBTQ rights, feminism, place keeping and indigenous representation discussed the importance of community outlets that art provided through the different platforms of radio, writing, theatre and performance through a panel focused on arts and culture.

“We’ve been at this social engagement for a long time,” says De La Torre recalling her involvement with Soul Rebel radio in LA focused on environment, war and young women issues.

“Radio helps create social change for several reasons: It is a relatively low cost medium to produce, it’s easy to learn and teach and community radio, in particular, has been used by women and other marginalized groups to speak back to dominant power,” she says, referring to the use of radio in social movements in Latin America, Africa, and among Chicanas and Chicanos, indigenous communities and African Americans in the United States.

“Spanish-language radio is a tool of survival, especially when you are in new and oftentimes anti-immigrant spaces,” she says. De La Torre uncovers the hidden voice of Chicanas within radio production by documenting stories that compel scholars to listen to the sound migrations of Chicana media activism, and recognize the historical significance of Spanish language radio.

She encouraged the community to give credit and keep

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VOLUME 17 // ISSUE TWO

Courtesy photos from Monica De La Torre

the practice of radio production alive, along with other forms of art as the panelists demonstrated the power of community and the crucial role the arts played in the movement.

“Part of the power of the arts (through) performance, theater and poetry is a means one speaks truth,” says Marlon Bailey, a professor of women and gender studies, and an advocate for the LGBTQ community. He found reality in cross-dressing, speaking his truth his way and finding himself through this community of what he described as “black queens.”

Part of the work for these artists, as Bailey describes it, is a political move, a life goal and requires complexity.

“We are laboring bodies — an art building community takes dialogue and it takes time,” says Martha Gonzales, a musician in the Chicano music scene. “It’s messy and not harmonious, (but) why not take time? Look how troubled we are — our life and community depend on it.”

“Money isn’t as important as the life we live — if we don’t have the environment, guess what? You’re not going to get to count your money,” she says.

Dago Bailon, a performer, activist and the co-founder of Trans Queer Pueblo was also present at the event to talk about the movement toward collective physical and mental liberation of LGBTQ migrants through mutual emotional, moral and legal work.

“Large institutions take the social engagement or refuse to adopt different platforms or gender liberation and we need to challenge, change and transform the system in order to make a world that is livable,” he says. “We are all artists; we provide the tools for our community.”

Committed to a seeing process and a movement within the art society and community, the panelists described the effort as a constant mixture of success and failure. As artists, they see their failures as learning processes while personal growth as human beings.

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HOMELESS, NOT HOPELESS

By Andrew Nicla Photos by Willow Greene Smith

FROM THE COVER

I

14

t was another cold night. Romonia “Mona” Dixon and her family were sleeping on the streets again. The shelters were full, and there was nobody to ask for favors. Dixon laid her head on a piece of cardboard, which was the only thing separating her head from the lifeless, dirty pavement.

From ages 3 to 13, she lived on the streets with her mother, her younger brother and her older sister. By day, she went to school, got good grades, made friends — but by night, she worried where her family would sleep. Where they would eat.

What would happen next.

Ten years after her family left the streets, Mona Dixon became a mentor to youth at the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley, an Arizona State University, the Barrett Honors College graduate and a renowned motivational speaker.

According to a recent Arizona Department of Economics Security report, there are approximately 25,832 homeless people living on the streets of Arizona. These subpopulations in Tempe and other cities throughout Maricopa County account for 61 percent of the total state homeless population.

But, there are those who are lucky enough — those who are able to receive help and persevere to get back on their feet — such as Dixon and her family.

would be better. My faith in God is what got me and my family through it all.”

The instability of Dixon’s home life lead to early struggles in her academic life.

It was hard enough for her to focus on a prompt or a math problem in the classroom, but it was even more stressful to think about all of that while wondering where her next meal would come from. Despite the stress, Dixon continued to put forth her best efforts in school, and with the help and patience of her family, teachers and everyone who helped her, she blossomed academically.

Only Dixon’s closest friends knew about her living situation. She seemed to almost like it that way; she didn’t want an excuse to not succeed. Dixon cites her mother and her mentors at the Boys and Girls Club as those who helped instigate her success.

“Ever since I was little, my mom told me about how I needed to go to college, and she helped me set goals in my life,” Dixon says. “If it wasn’t for her pushing me and the help I received from my tutors at the Boys and Girls Club, I would be in a very different place. I can’t thank them enough. I feel so grateful for having such a strong group of people to support me.”

HOMELESS

NOT HOPELESS

Being a member of a homeless family, Dixon’s childhood was full of uncertainty, stress and struggles.

“It was rough, and I can’t say that I was always as optimistic as I am now,” Dixon says. “My mom tried to make our life seem like an adventure to distract us from how bad it really was. But somehow, she managed to raise us. I kept working hard in school, and it paid off.”

Before living in United Methodist Outreach Ministries (UMOM) housing and eventually Section 8 Housing, Dixon and her family had no guaranteed place to sleep any given night, on nights when shelters were full and the family was forced to sleep on the streets, Dixon’s mother told her children they would be “spending the night under the stars.”

During those nights under the stars in San Diego, Dixon and her family relied on the kindness of others to survive.

Most of the time while Dixon and her siblings were in school, her mother would wait in lines at food kitchens, The Salvation Army, local fire departments and other community organizations in order to ensure that they had their next meal and that they were provided for. She and her family spent much of their time waiting their turn to be helped; they were one of many families living on the streets.

“I knew we didn’t live like my friends did, I never told them to come over to my place to hang out or anything,” Dixon says. “Some nights I would cry and just hope that tomorrow

Dixon involved herself with the Boys and Girls Club by participating in the after school program after a stranger paid her membership fee. It was that act of kindness that changed the trajectory of Dixon’s young life. She spent time at the center participating in after school programs every day. It was at the Boys and Girls Club where she would meet some of her lifelong friends and mentors who helped her succeed.

She was a member of the club for four years before being nominated to compete for college scholarship money and going through a series of leadership competitions sponsored by the club. Dixon won her local competition, the state competition, regionals and so on until she eventually competed in the national competition.

After dozens of interviews, she earned her title as the 2010-11 National Youth of the Year, a title millions of youth in Boys and Girls Clubs across the country dream of. After winning all of those competitions, including her title at nationals, Dixon earned over $100,000, which she used toward her undergraduate degree in business management from ASU and Barrett, The Honors College, as well as her master’s in communication.

“Winning National Youth of the Year was an incredible experience,” Dixon says. “I was totally overwhelmed. I met with Denzel Washington, President Obama and so many people who were happy to meet me and see me succeed. I had to re-

VOLUME 17 // ISSUE TWO

mind myself that all of it was actually happening.”

But, her success didn’t come without temptations, situations that would have derailed her path to success.

“There was still temptation to do bad things,” Dixon says.

“There were kids who would make wrong choices like not study enough, do drugs, involve themselves with the wrong people.... I stayed away from that. I could have done those things; I had opportunities to, but I didn’t. I had too much to live for to just throw it all away.”

Dixon’s tale is very much a Cinderella story. She knows that, and she acknowledges not everyone can have the same opportunities she has received. Her life trajectory has not always been as controlled as it is now. Whether Dixon is lucky or divinely blessed, she says it doesn’t matter: She still continues to give back to others she sees and encourages everyone to do the same.

“If everyone made an effort, I do think we could solve the problem that is homelessness,” Dixon says. “Even the smallest thing like a smile or asking them how their day is, anything to remind them that people care is a powerful thing. Maybe it’s a lack of empathy, maybe it’s the way we view the problem. Either way, the problem is still here and it hasn’t gone away.”

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE The “problem,” as Dixon calls it, is ever-present on the streets of Tempe. Anyone walking on Mill Avenue can see that — people with makeshift beds and asking for spare change are all over.

Sitting on Mill Avenue is Brennan McFadden, a 47-yearold homeless man, sitting with his arms crossed, wearing gym shorts and a black cotton shirt.

McFadden says he was an IT field engineer for 20 years before he ran into legal trouble and later became homeless.

After he was fired for being late, he says he was evicted from his apartment and received a trespassing charge in his own residence. He claims he was removed from his residence for giving shelter to a homeless couple and their dog, as the complex had a strict no-pet policy.

“So, one thing spirals out of control to another.” McFadden says. “I’m renting a car at that moment, I’m out of work for a week going through jail for this and now I don’t have money to rent a car for another week. Now I’m out of work; now I have to do something else and save up $1,000 and buy a vehicle outright and start from scratch over again.”

McFadden failed to mention his criminal record in its entirety. A search in the Maricopa County Superior Court website showed McFadden was arrested for two aggravated DUIs, drug paraphernalia possession and shoplifting charges.

He now has a failure to appear warrant for skipping a hearing regarding the shoplifting charges.

For months, McFadden says he was unable to produce funds for state identification and that the post office failed to mail him his identification five times to an address he specified as a place to receive mail; usually it was a friend’s house.

He says he needs to apply for jobs and get back on his feet.

From time to time, he says he gets a call for an odd job, but he won’t be getting calls for a while. McFadden says his phone was stolen from his bag while he was sleeping earlier this month. Stolen items and other homeless-on-homeless crime is common, McFadden says. Because of this and other incidents over the past few months, he says he has developed a “trust nobody” attitude toward the world around him. He says his goal for each day is to simply survive it.

One in 184 people in Arizona are homeless, according to figures cited by the Phoenix Rescue Mission. There are many people walking the streets of Tempe just like McFadden — those who are capable of working but struggle to do so either because of a lack of resources or lack of faith in themselves.

“I hope this doesn’t happen to you or anyone you know,” McFadden says. “If your life goes down the drain and you reach out to family or friends for help, they may help you at first. But that eventually stops at a certain point, and people begin to surprise you and make excuses, slowly pushing you away. It hurts.”

He admits the city of Tempe and nonprofits do offer help, but says he is frustrated at how limited that help can be. As a

FROM THE COVER

homeless freelance IT worker, McFadden has to be available during some hours when he would have to otherwise waste sitting and waiting for a spot in a shelter.

One shelter McFadden mentioned by name was the Phoenix Rescue Mission, an organization in the Phoenix metro area that provides emergency services, recovery programs and job assistance to those who are homeless or are recovering drug addicts.

Nicole Pena, director of marketing and public relations for Phoenix Rescue Mission, responded to McFadden’s concern directly and says McFadden’s day-by-day and job-by-job approach is not an effective strategy to recovering from his situation.

“We do not have a wait for services,” Pena says. “We have emergency shelter beds available, and check-in begins at 3 p.m. each day. The cornerstone of our programs are longterm residential addiction recovery for the homeless and near homeless. ... Taking a temporary job here and there does not provide stability and end homelessness for (McFadden).”

However, Pena says once spots in the shelter are filled and once those services are being fully used, people do wait for spots to open up and vacancies tend to vary by day.

Stuck in an awkward sort of limbo, hopping back and forth from short-term shelters to streets, McFadden says he will continue to take freelance tasks and save money for identification and a car with insurance.

“Just remember: You could be me when you’re older,” McFadden warned. “It can happen when you least expect it. If you slip up once, your life could change in an instant. It’s hard to get back on your feet, but I’m trying.”

But for Dixon, her life on the street actually propelled her to where she is today.

She used her journey of struggle and success to start a motivational speaking circuit, to inspire youth in valley high schools.

With her job at the Boys and Girls Club and her motivational speaking circuit, Dixon has assumed the role as a professional role model, a mentor, a beacon of hope for those who live on the streets. In her mind, she says she is living the dream: getting paid to help others and help change their lives for the better.

The rest of Dixon’s family is also better off. Her mother, Wakonda, works as a crossing guard for the Tempe Elementary School District; her older sister, Victoria, works two jobs and provides for herself; and her younger brother, Joseph, is a freshman at ASU studying tourism development and management. Despite a near storybook ending for her and her family, Dixon says she will never forget what they went through and will always count her blessings.

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source: monadixon.com

“There were definitely times when we could have become homeless again,” Dixon says. “And that’s one thing I keep in the back of my mind: It can happen again. I do everything I can to make sure that won’t happen to me. And to think I might raise a family of my own under a roof, unlike how I grew up, is an incredible feeling.”

When recalling the countless times she has met homeless people, Dixon is brought to tears. She often remembers their names, their faces, what they wore; every detail of these people is burned into her mind. Dixon says the most important thing anyone can do to help is to simply give what one can, even if it’s just a smile.

“I always try to give what I can to these people because more often than not, they need it more,” Dixon says. “If they need money, I give them what I have. If they need help finding services, I pull out my phone and look it up for them. If I have nothing, I will simply smile, maybe ask how their day is going and talk to them.”

The greater problem, she says, a problem greater than a lack of resources for some, is a lack of empathy and compassion from the public. Sometimes Dixon is frustrated with the way homeless people are viewed: It is as if they are a problem instead of people with problems.

Dixon stresses that no two stories of homelessness are exactly alike. Thus, she says that it’s silly to think there is an ultimate solution to dealing with homelessness. Sometimes, she says she becomes frustrated and angry that not all of these people can receive help, especially when some are fully capable of working.

“I’m a very optimistic person, and I do believe we can solve homelessness,” Dixon says. “I don’t know how it will be done.

Whether we need more services or need to treat the problem entirely differently — I don’t know. But I do not like how I see some people treat others. We need to remember that we could be in their place at any time.

“Wouldn’t you want someone to help you if you were in their place?”

From our vast package of amenities to our friendly staff, Apache Station allows you to focus on what’s important to you. Our convenient Tempe residential rental apartments and student housing is ideal whether you are a college student, graduate student, or work in Tempe.

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ASU ALUMN

ASU Alumnus Works to Reimagine Phoenix

BY NICOLE GIMPL PHOTOS BY GABRIELA DELLA CORNA

T

en years ago this fall, Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix Campus opened its doors for the first time and with it, the image - and residential composition - of downtown Phoenix’s core changed drastically.

The city is making improvements to become more urban, and more friendly to a younger generation, but those changes are coming too slowly for local urban living advocates.

One of these advocates is architect and ASU alumnus Ryan Tempest who, after living in the Valley for nine years, has quickly become one of downtown Phoenix’s most eager and prominent voices for a dramatic shift toward urban living and architecture. He and his fiancé, Quinn Whissen, formed their own downtown Phoenix advocacy group called This Could Be PHX. This Could Be PHX in its own words, is “a community engagement and urban awareness group with a love for downtown Phoenix.” Their goal is to “envision, engage and inspire” people in downtown Phoenix to talk about urban living and gain more awareness for the benefits this type of living presents. They strive to “provide a creative platform for the com-

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munity to envision the city we all want and start a constructive discussion in order to plant the seeds of our future.” The group holds community events that aren’t about networking or panel discussions, but rather about getting like-minded people in the same room to get them talking.

“Studying architecture ignited my interest in urban living, and soon, I was traveling to cities like San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Portland, Denver, Austin and more,” Tempest says.

“In all these places, I found an energy that I never had known growing up in the suburbs.”

Tempest grew up in suburban Michigan. In the cold winter of 2003, he enrolled in a drafting class at a community college back home. That’s where he stumbled in on a conversation that would change his life.

“I found my teacher discussing Arizona State University with another student. He was telling him that he had gone to school there and how great the weather was,” the 32-year-old says. “Palm trees and 300 days of sun started to sound quite nice in the midst of the freezing cold temps in Michigan. So, I decided right then and there that I was going to go to ASU.” After surprising his parents with the news, they all took a trip out to the Southwest to check out the Tempe campus, and that was that. Tempest enrolled in a summer class and had a new place to call home.

“When I got to ASU and started studying architecture, I quickly realized that the suburbs that I was raised in — the strip malls and cookie-cutter homes — were actually the antithesis to the architecture that I aspired to create,” Tempest says.

After graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Design Architectural Studies, Tempest moved to downtown Phoenix. He says he enjoyed being one of the few people who knew the “coolness” of what was happening around him while others still thought of downtown as empty and boring.

“I watched as the (Metro) light rail was built right outside of my studio apartment in Roosevelt Square,” Tempest says.

“My friends and I walked and biked to the bars, restaurants, farmer’s market and baseball games. I rode the light rail to work. All in all, I enjoyed the urban environment but was looking for a little more.”

That “little more” he was looking for was community groups — people like himself who saw all the potential of downtown Phoenix and wanted to help cultivate it.

Tempest attributes people like Cindy Dach, Greg Esser, Jim McPherson and Jenny Poon as people who inspired him to

think differently about Phoenix. All four are fellow downtown Phoenix advocates who own their own businesses or participate in and promote the conversation about turning Phoenix into Arizona’s first urban landscape.

“They showed me how exciting it was for Phoenix to be developing into a ‘real’ city,” Tempest says.

It was around this time that Tempest met his wife-to-be, Whissen, at Lux, a popular downtown coffee shop. The two immediately hit it off and are engaged to be married.

“I had the fortune of sitting next to a beautiful girl in Lux Coffee one day, striking up a conversation with her and going out with her that night,” Tempest says. “Quinn and I have been together ever since, and with her, I’ve been able to share my passion for downtown Phoenix.”

A few months after Tempest and Whissen met, they decided to form TCBPHX. The two plan on marrying in March 2017 in downtown Phoenix’s warehouse district. It’s fitting, because it’s what they’re both so passionate about.

“We knew we wanted to be involved, we just weren’t sure how we wanted to be involved,” Tempest says. “Whether it was starting our own group or joining another one.”

Adam Mann, one of Tempest’s oldest friends from back home in Michigan, says he is proud of his friend and what his advocacy group has been able to accomplish.

“I think TCBPHX is great for many reasons, with the two big ones being creating community and education,” Mann says. “It brings people together and has created a solid community with a voice. It educates people, teaching them about good and not-so-good design.”

As an architect, Tempest is always looking at vacant lots and empty buildings and imagining what they could look like if they were just given more attention.

“For the first time I was excited, not about going to a developed city, but to stay here and create the city that I wanted to see,” Tempest says.

After living and working downtown for a few years, and after starting TCBPHX, Tempest started the group’s “envision projects.”

“If you can show people what the potential is instead of focusing on all the negative, people will start to see what downtown Phoenix could be,” Tempest says. “There were a few historic homes that were fenced off for years and years and I thought, ‘How cool would it be to do a rendering, show what it could look like without the fences up,’ turn it into a bookshop, a coffee shop, a restaurant.”

So that’s what he did. He had a huge banner printed out and hung on the fences to spark conversation in the neighborhood. Tempest and Whissen brainstormed other ways to get people talking about urban development downtown.

It worked. The two receive emails and messages every week from people who want to participate. And to think the whole journey began in a coffee shop.

“It all sort of ballooned kind of quickly,” Whissen says. “We were kind of surprised by how many people started following us and reading our content and it ended up being a larger platform than we ever expected.”

As downtown Phoenix gets more and more packed with people – in large part because of a growing number of ASU students – the urbanization of the area is definitely something to think about. It’s probably not going to happen easily or even quickly, but groups like this one who get the conversation going may be able to help move the progression along.

“Through (TCBPHX), I’ve met inspiring activists, gained new friends, collaborated with engaged community members, been involved in downtown decision making processes, invited to present at schools and more. TCBPHX has become a huge part of my life and who I am.”

ASU ALUMN

Behind the Camera

BY LAUREN INTRIERI

J

aclyn Raymond points her lens at the couple embracing in front of her as she balances on red rock. Her finger hovers over the shutter button as she focuses in on the sunset, Sedona mountains and the nose-to-nose pair. With a swift click, she captures the love and excitement of the recently engaged duo and turns it into a still memory.

At 25, Raymond is running her own photography business and is in the process of adopting four children.

“I never once thought that (photography) would become a career for me,” says Raymond. “I was always focused on changing the world, being an idealist.”

Time at ASU Jaclyn Raymond came to Arizona State University in 2009 with a dream to change the world. As a bright-eyed Barrett Honor’s College student and a recent graduate of Xavier College Preparatory, everything and anything seemed possible.

Raymond majored in political science with the goal in mind to become the next president. Raymond was interested in political science, but she found her peers were too self-serving for her tastes.

Everything changed her sophomore year when Raymond was a community assistant at Barrett’s dormitory. One of her resident’s friends reported she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity party. This incident inspired Raymond to take action and start ASU’s I Always Get Consent program.

Raymond described consent as something that was “very much swept under the rug.” Unlike today, ASU didn’t discuss consent out of fear of scaring freshman and their parents, Raymond says.

I Always Get Consent focus on teaching students how to prevent sexual violence and the importance of consent. The program became Raymond’s passion and it led her to drop her last year of her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, so she could focus on the cause.

“My little sophomore self decided this is what I was going to do with my life, and I (was) going to do sexual violence prevention and education training at colleges all across the country,” Raymond says.

Her work with the consent program influenced Raymond to study social justice and human rights for her master’s degree, where Raymond could tailor her coursework and thesis work to sexual violence prevention.

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During this time, Raymond was taking senior portraits for high school seniors on the side. Raymond had always loved taking pictures, but she never saw it more than a hobby.

By the time Raymond was writing her thesis, sexual violence prevention and education became a nationwide focus when the White House launched their “It’s on Us” campaign, which aimed to end sexual violence on college campuses.

“It was a huge hot topic issue across the country, everybody was talking about it, ASU was pushing for it,” Raymond says. “I felt like this issue already had a voice and it didn’t necessarily need me anymore.”

The Move Raymond was a graduate assistant for Changemaker Central when she learned about the Teach for America program.

Teach for America places individuals in low-income areas across the country to teach students in a classroom.

Raymond applied for a position with Teach for America after graduation and was accepted into the program. Raymond and her husband, Aaron, packed up everything they owned and moved to Memphis, Tennessee.

“Teach for America is easily the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Raymond says. “I had kids who were little third graders and they were depending on me to teach them how to read. On top of all that, you have the emotional aspect where you have kids coming in who hadn’t been fed since you gave them a snack yesterday.”

Raymond did not touch her camera once during the time she was in Memphis and “was 110 percent engulfed” in Teach for America.

Raymond had planned to stay in Memphis for the rest of her career, but when her husband was offered his dream job working for a residential home building company in Flagstaff, the couple left Memphis and headed back to Arizona.

Starting Her Business Raymond went the summer of 2015 without a job and experienced what she described as a quarter-life crisis. Her husband reminded her of her love for photography and suggested she try to start a business before they had more responsibilities.

“It was the perfect time because we had no kids and we had the freedom of being young with minimal debt. The risk was low and the reward was high,” says Aaron Raymond. “It just made sense.”

Raymond knew photography was something to pursue but she still felt a sense of guilt. It was hard for her to grasp how she could just take pictures of people when she had a passion to help others.

Without shooting any pictures in Memphis, Raymond had to find her groove again. Raymond started by offering free photo sessions to her friends on Facebook so she could gain some practice and start a portfolio.

“I would see engagement announcements from people I haven’t spoke to in years, and I just reached out to them saying, ‘Hey, would you be willing to have me take your photos for free,’” Raymond says. “It’s kind of scary to make yourself feel vulnerable and to put yourself out there and I was just amazed everyone, everyone, said yes.”

Her business grew overnight and now Raymond’s receives requests to shoot engagement announcements, weddings, portraits and family shoots weekly. Raymond has more than 8,000 followers on Instagram and more than 3,000 likes on Facebook.

“I first found Jaclyn’s website through a friend and absolutely loved her romantic, airy photography style,” says Nikki Hoch, who had Raymond take her engagement photos and plans to have Raymond as her wedding photographer. “Her passion for both people and photography truly shines through when you meet her in person and when you take a look at her work.”

Perhaps the reason for Raymond’s success is her ability to capture natural moments without incorporating added staging. Couples and engagement shoots are Raymond’s favorite to shoot because she gets to capture “authentic, genuine human connection.”

“Jaclyn is an amazing photographer and a kind, funny and genuine person,” says Marisa Mulligan who had Raymond take her senior portraits. “I highly recommend her to anyone who wants gorgeous photos.”

Becoming a Mom Overnight April 2016, the Raymonds’ life took a turn when they got a call asking if they could take in four children from Memphis.

During her time with Teach for America, Raymond became close with one of her students who had four brothers and sisters. The summer after Raymond left Memphis, she flew out all of the kids to come and visit and figured they could continually visit each year.

Courtesy photos from Jaclyn Raymond

When the mother was no longer capable of taking care of kids, she called the Raymond’s and asked if they would adopt the children so they would not be broken up in foster care.

Without a doubt the Raymond’s said yes and flew out four children in June and they are currently in the process of adoption.

“We can already see the changes within the kids and their outlooks on life,” Aaron Raymond says. “They have always been positive children but to show them new places, or teaching them to swim, or playing on a sports team has really opened their eyes to the world and it is really an amazing thing to watch.”

Working as a photographer allows Raymond to have the flexibility “to be a soccer mom.” Being able to create her own schedule lets her take the kids to soccer games, go to school lunches and still have a growing business.

“I wake up everyday, and I can’t think of a more purposeful way to live my life than to help these kiddos find their own purpose and to give them a life that can nurture all of their curiosities,” Raymond says.

Every life change Raymond and Aaron have made has led them to this exact point, Raymond says. Even though Raymond isn’t particularly religious, “this whole journey feels so faithful.”

“Did I imagine having four kids and a somewhat successful photography business at 26?” Raymond says.”Never in a million years would I believed you if you told (my) 18-year-old college freshman self.”

Raymond’s ultimate goal is to merge her love for photography and her love for social justice to create an annual scholarship for families and children in need.

One of the things Raymond had taken away from her life so far is that anyone has the power to do anything they want.

“You can do anything you want to... I never thought in a million years I could have a successful photography business,” Raymond says. “Don’t be afraid to take that risk before you have serious life commitments like mortgages and kids, totally go for it.”

STUDENT LIFE

Hooking Up, Getting Hitched & Everything In Between

en and 29 for men. But 50 years ago, the social norm was to be married well before these ages, with women and men getting hitched around 20 years old.

“There are a lot of factors as I understand it,” Parker says.

“Part of it is economics, and part of it is because it’s difficult for young people to come together and have a solid economic foundation for a marriage.”

Out of 20,928 undergraduates surveyed by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2008, about 18 percent reported they were married.

For Richer, For Poorer

BY NINA NORTH PHOTOS BY JORDAN NEEL

W

hich do you think is more difficult: your college statistics class or your college relationship? Is this a trick question you ask? Nope. In fact, it’s a question many students have to ask themselves every day.

However, relationships don’t have to be difficult in college, and many couples actually do make studying for exams and their relationship work — all the way to the altar.

John Parker, Ph.D, an Arizona State University sociology professor and creator of a course called, “Picking Up, Hooking Up and Breaking Up,” says there are many factors that lead to marriage in college.

Parker says the class is not only about understanding basic facts about relationships but also teaching college students the necessary skills in order to navigate relationships over time. “(This class) deals with a lot of core issues in interpersonal relationships,” Parker says. The course provides the students with the practical skills for a relationship as well as learning general processes of why and how couples break up. As part of an assignment in the course, Parker says he has his students go out into the real world and flirt with five other people and then write a report on what they experienced.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average age to get married nationwide is 27 for wom22

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According to “The Knot Yet Report,” a report generated by the National Marriage Project at The University of Virginia, 91 percent of college students want to be financially independent of their parents before tying the knot.

Also, more than 90 percent of students say they should finish their education before marrying, according to the report. Money is tight as a college student. We often ask ourselves: Do we eat out or do we eat Top Ramen?

Tyler Castro, a public policy and public service sophomore, says he avoids serious relationships for financial reasons.

“Personally, I’d rather wait to get married because I want to be financially stable and have a career,” Castro says.

Castro says he thinks it would be hard for him to balance a full-time student gig, a part-time job and a serious relationship. After getting his degree, establishing his career, and being financially stable, he says he will then have the “resources” to enter the world of serious relationships.

Similarly, establishing personal independence is just as important to Zia Tyree and Ryan Francis. Maintaining a serious relationship just comes naturally, but they aren’t worried about marrying anytime before graduation.

Tyree and Francis, both juniors, have been in a serious relationship since their freshman years of college.

The couple began their romantic relationship in middle school, taking a break in high school to see other people and ultimately reuniting in their senior year.

“I’ve never felt for anyone a fraction of how I feel for him,” Tyree says, as she looks into Francis’ eyes and smiles.

Tyree and Francis plan to wed after they graduate and say they are already financially independent of their parents. Ideally, Tyree and Francis want to live and have their careers be in Arizona. After obtaining his undergraduate degree in physics, Francis plans on attending the law school at ASU. “We want to make sure we’ve set ourselves up so we can have the wedding that we deserve,” Francis says.

Today, society expects people to go to college, get a degree, have a career and then get married. But what does that mean for the relationships you have in between college and a career?

“Boys on the Side,” an article published in The Atlantic, says that over the past 15 years, the hookup culture has largely replaced dating on college campuses.

“You see there’s this sort of tension where on one hand, career is really important, and dating and sexuality are opening up for women at the college age,” Parker says, in reference to the article.

He also says there is potential trouble with this lifestyle because as you get older, it is difficult to have all the things you want.

“It is this classic tension that has happened for a lot of women, which is ‘How do I have a career and also have a family?’” Parker says. “There’s more people over the age of 35, unmarried and without kids, right now.”

But for some, the idea of getting married young — even without kids — just isn’t appealing.

“For me, I would want to graduate and establish my career first before getting married,” says Jenna Aronson, journalism sophomore.

Aronson says if a girl is lucky enough to find her husband in college, good for them, but getting a “Mrs. Degree” is not her reason in attending college. With her journalism degree, Aronson would like to be a news anchor on a major news network.

Aronson is not the only college student who feels this way about these stereotypes. Many students, both single and in a relationship, would like to make a name for themselves before heading to the altar.

Following Tradition According to the National Marriage Project, the national marriage age is increasing, and with that, the divorce rate has gone down since 1980.

A recent Facebook Data Sciences study shows about 28

Hannah Warren and Jeremiah Dwight percent of married graduates attended the same college as their spouse. Only 15 percent of those who participated in the study reported they attended the same high school.

However, religious communities continue to support young, traditional marriage, according to the National Marriage Project.

Hannah Warren, a kinesiology senior, got engaged to her long-time boyfriend Jeremiah Dwight in March 2016 while hiking in Sedona. Warren and Dwight met in their high school marching band and have been together for six years.

Both Warren and Dwight grew up in Christian households and are waiting until after they are married to move in together. Warren’s parents married when they were 20 and 22 years old, and her siblings all married young. It’s become a family tradition to marry young in Warren’s family.

Warren is very close to her family and after being together for six years, her fiancé is already considered part of it. Warren says Dwight has been a part of major milestones for her family, from being there when one of her siblings married to watching her nieces and nephews grow.

“I’ve never thought about dating just for fun,” Warren says.

“It’s always been with the intention of getting married.”

When Dwight proposed to Warren back in March, he asked for her father’s permission first. Warren says after her and Dwight got engaged, her dad wanted them to marry right away.

Warren remembers her dad asking her, “Why don’t you guys get married this summer?” But she told him that there isn’t any time to plan a wedding in just a few months.

While Warren’s family may also be thrilled for the two to marry, she says she also cannot wait for the big day.

“I am just excited to be able to share everything with him and be a family and start a life with just the two of us,” Warren says.

Preparing for the Big Day Multitasking: One of the necessary skills of being a college student. When most students multitask, they are studying for

STUDENT LIFE

Kristine Brintz and RJ Ybarra exams and watching Netflix, or doing homework and balancing an internship. But for English literature senior Kristine Brintz, her version of multitasking is planning her wedding to fiancé RJ Ybarra, sociology and communications senior, while getting her degree.

Brintz and Ybarra got engaged over the summer on the ASU baseball field — a true fairytale engagement, as Brintz says.

Baseball is an important part of both of their lives. Brintz grew up in a family where baseball is the “family sport,” and Ybarra grew up playing the game. He played for the ASU baseball team from 2013 to 2016 and is now playing professional baseball in Mexico while still attending ASU. On top of Brintz working a part-time job, going to classes and studying for exams, she and Ybarra are also facing the obstacle of planning a wedding in California while living in Arizona.

This has added more stress for Brintz not having Ybarra around all the time, but Ybarra does his best to be a part of the planning process when he can.

“Wedding planning would be going a lot easier if I would decide on a wedding venue,” Brintz says. “I think that’s partly because I want one thing until I see another on Pinterest.”

But Brintz’s and Ybarra’s families have helped tremendously.

The stress of wedding planning, school, work and a long distance relationship is only temporary, but the pair says the love they have for each other makes it all worth it.

“It’s just amazing to be able to find the person who finally accepts me for the woman I am with all my flaws because I know how much he loves me and cares about me,” Brintz says.

Married & a Student Take a look around your class. I bet you there is at least one married person in there. How do these couples make it 24

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work? How do they plan a wedding or maintain a marriage and study for exams? How are they married and college students?

For Taylor Moskowitz Gratil, a nonprofit leadership and management senior, married life has made her college experience just as memorable.

Although, Gratil definitely feels overwhelmed at times between juggling classes, exams, internship, work and spending quality time with her husband, she says the greatest part is constantly having someone there for you while you’re stressed.

“I do the same things I did when I was single in college, except now I have a partner-in-crime through it all,” Gratil says.

“I never thought I’d get married so young, but Jeremy changed all of that. He makes my life more amazing than it could ever be alone.”

She and husband Jeremy Gratil recently celebrated their one year wedding anniversary.

“My favorite part is experiencing everything in life together,” Gratil says. “The good, the bad, the travels, the growing, it’s all just so incredible.”

The Gratils live in Phoenix while Gratil takes her classes on the Downtown Phoenix campus, but ASU does provide housing for families on the Polytechnic campus in Mesa.

There are five different floor plans that range from two to five bedrooms. Rates for each home vary, depending on size, from $7,094 to $11,194 for a 10-month agreement. Residents can either pay per semester or monthly.

Good news for all 20-somethings, there is no doctrine telling you what the best time to get married is — it’s about love and wanting to be with the one you love the most in this world in whatever way (and time frame) that best suits your relationship.

There is no right or wrong way — there is only your way.

STUDENT LIFE SPM: What is the main goal of TUF?

WITH THE UNDERGROUND FOUNDATION

BY AASHINI CHOKSI With the underground art and music scene rapidly growing all over the country, it’s easy to picture indie groups performing in the Chicago suburbs, Austin living rooms, or independent art galleries in Brooklyn.

However, the underground music and art scene in the Valley is bigger than ever. Tempe’s own niche of eclectic music is easily accessible for students to explore and appreciate, thanks to The Underground Foundation, or TUF. TUF, a student club, organizes and books house shows for up-and-coming artists and bands, as well as poetry events and art displays. Established nearly a decade ago, TUF was formed to create an environment for people to come together and facilitate a community for people with common interests.

Occasionally, TUF will coordinate with other philanthropic organizations and organize benefit shows to help the community. Sharing a passion for music, poetry and other art forms with ASU students is what TUF is all about.

SPM spoke with the foundation’s president, junior Troy Penny, and the treasurer, sophomore Chyanne Richardson.

SPM: How did you become involved with TUF? Penny: “I went to (Passport to ASU) my freshman year and TUF was tabling there. It sounded really interesting, so I went to their second show of the year because there was a band that I knew on the bill. It was a really cool environment; there were a lot of people there. Everyone was really nice and approachable and really easy to talk to. I found that I had a lot in common with like-minded people with passions for creative things — a lot of musicians and artists.”

P: “(TUF) is so DIY, it’s so personal…. You don’t have to get in contact

with a promoter or venue. If you want to throw a show, you can throw a show. All you really need is a PA. Seeing that type of stuff is really cool because it offers a lot of bands their first show.”

R: “This semester, we’re doing bi-weekly meetings and on the off weeks,

we’re doing different events. We just had TUF Film where we get together and watch a movie, and we do TUF Takeover where we support a local business. We’re trying to appeal to a large amount of people, like what interests them. Some people feel more comfortable doing certain things rather than others, and just trying to really create a community where you feel like you can talk to anyone. Foster a caring community.”

SPM: What makes TUF so unique and accessible for students?

P: “With house shows and the DIY scene in Tempe, it’s a lot easier to get started with that sort of thing and really get access.… It kind of offers that starting point for a lot of bands. That’s not to say that TUF is the only organization doing house shows, (but) it’s definitely the only on-campus organization doing this type of thing. House shows weren’t really happening until TUF came about.”

SPM: TUF is very open about its safe space policy. Why is that so important to you?

P: “All of our shows are safe spaces. Creating a safe space is not always a thing, sadly. Fostering a sense of community with people who share these interests, bringing people together. That sounds so cheesy but that’s what TUF is about – bringing like-minded people together.”

R: “We’re trying to emphasize a really open and comfortable community, and we want everyone to feel accepted, especially because most of us are new officers. We haven’t been involved in the Tempe music scene for very long, which is good because it’s like fresh faces, so I think that creates a new generation of TUF. It’s a good opportunity for students that are interested in TUF – we’ve reinvented ourselves, but we’re keeping close to our roots.”

Richardson: “I didn’t really know that Tempe had a music scene, and I want to work in music so it was something that interested me. I just started going to the meetings and then started going to the shows.”

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Courtesy photos from TUF VOLUME 17 // ISSUE TWO

.com asu’s online dining guide

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