The Yard: Volume 8 Issue 3

Volume 8 Issue 3 November 2019

cisternyard.com

JAY L A , 20

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CONTENTS

THE ISSUES ISSUE | NOVEMBER 2019 Editor’s Note 6 The Split 8 Student Voices: Who’s Listening? 10 Food Insecurities: The Invisible Truth 14 AnnEXED 19 New Housing Challenges Long Term Residents 24

Selective Caring: Protests 26 Lights Out On Wentworth 29 Battered, Beaten and Flooded 30 All The Small Things 32 The Petras Problem 34 The College: Ghosted? 36 A Silenced Cougar 38

photo by Keegan Robertson CISTERNYARD.COM

THE YARD behind the scenes Cheyenne Abrams | Editor in Chief

- 100% Maya Rudolph

Zoe Murrie | Managing Editor

- Kathryn Hahn

Tyler McCormack | Creative Director

- Leah Michele, as Rachel Berry

Shannon Murray | Opinions Editor

- ScarJo, she can play anyone

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Who Would Play You In A Movie About Yourself?

Katie Hopewell | Campus News Editor

- Liana Liberto

Liz Hipes | Features Editor

- Emma Watson

Bryce Warner | Campus Reporter

- Michael Rainey Jr.

CISTERNYARD MEDIA EDITORIAL DISCLAIMER CisternYard Media (CYM) is staffed with students who are free to select and create the materials to be published. The College of Charleston provides editorial freedom to the student members of CYM. The views expressed in work created by CYM may not reflect the views of The College.

CisternYard Media was in the process of hiring a new Head Of Photography during the production of this magazine. Throughout the magazine you will see various students work showcased. Each student was given creative freedom and we are happy to have them apart of our team.

Congratulations Malik Gist for being our new Head of Photography!

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EDITOR’S NOTE NOVEMBER EDITION How exactly do you find the words to include in a goodbye letter to your favorite people and second home? If you know, feel free to share.

I could spend hours recounting memories over the last three years, 40 pages worth of stories about CisternYard but instead I’ll let the organization do the talking for me, even after I have left.

As the semester draws to a close, and my graduation date soon approaches I reflect on my time at the College, and my time alongside the CisternYard Media team.

When I first came to the College, I was unsure of so many things going on around me. There were three things however, I was certain of: 1. I was happy to be back in my hometown of Charleston 2. I wanted to write again 3. I wanted whatever that sticker was with the typewriter on it that was being passed out in Cougar Mall. [Thanks, Hannah Broder.]

Since beginning my time at CYM, I have been able to learn so many things about myself

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and my career. I have developed a new career path into digital content design, I have attended summits, meetings and workshops and so much more. But that’s not what is important to me. Over the past three years I have also helped students learn about journalism, we have developed writing skills and produced content greater than many other colleges in our area and the best part is — we did it because we love the content we are making.

We have won awards, showcased talent, and created a bond that probably makes up for the lack of our football team. Each week our staff develops new ideas, learns a new skill set, or investigates the “what’s happening” on campus and we always do it with a smile on our face.

Over the past two years CisternYard Media has been challenged. We have faced many hurdles and have jumped over them with ease, and with each breaking moment, our bond is stronger. Each investigation, story, or moment has led to this issue.

photo by Hannah Broder “The Issues Issue” compiling all of the fun of investigative journalism, reporting, photography work and just plain complaints into our favorite work of art yet.

We’ve including articles about the renovations to the Calhoun Annex, the dangers of Wentworth Street after dark, and the student housing crisis which is leading to gentrification of the northern peninsula. All of

the issues Charleston is battling, whether you are aware of them or not.

Enjoy this issue, Cougars, and you enjoy it too, CisternYard staff. It’s well earned, and I couldn’t be more proud of you all.

I am forever thankful for CisternYard Media for providing me with such a great collegiate journalism experience.

As always, be safe.

- Cheyenne Abrams

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The Split: It’s Thanksgiving dinner, you and your family are happy with your giant plates of food while talking about how the football game was not too good. You dread what is about to happen. The conversation hits a slow point. You’ve clearly talked enough about the game and your father says “these stupid libs are going to ruin this country!” You know you can’t say anything because your dad won’t listen. He wears his MAGA hat to baseball games and you sit there grimacing, knowing all too well that you hide your Bernie 2020 shirt in a place where he’ll never see it. You also know that if you try to talk with your Dad about this, he’ll just yell at you.

What you have just experienced is not out of the norm. This is partisanship, the most damaging issue to American politics as a whole.

Historically as a nation, we have always disagreed. The constitution was not ratified by all thirteen colonies, we did not agree that segregation was in poor taste until the 70’s and we cannot agree on the importance of trying to save our planet. These are forms of partisanship. Partisanship simply means being on one side of an argument. Partisanship is the cause of disagreements that occur consistently, even more so during election years.

In the context of American politics, there was bipartisanship. People would cross party lines, be okay with

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points that they didn’t fully agree with to better the nation as a whole. Being bipartisan meant being someone who compromised and was alright with sacrificing their values for something greater. Bipartisanship was something we celebrated and revered, it’s what has made America what it is since the time of Washington.

Now bipartisanship is considered a bad thing. Agreeing with someone that doesn’t agree with everything you say is now thought to be wrong and has made politics all the more anger fueled and stagnant. This current wave of bipartisanship happened quickly.

There isn’t an agreement of when it really polarized and became so split, but the best time frame is around the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the rise of the Tea Party.

Once the 2010 elections happened and Tea Party Republicans came into the senate and the house, Washington now represented the huge discrepancy in values between the parties and how neither side was going to budge.

Bipartisanship really hit rock bottom in 2016 when Trump was elected. The election of Trump showed America that partisanship isn’t a one sided issue, both parties are at fault.

There is no cookie cutter solution to this problem. If there was, it would have already been used. Bringing bipartisanship back and being a less polarized nation will allow us

A country Divided

by Andrew Lazar to confront the issues we need to confront. It is possible to sit down with your liberal or conservative neighbor and agree. That Thanksgiving table situation can be a civil discussion if we come to the conclusion that listening to each other is good,but this change isn’t going to happen anytime soon. We aren’t going to return to bipartisanship if the next election is going to be just as divided as the last.

We may be pulling away from our allies in right now, but there could executive orders that go way beyond the boundaries of the executive branch by 2021. The job of voters is to make bipartisanship something that is good, not something that is bad. Tell your congressperson or senator to join their fellow constituents under one flag.

In his farewell address, Geroge Washington noted political parties “are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” This was said in 1796, and it may remain the most valid statement in American history.

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STUDENT VOICES: WHO’S LISTENING?

by Zoe Murrie

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photos by Iriana Rucker

Charleston was shaken in late September by an attack in which a white nationalist recruitment group plastered the College campus with stickers to strike fear into the community, and gain like-minded members. student group I-CAN (the Intersectional Cougar Action Network) rushed to have the America First stickers removed from campus.

According to I-CAN, the student organization’s first step was to contact the College’s Student Government Association [SGA], a group they had partnered with before in the wake of other racist attacks.

Due to the incident happening outside of business hours, SGA said that they were unable to take immediate action. However, because of the nature of the messaging from the hate group, I-CAN knew that people’s lives could be in danger and reached out to public safety and the Charleston Police department to remove the stickers.

Following the incident, students received an email in their inbox from President Hsu, and students were left wanting more from his response. In his brief email he emphasized diversity and inclusion, but also made clear that the College supported free speech, just not hateful speech.

Students at the College are not strangers to Presidents’ responses to racist actions. In October of 2017 President McConnell responded to a Halloween costume that a student posted that depicted Freddie Gray, a black man murdered while in custody.

Just last year, President Osbourne responded to the women’s softball team’s Halloween costumes depicting “illegal immigrants” and ICE officers.

President Osbourne also reached out to the community later that year when students shared a video from a plantation in which they mocked

the horrors of slavery that had happened there.

The issue with all of these incidents is that students are truly not part of the conversation.

Until last semester, formal provisions were not laid out in the code of conduct in response to these kinds of racist events.

Following the softball team’s halloween costumes, restorative justice conversations were held to help the team understand the impact of their actions on the LatiSnx population on campus.

Unsatisfied with the restorative justice process, Latinx students held the No Mas Racismo rally to tell administration that they believed that the softball team needed more punitive measures for their halloween blunder.

Following the plantation incident, Black CofC students rallied together to make their voices heard to the student body and administration. Through their anti-racist demonstration, students were once again able to publicly share their pain and hope for a better CofC. Despite having public avenues to voice their frustrations, students often feel like there aren’t formal avenues for them to congregate and raise their issues to a greater power.

The College’s SGA is meant to bolster student voices and support them-- usually through financial means. Traditionally, SGA houses a Diversity Council that functions to hear the perspectives of underrepresented minority students. The council is usually conceptualized by the president and the executive board. For George Hicks and his exec board, they are currently

creating a board of 23 diverse representatives who span underrepresented minority groups such as the Black Student Union, Hispanic Latino Club and Prism (the College’s LGBTQ+ coalition); as well as practical offices on campus like the office of sustainability. SGA emphasized that the council is meant to be a group separate from the executive board of SGA who will serve as a counterbalance to the SGA senate.

According to SGA, this will change the board’s traditional function of answering to the executive board and put more power into the hands of students. As part of creating this board, SGA will also follow a process of writing this format into their law so that it can be upheld throughout presidential changes.

While this is a unique and well-researched version of the SGA diversity council, some students still find this to not be an acceptable solution to the problems of ending racist attacks on campus and for further uplifting the voices of students of color.

Student group I-CAN was hopeful about the diversity council, but was looking to advise SGA on the specifics of the council-- something SGA says is not possible because of bylaws.

I-CAN representatives were given a proposal of the council last April. In the proposal, 15 members of the council are laid out and it was determined that all 15 members would be appointed by their respective identity groups. In its new iteration, the SGA diversity council will include 23 members who will go through a nomination and application

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process-- two factors that I-CAN representatives say are against what they think an acceptable council would be.

To one I-CAN representative, who wishes to remain anonymous, the increase in the number of members, and more stringent appointment process, seems like an attempt

by SGA to drown out certain voices. SGA claims that the increase in number of members and the application process is to ensure that every voice on

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campus is heard and properly represented.

I-CAN was founded last fall after the softball team’s halloween incident. I-CAN says that the call of I-CAN is to “distribute the power held within our racial regime and the particularly painful history of enslavement on our campus.” To I-CAN, these racist incidents on campus are a matter of life and death for students of color. Where

most institutional entities focus on diversity, I-CAN says that the focus should turn to antiracism. According to I-CAN, buzzwords like diversity benefit the white folks in power who use them, where anti-racism does not benefit those in power, but distributes it.

Luckily, the College is making marked movements towards making sure that all students voices are heard and that infrastructure exists to allow them to share their voices.

According to student leaders, the administration has been increasingly receptive to student’s needs. For members of I-CAN they hope that they can continue to find ways to work with other student organizations and oncampus resources. When asked what makes I-CAN successful, the representative said, “we have such tremendous hope and emotional energy, that’s why we’re able to stand up for ourselves.”

Hopefully, all of our students feel that hope to keep advocating for themselves and keep finding places for their voices.

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Food Insecurities: The

Invisible

Written by Liz Hipes

Truth

Being a college student comes with a lot of stress. Student loans, classes, extracurriculars, sports, exams, finances, the list goes on. But amidst all the things that students have to worry about, worrying about whether or not they can meet a basic need like feeding themselves should not be one of them.

Nonetheless, food insecurity is a significant problem among college students, especially at the College of Charleston.

Director of Research at the Riley Center, Dr. Bob Kahle released a study in 2017 called YOUth Count exposing the problems with food and housing insecurity, calling out the College and demanding action.

The study found that this is such a large topic at the College that 30% of students are classified as food insecure.

That means that about 3,600 students, over a third of the student body, is struggling to meet this very basic need.

Food insecurity is divided into two categories: low food security and very low food security.

Low food security means that the person isn’t getting a good mix of the different food groups or they may be eating the same things over and over again. Very low food security means that the person does not get an ade-

quate intake of calories each day to function because they can’t afford to buy healthy food or even food in general.

Dr. Kahle found that 15% of the student body is experiencing very low food security and the other 15% has experienced low food security, making up the 30% of students going through this hardship without the College’s active assistance.

Since the release of the YOUth Count study two years ago, little has been done by the College administration to address the issue.

“The College is well aware of this problem. I’ve made this report available to everyone including the new president,” Dr. Kahle said, “but the College has really made the decision that they’re going to try to solve this problem internally and I suspect that one of the reasons why is because they don’t want to be known as an institution that has a hunger and homelessness problem.”

There is a difference between taking care of the issue internally and not addressing it at all. Since the release of the study, little change or even acknowledgement of food insecurity at the College has been seen by students or faculty.

“They [the College administration] don’t want to publicize it too much so

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they keep it really on the low-down. I don’t think that’s necessarily the right way to go, but I do understand their reasoning. I would prefer that we fully acknowledge the problem and try to fix it but for whatever reason there hasn’t been as aggressive of responses as I had hoped from the administration,” Dr. Kahle said.

The College mission statement states that “This community, founded on the principles of the liberal arts tradition, provides students the opportunity to realize their intellectual and personal potential and to become responsible, productive members of society.”

There are many ailments that come with food insecurity and hunger that extend beyond the physical state. Not surprisingly, YOUth Count discovered that students tend to struggle more academically and that their mental health starts to deteriorate quicker than those who aren’t.

If the mission of the College is to help students realize their full potential, they are not doing a very good job based on the previously mentioned percentage.

Dr. Kahle’s research shows that this is affecting students everyday lives. Students do not perform as well academically, they can’t concentrate for long periods of time,their grades suffer the consequences, then sleep deprivation

Food Insecurity on campus 15% Very Low 15% Low

52% High

18% Marginal

comes into play which leads to mental health problems.

If this is due to a simple lack of food, then how can students be expected to reach their full intellectual and personal potential?

The College is completely neglecting their obligation to students in helping them realize that full potential; an obligation that they pride themselves on accomplishing.

If food insecurity so severely impacts every aspect of a student’s life, this subject should be of the utmost importance to the College.

Despite the College administration’s little effort to amend this issue, there are some services available on campus for students who are food insecure.

In 2018, the Cougar Pantry was opened by a College of Charleston

student in hopes of assisting those experiencing food insecurity through a free food pantry located in the Stern Student Center.

What began as a class project evolved into a full on initiative to help those who are experiencing food insecurity while also attempting to reduce the stigma around food insecurity by making it available to all students without the need for any application or vetting process.

This service was not thought of, planned or created by the College, but an undergraduate student. There was no initiative made by the College to make this happen.

Another service called Swipe Out Hunger, implemented at the College in 2016, is a nationwide push to solve the problem of student hunger across

college campuses and is an event that takes place at the College twice a year. This program gives students the opportunity to help their classmates by donating their leftover dining dollars or meal swipes at the end of the semester to students who can’t afford a meal plan and are food insecure.

This was also not a program that the College started, but a national organization that thought of, planned and implemented this idea across the U.S. So the question remains, what is the College doing, if anything at all, to address the issue and why are no positive results being seen?

“I think in some ways there’s an attitude that college students particularly always have had struggles with food.

So I think it’s part of that and I think another part of it is, if you talk about

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it and acknowledge the problem then you’re forced to do something about it,” Dr. Kahle said.

If a student is experiencing food insecurity and they want help from the College, then they have to go online to the College of Charleston website and find the temporary food and housing assistance page where they will be directed from there on what to do if they want help.

In order to receive assistance from the College, students have to go through an application and interview process first. Only after that, can they earn food assistance. Some could argue that this is almost making the situation worse.

According to the College of Charleston website, there are also certain requirements that have to be met in order to be classified as eligible for assistance in the eyes of the College.

“The program is for eligible students who: need short-term assistance, and have exhausted all other funding options, and submit a complete and accurate application, with the understanding that the application is not a guarantee of approval, and agree to submit additional documentation after applying or approval, if required, and understand the program is only

for the student applying, not for other family members/friends, and must be currently enrolled” There are several very serious problems with this approach to solving a hunger problem on campus. To begin, this application and interview process exponentially adds to the stigma behind food insecurity and discourages students from asking the College for help and may turn to other resources for aid that make put them at risk for danger.

“We [the College administration] seem to have this notion that students are gonna try and cheat us. But gosh if the student is coming forward at that point, the vast majority I would assume are in need. It’s tough to even get to that point and then to ask them to fill out a six page questionnaire? It’s not right. They’ve heard this from me and faculty and students and staff,” Dr. Kahle said.

Creating a stigma through a program such as this does not solve the problem with food insecurity. It hides the problem because it makes students less willing to come forward due to not wanting to be at the mercy of the College for support.

The College needs to standardize and simplify their way of going about

helping students in their desperate time of need. More programs of awareness, education and most importantly action need to be implemented in order to face this issue head on instead of trying to “take care of the problem internally.”

Publicizing and acknowledging the College’s struggle with food insecurity, and being open with the student body about what they are doing to actively address the problem will automatically help everyone involved. There will be an urgency by the College to amend the matter; presumably because the quicker they take care of it, the less time the media has to publicize the fact that the College is experiencing this neglected issue in the first place.

“the College has really made the decision that they’re going to try to solve this problem internally and I suspect that one of the reasons why is because they don’t want to be known as an institution that has a hunger and homelessness problem.”

-Dr. Bob Kahle

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Coming March 2020 @cyfashionmag

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ANN

EXED

Uncovering The Story Of Renovations On Campus

by Cheyenne Abrams, Katie Hopewell, & Shannon Murray. photos by Iriana Rucker, Keegan Robertson & Sophia Barham Here in the Holy City, ghosts and tourists aren’t the only things that riddle the streets and buildings.

Dangerous amounts of lead paint, asbestos and mold hide and seep through the walls of century old structures.

The Calhoun Annex, located at 172 Calhoun St., is the home of the Chapel Theater. The building also holds classes on the first floor and before the fall of 2018, the second floor was home to CisternYard Media (CYM), the College’s student run media organization.

Before the 2018-2019 school

year The CYM executive board was urged to gather up their necessities and mark items “keep” or “not keep” as what they call a “second home” was being swept out from under their feet.

In an email from a previous executive board member, students were informed that the Annex had not passed inspection and “has black mold, lead, and recently the ceiling fell through in one of the offices due to water damage.”

Rumors of black mold, rotting ceilings and asbestos whirled through the student organization

while students still rummaged through the building picking up loose ends and gathering up their final belongings.

CisternYard members were then informed about their downsize to Stern Student Center, but that the move was not permanent, and that after the Stern Center has been reconstructed in the next 18 months, CisternYard would have a new building. As of late, no plans for renovating Stern Center have been released to the public.

CisternYard Media was relocated to Stern Center room 207 and

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209, as three storage closets were converted into their office space and what was previously a “painting room” became their recording studio. It’s been a year since CYM has left the building, and while we have settled into our new home at Stern Center, we can’t help but wonder — “if we can’t have our offices their, why are other students allowed in?”

In late summer of 2018 CYM’s previous advisor emailed staff members stating that timesheets for the remaining pay cycle would only be approved once the Annex was proven clean. In essence, the advisor was restricting payment from students until they had

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completed the cleaning process of a building they had been told was condemned. Once this had been brought to the attention of CofC staff members, the student’s timesheets were submitted and the advisor was told that their [advisor] actions were unacceptable.

During the past year, students have been under the impression that the building had black mold, lead and water damage, but contractor Ben Whitener ensured CYM that the building simply had asbestos and mildew in the floors. While he did confirm that there is lead in the original indoor paint, Whitener guaranteed that

“anything that might have had lead in it will be encapsulated by new paint.”

Whitener deferred CYM to Kevin McCray, the contractor who ordered the construction of the building, for any further questions. After reaching out multiple times asking for answers, there was no response from McCray. At this point CYM student investigators were stuck in their search for answers.

This isn’t the first time that the College has remained hush-hush about their renovations and reports in regards to campus.

On Friday, July 27, 2018, ABC

News 4 released an article about the leaky ceiling in the Thaddeus Street Junior Education Center, located on the College’s campus.

The news station had tried for a month to obtain the documents about the building before the College released a statement that the inspection reports did not exist.

The request was submitted through a Freedom of Information Act to the public information office and Colonel Robert Reese, the College’s public safety department’s chief of police, fire and EMS. In response the College told

ABC4 that they would have to pay an estimated $1600 for the documents due to the ‘labor intensive” work to find them.

After further discussion the College released an additional statement to ABC4 that “we have asked our facilities division who maintains those buildings, to conduct a search for the records requested above and they have reported back that they have searched and none were located.”

In July of 2019 Live 5 News requested information regarding

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the College’s public safety staffing was answered with another price.

The news station reached out with three questions: How many public safety officers are currently employed with the university? How many public safety officers would be considered full staff? What is the minimum number of officers needed to work a shift, and how long are those shifts scheduled for?

Attorneys for the College responded that the cost for finding and redacting the information would be an estimated $66, and they would need a 25% deposit before looking further into it.

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They later stated that the information may not be able to be resurfaced as “certain documents and/or information may have been purged from our system,” said Angela B. Mulholland, the College of Charleston’s legal counsel.

In 2018 the College was also reviewed by the Office of the Inspector General after it was alleged that the College doesn’t adhere to the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA]. The complaint was made after the College requested $80,000+ dollars to search, retrieve and redact forms. To conclude the

investigation, the South Carolina Office of the Inspector General stated “Fees may not be charged for examination and review to determine if the documents are subject to disclosure.” Read the whole report on our website.

Investigations into the physical health of Calhoun Annex are still being done by CisternYard staff.

We will keep the student body informed as we move forward.

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OVERPOPULATED AND OVERGROWN:

Charleston’s Gentrification Problem

by Katie Hopewell Nearly every student enrolled at the College of Charleston can relate to the anticipation of moving out of an on-campus dorm at the end of freshman year and into an off-campus apartment by the following August.

To many, it means no more RA’s to monitor them and no more semesterly room inspections, and who could blame college students for such desires? To others, the move off campus is done out of sheer necessity.

The College offers eight different on-campus dormitory buildings for freshmen housing and an additional three options for upperclassmen; collectively, these eleven buildings can facilitate a total of 3425 students on campus—making up about a third of CofC’s undergraduate population.

To house all students on the College’s campus is, as these figures suggest, simply impossible, and the consequent need for relocation to off-campus living facilities after freshman year is a fact largely recognized by students.

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The problem is, local realtors know this fact too.

To alleviate this immense need for off-campus housing by almost three quarters of CofC’s undergraduate population, realty companies and landlords present students with the option of leasing parts of unfurnished historic houses for relatively inexpensive rents.

While this can be a more frugal and practical option, these houses typically require more action by residents in order to move in (e.g. furnishing the rooms, setting up a cable plan and utilities), which can be daunting and even disincentivize the leasing of such a living situation.

Aside from the broad selection of downtown historic houses, Charleston students additionally have access to a more-than-sufficient amount of choices for apartment-style housing. Within recent years, a handful of amenity-rich apartment complexes have quickly sprung up in the northern part of the peninsula. They brand themselves as

‘student housing’ and explicitly target students with offers of fully-furnished units, private pools and even inhome fitness centers. Among these buildings are names like SkyGarden, Hoffler Place, 930 NoMo and My House on Meeting, all of which have been established as not only locations for housing, but also as hangout spots for students, due to their leasing populations mainly consisting of such. While there may seem to be an overwhelming amount of benefits to sign a lease for these convivial and luxurious communities, such merits always come with certain faults.

The apartments which label themselves as student housing, although well-equipped with appealing amenities, are particularly expensive to lease and are mostly located inhistorically black neighborhoods far from campus. But two trends within the recent flurry of new student apartments particu larly raise suspicion: the swift rate at which they are being built

and the continual decision to implement them in the middle of historically black areas. Just within the past year, two new luxury student apartments were constructed and soon filled with hundreds of college students—a noticeably short timeline for such grandiose developments—and were implemented on upper King and Meeting Streets—areas acknowledged in Charleston as neighborhoods which especially suffer from widespread poverty.

While it seems that the obvious explanation for the short periods of time separating these buildings’ construction would be to accommodate the majority of CofC’s students who cannot fit in on-campus housing, it is important to address the fact that our student population is on the decline— and has been since 2013. Out of those previously mentioned 3425 spaces for students

to live on the College’s campus, only 3146 are currently occupied, leaving roughly eight percent of on-campus housing options open. Their almost-deceptive self-branding as ‘student apartments,’ however, leads many Charlestonians to leave their presence unquestioned, but knowing that the demand by students for such facilities has only been decreasing in recent years, we are still led to ask why they are still being constructed.

Outside of the peninsula’s college student population, housing is a comprehensive issue among a major part of Charleston’s population. In a 2017 study completed by analysts at Realtor.com, Charleston, South Carolina took the title of America’s most quickly gentrifying city. This label refers to the extensive redevelopment of Charleston’s poverty-ridden areas into middle class communities, which has dis-

placed mass amounts of Charleston natives (including, but not limited to: Gullah, African American and Haitian people) off of the peninsula. Census data reveal that before 2000, the median price for a home in downtown Charleston was $152,000—by 2015, that same cost reached $270,000, having nearly doubled in less than twenty years. Additionally, over the previous three decades, the African American population within Charleston has plummeted by 55%, only to be replaced by a growing white demographic. The manifesting issue of gentrification within Charleston, demonstrated by the influx of young, white professionals and college students, now points a finger directly at these numerous student apartments made with the intent of housing them.

While it is not precisely clear whether or not these luxury student apartment buildings maintain a directly causal relationship with Charleston’s gentrification problem, it is evident that their construction is not exactly alleviating it. This issue is not one which diminishes by sheer circumstance—it requires meticulous and strategic action by city planners and housing development authorities to assist these affected communities. There is a need for a sincere acknowledgement of the impoverished population’s minimized access to affordable housing by city officials in order to stitch together this obvious gap between housing costs on the peninsula, as the student population is not alone in its demand for somewhere to call home.

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SELECTIVE CARING

by Andrew Lazar

If you go on any social media platform, you’ll probably see at least one person with #freehongkong in their post.

The Hong Kong protests are so widely watched and widely supported people of many ideologies and backgrounds are coming together in solidarity to support Hong Kong. Organizations such as the NBA and major brands such as Fortnite are actively putting out their support for Hong Kong and ensuring they will protect free speech, even if that means losing a major player like China.

The protests are important, that’s a fact, but there are also tons of other protests going on in the world right now. Catalonia is up in arms protesting for independence, Haiti is protesting for the Prime Minister to resign and France has been in protest of some form or another since Macron’s election.

According to Business Insider, there are at least 13 different large scale protests going on in the world right now. But you never hear about them in the news. You only learn about Hong Kong. You go to any international media websites and you may see coverage on protests other than Hong Kong, but the majority of the time it’s Hong Kong that’s the issue people focus on.

While mentioning the scale of the Hong Kong protest, the Hong Kong protest is on the largest scale by far, not mentioning the others ignores the political struggles seen around the world. This undermines any other conversation we could be having on any other protest. The issue is that we only mention Hong Kong when it comes to protests going on across the world. Few mention Catalonia, Haiti or France.

Few see the recurring protests in places like Egypt or Iran as anything new. There are more protests going on now at

THE YARD | 26

the same time then there ever has.

The underlying fact here however is what Hong Kong represents to the United States. America has always had a very unique relationship with China, especially in recent years.

China is the home of cheap labor and is one of if not the biggest market in the world. We have heavy trade ties with China, but America has always disagreed with the way China operates from a political perspective.

America is the home of the freedom to choose. The government doesn’t overregulate the media or how many kids you can have, but they do in China. This underlying split has always made China this unique ally. But Hong Kong strived to be a Capitalist utopia in China. Hong Kong was freedom incarnate.

America supports Hong Kong for this reason, and 2 million people stand up and fight for ensuring that freedom Americans care. The news then hops on the topic and the public turns its eyes towards Hong Kong. But in the end, like so many issues plaguing us today, the American public fails to see the full scope.

This goes to show that as a society

we do receive most of our education from social media. The fact that someone only knows what’s going on in Hong Kong and they have never heard of what’s going on across the world is the tipping point. Being selective about issues is okay, it’s how our minds work, but being selective without knowledge is irresponsible.

Voicing an opinion in solidarity with an issue just because people you follow on Twitter do so is ignorant. Don’t let your friends or the people online select what you want to care about. If you have family in Haiti, focus on that. If you have a friend in Catalonia, learn more about what’s going on there.

Someone shouldn’t be telling you what to care about, you should be choosing what you care about.

So look into the protests going on across the world and see which one resonates with you and follow that one. But be sure to know about them all because being aware is a lot more powerful than being oblivious.

Be a global citizen who cares about what people are fighting for, not a global citizen who is force fed what they should care for.

CISTERNYARD.COM

PHOTO

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lights

Out

by Grace Stringer Turning onto Wentworth Street from either Glebe St., St. Phillips St. or even King St. immediately puts a pit in your stomach. Like a classic scene from a horror movie, shadows obscur everything you see and every corner makes your heart race with the possible dangers. The walk to the Greek Houses, or McConnell can last forever. Without any proper street lighting, almost anything looks threatening and the only thing you can use to counteract are self defense tools like tasers or pepper spray or hopefully having a friend to call will be enough to put you at ease.

The McConnell Residence Hall sits at the corner of Coming and Wentworth. For those who don’t live nearby, Marty’s Place or the Jewish Studies buildings are popular landmarks.

However, those who don’t reside on the streets, whether in McConnell or in nearby Greek Life housing, are also totally unaware of the lack of streetlights between the corner of Glebe Street and Coming Street.

After late night classes, club meetings or a night out with friends, every resident of Wentworth Street will walk down this street and many feel unsafe. College students are already warned to not walk by themselves, or to be on the phone with someone you trust if you have to.

On wentworth

Students also have the choice to call public safety for a walk home, but some feel uncomfortable using that resource because it feels like an inconvenience or not that serious of an emergency.

McConnell Residence Hall is the farthest dorm from the center of campus and at a location disadvantage for most important buildings on campus, especially campus security. Unfortunately, this also places the residents of Wentworth St. at a disadvantage and a feeling of being isolated from campus. Rumors of sex trafficking on campus has heightened the fears of students.

A Cisternyard Media representative met with with Wilfred Fields, the Maintenance and Operations Associative Director, and Eric L. Brown, who is the interim Electrical Supervisor. Before the meeting Mr. Fields came out to Wentworth in order to inspect and take photos and videos of the area in question.

He has since requested that the two street lights at the corner of Glebe and Wentworth be replaced as they are out of working order. Fields also explained that the trees lining the Greek Houses on Wentworth also are blocking out some of the major light sources.

He has requested that the trees be trimmed and that a new light be placed on a pole above the sign of the Grace Episcopal Church.

He does admit that the street is “totally dark.” However, the College does not own that part of the street.

The city and the Grace Episcopal church share ordinance. He states that “this will be a challenge”, in order to get more street lights added, but this is the short-term action that he is taking now.

When Mr. Fields was asked if there was something that the College can do to work with the city in order to get the permission necessary to place more street lights like there is on Glebe Street, he replied, “We would have to engage the city and obviously I can do some research to find out where we can go from here. But, I think you will see a big difference once we get these lights working.”

We also brought to his attention the street light that is placed in front of the church parking lot on the McConnell Hall side of the street.

CISTERNYARD.COM

&

battered, beaten,

flooded.

Nearly one hundred years

by Cheyenne Abrams The City is in the process of

The city currently has $23

ago Mayor Henry Laurens

designing its third drainage

million dollars budgeted for the

Pinckney offered a gold coin to

system for the peninsula, and

repairs, but it is only projected

anyone in the area who could fix

replacing the Battery wall as

to cover part of the project.

Charleston’s drainage problem.

much as 2.5 feet in some places.

Tecklenberg hopes that the state

No one could, and evidently, no

Both projects estimate at about

will approve Charleston for the

one can.

$400 million in total costs.

state grants they’ve applied for.

The coastal city is no stranger

“I caused the delay in

“Murray Boulevard is a

to the sea level rise and coastal

[replacing the battery wall]

state street. It would fall into

flooding that most cities are

because I realized [during

Charleston Harbor but for this

now facing. Charleston sits

hurricane Matthew] that we

seawall,” the mayor said. “I

between four major rivers, many

weren’t doing enough, that we

think it’s reasonable that the

tributaries and the Atlantic

weren’t raising the wall enough

state help us on this project.”

Ocean, and while this makes for

to really protect the peninsula,”

beautiful scenery and weekend

said Mayor Tecklenberg.

activities, it can also cause destruction and frustration to the 135,000 people that call Charleston home.

In recent years, Charleston

The plan to replace the battery the sidewalks along the Battery

They plan to replace section by

through Murray Boulevard,

section, leading toward White

which would mean losing the

Point Gardens.

and a disastrous storm during

most travelled walkways.

the floods of 2015, along with

However, City Planner Jacob

35-50 days of flooded streets

Lindsey hopes to add additional

yearly. Charleston is now racing

parking along the East Battery

to fix their flooding problem

to replace it’s loss.

estimates a two foot sea level rise in the next fifty years.

THE YARD | 30

near the Coast Guard Station near Tradd Street has begun.

free parking along Charleston’s

Atmospheric Administration

construction of the seawall

wall will also include widening

has faced four major hurricanes

as the National Oceanic and

As of February 2019,

The city’s newest concern is that parking is overshadowing the main problem here: rebuilding the seawall.

The project is expected to take many years, yet no official timeline has been released.

photo by David Martin via Unsplash.com

CISTERNYARD.COM

All The Small Things

by Iriana Rucker photos by Iriana Rucker

THE YARD | 32

What lens do you see the world around you through? How might your life be different if you were someone else?

This is a question thought by many people of different backgrounds all over the Earth. Regardless of what may be believed by some life is different for everyone because of specific ways that they were born or in many cases because of specific ways in which society has been set up against certain groups of people. According to the University of New Hampshire Microaggressions are verbal and nonverbal behaviors that communicate negative, hostile, and derogatory messages to people rooted in their marginalized group membership (based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.). They can occur in everyday interactions and can be intentional or unintentional but are often unacknowledged. Gender Microaggressions can range in typology, here are a few examples to help us better understand how these instances of microaggression based out of sexism are seen in everyday life; Catcalling, sexual harassment, body shaming, victim blaming, restrictive gender roles ,and objectification. These are not the only example in which gender microaggressions are seen but they are the most common ones.

So the question remains, Gender microaggression: fact or fiction? Do these instances or specific microaggression actually exist and do they have a lasting impact?

At fifteen years old I sat as my high school administration told me I would fail. This failure was not due to my lack of performance in the classroom, my attendance, or any other viable reason why someone would be struggling in school or in life as a whole. I was told that this failure I was bound for was based off of me as a statistic. A statistic rooted in ignorance and poor research.

As a young black woman, I was a number in their eyes. A sliver on a pie chart inevitably barreling towards teenage pregnancy and/or ending my high school career. I was–and still am–none of these things.

As I walked into school every day I knew how I was viewed by those around me. Despite my GPA or academic performance, I was viewed as a percentage. Five years later I sit in my biology lecture class with my intelligence still constantly in question. Feeling a perpetual need to prove myself, I answered a question some of my male classmates had. Confident in my knowledge, I told them my answer only to be met by disbelief and skepticism. Upon asking another classmate who responded with the same answer that I just told them, they came to the conclusion that it was in fact the correct answer; but only because it came out of the mouth of a white male.

It is equally important to acknowledge the microaggressions themselves as well as the way in which they alter the ways people begin to view themselves.

The stress that these instances bring onto those who are discriminated against can dwell not only mentally but physically also. Life is stressful and adding these extra anxieties on top of that can weigh on those affected (regardless of the type of microaggression) can cause these things being said or done to become something that is internalized. For example I, to an extent, began to believe these things I had been told about myself by my educators. I questioned myself, my abilities and my intelligence. The worst part about all of this is that I wholeheartedly believe that my high school administration genuinely thought that what they were doing was valid and did not see the how racist it came across or how it could impact someone like myself. Where my school failed to redeem themselves is when they saw how their message was interpreted and did not apologize or acknowledge their lapse in judgement, to me that is what hurts the most. The purpose of this article is not to attack men or come off as angry. It is just as simple as recognizing our own, both men and women, prejudices that play out in our day to day lives. No matter what community you belong to it is important to cultivate an environment rooted in equal opportunity.

As a society we need to hold each other accountable for our prejudice actions, despite what the intention, both good and bad, may be behind these actions.

Everyday differing people groups face social adversities that can easily be fixed once we recognize our thought patterns. Despite all the things I face as a woman of color today, I know how far we have come as a nation. But I also recognize the room we have for growth as we strive towards the future.

I am proud to be who I am and you should be too. As Sojourner Truth said “Ain’t I A Woman?”, and I would not have it any other way.

CISTERNYARD.COM

by Tyler McCormack

CONTENT WARNING: Article contains sensitive topics including sexual assault.

Luke, as a writer on every song.

When the two narratives

years, Caitlyn most prominently used her platform to support

collide, we see an interesting

current president Donald Trump,

question emerge. How do we

who has publicly supported

acclaim at the age of 16, when

approach the situation of one

workplace discrimination against

she became the world’s youngest

of the most successful and

LGBTQIA+ people, cut funding for

person to ever undergo gender-

prominent transgender figures

HIV/AIDS research and advocated

confirmation surgery. A year before

of today financially supporting

for allowing medical personnel

her surgery, she released her first

and furthering the career of a

to deny queer people the right to

single, Fade Away. Since then, she

rapist? We see examples of the

healthcare based on their identity.

has released three EPs, two studio

“Petras problem” all throughout

James Charles made news as the

albums, and an impressive amount

the LGBTQIA+ community. For

first ever “Coverboy,” breaking

of singles. Her bubblegum pop and

example, in Caitlyn Jenner’s

down notions about gendered

proclamations of “woo-ah!” have

passionate support of Donald

products in the makeup industry.

won her quite the fanbase, and her

Trump, James Charles’ ebola

However, he also perpetuated

public 2009 transition certainly

comments and RuPaul’s

racist remarks about Africa.

contributed to an ongoing dialogue.

mistreatment of transgender

RuPaul has done more than any

Without a doubt, Petras is a star.

women.

of these people in bringing the

Kim Petras rose to international

However, her work in bringing

Obviously, every single one of

LGBTQIA+ community to light,

transgender people into the public

these people has done something

arguably making drag a viable

eye by her mere existence is

wrong. At the same time, each

career choice and supporting queer

tarnished by the man who helps

one of these people has brought

artists through his show, Drag

write her music—Dr. Luke, the man

LGBTQIA+ issues into the public

Race. RuPaul also didn’t allow

who sexually assaulted Kesha. Her

eye. Caitlyn Jenner started a

trans queens to compete on the

most recent album, Turn Off The

national conversation with her

show, forced Carmen Carrerra to

Light Vol. 2, released in October

transition. However, as the most

pause her transition to participate

of 2019, lists Lukasz Gottwald, Dr.

visible transgender figure in the

and misidentified trans icon and

United States for a number of

LGBTQIA+ trailblazer Marsha P.

THE YARD | 34

Johnson as a drag queen in the first

Drag Race. Whether this initiative

episode of Drag Race.

is genuine or not, at the end of the

As a community, it’s times like

day, it is doing more good than

this when we need to take a step

harm in supporting LGBTQIA+

back. Where do we draw the line?

artists. Petras’ lack of activism

Which crimes are unforgivable?

coupled with her financial support

How do we determine what to do

is not putting her in the same

about these situations? If it were as

position. So, I ask you to hold

simple as giving these celebrities

one another accountable—yes,

community service or making them

Keeping Up With the Kardashians

sit behind bars for a few months,

may be funny, and Turn Off The

our problem would be solved, but

Light Vol. 2 may be perfectly timed

as a community, we are the judge

for Halloween, but these guilty

and jury for those who represent us

pleasures are not worth it. They

on a national and global level. As

do permanent harm rather than

the people who give these people a

even temporary good. Support

platform, we also have the right to

LGBTQIA+ artists, but only those

take that platform away.

who are doing genuine good. Be

As much as I love earworms

wary of the Petras problem.

like Petras’ I Don’t Want It At All or Hillside Boys, are they worth partially negating the efforts of the #MeToo movement and Kesha herself in raising awareness against issues of sexual assault? In my opinion, I don’t think so. There’s no doubt that Petras is talented, and I respect her and her art, but I don’t respect her decision to continue working with Dr. Luke.

The way that we impact change is by forcing these artists to change their ways. It’s not impossible, especially not for Petras. A budding star, she has years of music-making ahead of her in the event that she separates herself from Dr. Luke. In fact, although the “Petras problem” plagues the LGBTQIA+ community, we’ve seen recovery and growth from it. RuPaul saw the light and apologized, and is now actively supporting trans artists and pushing trans narratives on

CISTERNYARD.COM

The College: gh sted?

Written by Bryce Warner The Cougars are down eight with five minutes left to go. Instead of making noise to give the basketball team a boost to go on a run, the crowd is sparse. People area leaving. School spirit at the College is at an all time low.

There’s no carpooling to soccer and baseball games in Mt. Pleasant. And little student support at women’s basketball games. The school spirit here isn’t what it should be⁠— the students here aren’t taking advantage of the Division I sports teams that they have. The cause could be anything from being a mid-major school to the distance of the fields from campus.

Who knows? But one thing that we both know is that there needs to be a change, soon.

Basketball season is upon us and this year the Cougars, both men and women teams, will be playing some tough opponents at home, so student support will be needed. Most students only come to the games for the free T-shirts or free food that they are giving away. The student section, especially behind the net, should be hype from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Those athletes work extremely hard on their craft and deserve the recognition. The level of school spirit could definitely change overnight.

We as students can do that by taking initiative.

Students can start by simply showing up to games. Admission is free for students for every sporting event.

Make plans with your friends for going to the games. If you’re attending a baseball or soccer game, make plans

THE YARD | 36

for a carpool. Be loud! It’s what student sections are known for.

Good student sections are loud and don’t stop cheering until after the final buzzer.

If the team is getting hyped up by the crowd, that improves their performance.

Another thing fans can do is participate in the designated spirit nights. There is power in unison, a group is stronger when they are all on the same page.

Students could get together and have theme nights of their own such as Hawiian shirt night, or pajama night.

We as students have the power at our fingertips to spread messages to a wide audience through social media.

There should be no excuse as to why people can’t get together and get hyped up for a basketball or a soccer game.

Everyone who has been to one of our men’s basketball games knows that at the beginning of the second half, the staff hands out fatheads and cutouts to distract the opposing team.

But people don’t know how to utilize them correctly. When the opposing team is shooting a freethrow, the whole stadium should be rocking. The bricks should be getting tossed in the air, anything to distract the opposing player from making the free throw.

Hopefully after reading this, you get some source of motivation to be more school spirited. Every sport needs the

support from their peers. The support goes a long way and the athletes greatly appreciate it. May I add, these athletic events are free. So get out of the room, take a break from studying and come cheer on your fellow cougars.

CISTERNYARD.COM

The Silenced C

by Bryce Warner and Liz Hipes

Freedom of speech, as stated in the First Amendment, is an argument frequently used to justify comments, publications, pictures and speeches. But how “free” is freedom of speech? More specifically, how “free” is freedom of speech on college campuses?

In a world that is constantly changing, it can be difficult to decipher the differences between what can and cannot be said. But the game changes a bit when a liberal arts school comes into play.

Liberal arts education focuses on making a student more wellrounded by taking various types of classes and exposing their students to ideas that are not their own or are foreign to them.

This can,or at least should, include exposure to different types of speech and expressions.

The problem with free speech in public colleges and universities is that they have the right to censor you beyond what the Constitution defines as limits to free speech. Free expression policies at public colleges can differ from the Constitution.

If liberal arts colleges are claiming to educate others on the unknown and unfamiliar, then limits on students and their right to free speech should be little to none. Other than the limits that are set by the US Constitution, what right do colleges and universities have to censor their students and prevent them from expressing their opinion?

Total and complete freedom of speech will not and should never be allowed for obvious reasons of public safety. But where to draw the line between what’s ok to say and publish on college campuses differ and is often unclear and unnecessary.

The problem here can sometimes be that students feel pressured to conform to a specific political, or any other, ideology because of the overwhelming vocal ideas and opinions portrayed by their college or their peers. This social and institutional influence can make students with differing political, ideological or religious views to feel like their opinion is not important or will not be wellreceived.

The tension here lies in the attempt to find a balance between inclusion of ideas and groups versus trying to protect of types of speech that can be controversial or unpopular.

In March of 2019, College of Charleston student, Charlotte Townsend had an interview on Fox and Friends to share her story of how she was bullied for her political beliefs. She and another conservative were putting up posters around campus. Within the next 15 minutes, they were torn down.

They confronted the person that vandalized the signs and he said “my free speech is to take down your free speech.” She proceeded to describe how other conservative groups feel like their voices haven’t been heard on campus and have explained their feelings with administration.

It is because of instances like these that colleges should be promoting a more widespread acceptance of different ideas even when they conflict with someone else’s. Bullying in any context should not be tolerated even if opinions clash.

Last spring, there was an incident at the College involving white students posting a video filled with hate speech. The

video was obviously not well received by minority students and they got together to protest, demanding that the administration take action against the racist behavior. This was not the first racial incident that occurred on campus. For the previous incidents, the College administration didn’t do much to punish the students that made the violations. This made the affected community feel as if their voice wasn’t being heard.

That is why they continued to protest.

This is the flip side of the coin.

Someone’s freedom of speech and their opinion severely offended and negatively affected an entire group of people. The students who were exercising their freedom of speech when posting that video were bullying an entire minority. Again, this is bullying and should not be tolerated in any context.

It is situations like these that perpetuate the long debated question: should hate speech be protected under the First Amendment even if it doesn’t incite violence? Hate speech can be hurtful to others but at the same time can spark conversation and possibly a deeper understanding of other people’s viewpoints.

“If you’re not affected by it, it’s easy to say ‘we shouldn’t have any regulation’ but so many people are hurt by it whether its antisemitism, racism, just antianything that isn’t white, I think we have to work hard to protect free speech but make it less harmful and I don’t know what that looks like,” Adjunct English professor Marjory Wentworth said.

Cougar “IF YOU’RE NOT GOING TO USE YOUR FREE SPEECH TO CRITICIZE YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT, THEN WHAT THE HELL IS THE POINT OF HAVING IT?” ― MICHEL TEMPLET Even though it is viewed as wrong and harmful, hate speech is still a form of free speech.

Anybody has the right to say, publish or post something that is racist, homophobic or antisemitic. Banning this type of speech would be violating your First Amendment rights as a United States citizen.

That is not to say however that there are no limitations to what can and cannot be said.

“I would think about freedom as the constitutional sanctioned ability to express your perspective. However, there are constraints on that ability and the constraints exist to prevent your expression from creating circumstances that we as a society deem detrimental.

Detrimental enough to outweigh your liberty to express that,” said Political Science professor Claire Wofford.

Instances of free speech like the one seen last spring can cause some serious negative side effects. Hate speech can cause division among college students but if handled in a way that prompts civil discourse, it can be beneficial to becoming a more educated and well-rounded student and citizen. Which is supposedly the goal of liberal arts colleges like the College of Charleston.

What needs to end up happening is there needs to be a happy medium of how far people can go when talking or posting their views or opinions. There

needs to be a better vetting of what can and cannot be said for the sole purpose of diminishing things like inciting violence and community divisions. But there also needs to be a level of tolerance for people who publicly disagree with certain groups, political parties or social movements.

Freedom of speech should be bringing people together, not tearing them apart.

“The problem is that all things aren’t equal, and everybody doesn’t have the equal right to speak. So until everyone has as much volume as everybody else, I think we need to think really hard about the types of speech we are allowing versus not allowing,” said Wofford.

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