Volume 67 | Spring 2023 | Issue 2

CONTENTS

EDITOR'S LETTER

Hello Students,

Welcome to our last issue of the semester! I know things have begun to get hectic as we finish the semester—pulling all-nighters to finish that final assignment and, for some, preparing to graduate and begin a new chapter.

As we all look forward to the breath of relief that summer vacation always brings, I hope you gain a sense of fun, creativity, and community from this issue. Articles included in our print issue include art exhibitions that advocate for and celebrate love, gender, sexuality, and mental health.

JP Hol’s solo exhibition, "I am Here to Steal your Soul," is just one of the many exhibitions in Columbus this month. Hol uses everyday materials to explore themes of biology, family, time, love, gender, and sexuality. The Uproar’s very own Eli Schmidt also shared his experience in the 2023 Student Juried Art Exhibition. Among other things, Schmidt’s work features a self-portrait that speaks to his personal enlightenment of realizing his worth and confidence in his gender identity.

We also covered upcoming changes that students interested in dorm life should be aware of. Beginning in Fall 2023, Fontaine Hall will no longer be available as an option for student housing.

In other news, I would like to congratulate our staff members graduating this May. Summer is one of my favorite seasons because it represents change, adventure, growth, and happiness. I hope our departing members will experience all these things as they go through this shift in their lives and careers this summer.

In the vein of change and growth, I would also like to announce that this semester will be my last as Editor-in-chief. I am pleased to announce that our Senior Copy Editor, Nick Miller, will take over as Editor-in-chief in the fall. Nick has been working closely with the staff this school term and has created creative, thought-provoking, and well-rounded articles. I know that he is fully capable of leading and facilitating the paper’s growth.

Thank you all for allowing me to work with an amazing staff, and I hope you enjoy this issue!

Best,

Destinee Williams

Editor-in-Chief

Nick Miller

Senior Copy Editor

Luka Steele

Layout Editor

Vinh Quang Huynh

Media Editor

Braxton Lee

Social Media Editor

Nick Bentley Radio Host

Joe Miller Faculty Advisor

EDITORS

Ashley Adamian

Eli Woods

REPORTERS VISUAL REPORTERS

Jonathan Stringfellow

Jordan Stafford

Kennedy Buckner

Eli Schmidt

Shawn'a Lee

Angel Glover

Johnny Brown

Sabria Ellerby

Rhiannon Balliette

Braxton Williams

ShuLin Zheng

Sculpture by Desean Tucker on display at the Columbus Botanical Garden. Photography by Vinh Huynh. PICTURED

Floral imagery from the "Second Nature" art exhibition. Photography by Vinh Huynh.

These stories found within these 6 pages

4 | STAFF SPOTLIGHT: ELI SCHMIDT

Uproar illustrator Eli Schmidt’s work was featured in the 2023 Student Juried Art Exhibition. He expands on his artistic inspiration, themes, and goals.

by Destinee Williams

5 | THE ARTS IN APRIL

CSU students on Riverpark Campus have been busy this month with exciting visitors, exhibitions, and competitions, including JP Hol’s “I am Here to Steal your Soul” and art critic Jerry Saltz.

by Nick Miller

6 | WHAT’S TO COME FOR FONTAINE HOUSING

In recent years on the Riverpark, students who wish to live on campus have had the option to do so in a variety of housing buildings, including Broadway Crossing, Columbus Hall, Rankin, Oglethorpe, One Arsenal Place, and Fontaine Hall. However, beginning in May, Fontaine will no longer be available.

by Eli Woods

Opinions expressed in The Uproar are those of the editor or writer of the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of Columbus State University or its affiliates.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT: ELI SCHMIDT

Eli Schmidt on his experience in the 2023 Student Juried Art Exhibition

Uproar illustrator Eli Schmidt’s work was featured in the 2023 Student Juried Art Exhibition, which was juried by Elizabeth Elliot, a prominent Alabama curator of grass-roots and institutional-level exhibitions. The art featured in the exhibition was displayed from March 28 to April 25, 2023 in the Schley gallery of CSU’s Corn Center for the Visual Arts.

Students participating in the exhibition were allowed to submit up to three art pieces of any media form from which the showpieces were selected.

The awards reception was held on April 25 from 5:30 to 7 pm. During the reception, the first, second, third, and fourth place winners were announced, as well as an honorable mention. All winners received monetary prizes for their work ranging from $50 to $400.

According to Schmidt, aesthetically, he is drawn to work of the medieval and pre-Renaissance periods. “I love the leafing techniques in historic Catholic altarpieces and illuminated manuscripts. I’m also attracted to religious iconography and subjects of historic paintings, which is often mirrored in my work, especially these paintings," he stated.

The collection will feature a self-portrait created as a master study of the painter Robert Delaunay and his color techniques in portraiture, as well as a diptych of two wolves entitled “Predator and Prey.”

“My addition of the gold leaf speaks to a sense of enlightenment, but instead of a religious enlightenment, I see it as more of self-realizing my own worth and confidence,” Schmidt said of the self-portrait.

“While illustration and character designs are my usual focus, for this body of work, I wanted to explore my ideas through the use of painting techniques," Schmidt stated when asked about the inspiration behind his artwork.

“Oil painting is something I never thought I’d get into, but through my time here at CSU, I’ve come to really enjoy it. Painting has allowed me to develop my work in full color and a style I would have never worked in before in my digital mediums. Although it’s messy and mixing colors is timeconsuming, oil paint has quickly become one of my main mediums to work in,” he continued.

“As a trans person, finally finding contentment in my appearance through hormone therapy has been a very personal journey that I’m proud to be on and show in my artwork.”

According to Schmidt, “Predator and Prey” was created in a style reminiscent of medieval family crests. He sought to merge both his illustration and painting practice, and these pieces are heavy in linework and the precision that Schmidt often works with outside of painting.

Going forward, Schmidt plans to continue the themes present in this collection in his upcoming pre-exhibition as well as preparing for his thesis exhibition. Career-wise, Schmidt is interested in pursuing work as a concept artist for cartoons or a game company.

CONSUMER OF PEACE

SELF-PORTRAIT

DESTINEE WILLIAMS

Events in the Art Department this month THE ARTS IN APRIL

NICK MILLER VINH HUYNH

CSU students on Riverpark Campus have been busy this month with exciting visitors, exhibitions, and competitions.

Visiting artist JP Hol opened his solo exhibition “I am Here to Steal your Soul” on Tuesday, March 27, in the Illges Gallery. Hol has worked and exhibited internationally in Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan, and China. He uses everyday materials like bubble wrap, fabric, and glass to create imaginative works of art which explore themes of biology, family, time, love, gender, and sexuality. “I am Here to Steal your Soul” closed on April 29.

On April 11, art critic Jerry Saltz came to CSU. Saltz is a highly influential voice in the art world and currently serves as the senior art critic at New York Magazine. He recently released the book “Art is Life,” a collection of highlyreadable essays about contemporary art. His lecture at CSU was open to the public and covered everything from his past as a truck driver to his approach to writing about art.

Uproar photographer Vinh Huynh and professor Hannah Israel co-curated Second Nature, an exhibition featuring artwork by eight students from CSU's Art Department. The exhibition was on view at the Columbus Botanical Garden from March 10 - April 5. On April 19, the show continued at Woodruff Park near the Riverpark campus. Planning is in progress for a third show located on the island on the RiverWalk.

CSU students in the Art Department got the opportunity to collaboratively curate an exhibition of their own this month. With budgets of $10 each, students went to thrift stores, antique shops, or parents’ attics, finding items to place on display. They researched these objects from a historic perspective. Highlights of the show include glass insulators from telegraph lines, hand-woven baskets, 20th-century newspapers, and vintage toys. The collection was shown in CSU’s Art Lab gallery from April 19 through May 3.

CSU’s Counseling Center and Art Department came together to lead the Journeys Through Mental Health Contest as part of the Cougars End Suicide initiative. Students were encouraged to express emotions through visual art, music, writing, performance, or rap and submit their art to the contest for cash prizes and recognition. An awards ceremony was held on March 27 and included a presentation by Fatimah AlQadfan, a drama therapist.

GREEN HAND BY CATHERINE LESLIE (ABOVE), ENGINEERED SPRING BY JENIYAH BURTON (LEFT), & COOPER CREEK BY VINH HUYNH (BELOW)

What’s to Come for

Fontaine HOUSING

Considering the future of this Riverpark housing selection

In recent years, students who wish to live on the Riverpark campus have had the option to do so in a variety of housing buildings. Six housing options have been available to residents, including Broadway Crossing and Columbus Hall for underclassmen, Rankin, Oglethorpe, One Arsenal Place for upperclassmen, and Fontaine Hall for those wishing to live in a more private space.

However, this coming year, Fontaine Hall will no longer be available as an option for student housing, causing the loss of 18 bed spaces. The students within this dorm building have been offered early registration as well as priority for fall housing selection as a result of their current housing no longer existing for the fall semester.

To learn more about the reason behind the loss of Fontaine, The Uproar sat down with Scott Lundgren, Director of Residence Life at CSU.

When asked why Fontaine was no longer going to be an option for housing, Director of Residence Life Scott Lundgren stated, “Fontaine is not actually owned by the university, but instead is owned and managed by a third party corporation here in Columbus called Corvias. CSU has decided not to re-sign the lease with Corvias for this coming year.”

After more discussion, Director Lundgren explained that since Fontaine is not truly owned by the university, there are limitations on how CSU can interact with Fontaine. For example, Director Lundgren mentioned that maintenance issues in this building could not be resolved by CSU maintenance, but would have to be done by Corvias employees. He observed that this could be an obstacle when dealing with time-sensitive maintenance issues.

Another issue is the Wi-Fi connection: residents are required to supply a router to connect to the Internet in the building. Residents can acquire a router through the school, which is necessary to access school work in this residence building.

When asked how losing Fontaine would benefit CSU, Director Lundgren directed attention to the five remaining housing buildings on campus, stating that there are plans to upgrade and enhance these CSU-owned buildings. He hopes that students will embrace the change and asserts that it signifies a new beginning for Residence Life and students alike.

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