Study Breaks by Digital Publisher

on the cover NIA WELLMAN

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JARED ALEXANDER

M A RC H 20 18 classics.

thoughts.

features.

Note from the Editor

Modern Romance

Who’s Who

6 #MeToo Classics

Playlist

The Flatbush Renaissance

Backdrop

Anchoring Activities

What’s Your Major?

An Overwatch Empire

The Meal Plan

Book, Binge & a Flick

One Sheet

New York State of Payouts 24

March Horoscopes

SIX MONTHS TO SALVATION

A MOVABLE FEAST

39 GROWING OUT HER ROOTS

note from the editor. Welcome to the new Study Breaks! Featuring more editorial, illustration and clean space, and fewer interviews, clutter and standardized templates, the reimagined magazine youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re holding (or reading online) is the result of months of scrutiny, self-examination and data analysis. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve trimmed out a lot of text and made the layout much more minimal, all in an effort to make the reading experience more direct. We also reduced the number of student interviews and hiked up the number of editorial pieces in hopes of giving readers more opportunity to find something they like. None of this would be possible without a sustained, growing readership and a wealth of talented student writers, designers and photographers, so thank you. If you have feedback about the new issue, drop us a line through social media or our website. Otherwise, enjoy. Thanks,

Mark Stenberg @markstenberg3

our team. FOUNDER

MARKETING DIRECTOR

ART DIRECTOR

ACCOUNTING

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

WEB EDITOR

DISTRIBUTION

Gal Shweiki

Jesus Acosta

Mark Stenberg

Raquel Alonzo

Carmina de Alba

Elizabeth Castro

Marcus Flores

Frank Hartfield, Jose Espinoza, Ernest Ward

contributors. EDITORIAL

Giselle Krachenfels, University of Southern California Jack Brandon, University of Michigan Carli Scalf, Ball State University Onaje McDowelle, University of Texas at Austin Ellyot Chen, Pasadena City College Shashank Rao, University of Michigan Patrick Murtha, Eastern Connecticut State University Christian Zeitler, Carnegie Mellon Leslie Currie, University of Virginia Camelia Juarez, Texas State University Joiya Reed, Georgia Southern University Brandi Loving, St. Mary’s University Maya Halabi, University of Texas at San Antonio

FEATURES

Bethany Knickerbocker, Emerson College Benny Diaz, Southern New Hampshire University Sydney Jennings, University of Connecticut PHOTOGRAPHY

Ariel Parra, University of California, Berkeley Kristen Harrison, Ithaca College Jared Alexander, Hamilton University Thea Robinson, University of Texas at Austin Adam Hamze, University of Texas at Austin DESIGN + ILLUSTRATION

Sid Ylagan, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design

writing internships. Study Breaks is written exclusively by a team of student interns from across the country. These writers work with the editorial team to pitch and submit one piece a week for the website, in addition to writing for the monthly print magazine. Summer internships run from May 28 to September 28, and applications close May 14. If interested, email editorial@studybreaks.com with “Student Writing Internship” in the Subject. Introduce yourself in the body, making sure to include your name, school and major. Please attach at least two samples of your work. Ideal writers are intelligent, funny and talented, though no formal experience is necessary.

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whomst line is it anyway? E XC ERP T S F RO M S T UDY B RE A K S. C O M WI T H A B S OL U T ELY NO C ON T E X T

“A barracuda is a large, terrifying fish with razor-sharp teeth, so yeah, being referred to as a barracuda is not necessarily a compliment.” SARAH HOENIG, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

“One begins to wonder: Has J.K. Rowling ever even been to Hogwarts?” MICHAELA SICKLES, SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY

“Unless, of course, you’re entirely repelled by the show’s strange juxtaposition of the beautiful, the gory and the weirdly erotic.” MAINA WACHIRA, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

“Honestly, who am I to call Drake soft — I like to wear my silk robe on Sunday mornings and drink coffee.” SAM KASIERSKI, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL

“There is some good news, though: flossing doesn’t work.” ALIDA SIEBKIN, RADFORD UNIVERSITY

“‘Pop 2’ clutches ingenuity and warmth underneath its cold, robotic exterior, as if Charli herself were saying: This could be us, but you’re playing.” JACK BRANDON, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

“It’s fun to joke about something that could potentially kill you.” CHERYL SUTTON, PURDUE UNIVERSITY

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backdrop. EXPLORING COLLEGES + THEIR CITIES

BY A B E R A MIRE Z , UNI V ER S I T Y OF C A L IF ORNI A , L O S A NGEL E S P H O T O GR A P H Y BY A RIEL PA RR A , UNI VER S I T Y OF C A L IF ORNI A , BERK EL E Y

Everyone’s drawn to Los Angeles by the seduction of Hollywood glamour, but for students, the city is a place for discovery. Going to UCLA means access to Southern California locations like Venice Beach or the Los Angeles National Forest, but there’s also a level of diversity that isn’t available anywhere else in the country: You can eat dim sum in Chinatown for lunch and street tacos for dinner downtown. Los Angeles is the place to be.

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modern romance:

WHAT WE CAN REALLY LEARN FROM AZIZ ANSARI

n January, the website Babe published an anecdotal exposé about an alleged sexual encounter involving comedian Aziz Ansari and Grace, the author of the story. Grace recalls going on a date with Ansari shortly after he had won an Emmy for best actor, a meet-up that later turned romantic. However, as the story details, despite Grace’s repeated suggestions that she was uninterested in sex, Ansari persisted. The story, which quickly went viral, led to a groundswell of think pieces, as both critics and apologists were quick to try and use the murky relativity of consent to bolster their argument. Megan Nesbith, in fact, a writer for Man Repeller, described one of the more insidious red herrings to emerge from the uproar, the widespread but fallacious idea that “#MeToo has now crossed the threshold into hysteria, with women equating Ansari’s aggressive sexual overtures with the repeated, systemic, and careerdestroying sexual assaults perpetrated by people like Harvey Weinstein” Indeed, far from a cut-and-dry debate, the dialogue quickly mutated into an argument surrounding the nature of sexual crime and what sorts of sexual harassment are quantifiably worse than others. Many women, unfortunately, found Grace’s story far too familiar, whereas many men seemed unaware of what the problem was — so what, they had bad sex? What the story should’ve done, though, was open up a more nuanced discussion about consent, power dynamics and sexual norms. While yes, what Ansari did wasn’t prosecutable, it certainly doesn’t feel right either. As much as the #MeToo movement is about bringing justice to criminals, it’s also about taking a

BY GI S EL L E K R A C HENF EL S, UNI V ER S I T Y OF S O U T HERN C A L IF ORNI A IL L U S T R AT I ON BY S ID Y L A G A N, MILWAUK EE IN S T I T U T E OF A RT & DE S I GN

deeper look at the ethical fissures underlying many of our modern, complicated sexual mores. As Manisha Krishnan, from Vice, wrote, “The point of #MeToo should be to change our culture around sex and to hold people to a standard of decency beyond just what the law or a human resources department requires.” In her account, Grace verbally and nonverbally expressed that she doesn’t want to have sex. She said, “I don’t want to feel forced because then I’ll hate you and I’d rather not hate you” and “I don’t think I’m ready to do this, I really don’t think I’m going to do this,” while repeatedly getting up and moving away. She later wrote, “Most of my discomfort was expressed in me pulling away and mumbling. I know that my hand stopped moving at some points. I stopped moving my lips and turned cold.” The issue boils down to this: Why do you want to have sex with someone who isn’t enthusiastic about it? Do men genuinely want to have sex with someone who is, at best, indifferent, and, at worst, trying to escape the room in their heads? No, instead, we need to reframe what normal sex is: an activity in which both partners are actively interested in each other’s engagement and enjoyment. Perhaps your partner’s thing is lying unmoving like a statute. But you can’t assume this, which is why it’s important to have conversations and recognize the importance of non-verbal cues. Grace used both

verbal and non-verbal ways to say no, but critics still had trouble grasping that it’s possible to convey disinterest without shrieking no. If someone is physically struggling to get away from you, does that really seem like a green light? Instead, what you can do is pay closer attention to nonverbal cues in your sexual encounters. Sex should be like a dialogue, with both parties actively participating. If you make a move or start an action and it’s unreciprocated, stop for a second and check in. If you’re kissing someone and they’re not kissing you back, stop and check in. If someone is pushing you off of them, stop (immediately) and see if everything is alright. If your partner is lying there nonresponsive, stop and check in. Some people are scared that all this talk about consent will take the fun out of sex. But if your sex life is so bad that posing a simple question such as “Is this okay?” will ruin it, you’ve got bigger issues. As Nesmith wrote, “Sure, sexual violence may not be eliminated by a more nuanced and open conversation around consent, power and pleasure, but that doesn’t mean the conversation isn’t critically important.” It’s imperative that we analyze and discuss why our unbalanced sexual dynamics exist and why we have to expand our view on consent. These dialogues won’t solve all our problems, but they’re a great place to start.

Sex should be like a dialogue, with both parties actively participating

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RANADOS

Q&A WITH KEIL AH GRANADOS

Q&A WITH KEIL AH GRAN

NADOS

BY EL LYO T C HEN, PA S A DEN A C I T Y C OL L E GE P H O T O GR A P H Y BY T HE A ROBIN S ON, UNI V ER S I T Y OF T E X A S AT AU S T IN

Sophomore Keilah Granados, author of the poetry collection “Wanders the Night,” finds resilience in the quiet of heartbreak. Keilah Granados, a second-year student at the University of Texas, recently self-published her first book of poetry, “Wanders the Night,” through Amazon CreateSpace, following in the footsteps of her muse, Rupi Kaur. The 136page collection centers around loss, heartache and the bitter inner monologues of a forlorn lover, much of which stems from Granados’s personal relationships. The sociology major, who publishes under the pseudonym Keilah Belen, draws much of her inspiration from her uncle, who works in Child Protective Services, as well as from the memories of her father and the abuse he inflicted on her family. Her style, which offers an accessibility that is rare in such emotionally laden text, makes effective use of familiar, idiomatic language, which serves to pull the reader, unwittingly, into its fold. The conflict she presents feels present and fresh, as if the events that triggered Granados’s trauma occurred just moments before she put pen to paper. The result is a jarring, daring, vulnerable collection of poems, each one more tremulous than the last. ELLYOT CHEN: WHEN YOU’RE WRITING POETRY, WHAT LITERARY DEVICES DO YOU FIND THE MOST FRUITFUL? KEILAH GRANADOS: I focus mainly on repetition, though

sometimes I do enjoy a bit of rhyme here and there. I don’t focus too much on structure really, since I’m more focused on adding depth, generally through metaphor and simile, to connect to whatever topic is at hand. EC: YOUR POEM, “THE GIVING TREE,” FEELS INTENSELY PERSONAL. WHAT LED YOU TO WRITE IT? KG: I’ve had a lot of friendships in the past, most of which

went downhill. Most of the time, I was the one who put the majority of the effort into the relationship, so the main thing the poem tries to accomplish is conveying that a lot of people have failed to reciprocate my efforts. The issues are less about consistency than they are about being considerate and knowing what to say and not to say. I know what my friends are insecure about, so I would avoid those topics; when it came to me though, they would insult me and target my insecurities.

EC: SO WHILE YOU’RE MOTIVATED BY A DESIRE TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND AVOID HURTING THEM, THEY PAID LITTLE ATTENTION TO TREATING YOU WITH THE SAME SENSITIVITY. KG: Yeah, exactly. At the same time, I was severely bullied

in middle school, so I know how much words can hurt and how much they can mean. As a result, I put a lot of emphasis on trying not to bring others down. Even when I’m feeling insecure about something, I would never push that onto someone else. EC: AND THESE RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS, DO THEY COLOR YOUR POETRY? WHICH OF YOUR PIECES HAS BEEN MOST AFFECTED BY THESE EMOTIONAL TRAUMAS? KG: The first one, “An Angel,” is one of my favorites, be-

cause it was the first poem I wrote after my break. It was the first poem I kept, since before then I used to throw away my writing, so the piece has a special place in my heart; it was the one that really started my passion. Another powerful piece, ” A Hidden Treasure,” is a reminder about self-worth. It implores the reader to cherish themselves in the same way their loved ones would cherish them. I really like “The Giving Tree” and the collection’s last poem, “The Battle Inside vs. Out, Part V.” I added the “Part V” since each piece displays a different perspective of the situation. The entire piece is rooted in a conversation between the soul and the body. I’ve actually had several people tell me that “Part V” helped them realize who they are and helped them move on from a break-up. EC: NEAR THE END OF THE LAST POEM YOU REALLY EMPHASIZE THE POWER OF SELF-LOVE. DO YOU LIKE TO THINK YOUR POETRY PROVIDES CATHARSIS, OR ARE YOU MORE CONCERNED WITH OFFERING A PATHWAY TO HEALING, RATHER THAN THE HEALING ITSELF? KG: When you’re in a relationship or when you love some-

one, it’s really easy to forget about yourself and just give give give. I think the poem, then, is less concerned with catharsis and more concerned with providing a reminder to take care of yourself first. Everything else flows from there.

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Classics That Are Freshly Relevant to the #TIMESUP Conversation

BY C A RL I S C A L F, B A L L S TAT E UNI V ER S I T Y

IL L U S T R AT I ON BY S ID Y L A G A N, MILWAUK EE IN S T I T U T E OF A RT A ND DE S I GN

The center can no longer hold. Since the October 2017 allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein broke, an ongoing conversation about sexual assault in the workplace has come to the forefront of the national psyche. The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, however, haven’t just exposed instances of assault; they have also revealed the inherently unbalanced power dynamics that tend to exist, still, in male-female relationships of both professional and personal natures.

While the movements have put women’s rights in the spotlight recently, the fight for gender equality has a long and storied past in the United States, one that can be charted not only through history, but through literature. The literary cannon is filled with heroines both real and fictional who took up the mantel and pushed back against societal norms in the name of progress. So when you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the battles still left to be fought, pick up one of these classics that celebrates the timeless fight for female empowerment.

“PRIDE AND PREJUDICE” BY JANE AUSTEN

Will the tale of defiant, emboldened Elizabeth Bennet ever get old? Though the story centers on the Bennet family as a whole, as well as Elizabeth’s courtship and eventual happily-ever-after with Mr. Darcy, it is Elizabeth herself who gives the novel its beating heart. She is intelligent, witty and determined to refuse marriage for the sake of getting married. In Elizabeth, Austen popularized a new choice for women: marriage as not a burden or a goal but as an optional, hopefully enjoyable undertaking.

“THE COLOR PURPLE” BY ALICE WALKER

If there was ever a book that showed more clearly the power of female friendship and solidarity in finding your voice and fighting oppressive systems, I haven’t found it. “The Color Purple” focuses on the lives of African-American women in the 1930s American South, telling the story of sisters Celie and Nettie over many years. While all the female characters in the book undergo a transformation, it is main character Celie’s journey of liberation from voiceless victim to empowered, independent woman, despite all obstacles and with the help of the women who surround her, that makes this 1982 novel an enduring tale.

“JANE EYRE” BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE

“It is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God’s feet, equal—as we are!” Go, Jane, go! Though some critics have denied a feminist link to the character of Jane in “Jane Eyre,” there’s no denying that she enters a relationship with Mr. Rochester (and refuses a loveless one from another man) on her own accord. Jane not only insists on marrying her way, but on marrying as equals, making her an early trailblazer for equal treatment in a male-female relationship. “THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD” BY ZORA NEALE HURSTON

Though the story of Janie, Hurston’s unforgettable liberated heroine, faced critical backlash after its 1937 publishing, contemporary black female writers like Alice Walker and Audre Lorde worked to create a space for the book in modern literature, and it’s now regarded as a formative work in both the women’s and African-American canons. The story itself explores gender roles, marriage customs and female liberation in the early 20th century through the voice of Janie Crawford, who even takes ownership of her story by telling it in flashback throughout the novel. Though the story speaks for itself, the novel’s long road to critical respect makes a modern reading of the text all the more meaningful.

“SPEAK” BY LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON

Though this book may not be a part of the traditional literary cannon, since its publication in 1999 it has become a staple in many classrooms and a classic among young adults. The story of high school freshman Melinda Sordino’s journey through trauma, silence, isolation, expression and, finally, healing through the truth, echoes so many of the real-life experiences that women have shared through the #MeToo movement. “Speak” gave voice not only to its main character, but to many real-life teenage girls who were going through similar experiences and had no way to approach the subject among peers, parents or teachers.

SUM

With their new album, “Vacation in Hell,” dropping April 6, The Flatbush Zombies offer a solution to hip-hop’s problem with carbon-copy personas. BY C HRIS T I A N Z EI T L ER, C A RNE GIE MEL L ON UNI V ER S I T Y

he Flatbush Zombies are a rap trio from New York City that fall under the Beast Coast movement, a grouping that includes Pro Era and The Underachievers. And while there are plenty of interesting facets to their squad, from their status as independent music makers to their clever blend of ’90s boom-bap and trap elements, what really sets them apart from their competition is their mastery of persona. Each brings idiosyncrasy to the group: Meechy Darko is the gravelly, aggressive, offensive yet simultaneously goofy beast; Zombie Juice is the poetic, strange, experimental philosopher; and Eric “The Architect” Elliott is the

smooth, lyrical, melodic straight man, as well as the team’s producer. They complement each other brilliantly, but more significantly, they contrast each other starkly. Many rap collectives struggle with such heterogeneity, including some of the other members of the Beast Coast movement. The members of Pro Era, for example, all started in an extremely similar place musically, working heavily from the “purist” hip-hop jazz rap of the ’90s. When they broke out though, only Joey Bada$$ and Capital Steez had flows that felt different than the others. Migos is probably a better example. The Georgia rap trio is not only responsible for some of the most popu-

lar hip-hop music of the decade, but also for popularizing the triplet trap flow that has become a staple in mainstream rap. But despite being so important to the scene as a group, each member of the trio — Quavo, Offset and Takeoff — sound almost exactly the same. Their monotone seems almost intentional, as if the three members are each one-third of the same consciousness, but the lack of individualism is sometimes ineffective. Especially when, as you move from song to song, it starts to feel like the only noticeable differences are the production and the hooks. Pointing this out isn’t as much of a criticism as it might sound; in general, it’s much more important to carve out a niche as a group rather than have distinct parts within a group. But my point is this: No one, and I mean no one, does persona quite like The Flatbush Zombies. Listen to their most recent album, “3001: A Laced Odyssey,” or the mixtape that preceded it, “Better Off Dead.” Their dramatic flair is incredible and absurdly entertaining to take in, and track for track they adapt their caricatures accordingly. Take “R.I.P.C.D.” from “3001.” Eric starts the boom-bap beat off with calm, clever rhymes deconstructing the repetitiveness and unoriginality of many popular rappers. Zombie Juice then bursts onto the cut with extremely fast, trippy, vivid bars. He tells the listeners to “feast on his blood” as he leaves this dimension, and that he thinks that the world is “lost like a sea ship, walking to hell with the demons.” This segues beautifully into Meechy’s braggadocio, breathless, ridiculously offensive verse. I’d give you a snippet of his lyrics, but it wouldn’t do them justice. You should just listen yourself. They rap in a way that’s reminiscent of how voice actors explain that their characters are different than impressions, how you have to be able to actually speak in the voice of the character. The Flatbush Zombies are exactly that: a trio of beautifully realized MCs from another world. With any luck their upcoming album, “Vacation in Hell,” which drops next month on April 6, will be just as bombastic.

3 NOW MGMT: “Little Dark Age”

Once the kings of psychedelic pop rock, many have argued that MGMT fell from their prime at the end of the aughts. But their new singles may prove otherwise. “Hand it Over,” a track released in early January, features some of the dreamy vocals, trippy synths and tasteful guitar licks that made MGMT famous in the first place.

The “Black Panther” Soundtrack

As the most anticipated superhero movie other than “Infinity Wars,” “Black Panther” has been getting plenty of hype on its own. But when you look at the soundtrack’s track list, the hype becomes impossible to even contain. Dominated by Kendrick, but featuring artists like SZA, the Weeknd, Anderson .Paak, Ab-Soul, Vince Staples and Khalid, the banger potential of this project is through the roof.

Rich Brian: “Amen”

Rich Brian, formerly known as Rich Chigga, found his success being the most ironic rapper actually making bangers. His deep, monotone flow, his internet-derived sense of satire and his strangely banging production are all elements that drew him attention on tracks like his single, “Dat $tick.” “Amen” promises to deliver the same ironic charm and sick beats.

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hen you set foot on campus for the first time, you’re a wide-eyed freshman with every opportunity to try something new. For many, college is an opportunity to experiment with appearance, major and social circles — just to name a few. You might decide that a pre-med track is the choice for you before remembering, two semesters later, that you’ve always hated biology. Along the way to this realization though, maybe you cut your hair really short and went out three nights a week. Power to you and your self-discoveries. However, the lack of supervision may have led to some less thrilling and difficult discoveries. Maybe since half of your classes don’t require attendance, you’ve fallen behind on your reading and have no one to blame but yourself. Maybe on your nights out, you bummed a few cigarettes and now find yourself craving them throughout the day. Maybe you realize that you’re more interested in guys than girls, a realization that you feel wholly unprepared to face on your own. If you’re lucky, you will have made a good network of friends and acquaintances that you can rely on during these difficult periods. Some of us though, even those with this network, may still find things hard to address, so we turn inward. We disconnect from the world around us, inhibited by a powerful mixture of fear and instability, and start neglecting to take care of ourselves as a result.

In college, it’s easy to fall prey to these turns. Life is less stable, no longer punctuated evenly by a big block of school and a household in the care of an entire family. There are fewer people who support you, too: no teacher to encourage you to foster your talents, no parent to make sure you’re on top of everything, no childhood friend that knows every part of you. Less is familiar. Try your best to fight the urge to hide away; instead, find things that remind you of a comfortable place in life. For me, that means popping open some Coronas, ordering a large pizza and sitting down for a double feature of “Clueless” and whatever episodes of “Vice News” I’ve missed. Other times, it’s a long ride in my car on the fringes of Ann Arbor, blasting Britney Spears or Fleetwood Mac or Brockhampton — whichever artist is speaking the most to my pain, really. None of this behavior is wrong, or even aberrant. Everyone turns to past comforts and anchor activities when things get hard, and when you find people who share your quirky coping mechanisms, you’re prone to open up to them. So go ahead— curl up with a romance novel, indulge in a Netflix binge or do a little online shopping. Life will be waiting for you when you’re ready.

To deal with the anxieties of college, find the rituals that help center you and then be intentional enough to use them.

BY JA C K B R A ND ON, UNI V ER S I T Y OF MI C HI G A N

what are your anchor activities? WALLOWING WITH SAD MUSIC PLAYING SOFTLY IN THE BACKGROUND.

Bonnie Wong, University of Southern California I LIKE PLAYING VIDEO GAMES (SPECIFICALLY “SUPER SMASH BROS. MELEE”) BECAUSE IT LETS ME TAKE OUT AGGRESSION AND SOLVE PROBLEMS WITH CONCRETE ANSWERS.

Christian Zeitler, Carnegie Mellon

I LOAD UP A PLAYLIST I HAVE WITH LATIN MUSIC AND ’90S POP, LOCK MY DOOR AND DANCE UNTIL I GET EXHAUSTED.

Diego Galicia, Valencia College

USUALLY I LISTEN TO CALMING MUSIC, LIKE THE “SKYRIM” SOUNDTRACK, AND GO FOR A WALK.

Natalya Pomeroy, University of Houston MUSIC AND “SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY.” KANYE WEST’S DISCOGRAPHY ALWAYS GIVES ME PEACE OF MIND.

Onaje McDowelle, University of Texas at Austin

THERE’S A BEAUTY SCHOOL IN ANN ARBOR THAT CUTS YOUR HAIR FOR CHEAP AND GIVES YOU A MINI-SPA TREATMENT, SO (IF I’M ALSO IN NEED OF A HAIRCUT) I MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AND FORGET ABOUT MY PROBLEMS FOR AN HOUR.

Shashank Rao, University of Michigan

I WRITE! I FIND IT THERAPEUTIC TO CHANNEL STRONG EMOTIONS INTO MY CREATIVE WORK.

Tachel Brown, Lake Land College

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The Overwatch Empire Boasting 12 professional teams from across the globe, the Overwatch League has brought professional gaming out of the shadows and into the lucrative limelight. BY PAT RI C K M URT H A , E A S T ERN C ONNE C T I C U T S TAT E UNI V ER S I T Y

hen I was just a kid, I remember staying up late to watch “SOCOM” on G4TV, where the best players in the world would compete for what seemed like the biggest prize that professional gaming would ever have to offer. As I got older, I would watch professional “Super Smash” tournaments that took place in what appeared to be someone’s basement, but it didn’t matter where they were playing, because as a person who loved video games, this was our Super Bowl.

Thus, when the game-developing giants, Blizzard, announced that one of the most popular games in the world, “Overwatch,” would soon be launching their own officially licensed competitive league, the aptly named Overwatch League, fans of the game, and fans of esports alike, were giddy with excitement. Representing another huge step in the world of competitive gaming, the Overwatch League provides something that may have been missing from the esports scene: competition.

As time went on, and the auYou see, at the top of the esports The Overwatch League food chain stands League of Legdience for professional gaming expanded, the production that ends, which is responsible for the is really the first surrounded the tournaments massive growth in esports’ popugrew larger and more extravalarity over the past half-decade. time that a western gant, with some tournaments League of Legends was relativeeven being broadcast on major esport has given its ly unmatched in popularity, with television networks, such as ESPN only its rival, Defense of the Anand TBS. With the injection of a cients (DOTA), providing anything players a chance to mainstream audience came the representing a similar viewership. fully commit themunwelcomed opinions of those However, with the arrival of the who wished to capitalize on the Overwatch League, there is now selves to the game increasing popularity of video competition at the top of the esgames. “It’s not a sport!” they ports ladder, which should bring would shout after mispronouncout the absolute best from both ing the name of the game that they were criticizing. sides of the aisle, and spark even more innovation within the esports world. There was never a doubt, however, that there was a massive audience for esports. Peak viewership for some of Composed of 12 teams, the Overwatch League contains the major esports championships are competitive with squads that represent cities located around the globe, events like the World Series and the NBA Finals, and the from the Boston Uprising all the way to the Shanghai audience is growing exponentially each year. Dragons. Within each team, there are distinct personalities and playstyles that will draw different people to sup-

port different teams. For example, the Seoul Dynasty possess the most talented attacking player on earth, FLETA, who will quite literally win games single-handedly at points, and will also draw fans of high-level, technical gameplay to the Dynasty. For decades, competitive gaming was an extremely niche form of entertainment, with the presentation, commentary and, most importantly, gameplay all being aimed at entertaining only the most die-hard fans of the game being played. However, the Overwatch League, and Overwatch as a whole, prides itself on being one of the accessible games to date. After watching a few matches, even someone who is completely unfamiliar with gaming will begin to pick up on the subtle decisions that the best players are making, which only makes watching the matches more interesting. Further, the Overwatch League is taking care of its players unlike any esports league has done before. Austin Wilmot, a.k.a. Muma, of the Houston Outlaws

believes that Blizzard’s support of the players has taken the gameplay to another level. “The Overwatch League is really the first time that a western eSport has given its players a chance to fully commit themselves to the game,” Muma told Study Breaks. “Thanks to Blizzard enforcing fair contracts and requirements for food, housing and healthcare, players are actually able to 100 percent commit themselves to the game, which allows us to perform at our peak.” With the existing possibility of expansion in the future (NCAA Overwatch?), the Overwatch League has opened a new door into the world of esports for those who may not have had a way in before. Without question, time will tell exactly how successful the league will actually be, but with a combination of entertaining gameplay, over-the-top presentation and a host of distinct personalities to root for, the Overwatch League appears to have set itself up for a sustained run at the top of the esports world.

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BINGE, FLICK & READ #TheMeTooEdition BY S H A S H A NK R A O, UNI VER S I T Y OF MI C HI G A N

When the first allegations against Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein came to light in October 2017, you would be forgiven for not predicting that his downfall would ignite a feminist reawakening and send the historically male-dominated institution up in flames. But, that’s exactly what it did. After Weinstein’s disgrace, the hashtag #MeToo, which was created in 2006 by social activist Tarana Burke, became wildly popular. Actress Alyssa Milano used the catchphrase in a tweet to encourage women to come forward with their stories of harassment and assault, and a social movement was born. Soon, women across the world were stepping out of the shadows and voicing their experiences with both sexual impropriety and sexual violence. As a result, daily interactions between men and women have taken on a heightened awareness — never before has the public been confronted by issues of sex, consent, pleasure and desire as boldly and as urgently as now. So, while the world is busy renegotiating its onceossified sexual mores, try out these three brilliant works of art to better understand our current sexual, feminist moment. BINGE: “THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL”

“The Marvelous Mrs. Masiel” takes place in a period diametrically opposed to the present. The show’s eponymous heroine, Miriam “Midge” Maisel, is a good housewife — perhaps the perfect housewife — enjoying her life in the New York of the late ’50s. Every morning, she wakes up early so her husband can see a face exquisitely contoured with makeup; every night, she

waits until he’s asleep so she can take it all off. To viewers today, this may seem like a regressive nightmare, but for Miriam Maisel, everything is just according to plan. That is, until her husband, an aspiring comic by night, bombs his second show, reveals his affair with his secretary and leaves Miriam with their two young children. Thus Midge is thrust into a world of uncertainty and finds her only solace in her unexpected talent for standup comedy. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” sensitively renders a tragic tale in the funniest way possible. If you want a glimpse into what it took for a woman to break into an industry overstuffed with insufferable men at a time in which there was no safety net for women who deviated from the norm, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” can tell it to you straight. FLICK: “I, TONYA”

The 2017 Margot Robbie-led (now Academy Award-nominated) film has already shed new light on the life of disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding, and it couldn’t have done so at a better time. The camera captures, in searing detail, the odds obstructing Harding in her journey to the top of the figure-skating world, forcing audiences to witness how poverty, classism and abuse collude to make it as

I, TONYA

difficult as possible for Harding to achieve her dreams. “I, Tonya” introduces an important voice often left out of #MeToo’s mostly white-collar, upper-class constituency, one that speaks to the lives of the decidedly un-glamorous women who work in diners, are trapped in dangerous marriages and cannot afford to speak as unabashedly as others. The film faces its audiences head-on (literally: “I, Tonya” has no regard for the narrative fourth wall) and asks them to examine their own complicity in the abuse women are put through. “I, Tonya,” though, is not merely a meditation on the nature of abuse and the capricious relationship between audience and spectacle: It’s a thrilling, biting black comedy featuring dynamic cinematography and out-of-this-world performances. READ: “THE BLUEST EYE”

waif of a girl, lives a life that is not entirely her own: even her narrative — which is told through the lens of an unnamed narrator — is outside her purview. Like “I, Tonya,” “The Bluest Eye” fills an important gap in the #MeToo movement in detailing the daily discrimination experienced by black women, specifically black girls. Pecola is told time and time again that she will never be as beautiful as the blueeyed, white-skinned dolls she plays with. The result of this sustained salvo of psychological debasement is Pecola’s debilitating faithlessness in her agency and humanity, which men throughout the novel exploit. And, like “I, Tonya,” “The Bluest Eye” accosts its readers, asking them to consider how they play into perpetuating certain standards of beauty that have been used to deem others “ugly,” thrusting them into an experience of race and femalehood they may otherwise have never even considered.

Toni Morrison’s 1970 earth-shattering debut, “The Bluest Eye,” is widely taken to be a classic of American literature. Pecola Breedlove, a spurned, mistreated,

THE BLUEST EYE

THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

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New York State of Mind, Body and Payouts BY L E S L IE C URRIE, UNI V ER S I T Y OF V IRGINI A

New York’s controversial practices regarding sexual harassment raise deeper questions surrounding entrenched, gendered disparities on college campuses.

n Jan. 14, 2018, The New York Daily News published a story revealing that the State of New York has shelled out millions of dollars to settle sexual harassment and discrimination cases over the last 10 years. The Daily News’ tabloid style jauntily paints the picture of a persistently serious issue, and while the newspaper begins with an air of triviality, it proceeds to incisively explain the years of unsavory payments that resolved disputes over unacceptable behavior directed toward females in the workplace. According to the article, within the past decade, New York State has expended almost $12 million to settle at least 85 lawsuits involving sexual misconduct. The kicker is that $2.4 million of the expenditure was spent to settle lawsuits at CUNY and SUNY colleges, involving charges of sexual misconduct against faculty members. Multiple women provided comments to The Daily News relating remarks, gestures and threats that targeted the women while working at New York State and City school systems. One woman was reportedly fired from her position as an executive assistant at CUNY’s Lehman College because she stopped condoning the harassment and spoke to colleagues about various inappropriate advances by her boss. She was awarded $130,000 in 2014 from the State of New York to settle the case — an act of silencing. One of at least 18 other similar stories covered up by the state, this woman’s account embodies the apparent futility of reporting sexual misconduct in the workplace. But what strikes the face of progressivism even harder is the setting where these behaviors took place and were subsequently ignored — dismissed as something money could mend. College campuses are meant to give voice to students of potential. Schools are supposed to supply students with the tools necessary for building an intellect that will level the playing field in the long run. Academic settings, and public universities in a state that claims to encourage students of all backgrounds to pursue higher education at that, are expected to embolden their pupils to speak out. Paying off victims of sexual misconduct to uphold a reputation inherently contradicts a concept that forms the foundations of academic settings — it tells students to shut up. After spending millions of dollars to cover up controversy, the New York State government has

effectively deprived itself of its accountability, specifically to its young, ambitious and studious inhabitants. SUNY and CUNY are in similar positions, though spokespeople for the academic institutions beg to differ. The Daily News reports that Frank Sobrino, a spokesman for CUNY, insisted that the university system enforces policies that protect students and employees from sexual misconduct, like the many cases that the state government was able to temporarily mask. In a statement, Sobrino said, “To be clear, the university has zero tolerance for sexual harassment and has taken action to help ensure our campuses have procedures and practices that offer a safe environment for all students and employees.” A SUNY spokesperson noted, “Prevention of sexual harassment, assault and discrimination is a top priority.” Both assertions, however, conflict with the state’s actions in settling controversial harassment and discrimination policies. Taxpayer dollars were used to perpetuate a silencing culture, and at public universities designed to give everyone a voice, no less. Zero tolerance for gendered inequality comes with a price tag. What message does this send to students? One can only hope that a scandal of this nature does not permeate into student life at universities in New York — or anywhere, for that matter. But a notion as idealistic as this is unconvincing, seeing as sexual harassment, assault and abuse are rampant on college campuses. This is likely due, in part, to the example set in the vast majority of professional and social spaces. Whatever the cause, it is unacceptable for a state government to strip a woman’s voice from her, when so much has already been done to her without her consent. While a progression toward gender equality has emerged in a larger, abstract context, specific instances like the SUNY and CUNY lawsuit settlements act as micro-reassertions of the norm that subtly but surely discourage women from coming forth with sexual misconduct allegations. A female student should receive the same support and respect as her male counterpart, just as a female faculty member — no matter her rank in the institution — should feel as comfortable and safe in her workplace as her male coworker — or peer, or boss. It’s as simple as that.

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WHAT’S YOUR MAJOR:

animal breeding

BY C A MEL I A J UA RE Z, T E X A S S TAT E UNI V ER S I T Y

Breeding animals doesn’t seem like much — how hard can it be for two animals to have a cute baby? You might change your mind, though, when see the extra “hands-on” experience it requires to extract sperm and the advanced turkey-baster techniques that go into making purebreds. If you’re low key into eugenics and high key into fat stacks in your bank account, then you might want to major in animal breeding at Lake Erie College in Ohio.

myths and truths. MYTH: Purebred dogs are healthier and live longer

than mutts. TRUTH: A smaller gene pool means more health issues.

AVG.SALARY

39K

MYTH: Breeding pigs is no big deal since they can’t

orgasm.

TRUTH: Actually, pigs can have 30-minute orgasms.

Now you know why bacon tastes so good.

MYTH: Sex with animals is illegal. TRUTH: According to the Animal Legal & Historical

Center, Hawaii, Kentucky, Nevada, Ohio, New Mexico, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia disagree. MYTH: Chicken-breeding is a rare and a relatively

natural practice. TRUTH: Your chicken nuggets beg to differ.

potential jobs.

conversation starters.

DOG SHOW JUDGE

Those snobby people who lie and tell your dog that it’s not good enough. VETERINARIAN

A profession that includes humiliating dogs with cones of shame.

“Some people are religious and worship God. I prefer to play God by breeding the most profitable and fittest animals.” “Cloning sheep won’t seem like a big deal when we breed the first ever unicorn.” “I enter chicken-breeding competitions, what’s your sport?” “Similar to ‘America’s Next Top Model,’ we ask our animals, ‘Do you want to be on top?’”

ANIMAL GENETICIST

Scientist who bred the spider that bit Toby McGuire in “Spider Man.”

key terms. ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION: Taking all the fun out of sex. See also: Virgin Mary. SPERM: The main ingredient. A little goes a long way ZORSE: The offspring of a female horse and male zebra. To think you just wanted a silly pony as a kid. ETHICS: Contradicts animal breeding in so many ways.

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BY J OI YA REED, GE ORGI A S O U T HERN UNI V ER S I T Y

un’s out, buns out, folks, and with two months of the semester out of the way, it’s time for arguably the most anticipated break of the year: spring break. Everything for spring break is set in motion the moment January hits, and while some assume that New Year’s resolutions exist because people want to get in shape, everyone knows the real reason people start working out is to achieve the ideal beach body. The truth is, if you don’t spend spring break walking around feeling like a certified boss, then the past two months of suffering were pointless. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the parties, another very important aspect of spring break, and probably the only one that matters. After serving two months of a nearly five-month sentence, you and your friends have the perfect spring break planned out down to a T. Tickets have been purchased, rooms have been booked and you’ve scoped out all the best spots around town. Even the freshmen are getting in on the party scene with their newfound, 18-year-old freedom. However, there’s still a lot to consider before you can let your freak flag fly on the sunny beaches of Panama City. It all comes down to overcoming three different obstacles: family, age and stamina — each of which is described in the following scenarios. Scenario One: Yes, it’s spring break, but you couldn’t afford an extravagant vacation for the week, meaning you’ll be spending a hefty amount of time with the fam. As you know, spending time at home means spending time with the more conservative side of the family tree, so sneaking an underage brew in the spring heat is out of the question. Scenario Two: You and your friends are headed to the most popular spot because you know everyone who is anyone will be there. It’s almost the end of your first year of college, and you’re ready to get a taste of what a real college vacation is like. Unfortunately you’re underage, and you mixed up the street number and zip code of the fake address you memorized. Return to start. Scenario Three: Spring break is your time to let loose and you’ve already made plans to remember as little of it as possible, so you spend the first couple of days in an all-out drunken stupor. As a result, you wake up each morning with a horrendous hangover,

Spring Break might be known for its parties and booze, but this easy recipe for virgin margaritas may be more helpful than you know. and the tales of your drunken behavior leave you borderline embarrassed. To make matters worse, your phone screen is cracked and your wallet is MIA. Whether you relate to scenario one, two or three, there are, as you can see, obstacles in the way of every spring break. So, how do you overcome the three-headed monster of family, age and stamina? You go virgin, as in virgin margarita, a six-ingredient drink that says, “I may not be old enough to drink, but I sure am old enough to par-tay.” If you need stamina, the virgin way is the way of the wise: While your friends spend every morning praying to the porcelain god, you’re relaxing with a fivestar breakfast and the energy of a 2-year-old. And whether your fake got tossed out or you’re stuck at home with your right-wing relatives, sipping a margarita sans tequila at least feels like you’re enjoying an alcoholic beverage. Besides, it’s way better than the flat Coke sitting on your patio table.

INGREDIENTS • • • • •

1 can of thawed frozen lemonade 1/3 cup of fresh orange juice 1 lemon (juiced) 1 lime (juiced) 2 tablespoons of refined sugar (or more if you want to go crazy)

DIRECTIONS

• Combine thawed frozen lemonade, orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice and refined sugar in a large pitcher. • Mix ingredients well. • Add ice to the pitcher to make the drink nice and cool. • Pour into glasses and enjoy. • (Optional) If you want to get fancy, coat the glass rim with refined sugar and add a slice of lemon/lime on the side.

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UNDER T HE San Marcos rap collective PNTHN reflects on the five albums that helped define their sound BY ON A JE M C D OW EL L E, UNI V ER S I T Y OF T E X A S AT AU S T IN P H O T O GR A P H Y BY A D A M H A M Z E, UNI V ER S I T Y OF T E X A S AT AU S T IN

fter releasing their EP, “Potluck,” on Feb. 20, the nine-person rap collective PNTHN is making strides toward running the South. In the span of about a year, the San Marcos-bred hip-hop assemblage has captured the eyes and ears of fans with their eclectic styles and contagious energy, but they’re just getting started. Songs like “Blood sucka” and “Chrome” make apparent the group’s capacity to redefine, on their own terms, what modern rap sounds like, as, from their first project, “From Disorder,” to their most current work, the

team has grown in their creative identity, as well as matured musically. Critical to sustaining that kind of growth, though, is a keen understanding of their origins and inspirations, which means a substantial amount of self-reflection. In that spirit, we spoke to six of the members of PNTHN, Kenny Casanova, YD, Tony Tone, Two Horizon Ra, dc4prez and Pink Ranger, about which rap albums have been most instrumental in shaping their sound and why.

“THE SUN’S TIRADE” – ISAIAH RASHAD

“Where do I start? WHOSE MANS?! His flow and delivery inspire us to be more creative in what we do and how we do it. His storytelling is so descriptive and his hooks grab listeners’ attention, which is what PNTHN is about.” - YD

“1999” – JOEY BADA$$

“Joey Bada$$ spit his fucking heart out and dude was still in high school. Boom-bap bars type shit will always be my favorite, so hearing him revive that sound was nuts. Beast Coast groups made everyone want to rap with their homies.” – Tony Tone

“PIÑATA” – FREDDIE GIBBS & MADLIB

“‘Piñata’ was such a perfect collab between a hard rapper whose vocals come off almost like a percussion instrument and a phenomenal sampler who used minimal drums in this project. Its chemistry influences PNTHN’s style a lot.” – Kenny Casanova

“THE LOVE BELOW” – ANDRE 3000

“This album is much more influential than people make it out to be, I think. Rappers started to experiment more with their voice and music after 3stacks did it.” – dc4prez

“FACES” – MAC MILLER

“A perfect example of how artists should develop as they are exposed to more opportunities to make their craft better. It’s the perfect definition of expression, with Mac spitting very real bars that he lived through during difficult moments in his life.” – Two Horizon Ra

HONORABLE MENTION: “36 CHAMBERS” – WU TANG CLAN

“This is the album that I would say describes PNTHN the most, because we make music that makes you want to dance and punch someone for looking at you wrong.” – Pink Ranger S T U D Y B R E AKS

MONTHS T O S A LVAT I O N

BY B ENNY DI A Z III , UNI V ER S I T Y OF P H OT O GR A P H Y BY K RI S T EN H A RRIS ON, I T H A C A C OL L E GE

Documentary filmmaker Lorenzo Benitez spent six months in northern Thailand in a voluntourism program, an experience that prompted him to explore the complicated industry further.

uring a gap year between high school and college, Lorenzo Benitez spent six months teaching English to the children of the Karen hill tribe in northern Thailand. Benitez, now a philosophy and economics major at Cornell University, looks back on the experience with a more complex understanding of the volunteer program than he had going in. “It was a transition period in my life where I thought, ‘I’m done with high school, I could use a lot of time to read books in the middle of a secluded area of the world.’” Such a misconception, which he now makes facetiously, provided the basis for his feature-length documentary, “Six Months to Salvation.” The film follows Benitez and a group of Australian student-volunteers as they enter a well-intentioned voluntourism program, only to learn surprising lessons that shape their opinions about the merits of the system. The questions and partial answers provoked by the narrative add voices to a conversation that Benitez planned to join from the beginning.

benefits the most from these arrangements — the voluntourists or the communities they serve? Groups that market the opportunities tout the positive impact volunteers can make in the places where their help is needed. Some also describe it as a chance for travelers to grow personally or even professionally by developing practical work experience in a foreign land. On the community side of the scale, the benefit sometimes depends on the learning curve faced by volunteers. Critics voice concerns about volunteer work having to be redone due to mistakes, local workers displaced by free labor or the exorbitant travel and housing costs paid by foreigners, money that simply could have been donated to the communities instead.

I still think there are volunteering programs that exist and are doing good

After his film was released, Benitez was interviewed by the filmmaking website Film Courage, where he discussed the relationship between colonialism and voluntourism that had encouraged him to make the documentary. Voluntourism is a term used to describe the type of travel that allows inexperienced tourists to serve underprivileged communities, while also getting the chance to explore a new culture. The activity has become more popular in recent years, drawing young people from countries across the world, including the United States and Australia, in large numbers. The questioning perspective Benitez takes with “Six Months to Salvation” toward volunteer tourism seems to be shared by an increasing number of people. According to a 2014 NPR article, more than 1.6 million volunteer tourists are spending $2 billion a year to be involved with the not-for-profit tourism industry. In the midst of this surge, many people have grown skeptical about who exactly

Benitez reflected on this tradeoff while creating the documentary, realizing that perhaps he and his fellow travelers could have been aided by more training in preparation for their trip. “We had some training in the sense that we learned a bit of Thai before we started the experience,” he says. “We also had a few days of training in Australia on how to interact with kids in a teaching capacity.” Like many other voluntourism opportunities, the one Benitez participated in did not require experience, nor did it require candidates to be pursuing any particular line of work. “Education was not part of my career plan at all. I was much more interested in being a filmmaker after high school. This volunteering stint didn’t really consider our career ambitions. A lot of students do gap years from my high school and from others throughout Australia, so I think they just wanted to offer an opportunity for recently graduated alumni to spend their gap year in a different way.” The six-month trip to Thailand wasn’t his first experience as a volunteer in an impoverished community, though; Benitez also participated in a high school service trip to his native country of the Philippines. The opportunity had a profound influence on him and proved to be rewarding. Although he can see how someone might watch “Six Months to Salva-

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the filmmaker’s Australian group. The community clearly appreciates their service and the bond they’ve created with the students. But the doubts and struggles that the volunteers face throughout their stay lead them to question the purpose of the mission. Does the Karen hill tribe really need to learn English? Is the presence of these Australian men in Thailand disturbing the culture of the Karen people? By the end of the trip, Benitez and his fellow volunteers get answers to some of these questions but not others. Throughout the six months that he spent there, the documentarian tracked the progress of the other volunteers during their ups and downs along the way. “We became a close group with each other over the time that I was there. Even when Alex — the new volunteer — came toward the end, he was also welcomed with open arms because we were the only people in the village that spoke English as a first language. And we all lived in the same house.”

tion” and think that he opposes the idea of volunteer programs, the truth is that Benitez believes in their mission. “Since making the documentary, my view at the end of it … is that I was among the more critical ones of the whole endeavor. I think it came from exhaustion, more than anything. But now, when I think about it, I still believe that volunteering stints are good and worthwhile if they’re done properly. I still think there are volunteering programs that exist and are doing good.” His viewpoint can be seen in the film, especially in the moments when the Karen children excitedly play soccer with their foreign instructors, in this case all young men from

It is by following his peers’ narratives in “Six Months to Salvation” that Benitez demonstrates a talent for connecting with his environment as a photographer and storyteller. Within the first several minutes of the film, after a brief flash-forward that establishes the basic premise in question, the tone of the story and the rural landscape of its setting are presented in vivid detail. Benitez succeeds in hooking viewers from the beginning, a feat that even Hollywood filmmakers struggle to accomplish on a consistent basis. But surprisingly enough, he hasn’t been developing his craft for all that long. “In high school, I started taking drama classes and did a short film with a friend. He was initially directing and I was acting, but somewhere in the filming process we swapped roles, putting me behind the camera. It’s interesting because I think that experience connected my two separate interests — photography and acting — for the first time.” One might have expected these interests to lead Benitez to attend a film school or to pursue an education in dra-

ma or journalism, not to major in philosophy and economics as he’s done. Instead of following a conventional film-study route, Benitez has formed a film collective, u16.co, along with high school friends James Holloway and Jonathon Parker. “Six Months to Salvation” is their first feature, currently available to view on YouTube. The film is a solid example of their ability to follow through on the production of a film from the beginning to end. Benitez is humble when it comes to handing out credit for the film’s success, pointing to his co-producers as huge factors in the process. “A lot of the decisions were heavily influenced by James and Jonathon. I think some of the film’s best ideas and moments came from James. Jonathon suggested the stuff at the end with the penultimate shot of the field that goes for ten minutes, but James was the one who suggested the fade afterwards, to the airplane waiting for takeoff.” The ending captures a shot of the northern Thai countryside, the waning glow of sunlight disappearing over the horizon. The image serves as a backdrop to the ultimate conclusions that the filmmakers make about the trip, which they narrate over the visual. “Those two decisions — in my mind as director — were significant decisions about the film’s ending. James and Jonathon have a better intuition with film editing than I do. I approach film more as a photographer, so when it comes to the more interesting type of ideas being proposed, they come from them.” In this way, the three first-time producers—Benitez, Holloway and Parker—served additionally as co-editors. The editing process took place over three months as they worked on it part-time throughout each day. “Everyone would come to the house I was staying in and we would edit at any given time. Over the course of a day, I’d say the film was being worked on for four to six hours. It just depended on who was around. Jonathon

We would edit at any given time. Over the course of a day, I’d say the film was being worked on for four to six hours.

and James carried a lot of the physical, nitty-gritty editing processes. Initially we were just cutting up the storyline, literally crafting the 15 hours of raw material that I captured, trying to create a story that was compelling.” In “Six Months to Salvation,” the editors seem to encourage audiences to look deeper within themselves to ask what the story really means to them on a thematic level. Some of the images in the film do a great job of highlighting the stark contrast between Western culture and that of the Karen village. In one scene, Benitez practices his golf swing in a sprawling farm field, the type of landscape that might be turned into a country club’s backyard in the United States. In another scene, a village woman carries a basket up a steep hill, while an Australian volunteer speeds by on a scooter. Still, despite the many effective images created by the narrative, the favorite for Benitez is that last sequence inspired by Holloway and Parker. “The decision toward the end … that fade between the field and the airport, was James channeling a desire to be visually experimental. The image that it creates when the field is overlaid with the airport is a grand visual encapsulation of globalization versus local, the image of the most international of venues, an airport with an airplane about to take off, contrasted with a rural, agrarian locale where we were all isolated for six months.” This awareness of how environment affects narrative seems to be a recurring quality in Benitez’s work. Since releasing “Six Months to Salvation,” the Cornell senior has been developing two other films. The first is a feature-length, fictional narrative titled “An Unscripted Earth,” which tells the story of two high school friends who reunite for a hedonistic week in Manila. The trailer for the film, found on the u16.co website, provides a visceral

glimpse of the project. “We filmed ‘An Unscripted Earth’ a year ago and it took seven months to edit. I’m based in the U.S., while James and Jonathon are based in Sydney. We were all co-directing it, so while they were editing it, I was frequently contacted as part of the process. It took seven months of just sorting out the time-zone differences. That project is done now, so we’re waiting to see about film-festival releases and how they do. Until then, we’re basically figuring how to distribute it profitably and may release it later in the year.” The other, more recent project that Benitez has been focusing on is a one-hour documentary called “The Life,” described on the u16.co website as an interrogation of “Greek Life’s systemic consequences.” It examines fraternity and sorority life at Cornell, while considering how reform might affect the centuries-old system. In addition to his filmmaking endeavors, Benitez also writes for The Cornell Daily Sun. His articles often explore the intricacies of the university mindset, delving into topics that many might overlook. For instance, in a piece titled “Our Alienating Alma Mater,” he examines the role that the structure of student housing plays in the social aspect of campus living. In another article, “Fighting Alienation,” he reflects on the value of connecting with strangers in a meaningful way. Considering Benitez’s work in both written and visual form, it’s evident that he’s concerned with the ways that people impact each other and how environment plays into these connections. It’s a complex relationship that always deserves a narrative and proves to be an excellent subject for his exploration.

Initially we were just cutting up the storyline, literally crafting the 15 hours of raw material that I captured, trying to create a story that was compelling

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Student loans and culinary aspirations have led two entrepreneurs to run illegal pop-up restaurants out of their dorms. WORD S BY B E T H A NY K NI C K ERB O C K ER, E MER S ON C OL L E GE IL L U S T R AT I ON S BY S ID Y L A G A N, MILWAUK EE IN S T I T U T E OF A RT A ND DE S I GN

re you sick of greasy dining-hall food but still spending a ton of your time on campus? A handful of pioneering students have cooked up their own solution to this problem. While college living spaces are not traditionally used to house for-profit food establishments, two undergrads have taken the enterprising step of using their living quarters for more than sleeping and studying. By selling food that they’ve made right in their own kitchens, these culinary entrepreneurs have targeted the large, lucrative demographic of hungry college kids. Anna Elder, a student at Central Georgia Technical College, is one semester away from completing her core classes a year early. After she finishes her basics, she has plans to apply for the CGTC Nursing Program in fall 2018 for a bachelor’s in nursing. After that, she plans to pursue a doctorate degree to become a neonatal anesthesiologist. Right now, however, in addition to being a full-time student and having two jobs, Elder is selling her baked goods through her establishment, Itsy Bitsy Delights. Though she specializes in bite-sized desserts, she also makes regular-sized baked goods upon request. Likewise, Jimmy Wong, a second-year at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, is pursuing a major in food science with a concentration in culinary. Given his area of focus, it should come as no surprise that he recently opened his own pop-up restaurant, DENCH., in his studio apartment at school. Situated right in the comfort of his living quarters, DENCH. offers a high-class restaurant menu made with fresh, in-season ingredients. Though it might seem odd to sell food that you make in your dorm, Elder and Wong are actually continuing a long tradition of students hawking their culinary creations to pay for tuition. Insomnia Cookies, for example, began with a student baking cookies in his dorm room and delivering them to his peers; the company now has over 100 locations nationwide, not to mention a bevy of spin-offs. Plus, the business-plan makes sense: There are few better markets than the college campus, which is traditionally filled with thousands of overworked, time-strapped students and professors. It doesn’t matter how many dining

halls or meal plans a school offers: College students are bound to get bored of cafeteria cuisine sometime after the second week of freshman year. While Wong always dreamed of opening up his own popup restaurant during college, Elder only decided to sell her baked goods after debt became an issue. Despite their different motivations and menu items, both students share a love for cooking that began in their youth and that they plan to continue, professionally or not. I spoke with the two of them over the phone to pick their brains about food, school, balancing their businesses and what they love to cook for themselves. BETHANY KNICKERBOCKER: WHEN DID YOU GET INTO COOKING? ANNA ELDER: I remember baking from a very young age. I

would always watch my family cooking and I loved the idea of creating new recipes. I grew up in a baking-oriented family. My grandmother used to cater events and my dad would help her. I was very lucky to have a tight-knit family and a stay-at-home mother to teach me how to bake and cook. JIMMY WONG: Growing up, I always enjoyed eating my

mom’s cooking, which spearheaded my interest in food. I would spend my time in her kitchen and constantly ask questions about her food. It wasn’t until high school, though, that I wanted to explore more of the restaurant world. I began bussing tables at a local Japanese restaurant when I turned 16 and worked my way up the frontof-house ladder to serve tables. I realized that working the front of house wouldn’t exactly grow my cooking abilities, so I emailed a bunch of restaurants in the area asking if I could intern there for a summer. Luckily enough, the only restaurants that got back to me were the ones with Michelin stars. I spent the summer of my junior year preparing and plating dishes in the pastry kitchens at two different Michelin-starred restaurants, Plumed Horse and Chez TJ. My experiences there solidified my desire to pursue a career in the restaurant industry and my passion for cooking has only grown since. BK: HOW DID YOU DEVELOP YOUR RECIPES WHILE MAKING YOUR MENU?

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AE: A lot of my recipes come from my family or memory

of watching family make them. For example, I watched my mother make coffee cake often, so it was embedded in my memory. Some of my recipes have come about through trial and error. I start off with a basic idea and each time I shift it until perfection. JW: I try my best to work with produce that’s local, organic and sustainable, so my menus are largely driven by what’s in season and available to me here in San Luis Obispo. I’m lucky enough to be in California, where the produce is some of the best you can find in the country. I create my dishes by first deciding on the flavor profiles I want to work with, then figuring out the components that will correspond with each flavor. I rely a lot on my cookbooks and past experiences in the kitchens I’ve worked in as resources.

studies. Unfortunately this meant I no longer qualified for the Zale Miller Grant or even half of what I originally did for Pale. I had to get creative and fast. At the time, my serving job only covered my actual bills and maybe a book or two, so I turned to what I knew best: baking. Itsy Bitsy Delights has allowed me to take the minimum amount of student loans out, pay for my books and afford gas to get me to school.

Itsy Bitsy Delights has allowed me to take the minimum amount of student loans out, pay for my books and afford gas to get me to school.

BK: AT WHAT POINT DID YOU FIRST DECIDE TO MONETIZE YOUR FOOD? AE: It all started with people I’ve worked with or went

to school with. I would always bring desserts to work or school, which led to people asking me to make them some. I didn’t fully start until I had no choice, though. In fall 2017, my financial aid failed because I had to transition programs. They were doing away with their healthcare program, so I had to change into interdisciplinary

JW: Coming into college, it was always on my college bucket list to do pop-up dinners. I figured it probably wasn’t the most sustainable thing to do if I was doing it for free, so I knew I needed to charge people for the amount of time and effort I was putting into doing the seven-course meals. BK: HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR OPENING? AE: I started off by making sure

that I had the necessities, a lot of which my family has gotten me over the years. After I gathered my supplies, I began with my marketing. I contacted people that previously tried my desserts to help share the work, I created flyers through Microsoft publisher and I created my page. This helped me better organize my orders and keep in contact with previous people that purchased baked goods. JW: After completing a short stage, or apprenticeship,

at Lazy Bear in San Francisco this past summer, I quickly decided that I wanted to open up a pop-up restaurant

out of the studio apartment I had just moved into back at school. I spent the rest of the summer gathering flatware, glassware, silverware and other various service pieces to use for the pop-up. I also spent a lot of time researching and figuring out a menu that I wanted to serve. I had to draw a lot on my time cooking for large events at my Asian American Christian Fellowship, as well as my training in the kitchens I worked at. In the end, I settled on a menu that I hoped exemplified who I was. The menu was and is a collection of my experiences growing up as an Asian American. I try to showcase California cuisine through the lens of my own experiences and cultural heritage. Once I had finished figuring out my food, building my website and designing my menu, I put out my first round of reservations for the school year. I honestly thought I was literally going to have to beg people to come eat at my place every weekend, but it turned out I was fully booked within a couple of hours. Since then, interest has only grown and people can hardly wait for the next rounds of reservations. BK: WHICH MENU ITEMS ARE YOUR MOST POPULAR? AE: My most popular items would be my strawberry-short-

cake cupcakes and all of my cheesecakes. Personally, I like making my new brioche donuts with mango cream filling. JW: My favorite dish that I serve right now would have to be

my dessert course, since I enjoy doing pastry work the best. I serve a scoop of house-made Thai basil ice cream over a bed of meyer lemon curd, meyer lemon gel, micro Thai basil and toasted coconut chips. Over the top of the ice cream is coconut powder and fresh lemon zest. The ice cream is then surrounded by crispy sable tuiles for added texture. BK: WHAT ISSUES DO YOU RUN INTO AS A STUDENT WHO SELLS YOUR COOKING? AE: I have received a lot of negative remarks, such as

“You’re not a real business” and “Maybe if you’d work you could pay for school.” The reality is that college costs money no matter how good of grades you get. Anybody that goes to school with me or has worked with me knows that

I work hard for what I need. My two jobs pay my bills, but I can’t work too much on the weekdays because I’m in school from 8–5. Even working two jobs and baking doesn’t mean I don’t do without some months. JW: There is always a fear that I might get evicted or fined

for what I’m doing, but so far that hasn’t been an issue (fingers crossed). I think other than that, the biggest challenge for me would definitely be cooking a seven-course meal out of my tiny kitchen. BK: HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME FOR YOUR RESTAURANT, DENCH.? JW: Back in high school, my friends and I followed an En-

glish soccer player named Emmanuel Frimpong, who played for Arsenal. One of his catch phrases was “dench,” inspired by his affection for Judi Dench, the beloved British actress. Frimpong would use “dench” as a way to say things were “wicked” or “cool.” My friends and I thought it was funny so we started to say it too, and it kind of just stuck with me. Nowadays, if you go on #dench on Instagram, you’ll see a ton of buff British dudes and sometimes my food. BK: WHAT DO YOUR FUTURE PLANS LOOK LIKE? AE: I believe that I will always bake and cook. It is something

I enjoy and couldn’t imagine giving up. I would love to eventually be the house that my big family comes to for holidays and I make everything from scratch. It’s a part of me that I would love to continue to share with others as long as I am capable of doing so. JW: In the long term, I hope to eventually open up my own

restaurant. But in the meantime, I’m looking forward to to cooking in restaurants and traveling to build my repertoire and gain more experiences that I can draw from when creating more food. FOLLOW ITSY BITSY DELIGHTS ON FACEBOOK AND DENCH. ON INSTAGRAM AT @JWONGDYNASTY.

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GROWIN G OU T HER YouTube star Nia Wellman is using her natural-hair beauty channel to encourage women of color to be more than just beautiful.

I T ’S ONE T HIN G T O JUS T BLO G, B U T I WA N T T O BE A WORD S BY S Y DNE Y JENNING S, UNI V ER S I T Y OF C ONNE C T I C U T P H O T O GR A P H Y BY JA RED A L E X A NDER, H A MP T ON UNI V ER S I T Y

ia Wellman, who’s better known as Nia Imani on YouTube, started making silly videos with her cousins in Lithonia, Georgia, years ago, long before she ever considered making video tutorials on how to style natural African-American hair. But, when Wellman got to high school, her classmates began asking her how she did her hair, which sparked the idea to start her own YouTube channel dedicated to natural hair videos, beauty and fashion. That passion and love for all things beauty has led Wellman to a successful vlogging career, as she’s now amassed over 100,000 subscribers and has 800,000 views on one video alone. “For me, my main goal is that I’m a resourceful tool,” Wellman says. “It’s one thing to just blog, but I want to be a resource.” While it might seem like an everyday task to many, the craft of styling natural hair has fallen somewhat by the wayside in the African-American community, for both a variety of political and practical reasons. In the black community, little girls often get perms or go to a salon, so they don’t know how to work with their own hair. As a result, a lack of general know-how regarding natural hair has spread through a generation, leaving many women going into college unable to properly take care of their hair. In one video, Wellman talks to the camera as she discusses her everyday makeup routine, one perfect for going to school or work, and it’s as if you’re right there with her. She’s very comfortable talking to the camera and radiates confidence. She begins by taking viewers through her entire makeup routine, starting with her Mario Badescu rose-water facial spray and moving on to her favorite concealer, foundation, bronzer and eye products. While Wellman is demonstrating her makeup routine, her personality shines through as she explains to subscribers why she’s chosen the products she’s using. In one of her most watched videos, a tutorial with over 500,000 views, Wellman films her hair stylist giving her

Ghana braids and gives the viewer a step-by-step look at the process, including what products were used, what type of braid was used and the techniques her stylist used to get the final product. In another hair video, this one with over 400,000 views, Wellman demonstrates how she goes from curly, natural hair to straight, shiny hair. She shares which hair tools and products she uses to reach the style, all while keeping the viewer engaged with her outgoing personality. Through her videos, Wellman has become a part of a growing movement for black women to embrace their natural hair. Known as the natural-hair movement, the trend, which has risen in prominence since its de facto birth in the early 2000s, focuses on teaching woman of all ages how to style and love their natural follicles. More specifically, according to the website Curl Centric, the movement aims to encourage women with African ancestry to celebrate and enjoy the “natural characteristics of their kinky, curly, hair texture.” With its many awards and exclusive screenings across the country, the 2005 documentary “My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage” is considered one of the forerunners of the movement. The documentary, which covers over 400 years of hirsute history, showed the Afro hair culture and its journey from Africa to the Americas through the slave trade. Then, in 2009, comedian Chris Rock made a documentary, titled “Good Hair,” which re-sparked the debate about popular, yet highly unsafe, chemical straighteners used to tame black women’s hair. Indeed, while the natural-hair movement has made strides in the last decade, it still has some way to go. According to Curl Centric, over 90 percent of African-American women have straightened their hair at least once and relaxers still constitute a large percentage of beauty purchases by black women. While the movement that Wellman promotes encourages black women to become familiar with their hair’s natural maintenance, she is quick to remind that the end goal is not create a homogeny of style. Even though sta-

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tistics, such as the one above, position curling and relaxing hair as antithetical to the goals of the natural-hair movement, Wellman’s main priority is education. Every woman, black or otherwise, should be free to dress and style themselves as they see fit; Wellman is concerned only with providing young black women the ability to rock a natural look if they want, not to create a dynamic of shame that positions natural as superior or inferior to any other fashion. Though Wellman is working against a decades-long lacuna in Afro know-how, she’s not alone in her efforts to put natural hair back in the spotlight. A slew of black female celebrities, such as Solange Knowles, Lupita Nyong’o and Viola Davis, have all said goodbye to chemical hair treatments in favor of their untreated hair, which has bolstered the appeal of natural hairstyles. Sales of harsh hair-straightening chemicals, which peaked at $750 million in 2013, have decreased by 25 percent in the last five years and are projected to decrease by 45 percent by 2019, according to Curl Centric. And, thanks to YouTube, vloggers like Wellman have a platform to educate girls and women across the globe about hair density, hair types, which hair vitamins to take, how to transition from relaxed to natural hair, hair textures and more. With close to 300 videos on her channel, Wellman has been able to teach her loyal subscribers everything from how to straighten natural hair to which gels work best for stubborn follicle. “I never started YouTube for popularity. I just wanted to educate people on what I knew,” Wellman says. “That is still my main goal.” In addition to her hair-related videos, Wellman also shares shorts called “chit chat” videos, in which she speaks directly to her viewers about her life and how to grow a business on YouTube. In these videos, it becomes apparent that the Hampton University student is more than a talented beautician; she’s a burgeoning entrepreneur, one who has identified a market ripe for the taking and capitalized on of her ability and natural charisma. Though she is demure about

her charm, technique alone does not a YouTube star make. Still, Wellman insists, her main priority is remaining authentic and helpful. “Some YouTubers put on a façade,” she says. “But I don’t want people to think that off-camera I’m a perfect person. There’s no difference between you and me. My videos are just me being who I am.” Wellman, however, has little to worry about when it comes to her genuineness. In the age of social media, maintaining a polished personal brand can be paramount for influencers, but for YouTube stars like Wellman, their medium makes such curation nearly impossible. Spending hours on camera, ad-libbing and speaking off the cuff constantly leaves little room for veneer, which means that Nia Imani, the YouTube cause célèbre with whom fans have fallen in love, is little different than Nia Wellman, the Hampton University junior. Wellman’s popularity, in other words, is in large part a result of the intense likability of her authentic self. This charisma is apparent in her interactions with fans, both over social media and in person. She routinely reaches out to subscribers through Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, and even hosts meet and greets, which have led many to consider her a role model, a title that she is reluctant to embrace. “The word has a lot behind it, but I can definitely say I am an inspiration for people to be themselves,” Wellman says. “I want to show people that whatever you want to do, you can do it.” Her desire to inspire others helped lead to Campus Curlz, an organization she founded last year at Hampton University with fellow student Kiyanna Monroe. The mission statement of the group echoes Wellman’s personal motivations, in that, as a natural-hair and service-based organization, it aims to enhance, educate and uplift those on campus and in the community through educational support and service. Even though the organization is just a year old, they have expanded to 500 members at 27 other universities across the nation, from the University of California, Los Angeles, to the University of Connecticut just this semester.

I don’t want people to think that off-camera I’m a perfect person. There’s no difference between you and me. My videos are just me being who I am

While the organization puts an emphasis on natural hair, Campus Curlz also focuses heavily on outreach programs that highlight important political issues that go beyond college life and hair styling. Each chapter hosts a variety of events on campus, ranging in topic from DIY deep conditioner nights to showcases of solidarity with sexual-violence victims. They also have Campus Curlz Goes Green, a recycling initiative, to show people that the world of beauty products can also be environmentally conscious. Each chapter also hosts an annual event, called Natural Hair Inside Out, that Wellman put together, in which members talk about different hair densities, hair types, give healthy hair tips and promote hair positivity and education. Outside of her philanthropy and YouTube videos, though, Wellman has an entirely different passion. Though many of her motivations remain the same — helping women of color give themselves the tools they need to thrive — Wellman’s interest in technology, specifically coding, has little to do with her success as a YouTube personality. The communications major has been coding since she was a little girl, and sees the arena as another professional field that would benefit from a more diverse workforce.

This month, Wellman was invited to attend South by Southwest (SXSW) to participate in the Opportunity Hub, an initiative to increase opportunities in the tech industry for diverse, high-potential students. Currently, African Americans and Latinos make up less than 5 percent of the technology workforce, but last year more than 50 students and faculty from across America participated in Opportunity Hub at SXSW. “There definitely needs to be more diversity in technology, and we can show that we are capable to be in there as well,” says Wellman. She plans to incorporate coding into the Campus Curlz program, as she hopes to create an initiative that will teach young women of color that having a passion for hair and a passion for computer science are by no means mutually exclusive. Wellman also plans to bring Opportunity Hub to Hampton University in hopes that it will teach students how build entrepreneurial skills and increase inclusion in the technology world. With her level of passion, drive and love for what she does, Wellman surely will continue to make an impact on not only the YouTube realm, but in all of her other ventures as well.

BY BR A NDI L OVING, S T. M A RY ’S UNI V ER S I T Y

LIVVIA, an economics major at the University of California, Berkeley, is a pop musician who has toured internationally with, among others, the Jonas Brothers, Jessie J. and Meghan Trainor. She recently collaborated with Quavo on her new song, “Catch a Body.” LIVVIA will be releasing her debut EP later this year.

Q&A

WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE?

Lily James

SOMETHING YOU WISH YOU WERE GOOD AT?

Mind-reading

WHAT’S THE LAST BOOK YOU READ (AND DID IT MAKE YOU CRY)?

“Worldly Philosophers.” And big nope I’M CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:

A FOOD YOU HATE THAT EVERYONE LOVES?

My Spotify playlist called “When you accidentally text the wrong person”

MY GO-TO HANGOVER TRICK IS:

WHAT WAS THE LAST COMMERCIAL THAT MADE YOU LAUGH?

Skittles

Eating ice cream instead of drinking in the first place LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED?

My mama

WHAT SONG DO YOU WANT PLAYED AT YOUR FUNERAL?

“Yellow” by Coldplay

WHAT DO YOU WANT ON YOUR TOMBSTONE?

Too soon to tell

HOW OLD DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW?

294

FAVORITE MEME?

Animal interactions with bad English subtitles FAVORITE MILLENNIAL SLANG WORD/PHRASE?

Fam

WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO SNAPCHAT FILTER?

No filter

Not a commercial — but the “Peter Rabbit” trailer had me in tears (of joy) WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU LOST SLEEP OVER?

Econ and chill

WHAT’S A CURRENT TOP TO-DO ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

Safari

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED FOR IN 2018?

Finally sharing my music

WHAT SONG CURRENTLY EXPLAIN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW?

“I’m in Love With my Life” by Phases WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU GET HOMESICK?

FaceTiming with my dog

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE HASHTAG ON TWITTER?

Anything “Harry-Potter” related

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Your March Horoscope, in Assigned Literature for English 101 BY M AYA H A L A B I , UNI V ER S I T Y OF T E X A S AT S A N A N T ONI O

ARIES – “BRAVE NEW WORLD”

GEMINI – “1984”

TAURUS –“HEART OF DARK-

CANCER –“TO KILL A

BY ALDOUS HUXLEY

BY GEORGE ORWELL

NESS” BY JOSEPH CONRAD

MOCKINGBIRD” BY HARPER LEE

The innovators and the certain causes of our future dystopian society. Also the most likely topartake in“Centrifugal Bumble-puppy.”

You know, because everyone isn’t what they seem. Gemini aren’t as vulnerable as Winston Smith, but they are as two-faced as O’Brien.

A tale that’s so truly honest, it’s pretty controversial. Like the outspoken Taurus, you’ll find a lot of bold ideas in the “Heart of Darkness.”

If you had to pinpoint Atticus Finch’s horoscope, there’s no way he isn’t a cancer. He’s basically the embodiment of a noble and trusty steed.

VIRGO –“EAST OF EDEN”

LIBRA –“FRANKENSTEIN”

LEO –“ THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ” BY L. FRANK BAUM

There’s literally a lion in it. If we’re being real though, the Wizard identifies a lot more with Leos than the Cowardly Lion.

BY JOHN STEINBECK

BY MARY SHELLEY

SCORPIO –“LOLITA” BY VLADIMIR NABOKOV

The wits of a Virgo are hard to hide. While they are constantly looking out for their families, looking out for themselves can become a chore.

Helloooo, Libra season is right around the corner of Halloween! It’s only fitting that Libras identify with the story of a mad scientist and basically his pet monster.

Pretty sick and twisted. But also incredibly passionate, like Humbert Humbert’s love for road trips and nymphets.

SAGITTARIUS –“FAHRENHEIT

CAPRICORN –“DEATH OF A

AQUARIUS –“THE ODYSSEY”

PISCES –“LES MISERABLES”

451” BY RAY BRADBURY

SALESMAN” BY ARTHUR MILLER

BY HOMER

BY VICTOR HUGO

Unbothered and humble, Sags know their place in the world. Like Montag, they usually end up with other intellectuals.

All work and no play makes Capricorns dull people. Your typical workaholics who would literally die from and for the grind.

Curious and cunning, Aquarians certainly carry the traits of Odysseus — without all the tragic-hero elements of course.

“I Dreamed a Dream” on repeat. Much tears, much dramatic. Painfully romantic.

31ST ANNUAL OLD SETTLER’S MUSIC FESTIVAL

TILMON (NEAR LOCKHART),

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THURSDAY-SUNDAY

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2018

GREENSKY BLUEGRASS * RAILROAD EARTH * CALEXICO * BOB SCHNEIDER I’M WITH HER – SARA WATKINS, SARAH JAROSZ, AOIFE O’DONOVAN JD MCPHERSON * RAY WYLIE HUBBARD * BALSAM RANGE * DONNA THE BUFFALO THE GRATEFUL BALL FEATURING THE TRAVELIN’ MCCOURYS & JEFF AUSTIN BAND WILL HOGE * DARLINGSIDE * THE TRAVELIN’ MCCOURYS * STEVE POLTZ THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS * JEFF AUSTIN BAND * FRONT COUNTRY BILLY BIL STRINGS * THE WAR & TREATY * COLTER WALL * THE DEER THE PETERSON BROTHERS * WE BANJO 3 * JON STICKLEY TRIO * SOPHIE SCOTT AND MORE TO COME! CAMPING, JAMMING, PERFORMANCE WORKSHOPS, YOUTH COMPETITION, KIDS’ ACTIVITIES, ARTS & CRAFTS.

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