11.4.2015

OPINION Drugs: our broken justice system

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A&E ‘Bridge of Spies’: the Spielberg effect

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SPORTS Volleyball team sweeps Emory Invitational

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Drag Kings & Queens

Rule the Stage Emory Pride hosts annual Drag Show | p. 16

The Independent Student-Run Newspaper of Emory University Since 1919

VOL. 97 ISSUE 9 November 4, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS November 4, 2015

NEWS

NEWS

OPINION

4 The search to replace wagner begins

7 Where ‘Black lives matter’ and gender intersect

10 Sexual assault climate survey futile without action

5 financial policies for undocumented students released

8 yerkes to transfer eight chimpanzees to the UK

11 Drugs: our broken justice system

6 emory will pay $2.4 million for improper billing

9 halloweekend at emory

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

EMORY LIFE

SPORTS

14 ‘Bridge of Spies’ and the Spielberg Effect

18 trick or treat at the lullwater house

22 Men drop two UAA games 1-0

12 gop needs saving from itself 13 choose one: jewish or democratic

16 emory Pride’s annual Drag show

19 comic

17 ‘gintama’: outrageous anime breaks common cliches

20 the emory bayit: fostering a jewish community

23 women’s team ties brandeis and NYU 24 The Mets will be back 25 Eagles sweep emory invite

21 emory model un shows no mercy at yale security counsel simulations

FRONT PAGE Photo By: Julia Munslow | Arts & Entertainment Editor

EDITORIAL BOARD DUSTIN SLADE | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUPSHA BASU EXECUTIVE EDITOR Copy Chiefs Shalvi Shah Benazir Wehelie News Editor Annie McGrew Opinion Editor Erik Alexander Arts & Entertainment Editors Samuel R. Budnyk Julia Munslow

KARISHMA MEHROTRA EXECUTIVE EDITOR Emory Life Editor Hayley Silverstein Sports Editor Jacob Durst Photo Editor Ruth Reyes Video Editor Leila Yavari Senior Digital Editor Tarrek Shaban

ZAK HUDAK MANAGING EDITOR

Digital Editors Brandon Fuhr Morgan Roberts Asst. News Editors Anwesha Guha Emily Sullivan Associate Editors Loli Lucaciu Lydia O’Neal Ryan Smith Hagar Elsayed

STEPHEN FOWLER EXECUTIVE DIGITAL EDITOR business and advertising

ALLEN HSIN | BUSINESS MANAGER BEN MOORE | SALES MANAGER BRYCE ROBERTSON | BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Assistant Sales Manager: Brittany Fales Design Managers: Dami Kim, Alyssa Polskensky Sales Associates: Ifrah Khan, David Schupper, Celeste Leonard, Junior Hailu, Chris Diglio Office Assistant: Justine Schoenbart Business / Advertising Office Number (404) 727-6178

NEWS

ANNIE MCGREW | EDITOR

The search to replace Wagner begins Emily Sullivan | Asst. News Editor emily.sullivan@emory.edu

T

he first stages of selecting Emory University’s 21st president are underway as the Advisory Committee on the Presidential Selection Process will make recommendations to the Board of Trustees this month, according to Allison Dykes, vice president and secretary of the University.

“ ... It

mittee.

Following protocol, the Board of Trustees appointed the members to the Advisory Committee in September, after President James W. Wagner announced his plans to step down from the presidency at the end of August 2016. The Advisory Committee intends to present its proposal to

representatives, regarding the selection of the new president at the University Senate meeting in November.

“There should be students from all walks of campus who have the opportunity to interact with these potential candidates in the process,” SGA President and College senior Raj Tilwa

would be really neat to have female candidates in the school,

because we have not had a female president in our history history.”

—

our long

— College senior Raj Tilwa In its recommendations, the Advisory Committee will present a structure for the presidential selection. It will also appoint members to the new Presidential Selection Committee, which will then take over the lead in hiring Emory’s next president, Dykes said.

The three-member Advisory Committee includes Laura J. Hardman, secretary of the Board of Trustees and chair of the Campus Life Committee; Jonathan K. Layne, chair of the Board of Trustees Executive Compensation and Trustees’ Conflict of Interest Committee and Teresa M. Rivero, chair-elect of the Board of Trustees Campus Life Com-

the University Senate during its Nov. 17 meeting, Dykes said.

There is not yet a finalized time frame in place for this process, according to Nancy Seideman, associate vice president for media relations.

“One of the most important responsibilities of the Emory Board of Trustees is that of hiring the president,” Board of Trustees Chair John Morgan wrote in a Sept. 11 email to the Emory community. He added that this responsibility is something that the Board must take seriously. Morgan will answer questions from the Emory community, including those submitted by Student Government Association (SGA)

said. “The Committee should make extra efforts to engage different cultural groups that aren’t traditionally represented.”

Tilwa also mentioned the prospect of female representation among presidential candidates.

“One of the big things that we also have to consider is that it would be really neat to have female candidates in the school, because we have not had a female president in our history – our long history,” he said. “We’ve always had a white male president.”

Wagner sent an email to the Emory community on Sept.

11, in which he described his stepping down as a “handoff ”

rather than a conclusion.

“Among the many opportunities for the coming year alone will be recruiting several key new leaders, beginning our next strategic planning process and envisioning our next fundraising campaign,” he wrote.

“The work of building a great university is never finished, and there is tremendous anticipation and enthusiasm for the possibilities that lie ahead.”

5

11.04.15 not just those granted DACA status, should be able to receive need-based aid from Emory.

“This will ensure that this financial aid policy stays intact in an ever-changing political climate,” she said.

Some of Emory’s peer schools, such as Brown University and Tufts University, do not require undocumented students to have DACA to receive financial aid. College junior and Freedom at Emory co-founder Julianna Joss said that Emory should follow in their footsteps.

However, Emory’s Director of Financial Aid John Leach said that this proposed change is infeasible, because it would not allow Emory to retain its need-blind admission practice, which assesses students based on merit, not their ability to pay. Tufts is need-aware of all students, and Brown is need-aware with international students, including undocumented and DACA students.

“Emory is need-blind with our DACA students, so there is no set limit in our budget to admitting and funding those students,” he wrote in an email to the Wheel. “Our initiative is, from my perspective, more generous and bolder than either Brown’s or Tufts’.”

Financial policies for undocumented students released Namrata Verghese Contributing Writer

namrata.susan.verghese@emory.edu

Emory released the details of a new financial aid policy on Oct. 20 for undocumented students, but members of Freedom at Emory are still pushing for additional reform.

This fall, Emory began offering need-based institutional financial aid to undocumented students granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival status (DACA). Emory will meet all of the demonstrated need for DACA undergraduate students with grants and scholarships, institutional work-study and institutional loans.

the policy change through vigorous campaigning since August 2014 — considers Emory’s policy change to be a positive step, the group believes all undocumented students, not just those granted DACA status from the federal government, should be eligible for need-based institutional financial aid.

In 2012, President Barack Obama instituted the DACA policy — a discretionary, limited immigration benefit for those who came to the U.S. as children. Individuals granted DACA status can apply for employment authorization and are considered to be in the U.S. lawfully.

While Freedom at Emory — a student advocacy group for undocumented students that has spurred

financial burden of $465, according to College senior Nowmee Shehab, an executive board member and lead organizer of Freedom at Emory. On top of that, future presidential administrations may rescind DACA with an executive White House order at any time, leaving an uncertain future for undocumented students.

Shehab believes that all undocumented students,

Illustration by Shalvi Shah | Copy Chief

Proposed Policy Change Undocumented students have to overcome a number of obstacles to obtain DACA status, including a

Background Last April, Emory University President James W. Wagner announced in April that Emory would alter its financial aid policy to consider undocumented DACA students as domestic students, thus making them eligible for need-based institutional financial aid. This policy change followed months of meetings between Freedom at Emory members and administrators as part of the group’s campaign to increase support for undocumented students.

Previously, Emory would accept undocumented students to the University, but would not offer them any need-based institutional aid. Joss was inspired to take action on this issue after visiting Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.

“Seeing the kind of adversity that face the undocumented only infuriated me further regarding the state of immigration policy in Georgia and beyond,” Joss wrote.

In August 2014, Joss and Emory alum Andy Kim (C’15) co-founded Freedom at Emory, and worked on mobilizing student organizations, faculty and alumni allies that supported ending discrimination against undocumented students at Emory. After persistent campaigning, they were overjoyed to hear Wagner’s announcement.

“We couldn’t have been more ecstatic — this was a huge step forward,” Joss said, adding that the policy change served as proof that Emory is “living up to be the ethically-engaged institution that welcomes diverse backgrounds as stated in their mission.”

State-level Policy Freedom at Emory has begun fighting for state-

NEWS wide change as well. In Georgia, under Board of Regents policy 4.1.3, undocumented students are banned from applying to the top five public universities in the state and from getting any state financial aid in other public colleges and universities.

College senior Lamija Grbic, executive board member and lead organizer of Freedom at Emory, wrote in an email to the Wheel that the Georgia Board of Regents policy needs to be eradicated.

“Although what we have achieved at Emory is still an important victory, un-

documentation and helps advance a human rights or civil rights movement forward for education.”

Moving Forward

Gonzalez feels optimistic that Emory’s example will spark far-reaching changes in university financial aid policy.

“It gives undocumented students hope that other institutions will follow suit and witness how undocumented students are just as great in the academic, social and political sphere like any other domestic student in Georgia’s institutions,” she said. “These policies welcome “ ... I wish it was the norm in universities in the South and the nation them, instead of banning and restricting their education and dreams.” at large to have policies that welcome undocumented students with open However, Joss still wants Emory to expand its commitment arms. Yes, Emory is a moral leader by adopting this policy, but we will to supporting undocumented students through campus life continue to push that they could go further.” institutions, career services and student health.

“On a larger scale, we want to continue breeding a campus — College junior Julianna Joss and community-wide culture of acceptance and appreciation for the undocumented community,” she wrote.

This culture of support ranges from enforcing the proper language to use —“undocumented” instead of “illegal” — to documented students and their documented allies are still working to disman- raising awareness about the challenges within the undocumented community.

While Joss agrees that Emory’s policy is considered extremely progressive, she tle these discriminatory policies on a state-wide level,” she said.

Valentina Gonzalez, a first-year undocumented student at Dartmouth Col- wishes it wasn’t considered so. lege who played a pivotal role in spurring Emory’s policy change, added that “What I mean by this is I wish it was the norm in universities in the South and Emory should talk to other private institutions in Georgia “to show that their the nation at large to have policies that welcome undocumented students with choice in helping undocumented students helps improve classroom diversity, open arms,” she said. “Yes, Emory is a moral leader by adopting this policy, but helps improve the lives of students who just so happen to not have sufficient we will continue to push that they could go further.”

Emory will pay $2.4 million for improper billing Namrata Verghese | Contributing Writer

E

mory will pay $2.4 million to the Department of Justice (DOJ) after a government review in late October found that Emory University Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown and 500 other health care providers had improperly billed Medicare for certain surgical procedures.

Seven years ago, two Medicare-compliance and reimbursement consultants filed a complaint against the hospitals, spurring the DOJ’s investigation. In it, Leatrice Ford Richards, a cardiac nurse, and Thomas Schuhmann, a health care reimbursement consultant, listed hundreds of hospitals that were billing Medicare for surgeries to implant cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) — which deliver a shock to a patient’s heart to restore normal rhythm. However, Medicare does not generally cover ICD procedures for patients who have

namrata.susan.verghese@emory.edu

undergone coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty within the last 90 days or have experienced a heart attack within the last 40 days.

Since the beginning of the investigation, ICD procedures in Medicare patients have decreased by an estimated 28 percent, which equates to savings of more than $2 billion for the Medicare Program over the last five years.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida called this case “one of the nation’s largest whistleblower lawsuits” in an Oct. 30 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. Richards and Schuhmann received over $38 million dollars from the total $450 million settlement.

Since receiving notification of the investigation in 2010, Emory has cooperated fully with the DOJ, ac-

cording to a statement from Emory. Emory completed a voluntary review of approximately 230 ICD claims, policies and procedures, and is now in complete compliance with Medicare regulations, the statement said.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in an Oct. 30 DOJ press release that the DOJ’s investigation will hold hospitals and health care providers accountable for performing procedures that fail to comply with Medicare billing rules. According to Mizer, Emory’s and other hospitals’ settlements will be a positive change to the Medicare program.

“We are confident that the settlements announced today will lead to increased compliance and result in significant savings to the Medicare program while protecting patient health,” he said.

7

11.04.15

Where ‘Black Lives Matter’ and gender intersect

tions as Cooper said she expected the next major movement to be at the college level.

Cooper described injustices to Black women, including the wrongful killings of Miriam Carey, Renisha McBride, Sandra Bland and many more.

Cooper also discussed Rachel Jeantel, a friend of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black boy whose death brought police discrimination to the national forefront. Jeantel was ridiculed on social media for her size, her speech impediment and more, Cooper said.

She, like many Black females, [faced] the struggle of feeling “unworthy to be seen, listened to and heard,” according to Cooper.

Cooper also included personal anecdotes in her lecture, especially from her younger twenties.

Anwesha Guha | Asst. News Editor anwesha.guha@emory.edu

“How

do

these

women’s

deadly

encounters with the police force us to revise the narrative?”

­— Rutgers professor Brittney Cooper

R

utgers professor Brittney Cooper (C’09) led a packed audience through a discussion about feminism, race and politics, exposing the gender issues in the Black Lives Matter movement.

“How do these women’s deadly encounters with the police, force us to revise the narrative?” Cooper asked the audience after listing off Black female victims of police violence in the presentation, “#SayHerName: Towards a Gender Inclusive Movement for Black Lives” which was on Tuesday as a part of the University course “The Ferguson Movement: Power, Politics and Protest.”

Sponsored by the James Weldon Johnson Institute and the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence (CFDE), the event was one of many that attempted to contextualize race, politics and power in the United States.

Photo by Ruth Reyes | Photo Editor

A Black feminist theorist, Cooper specializes in the black woman’s history and representation.

Her work has been cited by The New York Times, Washington Post, Salon and other productions.

As a co-founder of Crunk Feminist Collective, a popular feminist blog, she attempts to reinvigorate conversations about Black feminism.

The “Say Her Name” movement originated from the song “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child — a song of a man promising fidelity to a woman. In current events, this fidelity is all the more relevant and vital, especially when applied to political movements, according to Cooper.

During her speech, Cooper introduced questions for the audience to consider: What constitutes womanhood? Do Black lives matter in women and gender studies? Do black lives matter in a university?

The audience was visibly moved by her ques-

She detailed her experience about being targeted by a police officer in college. Finally, she emphasized the need for a movement responsive to all its participants.

“A real movement [is] not creating heteronormative monogamous frameworks,” Cooper said.

Cooper explains the importance of a genderinclusive movement, in which a woman of color and her supporters should stand together.

“We must be willing to get undignified,” Cooper said. “We must stop trying to get respectable.

All we got is us, and we are our own best thing.”

During a vibrant question-and-answer session, the audience became engaged in numerous discussions about Black women in higher education, the church and contemporary race politics and the importance of self care for student activists. “[Cooper] is a thought leader of our time,” said Donna Troka, associate director of CFDE. “She is courageous, fierce and never backs down. I am honored to call her a colleague.

It is imperative that we know [her] work.”

NEWS

ANNIE MCGREW | EDITOR

Yerkes to transfer eight chimpanzees to the UK Mengyao Yuan

Contributing Writer mengyao.yuan@emory.edu

Y

erkes National Primate Research Center (Yerkes) is planning to donate eight chimpanzees to England, amidst the criticisms of animal activists.

The center is currently seeking a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to export its chimpanzees to Wingham Wildlife Park (WWP), an unaccredited facility in Kent, United Kingdom. Yerkes states that one of the reasons for the transfer is the “center’s changing research priorities and focus on national health priorities,” according an Oct. 15 press release.

Yerkes announced its decision to donate the chimpanzees in February, in light of growing disapproval surrounding chimpanzee research. Additionally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services now considers chimpanzees to be an endangered species, according to President of New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) Theodora Capaldo.

The Federal Register, the United States government’s daily journal, published Yerkes’ permit application on its website in mid-October. The page received 489 comments, the vast majority of which opposed the transfer, according to April Truitt, executive director of Primate Rescue Center, Inc. Most of these comments suggested that Yerkes’ decision would jeopardize the wellbeing of the chimpanzees.

“It is hard to understand why Yerkes tries to push this [donation] because after all, the WWP is an unaccredited facility,” Truitt said.

Yerkes mentioned on its website that the chimpanzee donation actually prioritizes the

Illustration by Shalvi Shah | Copy Chief

chimps’ health through ensuring that they are raised in a regulated environment rather than at Yerkes. On top of that, a $1 million National Institute of Health (NIH) grant will soon dry up as the organization has stopped funding chimpanzee research.

However, Capaldo expressed concern because WWP staff members have no experience working with chimpanzees.

“If the permit is granted and the chimpanzees [are] shipped overseas, neither Yerkes nor any U.S. regulatory body will be able to assure their wellbeing,” she said. “They will be out of Yerkes’ responsibility.”

Conservation groups in the U.S., including The New England Anti-Vivisection (NEAVS), and those in the UK, such as Cruelty Free International, argue that the transfer does not suit the best interests of the eight chimpanzees, their children or their ability to survival in the wild, according to Capaldo.

Ruth B. Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University Richard W. Wrangham raised other concerns in a letter he wrote to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In the letter, Wrangham said that WWP’s substandard exhibition, which includes public interaction with lemurs and public feeding of bid cats, would promote commercialization of the species. Thus, this export would undermine conservation efforts rather than enhance the survival of the species.

Wrangham suggested that Yerkes should work with accredited sanctuaries in the U.S. to retire chimpanzees, which would promote both conservation and animal welfare.

In a statement online, Yerkes officials indicated that they are “confident WWP can meet our high expectations regarding the care for the chimpanzees.” The statement also indicated that a team of Yerkes employees “fully evaluated WWP” and contributed to the WWP habitat design for the chimpanzees.

On its website, Yerkes officials said that employees had thoroughly evaluated the facilities and expertise of WWP animal care staff, reviewed regulatory reports and conducted a comprehensive review that does not substantiate the issues raised by the animal activists.

11.04.15

9

Halloweekend at Emory

Photos by Julia Munslow, Gemy Sethaputra and Jennie Sun | Arts & Entertainment Editor, Staff and Contributor

OPINION

ERIK ALEXANDER | EDITOR

Staff Editorial

Sexual assault climate survey futile without action Graphic By: pixabay.com

Trigger Warning: The following editorial contains discussions of rape and sexual assault.

R

ecently, the University Senate Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Violence released the results of a campus-wide climate survey for students to assess the culture surrounding sexual assault at Emory and to gather institutional information to react on the issue.

While we appreciate the time and effort the University is taking toward developing a plan of action, we believe that the report summarizing the survey results was toothless. We only received a fraction of the information that was gathered in the survey, so while Emory may be better informed, the community and students are not.

The survey, which was sent to all valid Emory email addresses in April 2015, consisted of 150 questions, including ones about the incidence and location of sexual assaults at and around Emory, people’s attitudes and perceptions regarding rape, campus resources and the administration’s handling of cases. Roughly 2,500 members of the community responded to at least one or more of the questions. We do not know the methodology that the committee used to construct the survey. For confidentiality reasons, the released report does not indicate how extensively any given individual participated in the survey or the number of students who answered each question.

There are some numbers that we do know. Of the total respondents, 10.7 percent said that they had experienced attempted or completed sexual assault or rape, while more than 18 percent in the College said they had experienced sexual assault or rape at Emory. More than half said they had experienced sexual harassment, and almost 23 percent said they had experienced intimate partner violence. More than 33 percent of College respondents said they had experienced intimate partner violence in a committed relationship, and a substantial portion of those who said they experienced some form of assault said it occurred in the context of alcohol use.

We understand the need for anonymity given the sensitivity of sexual assault; however, a substantial portion of the information, if released, would not compromise anyone’s identity, and we believe the University could have painted a clearer picture of the culture surrounding sexual assault on Emory’s campus based on the findings.

We were not particularly surprised by the survey results, and they line up with national statistics of sexual assault on college campuses, meaning, without the release of more substantial information, we as a community did not gain new knowledge on the topic. A number of national surveys have found that one in five people experience sexual assault during college.

We read the survey questions and believe that the information in the report does not address many of the questions asked, such as those regarding the places where

sexual assaults have taken place. There was a whole section of the survey dedicated to the participants’ attitudes toward and definitions of rape that we saw nothing about in the report. If this information were made public, the portion of the student body that is already active in preventing sexual assault could have used it to better address those attitudes.

Moreover, none of the questions on the survey assessed the mental health of its respondees regarding their experiences with sexual assault nor did the report direct students to Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). We hope to see from Emory a commitment to understanding what mental health resources survivors need in addition to a commitment to finding and punishing perpetrators.

Moving beyond the survey, we would like to see major steps toward addressing the issue of sexual assault on campus. We’ve long known that sexual assault is a problem on college campuses and that it is a problem at Emory. We have seen plenty of surveys and committees — we want to see action.

The report found that a third of participants did not believe that they could trust Emory with sexual assault cases. Most of us have heard stories about how specific incidences of sexual assault have been handled — or mishandled — on college campuses, such as victims not receiving the proper care or resources and known perpetrators getting a slap on the wrist or being let off the hook entirely. Emory should approach this statistic not as a cup two-thirds full but rather a cup one-third empty.

We would like to see Creating Emory and classes like Health 101 focus more on the issue of sexual violence. We don’t believe that an hour-long conversation and a comic book handed out during Creating Emory are sufficient ways of addressing the issue.

Emory should continue to take the topic seriously by expanding its efforts to become one of the country’s leading universities in shaping sexual assault prevention.

Additionally, about half the survey participants expressed that they don’t know where to look for sexual assault resources on campus. This appears to be a problem of disseminating information. Emory should consider moving some of these resources to a more central location on campus, and it should discuss the importance of these resources more thoroughly during Orientation Week.

We echo the sentiment Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair expressed in a letter to the Emory community that these results are “disturbing and unacceptable.” We are glad to see Emory acknowledge this issue and try to learn about it. But we need the University to begin using that information to enact change, not to discuss it behind closed doors.

The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s editorial board.

11.04.15

Drugs: o ur b jus

11

tice roken system Ryan Fan

A

recent New York Times article by Katharine Q. Seelye details the horrors that families of heroin overdose victims and survivors face in coping with the way our country currently handles the heroin epidemic. In the article, “In Heroin Crisis, White Families Seek Gentler War on Drugs,” many of these parents have stressed altering the language regarding addiction, particularly avoiding words like “junkie” or “addict.” They also stress that the government’s response to handling heroin-related cases needs to shift from the perspective of a crime to that of a disease.

The article presents poignant testimony from Doug Griffin and Amanda Jordan, two New Hampshire parents who recently lost their children to heroin overdoses.

Their stories are tragic. Jordan sometimes “thinks [her son] Chris is still alive, and at his funeral she was convinced he was still breathing.” Parents like Griffin and Jordan have spearheaded organizations and events devoted to fighting heroin addiction.

Many police departments have even pursued more forgiving approaches to heroin use and addiction, including the treatment, rather than the incarceration, of overdose victims. According to the article, 32 states across the country have passed “good Samaritan” laws that protect people from prosecution if they call 911 to report overdoses for low-level offenses.

While this movement is an honorable step in the right direction, we can’t ignore the disparities faced by drug-related arrests among racial minorities, particularly in black communities plagued by crack cocaine overdoses. Seelye explicitly acknowledges in the article that 90 percent of those that tried heroin for the first time in the last decade are white. According to Michael Botticelli, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, “Because the demographic of the people affected are more white, more middle class, these are the parents who are empowered.” We as readers are now asked the question: Why has a gentler movement not been applied to the punitive War on Drugs?

The United States saw the introduction of crack cocaine in the early 1980s, and by 1986, it was readily available predominantly in inner city communities. Crack cocaine was a cheaper drug and had higher purity than the powdered cocaine already on the market. To many lower-class urban communities, it was an affordable form of entertainment for those without many resources. Between 1984 and 1987, crack cocaine incidents rose by 94,000. By 1987, crack was available in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Between 1984 and 1994, the homicide rate for black males aged 14 to 17

College Freshman

Stony Brook, New York

nearly doubled.

In 1986, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act mandated a minimum five-year Graphic by: Olivia Shuler | Staff sentencing for any person in possession of five grams of crack cocaine. This act also had a 100:1 sentencing disparity, which means that a person in possession of up to 500 grams of crack would receive the same five-year sentence. Compared to the sentencing disparity for powdered cocaine, this is far more severe. It’s important to note that the Congressional Black Caucus was a major proponent of this sentencing disparity.

This act has had major ramifications on U.S. incarceration and the War on Drugs.

Over the past 30 years, our federal prison population has increased 500 percent (according to the U.S. Department of Justice). In 2006, the American Civil Liberties Union released a report stating that blacks constituted 15 percent of the country’s drug users but comprised 37 percent of those arrested for drug violations, 59 percent of those convicted and 74 percent of those sentenced to prison for drug offenses.

According to the same study, more than 80 percent of the defendants sentenced for crack offenses are black, even though 66 percent of crack users are white or Hispanic.

However, our country has been making strides to reduce these disparities. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the sentencing disparity for crack from 100:1 to 18:1. Former Secretary of State and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has called for an elimination of the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine. Just last month, she proposed a $10 billion plan to treat and fight against drug addiction over the next 10 years.

In the 1990s, the RAND Corporation conducted a study that concluded that treatment, as opposed to law enforcement, is the cheapest method to combat drug use.

The study also found that drug treatment is 23 times more effective than our War on Drugs. We’ve seen wide differences over time in how law enforcement has handled the heroin and crack epidemics in the U.S. Regarding mass incarceration, I think our country would benefit greatly by shifting the focus of these small, nonviolent drug offenses from harsh penalties to treatment.

OPINION

GOP needs saving from itself

Jessica Cherner | College Senior Bethesda, Maryland

Illustration By Shalvi Shah | Copy Chief

T

he cliché, “when one door closes, another one opens,” certainly applies to Former Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, as he is finally inclined to do the GOP a favor. He’s relinquishing his role as Extremist Dictator of the House and passing the torch to current Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

On Oct. 29, 2015, the Era of Paul Ryan began on Capitol Hill. As soon as he finally agreed to fill Boehner’s empty throne, Ryan pledged, “We have an obligation here in the people’s house to do the people’s business. We are going to respect the people by representing the people.” These are big words for a man who initially refused to even consider the position, but the GOP isn’t wrong for having faith in him. He is a family man from the Midwest who recognizes the importance and necessity of having a middle ground.

The Republican Party’s slow demise started in 2008 when the recession hit, hurling the party into massive disarray. The House clearly has much to deal with; namely, the ever-noisy Tea Party. Ryan is willing and enthusiastic to bridge — not burn — the gaps between parties. But can he do it? Only time will tell. His ultimate success would be bringing both sides together so that the government can actually function without shutting down.

Let’s use this exciting moment of radical change in the GOP’s leadership to establish a status report on the Republican Party. The loudest republicans are the ones running for president, and as annoying and catty as they may seem, we cannot assume that all republicans are like them. We need to start with the ridiculous debate, which took place for some odd and unexplained reason in Boulder, Colorado on Oct. 28.

While no winners or losers were declared in the debate, some republicans definitely left with big smiles on their faces. These shining stars include Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, because their gloves came off at approximately 8:01 p.m. I’m no moderator, but here’s what made these guys shine last night: Marco Rubio: Until last night, his mentor-mentee relationship with longtime politico, Jeb Bush, was sweet. Claws came out quickly when Bush accused Rubio of being an absentee senator. Rubio responded saying, “The only reason why you’re doing [this] now is because we’re running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.” Jeez, why don’t you tell him how you really feel?

Ted Cruz: Nothing he said seemed to have anything to do with topics already on

the table. However, he still managed to do what he always does: say something ridiculous that renders a huge applause. He talked about the role of the media in politics for about 99 percent of the time and then ended up saying, “This is not a cage match.

And you look at the questions: ‘Donald Trump, are you a comic-book villain?’ ‘Ben Carson, can you do math?’ ‘John Kasich, will you insult two people over here?’ ‘Marco Rubio, why don’t you resign?’ ‘Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?’ How about talking about the substantive issues the people care about?” Then, everyone erupted in cheers. I’m still not sure why that is, for the media tears him apart every time he opens his mouth. All that matters, though, is that the audience liked the speech.

Donald Trump: A 2016 presidential debate would be nothing without Trump. His name even came up in the Democratic debate. He made a political name for himself by playing two cards: negotiation and political correctness. But last night he showed the country a softer and more resigned side of him, something no one expected from the man who swore to never return to Iowa if its people wouldn’t elect him. He behaved almost presidentially, which was nice to finally see after spending the last two debates condemning Mexicans and insulting republicans. Although he shied away from mentioning any legitimate policies, he proved that he is capable of strapping on the imaginary muzzle and keeping it on until it’s his turn to talk.

The other seven candidates either lost big-time or didn’t change their status. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and quasi-racist, barely spoke. Poor Jeb Bush can’t catch a break in this campaign. He’s an interesting case because he’s not doing anything wrong or offensive — he just isn’t doing enough. Every time Bush is on stage, he fades into the background, which won’t cut it for a potential president of a country like the United States. John Kasich suffered a similar fate. He couldn’t seem to get it up for either the cameras, the moderators or especially the other candidates. When presented with a perfect question (“What’s your greatest weakness?”), he didn’t even answer. Everyone knows how to spin that question, and he completely missed that opportunity. I think I speak for everyone when I say Chris Christie needs to drop out already. The most ridiculous part of his responses was that they all centered around fantasy football … I’m sorry, is this a presidential debate or a fraternity?

Paul Ryan has a big job trying to reign in this gaggle of loudmouths and shy guys in order to finally establish a properly functioning government, but if anyone can do it, it’s the guy who is determined to wipe the slate clean and bring back the original Republican Party with a new and refreshing air of moderation.

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Choose one: Jewish or Democratic

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Jonathan Hussung | College Junior |

fter WWII and the Holocaust, the world was left with the critical question of how to prevent future genocides: how to ensure “never again” became a reality. One response was the formation of the United Nations and the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The UDHR articulates universal, inalienable rights such as the right of all people to equality under the law, freedom of religion and participation in government. The Geneva and Hague Conventions provide guidelines for the treatment of non-combatants and enemy combatants in times of war.

Together these documents provide an international legal framework and a vision for a world in which: 1. people need not resort to violence, since their human rights are respected, and they have access to democratic methods of seeking change; 2. the international community is in a position to intervene to prevent egregious human rights violations, such as genocide; and 3. should violence arise, all parties seek to minimize the amount of harm and destruction it creates. While these documents are not perfect and have not been well-implemented, I strongly believe in the vision they represent.

I give this background because international law and human rights provide the basic framework I use to understand the violence and suffering in Israel-Palestine and the ways in which to work towards justice and peace. I understand much political violence as a response to the denial of human rights. The U.S. was founded with a violent revolution that was, in large part, a response to “taxation without representation.”

Lacking political representation, and given the lack of British response to petitions from the colonists, revolutionary colonists resorted to violence. I understand Palestinian political violence largely to be a response to the systematic denial of Palestinian human rights and the lack of a nonviolent means of rectifying the situation. Thus, I believe the only way to end the violence is to support non-violent processes to adjudicate the various disputes involved, and I believe international law and human rights must guide these processes. Blaming Palestinian incitement ignores the reasons Palestinians are motivated to use violence and ignores Jewish-Israeli incitement.

When I recently wrote an op-ed criticizing the Day of Coexistence sponsored by several pro-Israel groups at Emory, my main critiques were the exclusion of any groups with ties to Palestinians and the refusal to discuss any details about the reality of the Israel-Palestine conflict or to affirm Palestinian human rights.

College sophomore Jay Schaefer wrote an op-ed in response to my article. While Schaefer’s op-ed does address various details about the situation in Israel and Palestine, it does little to challenge the fundamental claims of my previous op-ed (such as that Israel is a Jewish supremacist state), misrepresents my article and lacks a basis in human rights and international law or any other consistent logical framework.

Schaefer argues that the exclusion of Palestinian voices from the Day of Coexistence was logical given that, Schaefer says, Palestinians and those who side with them reject coexistence. However, my article explicitly states that “I am fully supportive of a path forward involving coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians... but strongly opposed to any path that involves Jewish lives being treated as more valuable than Palestinian lives.” By claiming that I reject coexistence, Schaefer changes the definition of coexistence. In my article, I discussed coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians: people and people. Schaefer instead, without any mention of the switch, discusses coexistence between the State of Israel as a Jewish state and Palestinians. Coexistence between different people is a concept that naturally arises from a human rights framework since all people have a right to exist.

However, coexistence between state and people is a bizarre concept. The funda-

Jefferson City, Tennessee

mental principle of democracy, articulated in UDHR, is that ”the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government.” The U.S. Declaration of Independence uses similar language. States don’t have a natural “right to exist,” and they definitely do not have a right to exist with a specific ethnic identity. Rather, people have a right to participate in democracy and determine the types of states they live in.

But Schaefer is not alone in attempting to put the Jewish nature of the State of Israel beyond the reach of democracy and negotiations. In Israel, anyone who rejects the idea that Israel is and should be a Jewish state is formally ineligible for a position in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Similarly, Palestinians are often expected to “recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state” before beginning peace negotiations.

Schaefer argues that the creation of Israel as a Jewish state was a justified response to widespread, often deadly anti-semitism. Many others argue that the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state is necessary to protect the Jewish people from present day and future genocide. However, this view places the memory of past Jewish suffering and the possibility of future suffering over the present-day reality of Palestinian suffering.

Israel’s Jewish identity comes into direct conflict with the internationally recognized Right of Return for Palestinian refugees. Regardless of the circumstances in which more than 750,000 Palestinians left their homes in 1948, they have an internationally recognized right to return back to their homes or, if they choose, be paid reparations. The fact that the original U.N. resolution affirming this right stipulates that it applies to refugees willing to “live at peace with their neighbors” does not justify denying all Palestinian refugees their right to return because some have committed acts of violence against Israelis. That’s mass profiling. The stipulation that these refugees “should be permitted to [return] at the earliest practicable date” cannot be used as an excuse for the fact that Israel denied Palestinians their Right of Return for 67 years. Obviously “the earliest practicable date” should be within the lifetime of the original refugees.

Regardless of historic ties to the land, Palestinian refugees lost their homes and many of their possessions. Refugees and their descendents often keep documents of ownership or the keys to the houses they left, passing them down from generation to generation, to symbolize their connection to the land they left. While allowing all these refugees to return would be a true logistical challenge, Israel is not even slowly addressing the issue. Rather, it continues to grant preferential treatment to Jews, allowing them automatic citizenship in Israel if they desire.

Schaefer asked if I think Israel’s existence as a Jewish state is fundamentally racist, comparing Jews to other nationalities who have states. The answer is simple: other nationalities are expected to be ethnically open and arise naturally from the people living in a certain area’s sense of common political identity. Promoting a national identity that excludes immigrants and people of racial/ethnic minorities is xenophobic and racist. Founding a country on land where another group is living requires the removal or subjugation of the indigenous population.

In America’s early beginnings, the European settlers used genocide and violent mass relocation to clear the way for their state. These are not moral ways to form a country. While Israel tries to maintain a distinct Israeli national identity open to members of any ethnic group, it simultaneously declares itself to be a Jewish state, sets its Jewishness off-limits for its democratic institutions and uses racist immigration practices to ensure it maintains a Jewish majority. This fundamentally undermines Israeli democracy. States cannot use racist practices to control their demographics and then derive their democratic legitimacy from the votes of the artificial majority they’ve created. Israel must choose between being a democracy that respects human rights and being a Jewish state, and the international community must hold Israel accountable as long as they continue to choose the latter.

Center image by Jill Holzbauer | Flickr

EMORY LIFE

HAYLEY SILVERSTEIN | EDITOR

relationship Violence awareness month Take Back the Night among month’s many events Caroline Ciric | Staff Writer caroline.ciric@emory.edu

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ast week, Emory observed National Relationship Violence Awareness Month (RVAM) by holding a series of events and workshops aimed towards educating the community and promoting awareness. RVAM, conceived in the 1980s by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), aims to connect advocates across the country to work together towards ending violence against women.

These public measures sought to create a dialogue about the various forms in which domestic violence can take place, according to Emory News Center. More than a dozen organizations have gathered to create workshops aimed towards teaching violence prevention strategies, how to provide support for survivors and the power of bystander proactivity.

Emory’s Domestic Violence Awareness Week was initiated with an art installation, the Emory Clothesline Project.

Customized t-shirts bearing messages and illustrations pertaining to direct or indirect experiences with violence were strung up at the Dobbs University Center (DUC) Terraces. The t-shirts were created by community members directly or indirectly implicated in sexual or do-

mestic violence, with the goal of empowering survivors and encouraging them to break their silence.

Different workshops and discussions like Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA) 101 training were held on Tuesday to educate volunteers about myths and facts about sexual assault, misconduct policies and survivor response.

Active Bystander Strategies Training was held Wednesday, with the aim of teaching participants about how to assess situations of violence and intervene effectively.

The week concluded with the interactive workshop “Dating Violence at the Intersection of Race, Gender and Sexuality.” The event was hosted by Ulester Douglass, executive director of Men Stopping Violence, and Lee Giordano, the organization’s director of training.

The organization is a training institute that provides communities with the necessary tools to encourage men to take a larger role in ending all forms of violence, according to the organization’s website.

The events were organized as followups to the crowning event of Domestic Violence Awareness Week, Emory’s Take Back the Night (TBTN) speak out rally.

TBNT, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary this year, is hosted by the student-led Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP). The event seeks to support survivors of relationship and sexual violence and give a voice to witnesses and bystanders, according to the event’s flyer.

“Taking back the night is taking back a time, a time that you’re afraid of or has a bad connotation for survivors of sexual assault,” College senior and SAPA copresident Amina Khan said. “By sharing stories, you’re fighting being silenced.”

Survivors of violence within the Emory community submit anonymous accounts of their stories in the upcoming weeks before TBTN, which are read by volunteers to the attendees during the rally.

“The two pillars of empowerment and awareness embody this event,” College senior and SAPA co-president Rebecca Woofter said. “It’s an opportunity for survivors to feel encouraged to share their stories in a way that feels less daunting by having other community members support them by reading their stories.”

Due to the delicacy and sensitivity surrounding the topic of the event, great care went into planning the rally.

A committee composed of SAPA copresidents, ASAP president Kate Faulk, staff members and members of the Emory Panhellenic Council was formed to plan the event, according to Woofter.

The committee met throughout the semester to discuss the different pieces of the event, the logistics behind them, advertising and executing plans in accordance with the support they wanted to provide to survivors.

The event had a strong turnout, with the Winship Ballroom being entirely filled, but getting people there was more complicated than it would seem.

“Reaching out to people is always kind of difficult,” Khan said. You don’t want anyone to feel pressured into giving their story but you also want to have a diverse range of stories of sexual violence.”

Despite the fact that these stories can portray college campuses as grounds that harbor terrible forms of violence, it is more revelatory of the efforts Emory is investing in putting an end to these aggressions, College senior and event attendee Jaclyn Tayabji said.

“Emory is doing a great job of encouraging survivors to come forward,” Tayabji said. “More survivors are coming forward and a lot of people think that’s a negative sign, but in reality, it’s showing that Emory is fostering a more a welcoming environment for this kind of discussion.”

For College sophomore John Moore, the event prophesied a better Greek life for Emory. “[Emory] is doing a lot of proactive things in Greek life to stop fraternities from being synonymous with sexual assault,” Moore said.

The event was considered a big success, but it represents a very small step towards a larger goal we as students and members of contemporary society must seek, according to Khan.

“Changing culture is a slow process,” Khan said. “It’s not something that can just go like ‘OK, once we change this, we will change all of our culture.’ It’s more by raising awareness, by continuously empowering survivors, [that] we’re changing culture.”

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Volunteer Emory teams up with nonprofits to plant trees for the community

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hinking of branching out through ers said. “I think it’s really easy to live in a a volunteer project at Emory? city and forget that we have these beauTrees Atlanta is a nonprofit citi- tiful natural resources and so for me zens’ group that was founded in 1985. personally it helps [to] just get back in The organization has a multitude of pro- contact with nature and realize that you grams, but Volunteer Emory works with can live in a city, but you can also have Neighborwoods, a program that allows your hand in nature.” neighborhoods and communities to reFor many, apart from helping the enquest trees and then plant and maintain vironment, giving back in this fashion them through the work of volunteers. adds depth to their own lives.

Volunteer Emory staff members and “I think for people who haven’t plantCollege seniors Laila Atalla and Jun Cai ed a tree before it’s really an amazing exorganize weekly trips perience,” Atalla said. to carry out the Neigh“You know you’re put“I love that by borwoods program. The ting this very young volunteering for volunteers meet and go sapling in the ground just a few hours to various designated and you can imagine we can help neighborhoods together.

30 years from now it’s “It’s an awesome way going to be here still make Atlanta’s to get to know the city — ecosystem stable.” giving shade to the city, to get outside of the Emproviding a habitat for ory bubble,” Atalla said. — Megan Withers a bird and its eggs and “Because Trees Atlanta reducing stormwater works [with many] different neighbor- runoff. So it’s a very tangible and emohoods, and a lot of them are neighbor- tional way to interact with the Atlanta hoods students would never go to other- community.” wise. You can be contributing to Atlanta The more volunteers the program has, — to Emory’s broader community while, the more trees they can plant through at the same time, getting to know it.”

Trees Atlanta, providing ecological Experienced planters will plant a tree stability as older trees die off, increasin front of all of the volunteers teach- ing real estate values of neighborhoods ing them how to get the dirt out of the and improving air quality, among other ground, where to put the dirt, how much benefits. to dig, where to put the tree and how “If people have their own transportato position it correctly. The group then tion they can sign up with Trees Atlanta breaks off to plant trees in various local as an individual, by going to treesatlocations, for approximately a four hour lanta.org, but if they want to volunteer experience. through Volunteer Emory, they can “I love that by volunteering for just email me and I’ll give them the details. a few hours we can help make Atlanta’s We have service trips every Saturday ecosystem stable,” Trees Atlanta Volun- from 8:30 [a.m.] to 12:30 [p.m.],” Attala teer and College freshmen Megan With- said.

Alisha Compton | Contributing Writer alisha.bhatia.compton@emory.edu

EMORY LIFE

Lullwater House:

Home to Emory traditions and the President Hannah Conway | Contributing Writer hannah.conway@emory.edu

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uilt in 1926, the Lullwater House first provided residence to Walter T. Candler, the son of Asa Griggs Candler who founded The Coca-Cola Company.

Candler used the Lullwater land to farm and maintain livestock.

For the last 57 years that Emory has owned the house and while enduring

dential family will move in.

But while the house itself has long been steeped in the University’s history, each presidential family is granted the freedom to change the rooms according to their own style.

“It will be fascinating to see what the next president will do. It’s interesting living in a house that is yours, but it

greenery and the trails of Lullwater Preserve, Lullwater House combines remnants of the old and new, though it bears little semblance to the Southern antebellum houses of its time and place.

Architecturally, the home evokes the memory of a 16th century English country estate with an exterior of quarried stone and a Vermont slate roof.

“When you live here, Emory is part of the family, it’s everything. Every waking and sleeping minute, you are Emory.”

— Debbie Wagner the tremendous growth of the University, the estate has been called home by Emory’s presidential families.

Next year, in the wake of President Wagner’s departure, a new, sixth presi-

isn’t yours,” Debbie Wagner, President Wagner’s wife, said. “As the President always says, ‘It’s Emory’s house, but it’s our home.’”

Tucked away within 154 acres of

Upon entrance into the foyer, a blackand-white checkered tile floor is met with a grandfather clock and an ornate spiral staircase.

Above the staircase hangs a colorful

silk batik that was commissioned for President Wagner’s inauguration — an extraterrestrial, aerial view of the Lullwater estate in all four seasons, created by artist Mary Edna Fraser.

Since moving to Atlanta in 2004, the Wagners have been committed to finding balance within the home — adding their own comfortable flair by integrating personal possessions, yet still preserving its history as a whole.

“The President and I grew up very simply, and we feel that we always want people to feel very comfortable here,” Mrs. Wagner said. “I wanted it to look like a presidential home, but I wanted people to be able to feel that they could sit down on the furniture.”

The living room offers the cozy comfort she’d hoped for; a long space with oak walls, chestnut flooring and bookshelves equipped with lights, glass and mirrors that generates more light.

On the window at the alcove, the

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Hannah Conway | Contributor

spirit of Emory infiltrates from the stained glass rendering of the University’s seal on the window, honoring the home’s purpose.

For the Wagners, Lullwater House has served as both a place of rest and entertainment, where they are able to display their generous hospitality toward the Emory community.

Over time, they have had many traditions and happenings at the house.

These events and customs have accrued many memories.

While some events held at the house are celebratory and casual, such as a dessert party for any Emory sports team that wins the Division III national championship, others are more formal, such as honorary degree receptions and dinners for trustees.

Many aspects of the house are aimed at easing the entertainment process: the circular shape of the dining room table is noted to facilitate conversation, and in 2005 there was an expansion to the Great Room and the kitchen to better suit the entertainment of large groups.

“Hospitality and making people feel wanted is really important to both of

us. It’s funny what you get from your childhood but my parents entertained a lot at their home. It’s who we are,” Mrs. Wagner said.

Guests of Lullwater House have included everyone from former President Jimmy Carter and the Dalai Lama, to campus-based student organizations, though its most frequent visitors are University donors.

At the confluence of a 1925 home and a 2015 lifestyle are inevitable maintenance issues, particularly water intrusion, which the Wagners have addressed since their arrival.

“One of things that I feel like I have done here at Emory is make sure the house is in its best shape,” President Wagner said. “It’s all part of the journey.

Some of my closest friends are the facilities men and women who help out here day in and day out.”

Although the Wagners are leaving the Lullwater estate behind, the memories of the time they spent in the home have had a profound impact on their lives.

“My favorite memories are two-fold: one would be to able to spend time here with my family,” President Wagner said.

“And the second would be all the wonderful entertainment we’ve done here.”

While Mrs. Wagner will miss the beauty of Lullwater, she says that it’s the people that she will miss the most.

“Over 12 years, you get to know people really well. Even if you only see

them two or three times a year, you start developing a relationship with them.

When you live here, Emory is part of the family, it’s everything. Every waking and sleeping minute, you are Emory,” Mrs. Wagner said. “And we’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SAMUEL R. BUDNYK & JULIA MUNSLOW | EDITORS

‘Bridge of Spies’ and the

Spielberg Effect

Brandon Wagner | Senior Staff Writer bhwagne@emory.edu

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et’s get one thing straight. No matter who your favorite director is, Steven Spielberg is probably better than they are.

In saying that, I don’t mean that he always makes better movies, although he has made more stone-cold blockbuster classics than any other director. I mean that no other director is as supremely confident and more in control of their camera and the story that they tell with it than Spielberg is. You may argue that he’s too sentimental, but you can never argue that that’s not the story that he wanted to tell with every inch of the film available.

Therefore it’s obvious that with Bridge of Spies, Spielberg’s supreme skill is on display in the best film he’s made in a decade (barring perhaps Lincoln).

The film follows the true story of James Donovan (Tom Hanks), an insurance lawyer charged with defending Russian spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), which escalates into negotiating a prisoner swap between the U.S. and USSR when American pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) goes down in a U-2 spy plane over Russia.

Like Lincoln, this is a film about principles being negotiated among the realities of governance. It’s about the virtues and victories of sticking to those

mob justice, the idea that it’s good enough when we, with the goal of fighting our enemies, simply decide to throw out the rule of law, and that the enemy is not due or deserving of the freedoms we claim to uphold — a seemingly timeless message.

And that’s where Spielberg has always excelled.

The messages that he gives through his stories never really feel dated and there’s always something we hook into.

Yes, Spielberg is sentimental, but it’s because there’s something about sentimental film that’s universal — it’s an experience that we can always relate to.

Now, this isn’t necessarily all thanks to Spielberg. The film was scripted by Joel and Ethan Coen, famed directors (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men) and less famed screenwriters-for-hire (Unbroken), and Matt Charman. More than a few of the laugh beats definitely feel like the Coens, but they subsume their style largely in favor of the quiet storytelling and more optimistic views of human nature common to a Spielberg film. Everything goes along with his vision.

That vision includes how relentlessly and insanely handsome this film is. Spielberg is not only an expert himself, but knows how to pick the best from Hollywood. Bridge of Spies is his fifteenth film with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, and the two have become a locked-in pair.

But it is his first film with production designer Adam Stockhausen, who won an Oscar for last year’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, an immaculately designed film.

As is Spielberg’s MO, every image effortlessly serves the purpose of his story. principles at all costs. Whether or not you agree with that in principle, there’s something striking and poignant about that message.

The film seems directly aimed at the concept of

And the expertise of these three men working together shows.

The film is full of lush, dark imagery. Swirling snows and inky, creeping shadows fill frames brimming with wonderful costuming and amazing period sets. Bridge of Spies is an absolutely wonderful film to look at, and made even better because every ounce of its wonderful design compliments the story.

Because so much of Bridge of Spies is composed of men speaking duplicitously, always trying to hide their true intentions, it’s up to the visuals and the de-

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Courtesy of DreamWorks Studios

sign to articulate the states of our characters. As is Spielberg’s MO, every image effortlessly serves the purpose of his story.

No camera move is unmotivated, no part of the frame does not serve his purpose.

And what is not articulated visually is articulated by some absolutely wonderful acting, with the work of two in particular deserving highlight.

The first is, of course, Hanks as Donovan. The role requires someone to be able to carry a certain moral authority, a skill that doesn’t tend to rest well

with many modern stars — except for Hanks, who’s as close to a modern Jimmy Stewart as exists now.

Hanks’ Donovan is a man of ruthless conviction, one who will stop at nothing to do what he believes is right by his client and his country. Hanks sells the absolute hell out of this and has a perfect warmth that suits the character of a man totally in his element as often as he is out of it.

The other is Rylance as Abel. A veteran stage actor, Rylance is tasked with humanizing someone who is being turned into an enemy. With that simple com-

mand, he runs away with it, turning in a wonderful and career defining performance. If Rylance isn’t in the discussion for Best Supporting Actor this year, then no one should be.

Bridge of Spies comes down to one simple fact: Spielberg is a masterclass filmmaker.

One of the best. A lesser work from him is still a career best for anyone, and Bridge of Spies is not a lesser work. A well-acted, handsome look at what America should be and a great kick-off to the Oscar season.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EMORY PRIDE’S

ANNUAL DRAG SHOW E

mory Pride held their annual drag show last Friday in the Glenn Memorial Church, featuring performances from 11 organizations.

Groups danced to hit songs such as Hillary Duff ’s “Hey Now,” Nicki Minaj’ and Beyonce’s “Feeling Myself,” and Beyonce’s “Diva.” Co-ed hiphop dance group Adrenaline won first place, Oxford Pride came in second place and comedy improv troupe Rathskellar took third place.

Rathskellar members apply makeup before the show (Top Center) Adrenaline prepares for their performance (Top Right) Rathskellar (Center Left) Adrenaline (Center Right) Aural Pleasure (Bottom Left) Emory MD/PhD (Bottom Center) Oxford Pride (Bottom Right) Photo by Julia Munslow | Arts & Entertainment Editor

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Gintama: Outrageous anime breaks common cliches Jake Choi | Staff Writer hahn.choi@emory.edu

Courtesy of Crunchyroll

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hile watching a comedy, have you ever thought that the characters in it are some of the worst people ever, but you can’t stop yourself from laughing along with them? This is what goes through my mind whenever I watch Gintama, one of my favorite animes of all time.

Gintama is, for the lack of a better word, outrageous. The premise of the show is wacky in itself: an alternate universe in which isolationist Japan is not visited by Westerners, but rather, invaded by aliens that samurai must fight off. However, once the Shogun (the military leader) betrays the samurai, Japan falls under the rule of a puppet government, resulting in the ban of swords.

Enter Gintoki Sakata, a veteran warrior who once fought the aliens, but now runs an odd-jobs freelance agen-

desire to get stronger. Despite this — or perhaps because of it — Gintoki remains a relatable protagonist. His flaws mirror our self-centered desires in a way that may seem unprincipled due to his often crude and lazy attitude.

Through building a comfortable, familiar atmosphere in the show, Gintama creates the feeling of watching close friends hang out with each other. Every character seems comfortable with one another and shows little restraint, leading to the kind of constant teasing and unfiltered conversation that we’d expect from a tight knit family.

Gintama stands out because each character’s quirks are often their most defining trait. As viewers watch the episodes, these attributes become endearing, especially as we continue to find out more about the characters’ personalities and backgrounds. In ad-

Gintama is an anime that breaks through such uninspired tropes... cy. Working with him at the agency is amateur swordfighter Shinpachi and alien girl Kagura. Together, the trio goes through various misadventures throughout the city of Edo, meeting new characters and completing various tasks.

Gintama’s strength is its cast of memorable characters. Gintoki is not your typical anime hero; he is lazy, immoral, childish and demonstrates no

dition, supporting characters are fully developed, with plots that explore new progressions in character arcs and the relationships we see between the most unlikely pairings that become unexpectedly hilarious.

Another strength is the show’s lack of restraint. Gintama, at its heart, is a gag-story anime, which means there’s a lot of comedy. Even the setting assists with this; Edo represents an amalgam

of the cultures from different timelines of the past, present and future. It has the older Japanese culture, modern Japanese pop culture with references to popular anime and games, and finally, futuristic sci-fi elements with spaceships and lightsabers. Blending the cultures from different timelines together offers a wide variety of comedic opportunities.

Now, while most people might be turned off by such a hectic premise, the show is surprisingly complex in terms of dialogue, especially for anime newcomers. Gintama is a gag anime, yes, but it also celebrates pop culture in general. It not only references and parodies famous Japanese animes, but also includes Western films and actors.

The frequency of fourth-wall breaking wisecracks that mock the various cliches that we see in other mediums is indicative of how aware the characters are that they are characters in an anime.

This isn’t the most original concept, but Gintama’s way of doing so is uniquely irreverent — the characters make fun of their own author by representing him as a gorilla.

Admittedly, Gintama is not a series that has a lot of high brow humor; a lot of the humor is irreverent and childish. However, because the standards of what is considered appropriate differs in Japan and United States, viewers who try Gintama will often be surprised by how much the show gets

away with its innuendos.

The animation of the show by studio Sunrise Inc. is fluid and smooth and the soundtracks are superb. The voice cast is also talented; thanks to the overreactions and vocal outbursts in the show, the versatility of the voice actors is clearly exemplified. The only problem that viewers might have with Gintama is its raunchy comedy. Gintama is a show that anime newcomers might not understand or even be particularly drawn to, since the premise of the show isn’t flashy and action-filled — not that it is meant to be.

The beginning episodes are relatively slow, but that’s mainly because they are used to set up character introductions.

Those who are apprehensive about the surplus of comedy do not have to worry, because Gintama has an emotional core, featuring tear-jerking moments and heart wrenching stories with a definite end game, albeit through a roundabout plot progression.

Of course, comedy is subjective so Gintama might not be your cup of tea.

However, my suggestion is that you should not pass on this anime simply because of its silly premise.

When the epic moments come, they hit hard. In a culture where heroism and character archetypes seem to be firmly established, Gintama is an anime that breaks through such uninspired tropes and encompasses the most absurd, yet relatable characters who make this show great.

READ UNABRIDGED AT EMORYWHEEL.COM

SPORTS

JACOB DURST | EDITOR

Men Drop two uaa games 1-0 Ryan Smith Associate Editor ryan.smith@emory.edu

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he men’s soccer team dropped a pair of close home games to University Athletic Association (UAA) teams over the weekend, losing to Brandeis University (Mass.) 1-0 on Friday evening before falling 1-0 to New York University on Saturday. The Eagles fell to 8-6-2 on the season, with a 2-3-1 mark in UAA play.

The Eagles played well in the first half against Brandeis, limiting the Judges, who have ranked as high as seventh in the nation among Division III teams, to just four shots in a scoreless first half.

Emory had two chances in the first half, but couldn’t get either shot into the net — junior midfielder Jason Andrejchak missed high in the 37th minute, and his effort about one minute later was saved by the Brandeis goalkeeper.

Both teams were a bit more explosive in the second half. Brandeis peppered the Eagles’ goal with four shots in the opening 13 minutes, but senior goalkeeper Abe Hannigan held his own with a pair of saves until the Judges’ Patrick Flahive head-

ed in a cross from junior midfielder Josh Ocel to put Brandeis on top.

That was all Brandeis needed, but the Eagles didn’t go down quietly. A shot from junior midfielder Scott Haley in the 60th minute ricocheted off the crossbar, the first of the Eagles’ six second-half shots.

Emory had a few chances in the final minutes to even the game and earn a hard-fought home point, but couldn’t find the back of the net before time expired.

Despite the loss, it was a relatively impressive performance against one of the best teams in the nation.

Eagles Head Coach Sonny Travis was satisfied with his team’s effort.

“I thought we played very well Friday night,” he said. “It was a good game, a close game.”

The second game was a bit more disappointing, as the Eagles were tripped up at home by an NYU squad that was previously winless in conference play. The differencemaker came early, with the Violets’ freshman midfielder Ricardo Mitrano heading in a cross from junior midfielder Tristan Medios-

Simon in the sixth minute to score the game’s only goal.

Emory had plenty of chances, but couldn’t convert. After being outshot 9-4 by NYU in the first half, the Eagles tightened up defensively and allowed only two NYU shots.

Still, none could find the net — the Eagles tallied only two shots on goal, courtesy of a Haley shot in the first minute of play, that was turned away by the NYU goalkeeper, and another late in the second half from senior defenseman Leo Ragazzo.

Travis wasn’t thrilled with the Eagles’ energy level against NYU, but credited the Violets’ goalkeeper for keeping Emory off the board.

“As a coach, you’re always worried about the emotions coming out after a game like [the Brandeis game],” Travis said. “We should have been able to get up against NYU. We came out flat.”

The Eagles are out of contention for a regular season UAA title, but they can still even their conference record with a win against University of Rochester (N.Y.) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Senior goalkeeper Abe Hannigan winds up for a kick (Above), freshman Evan Floersch (Top Right) and sophomore Jason McCartney (Bottom Right) take on Brandeis University (Mass.) this past weekend. | Gemy Sethaputra, Staff

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Women's Team Ties Rupsha Basu Executive Editor

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rupsha.basu@emory.edu

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he Emory women’s soccer team played two games over the weekend, drawing against both Brandeis University (Mass.) and New York University (NYU).

The game against Brandeis ended in a scoreless tie, but despite the tie, the team maintained the intensity of momentum at which it has been performing the last few games. The game went into double overtime, the Eagles’ fourth time this season. Of those, was the third time the team came away with a tie.

“This season has been frustrating for a lot of reasons, but I think this weekend we were finally able to put together two halves of good soccer, which is great,” senior midfielder Jordan Morell said.

Emory finished with 10 shots, with four on the goal, compared to Brandeis’ nine shots, with three on the goal. Both teams displayed a strong defensive strategy, and the goalkeepers from Emory and Brandeis made three and four saves, respectively.

Senior midfielder/defender Ally Peterson, sophomore center-mid-

fielder Anna Gurney and freshmen forward Grace Edgarton and defender Danielle Darius brought a strong offensive showing with one shot apiece on target.

Emory committed 12 fouls, while Brandeis committed seven.

The Eagles faced NYU at home on Sunday morning, tying 1-1.

Junior forward Cristina Ramirez scored Emory’s only goal in the 69th minute of play.

“I think it was great that even though we were down 1-0, we kept pushing and didn’t give up,” Ramirez said.

Emory had 16 shots with five on goal compared to NYU’s 13 shots with six on goal.

NYU’s Megan Carver scored their only goal a minute and a half into the second half, besting Emory’s goalkeeper senior Kristin Temple, who made a career high of five saves.

“They were both tough games, and though we didn’t get the weekend results we wanted, I’m really proud of how my team played and how hard everyone worked,” Temple said.

Temple added that NYU’s goal in

the second half made for an exciting half.

“I think we did a great job of working together to win that goal back, and it was incredible to be part of that experience,” she said.

Since the Eagles are approaching the end of the season, members of the team reflected on their performance during the season.

“While two ties isn’t ideal for us, both of the teams we played this weekend are top 10-ranked teams, which just goes to show that we do have what it takes to compete at a high level,” Morell said. “We only have one game left this season, but I’m feeling pretty confident about it after seeing how we played against Brandeis and NYU.” The Eagles’ last game will be against the University of Rochester (N.Y.) on Saturday, Nov. 7. Before the game, the seniors— Liz Arnold, Morell, Peterson and Temple — will be honored in an on-field ceremony.

“We are focused on Saturday’s game, hopefully beating Rochester and having a great senior day for our amazing seniors,” Ramirez said.

Junior defender Hannah Meyer (top left), sophomore center midfielder / defender Bahar Ulusan (bottom left) and sophomore forward Melida Altamore (Above) battle Brandeis University (Mass.) this past weekend. | Perry Onaka, Contributer

SPORTS

The Mets2 Will Be Back Avery Yang Staff Writer avery.yang@emory.edu

The 1986 New York Mets celebrate winning the 82nd World Series. The 2015 MLB season marked the second time since then that the Mets have made it to the Series.

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he Mets have finally met their fate.

These last few games of the World Series were brutal. It was as if I was watching the slow, slow death of a pet.

In a fairytale season that saw disappointment, literal tears, utter joy, unforeseen successes, a rare big trade and disappointment again, as Mets fans we felt like this was our year. And quite frankly, it should have been. A few breaks here and there, and maybe the Mets are champions. Maybe if the bullpen didn’t absolutely wet the bed. Maybe if Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright didn’t make crucial errors. Maybe if manager Terry Collins made the right personnel decisions. But that’s baseball. The Royals capitalized on the little things in every game they won — one bad pitch, one bad hop, one horrible throw, one misplayed fly ball — to take the World Series with ease.

Unfortunately, now we can only take solace in the fact that Bryce Harper was sitting on his couch for all of October.

In all seriousness, what a remarkable season. On July 23, the mighty duo of John Mayberry Jr. and Eric Campbell, with batting averages of .170 and .179, respectively, batted in the four and five spots of the Mets’ lineup. The Mets sat at 49-47, three games back of a highly touted Nationals team that was just starting to show signs of major weakness. The Mets’ pitching staff, spearheaded by flamethrowers Harvey, deGrom and Syndergaard, kept us in the ball games; our hitting kept us out of them.

Enter Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. Add a few tears from Wilmer Flores and the offensive reemergence of Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy, along with the return of David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud. Suddenly we go 41-25 with a run differential of +85 for the rest of the season. It wasn’t uncommon for the quality of our hitting to far surpass the quality of our outstanding pitching from August through October.

Having experienced the collapses of ’07 and ’08, Mets fans tread lightly at the team’s success through September. The Nationals were reeling, however, under heavy expectations.

Eighty-four wins would have been enough to take the NL East; the Mets got 90.

The Mets were just happy to make the playoffs. “Everything else is gravy,” Collins said about the deciding Game Five of the NLDS. Well Terry, there sure was a hell of an amount of gravy.

As a Mets fan from Los Angeles, friends back home gave me the same old Dodgers rheto-

ric in anticipation for the NLDS. “We have Kershaw and Greinke. Dodgers in four,” was the abridged version of how the standard Dodger fan I knew talked about the series.

The Mets indeed played a hard fought five games against the Dodgers in the NLDS. Behind Jacob deGrom’s gem in Game One and his utter determination in Game Five, and behind the bats of Granderson and Murphy, the Mets moved on in a series that could have gone either way.

As for Grienke and Kershaw? They gave up three home runs to Murphy, including a game-winning one in Game Five.

The Mets then absolutely dominated the Chicago Cubs in a four-game sweep of the NLCS, a series the Cubs never led. Those two series saw the rise of Babe Ruth — I mean Murphy — who hit an absurd .421/.426/1.026 with seven home runs through the nine games.

The team made the World Series when no one expected them to win 80 games. To echo Collins’ sentiments, that’s enough to call this season a major success.

Regardless, there’s reason to be angry about the result. The losses, on baseball’s biggest stage, were brutal and mind-numbing.

But there’s reason for optimism in Queens.

Expect the Mets to make some moves this offseason. In case Murphy or Cespedes leave in free agency, look for the Mets to be major players in free agency. The Wilpons are notoriously cheap, and as noted by Adam Rubin from ESPN New York, 2016 is the first year that the Wilpons must pay $37 million as reparation for their role in the Bernie Madoff scandal.

Nonetheless, in the wake of the Mets’ 2015 success, expect them to be suitors for Colby Rasmus, Jason Heyward, Darren O’Day and Ben Zobrist this offseason.

More importantly, with the rotation of deGrom, Harvey, Syndergaard and Matz, along with the hopeful return of Zack Wheeler in July 2016, the Mets are on course to have the best starting five in the league next season.

“This game, and I truly believe this, it’s about having good starting pitching. It’s going nowhere […] The future is pretty bright still,” Collins said.

Despite some bad luck and mental errors in the World Series, Mets fans should not be dejected by the end result of this season.

The Mets will be back.

Great season, boys.

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Eagles SWEEP Emory Invite

mory blew its competition away on Halloween weekend at the Emory Invitational. Another perfect 12 sets by the Emory women’s volleyball team extends their win streak to 18 games, leaving their record 30-2.

Emory defeated each team it faced 3-0, beating Millsaps College (Miss.) (25-18, 25-18, 2521), No. 17 Clarkson University (N.Y.) (25-16, 25-18, 30-28), Bridgewater College (Va.) (2510, 25-18, 25-10) and Juniata College (Pa.) (2514, 25-13, 25-14) in another dominant tournament performance. Senior setter Sydney Miles won MVP for the tournament, while junior middle hitter Jessica Holler earned All-Tournament honors.

The Eagles will look to continue their win streak as the No. 1 seed in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships on Nov. 6 and 7 in Rochester, N.Y.

Wenyun Fan | Contributor

Wenyun Fan | Contributor

Jennie Sun | Contributor

Jennie Sun | Contributor

RECENT GAMES M SOCCER W SOCCER GOLF M&W XC

VOLLEYBALL

L, 0-1 vs. New York University T, 1-1 vs. New York University 6 of 18 at O’Briant-Jensen Memorial Tournament Both teams placed 5th of 8 at the UAA Championships in Boston W, 3-0 vs. Clarkson College at Emory Invitational