The Hawks' Herald | April 22, 2021 by Hawks' Herald

www.rwuhawksherald.com Vol. 33, Issue 18 FREE

Q&A with Student Body President-elect RWU selects

Jordan St. Onge

Rachel Dvareckas Managing Editor

The Hawks’ Herald sat down with Student Body President-elect Jordan St. Onge to talk about her plans for the student body next year. 1. What are your goals as the incoming student body president? As student body president, I really want to reach many more students. As the Student Senate, we are elected by the students to serve the students. I want more students to know that we represent them and we will listen to their concerns. Especially during this past year, some people did not even know who to go talk to about events that took place on this campus. I want everyone to know that with me as the person they elected as their student body president, I will listen and advocate for their needs. I also will be pushing for more student representation on all university committees. It is important that students get a seat at the table and have an opportunity to voice their thoughts and especially their concerns. I want to work on having more transparency between myself and the University President. As the liaison between the student body and professional staff, I think it is important for me to have these open and candid conversations with our president so he can get a better understanding of the student perspective. Lastly, I would like to continue my work with food services and many others to work on ways to make our campus more environmentally conscious. 2. How do you plan on meeting those goals? I plan on meeting these goals by taking advantage of new and different communication outlets that may not have been used in the past. For example, I’d like to take advantage of video messaging. Not only will this provide a recognizable face for students to approach when needing to discuss an issue, but communication can be done more clearly and concisely to the student body than through an email. Students deserve to hear the voice of the president they elected and what the Student Senate is doing to advocate for the betterment of our community. I also plan on continuing to foster

Robert Griffin as new SECCM dean Jimmy Sadowski Herald Reporter

Rachel Dvareckas / The Hawks’ Herald Jordan St. Onge is the President-Elect for the 2021-2022 academic year.

strong relationships with professional staff on campus and having them regularly attend Senate meetings to hear the concerns of students. This goes for the University President as well. I will foster a relationship with him in hopes of creating better lines of communication between the Office of the President and the student body. 3. How will you use your past Senate experience in this new role? I truly believe that I have already fostered so many relationships with people throughout my years in the Senate thus far. These relationships are with professional staff, organization leaders, club representatives and many more. I hope to continue these relationships as president and work together with others on projects, events and overall change on campus. 4. How do you want to help the students? As an RA, I have found the benefits of having personal relationships and how that can leave a positive impact on a person. I want to help the students by making them aware that I am available to them and a resource for them. I want

students to feel like they can come to me and have a personal conversation with their student body president. Being available is very important, so I think the main thing I want to do to help students is making myself accessible and a true resource so I can continue to make those personal connections. 5. Do you have any comments you want to share with the students? Similar to how the university challenges itself to be “the university the world needs today,” I have challenged myself to be the student body president you all need today. These past two years have brought so much change and I am aware of this. I ask the student body to please hold me accountable to this challenge. I want to listen to students and faculty to hear their concerns. I want to look back at these two years of so much heartache and be able to show how we bonded as a community, adapted and became stronger at the end. Please give me suggestions and let me know what you need from me so I can advocate for you.

On April 6, Dr. Robert J. Griffin was announced as the next Dean of the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management (SECCM). Griffin said he is excited to start working in his new position, which he will officially begin on July 1. “I see Roger Williams as a place that has a tremendous positive trajectory,” Griffin said. “If you look back when I was growing up, it was Roger Williams College and now it’s Roger Williams University and you have the only law school in the state of Rhode Island. Being affiliated with a university that is looking to continuously improve as opposed to just maintaining the status quo is a really great opportunity for me.” Griffin grew up in Bourne, Massachusetts. He completed undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at Tufts University before working in Boston for a few years. He went on to complete graduate studies at the California Institute of Technology and moved straight into academic positions after that. Griffin worked at Rice University in Houston, Texas for the last 13 years. He taught and completed research in the environmental engineering program. “On the research side, I do atmospheric chemistry and air quality research, trying to understand what the physical and chemical processes are that control the spatial and temporal dynamics of air pollution and how it impacts climate and human health,” Griffin said. During the past six months, Griffin has held various administrative roles in the School of Engineering there, from department chair to senior associate dean and interim dean. He thinks this is where he found the desire to move on and become a dean.

See

GRIFFIN on page 2

SECTION EDITOR

Isabella Gentile igentile470@g.rwu.edu

NEWS

DESIGNER

Bailee Maston bmaston760@g.rwu.edu

April 22, 2021

Human Rights Seminar advocates for three scholars this semester

Contributed by Human Rights Advocacy Seminar Students

The pandemic does not stop human rights work on the RWU campus. Advocacy Seminars, taught this semester by Dr. Robert Cole, allow students to participate in hands-on activities and student-led advocacy in collaboration with Scholars at Risk, a non-profit that works to protect academic freedom and assists more than 300 threatened scholars each year. The advocacy efforts seek to rebut attacks on academic freedom and unfair treatment of individual scholars around the world. This semester, there are two advocacy seminar groups that run on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In the Thursday class, students are working on behalf of two scholars. One group of students is advocating for the release of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali. Dr. Djalali is a

Swedish-Iranian scholar of disaster medicine who taught abroad in Sweden, Italy and Belgium. He is also a husband and father of two. In April of 2016, Dr. Djalali was visiting Iran to attend university medical workshops when he was arrested for “collaboration with hostile governments” and “acting against national security.” In October of 2017, he was sentenced to death. He believes he has been imprisoned for refusing to spy for the Iranian Government while teaching abroad. At Evin Prison in Iran, he faces the risk of execution at any moment, has been denied legal assistance and all medical care (though he shows signs of leukemia) and just finished more than 20 weeks in solitary confinement. The other HONR.300 and COMM.299 students in the Thursday class are advocating for the release of Nilifour Bayani. Niliflour Bayani is an Iranian wildlife researcher, conservationist and scholar. She was the program manager for the Persian

Courtesy of Shannon DeFranza Shannon DeFranza (left) and Hannah Sterling (right) participate in Table Times in the Rec Center on April 15 to spread awareness about imprisoned scholars.

THE GAVEL

Your source for Student Senate news Hello Hawks! This week at Senate, we had an open debate topic about whether or not we should have bike racks, sheds and/or skateboard racks outside of residence halls and various other buildings. The Senate was in favor but wants to know how many students currently have bikes and how many would bring a bike to utilize this space, so look forward to some sort of survey on this soon! We passed a few spending bills that will renovate the Hawk’s Nest in the Rec Center as well as a few bylaw bills. As always, follow us on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter @RWU_Senate and try to attend our weekly meetings on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. over Zoom. You can watch meeting recordings on the Senate YouTube page so make sure to check those out! You can find the Zoom link on our Hawk Link by clicking on our weekly meeting event. The Zoom link will be available as the location.

Wildlife Heritage Foundation. Bayani was conducting research on the Asiatic cheetah to help with their conservation effort. Because she had set up cameras, in January of 2018 the Iranian government falsely accused her of espionage and sentenced Bayani to 10 years in Evin Prison for “contacts with the U.S. enemy state.” Students in the Tuesday group are working on behalf of Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba. Saibaba is a former English professor from Delhi University and human rights activist in India. He advocated for vulnerable populations including tribal groups undergoing human rights violations due to a conflict between India and the separatist group and communist party of India, the Maoist. Saibaba was arrested on May 9, 2014, while leaving Delhi University after repeated accounts of harassment by policemen, including a raid of more than 50 police officers a few months earlier. His arrest was the result of alleged connections with the Maoist, with police claiming to have found documents and correspondence with the Maoist proving his connections. Saibaba suffers from numerous

medical conditions including a COVID-19 diagnosis on February 13, 2021 and he is not receiving proper medical treatment. The advocacy taking place on campus this semester is focused on spreading awareness about the plight of these scholars to the campus community. A beach clean-up was held in honor of Bayani, while an awareness campaign for Dr. Djalali is going up in the COVID-19 testing center. To find out more, visit the Instagram account dedicated to their causes: @ ScholarsinPrisonRWU and sign the petitions advocating for these scholars’ release on the Instagram linktree. People can also visit the Scholars at Risk website to find template letters to send to legislators and ask them to put their voices behind this cause. People can also learn more about these imprisoned scholars on the student-designed posters on display in GHH. Stay informed about these issues and show support for the academic freedom that RWU has. Students can make their voices heard and advocate for the academic freedom of those who are unable to do so themselves.

GRIFFIN

former engineering major, held a similar opinion. “I think that’s a good plan to do for students because it’s a good way for students to come together through these hard times with COVID,” Daly said. “I know it has been rough this past year because people haven’t been able to be present with each other due to quarantining and online school. I think it’s a good step in the right direction for students to learn hands-on.” Griffin said he also wants to improve the relationship between SECCM and local industrial partners at the student and faculty level, as that will not only facilitate hands-on experiences but also bring opportunities for internships, externships, scholarships and job offers for students. A huge Boston sports fan, Griffin said he will try to go to or watch as many Boston sporting events as he can and also go to as many RWU sporting events as is able to. Griffin said the university is getting a dean who acts with honesty and integrity and wants to make himself and others around him better. “I think you’re getting someone who is motivated not only to make himself a better person, a better professor, a better dean but to make the people around him more successful,” Griffin said. “It’s my goal as a dean to make the students, faculty and staff of SECCM get where they want to go.”

from page 1

During his time in the Dean’s Office at Rice University, Griffin was part of the team that helped deliver cuttingedge pedagogy, where students got to continue their research with a low COVID positivity rate compared to other Texas schools. Griffin plans to emphasize hands-on learning experiences for RWU SECCM students. “I see the incredible value of hands-on experiential learning,” Griffin said. “At the undergraduate engineering level, this could be in the form of undergraduate research or undergraduate design. Knowing that SECCM has the new lab building and really great facilities could help me work with the faculty, the Provost, the President and the students to really increase the number of opportunities that the SECCM students have to participate in programs like that.” Former engineering major, sophomore Alex Skov, said he liked Griffin’s plan to bring more hands-on learning to the SECCM program. “That’s great!” Skov said. “For me, I’m a ‘just throw me into something and I’ll figure it out’ type of learner, so hands-on, less in the classroom... so I support that.” Sophomore Will Daly, another

SECTION EDITOR

Luke Brennan lbrennan935@g.rwu.edu

DESIGNER

Bailee Maston bmaston760@g.rwu.edu

We need to bring back ‘This is America’

OPINIONS April 22, 2021

My Life as a Statue

Well, Hawks, we’re in the home stretch. How exciting is that? We have just about made it through a whole semester together. It has felt less lonely this semester as in-person events started back up and the D’Angelo Commons has been put to use. I got to see the new senators for the next academic year and even got to take selfies with students for a scavenger hunt. I got to see a lot of bubbles flying through the air during the “Be a Kid Again” event and I have seen many tours walking by filled with potential new friends. As time went on, my mask disappeared but not to worry, I do not have a respiratory system so it will be impossible to get sick. I am happy to see everyone masked up while walking around campus and I love seeing everyone staying safe. I do not own a phone, mostly because my legs do not move so I cannot walk to AT&T or Verizon to get one and my hand is permanently affixed to this book. Even though I do not own a phone, my friends have shown me funny pictures on Instagram. They call them memes. Dr. John King and Carol Sacchetti have been posting a lot of these memes which are funny but also informative. My friends follow them @rwu_john_king and @carol_sacchetti. I don’t understand what it means to follow someone on Instagram. To me it sounds creepy, but it’s what the kids are doing. Keep up the good work and remember to check up on your vaccine eligibility so we can have a great 2021-2022 academic year!

Courtesy of RCA Records Childish Gambino released “This is America” in 2018. The music video contained many pieces of American history symbolism.

Emily Dvareckas Photo Editor Childish Gambino made waves with his 2018 release of “This is America” and its subsequent music video. The music video was analyzed in great detail, showing that every single frame of the four-minute and five-second video held significance. I remember constantly rewatching it to find new symbols and discussing them with my social studies teacher. The video is graphic, which angered people, but he was depicting the experiences of Black people in America and it was necessary. The music video began to open the eyes of people who have not experienced being Black in America. It felt like there was real change occurring, so what happened? The song and video faded away from our screens and minds as we moved onto the next viral phenomenon and now it is just a memory, a source of nostalgia in a way. Nothing has changed in our society. In fact, it seems to have gotten worse since Gambino released the song. In 2018, we were halfway through Donald Trump’s presidency and we kept saying “it can’t get worse than this, can it?” It did end up getting worse, much worse, and now we are at an awkward

stage. Trump is out of office and Biden is trying to reunite a deeply divided nation. Violence has not ceased, Black men are still being killed by the police, mass shootings are still occurring and we seem to be running out of options. Any step in the right direction seems to be met with resistance and people are continuing to die. There seems to be no end to the pain and disasters that plague our nation and fighting the good fight is becoming increasingly exhausting. I do not believe Childish Gambino is our savior or that watching his music video will end systemic racism, but I do believe he can offer a little help. Americans need a reminder of the horrible past so we can try to build a better future. “This is America” eloquently reminds viewers of the pain and suffering that Black people have endured for centuries and are still enduring in our country. So, let’s bring back “This is America” because it is relevant now more than ever and we need to find some way to end the abuse. In recent years, many white people have started to become aware of the experiences of their fellow Americans and we cannot afford to forget. People should not be losing their lives because of who they are or what they look like.

Emily Dvareckas / The Hawks’ Herald The Roger Williams statue is loving the warmer weather on campus.

Do you have opinions? Want your voice to be heard? Email your stories to stories.hawksherald@gmail.com

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Amy Martin amartin052@g.rwu.edu

FEATURES

DESIGNER

Bailee Maston bmaston760@g.rwu.edu

April 22, 2021

What does Earth Day have in store? Amy Martin Features Editor

Emily Dvareckas / The Hawks’ Herald Join millions of others for educational and innovative discussions on climate change this week through EARTHDAY.ORG.

Earth Day is here and its coordinator EARTHDAY.ORG had multiple events planned this week. Over the course of three days, climate action events were streamed from the website. Earth Day 2021 events started on Tuesday, April 20 at 2:30 p.m. The site streamed a global youth climate summit, which was led by Earth Uprising, in collaboration with My Future My Voice and OneMillionOfUs. Greta Thunberg, Alexandria Villaseñor and Licypriya Kangujam were among the many climate activists attending the various speeches and discussions that took place at the summit. Later at 7 p.m., the Hip Hop Caucus streamed the “We Shall Breathe” summit, which examined climate and environmental justice. It also drew issues of pollution, poverty, police brutality and COVID-19 into the discussion of climate.

On Wednesday, April 21, starting at 7 a.m., Education International led “Teach for the Planet: Global Education Summit.” This event focused on the role educators play in fighting climate change and delved into why this education is important. The summit was shared through different time zones and it featured different activists from every continent. Finally, on the actual day of Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, there was a global show at 12 p.m. There were workshops, panels and performances that focused on Restore Our Earth™, which covers natural processes, green technologies and ideas for restoring ecosystems. Other topics listed ranged from cleanups to climate and environmental literacy. World climate leaders, activists, industry leaders, artists and influencers attended this event to help EARTHDAY.ORG push toward a better world. Visit https://www.earthday.org/ for more information.

Animal of the week: Osprey Emily Dvareckas Photo Editor Walking past the baseball and softball fields may be more noisy than usual with the chirps of baby birds. Look up and catch a glimpse of the large nest residing on a set of lights, occupied by an osprey couple and their children. They can also be seen flying around campus searching for food and materials for their nest. When searching for food, they most often look for fish. They catch their prey by plunging forcefully into the water and grabbing them with their long talons. They bring the food back to the nest, keeping the fish faced upright with its head forward to decrease wind resistance. Osprey couples usually mate for life and share responsibilities in taking care of their young. Females lay between one to three eggs in April or May and they incubate them for about a month. Both the male and female will protect their nests aggressively during incubation and the male will do the majority of the hunting. The baby birds do not hatch at the same time; they are staggered so one child will be dominant over their siblings. 60 days after the babies have hatched, they will take their first flight. Around two months later, they will leave their parents. The babies will then begin breeding when they are two to three years old.

Ospreys will create their nests mostly out of sticks in high trees, telephone poles or nesting platforms close to the ocean, lakes or rivers. The Claire D. McIntosh Wildlife Refuge, located on Hope Street in Bristol, is part of the Rhode Island Audubon Society and has nesting platforms by the water for the osprey. These birds usually return to the same nest for breeding, which can grow to be 10 feet tall as more sticks are added each season. These birds live on every continent except Antarctica and they migrate to the south in the winter. Their children remain in the warmer climates during their first spring and migrate back up north the next year. Ospreys have a wingspan of between five to six feet and they weigh three to four pounds. They have white heads and brown crowns, and their backs are brown while their chests are white with speckled brown. Females are about 20% larger than males but they look similar, unlike many bird species. As juveniles, they resemble adults but have buff-tipped feathers and as they age, the juvenile osprey’s eye color will change from brown to yellow. Ospreys reach adulthood at 18 months. Ospreys are commonly mistaken for hawks and eagles but they are their own species of birds of prey. They used to be a part of the hawk family and were referred to as the fish hawk but have been reclassified in their own genus and family.

Emily Dvareckas / The Hawks’ Herald Ospreys build their nests on telephone poles and platforms and lay their eggs sometime in April or May.

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Megan Julian mjulian020@g.rwu.edu

SECTION MANAGER

Kristen Dansereau kdansereau387@g.rwu.edu

DESIGNER

Bailee Maston bmaston760@g.rwu.edu

SPORTS April 22, 2021

Behind the bat with Ellie Fleming

Kristen Dansereau Sports Manager

Ellie Fleming, senior pitcher on the softball team at Roger Williams University, has been on the field since she was a young girl. “My dad’s friend was a coach at the time in our town ball league when I was around 10 and he got me to play one summer,” Fleming said. “It was history from there.” She is passionate about helping, uplifting and supporting the people around her. Fleming reflects on that passion constantly, whether it be in a classroom as a student teacher or on the field with her teammates. Off the field, Fleming enjoys being a student teacher and believes it has taught her many beneficial skills for her future. “It has immensely helped me,” Fleming said. “It has taught me how to practice communication and persistence. It has also taught me to always work hard and improve at whatever I am doing in life.” Outside of softball, she enjoys going to the beach, reading a nice book and

spending time with her family. As a teammate on the field, she focuses on building team energy and cheering as much as she can. “I love being able to cheer on my teammates and have great energy to build them up,” Fleming said. The team’s core values are drive, commitment, appreciation and pride. As a result of following these values, Fleming has created amazing friendships that she knows will last a lifetime. She has learned making connections is the most important part of softball. “These girls are going to be by my side for the rest of my life. The four core values all translate into real life and teach us real-life lessons,” Fleming said. “They have made me who I am and have helped me off the field and in the classroom.” In the future, Fleming sees herself having her own classroom, while also giving back to the sport she loves by giving pitching lessons and potentially coaching someday. “Nothing compares to knowing I am helping someone succeed,” Fleming said.

Megan Julian / The Hawks’ Herald Senior pitcher Ellie Fleming stands on the pitcher’s mound during a double-header against Salve Regina University on April 21.

Slursarczyk defies the odds

Senior swimmer, runner and architecture student thrives on competition Megan Julian Sports Editor Her schedule involves swimming in the pool, running on the track and building in the studio. Senior Emily Slursarczyk is a captain of the women’s swimming and diving team, a runner for the track and field team and an architecture student. She began her swimming career before high school when her mother signed her up for swimming lessons at her local YMCA. At the time, the lifeguard said: “She really has some natural form… you should consider signing her up for the YMCA team.” From there, things took off and she ended up joining her high school swim team, before continuing her swimming career at Roger Williams University. “It started my freshman year of high school and I’ve been in the pool ever since,” Slursarcyzk said. She was in contact with RWU Head Swim Coach Matt Emmert since the beginning of her junior year of high

school, as she knew she wanted to swim in college. “I found a talent and it kept going and I couldn’t stop it, which sparked my interest in continuing it in college,” Slursarczyk said. Emmert said Slursarczyk began her recruiting process early. “She basically recruited us,” Emmert said. “She was extremely active with sending us her times and keeping us updated.” She faced some obstacles when she began the recruiting process. She needed to improve her times in order to make the swim team. Her parents, Rose and Carl Slursarczyk, remember the ride home after speaking to Emmert about what she would need to make the cut. “We got into the car that day, the three of us, and we’re driving back and she said ‘I’m going to make the team’ and she got right to work,” Carl said. Slursarczyk’s father witnessed a progression from high school to now and he describes it as nothing less than extraordinary.

“She’s a quiet leader because she is leading by her actions. She is not a yeller or screamer. She goes about her business and people are drawn to her for her personality, her attitude and smile,” Carl said. Emily’s mother loves watching her compete. “To see her be the cheerful, happy, smiley young lady on the side of the pool deck, cheering on other teammates, laughing with her teammates and all of a sudden, she walks over to the block and then there is this transition of the eye of the tiger and she is going to swim her heart out. I love seeing that in her,” Rose said. Slursarczyk began swimming at RWU freshman year but by her sophomore year, she felt like something was missing. “When swimming season was over, I felt like there was a piece of structure missing. I heard my friends talking about running for the track team and realized I missed it,” Slursarczyk said. “So I looked into figuring out if it was even possible for me to compete in

both sports and to make sure they didn’t overlap.” Head Track and Field Coach Sean Livingston was happy to make it possible for Slursarczyk to compete in both sports. “We talked a lot about how the seasons would work with swimming ending and taking a break and track starting up and it all just kind of came together,” Livingston said. “I could tell from the conversation we had that she was going to be able to manage it all.” Slursarczyk’s parents were hesitant when Emily said she wanted to join track. “We looked at each other and said ‘okay, if your grades slip then we’ll talk about it,’ but her grades actually got better and has always been the case with Emily,” Rose said. Slursarczyk said she loves the races and thrives on the structure of participating in all of these activities. Read the full story at www.rwuhawksherald.com

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Isabella Gentile igentile470@g.rwu.edu

EDITOR’S DESK

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Bailee Maston bmaston760@g.rwu.edu

April 22, 2021

PHOTO CLUB WINNER:

Corry Psutka

THEME: WEATHER THE HAWKS’ HERALD The student newspaper of Roger Williams University

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SPLO ADVISOR

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CHIEF DESIGNER

PHOTO EDITOR

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SPORTS MANAGER

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OPINIONS EDITOR Luke Brennan lbrennan935@g.rwu.edu

PHOTOGRAPHERS Emily Dvareckas Rachel Dvareckas Megan Julian

CORRECTIONS There are no corrections this week.

The Hawks’ Herald · Suite 212, Campus Recreation Center · 1 Old Ferry Road · Bristol, R.I. 02809

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REPORTERS Maggie Hurley Jimmy Sadowski

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ARTS & CULTURE

Bailee Maston bmaston760@g.rwu.edu

April 22, 2021

Feeling stressed? A visual arts senior showcase Try cooking or baking as a form of self-care ‘Unintentional Feedback:’

Kayla Ivan Arts & Culture Manager

On April 17, Roger Williams Univeristy’s visual arts class of 2021 presented their works of art at the Bristol Art Museum (BAM) over Zoom for the general public. There were several people who attended in person, with students proudly walking around the gallery of their collective showcase, “Unintentional Feedback.” During the event, several students and directors took the virtual audience around the exhibit and streamed student artwork for beaming parents and visitors to see the graduating seniors’ work. Virtual participants could speak with the artists, with several family members congratulating their students from home. The new exhibit within BAM contains art inspired by the isolation that COVID-19 presented to us over a year ago now, with themes of loneliness and despair as a result of the pandemic. Among the creations were 40 pieces of art ranging from video installations, acrylic paintings, sculptures, oil

paintings, mixed media and several other mediums. With 21 graduating seniors from the visual arts program, the exhibit was filled with unique works bursting with intriguing designs and imaginative ideas. The graduating artists on display within the showcase presented excellent works of art and were able to gather together to celebrate their class’ great talent. Artists on display from the visual arts class of 2021 were as follows: Alejandro Mayorga, Alexandra Lindell, Andrew Kirschenbaum, Angelika Kremens, Ashley Marino, Carly Birch, Cody Bellucci, Corry Psutka, Cynthia Souza, Dakota L. Roberts, Isabelle Cadene, Kaitlyn Minichiello, Kelly Roper, Leia Stone, Madeline Leahy, Margaret Morgenstern, Nathan Tetreault, Olivia Estner, Sarah Herrmann, Sofia Pipa and Victoria Ann Porrino. The showcase will be displayed at BAM until Thursday, April 29 for public viewing. The museum is located at 10 Wardwell St. in Bristol. More information can be found at bristolartmuseum.org.

Courtesy of the Bristol Art Museum Visual Arts seniors’ artwork is on display at the Bristol Art Museum until April 29.

Emma Bartlett Arts & Culture Editor

With only three weeks left of classes, finals are on the horizon, which can cause anxiety amongst students who are putting the finishing touches on essays, projects and portfolios. If you are looking for a fun way to destress, try cooking or baking in your on-campus or off-campus apartment! If you do not have access to a kitchen, there is no need to worry – microwaveable baking options are also safe and tasty. Making food can be therapeutic as the repetitive motions of measuring and mixing ingredients are calming. Concentrating on cooking or baking also allows you to escape daily stressors and simply enjoy the aroma of food filling the air. Making food also stimulates the senses, whether it be touch, smell or sound, which increases feel-good endorphins in your body and boosts positivity. If you enjoy healthier snacks or meals, look up recipes for granola bars, smoothies or unique fruit salads. Chicken is a great dinner option and can be topped with a variety of herbs or sauces that spruce up the flavor. Sometimes when assignments pile up, we often forget about eating right. An all-nighter might call for ordering food that is not the healthiest and can often lead to people feeling more lethargic. Spending an hour or two making healthy dishes can ensure that when you know you will be staying up late,

you can easily fuel your body with food that will positively impact your longterm energy. On the other hand, if you want to embrace your sweet tooth, try baking muffins or desserts. If you don’t have a ton of time to devote to baking, buy boxed cake mixes which only call for an hour of your time. If you are feeling extra creative, you can decorate your cake with colored frosting and sprinkles or simply experiment with different icing tips. School work typically prompts us to use the left side of our brains, so it is time to exercise the creative right side. If you want to spend a longer time in the kitchen, make cookies or baklava from scratch and put some tunes on in the background. For those who do not have access to a kitchen, microwave baking will be your best friend. While this approach might not be as exciting, there is something fun about seeing desserts come to life in under five minutes. Try making a muffin in a mug or brownie in a cup which can both be found at Stop and Shop. All you do is add water to the mixture, stir and heat up in the microwave. Share the love with your roommates. Since they may also be stressed out by fast approaching deadlines, it never hurts to give them some of what you made. With COVID-19, try limiting your food sharing to only people that you live with. Happy cooking and baking!

Diving headfirst, Taylor Swift’s new ‘Fearless’ rerecording debuts at number one on Billboard Maggie Hurley Herald Reporter Taylor Swift’s second studio album “Fearless” was released in 2008 and brought her massive success through radio hits like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me.” The album took home the award for Album of the Year at the 52nd Grammy Awards, making Swift, 20 at the time, the youngest person ever to win that award. In 2014, American broadcaster Barbara Walters said “Taylor Swift is the music industry.” With her album releases, Swift continues to break records and set the standard. Her cultural relevance has not diminished

and it will not be fading anytime soon. Her recent venture into rerecording her first six studio albums has proven that. When announcing the release date for the first rerecorded album, Swift took to Twitter: “Artists should own their own work for so many reasons, but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really *knows* that body of work.” Back in the summer of 2019, Swift revealed that the rights to her entire catalog had been sold out from under her by her former manager Scott Borchetta to Scooter Braun. Braun is the manager of artists such as Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato. Swift also revealed she was never given the option herself to buy

her masters from Big Machine Records. Additionally, in October of 2020, Braun sold the rights to Swift’s masters to Shamrock Holdings for $300 million. However, Braun and Borchetta’s ventures seem destined to fail. When she announced she no longer had ownership of her music, Swift also announced she would be rerecording all six albums she released under Borchetta’s management. April 9, 2021 saw the birth of this massive undertaking with the release of “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).” The album has all 19 songs originally released in the 2008 platinum edition of the album with an additional seven songs, six of which were previously unreleased.

This new album shows massive growth in Swift’s vocal abilities, from enunciation to breathwork. It is especially evident in the rerecorded “Fifteen,” when Swift sings “but in your life, you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team. I didn’t know it at fifteen.” With her age now doubled, she has learned and grown as not only a musician but also as an individual. “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, making it the biggest debut of 2021 so far. If Swift could do this with “Fearless,” it is easy to imagine the records she’ll set and break with the rerecordings to come.

SECTION EDITOR

SECTION MANAGER DESIGNER

Emma Bartlett Kayla Ivan ebartlett122@g.rwu.edu kivan850@g.rwu.edu

ARTS & CULTURE

Bailee Maston bmaston760@g.rwu.edu

How music impacts us Kayla Ivan Arts & Culture Manager Whether you are a classic rock or classical music fan, it is clear that as human beings, we all are drawn to music. Some of us might have more musical knowledge than others and yet music has been a common denominator in connecting us all historically. An article from www.sciencedaily. com titled “The story of music is the story of humans” notes that human beings have been creating music and singing for tens of thousands of years. Our common ancestor, the Neanderthals, had the full anatomy to be capable of making music with singing as well as creating music with animal bones, which dates back 40,000 years. With this information and knowing the cultural impact that music has over us, especially when considering how focal music is in the everyday, such as hearing it in public places, waking up to it, listening to it while studying and playing it in social settings, it is obvious that music impacts us deeply. Music has the power and ability to help us communicate and express deep emotions, especially in religious settings or while hearing a live performance. Music is connective and leads to bonding between groups and family members.

Jeremy Montagu, a former curator of the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, spoke about the significance of music over our society within his piece in “Frontiers in Sociology.” “It has even been suggested that music, in causing such bonding, created not only the family but society itself, bringing individuals together who might otherwise have led solitary lives,” Montagu wrote. Considering these characteristics, music has a large impact on our overall way of life as we experience the world around us. Our emotions and psychological state are also largely influenced by music. Listening to a tune can be incredibly relaxing for the mind since it is entertaining. It can also promote healthier thoughts and a healthier body with increased energy levels. Music can promote better study habits — it impacts cognitive functioning with fast and slow songs promoting better memory. As part of the relaxing side of music, meditating with sounds or instrumentals playing can help you unwind and destress. With improvements on our mood, sleep, endurance in exercise and so many other benefits, music truly has a big impact on us. As final assignments are approaching and the weather warms up, remember to listen to your favorite songs!

Emily Dvareckas / The Hawks’ Herald Music has the ability to bring people together and has a large impact on our everyday lives.

PLEASE RECYCLE

April 22, 2021

Movie Review: ‘In the Heights’

Courtesy of In the Heights Movie “In the Heights” will be available in theaters and on HBOmax starting June 11.

Adam Zerman Business Manager It was announced this past week that “In the Heights” will open the Tribeca Film Festival on June 9, just two days before it is set to release in theatres and on HBO. Some lucky fans got the opportunity to see an early online screening of the film through Warner Bros. Studios on Thursday, April 15. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote “In the Heights” as a love letter to Washington Heights, an ethnic neighborhood in northern Manhattan overlooking the George Washington Bridge where Miranda grew up. The musical spent three years on Broadway between 2008 to 2011. It won four Tony Awards including best musical. As soon as it left Broadway, there were rumors of a movie version being made, and 10 years later it is finally arriving on the big screen. Under the direction of Jon M. Chu, fans and critics everywhere cannot wait for its worldwide release. “In the Heights” is a story of dreamers, love, legacy and perseverance. It follows main characters Usnavi, Vanessa, Sonny, Benny and Nina, over three days living in Washington Heights. It is a celebration of family, friendship, love and community. With people leaving, following their dreams and businesses closing, it appears the neighborhood is changing forever, with a few surprises along the way. The musical focuses on Usnavi (played by Anthony Ramos) as he runs the local bodega with his cousin Sonny (played by Gregory Diaz IV). Vanessa (played by Melissa Barrera)

works at the neighborhood salon and Nina (played by Ariana Greenblatt) struggles with moving away to college. Benny (played by Corey Hawkins) works at Nina’s father’s cab company. The film has incredible choreography with large dance numbers in the streets and pool. It even uses camera tricks at one point to make it look as if Benny and Nina are dancing on the side of the building. Along with the choreography, the film also used incredible scenery of the George Washington Bridge and the New York City skyline. Moreover, the use of fire hydrants as sprinklers and giant block parties helps show viewers what it is like to live in Washington Heights. Fans who were lucky enough to see the movie shared their love for the film on social media, with some even comparing the Broadway musical to the movie. Some events in the musical were reordered in the movie but still tell the same amazing story. “I thought it was incredibly well made. Unfortunately, a lot of songs had to be cut and the timeline of some events was switched, but what came out was a beautiful and vibrant story that still had the [same] effect as the original,” said Zack Tashoff, who viewed the film. Most fans seem to agree that the movie is a masterpiece of dreamers. When you get the chance to see “In the Heights,” be ready to laugh and cry because this film will give you goosebumps. There are a few Easter eggs throughout the movie, so see if you can spot them starting June 11.

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