A12 • FEBRUARY 28, 2023
THE CHRONICLE
OPINION
The views and opinions expressed in the Opinion section are those of the authors. They are not an endorsement of the views of The Chronicle or its staff. The Chronicle does not discriminate based on the opinions of the authors.
Guest passes at the fitness center shouldn’t be a priority
By Ethan Albin
A new policy allowing guests at the Hofstra Fitness Center has recently been enacted. The policy, outlined on the Campus Recreation website, says, “All current Hofstra students, employees, faculty and staff members are welcome to bring one guest per day.” The entry fee for these guests is $10 and can be purchased from opening until 5 p.m., which is when guests must leave the premises. While the cash flow might be a great addition, there are several issues with allowing guests to use the facility. First off, the size of the facility can barely handle those who already go. It’s common to see people waiting near equipment that is being used by another person. Since there isn’t enough
equipment as it is, guests are only going to make it harder to get a workout in. A major issue with the condition of the fitness center is the state of the equipment. There’s always an issue with broken machines, and, as of the time this article was written (Friday, Feb. 24), the leg press, rowing machine and leg extension machines are all busted. This means that the gymgoers who already frequent the fitness center are unable to do their workouts properly and must adjust because these machines aren’t fixed. I know myself and plenty of others have asked the staff about when the machines will be serviced, but nothing has come to fruition. There are five total barbell racks in the fitness center, which
is already too few for a college gym. Those racks are used to squat, bench and military press among a plethora of other things, but there are five of them for the whole gym to use. There are two sets of each weight available in the free weight section, with only half weighing an amount that the average human can lift. That isn’t enough functioning equipment to fully serve those who already go; how is adding more people going to help? While I understand that an additional profit source may help service the broken machines and provide funding for new equipment, it also brings new challenges to the university that can induce fear in students attending the fitness center. Allowing guests also poses
a safety hazard to students and faculty as non-students will be allowed into a campus facility. Michigan State University just had a terrifying incident done by someone with zero affiliation with the school. This recent incident speaks volumes about why allowing guests is a poor decision. No background checks and little registration are required for said guests, so practically anyone can come in. The gym also helps build a community within the student body. Students can mingle and interact with friends and fellow Hofstra students whom they may not have previously known. I personally have met so many of my friends at the gym. Allowing non-Hofstra guests breaks the fabric of the community formed at the gym, consid-
ering this is a college gym and not a commercial one. While financially helpful, the influx of guests will only disturb the community that’s been built by gymgoers over the years. All in all, the fitness center should be for those affiliated with Hofstra. It’s a college gym for those who attend and work at the university, so it should be utilized as such. Perhaps consider opting for a commercial gym, seeing as the price of the guest passes is equivalent to some gyms’ monthly fees. The fitness center is funded by and utilized by those attending the university; that’s who should be using it. Ethan Albin is a sophomore journalism major and the opinion editor of The Chronicle.
Race-swapping needs to come to an end By Xavier Suggs With the release of the muchmaligned “Velma” show, HBO Max reopened a long debated can of worms of whether to race-swap legacy characters. Race-swapping or racebending is the changing of an established character’s race or ethnicity. Although the discourse around race-swapping has picked up over recent years with calls for increased diversity in Hollywood, raceswapping has been a practice for all of history. Since the release of shows and movies like the aforementioned “Velma,” the live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” among others, it’s a good chance to revisit the debate around race-swapping. In my opinion, if the race, ethnicity or nationality of a character doesn’t affect their identities or storylines then race-swapping is fine. For example, in a show like “The Fairly Odd Parents,” the race of the characters doesn’t have a
bearing on the story compared to a show like “The Proud Family,” which had a multitude of storylines revolving around traditional Black family dynamics, segregation and discrimination. This doesn’t mean that every piece of media should be forced to address heavy themes of racism, bigotry or intolerance. Personally, I love both of these shows equally, but when a show includes minorities as a part of the main cast and chooses not to address these topics, those characters shouldn’t be criticized for “pandering” or being “forced diversity” or being “political statements.” Minorities in real life aren’t “forced diversity” or “political statements” but rather people who deserve to see themselves represented on the big and small screens alike. This is an even more ridiculous statement when applied to live-action. There was much contention made around the choice of having Halle Bailey star as Ariel in the live-action remake of “The Little Mer-
maid.” The controversy was stupid as most of it boiled down to Bailey not looking like the “traditional” Ariel, ignoring the fact that she is a decorated actor and singer who may have been the best option to depict the character. The criticism leveled at Bailey was avoided by other actors portraying classic Disney princesses like Lily James’ Cinderella and Emma Watson’s Belle. So where does “Velma” stand in all this? Mindy Kaling’s “Velma,” which is an adaptation of the famous Scooby-Doo property, is a shit show. I mean, it’s grim how bad the show is. The jokes aren’t funny, the meta humor doesn’t make the show seem clever, it’s annoying how the show falls into the tropes they’re attempting to lampoon and the show is just plain mean. It’s understandable why so many Scooby-Doo fans were so turned off to these shows because the characters are nothing like their former adaptations. The titular character, Velma, is a bisexual South
Asian American, Norville, formerly Shaggy, is Black, and Daphne is East Asian American. Although I just listed the races and ethnicities of three of the main characters, they don’t matter as long as the writers can capture the essence of the original characters. “Velma” isn’t bad because the character’s races are swapped, it’s bad because those characters are written as the most annoying, most insufferable, most spiteful versions of the show. Nor is “Velma” bad because it’s “woke,” as many of the jokes that revolve around race and politics aren’t funny and are borderline offensive. Earlier in this article, I said that race-swapping has been a historic practice, so to end this article, let’s take a look at some of the more famous examples of race swapping that drew less criticism than some of our previous examples. In Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” series, Katniss Everdeen was described as having “black hair and olive skin,” as were many characters
in District 12. Many fans of the series speculated that the themes were meant to imply racial segregation. And although Jennifer Lawrence was iconic in the role, I wouldn’t really describe her as having “olive skin.” From one “olive-skinned” savior to another, in Revelations 1:14-15 Jesus was described as having hairs, “white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace.” Joan E. Taylor used archaeological evidence, historic text, and ancient Egyptian art when writing her book “What Did Jesus Look Like?” Taylor concluded that Jesus likely had brown eyes, dark brown to black hair and olive-brown skin like most Judea and Egyptian people at the time. Now I want you to think about the depictions of Jesus you normally see – could they really be described as having “olive-brown skin?” Xavier Suggs is a freshman sociology major.
Have an opinion? We want to hear it. Email us at huchronicle.op.ed@gmail.com