YOU’RE INVITED TO: GO BACK TO BASICS JOIN THE TRANS TEAM THE 7 TH ANNUAL JERK AWARDS MAY 2017 VOL XIV ISSUE VI SYRACUSE NEW YORK MAY 2017 VOL XIV ISSUE VI fee Your student SYRACUSE NEW YORK Your student fee
WHATEVER FOREVER jerkmagazine.net
TRIED & TRUE
CONTENTS MAY 2017 On Each Other's Team 30 The Trans Team provides trans people with therapy and resources to ease their transition process and offers a sense of community.
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EDITOR'S LETTER FEEDBACK PEEPS CLICKBATE
Tried & True 38 Quit replacing your wardrobe every season and get basic, bitch. For May, we share our favorite timeless staples: distressed jeans, embroidered shirts, and neon beanies. Throw on your favorite pair of Levi's from high school and that comfy graphic tee—yes, the one with faint pit stains—and meet us on Livingston.
At a Loss for Words 48
YOU’RE INVITED TO:
Butlers, Sex, and Writer’s Block. One SU student shares her struggles with feelings of impostor syndrome and her insomniac tendencies.
THE 7 TH ANNUAL JERK AWARDS
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GO BACK TO BASICS JOIN THE TRANS TEAM
MAY 2017 VOL XIV ISSUE VI SYRACUSE NEW YORK MAY 2017 VOL XIV ISSUE VI fee Your student SYRACUSE NEW YORK Your student fee
Cover Photography by Nicola Rinaldo Design by Erin Reeves
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JERK THIS What you should hit up and bitch about this month.
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21 +/Peachy Keen TOTALLY UNSCIENTIFIC POLL Cheating In academics SEX Office Space
Unchartered Territory You can thank DeVos for propagating school segregation
NOISE ARTS & MUSIC 52
The 7th Annual Jerk Awads Good people who do good things.
58
Rewind BayWatch
59
NO JUDGMENT The Bachelor(ette)
60
AMPLIFIED Pecas
61
SYNAPSE Stranger than Fiction
SMUT FEATURES 24
34
In Plain Sight Queering the narrative surrounding sexual assault. Illuminating a Tradition Don't call this Chinese Lantern Festival a lit-uation.
BACK OF BOOK 62
DISCOVERSYR Salt City Coffee
64
SPEAKEASY Sober Thoughts
65
OBITCUARY Bras
66
CLOSET CASE That’s funny. Put it in the book.
67
FORM AND FUNCTION How To Dress For Saving a Ugandan Village
GAWK FASHION 46 15
FRAMED Blush
BITCH OPINIONS 16
Personal Statement Forget dainty chokers and rings. This season, jewelry is loud and proud.
Dormed From The Start
Good things don’t always come in three. 18
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Above The Average To whom it may concern: My GPA does not define my capabilities. Bad Feminists Not all feminists...
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Susanna Heller EDITOR IN CHIEF
Eric King
Chelsea Portner
Erin Reeves
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
MANAGING EDITOR
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
EDITORIAL
Caroline Schagrin ASST. FEATURES EDITOR Amber Ragunas ARTS AND MUSIC EDITOR Danny Yarnall ASST. ARTS AND MUSIC EDITOR Deniz Sahinturk OPINIONS EDITOR Bronte Schmit ASST. OPINIONS EDITOR Megan Falk STYLE EDITOR Hairol Ma ASST. STYLE EDITOR Nick Della Sala ASST. STYLE EDITOR Tiffany Moran FOB EDITOR Lily Sarkisian RESEARCH EDITOR Mary Catalfamo COPY EDITOR Sarah Feustle COPY EDITOR Jordan Muller FACT CHECKER Taylor Connors FACT CHECKER Joann Li FACT CHECKER Emily Kelleher FRESHMAN INTERN Victoria Patti FEATURES EDITOR
MULTIMEDIA
Laura Kellerman Matt Sacca ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Grace Crummett MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
DESIGN
Sarah Kim Zifan Wang, Jordana Rubin
DESIGN DIRECTOR DESIGNERS ART
Claudia Lewis Fiona Lenz STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Claudia McCann, Minjung Kim ILLUSTRATORS Arielle Nagar, Ariel Dinero ILLUSTRATION DIRECTOR
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Anagha Das Rachel Young, Hadassah Lai, Olivia Berger, Brooke Tanner, McKenna Murtha, Kennedy Smith
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR PR REPRESENTATIVES
WEB
Aidan Meyer WEB EDITOR Leah Strassburg ASST. WEB EDITOR Caroline Cakebread , Emmy Gnat, Olivia Bosar, Bridget Whitfield SOCIAL EDITOR Jensen Cannon, Jordan Cramer ASST. SOCIAL EDITOR Kate Kozuch WEB DESIGNER Jena Salvatore PHOTO EDITOR Chaz Delgado DIGITAL INTERN Sam Berlin DIGITAL DIRECTOR
BUSINESS PUBLISHER
Esmeralda Murray Christina Tornetta
AD DIRECTOR
CONTRIBUTORS Codie Yan, Mingyu Sun, Kim Truong, Cassie Zhang, Omari Ashley, Adham El Sharkawy, Hailey Tortorella, Laura Mead, Nicola Rinaldo, Sarah Ibrahim, Marisa Ondra, Kennedy Rose, Sarah Wolverton, Rashika Jairupupriar, Annie Regan, Emily Bruda, Annie Schwartz, Henri Hokura, Paris Babers, Lena Oliver, Dylan Rheingold, Emily
ADVISER
Chalon
Melissa Chessher
Through its content, Jerk is dedicated to enhancing insight through communication by providing an informal platform for the freedom of expression. The writing contained within this publication expresses the opinions of the individual writers. The ideas presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Jerk Editorial Board. Furthermore, Jerk will not be held responsible for the individual opinions expressed within. Submissions, suggestions, and opinions are welcomed and may be printed without contacting the writer. Jerk reserves the right to edit or refuse submissions at the discretion of its editors. Jerk Magazine is published monthly during the Syracuse University academic year. All contents of the publication are copyright 2017 by their respective creators. No content may be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the Jerk Editorial Board.
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Playing it Cool It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I am severely uncool and never went to a party in high school. Instead, I spent most Friday nights with a sleeve of Oreos, my SAT study guide, and Bright Eyes’ full discography. Suffice it to say that I’m weary of any former varsity track star who insists that high school was the best time of their life. Like most people who didn't peak in high school, I came to college expecting to finally find My People. But at the end of my first semester I didn’t feel the sense of community some striped rugby shirt promised me. On a campus like SU, it can be hard for students to find their niche. And if you don't quite fit in with the Canada-Goose-clad crews, look no further: This issue is all about inclusion. Still, for Members of the LGBTQ community who have survived sexual assault, finding a safe space on campus is difficult (page 24). Meanwhile, trans students on campus face microaggressions and macroaggressions every day. Enter the Trans Team: a group of Falk grad students working to support trans people in Central New York (page 30). Then, in our fashion feature we bring back the basics and invite you to the quintessential Syracuse Saturday with us—we'll meet you at Livingston (page 38). Wrapped in a blanket burrito in my XL twin bed three winters ago, I made the first of the five good decisions I would make in college: I responded to a classic Rosanna M. Grassi listserv that declared JERK IS HIRING and applied to be a web columnist. You only get four years to do things you don't hate with people who don't suck and I'm #blessed to have found that while drinking one-too-many lattes, showing up to happy hour with a backpack full of books, and working on this alt zine. I'm still a fucking loser, but I think it's better that way. Keep on jerking,
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FEEDBACK
Hate Mail We know you'll be so swamped getting green juice and kissing ass at your unpaid internship at Christie's Auction House this summer. Don't forget to write us when you end up at 1 Oak. HAGS!
SHOW US SOME LOVE Jerk Magazine 126 Schine Student Center Syracuse, NY 13244
jerk@jerkmagazine.net jerkmagazine.net
In response to last month's 21+/- Tasty video:
We might be jerking ourselves off this month, but we have to admit that we make mistakes. Jerk would like to apologize to Sarah Stoebner for misprinting her name and to the artist formerly known as Jordaily Orange for omitting her from the April masthead. FOLLOW, DON’T LEAD youtube.com/jerkmagazine
@jerkmagazine
facebook.com/jerkmagazine
vimeo.com/jerkmagazine
instagram.com/jerkmagazine
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PEEPS
CONTRIBUTORS Photography by Fiona Lenz and supplied
Marissa Ondra / Senior / Baywatch A great philosopher once said “food is a vehicle for sauce.” It wasn’t Confucius, Socrates, or Plato—that was all Ondra. This television, radio, and film major would love to enjoy a condiment-heavy dinner with Agrippina the Younger, a Roman empress, while listening to Beyoncé—and honestly, so would we. When she isn’t baking homemade dog treats—even though she doesn’t have a dog of her own—she may just be writing an article on Baywatch, which you can check out on page 58.
Kelsey Thompson / Sophomore / Obitchuary The biggest lie Thompson ever told is certainly a relatable one for women everywhere: “Yes, you made me come.” If someone could do it for her, it would be Paul Newman, a man she would climb like a tree if he were still alive. Yet another way a lot of us can relate to Thompson is by reading her piece condemning bras on page 65.
Sarah Wolverton / Junior / On Each Other's Team Although she doesn't believe in the zodiac, Wolverton firmly believes that Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer. This magazine major spends her days telling all three of her dogs that they’re her favorite, checking under her bed for monsters, and occasionally writing short features for us, which you can read on page 30.
Omari Ashley / Junior / Tried & True Most people love the sound of rain on a tin roof or the ocean on a quiet morning, but Ashley loves the little “pop” noise that happens when you refresh Facebook or Twitter. While you probably won’t catch him in his tuxedo shirt and plaid pants he had in middle school, you can check out his face on page 38.
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JERK THIS Salt City Abstraction at the Everson Museum
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
May 1-14 Check out some abstract art by central New York artists.
May 5 The sequel you've been waiting for is released in theaters. Go fuel your love of Chris Pratt and small talking tree beings.
HIT BITCH At All Costs
May 1-20 Photographs of American workers at ArtRage Gallery. Photographer Earl Dotter puts faces to those who work in dangerous and unhealthy conditions.
Shit we like
'Cuse Crawl
May 5 Head downtown and check out some bars that won't charge you $20 for cover.
The Mountain Goats, Goths May 9 Finally, some relatable content.
PWR BTTM, Pageant May 12 This genderqueer duo’s album drops, featuring very relevant lead singles, including a chorus that screams, “Answer my text, you dick!”
Shit we like to avoid
Trump’s 101st day in office
2017 Miss USA
National Brother Day
May 1 If the first 100 were really an indication for how the rest will go, we all better buckle up.
May 14 We can smell the spray tans and blatant misogyny from here.
May 24 The blood kind, not the kind you paid for and beat the shit out of with a paddle during pledging.
Syracuse University’s Commencement May 14 We still don’t have jobs, and I bet you forgot to get your mother a present for Mother’s Day.
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Linkin Park One More Light May 19 Hopefully, this means it’s their last album.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales May 26 Great, another one.
21+/-
Peachy Keen Photography by Cassie Zhang Illustration By Chelsea Portner
If any fruit could be considered “trendy,” it would be the peach. So of course we had to follow the trend. We at Jerk are tastemakers, you know.
Ingredients:
Directions:
2 cups of Moscato
Shove everything in a blender, and puree until smooth. That’s literally it. Time to drink!
2-3 medium peaches, peeled, frozen, and sliced.
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CLICKBAIT
What We're Getting Off To On The Web This Month
JERKMAGAZINE.NET Take the bait.
Sanitize U Completing your on campus housing requirement and moving into the greater beyond of Euclid, Comstock, and Livingston is a rite of passage. Funky houses filled with history and dust line the streets, and Orange spirit peeks through the windows. Sadly, the city doesn’t love having students and their noisy, drunken shenanigans expanding off campus, and the explosion of new housing on Marshall suggests it won’t be long before we are relegated to sanitized, university-approved living spaces.
A Place To Shoot Up And Stay Alive Supervised drug injection sites are facilities where people struggling with heroin and other addictions can use safely. With access to clean needles and medical professionals, these facilities, which have been implemented in Sydney, Australia, have reduced deaths due to overdose and contraction of Hepatitis C and HIV. With the growing death toll in Syracuse and the Central New York area from heroin and fentanyl overdose, a radial solution could be the answer to this deadly problem.
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Rock for Reporters The Syracuse chapter of Reporters Without Borders USA held a benefit concert featuring five bands on March 31 to support journalists working in conflict zones. Onehundred percent of the proceeds were donated to send bulletproof vests to journalists in need. It’s important now more than ever to use all the resources available to make sure the truth gets out. If you missed this event, never fear—check out our website to see video coverage.
Peachy Keen We know we said Tasty-esque videos are dead, but we can't help our problematic, unconditional love for them. Keep your eyes peeled for a how-to on Jerk's drink of the month.
TOTALLY UNSCIENTIFIC POLL
CHEAT SHEET Finals SZN is nigh, and desperate times call for desperate measures when your Addy supply runs low. We polled 100 students in Bird Library about their academic intergirty—or lack therof. But remember kids: Cheaters never prosper.
D. My friends and I in the same class have a group chat and we share answers. (52%)
LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT: Have you ever cheated on a test?
A.
I never have, and never will. I am as pure as the driven snow. (28%)
C.
I haven’t needed to, because I am a genius. (8%)
Ever plagiarized someone else's work in a class paper? A. If not for TurnItIn, I would have. (16%) B. I have, and I got away with it. (6%) C. I’ve definitely taken other people’s ideas and re-worded them so it isn’t technically plagiarism. (58%) D. I’m too scared to try. (20%)
B. D.
Would you cheat on homework?
Maybe once or twice, but I was desperate. (56%)
Have you ever been caught cheating? A. I learned a lesson from Shaggy—never let them catch you. (52%) B. Yeah, and it sucked. Now I live in a van down by the river. (8%) C. I am so smart that on the rare occasion that I don’t know an answer to a question, I use my photographic memory to recall the information. (10%) D. I would never cheat, because I believe the earth will open me up and swallow me whole. (30%)
I don’t enter a test without notes written somewhere on my body. (8%)
Have you ever read the academic integrity forms Syracuse makes you agree to every year? A. I haven’t even read my emails. (18%) B. Yes, I enjoy leisurely reading these when I run out of Apple
Would you cheat on a final exam if you knew you wouldnt get away with it?
terms and conditions to peruse. (36%) C. I wouldn’t read them even if I was stranded on the toilet with nothing else. (32%)
C. No, I don’t think I would feel comfortable doing that. (42%)
D. We have to agree to something? (14%)
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BITCH SEX
E C A P ES
C I F F O
Illustration by Kim Truong
Workplace romances aren't always #goals. Your relationship might be more Dwight and Angela than Jim and Pam—or worse, Erin and Gabe. But hey, we're not here to judge.
Mad Men
On the night before my last day of my summer internship, I went out after work with my boss and pretty much everyone at the agency. We were all taking shots and I saw my boss pull out a blunt and pass it around. I got so cross faded that I woke up the next morning naked in bed with my boss’s boss cuddling me. Let’s just say I won’t be working there again.
Closing Time
I was a bartender and he was one of the managers. We were always super flirty with each other, but since he was one of my bosses nothing ever came of it. The bar eventually shut down and we were both working the last night the place was open. We had a few too many drinks, and after the place closed, everyone went next door to continue drinking. Eventually, we snuck back in and hooked up behind the bar. Definitely a memorable way to close a place down.
Don't Sweat It
I made the mistake of dating my coworker this summer when I was lonely and living with my grandparents. Come my birthday almost five months later when I thought we had very obviously ended things, this GROWN MAN sent me his high school sweatshirt while I was studying abroad. What made it worse was the $35 VAT fee I had to pay to receive a gift I most certainly didn’t want.
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FRAMED BITCH
ART IMAGE
Blush
Annie Schwartz Junior, Illustration “This piece is called Blush, for an article on the science of blushing; what happens how it happens and speculation on some of the reasons why we blush. I’m a rising senior illustration major who is interested in pattern design, branding, and editorial illustration. If I can illustrate something that lifts someone’s mood or shift their perspective on an idea, I’m a happy camper. ”
To showcase your work on Framed, email art@jerkmagazine.net.
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Dormed from the start SU's proposed three-year housing requirement places more financial stress on students at this already pricey university, among other problems. By Caroline Blair : Illustration by Ari Dinero Sunlight streams through a sliver in my curtains as the predictable raucous of garbage trucks and construction crews starts up at 7 a.m. Rolling over in my bed, I curse them for working on God-knows-what as I struggle to obtain one more blissful hour of sleep. As a freshman, living in a dorm with a decent hike to classes is expected and tolerated. While the communal bathrooms take their toll, dorm life ultimately eased my transition from high school to college. But two years from now, when I have hopefully established my independence, I will have outgrown dorm life. Syracuse University is now rethinking its current two-year housing requirement and considering adding a third year to the mandate. In order to implement this, the Campus Framework Advisory Group is planning a gradual transition for all housing to center around Main Campus. In other words, the university wants to relocate South Campus housing to Main Campus. Currently there are more than 2,700 beds accommodating 2,400 students on South Campus, a number that makes up one-third of on-campus housing. Currently, they plan to add 900 beds, moving a grand total of 3,600 more beds to Main Campus,
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according to the Framework. The closer students live to the center of campus, the more likely they are to be involved in student activities, according to the 2014 Campus Climate survey. In spite of this research, SU went against this logic for years, placing transfer students in Skyhall, a segregated dorm complex on South Campus. If SU is worried about student involvement, they should consider the implications of isolating new students rather than those who made the choice for themselves. Saying that student participation correlates with housing location is entirely hypocritical and fails to consider finances as a factor. “If I knew I had to live in dorms for three years when I chose to attend SU, I would have made a different choice of college. Dorms are fun freshman year, manageable sophomore year, but three years in the dorms? I would have gone stir-crazy,” says Ben Tupper, owner of Tupper Property Management and one of SU’s off-campus landlords, in an email. When factoring the cost of a meal plan into the equation, living on campus accrues and average price tag of around $8,000 a semester. Compare this to the average rent of $500 a month for off-campus housing
BITCH and the cost of enought instant ramen and rice and beans to sustain the average college student. With tuition increasing steadily every year, stripping students of that financial decision would add to the monetary burden many students face. “ There’s hardly enough campus housing for freshmen and sophomores right now. Dorms are small and I would not be willing to pay for on-campus housing for three years,” says Siobhan O’Donovan, a freshman living on South Campus next year. Off-campus housing not only relieves a portion of the financial burden, but it also helps prepare students for the real world. Independent living is certainly a perk. As quasi-adults, we deserve the choice to live in a run-down house off-campus instead of a cinder-block square that comes complete with a babysitter. And if feigned independences means having to clean our own toilets and wash our own dishes, so be it. It builds character. Students aren’t the only ones concerned with this change in housing. If you currently live off campus, chances are you got an
email in April asking for your opinion on the matter in exchange for potential cash. “For the neighborhoods and businesses that rely on students, like Westcott Street and University landlords, you are essentially draining half the customer base, which is going to put lots of people out of business and turn a thriving energetic university neighborhood into a half vacant wasteland,” Tupper says. “Property values will plummet, vacant homes will pop up left and right, and the character of the neighborhood will change, and I fear, be one of increased criminal activity due to the fact vacant homes always correlate with an increase in neighborhood distress.” Considering the divide between the university and the community, the framework would only expand the gap that so many seek to close. By implementing a three-year housing mandate, SU is not only further disregarding the expense of a college education, but it's also failing to prepare us for the fact we’re becoming adults. Also, we just want to blast "Behind These Hazel Eyes" at 3 a.m. without fear of an R.A. JM
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Above the Average GPAs do not accurately reflect a person’s capabilities, especially when it comes to internships. By Amber Ragunas
A familiar anxiety permeates college won’t be diligent in the office, wrote campuses year-round, particularly in professional development coach Laura Lee the spring: the intense pressure to Rose in an EmploymentCrossing article. land a summer internship. If you don't “If all other things are equal between the post to Facebook that you’re “officially candidates—same experiences, same great announcing” that you’re going to intern personality, same potential—the one with over break, otherwise, it seems you're a the higher GPA will be looked at differently,” complete and utter failure in the eyes of Rose says. But, some students like me get all your peers—I’m looking at you, Food. unlucky, perhaps failing one math class com rats. However, getting an internship freshman year or taking a leave of absence isn’t as easy as losing your fracket and from school due to a family emergency or wallet at DJ’s, and it's most difficult when illness. Maybe the candidate with the lower you don't meet the application’s GPA GPA had the potential to earn higher grades requirement. A 3.499 won’t satisfy a 3.5 than the other, but some extenuating GPA requirement to apply, unless you are circumstances prevented it. applying at Google, which stopped asking A high GPA is like a Cartier Love bracelet for transcripts as recent internal research at after hours: nice to flaunt, but totally showed that academic marks don’t predict unnecessary—at least when it comes to career performance. Maybe they're onto being a good intern. Work environments something. are nothing like college campuses, and Sometimes there's a legitimate reason succeeding in rigorously structured for a subpar grade point average, but courses is irrelevant to job performance. companies don't give you the chance to Internship coordinators should consider explain it. I pulled through my freshman grade inflation: Today’s students are year with a GPA at least 0.5 points lower receiving A’s for work equivalent to what than I could’ve achieved because of sudden students 20 years ago would get B’s for, destruction to my mental health.Still, I’m creating weaker standards and value of simply not allowed to apply for internships academic honors, according to Minnesota for which my affected GPA doesn’t qualify. State University. It’s even happening Most internship coordinators think if at Syracuse: At a 2016 commencement you’re not diligent in your courses, you ceremony, most of the graduates stood
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with cum laude diplomas; yet, years ago earning that distinction was quite rare, according to SU Career Services. Less emphasis should be put on GPA and much more on skills and experience. Kelsey Davis, a sophomore studying television, radio, and film, and information technology, design, and startups, focuses
GPA doesn’t equate high job performance, why are there GPA requirements to apply for internships in the first place? The associate director of SU Career Services, Susan Call, says the purpose of those minimum GPA requirements is to weed out applicants, especially in the most competitive, popular job markets. She
A high GPA is like a Cartier Love bracelet at after hours: nice to flaunt, but totally unnecessarat least when it comes to being a good intern. on pursuing her passions and gaining experience in lieu of homework or studying. Davis says she can’t perform her best in her classes because she has higher priorities, such as acting as the co-founder of The CLLCTVE Agency, LLC: a creative agency that helps artists like Schoolboy Q and companies like Coca-Cola strategize, brand, and produce content. “It’s hard to sit down and study when I know I have a proposal I have to send to a client the next morning,” Davis says. “My goal is to graduate and expand my company, therefore my GPA doesn’t do much for me. My portfolio serves as my application, not my GPA.” Davis may have ended her freshman year with a 2.9 GPA, but she boasts more success than many other students with 4.0 GPAs, and I’m positive “CEO and co-founder” of a media agency looks pretty badass on her resume. If there’s so much evidence that a high
acknowledges a low GPA unfortunately closes doors to most internships, even when it’s due to one course or life simply happens. “We call that an ‘off semester,’” Call says. “Networking is the antidote to a bad semester.” In the end, it’s about connections. The Orange mafia, your family’s network, or those random speakers that visited SU that you kept in contact with can help get you an internship or job. I’m not going to lie, my next Facebook status will probably flaunt how ecstatic I am to intern for so-and-so-company this summer, because we all get off a little on the hundreds of likes and “congratulations” we receive when we proudly announce a recent accomplishment—even if it’s just declaring your minor. So, let’s post away because SU students work hard, play hard, and deserve a summer internship no matter our GPA. JM
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Bad Feminists
Pussy Power only works when every woman's identity and privelege are recognized.
By Krystal Silfa : Illustration By Emily Bruder
When people think of what feminism should be, they think of the 1972 photograph of Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman-Hughes—two feminist activists of different races, their fists raised together in opposition, in solidarity. As shown by the Women’s March, modern day feminism is about the inclusion and unification of all types of women, whether they are black, Latina, Muslim, or poor. While this may be the main goal of feminism today, white feminists still exclude women of color from the conversation. It’s time to stop romanticizing feminism and acknowledge that not all feminists have the best interest for all women. If we’re talking about feminism, we need to recognize the struggles and hardships faced by women of color. Intersectionality, a term coined by the African-American scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, refers to the oppression of and discrimination against women of color in a way that encompasses both the racist and sexist nature of these hardships. While all women can experience sexism, there is often an added element of racism for women of color. There are white female figures that appear to promote all women, but their actions and words show otherwise. It is not in the best interest of all women if you support mass deportation or are transphobic—looking at you, Tomi Lahren fans—because undocumented women and trans women are women
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just the same. This is the case with Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer, who have created controversy over some of their comments regarding race. They pride themselves in being leaders of modern-day feminism, yet people of color have been the punchline of many of their jokes, including when Amy Schumer characterized Latina women as “crazy.” Sure, it may garner a few laughs, but they do not understand or even care to understand the consequences of these “jokes” that target women of color. Intersectionality distinguishes feminism from white feminism because it acknowledges that not all women face the same challenges. Mainstream feminism is white feminism and it needs to stop. according to womensmarchonwashington.com. “The unique concerns of women of color have been not just disregarded in the fight for gender equality, but often actively harmed and/or sacrificed during it." In order for actual change and progress to be made in the future, white women need to understand and accept that they are more privileged than other women. Some white feminists view feminism from a “colorblind” standpoint, failing to acknowledge race in order to maintain a sense of equality. This devalues the raciallycharged problems faced by women of color—think "all lives matter." Professor Meina Yates-Richard, an English professor
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who focuses on both African-American and women and gender studies, says that what makes a “colorblind” perspective harmful is that it allows one to see women’s rights from a very narrow viewpoint and not be held accountable for the damage that may have been done to marginalized persons. In the late 1970s, there was a notion that there was a “universal” ideal of womanhood and resistance against the patriarchy, but
oftentimes this was from a Euro- and American-centric viewpoint. Being a woman and an advocate for women’s rights should not be raceless. White feminists continue to exclude women of color from the feminist narrative even in a “progressive” decade. When 53 percent of white women in America voted for Donald Trump to be president, they further perpetuated the idea of a separatist movement. Trump made bluntly racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic comments, yet many white women did not see the
harm, as Trump’s presidency and political campaign would not affect them in the way it affects women of color. Healthcare, a good education, and strict immigration laws may not be something that is inaccessible or limits an upper-class white woman, but it definitely could be troublesome for those who are undocumented, impoverished, or Muslim. It is not always with intentional malice that white feminists exclusively promote white feminism. White privilege is difficult to acknowledge if you are the one that is privileged. Take, for example, Lena Dunham, who believes she’s leading the way for modern feminism, yet her values oppose what feminism actually stands for. In 2016, Dunham suggested that New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was a misogynist simply for going on his phone while sitting next to her at the Met Gala, and after she visited a Planned Parenthood she said she “wished” she had had an abortion. But, accepting your privilege is an important and necessary factor in promoting the rights of marginalized and disadvantaged groups of women.The steps to becoming a "better" feminist are simple: Advocate for women of all walks of life, even those whose problems may not affect you personally. Today, women of color have to deal with racial prejudices, sexualization, and in many parts of the world, restriction from education. The first step to intersectional feminism is an open discussion about race, gender, and privilege in order for all women to better understand each other and fight for a common goal— together. Feminism is constantly evolving, but it doesn’t just mean women and men are equal. It also mandates that privileged women recognize and empower their marginalized sisters. JM
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UNCHARTERED TERRITORY Many school districts, including Syracuse’s, will bear the burden of DeVos' charter school voucher policy. By Kathryn Krawczyk : Illustration by Annie Regan
Let’s get one thing out of the way: I’m a product of public schools. I fought my parents to stay out of the private, allgirls Catholic schools that dominated my hometown. What some people saw as better opportunities, I saw as too safe, too sheltered, and basically too white. Staying in a public school was a point of pride for me, and it still is. But when I ended up at a private university, I thought I’d drop the public-schools-are-holier-than-thou act. And I mostly did. Until Betsy DeVos and her charter school fetish showed up. DeVos is probably the most unqualified of President Trump’s cabinet members— and that’s saying something when you also consider Sean Spicerack. Devos' political experience is limited to massive donations to the Republican party, and her educational experience is nonexistent—unless you want to argue that those donations were made in the name of “school choice,” DeVos’ euphemism for funneling public school funding to private and charter schools. Yet somehow DeVos scraped through her Senate confirmation hearing and became our Secretary of Education. A woman who’s never seen the benefits of public schools is at the head of them all. Regardless of her inexperience, DeVos has a predictable course of action as Secretary of Education: She’ll fight for a $20 billion voucher program. In other words, $20 billion in funding that parents can use
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like scholarship money to send their kids to private or charter schools instead of failing public ones. But that $20 billion has to come from somewhere. And that somewhere is most likely those same failing schools. This reverse Robin Hood effect—taking funding from poor schools to give to the rich—doesn’t look good to anyone. But in her first policy address as education secretary on March 27, DeVos found a way to counter that. She brought up an Education Department report from the Obama administration, showing that $7 billion in funding had little to no effect on academic results in the country’s worstperforming schools.
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“At what point do we accept the fact that throwing money at the problem isn’t the solution?” DeVos asked on March 29 during a speech at the Brookings Institution. She has a point, and her solution seems reasonable: Let parents choose better schools. But it’s not a choice everyone can make. Even with a voucher, many parents living in poverty can’t afford to send their kids to a private school. Most wouldn’t even
AT WHAT POINT DO WE ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THROWING MONEY AT THE PROBLEM ISN’T THE SOLUTION? think to try. So wealthier, whiter students end up as the majority at private schools, while poor students stay in public ones. The trickle-down effect ends with poorer and less diverse public schools, and the Syracuse City School District is a perfect example. While about 46 percent of Syracuse students live in poverty, only about 8 percent of Westhill students just across district lines do. That’s the widest economic gap in the state, according to a report from advocacy group EdBuild. It shows just how starkly divided schools and districts still are, because Syracuse is separated from
neighboring districts not only by income but by race. Where Westhill’s schools are 86 percent white, Syracuse's are only 23 percent, according to the New York State Department of Education. Yes, school segregation still exists. It’s just maintained by individual choices, like the ones DeVos loves so much. As The New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones pointed out in her interview with NPR's Fresh Air, these choices have nothing to do with race on the surface. Parents simply say they want to send their children to a “better school.” But if a school isn’t good enough for your child, why is it good enough for any child? It’s a question public schools were built to answer. Every child can walk into a public school and receive the same education as the kid in the next desk. It doesn’t matter their income. It doesn’t matter their race. It just matters that they show up. By advocating for school choice and extracting kids from public schools, DeVos is preventing these schools from teaching the lessons they’re built to teach. Instead, she’ll continue to cut funding from them and funnel it into schools that shouldn’t be any of the government’s concern. As public schools fail, parents will opt for private ones—well, the parents who can afford them. American schools will become less economically diverse and, by extension, less racially diverse. From the start, children will be born into a land of unequal opportunity— more so than they already are. Instead of fighting for school choice and voucher programs, let’s focus on making our public schools work for every student. After all, they worked for me. JM
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eniaM.11 notgnihsaW.1 tnomreV.21 nogerO.2 dnalsI edohR.31 ainrofilaC.3 tucitcat endisproportionally noC.41 LGBTQ+ individuals encounter sexual violence high adaveN.4 rates, but even the fiercest activists focus yesonrethe J wcisgender, eN.51 hatU.5 heteronormative experience. Jerk investigates this phenomenon and its erawaleD.61 odaroloC.6 consequences for queer students and survivors. dnalyraM.71 ocixeM weN.7 By Caroline Schagrin CD notgnihsaW.81 atosenniM.8 kroY weN.91 awoI.9 iiawaH.02 sionillI.01 Zeke Miller* remembers walking to his from a small town and feared that if he locker at his Maryland middle school in reported his incident, his entire community the eighth grade. It was right after lunch, would know about it. “I am more and he was alone. His locker was directly accepting of myself because I felt when across the boy’s gym locker room. He was that experience happened, I didn’t know fumbling with his combination when five who I was,” he says. “I almost wanted to boys crept around him. One of the boys commit suicide, but then I realized if I went shoved him against against his hislocker, locker,while whilethe all five and committed suicide it would affect my of them made racist comments and called family and me more than it would affect him a faggot. Another boy grabbed Miller’s them. I just kept it all to myself.” waist, turned him to face his locker, and When wewe thinkthink of sexual ofandsexual relationship and began to thrust against him. He could hear violence, relationship our violence, minds tend our tominds wander tend to the other boys laughing as he was kicked a to cliché, wander heteronormative to a cliché, heteronormative scenario: a and thrown to the ground. The perpetrators disturbed scenario: man a disturbed hiding inman the bushes hiding jumps in the hovered over him, him, snickering snickering as asone onesays, says,“ out bushes and jumps rapes aout girland who rapes shouldn't a girl have who “IfIfyou yousnitch, snitch,we’re we’regoing goingto torape rapeyou.” you.” shouldn't been walking havehome been alone walking orhome "wearing alone that or “I kept silent about everything,” Miller "wearing outfit." According that outfit." to RAINN According statistics, to RAINN one says. statistics, in six women one ininsix America womenwill in America experience will Miller, a pansexual junior at Syracuse experience sexual assault sexual at assault some point at some in point their University, only opened up about this in lifetime, their lifetime, and that and college-aged that college-aged women incident last year because he feels he has are women threeare times three more times likely more to be likely attacked; to be overcome his experience. Miller comes attacked; however, however, the Centers the for Centers Disease for Disease Control
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.51 Control has reported sexual assault happens .61 at a disproportionately higher rate amongst members of the LGBTQ+ community. 1 2010 National Intimate Partner The.7 CDC’s and Sexual Violence Survey for LGBT .81 indicates that 40 percent of gay individuals men and 47 percent of bisexual men have experienced sexual assault compared to 21 percent of heterosexual men. In addition, 46 percent of bisexual women experience sexual assault compared to 17 percent of heterosexual women and 13 percent of lesbians. These numbers spike for trans* individuals. One in two transgender people will experience sexual violence at some point, according to the Office for Victims of Crime. Collecting this data is not an easy task. Through Feb. 9 to Mar. 28, 2016, Syracuse University conducted a survey for faculty and students through the Campus-wide Climate Project. However, of a campus with more than 20,000 students, only 5,617 participated. The report also concluded that 12 percent of respondents had experienced sexual or relationship violence while at SU. Within that survey, 39 transgender respondents—out of 85 who identified as such—reported they
had experienced exclusionary, intimidating, offensive, and hostile conduct on campus; 24 of them believed it was because of their gender identity. In all, this portion of the survey found that women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and respondents with a disability reported more unwanted sexual contact. Because this data reflects only a fraction of SU’s total population, we have to take these statistics as rough estimates, but the numbers allude to a larger trend of hostility toward queer people on campus. “When a person is marginalized or when they’re oppressed in different ways, like via their sexual orientation or other intersections of their identity, maybe racially as well, then the way other people can treat them often times is dehumanizing,” says Britany Cashatt, aka BCash, SU’s LGBT Resource Center Associate Director. “They treat them like they’re less than human; they don’ t have respect for them. So, I think when you can look at a body or person and treat them less than human, you’re more likely to be willing to inflict violence on them.” Brett Walker*, a senior at SU, and his friend were working together during summer of their junior year in Central New York. Brett
“ The way I experience SU does not feel safe as a queer trans person.” JERK • 5.17 25 —BCash, SU’s LGBT Resource Center Associate Director
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have experienced sexual assault. according to the CDC’ s 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey for LGBT individuals had been out as gay and his friend, who had just come out, were drinking together and hooked up. The next day, the friend came over to Walker’ s room insisting they do it again, but when Walker declined, the friend became aggressive and forceful. Walker eventually had to force his friend off of him and out of the room, locking the door. The next day, the friend apologized and Walker explained to him that it his actions were unacceptable. A week later, the same thing happened. Again, Walker had to push his friend out of the room. "I had to turn my phone off because he kept calling me,” Walker says. “I was like ‘did that actually happen?’ It just didn’t seem like a friend of mine would do that.” Sexual and relationship violence affects all demographics and identities, but often a lack of understanding and media coverage 26 5.17
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excludes the LGBTQ+ community from the conversation. For some queer people, coming out as a survivor of this kind of violence can also mean outing yourself as LGBTQ. That is why many choose not to report their assaults to the police or their university, or tell their friends and family. Because of this, even the numbers that we do have don't fully encompass how many people are targeted based on their gender or sexual identity. The national It’s On Us sexual assault campaign, launched by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in 2014, has received criticism for not pushing an intersectional narrative. Samantha Skaller, a senior at SU, serves as the national Northeast regional advisor for It’s On Us. She says the SU chapter is fervently trying to create an intersectional narrative. “We try to hit every demographic through the
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By the end of 2016, 20 states banned accommodations discrimination bas identity or expression. According to Discrimination Survey, 20 percent of housing, 26 percent lost jobs due to workplace, and 78 percent of trans s assaulted.
States with clear gender identity and anti-discriminatory laws:
1.Washington 2.Oregon 3.California 4.Nevada 5.Utah 6.Colorado 7.New Mexico 8.Minnesota 9.Iowa 10.Illinois
resources we have on this campus because it is very important to be intersectional in this topic, and it is very important to reach cross culturally, and it’s really important to reach all types of folks,” Skaller says. Kyle Williams* a sophomore at SU identifies as bisexual and was raped at the age of 13 while attending a Boy Scouts camping trip by another scout. Like Miller, he kept his experience to himself until he arrived on campus. Williams explained how he eventually met Skaller through It’ s On Us and was able to open up to her. He now works in sexual assault awareness and prevention, talking to fraternities and sororities here at SU about consent. “We got to talking about why I was so passionate about talking about it and because she was also a survivor, it was a comfortable setting that sort of eased conversations on it,” says Williams.
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SU has also taken steps to be more inclusive to all gender and sexual identities. The Office of Health Promotion works with the LGBT Resource Center to create programs and presentations that raise awareness on sexual assault and emphasize the importance of bystander intervention. Michelle Goode, the Health Promotion Specialist for the Office of Health Promotion, explains how during the 2016 fall semester, she and BCash held an open discussion with students on healthy and unhealthy relationships within the LGBTQ+ community and how they might appear different than heterosexual ones. Goode explains, “We recognize that men can assault other men, women can assault women, women can assault men, and that people that don’t fit in the gender binary can be survivors of assault or perpetrators, although we know they’re much more likely JERK
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By the end of 2016, 20 states banned emp accommodations discrimination based se identity or expression. According to the N Discrimination Survey, 20 percent of trans housing, 26 percent lost jobs due to bias, workplace, and 78 percent of trans studen assaulted.
States with clear gender identity and sexu anti-discriminatory laws:
1.Washington 2.Oregon During It's On Us, a week promoting sexual violence awareness, committee 18. members displayed survivor-made shirts in Schine Student Center. 3.California 4.Nevada 5.Utah to be survivors because they are targeted for keep the LGBT Resource Center connected to 6.Colorado hate attacks.” this event. The center had 7.New both an intern and Mexico In addition to facilitating small discussions, employee on the TBTN Planning committee 8.Minnesota these offices work together to put on larger and were able to maintain communication 9.Iowa events. On March 29, Hendricks Chapel and awareness on the event to the students 10.Illinois became a place of refuge for survivors who visit the Resource Center. TBTN also and supporters at SU’s annual Take Back distributed informational pamphlets on the Night—a night where campus and LGBTQ+ issues. community members congregate and speak “That was really important for us to get out against all sexual and domestic violence those resources out to students. I’m so proud followed by a march around campus. It’s a of my peer educators and Take Back the Night night where sexual assault survivors can committee this year on how thoughtful they seek support and share their experience. On were. I think they really highlighted how that chilly March evening, members from sexual violence really disproportionately all backgrounds and organizations came impacts marginalized communities and folks together as one support system. Banners who are being oppressed,” says Goode. with hand prints from several campus SU also draws awareness to various groups hung all around the small space minority groups on campus through events, marked by words like, “These hands are such as the trans liberation week hosted against violence” and “These hands do not by the LGBT Resource Center in April. He create violence.” says that even seeing a banner that states The Office of Health Promotion wanted to “Black Trans Liberation” hanging outside the 17.
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Syracuse University held it's annual Tans Week of Liberation April 3-7.
student center gets people to think about those two identities intersecting. “I’ve seen snapchats from people being like 'what is this?’ or like putting it in a negative light, but that exposure is important—it opened to me, like, ‘ Wow I never realized there was that specific of a community that was suffering,” Williams says. SU prides itself on being an inclusive and safe campus, but judging by the campus climate report this may not be the case. The offices that are working to make this campus an inclusive environment are extremely understaffed and underfunded. The Counseling Center only has 12 counselors for a campus of about 20,000 students. “The way I experience SU does not feel safe as a queer trans person,” BCash says. “ I think that the more privileged identities one holds, the more they would probably say SU is safe, but I know for a lot of students that I know are marginalized whether that be their gender, sexual orientation, race, and ability status, or their class – depending how they
show up in those marginalized identities, I think SU stops feeling safe.” Walker recalls walking home from a party one night during his freshman year when he and a group of his friends encountered a few male students peeing on a nearby tree. The men started chasing after Walker and his friends, yelling after Walker, "Faggot!" SU has a lot to learn about inclusion with the years to come, especially in a political climate that continues to threaten the LGBTQ+ community. The longer we continue to think of sexual assault as something that only happens to straight girls at the hands of predatory frat boys, the less able we will be to recognize and address sexual violence against all identities. “I think that SU is working on being a safer institution, I think that’s a lot of what you see, like I see a lot of words about diversity and inclusion, I don’t know how much action people are putting into those things,” says BCash. JM
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ON EACH OTHER'S TEAM 12.
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Student volunteers at SU join forces to form the Trans Team, an organization that provides support and resources for people who are 19. By the end of 2016, 20 states banned emplo transitioning in Central New York. accommodations discrimination based sex
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Rain spatters the sidewalks along the quad on a brisk Sunday afternoon. Despite the gloomy weather, a group of four people strolling towards the Schine Student Center cheerfully discuss the automated birdcalls playing throughout campus. For two of them, it’s their first time at Syracuse University. The other two are Jaime McClain, a sophomore ESF student, and Zainab Pixler, a junior in the Whitman School of Management. They’re giving the tour to Pixler’s best friend and their mother. The friend's mother, Gina, turns to Pixler and says, “Wow Zainab, Jaime knows more about Syracuse than you do, and she doesn’t even go to SU!” She. He. They. McClain’s correct pronouns are he/ him, not she/her. Even though Pixler referred to McClain in the correct pronouns for the entire afternoon. Gina's mind replaced the correct pronoun with what seemed to make the most heteronormative sense based on McClain’s appearance. To some, it may seem alien that such small words hold the power to both affirm and undermine an identity.
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identity or expression. According to the Na Discrimination Survey, 20 percent of trans housing, 26 percent lost jobs due to bias, h workplace, and 78 percent of trans student assaulted.
States with clear gender identity and sexua For 15. transgender, gender-questioning, anti-discriminatory laws: and gender fluid people everywhere, 16. it’s a daily reality. This is known as 1.Washington 11.Maine 17. misgendering in the trans community. 12.Vermo 2.Oregon Though misgendering often is not done 18. 3.California 13.Rhode out of malice, rather it stems from 4.Nevada 14.Conne a place of ignorance emblematic of 5.Utah 15.New J society’s limited understanding of the 6.Colorado 16.Delaw trans community itself. 7.New In Central MexicoNew 17.Maryla York, SU’s Trans Team, which runs out of 18.Washi 8.Minnesota the Goldberg Couple and9.Iowa Family Therapy 19.New Y Center, provides trans people with 10.Illinois 20.Hawai therapy to ease the transition process and come to terms with a society that isn’t always aware of their cause. Little data exists on America’s transgender population, and the data that does is small and roughly estimated. The most comprehensive study on the trans population was released in 2011, using data from 2003-2009, by LGBT demographer Gary Gates at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law’s Williams Institute. Gates estimates that 0.3 percent of the US population is trans, a number that he told FiveThirtyEight.com, “takes a lot of statistical gymnastics” to come to a concrete number.
SMUT Deb Coolhart, a licensed marriage and family therapist and assistant professor at SU specializing in transgender issues, created of Trans Team. She says that it’s difficult to estimate how many people are receiving the support they need without first knowing how many people there are. Anything besides statistical understanding and representation, she says, leads to the transgender community being “misunderstood, and therefore mistreated.” “Trans people have a unique dependence on mental help professionals,” Coolhart says. In order to begin hormone therapy or any surgeries, patients must have letters from mental health professionals diagnosing them with gender dysphoria to validate the medical need for procedures. This practice is part of the “readiness process,” which works with clients to “confirm they’re ready to make a life-changing decision,” Coolhart says. The transition means more than just authorizing people to receive medical treatment to change their bodies. Twentyone year old trans student Kai Troge, an ESF student, agrees. He has been taking testosterone, or “T,” for nearly 3 years. “The results of my transition are not only that my voice has dropped or that I can grow a beard,” he says. “The real results are that I stand up taller. It allowed me to look in the mirror and say to myself, ‘This is who I am.’” Coolhart realized there was a need for trans-specific therapy and began training students on trans-related issues and started the clinic's Trans Team. Now, a third of the clinic’s clientele are trans, Coolhart estimates. The clinic allows students to gain hands-on experience with clients in a supervised environment. If interested, they can opt to join the Trans Team if they want to learn how to
provide therapy for trans people and to issue paperwork necessary for trans medical procedures. Tracey Reichert Schimpf, the director of clinical services at the center, started in 2008 and says the number of cases the clinic receives on the spectrum of gender questioning has “increased significantly” in the last nine years. Both Schimpf and Coolhart are proud of the Trans Team's resources, such as the inaugural makeup drive on March 2. Nikki Binnie and Meghan Harris, two Trans Team volunteers, came up with the idea for the makeup drive and workshop after some of their female clients expressed confusion over how to use makeup since their transition. Binnie
“The real results are that I stand up taller. It allowed me to look in the mirror and say to myself, ‘This is who I am.’” -Kai Troge and Harris collected nearly 400 different products during the makeup drive. They then divvied up the new resources into makeup bags for the trans women in attendance to the workshop held a few weeks later, for which they hired a professional makeup artist to instruct. “It’s an incredibly powerful experience being an affirmative therapist,” Binnie says. Harris agrees, “Helping someone find their voice is amazing,” she says. Since both women are graduating, they’re hoping another member of the Trans Team will step up to fill their shoes; JERK
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States with clear gender identity and sexu anti-discriminatory laws:
1.Washington 2.Oregon 18. 3.California 4.Nevada Throughout Troge's time at ESF, he’s 5.Utah seen policies and attitudes towards trans 6.Colorado people change. As one of the first trans 7.New Mexico students to live in ESF’s dorm, Centennial 8.Minnesota Hall, he threw the administration for a 9.Iowa loop when it came time to decide whom 10.Illinois he would room with. ESF now has a policy that allows anyone identifying as trans, gender non-conforming, or gender fluid to room with the gender they prefer to live with. However, deciding who you are and who you want to live with can be difficult for many people of the trans community. McClain always knew he wasn’t a girl, but due to lack of education in his early years, he didn't know he had other options, so he spent a large portion of high school identifying as “other” and using they/them pronouns. “The gender binary system doesn’t work,” McClain says. “My philosophy 17.
The idea of “finding your voice” and becoming “who you were meant to be” may sound cliché, but for trans people it’s a very real process. Makeup can help people feel more comfortable, says Binnie, but you also have to remember that everyone’s story is different. For Troge, the transition process and the effects of T have been positive and self-affirming. “The way that I had always seen myself on the inside is finally on the outside,” he says. Of course, it wasn’t always that way. Just like McClain, Troge found himself subject to misgendering at the beginning of his transition. “My friends and I had a rule that every time they misgendered me, they would have to buy me a chocolate bar, which worked pretty well, since it was like ‘I’m correcting my mistake by buying Kai a chocolate bar, but I don’t want to have to buy him 12 chocolate bars’” Troge says.
By the end of 2016, 20 states banned emp accommodations discrimination based se identity or expression. According to the N Discrimination Survey, 20 percent of tran housing, 26 percent lost jobs due to bias, workplace, and 78 percent of trans stude assaulted.
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ON THE MAP ON THE MAP By the end of 2016, 20 states banned employment, housing, and public accommodations discriminationBy based orientation and genderbanned By thesexual 2016, states housing, and public the end of 2016, 20 20 states bannedemployment, employment, housing, and public identity or expression. According to the National Transgender accommodations discrimination based sexualorientation orientationand and gender accomodations discriminationbased on sexual gender Discrimination Survey, 20 percent of trans people are evicted or denied identity or expression. According to the National Transgender housing, 26 percent lost jobs due to bias, half were harassedAccording in their identity or expression. to the National Transgender DiscrimiDiscrimination Survey,or20 percent of trans people are evicted or denied workplace, and 78 percent of trans students were harassed nation Survey, 20 percent of trans people are evicted or denied housing, assaulted. housing, 26 percent lost jobs due to bias, half were harassed in their
26 percent lost due to bias, half students were harrassed in their workplace, workplace, andjobs 78 percent of trans were harassed or were harassed or assaulted.
States with clear gender identity and sexual orientation protection/ and 78 percent of trans students assaulted. anti-discriminatory laws:
1.Washington 2.Oregon 3.California 4.Nevada 5.Utah 6.Colorado 7.New Mexico 8.Minnesota 9.Iowa 10.Illinois
States with clear gender identity and sexual orientation protection/ 11.Maine anti-discriminatory laws: 12.Vermont
13.Rhode Island 14.Connecticut 1.Washington 15.New Jersey 2.Oregon 16.Delaware 17.Maryland 3.California 18.Washington DC 4.Nevada 19.New York 5.Utah 20.Hawaii
6.Colorado 7.New Mexico 8.Minnesota 9.Iowa 10.Illinois
11.Maine 12.Vermont 13.Rhode Island 14.Connecticut 15.New Jersey 16.Delaware 17.Maryland 18.Washington DC 19.New York 20.Hawaii
now is pizza rolls, not gender roles!” Both Troge and McClain are happy with the number of resources available to them in New York, but they’re lucky they chose to attend a university with access to them. A large part of the client base for the Goldberg Center comes from an hour or even two hours away, Schimpf says. Events like the CNY Pride Parade, which is tentatively scheduled for May, and the Espirit educational conference, held May 14-21, help promote community unity and visibility. Coolhart believes that with a larger community and support network, trans people will feel like they have more options and won’t run the risk of feeling boxed in by traditional roles, like McClain experienced. “I think when people are experiencing
gender identity issues,” Troge says. “It’s important that they have someone they can talk to. Your identity is valid, regardless of how you choose to go about pursuing your identity.” Once McClain and Pixler were done giving Pixler’s friend and Gina a tour, she pulled Gina aside to discuss the pronoun mishap made earlier. "I don't know if you noticed,” Pixler said. “But earlier you referred to Jaime with "she/her" pronouns, but the correct pronouns are 'he/him'." Gina apologized profusely, worried that she had hurt McClain’s feelings. McClain assured Pixler that he wasn’t hurt when she told him of Gina’s apology later, he just felt glad that Pixler cared enough to make the correction at all. JM
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The New York State Chinese Lantern festival is lighting up the fairgrounds with colorful displays inspired by ancient Chinese traditons. Words and Photoraphy by Emily Kellher
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The Chinese first used lanterns as a light crazy beautiful colored lights to Central source, before monks integrated them into New York,” says Annette Peters of Advance their ceremonial worship of Buddha. Later Media New York. She expects that 80,000 they were hung outside houses as a status spectators will come to see the spectacle. symbol, then incorporated into celebrations “There are lights, there’s entertainment. ranging from weddings to the New Year. things we haven’t seen before.” Then, in 2017, they came to Syracuse. From The Tianyu Arts and Culture Inc., a April 14 to June 24 the Instagram post of company based in China that travels your dreams won’t be far from campus, as throughout Europe, Australia and the the Chinese Lantern Festival fills each inch U.S., puts on the festival. Lantern making of the New York State fairgrounds with is an intricate craft, often handed down colorful floating lights. from generation to generation, involving A lantern festival might seem out place ink-painted silk fabric stretched over wire in Syracuse, but that's the point. “We’re frames to be hand stitched. In CNY, the coming out of a little bit of hibernation. It show took five weeks to set up, and will take was the perfect time to bring a festival of two weeks to disassemble, Peters says.
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Lanterns carry significance in Chinese Festival, each display has a meaning. culture. During the traditional Chinese Traditional round red lanterns signify Lantern Festival, which takes place in reunion, while the 200-foot Chinese dragon January to welcome the Lunar New Year, represents a link connecting the people of uncles buy their nephews lanterns to China. An enormous display of intricately symbolize good luck in the coming year. decorated red and gold fish is aptly named In ancient times, parents made lanterns “prosperous fish,” because the mandarin for their children to bring to the first day of pronunciation of “fish” is similar to that of school, where teachers would light them “surplus.” Some motifs are more familiar in hopes of procuring a bright future for to U.S. culture, like the six white doves their students. At one point, families hung that float above olive branches that bring lanterns in their living rooms with the belief onlookers peace and vitality. that it would bring abundance to the men Whether you're there for the views or the of the family. free wine slushies, you'll learn something At the New York State Chinese Lantern about Chinese culture. JM
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This issue, Jerk goes back to basics. We toast the simple goodness of quality, statement staples, and a quality Syracuse afternoon— dreary weather and a quick smoke in the backyard. Kick back with Henri, Adham, Hailey, and Omari in comfy knit jackets and loose fitting tees, sleeve-print hoodies or perhaps flared khakis, as they lounge around home. Let’s face it—simple is always better.
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Models: Henri Hokura, Omari Ashley, Adham El Sharkawy, Hailey Tortorella Photographer: Nicola Rinaldo Stylists: Hairol Ma, Nick Della Sala 38Tiffany 5.17 • Moran JERK Assistant: Art Direction: Zifan Wang
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Henri: Jacket: Thrifted $10 Shirt: Arsenic Apparel $25 Jeans: Pull & Bear $25 Adham: Windbreaker: Surf Style $79 Overalls: Thrifted $15 Shoes: Adidas $75 Omari: JERK • 5.17 39 Crewneck: Division of Labor $40
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MEET ME
Omari: Beanie: ‘47 Brand $5 Shirt: Fucking Awesome $32 Pants: Adidas $60
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Hailey: Hoodie: Vans $65 Pants: Zara $35 Cap: Depop $15
JERK
Henri: Shirt: Division of Labor $34 Pants: ASOS $80 Adham: Shirt: Urbam Outfitters $54 Pants: Stussy $90
GAWK
YOU’RE INVITED
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GAWK
Henri: Jacket: Thrifted $10 Shirt: Arsenic Apparel $25 Jeans: Pull & Bear $25
Hailey: Beanie: F21 $5 Shirt: Marvel $15 Pants: Zara $10 Henri: Glasses: Amazon $5 Jacket: Shirt: Pokemon $5 Pants: Adidas $60
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Omari Jacket: Zara $60 Shirt: Thrifted $5
GAWK
Henri Jacket: Topman $60 Shirt: Fanclub $36 Bandana: Amazon $5 Adham Jacket: Thrifted $40
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Omari: Shirt: Death Row Records $38 Pants: Dockers $40 Shoes: Vans $50 Jacket: Alpha Industries $199 Sunglasses: Dollger $15 Hailey: Jacket: F21 $37 Pants: BDG $80 Shoes: Converse $60
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TRIED & TRUE
GAWK
Henri: GAWK Jacket: Thrifted $25 Shirt: Thrift $3 Pants: Thrift $10 Adham: Shirt: Pants: Model’s Own Glasses: Jacket: Dickies $40
TRIED & TRUE JERK
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GAWK STRIPPED
Personal Statement
a.
This season, jewelry is loud and proud. Illustration by Laura Mead
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The era of blink-andyou’ll-miss-it chokers and dainty earrings is over. Go big or go home—this summer, statement jewelry is next level.
STRIPPED GAWK
c. b.
a. Statement Necklaces
b. The Arm Cuff
c. Minerals
J. Crew might still sell $40 flower-shaped, rhinestone monstrosities, but we sincerely hope you’ve stopped wearing them with your collared shirts at this point. From oversized stones to bulky chains, statement necklaces take a spin this summer in wacky cuts and shapes. Our favorites are Prada’s art-deco style pendant and Chanel’s large pearl multilayer necklace. Recreate the look with a cheap knockoff from Zara and pair it with a fun blouse or a graphic tee.
Cuffing szn ended, but the basics at Lollapalooza are just getting started with gold and silver arm cuffs from Forever 21. A modest gold piece around one arm is out: this year ushers in cuffs that climb across the entire arm in golden curves and heavy metallic bands studded with red stones. Wear it on one arm with a billowing dress, stacked on both arms, or over a sleeve so it doesn’t get lost.
Raw and earthy mineral jewelry perfectly walks the line between bold and down-to-earth. More than just home decor, stalagmite crystals, quartz, crystal therapy, and energizing stones were all seen on a variety of Spring/ Summer 2017 catwalks. We love Givenchy’s thick crystal chains and giant cuts of rough gems. Don’t be afraid to stack chunky stones on top of one another, whether it be necklaces or rings.
Brands that do it best: ASOS, Proenza Schouler, Jenny Bird
Brands that do it best: Vanessa Mooney, Free People, Kei
Brands that do it best: Zara, Verameat, NastyGal
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At a Loss for Words Magazine senior Sarah Ibrahim laments that not even the bouncing, confident eight-year-old you can’t save you from your sleepless hell. By Sarah Ibrahim : Illustration by Erin Reeves
I’m a writer that can’t write. I get tangled in my covers at the thought. Tossing and turning seems to be the answer that never gives any relief. I shut my eyelids to try to escape to the memory of 8-year-old me galloping across the dining room—my imaginary butler holding one of my hands and an invisible horse harness in the other—to declare my future. My parents, the recipients of this grand declaration, must have been talking to dinner guests. I say this because when I announced my plan of going to Harvard to be a writer, my mom stopped mid-sentence, looked me in the eye, laughed, and replied with a solid “okay.” I brushed it off, stomping away with so much sass that the thought surprises me. There are nights when I meditate on this moment and thank the universe for where I am. And then, more often, there are nights where I can’t fall asleep for three hours because my heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears. I outline the shadows cast on the ceiling by the dim light from my bedroom
window. I’ve traced the creases of my blanket so many times, I can’t count. And I always hold out for hope that the next time I turn over I'll fall asleep—put my right hand under the pillow instead of my left and move the blanket off my thigh, but not my shin—my ritual guaranteeing the unconscious abyss. But instead I reach for my iPhone and tap away at its glowing screen. I spew words and string sentences together that read like a fifth-grader’s diary. And I am ashamed. Yet the only way I remedy this cascading wound on my spirit is to write, and write badly. Before I get there, I get caught in a hellish loop. I tell myself I don’t deserve to be at one of the top schools for communications in the nation. I got in because of my scholarship, a guaranteed all-expenses-paid consumer of academia. My sister is an alumna, and that’s why I got in. In at least one course every semester a professor asks if I’ve considered switching out of the magazine journalism major;
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NOISE professionals with resumes longer than the years I’ve lived. You seem unenthused, and your work shows your disinterest. It’s not reaching the right standards, they say in my head—which I exaggerate to sit in my sunken place more deeply. So, paint it on your doors and scream it out your windows: I am a writer that cannot write. I close my eyes and see the piles of journals in my moonlit living room, bamboo shutters drawn so some creepy passerby can see right in. My journals live everywhere: under my monitor speakers on my desk, shoved between the dozens of books on my shelves, and under my bed collecting dust. They taunt me and tell me they’re not worth shit. But I turn over and grab one of three resting on my nightstand anyway. The hardest topics come first in desperate strokes and scrawls in print or on my phone: my middle school butane abuse, the ex I cheated on twice, or how I haven’t called my grandmother in two months because I’m scared that the more I talk to her the harder it will be when she passes. But then eventually it turns into numerous scribbles of capitalized clichés like, “YOU CAN DO THIS,” and “YOU ARE A CAPABLE, INTELLIGENT HUMAN BEING.” And a part of me believes it. Only until the screen no longer illuminates my face. Then I am back in the dark again, asking myself what the hell I was thinking when I used the word “dude” ironically in an academic paper. My phone appears in my hand just as fast as I put it down. It’s reached the two-hour mark, so I do what my counselor and psychology majors have told me to do: I type “anxiety
hotline” into the glowing searchbar on my phone, awaiting a miracle. “Welcome to America’s hottest talkline. Ladies, to talk to interesting and exciting guys free, press one now. Guys, hot ladies are waiting to talk to you. Press two to connect free now. Ladies, press one now. Guys, press two now.” What the fuck? I mean, yeah it annoyed me that I called a supposed crisis hotline and got this shit. But why did it have to be gendered? I pressed two out of spite, but the call dropped. They knew I was a girl and bashed the phone into the receiver. I laughed at the thought. I’d made it this far, actually reaching out, dialing the number, however slowly and however useless the result. Try again, man, I speak into the darkness. I find another number. Deep breath—and we’re off. It rings. And rings. And rings. I take the phone off my ear and observe the number. Did I type in the right one? After six full rings I press the red button on the screen. I check the browser again, check the number to see that it’s the right one. Digit by digit, I check for the third time and then call again. And it rings, and rings. My hand moves over to the edge of the bed, and loosens its grip on my phone midair. I watch it plop, whip my head back down on the pillow, and stare up at the ceiling. My eyes are closed, tightly shut, waiting for the silence of my room to muffle the voices in my head. You’re a writer that can’t write, they say. And now, when the government illegally looks at your phone records, they’ll see you’re a pervert, too. JM
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A student refugee from Pakistan giving Syracuse a taste of her home cuisine. A group of local librarians trying to keep the print world alive. A mentor aiming to give students a better chance in life. In the 7th Annual Jerk awards, we celebrate different kinds of people doing different kinds of things with one goal in mind: benefiting the Syracuse community. Illustration by Erin Reeves
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Altruist of the Year: Keelan Erhard
While some seniors spent their final year at Syracuse University complaining about Chuck's closing, Keelan Erhard began the Menstrual Product Initiative at SU, which provides free tampons and pads in both men's and women's restrooms in five locations on campus. Erhard, co-chair of the Student Life Committee, focused on inclusion when developing the program this past fall. He ensured it was nondiscriminatory and available to both cis women and trans men by refraining from using the term "feminine products" in the initiative's name. But Erhard isn't encouraging only gender equality. He also proposed the Accommodations Clause bill, which will require all registered student organizations to print a statement on their flyers that informs students of how to receive accommodations they need to participate in the club. Erhard's drive for inclusion stems from being part of the LGBTQ community. "I want to make sure no one feels out of place on the university's campus and be a voice for people who aren't heard," he says. Though Erhard doesn't know if he will take his advocacy to a non-profit or public office after graduation, we think Senator Erhard has a nice ring to it.
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Ass-Kicker of the Year: Phil Benedict Phil Benedict leads a double life. When he's not replacing light bulbs and tightening leaky water pipes as the maintenance supervisor, he's summoning his martial arts skills to teach boxing and self-defense to SU students. A big believer in the martial arts, he cites Bruce Lee as his icon. Similar to Lee, he brought on challenge after challenge throughout his life, joining the Air Force—where he was on the boxing team—and later becoming a police officer for Onondaga County. His confidence comes from years of training to fight and defend. However, Benedict knows that many do not have this same self-assuredness. Benedict was disgusted when he saw a man harass a woman in a bar 40 years ago, inspiring him to advocate for the confidence to defend to this day. He is determined to teach self-defense. and self-confidence to SU's campus. In his class, Benedict teaches skills like dislocating the shoulder of an attacker, but also stresses the importance of reporting incidents. This way, he gives his students the courage to fight, physically or legally, for their respect. Benedict's efforts pass on his conviction that "nobody should be a victim."
Nasty Woman of the Year: Erin Singleton This year Erin Singleton brought girl power back to SU. Singleton is the founder of the SU Women's Empowerment Project, a program born out of her anger over the 2016 presidential election. Believing all humans are entitled to equal rights, she created the project to reaffirm that people are more than the government tries to tell them. The project coordinates with female speakers and works with Singleton's team to fight inequality. "It's more than just contributing a hashtag on Twitter," she says. Singleton wants to encourage frustrated students to do more than tweet about their problems. She strives to create a dialogue between students of all identities, and Syracuse faculty to speak out against discrimination. She organized SU's Women's Empowerment Week, and plans to keep it as an annual event, with members of her "Empowerment Team" following in her footsteps to maintain the tradition.
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Artist of the Year: Marion Wilson Marion Wilson's parents taught her and her three sisters the importance of involving their work with social good and change. Art became Wilson's medium to doing so. In 2007 with help from the students in the social sculpture course she created at SU, Wilson transformed a 1984 RV into the Mobile Literacy and Arts Bus. MLAB acts as a mobile classroom, photo lab, and gallery, but is currently collaborating with the "I Have a Dream" Foundation to travel crosscounty to promote higher education to low-income students in areas that didn't receive it before. Wilson is also working on another project: the renovation of an old drug haven located at 601 Tully St. into the Center for Engaged Art and Research, a education center that will stay in place. Wilson will be leaving Syracuse in August to freelance in the New York Metropolitan Area.
Mentor of the Year: Obi Afriyie Born in Brooklyn but raised in Monroe, N.Y., Obi Afriyie has always had a passion for education. A cultural foundations of education and history dual major, Afriyie spends a fair amount of time working in local schools. Through his major he experienced first-hand why Syracuse is one of the worst school districts in New York State – only 67 percent of students in the district end up graduating. Frustrated with the education gap between the university and the community, he founded Syracuse Students Teaching Healthy Habits. The organization allows SU students to teach younger students in middle and high schools in the Syracuse district from everything form the risks of drugs and alcohol to sexual education, including STD prevention. As of the spring 2017, the program is currently running in seven schools and in the Building Men's Program, but Afriyie hopes to implement SSTHH in every middle and high school in Syracuse by the time he graduates in 2018.
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Gutenbergs of the Year: Syracuse in Print
Looking to fill a void in Syracuse, Patrick Williams and Jason Luther, created the zine-making and DIY workshop Syracuse in Print. Originally from Texas and Buffalo, NY, respectively, they've been putting their passion for self-publication and creativity to work in central New York since 2015. "Syracuse has this really interesting history in publishing and in office products and books. Many, many prominent writers have lived here and continue to live here," Williams says. "There's so many pockets of interesting writing going on in this community." Though Syracuse in Print takes its inspiration from events like the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair, Luther and Williams tailor their workshops to the regional scene. "I can tell you probably on one hand how many people do zines regularly in this town," Luther says . "So we wanted to really open it up, but also teach people how to do zines." The partners' periodic workshops lead by a doctoral student in composition and rhetoric and the former director of the writing center at SU allow local artists to create books, comics, posters, buttons, and—our favorite—stickers.
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Cultural Ambassador of the Year: Sarah Robin
Sara Robin knows just how much a good meal costs. Arriving to Syracuse in 2012 as a refugee from her native Pakistan, Robin enrolled in Onondaga Community College's food management services program. Adam Sudmann, founder of My Lucky Tummy--and also in charge of OCC's Food Management services program—found Robin when she worked as a caterer for one of My Lucky Tummy's events. She became "restaurateur in residence" in December for With Love, Pakistan— a teaching restaurant for OCC students in the food management and services program. Robin says she feels "blessed" for her experience and opportunity to cook her cultural food for others. "Whenever I get a compliment," Robin says, "people say 'it's the best food I've ever had in my life.'" Sara's term comes to an end this summer and With Love, Pakistan will change its name depending on the new restaurateur's country of origin. But Robin hopes to keep her Pakistani cuisine in the Syracuse community for a while longer as she plans to open her own cafe and restaurant in the future. "I have a dream in my heart," Robin says, "and it just makes everything beautiful." JM
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REWIND
BAYWATCH The 90s television staple is the latest in a recent run of self-aware tv-to-film reboots. Hoff not included. By Marissa Ondra The image of a red-bathing-suit-clad youth running in slow motion across a glistening beach is sunburnt into the collective conscious of American television history. From zealous electronic synths to the voluminous hair, Baywatch perfectly encapsulates end-of-the-millenium excess. Kicking off summer movie season—yes it's here already, it's apparent that chokers aren’t the only 90s trend worth revisiting. The film adaption of Baywatch starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Zac Efron will be breaststroking into theaters on May 26, this time with a satirical spin. Triggered by the success of 21 and 22 Jump Street, Hollywood's most recent trend is reviving campy TV shows with a meta-self awareness. The latest potential resurrection: Baywatch. The studio system is notorious for striking while the iron is hot, and continuing to do so until audiences suffer from fatigue— looking at you, Marvel. Perhaps this history of Hollywood recycling franchises is one of the reasons why these tongue-in-cheek adaptions are catching on. The novelty of breathing irreverent life back into these dated series is a refreshing way to inject “originality” into the least original concept: a remake. We might mock it now, but back in the heyday, the Los Angeles-based lifeguards translated remarkably well across the globe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the program reached 158 countries with 1.1 billion weekly viewers at its peak. Baywatch 58 5.17 • JERK
calls back to a simpler time when folks of all creeds and cultures gathered round to watch The Hoff and Pamela Anderson run around tight swimwear. The show cemented its popularity during a lengthy, slow-motion run from 1989 to 2001. With a built-in fan base and the international ratings boasted during its prime, it is not difficult to see why studios felt Baywatch was a worthy investment for the big screen. Not to mention that the power of nostalgia has proven to motivate filmgoers at the box office. The humor of Baywatch lies in the characters taking themselves so seriously. Who knew there were so many ways to incorporate melodramatic drowning? Five minutes into any episode, it becomes clear that acting was not a priority for the casting department. Gratuitous body ogling became the program’s true claim to fame. The legacy of Baywatch rests firmly on David Hasselhoff’s chiseled chest and Pamela Anderson’s high-cut suit. Still, the appetite for Baywatch grows at an inexplicably insatiable rate. A musical is in development at London’s West End. If anyone is capable of instilling some class into the washed-up, borderline pornographic source material, it’s the British. After decades of dormancy, Baywatch remains cemented in pop culture history, tan lines and all. In the words of fellow 90s icon Chandler Bing, “This is the brilliance of the show. Always keep them running.” JM
NO JUDGMENT
The Bachelor( ette) By Lily Sarkisian : Illustration by Emily Bruder
THE DEAL: In a perfect world, we all meet our soulmate in our early-to-mid 20's, get married after a few years of blissful dating, and live happily ever after. However, we don’t live in a perfect world. That guy you met up with on Tinder last night at 1 a.m. probably isn’t the one. So what do we do? For some people, the solution to being young, hot and single is to join a reality dating show, like the everpopular guilty pleasure The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. For the three of you reading who aren’t familiar with how the show works: turn back. Now. THE ISSUE: Unsurprisingly, when 25 people live in a confined space for weeks on end with no connection to the outside world doesn't exactly constitute a recipe for understanding and friendship—and drama ensues. Contestants cry and fight, the lead sobs and stares wistfully outside of plane windows and viewers are left to soak it all in and mock their struggles. Of course this isn’t how love is supposed to happen—for most contestants, the entire show is just a desperate attempt for fame and attention. The whole thing is probably scripted for ratings anyway.
might need one. When deciding between the final three contestants, the bachelor or bachelorette takes them on individual overnight trips, and usually bones all three. The Bachelor and The Bachelorette romanticize hookup culture, ultimately producing unrealistic representations of the contestants—especially when they’re forced to live in a house with two other people who fucked the same dude or chick.
THE DEFENSE: Life is hard, but so is finding love. The economy is in shambles, we’re a politically polarized nation, and we’re catapulting into what adults call “the real world” at breakneck speeds with no idea how to handle it. We deserve shitty, self-indulgent, and wildly unrealistic reality television and a glass of wine. On May 22, join the millions of viewers worldwide and accept the rose. JM
THE (BIGGER) ISSUE: The show is essentially a carnival of fools acting desperate making themselves miserable. As a rule of thumb, it’s safe to say any show that has participants consult a therapist after they get eliminated is problematic, but it appears contestants
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AMPLIFIED
PECAS Members: Owen Shaer, bass; John Morisi, drums; Jake Harms, guitar; Sandy Davis, guitar, keys, and vocals | Active since: 2014 | Sounds like: Lana del Rey, A Fine Frenzy | What they Jerk to: Solange By Kennedy Rose : Photos provided by Gusteauo Ponce
Jerk Magazine: How did Pecas come to be? Sandy Davis: It’s my solo thing. I had a few bands in college that were me and other people writing songs. Then I just wanted to do a solo thing, so I wrote some songs and put out an album. Then I decided I wanted to play live and I got people to join the band. It’s pretty much me and the supporting band members. JM: So what does Pecas mean? SD: It means “freckles” in Spanish. I was born in Spain and lived there until I was six. I was, like, the only redhead ginger in my family, so that’s my nickname. So the name's a nod to that side of my background. JM: Are you classically trained in any instruments or are you self-taught? SD: I’m self-taught, which is a shame
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because my mom is classically trained in piano and she totally could have taught me, or I could have been more patient when she tried to teach me as a kid. I didn’t really start playing music until I was a senior in high school, but then I picked up a guitar and started to teach myself how to play. But I never took formal lessons at all. I kind of regret that now, but it is what it is. JM: What’s your favorite song you’ve written so far? SD: The album that hasn’t come out yet; it’ll probably come out this fall or winter at this point. There’s one song called “Kids” that I really like and another called “Treasures” and they’re both kind of sentimental but also have a magical feeling. They’re both about growing up and the things you give up as you get older and also about the end of the world. JM
SYNAPSE
STRANGER THAN FICTION Documentaries have a bad reputation. Some of the most exciting, enlightening, and powerful films in recent memory get equated to the stuffy, balding white dudes talking about Carthage and Babylonian agricultural practices on the ancient 27-inch TV in your history class. Do yourself a favor and tune in to 2017’s new slate of docs.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
Heath Ledger captured audiences' hearts and minds with brilliant performances and glorious dimples. This new reflection on the actor’s life, from Spike TV and directors, Adrian Buitenhuis and Derik Murray features never-before seen home recordings and interviews with co-stars, directors, family, and friends. The doc drops on May 17 on Spike TV, and we cannot wait to see Ledger's sultry looks on screen again.
Tell Them We Are Rising
Marsha P. Johnson, a famous drag queen, veteran of the Stonewall riots, and cofounder of the trans activist movement was found dead in the Hudson river in 1992 shortly after a pride parade. Initially ruled a homicide, trans activists re-examine her death, digging through old interviews, old clues, and newly surfaced footage in the film directed by David France, which premiered at Tribeca in April. An absolute must-watch while living inTrump's America.
I Am Heath Ledger
Historically black colleges and universities' contributions to society have gone largely unnoticed for nearly two centuries. Stanley Nelson's latest documentary tells of the prolific cultural significance of HBCUs in America. In doing so, Tell Them We Are Rising uplifts as much as it informs. Explore the rich history and influence of Betsy DeVos’s favorite example of “school choice” on PBS January 2018. JM
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DISCOVERSYR
roasted
Whether you’re a hipster looking for a new spot that’s not Recess or a sleepdeprived biochem student studying for finals, Salt City Coffee provides a quiet space just five minutes off campus where you can get grinding. By Rashika Jaipuriar : Photography by Claudia McCann
“Morning, Roy,” Aaron Metthe calls to a customer. “You’re here extra early.” “Yes, I am,” he responds. “Crazy morning.” It’s a Friday around 8:30 a.m. and Metthe’s morning grind as the owner of Salt City Coffee just started. The shop recently found a home in a quaint church building on West Onondaga Street. Salt City Coffee has the classic coffee shop ambience: dim lighting, the smell of fresh coffee. The kitschy knickknacks on display, and a wooden door placed over a brick wall. The shop also features a pay-itforward program, where customers can buy a token for another guest to “cash in” for a free cup of coffee or snack. “We want to make it feel like you’re
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walking into a living room in somebody’s house,” Metthe says. Inspiration struck Metthe seven years ago when he and his wife spent a month with friends in Hilton Head, SC. While thrift shopping, Mette found a 1980s Melitta coffee roaster—and his next business venture. “Growing up, my dad only ever did pour-over coffee,” Metthe says. “He always ground his beans fresh. So I just one-upped my dad and started coffee roasting.” Inspired by their thrift shop find, the Metthes began their roasting endeavor in 2010. It started out as a hobby, making coffee for friends and family, but then transformed it into an online business—and now it's
DISCOVERSYR
Salt City's homey bar is located at 509 W. Onadaga St.
Salt City Coffee hopes to be a force of good and a gathering place for the neighborhood.
What started as a Metthe's hobby grew into a full-scale roasting operation.
Metthe's fulltime gig. He left his previous job where he helped kids with mental health diagnoses maintain their community and family environments, committing himself to his business venture. On March 27, Salt City Coffee opened the doors to its brick-and-mortar location to the public. Metthe hopes it will be a coffee shop for the entire neighborhood. It’s located on the intersection of a few very different and eclectic neighborhood: the Southside, Near Westside, and Westside. “We want to be a gathering space for the neighborhood,” Metthe says. “We wanted to balance that fine line of having traffic
so we can actually have business so we can stay afloat, but being close enough to a neighborhood where the neighbors can kind of own the place, feel like it's theirs [and] not a corporate environment or overly commercialized.” Metthe says that small business development should be encouraged, and people should have spaces to discuss neighborhood issues. “We want to be a force of good,” Metthe says. “And I think the first step is just identifying where people are at and what people need. First and foremost, we just want to be here.” JM JERK
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SPEAKEASY
Sober
Thoughts Jerk spoke with Newhouse alum Seamus Kirst who recently published a memoir entitled Shitfaced: Musings of a Former Drunk recounting his battle with alcoholism and substance abuse which began at age 13, all while becoming the valedictorian of his high school class and moving onto Brown University. By Elissa Candiotti : Photo provided by Seamus Kirst Jerk Magazine: What inspired you to write your memoir, Shitfaced: Musings of a Former Drunk? Seamus Kirst: Once I stopped drinking, I impulsively wrote this essay. It’s hard to write about the non-flattering parts of your life, but the essay was shared thousands of times in a day, so I felt an obligation to use my experiences to help others. JM: Partying at some colleges is expected and accepted. What are your thoughts on party culture? SK: The line to having a mental health problem and being a partier is really hard to separate. Students convince themselves they are okay but don’t actually take care of themselves the right way. JM: You talk about LGBTQ issues in Shitfaced. What part of college campuses is most problematic for the LGBTQ community? SK: One of the biggest issues is that classes like queer theory will be taken mostly by
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queer people because others don’t feel comfortable being in a course like that. Change will only start when we expose ourselves to different kinds of people and issues. That can happen just by taking a class. JM: Why is it important to tell stories about mental health, substance abuse, and LGBTQ issues right now? Is it harder to do this in Trump’s America? SK: It’s time to stay optimistic for change. There’s a combination of more people speaking out about issues in Trump’s America, but there’s also a rise of hate crimes. It’s hard to watch. JM: If you could redo college, what would you do differently? SK: I felt invincible in college and thought I could do it all. I had pressure to do well in school, go out all the time, and maintain way too many friendships. The level of exhaustion was unsustainable and if I could redo it all, I would take care of myself and make a healthy routine. JM
OBITCHUARY
Bras CAUSE OF DEATH: Bralettes By Kelsey Thompson : Illustration by Claudia Lewis
It looks like Elphaba isn’t the only one defying gravity. After a lifetime of cinched shoulders, neck aches, and an empty void in your wallet following a Victoria’s Secret shopping spree, Bra kicked the bucket, only to be replaced by a free spirit, Californian Bralette. Bralette, a dainty little thing, is a mere two inches of fabric, but costs half a paycheck and makes it acceptable to have your lingerie on display outside of the bedroom. Designed to be as unstructured as your collegiate lifestyle, she is your go-to asset when your assets are in need of some TLC—true liberty for your cleavage, that is. Gone are the days of Bra literally placing the weight of the world on your shoulders as you succumbed to the pressure of her demands. She died the way many of us fear going: stabbed straight through the heart by a broken underwire. In Bra’s absence, Bralette gained momentum as the ultimate gal pal, your dependable BFF who can be found traipsing through Coachella with a Native American headdress sprinkled with cultural appropriation. She helped you navigate the murky waters of the fashion world and proved you could be on the cover of Vogue
while sporting a garment as comfortable as the ratty pair of sweats you should have thrown out three years ago. As the feminists of the world united in retaliation against the patriarchy, Bralette took charge commander in chief. When the fists go up, the tits come down. In a culture that has glorified huge, perky boobs, Bralette, the hippie of the fashion universe, reminds us all that the only things that matter are peace and love—and a killer complement to our harem pants. Bralette officially became Queen Bee when she debuted as Kendall Jenner’s go-to fashion accessory on the days she wasn’t exploiting political activism for Pepsi money. Serving as a reminder that gravitational force exists, Bralette gives an anatomy lesson to the frat bros who slept through high school health class: Boobs and nipples don’t always going to look like the ones on your incognito window when your roommate is "asleep." Bra will be remembered as the cause of joy among preteens sporting their first $10 training bra, sans tissue stuffing. She is survived by her two children, Strapless and Sports, as well as her illegitimate lovechild, Pasties. JM
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CLOSET CASE
Open Books Before Tumblr, we had to empty the corners of our brains somewhere: our diaries.
"I have always kept a journal.
“I’ve kept a journal my entire,
“I started writing down my
These started off as diaries
literal, life. I purchase a new one
dreams during my freshman
when I first learned to write and
every four years. My journal
year of high school. At the time, I
quickly developed into
often jumps around as my mind
was convinced that déjà vu was
sketchbooks. Both journals
does. It’s never clean, planned,
actually dreams that I previously
acted as outlets of expression
or organized. My journals are
had. Now that I have the dream
and contained my response to
written proof of my growth. I
journal, whenever things
what was taking place around
have learned so many lessons
happen that feel like déjà vu, I
me. Nineteen years later, I’m
by just expressing myself on
can check the journal."
still drawing in my sketchbook
paper. Whether it's through
every day. Sketchbooks are a
doodles, words, or collages, my
judgement-free zone available
journal has lead me to find
at your leisure—any time, any
meaning I wouldn’t have
place.”
otherwise uncovered.”
- Dylan Rheingold, Sophomore
Photography by Fiona Lenz
66 5.17 • JERK
- Emily Chalon, Junior
-Paris Babers, Junior
FORM & FUNCTION How To Dress for Saving an Ugandan Village Bandana: You're supposed to wear this while building homes or whatver, but tbh my flyaways are insane in this heat.
Single dreadlock: I wanted to show solidarity with my hair—Rachel Dolezal style. Pepsi: They don't have Swell bottles or Brita filters here, but this is the next best thing. Right, Kendall?
Tevas: So ugly, but at least you can see my pedicure— the color is "Bikini So Teeny."
DSLR Camera: Perfect for taking pictures of me holding an African baby. This will definitely get me at least 600 likes!
Elephant Pants: I only paid 50 cents for these at the market, but I’m sure the money is going towards raising a baby elephant or something.
Model: Lena Oliver Stylists: Hairol Ma, Nick Della Sala, and Tiffany Moran Photographer: Fiona Lenz
JERK
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