February 2, 2016

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Ted Cruz wins Iowa

Republican candidate Ted Cruz beat Donald Trump by more than 3 percentage points, with 27.7 percent, in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses. Cruz is a tea party favorite who played up his conservative ideals and appealed to Christian evangelicals.

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton held a narrow lead over Bernie Sanders, holding a lead of less than 1 percent.

SOURCE: CNN

The North Carolina trial that determined whether or not the revisions to North Carolina’s voter ID laws, which mandate that voters must show a form of ID before voting, ended Monday.

Defendants in the case say that showing an ID before voting will prevent voting fraud, but opponents say voter fraud is not a legitimate issue, and it’s really a stab at disenfranchising minority groups. It’s unclear when a ruling will come, but it is likely that the defendants will win the case.

Since the 2010 elections, North Carolina and 21 other states have added voting restrictions. U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder will review thousands of pages of documents and evaluate testimony and arguments before making his decision.

SOURCE: THE NEWS & OBSERVER

Mike Huckabee suspends his campaign

Unable to rally the “Huckamentum” he had anticipated, Huckabee announced the suspension of his campaign Monday. Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses in 2008. He is the former governor of Arkansas, a Baptist preacher and hosted his own show on Fox News. He was cut from the main stage of the Republican debate last week and failed to attract any voters in Monday night’s Iowa caucus.

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES

insidetechnician

OPINION Chronicles of Laura in College

2

2016

Raleigh, North Carolina

SBP reflects on last semester, looks ahead

IN BRIEF

Federal judge’s decision is last step of NC’s voter ID law trial

tuesday february

Q&A Khari Cyrus, SBP with

Inez Nicholson News Editor

VICTORIA CROCKER/TECHNICIAN

Jada Smith, a junior studying nutrition science, donates her change to the Penny Wars competition hosted by the National Panhellenic Council. The money is going toward water bottles and water filters for those in Flint, Michigan. When asked why she donated, Smith said, “I just saw the flyer out and wanted to donate and thought it was a good cause.”

NPHC raises money for citizens of Flint, MI Kat Kirby Correspondent

In response to Flint, Michigan’s water crisis, NC State’s National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), has launched Mission Impossible: Save Flint Michigan in an attempt to raise $1,000 to help residents in need. NPHC is an organization consisting of nine historically AfricanAmerican, international Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities.

To expedite its fundraising efforts,

NPHC will be tabling a “Penny War” in Talley Student Union Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a competition between the NPHC, Panhellenic Association of NC State, Intrafraternity Council, Society of African American Culture, Alpha Pi Omega and Order of Omega. All students, faculty and staff regardless of Greek affiliation are encouraged to donate. The prize for winning is seven front row tickets to the

It’s nearly election season again for Student Government, as filing for candidacy opens Feb. 8. With NC State preparing to find its newest leader, the Technician spoke with Student Body President Khari Cyrus to discuss his accomplishments thus far and what he plans to do in his final semester at the helm.

Q: What were some of the highlights of your presidency last semester?

A: I›ve had a great time serving as student body president. Being able to sit on the Board of Trustees and advocate for students is an amazing experience, and last semester I was able to work with the Trustees a decent amount. People will debate about what the most important aspect of the office is, but a major highlight for my term was being able to shape the conversations taking place. Conversations about race and diversity have been occurring for quite some time now, but I’ve been amazed at how we’ve been able to make this front and center for a lot of different people across campus.

Q: What do you have planned for this semester?

A: This semester I really want to focus on smaller initiatives that we’ll be able to accomplish before the

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CYRUS continued page 3

World Hijab Day works to create dialogue Laurie Howard Correspondent

Three student panelists in hijab spoke Monday at Beyond the Veil, an event co-sponsored by NC State’s Muslim Student Association and the Women’s Center that gave women who wear the hijab the opportunity to share their experiences and answer questions.

The event was an extension of World Hijab Day and served to create dialogue promoting women’s positive personal experiences with the hijab.

“People see a veil, the hijab, but people don’t understand why we wear it,” said Doha Medani, a sophomore studying nutrition science. “There’s so much diversity

in the people who wear hijab, different situations in our lives that have brought us to wear it.”

World Hijab Day was created in 2013 by a hijabi, Nazma Khan, as a call to all women. A resident of New York, she founded the day with hopes for a change in the hijab’s perception, inviting all women regardless of religious affiliation to wear the hijab for a day.

“It’s like a ‘walk in a day in their shoes’ type of thing, for women to wear the hijab and see what happens, how things around them change when they are viewed as a Muslim woman — to step into that and get that perspective. So you can empathize in a way, or just

KAYDEE GAWLIK/TECHNICIAN

Hoda Abraham, a student of North Carolina Central University, Zeinab Zey, a French student, and Niwal Sheikh, a senior studying international studies, speak on their own individual experiences with wearing a hijab during “Beyond the Veil” — a forum where both non-Muslims and MusHIJAB continued page 2 lim women were invited to try the hijab and learn the significance. “ The event took place in Park Shops in honor of World Hijab Day on Monday.

See page 4.

2016 education plan aims to correct digital divide Staff Report

BIENVENIDOS And the Academy Award goes to another white male See page 6.

SPORTS Weigel set for succesful senior year See page 8.

ARCHIVE/CHRIS RUPERT

President Barack Obama speaks at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center Jan. 15, 2014. Obama spoke on the economy and his plan to make Raleigh the hub of an “innovation center.”

The United States Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology recently released its National Education Technology Plan for 2016. The plan calls for an increase in research and development efforts to integrate technology in education at every level in order to keep the United States competitive internationally.

The plan hopes to correct the “digital use divide” between those who use technology in active, creative ways to support their learning and those who often use technology for passive content consumption, like scrolling through Facebook or watching YouTube videos.

Among the NETP’s conclusions for the best path for education is that institutions should “develop funding models and plans for sustainable technology purchases and leverage openly licensed content while paying special attention to eliminating those resources and tasks that can be made obsolete by

technology.”

The state of North Carolina has an opportunity to take a step forward in this area, as the Board of Governors is currently considering adopting State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, or SARA. SARA is a volunteer agreement between its member states that establishes national standards for out-of-state distance-education courses and programs which greatly reduce the amount of licensing required for member institutions when offering distance-education courses to out-of-state students.

Up for discussion in the board is whether every college in North Carolina, not just in the UNC System, could become a member, thus allowing them to expand online/distance education offerings nationwide.

Elsewhere in education, President Barack Obama has made improving education policy a priority for his final months in office. In December, Obama

OBAMA continued page 2

News

PAGE 2 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016

OBAMA

continued from page 1

signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces the No Child Left Behind Act put in place by the Bush administration in 2002.

This bipartisan bill builds on the successes of NCLB, which the Department of Education praised for “[shining] a light on where students were making progress and where they needed additional support, regardless of race, income, zip code, disability, home language or background,” but also acknowledged that the legislation was in need of updating because of its prescriptive methods of testing.

After months of conducting extensive interviews with educators across the country, the Center for American Progress has called the current standardized testing practices in place as a result of NCLB “disconnected from the curriculum,” which can often “halt or disrupt actual schooling for weeks on end” adding that “[standardized tests] create significant anxiety for both students and teachers.”

In his State of the Union Address in January, the president called the ESSA “an important start” but implored Congress to build on this progress by seeking to provide every student “the hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready.”

With this goal in mind, Obama released his proposal for the Computer Science for All Saturday, which calls for $4 billion in funding for states and $100 million directly for school districts in his upcoming budget to expand K-12 computer science.

The initiative also calls for $135 million in computer science funding to be made available this year with contributions from the National Science Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service, according to the Computer Science for All Fact Sheet.

These proposals are based on White House-generated numbers claiming that last year there were more than 600,000 high-paying tech jobs that went unfilled and projections that by 2018, 51 percent of all STEM jobs will be in fields requiring higher education computer science experience.

TECHNICIAN

THROUGH NICK’S LENS

To infinity and beyond PHOTO BY NICK FAULKNER

A

stronaut Christina Koch, a 2002 NC State alumna, presents an image from the news conference announcing the new cohort of astronauts that she’s part of. Koch talked about her disbelief when she had gotten the call that she would be an astronaut and the difficulty of being unable to tell anyone that she had been accepted until the official press release. The talk, held in Stewart Theatre as part of the Scholars Forum, drew a crowd of more than 200.

Researchers find way to convert carbon to diamonds Staff Report

NC State researchers from materials science and engineering have discovered Qcarbon, a new form of solid carbon. With Q-carbon, researchers have been able to develop a technique to create diamond-like structures at room temperature.

Other phases of carbon include graphite and diamonds. Jay Narayan the John C. Fan distinguished chair professor of materials science and engineering and lead author of the three papers that describe the work, says that Q-carbon may only be found in the natural world at the core of some planets.

Unlike other forms of carbon, Q-carbon is extremely magnetic. Even more interesting, Q-carbon is harder than diamond,

HIJAB

continued from page 1

better understand it,” said Hoda Abrahim, a senior studying nutrition sciences at North Carolina Central University.

Though often denoted as a sign of oppression, the hijab has a complex, multifarious identity that’s impossible to pin down.

“It is much more complicated than portrayed in the media,” said Jen’nan Read, associate professor at Duke University and recent speaker at an event about Islam and immigration. “Particularly in the West and other countries that do not require women to wear the hijab.”

Though worn by many as a comfort, an identity, an outward sign of faith, the hijab is constricted by social stigmas that reduce its personal, cultural and religious importance. World Hijab Day seeks to change this and highlight the right of a woman’s choice whether or not she dons the traditional headscarf.

“My hijab is how I represent myself to the world: as a Muslim, first and foremost,” Medani said. “The first thing people see … is my hijab. It makes it clear to the world, or whoever else, that I’m Muslim. And with being Muslim comes a certain set of values … it tells people a lot about who you are.”

Abrahim said her hijab is a symbol of her faith.

“I’m wearing my faith on my sleeve,” she said.

and when exposed to low levels of energy, it glows.

Narayan said he wants to create Qcarbon to develop new electronic display technologies.

Process of developing Q-carbon: 1. Start with a substrate, like sapphire or glass.

2. Coat the substrate with an elemental carbon that does not have a crystalized structure.

3. Hit the carbon with a single laser pulse for a tiny fraction of a second. During the laser pulse, the carbon coat’s temperature rises to about 3,727 degrees Celsius and then cools rapidly.

The final result is a film of Q-carbon that is anywhere between 20 and 500 nanome-

Beyond the goal to help redefine the hijab rests a possibly deeper issue: the associated abuse of hijabi women. The hijab is inherently linked with Islam, and as such, clearly identifies Muslim women. Muslim men are innately harder to identify.

“Especially now, because beards are like a hipster thing,” Abrahim said. “For me, if I wasn’t wearing the hijab, you’d have no idea who I was, where I was from or what my background was.”

As an easily recognizable demographic, women who wear the hijab are often subject to verbal and physical abuse, hate crimes and blatant discrimination.

“For us as Muslim women, you can identify us as Muslim,” Medani said.

“When you see us, it’s like, ‘I know who that is.’ This role can be very empowering — how you act and how you portray yourself means a lot — you are exemplifying yourself as a Muslim. It’s very important, especially now.”

Public perception of the hijab is directly tied to current events, and as such, treatment of hijabis is subject to that inf luence. Without the necessary discussion concerning hijab and Islam in general comes negative interactions and the creation of divides.

Beyond the Veil and World Hijab Day hope to start the conversation to break those divides, further understanding and continue positive dialogue concerning hijabis for years to come.

GRAPHIC: DEVAN FEENEY

ters thick. When researchers change the rate of cooling and laser pulse, they can create diamond structures.

The process is significantly cheaper than

FLINT

continued from page 1

Pan-African step show.

“We’re giving back to the community and to people that need it,” said Marcus Tisdale, a sophomore studying engineering.

Pennies are worth positive points and silver coins, or negative points, can be placed into an opponent’s bucket to sabotage their chance at winning the Penny War. The money raised will be sent to the United Way of Genesee County (UWGC), which has set up the Flint Water Fund for the purchase of filters, bottled water, emergency support services and prevention efforts. All of the donations to this fund will be used for their projects.

The UWGC has sourced over 11,000 filter systems and 5,000 replacement filters, ongoing sources of bottled water to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan and also supports a dedicated driver for daily distribution.

On April 25, 2014, Flint, Michigan, started using water from the long-polluted Flint River as a cost-effective measure for the struggling city.

On Jan. 16, Obama declared a state of emergency in the city and surrounding county, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide up to $5 million in aid.

In addition to federal aid, state and local efforts, other organizations and groups like NPHC of NC State have been working to raise money.

“The crisis doesn’t just impact Flint, Michigan, it impacts what environmental agencies

the original process of making diamonds, according to Narayan. His team hopes to use diamond-like structures to create diamond microneedles and large-area diamond films to be used in the pharmaceutical drug industry, industrial processes and electronics.

However, Narayan said they still have a lot to learn about Q-carbon.

“We know a lot about diamond, so we can make diamond nanodots,” he told NC State News. “We don’t yet know how to make Qcarbon nanodots or microneedles. That’s something we’re working on.”

NC State has filed two provisional patents on the Q-carbon and diamond creation techniques.

are permitting, even here in North Carolina,” said Ivy Jones, a sophomore studying Nutrition. “Water is a natural resource that many people depend on for a variety of different things and the well-being of many people is affected due to this issue.”

In August 2014, city officials issued a boilwater advisory after coliform bacteria was detected in tap water. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality blames cold weather, aging pipes and a population decline.

Flash-forward to the year 2015. A local pediatrician, Mona Hanna-Attisha, alerted officials in September about her concerns pertaining to the water. The number of Flint children with elevated levels of lead in their blood had risen alarmingly since the city changed its water supply the previous year.

An official from the Department of Environmental Quality said the pediatrician’s remarks were “unfortunate.” The authorities had insisted for months that the water met federal and state standards.

However, Hanna-Attisha was not wrong.

High levels of lead have been present in the water system for over a year. Tests showed that some water samples had over 11 parts per billion of lead. This is enough to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of “toxic waste” according to a group of Virginia Tech researchers.

“This could have been nipped in the bud before last summer,” said Daniel Giammar, an environmental engineer at Washington University in St. Louis.

News

TECHNICIAN

CYRUS

continued from page 1

year’s end. I’ve charged each of the executive departments with planning and executing a diversity-related event, and we’ve heard some awesome ideas thus far. Students pay fees toward Student Government, so my number one goal is to make sure every student sees where their money is going and how it’s being used. A decent amount of my time will also be dedicated to following up on the Student Government Town Hall on Racial Climate. I was serious when I told people that the town hall would not be the end of the conversation, and I hope that the next student body president will pick up where we’ve left off.

Q: A big tenant of your platform during your campaign was inclusion.

What have you done to foster this on campus? How do you feel it has gone?

A: Inclusion was indeed a major portion of the platform, and it’s something I’ve challenged the executive cabinet to think about as we plan events. Our first effort for inclusion was with Respect the Pack at the beginning of the semester. My goal was to make this event less of a celebration of how far we’ve come, and more of a call to action to highlight how far we still have to go. We held it in Talley and made students complete several tasks before they could receive the brand new Respect the Pack T-shirts, and I think this is a model that encouraged interaction and engagement with the message of diversity and inclusion. While Respect the Pack is just one example, I think it speaks to what I’ve been trying to do all year. Not just hold programs where students are being talked at, but instead plan events where students are a

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 • PAGE 3

key part of the conversation. You saw this with Respect the Pack and even more so with the town hall event. Overall I’ve tried my best to push inclusion in just about all I’ve done. Even little things like the promotion of a wide variety of events in the HOWL can go a long way in helping students experience different backgrounds and in turn become more welcoming to diverse backgrounds.

Q: In an interview with the Technician last April, you said you had plans on: • revitalizing UNC rivalry week for both fall and spring • having TransLoc monitors installed at bus stops across campus • creating dual-lot parking passes and reaching the goal of obtaining $10,000 in grants from the UNC Association of Student Governments.

What are the statuses on all of those plans? Do you expect to make any more progress on those?

A: Our UNC Rivalry week has actually transformed into a revitalized Traditions Week that will incorporate even more aspects of NC State’s rich history. The week is being planned as we speak by the Traditions Department, and I’m confident that all students will find something worthwhile to participate in. As far as the Association of Student Governments, ASG, we’ve done a decent job in maintaining relationships with the organization and finding ways that NC State can continue to maximize our benefits of being a part of this body. We haven’t hit the $10,000 mark, but we have submitted multiple requests to ASG to receive funding for various projects. There’s a proposal currently being drafted that might push us over the $10,000 mark, but we’ll have to see how that plays out

SOURCE: NUBIAN MESSAGE

over the next couple of months.

Finally, in regards to our innovative ideas on transportation, we’ve yet to see much progress. With that being said, it’s something that students have consistently cited as one of the things they’d most like to see, so again, I want to encourage the next student body president to pick up where I’ve left off. A year in office isn’t a significant amount of time, something I quickly realized, and I think it’s vital that we have some continuity on major initiatives like these.

But the year isn’t over yet, so I will continue to work to achieve all of the items on my platform.

Q: You also said you were working to get discounts on Hillsborough Street by using the debit card feature on the Wolfpack One Card. How is that going?

A: Hillsborough discounts are something I really want to see happen. Our focus has slightly shifted to a physical discount card that students will be able to use at

various businesses up and down Hillsborough Street. I hope to incorporate this into the Student Government budget so each year we’ll be able to purchase these discount cards and provide them to students that attend various SG events like Respect the Pack and Campout. The budget process is beginning later this month, and I think members of Student Government will see it as a great way to put students’ fees to good use.

So stay tuned!

Q: What do you think about the current racial climate on campus, in light of the diversity town hall talks?

A: I think as we hold more events discussing the level of diversity on campus, we’ll see/hear of more instances of people acting in ways that aren’t consistent with the type of community we want here at NC State. As students become more aware of what is and isn’t acceptable on campus, and more aware of how to deal with instances in which diversity isn’t

being valued, we’ll see more cases of students calling each other out on social media and other platforms. If I had to give a range of the racial climate on our campus, one being abysmal and 10 being utopian, I’d say it’s f luctuated between four and six. I see situations where students use their various positions of power to combat racism and try to move NC State in a positive direction. However, I also see situations where people like to assume how they’d react if they were in a marginalized population and feel the need to tell others how they should feel about racism and bigotry. I would like to believe that I, alongside countless other student leaders, have helped move the needle in the right direction. When I come visit campus 15 years from now, I hope that some of the battles I’ve fought this year will have had a lasting impact on the climate of the university, but only time will tell.

TECHNICIAN TURNS 96 | BLAST FROM THE PAST Staff Report

The Technician celebrated its 96th birthday Monday. Since the first issue was published in 1920, the Technician staff has grown from a staff of barely 10 to a staff of about 85 in 2016.

In 1988, the Technician transitioned from printing tri-weekly to printing four times a week. In 2000, the Technician began printing daily (Monday – Friday) until 2014, when it cut Friday printing to now print four times a week.

Some controversies have stinted the Technician since its creation.

In 1992, a conservative columnist wrote a piece criticizing the AfricanAmerican demands for a black cultural center at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The day the article ran, copies were taken from boxes and burned in the Brickyard in protest. As a result, NC State’s African-American newspaper, the Nubian Message, was created.

In 1996, the Technician’s editorin-chief stepped down, and a new one stepped up and fired several editors and reporters without explanation. University Police had to escort the editors from the Technician office. On the last edition of the year, three of the fired editors hijacked the system and inserted a column criticizing the new editor-in-chief for abusing her powers, and they asked university administrators to intervene. The editor-in-chief filed

a larceny report, and University Police dusted the Technician office for fingerprints and questioned former employees. The editorial board was unable to address the column until the following semester.

In 2002, the Technician published an article titled “Sorostitutes are weak and wounded.” About 200 representatives from Greek Life and African American Student Advisory Council gathered on Harris Field to complain about the article’s unfair representation of women’s activities in Greek Life.

However, dome of the Technician’s headlines have picked up national attention. When NC State beat No. 2 Duke last year in basketball, the headline for the story, “Pack flushes No. 2,” was picked up by USA Today and other well-known sports blogs.

However, insensitive headlines have also gained traction, such as in 1993 when the Technician used the headline “Worst loss since Hitler” for a story about the men’s basketball team’s loss to Campbell University for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The paper was criticized for its insensitivity.

The Technician staff is composed of paid, full-time students. It continues to be a forum for the student voice in which students make the final calls.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY VICTORIA CROCKER

A 1920 edition of the Agromeck shows the first staff of the Technician.

Opinion

PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016

TECHNICIAN

It’s deeper than we think F

ounded in 1926, the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars, is widely recognized as one of our most prestigious entertainment ceremonies. It is the oldest entertainment awards Garrison ceremony of its kind. This year, Rountree things took a dramatic twist.

Correspondent Several well-known actors and actresses either boycotted or publicized displeasure with the world’s supreme entertainment ceremony — Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, George Clooney, Spike Lee, Lupita Nyong’o and Mark Ruffalo, to name a few.

The reason for this seemingly rash action: For the second year in a row, all 20 Oscar nominees for acting are white. However, this overly simplified, race-based response hardly scratches at the surface of a deeper issue.

Famous writer and producer Lee said, “We can not support it and mean no disrespect but how is it possible for the second consecutive year all 20 contenders under the actor category are white? And let’s not even get into the other branches.”

While this year’s voting process mirrored that of the past, the voting pool remained rather homogenous; 94 percent of the voting pool was white, 77 percent were men and the median age was 62. The rather racially consistent ballot of nominees made many more aware of the lack of diversity within the voting pool.

Not to doubt or discredit the talent of any current nominees, but a more realistic voting pool is imperative to generate the best possible list of nominees. Historically precise sampling techniques illustrate that in order to most reliably gather the list, a more diverse pool that reflects the diverse American population is necessary.

It’s nothing personal against late middle-aged white men; the voting pool would look equally as distorted if it were comprised of mostly minority women of average age 30. The point is that just like a pool of mostly minority women of average age 30, the current pool of mostly late middle-aged white men is also erroneous.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, In addition to a 50/50 gender split, a more ethnically and racially factual voting pool would look something like 64 percent white, 16 percent Latino, 13 percent African-American, 5 percent Asian-American and 2 percent multiracial.

While a more diverse voting pool would yield less biased poll results, there are still a few vital remaining variables that need to be addressed.

Each year, approximately 6,261 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have the privilege of voting for 20 nominees from different awards categories.

{

IN YOUR WORDS

These members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are writers, producers, directors, art directors, visual effect supervisors and actors who apply for voting rights.

Each applicant applies for a voting right in one committee of their choice.

In addition to an “unusually high level of quality and distinction,” committee prerequisites for actors and actresses include three film credits with one from the past five years, a written letter and application approval from two current branch members.

For writers, producers and directors, two screen credits are necessary for further consideration, while art directors and visual effect supervisors must be active for a specified number of years that fluctuates based on their specific concentration of expertise.

Additionally, Oscar award nominees from the previous year are automatically considered for Academy Membership.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences admission standards lead to arguably the most crucial question regarding the entire Oscars Boycott: Who are the people applying to join the Academy of Voters?

Are deserving minorities and women applying but being disproportionately rejected for these positions? Or are largely white males of average age 63 applying for these spots? The answer to this question ultimately determines the validity and rationale behind the boycott itself.

If minorities and women who exceed committee requirements are being disproportionately rejected by the Academy, this may illustrate a greater problem of subconscious racial and gender favoritism within the organization.

On the other hand, while a more representative pool of voters is essential, if few minorities or women are even applying to the voting committees, how can the current voting pool be at fault for something as subjective as nominating the actors and actresses they feel are most deserving? After all, the actors they could pick as both nominees and members of the voting pool were already limited due to an existing lack of diversity within Hollywood itself.

Lastly, cumulative data from the past decade on the statistic of Oscar nominees by race and ethnicity would also be essential. These results could then be compared to the gender, racial and ethnic demographics of Hollywood and the United States as a whole.

While there are clearly greater problems in the world besides the Oscars, ensuring that hardworking, dedicated individuals in the entertainment world receive accurate recognition should be addressed.

}

What does Black History Month mean to you?

BY VICTORIA CROCKER

“It symbolizes a brutal history, but it also symbolizes a ton of accomplishments.”

“I really appreciate that that exists because I think it’s something that I certainly strive to incorporate in my social interactions with people on campus.”

Keith Neal senior, psychology

Andrew Miller senior, animal sciences

Chronicles of Laura in College

Zeenat Aasim Nadvi, freshman studying engineering

A pattern of social change in America A

t the beginning of every year, the regular job that the media does is summarize the major events that happened in the previous year. These events, which include social, economic, political, environmental and legal affairs, somehow represent the dynamic of Americans’ opinions. Yet, few would connect the dots of the past hundred years (or even longer) to see that the trends of public opinions have been changing regarding the same issue over Ziyi Mai time, and how that has shaped Staff Columnist federal and state governments to take action and respond.

Recently Alex Tribou and Keith Collins issued a series of interactive graphs in Bloomberg Business showing how fast Americans changed their minds during the past century.

The report compared six big issues — interracial marriage, prohibition, women’s suffrage, abortion, same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana — to show how Americans evaluated these issues in the past and may again in the future.

Some of the issues that we think are common sense today were not that obviously acceptable in the past. For example, perhaps everyone today accepts interracial marriage.

But, in the 1960s, 16 states had banned interracial marriage, most of which were Southern states. These states reluctantly and gradually abandoned the anti-interracial marriage laws until the Supreme Court ruled in the case Loving v. Virginia that it is unconstitutional to ban interracial marriage. It is hard to imagine that South Carolina and Alabama were the last two final holdouts on desegregation, with each not following the Supreme Court’s ruling until 1998 and 2000, respectively.

Not all the big issues follow the same pattern. Public opinions regarding alcohol and abortion have gone back and forth since the founding of this country. Starting in the mid19th century, most states rejected attempts to pass prohibition laws, allowing counties’ governments to decide whether to go dry. After entering the 20th century, popular votes in many states pushed for statewide prohibition, and eventually this prohibition of movement gave birth to the 18th Amendment to the U.S.

Constitution.

When it comes to abortion, the pattern of legislation and regulation has been always rocky. Before Roe v. Wade, 17 states, including North Carolina, allowed abortions. But today, the state’s legislative branch has tightened abortion laws and made extensive regulations on them. Opinions regarding abortion are still heavily divided among states, making it less likely to form a common movement and bring it to the Supreme Court in the near future.

Legalizing drug use is the issue that the majority of public opinion has rejected so far.

Only four states in the nation have made recreational marijuana legal. However, the report does not mention drugs such as cocaine, heroin and any other addictive drugs. Surprisingly, these drugs were legal 100 years ago. Cocaine was not made illegal until 1914, and until then, the substance had a variety use in medicine.

Cocaine tonic, powders and pills were believed to cure symptoms such as headaches, nausea and impotence.

The most mysterious recipe of Coca-Cola has been widely believed to contain certain amount of cocaine in history, and was still using coca-leaf extracts through at least 1988, according to a New York Times article, “How Coca-Cola Obtains Its Coca.”

Perhaps in the area of regulating drugs, the public’s opinion has largely retracted from 100 years ago. The definition of addiction has been redefined. But getting addicted to something is not a matter of that substance; rather, it is still a matter of human beings.

The patterns of public opinions concerning those big social issues usually change starting with legislation in a few states; then supporters kick off the debate and spread the ideas to the whole nation. Some of the issues remain divisive for years among states, whereas some were forcefully brought to the Supreme Court and gradually achieve national conformity.

Each of those issues took a long time to get from their triggering points to federal actions, along with civil movements, protests and campaigns every step of the way. What this reveals is that there is no such thing as “progressive” or “conservative” from the point of history. Some progressive ideas that are embraced today were actually mainstream conservativism 100 years ago, and vice versa.

Protect the environment, end deficit spending S

ince the 1970s, we’ve been bombarded by predictions of climate catastrophe.

From global cooling, to sea levels rising, Chase to droughts, McLamb to famine, to Guest Columnist global warming, we’ve heard it all by 2016.

In 2008, ABC news predicted that gas would be over $9 per gallon, a carton of milk would cost $12.99 and, oh yeah, New York City would be under water by 2015. It’s now 2016.

We’ve been told that that the apocalypse is on the horizon for the past 40 years, and it simply never comes. While I support cleaning up the environment, there’s something about using the kinds of scare tactics that ABC used in 2008 that are reprehensible and dishonest.

You may have already thought to yourself that I’m someone who regards science as witchcraft or perhaps even voodoo, for whatever reason.

I should point out that I don’t deny climate change. The climate is always changing.

Arctic ice samples show that the earth’s climate has been constantly changing for its entire existence. I’m simply asserting that current models are unable to retroactively match recorded weather data, let alone accurately predict the future. I am, however, highly skeptical of anthropogenic climate change alarmism.

Allow me to say briefly that I am aware of the statistic that states 97 percent of scientists agree that anthropogenic climate change is real. This statistic was falsified using

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misrepresentations of scientific articles. James Taylor wrote a good opinion article for Forbes on the subject.

While I am skeptical of anthropogenic climate change as the dominant model, I can concede that over-consumption and pollution are both closely related and undesirable. Something should be done to reduce these. I have a solution that, if implemented last year, would have cut consumption in the United States by $474 billion in 2016. Imagine how much pollution and environmental damage could have been avoided. My plan is very simply to pass a resolution to make deficit spending illegal for the U.S. Congress.

Our government prints and borrows hundreds of billions of dollars every year to prop

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up over-consumption and make the economy artificially look like things are better than they actually are. When it floods the economy with money that shouldn’t actually exist in the first place, people buy more things, which signals an increase in demand, which ramps up production, which increases pollution on a national scale. Essentially, this flood of money and consequent low interest rates screw up market indicators, and most everyone thinks that spending/borrowing more and saving less is a good idea.

The various organizations of the green movement should try measuring the carbon footprint of the federal budget and continuing resolutions instead of monitoring how many trees I’ve used via

campus printers.

But let’s not stop there. Government can print money and distribute it so as to increase money supply and artificially increase tax revenue that will increase their spending capacity before going into debt. This would allow the government to continue to finance its deficit spending habits without ever having to borrow money.

It’s the same spending problem; they’ve just shortened it by a few steps. Competition in the money supply, such as bitcoin or anything else, would incentivize the dollar to become a physically backed currency again, which deters printing, in order to maintain its value and remain competitive. Repealing legal tender laws and getting rid of things like money transmitter

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licenses would be good ways to begin this process. After we’ve accomplished all of this, over-consumption will be drastically diminished along with the rate of pollution as the market becomes less dependent on low-interest debt.

If you were looking for the biggest enabler of pollution in the U.S., look no further than our own federal government. Its ridiculous spending habits have allowed the U.S. economy to produce more than that for which the market has called for many years.

We currently have an economy built on debt, malinvestments, over-consumption and the promise of more printed money. If you care about the environment, you can’t ignore excessive pollution spurred on by deficit spending.

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As a public forum for student expression, the students determine the content of the publication without prior review. To receive permission for reproduction, please write the editor. Subscription cost is $100 per year. A single copy is free to all students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus. Additional copies are $0.25 each. Printed by The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Copyright 2011 by North Carolina State Student Media. All rights reserved.

TECHNICIAN

Bienvenidos

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 • PAGE 5

Y el Óscar es para... otro hombre blanco Emma Cathell Editora de Bienvenidos & Features

No es ninguna sorpresa que Oscar es un pequeño hombre de oro. 77 por ciento de la Academia de este año es masculino. 94 por ciento de la piscina de votación son blancos y la media edad es 62. De los 20 nominaciones, ni una persona de color fue reconocido.

En el 28 de febrero, los resultados de la edición 87.a de los Premios de la Academia estará recibido con boicots, protestas y demanda para cambio.

Con los resultados de la nominaciones anunciados en enero, como el año anterior, no hubo ningún actor ni actriz de color para las cuatro categorías centrales: Mejor actor, Mejor actriz, Mejor actor de reparto y Mejor actriz de reparto.

Muchas figuras públicas y organizaciones nacionales como el Presidente Barack Obama y el NAACP han dicho algo sobre esta cuestión. Desde su fundación en 1929, ha habido una falta de representación no solo para personas de color sino también de mujeres. En el año pasado, hubo presión para el movimiento “Oscars tan blanco” pero faltaba seguidores fuertes.

Según Jordi Marí, un profesor del Departamento de lenguas y literaturas extranjeras y un investigador que ha publicado estudios y libros sobre la cultura, ficción de la prosa y cinema española contemporánea, el movimiento de “Oscars tan blancos” puede estar ganando tracción por el aumento de conocimiento de justicia racial.

“Es difícil saberlo, pero quizás haya influido el auge del racismo y la ola de violencia contra las minorías en los Estados Unidos y en el mundo,” dijo Marí. “Por ejemplo, la violencia policial contra personas negras desarmadas — e incluso niños — los crímenes de odio contra musulmanes, la crisis de los refugiados sirios, etc. y quizás también las declaraciones tan brutales de Donald Trump. Creo que todo eso ha contribuido a despertar la concien-

SOURCE: WIKIMEDIA

Director mexicano Alejandro González Iñárritu es nominado por mejor dirreción en los preimos de la Academia por su película, “The Revenant.”

cia sobre justicia étnica y cuestiones de diversidad en este país.

Shelly Garrigan, profesora de cinematografía en el Departamento de lengua y literaturas extranjeras, quien está investigando identidades judeomexicano en la genera de documentales, dijo que esta controversia está creando más conversaciones y conciencia sobre preguntas más grandes que necesitan respuestas.

“Lo encuentro como una controversia muy interesante porque pienso que está creando conversaciones que son más grandes de los Oscars que resuena con temas de la comunidad y temas sociales como: cuales con los puntos de acceso, cuales con las entradas, quien está encargado de las puertas y que tipo de proceso está en orden para que todos tengan una oportunidad justa.?” dijo Garrigan. “Aprecio que hayan estas conversaciones sobre los Oscars. Son buenas conversaciones para tener. Necesitamos hablar sobre las cosas que con incómodas que porque son así.

La exclusividad de las Academias Obteniendo acceso a la Academia es un proceso complejo y exclusivo. Para ser calificado para votar una persona debe haber trabajado en los últimos diez años, ha sido nominado para un Oscar o ha estado trabajando en tres

períodos de 10 años.

El sitio de web de los Premios de la Academia explica que “el público reconoce los Oscars como premio basada exclusivamente en logro artístico y técnico y porque se ha tenido cuidado de preservar la integridad del símbolo de Oscar. “ Marsha Gordon, una profesora del cine en el Departamento de ingles, explicó que los Oscars se basan sus premios por una industria comercial.

“Soy un poco cínica sobre los premios en general,” dijo Gordon. “Por supuesto, es bueno para cada campo para reconocer lo mejor trabajo que se realiza. Esta es una de las industrias más comerciales en el mundo usando un premio muy comercial en una grande ceremonia comercial para reconocer los productos más comercial del año.”

Sin embargo, Gordon dijo que no cree que los Oscars siendo más comercial es una cosa mal. “ ... Es que los premios se centran en grandes películas comerciales, las estrellas y cineastas, por lo que son necesariamente exclusivo de muchas personas con talento y excelentes películas que podrían ser igual de digno de la ‘mejor’ etiqueta,” dijo Gordon.

Director, Alejandro González Iñárritu

Director de cine y compositor mexicano Alejandro González Iñárritu fue nominado por dirigir su película “The Revenant,” y es el único latino nominado de este año.

“González Iñárritu es un extraordinario director, sin duda uno de los mejores cineastas latinoamericanos y de todo el mundo,” dijo Marí.

“Admiro todas sus películas, especialmente ‘Birdman’ y ‘Babel,’ pero también ‘Amores Perros’ y ‘Biutiful,’ He utilizado algunas de sus películas en mis clases de cine hispano porque creo que es un cineasta muy completo, complejo y con una visión artística muy personal, con raíces mexicanas pero con una dimensión global.”

Iñárritu ha trabajado como un guionista, director y productor. Su capacidad de llenar diferentes roles en el cine es lo que Garrigan dijo que es tan interesante de él. “Él tiene una experiencia de varios niveles , tanto en los viajes al extranjero y su experiencia como músico, que según él ha impactado su filmografía mucho más que el cinema,” dijo Garrigan. “El hecho de que él es” capitán del barco “en términos de películas de renombre internacional , y que abarcan varios países , y tiene sus películas mexicanas, y sus películas estadounidenses y sus películas que cruzan esas fronteras . “ Sin embargo , Garrigan explicó que ella ha leído las críticas de los académicos mexicanos sobre Iñárritu retratando sus películas demasiado estéticamente atractivos , más bien que realístico.

“El ha sido criticado de algunos eruditos mexicanos como una alimentación a ‘estética neoliberal’ que asume el control de los cines mexicanos, en vez de permitiendo los están menos influidos de factores económicos de que cual venderá, y cuál será popular y que los imágenes son la cultura global puede relacionar a,” Garrigan le dijo.

“Yo, personalmente, siempre he amado sus películas, a pesar del hecho que

entiendo estos criticismos; me parece sus películas pide varias preguntas y esto es la experiencia que quiero tener cuando veo un drama.”

La apariencia de los latinos en la industria del cine La representación de los latinos en cinema, Marí explicó que es una situación requiere un gran parte de tiempo y detalle a explicar. Papeles acribillado con muchos factores históricos, culturales, sociales, económicos y ideológicos son típicamente los que adorna la pantalla plata.

“De hecho hay una historia larga de encasillar latinos para ciertos roles, como hay una historia larga de representativos prejuiciados y distorsionados de las comunidades latinas en los EE.UU, del mundo hispano y del cine Hollywood,” dijo Marí.

Un asunto Marí piense interesante es cómo la mayoría de actores latinos, si nacieron en los EE.UU o si se mudaron desde América Latina o España, casi siempre perdieron su especificidad cultural, étnica y nacional cuando están seleccionados para las películas de corrientes principales.

“Ellos cesan ser mexicanos, españoles, colombianos, etc. Adicionalmente, los miembros de específicos grupos étnicos y herederos a específicas tradiciones culturales que llegaron a ser ‘hispanos’ o ‘latinos’ genéricos, y la mayoría de las veces, simplemente ‘otros exóticos’ que se dan una lista ya creada de rasgos genéricos,” dijo Marí Garrigan dijo que la terminología puede obtener borrosa con los latinos en la industria cinema, explicando que a veces personas usan la identidad étnica.

“Para quién es él [Iñárritu] un director latino y para quién es él un director mexicano, y como él describe su propio mismo me pregunto,” Garrigan le dijo. “Esta terminología hace muy interesante. Cuando esta viendo internacional, tu nombre cambia mientras mueves posiciones, y entonces, pienso que esto es interesante también.”

Estudiantes posgrados competirán en tercer simposio Caitlin Neal Escritor de personal

Con solamente tres minutos en el reloj, estudiantes de posgrado presentarán su proyectos de investigación a un panel de jueces facultades. El 19 de febrero a las 5 en la tarde en el salón de Caldwell, los estudiantes competerán en el tercer Simposio de investigación latinoamericano.

Competidores incluyendo estudiantes latinos, eruditos de Fulbright y estudiantes realizando investigaciones con temas involucrando América Latina están esforzando para lo mejor puntuación por la entrega de discurso, la tesis y el póster.

El evento es conjuntamente patrocinado por la Asociación de los estudiantes latinoamericanos y los eruditos de Fulbright para dar los estudiantes de descensos latinos, o intereses en la cultura latina, la oportunidad para compartir sus investigaciones en un medio ambiente aceptado y abierto.

El presidente de la Asociación de los estudiantes latinoamericanos y estudiante graduado, Carlos Zuluaga le dijo, “Cada año estamos tratando hacer

este evento más y más grande,” dijo Carlos Zuluaga, un estudiante posgrado estudiando ingeniería civil y el presidente de La asociación los estudiantes latinoamericanos. “Es genial que tenemos una diversidad de personas haciendo cosas increíbles a NC State.

Los estudiantes latinos son muy capaces de investigaciones maravillosos y queremos darlos un medio ambiente abierto para afilar sus habilidades.”

Roel Becerra, competidor y miembro de La asociación de los estudiantes latinoamericanos, es originalmente de México y recientemente viene a NC State como un estudiante de maestría en la ciencia de animales.

“Este es una buen oportunidad porque puedo mejorar mi inglés como un idioma secundario,” dijo Becerra.

“Necesito sentir más cómodo con la oratoria porque después de graduarme, tendré presentar a el mundo afuera a personas que no conozco.”

Además, el evento incluirá un orador distinguido para proveer palabras de consejo a los estudiantes. Este año, el locutor honorado es Fernando Garcia Menendez, un profesor nuevo de construcción civil e ingeniería ambi-

CONTRIBUTED BY CARLOS ZULUAGA

El 19 de febrero a las 5 en la tarde en el salón de Caldwell, los estudiantes competerán en el tercer Simposio de investigación latinoamericano.

ental de NC State. Él se ha pedido para explicar los beneficios de ser latino y como derrotar retos.

“Un porcentaje muy bajo de latinos reciben su maestría o doctorado pero son obtenibles,” dijo Becerra. “Queremos ser un ejemplo a otros para continuar su educación. Este evento permite colegas Latinos sentir cómo-

dos y el apoyo de otros y también ver las adventajas de logrando una educación alta.”

Zuluaga también dijo que es bueno para latinos entender y saber lo que sus compañeros están haciendo para ayudarse tener éxito.

“Para los estudiantes de América Latina hay un desafío extra con la

barrera del idioma,” dijo Zuluaga. “La Asociación de los estudiantes latinoamericanos trata a proveer un espacio para los estudiantes practicar su comunicación. Con las presentaciones investigadas, la comunicación consiste en ser técnico y tener pensamientos innovadores para expresar su mismo profesionalmente.”

A pesar de todo, la competición tiene los beneficios para los estudiantes latinos de ahora y el futuro y también el público, según Zuluaga, incluyendo aprendiendo por ejemplo, apropiando motivación por las investigaciones propias y otras personas y la comprensión de la cultura latina.

“Mi póster está listo,” dijo Becerra.

“Yo he leído mi material y he practicado en alta voz. He presentado mi investigación a mis profesores para recibir sugerencias y he preparado para cuestiones detalladas. Presentando inspira a mí para estudiar más.”

La Asociación de los estudiantes latinoamericanos va a aceptar los abstractos de las investigaciones de los estudiantes graduados en la competición hasta el 5 de febrero y todos son bienvenidos para asistir el simposio.

Un asistente director de MSA renuncia su posición Informe de personal

El antiguo asistente director de los Asuntos de estudiantes hispanos, Nelson Santiago, anunció su salida oficial de la oficina de los Asuntos estudiantiles multiculturales vía correo electrónico el miércoles.

En su correo electrónico, Santiago anunció su salida y dijo que él tiene planes para quedarse en Raleigh, y preferiblemente, en NC State.

“Es con emociones mezcladas que comparto la noticia que después de dos años, he salido de la MSA,” Santiago escribió en su correo electrónico. “Trabajando con los estudiantes

asombrosos y muchos de los colegas con que he construido relaciones ha hecho NCSU y Raleigh una casa afuera de casa.”

Director provisional de los Asuntos estudiantiles multiculturales, Jennifer Brown también publicó un oficial correo electrónico sobre la despedida de Santiago de los Asuntos estudiantiles multiculturales.

“Nos gustaríamos agradecerle a [Santiago] para su servicio a nuestros estudiantes y los Asuntos estudiantiles multiculturales para los dos últimos años,” escribo Brown en su correo electrónico. “Su ultima día en los Asuntos estudiantiles multiculturales

fue el 21 de enero. Le deseamos lo mejor para sus oportunidades de futuro.”

En una entrevista con el Technician, Santiago dijo que aunque él no estará en NC State como asistente director de los Asuntos de estudiantes hispanos, él planea a continuar ser un miembro activo y apoyador a la comunidad latina.

Santiago dijo que su logro más importante durante su tiempo como asistente director de los Asuntos de estudiantes hispanos, fue creando y continuando Mi Placita, una reunión informal y semanal de estudiantes latinos en Talley.

“Pienso que Mi Placita llego a ser una manera para que la comunidad la-

tina puede involucrarse, estar presente y estar vista,” dijo Santiago. “Creo que con Mi Placita hemos logrado el sentido de una comunidad, que fue una de las solicitaciones más importantes cuando llegue a mi posición.”

Santiago dijo que el aspecto de su previo trabajo que le más encantó fue las interacciones con los estudiantes, si eran interacciones cotidiano o si fueron para ayudar estudiantes con situaciones difíciles en sus vidas.

Santiago expresó su pasión de aconsejar y guiar los estudiantes por uno de sus dichos favoritos: “Yo estoy pasando por lo que vas a pasar mañana.”

Su dicho presenta su rol como un

adulto experimentado que entiende personalmente lo que los estudiantes están experimentando y lo que pueden esperar en el futuro.

Sobre dejando su posición como asistente director de los Asuntos de estudiantes hispanos, Santiago dijo que es agradecido por la experiencia ha tenido con los estudiantes de NC State.

“Ha sido un placer servir el alumnado latino y el trabajo no parecía como trabajo, y por eso todavía quiero estar parte de la comunidad latino a pesar de lo que mi título sea en el campus,” dijo Nelson.

Bienvenidos

PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016

TECHNICIAN

MSA assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs steps down Staff Report

The former assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs, Nelson Santiago, announced his official departure from the Multicultural Student Affairs via e-mail Wednesday.

In his e-mail, Santiago announced his departure and said he plans to stay in Raleigh, and preferably, at NC State.

“It is with mixed emotions that I share the news that after two years, I have left the MSA,” Santiago wrote in his e-mail. “Working with the amazing students and the many colleagues that I have built relationships with has made NCSU and Raleigh a home away from home.”

Interim Director of MSA, Jennifer Brown also issued an official email about Santiago’s departure from MSA. “We would like to thank [Santiago] for his service to our students and Multicultural Student Affairs over the last 2 years,” Brown wrote in the email. “His last day with Multicultural Student Affairs was Jan. 21. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

In an interview with the Technician, Santiago said that although he will not be at NC State as the assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs, he plans to continue to be an active member and supporter of the Latino community.

Santiago said his greatest accom-

plishment during his time as assistant director was creating and sustaining Mi Placita, an informal weekly gathering of Latino students in Talley Student Union.

“I think that Mi Placita became a way for the Latino community to be engaged, present and seen,” Santiago said. “I believe that with Mi Placita we have accomplished the sense of community that was one of the main requests when I first came to my position.”

Santiago said the aspect of his former job he enjoyed the most was his interactions with students, whether they were day-to-day interactions or helping students through difficult

situations in their lives.

Santiago expressed his passion of advising and mentoring students through one of his favorite sayings: “I’m going through today what you are going through tomorrow.” He said this saying presents his role as an experienced adult who understands personally what students are going through and what they can expect in the future.

In leaving his post as assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs, Santiago said he is thankful for the experience he had with NC State students.

“It has been such a pleasure to serve the Latino student body, and it made work not seem like work, and that’s

CONTRIBUTED BY NELSON SANTIAGO

Nelson Santiago, former assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs

why I want to be part of the Latino community regardless of what my title is on campus,” Santiago said.

And the Academy Award goes to another white male Emma Cathell Features Editor & Bienvenidos Editor

It’s no wonder Oscar is a little golden man; 77 percent of this year’s Academy is male, 94 percent of the voting pool is white and the median age is 62.

Of the 20 acting nominations, not a single person of color was recognized.

On Feb. 28 the results of the 88th Academy Awards will be met with boycotts, protests and demand for change.

With the nomination results announced in January, just like the year before, there were no actors or actresses of color in the four main Academy categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

Many public figures and national organizations such as President Barack Obama and the NAACP have spoken out about the issue. Since the Academy Awards’ establishment in 1926 there has been a lack of representation of not only people of color but of women as well. Last year there was a push for the movement “Oscars So White” but it lacked a strong following.

According to Jorge Marí, associate professor of the Department of Foreign Language and Literatures and a researcher who has published articles and books about contemporary Spanish culture, prose fiction and film, the current “Oscars So White” movement may be gaining traction due to the growing awareness for racial justice.

“It is hard to say, but perhaps the rise of racism and the wave of violence against minorities in the United States

and in the world have influenced it,” Marí said. “For example, the political violence against unarmed black people — and children — crimes of hate against Muslims, the Syrian refugee crisis, etc., and also maybe Donald Trump’s really brutal statements. I believe all this has contributed to wake the consciousness for ethnic justices and matters of diversity in this country.”

Shelley Garrigan, an associate professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Language and Literatures who is currently researching Jewish-Mexican identities in the documentary films genre, said this Oscars’ controversy is sparking more conversations and awareness about the bigger questions that need to be asked.

“I find it to be a very interesting controversy because I think it’s awakening conversations that are bigger than the Oscars that resonate with larger community and societal issues such as: what are the points of access; what are the entryways; who’s in charge of those gates and what sort of process is in place to make sure everyone gets a fair shot?” Garrigan said. “I appreciate that there are these conversations going on about the Oscars. I think they’re good conversations to have.

We need to talk about things that are uncomfortable and why things are the way they are.

The Academy’s exclusivity Gaining access into the academy is a complex and exclusive process. In order to be qualified to vote an individual must have worked in the last 10 years, been nominated for an Oscar or have been working in three 10-year

periods.

The Academy Awards’ website explains that “the public recognizes the Oscar as an award based solely on artistic and technical achievement and because care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the Oscar symbol.”

Marsha Gordon, an associate film professor in the Department of English, explained that the Oscars base its awards on a commercial industry.

“I’m a little cynical about awards in general,” Gordon said. “Of course, it’s nice for any field to recognize the best work that is done. But this is one of the most commercial industries in the world using a very commercial award at a big commercial ceremony to recognize the biggest commercial products of the year.”

However, Gordon said that she doesn’t think the Oscars being more commercial is a bad thing. “... It’s just that the awards are focused on big commercial films, stars and filmmakers, so they are necessarily exclusive of many talented people and excellent films that might be every bit as worthy of the ‘best’ label,” Gordon said.

Film director, Alejandro González Iñárritu Mexican film director and composer Alejandro González Iñárritu was nominated for directing for his film “The Revenant,” and is the only Latino nominee this year.

“González Iñárritu is an extraordinary director, without a doubt one of the best filmmakers of Latin America, and in the world,” Marí said. “I admire his movies, especially ‘Birdman’ and

‘Babel,’ and also ‘Amores Perros’ and ‘Biutiful.’ I’ve used some of his films in my cinema classes because I believe he is a very complete, complex filmmaker with a very personal, artistic vision of Mexican races — but also on a global dimension.”

Iñarritu’s has worked as a screenwriter, director and producer. His ability to fill different roles in filmmaking is what Garrigan said is so interesting about him.

“He has a multi-tiered experience both in travel abroad and his background as a musician, which he says has impacted his filmography much more than film itself,” Garrigan said.

“The fact that he is ‘captain of the ship’ in terms of internationally acclaimed films, and they span multiple countries, and he’s got his Mexican films, and his U.S. films and his films that cross those borders.”

However, Garrigan explained that she has read criticisms from Mexican scholars about Iñarritu portraying his films too aesthetically appealing, rather than realistic.

“He’s been criticized by some Mexican scholars as sort of feeding into a ‘neoliberal aesthetic’ that takes over Mexican film, rather than allowing them to be less influenced by economic factors by what’ll sell, and what’ll be popular and what the images are the global culture can relate to,” Garrigan said. “I, personally, have always loved his films, despite the fact that I understand those criticisms; I find his films ask several questions, and that’s the experience I want to have when I see drama.”

Appearance of Latinos in the film

industry The depiction of Latinos in film, Marí explained, is a situation that requires a great bit of time and detail to explain. Roles riddled with historical, cultural, social, economic and ideological factors are typically those that grace the silver screen.

“There is indeed a long history of typecasting of Latinos in certain roles, just like there is a long history of biased, distorted representations of the U.S. Latino communities and indeed of the Hispanic world in Hollywood cinema,” Marí said.

One issue Marí finds interesting is how a majority of Latino actors, whether “U.S.-born or cross-overs from Latin America or Spain” almost always lose their cultural, ethnic and national specificity when cast in mainstream roles.

“They cease to be Mexican, Spanish, Colombian, etc. and become generic ‘Hispanics’ or ‘Latinos,’ and most often, simply ‘exotic others’ who are given a set of ready-made generic features,” Marí said.

Garrigan said the terminology can get blurry when it comes to Latinos in the film industry, explaining that sometimes people use ethnicities.

“For whom is he [Iñarritu] a Latino director and for whom is he a Mexican director, and how does he describe himself I wonder,” Garrigan said. “That terminology becomes really interesting. Whenever you’re going international, you’re name changes as you shift positions, and so, I find that interesting too.”

Graduate students to compete in research symposium Caitlin Neal Staff Writer

With only three minutes on the clock, graduate students will present their research projects to a panel of faculty judges. On Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. in Caldwell Lounge, the students will compete in the third annual Latin American Research Symposium.

Competitors including Latino students, Fulbright scholars and students conducting research with topics involving Latin America are striving for top scores through speech delivery, theses and posters.

The event is jointly sponsored by the Latin American

Student Association and Fulbright Scholars to give students of Latino descent or who have an interest in Latino culture the opportunity to share their research in a conducive and open environment.

“Every year we are trying to make this a larger and larger event,” said Carlos Zuluaga, a graduate student studying civil engineering and president of the Latin American Student Association. “It is wonderful to have such a diversity of people doing incredible things at NC State. Latino students are very capable of great research, and we want to give them an open environment to sharpen their skills.”

Roel Becerra, a competitor and a member of the Latin American Student Association, is originally from Mexico and recently came to NC State as a graduate student studying animal science.

“This is a good opportunity because I can improve my English as a second language,” Becerra said. “I need to feel more comfortable with public speaking because after graduation I will have to present to the outside world to people that I am less familiar with.”

In addition, the event features a keynote speaker to provide words of advice to the students.

This year’s keynote speaker is Fernando Garcia Menendez,

a new professor of civil construction and environmental engineering at NC State. He has been asked to explain his experience being Latino and how to overcome challenges, according to Becerra.

“A very low percentage of Latinos get a master’s or a doctorate, but it is obtainable,” Becerra said. “We want to be an example to others to continue their education. This event allows fellow Latinos to feel comfortable and support from others and also see the benefits of achieving a higher education.”

Zuluaga also said it is good for Latinos to understand and know what their peers are do-

ing to help each other succeed.

“For Latin American students there is an extra challenge with the language barrier,” Zuluaga said. “The Latin American Student Association tries to provide spaces for students to practice their communication.

With research presentations, the communication involves being technical and thinking innovatively to express yourself professionally.”

Regardless of winning or losing, the competition has the benefits for current and future Latino students as well as the public, according to Zuluaga, including learning by example, becoming motivated through personal and others’ research

and understanding the Latino culture.

“My poster is ready,” Beccera said. “I have read my material and practiced it out loud. I have presented my research to professors to receive feedback and have prepared for detailed questions. Presenting inspires me to study more.”

The Latin American Student Association will accept graduate students’ research abstracts for participation in the competition until Friday, and all are welcome to attend the Symposium.

Sports

TECHNICIAN

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OLYMPICS

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choice in deciding how their future after college is going to pan out, far more than they did just last year. This rule change may signify the possibility for players across other college sports like football.

With this rule change, I hope that the NCAA will begin to make more conscientious decisions that stand to benefit all parties involved, including the student-athletes, instead of ones who just benefit those with already deep pockets.

Weigel said. “We’ve played a lot of good teams, and it will only prepare us for more in the ACC.” The men’s tennis team is very diverse, with players coming from a wide range of countries, such as Greece and Russia, but the variety of culture on the team does not affect its chemistry, explained Weigel. “[Chemistry on the team] is just natural,” Weigel said. “There’s not much we have to work on to be able to communicate well. We have a lot of new guys, but we’re a close team already after only three weeks. We may even be closer than we have been the last three years, so that’s going to really help us in doing well this season, despite the loss of three good players.”

The team will lose Weigel and fellow senior Simon Norenius after the conclusion of the spring season. The door for Weigel’s future remains wide open.

“I’m applying for jobs right now, and if I find a really good one, I think I’ll work,” the senior said. “If I don’t find one that interests me, I’m going to play tennis. I don’t really have a fixed plan.”

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some of the runners that I’ve idolized for a long time and looked up to who have really inspired me in my career.”

As the race date nears, Thompson looks to taper her training regimen.

“I’m actually on my last week of high mileage,” Thompson said. “In the next two weeks, I’m going to be reducing the volume and resting up in preparation of the race.”

Sonnenfeldt, who graduated from NC State in 2014, also had a successful track and cross-country career with the Pack. His accolades include All-ACC and All-NCAA Southeast region cross-country honors. Following college, Sonnenfeldt had his eyes set on finding a route to the Olympic trials.

“Coming out of college, I wanted to give myself the best opportunity to qualify for Olympic Trials and I thought the marathon would give me a better chance than the track,” Sonnenfeldt said. “I had always liked cross-country and road

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 • PAGE 7

racing, which are pretty comparable, so I moved down to the city for my job and just started training for the marathon.”

Despite the additional road races he competes in, Sonnenfeldt began training for the Olympic Trials well in advance.

“I had to train in the fall for the Olympic Trials first, so I had to plan my race schedule around the halves I was doing,” Sonnenfeldt said. “I didn’t start training for the marathon trials until about 14 weeks ago, but usually runners train between 10- and 16-week build ups for the marathon.”

His training regimen at NC State made his transition to marathon training less difficult.

“The transition has been pretty smooth for me just because at NC State I was a pretty high-mileage guy and did a lot of high volume workouts there,” Sonnenfeldt said. “I’d say NC State kind of prepared me and made the transition a little easier. That’s not to say training hasn’t been hard, but it definitely helped going to NC State and being under coach [Rollie] Geiger and coach [Chris] Seaton and being able to

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train with really good guys.”

Looking toward his first marathon, Sonnenfeldt is hopeful for a positive experience.

“I’m pretty realistic; my goal was to make it to the trials,” Sonnenfeldt said. “I would go even as far as to say that the Olympic Trials is kind of my Olympics. I just want to go in there and have a positive experience. I’d like to run between 2:17 and 2:18, but it’s my first marathon.”

As race day nears, Sonnenfeldt is make the last few modifications to his training.

“I have my last big workout tomorrow morning; I’ll do another workout on Friday,” Sonnenfeldt said. “After tomorrow it’s kind of just moving the legs, staying sharp and making sure I’m not lethargic. I’ll decrease the mileage a little bit and hopefully get nice and rested before the race.”

In addition to Thompson and Sonnenfeldt, other NC State alumni who qualified for the marathon are Andie Cozzarelli, Kelly Calway and Stephen Furst.

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Sports

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PAGE 8 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

Men’s tennis at Oklahoma State 4:30 PM

Women’s basketball at Notre Dame 7:00 PM

Men’s tennis vs Dartmouth 4:00 PM

TECHNICIAN

Weigel set for successful senior year

PACK PROS

Taylor Peers Staff Writer

David Kehrli Staff Writer Here are the NC State alumni who are making their mark on the NBA this season.

T.J. Warren The former standout for the Wolfpack is in his second season with the Phoenix Suns after being drafted 14th overall in the 2014 NBA draft. While his minutes have increased this season, many fans of both the Pack and Suns have been vocal in their belief that his talent warrants even more playing time.

While Warren has been playing well, averaging 11 points and 3.1 rebounds while significantly improving his three-point shooting, his overall shooting percentage has slipped slightly from .528 a year ago to .501 this season. The Suns fired head coach Jeff Hornacek Monday after the team’s 19th loss in its past 21 games, leading to even more questions surrounding Warren’s role on the team moving forward.

J.J. Hickson Hickson is averaging 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Denver Nuggets this season but has only played in one game for one minute since Jan. 10. Because of his decreased playing time as of late, rumors have been swirling that Hickson is on the trading block, and the Nuggets organization is pushing hard to move him. The last time Hickson played meaningful minutes was Jan. 8 against Memphis, where he scored three points and five rebounds in 11 minutes of action.

Lorenzo Brown Brown became a free agent Friday as his latest of two 10-day contracts with the Phoenix Suns expired and the organization decided against re-signing him.

Brown played well in very limited action with the Suns as he averaged 2.5 points, 1.4 assists and 0.9 rebounds in just 7.6 minutes of playing time a game. It will be interesting to see if another NBA team signs Brown or if he returns to the NBA Development League where he dominated competition and earned All-Star honors.

Thomas Weigel of the NC State men’s tennis team has had success on the court since day one and looks to continue that success in his final season with the Pack.

Before the senior joined the Wolfpack in 2012, Weigel won four ITF singles titles and two ITF doubles titles.

He also had made it to the semifinals of the German Championships. Adjusting to collegiate play didn’t take him long.

“The first week was tough since I didn’t know many of the guys, and they had already known each other from the last semester,” Weigel said. “It was pretty quick that I got to know everyone, and now we’re pretty close.”

Weigel started his career at State strong, finishing tied for second-most wins on the team and collecting eight consecutive wins at the beginning of spring 2013.

He played every spot on the lineup aside from No. 6 his

freshman year.

Sophomore year filled with accomplishments. Weigel collected 19 singles victories, 14 doubles victories and was able to reach the ITA Carolina Regional singles quarterfinal.

Weigel continued to improve his junior season, as he finished the season with a team-best 25-11 singles record and 20-6 doubles record.

He went undefeated in eight singles matches near the end of the season, and his partner changed five times throughout his 12 undefeated doubles matches as well.

Already this spring, Weigel has remained undefeated in singles and doubles with a 4-0 record.

“I’m really confident about our team,” the Weigel said.

The Bocholt, Germany native spent the 2015 fall season in his home country, working and playing club tennis when he could.

“I only had 10 credits left to graduate; I talked to my coach, and he asked if I wanted to take a semester off so that I could play in the

ARCHIVE/SORENA DADGAR

Then-junior Thomas Weigel returns a serve from Virginia Tech senior Florian Nicoud. Weigel defeated Virginia Tech’s Nicoud 6-3, 6-2. The Wolfpack lost the match 4-3 to the No. 16 Hokies at J. W. Isenhour Tennis Center March 22.

[spring] season instead of graduating in the fall,” Weigel said. “It helped me out because it meant I could do an internship in Germany and play in more tournaments.”

Weigel was limited in his action on the tennis court while he was away but kept in shape knowing he was returning to State for the 2016

season. “[My club team] only had four matches, and we went a league lower so the level was not as high as the last few years,” Weigel said. “I played a lot of smaller tournaments because there were not as many around me. Plus, with the internship, I didn’t have much time to travel. It was

fun though.”

The team travels to Oklahoma State (6-1) Tuesday to take on the Cowboys.

“I expect [Oklahoma] to compete hard, but I don’t think it will be much different from what we’ve seen the last few years in the ACC,”

WEIGEL continued page 7

Pack alums to compete in Olympic Trials Garrison Rountree Correspondent

ARCHIVE/JOHN JOYNER

Then-freshman Joanna Thompson runs out of the woods during the Adidas Cross Country Challenge at Wake Med Soccer Park Sept. 16, 2011.

Recent NC State alumni Joanna Thompson and Matt Sonnenfeldt look to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as they participate in the Olympic Trials Marathon Feb. 13 in Los Angeles.

Thompson had a prosperous career on the track and the crosscountry course for the Wolfpack.

Her impressive resume includes All-American achievements in both the 10,000m track event and on the cross-country course.

However, following her graduation in December, Thompson decided to add an additional race to her repertoire.

“I think it was kind of inevitable for me,” Thompson said.

“I’ve always been more long distance oriented, and I’m still going to be training 5km and 10km

throughout the rest of my running career, but half marathon and marathon were distances I’ve always been more suited to.”

Conditioning for the half marathon and marathon races has been a strategic process for Thompson.

“I started training for the half marathon after my track eligibility ended last spring,” Thompson said. “So I spent all fall and most of the summer preparing myself to run a half marathon, which is the distance I used to qualify for the Olympic Trials Marathon.”

For Thompson, the Olympic Trials will be her first marathon.

“The trials will be my debut marathon actually,” Thompson said. “But I’ve been transitioning over to marathon-specific training for the past four months and most of that has really been a matter of increasing the amount of mileage I do.”

The trials also feature a field of over 200 competitors in which only the top-three runners advance to the Olympics.

“For the track and field Olympic Trials, you have to come in the top-three in your given event to make it to the actual Olympics,” Thompson said. “For the marathon, there are 244 women who currently have the trial standard and, of those, about 200 will actually compete in the trials, and then only three will move on to the Olympics.”

Ultimately, her primary emphasis going into the trials is to have a stellar individual performance and gain experience.

“I’m not being humble when I say there’s almost no chance I’ll make the Olympics, but it’ll be a fantastic experience,” Thompson said. “I’ll get to compete with

OLYMPICS continued page 7

COMMENTARY

NBA Draft rule changes offer flexibility for prospects Prior to the start of 2016, if an NBA draft prospect wanted to leave college to pursue his dream of playing with some of the best athletes in the world, he would have had very little options if his draft stock didn’t improve in the months Joseph after his declaration.

Ochoa Now, the basketball Staff Writer student-athletes will have more leeway when planning their futures.

On Jan. 13, the NCAA Division I Council agreed to push back the date a draft prospect may remove his name from draft consideration, to 10 days

after the NBA scouting combine in May. Prior to the change, the latest a prospect could pull his name from consideration was during the spring signing period in early April.

The original withdrawal date, which started in 2009, was more beneficial to coaches because it could allow them to plan out their roster decisions and recruiting choices, but it would put athletes at a disadvantage; it prevented players from having all the information about their own draft stocks before making a final decision.

The later date now gives the athletes a chance to work out at the combine and then evaluate their results and overall draft prospects before deciding whether they wanted to continue

with the decision to leave college for the NBA. To put this rule change into a perspective that NC State fans can relate to, former Wolfpack shooting guard Trevor Lacey was part of a tremendous backcourt duo with current junior point guard Cat Barber. During national signing day last year he declared for the draft following a solid NCAA tournament performance.

In the end, Lacey was graded out as a second round pick, at best, by many experts in scouting after the scouting combine and Lacey went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft. He played in a few summer league games, but didn’t get an invite to any training camps and went to play overseas in Italy.

2408 Hillsborough ST

Had this rule been in place just one year prior, Lacey would’ve had the opportunity to remove himself from draft consideration and come back for his final eligibility. If he had decided to do that, it would’ve given the Wolfpack, which is currently 12-10 (2-7 ACC), some much needed depth and another scoring threat in addition to Barber.

While this rule will put coaches in a bind in terms of figuring out their roster configurations and recruiting plans, I think that overall, this rule change will benefit all of college basketball, especially the players.

It takes a little pressure off of an already stressful decision for college basketball players, and as for the coaches,

it’ll give them players that are focused on playing basketball instead of where their draft stock is.

The players, in addition to getting a slight reprieve on a monumental decision, now know that if things don’t go their way during the scouting process, they are not being strong armed into continuing down a path that could put their NBA future in jeopardy.

Players, according to the new rule, may also re-enter and withdraw themselves without penalty and may also have one NBA tryout per year other than the scouting combine.

That being said, the main point is that basketball players get more of a

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NBA continued page 7