Roundabout Winter 2020

NC State Student Media

Winter 2020

The Sound of the State

Letter from the Editors Dear Readers, Welcome back to Roundabout! We’re glad that you’ve decided to check out our magazine once again. Here at NC State, we’ve got one semester down, and just one more to go in the 2019-2020 school year. Though the colder weather of the winter months is still to come, we hope that you’re able to stay warm, and that you enjoy what our latest issue has to offer.

For this issue, we’ve brought our main focus onto the student music scene.

Both in Raleigh, as well as across the many universities found in North Carolina. With the readiness of the internet, it is easier than ever to both find new music as well as to create music on our own. Students across the state have worked to put together their own songs and albums, and perform them live as well as post them online for others to stream. If you’re looking for some of these songs, this issue includes a playlist hat does just that.

Bringing things back home to Raleigh, we also took a look at NC State’s own a cappella programs, each putting forward their own unique vibe and style in their performances, as well as current and former students at NC State that have taken to social media to make an impact. Finally, we’ve taken a look at CBD dispensaries to see why they have become more common over the past few years.

Once again, we hope you enjoy what we have in store in this issue, and hope that you’ll stick around to read the issues to come.

Sincerely, The Editors

Emily Hench Content Editor

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Clifford Maske Photo Editor

Emma Schuler Design Editor

North Carolina Student Musicians Navigate School Music Intersection

11

Students and Social Media:

NC State’s Social Media Influencers

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What exactly is CBD?

A Growing Industry in Raleigh and Beyond

Roundabout_Jan2020.indd 1 Short-sleeved Holographic Shirt, ca. 1990. 2012.046.001.

Anonymous gift. Courtesy of the Gregg Museum.

Sebastian Brajkovic, Lathe V Chair, 2008. Collection Museum of Arts and Design, New York. Courtesy Sebastian Brajkovic Studio.

“Design by Time” is organized by the Department of Exhibitions, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, and is curated by Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of c2 curatorsquared.

from the Pratt Institute

Design By Time

NC State’s Stellar A cappella

Necklace, 1977. Mary Ann Scherr. Designed for Reed and Barton, Taunton MA. Gift of the Artist. 2008.013.001

The Sound of the State:

Spark and Dazzle from the Permanent Collection

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All That Glitters

The Grains of Time and Acappology discuss what it takes to wow NC State audiences

Mary Ann Scherr’s Legacy In Metal

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All Is Possible

Contents GREGG Spring 2020 Exhibitions

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Roundabout Winter 2020 | 3

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NC State’s Stellar A cappella Written by Caryl J Espinoza Jaen Photography by Aditya Penumarti

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C State’s music department offers a diverse platter of musical options for students interested in the performing arts. Students often voice their artistic endeavors right here on campus through the classes provided. However, there are many great opportunities for students to vocalize their love of music through independent groups outside of class, and the various a cappella groups here at NC State are experts at both voicing their musicality and artistic individuality.

Many of these NC State a cappella groups, find artistic freedom through independent funding.

Most of the groups fund their programs primarily through performance revenue, with groups such as the all-male Grains of Time being completely independent from outside funding.

Alec Hunter, a fourth year mathematics student, sings with the Grains of Time during the ring presentation ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019 at Reynolds Coliseum.

Across: The Grains of Time sing the NC State Alma Mater during the ceremony.

Christian Mauney, the business manager for Grains of Time, spoke about the independence of the group due to its extensive efforts in community involvement.

“We’re a self-sustaining group, so we really don’t receive any other funds from any outside organizations, whether that’s student affiliated or not,” Mauney said. “It’s nice that everything that we make goes directly to our group, and I like being a self-sustaining group because I don’t have to worry about others for funding. We don’t have to worry about Student Government not giving us enough money, but instead we can go like ‘Okay, this what we want to do this year. How many gigs and how many concerts do we have to do to accomplish this?’”

All of the a cappella groups at NC State host a joint tryout session for new members during the first week of the fall semester. The audition is open to all students regardless of musical background. Student applicants are allowed to state whether they have a preference in a certain group or not, but ultimately, new members are decided by student leaders, following a discussion about which people they need and want in their groups.

After tryouts, members of the a cappella groups collaboratively share song ideas and take the time to listen to all recommendations, with the final song choices decided by a democratic popular vote. A lot of the song selections are consciously made to create a cohesive vibe during concerts and competitions.

“Each group has its sort of vibe each year, and it always changes through [members’] distinct personalities,” said Max Ganch, president of Acappology and a senior in graphic design. “We have alumni run the check-in table during auditions, and we’ll be seeing people audition and get students who’ll just walk in or choose songs, and we’ll be like, ‘Oh yeah, someone singing that would definitely want to be in Grains or Acappology.’”

While student a cappella groups are financially independent, they often engage with NC State’s music department.

Evening rehearsals are held throughout the week inside

Price Music Center, and a lot of the arrangers working with these groups are staff members from the music department. Concerts are booked and held in Stewart Theatre, and many of the groups engage in outreach collaboratively.

“Usually, our initial advertising is [for] all the groups,” said Alec Hunter, one of the music directors of Grains of Time and a senior in applied math. “It’s not Grains of Time auditions; it’s NCSU a cappella auditions. In terms of outreach, we tend to do it as a community.”

“I also think it’s important, especially as a STEM school, to have creative outlets,” Ganch said. “It’s a really nice way to get away from studying, travel, perform, and meet new people.” •

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Cam Cokas, a Raleigh native and UNC-A student, in his home recording studio on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

The Sound of the State North Carolina Student Musicians Navigate School and Music Intersection Written by Austin Dunlow Photography by Cliff Maske

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any college students find college overwhelming with classes, extracurriculars, jobs and more. Some students add creating music on top of all of these stresses, because they want to make music their careers.

All it takes is one moment or place or person to start someone on a path of pursuing music as a career. For Caffeine Daydream band member Cooper Statile, a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, this inspiration was his dad’s music.

“When I was really young, my dad would show me a lot of old Metallica and Megadeth records, and I thought those were the coolest things ever,” Statile said. “That was what originally sparked my interest. At around 10 or 11, I got into Green Day and Blink-182. It’s really the bands I got into that made me want to pursue music.”

For Abel Maasho, a student at East Carolina University who produces under the stage name Maasho, it was a high school teacher who set him on the path of music.

“He had this class that was called Digital Music Creation,” Maasho said. “He basically had his own studio setup and stuff inside of his classroom, and he would sit and make music every day in class, and I thought it was the coolest thing.”

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onny Miles, a recent graduate from NC State and a member of the local band Dotwav Media as well as a solo artist, said an internship at a local venue gave him insight into what venues are looking for when booking artists.

“I got the chance to intern at The Ritz, and I learned firsthand what kind of thing venues are looking for and what they actually want in artists,” Miles said. “You have to remember that it’s not necessarily about giving you exposure. What can you bring to the venue that will help them gain? You want to keep people in the venue. You want to keep them in the bar. How does your music or does your artistry help to facilitate that atmosphere for the venue? It sucks that you have to think about it like that, but that’s what gets you in venues. That’s what keeps you booked.

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t takes more than having a love for music to be a successful musician. Local, up-and-coming artists have obstacles to face in terms of resources, publicity, booking and more. Statile said a lack of resources make it difficult to book venues, because many local artists are not able to bring out enough attendees for the venue.

“Being a local band, it can be more difficult, because you don’t have the social media presence or the resources to market a show as well as a more well-funded band, and therefore you’re not going to be able to pull as many people,” Statile said. “That’s why you have to start out booking smaller venues and stuff, because you want to book venues that are appropriate to the amount of people that you can bring out.”

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am Cokas, a musician and student at UNC-Asheville, believes it would be easier for local artists to book venues if people were more interested in seeing new acts.

“A lot of it comes from repetition and people wanting to do the same thing over and over again,” Cokas said.

“That’s why a lot of cover bands are hired. I do think it is this kind of roadblock of differences for people — managers or people who book shows don’t like things that are different. You kind of have to prove yourself via the internet or setting your own gigs up first, which is kind of what I’ve been doing. We’re trying to get the attention of these places. They’re kind of old heads, not in a mean way, but they’re just not used to hearing newer people.”

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The Sound of the State

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tudent musicians face challenges not only in gaining a following, but also in balancing schoolwork and music. Sometimes, they can be forced to pick between these priorities.

“It comes down to how am I going to spend my time right now,” Maasho said. “Am I going to go study for this test, or am I going to attempt to make a song that could possibly set me in some kind of situation where I no longer have to be in school? It’s a tough give and take.”

Statile was a student at NC State before transferring to UNC-CH and is now transferring to ASU to pursue a degree in music. He feels that music and school can coexist.

“At NC State and at UNC, I was not in school for anything music related,” Statile said. “My plan was to get a degree in something I was kind of interested in and do music on the side. What I realized over the past year is, what I really love to do is music and production and anything audio related, whether that’s live mixing at a club or engineering albums or whatever. That’s what prompted my decision to transfer to App State … If you’re really serious about it, there are ways to go to school for music and actually spend your time and education learning about that, which is what I’m doing in the future.”

No matter how many struggles these student musicians face, they continue to go after this goal of a music career because, as Sonny Miles summed it up, “This is the goal. There is no other plan.” •

1 Now

by Some Antics

2 Many Days

by Softball Club

3 Learn to Love Yourself

by Caffeine Daydream

4 All Along

by Zack Cokas

5 Raleighwood Hills

by Lesthegenius

6 Paradise

by Marco Luka

7 Fresh Air

by Maasho

8 Cotton Candy

by Weston Estate

9 I Miss You

by Cam Cokas

10 Ten Speed

by Jaxson Free

11 Faux

by Sonny Miles

12 Soon_2

by Dotwav Media

Scan the QR to be taken directly to our playlist on Spotify

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Students and Social Media: NC State’s Social Media Influencers

Written by Gabriella Chiarenza

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n recent years, social media has made the path to fame much more accessible. Anyone, even a college student, can become famous with connection to the internet, an idea and a passion. However, there are unique challenges for some professional influencers, such as the balance of college and social media. NC State has produced a number of internet celebrities on platforms ranging from Instagram to Tik Tok. Ana Faneite, an NC State alum with a degree in public relations, built her success through a fashion, lifestyle and travel blog with an accompanying Instagram. The blog, called The Faneite, is cleanly organized with vibrant photos from abroad and fun posts about her experiences. Faneite writes about a wide breadth of topics, including fashion tips, reviews of beauty products and accounts of her travels.

Faneite began her blog in 2014 “just for fun.” “I started my blog because I love to write and take pictures,” Faneite said. “I’m from Venezuela, and I would do photography whenever I was there. That was the reason I started the blog, without knowing it was going to become its own business.”

During Faneite’s time at NC State, The Faneite became more than just a hobby, transitioning to include more topics beyond fashion and photography. Faneite graduated from NC State in December 2018 and continues

Contributed by Jared Smith

her blog from Raleigh. Her internet popularity has become a full-time job and business.

Faneite collaborates with brands for reviews and campaigns of products, hotels and experiences. She said NC State prepared her for the prominent business side of social media stardom.

“I was the VP of marketing of a Latino association at NC State, which gave me a lot of experience when it comes to working with professionals and being a professional myself,” Faneite said. “Any connections and any professional setting that NC State put me through helped me manage a business.”

Although the blog has become a business in recent years, Faneite said that she maintains her core values and goals that have been with her since the beginning.

“I want to inspire women to travel and experience other cultures,” Faneite said. “I want to be an inspira-

tion for Latina women to travel and experience other things and become a better version of themselves.”

Faneite showed how NC State aided her in creating her internet fame.

Jared Smith, a fourth-year studying business administration, shows how student influencers balance college with social media.

Smith rose to social media fame on the video app Tik Tok. He began posting a new video every day starting on Jan. 1, 2019 as a New Year’s resolution. Smith said he plans to continue his Tik Tok account past the new year. As of December 2019, Smith had 650,000 followers.

Smith designs videos with what he describes as a “positive brand.” He follows popular Tik Tok audios and trends to envision and create videos that will appear on the “For You” page and gain more views and likes.

His most liked videos are his fastpaced transitions, one of which has reached almost 5 million likes on the Roundabout Winter 2020 | 11

Jared Smith Fourth-year, studying business administration Instagram: @jsmittyy Tik Tok: @jsmittyy 820.5k followers Focus: Daily posts

Ana Faneite Alumna, majored in public relations Website: thefaneite.com/ Instagram: @thefaneite 10.5k followers Focus: Travel and Lifestyle

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platform. he describes as a “positive brand.”

He follows popular Tik Tok audios and trends to envision and create videos that will appear on the “For You” page and gain more views and likes. His most liked videos are his fast-paced transitions, one of which has reached almost 5 million likes on the platform.

Smith maintains his prominent social media presence alongside his academic career.

“Finals week was tough,” Smith said. “I’m more focused on school than [Tik Tok], because this is more of a hobby. In terms of tests, it gets tougher, but I normally find some time.”

Creating a short, viral video requires consistency and effort. Some Tik Tok videos require up to two hours to create, including filming, editing on iMovie and posting to the app.

Both Faneite and Smith attribute their internet popularity to authenticity.

“Be yourself,” Faneite said. “The moment that you try to look like somebody else or act like somebody else … you will get tired, because that’s not you.”

Smith had similar advice for posting on social media.

“Post wholesome stuff,” Smith said.

“No one wants to see you being fake online. Be yourself.”

Faneite and Smith had simple beginnings, but have continued to grow in popularity and numbers.

They maintain average lives with above-average careers on social media. This sense of authenticity is valued in the new age of online celebrities. Social media users search for content creators they can relate to. Faneite and Smith find pride in sharing their real selves online on a variety of platforms and remaining genuine toward fans. •

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What exactly is CBD? A Growing Industry in Raleigh and Beyond Written by Riley Wolfram Photography by Cliff Maske

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n the past few years dispensaries selling CBD, short for cannabidiol, have become more common, both in Raleigh as well as across the state.

According to Forbes, the CBD market could reach $20 billion by 2024, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Efrain Doval, manager of local CBD dispensary Hemp Store Raleigh, said that dispensaries are popping up everywhere because people have been seeing great results from using CBD products.

“CBD can be used for any anti-inflammatory reasons, anti-anxiety, anti-spasms,” Doval said. “It pretty much just works with all of our receptors through the endocannabinoid system, and that regulates the rest of our functions as well, so our digestive, circulatory and nervous systems.”

The endocannabinoid system, as stated by Healthline, is a “complex cell-signaling system identified in the early 1990s by researchers exploring THC, a well known cannabinoid.” Cannabinoids are compounds found in cannabis.

Sam Gale, assistant store manager at the local Hemp Farmacy, said this industry is growing so rapidly because hemp is extremely versatile.

“Hemp just has the ability to fill in so many holes that we as a society have,” Gale said. “It can be a

biofuel, food, concrete, building material — all sorts of different things.”

Hemp, as reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens, is another name for the Cannabis sativa plant. Hemp and marijuana are both names for the Cannabis sativa plant, but varieties of hemp used to make products sold on shelves have less THC, the chemical that makes marijuana users feel high. These varieties of hemp are typically called “industrial hemp,” and according to Hemp Farmacy Store Manager Briana Serrano, this hemp could be our saving grace in the future.

“You can build houses, you can fuel a diesel truck, you could do anything you want with hemp.

That’s the beauty of the plant,” Serrano said. “If everything ever got taken away from us and we had to start over, and we still had hemp, we could rebuild.”

Not only does hemp’s versatility provide potential manufacturing opportunities, but the CBD in hemp can be extremely useful for the everyday college student.

“When it comes to college students, you guys deal with so much stress and so much anxiety. There’s so much pressure there, and CBD is a wonderful

A selection of the loose-leaf hemp flower available for sale at The Hemp Farmacy in downtown Raleigh, NC, on Thursday, Jan. 9.

A package of hemp fruit chews, one of the many products for sale in local CBD and hemp stores, on Thurday, Jan. 9 at The Hemp Farmacy in downtown Raleigh, NC.

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way to calm down at the end of your day or even calm down before a major test or even calm down before a class,” Serrano said. “If your sleeping patterns are off because you stay up so late trying to cram for any type of exam, CBD is there for you.”

Serrano also said that CBD can be beneficial for athletes, but despite Gale saying the industry is becoming more normalized, the NCAA’s guidelines on CBD use are “in a vague and potentially risky gray area,” according to Core CBD. Core CBD says the NCAA’s lack of an explicit CBD policy makes it difficult to recommend the use of the substance for college athletes.

However, with the growth of the CBD industry, Gale said what’s most important is educating everyone on what the substance is and what it can do in hopes of giving those who would benefit from using CBD the opportunity to understand it and invest in it.

“We’re that line of defense against misinformation that’s going around,” Gale said.

Gale, who has used CBD in the past, said that it provides relief without side effects and is far and away more effective than any other remedy, especially in extreme circumstances.

“I was a cancer patient last year and I did about eight months of chemotherapy, and when I started that, they gave me a whole medicine cabinet full of different medications and everything to deal with all the side effects that the chemo would have,” Gale said. “Each of those medications had its own side effects, so I was able to use the CBD during that and get rid of that nausea, the fatigue, the pain, without that other nonsense going on.” •

Where To Buy CBD In Raleigh The Hemp Farmacy

527 Hillsborough St. Raleigh, NC 27603 (919) 916-5607 Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-7 p.m; Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Hemp Store Raleigh 1000 Old Milburnie Rd. Raleigh, NC 27604 (919) 607-7444 Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-7 p.m; Sun. noon-6 p.m.

Hemp Times Inc

510 Saint Mary’s St. Raleigh, NC 27605 (984) 200-9768 Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m; Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Triangle Hemp Wellness

4701 Creedmoor Rd. Raleigh, NC 27612 (919) 787-8856 Mon. and Wed. 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Tues. and Thurs. 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Hemp Company 6500 Falls of Neuse Rd. Raleigh, NC 27615 (984) 222-2044 Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Nature’s Releaf Hemp Store 5224 Hollyridge Dr. Raleigh, NC 27612 (919) 424-7542 Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. noon-6 p.m.

Willie’s Remedy CBD coffee, a coffee created by music legend Willie Nelson, and one of the many products available in local CBD and hemp stores, shot in The Hemp Farmacy in downtown Raleigh on Thursday, Jan. 9.

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