2 / NEWS MONDAY, OCT. 12, 2015
New program aims to bring students into film ALEX STONE | CONTRIBUTOR
With equipment ready for production and support of expert faculty moderators, the University of Cincinnati’s new Cinematic Arts Collaborative (CAC) aims to facilitate student collaboration in all types of cinematic projects from screenwriting to directing. The interdepartmental approach of the group brings students from different areas of study together to create and finish their own projects. Student diversity has led to the production of a myriad of concepts and ideas by CAC. This collaborative holds a focus of teaching every aspect of filmmaking. It is divided into eight student-led departments including screenwriting, direction, business, editing and production. CAC President Mary Monda and Vice President Colin MacGeorge see the group as a launch pad of sorts. “It is a safe space for students that are interested in filmmaking and cinema projects to come and find others to collaborate with,” Monda said. “We give students opportunities and confidence in their creative work.” The CAC was formed by two new faculty members: Kristyn Benedyk, chair of the screenwriting program, and Matt Irvine, director of the school of film. The husband and wife duo hails from Chicago’s famed DePaul University, which comfortably rests on the list of the top-20 film schools in the nation. Benedyk and Irvine essentially built DePaul’s film department and fostered it
into its prestigious ranking. UC brought the couple in to head the Digital Media Collaborative (DMC) — a joint effort by the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences and UC libraries. With the goal to better the digital media arts, the departments
[Cinematic Arts Collaborative] is a safe space for students that are interested in filmmaking and cinema projects to come and find others to collaborate with. MARY MONDA
allocate necessary resources and secure opportunities for students, such as workshops and guest speaker presentations. After the CAC began as a screenwriting incubator for the DMC, Irvine and Benedyk saw an influx of great student ideas, but students seemingly lacked the means of production to make these ideas possible. As a remedy, the moderators sought to make CAC a student-led organization. In order to expose UC students interested in production to a real-world and professional work environment,
Monda hopes to bring in the production team from the upcoming film “Marauders,” starring Bruce Willis. The CAC also hopes to bring The Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Film Commission to campus. This commission facilitates the filming process for filmmakers in the tri-state area by connecting them with local talent, production crews and any other required resource. CAC members look to benefit from the commission’s internship program. Along with guest presentations the CAC also offers workshops in every area of study to consider allowing students to find their creative voice, whether it be by themselves or with the help of the faculty moderators. During the CAC’s biweekly screenwriting sessions, the writer of a piece or series can recruit any student willing to be a part of the production. The group then controls everything from casting to editing. To do this, the CAC has collected the necessary resources for filmmaking. With the help of aiding departments, students have the opportunity to use high-grade equipment. In the CSC’s arsenal are quality cameras, tripods, sound equipment, editing software, high-end computers and other crucial technology. With plenty of available space and enthusiasm to see where future of the organization stands, the CAC is currently looking for anyone ready to take initiative and seize collected opportunities. “Everyone is welcome,” Monda says. “Even if you’re unsure about it, just come and see what we’re about.”
Lecture talks state, federal relationships MALIA PITTS | CONTRIBUTOR
University of Cincinnati students gained perspective on how federal and state laws interfere with each other during Wednesdays’ 2015 William Howard Taft Lecture on Constitutional Law. The event, hosted by UC’s College of Law, featured guest speaker Heather Gerken, J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Gerken specializes in election and constitutional law. Harvard University Press named her one of the nation’s 26best law teachers. She explained how federalism is commonly thought to be a single field of study, but it actually splits into two — relations between the states and the federal government, and the relations among the states. “We all know there is a Federalism problem,” Gerken said. “Most of us will say it’s a good thing that the states and the federal government are engaged in a turf war, and most of us have a sense of which side we’re on. Some of us have a theory about when courts should step in rest the battle between he states and the government.” Gerken also explained how “spillovers,” or different state laws intruding on each other, affect the society. She said federal has been designed to stop spillovers. For example, Colorado’s legalization of marijuana has spilled over into other states and Vermont’s regulation of food labels has had a major effect on food manufactures throughout the country. “These activities affected people in others states,” Gerken said. “It’s unsettling how, after all, one state’s polices reaches out state’s territories and affects citizens in those states. It’s the simple reason that no one wants to live under someone else’s law.”
Opinion: Will the next GOP Speaker please stand up? STEVE BEYNON | COPY EDITOR
Now Hiring! Position: Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Start date: October 31, 2015 The House is looking for a motivated Republican who has a passion for stagnation in federal government and traditional family values. Necessary qualifications: • Apathy for government • Unwillingness to compromise • A belief the federal government should do only two things: spread freedom and name buildings after Ronald Reagan • Preferably little or no experience in government • Willingness to shut down the federal government in the event Democrats support Socialist programs such as, but not limited to, Planned Parenthood and Obamacare • Keen on deregulating the free market while keeping jobs in the U.S. • A passion for big tax cuts and deficit reduction • Proficiency in Microsoft Excel Please note candidates may be disqualified for any positive statements said to or photos taken with President Obama. Those with a background in science could create conflicts of interest in regards to combating oppressive environmental regulations. Please send your resume and copy of your Concealed Carry Permit to: HouseSpeakerJob@gmail.com
PAUL PAN | CONTRIBUTOR
Littisha Bates, assistant professor of sociology, leads an open panel discussion with students about the racial and ethnic disparities affecting a student’s course throughout their life. Bates highlights Greek life opposition.
Film highlights racial, Greek life tensions SOPHIA GAINES | CONTRIBUTOR
An uncertain ending of the documentary “Old South” sparked discussions of racism, fraternities and buying properties in historically black neighborhoods during its screening Thursday in the University of Cincinnati’s Teacher’s College. The Friends of Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (Friends of WGSS) screened “Old South,” and followed up through a panel discussion with Carolette Norwood, associate professor in UC’s sociology department, Brandy Turnbow, program coordinator for the Women’s Center and Christina Brown, a UC alumna. Danielle Beverly’s documentary addressed tensions experienced between the University of Georgia’s Kappa Alpha (KA) fraternity chapter, known to fly the Confederate flag, and the historically black neighborhood the fraternity moved its house to. A focus of the film was the community group that successfully lobbied for the neighborhood to receive historical recognition to stop the demolition of a historical house. Tensions began to rise, however, when the chapter built a plantation-style house and hosted an antebellum-style parade in the neighborhood. Both the vice president of the KA
chapter and society members discussed their viewpoints on southern traditions, racism and their community. As an effort to bring neighborhood members together, the fraternity and others volunteered to help out in a community garden. With the documentary’s uncertain ending, “Old South” sparked discussion into topics of racism, fraternities, the buying of properties in black neighborhoods and, in turn, how these issues relate back to UC. “I feel like this is where we are as a society,” Brown said. “Where we feel like we can garden our way out of institutional responsibility.” Turnbow said she struggled with the church scenes in “Old South” because she recognizes the black church as a safe place of organizing. Black churches have also been places of terrorism attacks. There was much discussion about the history and future of fraternities in the following panel discussion. In the film, the VP of the chapter explained a small confederate flag inside the KA house to be a joke. “If it is a joke, it’s a joke soaked in a lot of blood, and a lot of misery and pain,” Turnbow said. An audience member said wealthy alums of fraternities pass down their ideologies from 30 to 40 years ago and she would
like fraternities to be banned. “In 1974 I was chairing the university senate and we were bringing a resolution that sexual orientation should be put into the university non-discrimination,” she said. “My problem was the president of the student body and the vice president who were in fraternities who opposed it. It’s racism and sexism and I’m sure antiwomen, too.” Turnbow said she hears the suggestion to strip out Greek life a lot, however taking away one way of organizing creates another to pop up through other initiatives. Norwood added, “They will find some way to institutionalize themselves and pass that down. It’s the ideology we have to attack.” She continued to say people could not imagine anywhere else fraternities and sororities would practice the organizations’ institutionalizations. A UC faculty member in the audience said, “I think about how these communities tend to be subordinated by these invasive forces…How do we make these surrounding communities feel better about us having to take the space for UC?” The issue of racial tension is, as Dr. Norwood said, “the conversation that’s always going. It never stops, but to confront it means you’re really ready to get down to business.”
endorsements and the bulk of union support. Sanders’ only formal proposal is his College for All Act of 2015. The Independent Senator calls for all four-year public universities to be free. His plan outlines a 0.5 percent tax increase on stock trades, 0.1 percent on bonds and 0.005 percent on derivatives. Both Clinton and O’Malley have also addressed college affordability, however both of the candidates want to tackle student debt and regulate tuition price
hikes. Tuesday’s debate is unlikely to have the fireworks of Republican debate, mostly due to the Democrats not having a Donald Trump-like figure. This will serve as a solid platform for the lesser-known candidates to make themselves better known. While addressing reporters Wednesday O’Malley said, “The only two candidates people have heard of are the inevitable front-runner and the senator from Vermont.”
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to the minimum wage, how much of a raise is a different story. Both Sanders and O’Malley seek a $15 minimum wage. Clinton supports a minimum wage increase, but has not specified how high. Chafee wants to increase minimum wage to $10.10 over the next three years. Currently there is no limit to how much money one can donate to a candidate. Both parties are expected to spend over $1 billion on their campaigns in the general election. In January, the Koch Brothers announced their donation budget to the Republican presidential campaign would be $889 million. O’Malley and Webb have not placed campaign finance reform as a serious part of their platform. Clinton aggressively attacked campaign finance saying, “We need to fix our dysfunctional political system and get unaccountable money out of it once and for all, even if it takes a constitutional amendment.” Sanders does not fund his campaign with large donations. According to the Sanders campaign, the average donation is about $30 and 99 percent of all donations are less than $100. Clinton has a better oiled fundraising machine, getting large contributions from banks and corporations. Clinton has also secured virtually all congressional
UC’s Support for Democratic Candidates 21.4%
72.8% *out of 522 students polled