Niner Times: January 24, 2017

INSIDE THIS EDITION: N.C. CONGRESSWOMAN ALMA ADAMS SPEAKS AT UNC CHARLOTTE DURING DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY CELEBRATION

OP-ED: OPINION EDITOR CASEY RECOUNTS HIS EXPERIENCE DURING PROTESTS IN WASHINGTON D.C. DURING INAUGURATION WEEKEND

PG. 3

NINERTIMES.COM

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

PG. 9

SEE WHY LIFESTYLE WRITER DELFINA SAYS EVERYONE SHOULD LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE IN 2017 PG. 14 VOL. 29, ISSUE 15

Cover photo by Pooja Pasupula

Hunter Heilman editor@ninertimes.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Jasmine Taylor

Alexandria Sands

Trevor Wilt

Kathleen Cook

managing@ninertimes.com

sports@ninertimes.com

Jeffrey Kopp

news@ninertimes.com

sports@ninertimes.com

Hailey Turpin

ae@ninertimes.com

lifestyle@ninertimes.com

Diane Gromelski

Casey Aldridge

copy@ninertimes.com

Pooja Pasupula photo@ninertimes.com

Carmen Westra

community@ninertimes.com

opinion@ninertimes.com

VIDEO PRODUCER

Chris McKinnis video@ninertimes.com

LAYOUT EDITOR

Kathryn Whitesides layout@ninertimes.com

ADDITIONAL STAFF

Salina Dickie, Mia Shelton, Angie Baquedano, Daniel Head, Stephanie Trefzger

David Mendez

Delfina Erochenko, Saba Solaimanizadeh, David Shepperd

Linnea Stoops

MARKETING STAFF Blake Strickland, Michael Powers, Emily Mercado, Shelbee Barber, Ryan Scott

NINER TIMES • RADIO FREE CHARLOTTE SANSKRIT LITERARY-ARTS MAGAZINE MEDIA MARKETING • TECHNICAL

MEGAN SMITH OFFICE MANAGER: DANNY HUFFMAN

www.ninertimes.com/app 2

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

NINERTIMES

CELEBRATING THE DREAM

Congresswoman Alma Adams speaks at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration JASMINE TAYLOR MANAGING EDITOR

Congresswoman Alma Adams speaks at commemoration. Photo by Nora Alorainy

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, life and achievements were commemorated Jan. 17 in McKnight Hall at 3:30 p.m. in an event presented by the Multicultural Resource Center.

The event, which was open to the public, had Congresswoman Alma Adams as the keynote speaker.

The program opened with remarks from Chancellor Philip Dubois who touched on diversity and inclusion on campus. He also commented on how far UNC Charlotte has come

NINERTIMES.COM

with diversity, but still has work to do.

“Compared to 10 years ago, the staff is more diverse and the students are more diverse,” said Dubois.

Alma Adams started her speech with a warm welcome to the 49er community and stated how everyone there was coming together to honor a man who gave throughout his life and even with his life.

“Dr. King valued everybody’s voice.

Unarmed truth and unconditional

word will have the final say,” said Adams.

Adams talked about how King and other civil rights leaders worked towards impacting change that allowed desegregation in schools, public restrooms and public transportation. Their work also allows us to honor the democratic process, and the democracy to be able to pass the vote in any election without intimidation, fear or interference. The change that King’s legacy had allowed a nation to witness the election of the first African-American president 8 years ago.

“His words and his actions, his life long legacy continue to inspire future generations and they continue to push us for impactful change,” said Adams.

She also touched on how King’s death made it impossible for him to witness the positive changes and how if he were still around he would probably be shaking his head at the events that have transpired as well.

Adams mentions how President Ronald Regan reminded us of the essence of King by signing the bill for his birthday to be a national holiday and quotes Regan on a statement about King.

“In his own life, he symbolized what was right about America, what was noblest and best, what human beings have pursued since the beginning of history. He loved

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

unconditionally. He was in constant pursuit of truth, and when he discovered it, he embraced it. His nonviolent campaigns brought about redemption, reconciliation, and justice. He taught us that only peaceful means can bring about peaceful ends, that our goal was to create the love community,” said Regan.

Adams commented on how in order to advance civil rights and make changes, everyone has to make a personal commitment to work together and reinforce each other.

She closed her speech with addressing the students of UNC Charlotte about how young people are the ones who will promote change and have a voice to do so.

“His dream and his vision for all people still is clear today and he reminds us that we have to reaffirm our commitment to embrace the responsibilities as young people, you are our next leaders. You can build the kind of world that you want to see … His dream becomes your dream today, and it’s time for you to have the final word,” said Adams.

The program continued with a candle lighting ceremony and closing remarks from Director of the Multicultural Resource Center Kimberly D. Turner. The event was then followed by a community reception in the Lucas Room of the Cone Center.

3

UNC Charlotte receives $7.7 million grant to establish transportation research center U.S. Department of Transportation awards grant to develop and lead the Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education

The Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education (CAMMSE) will be working with the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). NT File Photo

ALEXANDRIA SANDS NEWS EDITOR

UNC Charlotte will lead four other universities in the Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education (CAMMSE) where they will research transportation.

The University received a $7.7 million grant for the center from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). UNC Charlotte is one of the 32 universities that was awarded funds to develop centers.

Approximately $72.5 million was awarded total. “We have a great facility and the faculty here are experts in different areas. I think they trust us. We

4

can deliver. We have a good track record,� said Principal Investigator for the center Wei Fan. The center will be working with Texas Southern University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Texas at Austin and Washington State University. The federal funding will last for 5 years.

The center will study multimodal transportation, which includes airports, seaports, rails, transit systems, bicycle and pedestrian trails and walkways. In the first year, the center will be working on three projects.

Project one will consist of using

smart card data to study passenger journey information to see how that information can help decision makers for the rail and bus network to plan, design, operate and manage a more efficient public transit system.

Project two will work to improve the movements of people and cargo in the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion. This project will offer solutions to moving people and freight to, between and within the region.

In project three, researchers will develop and evaluate a smartphonebased data collection method to

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

improve bicycle and pedestrian transportation planning. They will study bicycle route choices, trip purposes and socio-demographic data.

Investigators will be working with Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and USDOT. Co-investigators include Marty Kane, Miguel Pando and Dave Weggel, faculty members in the Lee College Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Yu Wang from the College of Computing and Informatics Computer Science Department.

NINERTIMES

LGBTQ students take big steps in finding their involvement on campus Multicultural Resource Center offers cohort program Queer Year One ALEXANDRIA SANDS NEWS EDITOR

Queer Year One (QY1), a cohort program for first year students who identify as queer, transgender, non-binary or stand allied with the LGBTQ community, had their first meeting Jan. 18.

Rather than focusing on the student’s identity, the program’s mission is to help members ease into life at UNC Charlotte during their first year as a freshman or transfer student.

“It’s about coming to UNCC and getting engaged with the campus and in the community,” said QY1 Graduate Assistant Elizabeth Tate.

The goal of the program is for members to find their next level of involvement with the school whether it’s joining Spectrum, the undergraduate LGBTQ student organization on campus, or something different such as a sports club, by the end of the year.

“We want them to understand that they can be queer and trans in multiple spaces. Our goal is not necessarily to get them into an identity group. It’s to get them into a group that makes the most sense,” said Assistant Director of

the Multicultural Resource Center Joshua Burford.

Prior to QY1, the University only offered Spectrum as a community for LGBTQ students. Burford soft launched QY1 in Fall 2013.

He ran a similar program at the University of Alabama, but had to modify the program when he brought it to UNC Charlotte so that it would accomodate the needs of an urban university with a large commuter presence.

“I think LGBT students especially, even the students who are out, are not used to coming to a campus this size and then having to navigate the difficulty of finding other LGBT students,” said Burford.

This year, the cohort has four computer science majors who Tate believes may have not met without the program.

Fifteen students attended the first meeting of the semester. Tate says the group is looking forward to doing community service projects and spent the majority of the first meeting planning what they want to do the rest of the semester.

If interested in joining Queer Year One, the next meeting is Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. in Student Union room 261.

“IT’S ABOUT COMING TO UNCC AND GETTING ENGAGED WITH THE CAMPUS.”

GRADUATE ASSISTANT ELIZABETH TATE

NINERTIMES.COM

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

5

Senate Update: Chartwells POLICE BLOTTER liasion Jody Thompson JAN. 16 - JAN. 20 gives updates on dining DRUG VIOLATION services, new orgs JAN. 19 ISA KNAPP STAFF WRITER

The UNC Charlotte Student Government Association (SGA) held their second weekly student senate legislative meeting of the year Jan. 19.

Guest speaker Jody Thompson, the liaison for Chartwells, spoke to the Senate about current and upcoming changes to dining services. She spoke about the optional dining account incentive that gives students free meal swipes after they deposit a certain amount of money onto their account until May 2.

She introduced the “smart market” that was installed in the EPIC building at the beginning of the semester and how successful it has been, mentioning that it has had to be replenished every day.

Upcoming projects include “refreshing” Starbucks in the Student Union, which will happen this summer, as well as a new menu rotation for the “grab and go” food that is supplied in various locations around campus such as Peet’s Coffee and Tea. Chartwell’s contract will be up for bid so Thompson will be looking into other options as well as visiting schools like Texas A&M and The University of Alabama in the upcoming future to see what different options they have.

Confirmation of new senators Six new senators were confirmed at the meeting. Venkata Tharun and Karen Edikala of the College of Computing and Informatics, Tobi Kalejaiye and Tiffany McMillan of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Kenneth Strickland of the William States Lee College of

6

Engineering and Chandler Crean who is a Freshman-At-Large.

Appointment of sergeant-atarms The Senate nominated and elected a new sergeant-at-arms. Shamar Crosby, a junior theatre major, was elected. The position became available after Nafis Bilal resigned at the end of last semester.

New student organizations The Senate approved the following new student organizations: Art and Mindfulness - A club that wants to spread mindfulness and inner peace through meditation, creativity and free expression. Their goal is to find peace through different creative practices.

Christian Engineering Society An organization that plans to help Christian engineering students build relationships with each other through Biblical study.

• Miltimore Hall, officers issued eight Campus Appearance Tickets in reference to possession of drugs and presence during prohibited conduct.

JAN. 20

• Laurel Hall, officers issued four Campus Appearance Tickets in reference to drugs and presence during prohibited conduct.

LARCENY JAN. 19

• Hawthorn Hall Parking Lot, unknown person(s) removed victim’s wheels and tires from his vehicle, which was secured and parked in a public area.

JAN. 20

• Cone Deck, unknown person(s) removed victim’s bowling bag from his vehicle, which was parked in a public area. Victim stated that he may have left his vehicle unsecured.

LIQUOR LAW VIOLATION JAN. 18

Sigma Alpha Omega Upsilon Chapter - A sorority that describes itself as being focused on building relationships with Christ through unity and sisterhood. Members will partake in Christian fellowship, service and social activities.

• Off campus, UNC Charlotte officer assisted ABC officer who issued a State Citation in reference to attempting to obtain alcoholic beverages by using a fraudulent driver license.

GirlTrek - An organization mission of starting a health movement for African-American women at UNC Charlotte and in the surrounding community.

VANDALISM JAN. 16

• Levine Hall, unknown subject removed fire extinguishers from their cases and placed them into an elevator.

For more information on Mecklenburg County arrests, visit arrestinquiryweb.co.mecklenburg.nc.us

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

NINERTIMES

FULFILLMENT IN GIVING

KATHLEEN COOK SPORTS EDITOR

In a fourth grade paper, men’s basketball assistant coach Tanner Smith documented his three wishes: to get a dog, to flourish in basketball and finally to help children facing cancer. Fast forward to current day and all three of those wishes have been fulfilled. Smith received a golden retriever puppy the following Christmas, he was able to play professional basketball after a successful collegiate career and his non-profit, Tanner’s Totes, has made over 7,000 children with cancer smile.

His desire to help those with cancer came from his father, who has been fighting with cancer and related ailments since Smith was 2 years old.

“He’s been in and out of the hospital my entire life, so it’s always been something that I had a thing for. If that stuff would have never happened, it would have never been on my heart to do,” Smith said.

Though his initial wish was written when Smith was in fourth grade, it wasn’t until he wrote about helping children with cancer again in sixth grade that his dream came to life. His mother reached out to one of her sorority sisters who was a child life specialist in his home town of Atlanta to set the plan into motion.

Smith consulted with his father about what he would have wanted to have when he was going through treatment.

“He said going from treatment to treatment to treatment, it would’ve been nice to have had a bag to carry things in. I thought that was great, but I didn’t just want to give a bag, I

NINERTIMES.COM

Smith delivering totes when he was younger. Photo provided by Tanner Smith

want to give them something in the bag,” Smith said.

The first tote was delivered when Smith was in sixth grade. He and his family kept churning out the gifts, however since Smith was under 18 he could never personally deliver the bags. Though he received numerous letters from gracious patients, nothing compares to the feeling of witnessing a child receiving a tote.

“When I got to deliver my first one in person, it was priceless,” Smith said. “It’s an unbelievable experience to actually deliver them and to see their faces. It’s really cool to see every different person like something different in the tote bag.”

After Smith had a prosperous high school career, he moved from Atlanta up to Tiger Town and played basketball for Clemson.

While he made the move to college, Tanner’s Totes remained an active organization.

Instead of his hands-on approach during his middle school and high school days, Smith relied on the help of his parents and community to fill and deliver around 100 tote bags a month.

“As much as I’ve done, there has been so much other people have done to help,” Smith said.

Tanner’s Totes hasn’t gone unnoticed. While in high school, a few of the local hospitals wrote to HGTV and Smith and his family were featured on the channel’s show called “Deserving Design.” The show gave the Smith family a two-room makeover and national recognition for their organization.

While at Clemson his freshman year, Dana O’Neil from ESPN did a feature on the player and his organization. Again his senior year Smith and Tanner’s Totes were featured on ESPN, this time with a College Game Day feature.

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

Smith also partnered with the business school at Clemson to put together an annual golf tournament for Tanner’s Totes.

When Tanner’s Totes initially began, its services were only provided to hospitals within the Atlanta area. Fifteen years later, the organization has expanded to serving 32 states, over 80 hospitals and has sent over 7,000 bags to kids in need.

With Smith and his parents still spearheading the organization, Tanner’s Totes has allowed him to remain close with his family.

“It’s nice to see something positive come out of something so negative,” Smith said. “It’s definitely brought our family closer together. It’s been extremely rewarding for us to all be a part of something special and share this journey together. It’s been one of those things that has been a blessing that I didn’t expect.”

Through playing and now coaching, Smith has been able to open doors and conversation with others about helping those in need.

“We all want to do stuff like this, it just depends on the person and what they’re passionate about. My passion would have never been to help kids with cancer if my dad had never had cancer,” Smith said.

The success from Tanner’s Totes comes from the determination of Smith and his family and their desire to help others “Part of life is finding fulfillment in giving to other people. We all have this little bit in us,” Smith said. “You have to either utilize your strengths and weaknesses, or sit on them and not do anything.”

7

MEASURING THE HEART OF A TEAM

KATHLEEN COOK SPORTS EDITOR

New this season for the Charlotte women’s basketball team is technology that allows for players to become more aware of what’s going on inside their bodies.

Assistant strength and conditioning coach Ryan Nosak pioneered the idea for the players to use the technology after he heard about other programs that were using it.

“When we’re on the road, I do my best to get out and meet other coaches. I would go out and talk to the other coaches about how they’re training their athletes. Most of the bigger basketball schools were using heart rate monitors to track the stress that their athletes were under,” Nosak said.

After his interest was piqued, Nosak contacted a friend who was then the athletic trainer for the Chicago Bulls. From their recommendation, Nosak invested in First Beat monitors for all of the players.

“I really like the system because not only can I get a measure of the intensity of practices and conditioning, but also a look at the recovery of our athletes. The system itself does heart rate monitoring and heart rate variability,” Nosak said.

First Beat has many big-name clients among various sports besides the Bulls. Other teams using the monitors include the Detroit Red Wings, Seattle Sounders and the Buffalo Bills. Also using

First Beat are Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

The elite teams that use the same technology, paired with the statistical insights given by the First Beat monitors generated excitement among the team.

“When I introduced the system to them, the Golden State Warriors were using the same system. I think when they heard names like Steph Curry and the other big guys with the Warriors ran this stuff, that increased the buy-in.

With this generation, they like to see numbers.

Instead of me telling them it was hard, I can show them in the system how hard they worked,” Nosak said.

The device is a band that goes around the chest of a player. Athletes wear the band during conditioning, practices and games. Statistical information that is gained from the heart rate monitor allows Nosak to notice trends between the conditioning sessions, practice and recovery.

“I got to this point where I was seeing trends that if I had a high day followed by a medium day followed by a low day, on the fourth day I saw a spike in the recovery. If we got to the point where we had three high days right in a row, then our recovery on the fourth day wasn’t looking really good,” Nosak said. “I shoot coach Cara an email and say ‘Hey I’m seeing good results when we do

a high day, followed by a medium day, followed by a low day,’ then we build our practices off of those recommendations.”

With this new system monitoring the players’ heart rate and heart rate variability, Nosak has gained new insight into their overall health.

“The higher heart rate variability an athlete has, the healthier they are, the more conditioned they are. I would look at those numbers over time and see if an athlete has low heart rate variability three days in a row, there’s a good chance that they’re not sleeping well at night, their nutrition isn’t the best or they’re not hydrating enough.

It opens a conversation for me and the athlete,” Nosak said.

Now that the system is in place, practices can be catered to the team’s health, avoiding injuries and prolonging their overall health.

“Whereas last year when our practices were high intensity every single day, we may have come in and not looked as good on Thursday games.

It wasn’t necessarily because our conditioning wasn’t good, but that our recovery wasn’t good,” Nosak said. “Now we have a more detailed look to make sure we hit our peaks at the right time. It’s my job to be the stress manager to make sure that when we need to, we pump the brakes. If we don’t do that we’ll burn out earlier in the year.”

TWO UNCC MEN’S SOCCER PLAYERS DRAFTED BY CHICAGO FIRE

Brandt Bronico. Photo by Chris Crews

8

After being invited to the 2017 MLS Combine in California the week prior, both Brandt Bronico and Matej Dekovic were drafted by the Chicago Fire in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.

3rd Round (Pick 47): Bronico, from nearby High Point, North Carolina, finished with 25 goals, 23 assists and 73 points in his four seasons. The midfielder will leave Charlotte ninth on the alltime points list and go down as one of the greatest to wear the green and white.

4th round (Pick 69): Dekovic, native of Zagreb, Croatia, anchored a backline that earned 10 shutouts. The defender bursted onto the scene late for the 49ers in his final season, earning AllConference first team honors.

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

Matej Dekovic. Photo by Chris Crews

NINERTIMES

CASEY ALDRIDGE

OP-ED: RESISTING THE RIGHT

OPINION EDITOR

I spent the weekend in Washington, D.C. with hundreds of thousands of friends, family, and comrades. We weren’t there to celebrate the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States; instead, we were there to kick off four years of righteous defiance and resistance. Friday saw angry and militant protests in D.C., where protesters were tear gassed and arrested en masse by capitol police. Saturday saw half a million or more attend the Women’s March on Washington, and millions more marching across the United States and around the world. Both were inspiring shows of different kinds of force, but the resistance to Donald Trump’s administration faces a few key orders of business if it is to become a powerful movement of dissent. In this piece, I hope to briefly outline the tasks before us and humbly suggest how we might best respond to them.

1. The trap of liberalism and the Democratic Party. The size of the Women’s Marches across the United States and beyond was staggering. The march on Washington was three times the size of the Inaugural crowd. Between 10 and 25 thousand marched in Charlotte, over 250,000 in Chicago, and upwards of 750,000 in Los Angeles. Trump’s approval ratings are low, at 37 percent on Inauguration Day itself. Not only is his approval low, but the active disapproval and outright contempt directed towards him is unprecedented. This has been read by some as a sign of a reawakened Democratic giant. That’s dangerous. As unpopular as Trump was,

NINERTIMES.COM

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Photo via Tribune News Service

even during his campaign, the Democrats still lost on Election Day. They nominated Clinton, making the two candidates the two least popular in U.S. history. Channeling this kind of energy into the Democrats is what they want, but a terrible strategy for the rest of us. The Democratic Party, the party of “America is already great,” is no acceptable counter to Trump’s “Make America Great Again.”

If we’re serious about women’s rights, the movement for Black lives, and movements for LGBT liberation and environmental protection, then our aim lies neither in America’s past nor its present. The Democrats are not an answer to Trump--they are

another wing of the capitalist state he now leads. They are not an alternative; the Clinton and Obama administrations have been major proponents of the processes of neoliberalism that created Trump’s movement and base. The Democrats want to remain relevant, but their establishment, capitalist politics can only feed into Trump’s racist, nativist capitalism.

2. The trap of self-imposed counter-culturalism and anti-politics. For a long time, the left was hunted in this country. McCarthyism and the targeting of the Black Panther Party in particular illustrate this historical trend. When

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

the left has grown strong, the American state has worked swiftly to suppress it. It is out of this legacy and out of a need to preserve the self that another unfortunate tendency has emerged. Quite apart from the previous trap of the Democratic Party, this selfimposed counter-culturalism is resists organization altogether.

It that resists the dirty work of coalition-building. This politics bases its identity on its marginal social position rather than on resisting models of exploitation like racism, sexism and capitalism. Pettiness replaces solidarity and gets called radicalism; individual identity replaces collective revolution. In

9

its embrace of individuality, it is another wing of liberalism, not the same as but also not divorced from the liberalism upholding the Democratic Party.

One particular manifestation of this tendency was a viral photo taken from the Women’s March on Washington, in which a sign read: “Don’t forget: White women voted for Trump.” The sign isn’t wrong--53 percent of white women who voted voted for Trump. And the poster brings up important questions about who has been contributing to the work of resistance, long before November’s election.

The task of this kind of criticism is absolutely crucial to our movements, but criticism must orient itself towards an end of liberation. It becomes anti-politics, and ultimately neoliberal, when it effectively encourages demobilization and moralizing indictments of demographics. It looks like radicalism, but it actually consists of guilt, shame and an active effort to resist solidarity.

For many, the Women’s March was their first protest. If the resistance wants to succeed, it should not close its doors to those folks but work to bring them in. As Malcolm X put it, “Don’t be in a hurry to condemn

because he doesn’t do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today.”

3. The trap of marching. If a march is a photo opportunity that has a start and an end and isn’t carried back into our communities to organize and mobilize power, then it is doomed from the start.

Movements aren’t about creating dialogue, they are about political power, and an over-emphasis on marching replaces power with idealistic notions of “visibility” and “appeal.” Marching as an only tactic is a surefire way to fail, because it doesn’t in-and-ofitself challenge the status quo.

When protests become parades, they lose the combativeness necessary to create real social and political change. During the Charlotte uprising, for example, after three nights of tumultuous protests, police backed off and allowed marches to proceed, because they wanted people to march. Marching could be contained, directed and pacified.

To win, we will need a diversity of tactics, not just triumphant marches that prioritize spectacle over movement. We need the Women’s March and the more

radical, passionate protests of the day before.

4. The trap of not marching.

I have been particularly susceptible to this final trap in recent months, and it is something I’m challenging myself on. Marching takes a lot of energy—more emotional than physical—for little or no return.

And yet the massive numbers in D.C. and everywhere else reminded us that “we are many, they are few.” When we take to the streets, we can close their shops, obstruct their traffic, and control space. I was first brought into politics during the 2011 Arab Spring, witnessing from afar the power of protesters in North Africa and the Middle East. There is power in protest, especially in mass mobilization that has the ability to paralyze streets and cities. Marches and mobilizations are not the totality of revolution, but they are a tool that should not be dismissed. Yesterday, at the very least, cut through some of the paralyzing feeling of isolation many had felt since the election.

It furthermore humiliated the Trump administration, with his new Press Secretary taking the podium to downplay the size of the Women’s March and inflate

the turnout to his Inauguration.

Millions protesting across the United States didn’t topple Trump, but it did produce real results, if marginal. And they are a glimpse of what we can do when we continue to grow and continue to develop a political program based around an incisive critique of capitalism and its functionaries: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-immigrant Nativism, anti-Native settlercolonialism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

A facebook friend of mine posted on Saturday that “Today’s actions, today’s numbers, were monumental.

If the movement isn’t radical enough for you, then get out there and radicalize it! If it isn’t organized enough for you, then get out there and organize it! Pooh poohing this level of popular participation doesn’t serve the goals you’re trying to accomplish in the slightest.” Let’s radicalize the liberals and organize the radicals. When we integrate the broad appeal and mass scale of the Women’s March with the ferocity and militancy of the antiInauguration demonstrations, we will have the power to defeat both Trump’s right-wing agenda and the capitalist order that created him.

Hundreds of thousands gathered for the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Photo by Casey Aldridge

10

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

NINERTIMES

Photo by Pooja Pasupula

TAKING A STEP OUT OF AFRICA AND INTO CHARLOTTE Step Afrika! brings a high-energy and educational performance to UNC Charlotte.

STEPHANIE TREFZGER ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR

Drawing from stepping’s strong history of community, Step Afrika! immediately encouraged the audience to participate and show their support by any means necessary, even if it meant doing a back flip. Within 10 minutes of the start of the show, a step-off was conducted between the ladies and the fellas. It was the crowd’s responsibility to pick the winning team by applauding and cheering for who they thought had the best performance. It was difficult to tell which side got more cheers (the first round was declared a tie), but the fellas took the second round, gaining extra cheers with their impressive acrobatic moves.

Shortly thereafter, a handful of audience members were invited onto the stage for a workshop during which they were taught steps, one after the other, until there were enough to form a whole routine. Although those on the stage were the ones actively participating, the audience was not left behind. We were taught the names for the various steps – the roly poly, hop-

NINERTIMES.COM

step and the march, to name a few – and we were entertained by those who were unable to keep up with the routine and one student who replaced the traditional 5-6-7-8 count-off with 1-2-3-4.

Not only did Step Afrika! display traditional step movements from America, but they cultured the audience by performing dances from South Africa as well. It was more than a performance: they brought history, culture, excitement and interaction to the crowd. They installed life lessons displaying of the benefits of working together and being strong. The group presented two works that they brought back from South Africa. The first was based on traditional dances of the Zulu tribe. Intensely percussive and endearingly boastful, one could see clear lineage from this style to stepping. At first we were left with nothing but a recorded message telling us about the Zulu people followed by two of the company’s members on the drums, which built until the dancers were in wildly moving across the stage. The room was silent, and although JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

everything but the stage was pitch black, I could see that everyone was wide-eyed and openmouthed with astonishment.

The second was a gumboot dance. This form of dance was developed by South African miners who, because of their language barriers, needed a new form of communication and used their boots to pass on orders or have conversations. This form was taught to the group’s founding member by a boy in South Africa, but it’s remarkable to see how closely it resembles the stepping we’re accustomed to seeing stateside.

And you know this troupe is close. They bring this family-like atmosphere to the audience and create an environment in which everyone feels like they belong and can let lose. In a time which the United States and the rest of the world are incredibly divided, this is just what we need.

This was a great way to spend a few hours not worrying about problems and just enjoy life, and it was one of the best experiences I have had at UNC Charlotte so far.

11

LEVENTIS AND SULPY: ENERGY AND ECCENTRICITY New faculty members exhibit their art in Rowe Gallery

ELISSA MILLER STAFF WRITER

I am not an art expert. Quite frankly, I don’t know if I would even refer to myself as an art beginner.

Still, I do enjoy art and museums, which made attending the opening reception of the Andrew Leventis and Ally Sulpy Galleries a wonderful experience. Leventis and Sulpy are both new faculty here at UNC Charlotte, however, they have completely different styles and messages in their art.

Leventis’ exhibition is entitled “Recollections,” which references his process of making the art. First, he chooses a film still to paint which he then photographs off of a screen. This helps him create distortion in the image. He then transfers the image to linen via oil paint. Leventis is specifically interested in how humans define themselves by the objects they surround themselves with. Many of his paintings showcase this, featuring phones, playing cards and candles.

Probably due to his process, all of Leventis’s work takes on a photographic quality. For some of them, it was hard for me to believe they were actually paintings. The paintings also play with light, with many in the shadows or at dawn or dusk. Personal favorites of mine were “Kansas Field,” which features a woman chopping firewood in the morning and “Sarcophagus Fly,” which focuses on a female hiker in the mountains.

Sulpy’s exhibition features three different (but connected) series of her work, all in bright color and made in a multimedia format. It’s a stark contrast to Leventis’s much more traditional, still life inspired work on the first floor. The first, and main focal point, of her collections is entitled “Store Facades.” Inspired by abandoned small town business districts, it seeks to reimagine old store fronts as they once were.

However, since Sulpy never lived in this time period, the reality she creates in her work is a blend of history and her imagination.

12

My favorite of her three collections is entitled “Bland Intruders,” though she also refers to it as her fern series.

According to Sulpy, the purpose of ferns is to be ignored and looked over. You don’t see successful ferns.

In this series, the hidden ferns become the focus and main idea of the artwork. Her third series, “Beefcakes,” recreates men’s “muscle” magazines of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

However, these paintings also contain her hidden ferns, representing the hidden homosexual undertones the magazines often had.

Sulpy’s multimedia work often contains a variety of elements.

I noticed everything from wood paneling to vintage ads to sale stickers. Quite a few had working lights and signs. Much of the art was presented with vivid colored paper on the walls as background.

Her works “Old Car” and “Closed” were particularly memorable to me.

“Old Car,” a part of the fern series, showcases a vintage car museum.

“Closed,” from “Store Facades,” features a young African American girl in three different poses.

ACROSS Photo by Allison Tran

1 Contractor’s detail, briefly 5 NYSE listings 8 Shade-loving plant 13 Pull’s opposite 14 Sitting on 16 “That’s __!”: “Piece of cake!”

17 Hebrew or Latin, e.g.

20 Cpl., for one 21 Sundial number opposite I 22 Kitty coat 23 Meetings of selfimprovement seekers 29 Child of a boomer 30 With 31-Across, flying exhibition 31 See 30-Across 32 More than fair, less than great 34 Petting __ 36 Composer Bartók 39 Form 1040 and schedules 44 Right triangle ratio 45 “Impractical Jokers”

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

network __TV 46 Most fit to be drafted 47 Captures 50 Plus 52 “CSI” evidence 53 Doctor with a pager 58 Itinerary word 59 Dubai’s fed.

60 Glamorous Gardner 61 Most of the Atlantic, to Columbus 68 Allow to board 69 “Frozen” queen 70 Game with rooms and weapons 71 Natives for whom a Great Lake is named 72 Like a clever devil 73 Outdoor faucet attachment DOWN 1 Massage facility 2 Joke with a homophone, say 3 Top-left PC key

4 Trouser material 5 Elevate to sainthood 6 Giants great Mel 7 Work a crossword puzzle 8 “Macbeth” cauldron stirrer 9 Buckeye State sch.

10 Acronym for a big mess 11 Prepare to advance after a fly ball 12 Mimics 15 Bridge partnerships 18 S.A. country at zero degrees latitude 19 About to happen 23 Army vet 24 Vegas signs 25 Early spring blooms 26 Easy run 27 Hanger near the shower 28 Be a debtor of 33 Summer of disco 35 Cereal grain 37 Monday, in Metz 38 “Ben-Hur” setting 40 Dinner, e.g.

41 Like Superman’s special vision 42 Flees 43 Indian flatbread 48 “It all happened so fast” memory 49 Sudden burst 51 Operatic icon 53 Developing egg 54 Forty-__ 55 Desert plants 56 Shoes that make you look taller 57 Hidden downside 62 Soil-moving tool 63 Ques. response 64 Broadband letters 65 Rock gp. with winds and strings 66 Moscow’s land: Abbr.

67 Lay eyes on

NINERTIMES

RIDICULOUS FUN WITHOUT ANY OF THE FUN

‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ does everything a mindless thriller should do, except entertain HUNTER HEILMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Let’s just start with some If anything, that should be honesty: I’ve never seen a “xXx” the thing that saves the film. film from start to finish in one The film does benefit slightly sitting. I understand what from the IMAX experience, but it’s about as a series, but I’ve the film’s pulsing electronic never really been interested soundtrack and constant need enough to actually take a to blow something up makes the look. So when “xXx: Return booming audio experience almost of Xander Cage” came to my painful to endure. attention, I really didn’t care Does anyone care about the too much about it. In fact, the performances? I can’t say that I most interesting thing about expected high-art performances the trailer came in Revolution here, but to tout Diesel’s return Studios’s resurrection after too heavily makes you expect going bankrupt in 2007 when some sort of enthusiasm, which Sony pulled funding from it.

I didn’t find here. The women, Now back from the grave, with despite being treated like objects, distribution from Paramount, do a better job of conveying a this opens the gates for old sense of wanting to be there than Revolution Studios films to the men. Deepika Padukone, receive the true sequels they Ruby Rose and Nina Dobrev deserve. are all charismatic, well-played While I’m a pretty cynical characters that are all infinitely person, I have a special more interesting than Cage place in my heart for guilty himself. Though, one of the Deepika Padukone as Serena Unger in ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage.’ Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures pleasure films, probably due more accomplished actors in the to my proclivity for the horror film, Toni Collette, turns in a “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” has every right genre (I mean, I gave “Underworld: Blood Wars” performance so campy and out-there, at a point to be a dumb action film that packs in quite a 4/5). So the fact that “xXx: Return of Xander you have to stop scoffing at it and go along with it. a bit of fun, and it does that in its first few Cage” is an over-the-top, unrealistic action film While her performance is generally terrible, there scenes. Though, after starting the film with the does nothing to bring the film down for me. In came a moment where I began to see how much acrophobia inducing ski-jump sequence through fact, being able to see the film in full IMAX 3D fun she was having with such ridiculous material the jungle, everything in “xXx: Return of Xander goodness had me very excited to check out the and while I didn’t feel that sense of fun, I could Cage” from that point on is all downhill. The film and all the cool 3D stunts it would inevitably feel it for her in brief moments. problem comes in a few things, the biggest issue throw around. To my unfortunate surprise, while One of the most marketed lines in the lead being that the film is pretty derivative; not in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” did have quite a bit its story, but its action. Sure, the story is fairly up to “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” is Jackson’s of silly action, the result is something that isn’t Gibbons telling Cage that his job is to “Kick some derivative as well, but who cares about story in very fun, which is the only thing it needed to be. ass, get the girl and try to look dope while you the third “xXx” movie? If you do, you’re missing Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is a xXx agent who do it.” From an objective standpoint, Cage does the point. The action, save for a few brief parts, has been living in hiding for years after faking indeed kick a lot of ass, he does get quite a few are all things we’ve seen before in other, better his own death. After the unfortunate demise of girls in the film, but where the film fails is looking action films of the same caliber. “xXx: Return of his former boss and friend Augustus Gibbons dope while he does it. With such a frenetic energy Xander Cage” had a little bit of “Resident Evil,” (Samuel L. Jackson) and the theft of the device that translates over to fast action and quick a dash of “Underworld,” a sprinkling of “The that sent the satellite crashing down to kill him, cut action, it becomes difficult to even focus on Expendables,” a touch of “Teenage Mutant Ninja he is found by Jane Marke (Toni Collette), an anything that “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” is Turtles” and wrapped in the X-Games.

NSA agent looking to reboot the xXx program in Beyond that, “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” isn’t going for. What we’re left with is a frenzied, loud, an effort to get the device back in their hands. silly movie that doesn’t have the power to find a shot or edited very well either. The film is dimly With his team of sleuth Nicks (Kris Wu), madman lit, poorly staged and heinously edited, with so way to make any of this ridiculousness fun, which Tennyson (Rory McCann) and sharpshooter might be a cardinal sin in guilty pleasure movies many quick cuts that I’m shocked I didn’t leave Adele Wolff (Ruby Rose), they go after the band of with a migraine. This all makes the potential like this one. thieves headed by Xiang (Donnie Yen). of the film being a 3D experience falter greatly.

NINERTIMES.COM

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

13

DELFINA EROCHENKO STAFF WRITER

If you were to randomly ask a few people about what is the most important tool for communication, there would be a variety of answers. From body gestures to tone of voice, communication is made up of several important factors. However, one of the most important tools that we use to communicate with each other is the language we speak. Without a language, we are reduced to only understanding face and body gestures. Even writing would be difficult, we would be reduced to drawing symbols.

Most people grow up speaking only one language, and for their own reasons, they don’t try to learn a new one. Many years ago, this was the norm.

Today, it is different.

With globalization and the presence of multiculturalism, the need for employees that have the knowledge of more than one language is increasing. This is one of the reasons why many majors have a foreign language requirement, to prepare students for the demands of the professional world. Here is a list that includes the five benefits of learning a new language: 1. It looks good on your resume.

Listing a foreign language on your resume always looks good. It shows that you have an additional method of communicating with others, and that you have the capacity to apply yourself and focus on a new language. Many large companies conduct business in other countries, and having an employee that can communicate

14

FIVE BENEFITS OF LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE You might be surprised by what you can learn in the language they desire is an asset. Tailoring your skills to make a company see how valuable you could be (while being truthful, of course!) is never a bad idea.

2. It could make your study abroad experience better.

If you want to study abroad, why not try to learn the language of the country you will be traveling to? You don’t need a native level of fluency in the language you are interested in, but if you have a basic understanding of words and phrases that are used in that language, your study abroad experience could be made even more fun.

You would have the opportunity to practice your fluency with people local to the country, and having some prior knowledge of the language of a country you are going to visit never hurts.

3. You’ll feel proud of what you have achieved.

Learning a new language is no easy task! It involves long hours, dedication and perseverance.

Whether you are learning Spanish, French, Italian or even Japanese, you are putting in the effort to learn about not just a language; you are learning about a culture. As you begin the study of a new language, it’s common to become frustrated when you don’t understand conversations, but don’t let that stop you! Anyone who has started studying a language can tell you that it happens, but it won’t last forever. Studying combined with time will help you slowly begin to JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

understand and put all the pieces in the puzzle.

4. Your brain will thank you.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information has stated that being bilingual or multilingual has many cognitive benefits.

Among those are better attention and task switching capacities, and a stronger ability to process information. When progressing into older adulthood, bilingual and multilingual people have a lower rate of memory loss than monolingual people of their age. A study conducted that observed more than 200 bilingual and monolingual patients that had Alzheimer’s disease found that bilingual patients showed initial symptoms of the disease 4.3 years later than the monolingual patients.

5. What can you lose?

Is there any way that learning a new language could impair you? Setting aside just a couple of hours a week could transform your life for the better. We would be surprised if we looked at how much time we waste on entertaining ourselves with social media when we could be putting that time to better use. Of course, the previous statement is not to make you stop using social media or to argue against it. It is just a reminder that for that hour watching funny videos on YouTube or the 30 minutes we spent scrolling through Instagram we could put that time to a better use and give another language a try.

Hopefully this article has given you some insight into what the benefits of learning a new language are and it has given you the motivation to truly immerse yourself in a different culture.

UNC Charlotte offers us the opportunity to study a variety of languages, so why not take advantage of it and give ourselves the chance to give another language a try? Perhaps you’ll be surprised to realize that you have found a new passion.

Photo by Pixabay

NINERTIMES

PROFESSIONALISM: BRIANNA SUMPTER

The guide to being successful

INTERN

Imagine being in an elevator with the CEO of the company of your dreams and saying the wrong thing, or having an important interview and not knowing what to say. Sounds scary right? As crazy as it sounds, this happens quite often. A lot of people do not stress the importance of professionalism until it is too late. We have so many different resources that are accessible for enhancing your professionalism skills, including clubs and organizations right here on campus. Knowing how to be professional is essential when searching for a career or even just for networking amongst your peers.

Here at UNC Charlotte, we offer the opportunity to work on your professionalism through clubs and organizations, such as the American Marketing Association (AMA). AMA is a marketing organization that is all about marketing yourself. In other words, they assist you in the process of building your professional skills and make it so that by the time you need to have an interview for any reason, you are heavily prepared. They have events that allow you to network with former UNC Charlotte students who are now very successful in their careers, as well as meetings every other week with topics ranging from the difference between different business styles and how to prepare yourself for an interview.

Another resource on campus is the University Career Center. The purpose of the career center is to help you with your resume, and provide insightful detail on how you can improve your professionalism. You can make an appointment at the Career Center or you can also just drop by, as

they have walk in appointments as well. If you take advantage of the events on the website and try to attend as many workshops as you can, you will be destined for success!

One of the hardest things to do when it comes to an interview is knowing what to wear. There are several different styles, such as business casual and business professional. Business professional will almost always include a suit. For men, a suit and tie is the safest thing to wear to a business professional event. For these events I would definitely recommend playing it safe, do not try to add any extra flavor to your outfit. Keep the colors neutral, nothing too bright (the safest way to go is to wear black). For women, this would include either a pantsuit or dress or skirt with a jacket.

On the other hand, business casual is a different story. Many people assume that business casual means that you can be casual, but that is not the case. A good word to use when you are searching for a business casual outfit is formal. Business casual, in other words is a formal outfit of your choice. The color scheme for business casual is way more broad than the color scheme for business professional. For men, a simple pair of dress pants and a collared or buttoned shirt will do. For women, a simple pair of pants and blouse will do, or a nice dress.

As you can see, we have quite a few resources on campus that will help you develop the skills you need to succeed in life. Stick to these guidelines and everything should fall into place for you!

ANGIE BAQUEDANO ASST. LIFESTYLE EDITOR

“I like to talk to almost everyone I come in contact with to get a feel if there is any sense of communication left and also to lift someone’s spirits.

I’ve noticed just saying hi and asking how was their day really changes their energy immediately.”

- Yusuf Benallal

NINERTIMES.COM

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

15

WOMEN’S FASHION PREDICTIONS FOR 2017

Photo courtesy of Henry Jose via Flickr

Don’t worry, florals are still a spring staple EMILY HICKEY INTERN

Fashion: it can either make or break a person.

It runs the celebrity agenda and determines your status within peer groups. Fashion expresses a person, reflects seasons and is ever-changing.

At the end of every year, a team of experts gets together to predict upcoming trends, colors and fads that will have a major impact on society.

For the 2016 year, skin-tight everything and neutral colors inspired by the Kardashian family dominated the market. Women everywhere were wearing body-con dresses paired with kneehigh boots while men sported skinny, distressed jeans, an oversized, neutral colored T-shirt and Adidas sneakers. Moving away from that, 2017 is predicted to be influenced the late ‘90s-early 2000s grunge era.

There are many events that influence fashion and changes in the industry with the most prominent one right now being the election season. Generally, people tend to dress more professionally surrounding the election season, shying away from leather and mini-skirts and replacing them with blazers and knee-length pencil skirts. Big heels turn into loafers and revealing tops turn into conservative blouses – it’s just how the trends work. Since this election season was so controversial, it’s not surprising that more people are reaching for the darker colors and “rebellious” looks. Although spring is right around the corner, no one seems to be thinking about the bright colors and are replacing typical spring colors with the pastel and muted version of them. They pair these colors with denim skirts and trench coats, two fashion staples of this upcoming year. Don’t

16

worry, florals are still a spring staple. As Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly once said: “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”

White is seemingly the only bright color we will see in spring with all-white outfits making a comeback. Whether it be white linen dresses, a white top and white skirt, or white pants with a muted color top, white is predicted to dominate the market. On the other side of the color spectrum, black is also prominent, as it always has been. Black is the color of fashion.

People are breaking out the graphic T-shirts and mesh fabric to create a grunge revival. Platform shoes are finding their way back and chokers aren’t going away anytime soon. Of course, every outfit is paired with highlighter makeup, no matter how bright or dark the outfit may be.

Showing off your curves was the thing to do in 2016 fashion, but not everyone has natural curves. This has influenced the tight tops with billowing bottoms look that is making its way onto the streets. There was once a time when women wouldn’t be caught dead with big hips, yet now are doing everything in their power to attain them. This style creates the illusion of a small waist and big hips, the iconic look of our day.

When you are trying to achieve this look, keep in mind the colors should now be dark instead of neutral, and maybe add a choker or platforms to really fit in with everyone else in the months to come. Don’t shy away from colors, but make sure they’re not too bright, and do NOT forget your highlight. Fashion is supposed to be fun, so wear everything with confidence and be sure to push the bar.

JAN. 24, 2017 - JAN. 30, 2017

NINERTIMES