The Forgotten Issue: Fall 2019

Stud ent

read

Fall 2019

The Forgotten Issue

and led sinc e 194 0

02

Culture & Community There’s No Faeries In New York

There is no exact answer to this question, no diary entries

Words — Parker Sublette Illustration — Sude Kurban

in New York, now we don’t have to worry about that

Faeries. Creatures of Gaelic myth known for their mischief, magic and penchant for pedantry. Despite a long and storied history of the Catholic Church doing everything in its power to drive other belief systems out, the people of Ireland and Scotland never forgot their wariness for mushroom rings or what hides behind the leaves.

Even today there remains an intrinsic, but less discussed, belief in the fae in the Gaelic lands. When I visited Scotland and asked a local his thoughts on “the fae” he told me, “I don’t believe in them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.” But where did the fair folk go when those same people immigrated to the United States? Save for a vague belief in leprechauns during Saint Patty’s Day, the fae seemingly disappeared in crossing the Atlantic.

from an Irish immigrant at Ellis Island that says “we’re faery nonsense.” But, there are plausible theories one can glean with an understanding of folklore and society.

For one, they were never meant to make it across the sea. The Gaelic for the supernatural race of beings in their mythos is Aos Sí, which were described as living underground and across the Western Sea (The Atlantic).

Their existence depended on the unknown. Once that horizon was crossed and the mysticism of the unknown dispersed, it was easy for beliefs attached to go with it.

There aren’t fairies across the sea, just more people.

The fae, like most folkloric beliefs, are based on location: fairy rings, burrows, hills and forests. Sí translates to hills/tumuli—the stone stacked hills which dot the Gaelic lands. When they left the hills behind, they left the faeries with them. Folklorish beliefs don’t have much sway in urban settings like in the countryside.

Most Gaelic immigrants came through New York or Boston, staying in the most metropolitan areas and dispersing amongst other cultural groups, losing the ethnic critical mass that is needed for a belief system to disseminate through generations.

Perhaps they never disappeared but evolved with the era into a new mythos. Almost every culture has an explanation for the unknown, and today we are no different. Aliens, the otherworldly creatures that act beyond our understanding, who kidnap people in the mysterious nighttime and leave circles in the land and vanish, are an almost precise mimicry of basic fae myths, just with better technology.

We can’t know for certain why Faeries never made it to New York. Maybe they stayed behind in the emerald hills and verdant forests, or, like their believers, dispersed and changed, adapting to a new land and a new life.

CULTURE & COMMUNITY

03

Staten Island: NYC’s Forgotten Borough Words — Lawrence Scotti Illustration — Danielle Wilson Growing up in Staten Island is strange. It is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City, and the one people always tend to forget. Quiet neighborhoods of bland townhouses, “Blue Lives Matter” flags, and the rapidly increasing shopping plazas fill out Staten Island’s South Shore, where I’m from. A few blocks from my family’s apartment is where you will find an older couple who set up shop everyday on an overpass, selling “Trump 2020” flags, posters and t-shirts. Some flags have Trump’s head

“ My worlds— Brooklyn and Staten Island— were colliding violently.”

photoshopped onto Rambo’s body, wielding a machine gun. Staten Island is Trumpland, where the president won over 55 percent of the vote in 2016, versus the 18 percent he received here in Brooklyn.

At my local gym I regularly see Joey “Salads” Saladino, a popular right-wing YouTuber who gained popularity by staging racist “social experiments.” We formally met when I ran into him in mid-October at the Bernie’s Back rally in Queens, where he was decked out in Bernie 2020 gear, filming a video undercover as a “beta-male.” We shook hands, and when I told him that although we go to the same gym, I didn’t believe in anything he stands for, he replied, “Oh, hey, that’s alright!” Joey is the personification of Staten Island’s political views: brazen, shockingly far-right and incohesive.

After the 2016 Presidential election, I was working in a Lowe’s on Staten Island during the weekends, and was a Pratt student during the week. On the island, people were thrilled about Trump’s victory. One older customer— wearing a shirt of the electoral college map—grinned as I handed him his Dyson vacuum, “Kid, You have a bright future now.” Co-workers were calling me out at work for voting for Hilary. In Brooklyn, on the other hand, Pratt people were losing their minds. One professor of mine wouldn’t utter Trump’s name in the class, referring to him as “45.” My worlds—Brooklyn and Staten Island—were colliding violently.

The physical distance of Staten Island to the other boroughs plays a factor in its “forgotten borough” identity as well. The nickname is accurate for many reasons, one being the poor commuting options. The toll at the VerrazanoNarrows Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to Staten Island, now costs $19, and South Shore residents have some of the longest commuting times in the country. Most Staten Islanders refer to all the other boroughs as “the city,” and if you don’t work in another borough, you might not venture outside the island often.

Staten Island has always been the forgotten borough and growing up there, it is easy to tell why. Politically and culturally it has mutated into nothing more than the butt of all New Yorker’s jokes.

04

CULTURE & COMMUNITY

Healing: Lost in Tradition Words — Vivian Lee Illustrations — Amber Duan My first session with a Chinese healer was a spiritual

maintain harmony, a direct parallel to health and

experience wherein I allowed myself to laugh, cry

wellbeing. The body reacts to an imbalance in the form

and grow in the presence of a stranger. Vulnerability

of illness, disease and suffering.

triggers growth. Healing can, of course, be a singular process. Alternatively, once you let others in and put forth collective guidance, the heart truly takes flight.

The healer invited me into her home, performing a set of rituals involving fire cupping, moxa (incense burning) and gua sha (dermal friction). This form of therapy aligns with mental clarity and enlightenment.

Chinese medicinal culture is centered around qi (“life energy”) which refers to balance in the body in relation to the inner and outer self. Qi is universal, embracing all manifestations of energy from the most material

“ America prides in being the most advanced country, yet we seem to fall behind when it comes to equilibrium with the world around us.”

American doctors generally fail to recognize Chinese

aspects—like earth, flesh and blood—to immaterial

practices as beneficial compared to Western medicine.

elements such as thought and emotion.

Fire cupping applies suction to the skin, drawing out

On the other hand, the Western world embodies

flow of Qi in the body. Olympic swimmer Micheal

technological dependence. It is an endless cycle

Phelps donned purple cupping marks before races,

wherein prescription is necessary to obtain medicine

usually drawing concern and confusion from the public.

pathogens and bad energy, ultimately stimulating the

and medicine must always be prescribed by a doctor.

America prides in being the most advanced country, yet

His personal trainer Keenan Robinson explained that “there’s a psychological component where Michael has

we seem to fall behind when it comes to equilibrium

been doing this to feel good for a long time… Anything

with the world around us. Whereas the prescriptive

you can do to get the body to feel good.” Cupping is akin

praxis of Western medication attempts to treat an

to ice baths in which some people will claim they have

underlying insult, Chinese tradition makes it a mission

no purpose whatsoever whereas others swear by them.

to repair the whole and try to bring the body back

It’s one of those things where mind overpowers matter.

into balance. Since the dynamics of yin and yang are

What we have forgotten is the belief in healing within,

always fluctuating in the world around us, we must

looking inwards rather than outwards.

continuously respond to these changes in order to

CULTURE & COMMUNITY

05

Architects Behind Starchitects Words — Nina Martineck Illustration — Ronan Madden Ask anyone to name an architect, and more often than

Of course, this doesn’t make Wright a saint. Griffin

not, Frank Lloyd Wright inevitably comes up. They can

developed his iconic watercolor style of building

usually list off a few of his masterpieces: Fallingwater,

rendering, which, to this day, everyone attributes to

the Guggenheim, the Robie House. Undoubtedly, he

Wright. And this is only what we know she’s done for

might be the most famous architect to ever live—people

Wright. Who knows if she designed entire buildings

who only have a vague idea of what an architect is still

under his name?

know his name.

Ask them for another. And another. You’re likely to end up with Frank Gehry, Louis Sullivan, Rem Koolhaas, Le Corbusier or Peter Eisenman (if they’re into grid manipulation). Unless they by some miracle know Zaha Hadid, you most likely will not get a woman architect.

“ Behind each male starchitect is a hundred women sending him to space.”

This is tried and true, tried again and even truer. But

Even in our studios as architecture students, we receive

behind each male starchitect is a hundred women

and take advice and ideas from professors, TAs and

sending him to space.

fellow students, so not all ideas in our model are our own. How do we give credit where credit is due? There

Evident by the sheer magnitude of his work, Frank

may not be a clear answer to that question, but in order

Lloyd Wright did not work alone. Though he tried—and

for the ideas of women architects to not get hidden

he tried very hard—he couldn’t do it all by himself. He

behind the facade of male starchitects, we must strive

had a whole firm of people working for him. At least a

to champion all the hard work that they do.

hundred of these people were women.

This was quite radical for the turn of the century. The first female architect to ever be inducted into the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Louise Bethune, had only been accepted four years prior. Women could not yet attend the Cornell School of Architecture, MIT had only graduated a handful and Sophia Hayden Bennett had already been institutionalized after a mental breakdown induced by the sexism of male architects in the field. And, despite all this, Frank Lloyd Wright hired Marion Mahony Griffin.

Marion Mahony Griffin was the first female architect to be licensed in the US, and she was the first employee hired by Wright after he left Adler and Sullivan’s firm in 1893. She was his lead designer, a notion unheard of until he’d done it. When Wright left the firm, he offered it to Griffin, who declined.

06

THE FORGOTTEN FEATURE

Weeksville: Forgotten and Found Words — Jessica D’Ambrosio Photo — Samuel Herrera

In the middle of Crown Heights, not even three miles

named Sylvanus Smith, saw an opportunity to create an

from the Barclays Center, lies an unlikely sight in New

all black community of landowners that was strategically

York City: a tract of land that has been left verdant.

secluded from the rest of Brooklyn. Situated in the hills

Today, this is the site of Weeksville Heritage Center, and

of what is now Crown Heights, the land allowed the

close to two hundred years ago, it was the site of a black

citizens of Weeksville to live freely amongst themselves

community known as Weeksville. It’s not surprising

and feel secure in doing so.

that the name itself might not stir a response from the average Pratt student. Many native and transplanted

By the 1850s, Weeksville had established itself as a

Brooklynites don’t even know of this historic

prosperous neighborhood. The population had grown

neighborhood, and it is often regarded as one

to over 500 people, becoming a haven for those who

of Brooklyn’s best kept secrets.

had been enslaved in both the North and the South. The borders of the town grew to encompass the land between

Weeksville was established in 1838 by a dockworker

what is currently East New York Street, Atlantic Avenue,

from Virginia named James Weeks. During a financial

Ralph Avenue, and Troy Avenue. The community created

crisis known as the Panic of 1837, landowners started

their own newspaper called “The Freedman’s Torchlight”

selling off property in central Brooklyn. One of these

and even built their own school. The town also had

landowners was John Lefferts. The Lefferts family owned

an orphanage, a cemetery, a convalescent home, two

large plots of land in King’s County at the time and had

churches and many businesses run by its own residents.

been one of the biggest slaveholding families in New York while slavery was legal. Lefferts sold land to Henry

Weeksville produced and harbored a number of

C. Thompson, an abolitionist leader, who then sold two

significant figures in its day. One of these figures was Dr.

lots to James Weeks. During this time, black men in

Susan Smith McKinney Steward, New York’s first black

the state of New York were required to have 250 dollars

female doctor. Dr. Steward was born in the town, as was

worth of property in order to vote even though there was

her sister, Sarah Smith Tompkins Garnet, founder of the

no property requirement for white men. Weeks and other

Equal Suffrage League of Brooklyn and the borough’s

founders of the settlement, notably another investor

first female principal. Later, both sisters came together to

THE FORGOTTEN FEATURE

07

found Women’s Loyal Union of New York and Brooklyn,

many of the students participated in archaeological digs

which was also a suffrage organization predominantly

on the Weeksville property. The kids backed Maynard in

centered around the specific struggles of black women.

her effort to gain landmark status for the houses in order to defend them from being demolished for development.

Not only was Weeksville a hub of prosperity for those who lived there, it was also a place for outsiders to

Eventually, the effort to give Weeksville landmark status

seek refuge. In 1863, the white working class of Lower

succeeded. In 1970, Weeksville was named as a New York

Manhattan violently reacted to a law passed by Congress

City Landmark, and two years later, it was put on the

that allowed men to be drafted into the Civil War. These

National Register of Historic Places. The Society for the

disturbances were called the New York Draft Riots.

Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford Stuyvesant His-

During these riots, white men, mostly Irish immigrants,

tory was renamed to the Weeksville Heritage Center. The

targeted and attacked black people throughout the city.

Center’s proposed mission was to preserve and interpret

During this time, Weeksville became a sanctuary for

the history of Weeksville in order to educate and inspire

black folks threatened by the violence.

others. By 2005, the four houses were renovated and restored, though they had suffered from vandalism during

During the 1880s, Brooklyn began to see a substantial

the 1980s. One house was remodeled to fit a small exhibit

amount of urban growth. The city was expanding the

space for artifacts as well as several offices.

street grid, and the end of construction on the Brooklyn Bridge secured the borough as an urban settlement.

This urban development surrounded Weeksville and ultimately plowed through it. Streets ran through the neighborhood’s land while traditional houses were demolished and replaced with row houses. The city destroyed the cemetery in order to make room to build

“ The land allowed the citizens of Weeksville to live freely amongst themselves and feel secure in doing so.”

Eastern Parkway. Residents either left or conformed

Since then, the Weeksville Heritage Center has served as

to what was happening around them. By the mid 20th

a guardian to the houses and the land, giving informative

century, Weeksville seemed to have simply disappeared.

tours and securing the funds necessary to preserve the space. At the beginning of 2019, Weeksville nearly fell

In 1968, just when it seemed like Weeksville had been

victim to being forgotten again. The Heritage Center

completely forgotten, James Hurley, a professor at Pratt,

faced a shortfall and had to resort to crowd-funding

read about it and became interested in finding the site of

in order to stay afloat. Luckily, many news outlets and

the historic community. When he was unable to locate

other prominent organizations made an effort to call

any remnants of the town by walking around the area,

attention to the issue, and the non-profit exceeded their

Hurley decided to search for Weeksville by flying above

goal of raising 200,000 dollars. This crisis led to a push

the land with Joseph Haynes, a licensed pilot and local

for Weeksville to be added to the cultural institutions

resident. Pictures taken on their flight revealed four

group, which would offer funding from the city each year.

deteriorating houses tucked away on a forgotten street.

In June, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs added

The street was known as Hunterfly Road, and only one

Weeksville to this group, securing financial stability for

woman resided there. The house she lived in had been in

the Weeksville Heritage Center in the years to come.

her family since the early 1900s.

Weeksville is an incredibly important piece of New York Artist and activist, Joan Maynard, founded the Society

City and Pratt history. It’s easy for historical events to

for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford

get lost in the cycle of human memory. In Weeksville’s

Stuyvesant History in 1969. Maynard committed the

case, it was even easier to neglect in the collective con-

next 30 years to preserving and reconstructing the

sciousness of 20th century America because its existence

Hunterfly houses. In the 1970s, Maynard’s most ardent

opposed the agreed upon narrative about black people

supporters were the kids of PS 243, which was located

in this country. By remembering Weeksville, we honor

just across the street from the houses. One class raised

those who created a community in which they could

900 dollars to help with the restoration process, and

thrive, inside a society hostile to their own existence.

08

Thoughts Pagan vs. Popular Words — Lindsay Lopp Illustration — Chloe Wei As we all know from years of trick-or-treating and gathering around for Christmas carols, holidays all have their traditions. The question is, where did these traditions come from? Some claim they came from medieval Europe when the Catholic Church was in rule, others say the holidays stem from an ancient religion outlawed by kings and queens of old: Paganism.

Paganism has been described in many ways. It could mean being a follower of a polytheistic religion, someone who worships nature, an irreligious or hedonistic person or even a witch, druid or goddess worshiper. Pagans have been around long before Jesus walked on water or Moses parted the Red Sea. The word “pagan” originated as a slur in the Roman Empire to name those who practiced a religion other than the big three. Though they were not an outwardly spoken community, the Pagans have a rich history of holidays and traditions that we still practice today without even knowing it.

Samhain is a three day ancient Celtic Pagan festival.

The festival marked the summer’s end and celebrated the Celtic New Year, and was also known as a time for the supernatural.

During Samhain, it was believed that the ghosts of the dead and other spirits could walk the earth once more.

In order to not bring trouble to your family, people would make sacrifices in bonfires to protect themselves.

At these bonfires, people often wore costumes in hopes of tricking spirits who wished to do them harm.

Christianity decided to capitalize on the Pagans by taking their traditions and turning them into their own.

On All Saints Day, also known as All-Hallows, people Christianized the Pagan traditions by worshipping

On Halloween, we still wear costumes, but instead of sacrificing animals to the spirits, we give little kids candy.

Halloween is not the only Pagan holiday that has been Christianized. Christmas itself has a much different origin than what is taught in bible study camp. History tells us that Jesus was born in the spring, so Christmas could not mark the day of Jesus’s birth.

Instead, Christmas stems from a Pagan Holiday known as Yule. Yule is usually celebrated between November and January.

“ Christianity decided to capitalize on the Pagans by taking their traditions and turning them into their own.”

There are many Christmas traditions that we all know and love that are connections to Paganism, for example, Frau Holle, the Pagan Germanic woman who gives treats to women during Yule.

saints and martyrs, rather than ghosts and spirits.

Now that the Holiday season is upon us, as we celebrate

Christians also wore costumes and offered food to

all things festive, don’t forget about Pagan origins that

God. Even today we adapt old Pagan traditions.

paved the way for our own celebrations.

THOUGHTS

09

Generation Lost Words —Renee Cartwright Illustration — Danielle Wilson Coming of age during a time of turmoil. Confused and directionless. Sound familiar? These were common descriptors used to label the Lost Generation, one of the first generations to be defined. These descriptors probably had you thinking about your friends. Well, that’s because the two generations aren’t all that different. One could argue that Generation Z is the new Lost Generation.

If there’s any generation that can identify with the aforementioned feelings, it would be the one that’s coming of age today. The reason behind this? We’ve been picking up the pieces that our parents left behind, both good and bad, physical and figurative. The majority of Gen Z kids have Gen X parents, a generation that was known for partying just as hard as they fought for what they wanted. Much like the Lost Generation, Gen Z’s are left to deal with the decisions of those that came before us and, quite possibly, compromising our futures to do so.

We are the product of two monumental events—9/11 and the 2008 economic crisis. While the majority of us are too young to recall the events of the attacks, you could ask anybody on campus about their memories of the stock market falling and they’ll tell you a story about how they heard their parents’ arguing when they were supposed to be sleeping. As such, we’ve become more financially literate than other generations had to be at such a young age and allowed it to carry over into the beginning of our adulthoods. This is similar to the financial tendencies of the Lost Generation. Rations of food, fabric and other materials were common due to the war effort and because they too were raised in such circumstances, they allowed these tendencies to continue into their adulthood as well.

“ We’ve been picking up the pieces that our parents left behind, both good and bad, physical and figurative.”

But we don’t only share bad experiences. While every generation has its fair share of artistic streaks of genius, it varies from group to group. From the extent to which art is embraced to the material form art is found, each generation has their own take on art. For the Lost Generation and Gen Z, the art of writing is what has been revolutionized. Their years have produced great writers such as Fitzgerald and Hemingway—now, we’re beginning to see the new faces of poets and prosers, with higher sale rates of poetry and books than in years’ past.

Altogether, the only true differences between the Lost Generation and Generation Z are titles, time and the amount of authors that are taught in high school English classes. Faced with unfortunate circumstances, we continue to carry on. We’re all just trying at the end of the day, though some are more lost than others.

10

VISUAL

Archiving The Prattler Words — Aaron Cohen Photos — Katie Bishop Did you know about the admissions office clock that was removed because it was “deemed too ugly?” How about the woman who graduated in 1957 and lived in the tunnels under the Engineering building for 50 years? Or the rumor of a painting student who disappeared from a locked room, leaving only a portrait of herself?

I certainly didn’t. The Prattler, however, knows all, and as the publication is set to turn 80 next year, I was shocked to learn that nearly none of the physical archive had been digitized. What if there was a fire? It wouldn’t be the first time on this campus.

VISUAL

11

Over the past few months I have been scanning past issues of The Prattler, not only to preserve this massive vault of student work, but to reminisce on all the memories this school has been a part of as I prepare to say goodbye. It’s hilarious to look back to the 1940s and see that students were complaining about cafeteria food even then. It’s weird to read about a time when people called the library “Debbie” or a writing tutor “a fish.”

More than anything, it’s a bittersweet feeling to know that through it all, The Prattler was there for students to dump their thoughts, dreams, hot takes, detective findings, crossword puzzles, horoscopes, illustrations, photographs and, most crucial of all to our community, their complaints.

From 1940 to today, The Prattler has been a refuge for the forgotten. To take a look at what we’ve done and how we’ve changed, visit Issuu.com/Prattler.

A Letter From Us Prattlers, Somewhere, out there in the great beyond, lies a gargantuan pile of mismatched socks and chapsticks and dignity. The homework assignment you forgot to do for your 9 a.m. The idea for that film you had in the middle of the night. All these things congregate in a meeting place for forgotten things. Or so I’d like to imagine.

It’s easy for things to get lost in the rumble of time with nobody around to remember them. For this issue, we asked our class and club members to reach back and try to recollect the things we all so easily forget. We wanted to dust off the back of old books, re-discover maps to hidden places and dig up the remnants of the lost.

As we reflect on nearly 80 years of The Prattler, we hope that all of our issues serve as a sort of timecapsule. Preventative medicine for forgetting. But for this issue, in particular, we wanted to make sure that these people and places and things got the recognition they so deserve.

Now, imagine “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds playing triumphantly in the distance.

Sincerely yours, Aliza Pelto Editor-in-Chief

Prattler Staff Creative Directors Madeline McKowen Josh Weinstein

Editor-In-Chief Aliza Pelto

Managing Editor Lexi Anderson

Archivist Aaron Cohen

Web Designer Noah Semus

Advisors Christopher Calderhead Eric Rosenblum Cover: Scans Aaron Cohen Photos Samuel Herrera Collage Josh Weinstein prattleronline.com Instagram: @prattler theprattler@gmail.com