The Catalyst 2019

The Catalyst Front Cover

Spring 2019

A magazine produced by students in Communication & Media Studies and in Digital Media Arts, Reinhardt Unviersity

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Table of Contents

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COM 104 - 7

Journey of the Hero: (Not the One You’re Thinking) - 8 Spring Day Spectactular - 10 Eagle Eye Podcasts - 11

ART 120 - 12 Jody McAlister - 13

ART 121 - 15 Nataleigh Long - 16

COM 202 - 18

COM 206 - 25

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My Short and Memorable Time with My Grandfather - 26 National Championship - 28 My Brother Taught Me... - 31 MPH - 34

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COM 210 - 36 Alex Lee - 37

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ART 220 - 38 Schuyler Martin - 39 Sir James Prothro - 40

COM 250 - 41 Let’s Play a Game - 42 The Witch - 42

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rcept i on

56 osth e ti c

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How the Cookie Crumbles - 19 Freedom Isn’t Always Free - 21 The End of Privacy?: My Thoughts on the Issue of “Data Tracking” and the Loss of User Anonymity - 23

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ART 260 - 43 James Gilbert - 44

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COM 306 - 46 Checkmate - 47 The Detroit Opera House - 47

ART 308 - 48 Sir James Prothro - 49 Nataleigh Long - 51 Savannah Smith - 54

ART 309 - 55

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James Gilbert - 56 Nataleigh Long - 60

COM 350 - 62

Citizen Kane: A Brilliant Film - 63 Dr. Caligari and his Somnambulist: Analyzing the Father of German Expressionist Films - 66 Narrative and Genre - 68

COM 360 - 70 Cultural Roots - 71 Coffee Isn’t Co-Free: - 75 The American Dream - 79

COM 407 - 80 Senior Profiles - 81 Reinhardt Athletics - 82 The 3:15 Project - 83

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COM 490 - 84

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Camp Glisson - 85 Lofty Girl - 86

ART 491/492 - 87 Kayla Smith - 88 Schuyler Martin - 90 Jose Diaz - 94 Savannah Smith - 98 Amber McFarland - 100

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MEET THE STAFF Mason Smith is a junior Strategic Communication major. He was born in Rome, Georgia, but has traveled the North Georgia landscape ever since. He currently works with Reinhardt Athletics as an assistant to the Athletic Communication and Media Director. He is passionate about his music, his sports podcast, and his niece. He is happily engaged and is excited to go into sports journalism after he graduates.

Editor-In-Chief James Gilbert is a Digital Media Arts major. He likes critically thought-out discussions, photography, and aesthetic millennial designs. He’s an animal lover and hugs trees from time to time when their leashes get caught. People may mistake him for a humble vegetarian, but don’t let that fool you: he’s just humble. He may be quiet like a mouse, but he is quickwitted and will roast you over an open flame. To sum James up in three words, he is kind, caring, and creative. ­­Managing

Editor

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Arius Gilstrap is a student athlete and a senior who is majoring in Strategic Communication. Arius was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and runs track and field. He has three brothers and two sisters. Arius loves training and improving in track and field, and he loves to better his craft of writing. He also holds a passion for drawing, sketching and making videos. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and meeting new people. He plans on running his own business, along with competing in and winning the Olympics.

Copy Editor

Visual Editor

Hinton Bolinger is a sophomore from Lindale, Georgia. He has been a part of the Communication department for less than a year but has gained a lifetime of experience in just that short time. He is a part of the Reinhardt University Eagles’ wrestling team as well. Hinton never saw himself as a part of an editorial team for a magazine but says life will put you through many paths and you just have to know how to take the course. He is excited to see how the publication will turn out and how the readers will react to it. He hopes to be a part of more projects like this in the future.

Amanda Betlere is a Strategic Communication major and plays basketball for Reinhardt. She likes sweets and chocolate, and can’t decide between cats or dogs.Amanda is from Riga, Latvia and came to the United States to play basketball in college. One thing that she wants to do after college is try to work here in the United States and maybe build a family on this side of the ocean.

Unique Medium Editor

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A Note From The Editor

Hello, dear reader. I would like to invite you to read The Catalyst, an informative multimedia emporium for the Communication and Media Studies and Digital Media Arts departments. It serves as a published collection of art work, videos, podcasts, photographs, and written work.

This spring semester, we joined Dr. Wilson in COM 306, a class specifically created around building a magazine. With The Catalyst, we wanted to immortalize more than ourselves in these pages: we wanted to immortalize our entire CMS and DMA family.

The topics in The Catalyst will demonstrate the talent that lies in our majors. Its contents present the finest that the two majors have to offer, from freshmen-level work in The Eagle Eye to senior-level work in capstone art shows.

I would like to thank Dr. Wilson for the immense amount of time and effort she has put into proofreading and editing this magazine. Without her, The Catalyst would never be as polished as it is.

For More Information, Contact: Pamela Wilson, Ph.D.

PSW@Reihardt.edu

Josh Marsh, M.F.A., Ph.D.

JKM@Reinhardt.edu

Brett Mullinix, M.F.A.

TBM@Reinhardt.edu

Jym Davis M.F.A.

JBD1@Reinhardt.edu

I would also like to thank my entire team of editors for the time they put into creating The Catalyst, but i would especially like to thank James, our Managing Editor. James was my right-hand and left-hand man. Anything I needed, from proof reads to layout designs to video editing, James was available. He spent a lot of long nights in FPAC with me, and I could never thank him enough for that.

To all five of you, thank you. This could have never been achieved without the effort brought in by each of you. I wish you the best in your future pursuits.

Mason Smith

Editor-In-Chief

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COM 104 Introduction to Multimedia Workshop Students serve as apprentice staff members of The Eagle Eye, the student-run campus online news outlet. This course provides students with an introductory experience working for the student multimedia news outlet. No prerequisites. May be repeated once for credit (maximum of two semesters).

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Journey of The Hero: (Not the One You’re Thinking) By: Mason Johnson WALESKA, GA. — At some point in your life, you likely encountered a narrative structure known as the “Hero’s Journey,” which likely preceded the claim that every story uses this narrative construct.

Despite the frequency of its use, The Hero’s Journey is a useful introduction to the narrative structure of various popular works, and — perhaps most notably — “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” closely conforms to the model.

Mythologist Joseph Campbell first proposed this narrative structure in 1949 with his book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” Building upon the works of Freud, Jung, and Frazer, Campbell proposed the mono-myth: a single archetypal story that, Campbell suggests, appears across cultures and throughout time. The book became highly influential and successful; however, Campbell was one of several interested in deciphering

the underlying structure of heroic stories.

Enter Vladimir Propp. Propp was a Soviet-era folklorist who analyzed 100 Russian folktales and came up with the 31 functions to describe the tale’s narrative structure. He is not very well known outside Europe, which is probably why he never comes up when discussing Hero-tales. Despite this, he was important in the field of folkloristic morphology, which is the study of structure in folk tales.

Propp detailed his model of narrative structure in his book “Morphology of the Folk Tale” which was originally published in Russia in 1928. However, the list I am using is a reprinted except finding in 2017 edition of Norton’s “The Classic Fairy Tales” edited by Maria Tatar on pages 506 to 507.

Photo Credit: Wykop

9 Absentation: Status Quo is established, usually tension is also established by a member of the community leaving.

Interdiction: The hero is forbidden from doing X. Violation of Interdiction: Hero does X, and the unintended consequence of this allows the villain to enter the tale.

Reconnaissance: The villain searches for valuable information.

Delivery: The villain learns information on his intended victims.

Photo Credit: Daria Kulesh Guidance: The hero arrives at a specific location for the plot to continue.

Struggle: The hero and villain engage in some way.

Trickery: The villain deceives somone in the aim of gaining something.

Branding: The hero is changed visibly throughout his quest, usually an injury.

Complicity: The deceived gives the villain what they desire.

Victory: The hero defeats the villain in some way.

Villainy or Lacking: The villain performs a harmful action to the hero or his community.

Mediation: The villain’s actions are revealed to the hero.

Beginning Counteraction: The hero reacts to the villain’s actions

Liquidation: The conflicts sort themselves out.

Return: The hero journeys home.

Pursuit: A monster pursues the hero.

Rescue: Escape from the pursuer.

Departure: The normal world is abandoned.

Unrecognized Arrival: The hero arrives unrecognized.

First Function of The Donor: The hero meets a helper of some kind.

Unfounded Claims: A false hero deceives the world.

Hero’s Reaction: The hero performs various feats to gain the helper’s aid.

Difficult Tasks: A task is designed to reveal who the hero is.

Receipt Of A Magical Agent: The hero receives a minor boon to help in his quest.

Solution: The task is solved.

Recognition: The hero is shown to be the true hero.

Exposure: The false hero is revealed as a fraud.

Transfiguration: The hero is changed physically in some way, typically seen as an improvement.

Punishment: The villain receives punishments for their actions.

Wedding: The hero rises in status.

Now, to make one thing clear, I am not trying to perform a gotcha on Campbell. Despite my belief that his work’s status is overinflated, he did provide a useful story structure.

However, I believe that it is important to expose creative people to other models of story structure and to show that there is more to the field of comparative mythology and folklore than Joseph Campbell.

Mason Johnson is a freshman Graphic Design major from Holly Springs, GA. He wants to use his degree to create stories that make people happy. He is excited to make new memories in the department.

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Spring Day Spectactular Photos and Story by Hinton Bolinger Waleska Ga. - Thursday, April 4th, was not like any other Thursday during this past school year. Spring Day had come with all the fun and excitement that is brought along with it. Students most like Spring Day because it is a day out of class. It is more than just a day off, though. Spring Day is meant to give

dramatic parts of the day. Right in the middle of campus stood the Ninja Tower, where students could attempt to climb to the top and ring the bell of the obstacle course.

Another hit of the day was the zip line that was set up behind the Glass House. The zip line wasn’t more than 40 feet long, but it was

hot dogs and hamburgers. Along with them stood a long line of student and faculty booths. Spring Day provided the platform for people to show what their club or organization was about.

All in all, Spring Day was a great day and provided students and faculty the day of rest and fun that they needed. Next Spring Day is sure to top this year’s, just as this year topped last year’s.

students a break to have a relaxing day before the end-of-semester struggles occur. It is also a day of fun and community for our school.

most definitely the highlight for the students. It was an opportunity to have fun and experience something new.

The Gordy Dining center provided This year’s Spring Day featured food for the event, which included things that have never been brought to school. The main feature of the day was the nursing school’s trauma scenario when they brought in the helicopter that is used to carry people when an accident has occurred. The nursing students played through a scenario in the Black Box Theater parking lot early Thursday morning. After this, the attention was focused on the less

Hinton Bolinger is a Sophomore Communication major from Lindale, GA. His favorite memories in the department are when he learns how to take products and produce them into something that others can enjoy.

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EAGLE EYE PODCASTS AND VIDEOS Amanda Betlere is a Sophomore Communication major from Riga, Latvia. She loves the ability to be creative that the department gives her, and how the department has helped her make her ideas come to life.

Photo Credit: Amanda Betlere

This video is titled: How to Pack

Sara Humphries is a sophomore Communication major from Woodstock, GA. She loves the way she can express herself through writing in the department.

This video is titled: How to Play Guitar in Five Minutes

Photo Credit: Sara Humphries

Amanda Betlere created the podcast Foreign is Not Borin’. It is produced by seniors Andrew Hans and Jacob Blodgett. It explores the different cultures shared by international students at Reinhardt University.

Photo Credit: Jacob Blodgett

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ART 120 Two-Dimensional Design This course introduces the basic concepts of visual design. Basic pictorial organization issues will be introduced as well as discussion and application of visual elements such as repetition, structure, gradation and texture. Basic color theory will be covered as it relates to specific visual concepts of pictorial space.

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Jody McAlister is a sophomore Graphic Design major from Madison, GA. She loves the unique teaching strategies at Reinhardt that have taken her farther than she could imagine.

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Art by: Jody McAlister

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ART 121 Three-Dimensional Design This course introduces the basic concepts of threedimensional design. The basic units of threedimensional construction (planes, serial planes, repetition, polyhedral structures and linear structures) will be used to discuss basic concepts of spatial organization. These concepts will be applied to various design exercises using various structural media.

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Tool Study by Nataleigh Long

17 Skeleton Study by Nataleigh Long

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COM 202 Media and Culture Students learn about the changing role and cultural impact of mass media in our society and globally, along with gaining a critical understanding of our role as media consumers. This course is the gateway course for Communication majors and a prerequisite for most upper-level, media-related classes. Prerequisite: ENG 101 and either ENG 102 or ENG 103, or permission of instructor.

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How the Cookie Crumbles Blog by Nataleigh Long Photos provided by Nataleigh Long

No matter what digital service you attempt to use, the chances of there being a Terms of Service Agreement or Privacy Policy present are almost guaranteed.

But who takes the time to read those long-winded, confusing, and seemingly useless contracts before clicking “agree” and moving on?

In a society like today’s, where individuals expect nothing less than instantaneous results, it only seems reasonable that most internet users would simply bypass the hundreds of words standing between them and the latest app. According to the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply, even if we all took the time to read these digital contracts, it would require 180 hours of reading per year per person.

Therefore, it is likely that even the most diligent and detailed of people would not spare the time to read through the monstrosity of words before they ever clicked “agree.”

But what does this mean for us consumers?

What exactly are we all blindly agreeing to anyway?

previously, and items you have looked at or purchased in the past are all remembered by these cookies.

Virtually all websites will pop up a small banner asking users to acknowledge the use of cookies, though these little pieces of internet data do not come with a complimentary glass of milk.

Instead, cookies are left behind by websites to remember the user that was browsing. Such devices are useful when buying products online, because they allow websites to remember the items that were previously added to carts.

Sites and companies are able to use such information to build personalized user profiles for individuals that use their services.

This, in turn, means that marketers with access to such information are able to advertise more effectively to their consumers by targeting ads based on their previous online interactions. While this may seem harmless, what becomes concerning is exactly who has access to these digital profiles we unknowingly build online.

However, these cookies remember more than just the new set of headphones you decided to purchase from Amazon. Personal information such as your name, location, the sites you visited

Returning back to the notion of Terms and Conditions and cookie warnings sent out by websites and online services, let us look at Google’s policy on cookies.

According to the documentary

20 Terms and Conditions May Apply, the 2000 privacy policy in place for Google users stated that the cookies used by the browser could not identify individuals, but instead just identified their individual computers. However, the 2001 policy for Google changed

“What exactly are we all blindly agreeing to anyways?” this by stating that their cookies could indeed identify individuals and be used to disclose personal information to third parties under legal conditions.

This idea of cookies being used to disclose personal information to third parties is where things become more concerning. Based on research and findings of individuals, such as the creators of Do Not Track, it is clear that all major websites have cookies from their own site and third parties that follow individuals as they surf cyberspace. These sites are then able to use the personal information and data they collect and sell it to third-party companies willing to pay. These third parties include companies, marketers, and even government organizations.

Therefore, if so many people are able to access the information we possess on the internet, is it possible to remain a private person? With cookies leaving digital breadcrumbs wherever we travel, building personalized user profiles, we have little control over

the building. With this information being sold off to companies and accessed by government agencies, it is easy to believe that privacy is dead. Furthermore, it is difficult to escape such policies considering companies can change their Terms and Services whenever they please, similar to the change Google made between 2000 and 2001. Such changes will likely go unnoticed by users as well, since many do not

read before clicking aimlessly on the “agree” button.

Therefore, it is important for users to remain aware. While it is impossible to expect everyone to spend 180 hours reading through countless digital contracts before ever engaging with the Internet, it may be possible to implement change within the regulations and writings of such contracts.

Nataleigh Long is a Junior Digital Media Arts major from Monticello, GA. After graduation, she is considering either graduate school or a job in graphic design, animation or film production. She has most enjoyed the creative opportunities provided by the departments as well as the relationships she has formed with faculty and peers within the departments. She also feels that her academic abilities have been stretched and expanded within this major, and she looks forward to being challenged more in the future.

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Freedom Isn’t Always Free Blog by Madelyn Montgomery Photos by Madelyn Montgomery unless otherwise noted

In today’s society, we’re constantly asking, “What is true?” and “What should I believe?” The purpose of journalism isn’t to fabricate a story to sell but to collect the facts and present them to the public in an unbiased way. This is easier said than done, but as a public, we hope that these journalists abide by the SPJ Code of Ethics. This code includes recommendations such as “Seek Truth and Report It,” “Minimize Harm,” “Act Independently” and “Be Accountable and Transparent.”

There are always exceptions and corruption within this profession (as there are in all professions), but generally, journalists seem to abide by this code.

Photo courtesy of MCM Books

Journalists have an obligation to state the facts to the public, and in a way, they work for the citizens of the United States. This is made possible by the First Amendment, which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Broken down, this means that as citizens and as Americans, the press should have the ability to obtain the truth, and we the people should

have the right to consume this information, as it is important to us.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

This amendment essentially prevents censorship. In Richard Campbell’s Media and Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age, the idea of censorship and prior restraint is explained.

Campbell states that prior restraint means “that courts and governments cannot block any publication or speech before it actually occurs, on the principle that a law has not been broken until an illegal act has been committed” (p. 509).

However, more and more cases have come to attention in which journalists are arrested and jailed for their attempt to obtain the truth through riots, protests and even through a simple act of asking a hard question. Below are three cases in which journalists see the opposite of freedom because of their profession.

22 Case 1: RT America reporter, Alexander Rubinstein, attends the AntiTrump protest in Washington on January 20th, 2017. He is not participating in the riot, but simply recording and gathering information on the protester’s whereabouts. He was live streaming the protest when law enforcement

charges against these journalists as well as the many others that were arrested during this protest.

Case 3: Dan Heyman, another member of the press, was attending a conference discussing the Affordable Health Care Act. He wanted to ask the Health

response, Heyman was arrested for being “too persistent”. He was jailed and released on a $5,000 dollar bond.

Each of these cases show the danger of this profession and the freedoms that aren’t so free after all. It seems as if many of our freedoms are being bent and broken every day.

As citizens, it is important to know what your freedoms are so that you may know when you are not receiving them.

In the words of the 40th president, Ronald Reagan, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.

It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

intervened and arrested Rubinstein, along with six other journalists, for their alleged participation in the protest. Rubinstein was faced with a possible 10 years in prison. He is not a criminal – he is a journalist.

Case 2: At the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, there was a protest against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Two members of the press were arrested due to “criminal trespassing” on September 13th, 2016. These press members were Christopher Schiano and Nicholas Georgiades and were facing trials as of March of 2017. The Committee to Protect Journalists wrote a letter to the Morton County State’s Attorney’s Office to drop the

and Human Services Secretary if domestic violence would be considered a “pre-existing condition” under this Affordable Health Care Act. The question was continuously dodged by the secretary, so Heyman continued to ask the question. After asking the question several times with no

Madelyn Montgomery is a senior Interdisiplinary Studies major from Covington, GA. Her favorite memory of the Communication and Media Studies department is learning all her applicable skills from Dr. Sevin’s classes. Once she graduates, she is looking to go into writing, hopefully in a company’s marketing section.

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The End of Privacy?: My thoughts on the Issue of “Data Tracking” and the Loss of User Anonymity Blog by Cameron Dalton Anonymity on the web is fleeting, and privacy is under threat as governments and advertisers use a user’s information to either sell ads and make a profit, or governments/ authorities to spy, exploit, harass, judge, and undermine civil rights. German blogger and TV presenter Richard Gutjahr states, “Scientists from Stanford and Cambridge analyzed more than 60,000 Facebook profiles and discovered that, indeed, everything can be deduced: character, sexual orientation, political opinion, and IQ.” I believe data tracking is an exceptional advertising tool; however, the September 11 attacks have had long-lasting negative ramifications for the concept of privacy and civil liberties. There are several other issues of data tracking/mining to be concerned about besides the loss of privacy.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

It is important to learn why/ how the use of data tracking affects everyone.

Even though advertisers and other third parties collecting and selling user information have lead to many problems, it is not surprising that user information is being used in such a way. After all, advertisers in the past used newspapers and radio to target specific people and continue to today. One could argue that it was inevitable for companies to find a way to profit off of people by way of the World Wide Web. With the internet being the predominant source of gathering information and communication, one could make the argument that data tracking makes it easier to understand people’s preferences.

Richard Campbell says in Media and Culture, “For advertisers who

for years struggled with how to measure people’s attention to ads: these activities make advertising easy to track, and effective in reaching the desired niche audience….”

Algorithms such as ‘Big-data’ keep track of and collect large amounts of data to discern specific patterns and trends as well as how people are most likely to behave. Data tracking is just another way to do it. It makes business sense for companies to want to keep track of their audience’s preferences when trying to sell.

Ever since the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, privacy has been under threat by governments who seek to neutralize all future/potential terrorist threats before they occur. Policies such as Total Information Awareness, third-party doctrine, and the USA Patriot Act are examples of governments justifying surveillance over civilians. I also find it disturbing that a tweet or bad joke on social media containing specific keywords would be enough to warrant a visit from a S.W.A.T team and other authorities. It does not help that social platforms and phone networks give governments accesses without people even knowing it. In attempting to provide a more secure nation protected from outside threats, the way American governments/ authority figures use user data

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Photo Credit: orvalrochefort ironically infringes upon our civil liberties and as well as our right to privacy.

Nonetheless, it is clear to me that data tracking/mining is very harmful to society. There are many dangers one faces when dealing with data tracking other than just the loss of privacy: (1) illegal activities such as murder, fraud, or identity theft are present, (2) a person’s personal information can be used to judge and “discriminate against entire classes of population based on what their search history might be, and the things they bought over time” (3) governments undermine the Amendments, (4) governments infringe upon civil liberties, (5) governments track people, and (6) these actions enable ‘echo chambers’ that hurt diverse thought. Tomas ChamorroPremuzic and Nathalie Nahai put it best: “There are many potential dangers (and ethical issues) associated with the proliferation of digital profiling, from hacking, to discrimination, to an Orwellian surveillance state.”

It is clear that the honeymoon period of free anonymous internet

use is over. Whether or not it means the end for user privacy is up for debate. Even though it is an issue that affects everyone, no regulations or laws have been put into place to fix the issue. Everyone wants to use the internet in peace and not worry about his or her information being used against him or her. There is a need for security, but not at risk of total government surveillance.

However, it seems that it may be too late to act and more likely than ever that society is inching closer

toward a 1984 type of Big-Brother society.

Cameron Dalton is a Junior Digital Storytelling major from Stone Mountain, GA. His favorite memory in the department is covering Spring Day with The Eagle Eye. His plans after graduation are to sleep, get a job, and eventually go to graduate school.

Photo Credit: Remar Sutton

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COM 206 Feature Writing Students develop skills in creative nonfiction writing for a variety of media environments. Students develop skills in nonfiction storytelling of various types as well as in visually supporting their stories.

Prerequisites: ENG 101 and either ENG 102 or ENG 103.

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My Short and Memorable Time With My Grandfather Story by Kelly Kipfer Photos provided by Kelly Kipfer

“Which restaurant do you think we should go eat at tonight?” my mom asked my dad in the car that Sunday on the way to my grandfather’s home in Decatur, GA. Once we arrived at his warm home, the smell of cigarettes lingered. My Gran was still present here, even though she passed. Walking in the kitchen, my grampy, sitting down by the table, would always say, “Kelly, go see what’s on the dining room table.” This time he had a book for me.

“What’s a five-letter word for a food item?” my grampy asked me. He was working on a crossword puzzle, while I would read the Nancy Drew book he got for me.

The fridge was always stocked with Yoo-Hoo drinks, and the cabinets with junk food. As I began to grab some, my dad lectured to me, “Kelly, don’t spoil dinner. Maybe you’ve had enough snacks.”

Laughing, my grampy said, “She’s a kid. Let her have her fun.”

My grampy handed my mom the Sunday newspaper and my brother a sports magazine.

“Did you see last night’s game?

Alabama has a good team this year,” my dad said to my grampy.

Alabama football was their favorite.

“Here are some stickers, Kelly.”

My grampy donated to different charities, particularly ones that

benefited children, and they sent him things like stickers in return.

I called my grandfather “grampy.”

He was a jolly soul. There were not many times when I would see him get upset. He did a great job of being strong and making others laugh. The trait my grampy had of spreading positivity in the world, despite how he was personally feeling, influences me to do the same. He would always make sure the people in his life were taken care of. He would donate to many charities, and he would always bring a smile to people’s faces by talking kindly with them. I believe that we all would want to make someone we love proud. I find myself thinking that if he could see me now, I suppose that he would approve of the life I am living.

The layout of my grampy’s house was nice because the TV was in the den, which was like a living room, but it was also connected to the kitchen with three small stairs.

Also, there was a table that sat in the kitchen that overlooked the den, and this was where my grampy and parents would sit. So, when my brother and I would watch TV, we could still feel a part of the conversation with our parents and grampy.

Once the clock struck five, we would all go out to eat at a restaurant. Places like Applebees, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Chili’s and O’Charley’s were our usual picks. I still remember us sitting at the table, my grampy with his cane resting on his knee and me with my kid’s menu and crayons. My grampy loved getting chili and a baked potato. He also enjoyed getting dessert. I think

27 to myself, If only I could get those Sundays back with my grampy and my family....

I never thought I would lose my grampy so soon. I came home from school that Friday in March of 2008. I was in the fifth grade, so I didn’t have much to worry about. However, that was about to change. I noticed my parents’ cars and my brother’s green Ford truck all parked in the driveway. How unusual they should still be at work.

I braced myself as I walked up our steep driveway while the rain came down. With hesitation, I opened the door and entered the house. I took off my raincoat and shook the rain from my hair, then followed the voices inside. They were all in the kitchen, my mom and dad on the phone making funeral arrangements, my brother looking in the fridge. He noticed I walked in and he asked me, “Hey, so you know?”

I responded, confused, “What’s going on?”

Carefully, he responded “Grampy died in his sleep last night at the nursing home.”

I was stunned. I walked out the front door without saying anything.

I couldn’t find the words to speak, and I stood in the driveway letting the rain hit me as I cried with it. I had to accept that the world had lost a delightful person.

Life is short. You could lose a person you love in an instant, someone who you never thought would be gone so soon. Then all you have is this life where nothing makes sense. All you have are the memories of that person, which can motivate you to become the best person you can be. I lost a person who was a huge part of my life. My grandfather died when I was just eleven years old. My dad then had no parents, and I had no grandfathers. Despite the difficulty of moving on in life after a loved one passes, it is necessary. I know my grandfather would want me to continue living my life and striving to be the best person I can be.

My grampy knew how to care for others, and he went out of his way to help others feel loved and

protected. He taught me to show kindness to everyone, to bring joy to the world. My defining moment that helped make me the person I am today is all those Sundays spent with my grampy. I took in how he carried himself and treated others, even on his worst days, and I told myself that I want to be that kind of person too because I liked how fulfilling it makes me feel and the positive effect it has on others.

Remember to live in honor for the ones you love who are gone. I know now that if the world had more people that were loving and caring towards others, we would all be happier, like my grampy was.

Kelly Kipfer is a Senior English major from Woodstock, GA. Her favorite memory in the department is working on The Eagle Eye, where she has met wonderful friends and professors. After graduation, she wants to work as a copy editor or copywriter.

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National Championship

By Otis Odom

Photos provided by Otis Odom The stadium lights are shining bright as the teams jog out on the field. I am hyped and ready to show how a true freshman can shine on one of the biggest stages of an athlete’s college career. The opponent’s fans are screaming, “Let’s go Cougars, let’s go!”

Looking up in the stands at the hundreds of Reinhardt Eagles fans, some are standing, but most of them are sitting and yelling out names of the different players. I can see my entire family in the stands there to support me.

I am so ready to get this game started and score on special teams.

A couple of days before the big game, the team had practiced at Valdosta High School. During

practice, I dropped several punts.

From the sideline, I heard Coach Blue say to one of my teammates, “Chambliss, you’re up!” I knew in that moment I was in trouble.

I said, “I can’t catch shit.”

Before the next punt was kicked, I felt a heavy hand grab my shoulder and turn me around aggressively.

There I was, looking up at a six-foot-tall white man with an aggravated look on his face.

Coach Miller asked, “Son, what’s going on?”

I responded in an agitated voice, “The ball keeps going every which way at the last second.”

He turned away from me and looked toward my teammate, then

said, “Okay, Chambliss, come catch punts.”

In my head, after every kick, I was hoping he would drop one so I could keep my spot.

Chambliss didn’t drop one punt.

My teammate next to me yelled out, “Good job, Ronnie!”

Then Coach Miller said, “Otis, come catch this last punt.”

I said to myself, No pressure, Otis.

Just breathe and relax.

I caught it, and we ended practice.

Now, I still can’t believe I’m at the National Championship game as I catch punts from the kicker at warm-ups. I do a little dancing, trying to get a relaxed vibe going.

As I am catching my final punt before warm-ups are over, I hear a fan say, “Oh yeah, Otis! We are going to get one today!”

I can’t let everybody in the stands down. Big-time players make bigtime plays in big games.

All my teammates are jumping and clapping around me after I catch the punt. They are yelling, “Yeeeaaaa!”

It’s showtime! I have a little grin on my face. It’s nothing but a normal game, but I’ve got to make a big play.

Prior to the game starting, we huddle up as an entire team to pray.

At the end of the prayer, we break it down, saying, “Family!”

That is the loudest we’ve ever sounded. That sends cold chills

29 through my body and puts a smile on my face.

My mind is racing so fast. There are so many thoughts going through my head. What if we get the ball first? What if I have to receive a punt before the kickoff return?

Through all of this, I still wear a smile on my face, but if you could only know the thoughts that are going through my mind, you would say to yourself, “Looks can be deceiving.”

Coach Miller runs over to me with a grin on his face and reaches his hand out for a handshake.

I reach out mine, still smiling. My mind is still racing.

The Coach then yells, “You’re okay, kid. You’re one of the best returners in the nation.”

I respond, “I appreciate that, Coach.”

In a mellow tone, he questions, “Do you want to start off kick return first or receive a punt first?”

I respond, “It doesn’t matter, Coach.

I’m just ready to get the ball in my hand and make a play.”

Why did I just lie to him like that?

Now I probably will be doing something I don’t want to do first.

He then says, “Okay, I believe in you. Just don’t force trying to make

a play. Be patient and let it just happen.”

“Yes sir, Coach,” I respond. If he believes I am the best, then I know I am the best, and no one can stop me. That’s the only thing I could say in my head to help keep calm and keep a smile on my face rather than having a nervous look.

Ten minutes later, it is time to shine. Coach Blue yells, “Punt return team, get ready!” He starts

30 calling all the players he needs to take the field.

Coach Foster, a middle-aged, five-foot-eleven man, comes over, smiling at me. He puts one hand on my shoulder pad, while the other hand is patting softly on my helmet. He says, “It’s your time, big fella, and you will be lined up at the 45-yard line.”

Then Coach Blue screams, “Punt return team, take the field.”

I run onto the field jumping and clapping, trying to hide my nervousness from the coaches and fans. While sitting back there at the 45-yard line, my mind has been racing with different ideas, and my body is tingling with adrenaline.

My mind is racing. I just let my team down. I jog back over to the bench. All I can hear are fans chanting, “Let’s go, Cougars!”

The ball is snapped to the kicker and the punt is on its way to me.

The ball is sailing down towards my hands when the unthinkable happens. The ball hits my hands and falls onto the turf.

As I finally make it over to the sideline, still holding my head down in disbelief, I hear my teammates saying, “O, you’re good.

Keep your head up.”

“Big-time players make big-time plays in big games.”

That did not just happen. Get it together, Otis, and go get the ball.

Now it’s me and my teammates, along with the other team, all pushing and jumping over each other for the ball.

The Cougars finally recover the ball at the 45-yard line.

What in the hell just happened?

My mind still races, trying to understand. I have made this catch what seem like a million times. Then I hear Coach Blue yell, “Chambliss, you’re up!”

That’s when I know I am done.

That “Why didn’t I just give Coach an honest answer? Maybe I could have been in a different situation” thought starts racing in my head. I embarrassed my family and myself.

I am now done after one quarter.

Now my family has to watch my team go to war without me.

I finally look up in the stands to make eye contact with my family. I see the mean mug on my mother’s and father’s faces.

When I see the shrug my auntie gives me, I just know that we are all on the same page.

This little phrase, “Chambliss, you’re up” plays a huge role in my life today. Every time I am back to receive a punt, that phrase shoots through my head. From a negative perspective, I feel as though I can’t make a mistake on the field, which adds a lot of pressure. This puts more pressure on me than it really should.

However, there is a positive that has come from this phrase. I’ve learned that nothing is ever given to you.

You have to work for everything you want in life, and the second you let up is the second someone can come in and take your spot.

Otis Odom is a sophomore Communication major from Atlanta, GA. His favorite memory is when Dr. Wilson told him his writing had come a long way.

His plans after graduation are to work in sports media, either as a broadcaster or on his own show.

“You can’t be doing this kind of stuff anymore, Kayla. You’re too old for it,” my brother told me that day in October. I had allowed him to make the order for our food at Subway. Instead, I just stood there, staring at the beige tiled floors of the restaurant. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

He was the younger sibling. I, the elder, generally stepped back, awkward and silent. If he wants to take initiative, then he can do it, I thought. Unlike me, Stevie was a talker and always spoke his mind. He had a great reputation going for him, the ideal high school experience—lots of friends, Friday nights at the football games, driving around for the fun of it. He walked around the house without a shirt on, dancing and rapping along to his favorite songs. Other times, he’d veg out on the couch watching Dragon Ball or Finding Bigfoot. He was an aspiring star on the track team, aiming higher and higher all the time. Stevie did his best without ever seeming like he had to try.

My Brother Taught Me…

By Kayla Smith Photos provided by Kayla Smith And now, I’m the one who needs to step up.

“It’s a domestic situation.” That’s all she would really tell me.

November 27, 2018 made sure of that.

“Okay,” I said, my voice small and trembling.

My mom texted me that afternoon, asking me to call her, but I texted back that I was at dinner with friends.

I tried to stay calm, but the various possibilities of what may have happened were already streaming through my head. I hope everyone is okay. Please, nobody be hurt. Oh, God, please, let nothing bad have happened.

“Okay, well, please call me when you can,” she responded by text.

Whatever was the matter, it didn’t seem too serious. I bit back into my corndog, listening to my friends goof off and crack jokes.

Back in my dorm room, alone, I did what she asked. An unfamiliar voice picked up the phone.

I needed a ride home. I wanted my older sister, Stephanie, to come pick me up, but she was too far out of the way. The lady on the phone had recommended, instead, two of my mom’s friends, older women with whitening hair, Diane and Linda.

They took me from campus and drove me the half hour back home.

During the drive, they casually carried on conversations about that realtor friend they knew and how they could never pick up smoking in their youth. Occasionally, they’d ask me things like how school was going, but for the most part, they allowed me to stay quiet in the backseat.

Questions still ran through my head, but fear held me back from asking them so I could find out what had happened. With how calm the ladies were, maybe it won’t be something so bad.

31

32 Arriving at home, I half-expected to see red and blue lights flashing onto the front lawn. Maybe some fight got out of hand between my parents. But it was dark, only the glow of the streetlamp reaching our house. Inside, the lights were dimmed, a soft golden haze pervading the foyer.

After Stephanie pulled away, she and my mom’s friends directed me to the couch, where my parents sat.

As I walked through the door, my big sister rushed up to hug me, crying. Her thin arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders as I stood there, shaking. Confused, terrified. That lady on the phone had told me where my father was—my mother and sisters, too.

She hadn’t mentioned my brother.

Where’s Stevie? Please, don’t tell me….

My mom did not say a word, her face slackened with a tired, miserable expression. Her usually bouncy, curly dark brown hair was limp.

For a moment, I thought I saw him sitting in the living room, his shock of grayish-brown hair visible behind an old rocking chair. I blinked. Nothing was there.

What’s happening? Why am I here?

What happened? A wobbliness spread up my legs, weakness giving way as I sat down. I waited for someone to speak.

My mind went blank. The tears were immediate. “No! No, no, no… what?!” I wailed. No one else said a word as I bent over, clutching my head. They just gave me that moment.

My thoughts returned slowly.

There’s some mistake. It can’t be right. This is all wrong. If only I could’ve said something. Just one thing so that he wouldn’t get in that car….

I heard my father’s voice again.

“The kid who was driving, do you know someone named Fred?” he My dad leaned forward, his voice lighter than usual, breathy. The crop asked, and I quickly shook my head. of dark hair on his head looked sparser than ever. He looked at He wasn’t even behind the wheel, no me with his wide, brown eyes. I wonder. He was a good driver, better managed to stare back. than me or Stephanie. There must be some mistake.

He broke the silence. “There was a car accident today, and your There wasn’t. A week later, he still brother… Stevie has passed on.” had not sprung back up and come home to us.

We had the funeral, or Celebration of Life, as my dad calls it, at a church named Revolution. Shaped like a big, steel gray box on the outside, the auditorium was dark with a vaulted ceiling. The church’s philosophy is that it doesn’t matter where you worship God; they don’t need a big, fancy white building with spires and stained-glass windows to praise the Lord. I’d usually agree with that sentiment, but it just looked bleak under the present circumstances.

The lights had been dimmed, save for a spotlight upon the main stage. I hadn’t yet removed my soft, purple jacket. Maybe it was because of the chill in the room or maybe it just could’ve been a comfort to me.

33 I sat in the front row, only a few feet away from Stevie’s bright red casket.

It looks small, somehow. Not enough to contain that tall, lanky body. I stared at the carpeted ground, as if that meant it wasn’t there anymore.

A couple hundred people had shown up: friends, family, neighbors, classmates. I never looked back to see them, so maybe there was a more hopeful mood among them. I heard their laughter as Stevie’s tribute video ran on the big screen, showing him dancing silly with his friends and yelling at the TV while playing video games.

My parents and sisters choked out a few laughs, but I couldn’t muster even a giggle. It was just too soon.

The pastor, a middle-aged man with thick-rimmed glasses, stood before us and spoke. It was a sermon: a piece of advice, a warning.

“Seventeen years was Stevie’s whole life. Don’t live like you’ve got forever ahead of you.”

I know. Stephanie broke into sobs again next to me. I sat stiffly, eyes on the floor again. My fingers picked at the fabric of my black pants. I know.

Whenever something terrible happens, it’s hard to let go of the past. What could I have done to change it? But a new thought had Kayla Smith is a senior Graphic Design major from Winter Garden, FL. After graduation, she wants to earn a certificate from the Georgia Film Academy.

Her favorite memory of the department is creating a horror film in Professor Silka’s COM 306 class

already entered my head. Why did it happen?

And so, there was that night at Subway. He’d urged me to address the employee behind the counter, a short and thin older lady with a wispy white ponytail—to simply tell her what bread I wanted and what to put on it.

“No, why can’t you order? I’m so awkward at this stuff.” My response was a complaint and a plea.

“Because you’re the oldest here. I’m not supposed to be doing it,” he said frankly.

“Ugh, fine.”

I gave it a shot. “Hi, um, yes, I’d like the Italian Herbs and Cheese bread. Oh, and toasted, please. Yes, sorry.” My voice rose higher, like a polite little girl trying to please her teacher on the first day of school.

He carried out the rest of the order and transaction after me. He picked up my slack. “Yeah, ham. No mayo.

Yep. M-hm. Thanks.” He spoke low, his tone casual and uncaring.

“He doesn’t understand,” I texted Stephanie after getting back into the black Mercedes he and I shared. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. I sat in the backseat while he drove home. “I’ve got social anxiety. Things that are easy for most people aren’t for me.”

But I knew even then that I couldn’t keep stepping into the background, letting my nerves get the best of me, or allow someone else to take on the responsibility of speaking when I’m the adult. When I’ve been one for three years now.

I know he was right.

Now, there is no Stevie to take control of a situation when I falter.

I need to pick up my own slack. I may have let my sense of childhood linger a little too long, before, but it is truly over now. Every day, I’d rather him be here than six feet under, across the street from that little Subway. But this wasn’t a mistake, and I do have something to learn from it.

At home, I walk past his room every time I use the stairs to get to my own. He’s not inside anymore, but a poster of him sticks to the door with three words printed. Just three unsuspecting words that had been on his Instagram bio.

“New Day Today.”

It’s not forever, but for now, there’s a chance to live better.

34 A lonely cloud hung in the brisk autumn air. An idling engine hummed perched on top of a hill, ready to pounce, its muscles tense.

School had let out long ago, but the roads had just opened up. A grey soulless sedan rolled along right at the speed limit, as so proclaimed by an electric sign. It read “35” in big, loud yellow letters. A thick and heavy bass line filled the cabin. As my thumb rolled down a dial on

the steering wheel, the sound of wind and birds triumphed over the dubstep that was so popular in that time. The smell of rotting leaves filled my nose with one of my favorite smells.

I sat here waiting for an opportunity, an open stretch of road. It had been a minute or two since the sad little appliance, which some call a car, had left my view.

Time to go.

My foot planted the gas pedal in to the floor. The engine screamed, and the spooling turbo whistled as it built boost. Second gear came, and fire escaped from the exhaust.

MPH

By Alex Lee Photos by Hinton Bolinger I was not focused on what was in the cabin, but on the little electric sign in front of me. As I drew near, it popped into life, blinking out its electric words. It screamed “65!”

In third gear, there was no fire this

time as the turbo spooled harder.

At 75, the sign now complained.

Many saw it as a warning. I saw it as score board. In 4th gear, the sign now simply blinked out in error. I screamed a rebel yell as I began to

drop down the hill, foot still hard down. The bridge at the bottom came into view. I screamed over it in the low triple digits.

This was not my first encounter with speed, a petroleum-based drug, driven by the internal combustion engine. It was and still is an addiction of mine. It began only a few short months after getting my license and has only grown since. My one thing left from the divorce was the car my father had originally got my mom, a sky blue 2006 Audi A4. He was a successful doctor, and such expenses were of no concern to him. It should have been such; this car was far too much for a teenager. In my testosterone-filled adolescence, it was the music of a songbird at idle and the call of the sirens at wide open throttle.

On another, colder day, my hands wrapped around the same familiar key fob. One twist of my hand and the engine sparked to life. On cold days, the air is thicker, so the heart and lungs of my car didn’t have to work as hard to harvest the oxygen from the atmosphere. To me, this meant one thing. Faster.

35 As long as I was in sight of home I tried my best to be casual, but the second I was out of view, the tachometer reached the red line.

This town had police, but not enough during the time that I was roaming the streets. I sped around the corner, back end kicking out.

My tires squealed like a stuck pig. It is only with time that we can realize how stupid all teenagers truly are.

The corner I flamboyantly ripped around was connected to City Hall.

spoken that day. There’s a common saying among “concerned citizens” often memorized and rattled off like hymns at a Catholic church.

As I began to realign the back and front, I saw the frame of a man one could truly call rotund.

My foot never left the floor as I passed the cop chattering into his radio. My mind immediately went to find the shortest route to the next county over. I knew my unwashed license plate would be “conveniently” unreadable. As I approached a hill in the historic district, I saw certain doom, a parked Crown Victoria. It had no lights on, and its owner was facing the wrong way, but she was talking into her radio--about me, no doubt. As I racked my mind for a solution, knowing I only had a few seconds till she turned around, the answer was given to me. A chrome eighteen-wheeler pulled out from a side road. For the first time, my

When you drive like I did, you develop a sixth sense, a radar of sorts--a radar that detects pearl clutchers, concerned citizens, and egotistical assholes alike. As I stared down this man, my alarm was going off like never before. The hand of the hippo of a man quickly darted to his waist and back up, now clutching a small black box. It was only now that I saw the glimpse of a utility belt straight out of a Batman comic. ”Ah shit,” were the first words I had

“You can’t outrun a radio!” They sing this in such clever confidence, not realizing that the aging Crown Victorias of America’s police force most certainly can be outrun. A radio wave can’t stop and arrest you, and this historically large cop wouldn’t either.

foot found the brakes. I slowed to get behind him and use his trailer to block myself from view. From between the gap ground and the bottom of the trailer, I watched as Lady Justice took off in a direction opposite of mine. I breathed a sigh of relief as I cruised across the border in to the next county, saved by bureaucracy. I reached out to the radio and brought it to truly deafening levels, a way to relieve stress. I slowly made my way to a small park and camped out there for the rest of the day.

I would like to say that as I grew, I slowed down. I learned my lesson that day and took a vow to never go over the speed limit again.

But momma told me never to lie.

Instead, I am now more careful choosing a where and when. I’ve now learned to talk my way out of trouble instead of running from it.

Have I grown? Yes, but in my own petroleum-based way.

Alex Lee is a Senior Digital Storytelling Major from Roswell, GA. His favorite memory in the department is creating a documentary for his TV and Film Studies course. After he graduates, he wants to work for Camp Glisson.

36

COM 210 Introduction to Documentary Photography Students learn about the opportunities and challenges faced by professional photographers as they document the world around them. Students will learn the strategies and techniques used to apply photographic theory and principles to these occasions.

37

Alex Lee is a senior majoring in Digital Storytelling. Lee is interested in editing, videography, and photography once he graduates.

His favorite memory in his major is spending time with friends on projects that exercised his creative and intellectual capabilities, as well as his problem-solving skills.

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ART 220 Introduction to Painting in Water Media This course covers color theory as it pertains to painting and introduces the student to water-based media. Emphasis will be on the illusion of threedimensional aspects of form on a two-dimensional plane and other concepts of space on a plane. The techniques for painting with transparent watercolor and acrylics will be explored. Historical and contemporary examples of painting forms, such as still life, landscape, figure, portrait, fantasy, and abstraction will enhance creative and aesthetic awareness.

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Micheal Myers by Schuyler Martin.

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Gundam Heäd by Sir James Prothro.

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COM 250 Introduction to Digital Storytelling Students learn to create professional media storytelling projects for film and television using moving images and dynamic sound. Using portable digital media production equipment in the studio and the field, students begin to master the basic production elements of developing an idea, writing a script, producing, directing, shooting and editing a project, and finding options for program distribution and exhibition.

42

Let’s Play a Game

& Both videos by: Alex Lee

The Witch

“This was a short, designed to utilize the basics of dialogue, lighting, and camera techniques to tell a basic story. Everything from reading the story to recording and editing the video was done by students of the communications department.” - Alex Lee In Let’s Play a Game, a rugged criminal wants to play a game with the detective.

However, he’s not looking to play mind games - only board games.

In The Witch, one man learns not to get too confident around a witch.

“The Witch project is a slightly more advanced version of the previous. The focus is on the techniques learned in class, but with added special effects and other minor things” - Alex Lee

43

ART 260 Introduction to Black and White Photography This course introduces the student to the fundamentals of black and white photography.

The student will be introduced to basic darkroom techniques and will develop a working knowledge of the 35mm single lens reflex (SLR) camera.

Basic compositional issues will be introduced and developed as the student gains an understanding of the photographic process. The student will need a 35mm (SLR) camera that can be switched to a manual override.

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Photos by: James Gilbert

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COM 306 Integrated Multimedia Storytelling Students actively engage in content production using both writing and design skills for developing storylines for transmedia, multi-platform, storybased experiences. Beginning with an understanding of how producers weave together audio, video, images, graphics, and text as components with which to tell a story, students learn to create multimedia story packages distributed across media platforms.

Applications range from multimedia online journalism to transmedia marketing to other types of non-linear, modular, interactive fiction or nonfiction narratives for multiplatform release.

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COM 306 Creative Writing Podcasts Students in COM 306 (Integrated Multimedia Storytelling) created and refined short stories based upon a single picture. These creative writing pieces evolved into short podcasts.

Checkmate by Mason Smith.

The Detroit Opera House by James Gilbert.

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ART 308 Digital Art I Students are introduced, through hands-on practice, to the fundamentals of digital art and graphic design using the computer as an art medium and design tool. A variety of imaging applications is explored through design problem solving and visual studio assignments. Prerequisite: ART 100 or permission of instructor.

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Pattern Project #1 by Sir James Prothro.

Sir James Prothro is a Graphic Design Major from Fayetteville, GA. He is a junior hoping to create professional and quality graphics once he graduates.

50 Pattern Project #2

by Sir James Prothro

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Pattern Project by Nataleigh Long Nataleigh is a sophomore in the Digital Media Arts Major from Monticello, GA. She enjoys the creative oportunites provided to her through the DMA major as well as the connections and relationships she has developed with her professors.

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Hawaiian Brochure by Nataleigh Long.

The brochure features elements that were retrieved online.

All elements were either cropped, isolated and colorized, and the resolution increased to create a cohesive design.

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For this ART 308 project, Nataleigh Long was given the task of creating a brochure. She was told to focus on the beautiful state of Hawaii and to highlight the main elements and information associated with it.

54 Pattern Project by Savannah Smith

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ART 309 Digital Art II This course expands upon the concepts and skills developed in COM/ART 308 with an emphasis on cross-application digital work and advanced presentation methods. Image sequencing and web application complement the burgeoning knowledge of digital art techniques. The class also focuses on the larger conceptual issues that underlie digital art and graphic design. Prerequisite: COM/ART 308.

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p e c t ion r e P

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Perception Prosthetics by James Gilbert.

Students were tasked with creating a logo inspired by a randon consumer category from the professor.

s ic

57 Apple Chancery by James Gilbert.

Students were tasked with creating a flyer based on a chosen font.

Font Project by James Gilbert

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Citronellol, Eugenol, Geraniol, EXT,

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Surfaces. No Smoking. Avoi

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Vapor. Keep Away From Heat / Sparks / Open Flame / Hot

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Methylpropional, Alpha-Isomethyl,

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Unisex Fragrance Paris Tokyo by James Gilbert.

59

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Chameleon Tea by Nataleigh Long.

Students were tasked with creating packaging and flyers for a fictional company of their choice.

61

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Green Tea

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Chameleon Tea Chameleon Tea Chameleon Tea Chameleon Tea

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COM 350 Introduction to Television and Film Studies Students gain interpretive skills for analyzing and better understanding films and television programs, both fiction and nonfiction (documentary), within a variety of stylistic, historical, and cultural contexts.

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Citizen Kane: A Brilliant Film Blog by Adam Warmouth Citizen Kane, released in 1941, is nothing short of a brilliant movie that utilizes several Classical Hollywood film techniques. Citizen Kane is a very inspirational, well developed film even for 1941.

There’s so much that can be learned from the story line, as well as the camera and lighting work, that one could spend pages and pages discussing all of its different attributes and traits. I will first take a look at the film itself, the

characters, and the plot. I will then examine the way the film was made, with the lighting, camera angles, and sound.

Kane is a character that, for some, might be hard to sympathize with, but Kane’s character transitions from a man with everything he could ever want to a man who is broken and tarnished, who longs for the good ol’ days when things were simpler. Every now and then, people wish they could go back and relive their childhood, making him relatable to the average person. His dying word, Rosebud, is revealed not to be related to a girl. The word is actually for his sled he had when he was a kid, a reminder of his childhood that he misses dearly.

Kane constantly seems to be in some sort of conflict in his youthful days as an entrepreneur, yet he also

constantly holds an optimistic, devil-may-care attitude towards those who say he’ll fail at achieving his goals. He seems to be fifty percent daring businessman, and fifty percent laid back, rich guy. Perhaps it is because of all the conflict in his life? Perhaps Kane lost his spirit under the weight of all those people constantly putting him down for working hard. His first wife does it, and as a result, we see her slowly get shifted around the dinner table. By the time they are deep into their differences, Kane and his wife sit on opposite sides from each other, reading newspapers.

The characters in Citizen Kane are very dynamic, and while it is a little bit hard to relate to them today, they are still Photo Credit: Youtube Movies

64 her an opera house and pushing her dreams down the express lane.

The lighting and camera work in this movie are incredible. Mind bending depth-of-field shots, wide angle lenses and play of light and shadow are just three of the many great techniques used in this film.

The play of light and shadow was not just important in Citizen Kane, but was crucial in all movies at the time simply due to the fact that everything is in black and white.

Light and shadow were almost as important as the camera angles, because if you had no lighting, the film had no depth.

nonetheless amazing characters.

Take Susan Alexander. She could have been a horribly flat character, and could have been simply the affair that Kane was accused of.

Instead, she was much more. Kane’s decision to marry her shocked

“Perhaps Kane lost his spirit under the weight of all those people constantly putting him down for working hard.”

For example, in this mediumcloseup, we are focusing on Susan’s Photo Credit: Youtube Movies face. But there’s more to read into this than just a girl who is excited audiences, making them question about meeting a man she likes. what is going on in his head as There’s a shadow. Just faintly across he gets himself wrapped up in a her face and right shoulder, there’s character that most would consider something there, a darkness. A a person on the side who is not darkness exists inside Kane that she critical to his story. But Kane makes may or may not see, but she does Susan something more, building not care. Either way, the shadows suggest something more foreboding Photo Credit: Youtube Movies

65 Photo Credit: Youtube Movies

with this relationship. This film makes excellent use of depthof-field shots using wide-angled lenses.

This scene (pictured at bottom of previous page) is my favorite scene ever. Look at how everything is framed in the rule of thirds. The shot is quite simply fascinating to look at. The typewriter, though not seen, is heard. This typewriter gives a melancholy chorus of clicks and clacks to sound off the firing of one of Kane’s valuable employees. The background was also masterfully thought of. The light casting over the fence creates a feeling of separation between the two men.

The overarching ceiling guides the eyes from one character to the next, and the distant background makes you wonder what else is going on in the world around them. Not to mention this shot is quite long and has some movement in it, making it that much more interesting.

But wait a minute--I remember a similar story to this. In 2013, a film was released about the story of a young man who turned nothing into something using the stock market. He also had a devil-maycare air about him, and he had the wife troubles and the “rich, white guy� darkness that only comes with having too much money and power. A story about a man who made it all and then fell from grace could have many connections with Citizen Kane. The story I am talking about is The Wolf of Wall Street.

Like Citizen Kane, The Wolf of Wall Street draws you into the story not with action or suspense but rather with an absolutely killer plot and characters.Nice suit? Check.

Entrepreneur? Check. Lots of employees that adore him? Check.

Darkness inside himself that he can never hope to overcome and will eventually eat him alive? Check.

Despite what I thought before I watched Citizen Kane, I was pleasantly surprised to have seen it. I love the camera work, I love the lighting, I love the characters.

If no one else will do a modern rendition of this movie, then I suppose I will have to, as the story definitely deserves to hold a more prominent place in the eyes of the simple moviegoer. I would highly recommend any aspiring filmmaker or photographer to watch this movie because even though it may be old, there is much to learn from it.

Adam Warmouth is a Junior Communications major from Alpharetta, GA. After graduating, he plans on looking at film school or heading directly to the work force. His favorite memories of the department are getting to build a community with his professors and peers.

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Dr. Caligari and his Somnambulist: Analyzing the Father of German Expressionist Films

Photos and blog by Mason Smith

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a German film from 1920 in which Francis, our protagonist, goes insane trying to solve a murder mystery involving Caligari and his Somnambulist, or sleepwalker, named Cesare. Film critic Roger Ebert described it as “the first

true horror film” and as “the first example in cinema of German Expressionism,” a style where mise-en-scene is often exaggerated in unusual ways. We see this in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with all of the world being construed in different angles and directions. In this essay, I will discuss German Expressionism and the way it is portrayed in the movie, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

This movie, in Barsam and Monaham’s view, is the epitome of German Expressionism, which they describe as something that “presents the physical world on the screen as a projection.”

Expressionist films tell the story

as a distorted landscape from the protagonist’s point of view, which is what we see in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The world’s angles jut out in sharp edges and nothing is quite right. This represents the set telling us that what we are seeing is distorted.

The film follows the ideas of the 1920s by primarily filming from a tableaux angle, often taking time to establish a place within that shot.

There are a few angles in which the viewer receives a close up, and even one panning shot across police officers’ faces while they accused the wrong murderer; however, the most important and most common shots are tableaux. These shots serve an extra interest in German Expressionism, since the world is as important as the protagonist. In The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, seeing the world as distorted is a critical plot point.

In The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the world seems mostly normal

until Francis’ friend, Alan, dies.

After that, the only place that seems normal is the insane asylum. Until now, the world was dramatically tilted; however, in the lobby, everything stands straight. The doorways are open and perpendicular to each other.

This is a direct contrast to the world before, when everything from doors to walls stood any way except normally. This indicates that, even though we still see through Francis’ eyes, we are now witnessing the world as it really is. Since Francis sees this room as normal, the film is telling us that he has been here multiple times, most likely before he went insane.

The story also conveys meaning through the tinting of the film.

Throughout the film, we become used to an orange tint representing light or day time, while a blue tint

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“This movie...is the epitome of German Expressionalism”

represents darkness or night time.

There is another tint used in the movie, though. A pink tint is used twice, but only around Jane and in her room. The pink tint could represent femininity in the film, since it is shown around Jane, the only woman who plays a significant role in the film. This could be to reinforce her femininity, since she is the only female worth noting in the movie.

German Expressionism also affects the way we see the actors.

Characters can easily be identified as good or bad by their facial makeup. When an attempted murderer is arrested, we can tell he is evil by the deep lines in his face and the over-dramatization of his features.

He has creases that run through his face and tell us about his character, even more than his scowl. We also see this portrayal from Dr. Caligari, as his make up accentuates his features to make him hideous. He has dark eyeliner underneath his eyes, making his eyes seem angrier.

This make up also helps us realize that, in the end, Dr. Caligari doesn’t exist and Francis has demonized the director of the mad house, possibly for being the one keeping him there. In the end, he does not have the same make up he wore

before; instead, his face is clean and he looks like a regular citizen.

The faces of characters do more than just hold make up; in the film, to make up for the lack of sound, characters over-exaggerate emotions. One example is when Jane first encounters Cesare.

Instead of screaming in fear and running away, we receive a seventeen-second pause where her body stiffens, her face drains of color, and her eyes bulge out at the horrific monster in front of her.

She is compensating for the lack of sound by accentuating her body language to drive the point home: she is terrified.

We also see this reaction when Francis learns that Alan has died.

Francis stares speechless, then slowly stumbles towards the bed that holds his dead friend. He slowly turns to the camera in a moment he can’t believe is real.

This overacting makes up for the lack of sound in the movie, helping us feel the emotions that need to be conveyed. This is especially important in The Cabinet of Dr. Caliagri, since the whole world is

altered to project Francis’ point of view, and, if we don’t understand his emotions in this scene, it will be harder to understand why the world is so off.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a magnificent example of German Expressionism, warping the world to show how our protagonist has gone insane through distinct world views, heavy character make up, and over-dramatic acting. As the prime example of German Expressionism, Dr. Caligari’s story should rank near the top of most movie watchers’ lists.

Mason Smith is a Junior Strategic Communication Major from Rome, GA. After graduation, he is looking for a job in sports journalism. Some of his favorite moments in the deapartment are the different ways Dr. Sevin’s lectures have gone, including arguing over what foods should go in yogurt.

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Narrative and Genre

Within the realm of film, narrative and genre become structural elements that shape the final result of cinematic media. The narrative of a film references the story and plot elements, while genre uses a formula or template to categorize narratives. Often, the word “plot” is confused and used synonymously to represent what is supposed to be the story of a film. To better understand these concepts, an analysis will be conducted on the film Once Were Warriors.

In film analysis, the story is the set of all events in a film’s diegetic world. This includes all events that are and are not depicted. Thus, the story includes every explicit Photo Credit: Johan LeFourbe

Blog by James Gilbert

and implicit action. In the case for Once Were Warriors, directed by Lee Tamahori, the story takes place in the Auckland slums of New Zealand and follows a struggling Maori family of seven. The story focuses on the father, Jake, who is unemployed with a vicious temper, the mother, Beth, who tries to care for her children while suffering domestic abuse. The oldest son, Julian, is disconnected from his family and joins a gang, the oldest daughter, Grace, copes with her familial and mental struggles by finding a form of solace in her diary, and the middle son, Boogie, gets sent to a welfare house once it is seen that the living conditions of his home are not conducive to his growth as a young man.

The plot presents the specific material that the filmmakers choose and the order in which the material is shown. In Once Were Warriors, the plot is linear, and all events happen in a logical sequence. In addition, the plot pattern of the film contains elements of emotional lack, obstacles to challenge the characters, as well as a journey of enlightenment. This mixture of plot patterns is attributed to the dysfunctional dynamic of the family. The three older children feel disconnected from their parents.

The sense of emotional lack is evident when the audience starts to see that Jake is associated with feelings of hatred due to his violent tendencies and Beth is seen as untrustworthy and unreliable.

The family household is often the location for a hotbed of sin and is not a safe place to raise children. The children seek emotional stability, and Beth wants a healthy relationship with her husband. The main obstacle with many of the characters is Jake’s anger. In the film, Beth mentions that Jake himself is a slave to his own anger. The journey of enlightenment reaches its James Gilbert is a senior Digital Media Arts major from Decatur, GA. His favorite memory across the departments is when Dr. Sevin told him he was a great writer. After graduation, he wants to work in the realm of graphic design. resolution once the eldest daughter, Grace, hangs herself in her backyard. In this case, their journey references the Maori warrior past.

Beth is a descendant of a revered tribe while Jake is the descendant of slaves. Thus, the inheritance of mana — spirit — is seen to be exercised only in Beth once she finally decides to lead a better life for her family away from Jake. Beth, having grown up traditionally, represents what the Maori were while Jake represents what the Maori have become.

In regard to genre, Once Were Warriors is classified as a foreign drama film. Typically, a film is categorized based on if the film is or is not a narrative, if the film is fictional or nonfictional, as well as the purpose and intentions of the film. In addition, a film’s story formula, themes, character types, setting, presentation, and even

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Photo Credit: Bethany Milner

celebrities can help to identify the genre of a film. The story formula for a drama includes the exposition to provide basic information, rising action, the climax or turning point that acts as the focal point of the film, falling action, resolution, and the denouement.

In the case of Once Were Warriors, for reference, the turning point of the film started to unfold when Grace was confronted with her greatest obstacle and concluded when she ended her life. One of the overarching themes of the film is the conflict between the traditional Maori culture versus the results of modern-day western influence.

The character types are vulnerable

and struggle at interpersonal communication, the setting primarily takes place in the slums, and the presentation of the film is dominated by high contrast color correction as well as lighting. On a separate note, film scholars find genre films to be rich artifacts that can reveal a lot about the culture that drove the film’s story and plot (Barsam, & Monahan, 2016). This film did not exhibit overt themes about Maori culture; however, the film did present the sense of pride and reverence that the Maori people have for their culture.

Lee Tamahori’s film was adapted from the bestselling fiction novel written by Alan Duff and thus is classified as fiction. However, Duff ’s

novel was inspired by his real-life experiences.

In conclusion, narrative involves the story and plot of a film. The purpose of the story is to set the diegetic world and tell information that is explicit and implicit. The purpose of the plot is to present the information in a sequence that the filmmaker believes best represents the film. When discussing genre, the purpose is to categorize a film based on a set of criteria. There are various ways to do so from identifying the purpose of a film to analyzing the presentation.

Narrative and genre play a major role when analyzing and discussing filmography.

Photo Credit: Lee Umbers

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COM 360 Intercultural Communication Students gain insights, knowledge, and new understandings about the opportunities and challenges created by cultural and ethnic diversity in American as well as international contexts. Includes fundamental concepts from cultural anthropology as well as research techniques in historical, archival, and ethnographic methodologies.

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Cultural Roots Paper by Olisaebuka Madichie Photos provided by Olisaebuka Madichie Unfortunately, due to the corruption of the Nigerian government over the past years, the country’s historical archives is not in good shape. For the sake of my project gathering, information had to be done the old-fashioned way. It made the research of some of my ancestors more difficult than it was supposed to. However, I have a considerable amount of information gathered from my own knowledge, research, and one family member. The few ancestors that I have learned of, patrilineal and matrilineal, originate from Anambra State, in southeastern Nigeria. My family is bigger than it seems. We only keep the most important closer due to divorces and conflict in the family.

In my nuclear family, I have a brother and three sisters. I am the oldest of the five, and our ages are split with a two year difference, while the last born is four years younger than the child before her. From the oldest to youngest,

their names are Somkene, Kaito, Dumebi, and Ezinne. All but one of my siblings and I were born and raised in the city of Lagos, while the youngest was born in London. Our parents are Anthony and Nwamaka Madichie. Both my parents, as I mentioned earlier, are from Anambra State. Specifically, my father is from Awgbu, which is also where my siblings and I are from, whilst mother is from Obosi. Although Awgbu is further east from Obosi, my father lived in Onitsha. Awgbu and Obosi are classified as towns, and Onitsha is a city. But to me and my siblings, they are all considered “the village” because of the lack of technological resources, and we rarely visit. The eastern region of Nigeria, which includes the state of Anambra, is the Igbo region, so we are of the Igbo culture.

The Madichie side of the family is a bit of a mess. But it is still worth a little something. Great-Great Grandfather was called Okpulisi

Okoli. There are no records of him anywhere. According to my father, no one knew his first name and only referred to him by his title, Okpulisi, and his last name Okoli. He was the Igwe (King in Igbo) of Awgbu town. Okpulisi practiced heavy polygyny. He married 20 wives and had countless children. One of those children was my Great Grandfather, Igwe.

Gabriel Maduadichie Okoli was the youngest of his three brothers but still was chosen to carry the title as Igwe.

His son, my Grandfather, Julius Kodigbo Okoli, was born in July 1935. He had two brothers and a sister. The order is unclear. My father was never close to his uncles and aunt, so his knowledge about them is limited. Due to the large family of my Okpulisi Okoli and the countless number of children named Okoli, Julius and his brothers changed their name to Madichie to distinguish themselves from the rest of the Okoli family.

Maduadichie means a person has come into the family to take over.

This means a lot because Gabriel’s role in the family, taking up the title Igwe over his older brothers, and his children’s actions changing the name fit the meaning.

My mother’s side of the family is the pinnacle of my ancestral background. As I have been told by my mother, “I come from a lineage of scholars,” but I will start off from the top. I was able to find the name of my Great-Great Grandfather.

He went by Chief Julius Ikeazor.

His son Eugene was the star of the Ikeazor family. Born on July 7, 1907, Eugene was known to be a Nigerian police officer during the British Colonial rule over Nigeria.

72 Around 1950, he was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Police.

He was later promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police, and with this rank, he became the highest ranking African in the British Colony. He was also chosen to be a representative of the Colonial Police Force during the funeral of King George VI. In addition, he was awarded the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry in 1953.

He was married to Anne Abiola Ikeazor and had 5 boys: Kenneth, Edward, George, Henry, and Oyebola.

Eugene had a wife before Anne; her name is Eunice Nwabuogo Ikeazor.

Eunice was a midwife. My uncle Philip estimates that she may have delivered up to 10,000 babies in her almost 50 years of service. Because of the reputation as a midwife before, during, and after the civil war, she and a few other women were selected as the Nigerian delegation of an International Women’s Conference organized by

the Soviet Union in 1963. She gave him only one son named Timothy Chimezie Ikeazor, my grandfather.

But Timothy’s grandfather, father of Eunice, was an exceptional man as well. Igwe Israel Iweka I was the King of Obosi from 1932 to 1934.

He was one of the first Nigerian Civil Engineering contractors. In 1922, he also wrote the first history of the Igbo people, in English and Igbo. He had only two children, Eunice and her brother Igwe Isaac Emenike Iweka. Israel’s son also studied engineering.

Timothy Chimezie Ikeazor was born on January 21, 1930, in Obosi, Nigeria. He read Law in Kings College London and was called to the Bar at Grays Inn in 1960. In 1986, he was made a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in Nigeria.

Around the same time, he was also announced as Chief of Obosi.

Timothy married his first wife Marina around 1953, when he was 23 and she was 16. It was an arranged marriage, and he was still studying in England at the time.

They got “married at a church in London called St. Margaret’s” (Ikeazor, Ada’s Grandmother; A True Story). Boys in families would propose through their families, especially if those boys were overseas studying for degrees.

When the families meet and agree, the daughter is flown over usually for the first time abroad and they live together until the boy is finished with his education and returns home. My Grandparents had not known each other before they met at Heathrow airport after their marriage announcement.

They went on to have five children.

The oldest is Chukwudum Ikeazor.

73 He was born on September 11, 1956. He was born in England and was named three Nigerian names.

“It was very unusual in those days for African children in England to be baptised with only African names. They all had to have one English name or a name from the Bible and one African name” (Ikeazor, Ada’s Grandmother; A True Story). He studied in Lagos, Nigeria then moved to London, England where he became a Police Officer and retired in the Metropolitan Police Service in London. He is a constant traveler, a bookseller, and has a family in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He has two children with his wife Christine, Ada and Ikenna. The meaning of Ada is first daughter, meaning she is my Uncle’s first daughter. The meaning of Ada will apply later to prevent confusion.

Philip is the second child in the Ikeazor family. He was born on September 26, 1957. “He

studied accountancy at Buckingham University” (Ikeazor, Ada’s Grandmother; A True Story), and he is currently the Managing Director of Keystone bank in Lagos.

He is married to Omowunmi who is of the Yoruba culture. This was a problem, as I will explain later. They both have two children, Nnena and Nnamdi, both born and raised in Lagos.

The third child and first of the girls was my mother, Nwamaka. She was born April 9, 1960.

She is an important factor to the Ikeazor family. My mother was the “first girl to be born in over a generation in the entire Ikeazor family” (Ikeazor, Ada’s Grandmother; A True Story). The family has been well known in the town of Obosi, and “news of her birth was roundly celebrated” (Ikeazor, Ada’s Grandmother; A True Story). In our culture we refer to her as the Ada of the family, meaning she is “the head of the

Ikeazor females everywhere” (Ikeazor, Ada’s Grandmother; A True Story). She studied Graphic Design in Ahmadu Bello University. She later studied Entrepreneurship and now owns a language school and restaurant in Lagos, called Ethnic Heritage Centre.

The fourth and second girl is Sharon, who was born on August 28, 1961. “She read law in the University of Benin, Nigeria and later becoming a barrister. She is presently the head of the Pensions Directorate in Nigeria” (Ikeazor, Ada’s Grandmother; A True Story).

She was married, but we don’t speak of her ex-spouse. They had a son, Hamza Ibrahim, who studied Architecture in the U.S. He recently married in October 2017 to Wasini Ibrahim. Nonso and Chimezie are the last two. Born a year apart, Nonso, the oldest, was born on January 7, 1966 and Chimezie was born on October 24, 1967. They

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both attended Sherburne Prep in Dorset. Nonso studied Law at the University of Nigeria and is currently a solicitor in criminal law in London. Chimezie, on the other hand, studied philosophy at the University of Warwick and lives in London as well.

My mother’s family struggled through the Nigerian civil war, known as the Biafran War. The war began because of an ethnic conflict. After the British gave Nigeria its independence, they left three cultures mixed into one country: The Igbo, the Yoruba, and the Fulani. Biafra is the name of the country that sought to withdraw themselves from Nigeria, and the war sparked to prevent the Igbo’s from secession.

My mother’s youngest brother Chimezie “was born at the city of Owerri to the sound of gun fire, bombing, and air raids” (Ikeazor, Ada’s Grandmother; A True Story).

However, it was around this time that my Uncle Philip’s and Aunt Omowunmi’s marriage would have been frowned upon. Of all the family members I know of, it was only my grandmother, Marina, who had a problem with my aunt.

I have a learned a considerable amount of information about my patrilineal and matrilineal family. Even though, my father’s side is so limited, my mother’s side makes up for all the missing pieces. There is not enough

information out there about my family, considering the fact that my ancestors are popular figures in Igbo history. Keeping track of Okpulisi Okoli’s descent group would take a lifetime of searching, especially with the lack of resources. However, I am glad that I was able to find and learn a good amount about my ancestors.

Olisa Madichie is a senior business administration major from Lagos, Nigeria. Some of his favorite memories of the Comunication department include researching his family tree.

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Coffee Isn’t Co-Free: A look at the Unethical Treatment of Coffee Farmers

By Mason Smith and Alex Lee In America, we complain about making $7.25 an hour. A lot of national attention has turned to this not being a living wage; however, the outcry that would follow if workers were paid less than $2.50 a day would make former arguments pale in comparison. Yet, when over 3 billion people are paid this amount around the world, we ignore it. We also ignore that many coffee farmers are farming coffee at a loss, because they have no other options. In our research brief, we explained the problems facing many coffee farmers around the world. In this report, we will show our multi-pronged solution to the injustice facing coffee farmers today, with a focus on two crucial ideas for change: informing and petitioning.

The first way we can effect change is through the spreading of information. Change will not occur in an uneducated population.

One way that we have done this is through a general population petition, focusing on the general public’s awareness towards the issue. We have listed out a set of questions we asked participants around campus in order to help them understand the problems facing coffee farmers currently: 1. What is the minimum wage in the U.S?

2. How much do you think is a living wage?

3. What is the least you would need per hour to live off of?

4. Could you live off of $2.50 a day?

to consider Fair Trade Certified coffee the next time they go to buy coffee. We were able to obtain 31 signatures from a combination of faculty, staff, and students.

Another part of our multi-pronged campaign is a letter-writing 5. Do you know how many people campaign to Folgers, Maxwell worldwide live off of $2.50 a day?

House and Starbucks. This would be achieved with the help of those 6. How does that make you feel? who pledged to look at Fair Trade Certified coffee, as well as other After the questions, we explained people on campus passionate some of the statistics we found in about this issue. The letter-writing our research brief: over three billion campaign would be in January, with people live off of $2.50 a day, and Kenyan farmers, on average, farm coffee on a loss (Fobelets, Rusman, & Ruiz, 2017; Shah, 2013). After our questions and our findings, we asked the participants what coffee brands were doing a good job with Fair Trade Certified coffee.

This question was posed to help participants see the faults in their favorite brands. A few participants knew and used some brands that were Fair Trade Certified, such as Equal Exchange. The most common answer, however, was Starbucks. Many people were surprised that Starbucks was not held accountable by anyone except an internal review. A lot of people guessed Folgers and were surprised that Folgers refused to get Fair Trade Certified as well as Rainforest Alliance Certified. After the questions, we asked participants to sign a petition asking them Photo credit: Lood Goosen

76 everyone coming together to write 3 separate letters. One letter would go to Folgers, asking them to get legitimate certifications, such as Fair Trade Certified and Rainforest Alliance Certified, to protect their farmers. Another letter would be to Maxwell House asking for the same certifications on their coffee, as well as mentioning that Yuban Coffee, its sister product, has these certifications, so Maxwell House can achieve these certifications as well. The last one, which would go to Starbucks, would be slightly different. It would ask for Starbucks to get outside certifications and become Fair Trade Certified and Rainforest Alliance Certified, as well as asking them to stop being internally reviewed. All of the letters would then be mailed to the respective headquarters.

As far as materials go, we would supply the pens and paper, and we would be responsible for booking a room in the library to hold the event. We would supply stamps and envelopes, put posters around

Photo Credit: Negative Space

campus, as well as deliver the letters to the post office. These letters are a small step in the right direction towards getting others involved in the fight for Fair Trade Certified coffee. Even if the coffee giants disregard the letters, the people who participated will be more involved in the fight for Fair Trade coffee, and therefore, will care more about buying Fair Trade Certified coffee.

Our next idea for change focuses locally on Reinhardt’s coffee house.

Reinhardt is currently serving Starbucks coffee to its students.

As shown in our research brief, Starbucks is only certified through an internal review system. Since Starbucks is the only on-campus choice for Reinhardt students, we feel that this is the best place to start making a change. Currently, there is a system in place for students to achieve change throughout the university called the Student Government Association (SGA). SGA operates as an independent student organization

that manages a discretionary fund supplied by the student activities fund each year. The use of these funds is dictated by the Student Senate, with special projects falling under the senate committees’ group. Our goal would be to either access the funds through the Student Senate or to create a special committee for Reinhardt’s commitment to ethical resourcing.

To achieve our goal of funding the change we wish to see in our community, we would first try to create a proposal to put before the Student Senate. The proposal would include possible alternatives to Starbucks, such as Equal Exchange coffee brand, that would follow ethical sourcing guidelines. The money would go towards Reinhardt affording Equal Exchange coffee for the next semester. The money gathered for this would be the amount to cover the difference in buying Equal Exchange instead of Starbucks for a semester. Currently, a 12-ounce bag of Starbucks whole bean coffee sells for $7.99

77 at Walmart, while a 12-ounce bag of Equal Exchange whole bean coffee sells for $8.99, making the difference $1 per bag bought. A study by Nicole Olsen helps us see how much coffee is being consumed on college campuses, with her results finding that 77.3 percent of her studied students drank coffee (Olsen, 2013). If these numbers are applied to Reinhardt’s 1,500-person student body, we see that 1,160 students are coffee drinkers. If every coffee drinker gets one cup per day during the school week, Reinhardt’s local coffee shop would be making 87,000 cups of coffee. Since a 12-ounce bag of coffee can make 62 cups, Reinhardt needs 1,403 bags of Equal Exchange coffee (Blue Moose Coffee, 2017). This would lead us to asking for $1,403 from Senate to fund this initiative.

After creating the proposal, we would present our plan to the Student Senate, which then would vote for or against our proposal. If approved, this would allow us to access a portion of the allocated budget, which is also voted on by the SGA Senate. Our other option, committees, would require us to find the appropriate existing committee and ask for our plan to be put in to the docket for discussion. After obtaining either funding from the Student Senate or support from a senate committee, we would be significantly aided in our task of changing over Reinhardt’s coffee supply to an ethically sourced variety for the semester.

We feel that this idea is possible because both Metz and SGA care about improving the perception of Metz and Reinhardt respectively. By

adding Fair Trade Certified coffee, both ends will be reaching this goal. With the difference funded by senate, Metz will not spend extra on their coffee; however, they will reap the social benefits of using Fair Trade Certified coffee. SGA will be showing that Reinhardt cares about all people by funding this project. It is our belief that both organizations would be in support of the idea for these reasons.

After garnering support from SGA, another important avenue of approach towards our problem would be to contact and work with Metz Catering’s local management office. With as many Reinhardt students that get coffee with their meals in the Gordy Dining Hall, it would be of similar importance to achieve an increased level of ethical sourcing in this department of Reinhardt, in addition to the campus’ coffee house. Metz has a local management network in place, which would be the key place to start. A proposed petition would bring forward several key factors, such as student support, organization, and ambition. This petition, not to be confused with our general population petition, would be one way of achieving change through Metz at Reinhardt.

We must acknowledge the possibility that Metz will not want to help us take initiative to change the way coffee farmers are paid.

In this scenario, we will have to go higher. There are occasional pre-scheduled town hall meetings, an event hosted by Reinhardt leadership, where Reinhardt and Waleska community members get the chance to voice their opinions.

This could be a key event given proper planning and support. This

is where we can address Reinhardt’s president, Dr. Kina Mallard, with our issues. We can ask Dr. Mallard to consider either formally asking Metz to change to ethical coffee, or to change food providers to someone who does. We will present the general population petition mentioned earlier that as been signed by faculty, staff, and students as evidence that the Reinhardt community wants these changes. In this scenario, even if Dr. Mallard is against the change, we have made Reinhardt administration aware of the Reinhardt community’s feelings.

Another route, if given enough support by other Reinhardt community members, could be to go to Reinhardt’s Board of Trustees.

Before pursuing this opportunity, it would be critical to achieve a high level of community support.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

78 We would then need to attempt to schedule a meeting with the current board. This would most likely require the assistance of those with greater power at Reinhardt.

One possible candidate for this ally would be Dr. Walter May, Dean of Students. Achieving change through the Board of Trustees’ route would require significant faculty and staff support in addition to existing student support, as this would carry more weight in the upper levels of Reinhardt’s administration. To achieve greater faculty and staff support, our methods of garnering support would have to reflect this change in targeting. After achieving a certain level of support, there would likely be cause for the formation of a student-led, faculty-backed special interest group centered around our goal of ethically sourced coffee for Reinhardt. This group could then work to incorporate additional, similarly minded or goal focused groups either on campus or in the surrounding community.

Our multi-pronged solution also includes an information campaign outside of Aldi in Canton. We would do this by bringing coffee samples of both Aldi’s Fair Trade Medium Roast and Starbucks’ Pike Place coffee and setting up a table outside of the doors and offering coffee samples to anyone who entered. After tasting the two, we would ask these questions: 1. Can you tell the difference between coffees? a. If so, which one tastes better?

2. Did you know that Starbucks only pays its farmers 3 cents for every $3.50 cup of coffee they sell?

After question 2, we would pull out two Starbucks clear coffee cups, one with 350 pennies in it, and one that is empty. We would then proceed to put 3 pennies in the empty cup as a demonstration of how little the farmers are paid. Afterwards, we would follow with these questions:

“Over 3 billion people make less than $2.50 a day.”

3. Do you know the difference between fair trade and Fair Trade Certified coffee? a. If not, we would explain the difference.

4. Does this change what kinds of coffee you want to buy?

After this question and answer, the participant leaves, hopefully with an inclination to buy Fair Trade Certified Coffee. As far as the materials go, we have access to both Aldi’s Fair Trade Medium Roast coffee and Starbucks’ Pike Place coffee. Aldi is a large proponent of Fair Trade Certified coffee brands, as they proudly display their Fair Trade Certification, Rainforest Alliance Certification, as well as a UTZ Certification for their cocoa and tea (Aldi, 2018). It is within Aldi’s corporate values to support Fair Trade Certified coffee; therefore, we believe they would support us in our mission to inform others of the importance of buying Fair Trade Certified coffee.

The world has a poverty problem, and coffee farmers are facing the brunt of it. Currently, many people are unaware of the problems facing these coffee farmers. This is why we focused our efforts mostly on an information campaign. If people are unaware of the problem, people cannot fix the problem. In this way, we recommend using information, such as the spreading of information campaign, and action, such as the letter writing campaign or the SGA funding campaign, to combat this issue.

While we do feel it is important to look forward to what is possible, despite our current small amount of influence, we firmly believe that large-scale change is possible from student interest. While it may take time and significant dedication, we believe that this subject is of immediate global importance and that change towards the positive is achievable in our time.

Mason Smith and Alex Lee are both encouraging anyone interested in this mission to look up Black Gold - a PBS documentary about ethical coffee. Both Mason and Alex consider this their favorite project done to date, since they felt like they got a chance to make a change, and they thank Dr. Pam Wilson for that opportunity.

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The American Dream “Our final task at hand is to make sure that opportunity is available for all Americans.� -Barack Obama

Students in COM 360 were divided into groups and tasked with producing a product that captured the American Dream. This video was edited by Cameron Davis who is a Digital Media Arts Major from Kennesaw, GA. Davis plans to do design work for a brand company once he graduates.

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COM 407 Communication Internship A supervised program of on-the-job study for the Communication and Media Studies major, this course provides practical, hands-on experience in a real-world work environment. The internship may be in areas such as marketing, editorial writing, human resources, public relations, TV production, news media, etc. This is not an independent study or special projects course; students must be working under the supervision of a professional in a corporate office or production environment. 160 hours of time on the job is required for a 3-credit course, or 320 hours for 6 credits, in addition to required reports.

Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours of COM courses at the 200-level or above, plus approval by the CMS faculty Internship Coordinator.

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Senior Profiles Video by: The Spring 2019 COM 306 class

Jacob Blodgett

James Gilbert

In this video, members of the COM 306 class interview seniors about their time at Reinhardt, including their internships.

Featured in this video are Jacob Blodgett, Jazzmyne Garcia, and James Gilbert.

Jazzmyne Garcia

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Reinhardt Athletics Photos by Samirah Beyah

Samirah Beyah is a Senior Communication and Media Studies major from Snellville, GA. Her favorite part of the department is the close-knit family atmosphere. Her plans after graduation are to start up a marketing business to support black-owned businesses.

For her internship, Samirah worked with Reinhardt Athletics as a game day photographer. Her job involved taking photos of athletes during game days.

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The 3:15 Project For his internship, Andrew worked with the 3:15 project as a video producer. He created and edited videos for the business.

Andrew Hans is a senior Digital Storytelling major from Atlanta, GA. His favorite memory in the department is growing as a person during his internship. After graduation, he wants to work in video editing.

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COM 490 Transmedia Storytelling: Capstone Seminar Course This capstone course for graduating seniors provides students with the opportunity to integrate all they have learned in their major coursework in a collaborative seminar where each student develops and carries out a transmedia storytelling capstone project. This can be a creative narrative story, a documentary project, or a promotional project for a small business or nonprofit client. The seminar uses a student-led pedagogical style in which students take greater responsibility for their own learning.

Prerequisite: COM 403 or permission of instructor.

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Camp Glisson Created by Alex Lee

In COM 490, Alex Lee created several website pages and other marketing improvements for Camp Glisson.

Displayed here are some of his pages from Adobe XD.

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Samirah Beyah created this website for Lofty Girl in COM 490. It focuses on helping market Lofty Girl by offering a one-stop platform for

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ART 491/492 Concentration Seminar & Thesis Exhibition and Portfolio This two-semester course will allow the student to develop a strong body of work within his or her chosen concentration. The student will create a written proposal outlining work to be done over the coming year. This proposal should outline the conceptual and formal issues within which the student intends to work. At regular intervals throughout both semesters, the student will present works in progress before the entire art faculty for group critique. The student will be expected to develop a strong body of cohesive work upon which the Thesis Exhibition Portfolio will be based.

In this course, the student will develop a written thesis in conjunction with an exhibition of work done over the past year and a half. The student will be given instruction on portfolio preparation, slide documentation of works and curatorial procedure. The student will be expected to present a written and oral defense of the final exhibition as well as slide documentation. Throughout the course, the student will meet with the entire faculty at scheduled intervals to discuss and analyze the thesis exhibition. Prerequisite: Completion of all art core courses in chosen concentration, Art 491 Concentration Seminar, and permission of supervising instructor.

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Kayla Smith is a Graphic Design major from Canton, GA. She is interested in drawing and illustrating her own stories. After she graduates she plans to pursue a certificate at the Georgia Film Academy. Kayla created these pieces to be included in her senior art show.

Fairy Tale Kidz by Kayla Smith

89 The Kidz by Kayla Smith

Kayla Smith’s plans after graduation are to earn a certificate from the Georgia Film Academy. During her time at Reinhardt, Smith has most enjoyed her learning about different forms of art and having a diverse understanding of many artistic mediums.

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Schuyler Martin is a senior from Locust Grove, GA majoring in Graphic Design. He is interested in music, movies, digital photography, and art.

These interests manifested great inspiration for his newest photoseries about up-and-coming musicians for his senior capstone.

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By Schuylar Martin

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94 Hyper Realist Portraits

by Jose Diaz.

Jose Diaz is a senior from Commerce, GA majoring in Graphic Design.

He is interested in cross country, track and field, soccer, swimming, and drawing.

After graduation, he plans to use his skills and work in a graphic design position.

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By Jose Diaz

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Savannah Smith is a senior from Houston, TX majoring in Digital Media Arts. Smith has enjoyed digital design, ceramics, video editing, and being creative within her major.

Cry Baby Blues by Savannah Smith

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Foundation by Savannah Smith

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Amber McFarland is a double major in Fine Art/Studio Art and Early Childhood Education from Ball Ground, GA. McFarland enjoys hunting for old pottery shards, Native American artifacts, and deepening her relationship with God. She cherishes the bonds she has forged with her professers and classmates that flourished during her learning opportunities. After graduation, McFarland wants to become an educator. She also plans to obtain an M.F.A. in Studio Art and make replica pottery for historians.

Natural by Amber McFarland

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Cesarean Horizontal by Amber McFarland

Cesarean Vertical by Amber McFarland

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