February 2020 by Reporter Magazine

REPORTER FEBRUARY 2020 // REPORTER.RIT.EDU

“You’re not the Devil, and I’m not the Devil’s Advocate.” People who think that criminal defendants are horrible humans have never been arrested. They don’t understand the crushing embarrassment that comes with a DWI or criminal charge. Being arrested is one of the most stressful and anxiety-producing events a person can experience. You don’t know if you are going to jail. You don’t know what is going to happen to your job or your education. Are you going to lose your license? You don’t know how your friends and family are going to react. It’s absolutely awful. So… if you know someone who is facing a criminal charge, have some courtesy, have some sympathy, and some taste. Use all your well-learned politesse, and give me a call. P. Adam Militello, Esq. (585) 485-0025 https://rochesternyDWI.lawyer

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Cayla Keiser PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Kasey Mathews ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Victoria Sebastian COPY EDITOR Mimi Lee NEWS EDITOR Jessica Sides TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Leland Goodrich LEISURE EDITOR Karina Le FEATURES EDITOR Morgan LaMere WELLNESS EDITOR Brooke Wolfenbarger VIEWS EDITOR Tyler English WRITERS Abby Bratton, Karina Le, Kasey Mathews, Tyler English, Cayla Keiser, Leland Goodrich, Victoria Sebastian, Morgan LaMere, Jessica Sides

ART ART DIRECTOR Lily Garnaat ONLINE ART MANAGER Monica Nguyen-Vo SENIOR DESIGNER Cassy Smithies DESIGNERS Deztiny Di Meo, Cassy Smithies, Cristian Maynez, Lily Garnaat, Rachel Tiano, Nick Bober, Adriana Petrus ILLUSTRATORS Neil Williamson, Cassy Smithies, Monica Nguyen-Vo, Sara Calhoun, Elizabeth Dettmann, Juho Choi, Corey Hemingway, Michael Smith

EDITOR’S NOTE

REPORTER

ollege students are adults in training. Many of us depend on our parents for financial support or to help guide us through tough decisions. But at the same time, college is our time to be independent dependents. We budget our own money. We cook our own meals. We handle our own schedules. We have our own adult relationships. Being an adult means considering what’s best for yourself and others, but ultimately knowing when to put yourself first. This is the time when you have to start making your own decisions, such as where and with whom to spend the holidays, even if it doesn’t align with your family’s or friends’ desires. Oftentimes, college is the first time we are fully experiencing these choices. We can try hard to make the perfect move, but at the end of the day, we are going to make mistakes. Sometimes, those mistakes can really get us down. We might feel guilty when we mess up or unintentionally hurt someone along the way. When we do, older figures in our lives might reprimand us or meet us with hostility, wondering how on Earth we could have made such an error. But here’s the thing. Every single adult has gone through this same phase of life. It’s important to remember that this process is natural and not to feel too discouraged. In fact, be encouraged. Making mistakes means you are growing, and growth provides you with the incentive to become the best version of yourself.

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Reporter magazine is published monthly during the academic year by a staff comprised of students at Rochester Institute of Technology. Business, Editorial and Design facilities are located in Room A-730, in the lower level of the Campus Center. Our phone number is +1 (585) 475–2212. The Advertising Department can be reached at +1 (585) 475–2213. “New year, fresh look, same bitch” -T.E. The opinions expressed in Reporter do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Reporter is not responsible for materials presented in advertising areas. Copyright © 2020 Reporter. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.

February 3

IN T HI S I S S UE

NEWS 6

COLLEGE ENROLLMENT DECLINING IN THE U.S. A brief look at college recruitment in an era of decreasing student enrollment

T E C H 8

A NEW HOME FOR EARTHLINGS? In a space age, we try to discern what makes our planet unique in search for others like it

L E I S U R E 10

CYCLICAL CARE OF DRAG Drag culture in Rochester offers a community of acceptance to LGBT youth

BALANCING THE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL With all the hardships life puts on us, never forget what’s most important — you

@REPORTERMAG 4 February

AYL: AT YOUR LEISURE Follow the path to your future love

cover and TOC photography by Diana Spencer Cover: Jénna Gisellé, Kyla Minx, Paradox Strange and KiKi Bañaña Hammøck at a performance on in Rochester, N.Y. on Sept. 28th, 2019 at ROAR

F E A T U R E S 16

BEYOND THE BASE: FROM SERVICE TO SCHOLARSHIP A look into the student lives of prior service members

THE CHALLENGES OF FULFILLING STUDENT REQUESTS

W E L L N E S S 24

BRIDGING THE GAP IN FOOTBALL RIVALRIES Fan loyalty and the rivalries they create form the bonds between a nation

V I E W S 26

We shouldn’t need a commercial excuse to show our love and appreciation for others

An examination of RIT’s p rocess to fulfill students’ requests

A HAPPY MIND IS A WANDERING MIND Breaking the stigma about daydreaming

“HALLMARK HOLIDAYS” ARE POINTLESS, INANE AND INEFFECTIVE

WOTS: WHAT IS LOVE? Spoiler: No one said “Baby don’t hurt me”

RINGS RIT’s digital confessional Text or call (585) 672–4840

R E P O R T E R.R IT.EDU February 5

College Enrollment Declining

in the United States

he National Student Clearinghouse “Some of our students are more interested in using their hands, so they pursue a trade. Then Research Center publishes a biannual some of them just need a break from school.” report on postsecondary enrollment in All causes aside, it is growing apparent that the U.S. The study began in fall of 2012, and evlower enrollment rates put some institutions at ery report so far has shown a decrease in the risk. The impact is most apparent in less-popunumber of enrollments nationwide. The latest lated states like Vermont, where three colleges addition to this series, published in December 2019, found that overall college enrollment — Green Mountain College, Southern Vermont has gone down by 1.3 percent from fall 2018. College and the College of St. Joseph — closed This marks the first time in this decade that the earlier this year. national number of fall semester enrollments “[RIT is] continuing to see a decrease in the have dropped below 18 million students. Col- number of students we are pulling from. However, we’ve been fortunate to have an increase leges and universities nationwide, including in applications. So that’s the good news,” NicoRIT, have felt the impact of these statistics. letti said, “and that’s because of several things. Most importantly, RIT’s got a great reputation CAUSES AND EFFECTS According to RIT’s director of undergradu- out in the marketplace.” Nicoletti listed the cooperative education ate admission, Marian Nicoletti, the primary program as a strong factor in maintaining that driving force behind this trend is a simple one: reputation, along with RIT’s facilities, faculty national birth rates have gone down. With and financial health. fewer young adults in the population, there “Our campus, the safety of our campus, the are fewer potential college applicants. Within that population of traditionally “col- community, all really help tell the story of the lege-aged” people, some don’t graduate high RIT brand. So we’re very fortunate to have school; others go directly into the workforce. that,” she added. Nicoletti acknowledged that cost is also a facNevertheless, the fact remains that the potor in why people may not attend college. tential student population is on the decline. “There’s a lot of colleges here in New York RIT combats those numbers with a variety of and in the northeast, and we’re all competing recruitment techniques. for the same students,” she explained. “Add in there the rising cost of college, and families are STEPPING INTO LOCAL really having a tough time in making those de- COMMUNITIES cisions of where to attend.” One way that RIT engages with local New Ashley Simmons, director of RIT’s Science York state students is through STEP. RIT’s STEP and Technology Entry Program (STEP), pro- team engages seventh- through 12th-graders vided further insight as to why some people from six schools in the Rochester area, offerchoose not to enroll. ing hands-on experiences for college and ca“For some of the students, it’s accessibility. reer readiness. There’s a lot of scholarships ... but sometimes “[STEP’s] overall goal is to provide after-school our students are not eligible for them. Anoth- and weekend enrichment to expose and keep er reason our students try pursuing a career students engaged and interested in pursuing edtrack versus a postsecondary education track ucation or a profession,” Simmons said. “We do is the amount of time associated,” she said. a lot of tours of different campuses and we have

started to incorporate company tours, because we know college is not for all our scholars.” STEP is not a direct recruitment tool for RIT; its purpose is to prepare students for whatever college or career they might pursue. However, the program ensures that students are exposed to the RIT campus and all of the opportunities it provides. “We let them know we’re affiliated with RIT, it’s a great institution ... and help them decide what’s the best college for them,” Simmons said. Other colleges employ similar strategies to draw in local students. There are 59 STEP programs across New York state, though recruitment is not limited by state boundaries. It is important to take a broader view when considering issues of enrollment. BEYOND STATE BORDERS Given the number of universities dotting the northeast, and the limited pool of applicants in that region, RIT places a lot of focus on recruiting students from across the country. “Other states like California, Florida, Texas — they happen to be seeing an increase in the number of students who are graduating high school, just based on birthrates,” Nicoletti said. “The state of California itself has more students than they’re able to accommodate at their universities.” That makes California an ideal place for attracting out-of-state applicants. According to Nicoletti, it’s a successful tactic. California is the fifth most common home state for RIT students, despite being on the opposite side of the country. There is also one group of potential applicants that remains unaffected by lower U.S. birth rates: international students. However, international student enrollment in the U.S. has dropped significantly in recent years. “Regardless of whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican — whatever your beliefs are — the

“we’re all competing for the same students.” 6 News

by Abby Bratton illustration by Neil Williamson design by Deztiny Di Meo

United States is not seen as a very welcoming environment for international students,” Nicoletti explained. “It’s based on all kinds of news going out about families being deported, about building the wall ... Families just don’t feel that this is a good time to send their children to the United States.” Nicoletti said this isn’t the first time the political climate has affected enrollment numbers for international students, citing the period after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as another example. But in the years following those attacks, international enrollment numbers began to rise again. “So we’re hoping that over the next few years, that will slowly take a turn,” she added.

THE FUTURE OF COLLEGE ENROLLMENT The decline of national postsecondary enrollment poses no immediate risk to RIT; the university still attracts plenty of applicants. Other institutions may not fare as well over the next few years. While it is difficult to predict the future of college enrollment and recruitment in the U.S., the numbers suggest a clear pattern: if the U.S. birth rate continues to decline, the enrollment rate can be expected to follow.

“We know college is not for all our scholars.”

News 7

A NEW HOME FOR

EARTHLINGS?

by Karina Le | photo-illustration by Tess Roberts | design by Cassy Smithies

“If we were thinking about relocating humankind to another planet — even Mars — we still have to think about the consequences of that.” 8 Technology

n the growing technological age, our society is expanding the studies of the cosmos, including the pursuit of possible life outside of our little, green Earth. These discussions have been about exploring space outside of the planet we call home, including what possibilities are out there in terms of another Earth that has lifeforms for us to communicate with, or an atmosphere for us to inhabit. Despite all of the research that has gone into space exploration, we consistently come to the conclusion that Earth might be our only viable option for sustainable life. What is it that makes our planet so unique, to have housed thousands upon millions of lifeforms on it at a time?

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT EARTH?

There are many things that make our Earth so distinctly unique, which gives it the capability to sustain the multitudes of life that it does. Some of these distinct qualities of Earth — as detailed by Sukanya Chakrabarti, a professor of physics and astronomy — rely upon the location of Earth in our solar system and how the moon interacts with our planet. “When we talk about inhabitability [of a planet],” Chakrabarti said, “we’re talking about where water can exist relative to the position of the star and the planet in question.” The position of a planet to a star is extremely important. If a planet is too close to a star, it’ll be too hot for life to flourish there. For example, the planet Mercury can exceed temperatures of 800 degrees Fahrenheit during the day due to its proximity to our sun. In contrast, being too far from the sun, such as on the planet Neptune, can make freezing temperatures as cold as negative 392 degrees Fahrenheit on an average day. Many organisms rely on water to continue to grow and evolve, including humans. Rita Magalhães, a post-doctoral researcher at RIT, outlined the importance of water for lifeforms on our planet. “A lot of organisms require water as a means of transport,” Magalhães said. “Some for nutrients, and some require liquid water for reproduction.” Photosynthesis is another specific characteristic that has led to the continuation of advanced life on our planet — it produces the oxygen we breathe. “The advent of photosynthesis and the ability for oxygen to be produced really, re-

“The advent of photosynthesis and the ability for oxygen to be produced really, really changed the landscape of the planet.” ally changed the landscape of the planet,” Magalhães said. All of these characteristics make life possible and allow life to flourish on our little planet, making Earth very unique. But, what happens if we find life on other planets?

A HOME OUTSIDE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?

Back in 2009, NASA released a space telescope named Kepler, whose mission was to find planets outside of our solar system that might have fostered life, or could foster life, just as we find it here on Earth. Initially planned to be a year-long journey, the Kepler mission lasted until Nov. 15, 2018, when NASA finally decommissioned the observatory. Through its active years, Kepler helped scientists discover thousands of planets outside of our solar system, called exoplanets. These planets can be as small as our Earth to as large as Neptune; some gas-based, others solid. One particular planet discovered during Kepler’s mission was dubbed Kepler-452b, and some scientists assert it could possibly be Earth’s older cousin. The reasoning behind why many scientists believe Kepler-452b could be an Earth 2.0 is particularly because we’ve found liquid water existing on the planet’s surface. Additionally, the way the planet orbits around its star makes it a possible candidate for sustaining life. Does this finding of a planet with extremely close similarities to Earth mean we’ve found another home for ourselves? Chakrabarti isn’t so sure. “[The planet] is very, very far away. Even if we were thinking about relocating humankind to another planet — even Mars — we still have to think about the consequences of that,” Chakrabarti said. These consequences, which Chakrabarti listed out, are chiefly focused on whether or not humans would be able to survive the extreme

travel that would be necessary; not including the fact that traveling to a planet as close as Mars would take months to get there. Then there’s the task of terraforming planets to be like our own because even if there are chances that they can inhabit life, such as Mars might, we still need components like oxygen to survive on its surface. “Most planets will probably not have an atmosphere like ours, which means it’s not breathable for humans and most animals,” Magalhães explained. “But with the introduction of plants, over time you can generate an atmosphere more closely related to ours.” The idea of terraforming a planet, however, will take a considerable amount of time and funding which we may not be able to provide just yet. So even the concept of introducing life to a planet, rather than finding it, is an equally challenging quest when discussing life beyond our own. In the end, there needs to be more research about space and supporting technology before we ultimately decide whether or not space travel is a plausible journey that humans can take. Just like in basic labs, where researchers must recreate the experiment to completely verify the validity of the experiment, the sustainability of life on exoplanets, such as Kepler-452b, must be something that is reproducible. However, if one thing is for certain, the planet that we inhabit right now is unique in its own right. As of right now, Earth is the only planet we will ever be able to call home.

Technology 9

The

Cyclical Care of

Drag by Kasey Mathews photograghy by Diana Spencer design by Cassy Smithies

Note from the Editor: For the purposes of this piece, “gay” is used to refer to the LGBTQ+ community.

DEEDEE DUBOIS

Deedee DuBois hosts a night of drag at the Photo Improv on Nov. 16, 2019.

remember growing up never hearing of drag, as gay culture was subdued and unspoken. Drag queens now star in Netflix series, walk the red carpet at the Met Gala and top the Billboard charts. In fact, some may call drag America’s new national pastime. With drag’s showmanship and skyrocketing popularity, so many drag artists have become bonafide celebrities. This level of exposure brings drag and gay culture into the mainstream. Yet, even in Rochester, drag thrives — and there’s much more to that community than big wigs and lip syncs.

“When I got into ,

drag

I could be a

10 Leisure

““

character

David Chappius was closeted throughout high school — never publicly admitting he was gay. It wasn’t until college, as he and his friends frequented various clubs, that he was first inspired by the drag world. He befriended drag performers and found a place where he could be himself. Before long, he began painting his face and getting into drag. And so drag queen DeeDee Dubois was born. “It was a perfect fit for me because I always wanted to be the center of attention,” Dubois said. “And so drag helped me be that.” For Dubois and many others, drag has offered an escape — not into a fantasy, but out of one. “When I got into drag, I could be a character,” Dubois explained. “I didn’t have to be shy. I could be outgoing; I could be sexual; I was funny. And from that point on it just flourished.”

GUIDANCE AND ACCEPTANCE Dubois has been performing for 22 years, beginning her career at only 18. When she first started, drag was still very much a subculture of a subculture — a grimy gem hidden within the gay world. To get a solid start, you often needed some guidance from more experienced queens. Rochester is home to many drag stars such as Aggy Dune, Darienne Lake and Ambrosia Salad. However, much of the guidance Dubois received was from her drag mother, Helena Troy. From Troy, Dubois picked up tips and tricks that shaped her into the performer and Rochester icon she is today. Figures like Troy taught Dubois and other budding performers things

that may seem simple to a modern queen, such as where to purchase supplies. “Back when I started, you couldn’t go to Amazon to buy heels,” Dubois said. “There weren’t stripper stores online to buy your heels and dance tights.” This extended to makeup, as well. Before the YouTube era, queens learned makeup skills from other queens. There were no tutorials for them online. As for those tights? Dance shops. “Parents [were] taking their little 10-year-old girls to get their ballerina outfits,” Dubois said. “I had to walk into [these shops] as a 20-yearold man and try to order 3X dance tights as they’re looking at me like I have some weird fetish in my basement.” Now, as a more seasoned queen, Dubois returns the favor. While she’s only taken one drag daughter — Destiny Spice — she’s never held back advice, pointing many in the right direction and giving tips where she can. Dubois was the longtime host of Tilt Nightclub’s Wild College Party, which gave up-andcoming college queens a chance to be in the spotlight. Since Tilt’s closure, Dubois has continued to foster the drag community, making a home for queer youth at her own bar, Roar — the only major venue in Rochester that is open to those 18 and older.

KYLA MINX Houston native Jonathan Jordan would also grow to become a prominent local queen. He came to Rochester to study psychology at SUNY Brockport, graduating in 2004. Much like Dubois, he became engrossed in drag culture at the age of 18. Taking his name from Kylie Minogue, Jordan became Kyla Minx. Minx has two drag mothers, the previously mentioned Destiny Spice and longtime Rochester star Samantha Vega.

Jonathan Jordan transforms into her drag persona — Kyla Minx — at monthly show “Thots and Prayers” at the Spirit Room on Sept. 28, 2019.

“I think you are seeing where they don’t get the need for

“

inclusivity

Many other drag artists also influenced Minx. She was inspired by the stylistic aesthetic of Danae, a former Rochesterian queen from Minx’s early days in drag. From Pandora Boxx, she inherited her first hosting gig — branding it “Kyla Minx’s Chicken’n’Waffles.” Minx has grown to become a Rochester staple through the support of fellow queens.

Kyla Minx grabs a tip from an audience member’s mouth during her second performance at ROAR in Rochester, N.Y. on Dec. 20, 2019.

members are very active and supportive of one another, despite the size.

EVER FORWARD Neither Dubois nor Minx are ready to rest on their laurels just yet, though. Dubois continues to build and foster Rochester drag through providing a welcoming environment at her bar. Minx, on the other hand, is setting her eyes on her own success, hoping to break onto the national stage. Both still see Rochester as home, though, and likely will continue to for some time. Rochester has given birth to these two stunning queens, as it has to so many others and more to come.

These communities aren’t built by themselves, however. It’s upon the labor of figures like these that a sense of true community is born. As Dubois quipped, “I’m tired as fuck but I couldn’t be happier.”

INCLUSIVITY IN THE COMMUNITY In her 19 years on the circuit, Minx has seen a growth in the community as gay culture became more widely accepted. But she is determined to further this growth. “You’re seeing where, especially among white LGBT folks, they don’t get the need for inclusivity, not [solely] equality. They don’t understand the difference,” she said. “You’re seeing the divide between LGB folks and Trans people.” Minx explained that, while the gay community is moving in the right direction, it hasn’t quite reached the finish line. “We do a pretty good job of reacting in the proper way [to pressing LGBT issues],” she said. “We do ... the right things, but we don’t always continue it past [that].” She continued, saying that members of the gay community often don’t change their behaviors when needed. However, Minx still acknowledged that Rochester’s community

Jénna Gisellé performs at ROAR nightclub in Rochester, N.Y. on Dec. 20, 2019.

Leisure 11

Balancing The Personal & Professional by Tyler English illustration by Monica Nguyen-Vo design by Cristian Maynez

12 Leisure

ollege students are faced with balancing their courseload, family, friends, clubs and work — not to mention their sanity. The task of being a college student comes with the understanding that your time is no longer yours. Your 24-hour day may consist of a mere two hours of free time, which you spend shoveling food into your face after not eating all day. Speaking from one college student to another, take a break! I know from personal experience you can get lost in the flood of Google Calendar events to the point where you don’t even know who you are any more, just another student on autopilot. Before you even knew it, all 24 hours of your day have been booked, sleeping and eating have to be squeezed in. You aren’t complaining though. Life is pretty good — you are involved, have things to do and keep busy. Yet, something is missing. You feel disconnected and still unhappy. In the hustle and bustle of college life, we sacrifice our personal time so that we can accommodate even more responsibilities.

Finding Balance Taylor Humphrey currently has a year left in her Hospitality major. She also works as a Senior Commuter Ambassador and is a mother. Humphrey balances a lot in her life and manages to work in well-deserved personal time when she can. “Finding a balance is hard,” Humphrey said. “But sometimes just being alone and going to the grocery store can give me that time.” As a mother and a student, Humphrey is stretched thin when it comes to personal time. If she has errands to run and the ability to do them alone, she takes the opportunity. Some people may find it strange to make a run to Wegmans alone. Humphrey however, finds it relieving as she is able to decompress after her day or in between responsibilities. Kim Saysamone, a temporary staff assistant in the Center for Women and Gender, is also a working mother taking classes. She manages to find a balance in personal time by taking a few minutes when she can to decompress.

“I’ll walk in the door when I get home and just ask my kids to, ‘give mommy five minutes,’” Saysamone said. When Saysamone can’t find an extended period of time to give herself, she knows the importance of taking a few minutes to decompress and settle after a long day before moving to her next responsibility. Taking those few minutes helps her remain calm and level headed when she jumps between work, family and school.

Personal Time Practices Depending on how much extra time Humphrey or Saysamone have in their day, they try their best to work in some down time. “I take long baths and read when I have the time to spare,” Saysamone said. When Saysamone has free time, she likes to fill it with solo activities for her own enjoyment. From her reading hobby to practicing self-care techniques, Saysamone has a variety of ways that she can spend her sporadic amounts of free time. Humphrey, on the other hand, tends to find her free time either early in the morning or late at night. “It sounds bad for me to say it, but I love the silence,” Humphrey said. Humphrey continued to explain that when she is the only one awake in the house, she feels peace and comfort. This quiet gives her time to think and fully be with herself in a moment. Also finding comfort in running errands alone, Humphrey recognizes that her personal time is simply when she gets to be with herself. What you do in your free time is none of my business; however as students, it is important that we take a few minutes per day to simply just be with ourselves. Whether that be partaking in a hobby like video games, reading, going out for a run or simply sitting alone in the shower, give yourself the time to do either something that you enjoy or something to help center you with yourself.

Let’s Get Personal Speaking as a student, a friend, a family member and an employee both on and off campus, I know just how hard it can be to find some time for yourself. I have gone weeks without talking to friends and family when school and work would start stressing me out. The disconnect further adds to my stressors. I’ve had peaks and valleys in my college career and I know that I can attribute them to not taking proper care of my mental, social and physical health. Classes would start to stress me out and I would stop talking to friends and co-workers, making work all that more stressful. The spiral would start and I would see no way of ending it, until I had a breakdown or one of my friends slapped me with reality. In my third year of college, I finally know that I need an equal balance of time with friends and time spent alone with my thoughts. Starting my own self-care routine and checklist for each day helped to keep me on track and in line with myself. Saysamone actually spends her free time talking with her friends and family about her day and sharing stories. She sees it as a way to not feel so alone in her struggles. “When I don’t get my personal time, I become less patient and irritable,” Saysamone said. Humphrey, Saysamone and I each notice how a lack of personal time can affect our behaviors and start having larger influences on our delicate balances. It may sound like the typical ‘take care of yourself’ cliché, but it’s true. In our lives of bouncing from classes to meetings to homework assignments, we can easily lose ourselves and what makes us who we are. Taking time for yourself, whatever that time may look like, can benefit you and motivate you to achieve far more than your overextended self may think capable.

It sounds bad for me to say it, but

I love the silence. Leisure 13

Take a chance! Follow a line to see what your love life has in store for youR SIGNIFICANT OTHER! by Karina Le | illustration by Sara Calhoun design by Lily Garnaat

at your leisure

compassionate! attractive!

rich! adventurous!

14 Leisure

We Have Issues, Day & Night News Leisure Features Wellness Views Tech Op-Ed Podcast Videos

catch us at: reporter.rit.edu

From left to right: Ryan Carpenter, Carlos Garcia Tapia and Matthew Altobelli

BEYOND THE

BASE

From Service to Scholarship by Cayla Keiser | photography by Jasmine Lin | design by Cristian Maynez

16 Features

t the end of high school, every student faces a major decision: what do I do next? For some, going to college is the right path to take. For Ryan Carpenter, Matthew Altobelli and Carlos Garcia Tapia, it was joining the military.

Ryan Carpenter, 29, spent four years in the military before deciding to enroll at RIT.

Ryan Carpenter PETTY OFFICER THIRD CLASS, NAVY When Ryan Carpenter, 29, first graduated high school, he went to college on a football scholarship. He played ball and partied, but left after just one year. Not knowing what his next step was, the now fourth year Management Information Systems major got a call from his friend in the Navy. “He called me one day from Japan and was like, ‘Dude, go to the recruiting station, you’re missing out,’” Carpenter said. “He was like, ‘This is the best choice I ever made.’ That was kind of what tipped the scale for me.” Carpenter trained as a Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman (SWCC) at the beginning

of his Navy career. His most memorable and defining experience was for SWCC training during hell week. Hell week, Carpenter said, is seven days straight of high-stress, high-speed environments with minimal sleep and intense physical and mental evolutions that boil a person down to the core of who they are. “I take a lot of what I experienced in hell week and I carry it with me every day,” Carpenter said. “You go from moments of hallucinating to crying to laughing to just pure defeat. In [hell] week alone, I dislocated a shoulder, broke a finger, had a sliver [of wood] go all the way through my finger, I had hypothermia — I think that’s it.” Shortly after SWCC training, Carpenter switched to aviation where he spent the ma-

“You go from m oments of hall ucinating to crying to la ughing to just pure defeat. In [hell] week alone, I disloc ated a shoulder, brok e a finger, had a sliver [of wood] go all th e way through my finger, I had hypotherm ia — I think th at’s it.”

jority of his four-year military career working as a structural mechanic, plane captain, flight operator and more. “At one point, I was the most qualified [and experienced] plane captain,” Carpenter said. “I was the one who got to deal with all the emergency procedures when everything was going wrong. So I got to deal with some pretty intense, pretty high-stress environments.” But after a few years, Carpenter reached a point where he wasn’t happy and wanted to do more. He left the military and worked as a salesman and insurance broker before getting laid off. That’s when he decided to go back to college. Once he has his degree, Carpenter hopes to circle back to the military as a contractor or go into an intelligence agency. “I enjoyed my time [in the service] and I believe in what they do and I know the work they put in … I just always loved the highspeed environments and that’s what I want to be in,” he said.

Features 17

Matthew Altobelli, 31, hopes to help veterans diagnosed with PTSD once he graduates with a career in psychology.

Matthew Altobelli

Carlos Garcia Tapia

STAFF SERGEANT, AIR FORCE

CADET, ARMY

Fourth year Psychology major Matthew Altobelli, 31, met with his counselor in his senior year of high school to discuss postsecondary options, but was unsatisfied with her suggestion to start out in community college. “One of my friends was joining the Air Force and he was like, ‘Why don’t you come and talk to my recruiter?’” Altobelli recalled. “So I did and that seemed like the better option.” Altobelli spent most of his eight years as a weapons specialist working on A-10 planes and helicopters for combat search and rescue. Toward the end of his military career, he received orders to join a unit in Las Vegas. His daughter was six years old at the time and told Altobelli she didn’t want him to leave again. “She got really sad when she found out that I had to go,” Altobelli said. “I canceled my orders the next day and instead of reenlisting I got discharged for her.” While still in the Air Force, Altobelli got certified as a personal trainer and nutritionist with the ultimate goal of opening up a gym. He and a friend ran a successful training business for a period of time before it eventually closed down. Three other business ventures later, Altobelli decided to attend RIT to pursue a degree in psychology.

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Among other things, Altobelli has posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had an episode where he disassociated, which is a psychological occurrence where people feel disconnected from their sense of self or sensory experiences, according to Verywell Mind. “My brain literally shut down my body,” Altobelli said. “I could see everything that was happening, but I couldn’t move, talk or anything like that ... That was the first time I realized how powerful our brains actually are.” This experience led him to choose a career in psychology. Currently, he’s applied to multiple Ph.D. programs hoping to further his studies. “My overall goal is to help other veterans with PTSD,” he said. “[I want to] try and reduce the amount of veterans who take their own lives because I’ve been there, so I know how it feels. I don’t want anyone to be there.”

Joining the Army had been on Carlos Garcia Tapia’s mind since he was a kid. Garcia, 25, enlisted in the Army out of high school before coming to RIT as a now third year School of Individualized Study student with concentrations in Military Science, Exercise Science and Computer Arts and Technology. “Every single male in my family is in the military, so it’s a lineage thing,” Garcia said. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Garcia said his biggest goal was to live in the U.S. After finishing all of his Army training, Garcia was sent to Germany before moving again to combat zones and other bases around the globe. “Every time we moved it was shocking ... from Germany to Kuwait to Iraq to Italy to Spain to Alaska,” he said. “It was just a lot of moving so I would say that was what really impacted my life.”

I’d be d n a g n hi do not t s u a good j y d l l l u a o e r “Ic t’s not ." a h t t u urpose p f o fine. B e if not a l ’s t i , e f li

Garcia worked primarily with pilots as an aviation operations specialist communicating via radio, managing their flight records and keeping track of all their certifications. With five years of service behind him, Garcia left active duty to join the National Guard and Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) while also earning his degree. “[With] ROTC, I can do my degree and get my commission at the same time instead of just doing my degree and then going to OCS [Officer Candidate School],” Garcia said. Garcia will graduate in 2021 and plans to return to Army active duty as a commissioned officer. “Being prior service, it gives you the confidence of getting here [ROTC] and not being scared, not overthinking about the military, not doing all this research and questioning, ‘Oh I don’t know how the military is going to be, is this really my track?’” Garcia said. “If I hadn’t been prior service, I would’ve had a lot of doubts because I don’t know the bigger picture yet.”

From Military Life to College Life Carpenter, Altobelli and Garcia spent the first part of their adult lives dedicated to serving their country. Since coming to college, they’ve found that there are certain advantages and disadvantages to being a prior service college student. Carpenter’s greatest takeaway from the military was his communication skills. The military is the “only environment that you can speak your mind in and not get slapped across the face,” he said, which differs from the civilian sector. Despite sometimes struggling with these cultural differences, Carpenter found that he is able to talk to people from all walks of life. “You have to be able to communicate in the military. When you don’t communicate in the military, people die,” Carpenter said. Looming deadlines, tests and finding a balance between life and school can all be major sources of stress for the average college student; but, thanks to the military, Altobelli learned how to manage his time well and deal with these stressful situations. “I really do think that I’m better equipped than most to handle the stress of college because I’ve been through much more stress than college,” he said. Carpenter concurred. “Life is bigger than a test ... There’s going to be tomorrow, there’s

e es you th iv g t i , e c i ] rior serv re [ROTC e h “Being p g n i t t ce of ge confiden .” g scared n i e b t o and n

Advice to Fellow Prior Service Students going to be a future and a career. Don’t waste your time being hung up on something that’s done and over with, that you can’t fix.” Just like college students have different majors, people in the military each have different jobs. As both Army prior service and an Army ROTC cadet, Garcia feels like sometimes the bar is set too high. ROTC focuses mainly on infantry tactics, Garcia explained, so coming from an aviation background he found himself starting from scratch. “There are certain moments in studies or [ROTC] lab sessions where everyone just looks at you expecting that you’re going to be the one spilling the knowledge and you’re there like, ‘I haven’t dealt with this.’ There’s this unrealistic expectation of you sometimes,” he said. Likewise, Altobelli said there are aspects of being a veteran that aren’t adaptive to civilian situations. “One day I had to be late for class because I had a doctor’s appointment. I got there and someone took the seat I usually sit in,” Altobelli recalled. “That seat faces the door and I was forced to sit in another seat that didn’t face the door. I couldn’t pay attention the entire class.”

The decision to come to college isn’t always an easy one when it means transitioning back to student life. Altobelli used to think college wasn’t worth it because many times, you go into debt to get a job. Since changing his mindset, Altobelli learned that college is so much more than just school. “[College] gives you a sense of purpose,” he said. “I’m a disabled vet and ... I get paid enough to where if I wanted to, I could just do nothing and I’d be fine. But that’s not really a good life, it’s not a life of purpose.” Garcia encourages his fellow prior servicemen to continue giving their best no matter how good or bad things are going. College is the time in life that will either set one up for failure or success, he said, but it’s up to the individual to set their own course. To other prior service students, Carpenter said to continue onward. “This [college] isn’t half as hard as what we’ve dealt with in the military, no matter what you did,” he advised. “Ultimately it’s going to be worth it in the end. Suck it up, embrace the suck and just keep moving.”

Carlos Garcia Tapia, 25, plans to re-enlist in the military after completing his degree at RIT.

Features 19

THE CHALLENGES OF

FULFILLING

STUDENT REQUESTS by Leland Goodrich | illustration by Elizabeth Dettmann | design by Rachel Tiano

here is nothing like the freezing cold Rochester winter to get RIT students wondering why the university can’t provide more parking spaces around campus. There is seemingly nothing worse than having to park in B Lot because your first class is not until 11 a.m. The chore of having to trudge through snow, ice and howling winds is only soothed by the thoughts of warm summer weather ahead. However, the blistering heat of the summer months can bring problems of their own. Once the snow has melted and the calming rains of spring have passed, students soon begin to wonder why RIT cannot provide dormitories with the modern amenity of air conditioning. When temperatures start to rise, students begin to think that the icy winds of winter are not that bad after all. Before long, one of these inconveniences will push a student to act, voicing their disappointment in the university. This is typically done on PawPrints, an open petition forum where the student body can bring their concerns and wants about RIT to the attention of Student Government (SG). Students posting on PawPrints call SG to action to find the best solution. Yet, even as petitions gain momentum and SG drafts charges to investigate, students find themselves unable to convince the administration to swiftly fulfill popular requests such as paving new parking lots or adding central air conditioning to dormitories. Is this because RIT is not paying enough attention to the gripes of the Tiger community and brushing off concerns? Or is it because fulfilling the requests of students, even simple ones, requires a vast amount of resources and planning?

STUDENT REQUESTS: PETITIONS AND PAWPRINTS Firstly, it is important to look at where all student requests begin: PawPrints. To get the guaranteed attention of SG, a petition requires 200 signatures from other

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members of the student body who support the petition’s cause. However, if a petition falls short of the 200-signature requirement, it does not necessarily mean that the petition is destined to fail. If a student is committed to fulfilling the petition’s mission, by actively and directly advocating the petition to an SG member, it will typically find its way on the SG agenda. Likewise, SG can opt to investigate concerns they deem important to the overall student body, even if they fall below the requisite 200 signatures or do not appear on PawPrints at all. Once an issue gets the attention of SG, it is briefed and assigned to an SG committee for further investigation. Liam Megraw, a fourth year Environmental Science major and the vice president of SG, said that “we [SG] want to take on a lot of projects because we want to make life better for students, but we also try to make sure we are

realistic. That is why we have that 200-student signing threshold.” Not all petitions are equally realistic. Some petitions can be as simple as requesting light bulbs be replaced when they burn out, and others can be as complex as wanting to change the infrastructure of the RIT campus. SG does their best to deliver productive and useful solutions that satisfy the requests of the students they serve. Yet, fielding all the petitions that come through PawPrints is no easy task, and even fulfilling requests that reach the 200-signature threshold is not always possible.

THE RIGORS OF STUDENT GOVERNMENT Once petitions have been vetted and presented to Senate, they become charges, which

“We want t o make lif e better for studen ts, but we also try to make sure we are rea listic.”

become the responsibility of an assigned SG committee. The committee is then tasked with figuring out how to best tackle the charge’s request. Simple, right? Not quite. SG faces many challenges when trying to fulfill the charges once they make their way through the PawPrints forum. “If you think of any regular system, there is always a lot of moving pieces and there’s always a lot of things happening,” SG President Anika Aftab said. SG is a great tool that allows the RIT student voice to be heard through the complex university system. However, charges only begin at the SG level. Depending on the complexity of a specific charge, these student requests can travel through multiple administration committees, sit on the desks of RIT officials and can even face legal barriers before ultimately being approved, if ever at all. “Some of these charges have been open for two or three years, but only because it requires the right people at the right places, the right amount of money — you name it,” Aftab, a fifth year School of Individualized Study student with concentrations in Healthcare Policy and Project Management, added. Charges can quickly turn into difficult projects that require lots of coordination and time to accomplish. For example, the renovations that are currently occurring at Gracie’s largely stemmed from student requests to improve the on-campus dining facility, but that only happened after extensive planning and funding was made available. Liam Megraw also contributed an understated factor about SG members and their involvement in fulfilling charges: “We are students too.” SG wants to fulfill every student request they receive through creating charges because they know the positive effects that changes can have on the student body.

“We try to advocate for all of the benefits that something would bring, we do our research and we take proposals on to administration, but ultimately they will make the decision,” he said.

ARGUMENT FOR THE ADMINISTRATION The cold hard truth about student requests is that no matter how effectively and swiftly SG can produce charges, the decision to act is ultimately up to RIT administration officials. Due to this, it can be very easy to become critical of the administration, especially when some requests seem to be rolled over from year to year. Parking in distant lots in the dead of winter and not having the luxury of air conditioning in dorm rooms can make some students think that the administration simply just does not care. Despite this notion among some students, RIT does not just brush off student requests. The entire PawPrints system is a testament to how seriously the RIT administration takes student concerns and requests. Furthermore, allowing the students of SG the discretion of deciding how to advance student requests, rather than an RIT official, is more evidence of the seriousness RIT has concerning its students. “There are so many different faculty members and staff members at RIT ... they are there because they care about the students and they want to help the students,” Aftab said. SG Senate meetings are additional proof that the administration hears its students. It only took a few meetings to show that airflow studies on the dorms were conducted to en-

sure the temperature in dorms were not excessively brutal and plans to improve parking around campus are already being enacted. In most cases, fulfilling student requests is a delicate combination of funding, cooperation, timing and most important of all, patience. In the words of Aftab, “looking at it from the administration perspective, you don’t join higher education if you don’t care about students.”

cause they e b e r e h t “They are e students h t t u o b a care elp h o t t n a w and they ts.” the studen

Features 21

A HAPPY MIND IS A WANDERING MIND by Victoria Sebastian | photo-illustration by Catherine Rafferty | design by Nick Bober

ou may be sitting in a lecture thinking about a funny story you heard earlier that day. Maybe you are driving and thinking about how to win a non-existent argument. Or maybe you are reading these words, thinking about something else entirely. Daydreaming is a common occurrence, yet many people try to avoid it. There is a stigma associated with the wandering mind that pins daydreamers as being unmotivated or careless. This stigma can be true in some cases, as Dr. Eric Schumacher, a professor of psychology at Georgia Institute of Technology, explained. “There are social consequences [with daydreaming] ... it suggests that they don’t care about what you are saying,” he said. No one wants to see their friend zone out while they talk to them, nor does a professor want to see their students do the same. Therefore, we tell ourselves daydreaming is bad and should be avoided. “Internally, people often feel like daydreaming or mind wandering is a failure of attention,” Schumacher said. But, hidden in the shame and embarrassment of daydreaming lies the unspoken benefits of the wandering mind.

“People often feel like daydreaming or mind wandering is a failure of attention” SCHUMACHER’S STUDY

In 2017 at Georgia Tech, Schumacher and then-graduate student Christine Godwin worked on a study about daydreaming. They were interested in the question: are there differences in mental capacity and brain functions for those who tend to daydream frequently versus those who do not?

22 Features

Schumacher stated, “We had three kinds of measurements: how creative the people were, how intelligent they were, how efficient their brains worked — and we compared each of those measurements with their tendencies to mind wander.” Their findings ended up contradicting the popular stigma. He explained, “What we found was that actually more mind wandering during everyday life was associated with higher levels of creativity, higher intelligence and more efficient brain processing.”

“More mind wandering during everyday life was associated with higher levels of creativity higher intelligence and more efficient brain processing” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

As the study suggests, when you find yourself daydreaming in class, it is not always a sign of disinterest. In some cases, it is an unconscious action that occurs when you already know or understand what is being taught. “It’s a recognition that you have the ability to think of something else,” Schumacher said. Therefore, in this case, daydreaming is a sign of intelligence. First year University Exploration student Destina Amaya finds herself to be an avid daydreamer. In some cases, her daydreaming occurs simply because she is not participating in a challenging activity. “I find myself daydreaming during very mind-numbing things. Anything that doesn’t take a lot of mental effort, I will probably start daydreaming,” she said.

Yet, higher intelligence is not the only thing that Schumacher and Godwin’s study correlated with daydreaming. A higher level of creativity was also found. “While we cannot determine a causal relationship between mind wandering and creativity within our dataset, we can speculate about the mechanisms that may relate these two processes,” the study explained. For many, daydreaming is a source of inspiration for their creative endeavors. Therefore, it only makes sense that the two relate. “I find it common among people who write a lot,” explained Amaya. Creative writing, painting, sculpture, music and such are activities that heavily rely on a creative mind. When most daydreams involve fiction and fantasy, mind wandering can be extremely helpful. Both of these lead to the final fact of the study: daydreaming is a sign of efficient brain processing. As Schumacher explained, “People with efficient brains may have too much brain capacity to stop their minds from wandering.” When you are not being challenged enough and when creativity flows through you easily, what is stopping you from jumping from thought to thought? This is only one study out of the thousands that tackle the topic of daydreaming, and more information is likely to come forward. For now, it is clear to see that daydreaming may be more of a skill than a hindrance.

AMAYA’S STORY

“People are different in how much their mind wanders during their daily life,” Schumacher said. It is true that every mind is different, so the reasons we daydream and the amount of time we daydream can differ.

Although Amaya can relate to some of the study, her biggest benefit from daydreaming is that it helps her mental health. Her parents do not fully support her wishes for higher education, but she can’t help but follow the future she daydreams about. Amaya explained, “It [daydreaming] is kind of how I plan out what goals and aspirations I have ... and the idea of that kinda keeps me going.”

Thinking about a future she is excited about makes daydreaming valuable to her. No matter if she gets in trouble with her parents, she finds it more helpful then harmful. “I do struggle with depression, and daydreaming kinda keeps me going in the sense that I can always think about what’s going to happen next. I can always look forward to something,” Amaya said.

Therefore, the next time you worry about daydreaming, don’t let the stigma get to you. As Schumacher and Amaya have shown, a wandering mind can actually be a happy, intelligent and creative mind. Amaya said, “When I daydream, I believe I really am okay.”

“I do struggle with depression and daydreaming kinda keeps me going”

Features 23

BRIDGING THE GAP IN FOOTBALL by Morgan LaMere | illustration by Juho Choi | design by Adrianna Petrus

ou’re back home for the holidays with your family; it’s late and most of the house is quiet when you suddenly hear the familiar roar from down the hall: “YES. GO, GO, GO! LET’S GO -insert team name here-!” It’s likely that you’ve heard this sort of passion-fueled call at some point in the past from a sports enthusiast relative and it gets even more common during the Super Bowl season. While seen across most popular sports, this sort of excitement and dedication is most commonly seen for American football. According to Statista, 70 percent of people in the U.S. consider themselves fans of pro football, with a viewership of 98.2 million during the 2019 Super Bowl. During that year, an estimated $14.8 billion was spent on consumer products related to the Super Bowl alone. To many, football is America’s sport. With that title comes countless viewing parties, tailgates and rivalries. What is it that drives fans of the sport to such fervent loyalty and creates rivalries between teams that capture millions of fans and can last for decades?

“I’ve been a fan for over 30 years now. I grew up down in Jamestown in the heart of Bills country,” Mays said. Due to its close proximity to Buffalo, Rochester has a vibrant fan community featured by the Facebook group “Rochester Bills Backers,” which has over 12,000 members including Mays. Jon Burlew is another lifelong Bills fan, even though he currently lives in Kentucky. While not initially one, he got the chance to meet the Bills quarterback in elementary school and has followed them ever since. “We moved out and continued to be fans,” Burlew said. “My family, boys and wife are all Bills fans.” As was the case with Rob Keiser, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, the team you follow is often decided for you at a young age. “I grew up in the Pittsburgh area, it’s really your only option,” he said. “It’s part of your DNA growing up.” According to Keiser, football and the culture surrounding it is a big part of his life and he attributes a lot to his wife for supporting that interest. “I wait for the schedule to come out every April to plot potential road trips,” he said. Being a loyal fan means different things to “That’s okay if that’s what you enjoy, as long as different people, but there’s usually a common you still find balance.” theme among how fans find their team. Thomas What team you support doesn’t have to be deMays is a longtime Buffalo Bills fan and a Roch- cided by where you grew up; some are born withester local. out a local team and pick one up based on TV and others follow a specific player between teams.

FAN LOYALTY

This is how Pearse Lehmann, president of the RIT Football Club, began following his current team — the Baltimore Ravens. “I became a fan ... when [Brett] Farve retired,” Lehmann said. “I just liked the way they played football.” According to Burlew, he and other Bills fans want to be associated and find pride with the “doing it the right way” mentality; working blue-collar jobs and fighting the good fight. With many fans stressing the importance of fan loyalty to the culture of football, there are bound to be conflicts between opposing fan bases and it’s these rivalries that help make football what it is.

FOOTBALL RIVALRIES For Mays, his team’s rivalry is as simple as finally beating the New England Patriots. “[We keep] getting our butts kicked by them,” Mays said. “I live for the day that we start owning them like we used to.” While rivalries can change over the years, the current archrival for the Bills are the Patriots. For years, New England has dominated the American Football Conference (AFC) East, a division of the National Football League. Each division has their own teams, competitions and subsequently their own intense rivalries. “New England dominated [the AFC East] for so long, it created that rivalry,” Burlew added. Fierce rivalries such as these are frequently caused by both proximity and how often you play that team.

“ I t ’s r e a l l y y o ur only option I t ’s p a r t o f y o . ur DNA growi ng u 24 Wellness

p.”

way “ I ju s t l i k e d t h e l l .” tba they played foo “You play those teams two times a year, but you develop this hatred in a fun way,” Keiser said. “There’s a lot of good-natured ribbing, but now with the advent of social media, sometimes it’s taken too far.” Keiser attributes this negative connotation of rivalries to people hiding behind computer screens, but that it’s mostly good-natured fun during games. While seeming like intense competition for bragging rights and ultimate victory over an archnemesis, rivalries also serve to bring fans together. “I think it lends to good conversations, and you meet a lot of people,” Keiser stated. “Peo-

ple connect via their sports teams, you walk through an airport and wear a team sweatshirt, you get attention.” Despite the friendly undertones, rivalries are still fierce. When those big games come up that define seasons, it’s all hands on deck. For Lehman, Ravens’ fans had to be invested when the Steelers game came on. No matter how poorly a season may be going for a team, there’s always a chance when it comes to rivals. The same goes for the other team as well; the Steelers had a huge win against the Ravens in 2008 for the AFC championship game to go to the Super Bowl. “It was a ruckus; the stadium felt like it was shaking,” Keiser said.

Games and rivalries like these put emphasis and impact into each and every moment, inspiring and drawing in a nation of fans. For Burlew, it goes back to beating the other team and how we frame those games. For rivalries that go back decades, these are big deals and long-lasting stories. “It’s us against them, it’s good versus evil,” he said. “That’s what a good rivalry is, backstories and side stories, things that make that matchup even more exciting and a reward if the [right team] wins.” Intertwined together, strong fan loyalties and the rivalries they cause are the backbones of football culture in America. While sometimes tense at the surface, rivalries are bridges that form bonds and create stories between mutual fans of the sport. “My oldest brother married a girl from Boston; her family were huge Patriots fans, and we don’t communicate a whole lot during the football season,” Burlew joked. “It’s been fun, especially these last few years.”

Wellness 25

“Hallmark Holidays” are

POINTLESS, INANE

and INEFFECTIVE

by Jessica Sides illustration by Unique Fair-Smith design by Rachel Tiano

he number of “Hallmark Holidays” rises with each passing year, and with that comes the obligation to celebrate more and more pointless holidays. Holidays such as Boss’s Day, Sweetest Day, Teacher Appreciation Day and Mother’s Day take away from the true, underlying reasons for celebration.

WHY WE CELEBRATE First, let’s break down why we actually celebrate these holidays. These holidays were created to celebrate certain individuals — teachers, secretaries, bosses, moms, dads, grandparents, lovers and more all get their own special day to feel appreciated. They get one day per year. One. The expectation on these holidays is that you buy a card and/or get a gift for the individual(s) the holiday celebrates. For Mother’s Day, you get some cheesy card from the grocery store before you to take her to dinner. For Grandparents Day, if you remember it at all, yet another storebought card to show how much you care. For Secretaries’ Day ... well you better be thankful for them for keeping the office organized and running when you’re too lazy to try. The cards you purchase the individual(s), usually purchased from Hallmark (hence the name), is supposed to signify your love and appreciation for them. The problem with these holidays arises with the feeling of obligation.

“Obligation DOESN’T EQUAL appreciation.” 26 Views

OBLIGATION I remember that when I was in grade school, we were expected to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day. This was incredibly frustrating for me, especially with the growing number of teachers I had. I understand that being a teacher is often a thankless job, and for the amount of work they do they are well underpaid. That being said, you shouldn’t be forced to appreciate a teacher that has treated you harshly, or one you generally don’t like or get along with. Lauren Avilla, a third year Game Design and Development major, also dislikes Teacher Appreciation Day. “Being forced to appreciate someone you don’t like is sucky,” she said. “I don’t want to feel obligated to give them a gift that day because the day constitutes it.” Aside from Teacher Appreciation Day, there are other “Hallmark Holidays” that may leave a sour taste. If you have been mistreated, you shouldn’t feel obligated to celebrate certain holidays. Without being too specific, one of my members has been incredibly neglectful and often abusive over the years. I shouldn’t feel the need to buy them gifts and make a valiant effort to help them feel loved when all they’ve provided me is anxiety. There are many people out there who experience similar feelings toward family, and these holidays can cause unwanted stress and a mix of emotions. You don’t want to reinforce the horrible wrongdoings, but you don’t want the backlash from ignoring the holidays as a whole either. You absolutely should not feel obligated to get cards and gifts for someone who has not lived up to who they’re supposed to be. If your mom hasn’t been a mom, do not celebrate Mother’s Day. If your dad is never around and never calls, why celebrate Father’s Day? Do not celebrate a boss who abuses their position and power. These should be no brainers, but the capitalization of these holidays almost always leaves conflicted emotions regarding the choice.

REDUNDANCY Another issue is that some of these holidays are seriously redundant. We are expected to celebrate our lovers both on Valentine’s Day and Sweetest Day. Why do we need two holidays that celebrate practically

the same thing? Certainly the argument can be made that Valentine’s Day is about all types of love; but romantic lovers are the dominant focus of the holiday, so there is no reason Sweetest Day should even exist. Also consider that grandparents are mothers and fathers as well. More often than not, grandparents are roped into Mother’s and Father’s Day. So why do we have a Grandparents Day at all? Why not just have one holiday to celebrate both? The answer is simple: money. As long as Hallmark and other companies can make a profit, occasions will be capitalized upon. More holidays will pop up as the years continue, and we will all feel obligated to celebrate them. The truth of the matter is that these holidays shouldn’t exist. They are completely pointless. The feeling of obligation ruins the meaning of the holidays, and their overall existence is genuinely unsettling.

APPRECIATION If you care for these individuals, you should be appreciating them all year round. For occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Grandparents Day, a holiday shouldn’t be needed to appreciate those people if they truly matter to you. Appreciation can look like offering to cook your mom dinner one night if she’s tired. You can hug your dad and tell him you love him. You can send your grandma or grandpa a card just to tell them you’re thinking of them. You can even buy your lover flowers, or surprise them with tickets to the movies. Surprising someone with a thoughtful action once in awhile throughout the year is much more meaningful than getting them a generic card to celebrate a holiday you feel forced to celebrate. “Obligation doesn’t equal appreciation,” Avilla said. “You should be [appreciating them] every day, just not as extravagant as marketing proposing it to be.” We shouldn’t need a commercial excuse to show our love and appreciation for others. What these “Hallmark Holidays” really do is capitalize on people’s emotions and insecurities. These holidays often make people feel forced to purchase gifts and celebrate. If you don’t take your mom to dinner on Mother’s Day, for example, then your mom can feel neglected, or that you just don’t care for her.

That seems to be a general theme as well. If boyfriends forget Valentine’s Day, or just don’t care to celebrate it, some girlfriends lose their minds. The opposite can be true too. I had a boyfriend once who was livid when I said I disliked Valentine’s Day and didn’t want to do anything special. Moms often flip if you don’t do anything special on Mother’s Day. I know some of my teachers from grade school made us feel bad if none of us did something on Teacher Appreciation Day.

“ I don’t

want to feel

obligated

to give them a

gift that day because the day

constitutes it.”

The opinions expressed are solely those of the students and do not reflect the views of REPORTER.

WORD ON THE STREET

WHAT IS LOVE? photography by Marielle Scott | design by Deztiny Di Meo

Paige Belfiel Fifth year Applied Arts and Sciences major

Corinne Catania Third year Advertising Photography option in the Photographic Imaging Arts major

“Love is a bunch of different things. Everyone has their own love language.”

“Love is mutable. It can mean many different things over many different times.”

Brooke DeHond First year Business Exploration major

“Love is when I walk into Gracie’s and there’s pie.” 28 Views

The opinions expressed are solely those of the students and do not reflect the views of REPORTER.

Jack Moore First year Cybersecurity major

“Love is about making sacrifices.”

Keljin Cheh Second year Electrical Mechanical Engineering Technology major

Jacob Doll First year Cybersecurity major

“Love is being there for the people who care about you.”

“Love is sacrifice and torture, that’s what it is.”

Kyle James First year Game Design and Development major

“Love isn’t a line in a song, it’s what gets you to sing.” Views 29

RINGS

“Fuck, marry, kill: Pillsbury Doughboy, Michelin Man, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man” NOV. 1, 2019, 6:43 P.M.

“F: Michelin man, M: Pillsbury dough boy, K: Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.” All calls and texts may be subject to editing and truncation. Statements do not reflect the views of

“At this point I’d rather die a martyr in the war against the administration in freezing snow trying to get to school than go to class”

JANUARY 2020

NOV. 12, 2019, 9:47 A.M.

compiled by Tyler English illustration by Michael Smith design by Adrianna Petrus

“What is a fart if not an ass burp?” NOV. 21, 2019, 3:19 P.M.

“Do I have a flower on my vagina?” DEC. 21, 2019, 11:13 P.M.

“Spiritually I am naked on the beach rubbing sand on myself” DEC. 13, 2019, 12:08 P.M. “I just want an embryo to call my own” NOV. 7, 2019, 12:10 A.M.

“He’s so adorable! I wanna kidnap him and stuff him in a sock!” DEC. 16, 2019, 2:09 P.M.

30 Views

Rings: RIT’s only digital confessional

Text or call

(585) 672-4840

REPORTER GENERAL MEETINGS Meetings are open to the RIT community. We provide free pizza, you provide the story ideas! WHERE:

CAMPUS CENTER A–730 WHEN:

FRIDAY AT 5 PM

Interpreting services available upon request at myaccess.rit.edu

Now Leasing for Fall 2020 Tour today and learn more about our Early Bird Rates!

Walk or bike to class On the RIT shuttle bus route Private bedrooms and bathrooms available Fully furnished with leather-style furniture 24-hour, state-of-the-art fitness center

24-hour Adademic Success Center with iMacs and free printing Amenities for a fit and healthy lifestyle Individual liability leases Roommate matching available

Apply online at AmericanCampus.com/Rochester

Amenities are subject to change. See office for details.