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Plight Unpaid Intern of the

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Mental Health Awareness week aims to stop stigma around mental illness

BY ANNA SPIDEL AND KARLY GRAHAM ASPIDEL@STATENEWS.COM KGRAHAM@STATENEWS.COM

Nov. 12 marked the official start of Mental Health Awareness Week at MSU. Mental Health Awareness Week is a program run by the Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, and consists of events to promote awareness about mental health and to help erase the stigma surrounding mental illness.

The week kicked off at amid a thick flurry of snow with an event at the MSU Rock. Several members of ASMSU handed out free gloves, buttons and shirts and answered questions about Mental Health Awareness Week.

Sparty also made an appearance at the kickoff event.

Jessica Mijal, assistant director of marketing for ASMSU, said the events throughout Mental Health Awareness Week are a great way to de-stress. She said all events are free to MSU students.

“I think mental health is something that college students — they get so stressed they sometimes don’t think about themselves,” Mijal said. “I think it’s important to have this event, and have this week, for people to kind of take a second and have some time for themselves and make sure they’re doing okay.”

Some of Mental Health Awareness Week’s

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events include yoga, a craft night, a “Sweat out the Stigma” 5K run and nature walks and lectures, the ASMSU Mental Health Awareness event page said.

“This is a time where as a campus we come together to fight to release the stigma against mental health,” the event page said.

According to ASMSU’s website, “The goal of this week is to release the stigma around mental health, educate students on resources available to them, and continue to advocate for increased mental health resources on campus. This issue impacts many students and members of the MSU and East Lansing community, and we hope that this week can shed light and increase awareness of mental health.”

One of the largest events in the program, “Exploring Mental Health: Breaking Stigmas through Self-Authenticity” with Demetrius Harmon, drew a large crowd of viewers.

A line of people wrapped through Erickson Hall’s lobby waiting to enter the Kiva to see Harmon, a Michigan native and internet personality, give a lecture on mental health.

Harmon discussed the stigma surrounding mental health and how it affects self-image, relationships and general life experiences.

The presentation touched on Harmon’s ongoing battle with substance abuse, family problems and his struggles with fitting in.

He detailed a year-long period of his life in which he felt invisible and was willing to do

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anything for his friends and family to see how badly he was struggling.

During the presentation, Harmon played three of his favorite songs that helped him get through challenging times, including Paramore’s “Rose Colored Boy,” J. Cole’s “Friends” and Kid Cudi’s “Soundtrack 2 My Life.”

Through tears, he discussed how these songs and the help of his friends provided him comfort throughout his struggles. He explained how grateful he was to have them in his life.

After the lecture portion was over, a panel composed of four student leaders and Harmon answered questions related to mental health.

The panel discussed their paths to self discovery and insecurities. Topics such as labels and the idea of empowerment versus constriction were discussed.

Each individual discussed their struggles with validation and their reliance on others to make them feel accepted, as well as how they work to focus on validation within themselves without needing to be validated by others around them.

The panel offered insight on different coping mechanisms, including breathing exercises, meditation, writing and music.

The panel reminded the crowd that validating their friends’ experiences and letting them know that they are heard is important, but sometimes it’s best to acknowledge they can’t help with every situation.

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A flag reads “You are enough. You are so enough, it’s crazy how enough you are” at an event for ASMSU’s Mental Health Awareness Week Nov. 12. PHOTO BY ANNIE BARKER.

VOL . 109 | NO. 12 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Marie Weidmayer

CONTACT THE STATE NEWS (517) 295-1680

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CAMPUS EDITOR Kaitlyn Kelley CITY EDITOR Maxwell Evans SPORTS EDITOR Michael Duke FEATURES EDITOR Claire Moore PHOTO EDITOR Matt Schmucker COPY CHIEF Alan Hettinger DESIGN Daena Faustino Lauren Gewirtz Shelby Zeigler Cover Illustration

by Lauren Gewirtz and Daena Faustino

Michael Zimmerman blows a horn after speaking to the crowd during the Mueller Protection Rapid Response Protest Nov. 8 at the median on Grand River Ave and Abbot. PHOTO BY CJ WEISS.

CORRECTION “Mllan twins show support at MSU” in the Nov. 8 issue was written by Paolo Giannandrea, not Noah Goad.

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Copyright © 2018 State News Inc., East Lansing, Michigan

IN TODAY’S PAPER

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Mark Dantonio named in lawsuit A former football staffer alleges he was wrongly fired by MSU.

7

Minimum wage is set to increase Potential amendments could stifle the increase.

8

Department of Theatre talks sexual misconduct A series of plays addresses ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar’s abuse.

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“One of the biggest challenges is just trying to make a budget when you don’t have any money coming in.”

Maya Roberts

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Apparel and textile design senior Read more on pages 4 and 5.

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FROM THE COVER

RELIGIOUS DIRECTORY

UNPAID INTERNSH EXPERIENCE OR P GINA NAVAROLI GNAVAROLI@STATENEWS.COM

Stay up to date at: www.statenews.com/religious

All Saints Episcopal Church 800 Abbot Rd. (517) 351-7160 Sun. Worship: 8am, 10am, & 5pm Sunday School: 10am www.allsaints-el.org

Hillel Jewish Student Center 360 Charles St. (517) 332-1916 Services: Friday night 6pm, dinner @ 7, September–April www.msuhillel.org

Ascension Lutheran Church 2780 Haslett Rd. (517) 337 9703 Sun. Worship: 10:00am Sun. Bible Study: 8:45am Thur. Bible Study: 2pm www.ascensioneastlansing.org Email: ascensionlutheran@att.net

The Islamic Society of Greater Lansing 920 S. Harrison Rd. (517) 351-4309 Friday Services: 12:15-12:45pm & 1:45-2:15pm For prayer times visit www.lansingislam.com/

Chabad House of MSU 540 Elizabeth St. (517) 214-0525 Prayer Services: Friday night services followed by traditional Shabbat dinner @ Chabad. www.chabadmsu.com Eastminster Presbyterian Church UKirk at MSU Presbyterian Campus Ministry 1315 Abbot Rd. (517) 337-0893 Sun. Worship: 10am www.eastminster church.org Greater Lansing Church of Christ 310 N. Hagadorn Rd. (Meet @ University Christian Church) (517) 898-3600 Sun: 8:45am Worship, 10am Bible Class Wed: 1pm, Small group bible study www.greaterlansing coc.org

Martin Luther Chapel 444 Abbot Rd. (517) 332-0778 Sun: 9:30am & 7pm Wed: 9pm Mini-bus pick-up on campus (Fall/Spring) www.martinluther chapel.org Pentecostals of East Lansing 16262 Chandler Road (517) 337-7635 Service Times: Sundays: Prayer 10:30am, Service 11am Wednesdays: Prayer 6:30pm, Bible Study 7pm pentecostalEL.org Denomination: Pentecostal The People’s Church multi-denominational 200 W Grand River Ave (517) 332-6074 Sun Service: 10:30am with free lunch for students following worship.

The PeoplesChurch.com

Religious Organizations:

Riverview Church- MSU Venue MSU Union Ballroom, 2nd Floor 49 Abbot Rd. (517) 694-3400 Sun. Worship: 11:30am-ish www.rivchurch.com St. John Catholic Church and Student Center 327 M.A.C Ave. (517) 337-9778 Sun: 8am, 10am, Noon, 5pm, 7pm M,W,F: 12:15pm T & Th: 9:15pm www.stjohnmsu.org University Luthern Church (ULC) Lutheran Campus Ministry at MSU 1020 S. Harrison (517) 332-2559 Sun. Worship: 8:30am & 10:45am (Sept–May) Summer Worship: 9:30am www.ulcel.org University United Methodist Church 1120 S. Harrison Rd (517) 351-7030 Main Service: Sun: 11am in the Sanctuary Additional Services: TGiT (Thank God its Thursday): Thur: 8pm in the Chapel of Apostles universitychurchhome.org office@eluumc.org WELS Lutheran Campus Ministry 704 Abbot Rd. (517) 580-3744 Sat: 6:30pm msu.edu/~welsluth

Don’t be left out of the Religious Directory!

Call (517)295-1680 to speak with an Account Executive today

When students take unpaid internships, some struggle to stay financially afloat, while others are fortunate enough to have financial support.

Bui ldi ng a resume t h rough va luable experience at an internship is a necessity for students to thrive in their career. At the same time, unpaid internships can prevent students from prospering.

According to data from the 2018 Summer Internship survey by MSU, about 18 percent of students’ internships were unpaid.

FINDING A NEW PATH THROUGH FASHION

During the summer of 2017, apparel and textile design senior Maya Roberts lived in New York City as a fashion design intern for designer Tracy Reese. Networking helped her out, as she landed the job after attending a pop-up shop in Detroit, where she met Reese and asked about a potential internship.

“It wasn’t on purpose,” she said. “Then, a week after she told me that ‘You could come,’ I just got a ticket and went to New York.”

Her job was more than just creating a product to sell in a store. She described the work as “tedious and technical.”

Her duties consisted of handling tech p ac k a g e s , w h ic h a r e do c u me nt s f or manufacturers to construct a product. She would send packages to a manufacturing company in China. She also performed precise tasks like matching thread colors to send to the manufacturer.

Interning for 40 hours a week prevented her from working another job to earn money. She depended on her savings, her parents and a budget plan.

“One of the biggest challenges is just trying to make a budget when you don’t have any money coming in,” she said.

Learning the ins and outs of the city was tough. Roberts stayed in East Harlem and commuted 30 minutes to work in the Garment District. She would take the subway and two trains. Her employer gave her a $5 daily stipend for her commute.

Unpaid internships can severely affect students who cannot rely on their family for financial support, she said. Some of her peers wanted to go home due to the stress of not having enough money. Roberts suggests interns save money and stick to a strict budget.

“You have to be really disciplined,” she said.

“I would tell (interns) to make sure they have

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“I am one of the lucky ones to be able to afford to go on one of these (internships). But it’s also hard to forget that there’s so many folks who can’t afford to do that.”

Meghan Hollister Arts and humanities senior

everything planned out in regards to money.”

Roberts’ internship did not count for school credit due to it being a last-minute opportunity, but it added experience to her resume.

Considering her responsibilities, she said it was worth the experience despite not being paid. However, she is now thinking of going into a different creative field like architecture.

“I think looking at it and now I’m like, ‘I don’t know if that’s really what I want to do with my life,’” she said.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS MORE THAN MONEY

This past summer, journalism senior Camille North interned for the creative art team at Hour Detroit Magazine in Troy, Michigan. Some tasks included preparing for photo shoots and graphic design.

When searching for an internship, she limited herself to areas near Grand Rapids and Detroit.

She chose Hour Detroit because it’s close to her job in Lansing.

“I do have a really good job here at Michigan State working at a bar,” North said. “It’s not related to my major but it brings the money.

I need my income to pay for everything that I need.”

A workday typically began by fulfilling small needs from her boss such as sending mail, getting coffee or getting supplies for a shoot. In afternoons, she would help with content flow.

“It would just be kind of sitting around and being bored, which my bosses acknowledged and they would apologize,” North said.

Her tea m f i l led t ime by look ing up

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FROM THE COVER

HIPS: VALUABLE PREDATORY?

LEFT: Maya Roberts poses for a photo in New York City. PHOTO BY SHAE CHRISTIAN. RIGHT: Meghan Hollister supervises an art lesson in Boston. PHOTO COURTESY OF MEGHAN HOLLISTER.

inspirations and possible layout designs.

Each week, North would intern for 25 hours and bartend for 10 hours. She also managed to take three online classes. She attempted to juggle a third job, but ended up losing sleep.

She said multiply ing her hours by a hypothetical hourly wage made her think about how much money she could have been earning. Although she would have rather been paid, she said it was worth connecting with people in different industries, from marketing and advertising to photography and design.

“I loved my bosses, I loved my job, I loved what I did,” North said. “That made it worth it not being paid.”

STAYING AFLOAT IN NEW YORK CITY

This past summer, marketing senior Rachel Yu worked in New York City as a wholesale intern for Alexandre Birman, a Brazilian footwear designer. She handled emails, uploaded photos to social media, analyzed sales trends on Excel and reached out to buyers for marketing.

Despite working without pay, she learned how a fashion retailer operated and how products are placed into stores like Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.

“It was really cool to see how those things work,” she said. “That is really valuable. I built a lot of clientele. It’s super useful for the future.

When I’m looking for jobs, I can talk about it.”

Working about 45 hours a week, she did not have time to work another job. The company gave interns $20 each day for lunch.

Yu said living in NYC is expensive, as she spent around $6,000 on housing. She lived in the Chelsea neighborhood so she could walk to the office instead of paying for transportation.

To stay afloat, Yu relied on her parents and the money she earned while working as a teaching assistant on MSU’s campus. She said it’s harder for unpaid interns without financial support from their parents. Her advice is to save some money ahead of time to prepare for financial challenges.

Although working an unpaid internship can turn people away from a position, she said there is always someone who is willing to take the position.

Yu said unpaid inter nships are good depending on the work interns do for the company. She said her internship was productive and beneficial to her career.

BALANCING INTERNSHIP WITH TWO JOBS AND CLASSES

Psycholog y senior Ryan Jenkins interns for state Representat ive Jon Hoadley, D-Kalamazoo. He began as a canvasser before transitioning to a position as a legislative intern.

During the summer, he worked around 20 to 25 hours a week. This semester, he works around six to 10 hours. As a legislative intern, he reads through emails from constituents in Hoadley’s district to figure out their complaints.

He said solutions might involve policy research or reaching out to other representatives and branches of government.

“We really do all the communication,” Jen k ins said. “If you ever w r ite your representative, it’s most likely an intern that you were communicating with the entire time, as opposed to the actual representative, even though it’s their signature. It’s interesting.”

Because Jenkins does research on HIV, he was attracted to Hoadley’s work on HIV legislation. He found the internship to be a resume builder and a pathway to the legal side of HIV-related work.

When working in Kalamazoo, he commuted from Lansing while taking classes and working a full-time job as a research assistant at MSU. Currently, he works around 20 hours doing research, 30 to 35 hours at a restaurant on the weekends and 10 to 15 hours at his internship.

“It was a big burden being a self-supporting first generation student,” Jenkins said.

To support himself financially, he received an internship grant from MSU, but he only received $300. He spent an estimated $600 on gas alone during the summer, he said.

He recommends interns vocalize their struggles to their bosses.

“My state representative gave me a financial award at the end of my internship on his campaign because he knew how much I was struggling to make ends meet,” Jenkins said.

“You’re just working crazy long hours and I just have to be constantly on call. It’s very physically excruciating.”

Jenkins said unpaid internships are an unfair way of clearing out the job pool because they’re more accessible to financially stable individuals, whereas lower-income people cannot afford to work unpaid.

“I think it just weeds out poor kids and it definitely creates a racial bias, too,” he said.

“Innately, people of color are going to be

more disadvantaged than individuals who are privileged.”

LIVING WITH FAMILY IN AN EXPENSIVE CITY

Arts and humanities senior Meghan Hollister interned at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

She started this past June and finished in August. She applied to the museum to fulfill an interest in education and art.

“I thought that interning at a museum — working with kids and working with art education — would be a really great way for me to get experience,” Hollister said.

For 40 hours a week, Hollister assisted five different classes. She supervised about 200 kids to ensure punctuality and would help the lead instructor by getting supplies and guiding students as they made art.

Boston is an expensive city, she said. For support, she received an internship award through MSU to help buffer some costs.

Housing costs weren’t a factor because she lived with her uncle, who resides near the city in Medford.

“I simply would not have been able to afford

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living in Boston by myself, just because they’re not paying me,” Hollister said.

She said the cost of commuting adds up. She took a bus to the subway and a pass was about $85 each month.

Hollister said the experience mattered more than being unpaid because she felt valued.

She said some of her peers, struggled to pay school debt but needed the internship to build their resumes.

“I am one of the lucky ones to be able to afford to go on one of these (internships),” Hollister said. “But it’s also hard to forget that there’s so many folks who can’t afford to do that.”

Unpaid internships have a tough impact on students who are already struggling, she said.

To an extent, she would like to see interns compensated for their work — even if it’s minimum wage, she said. Other improvements she suggested are providing struggling interns with more scholarships or stipends.

For unpaid interns struggling to get by, Hollister suggests getting creative with finding scholarships and grants and encourages interns to advocate for themselves.

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Crossword

ACROSS

1 Rhubarb desserts 5 Blue cartoon critter 10 Spoiled one 14 Mount of Greek myth 15 Old Testament prophet 16 Move like slime 17 St. Bernard’s bark 18 German WWII threat 19 Cowboy boot attachment 20 Uninvited guests 23 ‘70s-’80s Olympic skier Phil 25 Suffix with glob 26 “Just as I predicted!”

27 Gold rush bad guys 32 Irish dance 33 Right triangle ratio 34 Minor quarrels 38 Egg cell 40 “May the __ be with you” 43 Fizzy drink 44 Hemmed in 46 Pop’s Lady __ 48 Flashlight output 49 Thieves in the tombs of the pharaohs, say 53 Immigrant’s subj.

56 Miss Teen __ 57 “John Brown’s Body” poet

SPORTS L.A. Times Daily Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

58 Early arcade game with pixelated aliens, and, in a way, what 20-, 27and 49-Across all are 63 1974 Peace Nobelist from Japan 64 Hersey’s bell town 65 Athletic equipment giant that sponsors golfer Rory McIlroy 68 This, in Tijuana 69 Twangy 70 Like summer tea 71 Marvel Comics mutants 72 Succumbed to the sandman 73 Jacob’s twin

DOWN

1 “Wham!”

2 Prefix with metric 3 Gullet 4 Jungle journey 5 Boarded up 6 “__-Dick” 7 Biennial games org.

8 Rise on hind legs, as a horse 9 Femme __ 10 “Fiddlesticks!”

11 What rookies are shown, with “the” 12 Sky shade 13 To the point

21 Radiation measures 22 Rockefeller Center muralist José María 23 Low-paying employment, slangily 24 Partner of kicking 28 Peter Pan rival 29 Numero __ 30 Road sign with a double-tailed arrow 31 Attack command word 35 “CSI” science 36 Distress signal 37 Speak, biblical-style 39 Ryan of “When Harry Met Sally...”

41 Bronco or Mustang 42 Self-regard 45 Factual 47 French cleric 50 Chinese and Thai, e.g.

51 Property destroyer 52 Elton John collaborator Taupin 53 County near London 54 Twitch 55 Drink with steamed milk 59 Maine __ cat 60 Flower holder 61 Take __: doze 62 Simpleton 66 Hawaii’s Mauna __ 67 College URL endingi

Get the solutions at statenews.com/puzzles Level: 1

2

3

4

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk SOLUTION TO MONDAY’S PUZZLE

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THE STATE N E WS

THURSDAY, NOVEM B E R 1 5, 2 01 8

LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST DANTONIO, MSU OFFICIALS

BY KARLY GRAHAM AND

Football head coach Mark Dantonio stands by the sideline during the game against Ohio State Nov. 10. PHOTO BY MATT SCHMUCKER.

GINA NAVAROLI KGRAHAM@STATENEWS.COM GNAVAROLI@STATENEWS.COM

A

former MSU football staffer is suing head football coach Mark Dantonio and other university officials, alleging they unjustly fired him after he spoke with athletes accused of a January 2017 sexual assault, according to a lawsuit f iled in federal court Monday.

T he lawsuit also names former President Lou Anna K. Simon, former Athletic Director M a rk Hol l i s a nd t wo M SU Police Depar tment detectives as defendants.

The suit claims former football staff member Curtis Blackwell confronted players about whether “they got into any trouble” the night of the assault after a father of one of the accused — Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance — contacted Blackwell to inform him that the father “heard of a wild off-campus party” and asked Blackwell to find out if “anyone was in trouble.”

Blackwell’s suit claims he limited his questioning of the players to “whether they got into any trouble at the party,” but the suit is unclear as to whether Blackwell was aware of any alleged sexual contact occurring at the party.

The lawsuit claims the players all responded “no” to Blackwell’s inquiry into whether anyone had gotten into trouble, and that “no player acknowledged committing a crime or any sort of sexual contact.”

The suit also says when Blackwell asked former football player Auston

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Robertson about what happened at t he par t y, Rober tson told Blackwell “he had already spoken with defendant Dantonio, who had directed him to contact the Title IX Office to report a potential sexual assault incident.”

King, Corley and Vance accepted a plea deal in the sexual assault case a nd were sentenced to probation in June. Robertson, who last week accepted a plea deal on unrelated charges of sexual assault, is not accused of participating in the assault relating to Blackwell’s case.

Blackwell was suspended with pay in connection to the case and his contract was allowed to expire, though he was not charged with a crime. The suit portrays the expiration of Blackwell’s contract as a firing — one that only took place because the university was “eager to prove they were tough on cover-ups” in the wake of ex-MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s crimes.

A n e m a i l f r om M ay 201 7 sent from former MSU deputy general counsel Kristine Zayko to Black well’s counsel reads, “Over the last several months, a staffing review has been conducted within the football program. Based on feedback received dur ing that review, as well as concerns regarding a potential conf lict of interest with your outside activities, Coach Dantonio has determined that his program will move in a different direction and

“Over the last several months, a staffing review has been conducted within the football program.

Based on feedback received during that review, as well as concerns regarding a potential conflict of interest with your outside activities, Coach Dantonio has determined that his program will move in a different direction and your contract will not be extended.”

Kristine Zayko former deputy general counsel for MSU your contract will not be extended.”

According to the lawsuit, after an interview with MSUPD in which he was cooperative, Blackwell was placed under arrest without having his Miranda rights read to him and had his personal and professional phones confiscated. Blackwell claims his Miranda rights were not read to him until he was in an interrogation room.

CITY

Legislature considers amending paid sick time, minimum wage initiatives

BY ANDREW ROTH AROTH@STATENEWS.COM

After adopting two ballot i n it i at ive s to r a i s e t he minimum wage and mandate paid sick time for employees, the Michigan Legislature is now considering amending the language of the legislation during their lame-duck session.

By passing the proposals in September rather than letting them appear on the ballot, the Legislature made it possible to amend them with only a simple majority. Had they been approved by voters, any amendment would have required a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers.

Under the minimum wage proposal as adopted, Michigan’s m i n i mum wage would gradually rise to $12 an hour by the year 2022, and a separate wage for tipped staff would be phased out by 2024.

Tipped staff currently make $3.52 an hour, significantly less than the minimum hourly wage of $9.25.

Senate Bill 1171, introduced

by Sen. Dave Hildenbrand, R-Lowell, would maintain the increased minimum wage but would bring back the lower wage for tipped employees.

If t he amendment is approved, tipped workers would take home 38 percent

“It violates the Michigan Constitution — Article II, Section IX — ­for the Legislature to enact a proposal and then amend it in the same session. Their choices are reject, adopt or put another proposal on the ballot.”

Mark Brewer Attorney

The entrance to the Michigan State Capitol on July 3, 2018.

PHOTO BY ANNIE BARKER

of the full minimum wage in addition to their tips. When the minimum wage hits $12 an hour in 2022, it will equate to an hourly rate of $4.56 for tipped workers.

If an employee’s tips and hourly wage don’t combine to equal the full minimum wage, the employer would have to cover the difference.

Mark Brewer, an attorney for the groups behind both ballot proposals, previously said that One Fair Wage — backer of the adopted minimum wage proposal — is willing to go to court to defend it against

any amendments.

“It violates the Michigan Constitution — Article II, Section IX — for the Legislature to enact a proposal and then amend it in the same session,” Brewer said. “Their choices are reject, adopt or reject and put another proposal on the ballot.”

Under the second initiative adopted by the Legislature earlier this year, employees in Michigan would accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work, up to 40 hours of sick time per year.

Senate Bill 1175, introduced

by Senate Majority Leader-elect

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Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, would reduce the amount of time employers are required to track hours worked and accrued sick time from three years to six months.

Additionally, the amendment would remove language barring employers from taking action against an employee within 90 days of the employee alleging the employer violated the paid sick leave law.

Both initiatives passed the Senate in 24-13 votes which were split nearly evenly along party lines; both passed the House 78-28.

Including these initiatives, the Legislature has approved nine ballot proposals since the state’s most recent constitution was ratified in 1963. Amending an approved ballot initiative would be a first.

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FEATURES

‘SEXUAL POLITICS SERIES’ SPARKS CONVERSATION ABOUT CHANGE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE’S SERIES TALKS ABOUT CONSENT, COMING OUT, NASSAR LEFT: Two actors perform during the “Sexual Politics Series.” PHOTO COURTESY OF RAYMOND J. BLACK PHOTOGRAPHY.

RIGHT: The cast and director sit on stage for a Q&A following the Nov. 12 performance. PHOTO BY ALEXIS STARK.

BY ALEXIS STARK ASTARK@STATENEWS.COM

During the Nov. 11 and 12 performances at the MSU Auditorium’s Arena Theatre, MSU Department of Theatre students addressed a variety of complex social issues in the “Sexual Politics Series.”

The production explored how art and theatre serve as outlets for issues of discrimination, empowerment and abuse in addition to creating space for thought-provoking dialogue. Through a full-length show of monologues, dialogues, poetry and personal narrative, the student performers deliver messages of what consent, acceptance and oppression mean.

As part of the department’s 2018-19 “Breaking Down Borders” season, the show set forth to answer the question: “How does theatre respond to the issues that currently define us?”

Some of the issues addressed in the show’s various scenes included MSU politics surrounding sexual assault and the Nassar sentencings as well as themes of stalking, consent, coming out, gender and race.

Described by Assistant Director Philip Effiong as “bare-bones,” the show consisted of few props and minimalist costumes. These choices were intentional, made to keep the actors and their storylines the focus of the performance.

“For the most part, it’s kind of experimental because it hasn’t been done before, so we have to tread carefully and see the responses,” Effiong said. “The enthusiasm is the motivation we need to move farther, to be bolder, to be more

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forthright and to address these issues without sugar-coating them because they’re that serious.”

The goal of the performances was to dive into discomfort and to not fear discussing sensitive topics. Director Alexis Black said the future of the project is unknown, but she’s hopeful similar dialogues will continue on and off stage.

“I want this to go somewhere else; I don’t know where that can be ... A huge part of my research is to empower marginalized groups, women, all genders. That’s a big part of my work and is something I’m passionate about,” Black said.

“Just continuing to get our voices heard and speak louder and louder and keep expanding our message.”

Level to the ground, Arena Theatre’s stage served as a blank canvas for the performers to tell stories. As if they were in a glass fishbowl, the actors put themselves on full display to portray complex characters and storylines.

The scripts did not hold back from playing out emotionally-charged situations. In response to this, a safe space was made available for audience members to use at any point during the show.

The opening and closing scenes of the performance were centered around students at MSU learning about misconduct surrounding sexual abuse on campus and the survivors of ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar. MSU students represented the heart of the show. They found it important to voice their own experiences,

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repeat the names of the survivors out loud and quote bits of their testimonies from the Nassar sentencings.

The rest of the scenes ranged from humorous satire depicting hypermasculine gender roles to the struggles and rewards of coming out.

Characters discussed objectification and the complexity of sexuality and attraction while keeping in character and moving with a plot.

A metaphor made popular by the YouTube video “Tea Consent” was acted out live on stage, making the audience chuckle while exemplifying the importance of consent in emotional and physical interactions.

Choreographed by Black to exemplify nonconsent through dance, cast member Kevin Mazur took the scene and incorporated pieces of the “Tea Consent” script to create his message.

“I was able to sit down and watch the moving sequence, and I would find moments that I saw them doing very intense non-consent motions and movements and I sort of blended that into a consensual dance style,” Mazur said.

Acting and art and humanities major Camille Thomas spoke on the process and unique challenges this show presented for the student performers.

“For me, that was one of the most difficult parts. Usually when we’re in a department production, we’re in one role and that’s the role we’re in for the whole show,” Thomas said. “We talked about the plays and the themes that were

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in it and what we wanted to bring out.”

Thomas wrote a piece called “Time’s Up,” which was performed by the whole ensemble.

A question-and-answer session followed the performance, where the cast and directors sat on stage and allowed audience members to give feedback. The common theme of audience conversation compounded the efforts the performance made to address social issues relevant to MSU students.

One member of the audience said the show surpassed their expectations, but they wished it could have reached a wider range of people and that more students at MSU could have access to spaces for dialogue about uncomfortable topics.

“A huge part of my research is to empower marginalized groups, women, all genders.

That’s a big part of my work and is something I’m passionate about.”

Alexis Black Director