The Best of ASU

COVER PHOTO BY LAVANYA PALIWAL

state press magazine

EXECUTIVE

Alexis

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Savannah

MANAGING

Audrey

Leah

DESIGN

Lavanya Paliwal

Paulina Soto

ENGAGEMENT

Wendy Maddox

WRITERS

Jude Banihani

Claire Geare

Bella Keenan

Gib Manrique

Bella Mazzilli

Kylie Saba

Evan Silverberg

Abigail Wilt

ILLUSTRATOR

Lilliana

PHOTOGRAPHER

Ollie

Editor’s letter

The Best of ASU is a long-standing tradition in SPM history. Its recurrence is driven by our desire to dedicate one issue per volume to the community we embed ourselves in year after year. With it being the last issue of the volume, we also use it as an opportunity to reflect on the past year, covering moments that encompass this current era.

In this issue, one writer shed light on notorious food vendor, Aramark, while another writer looked into architecture on campus. A pair of writers analyzed past and present sentiments on ASU’s party scene, while another pair shared their insight on the queer community. Our managing editors also put their heads together to dissect the University’s charter in terms of students with disabilities. Two writers shared insights, one as a bookworm and another as a transfer student. We collected questions from students for an advice column, and our satirist mimicked ASU’s PR team. Finally, our feature story covers arguably the biggest part of ASU culture this year, football.

‘Whom it excludes’

Students with disabilities reflect on the inclusivity of ASU

By Audrey Eagerton and Leah Mesquita

Illustrations by Lilliana Lopez and Lavanya Paliwal

Sophie Stern wants to major in dance and join a sorority at ASU. She grew up close to the Tempe campus and knew she wanted to attend the University from a young age. Now, after two years of community college, she wants a traditional college experience — attending classes, living on campus and going out with friends. But the odds of her being accepted by the University aren’t high.

Stern has Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21. ASU has a short, but restricting in Stern’s case, list of qualifications for admittance that requires applicants to have one of the following: being in the top 25% of your high school graduating class, a 3.0 GPA in competency courses, an ACT score of 22 (24 for nonresidents) or an SAT score of 1120 (1180 for nonresidents).

Those with Down syndrome often have intellectual disabilities, which can make standardized testing and maintaining a qualifying GPA difficult.

Unlike other universities, ASU does not offer a specialized path for students with Down syndrome or other intellectual disabilities.

Stern is currently considering universities with programs for students with disabilities like Down syndrome.“My dream program would have a theater company, mostly to dance. I would be able to live in a dorm with a roommate, and I would have someone to walk with me to class and help with my homework and courses,” Stern said.

Currently, ASU has no diversity, equity and inclusion goals and did away with affirmative action in 2002 when Michael Crow became the University’s president. Crow’s definition of inclusivity is admitting every qualified student.

“It’s bullshit,” Stern said. “We need [the University] to open up for other people who have a disability. … I want a college experience at a university that has a program for people with disabilities.”

The ASU charter states that the University measures itself “not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed.” However, current and prospective ASU students with disabilities have found that this does not align with their experiences at the University.

Barriers to entry, lack of privacy,

accessibility issues on campus and fear about changing DEI policies means students with disabilities at ASU must go to extra lengths to advocate for themselves and ensure their success.

Access to accommodations

Katie Allee, a second-year law student who has cerebral palsy, made an appointment with ASU’s Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services to sort out her accommodations several months before starting school at ASU.

“I wanted to know everything I needed to prepare to be a student here, and in that meeting, I felt like I knew everything I needed to and I was good to go,” she said.

But when the fall semester started, Allee realized she wasn’t prepared enough when it came to understanding the requirements for requesting accommodations at the University.

“I was starting school and going to orientation, and on top of that, I was needing to understand the accommodation process of SAILS,” Allee said. “I felt like it was a lot at once, and even then, I was still confused about how the [SAILS website] portal works and who to reach out to for different needs.”

Having completed her undergraduate degree at Montana State University, Allee was surprised by how different the accommodation process was at ASU, as she felt like her previous school’s process was more accessible.

“There was an office with Disability Services, and I was able to just email them when anything came up,” Allee said. “They were pretty diligent about responding fairly quickly. … The director had given me their personal phone number, which was really nice to just reach out when anything came up.”

Cerebral palsy is a group of conditions that affect movement and coordination caused by damage to the developing brain, most often before birth. As a result, Allee relies on note takers, accessible classrooms, flexible assignment deadlines and test-taking accommodations in order to succeed as a student.

One of the University policies listed in its Academic Affairs Manual states that the University will make “a good faith effort” to provide reasonable accommodation for qualified applicants, employees, students and members of the public with a disability unless the accommodation request would cause an undue hardship as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

These specific needs are made clear to professors before the semester starts and are anonymous to protect student confidentiality — but according to Allee, some faculty members veer from this practice inside the classroom.

“I serve as the president of the Disabled Law Students Association, so I’ve had some peers come to me,” Allee said. “It sounds like there’s concern about professors speaking about students’ accommodations in front of other students, and things that should remain confidential but aren’t, because professors don’t realize that it’s personal information.”

Like all students’ privacy, disabled documentation is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which, according to the SAILS website, prohibits the sharing of students’ disability-related information without their consent.

Without anonymity, Allee said her

disability might overshadow her hard work as a law student.

“A lot of students prefer [anonymity] because in law school, there’s a lot of social networking aspects that aren’t in place in other schools,” Allee said. “Professors can recommend you for jobs. … It’s important for students to be measured [by] their abilities rather than their disabilities.”

Another major topic among students in DLSA is the law building’s lack of accessibility.

“We have push button accessibility doors, but the buttons don’t work in a lot of the places,” Allee said. “It’s funny because we’re in a pretty new building, [but] we’ve had issues where buttons don’t work for years at a time, so we’ve been trying to lobby to get that address[ed] through our administration.”

Despite their advocacy, Allee and other law students with disabilities are still unable to resolve the issue.

“Our dean of diversity has been working with us for at least the last two years, and she’s very diligent about meeting with us and giving us updates,” Allee said. “It seems to me that she’s doing her best to take the issue higher [up], but [we keep] getting the same answer that we can’t get money for it to be fixed.”

Learning gaps

When people ask Alex Rank, a junior studying psychology who has cerebral palsy, why they decided to minor in disability studies, they joke and say it’s because they were bored.

Disability studies was added to the ASU course catalog in 2019. The field of study has grown in recent years and the degree seeks to provide students with a multifaceted understanding of the social, cultural, political and economic dimensions of disability.

Upon starting their disability studies minor, Rank was surprised by the

sheer amount of things their fellow students didn’t know about people with disabilities.

“I purposely insert myself into the [disabled] community, and we all kind of know what’s up; then I get into these classes and it’s like, wow, people don’t know anything,” Rank said. “People don’t understand that people in wheelchairs consider their wheelchair to be part of their personal space, which is mind blowing to me. Also petting people’s service dogs and other basic stuff like that.”

Although disability studies has been at ASU for six years, the majority of the professors teaching the courses have backgrounds in other fields and are not specialized in disability studies. While this program is still relatively new to the University, the lack of expertise in an area of study focusing on the largest minority group in the United States has raised concerns.

“A lot of the professors who teach disability studies … don’t have any sort of direct experience with disability studies,” said Jessica Lopez, a junior studying business online with a minor in disability studies who was born without hands and feet. “That was kind of disappointing. They’re not going to be teaching it in quite the right way if they haven’t at least studied it or have that lived experience.”

Although most professors may not have a disability or traditional background in the field, Rank said their professors are up front about it.

Another criticism of the major is that it is only offered through ASU Online and ASU Sync, and only some classes are offered in person on the West Valley campus.

“ASU is decentralized,” said Sarah Bolmarcich, an instructor in the School of International Letters and Cultures who has an inherited hearing loss condition. “I take classes even though I’m a faculty member, and I have been in a couple of the online disability studies courses at the [West Valley] campus.

“What they do is take a very sociological approach to disability studies. But it’s far richer than that. For instance, there’s significant work in disability studies in the humanities, and I think there would be another benefit of sort of [expanding the major] to other campuses.”

Having the disability studies program on other ASU campuses would increase visibility and access to the field of study, which could improve ASU’s inclusivity culture, Bolmarcich said.

While the program has been subject to criticism, Rank and other students benefited from sharing their experiences with classmates.

“I’m really glad that it exists, but it’s also kind of frustrating because I know this — it’s my experience,” Rank said. “All my experience has bled [into my work] because I can’t turn off my disability, so it’s in everything.”

DEI and the future

As ASU has started to quietly change its DEI language across the University, students with disabilities have shared their fears for the future.

“I’m worried that now it’s going to [mean] working four times as hard just to get a job and make [employers] see past very trivial things,” said Catherine Novotny, a third-year law student who is deaf and hard of hearing.

Novotny relies on accommodations to succeed in her classes, including preferential seating, early access to PowerPoint slides and an ASL interpreter.

“I worry that [the University] is going to see the expense of an interpreter as too expensive, and if the DEI changes mean anything, they’re not going to be as worried about the legal ramifications of not providing accommodations that I’ll need,” Novotny said.

a disabled society

By Alex Rank

I live in a disabled body/not a bad body/not one that has betrayed me/but rather a society that has/and I plea for it to be different/and hold close those who feel the effects alongside/because no amount of prayer will fix/what’s not broken

While the University’s DEI policies have not directly affected her daily accommodations, Novotny has already experienced losing access to them in her studies.

“I took [an exam] last year and they denied my request for an ASL interpreter because the exam did not have any audio or visual component, even though I rightfully pointed out that there’s proctors for the exam,” Novotny said. “I’m in the process of applying [for] the bar right now. … I’m really scared that they’re not going to give me an interpreter this time, so I’ve just provided so much documentation.”

The executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January says “many corporations and universities use DEI as an excuse for biased and unlawful employment practices,” and “threaten the safety of American men, women, and children across the Nation by diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work and determination.” But according to Novotny, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I don’t think I would have succeeded in my academic career, personally or professionally, without some form of DEI,” Novotny said. “It allows people to see that not only am I qualified for the job, but I can be the best person for their job.”

Although the future of DEI at the University remains unclear, Novotny said the most important thing for students with disabilities to do is to continue defending their autonomy.

“Something mentioned in my old [individualized education program] was working on self-advocacy,” Novotny said. “Schooling is where you become a full-fledged, rounded person. And [it] really supported me through becoming who I am today.”

*SATIRE* Re: Michael Crow Interviews

Addressing statements on behalf of the University president

By Claire Geare

Illustrations by Paulina Soto

Dear students of ASU,

It has come to our attention that some of our student body has taken issue with a few recent interviews conducted with University President Michael Crow. As an institution focused on including students of all backgrounds, it is our duty to address these concerns promptly.

First and foremost, let us clarify Crow’s statement on diversity, equity and inclusion at the University. In an interview with The State Press, Crow stated that “We’ve never had DEI goals, but we’re more diverse than we’ve ever been ... That’s because we have a charter based on the idea of inclusion.”

This statement does not reflect the University’s commitment to providing a safe environment for all students, as we have incorporated DEI policies for years. Crow lying about it is simply our way of appeasing our country’s new dictator felon president. Who is awesome, by the way, and definitely does not have dementia and is absolutely not a puppet to a South African billionaire who shall not be named.

In an interview with radio station KJZZ, Crow said, “Well, I mean, our basic strategy is that we’re regrouping to be of service to the new trajectories that the government wants to move in.” In case it wasn’t clear, bending to a fascist’s will is our new and completely acceptable philosophy we will use to run this institution. In fact, fascism rules! What’s not to love? We’re just so glad we’re going to be “of service” to the genocide of minority groups.

Crow often says ASU admits all students who are “qualified.” In his interview with KJZZ, Crow said that ASU is “a completely merit-based, merit-driven, egalitarian university.” What some dissenters would argue is that in America as we know it right now, there is no such thing as egalitarianism — what “qualifies” a student for admission is heavily influenced by their socioeconomic status and access to education that prepares them for university.

But, to further clarify, we as a University believe that argument is bullshit. ASU has never once fallen victim to the rigid class system we live under. After all, President Crow is a white man, and thus immune to all bias.

To prove that we are still upholding our charter, we would like to take this time to officially voice our support for the queer students at our institution. ASU offers plenty of resources to help the LGBTQ+ community and aims to include as diverse of a student body as possible. We would attach links below to these resources, but we’ve deleted them!

We’d also like to emphasize a certificate offered through the University — Diversity and Equity Studies. Despite our recent actions, we do still offer this program to all students. Just… don’t use it. Seriously. Do not implement the knowledge gained through this course in your professional life. Unless you want to get fired.

All this is to say that ASU is committed to equity inclusion words you can’t say anymore at our institution. Just ignore what our president says. And the actions we take. And the whole bending-atthe-knee-to-fascism thing. We’re fine!

Regards, ASU’s Struggling PR Team

From Brutalism to Modernism

By Bella Mazzilli Illustrations by Lilliana Lopez

Floods of students constantly enter and exit buildings on the Tempe campus, foot traffic ebbing and flowing like a current. Students meander through the halls and classrooms without second thought as the architecture withstands the hoards.

The inhabitants of the Tempe campus are cycled out year by year, forgetting the mundane, everyday moments that propelled their college careers. But the buildings don’t forget. They hold those moments until they can’t anymore, then they undergo remodels that allow them to continue their campus legacy. They maintain history while evolving with time.

Tempe was native land belonging to O’Odham, Piipaash and their ancestors, and it was mostly desert landscape before ASU’s establishment. Since then, the campus has slowly developed into an assortment of architectural styles. From Old Main to the Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health, the campus is a showcase of clean concrete lines and intricate brickwork.

A history lesson through architecture

Kathleen Lamp, an associate professor in the Department of English who has expertise in material culture, said ASU has several architectural styles on campus. She named Old Main, Durham Hall and West Hall, pointing out their distinct and diverging architectural styles and looks.

“[The architecture] is really mixed — you see that as you move through the different areas of campus,” Lamp said.

Old Main, ASU’s oldest building, was

constructed in 1898 in the Victorian Queen Anne architectural style with Richardsonian Romanesque touches. The Queen Anne style is known for its corner towers and intricate brickwork, while the Richardsonian Romanesque style draws from Italian, French and Spanish Romanesque styles from the 11th and 12th centuries.

Named after G. Homer Durham, the University’s president from 1960 to 1969, Durham Hall was built in 1964. It was remodeled in 2019, and the project took three years to complete, costing $65 million. The building became a center of language and culture studies at the University.

“Durham, for the size of [the] building, does a really good job not overpowering Old Main, and it’s not overly differential,” said Renée Cheng, dean of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. “You don’t see the language being repeated. You see the color of the material being supported. They did a good job with the … window rhythms and things like that. They don’t mimic but also don’t overwhelm.”

West Hall is neither historical, like Old Main, nor modernistic like Durham’s renovations. Built in 1936, the two-story brick building is modest in appearance. Originally a girl’s dorm, the building’s one standout architectural feature is its sweeping white vertical columns, which Lamp associated with the Neoclassical style.

Lamp said the Walton Center is the epitome of ASU’s modern architectural style. The scale-like facade of the building evokes otherworldly imagination contrasting its strong base supported by sturdy cylindrical columns.

The evolving architecture on ASU’s Tempe campus REPORT

Its structure was inspired by a geode.

The University’s rich history is told through the campus’s varied architectural styles, and they complement each other nicely, Lamp said.

“It’s getting more cohesive as they’re making more buildings,” she said.

Cheng said the diverse architecture demonstrates a core value of ASU’s charter.

“ASU is open and willing to change as an institution, and you can see it reflected in the buildings. The older buildings are preserved, often with that kind of history, but then you also have brand new buildings sitting right beside them; they’re in a very direct dialog, [but] they just coexist,” she said.

“[The Tempe campus] is actually fairly eclectic in a really nice way,” Cheng added. “There’s a wide range of buildings from different eras. There is some uniformity along the [campus]. I think the landscape architecture is probably the stronger language than the building architecture.”

The desert landscape and ASU’s architecture

Lamp said the University’s progress toward environmental and sustainability efforts has influenced the newer architecture on campus.

“Increasingly, what you see is architecture that thinks about [how] ASU is placed in the desert, and [incorporating] sustainability [and] energy efficiency,” she said. “You’re seeing more of a embracing of our location in many ways.”

Mayte Banuelos, a freshman studying architecture, said the Walton Center is a great example of landscape-based architecture. The building’s water feature adds to its heat-resistant qualities, helping passersby avoid the brutality of Arizona’s weather.

“One of the main architects made [the

building] to mimic the Saguaro cactus ridges — their ridges on the southside are deeper because of the way that the sun moves,” Banuelos said. “So, it’s better. It provides shade for itself.”

According to Cheng, shade provided by elevated solar panels is one of the key pieces of dual-purpose energy-efficient architecture on campus. In Arizona, utilizing solar power can alleviate the cost of maintaining a large university like ASU.

“I’ve seen on campus, there’s various places where there’s shade with solar,” she said. “I often joke, ‘Why is the whole campus not just covered with this? Why stop at one area or another?’ We need shade, even on a day where the temperatures are not that high. We have so much sun [in Tempe] that the ability to capture energy through the solar panels seems to be something that could be an important statement.”

Surprisingly, Cheng said, ASU’s older buildings are some of the more heat-resistant structures on the campus, as the chosen materials for these buildings create a natural cooling feature.

“They’re thick wall[ed] with what we call monolithic construction,” she said. “Even though [the building] might have multiple materials, they’re all joined together, and the thickness helps with what’s called thermal lag, where it could heat up during the day but then reflect warmth at night.”

According to Cheng, ASU’s developers are constructing mindfully in 2025, with building materials specifically chosen for their ability to minimize air-conditioning costs. When materials like platinum and multiple-walled glass are used, Cheng said the building is inherently more sustainable and aligned with ASU’s mission of and commitment to sustainability.

Fan favorites Lamp’s favorite spaces to work on the

Tempe campus are the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts buildings, as she enjoys the Brutalist style. She also named the Walton Center as an “interesting” addition to the Tempe campus. She was skeptical about the building’s unique style while it was under construction, but she now enjoys the visual exterior and the Center’s use as a gathering space.

Cheng’s building of choice on the Tempe campus is not a building, but an area.

“I do love the plaza that’s in front of … the Art Museum [near the Music Building],” she said. “[It’s] quintessential to Herberger.”

Similarly, Banuelos said the museum is also her favorite. In one of her architecture classes, a professor mentioned that the building is designed to resemble Arizona’s mountain ranges. She likes the shadows the structure casts and appreciates the history and intention behind the building’s design.

For Samantha Matienzo, a senior studying architecture, the Social Sciences Building is her oasis. Replete with thick concrete and vibrant plant life that cools the structure, this building contains an atrium with a canopy roof that allows for natural light. A favorite of many students, the water feature takes center stage with tables tucked into shaded corners.

“That’s just one of my favorite buildings because [it] has so much greenery inside,” she said. “The building [has] this breeze block facade.”

Cheng explained that many people draw energy from the spaces they occupy, which leads them to picking their favorite buildings. She added that architectural styles create energy that can affect interpersonal communication.

“I’m actually super sensitive to space,” she said. “If it’s a bad space, it makes me super distracted and lowers my energy.”

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INSIGHT

Two universities and five majors later

My nontraditional path in college

By Jude Banihani

Photos by Ollie Slade

Ispent the majority of my childhood watching the news. No seriously, it was on 24/7 in my house. As the 2010s brought a wave of disruption through the Middle East, I remember the sense of anxiety my 6-year-old self would feel in my grandparents’ house in Irbid, Jordan. It wasn’t like anyone told me they were worried, but I could feel it. Al Jazeera was on day and night, and I never looked away. I remember watching the Syrian civil war and the Syrian refugee crisis unfold. I remember being asked if Jordan was ‘safe to visit’ when I would tell my American classmates I was going there for the summer.

I wanted to show everyone that my home country was safe and beautiful, so I would take photos of my family’s garden and the stunning sea and show them to everyone. It became a personal mission of mine to show everyone how normal the Middle East is.

In my teenage years, I realized journalism could be my way of giving back to my land and showing others what was so special about it. So, when it came time to work on college applications in high school, I applied to journalism schools, and my first acceptance was to ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

However, despite my dream of pursuing journalism, my 17-year-old, high-school-senior self filled with doubts. I was told by my peers that ASU was a “party school” and that journalism was an unstable career with limited opportunities. I was insecure and focused on impressing

those around me rather than fulfilling myself. So, I began to gaslight myself.

When I finally assessed all of my college acceptances, I decided on Indiana University. Other than spending a brief one-year period of my childhood in Indiana, I didn’t know much about the place, but IU looked like a good school, so I went with it. I soon found it hard to gain my footing at IU, and I went from majoring in journalism to being “undecided” to studying policy analysis to finally landing on public financial management.

I went into IU knowing I was not set on the school. From day one, I had my doubts, and I knew I did not want to be in the small town of Bloomington, Indiana. I spent the academic year going back and forth on whether I should transfer. Finally, in January, I applied to ASU as a transfer student and was accepted. Yet, contemplation plagued my mind, and by April, I decided to stay in Indiana for at least another year.

Going back home to Pennsylvania for the summer gave me time to clear my head and process my feelings. I felt happier at home than I did in my college town, and the thought of returning to Bloomington weighed on me every day. In July 2023, I finally realized that enough was enough and I needed to leave if I wanted to keep my sanity.

A new start

Within the next six months, I went through significant life changes. I

moved with my parents from Pennsylvania to Texas, dropped out of IU, took the fall semester off and moved to Arizona alone in January 2024 to attend ASU… as a finance major. While I was not particularly interested in a finance-specific career, I figured my mathematical skills would be put to good use, and the career opportunities seemed promising.

College looks different for everyone. In movies, it seems like the best time of your life — socializing and meeting your best friends or “sisters” in a sorority. My sheltered-college-freshman self was obsessed with fitting this mold. But, when I looked around me, I knew deep down I wasn’t an Indiana girl. I wasn’t white, I didn’t have connections in sororities and I didn’t even feel like I belonged to any group. I was an Arab girl from an immigrant background who had no idea how an American university really worked.

I spent my first year of college being so hung up on having the traditional college experience, I didn’t realize that my whole life had been the definition of untraditional. I decided it was time for a significant change.

By the time I got to ASU, I felt like I had already lived a whole college experience before this one. I was dreading everything from my first day of class, to making friends and, of course, studying. When I reflected back on my first year of university, I felt like I was looking at a nightmare, so I wanted my time in Arizona to be the exact opposite.

After taking a semester off, I felt like a new person. My interests and priorities had completely changed. I no longer wanted to focus on building a surface-level social life — I wanted to concentrate on finding my passion and furthering my education.

I hate my major

As many students have, I fell victim to the “DON’T PICK A USELESS MAJOR” rhetoric, which is why I am a finance major. This was a mistake. It took me one semester at ASU to realize I did not want a life of making Excel spreadsheets and being surrounded by finance bro culture.

Before I knew it, my first semester at ASU had come to an end, and I contemplated long and hard about a switch to journalism — the dream that’s lived in my head for years. Although I knew I wanted to switch, I had already registered for fall classes and signed a lease that was nowhere near the journalism school in downtown Phoenix. I felt stuck, but I continued to move forward. I still knew I wanted to get into journalism, and I was willing to use whatever means I had to do so.

On a random day in June, I found The State Press website and opened the reporter application. I wanted the job so bad, I even emailed the executive editor asking when interviews would take place. In September, I was delighted to get an email from Savannah Dagupion, the editor-in-chief of State Press Magazine. I had my interview with Savannah, and I put my all into it. I expressed how journalism was my passion and I wouldn’t let my finance background get in the way. To my surprise, I got an offer to start writing for the magazine.

My first story was published in “The Horror Issue,” which was released in October 2024. I chose to write about the dark web — something I had spent years watching YouTube videos about. I tried my best to execute the story, interviewing professors with expertise on the subject for two

hours each.

My first drafts weren’t too impressive and looked sparse. When I finished my story, I was worried that my editors would find it disappointing or unfulfilling. But, I was surprised to learn that the story was chosen as the issue’s feature. For the first time at university, I felt like I was finally good at something. I finally had an accomplishment I could be proud of. After a year at IU and a semester at ASU, I got a “win.”

Settling in

Even with my venture into journalism and my busy class schedule, I still felt lonely. Much of my time was spent on campus, but I didn’t have a community. It was difficult to find the motivation to make friends in my new hometown, Austin, and in my new college town, Tempe. I felt like everything was temporary. What’s the point if I’m only here for another two years?

I spent my time going to career fairs at the business school, trying to perfect my resume and elevator pitch, but I always left feeling empty. I met so many people in Arizona, but I didn’t feel like we had a connection or a bond. That’s what’s hard about college — you’re surrounded by different people at all times of the day, but you don’t really know them.

One fateful day, a strange set of events led me to a new friend. She was just like me — she was Arab, loved to travel, was pursuing an untraditional path and had so many questions about the world. I felt like I met my other half. My first real, non-surface level friendship at ASU was finally happening. We had gone through many of the same changes during college, including changes in majors and struggling to form friendships. It was the start of a new era for me. We spent our weekends going to different cafes, watching documentaries and talking about politics — the number one pastime in Arab culture.

As the weeks went on, I worked on more stories for SPM, passed my

classes and settled in to Arizona.

Full circle

I started my college applications wanting to go to ASU and attend the Cronkite school. Somehow, this turned into a three-year song and dance. I went to IU, changed my major a bunch of times, dropped out, transferred to ASU, majored in finance, and then found my way to The State Press, pursuing journalism in the end (insert clown emoji here). While I do struggle with feeling behind and indecisive, without this rollercoaster, I would not have the lore I have today.

If you’ve made it this far in the story, I’m sorry to tell you that this is not the end. I still have another year and a half of school to get through — ugh. I’ll be honest, I still feel unfulfilled at times (every day). I see how many of my peers are pursuing careers related to their majors, and I haven’t even done a finance-related internship.

When I was a kid, I wanted to know more about everything. I had questions; about religion, about death, about war, about protests, and nobody around me was interested in answering them. In a way, journalism is my way of answering the questions that have been in my head since I was a 6-year-old watching the start of a never-ending struggle unfold on live TV. While the violence stayed on the screen, the anxiety I felt being in the streets of my city was real. I still spend an absurd amount of time researching the events of the 2010s in the Middle East.

Following your true interests and passions is scary. We are constantly told to “be realistic” and “choose a useful major.” Nobody truly knows you the way you know yourself. Nobody knew why I felt so connected and called to journalism. Maybe they thought by steering me away, they were saving me from a harsh wake-up call later. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is to follow the dream that was put in your mind — and not worry about following a set path.

Absurd quotes from the staff and editors this year

“And I mean that gender neutrally”

“If I’m offending white people, then I’m doing my job.”

“I don’t want to do another ice breaker. My ice has been broken. I’m thawed.”

“I absolutely love brown, being born like that.”

“Let’s bring back ‘fugly,’ guys.”

“Flirting is like yoga, it’s good for health.”

“The literary clickbait”

“Where has his polygon?”

“Not to flex, but I have a really big doc.”

“iPad mini at the sushi restaurant”

“Reservation for Joe Cool”

“Can you paraphrase the word of God?”

“Saint Press Mary Magdalene”

“Every time I see the word ‘powerhouse,’ I think ‘mitochondria.’”

“Sabbatical to explore gayness”

“I will love you even at your crassest.”

“Is this microcheating?”

B I N G O MEMORIAL UNION

By Savannah Dagupion, Leah Mesquita and Audrey Eagerton Illustrations by Paulina Soto

Witnessing strange interactions and embarrassing moments at the Memorial Union on ASU’s Tempe campus is an everyday occurrence. We invite you to sit back, relax, unabashedly people watch and cross out boxes on your MU bingo card.

Nuns play cornhole

A random guy crashes your billards game

You watch a couple break up at the Starbucks

The person in front of you at Subway has a diabolocal sandwich order

You piss your pants waiting for the bathroom line to die down

Someone eats shit on their scooter

Tabling event holds you captive

POD market employee asks you intrusive questions Free space

Starship causes

A random child gets in your way

You get stuck behind a high school tour

Your food order takes an hour

Vending machine eats your money FIRE DRILL!

You are handed a Jesus pamphlet

A police car almost runs you over on the sidewalk

MU Chick-Fil-A gives you someone else’s order and it’s NASTY

You go to nap in a booth in the basement but they’re all taken Pei Wei closes early

There’s a B-List celebrity on the second floor You accidentally get recruited into the army

That’s Gay: ASU

Everything is gay if you’re good enough at using Google

By Claire Geare and Gib Manrique

Photos courtesy of Aimee Plante, Shalanndra Benally and Anthony Cavale

Claire and Gib met in an elevator. It was the first day of our freshman year of college. We were two scared little queers, anxious to make friends and establish ourselves as real adults. We made eye contact on that fateful day, and like any good friend would, Gib followed Claire to something he was definitely not invited to.

What blossomed is an almost three-

year friendship and a creative partnership that shattered the world. But, who cares about all of that? What you’re really here for is utter gayness and the long-held tradition of talking about ASU in State Press Magazine. So, without further ado, let us qualify ourselves on all that is queer:

Claire is a white, bisexual, nonbinary girl who, by their own admittance, has only ever dated men. That does not

mean they haven’t been in love with multiple women, but that’s a story for another time. Gib, otherwise known as TransgenderMexican4000, is a Mexican transgender man who is a frequent gay bar enjoyer and has a penchant for jangly bracelets. Together, we form one SuperQueer™ with a mission to prove that the entire world is very, very gay. So, why not tackle the very institution that united us?

You may be wondering, why this? Why now? Well, the answer is simple: Queer people are under attack. The Trump administration has made one thing very clear, and that is being queer in any way, shape or form, is unacceptable. One would hope that higher education would see past this temporary point of view, yet many have crumbled to the will of a big orange man with supposed dementia shoes — including ASU.

With the changing of resources for queer people on the University’s website, it’s obvious to us that this institution cares more about appeasing an administration than the lives of those who attend it. We are here to prove that ASU is, in fact, very gay. LGBTQ+ people exist despite our erasure, and the queer community at ASU is alive and well. So, let’s dive into what makes this University queer and what makes it homophobic, too. Because as we all know, two things can be true at once (unfortunately).

The serves

Drag U Downtown

Drag U Downtown hosts an annual drag show in Downtown Phoenix. The event features performances from local drag queens, provides free food and mocktails, and collects donations for the Queer Center nonprofit. Anyway, let’s share our experiences at this fabulous event.

C: For me, Drag U Downtown was life-changing. I attended the drag show in the spring of 2023 as an 18-year-old dumbass. I was a journalism student at the time, and for one of my projects, I had to interview local drag queens taking part in the event. I had recently gotten into “Rupaul’s Drag Race,” but drag as a concept was still somewhat foreign to me. Getting to meet all these wonderful drag kings and queens and connect on the fact that we’re all out here trying to express ourselves in peace

was honestly a turning point in my understanding of myself. Loved it. 10/10.

G: When I started at ASU as a freshman, I was very scared about being the only gay person. I’m from Tucson, and the rumor around there is that everyone at ASU doesn’t like gay people, so when I walked around every Taylor Place (aka Gordon Commons) welcome week event and saw that no one looked like me, I started to believe it. After almost a whole year of trying to deny that rumor, Drag U Downtown sashayed into my life. I went to the show my freshman and sophomore years, and both times were amazing. It was a great feeling seeing people perform and having something attached to the school you go to be so undeniably queer. Also, the following year, Taylor literally transitioned into Gordon. When I came out as a trans-

gender man, so did he, and isn’t that so damn lovely?

The Rainbow Coalition

According to its webpage, The Rainbow Coalition “is an inclusive, student-led coalition that advocates for the rights, safety, and overall health of the 2SLGBTQ+ community at Arizona State University.” It is an umbrella organization of multiple ASU clubs, like Confetti, Aspec Alliance and TransFam, that cater to queer students.

G: I mean, what’s not to love? It’s queer students coming together to form a community. That’s like, the whole point, y’know? It paints a picture that being gay at ASU is really who you know and what you do. A lot of the slays I have seen around here have been student-led attempts to bring people together.

C: While I’m not personally involved with the organization, I feel it’s an excellent resource for us. I mean, as queer people, community is historically the most important thing we can cultivate. From party culture to coffee houses, we’ve always found a way to connect with each other in a society that’s never quite accepted us. Like Gib said, it’s all about who you know. Safe spaces for queer people exist everywhere, and you just have to find them. The Rainbow Coalition serves to connect us, which is just divalicious I would say.

Barrett LGBTQ+

The LGBTQ+ Club at Barrett is “an academic, professional, and advocacy-based forum for LGBTQ+ students on Barrett’s Tempe campus,” according to Sun Devil Sync. Their

mission is to connect queer students to queer professionals and support the LGBTQ+ members of Barrett, The Honors College through anything they may experience, including networking and other obstacles queer people face in academia.

C: What I like about this club specifically is their commitment to connecting queer people in a professional setting. Not to beat a dead horse, but I’m going to beat a dead horse here: Community is key. I know I’m scared to enter the workforce as a queer person, and I imagine that in this current political climate, many feel the same way. So, connecting to queer professionals is a life-changing opportunity. To feel accepted in a system that is specifically designed to exclude you is beautiful. And who doesn’t like a power gay?

G: I am not going to lie to you all. I am not in Barrett because I am not a nerd loser, like Claire. Could I have gotten in? That is simply not important. What matters is that in a previous statement, it was mentioned that I met Claire in an elevator and then followed them to an event I was not invited to. On that fateful day, I got on a bus to Tempe for the first time and did in fact follow them to the Barrett welcome event, which Claire then skipped to hang out with me. So the gayest thing Barrett did was the creation of us.

University Street Market

University Street Market is a pop-up market on ASU’s Tempe campus that sells vintage clothes, art and more. Their mission is to “bring the community together through art, education, and sustainable practices.”

C: You know what? It’s kind of gay to sell old clothes. There’s something that draws queer people to vintage clothing like moths to a flame. We just like them, okay? I cannot really prove my point through facts and logic, but I can argue that in my personal experience, thrifting has helped me to express my gender identity in a unique way. I think this is due to the fact that thrifting is largely inexpensive. I have the ability now to buy clothes that fit how I feel about my gender at any given time, and then sell them when I don’t identify with that version of myself anymore. It’s actually quite beautiful.

G: Same as Claire, I think this is a vibes-based category. Are you gonna sit there and tell me this shit doesn’t sound gay? If you see the words “vintage” and “art” in a sentence, the little queer bells in your brain start ringing. I didn’t start dressing how I felt until markets like these started popping up in my hometown, and it’s great to see that happening on campus, too. All I can hope is that some little queer person buys their first hideous outfit at one of these events, grows up from their baby gay status a year later and then buys a better outfit from the same event. Just like me <3

The flops

Barrett LGBTQ+ (again)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This one sounds familiar… like four paragraphs ago familiar. But this “forum for LGBTQ+ students” has some major issues that earns it a space in the flop category.

C: The fundamental problem with the LGBTQ+ Club at Barrett is the exclusion baked into the honors college itself. Barrett is not just an earned merit, but an expensive add-on to the already rising prices of tuition. It also requires a significant amount of extra course work, which, yes, makes sense for an honors college, but fails to acknowledge the fact that oftentimes queer students deal with hurdles that a cis/straight student wouldn’t encounter. Offering outreach programs to an underrepresented community is never a bad thing, but hiding those resources behind a paywall most definitely is.

G: Once again, I am not in Barrett because I am not a nerd loser. I am not going to give Barrett full credit for me and Claire meeting anymore; that was the will of Gay God. For the sake of the whole community message thing we’re going for, we can’t exactly be all exclusionary. So by the powers vested in me by said Gay God, fuck that.

Drag U Downtown (again)

This isn’t really a flop on the event’s part per se, but as of April 8 — the day we’re literally submitting the final draft of this — ASU informed Drag U Downtown that this year’s events would have to be cancelled or rescheduled.

The State Press reported that according to a University spokesper-

son in an email, the organization did not receive approval on time to proceed on the dates and times they originally requested due to a combination of factors, with incomplete information and insufficient security protocol that “couldn’t be remedied in time.”

C: The only thing that I can imagine “couldn’t be remedied in time” is their hate toward gay people.

G: Period.

ASU as a whole

This one is sort of a blanket statement, but can you really say we’re wrong? Unfortunately, ASU has decided to change its online LGBTQ+ resources by removing webpages promoting trans-specific resources and name-change resources, as well as changing wellness resources for queer students and mentions of pride and culture. Now, anyone trying to access these resources are given links to the Rainbow Coalition, a student-led group.

C: Well, this is just great. Little-baby-bitch ASU is too scared to stand up to a literal fascist, so now we’re pretending that gay people don’t exist. It’s sickening, actually. ASU prides itself on “whom it includes,” but I guess that means anyone who isn’t queer. All I have to say about this one is that it’s too late now, fuckers. I’m gay, and I’ll let everyone know it, so unfortunately you’ve already let two SuperQueers™ invade your precious institution.

G: This, of course, comes after a Feb. 15 letter from the Department of Education stating that institutions need to cease “using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, scholarships, prizes, administra-

tive support, sanctions, discipline, and beyond,” or risk losing federal funding.

While Joanne Vogel, the vice president of Student Services, told The State Press the change was not part of an initiative to comply with new federal DEI policies, it all seems a bit fishy, doesn’t it? This act by the University, for whatever reason they claim to have, leaves me feeling a bit hollow. It’s not a good look, and it emphasizes our point that the real meat and potatoes of being queer at ASU lies among the students. Go talk to some gay people. Go to a club meeting or a support group. Go use your voice goddammit.

The “That’s

Gay” agenda

If there’s one thing Claire and Gib enjoy, it’s a good old fashioned moral. That’s right, we’re here to learn something. Be better people. Prove the haters wrong with our facts, logic and ethical prowess. So, what have we learned? Well, that goes back to about three years ago, in that very elevator that brought us together. As two meek little freshmen, we desperately needed to find a community in a big scary world, and a community we found.

If we can sum this up in any sort of way, it’s that queer people exist in every pocket of the world. We take the time to learn about queer people to feel less alone, and we hope this piece makes you feel less alone, too. We want to show you that no matter what greedy ass institution tries to tie you down, queer people are everywhere and by the grace of Sparky the Sun Devil, we’re not going anywhere.

And, hey, if Taylor Place can transition to the trans-masc Gordon Commons overnight, you can too.

The rise of ASU football

Delving into the Sun Devils’ legendary 2024 season

By Bella Keenan

Photos courtesy of Calvin Stewart and Anthony Cavale

There are 20 seconds left on the clock. It’s first and goal for ASU. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt steps back, looks right and throws the ball to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. Tyson makes the catch for the game-winning touchdown against Kansas. Fans scream, jump and topple over each other. The whole Valley can hear Mountain America Stadium roar — a typical Saturday night in Tempe for the 2024 season.

Before they shocked the nation and climbed the ranks, the Sun Devils toiled through the 2022 and 2023 seasons, both resulting in a 3-9 record under two different head coaches. At the beginning of the 2022 season, the athletic department fired head coach Herm Edwards due to poor results and player recruiting violations.

“The moment I [started school at ASU], it was terrible,” said Braeden Steele, a senior studying sports journalism. “I remember seeing [Edwards] get fired on the field. We were just doing terrible. We just weren’t winning any games.”

Shaun Aguano, who is now the running backs coach, took over for the rest of the 2022 season. In November 2022, Sun Devil Athletics hired Phoenix native and ASU alum Kenny Dillingham as head coach. Coaching for the first time in 2023 posed Dillingham some challenges, as the team experienced quarterback issues, an injured offensive line and a lack of morale. Through it all, Dillingham kept his head up and prepared for the next season.

The new year brought fresh faces to the locker room, and familiar faces shined during offseason training. The team gained Michigan State transfer Leavitt while Tyson bounced back from his knee injury. The pair joined star senior running back Cam Skat-

tebo, who looked great in the 2023 season but didn’t have a team to work with.

Despite the offseason acquisitions, ASU was still picked to finish last in the Big 12 by pre-season pollsters. “We want to get better,” Dillingham told Deseret News prior to the 2024 season. “We want to grow every single day. There’s not a win total. There’s not a goal like that. It’s just the very best we can be at everything we do.”

A look back on the 2024 season

It was a hot Saturday night in August. Faithful Sun Devils filled the student section for the first game against Wyoming. Some were hopeful, but many were doubtful at the start of the 2024 football season. Could the team turn it around? Would the transfers make the difference? Could Dillingham redeem himself?

Fans had reason to hope. In the second play of the game, redshirt junior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu intercepted a throw for a 29-yard pick-6. The stadium went wild. The game couldn’t have started better, and the domination continued. From long-pass touchdowns to short-run touchdowns to a fumble return for a touchdown, the team seemed to have found its spark. ASU won 48-7. There were still many questions that needed to be answered, but people couldn’t believe what they saw.

ASU won its next two games by a slim point margin. The Sun Devils won at home against Mississippi State and on the road against Texas State. As they toured through the Lone Star State, they stopped in Lubbock, where the team faced its first big challenge: Texas Tech. The defense gave up two touchdowns in the first quarter, which led to them trailing the whole game. ASU could not get its of-

fense running, and the defense was giving up too many points. ASU lost 30-22.

Doubt crept in. Maybe the previous teams weren’t good. Will ASU go back to losing again? Might as well put the Sun Devil merchandise away.

ASU had two weeks to regroup before its matchup against Kansas on Oct. 5. Fans packed Mountain America Stadium for the Saturday night game. Everyone was eager to see how the storyline would play out.

Leavitt threw a 28-yard dart to redshirt senior wide receiver Xavier Guillory for a touchdown in the first quarter. Kansas reciprocated with a 22-yard rushing touchdown. The next drive, ASU punted and Kansas scored. ASU struggled offensively, missing a field goal and fumbling the ball minutes before the half. With just 26 seconds left in the first half, Leavitt threw another spectacular 20-yard pass to redshirt junior tight end Chamon Metayer. It was tied 14-14 at the half.

The teams traded field goals and touchdowns for the rest of the game. With two minutes left, Kansas took the lead, making the score 31-28. ASU went on a long, methodical drive. It came down to the wire. With 16 seconds left, ASU scored the final touchdown, winning 35-31.

The following week, ASU played No. 16 Utah at home. The betting odds had Utah winning by five points. In the second quarter, Leavitt took a big hit, putting him on the sidelines for the rest of the half. ASU led 13-9 at halftime. Leavitt came back, but Skattebo was the star of the show, completing 47- and 50-yard rushing touchdowns. ASU’s lead at half helped propel them to victory, winning 27-19. The goal posts went down and fans rushed the field. ASU defeated its first ranked team.

In Cincinnati, Leavitt was out due to a rib injury from the previous game, so senior backup quarterback Jeff Sims replaced him. Traveling across three time zones, missed field goals and poor offense led to their 24-14 defeat.

Stewart Mandel, editor-in-chief of The Athletic’s college football coverage, said, “They lost at Cincinnati about halfway through the year, and Sam Leavitt was hurt. It put them a little bit out of sight, but then they got hot from there.”

The next game, ASU held Oklahoma State’s stand-out running back Ollie Gordon II to 25 rushing yards, leading to a victory of 42-21.

ASU came back to Mountain America Stadium to barely slide past Central Florida without Skattebo, who was out due to a shoulder injury. Even with no rushing touchdowns, the Sun Devils won 35-31.

The following weekend, ASU played at Kansas State. The Sun Devils dominated the first half, forging ahead with a score of 21-0 at halftime. Tyson had two receiving touchdowns and Metayer had one. ASU kicked a field goal to start the second half but didn’t score again. Kansas State scored two touchdowns, but that wasn’t enough to beat the Sun Devils. ASU triumphed over Kansas State 24-14.

On Nov. 23, ASU had its biggest matchup of the season: No. 14 BYU. “I’ve never seen anything like the ASU vs. BYU game,” Steele said. “The entire stadium was filled. You could see sections of entire blue and entire yellow. When either team scored, it was a huge cheer, and the student section was crazy. I mean, I was falling into people.”

For the second week in a row, ASU

started the first half strong with a comfortable 21-3 lead at halftime. However, the Sun Devil defense let BYU inch closer by the minute. BYU scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and another midway through the fourth quarter. The score was ASU 28-23. On the next drive, ASU got all the way to the BYU 11-yard line and was stopped on its fourth down try. It was now a one-score game with 2 minutes and 34 seconds left.

BYU had a chance to win, and ASU intercepted the ball. Leavitt infamously ran backward to run the clock out. On what was supposed to be the last play, Leavitt threw the ball long out of bounds for the clock to run out. The fans rushed the field for the second time that season.

“The field storming was one of the best moments of my life, as was the game as a whole,” Steele said. “Even though I knew in the back of my mind that time would be added back, I had to get on that field!”

However, there was still one second left on the clock. The referees got everybody off the playing field, giving BYU the chance to throw a Hail Mary and… it failed. ASU beat its biggest opponent, and fans rushed the field once again.

The Sun Devils’ last game was a domination against its rivals, UA. ASU was up 35-0 at halftime. Leavitt played until the end of the third quarter, and Tyson experienced an injury that took him out of the game, and eventually the rest of the season.

Wide receiver coach and NFL Hall of Famer Hines Ward said, “It wasn’t about, ‘We lost our stud wide receiver.’ It was just about, ‘Now the other guys get their opportunity to showcase what they’ve done.’”

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Derek Eusebio caught a pass in the backfield from redshirt senior backup quarterback Trenton Bourguet and ran 64 yards for a touchdown. ASU won 49-7.

“By October, you just don’t hear as much chatter about ASU football, and this is the first [season] that I can remember [where there] was this energy throughout the season and people were just so excited about it,” said Brett Kurland, a Cronkite School assistant dean.

Big 12 Championship

Although ASU entered the Big 12 championship game as a top seed, doubt lingered about their ability to defeat Iowa State, which had a strong season. The Sun Devils faced the Cyclones in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 7.

Skattebo opened the game with a 28-yard run, weaving through the Cyclones’ defense. The game was tied 10-10 by the beginning of the first quarter, but the Sun Devils gained momentum. ASU scored twice and held the Cyclones’ offense to no points in the second quarter. The Sun Devils’ defense shined in the third quarter with two fumble recoveries and an interception. ASU won 45-19, quieting the naysayers and uplifting the true supporters.

“I got a picture in my office of us all being Big 12 champions because I never would have imagined,” Hines said. “When I got here, we were the last ranked team in the Big 12. There were really no expectations, which I loved.”

The team celebrated for a moment before preparing for their biggest challenge yet: playing Texas in the Peach Bowl.

The Peach Bowl: ASU vs Texas

ASU played Southeastern Conference powerhouse Texas in Atlanta, Georgia, on New Year’s Day. The offense struggled in the beginning to make progress, but after a 15-yard Texas penalty on fourth down, ASU got the ball back. ASU gained the advantage by kicking a field goal at the 22-yard line, making the score 3-0. The Longhorns did the “Texas TwoStep,” scoring a touchdown in two plays and pulling ahead 7-3. After failing to attain a first down, ASU punted the ball, which was returned by Silas Bolden, a Texas wide receiver, for a 75-yard touchdown.

“It felt like we were a little outclassed at that point. I was just hoping we didn’t get beat too bad,” Steele said.

ASU used halftime to regroup. After getting stopped on fourth and goal, the Sun Devils scored a safety and a field goal. Then, ASU drove downfield. It was fourth and two. Coach Dillingham always has something up his sleeve. The center snapped the ball to Skattebo. Before the defense got to him, Skattebo launched the ball to senior wide receiver Malik McClain to catch. He scored!

“I just felt grateful to be able to help this team, being that guy to lean on and be reliable and accountable,” McClain said.

While on defense, ASU put pressure on Texas and succeeded by intercepting the ball. The Texas kicker, Bert Auburn, missed a kick to gain the lead in the last minute of the game. The referees also missed a crucial targeting call against Texas on third down that could have changed the outcome of the game.

With seconds to spare, Texas me -

thodically drove to the ASU 19-yard line. The playoffs were on the line, and Auburn had the opportunity to defeat the Sun Devils with his leg. He kicked the ball and it hooked left. The game was headed into overtime.

ASU scored the first touchdown in overtime, then the defense held Texas to fourth and 13 with the entire season on the line. Texas retaliated with an unexpected route, confusing ASU’s defense and scoring.

“We hadn’t practiced that,” said Bryan Ward, ASU’s defensive coordinator. “That was 110% on me. Whatever happens on defense, it’s on my shoulders. It’s never the player’s fault. If it is the player’s fault, then we have the wrong player out there.”

In a matter of minutes, Texas scored a 25-yard touchdown, giving ASU one more chance to tie the game. On third and eight, Leavitt attempted to pass the ball to graduate student wide receiver Melquan Stovall and… the ball was intercepted. The game was over and ASU’s magical season came to an end.

“To see the success that we had, to go toe-to-toe with Texas without [Tyson], I think it just galvanized our whole team that whoever is out there on the football field, we can get the job done because we’re playing together as a unit,” Hines said.

“Early on, if I saw ASU lose, I would be like, ‘Get them next time,’” Steele said. “But when I saw ASU lose [during the 2024 season], I genuinely was sad. I was like, ‘I need them to win.’ When they lost against Texas, when it was over … I just walked out, went to bed and then I slept for three hours because I was like, ‘I don’t want to deal with these feelings.’ This team made me feel that way. That’s how

much I care for them.”

The future of ASU football

ASU football has so much to look forward to: another year under Dillingham’s belt and regained confidence within the team. Dillingham was accredited by many as the reason why ASU played so well in the 2024 season.

“He just brings a different energy to the job than coaches in the past,” Mandel said. “Last year was the most attention and most enthusiasm I’ve seen around ASU for 30 years, so that’s a big credit to him.”

Aguano said he wants to keep the players humble heading into next season.

“Last year, they [were] trying to gain confidence to see if they belong[ed],” he said. “Now we’re at the top, so they’re gonna have to put away the confidence level a little bit and make sure that we go back and work hard to stay at that level. It’s gonna be tough.”

When asked about goals for next season, defensive line coach Diron Reynolds said, “[I want] to get 1% better every day to make sure we got the same focus and come with the same tenacity every day, making sure that we’re not just being selfish, but look[ing] outside ourselves and mak[ing] sure the guy next to us is comes along as well.”

Not only does the team have a lot to look forward to, but so do ASU fans.

“It just feels good to have a team that you can be proud of and be able to represent,” Steele said. “For the first few years, it was a burden being an ASU football fan, and this year I felt proud.”

Leaving an Ara-mark

ASU’s food vendor has a storied history of controversy, leaving students questioning its relationship with the University

By Evan Silverberg

Illustrations by Lavanya Paliwal

Sukruth Rao, a senior studying business, came from India to ASU excited to pursue education in a new country. Due to his student visa, he was not permitted to work anywhere off campus, so he took initiative and found a job on campus with Aramark, ASU’s food service provider. Soon, however, he came to realize the company’s work environment was more than he had bargained for.

“I was working next to this guy who got hired with me; it was our first day,” Rao said. “I was a freshman, so I just wanted to introduce myself. … As he was telling me his name, my manager walks in, and she starts screaming at us, ‘Hey, less talking, more working!’ We were working while we were [talking], and it did not slow anything down.

“Later on I was like, ‘It’s my first day, I need to know how I enter hours in,’ and [my manager said], ‘I can’t help you with that, who do you think I am?’ I’m like, ‘What does that mean? You’re the manager.’ And he didn’t even help me find the right person.”

Between the shouting and disrespectful management, Rao was overworked and underpaid. “They claimed that I was hired to do [one thing], but they made me clean the dishes, package food for POD Markets, clean the tables — they made us do all these things, and we still got paid minimum wage,” he said.

Not long after, he decided to quit — the experience left a bad taste in his mouth. Throughout his college career, Rao realized that his experience working for Aramark wasn’t isolated and even tame compared to others.

Aramark at ASU

While many at ASU may be unfamiliar with the Aramark name, the company plays a piv-

otal role in the lives of students. As the University’s food vendor, it operates countless restaurants, dining halls and POD markets on all four campuses.

Rishik Chaudhary, a junior studying business, supply chain management and data analytics, is an Undergraduate Student Government-Tempe senator. He said every on-campus event that uses on-campus dining is supplied by Aramark.

“Every dining hall is Aramark; the POD Market is also Aramark,” he said. “A lot of the restaurants that are housed at the Memorial Union as well as just around campus are under Aramark. … I went to an event yesterday [morning], and they were serving Aramark breakfast, and I went to an event in the evening, and they were serving Aramark dinner.”

Despite its consistent relationship with the institution, Aramark has been accused of alleged employee discrimination and mistreatment of its student workers.

For international students on student visas — who are not permitted to work anywhere off-campus — the company is oftentimes the only option for employment.

“They’re not allowed to work off-campus, so they will work as hard as they have to, do anything, endure anything that they need to keep their jobs on campus, which puts them in a difficult place,” Chaudhary said. “Even if they are being mistreated, they don’t really want to use their voice to share their concerns because they are very scared that they will lose their jobs and not have a source of income when tuition is very expensive for international students.”

On Oct. 29, 2024, USG-T passed a

resolution suggesting that the University not renew its contract with Aramark if an investigation finds evidence of employee discrimination.

“The most common [complaint] I’ve heard is students having an issue of having to touch meat,” said Rao, who is now president of ASU’s Indian Students’ Association. “Religiously, a lot of Hindu Indians don’t touch beef or handle beef because cows are a sacred animal for us. Just the fact that even despite all that they’re still making us handle beef is one thing.”

“In my case as a Hindu, I don’t eat meat, I don’t touch meat, so that was something that hit close to home,” Chaudhary said.

This is not Aramark’s only alleged act of discrimination against Indian students at ASU. “A lot of Indians wear threads on their hands because it’s religious, but they’re not allowed to do that,” Rao said. “You’re supposed to remove it [at work], but you cannot remove it because it’s something that, culturally, we wear.”

Aside from accusations of discrimination, Rao said Aramark takes advantage of its student workers in many ways. “I had a friend who had a medical emergency, so the previous night he emailed his manager being like, ‘Hey, I cannot make it to work the next day because I have to go to the ER,’ and [his manager] said, ‘If you don’t find someone [to cover you], then you’re going to be fired because there’s no one to cover the shift,’ even though there’s a medical reason and he had proof of everything.”

Chaudhary said Aramark is often not accommodating of its student workers’ schedules. “When they requested time off during breaks to go back to India to visit their family, they were not given that time off,” he said.

Rao added that those who cannot work all of their scheduled hours are often subject to firing.

International students are most vulnerable to Aramark’s treatment. While Rao decided not long after his first shift that he could not work for the compa-

ny, many other students can’t afford to do so.

“Students put up with it because they need the money, because there’s not enough supply of jobs,” Rao said. “I heard that for one job [on campus], it had about 1,000 applications. The fact that for one job there’s so many people applying, and the majority of them are international students, it just shows how much of a demand there is for jobs. But since most of them won’t get it, they end up going for these jobs in Aramark where they may be treated badly or they may have to do something that goes against their beliefs, but they still have to put up with it because rent is not cheap.”

Rao said the lack of a livable income has forced many students from India to share a two-bedroom apartment with four or five roommates. “You have two people living in one bedroom, another one in another bedroom, and then you got people in the living room,” he said. “And even then they’re living paycheck to paycheck.”

Following USG-T’s recommendation for an investigation into Aramark, Aramark conducted an internal investigation and claimed it found no evidence of employee discrimination within its operation at ASU, according to Rao and Chaudhary.

“We value and respect our employees, including our student and international team members, and we investigate all issues that are brought forward to us,” an Aramark spokesperson said in a statement emailed to The State Press last November. “The student resolution was the first we have heard of this issue, and we are working with ASU to explore these allegations. All employees have an opportunity to discuss their concerns with a manager, supervisor, or Human Resources, including options to do so anonymously.”

The University did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.

Aramark in prisons

Much of Aramark’s controversial history comes from its business as a food sup-

plier for prisons. An article by Capital & Main reported in 2014 that “Ohio fined Aramark $270,000 and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder fined the company a mere $200,000” after maggots were found in prison kitchens and dining areas run by Aramark, leading to foodborne illness among incarcerated people. In 2015, the Michigan Department of Corrections ended its $145 million contract with Aramark.

According to Prison Legal News, Kevin Lee Hill, a man in an Indiana prison, claimed Aramark’s kitchens were infested with mice and that he repeatedly consumed mouse droppings. Hill referred to his prison kitchen’s refrigerator as a “mouse zoo.”

Aramark’s food wasn’t only allegedly tainted, it also failed to accommodate the dietary needs of incarcerated people. It has provided food to incarcerated people so lacking in calories that another man in an Indiana prison claimed he had allegedly lost 10 pounds due to malnutrition.

A person incarcerated in Michigan also alleged that Aramark continued to serve him dishes containing peanut butter with no alternative option despite knowing he had a peanut allergy. He ended up in the emergency room twice due to allergic reactions. It has also been reported that other incarcerated people who are Jewish and Muslim were denied kosher and halal diets for extended periods of time.

In 2009, Aramark’s poor-quality food caused a prison riot in Kentucky, and years later, 19 incarcerated people in a Nevada prison went on a hunger strike for nine days in part to protest the corporation’s inadequate portions of food. While it was not the only cause of the hunger strike, Prison Legal News reported Aramark was “the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Aramark also used unpaid prison labor to serve food. “The 100-or-so residents who clean tables, stir with a canoe paddle the big pots of pasta or rice, or flip patties on the grill are wholly unpaid,” Justin Slavinski, a man incarcerated in Florida, wrote in his prison’s publication. “They make no money.”

Over 100 of Aramark’s paid employees were banned from prison grounds for inappropriate behavior, including sexual contact with and smuggling drugs to incarcerated people, as well as an alleged murder-for-hire plot just in the state of Michigan. In 2019, Aramark paid $21 million to settle two class-action lawsuits in which employees alleged they were never paid bonuses they had been promised.

What’s next?

With Aramark’s deeply troubled history as a food vendor for prisons, as well as accusations of discrimination against ASU students, many students have questioned why the University has yet to terminate its relationship with the company. They wouldn’t be alone if they did — colleges all over the nation have moved to drop Aramark, with some of the largest being NYU and Kent State.

Chaudhary is skeptical of ASU’s ability to follow suit. “It is a [multi-mil-

lion-dollar deal] that ASU has signed with Aramark, so you can’t get rid of them,” he said. “They are efficient, they are cost-effective compared to other people.”

According to Aramark Chief Financial Officer James Tarangelo, the company’s biggest deal in higher education is with ASU. “[We] not only secured it, but we added athletics and concessions,” he told investment bank UBS in a March document. “We added the faculty allowance of that program as well. So with that, we think we’re very well positioned from a net new standpoint.”

Rao said ISA is doing its part to warn new students about the dangers of Aramark, hosting a yearly webinar with incoming Sun Devils from India to inform them of the risks.

“Just because [students] are on a visa doesn’t mean they don’t have any rights,” he said.

“One of the biggest things that I want to implement is cultural competency training for ASU staff,” Chaudhary said. “No matter who you are, you should be able to very easily put yourself into other people’s shoes, and the best way to do that is knowing what they go through.

“[International students] are leaving every single person they know to come to a different country to get a better education, and I think that if you can acknowledge the fact that they are doing that and take into consideration a little bit more of what they face, you’ll be a little bit more empathetic — and that’s what Aramark should start doing.”

Chaudhary said USG-T has not received complaints about Aramark’s workplace culture since the last investigation did not find anything. “We are working toward making it a little bit better, and I think that investigation helped, regardless of if they found something or not,” he said.

ADVICE

Students have spoken, and they need help. From dating to friendship to finances, it’s clear no one knows what they’re doing. Luckily, I know everything, and I’m here to help. Consider me your college expert, here to sift through all your problems and provide you with the right advice to better yourself and the students around you.

We published a form, and students responded with their qualms, questions and queries. For the sake of consistency and to ease any potential embarrassment, all responses are anonymous. Though I am the expert, I also collected advice from fellow students to provide you with a well-rounded library of guidance.

Disclaimer: Following the advice in this article is not a cure-all; please seek professional help because, let’s be honest, you might need to. Some responses have been edited for clarity.

Dear “practice girl,”

Dear Abby: I’m tired of being the practice girl

“I feel like I’m just the girl guys practice with before finding the girl they actually wanna be with. Two of my big exes are planning on getting married soon. How do I stop being the practice girl? How do I find guys who actually like me?”

First, I think it would help to reframe the situation. Dating is inherently practice. People spend time together to source compatibility with intention. You’re not going to be compatible with everyone and everyone won’t be compatible with you. And remember — you’re also practicing. To set yourself up for dating success, it could help to define what you’re looking for and prioritize those things in the people you date. You already are the girl someone wants to be with. Now pick your head up, dust off your shoes and charge headfirst into the dating world with confidence and clarity. Know what you want and what you deserve.

Readers’ responses:

“You live for yourself first. I am really big on making sure my needs are met first before worrying about what I need in a partner. I am too young to be worrying about how others see me and what men want from me. If you live your life for yourself, then the man will come in due time.”

“Instead of looking at past relationships as proof that you weren’t liked, look at them as experiences that taught you a lot about yourself and the person you want to be with. This gives you an opportunity to see those past relationships in a positive light, guiding you to the right person. The first step in finding a person who is going to love and respect you for you is to love the person you are. We attract what we put out into the world. You are not the practice girl, you never were. You are on the right path, defining for yourself what you want out of a loving, respectful relationship.”

Dear Abby: My ex-guy friend won’t come pick up his stuff

“My roommate and I had this really close guy friend. The three of us were like a family for two years. He would stay the night with us because we were closer to campus. We even bought him a mattress so he wouldn’t have to be on the couch. I would joke that he and my roommate were like twins who couldn’t decide who was the oldest. In September, he and I had a friendship breakup that left me feeling thrown away and that our entire friendship was cheap. He left some clothes and a gaming system at our place. He reached out to my roommate asking if he could get his stuff in January, then made no plans to grab it. My roommate has messaged him multiple times telling him to come get them. He’s either not shown up on the agreed time and date or claimed to have overslept. That was a month ago. We don’t think he has any intention of picking his stuff up. We’re tired of hanging on to it and want to get rid of all of it. Any suggestions on how to get rid of his stuff or on how to handle the situation?”

Dear “friendship breakup,”

The devil in me wants to say: BURN IT. But … I’m not letting the devil win today. While I’m a huge believer in burning the belongings of those who have wronged you (I have experienced deep emotional healing after burning keepsakes from a sorry man), in this situation, I would recommend figuring out where he lives and leaving it outside his door — in a totally normal and not creepy way. Make sure to package up his stuff really cute before you drop it off. A trash bag would be nice or a repurposed box, perhaps? You could even decorate the box and write: “YOUR SHIT YOU NEVER PICKED UP.” If that doesn’t work, send him a final text that’s equal parts kind and assertive. Something like: “If you don’t come pick up your shit, I’m giving it away.” If he doesn’t respond, give it to someone in need. I’m sure there’s a child out there who would love some new t-shirts and a gaming system.

Readers’ responses:

“This calls for an ultimatum. You don’t own a storage unit — that’s your home, and unnecessary objects or humans can’t just be there. Text him one last time and then leave it on the curb. You’ve done your part, and you never signed up for taking care of someone else’s bullshit — material or emotional.”

“Could you, or someone else, drop his stuff off at his place for you? It seems like he’s using his stuff as a way to control. Remove the opportunity for him to control the situation, and instead, you take control. While it would be tempting to give him one last chance to pick up his stuff, the bigger thing to do here is to take back your own power. Let him be flaky and disrespectful, and instead, you’ll show up proactive and considerate.”

Dear Abby: I’m addicted to coffee

“I have a problem buying coffee every day. When I drive to campus, I have this birdie on my shoulder telling me I need Starbucks. Because I’m in school and not working, I know I shouldn’t indulge, but I tell myself I need it to have a good day or need it to study. Not to mention the coffee or matcha is $8-$10. What should I do about this? Should I wean myself off or try something new?”

Dear coffee addict,

I, too, am a fellow coffee lover. My bloodstream is a constant flow of caffeine. I get it. To save money, I would suggest investing in an at-home coffee option. Spending a little more on a machine will save you money in the long run. With the tariffs looming, coffee prices might go up. No college student can afford a $12 cup of coffee. If that’s twice a day for a year, that’s $8,760! You might be thinking, “I can’t make it like Starbucks can.” And to that I say, YES YOU CAN. Experiment. Buy the syrups, milk and coffee. Find a cute little cup to put it in. You will end up preferring it over Starbucks, and because of that, you might be able to pay off your loans. Plus, you will help the environment by reducing single-use plastic and defunding big corporations that contribute to the planet’s demise. Go you! I hope this helps.

Readers’ responses:

“Take a different route or brew your own. If anything, drinking coffee or matcha in the morning will stress out your gut and the prolonged habit of caffeine consumption will give you hemorrhoids. There’s studies backing this up. Maybe drink coffee once every other day, so you can begin to reduce the expenditure.”

“You need to find something that brings you joy in place of this routine. Find a cool cup you like and a drink you enjoy that you can make from home. You shouldn’t take away this indulgence. Instead, replace it with something better. Learn to make a special drink that you look forward to every day. To take it a step further, if you’re motivated to save money, you could put all the money you would typically spend on coffee in a savings account and watch it grow. Also, still treat yourself to a Starbucks every once in a while!”

Dear Abby: How do I date as a gay man?

“As a gay man on campus, I’m finding it extremely hard to date. I’ve tried the apps, and I’ve tried avoiding the apps, and all I’ve ever gotten is a few romantic dead ends and a lot of stress and self-criticism. I feel like it’s so much easier for straight people to find people to date, but I really struggle to meet anyone who I like and who likes me. How can I find my happily ever after (or even just a first date)?”

Dear “happily ever after,”

Dating sucks — whether you’re straight or gay. To start, stop comparing your lack of dates to a straight person’s perceived abundance of them. I know many straight people (ahem, straight men) who can’t get a date to save their life. I would also expand your scope of where you can find connection. Apps are a tool, but they don’t work for everyone. It’s okay if they’re not working for you. Try getting involved in a queer book club or going to a queer film screening or hitting up the queer bars if you’re 21. Find spaces where you are not only accepted, but celebrated. Let romance be a byproduct and prioritize community first. You never know — you could make a new friend who introduces you to a friend of theirs who ends up being your “happily ever after.” Open yourself up to finding connections in unexpected places and make new friends along the way.

Readers’ responses:

“First off, be confident in yourself and your gayness. Second, never stop putting yourself out there and meeting new people. On ASU’s campus, there are so many events where you can chat with people. Just start off trying to make new friends. One connection leads to another and you will find your person.”

“I understand that too well, being from the community myself. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am more than a choice. Having strictly set priorities and expectations for yourself really helps. Once you see yourself the way you would like the world to perceive you, there’s no going back. It’s a superpower in itself.”

‘Drunk and disorderly’

Has ASU’s party scene evolved?

By Abigail Wilt and Bella Mazzilli

Photos courtesy of Aiyana Porter

You enter a damp, smelly environment. Leopard and tiger prints flash across your eyes. Bodies crowd around a watering hole and watch as others soar through the air and land in it. The alphas assert their dominance while the prey stick to the shadows. There’s a cacophony of screeches and howls, and the floor rumbles around you. No, this isn’t the Amazon. This is a typical ASU party, and tonight’s theme is “jungle.”

The next couple of hours are a chaotic blur. You block out looming due dates and academic responsibility by reminding yourself to have fun, so you wade deeper into the wild and don’t turn back.

Parties have been a staple of ASU’s reputation for decades. Most notably, ASU has consistently appeared in Playboy’s top party schools rankings and even took first place in 2002. While the University has made strides in distancing itself from its notorious reputation, there’s no pretending that parties have been completely eliminated from campus culture.

Party school or not, students find time to let loose and have fun, and it seems that throughout time, the manners in which students party have remained consistent. Even though different periods of time are responsible for characterizing what happens at a party, students’ sentiments about parties today seem to align with alumni reflections of their rambunctious college years.

A drunk history

Tony Lang began his academic career at the University in 1976 and attended ASU for three semesters before dropping out. On a recent visit, he walked through the Tempe campus admiring

how everything had changed, but he found himself lamenting the opportunities he lost to the turbulent party scene.

“I still walk here with a semi-broken heart wishing I could’ve been here mentally and physically all at the same time,” Lang said.

Lang recalled neglecting his studies, spending most of his time in an intoxicated stupor surrounded by friends and strangers. At the time, ASU stoked the desire of students who arrived on campus looking to party before they even set foot in a classroom. The potent party culture that defined most of the ‘70s and ‘80s was embroiled in campus life — and students paid the price.

The pillar of party culture in that era was Alpha Drive. According to Salt River Stories, Alpha Drive was constructed in the 1960s to support a group of fraternities, as it evolved from the University administration’s desire to have some semblance of organization and control over the fledgling party scene in the 1950s.

However, according to a 2004 Phoenix New Times article, the frats on Alpha Drive still controlled their own drinking policies. On top of that, once the drinking age was lowered to 19 in the late ‘70s, things got out of hand. Throughout the next few decades, parties were characterized by drinking, hazing and fighting — some instances are detailed in a 2011 article by The State Press.

“All students — not just fraternities and sororities — began drinking on campus legally. And a few years later, when the drinking age was again raised to 21, it was too hard to turn the kids back to the way things used to be,” Joe Watson wrote in the Phoenix New Times article.

Shelly Adams, who graduated from ASU in 1981, said many of the parties at the time were reminiscent of the 1978 film, “Animal House” — toga-themed parties had a hold on the scene for a time after the movie was released. While she said she doesn’t remember specifics, many of the parties she went to had at least two or three kegs, a ton of people in small areas, loud music and people running through the crowds.

One party was “actually a little too wild,” she said. “Even for me, and I was kind of a party girl myself,” she added.

At parties in general, “the boys got a little bit too drunk and a little too wild, and they were misogynistic,” Adams said. “That was what I really remember, but more than that, it was just a wild, drunk time.”

Lang reflected on the party scene at the time, saying “I wish the late ‘70s and ‘80s weren’t a cocaine-, drugand alcohol-fueled mess.”

“I walk through this place and have regrets that I wasn’t able to utilize and experience the full education I could have gotten,” Lang said. “[I wonder] where my life [would’ve] have gone if I would’ve not been so much into the party side of the spectrum.”

The party never stopped

Allison Nahon, a senior studying biochemistry, has a closet of clothes she’s keeping for her sister who will be a freshman at ASU next year. The clothes are a colorful collection of themed outfits she’s donned at parties throughout her time in college. Bikini tops and cutoffs complete with cowboy hats and sunglasses are

the haute couture of the ASU party scene.

Nahon remembers her time in crowded college houses well. Coming from a small high school, she sought out parties as a way to make friends during her transition to a densely populated university.

When Kyle Mona-Hunter, a junior studying exercise science, arrived at ASU, he was surprised, as the University’s past reputation still precedes itself.

“I was expecting parties everywhere, all the time, but that’s not really true,” Mona-Hunter said.

To him, it seems Crow’s New American University model has worked. “You really have to go further, especially as a guy,” he said. “The only way for you to go out is [to] go to house parties, which are weird, or join a fraternity.”

Though, despite the distinct lack of parties, both Nahon and Mona-Hunter noticed that the parties they have gone to run rampant. Mona-Hunter was shocked by the open use of drugs, like cocaine.

“I feel like [substances are] just normalized, especially with cocaine, people just do it out in the open,” he said. “Mainly [the drug of choice] is cocaine.”

Nahon said due to the unpredictable nature of college parties, girls have developed an understanding of keeping each other safe — these networks of “girls supporting girls” provided her with a fleeting sense of safety during her freshman and sophomore years, especially when parties aren’t known to be the most

comfortable places for females.

“Parties are largely thrown to attract girls, [so] sometimes they can feel manufactured,” she said. “It feels like you’re being watched to have a good time. It feels like if you’re not having a good time, you need to leave.”

Mona-Hunter said attendees of these parties, specifically female attendees, should “be on guard” while in attendance. “It’s not like you can trust the people there; you got to be careful,” he said.

Looking back, Nahon reflected on what she wished she knew as a freshman in the party scene.

“Always stick to the people you’re with,” she said. “When you come with someone, you leave with someone; watch how much you drink and watch your drinks; and stay with your girls, and don’t trust men. That’s valid. That’s honest.”

At the end of the day, both Nahon and Adams looked upon parties fondly, mostly because of the way it shaped them as people.

“Party culture at ASU help[ed] me make friends and [broke] me out of my shell,” Nahon said. “[It] was always really fun — something about being in the sun with all your friends with good music and everyone dancing.”

“I look positive on them,” Adams said. “It was all part of growing up and turning into an adult. If [I] could go back and do it all over again, I probably would do it the same way.”

Though, ASU’s party scene has always been and might always be, as Adams put it, “drunk and disorderly.”

INSIGHT

Being a bookworm

Why I read and you should too

By Kylie Saba

Illustrations by Paulina Soto

Every person has a hobby that consumes them; for me, it’s reading. I read every chance I get, and depending on the book, it can be a stressor or a de-stressor. Regardless, reading makes me feel like I’m more than just a girl; I’m a warrior or a hero. I’m transported into a world of literature where I learn to fight for myself.

All my family and friends know I love to read and spend my money on books. Some people don’t understand it, but that’s nothing new. When I was growing up, reading made you a huge nerd, and the general sentiment was that you shouldn’t want to read unless it was required. But I never cared.

Grades one through six, I was mentally and physically bullied. I am the oldest sibling and my parents’ greatest supporter, so I never wanted to bother them with my school problems. Hence, I would hide out in the library anytime I could. I would escape the bullying and enter worlds beyond my imagination. When the librarian recommended I read “Little Women,” which was advanced for my age at the time, I felt like someone believed in me and was reaching out a hand. It made me feel like I had a friend who wasn’t going to bully me.

After that, reading consumed me and all I stood for. After grade school swimming lessons with my sister, my mom would take us to the bookstore and allow us to pick out one to two books each if we were well-behaved. I put everything into my swimming lessons just so I could read after — reading was such a strong incentive, I became really good at swimming.

At that time, there weren’t sites or places

to check book reviews because reading wasn’t popular. I didn’t have BookTok or Goodreads to tell me what was good, nor were there content warnings. I had to use my own judgment, and usually, that consisted of reading the synopsis, reading about the author and reading the first chapter. I’d put down the book if I wasn’t interested, and having that opportunity to choose gave me a sense of independence — I don’t think I’d have the decision-making skills I have today without being limited to two books per visit. Strong main characters in the books I loved also inspired me to stand up for myself and gave me the morals that I still hold to this day.

My love for reading has stayed with me throughout my life. As a senior at ASU, the need for “me time” and having a hobby has never been stronger, and that need consistently draws me back to reading — from Rick Riordon to George R.R. Martin to Sarah J. Maas. The more I’ve read, the more I’ve noticed how reading has evolved in society and my life.

How BookTok changed reading

Suddenly, the hobby that made me an outsider growing up hit social media platforms and became trendy. Online users worldwide were reading books and promoting them on TikTok and Instagram in spheres that became known as BookTok and Bookstagram. Now, entire communities revolve around books.

Midnight release parties at Barnes & Noble have become more common. Books fly off the shelves depending on how much they’re talked about online. People flock to stores to pick up the hottest romance and fantasy books.

More people are beginning to favor physical books over audiobooks and ebooks. There is still a high demand for e-readers, but even Kindle users like to buy physical copies of their favorite books and call them “trophies.”

Although a positive energy has been brought to the reading community, the growing popularity of reading has also sparked hate. Some people say you cannot consider yourself a reader if you don’t read “pure literature,” like Kafka and Dostoevsky, and that you’re a fake reader if all you enjoy is romance. I have been told I’m not “stimulating” my mind enough by still reading young adult books as a person in my 20s. “If you can’t enjoy the classics, why read at all?” some will ask.

is boring. It’s an interesting read; there is something beautiful about the oldstyle writing structure, but sometimes I just want to enjoy a nice little romance or fantasy. That’s not a bad thing.

While studying for my LSAT, I read “House of Flame and Shadow” by Sarah J. Maas, a rather large book, and it improved my reading comprehension skills even though I was simply taking the time to read for enjoyment. It’s like watching a movie or TV show. Sometimes you’re in the mood for something serious where you have to pay attention to the plot, and sometimes you just need background noise.

If you are someone who judges others for liking specific books, stop it! Just be glad they’re reading again. I am not one for smut, but if that is someone’s preference and it gets them back into reading instead of spending time on their phone or watching TV, more power to them! There is a term called “junk food book” — it’s not the best written and won’t be considered a classic in the future, but it sure is a fun indulgence to read.

Reading 100 books in 2024

Yes, you read that correctly. In 2024, I read 100 books, including all the books required for my classes. Do I recommend this? Absolutely not. Unless you are a book critic or an editor and it is your literal job to read and critique books, I don’t think a normal person should read 100 books in one year. It’s hard, and with a busy schedule, it shouldn’t be possible unless you religiously listen

to audiobooks or read every second of the day.

So, how did I do it? Bad mental health. Point blank. I hit many lows in 2024 where I spent my time lounging in bed for an entire day reading. It’s not bad to take a mental health day, but when you feel like you are in a pit and can’t crawl out, it can be hard to take off the blanket covers and come back to society when the worlds in books are so much better.

People who are interested in reading shouldn’t feel pressured by BookTok or those who push for reading challenges. Goodreads and other book-tracking apps will create streaks to encourage their readers, but that can be daunting. Reading should be about the quality, not the quantity.

So no, I do not recommend reading 100 books in one year to anyone. I am still incredibly proud of my achievement;

I became a faster reader and feel like I have expanded my knowledge. Reading fantasy as an adult has made my inner child laugh, and I’m proud to be a nerd. However, I won’t let a lofty goal influence how I read nor how I feel about reading. I will not push my limits or increase the speed of my audiobooks. I will just see where I end up by January.

I recommend you pick up a book — maybe one you’ve heard a lot about or even one with a movie you want to compare. It can take time to find the right book, but that’s okay. For some people, it was “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas. For others, maybe it was “Steelheart” by Brandon Sanderson or “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens that caught someone’s attention. For me, it started with four sisters living in poverty. Just pick up a book and read.

Book Recommendations

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Coming-of-Age, Fiction)

• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (YA Fantasy)

• Eragon by Christopher Paolini (YA Fantasy)

• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Fantasy)

• Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center (Contemporary Fiction)

• In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (Contemporary Fiction)

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Coming-of-Age, Adventure)

• Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors (Fiction)

• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Memoir)

• The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Contemporary Fiction)

• Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan (Romance)

• Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Contemporary Fiction)

• One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (Fantasy)

• The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (YA Mystery)

• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Paranormal Romance)

FROM THE

As I look back on this past year, I’m reminded of an unwavering pursuit of knowledge and a dedication to tell nuanced stories of ASU’s community. Whether it was encouraging writers to persevere through obstacles in their reporting process or hearing the multimedia staff ideate meaningful visuals that added statements to each page, it has been my greatest pleasure to lead the magazine’s production and oversee a team of talented individuals.

When I was in high school, chasing budding dreams of being an impactful journalist and desperately reviving the student-led newspaper and magazine, I never thought I would someday be the editor-in-chief of my college magazine. Suddenly, I found myself leaving everything I knew and loved in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to further my education… in the middle of a desert.

I was unsure of what Arizona would bring me, but I soon found myself embracing my love for learning and writing. I sharpened my reporting skills by becoming a sponge to the brilliant minds around me; I immersed myself in communities, allowing them to guide me through their stories; and I found a greater purpose through social work, bridging my passion for storytelling to helping others.

I stuck to my Native Hawaiian roots,

placing importance on preserving culture and being a good steward of the land. I have defended, and always will defend, the value of long-form writing, print work, engagement journalism and reporting on the things you’re passionate about.

Throughout my whirlwind college career, my one constant was the ever-bold, ever-risk-taking, ever-provoking (and sometimes provocative) State Press Magazine. From writing about theater students in my first story almost four years ago, to pretending to be a Starship robot, to covering the ethics of the University’s presence in Hawaiʻi, I trusted whatever SPM had in store for me. Now I’m here, surrounded by a team of hard working individuals who fueled the momentum this year.

Evan Silverberg embodied our motto through his unmatched grit and reporting skills while Abigail Wilt graced our pages with her beautiful, well-crafted storytelling. I always looked forward to chatting with Claire Geare, who consistently impressed me with their witty mind and clever satires. Gib Manrique displayed a unique and diverse range of stories, as he effortlessly jumped from reports to insights to satires. Bella Mazzilli remained on top of it; a strong journalistic drive was her guiding light. Jude Banihani fell right into place at SPM, and I was blown away by her

raw talent. I was inspired by Melanie Avila Ochoa’s determination, and I was grateful to see a glimpse into Bella Keenan’s bright future. Ollie Slade is a talented creative with an iconic style, and she’s taken some of the best photos I’ve ever seen. Illustrators Lilliana Lopez and Andrea Ramirez produced art beyond our imagination through their fresh, colorful ideas and attention to detail.

A special thank you to my editorial team, with whom I’ve spent many hours. I wouldn’t have been the editor I was without them, nor would I be the person I am today. Lavanya Paliwal showed immense skill in everything she did, and I admired her vision and tenacity. She stepped up to design 284 total pages this year and put up with me when I asked her to move elements by mere pixels. Not only could I rely on Paulina Soto to bring a vibrant energy into the office, but I could also rely on her to illustrate and design to perfection. She has a beautiful brain, and her well-roundedness allowed her to be flexible in her roles this year, which was much appreciated. Wendy Maddox effortlessly took on the challenge of reenvisioning our brand and engagement, doing more than I could have ever asked for. She consistently brought fresh ideas to the table and was ahead of the curve when it came to making content and promoting SPM.

EDITOR

I could always rely on Audrey Eagerton to be level-headed, having clear solutions to any problems that arose. She informed some of the greatest elements of the magazine this year with her ingenuity. Leah Mesquita held persistent dedication to our craft, remaining diligent in pushing everyone to do their best. Her precise editing and demand for excellence set standards and precedent for the future of SPM. Volume 25 wouldn’t have been possible without any of you.

To our audience, thank you for doing your part by striving to stay informed. Your commitment to understanding and engaging with the world around you is a testament to the importance of media literacy in this ever-evolving society. I hope you were reflected well in our pages. I hope our stories resonated with you, challenged you or encouraged you to connect with your communities. Most of all, I hope our work reminded you that your voice, curiosity and devotion to learning are

Savannah Rose Dagupion Editor-in-Chief State Press Magazine

C e n t r a l t o E v e r y t h i n g

E x c l u s i v e t o Y o u .

N O W L E A S I N G

F O R S U M M E R & F A L L 2 0 2 5 W a l k t o c l a s s , s p r i n

b r u n c h , U b e r t o F i r s t F r i d a y , T r a n s i t t o T e m p e ! T h e b e s t o f P h o e n i x i s r i g h t o u t s i d e y o u r d o o r .

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