05 | opinions
April 06, 2016
OPINIONS STAFF OPINION
Feminine hygiene products are not a luxury item, should not be taxed
Katherine Bauer Staff Writer katherine.bauer@drake.edu
Red tide. Shark week. Whatever slang word you use, menstruation follows women from puberty until they hit menopause, typically around age 51. There are certain things women need in order to deal with this usually agonizing event that can last from two to seven days. Among the most important are tampons or pads, depending on the woman’s preference. The U.S. government has decided that tampons and pads should be taxed, like most items in our lives. They are taxed as a luxury item in most states through the sales tax. Non-luxury items typically include food; medical purchases, like prescriptions or prosthetics; and even clothes in some places. Tampons and sanitary napkins are not a luxury item. Menstruation is an uncontrollable part of women’s lives and they are being punished for it. Cristina Garcia, an assembly member in California, has introduced a bill to make tampons and feminine care items exempt
from the sales tax. Her reasoning is simply that these items are not luxuries. California women pay $20 million annually for the tax on their feminine hygiene products. To put this in perspective, I will experience my period for 41 years, assuming I hit menopause at the typical age of 51. If a 54-count of tampons costs an average of $10 during those years (because inflation is a thing), I will spend $1,822 before tax on tampons in my lifetime. I will spend an additional
spent for the tampon tax, I could maybe buy a whole college textbook instead of paying this tax throughout my life. This money could also go towards other products I use such as pain relievers for my cramps. I am fortunate to be in a place financially where I can afford to buy tampons as often as I need them. However, women who live in poverty might think twice before buying a box labeled Tampax Pearl. And yet they’ll have to buy tampons anyway because the alternative not to using one is not socially acceptable or generally comfortable. It is possible to take birth control to reduce the number of periods in a year. It is also possible to have surgery to remove the uterus all together (although this prevents a woman from ever having children). These costs greatly outweigh that of the tampon tax. Most women have little alternative but to have their periods e v e r y month. It is right for women to fight to have the tampon tax revoked. I think that if most women could magically waive their periods, they would. However, it is something we have to deal with. The government should not take advantage of this nuisance and make money off us.
Humans of Drake Each week, staff writer Rachel Wermager captures stories of students on Drake’s campus
Thalia Anguiano • Junior Law Politics & Society and Public Relations Major “Throughout my time here at Drake, I’ve been given a lot of opportunities to grow; as a student, as a person and as a leader. I want to make sure that type of atmosphere is accessible for all Drake students to have. I also just like making a difference and evoking some type of positive changer here on campus and out in the community as well. I want this position because I care a lot about the student body and I care a lot about the growth of our University. I feel like I will be able to best advocate and voice the needs and concerns of students. ” STAFF OPINION
Adult coloring books do help relieve stress
$127.78 to pay the seven cent sales tax in Iowa. While this may not seem like the greatest amount of money
MUSIC REVIEW
Zayn’s ‘Mind of Mine’ strays from One Direction innocence, guided by sex
Parker Klyn Staff Writer parker.klyn@drake.edu
All the way back in 2011, an upstart boy band called One Direction released their debut album “Up All Night.” Aside from the unmatched fame and immense monetary success of the album, the band, and its members, “Up All Night” is, in retrospect, a modern classic. It didn’t break any new ground lyrically or thematically, of course. That’s not the purpose of boy bands. What made it so great was its impeccability — pristinely produced pop songs of innocent love sung by five equally cute young men. Innocence, in fact, was the main selling point of One Direction, which marketed itself as a boy band that fans of all ages could love. Zayn Malik was the odd man out. He’s a Muslim with Pakistani heritage, he chain smokes cigarettes and is covered in tattoos
— all of which stand in sharp contrast to the rest of the entirely Caucasian One Direction. So it was no surprise when he broke out with “Mind of Mine,” taking upon the firstnameonly moniker ZAYN and promoting his album as a massive sonic breakthrough. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. “Mind of Mine” keeps the same impeccable pop production of One Direction, but with more balladry and less innocence. Sex is the guiding theme of the album, and for some listeners, that will be more than enough. ZAYN should be praised for breaking the mold as a sex symbol, and if that’s all you’re looking for, “Mind of Mine” is for you. Even the more up-tempo jams, like “Like I Would” and “She Don’t Love Me,” are explicitly sexual. In the right mood, I might enjoy music like this, but musically, most of these tracks really aren’t compelling enough to keep the listener interested. This is pop music with liberal usage of swear words. We get it, ZAYN. You have a lot of sex. That’s great! Nobody’s slighting you for it. It’s just hard for me to find a reason to care, especially for the album’s relatively rigid length. There are 18 tracks here, spanning a full hour. Cut the album in half, and it’s still repetitive — at this length, it’s downright mundane. Individually, most of the songs are pretty good. Kehlani’s part on the current single “Wrong” fits in well, and “Pillowtalk” is a supremely sexy mid tempo jam. But there’s a reason that songs are three to five minutes: that’s when they start to wear out their
welcome. There are occasionally dips into different sounds, like mysterious organ loops or what I imagine to be authentic sounds from ZAYN’s Pakistani heritage. But these are all one-offs that are never explored any further. It doesn’t help that ZAYN has perhaps the least distinctive voice in pop today. He’s a relatively talented vocalist, but he doesn’t push it enough for it to stand on its own. Too often on “Mind of Mine,” ZAYN sounds like he’s whispering through his verses. I imagine he was looking for intimacy in his vocals, but it comes across as laziness. I might not notice if this were actually Nick Jonas, 5 Seconds of Summer, or even one of his One Direction bandmates singing. This is damning, especially in pop, where aesthetic trumps all. The one genuinely great song on “Mind of Mine” is “It’s You,” which could be mistaken for a Frank Ocean bonus track. There’s an earnestness in ZAYN’s vocals here that doesn’t show up anywhere else on the album. The track manages to be sensual and intimate without the explicit nature of lyrics that appear everywhere else on “Mind of Mine.” This shows that ZAYN has at least some sort of selfawareness. There are other ways to convey sexual feelings than explicit lyrics. I just wish he showed that deftness on the entirety of the record. “Mind of Mine” is never a bad album, but there are very few places where it is truly great.
Anna Jensen Staff Writer katherine.bauer@drake.edu
Crayola can’t keep up with the demand for colored pencils and crayons. A brand that makes coloring supplies now is catering to a whole new age group of people — adults. The new fad of adult coloring books is spreading worldwide as teenagers and adults purchase coloring books that have been said to release tension and provide a calming aura to young adults’ stressful lives. My mom bought dozens for Christmas and paired them with colored pencils and gave them to all of the adults on her list as presents. They can be an afternoon activity, a wine night activity or something to do with family and friends while holding light conversation. I usually listen to music, talk to my mom or watch Netflix while I color. Having light background noise can be helpful for some people but annoying to others. The main designs that fill up many books range from floral to geometric designs. A book I would recommend for college aged students is “Creative Coloring Inspirations” because its pages are filled with worthwhile pickme-ups. These books are proven to relieve stress because of the rhythmic repetition that coloring promotes. Studies have shown that coloring inside the lines is what decreases the anxiety that often plagues adults. These coloring books allow people to be creative, but instead of creating
their own design, they just have to fill it in. I’ve learned that it is often effective to choose only four or five colors for each design. This can add to the symmetry of the picture and through the use of shading and pressing hard, you get many different versions of the same color. This tactic can often add depth to your artwork. Now, I am by no means an artist. I can’t take a blank piece of paper and turn it into anything special. But since these books already give me the layout of the design, I am suddenly transformed into the artist I could never be. Since these designs are often intricate, they require focus. In the college world, where multitasking is a necessity, this focus and repetition on one task is a smart way to unwind and relax. Since coloring is not hard, it usually won’t add unwanted stress. This activity brings us back to our past, which can be another subconscious reason people tend to calm down while coloring. The atmosphere constantly reminds me of my childhood because it was an enjoyable pastime for me when I was younger. Coloring is an activity that removes us from the ever-present digital world we live in. Taking time to engage in an activity that has no ties to school or work is important in our daily lives. Even though detaching from your phone can sound pretty daunting, constantly being caught up in technology and other people’s lives can be a part of the reason so many college students are anxious and overwhelmed. We are always complaining about missing our younger, carefree days as kids. It only costs $12 to $14 to be that kid again. Sounds pretty cheap to me.