The
Campanil Student-run newspaper serving Mills College since 1917
02.18.20
// Volume 106 // Issue 2 //
News
A&E
Opinions
Health
The Sunrise Movement now has a hub at Mills College.
The 1935 film “Sylvia Scarlett” features a hidden theme.
Read our editor’s review of the recent movie release “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey”.
First-year student Dalia Bender discusses accessibility to yoga classes and the importance of self-care.
Sunrise Movement >> pg 3
Forgotten queer media >> pg 4
Mills staff say: Unite Now! Jo Moses Opinions Editor
In Oct. 2019, the Mills staff announced their campaign to unionize with a local SEIU (Service Employees International Union) chapter. The SEIU already represents Mills faculty as well as staff at California College of the Arts (CCA). Through a letter, the Mills union organizing committee urged President Beth Hillman to voluntarily recognize the union, the alternative being involving the National Labor Relations Board and forcing Mills to facilitate a union election. However, that is a complicated, lengthy process that no one is eager to undertake. So far, the Mills administration has been slow to respond to the union committee’s request for an election. In a statement to KQED, President Hillman said: “When it comes to labor unions, Mills embraces the democratic principle of free and fair decision-making by employees. ... We’re now assessing how the possibility of unionization would affect our efforts to work together with our faculty and the entire community to ensure a sustainable future for Mills.” The union organizing committee filed its request in Nov. 2019; as of the writing of this article, it is Feb. 2020, and it seems the Mills administration is still assessing. Among complaints aired out at Wednesday, Feb. 12th’s union meeting, Musical Center Technical Director Brendon Glasson said that
some staff members haven’t gotten a raise in over a decade. Mill staff are being crushed under the weight of stagnant wages and nonexistent retirement contributions. As staff members have been left or been laid off, current staff members have suffered added responsibilities without proportionate pay. These working conditions contribute to frequent staff turnover. They could also spell trouble for students. “As a longtime employee, I’m watching Mills become a place where people work for 2 – 5 years and then leave, and that’s not particularly sustainable for us or our students,” said Health-Sciences Coordinator Vala Burnett. Having declined to voluntarily recognize the Mills union, and all parties reluctant to involve the National Labor Relations Board, the Mills administration has agreed to hold a union election among Mills staff but has so far been stalling by refusing to set a date. Wednesday’s union meeting also saw talk of fear among staff members around voting in the union election, for fear of the effect on their jobs. Mills staff live in the shadow of massive 2017 layoffs as part of the initiative to balance the school’s budget. The Mills union committee hopes having a union will increase the staff’s bargaining power and help mitigate the effects of any future layoffs or budget cuts on hardworking staff.
Birds of Prey >> pg 6
Self-compassion and self-love >> pg 7
Simplified: The Impeachment verdict Felicia Payomo Managing editor On Jan. 5, 2020, President Trump was acquitted from both impeachment charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. This marked the end of the president’s impeachment trial, after one month, two weeks and four days of proceedings. On Dec. 18, 2019, the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment, accusing the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The first article of impeachment, the abuse of power, is defined by the Law Dictionary as a “misuse of power by someone in a position of authority who can use the leverage they have to oppress persons in an inferior position or to induce them to commit a wrongful act.” The accusation surfaced due to a phone call that President Trump held with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. Within this conversation, Trump was seen as withholding military assistance from Ukraine in an
effort to secure information on Joe Biden, a potential competitor in the upcoming election. The second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, is due to the president’s refusal of any and all investigations into his actions. An article by USA Today stated that the second article of impeachment “accus[ed] Trump of directing the unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas.” According to multiple accounts of inquiry made by house officials, President Trump has refused to comply with investigations into his actions, such as the investigation surrounding the whistleblower complaint and the Mueller investigation. The approval of these two articles of impeachment moved the trial to the Senate, to decide whether or not President Trump would be removed from office if he was found guilty of these charges. “I think that we have pulled back a veil of behavior totally unacceptable to our founders, and that the public will see this with a clearer eye, an unblurred eye,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an article from the New York Times.
“Whatever happens, he has been impeached forever. And now these senators, though they don’t have the courage to assign the appropriate penalty, at least are recognizing that he did something wrong.” The impeachment trials in the U.S. Senate began on Jan. 22 of this year. Representatives from both parties shared their views as the trial was broadcasted live on multiple media platforms. The members of the Senate were divided, with 45 members in the Democratic party, 53 members in the Republican party and 2 members identifying as Independent. During the trial, both the Democratic House impeachment managers and President Trump’s defense team gave opening and closing statements. Each side was given up to 24 hours over three days to develop their case for the trial. An article by NPR mentions that there was also a 16-hour period which allowed for questioning by the senators. Along with the short time frame to produce a developed case, the Senate voted against either side producing witnesses.
Morris, executive producer and cowriter of the film, is an award-winning author, social justice scholar, filmmaker and artist. Dr. Morris has decades of experience in education, civil rights, and juvenile and social justice. The film “Pushout” is based off of two of her books, “Sing A Rhythm, Dance a Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls” and “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.” Her work has reached the desks of lawmakers; in December 2019, she was represented by Congresswoman Alyanna Presley to introduce the Ending Punitive, Unfair, SchoolBased Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive to Trauma (PUSHOUT) Act. “Dr. Morris’ work is making real change,” Dr. Wendy Williams, dean of the School of Education, said. “The Ending Punitive, Unfair School-Based harm that is Overt
and Unresponsive to Trauma, Pushout ACT targets discriminatory and punitive school discipline policies that push Black and brown students out of schools at disproportionately high rates and often direct them to criminal justice systems. It also offers incentives to states and schools that commits to ban most suspensions and expulsions, as well as ... corporal punishment and physical restraint of students.” During Dr. Williams’ introduction of the event, she gave a history of the interconnectedness of indigenous people, enslaved Africans, and early settlers in the U.S and how it relates to school policies today. The racialization and bias towards indigenous people and enslaved Africans is a notion that has lasted through time and its history contributes to the experiences children have in classrooms.
see IMPEACH page 2
“Pushout” film screening creates a call to action towards criminalization in schools that target Black girls Angel Fabre Editor-in-Chef
In the United States, Black girls in high school are two times more likely to receive corporal punishment than white girls and three times more likely to be restrained. Statistics show that Black girls in grade school experience a disproportionate level of suspensions and expulsions compared to their white peers. When it comes to the experience of Black girls, it is extremely common for them to deal with unfair discipline and bias in the U.S. education system. An evening at Mills College created a call to action to address this injustice. On Feb. 8th, 2020, the School of Education held a screening of the 2019 documentary film “Pushout: the Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools,” co-hosted by the Black Student Collective. Dr. Monique
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see PUSHOUT page 2
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02.18.20 from
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Editorial Editor-in-Chief Angel Fabre eic@thecampanil.com Managing Editor Felicia Payomo me@thecampanil.com
IMPEACH page 1
The establishment of these ground rules implemented by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was seen as a hindrance to the Democratic House. The Democratic House impeachment managers focused their arguments on the articles of impeachment, while President Trump’s defense team claimed that the impeachment trial was an effort to influence the upcoming elections and sway the public’s opinion against Trump.
“This is an effort to overturn the results of one election and to try to interfere in the coming election that begins today in Iowa,” said Pat A. Cipollone during the Senate trial. “The only appropriate result here is to acquit the president and to leave it to the voters to choose their president.” Once both parties had their allotted time to state their case and delivered their opening and closing statements, the Senate cast their votes on whether or not they found the president guilty of the two impeachment charges.
Chief News Editor Position open Asst. News Editor Position open Arts & Entertainment Editor Tyler Mendoza tylermendoza@thecampanil.com
Asst. Arts & Ent. Editor Position open
Health & Wellness Editor Position open
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Asst. Health & Well. Editor Alyana Willis
Opinions Editor Jo Moses jmoses@thecampanil.com
Asst. Opinions Editor Ari Fitzgibbon
Online Online Editor Leilani Doneux doneux@thecampanil.com Asst. Online Editor Position open
Copy Copy Chief Dana Culpepper copy@thecampanil.com Copy Editors Kennia Hernandez
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Advising Faculty Adviser Keli Dailey The Campanil welcomes public commentary on subjects of interest to the campus community, as well as feedback on the paper itself. Letters to the Editor should be no more than 150 words. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity only. All submissions must include the author’s name and contact information and may be submitted via e-mail or in typewritten form, accompanied by an electronic copy. No anonymous submissions will be accepted. Submissions must be received one week before the publication date to appear in the next issue. The Campanil reserves the right to upload all content published in print, in addition to original content, on our website, www.thecampanil.com. The Campanil is published every other Tuesday. Students interested in joining the Campanil staff should contact the Editor in Chief at eic@thecampanil.com.
from
PUSHOUT page 1
The racialization and bias towards indigenous people and enslaved Africans is a notion that has lasted through time and its history contributes to the experiences children have in classrooms. “Black children are disproportionately the focus of zero-tolerance discipline policies in schools which push them out of school and into containment, whether in adult prison or juvenile justice systems, increasing the population [of those incarcerated] even as crime has decreased in this country,” Dr. Williams said. “And that is because it has never been about the crime. Indigenous youth who make up at least two-thirds of the youth in urban areas are relatively invisible. We don’t see them in and it may be by design, as invisibility can be protective on one hand and at the same time make your lives more dangerous. And this is noted if we think about the uncountable missing and murdered indigenous girls that we are not looking for in this culture.” Dr. Williams emphasized that watching the film was not meant to be an “intellectual exercise” and encouraged the audience to actively think about ways they could take action before she welcomed Dr. Morris to the podium. She approached the stage as the audience rose in a standing ovation. Dr. Morris explained how her work requires much travel as the conversations around the safety of Black girls should expand as far as possible, including creating more communities of solidarity. Individuals should understand that Black girls are the authors of their own stories, and they need the help of allies to tell these stories and become involved with discourse about how to make sure all girls of color feel safe in school settings. “This labor of love is about broadening our community, not just our discourses, but our actions,” Dr. Morris said, “so that they align with what this call is: it’s to understand that Black girls are sacred and loved, that we have a responsibility to engage them as partners in the co-construction of safety in our
schools, and to really center their experiences alongside other girls of color who are disproportionately harmed in places of learning.” “Pushout” centers on the experiences of Black girls and highlighted instances of excessive punishment and behavioral bias from teachers. The film follows the stories of five girls: Ariana, Samaya, Emma, Kiara and Terriana, ranging from ages 12 – 19. After the screening of the film, Dr. Margo Okazawa-Rey hosted a panel discussion that included Dr. Patricia Nunley, an educational consultant, Dr. Wanda Wason, assistant professor and Multiple Subjects Program director, Dr. Natalee Kehaulani Bauer, professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies and ethnic studies, and Dr. Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, assistant professor at the University of San Francisco in the School of Education and clinical social worker. Dr. Okazawa-Rey asked several questions to the panel and some to the audience regarding reactions to the film, the ability for people of color to be visible and invisible simultaneously, the feeling of knowing you are loved and supported, and “are [people of color] crash dummies?” Dr. Nunley described her reactions to the opening scene of the film where a law enforcement officer can be seen flipping a young Black girl out of her school chair and throwing her to the ground. The incident was filmed by her classmates and is very similar to the many videos of police and security physical aggression towards Black and brown students that have come out since. “I go to [an] African-American church and I remember when that incident occurred. And we talked about it at Bible study and I was so upset and disappointed in my fellow congregants,” she said. “Their opinion was ‘our children need to learn how to behave.’ And I reminded them that I’m an early childhood educator and it’s like, ‘no, no, you don’t get it’ There’s some developmental things. And it just re-
The trial concluded with President Trump acquitted from both the charge of abuse of power as well as obstruction of Congress. The first article of impeachment, abuse of power, was rejected with the votes divided 48 to 52. 67 guilty votes were needed to convict the president. The second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, was rejected as well with the votes divided 47 to 53. While most Republicans found President Trump not guilty, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah voted to convict the president. In his statement, Romney claimed that his oath to God compelled him to vote against the President. “The President is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. What he did was not perfect; no, it was a flagrant assault under electoral rights, our national security and our fundamental values,” Romney said during the trial. “Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one’s oath of office that
I can imagine.” While he was not removed from office for these charges, President Trump has become one of three presidents in U.S. history to ever be impeached by the House. There is speculation about how this trial will affect the president’s following, especially considering the fact that he will be the first president to run for a second term after being impeached.
ally hurt my heart because most of the congregants were women and mothers and grandmothers.” It is common for Black girls to be perceived as more adult-like and less innocent than their peers and are expected to behave as such, even from their own community. From a young age, Black girls are expected to be more mature. Parents Tammy Rosa and Sarah Prada highlighted the Q&A session that took place after the panel. They reached out to the stage of educators and asked them what they could do to make a change to the current educational systems and institutions, specifically about the current climate at Burbank Elementary School in the Hayward School District. Rosa explained that she is constantly shut out by the school district when she attempts to bring ideas to their attention and her complaints about the activity of “slavery games” at the school. According to Rosa and Prada, students would chase the Black students with jump ropes as if they were going to capture them. Prada had to remove her children from the school district because their stories of mistreatment had gotten so terrible, but she emphasized how this was a privilege and that many children and parents continue to struggle. “We don’t need allies—we need co-conspirators,” Prada said. “They’re tired of seeing us. They see the two of us walking in there, ‘Oh, here they come’. Because we’ve been screaming and shouting for so long.” The two parents, who for seven years have been trying to work with the school district, have received numerous complaints from parents. They have been called and told a child was called the “n-word” on the playground. They have met with every level of administration possible, including the superintendent, and have been met with a lack of care towards these issues. The film screening of “Pushout” ignited a large conversation about the discrimination and criminal-
ization Black girls face in schools and that people, such as those in the room, should do what they can to support Black girls and fight to change institutional policies that make them vulnerable. The ending phrase of the film echoed through Lisser Hall, “Black girls are sacred and loved.”
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The Sunrise Movement is emerging at Mills Angel Fabre Editor-in-Chief Mills College has a history of strong student participation in political activism and social justice. This remains true as a new movement gains momentum oncampus. The Sunrise movement is a coalition of young people dedicated to fighting climate change and advocating for the Green New Deal, a plan that would create living-wage jobs for millions of people. “Advocating for the Green New Deal, [is] a really important piece,” Caitlyn Marianacci, a firstyear graduate student and member of the Sunrise hub at Mills, said. “That would create jobs and revitalize the economy while also making it much more sustainable and creating more equity.” In Sept. of last year, a group of students from Mills College participated in the Global Climate Strike. Having a shared interest in climate action, these students wanted to spread awareness of economic disparity, climate change and the Green New Deal. Coco Gutman and Dalia Bender, both undergraduates at Mills, and Marianacci organized to create a Sunrise Movement hub on-campus. The grassroots youth-led Sunrise Movement was established in 2017 and sparked many protests and strikes in several cities across the United States. After the midterm elections in November 2018, where the Democratic party won control of the House of Representatives,
In September participated
in
250 Sunrise organizers participated in a sit-in outside of the office of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. They demanded action as there is no established plan from Democrats to combat the rising issue of climate change. Joined in support by Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez, the young organizers rallied until dozens of their members were arrested. The Green New Deal is often compared to the New Deal, proposed by President D. Roosevelt after the stock market crash in 1929. Due to the crash, the United States fell into the Great Depression where over fifteen million Americans were laid off from their jobs. The New Deal was a series of sixty programs and financial reform projects enforced through government intervention. The result was a restoration of the economy and a rise in employment. While there is a similarity between the two proposals for an emphasis on creating new jobs, the attention to the issues at hand differ. During the Great Depression, the majority of U.S. citizens were very aware of the dire economy but climate change does not have the same urgency on a large scale. While surveys show an increased awareness of climate change amongst U.S. citizens who consider the government responsible for taking action against global warming, the average U.S. citizen sees the pending effects of climate change as an obstacle to the far future. In Oct. 2018, the
2019,
SUNRISE MOVEMENT
U. S . R e p re s e n t a t i v e R a s h i d a T i l a b s h o w s s u p p o r t f o r t h e S u n ri s e Movement d u ri n g sit in at the Capitol in Wa s h i n g t o n , D.C.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ) released a report that discussed the current impacts of climate change and global greenhouse emissions “in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty.” Research by climate scientists shows changes need to be made to global energy systems in 10 years to lessen the impact of global warming on the world people recognize today. Climate change
SUNRISE MOVEMENT
the
the S u n ri s e movement Global Climate S t ri ke .
controls how the Earth operates at its surface, affecting environments through weather and the ability to grow food. In 2006, the Global Greens’ Green New Deal Task Force created a plan that would direct focus to establish 100% renewable sources by 2030 through a tax on carbon fuels, tuition-free college, universal healthcare and guaranteed jobs for all. The proposal was brought into political campaigns by Green Party members, Howie Hawkins and Jill Stein, and was later adopted by Democratic candidates. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez laid out her plan for the Green New Deal earlier this month. It was introduced to Congress last year with Massachusetts Sen. Edward J. Markey. Her proposed legislation includes goals “for some drastic measures to cut carbon emissions across the economy, from electricity generation to transportation to agriculture,” according to NPR. She plans to meet these goals while recognizing how specific communities, such as disabled, poor and people of color, may be heavily affected by extensive changes to the economy. Her goal also incorporates the early Green New Deal’s motivation to create living-wage jobs for all. As of 2019, the Green New Deal has received more Congress support with 95 House co-sponsors and 14 Senate co-sponsors. After the Sunrise Movement’s actions in the demonstration outside of Pelosi’s office, conversations about the Green New Deal entered mainstream media. On the Sunrise Movement’s website, they share a detailed presidential scorecard that ranks Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders on their current plan for the Green New Deal. Overall, Sanders was given the highest score and received an endorsement from the organization. “Sunrise is doing a lot with the Bernie campaign,” Marianacci said.
“They’ve endorsed Bernie and ... there was a thing you can vote if you thought [Sunrise] should endorse a candidate, and if so, whom? So it’s a democratic process internally ... the overwhelming support was for Bernie.” The student organizers for the Sunrise hub at Mills began their efforts last semester by participating in climate strikes and sharing information with other students. In addition to the Global Climate Strike in September 2019, they attended and canvassed for the National Climate Strike in December. Through Sunrise, they attended strike circles where young people are trained on how to organize and recruit other members and to adequately spread their message. The Sunrise hub at Mills has also hosted a Climate Anxiety Circle, where people are encouraged to share their fears about climate change in an understanding space. The organizers have on-going plans for taking action on-campus. They are in discussion with Joanne Wong, the Sustainability Coordinator at Mills, to find out what the college invests in fossil fuels. They have also discussed partnering with Active Students Against Prisons and Policing (ASAPP) to analyze the overlap of the climate crisis and the prison system. To get involved with the Sunrise hub at Mills, students can attend meetings every second and fourth Monday of the month at 7:15 p.m. in the Cyclone Hub. The first meeting is on Feb. 24th. Students can also get connected through the club’s instagram @sunrise_millscollege. “It’s such an important issue, and so for me, if I am not doing anything about it, it feels more scary,” Mariannaci said. “If I feel like I’m doing something and working with other people who feel similarly about these things, [that] gives me a lot of hope.”
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02.18.20
“Shady’s back, tell a friend” arts
Tyler Mendoza & entertainment editor
Eminem said in the tweet. While reminiscing, he said, “I was blown back by the fact that I won. ... I don’t even think I understood back then that you could get an Oscar for a song, and I remember being kinda confused about why I was even up for one, because as a kid with the Oscars, it was like a vacuum. ... That to me shows how authentic and FLICKR real that award is—when performance with a salute you don’t show up and you Only two months into this to the crowd, many readily still win. That makes it very new year and the “rap god” rose for a standing ovation. real to me.” When asked why he has once again surprised us In 2003, Eminem failed with yet another gift. to make an appearance decided to keep this year’s Early this year the when “Lose Yourself” Academy performance a legendary rapper, Eminem, was awarded an Oscar for secret, he stated, “I don’t released his unexpected “Best Original Song” at the know, I think it was either [the Oscars’] idea or Paul album “Music to Be Academy Awards. Murdered By.” The album In a recent interview with and [longtime publicist is themed after the famous Variety, Eminem recalls, Dennis Dennehy’s] idea film director Alfred “Back then, I never even before they brought it to Hitchcock, and features big thought that I had a chance me. It was presented to me names in the music industry to win, and we had just that way and I said, ‘Oh such as Ed Sheeran, Young performed ‘Lose Yourself’ that’s kinda dope, to not M.A., Anderson Paak on the Grammy’s with the even announce it.’” He and the recently departed Roots a couple of weeks continues, “We flew in [to Juice Wrld. The album has before the Oscars, so we Los Angeles] last week, so since debuted No. 1 on didn’t think it was a good we probably have four or Billboard’s 200 chart. idea. And also, back at that five rehearsals just to make Following the release time, the younger me didn’t sure we got everything right. of “Music to be Murdered really feel like a show like Most of the rehearsals were By,” Eminem gave us an that would understand me.” offsite, not in [the Dolby unexpected performance of Missing the opportunity Theater], just trying to keep his song “Lose Yourself” at to be handed an Oscar it secret”. He later explains why this month’s Oscars. by famous singer Barbra As the electric intro of Streisand, the rapper took to he decided to perform this “Lose Yourself” began, Twitter to joke about his past year, saying “I kinda figured footage from Eminem’s absence, while thanking the maybe since I didn’t get a movie “8 Mile” was Academy for extending him chance to do it at the time, maybe it would be cool... projected behind him on another invitation. And it was cool because we just put out an album, so we said maybe that’ll make sense with the timing of the new album.” Furthering the conversation around his new album, “Music to Be Murdered By,” Eminem adds the names of the artists he currently admires, stating “we had Young M.A. on the album, and she’s definitely one of the new artists that I’m super excited INSTAGRAM Singer Ba rbra Streisa nd a nncounces about—every time she puts Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself ” as Best something out, I listen. And Orginal Song at 2003 Academy Awa rd show. the guys we have signed stage. Many celebs bobbed “Look, if you had another to our label, [Buffalo, N.Y. their heads and mouthed the shot, another opportunity… rap trio] Griselda, that’s lyrics to the popular song, Thanks for having me @ exciting. YBN Cordae, he’s including Atlanta actress TheAcademy. Sorry it took dope.” Eminem comments he Zazie Beetz. Ending his me 18 years to get here,”
does not have any new projects as of yet but is continuing to work on projects surrounding his recent album. Last month, Eminem tweeted, “Don’t you wanna grow up to be just like me?,” encouraging fans to recreate and upload their version of the “Music to be Murdered By” album cover with a cover generator. “Hit me with your version using the hashtag (#MTBMB). Gonna repost the best ones on my IG stories!”
Rap a rtist Eminem embaces friend Elton John,backsta ge at this yea rs Acedemy Awa rd show.
02.18.20
Jo Moses Opinions editor In 1935, “Sylvia Scarlett” premiered—an epic financial flop of a movie about a woman (played by Katherine Hepburn) who decides that she can help her debt-ridden father by dressing like a young man in order to commit crime more easily (#begaydocrime really rings true, doesn’t it?). In the process, she explores life as a man, and experiences changes in her relationship towards masculine presentation and to women as romantic interests. A relic of the 1930’s, the movie unfortunately does not end with Sylvia continuing to explore gender fluidity and becoming a crime boss, but ends with her falling for a man and
Forgotten queer media: Sylvia Scarlett “becoming a woman again.” The film was a powerhouse of queer production, pushing progressive sexual politics that were received very poorly at the time of release. In fact, it is the film’s poor reception that tells us most about its vibrantly queer cultural status. Variety wrote at the time: “Perhaps it is not valid to ask whether anybody would really fail to suspect the true sex of such a boy as [Katherine] Hepburn looks and acts. But while carrying this off well enough, she shines brightest and is most likeable in the transition [back] into womanhood.” By virtue of its 1935 production, the film also narrowly caught to introduction of the 1934 Hays Code. Capitulating to the growing
political influence of the Catholic Church, the U.S. Government used the Hays Code to crack down on “immorality” in cinema, which included positive depictions of queer identities, interracial relationships and nudity, among other such sins. Even though the Hays Code demanded incredible restraint in “Sylvia Scarlett’”s portrayal of sexuality, the premiere date meant that the height of the cinematic purity movement would coincide with the film’s ill-fated debut. “Sylvia Scarlett” was directed by gay bon vivant George Cukor, and it starred open-secret queers Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. The film also employed women and prominent leftists in its
production; it was written in part by Gladys Unger, edited by Jane Loring, and also featured narrative contributions by Mortimer Offner, a member of the Communist Party who was later blacklisted from Hollywood during the Red Scare. During the 1940s and 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy capitalized on Cold War paranoia to lead a witch-hunt of prominent leftists and LGBTQ people across all industries, but particularly in the government, activism and the arts. He administrated hundreds of trials and targeted people from Lucille Ball to Pete Seeger. The Red Scare eventually became so intense that the same company that let a gay communist produce “Sylvia Scarlett” released a drama
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called “I Married a Communist!” 15 years later. So all evidence provided for, it can be reasonably concluded: even if no one remembers this obscure film that didn’t even make $500,000 at the box office, “Sylvia Scarlett” was, like, super gay.
The Infamous Kiss Scene T h e f i l m ’s g a y r e p u t a t i o n w a s f i r m l y a n c h o r e d b y o n e i c o n i c m o m e n t . I n t h e s c e n e t h a t i s r u m o r e d t o h a v e c a u s e d three-quarters of the audience to walk out of a test screening, seductive maid Maudie kisses Sylvia Scarlett while she is d i s g u i s e d a s S y l v e s t e r.
Maudie [to Sylvester]: When are you going to grow some whiskers? Your face is as smooth as a girl’s. You’ll be bristly soon enough! Sylvester: I intend to grow a mustache in a year or two. Maudie: You won’t half look a lad! What are you gonna have? A Charlie Chaplin? Sylvester: No, one of those thin ones. Maudie: Like Ronald Coleman? Where’s me eyebrow pencil? Let’s see how it’ll look. [Sylvester and Maudie sit together, and Sylvester grabs a hand mirror as Maudie draws a mustache.] Sylvester: Ow! Maudie: Hold still now. Wait a minute. Let me get it right. Sylvester [looking in the mirror]: Oh, I say, that’s marvelous. Maudie: I say, I wonder what it’d be like to kiss anybody with a mustache like that. Sylvester: I don’t know. Maudie: Let’s try. [Maudie kisses Sylvester.] Sure, the movie was branded “career poison” for Hepburn, Cukor never worked at RKO again, and Grant and Hepburn begged the producer to shelve the film after the homophobic reception at a test screening, but the movie still stands as a monument to t h e s a p p h i c i m p r e s s i o n H e p b u r n l e f t i n H o l l y w o o d , a l e g a c y n o t o n l y o f i n c r e d i b l e b e a u t y, b u t o f h a n d s o m e n e s s a s w e l l . For more information about the history of this movie, a great resource is “Queer & Now & Then: 1935,” a review by Michael Koresky from Film Comment.
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Review: “Birds of Prey” truly is “fantabulous” Ari FitzGibbon Assistant Opinions Editor Let me open this review with a warning: I am by no means a regular consumer of superhero movies. I don’t even know how much I don’t know about the DC franchise, because I can’t tell you which superheroes are from DC and which are from Marvel. Some might think this makes me unqualified to judge a movie like this one; but on the contrary, it makes me the ideal person to judge. As a general rule, movies should not be accessible only to an elite few who are willing to put in significant amounts of background research prior to watching them. Down that path lies the alienation of the general public and the triumph of a toxic minority who believe that sweating blood to enjoy the media you consume makes you morally superior. Like many moviegoers, I watch movies for one thing and one thing only: to be entertained. And if you, like me, are entertained by female bonding, diverse casts and great fight scenes, then watching “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” may be the right experience for you. The plot of this movie, as I understood it, is as follows: Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie), the Joker’s girlfriend and partner in crime, undergoes a less-thanmutual breakup. After she rallies and decides to flaunt their parting of ways, she realizes that without Joker’s protection, she’s become vulnerable prey for everyone with a grudge against her. Chief among those coming after her is Gotham crime lord, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), also known as Black Mask. A kidnapped Harley cuts a bargain with Black Mask; he won’t kill her if she can recover a valuable
diamond that’s slipped out of his grip. One problem, though; that diamond has just been swallowed by young pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), who Harley will have to break out of jail. Plus, Harley’s not the only person on the job. Sionis has placed a bounty on Cassandra’s head for any mercenary willing to cut her open, and if Harley wants to save both the diamond and the girl, she’ll have to team up with several more female antiheroes: Sionis’s emotionally
more, this is a female power fantasy. Women almost never get movies like this, and when they do, they have to watch the characters being endlessly attacked for being “Mary Sues” (a term referring to “unrealistically accomplished” female characters; after all, it’s so much less likely that a woman would be good at things than a man). Even if I hadn’t understood a single iota of the plot, I’d be inclined to forgive it on account of sheer entertainment value, which this
was one of the greatest things I have ever witnessed onscreen. I would like to petition for every chase scene in every film, no matter how gritty or serious, to incorporate roller skates from now on. Equally as satisfying as the fight scenes are the movie’s female characters and their development throughout the narrative. These women are chaotic, warmhearted, exhausted, foulmouthed, awkward and hilarious. Their outfits are
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detached driver, Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), a mysterious and awkward hitwoman who wants to be called Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and jaded detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), who has been building a case against Sionis for years. I would describe this film’s plot as “mostly coherent,” which is honestly higher praise than I can give to many of the action films I’ve seen in my life. Sure, I raised my eyebrows at more than a few plot devices, but as previously stated, this is a superhero movie. Its primary purpose is to serve as a power fantasy. What’s
movie certainly delivers. The best thing about the plot of “Birds of Prey” is undoubtedly its effectiveness as a mechanism for delivering fight scenes. These scenes are many and varied, visually thrilling, and had me and my fellow moviegoers chuckling with satisfaction as we watched mercenaries get what was coming to them. Among the movie’s greatest visual and creative accomplishments were (1) a water-soaked fight scene that did not remotely sexualize the people, particularly the women, involved (2) a fight scene involving a high-speed roller skate chase, which
incredible; almost every piece of clothing worn by the leads looks like something you would find at a thrift store on the luckiest shopping day of your life. Their dynamic together is supportive but not saccharine, sometimes difficult to maintain but undoubtedly rewarding. Three of our five female leads are women of color, and two are casually established as queer, both of which are (unfortunately) still groundbreaking cinematic choices. By the way, a note to every man who took to the Internet after this film to complain that the women of “Birds of Prey” weren’t sexy enough; first,
please consider engaging with female characters and women in general as people rather than sex objects. Secondly, and this one in particular to the men who claimed that a leather-clad, crossbow-wielding Mary Elizabeth Winstead was not appropriately sexy—on behalf of myself and every woman-lovingwoman and nonbinary person in that movie theater, may I say, I don’t think you have any idea what sex appeal is. The reviews for this recent release are already rolling in, and after a $33.2 million opening weekend, many of them are already calling “Birds of Prey” a box office disappointment. There are several likely contributing factors to this consensus. For one, due to quite a bit of swearing and a few scenes containing relatively graphic violence or implied attempts at sexual assault, the film was rated R, thus likely driving away many moviegoers under 17. For another, the title “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn),” usually shortened to “Birds of Prey,” largely buries the lede—that the film is led by fan-favorite Harley Quinn. (Some theaters have been attempting to compensate for this by modifying the name on the marquee to read “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.”) Additionally, this movie is women-led and womandirected, which will likely both drive away the misogynist demographic and inspire male reviewers to deride the capabilities of women in entertainment and call the film a flop, even if evidence appears to the contrary. For now, there’s little I can do about the gendered biases that plague movie viewers and reviewers. All I can say is even if the negative reviews have instilled doubt in your heart, if you think you might like a female-led action film, I urge you to go give “Birds of Prey” a chance and form your own opinion.
For the love of all that is holy: stop putting sex noises in music Jo Moses Opinions Editor The time has come to hold a referendum on the state of music; specifically, the presence of sex noises in music. This is a distinct and unusual trend in music production that has thrived uncurtailed for decades, multiplying like a cancer. From Naughty by Nature and Joan Jett to Tove Lo and Nelly, singers have been employing recordings of their own moaning, grunting and squelching in their tracks for far too long. And somehow, whether it’s because sex noises can be ignored with strong willpower or because there’s a statistically significant group of people for whom this feature is actually a draw, the use of sex sounds has blossomed without consequence. Selena Gomez’s “Bad Liar,”
which features a whiny orgasmic noise in one of its chorus repeats, collected three major music award nominations; Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” was nominated for a Grammy; “Windowlicker” by Aphex Twin was New Musical Express (NME) Single of the Year; Nelly took home a Grammy and a Billboard award for “Hot in Here.” There are simply too many well-regarded songs to list here, but even these few can illustrate the epidemic nature of wailing sexually to a beat. Adding sex noises to a song, particularly a song unrelated to sex (see “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways), is a transparent attempt to lend maturity to a song. It always fails, because as any artist knows, the least edgy thing possible is trying to be edgy, and nothing says try-hard like a randomly placed moan. At the very least, hearing unexpected sex noises in a song
is viscerally unpleasant. Whether it feels like a violation of privacy or just primally gross, akin to nails on a chalkboard, I daresay even the most hypersexual individual doesn’t want to hear the noises of Axl Rose doing the devil’s tango over a guitar riff. Even without considering the implications of sex noises on music quality, it’s undeniable that their presence denigrates the listening experience—especially in public. Music is often enjoyed with others, but hearing backup singers moan for Naughty by Nature in the company of casual acquaintances, or—God forbid— young siblings or children, is a painfully embarrassing experience; the public’s continued tolerance of it confounds me. Yet we shouldn’t be bound to this problem! For when sex noises are used in as cavalier a manner as most singer-songwriters
employ them, they add nothing of value to the song. Therefore, their removal should have no real negative effects. Furthermore, although many singer-songwriters don’t seem to know this, there are ways to cover sex in a song that don’t involve recording yourself in the throes of passion. Sex is a meaningful part of life for many people, and it is possible to incorporate it into art in a nuanced, tasteful way. There are songs solely about having or wanting to have sex, but their restraint and strong music help them remain listenable. “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails, “Take Me To Church” by Hozier, and “Girls” by Beatrice Eli are prime examples of this. Furthermore, many songs use sexual themes to their advantage by using sex to comment on social issues. L7’s “Wargasm” focuses on the almost
sexual pleasure the American government seems to derive from going to war. “Screwed” by Janelle Monae uses sexual references to explore hedonism during wartime. Brooke Candy is a queer rapper and former stripper whose work explores sexuality in a powerful, new way. Her song “WAR” even begins with aggressive moaning, but nevertheless it is exactly as she describes it: a punk-rock anarchist scream track “with a thoughtful feminist perspective.” So please, music industry executives, singers, songwriters, anyone with influence: how much must I grovel for the indecency to stop? Everything I have said is something you must already know, and yet still you persist in climaxing on tape. If there is any ounce of restraint inside you, reach for it now. This is the moment for change.
Editor’s note: With the exception of staff editorials, the views expressed in columns and the Opinions section do not necessarily reflect the views of the Campanil and are solely those of the author. Additionally, statements made by contributors outside of the Campanil do not reflect the opinions of the editorial board.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
02.18.20
“Self-Compassion and self-love”: One on one with Dalia Bender
Alyana Willis Assistant Health & Wellness Editor Dalia Bender, first year at Mills College—and teacher of those free yoga classes you’ve been hearing about—pauses mid-vent to take a bite out of her Tea Shop pastry, “Ending climate change is more than using disposable forks.” The native New Yorker sat down with me Monday afternoon to discuss the impact she is making on campus. Not only is she offering free weekly yoga classes on campus, but Bender also spearheads the Mills chapter of Sunrise Movement, a movement of young people fighting to end climate change and create jobs in the process. She is organizing a campus climate strike for this upcoming Earth Day, trying to spread the message of legislative action to fight climate change. The young activist explains that she has been teaching yoga for two years, and was looking for studios in the area when she saw that there were few classes that are financially accessible to all. “Yoga has become a product to be sold. Even as a yoga teacher, I can’t afford to take classes,” says Bender as she explains her reasoning for starting her free weekly classes. When asked her favorite part about teaching yoga, she ponders the question and responds, “Seeing how people discover what the practice does for their own lives. Yoga is a really good area to have some self-compassion and selfawareness.” “I don’t believe that yoga is the only way to take care of ourselves,” Bender clarifies as she pauses to take another bite of her pastry. She expands that practicing self-love or self-care is “doing the things you like more. We are constantly moving. Take a second to slow down and ask yourself what you need: have you eaten, have you drank water, done something you really wanted to do today?” “At least once in your day, checkin with yourself, see how you’re feeling and what you can do to feel
Angel Fabre Editor-In-Chief
The Mills Farm Club is currently experiencing a change in leadership. At risk of ending completely this semester, the club needs new students to join and help with the planning of events as the semester progresses. The goals of the organization are to bring more awareness around sustainability and farming. They work closely with the Mills Community Farm, “a 2.5acre working farm that practices sustainable farming and provides urban agriculture education in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, local organizations, and Oakland schools.” The farm provides fresh produce to the dining ser-
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better. Self-care is more than internal care; it’s community care. Activism is self-care. You’re watching out for your community.” Bender encourages those who are cautious about trying yoga to step out of their comfort zone. “There are so many excuses we give ourselves. I encourage people to just try it. If they are hesitant because they aren’t flexible enough, well, then when they are ready to take that step and explore yoga, they can try it!” she states. “For me, moving my body is a way for me to get into my heart. We have a lot of the tools that we are looking for inside of ourselves. If someone wants to come, I want them to know that they are completely welcome. I always say at the beginning of class that if you want to lay on your back for the whole hour, I think that’s a wonderful use of your time. You don’t always have to do what the teacher does.” She wants her practitioners to “feel like they have autonomy and know that it is their choice.” In addition to teaching yoga and fighting against climate change, Bender is majoring in public health and is looking to follow a career in reproductive justice and work as a doula. However, she adds that she thinks “there are already enough white yoga teachers and doulas in the world, and I would like to make more of a systemic change. I love people and working with people, but I think my role is not going to be impactful if I just do direct
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patient care and not reproductive policy.” By now we have finished our pastries, but that doesn’t stop Bender from informing me about her favorite class on campus: doula training, which is run by CornerStone Doula Trainings. “Within the first class all of our [the class] perspective was changed of what doula work is. It’s not just holding the hand of a birthing person, it’s really serving as a patient advocate.” Bender continues by explaining, “You are their physical, emotional and spiritual support in whatever way they need in birth, and it’s really all about informed consent. So much of the work is just dropping your ego and what you think is best for them and really honoring that it’s their birth, and you are there to serve [their wishes]. You need to be able to hold space in one of their most vulnerable and intense moments of their life.” When asked how she plans on using her newfound passion, she takes a moment before responding, “White women take up a lot of space in birth work and yoga as well; being a doula isn’t just about helping people give birth, but is about reproductive justice, and I want to analyze the way I can best serve people.”
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“At least once in your day, check-in with yourself, see how you’re feeling and what you can do to feel better. Self-care is more than internal care; it’s community care. Activism is self-care. You’re watching out for your community.”
Save the Farm Club! vices on-campus and also sells produce at a weekly farm stand and to local restaurants. The farm club was started last semester by undergraduate students Kasina Vaewsworn, Maya Sanchez-Strauss and Esther Meyers, who became the initial officers of the organization. They were all enrolled in the Campus Farm Practicum course where students can learn about food justice, skills of urban agriculture and sustainable food production. “Sustainability is ... so important because we have finite resources, but we always have unlimited needs and wants as humans,” Vaewsron, the former president of Farm Club, said. “It’s important to make sure that the resources that we have are
sustainable and continue on for future generations and that we treat the Earth the way that the Earth treats us—which is, you know, providing and taking care of us.” Julia Dashe, manager of the Mills Community Farm and instructor of the Campus Farm Practicum course offered as a fulfillment of the Community Engaged Learning (CEL) requirement, suggested that the students create a farm club. The students took charge of this idea and their goals were to hold events and start a farmer’s market on-campus. The farmer’s market would have been held at the farm during the Spring 2020 semester, and included community organizations, local vendors and supporting small busi-
nesses. However, planning a large event requires time and help; the founding members of the farm club need more members to make the farmer’s market happen. “Last semester what we did is we started the inquiry, the research and the planning, which I’m sure you know, planning is a whole ordeal,” Vaewsrom said. To get started, they “visited local farmers’ markets and asked managers questions and ... got contacts for certain vendors that would be potentially asked to vend here. ... But one of the things that kind of like stalled us was getting in touch with Alameda County Environmental Health.” The farmer’s market would not only give students more access to fresh produce and local vendors but
would also bridge the gap between the Mills community and the community of the greater Bay Area. In the past, the farm club has thrown events such as the Fall Farm Fest. The festival was a place for students to listen or participate in an open mic, try homemade goods made by the initial club officers, have cider and snacks, and shop through the artwork of Mills students who tabled. This event allowed students who were neither involved with the community farm or the club to visit and learn what is available to them.
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“I don’t know how involved I’ll be in the future of the club, but I hope that there continues to be a connection between Farm Club and the farm because that’s kind of like the basis of where it all started,” Vaesworn said. Students are able to volunteer at the farm during volunteer hours or join the Campus Farm Practicum course if they are interested in learning more about sustain-
HEALTH & WELLNESS
able food production. Those who are interested should contact Julia Dashe at jdashe@mills.edu. The Mills community farm also has an Instagram: @millscommunityfarm. They can also get connected with the Farm Club through their Instagram, @millsfarmclub, where meeting times and events are publicized, or by contacting the former club advisor, Dashe. As she exits from her position,
Vaesworn reflects on her experience working with the Farm Club. “I really liked the people that I was working with, I think it really helps to have a good team behind you and ... both Maya and Esther, we were kind of the ones running the show and ... we are all kind of in the same boat with like trying to juggle school and also make Farm Club the best thing possible,” she said. “The favorite thing of mine is
the people that I met through and being able to work with them. ... When we would have meetings to kind of brainstorm about what we want to see happen and even just to check in with how we’re all doing ... that was a favorite of mine. And then also just being at the farm physically once a week.”
The Campanil Crossword
Please recycle or repurpose this issue.
Answers: Across 3. Yoga, 5. Harley Quinn, 7. Bernie Sanders, 8. Fall Farm Fest, 9. abuse of power Down 1. Dr. Monique Morris, 2. Maudie, 4. Lose Yourse;f, 6. SEIU
