Miss Hendrix Issue: Volume 114, Issue 4

MISS HENDRIX

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: HANNAH DIGGS

ONLINE EDITOR: ELLERY SEYMOUR

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: BECCA BURKS

COPY EDITOR: MAGGIE RYAN

LAYOUT EDITOR: DEMAH YOUSEF (4-11)

LAYOUT EDITOR: JOSIAH VALLONE (12-21)

PHOTOGRAPHER: KENDRA BALDWIN

PHOTOGRAPHER: FLYNN HIRREL

PHOTOGRAPHER: ADDI JARRELL

STAFF WRITER: JAE HURD

STAFF WRITER: LINC LUKE

STAFF WRITER: ALAINA MAY

STAFF WRITER: CHARLOTTE MILLER

STAFF WRITER: NOAH MORRIS

STAFF WRITER: MALCOLM ROSE

STAFF WRITER: COLM SIMMONS

GUEST WRITER: SHAUNELL HENDERSON

ADVISOR

DR. FELIPE PRUNEDA SENTIES

MISSION STATEMENT

As a student-run and student-funded newsmagazine, The Profile uncovers the smart edge to campus culture: the people, places, ideas and trends that curious, confident students and faculty want, need and ought to know. By critically examining issues important to the Hendrix community, The Profile aims to act as a catalyst for change, a tool for transparency between the student body and faculty and a source of inspiration for its readers to begin thinking globally and acting locally.

NOTE FROM EDITOR HANNAH DIGGS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

One of Hendrix’s most beloved campus traditions, Campus Kitty’s Miss Hendrix show, is back and better than ever. Traditionally, the Profile reveals contestant bios and accompanying photos before the event. This year, we have gone step further by drawing inspiration from the theme, Y2Kitty, as well. As you move through your regularly scheduled stories, you will stumble upon a vortex to the past, taking you back to a 90s style fashion mag that will walk you through all of the drag personas.

Campus Kitty is a philanthropic organization, and the money from Miss Hendrix goes to support various charities. This year, the selected charities are Deliver Hope, Lucie’s Place, and Rise House. Deliver Hope is a Conway based nonprofit that empowers at risk youth. Lucie’s Place is a Little Rock based nonprofit that provides a multitude of wonderful services for LGBTQ+ youth in Arkansas. Rise House is a Conway based nonprofit that aids survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault. The Profile is thrilled to promote Campus Kitty’s event and the support of these three local nonprofit organizations.

Aside from the exciting Miss Hendrix reveal, this issue also has a lot of other stimulating content. This issue includes a new series where we ask professors questions about phenomena in their field, Conway thrifting recommendations, as well as a guest written opinion piece about one student’s experience engaging with campus organizations in a predominantly white institution. Our staff hopes this issue leaves you with a lot to think about and a wellspring of excitement for the upcoming Miss Hendrix show.

Sincerely,

Have a question, response, or inquiry?

You can reach us anytime at diggshm@hendrix.edu.

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FALL OF BANKMAN-FRIED

NOAH MORRIS | STAFF WRITER

Born to law professors in Stanford, California, Sam Bankman-Fried was sullen and analytical in his youth, quietly excelling in his classes. He attended MIT, and became aware of a New-Wave ideology called “Effective Altruism”, justifying the vast fortunes available within modern Silicon Valley technospace by maintaining a pledge to distribute most or all wealth to charity at some point in the future, following the example set by classic billionaires such as Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. This ideology lit a fire of ambition within Sam, who took a job as a day trader at an investment firm called Jane Street in NYC, and donated a sizable portion of his salary towards malaria prevention. He lived a rote workaholic lifestyle, sleeping four hours a day on a beanbag at his desk. His journey to the top truly began when he quit that job and opened up a crypto trading firm called Alameda Research. He noticed an opportunity for arbitrage: Bitcoin was 10% more expensive in Japan than in the US. He spent the next three weeks putting all resources towards moving dollars to bitcoin to Japan to yen, over that time gaining around $20,000,000 and a deep understanding of the inefficiencies in the existent crypto trading infrastructure, spending most days physically inside of banks sending wire transfers. He and his crew began work, feverishly, on an online platform capable of crypto maneuvering. This platform, once it was done, was called FTX, or, “Futures Exchange.” Sam looked the part of an eccentric tech genius. He had a big fuzzy mop of curly hair, and always wore shorts and a t-shirt, regardless of context. He had intense ADHD, and was known to play League of Legends on business calls, or interviews if he wasn’t feeling stimulated enough. Throughout the years that FTX was real and rising, Sam lived with his on-againoff-again girlfriend Caroline Ellison (who was the CEO of Alameda), college best friend and business partner Gary Wang, his whole family, and several other people, including an in-house psychiatrist bearing a pharmacopeia of stimulant drugs, in a sprawling mansion in the Bahamas, where they maintained the exchange. Below is a quote from a blog post called “The Fetishization of The Old” that Sam wrote critical of deference toward age in any context, Dismissing as overrated such far-reaching examples as Shakespeare, Citizen Kane, the Constitution, and aged wine.

“In about eighty years I will be dead, and in another eighty everyone who ever really knew me will be too. I will be at risk of being forgotten; everyone alive now will be, but most importantly for me, I will be. I would like to think that I will be remembered. We all would. And if we as a society spend so much time looking backward, so much time romanticizing those who died two hundred years ago, so much time replicating traditions born hundreds of years ago, then the future doesn’t look quite so divorced

from the present.”- Sam Bankman-Fried, King Zoomer.

Sam was confident that he personified a genuinely new way of being. He bought ad time at the Super Bowl, and rechristened the Miami Heat’s stomping grounds the “FTX Arena”. Sam wasn’t coding much: it was never really his forte. He spent most days in Washington DC, acting as an effective crypto lobbyist, arguing for ever-laxer regulation. He was popular among both Republicans and Democrats, ultimately the second-largest contributor to the Biden campaign after only Michael Bloomberg. His net worth peaked at 26 billion. FTX allowed for the borrowing of money (something the US limits to heavily regulated banks) while also allowing for margin accounts (which is limited to brokerages). Up to 95% of the balance of FTT Tokens in your wallet could be borrowed, with FTX’s dazzlingly sophisticated risk-management systems selling collateral automatically if necessary. FTX posited FTT as a genuinely reasonable investment by asserting that they would put profits from Alameda into buying then destroying FTT, raising its price. Thus, the better Alameda was doing, the better FTT holders were doing, and vice versa.

Crypto, as a market, is exceedingly volatile by design. 2022 in particular harbored ample coalmine canaries, in the form of huge drops in value for many once “stablecoins”. Alameda Research, which owned a lot of cryptocurrency, was destitute, negative ten billion dollars broke. Sam Bankman-Fried, ultimately, concocted a scheme. He bailed out the company with customer funds, then secretly withdrew oodles of FTT from FTX’s system, creating a backdoor. He used the FTT as collateral to borrow further assets, paying off Alameda’s debts. At this point FTX had many customers, little money, and everything riding on crypto, desperate to keep up appearances. Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, at one ooint invested heavily in FTX, but decided to part ways with the company, and let Sam buy out his share. On November 6, 2022, Zhao tweeted that he had learned that a suspiciously significant portion of Alameda’s balance sheet was composed of FTT, and that he had sold all of the FTT that Sam had paid for his shares in FTX with. This made everyone immediately try to remove their money from FTX, which was money that they no longer had to give out. FTX declared bankruptcy a few days later, having frozen most customers out of their assets entirely. Federal regulators easily flipped Ellison, Wang, and many other members of Sam’s inner circle, extraditing many involved parties, including Sam. He now sits under house arrest, living in California with his parents in the house he grew up in, on a 250 million dollar bond. He’s pleading not guilty.

ARKANSAS DRAG BILL

ALAINA MAY | STAFF WRITER

Arecent event in the Arkansas government angered many and called into question just how technical politics can be. That event was the proposal of the bill called SB43 or, more commonly known as the “drag bill”. Although, that is no longer exactly what the bill will be affecting. Let me explain...

Originally, the bill proposed by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R) in January 2023 was created to restrict minors from attending and viewing drag shows and prohibit them from happening on public property. The reason for this bill offered by Stubblefield was that he believed that such shows are too sexually explicit and should not be seen by minors. Later that month, members of government agreed that the legislation should not focus solely on drag—which one could argue is generally not sexually explicit—and agreed on an amended version of the bill that restricts minors from attending an “adult-oriented performance”.

While, yes, this change in phrasing is a large win for the drag and LGBTQ+ community, the intent of the original legislation is still worrisome. The bill had already been passed by the Senate before the House decided to amend it. What if they hadn’t decided to change anything? What if the original iteration of the bill, which made it past the Senate, had been passed and approved by Governor Sanders?

Attorney and advocate for education improvement in Arkansas, Ali Noland recently wrote an article for the Arkansas Times about SB43 and its unconstitutional qualities prior to it being amended. In an interview with me, she emphasized the need for Arkansas politicians to stop focusing on legislation about inconsequential matters.

“These bills are used by lawmakers to score points with their base and get their name in the news.” Noland said. “These culture-war issues also serve as a distraction, taking pressure off lawmakers to fix real (and often very difficult) issues like poverty, hunger, lack of access to healthcare, high rates of maternal mortality, lack of affordable housing, and lack of economic opportunity in our state.”

In light of the probability that another, similar bill is threatening to be passed by Arkansas government, the main question that should be on everyone’s mind is: Does it pass the Miller test?

In 1973, the Supreme Court passed a new standard for any legislation referring to obscenity called the Miller test. It’s essentially a three-part test that asks: 1. Does it appeal to the average prurient (sexual) interest? 2. Is it explicitly sexual in a way that is outlawed by the state? 3. Is it lacking in literary, artistic, scientific, or political value?

“If this new bill is used to prohibit or punish speech (and, let’s be clear, drag shows ARE speech) which doesn’t meet

all of the requirements of the Miller Test, it would likely get struck down in court.” Noland said. “But fighting those legal battles can be time-consuming and very expensive. That’s why it’s important to support organizations, like the ACLU, that work to safeguard our constitutional rights.”

For anyone who has been to a drag show, turned on RuPaul’s Drag Race, or even knows what drag is, it should be obvious that the average drag show would not pass the Miller test. As Associate Professor of Politics, Dr. Peter Gess, said, “There are a lot of people who find artistic value in drag.” Along with the fact that drag is not sexually explicit in nature, and it generally does not spark a “prurient interest” we shouldn’t expect any future drag restricting bills to be passed anytime soon.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ main legislative goal at present consists of education reform and criminal justice reform which she hopes to pass together, or as an omnibus bill. However, until she’s able to get them both passed, many legislators are simply finding ways to pass the time through bills like the bathroom bill which was recently passed and SB81 which prohibits giving sexually explicit items, such as books, to a minor. Gess agrees that this is simply Arkansas legislators’ way of biding their time.

“The legislature is almost proverbially twirling their thumbs while they’re waiting for those two big bills that are supposed to take a lot of time and resources. There’s this void where these big things aren’t happening, so there are these other things that are filling that void.” Gess said.

As members of this community, Hendrix College students will be directly affected by bills like SB43. If it had been passed before being amended, next year’s Miss Hendrix might have been called into question. While we are a private institution and most of us here are not minors, families and younger friends might not have been able to attend. Even some students might have had to be banned from the Miss Hendrix events.

While we wait for the government to move on from their current focus on cultural bills, there are things that you, as an Arkansas resident, can do.

“It can be frustrating for progressive students to constantly fight against some of this stuff, but voices really make a difference. There is still power in contacting your local legislator. Students should always feel they have a voice and there’s good voice in protests, organizing protests at the capitol is a positive thing.” Gess said. “Contacting your legislators is always a good thing. A phone call is always better than an email. A letter is better than an email. Emails are easy to ignore.”

THRIFTING IN CONWAY

BY CHARLOTTE MILLER

TIPS AND TRICKS ON HOW TO GET THE BEST DEALS

Do you have an eccentric style? Do you wish you could find the accent pieces that your closet is missing? Are you melancholy because you lack the 70s bell-bottoms of your dreams? Or do you just refuse to pay over $10 for a tank top? Worry no more! Conway is home to an array of thrift stores, consignment shops, flea markets, and garage sales. Along with the Salvation Army and Goodwill that are within walking distance, there are plenty of funky local shops to fill your clothing needs (and haven’t been ransacked by Conway high schoolers). So broaden your horizons, pick up that Disney 2007 t-shirt with a hole in the armpit that you’re positive you can sew, open your wallet, and support small businesses!

The Go Store serves as an Operation Christmas Child packing center during the fall months, but its second half acts as a year-

round thrift store. This one of a kind gem is located in downtown Conway at 807 Court Street. The Go Store is full of handmade jewelry, 40 year old sewing patterns, someone’s grandmother’s wedding china, early 2000’s heels, and, of course, clothes! Most pieces of clothing are $2 and they even offer a $5 fill a bag sale. No need to order that hyper-niche piece of clothing that you will wear one time from a fast fashion website when you can scour the racks and support your local businesses.

America Jane Vintage is another great downtown business, located at 1021 Van Ronkle Street. As the name gives away, this charming shop is packed with obscene amounts of authentic vintage clothing. Quilted vest? Got it. Navy lined coveralls? Got it. Cat tapestry vest? Well that actually just sold out, but there’s still the purple boho duster. Vintage refers to clothing 20 years or older which means that America Jane Vintage is temporary home to pieces from

1890 to 1990. You can also check out their instagram @americajanevintage. Yours Truly is a consignment shop where you can shop, donate, or do a little (or lot) of both. Located at 1052 Harrison Street, Yours Truly takes donations of brand name clothing, jewelry, shoes, bags, and other accessories and resells them at a marked down rate. If they accept your donated items, you can create an account where you will receive a percentage of the final cost the item sold at. This percentage is given back to you through in-store credit. Yours Truly also has a markdown schedule where items get discounted to be as low as 85% off! This store is very well organized by dividing clothes based on their type and size making shopping simple. It is also home to a wide variety of business casual and formal options—a great way to find that perfect interview outfit.

Now that you know of these great clothing (and whatever else your heart could desire) stores, put on your sneakers, grab your car keys, and prepare your fingers for the strenuous task of flicking through hangers and getting excellent deals!

Asa Hutchinson has assured the public he will be working with Sanders to ensure a smooth transition.

photo by Kendra Baldwin

BEYONCE PERFORMANCE PAYCHECK: ONE NIGHT CONCERT, 24 MILLION DOLLARS

BY COLM SIMMONS

On January 21st, Beyoncé performed a one-night concert at the luxury hotel Atlantis the Royal in Dubai and was paid $24 million dollars; now what. The singer’s newest paycheck has been making waves with the increase in the discussion surrounding the wage gap and payment inequities. Is there an ethical way to make 24 million dollars in one night? With the cost of living on the rise, Americans are becoming more critical of the existence of millionaires and billionaires. When so many people are struggling with poverty and trying to survive on minimum wage the fabulous wealth of celebrities becomes that much more ridiculous. Can one person put in the work to become a billionaire without someone else being taken advantage of or underpaid?

Atlantis the Royal is a new luxury hotel that is owned by Kerzner International and starting February tenth will open for stay at around $4,000 per room per night. The resort took 14 years to make from conception to building and cost around 1.6 billion dollars in construction, it’s a whopping 43 stories, 795 rooms, 17 restaurants, 92 swimming pools, and about 937,500 square feet. While the Kerzner CEO, Sol Kerzner, has a net worth of 600 million dollars the luxury resort pays their employees that work serving food and beverage 41% less than average according to AmbitionBox. Atlantis the Royal’s sister resort hotel Atlantis the Palm was built at a time of economic crisis in Dubai. Now Dubai hopes that the Royal brings in tourism to help promote and fund the economy. It’s hard to see the benefit when guests pay large sums of money

to stay at the resort but the employees aren’t paid in a way that reflects the hotel’s luxury.

Similarly and more recently concert tickets have had a large jump in price. Artists like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and SZA have released tour announcements, and although fans are excited ticket prices are becoming a problem. Art takes time and work and an artist deserves to commercialize and profit from their craft, but when the art becomes inaccessible to the fans the real problem begins. Some venues have priced tickets for Beyonce at around 900-1000 dollars and after receiving 24 million for her Dubai performance the reason for the high price is unclear. Beyonce is the name and draws crowds wherever she goes. She’s a beyondtalented singer and performer and she put her all into her shows but does that warrant unattainable tickets and checks that would take more than a lifetime for most to achieve?

While Beyonce has worked hard to get where she is and the growth of her career is well documented it’s still hard to say that any one person deserves to be a billionaire, or in her case when combining her assets with Jay-Z her husband. When it comes to the workers at the hotel, background dancers and

singers, and any other person involved with the performance who most likely made nowhere near 24 million dollars. The check has been cashed and Beyonce has now won the most Grammys of any artist ever which is amazing, but we as a society must remain vigilant about the growing gap between billionaires and those still receiving pay under the minimum wage..

VALENTINE’S DAY A

February: a month full of love, cheap decorations, and overpriced candy. Not to mention the immense social pressure to find someone to spend that one over-commercialized holiday about romance with. If you’re alone on Valentine’s Day, there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I dare say it is better to be alone on Valentine’s Day. No pressure to be overly romantic, not having to buy candy or flowers, and certainly avoiding crowded restaurants full to the brim with sappy lovers. Here’s some things you could do while single on Valentine’s.

1Host a Pal-entine’s day with your friends! Believe it or not, you’re not the only single person on Valentine’s Day. It may feel like it, but it certainly isn’t the case. While all the happy couples are prancing about, why not take this time to show your friends how much you love and appreciate

GUIDE TO BEING SINGLE

LINC LUKE | STAFF WRITER

them. Valentines isn’t only about Romantic love, it can also be about platonic love and familial love. There should be no pressure to be romantic on Valentine’s. In fact, not everyone is interested in romance. Whether you are not interested in a relationship, taking a break, or straight up aromantic, there shouldn’t be any disappointment or guilt about being single on valentine’s day. This Valentine’s, I’m spending it with two of my best friends watching the Sonic movies and eating cookie dough. Showing your friends you love and care about them is important, and what better day to celebrate those close ties than the day of love? 2 Learn about the history of Valentine’s! The history of Valentine’s day is kind of dark. It’s also not romantic at all. It originated from a story of two men who preaching about the Christian religion, which resulted in one of the men being killed on February

14th 269 C.E.. That man’s name was Saint Valentine (one of fourteen Saint Valentine’s who have been documented in history) and he had nothing to do with romance at all. In fact, it wasn’t until a Medieval English Poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, decided that this day ought have something to do with love, wrote a poem about it, that the idea of Valentine’s Day being a romantic celebration stuck. From then on, it was a romantic holiday that large corporations capitalized to make more money. The more you know!

3Finally, you can spend time with yourself. There is nothing wrong with spending time alone. It’s not sad or depressing, nor does it make you weird. Treat yourself! Self-love is one of the absolute most important things in the entire world. Having good self-esteem can improve not only your mental health, but your quality of life. Let me ask you this, how much do you really

know about yourself? Don’t you ever want to spend a day getting to know you? Go out on a solo date, try something new, or just do something you love. There is no shame in taking some time to be alone—you may even learn something new about yourself.

There you go! Don’t be afraid to spend Valentine’s Day alone and if you’re not alone on Valentine’s, then that’s great too! Spend the day how you want to spend it. Give the love you can give but don’t forget to keep love for yourself. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Photos by Flynn Hirrell

After capturing the world’s attention because of her daring look at Schiaparelli’s Paris Fashion Week show, Doja Cat has sparked an onslaught of praise and ridicule for her avant-garde fashion statement. They were dawning an all-red look including a red beaded Schiaparelli dress and red Swarovski crystals that covered her body from head to toe. The fourhour-long process of painting, glittering and bedazzling completely transformed the rapper into a living art piece. While Schiaparelli is known for pushing the boundaries of fashion as a woman-owned brand that seeks to expand the ideas for women’s fashion, the response to Doja’s out-there outfit was surprisingly negative.

Fashion and Style have been used to showcase class, occupation, culture, and creativity throughout time. As time goes on and self-expression with fashion continues to be considered an outlet for the rich, more and more people turn themselves away from clothes as a form of art.

Trends in fashion have begun cycling out at a rapid pace as the public grows increasingly uninterested in dressing for the self and instead focuses on conformity. The eyes of many high-end garments are a symbol of inaccessibility as designer clothes are usually sold at extremely high prices.

When looking for affordable clothes while living in the middle to lower class designer brands aren’t an option. This creates a gap between those who can participate in the world of luxury fashion. While self-expression with clothes and avant-garde pieces can be found outside of designer brands, sacrificing their needs to buy clothes to stand out isn’t a priority for the general public. Although designer clothes primarily showcase class the clothes themselves are thought up by an artist and brought to life. Fashion as a medium of art should receive the same respect and value as any other form. The time and energy that went into constructing the dress that Doja Cat wore alone is similar only to that of a painter’s masterpiece. Starting as an idea, then becoming a sketch and slowly materializing as fabrics are chosen, sewn together and beaded finally coming together as the finished project. Along with the grueling hours of work put in by Pat McGrath’s makeup team to bring the entire look together. It was a statement and as one of the artist’s first appearances during Paris Fashion Week gearing up for award season it was a declaration of her presence.

Most of the criticisms surrounding Doja Cat’s look is how far removed it is from the usual representation of femininity and womanhood. The artist was near unrecog-

BY COLM SIMMONS

nizable in her red attire as her and her team reached into their imaginations and strived to make art which is not necessarily pretty. When it comes to women and fashion in particular the world expects the clothes or look to align with the standards of what they consider beautiful, but not all art is beautiful. Critics claimed that Doja Cat didn’t look like a woman or looked ugly when the artist wasn’t intending to and instead felt inspired to dress outside of the box similar to the goal of the designer she was dressed to see and provide a thoughtful living art piece.

The discussion shouldn’t surround whether or not Doja Cat looks attractive or woman enough in her Schiaparelli gown, instead like other art we should examine how it makes us feel. Clothes don’t stop at wearable objects to protect us from the elements. While they serve that purpose, we can also be free in what we wear and dress with the intent of self expression. As long as we continue to view clothes that don’t fit in with society’s idea of functionality and practicality we are closing ourselves off from a valid art form and outlet for individualism. Doja Cat’s allred look was spectacular and the discussion it caused surrounding the boundaries of fashion will propel us towards a break from trends and a return to the self.

A Glance Into Upcoming Play directed by Hendrix Alum William Ragsdale

Returning to our wonderful Cabe Theatre for his debut of his direction of The Hope Hypothesis is Hendrix’s very own, spectacular William Ragsdale. A Hendrix graduate of ’83, Ragsdale is an actor and has starred in several movies, TV shows and plays such as Herman’s Head, Fright Night, and Justified, even appearing for episodes in shows like NCIS, Shake It Up, Madam Secretary, and many more.

Ragsdale started his career in children’s theatre at 11 years old in El Dorado, Arkansas at the South Arkansas Arts Center. He performed in all the plays offered at this center including the four adult productions put on every year. He continued his career in theatre in high school as well as working as a disc jockey at his local radio station before going to college to perform at our very own Cabe Theatre. Both of Ragsdale’s older sisters went to Hendrix as well, graduates of ’72 and his younger sister attended for three years before finishing elsewhere. Afterwards he was encouraged by his parents to try out the professional world. “I just never stopped.” He talked about his acting career. He says that when he was younger, he played roles that portrayed the nice boy next door and now he says he plays more of the “perpetrator of the weak” roles. As a child, Ragsdale lived in a town with only one movie theatre which only showed specific movies, so he grew up being inspired by Woody Allen, Gene Wilder, Al Pacino, and Robert Dinero. Now as he’s raising his own three boys, he’s excited to see them grow into the young men they are and what they’re interested in whether that’s art, writing, or math. Ragsdale also has a movie coming out in April called Ren Field with Nicholas Cage and an episode of the Equalizer coming out. He says as an actor he’s always looking for new positions to open up for him.

Ragsdale has worked with many different big names like Robert Dinero, Lauren Hutton, Ryan O’Neill, Matthew Broderick, and he even auditioned with Brad Pitt. He spoke about his time living in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He went to the corner store after the storm settled and when he was trying to leave the store he was blocked from exiting. When he finally got out he saw the one and only King Charles and Camilla standing there, surveying the damage done by the storm.

Ragsdale also once presented at the Emmy awards.

DIRECTOR

DIRECTOR

DIRECTOR

BY LINC LUKE

He spoke about how he wasn’t too nervous until he got on stage and looking out in the audience full of stars. He was often mistaken for Rob Morrow, the lead actor of Northern Exposure. That night a reporter from the same network his show was on came up and tried to speak with him thinking he was Rob Morrow.

He describes the Hope Hypothesis as a “comedic farce of misunderstandings”. It surrounds a women born in Syria during the time ISIS was in charge and having to go through hoops to get new documents but in return finds herself in a sticky situation with said government. He performed in this play himself in a small theatre in New York 4 years ago as FBI agent number one.

Ragsdale speaks about his advice for the next generation of actors. “I think it’s the greatest life there is, the only downside is that you don’t always make a lot of money so sometimes you have to live simply but it’s such a joy to even be a part of that community and put on a show. It’s thousands of years old this practice and I’m moved by that. My advice would be find something to pay the bills and study.” I think I can speak for everyone when I say we can’t wait to see your work on the stage and we wish you the best of luck on all your future endeavors.

Photos by Kendra Baldwin

EDUCATED GUESSES WITH PROFESSORS:

THE PARADOXFERMI

BY NOAH MORRIS

The Milky Way galaxy is huge, with billions of stars capable of supporting an intelligent life form, in an Earth-like carbon-based mammalian manner or otherwise. A space-faring civilization, even at the slow pace of currently known space travel, could spread throughout the galaxy in a few million years. The galaxy is at least 10 billion years old. So where are the aliens? Are they all just invisible? Where is any trace, debris, radio signal, or Aricebo-style message? Are they hiding? Aestivating? Or are we a lot more special than we realize? I asked Professors Lars Seme and Wenjia Liu, who teach a class together on the topic of Science Fiction, the hypotheses they choose to entertain.

“I hope that the answer is that space is big, but that we’ve only been looking for less than a hundred years, which is a very small length of time on a galactic scale. So, within the next couple eons, presuming humans are still around and searching, the answer will come, and we will at least know whether or not we are alone. I fear that the answer is that, due to the sheer size of the galaxy, and how much of it is truly empty, interstellar travel is impossible. The energy requirements, and the hard barrier formed by the speed of light, certainly seem to suggest that a galactic empire couldn’t exist within the known laws of physics. Now, a Dyson Sphere? That’s theoretically possible, sure, but the real issue is making that energy accessible to a device that is actively moving away from the sphere. Even if you manage that, and all of the other very hard problems within long-term space travel, excluding any hyperspacewormhole stuff, the great cosmic speed limit will always remain.”

“I’m partial to the “Dark Forest’’ hypothesis, as suggested by sci-fi author Liu Cixin, that surviving alien civilizations must be paranoid and silent, or get swept away by some currently unknown massive destructive force. It is also worth noting that modern String Theory suggests 10 dimensions, and we currently only have the ability to intentionally travel across three. It is possible that travel across one of those higher dimensions is much more efficient, and the more popular option for advanced civilizations. Lastly, of course, there’s the Zoo Hypothesis, that aliens intentionally make themselves unknown to us, so they can monitor our growth in isolation, making us like zoo animals, or lab rats. There’s no way to really know, but those possible solutions make sense to me.”

Photos by Addi Jarrell

DR. LARS SEME

DR. WENJIA LIU

A SHOW TO REMEMBER

As Miss Hendrix approaches, so does another Miss Hendrix Issue by the Profile! Traditionally, the Profile reveals insider information on Miss Hendrix before the rest of the public knows. This year is no different. Campus Kitty is going all out on Miss Hendrix, and so are the contestants – bets are in, and we say it will be the best Miss Hendrix ever!

So, what is Miss Hendrix, Y2Kitty?? Easy. It’s Miss Hendrix, the beloved drag event hosted by Campus Kitty that raises money for charity, but this time, with a little Y2K flair.

Y2K, for those who remember, refers to one of the most popular doomsday theories in modern history. The theory was that all computers were only programmed to reach December 31st, 1999 at 11:59 p.m. and, that once the world entered the new century, the entire technological system would crash, sending our world into oblivion. Now, Y2K is known as the time period between the late 90s and early 00s, and usually references the aesthetic trends of the time, with notable elements of opulence, campy couture, and lots of low-rise denim. Basically, the Y2K fashion goes against everything from the 2010’s, a time of fashion which was defined by neutral hipster aesthetics that fought against the colorful trends of what came before it.

In the upcoming Miss Hendrix show, opulence is being taken to an entirely new level, with design plans, mixtapes, and a runway portion that is all an ode to Y2K fab that makes Gen Z’ers ache with nostalgia from their earliest memories.

The drag contestants this year aren’t playing games, either. Not only are there two more than last year, but the

competition was stiff to get one of the coveted six spots that were offered. Based on insider information from the few who have seen what these performers are capable of, Hendrix students are about to witness the best Miss Hendrix event they’ve ever seen.

To top it off, Media Committee representation is more prevalant than ever, with the Profile Editor-in-Chief, Aonian Editor-in-Chief, and KHDX Station Manager performing as backup dancers, and the Media Committee Chair, Profile Photo Editor, and KHDX Social Media Manager performing as some of the drag contestants. We, as a media org, are proud to see this representation!

the only rule is don’t be boring

INTERESTED IN SEEING THE CONTESTANTS AND THEIR BIOS? FLIP TO THE NEXT PAGE TO READ ALL THE HOT GOSSIP. OF COURSE, WE HAD TO GO ALL OUT WITH THE Y2K VIBE AS

Photo courtesy nss magazine

xoxo, Media Committee Chair

MISS

“that’shot”

PEGGIN’ THE STALLION

hot girl shit, it’s Peggin’ Thee Stallion! She’s a savage, classy, boujee, and a little bit ratchet, and here to turn up the heat at Hendrix. Standing at 6’8, she’s a stallion like you’ve never seen before.

“Hey, MTV. Welcome to my crib.”

FROM DRAB TO DRAG

MILABIA CYRUS

Since the ending of her beloved show Hannah Cocktana, Milabia Cyrus has been partying in the USA, wrecking balls, and just can’t be tamed. From the boot scootin’ roads of Smashville to the coked out parties of Los Assgeles, this contestant is ready to show Miss Hendrix she’s not a little girl anymore.

WHOREVILLE PECKER

Tamagotchi.”myto“RIP

Whoreville Pecker has been a hardworking country musician, gay icon, and sliving rhinestone cowboy for years now, and all that tourin and performin made her a big ole whore. Maybe it was the bright lights in big cities or glitter-covered gogo boys but somethings turned this Georgia peach sourrrr. Whoreville has always idolized CUNTry icons like Dolly Parton and Shania Twain, but somewhere along their lonesome road to fame they fell in love with popstar queens like Clitney spears and LadyRawRawww

THROB ROSS

We’ve all seen the show, heard that calming voice, painted along with our generation’s greatest example of a level-headed man. A man who loves all the colors of the rainbow. But Throb Ross has a past. While being a master in capturing a landscape, Throb Ross is also a master in punishing those who deserve it. Throb was in the Airforce as a Sergeant for 20 years, so he knows how to order you around. If you know what’s good for you, don’t be a brat, or it’ll be a long, long night.

“the2000’scalled,theywant

DRAMA

QUEENS

Miss Ariana Grindr!! Yuh! When you see her you’ll know God Is a Woman. It would be a Bad Idea to make her mad because she’s quite a Dangerous Woman. You’ll be walking Side to Side after spending a night on the town with her. Yuh! She can be a lil Greedy with men, but she also loves giving back to the community.

SEYONCE

Even Death can’t keep the greatest performer of all time from giving y’all the performance of her after life! Still a diva in death, she might look a little crazy but after you see her perform you’ll still be in love. Put your candles up for Seyoncé!

CONTACT SPORTS:

BY LINC LUKE

Have you ever been to a drag show and wondered to yourself “wow, that seems like a lot of work, but surely it’s not so bad”? Asking this question is sort of like going to a football game and asking, “is that quarterback doing any work?” Creating a drag makeup look is alone a hefty amount of work, not to mention the costumes, showmanship, and the dancing. In fact, if you’ve ever thought this, I implore you to try it for yourself so you can eat your words. Let’s break down every aspect of being a drag queen.

First off, what is a drag queen? Drag queens are by no means a foreign concept in our modern society but what is the definition of a drag queen? “A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses costuming and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes.”

(Screaming Queens). The term ‘drag queen’ was originally established in

THE ART OF DRAG

Britain to refer to a man in women’s clothing, now it is commonly associated with gay culture and the LGBTQ+ community. However, a drag queen can be anyone of any gender or sexuality. Now, what makes a drag queen? While there are so many elements that make a drag queen, let’s focus on the makeup to start. Drag queen Rani Kohenur (AKA Sushant Divgikr) talks about how long it takes to do his makeup. He says that it typically takes much longer than other makeup artists, averaging about 2-3 hours. It’s a full face of makeup including blocking out eyebrows, color correcting, eyelashes, foundation, highlight, contour, blush, lipstick, just absolutely everything that could go on a face. That is significantly more time than it would usually take someone to do their makeup and that’s even before costumes and wigs. Not to mention the amount of money that is spent on the products.

A lot of the time, drag

queens will wear wigs on stage. They style and create these wigs themselves to add on to their costumes and the theme of their look. In fact, drag queens mostly take inspiration from celebrities, time periods, even genres of movie and styles that range from punk to pastel. A lot of these wigs start at 100 dollars and can raise to prices in the 1000’s.

And of course, it’s not all about just slipping on a dress. For AMAB drag queens, they first have to tuck. Now if you’re wondering what that entails, look it up for more detail but all I will say is that it requires taping the manly bits back. Then come the hip pads, corsets, waist cinchers, false breasts, and other undergarments. That’s when the outward appearance finally comes in with feminine clothing and typically high, high heels.

Now, after that Olympic marathon, drag queens perform live on stage to a crowd with choreographed lip syncing and dancing. It’s

gotta be planned, everything has to be planned, you can’t just do impromptu. “But you can’t only be prepared. You need to be flexible when it comes to the different scenarios. So you’ve got to know the old songs, the new songs, the trends, what the younger drag queens are doing, you need to be flexible, you need to improvise.” Says drag queen Lady Gagita. Drag queens choregraph huge dance numbers and stunts to create their perfect performance that match their drag personality.

Now as we get excited to see our own beautiful queens perform live for us at Hendrix, notice all the hard work that went into performing even a three minute show for you. Drag queens prepare for months to dance and perform. So for the question, is drag a sport? The answer is absolutely. It’s dance and movement in ten pounds of makeup and heavy clothing. It’s like running with weights. And the winner gets paid the most.

Photo by Jenn Mckenzie

FEATURE PHOTOS

CHESS: A SPORT OF WIT

BY MALCOLM ROSE

Games.

Everyone loves games. From playground games to professional sports to video games, games of all sorts dominate our society. Out of every game, however, there is one game that has always stood out from the rest. This game is not one for the faint of heart. This is a game of unmatched intensity, where viciousness and brutality are law and where peace is never considered. It’s a game where the only goal is to brutally crush one’s opponent in the cruelest ways imaginable, a game where the strong mercilessly claw their way to the top no matter who stands in their way. It’s also a game that’s coming back in a big way.

That’s right. This is an article about chess.

Chess has recently grabbed a foothold here at Hendrix in the form of the chess club

known as HDX Gambit. Posters advertising the club went up all across campus, and the interest meeting gathered a surprisingly large turnout. But the rise of chess isn’t limited to Hendrix, it’s a global trend. Chess. com, the largest website for online chess on the internet, announced on the 23rd of January that traffic on their website has nearly doubled since December 2021, and that their servers are struggling to keep up. Chess is surging. Why, though, is chess on the rise again?

The first reason is that chess is an exceptionally wellknown game. It’s almost 1500 years old and is a game that is known around the world. One could make a very solid argument that chess is the single most famous game to ever exist. But in a world where games are dominated by computers, consoles, and online communities, a world in which board games may

be rendered obsolete by the onslaught of technology, chess has not only survived, it has thrived. This is because chess has something most other board games do not: it is uniquely suited to be played on the internet. Chess’s relatively simple set of rules means that those who want to learn the game can quickly learn its basics. In addition, 10-minute chess games mean that chess games can be played quickly in a consistent amount of time, allowing them a place in an increasingly fast-paced world. And finally, chess websites can match players up against chess enthusiasts across the world, building a community and allowing players to play against players almost exactly at their skill level. All of this meant the conditions were perfect for a chess boom. In 2020, chess took off like never before. The large amounts of isolation and free time, combined with the rise

in online chess streamers on websites like Twitch and the release of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit were a perfect storm that led to a huge rise in chess popularity. And with chess once again in the public mindset, the game has grown exponentially. The CarlsenNeimann Controversy of last September, in which chess grandmaster and world champion Magnus Carlsen dropped out of a tournament after a surprising loss to Hans Niemann, led many to believe that Niemann had cheated. This drama within the chess community meant that professional chess was now in the news, and new players were becoming interested in chess as a result.

So what does this mean for HDX Gambit?

It means that chess enthusiasts at Hendrix are part of a sort of revolution, a brave new world for chess players. It is unknown what the future holds for chess,

Photo by Jenn Mckenzie

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS

BY JAE HURD

In the United States, we can be pretty intense about our sports. We engage with sports by rooting for our favorite teams, forming communities with fellow fans, and sometimes even organizing pick-up games to get a taste of the onfield action. When taking a look outside of how we view our own sports, it’s easy to see many of them as silly as well, such as Football, a game where using your feet on the ball is rare. We even have our own novelty sports, such as beer pong or dog surfing (dogs on surfboards). So, how about other countries? What novelty sports do they like to play? I will introduce to you three sports originating from different countries. In Scotland, aspiring logthrowers will train and compete in Caber Toss. It is named after a Scottish term for a cut down tree, a caber, and is a classic highlander game dating back to the 16th century. As the name suggests, competitors will

take a large log between 1624 feet and chuck it. What makes this sport interesting, though, is that the scoring has nothing to do with how far you throw your log, but how well you throw it. There is a specific way the wooden beam must land for it to count as a success. According to Culture Trip, the beam of wood must make “one complete revolution” while in the air. For it to be considered a good throw, the larger end must be the one that hits the ground, landing so that the smaller end is furthest away from the thrower.. In some other countries they have a 12 person version of hockey. What’s special about it? The whole thing is played underwater. Yes, underwater hockey. For this game, a weighted puck is sent to the bottom of a pool—anywhere between 6-13 feet deep—and the 12 players simply have at it, two teams of six, each with their own 9 foot goal on each end of the pool. There are no goalies in underwater hockey, and it is a no contact

sport, so the teams must use strategic formations for defense. The game is also very short, two 15 minute halves with a half time. No snorkels are provided, meaning during those 15 minutes, you must either hold your breath, or go up to catch it, risking the other team making a move. Underwater hockey is a game being picked up in many countries, maybe it’s time for the US to get involved. If you like pillow fighting, Canada may be the place to be. This sport is similar to wrestling in that it is held in a fighting arena with a surrounding crowd—but instead of using boxing moves to fight, competitors whack each other with pillows. Only pillow related attacks are allowed, and no arm-grabbing is allowed. Each round lasts only five minutes, and the winner is decided by points, which can be scored by getting head shots. The sport of pillow fighting started in a Canadian goth bar known as The Vatikan in Toronto[can you add some more context

here? What happened so that the rules were formed and an actual competition began?]. It started as a women’s only sport, but recently has expanded south of Canada into the US—and especially into Florida, where all can compete. In this league, use special pillow cases as well to give the fighters more control over their moves. It can get pretty competitive, and injuries can happen. The Floridian Pillow Fighting League seems to take it far more seriously than the Canadians, mostly consisting of actual fighters. Either way, it’s a strange, yet oddly appealing, sport. It’s easy to see these sports as weird but they’re mostly pretty normal where they come from. Caber Toss especially. A lot of our sports probably sound strange to people who have never heard of them, football especially. It’s good to keep in mind that they’re all silly games, but that doesn’t make it silly to care about them or take them seriously.

HOMOGENEITY

GUEST WRITER, SHAUNELL HENDERSON

The Hendrix Statement of Purpose

Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.

Hendrix is marketed as an inclusive place, but for who?

Nestled in a small Arkansas town, it’s spoken of like an oasis among mostly well-meaning, liberal students and faculty. However, the experience of countless BIPOC students on campus tells a different story. While Hendrix claims a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and justice, the student body has failed to put these ideals to practice. Further, Hendrix takes on many of the characteristics of its surroundings–a stark lack of accountability felt amongst the general student population, as well as Hendrix elites and the upper hierarchy of faculty. Hendrix is a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) with around 70% of the student body identifying as white. The black population sits at 7%, which is substantially less than the black population of the surrounding city of Conway. This is reinforced through many social, economic, and environmental means, but this piece will focus on the social pressures, as they have a clear, simple solution, of the changing of attitudes and behaviors.

The Hendrix Social Committee (SoCo), a subcommittee of Student Senate, coordinates most social events on campus. Much like the rest of the campus, SoCo has been majority white for years. All exec positions are stipended with over a thousand dollars a semester at stake for each member, flowing to an all-white few. What happens to keep this going? Friends bring in friends who will bring in friends, then the team is all-white due to a cascade of decisions fueled not by malice, but social inaction and complacency prevalent within predominantly white institutions in general. In stratified, outrageous social hierarchies, it is easy to wonder who deserves to be in what spaces. Historically, students have criticized the lack of diversity and hoarding of power rampant within SOCO, and those in exec positions , including the previous Student Activities Coordinator, did not respond in any meaningful way. In general, when students who wield legitimate social control and are confronted with the issue of a lack of racial diversity, it is often met with disbelief and general annoyance.

Another club with significant

room for improvement is the ECC, or, Environmental Concerns Committee. The executive committee here, yet again, is allwhite. They have not addressed the Jackson nor Flint water crisis–as one would expect from the commitment to “environmental education” and “engagement with the larger community” they make in their constitution–which are two among many ongoing, active environmental threats that predominantly impact black communities . Instead, they focus mainly on quieter, aesthetic issues that impact predominately white people. They haven’t addressed factors of environmental racism. Not even a land acknowledgement. It’s necessary to educate college students, so that when they go into their fields, they have an intersectional knowledge base to draw from. Hendrix students need to utilize the inherent privileges that come with a college degree–and to simultaneously understand how environmental crises affect people based on demographics, and use that information to make differences in our future careers.

“The Problem with Senate”

We are a diverse body of students focused on improving the Hendrix community and on representing YOU.

~ From the “About Senate” section of the page https://www.hendrix.edu/senate/.

Who is included in this definition of you? How does the student senate make an effort to hear diverse voices and take steps to amplify them?

Diversity cannot be mistaken for equitable inclusion; a seat at the table is not the same as being listened to, heard, and valued by the room. Student senate is a place where unintentional (or sometimes intentional) exclusion occurs by those who claim to want justice and equity. Student Senate takes place in a room with a giant square of tables for the senators and chairs to sit, while others are scattered on the outskirts, easily forgotten–the very shape of the room informs students of who belongs where and which of those people hold the power. Senate is similar to SOCO. They are friend groups who hold structural and social power, and they make that dynamic clear to everyone on the opposite side of that spectrum. Consider your own experience. When you go to parties, who do you usually see there? Do crowds tend to look similar? Have you considered why Hendrix students feel the need to racially segregate themselves?

What is happening is clear. Have you noticed a general pattern of censorship, of particularly Black women and their stories? It’s prevalent everywhere, anywhere in America, but what makes Hendrix

different is that we possess the capability to change it. Students of color deserve to live and speak freely. Black students, Latinx students, AAPI students, and everyone who exists outside of concepts of whiteness should be able to exist in spaces without the threat of verbal harm, having their culture appropriated, or being forced to become the spokesperson for racial and cultural issues. Black students are not your sounding board for all racial and justice issues. Black students are more than what they offer to discussions of race or to academic spaces. Students of color are people and deserve to be treated as such.

While the race problem at Hendrix deeply worries me, I am not the sole voice of students of color or social outcasts. My words speak to my own experience as an outspoken, assertive Black student on campus. In my lived experience, I’ve learned that this College was not made to accommodate students of color and it often challenges or stands in opposition against anything that does not speak to the experiences of most. To deny my

and others’ experiences is to deny truth itself and be complacent in the problems of Hendrix. The denial of truth goes beyond the individual effect; when students who hold power in groups challenge in mass, destruction lies in its wake. So, what happens when this type of power goes unchecked?

“HOW DOES THE STUDENT SENATE MAKE AN EFFORT TO HEAR DIVERSE VOICES AND TAKE STEPS TO AMPLIFY THEM?”