A5 02 Mar. 2017
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Stop Ariana Grande
Take student union music back from Top 40 By | Katie J. Read Assistant Editor Think back to this morning, when you walked from the classroom buildings to the Union. Fresh out of a lecture, you were probably entertaining milk-and-honey visions of ancient Athens or daydreams of Dante and Beatrice. Then you pushed open Grewcock’s double doors and the shock of popstar Ariana Grande singing “Side to Side” wrenched you from your fantasy. Again. It’s time to toss the worst of the Top 40 trash that plays in the Grewcock Student Union. This is the music of frat parties and stale montages, not the soundtrack of earlymorning review sessions or late-night conversations. All
of us indulge our fancy for pop culture — I’ll admit that I’ve got most of Justin Timberlake’s repertoire committed to memory. But when SiriusXM pumps the union full of ugly, repetitive tracks, it promotes the same thoughtlessness Hillsdale teaches its students to overcome. Luckily, our musical predicament is an irritating oversight with an easy fix. The monitors who manage the Union’s front desk also run its sound system, but they aren’t the culprits: “The Student Union desk workers only control whether the radio is on or off,” sophomore desk monitor Jordyn Pair said. “We have no control over what is playing.” When it’s on, the radio usually plays SiriusXM’s
“Hits 1” station, which cycles through the latest hits from the kings and queens of bubblegum pop. The tunes of Ariana, Timberlake, and Taylor Swift belt out the hits that financed their newest mansion, they make the Union a feel like high school prom. Yikes. While the radio station has edited all the four-letter words from these angsty ballads, the content of these tunes promote vile messages. In the chart-topper “Side to Side,” for example, Ariana drops this poetic shoutout to her latest lover: “I’m talkin’ to ya/ See you standin’ over there with your body/ Feeling like I wanna rock with your body/ And we don’t gotta think ‘bout nothin.’” Lovely, right?
This would be less of a problem if the Union was populated only by its 9 p.m. crowd — students strung out on stale coffee and greasy carbs. But a lot of other people visit the Union. Prospective students imagine themselves reading up on the great works of the Western World aside the fireplace, while their mothers picture their precious babes falling for an equally conservative student over ice cream at AJ’s (what they don’t know about Hillsdating won’t hurt them). Donors tour this lodge-like hang out before they snap a quick pic with Winston and clean out their wallets at the bookstore. Professors trudge down the steps into the cafeteria for lunch. Their tiny kids run wild in velcro shoes.
Embracing gender-deviant people’s societal roles hormonal levels, chromosome By | Garaidh Dunkerley types, and reproductive Special to the Collegian organs. Gender, as used here, pertains to personal and A video of Ben Shapiro cultural interpretations of an graced my Facebook feed individual’s societal role based in which he purportedly upon preconceived notions of “destroys transgenderism” masculinity and femininity. Though not true of every during a Q&A session with an audience member. I clicked to human society, gender is watch, noting the predictable typically an interpretation routine that plagues many of sex as it informs societal speaker-audience contentions roles. A nurturing personality, instance, is often — nervous question, witty one- for line response, laughter, repeat thought effeminate due to until bored or screaming the prevalence of nurturing at each other. (To Shapiro’s persons of the female sex; credit, he’s pretty good at one- similarly, aggression is seen liners.) When he says, “You’re as masculine. A culture may not a man if you think you’re then define a role for females a man” or “For all of human as caregivers and males as history, ‘boy’ meant ‘boy’ and warriors. Such a categorical ‘girl’ meant ‘girl,’” there’s an unwillingness to recognize that the present conflict dances around a simple, definitional disagreement. This worryingly predominant style of smug, one-liner debate isn’t just lazy, but unproductive and dangerous. A productive conversation necessitates we start talking about how we talk about distinction would be pointless gender; that we cease bickering if everyone interpreted their about the number of genders, sex through the same ideas of boy scouts, and bathroom masculinity and femininity, bills. It is clear that neither but humans are weird. Alternative gender systems liberals nor conservatives are sharing a vocabulary, resulting to the Western binary exist in definitional entrenchment, and could inform a better hackish psychoanalysis, and conversation. There is evidence dubious moral reasoning. that some societies, such as Most damningly, the current the Yoruba people of West gender debate largely ignores Africa, did not have a gender the core issue: we do not have a system prior to colonization universal, cultural schema that by European powers. Of those protects non-binary gendered cultures that did conceive of gender, many used sex persons in the United States. A better discussion begins as an anchoring point, but by defining sex and gender. also understood masculinity Sex is the property by which and femininity differently organisms are classified from the West. The Navajo into male and female in people conceived of ‘man’ and accordance with physiological ‘woman’ in a manner similar characteristics such as to us, but their 3rd and 4th genders called nádleeh, or
‘two-spirits,’ do not translate to the Western binary. Similarly, Indian culture has a conception of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ but also a third gender, hijra, encompassing eunuchs, intersexed individuals, and culturally effeminate males in general. In particular, the hijra demonstrate that there was a respectable role for effeminate males in India. Their existence is documented as early as the 8th century and, though fallen from grace since the colonial period, they boast a distinguished history. Hijra served as royal counsels, guards for noble women, and fulfilled a sacred role as devotees of the mother-deity
"If we are to embrace and protect all our citizenry, we might start by expecting humans to be the messy, non-dichotomous, featherless bipeds they are and discuss accomodation." Bahuchara Mata and Shiva. To this day, they perform blessings at festivals, births, and weddings through song and dance. One could argue that the hijra and nádleeh suffered collectively from psychological illnesses. Yet the contemporary notion of mental illness necessitates dysfunction. Being a hijra in pre-colonial India would not be dysfunctional, but advantageous precisely because they held a respectable societal role. Yes, the suicide rate for the American transexual community is much higher than the standard population, plausibly because transexuals lack a societal role and thus a sense of purpose in American society, or that American
culture predominantly stigmatizes transexuals. It goes without saying that a non-binary person is deviant, but they can only be called dysfunctional in a cultural context that makes no allowances for deviation from dominant gender norms. In short, cultural context can make deviance a source of distress, a necessary second criteria for mental illness. With more than 700,000 Americans who cannot, for whatever reason, conform to the Western gender binary, personal beliefs concerning gender are subservient to a greater need. Many of these people are homeless, forced by circumstance into prostitution, and unable to find legitimate work or shelter. We could argue over whether they are confused, immoral, or attention seeking — we could also argue about our favorite colors and ice cream flavors. In light of the hijra and nádleeh, how could we maximize the utility of deviant-gendered individuals in society? By defining roles for certain persons, they become more likely to contribute to order and prosperity. In spurning them, society fails to assign them a role, decreasing the likelihood they might contribute to or benefit from society. History suggests that integration of deviant-gendered persons into the fabric of culture is neither inexpedient nor unprecedented. If we are to embrace and protect all our citizenry, we might start by expecting humans to be the messy, non-dichotomous, featherless bipeds they are and discuss accommodation.
And who sings backup to all this activity? Nasally, auto-tuned voices screeching overhead about their thoughtless sexcapades and subsequent heartbreaks (I’m looking at you, TSwizzle). Hillsdale College prides itself on adherence to principle and celebration of higher thought. We have got to turn off the music that promotes debauchery as it echoes throughout the center of student life. Listen, I’m not suggesting we swap Ariana and her ilk for an equally-irritating playlist of goody-goody Christian music. And I’m not saying we should crank up the volume with hours of Rachmaninov’s piano concertos on loop, even though that’s a sacrifice for me
— I’ve got it bad for Sergei. Perhaps an a couple of SAB student employees should aggregate and update playlists of upbeat music that doesn’t celebrate hookup culture. Maybe we could even feature Hillsdale’s own radio station, 101.7 FM, in the later evening hours when it’s quiet enough to hear the shows produced by our fellow students. The options are plentiful, and, more importantly, the options are cheap. Whatever we do, though, we have got to stop playing “Side to Side.” It’s been stuck in my head for weeks. Ms. Read is a junior studying French and journalism. Wikimedia Commons
Talk money to me:
Take out fixed-rate student loans
By | Kate Patrick Financial Columnist When the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in December, it announced its plans to continue this trend as the economy improves, which means taking out private loans to pay for college just got trickier. Hillsdale students beware: because the college doesn’t accept federal loans, you can’t get a federal student loan with a permanently fixed rate to pay for your tuition. That means you’re limited to private loans, and deciding which ones can be confusing and terrifying. Based on the Fed’s behavior, you should apply for only fixed-rate student loans for the near future — the interest rates of variable-rate loans will fluctuate with the market based on the Fed’s benchmark. Because the Fed is committed to raising rates in the growing economy, variable-rate loans are riskier, and will probably require bigger payoff payments once you’re out of school (and no one wants that). Even though variable-rate loans could potentially have lower interest rates than a fixed-rate loan, right now that isn’t likely. Adjunct professor of finance Joe Banach told The Collegian that variable rates are most affected by current market trends, and that for now, they’re rising. But it’s not a one-way relationship: if the Fed raises interest rates, the market will assume that the economic forecast is good. Consequently, shareholders will buy more shares of companies, companies Mr. Dunkerley is a junior will take more risks and make studying English and more or bigger investments, and potentially there will be mathematics.
more initial public offerings (which means more companies will go public and sell shares of the company in the stock market). Banach added that it is wise to avoid variable-rate loans right now, because the market and Fed consensus is that rates will continue to go up. Fixed-rate loans have fixed interest rates that won’t fluctuate over time, so when you take out a fixedrate loan, you know exactly how much you will pay off per month after you graduate. “Over time the variable rate will probably be higher than the fixed rate,” Banach said. If you already have a variablerate loan, or several, Banach said it is wise to start making small payments on your loan’s principal — that is, the original amount you borrowed. That builds confidence in your ability to take charge of your money, even if you’re only making payments of $25 per month. “You have to think about what brings you confidence, it’s a psychological thing,” he said. “That way you can see what can be done, and that gives you the confidence to pay it off later.” While not every college student can afford to make even small payments on their loan principals, the point is to take charge of your financial situation and make sure you’re taking steps to ensure some financial stability when you graduate. Start by avoiding the variable-rate loans for now, and pay attention to the market if you already have them. Ms. Patrick is a senior studying history and journalism.
GOP cannot afford to silence dissent By | Nathanael Cheng Special to the Collegian The Hawaii State Legislature currently has six Republican representatives and no Republican senators. Soon, the legislature may lose another Republican. Representative Beth Fukumoto, a Republican from Oahu’s District 36 and former minority leader in the state house, is considering switching parties due to concerns that her party “has become less and less tolerant of diverse opinions.” Fukumoto, like many Republicans around the country, has vocally criticized President Trump for his “sexist” remarks made throughout the campaign, arguing that such words have “no place in the Republican Party.” At last year’s Hawaii GOP convention, audience members booed after she expressed her worries about Trump during her speech. Fukumoto’s refusal to back down on her concerns came to a head earlier this month when her fellow House Republicans voted to remove her as minority leader. During a contentious debate on the floor of the State House, Republican state representative Bob McDermott accused Fukumoto of doing nothing but “attack [her] own party.” In response, Fukumoto said, “It is my belief that I can no longer remain a member of a party that punishes dissent.” Now, Fukumoto is considering switching to the
Democratic Party. This is not unique in Hawaiian politics. Many in Hawaii believe conservative Democrats can accomplish more in the deep blue state than those who carrying the stigma that goes with being a Republican. However, if Fukumoto becomes a Democrat, she will contribute to the ever shrinking number of Republicans in the Hawaii Legislature. Setting aside the peculiarities of Hawaiian politics, this episode demonstrates an important point for the Republican Party as a whole: Going forward, the GOP cannot afford to silence dissent within the party. The GOP always included people with diverse opinions. Abraham Lincoln in his “House Divided” speech of 1858 described the Republican Party as composed “of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements ... gathered from the four winds.” Even today, Republicans come in a variety of different stripes, from social conservatives to fiscal conservatives, from libertarians to moderates. As Charles Kesler, a professor of government and political science at Claremont McKenna College, pointed out in last semester’s CCA on the political party system, the Republican Party differs from the Democratic Party in that it has historically shied away from acting as a party. Historically,
Republicans regarded coalition-building distasteful and avoided appealing to special interest groups. Rather, the GOP brought together these discordant factions through the common bond of a belief in individual rights and liberty. Silencing different views within the party will only go to destroy the very character that makes the GOP what it is today. Admittedly, Rep. Bob McDermott may have had a point when he criticized Fukumoto for not representing the party. As a representative, she should try to represent the best interests of her constituents or party members. But as Edmund Burke argued, representing the best interests of the people does not include kowtowing blindly to their every expressed sentiment. “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion,” Burke said. The GOP must maintain a measure of unity and efficacy, but not through silencing dissenting voices. In an increasingly intolerant society filled with safe spaces, Republicans owe it to their party and to their country to allow everyone to be heard. Mr. Cheng is a sophomore George Washington Fellow studying politics.
A Whorlwind of activity | By Joel Haines
Dear editor, To the ladies in white who sat in solidarity during President Trump's Feb. 28 Address to Congress: In America, white symbolizes purity. Purity, a noun defined as freedom from guilt, reflecting innocence and chastity, connotes high standards of conscionable morality. The American Heritage Dictionary also
notes purity as the degree to which color is free from being mixed with other colors. The Japanese and Amish wear white exclusively for funerals. What was this political sorority's intent? Perhaps a deeper awareness haunts the consciences of the White Jacket women, causing them to wander in their sleep, like Lady Portia, trying to rub away the bloody stains for which many of them (along
with darker jacketed males & females of Congress) have voted. The American people expect nothing less from Congress than actions and votes of integrity. We, too, pledge our integrity with our forthcoming vote in 2018. We must work together. United we stand. Sincerely, Lorna Busch