March 22, 2017

March 22, 2017

Meredith Creates Time Capsule to Be Opened 50 Years From Now

What’s Inside?

Is There Another Capsule Hidden?

Emma Gomes, Staff Writer

Compressed into a bucket-sized time capsule, over 40 valuable items wait to be unearthed by Meredith Angels 50 years down the line.

With the help of Dr. Daniel Fountain, Carrie Nichols, and Meredith’s SGA, a variety of memorabilia from the 2015-2016 school year was placed into the time capsule in commemoration of Meredith’s 125th Anniversary. Among these items were photographs, letters from current students to future students, a video compilation of students and faculty members speaking about their hopes and dreams for Meredith’s future, articles from The Meredith Herald, and digital images of both the historical marker that stood at the entrance of Meredith’s campus, as well as photos of the new marker. In 2067, the unveiling of these artifacts will be intriguing for some and emotional for others.

Carolina Brust, Staff Writer

A senior member of the Centennial Committee previously recalled there being another time capsule, which led the committee to search for evidence to prove its existence.

However, other members from the centennial committee report no memory of any capsule to begin with. Additionally, there was no record of the supposed capsule in the archives or any campus publications.

For those who continue to believe in the mystery, Dr. Fountain offers the following advice:

“Keep hope alive. Keep your eyes on the ground for areas of erosion. If you believe, good luck finding records.” He adds, “I’d love to hear from you.”

Leslie Arreaza: Resilient Student Writer Morgan Whithaus, Op-Ed Editor Attending a high school where the default mindset for seniors was that college is not a viable option, sophomore Leslie Arreaza clearly defies that mentality.

With the help of a high school counselor who pushed her older brother to attend college, Arreaza attended community college before transferring to Meredith. Due to this counselor’s impact on her life, as well as a peer mentoring program she participated in during high school, Arreaza is now studying psychology with hopes of becoming a high school psychologist or counselor.

Displaying resilience, Arreaza has worked hard to get herself to Meredith. Before attending Meredith, she spent most of her time, when she was not working at Starbucks, studying for her classes at community college. She also became a medical translator, since she speaks both English and Spanish fluently.

Additionally, Arreaza has been named a scholar through the Golden Door Scholars program, which promotes economic mobility for undocumented students and invests in education and career access for high-performing undocumented students. Without the Golden Door program, it would have been incredibly difficult for her to attend Meredith because as an undocumented immigrant, she is not eligible for in-state tuition

and federal and state funding such as the Federal Pell Grant and the North Carolina Need-Based Scholarship that some students at Meredith benefit from.

Although Arreaza is an undocumented immigrant, which means that she does not have a legal right to be in the United States, she does qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA gives certain eligible undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before the age of 16 two years’ relief from deportation, according to Nolo.com.

It is not a path to permanent U.S. residency and it is only temporary, but DACA makes it much more feasible for an undocumented student to receive a higher education than an undocumented student without DACA. (There have been indications that the Trump Administration may cancel the program, but no decisions have

regarding everything, the problem is that people tend to look at us [immigrants] as numbers and not as people,” Arreaza said. “So the moment that they start looking at us as people, that’s when [discrimination and stereotypes] stop.”

Aside from writing, Arreaza also enjoys spending her time at Meredith by participating in community service and advocating offcampus. She is an active participant in Angeles Latinas Photo by Morgan Whithaus where she is thinking about been made yet.) running for office in the future,

“Being an immigrant, to and she also helped co-found me, means not taking for granted the new Immigrants and Refugee the opportunities that America Club on campus. She is currently has to offer: I worked hard, all serving as the vice president of the through school, to prove myself organization. and to show my classmates that

As a force to be reckoned I was as American as they were,” with, Arreaza is determined to Arreaza writes in an article recently reach her goals and to continue featured in the News & Observer. to advocate for undocumented “Amid the violence and uncertainty immigrants and their rights. of postwar Guatemala, I had

“Young immigrants like dreamed simply of going to school me, who were raised in America without fear.” and identify as American, are

Besides having her article called DREAMers for a reason: featured in the News & Observer, it’s because we’re marked by our Arreaza also posts her writing dreams, our ambitions and our on Medium, an open platform determination to make a positive site, and was recently selected difference in our communities,” to be a contributing writer for The Arreaza writes. “We love our Huffington Post. She believes that country, and now it’s time for our writing helps her to best educate country to take action, and help us others about undocumented to keep our dream alive.” immigration because she can Arreaza’s News & Observer easily reach a large audience. article can be found at http://www.

“I believe that for a lot newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/ of the issues we have, not just article134136404.html. regarding immigration, but

News A President On Campus

Cristal Villalobos, Staff Writer During spring break, the North Carolina Political Science Association and the South Carolina Political Science Association held a their first joint conference in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Professors and students

of numerous educational institutions from both states presented their research.

Research topics ranged broadly, including electoral patterns, international affairs, civil rights, and the public opinions of voters.

Our very own faculty member, Dr. Whitney Ross Manzo from the History and Political Science Department, presented the latest Meredith Poll data regarding the views that voters hold about fake news. During the conference, Dr. Manzo was elected President of the North Carolina Political Science Association.

Manzo has high hopes for her presidency. Dr. Manzo began planning to host the next North Carolina Political Science Association Conference at Meredith College. She stated, “it is very important to me to encourage interest in politics and political science among

positions. One such tweet from Pence reads “Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional” (Dec. 8, 2015). Many pointed out the seeming conflict between this former stance of the vice president’s and the later travel ban executive order that targeted Muslim-majority countries and provided exceptions for religious minorities of those countries — i.e., non-Muslims.

However, regardless of these call-outs of Trump administration officials, the main focus continues to be on the president himself. One frequent criticism concerns the decision to continue tweeting from his personal

@realDonaldTrump account.

The theoretical distance from the @POTUS account does not mask the fact that the same man is doing the tweeting, which many news sources have been quick to point out.

Most recently, an official @POTUS tweet was brought up during FBI director James Comey’s testimony concerning FBI investigations into possible Russian interference in the election.

During the hearing, the president’s official Twitter account posted a picture of the ongoing testimony along with the caption: “The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process” (March 20,

2017). Representative Jim Himes (D-CN) read the tweet to Comey, who immediately disagreed with the statement, saying: “we’ve offered no opinion, have no view, have no information on potential impact because it’s not something we looked at.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Twitter has quickly become a medium that is being used and debated upon in the highest circles, even being discussed during congressional testimonies.

The impact of that shift remains to be seen.

to better the lives of women living in North Carolina by fighting for equality on a political and economic level. This year’s Women’s Advocacy Day took place on March 14 at the NC General Assembly and the North Carolina Museum of History Auditorium. Some Meredith staff and students attended the event, and others had some insight on the day itself. David McLennan, a

visiting professor of political science, showed support by saying, “Although it is unlikely that their policy agenda will result in new laws in the state, because the General Assembly is under Republican control, it is still important that women advocate for their policy positions.” Faculty and staff can sign up for next year’s event and learn more about NC Women United at http://www.ncwu.org/

young women because we need more women in political office!” If any students are interested in getting involved with the next conference, contact Dr. Manzo via email at wrmanzo@meredith.edu.

I am leading a committee for the passage of CEDAW. Ordinance- for cedawreplicate it- step 1: Figure- legal aspectprofessional steps Action plan- from april 2nd to june—and continue in the fall From jun 19- 3 weeks, beth vacay Photo Credit: Dr. Manzo

Tweeter in Chief Emily Chilton, Editor-in-Chief

By now, it’s no secret that President Trump has a penchant for tweeting out whatever comes to mind, occasionally with typos that are only sometimes fixed.

Critics of the Trump campaign and now Trump administration are accustomed to having new support for their negative views with every 140-character-or-less message from The Donald.

Recently, the news media and social media have gone further into the Twitter focus, pulling older tweets from key officials such as Vice President Mike Pence and spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway that seemingly disagree with their administration’s current

Sources: @GovPenceIN, @realDonaldTrump, @POTUS, The New York Times.

Women’s Advocacy Day Carolina Brust, Staff Writer

Women’s rights have long since been an uphill battle, from voting to reproductive rights. The fight to be seen and treated as equals to male counterparts is never ending. In the current political climate, more women are speaking up about issues that concern them than ever before. Women’s Advocacy Day is a yearly event that brings women across the state together to speak with

legislators about current policies and issues that affect them. Whitney Manzo, an Assistant Professor of Political Science, says, “any event that helps and encourages citizens to lobby their legislators is a good thing, no matter if the event is progressive or conservative.”

This event is held every March by NC Women United, a partnership of state and local organizations that work

Arts & Entertainment

From Beatrice to Viola: Shakespeare’s Strong Women Brought to Life in Fac Distinguished Lecture Laura Culpepper, Staff Writer

On March 14, Dr. Garry Walton, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and Professor of English, gave Meredith’s 55th annual Faculty Distinguished Lecture on “Shakespeare’s Strong Women.” This lecture coincided with the 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death. The first Faculty Distinguished Lecture was presented in 1964 by English professor Dr. Rose, who also taught Shakespeare at Meredith.

Then, she focused on the children in the Bard’s plays.

The stage was set up to mimic a classroom with a lectern and a teacher’s desk on Jones Auditorium’s stage as if the audience had walked into one of Dr. Walton’s Shakespeare classes. Six actors, including senior Meredith theatre majors Sarah Koop and Elaina Mittleman, Meredith alum Rebecca Daw Blum from the class of ‘95 and Kacey Reynolds Schedler from the class of ‘96, and Seth Blum and Matt Schedler reenacted selected scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Winter’s Tale, and Measure for Measure. In his classroom, Dr. Walton uses multimedia, including

music, videos, and performances, both live and recorded, to illuminate Shakespeare’s work, and he employed all of these techniques during his lecture.

Dr. Walton reminded the audience that there were many strong, well-known Elizabethan women that would have inspired Shakespeare. Queen Elizabeth, for whom the period in English history is named, and Mary Frith, also known as Moll Cutpurse, who had a penchant for men’s clothing and a spirited reputation, were among such women named in the lecture.

Dr. Walton also reminded the audience that, ironically, Shakespeare’s female characters were played by men or young boys during Shakespeare’s time because of the ban on females acting, but women who traveled from the Continent, Europe, were sometimes allowed onstage to perform other works, and English women could act and perform in courtly venues and village or parish affairs.

Dr. Walton then focused his attention on the women in Shakespeare’s work specifically, first separating the plays into genres. The history plays Dr.

Walton regards as “the least hospitable to women’s voices.”

Tragedies feature men’s voices two or even ten times more often that women’s, and Shakespeare’s comedies are the most egalitarian. Dr. Walton focused on three types of Shakespearean Photo courtesy of the Meredith College Marketing Department. female characters—villains, “loyal pairs championed, practices that of ‘sisters,’” and daughters Shakespeare’s works encourage. who stand up to “controlling Dr. Walton connected issues like fathers”—and explained the intolerance during Shakespeare’s three distinguishing actions of time and the brave actions of Shakespeare’s strong female Shakespeare’s strong women to characters: standing with their the challenges society faces today sisters, standing up to (unfairly and the strong women on and or unwisely wielded) power, and off campus that have continued standing firm for forgiveness. to and will continue to make a Beatrice, Paulina, Emilia, Portia, difference well into the future. and the women of Richard III were

A reception in Johnson a few listed.

Hall, featuring Shakespeare Afterward, Dr. Walton inspired sweets such as “gingerexpounded on the virtues of Bards,” (Shakespeare-shaped mercy, tolerance, and cooperation gingerbread) immediately followed that Shakespeare’s strong women the lecture.

WhiteAmerica:GetOutandWatchJordanPeele’sCinematicPhenomena:Review Cheyenne Williams ‘16, Contributing Writer

Jordan Peele’s breakout thriller, Get Out, (yes, Jordan of Key & Peele) is the movie that all white people in America need to see.

In short, the film is a social commentary about how white people choose the parts of black culture that we want to like and then dispose of or repurpose the rest of the black person, wanting them to be less black or more white.

As a social disclaimer, I’m white, and I’m often attracted to black men. I like to think that I have a fairly sound understanding

of an outsider’s perspective of black culture. Combined, these attributes are part of the reason why this movie hit home for me.

It’s important to note that actor Daniel Kaluuya, cast as Chris Washington, isn’t whitewashed in appearance; his skin is dark in complexion and he is a representation of the black community.

In more cases than not, mainstream media only has one “black friend” cast so that they aren’t labeled as racists, and even then the character gets fewer lines and less representation (seen in

Stranger Things, The Vampire Diaries, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead).

Inherent racism is woven throughout Get Out; in the beginning, when Rose (the white girlfriend) reports an accident, the police officer asks for Chris (the black boyfriend) to render his driver’s license, although the officer knows that Chris wasn’t the one driving.

Later, at a family gathering, Rose’s family members report that “black is so in.” They grasp onto and comment on Chris’ biceps and chest without his consent,

and they discuss how his “genetic makeup” would make for a great MMA fighter. Chris’s blackness and Rose’s family’s ignorance mirror today’s black experience in America.

You may not see the twist coming, so I won’t spoil it for you.

As a small hint, Peele’s thriller comments on how white culture “hypnotizes” black culture into thinking it is less important, less valued and less interesting. The music will enchant you, and the imagery will satiate you. Get Out and witness this thrilling racial commentary, in theatres now.

Belle Means So Much More Than Beauty Now: Review Shelby-Anne Sanders, Staff Writer

When I was growing up, bookish and brave Belle was my favorite Disney princess, and the Belle in the new live action film adaptation of the classic Beauty and the Beast did not let me down. The new and improved feminist Belle, played by Emma Watson, showed up in big ways.

Belle wore her traditional blue peasant dress in a new way in the live action film by tucking the skirt into a belt and wearing pants underneath. After being locked in her room by the Beast, Belle did not cry on her bed like she does in the original movie. Instead, she comes up with an escape plan.

My favorite new aspect of Belle is that she is the inventor of the family, not her father, who is instead an artist in the new adaptation. Belle shows that she does not fit into her small village when she builds a horse-run washing machine and is mocked for it. She is punished for trying to teach a girl to read. The headmaster says the town already has one bookworm girl and that is enough. Belle also has a new backstory that explains where her mother is and why she is such a dreamer.

I was consistently impressed by the progressive

vibe of the entire movie. At least half of the couples from the castle were interracial, Gaston’s best friend was gay, and there was even a crossdressing man. It was interesting that the people in the village were not very diverse and I did not notice any interracial couples until the curse was broken and the objects from the castle became human again.

Disney’s new progressive take on the classic Beauty and the Beast is important for today’s children who will learn tolerance and diversity.

Another significant difference between the old

Belle and the new one is her interactions with the Beast. He is not the abusive monster he was portrayed as in the original movie.

He still has a temper and yells at Belle, but he quickly stops and changes his attitude. Like Belle’s new character, the Beast has a much more in depth backstory in this film. His father was abusive which twisted the Beast into the heartless man he was, as Mrs. Potts described.

The original songs within this new adaptation made me nostalgic for my childhood, while new aspects caught my feminist but still hopelessly romantic heart.

Editorials Letter To The Editor President Jo Allen

Dear Editor, In response to “Sanctuary Campus?” in the March 1, 2017 issue of the Meredith Herald, I’d like to comment on inaccurate assertions regarding Meredith’s response on immigration issues and our students’ status and security.

First, I care deeply about each and every student at Meredith, and I am especially sensitive to the most vulnerable among us, regardless of the source of that vulnerability. I know that for many— regardless of political persuasion-a sense of angst became more acute during and following the recent elections. In response, we carefully followed (and continue to follow) all political activity on issues affecting our students and their families in general and in relation to educational opportunity, to women’s well-being, and to immigration status. Along with presidents of other colleges and universities, I have signed a number of letters urging our new leaders to protect students in a variety of capacities— from DACA status to travel abroad to financial aid. In fact, I serve on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the chief advocates in Washington, DC for private/independent colleges and universities. In this role, I went to Capitol Hill in February specifically to meet with our legislators regarding DACA students, financial aid for students, and other issues.

On campus, we have held

important sessions reviewing the perspectives, proposals, and actions on a variety of immigration points, including a session with political science faculty on the academics of the ideas (what do proposals actually say? Are they legal? Are they enforceable?), as well as programs from the counselors and chaplain and Student Life on the emotional and spiritual responses to the ideas (How do we support each other? How do we engage in civil disagreement? How do we engage in our rights to respond?).

Indeed, I am proud that so many of our faculty and staff have reached out to students to reassure them of support, and I am pleased that so many of our students have accepted that support. That said, much happens in support of our students behind the scenes and on a highly individualized basis. Consequently, it would be a grave mistake to confuse the lack of public comment as silence.

In fact, full email messages to the campus community were written to demonstrate our concern for all who are struggling, as well as to recommit support for our DACA students and to remind us all of our responsibility to be civil in our discourse, open-minded in our thinking, and open-hearted in our feelings. But I also sent a personal, hard-copy letter to each DACA student in December. In that letter, I not only pledged Meredith’s support for her safety and ability to remain safe at Meredith, but also

our ongoing effort to protect her privacy. The letter also offers contact information for legal consultation and representation for immigration matters, support from the counseling center and chaplain, as well as an invitation to see me personally.

(I regret the writer of the opinion piece in the Herald did not choose to visit me to express her concerns nor to talk about the article she was writing.)

Further, I want to correct some misinformation in the piece. The writer claims that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is conducting “more frequent [raids] at colleges.”

That is simply untrue. In fact, no such raids have occurred on any college campus. Even the fear that these raids may happen has been ameliorated by President Trump’s acknowledgement that DACA is a valuable program to protect students who are “good kids,” as he says. Changes may yet happen, and we continue our vigilance. But as expressed in the letter I wrote to DACA students, I am heartened with the knowledge of the multiple organizations, attorneys, government agencies, and citizens who stand ready to file injunctions and other legal actions should aggressive acts be taken against our students.

As for sanctuary status, we have discussed such a status among the executive leadership, the board of trustees, the college’s attorneys, professional higher

education organizations’ leaders, and our colleagues at other institutions throughout the country.

While some institutions have decided to adopt the designation “sanctuary campuses,” most have declined to do so. The primary reason is they—and we—believe that such a declaration carries little weight because there is widespread disagreement as to what it means. Further, as the article writer notes, “A sanctuary campus essentially adopts policies that will protect undocumented students.” Correct. And Meredith already has such policies in place.

Most significant is that a public declaration, while flashy, may draw unwanted attention to our students and our College and actually invites dissention and unrest.

As I said in my letter to DACA students and have expressed multiple times in various forums, Meredith is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of ALL our students. Our undocumented students are precious to us—they are, after all, the same young women we have known almost or even all their lives.

Athletes, community volunteers, leaders, academic scholars, artists, scientists. They heal, they inspire, they befriend, they contribute, they honor us.

So if there is still any doubt where Meredith stands, I hope you will take me up on my invitation to come by and talk.

President Jo Allen, ‘80

UnitedNations’CommissionontheStatusofWomen:StudentExperience Cristal Villalobos, Staff Writer

For the past 61 years, the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women has held a twoweek session for the promotion of women’s rights, documentation of the status of women around the world, and establishment of global standards for gender equality. At the end of the two-week session, the Commission on the Status of Women drafts agreed conclusions which highlight the priority theme and negotiations by all UN member states. Ambassadors of the UN member states, national leaders, and non-profit organizations from around the world attend the session to present their findings, work, and concerns about women’s issues and women’s empowerment. The theme of the CSW session this year was “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Changing World of Work”.

As a fellow for the non-profit organization, WomenNC, I attended the first week of the session to present research and learn from leaders of different nations.

During my week, I attended various events that were hosted by ambassadors of the UN and nonprofit organizations. I quickly learned that people were very passionate

about helping empower women economically under the current social context. Different leaders proposed various ideas for reaching gender equality. The most commonly proposed recommendation to reach gender equality and to reduce the gender pay gap that I personally heard throughout the week was to encourage young girls and women to enter the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) field. Jobs in the STEM field tend to pay more than caregiving jobs.

Leaders of Canada and America suggested encouraging young girls to engage in science, technology, math, and coding at a young age. I had the opportunity of working with an Educational Outreach Specialist of Google, Abby Bouchon. Abby is a former WomenNC fellow that now promotes computer science to young girls in K-12. Abby explained to me that Google had such a high interest in having more women involved this field and to further reduce the pay gap, that it created this job for her. She visits schools around California to discuss the idea of entering computer science to young girls. Google hopes that Abby’s work will encourage

young girls to pursue careers in the computer science field in their future.

Although this is a great recommendation, it was more interesting for me to hear the forefront leaders of most genderequal countries discuss ways that they have already reduced the gender pay gap and empowered women. I attended an event hosted by leaders of all the Nordic countries which include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

Iceland is ranked #1 in gender equality while America is ranked #45. Gender equality has been achieved in Norway, Sweden, and Iceland through policies like the “father’s quota” which is shared parental leave that requires a segment of the parental leave to be taken by fathers instead of just the mothers. Interestingly enough, someone in the room jokingly said, while some countries are still debating on whether or not to have maternity leave, Nordic countries are debating on how much to extend the shared parental leave.

Another way that Nordic leaders have achieved gender equality in the workplace is through

boardroom quotas. The number of women on boards increased from 5% to 40% since the quotas were implemented. However, still less than 10% of women are CEO’s. I left that conference room realizing that if women and men has the same economic opportunities, the Global GDP would increase by 25%. Occupational segregation was discussed at this meeting also because the Nordic leaders believe it is time to change the way caregiving jobs are valued less than job dominated by men.

There is so much work to be done for women locally and globally which is both discouraging and encouraging as a women’s rights advocate. However, I am grateful that I attend the 61st CSW because I got to meet the most kindred advocates for women which include the UN Secretary General. They hard work inspired me to continue “the good fight” for women. I look forward to seeing the final agreed conclusions that result from this year’s CSW session which will help economically empower women all over the world.

STAFF

Emily Chilton, Editor in Chief. Sarah Kiser, Associate Editor. Sarah Smerko, Features Editor. Caroline Garrett, A&E Editor. Morgan Whithaus, Op-Ed Editor. Rachel Crawford, News Editor.

Malllory Dean, Layout Designer. Olivia McElvaney, Online Editor.

Staff Writers: Katrina Thomas, Yessy Anorve-Basoria, Carolina Brust, Teressa Berton, Seung Pang, Shelby-Anne Sanders, Emma Gomes, Cristy Villalobos.