theweathervane.org
November 14, 2019
THE
WEATHER VANE
VOL. 66 No. 9
E ASTE R N M E NNONI TE U NI V E R SI TY’ S STU DE NT NE W SPAPE R SI NC E 1 9 39
GALA FEATURES GUEST BROADWAY SINGER
Opera and jazz singer, Janinah Burnett, joined EMU’s musical ensembles at the gala concert held last Saturday, Nov. 9. Burnett peformed two arias with the Chamber Orchestra and one piece with the Jazz Ensemble. The music department holds the concert every year to raise donations for EMU’s music scholarships.
ENSEMBLES WOW AUDIENCE AT GALA CONCERT
Jessica Chisolm, Canvas Editor
EMU Music Department’s Annual Gala Concert of 2019 was held in Lehman Auditorium on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. The gala featured Benjamin Bergey and Robert Curry as conductors. EMU’s Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Singers, and University Choir performed. EMU’s David Berry, Benjamin Bergey, James Richardson, and Robert Curry organized this year’s gala. After the group had brainstormed, Berry had the idea of bringing in a guest star for the Gala and contacted Janinah Burnett. Berry had performed with Burnett at an art opening in New York at the Brooklyn Museum and knew she would be perfect for the role. NEWS & FEATURE
Guest soprano singer Burnett is currently playing a role in the Broadway Musical “Phantom of the Opera” but was willing to travel down from New York to assist in the gala. The hope for the concert was separated into two levels in Berry’s mind. He wanted students “who don’t usually attend classical music things of any kind to have an experience like this.” He also wanted EMU’s student musicians and singers to have the opportunity to play and sing alongside someone like Burnett. The ensembles and choirs that performed only had two hours prior to the concert to practice with Burnett. Tensions were high, but Curry was able to conduct the jazz ensemble in tandem with Burnett. First-year trombone player Westley Hancock said, “I
Isaac Alderfer
REVIEW: GIRL NAMED TOM IS A FRESH NEW BEAT Clara Webright, Contributing Writer
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Girl Named Tom has already received significant press from a number of EMU-connected sources, including a Weather Vane feature of the band two weeks ago. I knew a bit about the band prior to its arrival at Harrisonburg, but I was vague on its repertoire and skill as a band. I hoped that I would have the chance to see the band in person. I managed to miss every single one of Girl Named Tom’s venues on campus, so I was thrilled when I found out that a friend was hosting a house show featuring the band. The event itself was casual, featuring the three siblings, Bekah, Josh, and Caleb, standing in one corner of the living room. People clustered around the floor and sofas to watch. As soon as the performance started, silence filled the house as people listened, despite lead singer Bekah’s assurances that people
REVIEW
SPORTS
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT
JOJO RABBIT
JUSTICE ALLEN
Wednesday’s convocation was part of an annual series devoted to fostering awareness about sexual violence at EMU.
Laugh in the face of the hateful, and do what you can to protect the abused and misled, no matter the cost.
Through his hard work, Allen continues to destroy his personal records and prepares to compete at Regionals.
could move around and talk. The music was predominately rock and folk-drawn, opening with a self-proclaimed “angsty” piece written by Caleb, the oldest member of the band, when he was a student at Goshen College in Goshen, Ind. However, the night of the band’s performance, I saw them feature covers from a variety of artists, including The Civil Wars’ cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”—a bluesy, melancholic interpretation of Jackson’s piece. Girl Named Tom’s covers of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” another Michael Jackson classic “The Way You Make Me Feel,” and Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” filled the house as the audience pulled in tighter to listen. The concert also featured the band’s beautiful new single, Barrier Island, which is available on Spotify and other streaming services. Although they draw from religious musical traditions, the group’s harmonies are not classically churchy ones; they manage to maintain tight, complex harmonies
while staying true to a genuine sincerity that pervades their music. The instruments that they do use are clearly only supporting elements to Bekah’s alto lead and her brothers’ harmonies. The instrumentation is simple, yet effective—a guitar (electric for one piece), a keyboard, a cajon, and three voices. There is something undeniable about the musical chemistry of siblings who have been performing since childhood. The trio seemed effortlessly in sync for the entirety of the performance, even when they needed to refer to written lyrics or take a break to confer about what to choose from their setlist. While this may be a function of six weeks already spent on the road together, I was struck by the ease that the band members clearly felt around one another. In an encore, the band chose to sing “From This Valley,” a cover of another Civil Wars song—perhaps a perfect anthem for a group of
EDITORIAL
CANVAS
FEATHER BRAIN
For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, I feel like the phrase “fake news on purpose” sums it up pretty well.
Continued on Page 4
ELIZABETH NISLY
This week’s Canvas page features a creative nonfiction by senior writing studies major Elizabeth Nisly.
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NEWS & FEATURE T h e We a t h e r Va n e
GALA CONCERT
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have never had experience with a live singer before, that was terrifying.” Berry, chair of the music department, had a piano solo in the last song of the evening, “Rhapsody in Blue.” Hancock said, “In my eight years of experience, ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ was the hardest piece I have ever played.” According to Hancock, EMU’s Music Department began practice for the concert as early as late September to early October.
Hancock, along with other musicians, were glad to have the experience to play with Janinah Burnett, despite initial anxiety. Senior Isaac Alderfer was able to give an audience member’s perspective. “I’d never heard opera [before] ... that was really exciting. “I didn’t know that EMU puts on that kind of show ... just the idea that people like David Berry and Janinah Burnett get to perform with EMU students, that’s just so cool ... if this happens again next year, I would go to it for sure.”
Issac Alderfer
Janinah Burnett, Metropolitan Opera star, performs with EMU students during the Gala Concert on Nov. 9.
Issac Alderfer
Senior Leah Wenger performs a solo in John Rutter’s “Requiem” as part of the Gala Concert
Issac Alderfer
Left to Right: Senior Anna Ressler and sophomores Joe Seitz, Andrew Stoltzfus, and Partha Roy perform as part of Chamber Singers.
AQUIL ENCOURAGES FINDING IDENTITY, CULTURE Fatimah Subhi, Circulation Manager
“Know your abracadabra, which means ‘with my words I create,’” Talibah Aquil, adjunct professor and recent graduate from EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP), said. Aquil recently started a new class here at EMU. “It’s called Reimagining Identity, and it was kind of brought from my practicum presentation,” Aquil said. “I wrote a show called ‘Ghana, Remember Me,’ and it took place in the Main Stage Theater. It was about my journey of finding my own identity as a black American woman, finding my ancestors’ roots, and experiencing it on my own.” “I told the story about my healing process—about healing historical trauma that has derived from being enslaved and what that means,” Aquil said. “I talked about becoming a bridge for both worlds —America and Africa— and how I become a bridge for connecting those worlds for other people.” Aquil believes that only listening to one perspective and adhering to how society labels us can affect the way we picture ourselves. “I am a woman and I am
black and I am creative and I am an artist and I am a teacher—so how do we show up in this world with all our ‘ands’?” “This class, Reimagining Identity, [talks about] intersex identity, peacebuilding, storytelling, and [more].” Aquil co-teaches the class with Barry Hart and David Berry. Aquil challenges those around her to see what the ‘and’ is in their stories. “I am passionate about sharing the ‘and’ of the continent of Africa, showing the ‘and’ of people, [and] how to encourage people to share their ‘and,’ meaning there are so many different parts of who we are. There are so many other parts of our identity. Sometimes the world just takes one thing and magnifies it, and that’s all you become.” “[Reimagining Identity] is a place where we really want to create an atmosphere where people feel safe, where people feel free, and where people feel brave enough to be themselves.” Aquil explained the way the class runs and her actual goals for it. “I don’t care about grades; I care about self discovery. I care about what people become. I care about what people are [gaining] from this course: mindfulness.” “How many times do we take classes, and it’s almost [as if ] we
can’t really show up as our full self just because we are so concerned about grades?” Aquil said. “The grade becomes everything you are. When you graduate, the grade’s [are] not going to matter. What’s going to matter is who you are as a person and what skills are you taking away.” “How you see yourself determines what you will be, so if you speak light and you know [that] you’re magic, then you’re going to walk out and be successful and amazing. How many of these spaces support and nurture this kind of self discovery? Failing is okay. Failing is a part of this journey.” Aquil never thought about teaching in CJP, but she kept “dreaming big.” “If you take all the labels that the world places on us, and you take the labels we place on ourselves—what would that look like—to dream big and just go for it?” The class is every Wednesday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and is open to everyone: people getting undergraduate or graduate degrees, community members, and faculty and staff members at EMU. Aquil said that this creates a beautiful community with stories from different ages and perspectives. She talked about how students come tired after
a long day but still want to participate. Aquil talked more about how her practicum presentation, “Ghana, Remember Me,” encouraged people to reveal their true selves. “My show, [and] me being vulnerable and honest, ... gave other people permission to do the same.” Aquil said that her show was a different experience because it talked about positive events in Africa. “‘Ghana Remember Me’ was me walking in my light, shining in my light,” she said. “I talked about how hard it was for me as a student at EMU—I was just so sad and overwhelmed and annoyed of always hearing sad and painful narratives about black people.” “Whether we’re talking about what’s happening in the news, war, or genocide, it’s the only narrative I kept hearing: we are just always in pain.” Aquil went to Ghana because most of her ancestors are from Ghana. She went there to learn who she is through the culture and people there. “It was the first place where I felt at home,” she said. “I felt I was returning and not just a visitor, which was really so profound to me. I feel like one of the biggest things from the experience when I went
to Ghana [was that] I explored so many different places and the history, which is very painful and beautiful at the same time. I visited the Slave Castles’ Dungeons where my ancestors were taken from the continent and brought to Virginia. I also learned that once they were captured and forced to America, my ancestors were brought an hour from where we are sitting right now in Harrisonburg.” Aquil discovered the heartbreak experienced by many in Ghana. At one of Ghana’s slave castle’s, Aquil said, “there is a door; it’s called ‘The Door Of No Return,’ so knowing that my ancestors left that door, never to return back home ... Ghana was, for me, saying ‘I return for you; I brought you back home because you live in me ... my ancestors are very much alive in me’ … “I know this work I am doing is to continue to give them voices because they were made voiceless; because their stories were never told. My job as I walk this earth is to provide a space where I can tell their stories, where I can be their voice.” Aquil wants everyone to own their culture and their identity. “There is power in showing up with your whole self, with your whole culture, and with your whole beauty.”
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NEWS & FEATURE T h e We a t h e r Va n e
SIBLINGS CONTINUE OLD RAG HIKE TRADTION Joe Seitz, Contributing Writer
A beautiful morning greeted 35 eager hikers on Sunday Nov. 3, each one having just enjoyed an extra hour of sleep from daylight savings time. Their destination: Old Rag Mountain, named for the Old Rag granite that forms its peaks. This is the fourth year that a group has gone to the mountain, known for its beautiful views throughout the entire path and strenuous but doable difficulty. The excursion was initially started by senior engineering major Collin Longenecker. He hiked Old Rag one fall with Highland Retreat summer staff,
and wanted to share the experience with a group of new friends at EMU. He said, “An all day hike is a great way to make a fun memory as a group.” After the first couple of years, Longenecker opened it up from just friends that he knew to the larger campus community. Although this might seem like more of a logistical headache, he didn’t mind the transition one bit. “I weirdly like planning and organizing things. I do not really get why because it is a lot of work that nobody will ever see, but it is all worth it when you miraculously pull together a great event.” The move to a larger group made the planning process easier
in a way, as instead of trying to align everyone’s schedules with a small group, he simply sent out an email to the whole campus, and whether there was 10 or 100, whoever came, came. Of course, this has its own difficulties. “The only frustration is when people do not respond to email,” Longenecker said. “Respond to your emails, people.” This year, the hike proceeded smoothly, with many instances of people getting to spend time with old friends and getting to know new ones. First-year biochemistry major Anna Hoover joined to both spend time with her older sister Emma and new friends alike, much
how Collin did his first year. She spent much of her time getting to know sophomore Jake Myers and Student Life Coordinator Tyler Goss, and she looks forward to partaking in next year’s hike. Senior computer engineering major Ben Stutzman, who had gone on the hike before with another group, had an opportunity to engage with four English teachers from China who are studying at EMU for a few months. He provided them with transportation to and from the hike and learned that his sister, who is spending a year in China, is living near where they’re from. Stutzman appreciated the time of fellowship shared at the
top of the mountain when lunch was eaten, and enjoyed the warm sun and beautiful fall colors all along the way. As a senior, Longenecker won’t be around next year to organize another hike, but he has his brother, junior accounting major Taylor Longenecker, to continue the tradition. After Taylor graduates, he hopes his sister Kara will transfer from Hesston and take up the mantle for up to seven years of “Longenecker-led Old Rag hikes.” Whatever happens, these four years have been a prime opportunity for students and friends to spend time together and enjoy the valley’s natural beauty.
SPREAD AWARENESS: TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Adam Moyer, Sports Editor
“It is true: sexual violence happens at EMU,” said Leda Werner, the school’s sexual violence prevention grant manager. “It happens on college campuses across the U.S.” Wednesday’s convocation was part of an annual series at EMU called Take Back The Night (TBTN) devoted to fostering awareness about sexual violence at EMU and promoting skills to stand up to sexual violence. Awareness is one pillar of the Take Back The Night Foundation, a charitable nonprofit whose presence has reached over 800 communities in more than 36 countries dating back to the 1960s. The group’s website says 1 in 3 women experience some form of sexual violence or intimate partner violence, and
that 1 in 6 men experience sexual violence. EMU has held TBTN events for about two decades to foster awareness and to confront and end sexual violence. Convocation was led by Werner and Northlawn Residence Director and CJP student Emily Powell. Instrumental in the convocation’s planning was Gabby McMillan, an EMU senior, who says her goal and that of campus organizers is to transform EMU’s culture toward one of “call-in” rather than “callout.” She wants every student to be involved in these difficult conversations. Werner said that focusing only on the perpetrators and not the victims “leaves a lot of people out of the conversation.” Werner, Powell, and McMillan are developing awareness as one way to work toward changing EMU’s culture.
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Pale Fire is hosting Flicker & Flame Thursday, Nov. 14 at 10 p.m. The concert is free and available for all ages. Flicker & Flame is a folk group from Richmond. Check them out at 217 S Liberty St. #105, Harrisonburg, Va. Bluestone Vineyard is hosting Trivia Night this Friday, Nov. 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Grab a group of friends and play for free. Drinks will be available to purchase and food is available to order from local restaurants. Head over to 4828 Spring Creek Rd. to test your knowledge. DJ Guate is performing upstairs at The Golden Pony Saturday, Nov. 16 at 9 p.m. Genres such as salsa, merengue, reggaeton, and more will be featured. A cover charge of $5 will be collected at the door and you must be 21+ to enter. The 10th annual Super Gr8 Film Festival will be on Wednesday, Nov. 20 starting at 7 p.m. at Court Square Theater. The event features short films shot entirely in the classic Super 8 film format, which gives participants a single roll of film that must be shot in order and unedited. The final product will be viewed for the first time on opening night. An awards/after-party will be held at The Golden Pony following the event.
Werner said we have to frame the conversation to think of ourselves as “active bystanders” in the face of power-based personal violence, which she described as “a form of violence in which someone uses power, control, or intimidation to harm another person.” Strangers, partners, family members, and acquaintances can all be perpetrators of power-based personal violence, she said. Werner shared three “Ds” that can guide active bystanders when intervening on behalf of somebody experiencing powerbased personal violence. The first “D” is Direct: directly approaching either the person causing harm or the person being harmed. The second is Delegate: pulling in somebody else who knows the parties involved or who might have more power in the situation.
The third “D” is Distract: doing something, anything, to break up the interaction or take their attention away from each other. We can all be active bystanders, Powell argued, and when we do stand up to the perpetrators of sexual violence, we really can make a difference. “[Intervening] is something that we can do when each of us is willing to think about ways that we can step in,” Powell said. “We really can lower these statistics that we hear about and ensure that fewer people are being harmed.” Powell shared a poem she wrote in anticipation of the convocation. The poem closed with the following lines: “I choose my path. I take my night, and every night after. If I offer you yours, will you take it?” Before convocation, Werner and Powell asked EMU students
why sexual violence prevention matters to them. A slideshow with students’ answers, written on white boards, appeared on the screen. Among the answers: “Knowing that I have the power to prevent others from getting hurt.” “Conversations about consent are important because consent is often more than a simple yes or no.” “Because I believe collectively acting WILL make a difference.” “Because I survived and others have, too.” EMU’s Title IX coordinator is Rachel Roth Sawatzky. She can be reached at 540-432-4849 or titleixcoordinator@emu.edu. Campus Security can be reached at 540-432-4911. The 24-Hour Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline is 540-434-2272. To file a report, visit emu.edu/ safecampus.
SGA Updates Today, SGA had the pleasure of approving a constitution and one funding request. EMU Explore, the club which plans various outdoor activities like canoeing and hiking Old Rag, updated their constitution to, among other things, include the EMU non-discrimination clause. SGA then approved funding requests for both the Latino Student Alliance and the Young Democrats. The majority of the meeting was open floor where senators had the chance to bring issues of concern to the group. Topics ranged from food waste in the Royal’s Den and a push for more sustainable practices, to SGA budget allocation, to our co-presidents recent meeting with the EMU Board of Trustees. During open floor, SGA also briefly debriefed about yesterday’s Climate Action Forum where attendees heard from Professor Doug Grabe Neufeld, Vice President of Finance Tim Stutzman and senior Emma Yoder. Members of the forum answered questions regarding carbon emissions due to crosscultural travel, our recent student initiated solar panel installations, and steps administration is taking towards a more sustainable campus. All undergraduate students are welcome to attend SGA meetings in UC 211-212 on Wednesday nights and bring up their own topics to open floor. As the semester is coming to a close, SGA is looking for ways to better support EMU students. If you have any concerns you’d like to share or ideas on how we can better serve you, feel free to email us (sga@emu.edu), send us a message on any of our social media platforms (emusga), or visit us at our office hours in the Royal’s Den or Common Grounds.
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REVIEW Th e We a t h e r Va n e
AN EMBER IN THE ASHES FANTASTICAL, ENGAGING Abigail Berry, Front Page Editor
“An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir is a high-stakes fantasy novel that catches your attention and never lets go. This book is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and The Hunger Games. The book takes place in a realm called The Empire and centers on two protagonists: Laia, a seventeenyear-old Scholar girl who is forced to fight back against the Martial Empire when her brother is taken and sent to prison, and Elias Veturius, a twenty-
year-old Martial assassin who is tired of being used as a weapon to get rid of Martial enemies. They come from two completely different worlds: one is oppressed by the Martials because the Scholars are deemed to be inferior, and the other is raised in the cruel Martial world and was subjected to extreme amounts of violence to shape him into the perfect weapon. At first, you do not understand why these two are the main characters, but soon enough, their stories are entwined, leading them both to help one another fight for their survival.
My favorite thing about this book is that Sabaa Tahir did not create a weak, central female character who relies on a male to do her bidding, which is not something that happens in a lot of fantasy novels. At the start of the book, I believed that Laia was not going to be a strong and independent character. Tahir had first written her to be weak and selfish, throwing away her brother’s life for her own. But as the book progressed, so did Laia’s character development. She was no longer a coward; she was growing stronger, quite literally
becoming an ember in the ashes towards the end of the novel. Sabaa Tahir does a perfect job of tackling issues of oppression in this book. She details the cruel torture that the Martials inflict upon their slaves and the treatment of the Scholar people by the hands of the Martials. The Martials believe that they are superior and the Scholars are their inferiors. This key plot point coincides with a lot of oppressed countries. By weaving oppression into her book, Tahir catches the reader’s attention and informs them that
everyone should be treated equally, no matter their race or financial status and that no one should be subjected to a cruel leader who only seeks to tear others down. This book has a way of grabbing your attention and drawing you into the world that Sabaa Tahir has created. From the moment I read the first sentence, I was hooked, and I could not put the book down. It was so good that I even finished it in five days, which is surprising since it now normally takes me two weeks to finish a book. That just shows how good and binge-worthy it truly is.
The movie, like so much of Waititi’s filmography, is filled with lessons about the power of love and empathy; it will make you cry and laugh, but it will not shy away from tough topics. JoJo Rabbit mocks the absurdity and curruption of Nazi ideology while forcing the viewer look at the ugliness of life in Nazi Germany for the people, like JoJo and Elsa, who became caught up in the effects of a world run by hateful ideologies and falsehoods. One scene in particular stands out to me as a response to criticism the movie has received: JoJo and his mother walk past gallows where people aiding Jews have been hanged; JoJo attempts to turn away in disgust, but his mother turns his head back and says, “Look.” “What did they do?” JoJo asks. “What they could,” Rosie replies. Taika Waititi has again offered the world an expression of himself in the form of this film; in doing so, he does what he can to say, “Don’t turn away from these things. Laugh in the face of the hateful, and do what you can to protect the weak and misled, no matter the cost.”
it all in left me grateful for the groups like Girl Named Tom who are gracious and vulnerable enough to share their craft with relative strangers. It was a performance I will not easily forget.
JOJO RABBIT BRINGS SATIRE, CONTROVERSY
accurate representation was not the goal, but a caricature, a best friend version of Hitler created in the mind of a fanatic child just trying to make sense of the insane and violent world he inhabits. The film is an extremely dark comedy, and it’s something we, unfortunately, need now in
2019. Nazism was not growing in popularity back in 2011 in the way it is now, when Waitit began adapting the novel “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens to the film that would not come to theaters until nearly a decade later. The film begins with a setting reminiscent of a Wes Anderson
directed movie, characteristic of Waititi’s earlier coming of age films like “Boy.” The Hitler’s Youth camp is the Nazi version of the boy scouts, with sinister training made exciting for adolescents. The satirical narrative is made evident immediately, with the absurdity of the camp leaders and of JoJo’s imaginary friend, Hitler. Quickly from there, things get darker, and humor is harder to come by as JoJo is faced with the effects of the rampant nationalism he has become enthralled by. The film has received largely mixed reviews, something Waititi was aiming for and expecting due to the touchy nature of his subject. A film set during WWII from the perspective of a young Nazi has a lot of ways it could go wrong, after all. Many critics claim mocking Nazism is the opposite of what we need in the media right now with the hateful ideology coming back, this time under the protection of freedom of speech. The film has been characterized as trivializing the horrors of the Nazi party and Hitler; after all, do we really need to hear a story from a Nazi perspective?
kitchen. I’d performed the song years before and was struck by the skill in execution in this particular rendition. The song features a potentially tricky, infinitelybeautiful-if-done-right Acapella
key change right before a guitar entrance. The transition invites awkward misses and entrances in painfully wrong keys. However, Girl Named Tom handled the piece with absolute poise, never wavering in their
masterful performance. I had chills. I left the show feeling oddly light – the combination of good music, people who clearly loved performing, and my friends clustered in a living room taking
Amanda Hergenrather, Copy Editor
Taika Waititi has done it again, combining comedy and gravity to create a coming of age story with teeth: “JoJo Rabbit.” Set in Germany in the final weeks of WWII, JoJo Rabbit follows the story of Johannes “JoJo” (Roman Griffin Davis), a 10-yearold member of Hitler’s Youth who discovers that his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is protecting a Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomisin McKenzie) behind the walls of an unoccupied bedroom. JoJo is your typical 10-year-old Nazi, emphatic but ignorant and trying desprately to fit in, but this Aryan youth has a special imaginary friend: Adolf Hitler, played by the film’s Polynesian and Jewish writer, director, and producer, Taika Waititi himself. Hitler doesn’t appear too often throughout the film and is characterized by Waititi as nothing more than the ridiculously constructed hero of a 10-year-old boy’s mind. Waititi did no research into Hitler in preparation for the role; an
Fox Searchlight Jojo Rabbit, a satirical film set in Germany during World War Two, addresses controversial and pertinent topics through comedy.
GIRL NAMED TOM PLAY COZY HOUSE CONCERT
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university students nestled in a valley. The audience was clearly enthralled. People swayed in their seats, and a group danced to the music in the adjoining
ON THE SIDEWALK
“What’s your personal mantra?”
with Adila Wahdat
“What’s coming is better than what’s gone.” -Jiselle Blendin, firstyear
“Mo’ money, mo’ problems.” -Douglas Nester, junior
“Most people are trying their best, and I’m trying, too.” -Clara Weybright, senior
“Change the game; don’t let the game change you.” -Isaac Andreas, sophomore
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SPORTS T h e We a t h e r Va n e
Jeremy Blain
The men’s basketball team faced Averett in their home opener on Saturday, Nov. 9, a 71-66 overtime defeat. Seated from left to right: Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach RJ Sims, sophomore Kobi Alexander (#11), first-year Syncere Sawyer (#4), sophomore Mizz Nyagwegwe (#3), first-year Alijah Ellis (#14), sophomore Trajon Brown (#23), junior Michael Williams, first-year Devin Mosley, firstyear Kane Settles, sophomore Chris Simmons (#20), sophomore Bobby Simmons, first-year Deion Harwood, and senior manager Christian Newborn.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: JUSTICE ALLEN
Bri Miller, Staff Writer
Junior point guard Tim Jones looks for a pass to the rim.
Sophomore center Josh Whelan shoots from the free throw line.
Senior guard Jamel Howard lays in a bucket.
Jeremy Blain
Jeremy Blain
Jeremy Blain
As he finished his second cross country season, junior Justice Allen decided to make his summer training a top priority as he prepared to take it to the next level. Over the summer, Allen followed Coach Bob Hepler’s workout program while also adding strength training into his routine. Through his hard work, Allen continues to destroy his personal records and prepares to compete at Regionals. Allen says, “I decided over the summer that I wanted to take it way more serious than past seasons. I don’t have a lot of time left to compete at this level, and I want to leave my mark.” His improvement this cross country season has been unmatched, as his 8K race times significantly improve each race. Justice knocked down his personal record at the ODACs and was a top finisher for the Royals. His PR time of 26:13:0 was more than a minute faster than his previous best and 1:28 better than an 8K he ran last month at Christopher Newport. Race distances change throughout the season and increase as ODAC competition begins. Allen describes preparing for these and how they are completely different. He explained, “When we run 5Ks at the beginning of our season, it helps build our endurance for the 8Ks we compete in.”
Overall, training gets harder in October due to the lack of meets. Allen adds, “The two weeks before ODACs was the best training, though. Coach Bob told me to just go for it, and I felt great! Issac and I specifically worked together to push one another to be faster. My race at CNU was the first time I broke 28 minutes since my freshman year.” The cross country team has a bigger roster than previous years. Allen has been able to adapt quickly and guide the younger runners. Coach Hepler describes Allen’s leadership role, saying, “Justice stepped up and led the team to a strong fifth place finish. He has emerged as a strong team leader and the freshmen are like hungry puppies, waiting for him to feed them nuggets of running wisdom.” Allen also said, “The team dynamics have become a very positive atmosphere for all of us. This year was a huge growing season
that helped all of us come together and continue to set the foundation for the program.” In Coach Hepler’s and Coach Erick Camodeca’s second season at EMU, Allen explains how emphasized character-building is for each individual on the team. Not only do the coaches help from an athletic standpoint, they also assist Allen on an academic and personal level. He says, “The coaches are great! They push us, while also listening to our bodies. Their motivation is unreal and I ask them to be intense with me because that is what is going to push me. They listen and adapt to each runner’s needs.” As Allen is finishing up his cross-country season, he has goals set to head into indoor track season. He says, “I feel like I can reach my goals because of the current shape I am. My current fitness has never been better!”
Jeremy Blain
Junior Justice Allen is set to run at ODAC regionals Saturday Nov. 23.
Allison Shelly
EMU’s new disc golf team poses at the EMU Hill course before their first tournament. Its members are (left to right) junior Cameron Byer, seniors Trevor Oyer and Silas Driver, and junior Jared Oyer.
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OPINION T h e We a t h e r Va n e
EDITORIAL: THE FEATHER BRAIN HITS THE NEWSSTANDS NEXT WEEK; PREPARE YOURSELVES
Kate Szambecki, Co-Editor in Chief
The Feather Brain is next week. For those of you who don’t
know what I’m talking about, I feel like the phrase “fake news on purpose” sums it up pretty well. The Feather Brain is our satire issue. Think “The Onion”, or Saturday Night Live, but tamer. I have a friend who goes to WashU in St. Louis. He writes for their underground satire newspaper, WUnderground. That’s right—a whole newspaper dedicated to satire. That probably sounds insane to most of you, as it does to me. At EMU, the Feather Brain barely exists. Most issues get complaints in some form or another from students, faculty or staff, or the wider community. Often it is because someone said
something insensitive or took a joke too far. I recognize that. If it is so risky, then why do we keep doing it? My gut response is that it’s fun. It’s so, so fun. It provides an outlet for creative expression on a wide platform that is very unique in that it’s solely for silliness. Done right, it can hopefully spread that laughter to the people who read it. But preparing for the Feather Brain has got me thinking a lot about the purpose of satire, beyond fun. Satire is a polarized word and one that people often debate the purpose of. Literarydevices.net says that “satire is a technique employed
by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society, by using humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles.” This definition is intense, and I think the good intentions it includes are present in the Weather Vane staff but extremely hard to execute. The kind of nuance it takes to poke fun in a tasteful way, and one that is aiming to better humanity? I’m not sure I have it, or that many people my age do. However, that doesn’t mean we won’t try. The intention is there.
Some call the Feather Brain a “joke issue” rather than using the word satire. Maybe that’s a more accurate word—lots of the stuff in there is often simply for fun. But I think that’s okay. It’s okay to take a break from the serious and sprinkle in some hilarity and silliness. I know many students look forward to this issue more than any others, and I know that we are going to try our best this semester to make sure that no lines are crossed. Hopefully, we can try to include some good satire along the way. Consider yourselves warned. It’s gonna get tastefully weird.
sophomores, this means a full meal plan in which they have unlimited swipes into the dining hall, as well as $100 towards the Den. This portion of the policy is entirely legitimate in my eyes. Thinking back to freshman year, I did not have the money nor the motivation to buy ingredients and cook for myself every day. If nobody had a meal plan, 60 or so people would have to share the dorm kitchens at least once a day which simply is not feasible. However, once I moved into the apartments on campus as a junior, I think that the requirement of a meal plan should be dropped—not simply
reduced to a 60-block. All apartments are equipped with fully functional kitchens, and we are settled enough into life at EMU that it is easier to buy and cook food for ourselves (even if it’s hard sometimes). This makes the necessity of a meal plan moot, as we can provide for ourselves by this point in our college careers. On top of this, the cost is entirely disproportionate to what we receive for paying it. The 60-block meal plan costs a whopping $820, which, doing the math, comes out to $13.67 per meal. Well, I guess it is more like $12.33, considering the 50 den dollars that are included in the meal plan. Regardless, this
is outrageous considering that if we were to buy one meal entirely separate from the meal plan, it would cost $8.50 at most. It would cost even less if we were to take part in the Lion’s Share deal that the dining hall offers, in which you put money on your student ID and use that to pay for meals. I believe if you pay $100 at a time, you get an extra $20 dollars, as well as meals that are offered at a reduced price. It simply does not sit well with me that we are required to pay inflated prices to be able to attend college. Especially because we may not even use these meals. It is almost to the end of the semester, and I have used two of
my swipes into the cafeteria and most of my transfer meals because it is easier for me to eat elsewhere. This is almost certainly not true for every junior with a 60-block plan; however, there is a certain level of saving for the end of the semester involved in a 60-block, and, for many, the last few never get used. I believe that the reality of the requirement of a 60-block plan, and the 60-block plan as a whole, warrants some consideration from those enforcing this policy, and I would hope that it gets addressed in some sense. At least make it the correct price rather than several dollars too expensive for every meal.
60-BLOCK PLAN EXPLOITS STUDENT WALLETS
Thoreau Zehr, Staff Writer
As I am sure everyone is aware, as EMU students, we are required to have a meal plan until we are seniors if we live on campus. For first-years and
8 AM CLASSES PROMOTE STUDENT DISCIPLINE
Brynn Yoder, Staff Writer
As college students, we find ourselves in situations where we have to take responsibility for many things. Unfortunately, one of the things that is often forgotten is sleep. Just like homework, sleep is something necessary to our success in college. Throughout this first semester here at EMU, I have gone to bed at 9 p.m. most nights and woken up at around 6 a.m. most mornings. This rigorous sleeping schedule is what I have always done, and I feel I work best on those nine hours of sleep. One thing I hear when I am sitting at a table at the cafeteria is people either bragging when they
do not have 8 a.m.s or groaning when they do. I, on the other hand, love my 8 a.m.s. They allow me to get my classes out of the way earlier in the day, leaving me free in the afternoons and evenings to be with friends. On top of this, I can do the majority of my homework during the day so I can go to bed on time. Why do so many college students complain about 8 a.m.s? A study done by Roxanne Prichard, a professor from the University of WisconsinMadison, found that, on average, most college students go to bed around 12:20 a.m. on weekdays. No wonder so many people hate 8 a.m.s so much. If students would like to go to breakfast before their 8 a.m.s at 7:30 when the cafeteria opens, they only get about seven hours of sleep. This is assuming they throw on a pair of clothes and go straight to the caf. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults from 18 to 64 should get seven to nine hours of sleep, but findings suggest that getting seven hours of sleep consistently is still correlated with sleep deprivation.
Now, one of the main complaints I hear about is that students tend to stay up because they have homework. On weekday nights, the latest event (which is only done twice a month) is the hymn sing, which runs from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. This means that from 10:30 p.m. to the average bedtime for college students, either homework, a job, or leisure is being done. I understand having to stay up to do an eight page paper due the next day, but that does not happen every night. So, does this mean EMU should get rid of 8 a.m.s? Most college students will not get the optimal amount of sleep if they are forced to wake up for an 8 a.m class. However, I would argue that EMU is right to keep their 8 a.m.s. It is a conscious decision to not get the optimal amount of sleep. Just like homework or a job, sleep is important, too. Most of my friends are awake past 9 p.m. and would I rather be doing stuff with them? Absolutely, but this is where we all need a measure of self-discipline. Before I came to EMU, I
told some people I knew that I liked to go to bed at 9 p.m., and I was told, “Just wait, that will change.” I still hold to my routine of going to bed around 9 p.m. and waking up at 6 a.m. Another perk of waking up at 6 is that I can take a morning shower without a soul around. In the past three weeks, I have not
seen anyone in the bathroom at 6 a.m. So, if you do not like the loud music, take a shower early. If you want to go to bed early, it is possible, it just takes a measure of discipline. But please, if you do not like 8 a.m.s, try to go to bed a little earlier, and you might just learn to appreciate them.
Work for the Weather Vane! We want you (Yes, you!) to work for the Weather Vane. As the semester comes to a close, the Weather Vane is inviting interested Undergraduate students to consider joining the Weather Vane staff team as page editors, photographers, writers, and/or copy editors next semester. Applicants should have strong writing or photography skills, be well organized, and care about the student body. If you are interested, keep your ears perked for interest meetings and applications early next spring. Feel free to contact us at wvane@emu. edu or get in touch with our faculty advisor, Kirsten Beachy.
theweathervane.org
November 14, 2019
7
OPINION T h e We a t h e r Va n e
THE SECOND YEAR OF CAMP IS UNDERRATED
Rachael Brenneman, Opinion Editor
This past summer, I found myself returning to Highland Retreat as a senior camp counselor for the second year in a row. I went into the summer believing it would follow much of the same formula as the year before. I was right, but I was also completely wrong. The base of what made camp so enjoyable for me was still there, but the details were what made it a completely different summer. Key among these details
were my campers, specifically my returning campers. Going into the summer, I had not realized the depth of growth that I would witness within my campers from the year before—both in girls who were placed in my cabin for the second time and those who were placed in other cabins. I was first confronted with this growth early in the summer. I was soloing without a co-counselor—something I had never done before. When I received my list of campers for the week, an hour before they were arriving, some names I was overjoyed to see, others not so much. I panicked when I saw one name. And I kept panicking as I thought back to the year before. I worried myself sick right up until she arrived. I remember taking a deep breath as I turned to greet her and her parent— preparing myself to weather the rest of the week with grace. Then I had my first conversation with
this camper, and all the tension and worry I had built up over the past two hours went away in one fell swoop. She had grown, both physically—now she was taller than me—and in confidence in herself. I turned around and spoke to a bright, boisterous, impossibly energetic girl— that hadn’t changed—who was more confident in her worth and where she fit in this world around her. I was amazed. And by the end of the week, I was proud. When our cabin struggled that week, this camper would step up and work with those around her, or, if she was out of her depth, she would come to me for help. The girl I had known the summer before would have done neither. Another camper, who I had the previous year but, unfortunately, not this year, had grown immensely, as well. Where she had barely talked the year before and questioned her place in the cabin, now I was
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able to grin from my position as the tail of the hiking group as she led the rest of the girls in repeat-after-me songs at the head of the pack. I had been toying with the idea of not returning to camp this past year, and that would have happened if there hadn’t been one last open positon at Highland. Looking back, if I hadn’t returned, I would have lost the chance to reconnect with campers and see for myself their
amazing growth. I would have missed the opportunity to see how they were beginning to find themselves. For those who are toying with the idea of returning to camp as a counselor, or even just trying it out, I encourage you to heavily consider the option. That second year offers so much more than the first in terms of connection, and I am blessed to have been able to have the opportunity to experience it.
We Want Your Letters! Hey, you! Yes, you! Do you have opinions? Do you like writing opinions? Did a Weather Vane article resonate with or frustrate you? If so, write a letter to the editor! We enjoy hearing your responses, and the more student voices we can include, the better. If you feel that you are underrepresented or that your voice is not adequately heard, tell us why in an opinion article of your own and send it to wvane@emu.edu. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and space.
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WEATHER REPORT STORM CLOUDS
SUNBEAMS •
• •
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So, the music department gala happened. EMU students and faculty killed it. We hosted a Broadway star. Also, David Berry. Need I say more? Thanksgiving Break is finally within reach. It’s turkey time. On this day in 1840, the Impressionist painter Claude Monet was born. I still draw my suns in the corner of the page. The Feather Brain is coming very soon. Oh, how we have waited for this moment. It has been seven long months.
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It is too cold. We are at the point of the year where temperatures actually drop throughout the day. Time to break out our puffy coats and mittens. Our trusty co-editor had to leave early today with a cold. The plague is upon us, and we are not ready. Along the theme of winter, it now gets dark at 5:30 p.m., and we are all very sad. At least the sunset was beautiful. Finals are just around the corner. Goodbye, friends. Goodbye, sleep. Hello, library basement.
Editors in Chief Silas Clymer Kate Szambecki Front Page Editor News & Feature Editor Review Editor Sports Editor Opinion Editor Canvas Editor
Abby Berry Jenna Lile Erin Beidler Adam Moyer Kate Szambecki Jessica Chisolm
Managing Editor Anali North Martin Copy Editors Silas Clymer Amanda Hergenrather Kate Szambecki Brynn Yoder Seth Andreas Photography Editor Web Manager Business Manager Circulation Manager Faculty Adviser
Ignacio Ocaranza Allison Shelly Douglas Nester Fatimah Subhi Kirsten Beachy
The Weather Vane is published weekly by undergraduate students of Eastern Mennonite University. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the university or its affiliates.
theweathervane.org
November 14, 2019
CANVAS
8
Th e We a t h e r Va n e
Incompetent Boys “How old are you?” This is the charming opening line from a pale-faced hipster who has now prowled past my seat on the train three times. I remember him from the observation car. He saw me staring at him (in fascinated disgust) as he waxed poetic to some old white guy about how to fix the world’s problems.
And suddenly I am responsible for his emotional well-being. He wants me to comfort him. It’s amazing how guys do that. I flounder for a while, uncomfortable, not sure what to say. Except my sister tells me I’m not responsible for his feelings, and I should stop responding, which I do.
A week later another message slides in.
I really am sorry, he says. I wanted to be with you. “I wish we would’ve just stormed the White House. Show them we still When I tell my roommates about this sorry little guy, I accidentally mother-f*cking run this country,” he had said. call him the Tromboner. The name sticks. He must have mistaken my eavesdropping for interest. *** “I’m 20,” I tell him. I’m cuddling my sister, who could be my This predacious male incompetence comes in many forms, some more girlfriend, for all he knows. He completely ignores her. subtle than others. I pride myself on mostly dating Nice Guys who Respect “That’s too bad. I’m 25. I was going to ask if you wanted to get sloshed Me and Aren’t Creeps, but one time I slipped up. in the lounge,” he brandishes a small bottle, “but I guess not.” It was spring of my freshman year of college. He said he first noticed Me (fake regret): “Yeah, that’d be illegal.” me on a rainy day when I was wearing my yellow slicker. He was older, and sexy. He thought I was a great writer. “You need to write a novel, please,” he Him (real regret): “You’re beautiful.” He holds eye contact for a good told me. “Your word choice is so good.” fifteen seconds longer than comfortable. Still hasn’t said a word to my sister, who is holding my hand and has her legs draped over my lap. “Okay, I guess We were basically dating, although we never made it official. It I’m off.” was complicated, as it often is. He was deciding whether or not to transfer (back) to Goshen College, hundreds of miles away. I was deciding whether He meanders up the aisle, presumably to find a more age-appropriate or not I trusted him after he sent me a bunch of drunken videos and sketchily person to get sloshed with. disappeared for three weeks around spring break. *** He had a weird habit of screenshotting every single Snapchat I sent him, even the ones where I was asking him why he felt the need to screenshot I bought a book called Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates during my everything. One night, circa 2 a.m., we were hanging out in a piano practice first year of college. Enlightened, I read the entire section called “Women in room in the basement of the music building (his idea). Cinderblock walls, Public Places” in the bookstore. Things I never would have had the guts to call soundproof. A lovely spot. He showed me the file on his phone where he had harassment, what I used to call “getting hit on” were laid out in bare statistics. all the photos saved, a rolling slideshow of my face. It was a strange mix of 1 in 3, 1 in 5, 87%... Utter bullsh*t. Street harassment. They get us here, there, flattering and creepy. At the time, I opted for flattering. It was a little too scary, and in the between time. I think, to entertain the thought of what else could have happened in that In a bitter twist of irony, on my way home from purchasing Everyday secluded basement room. Sexism, a car full of college-age guys pulls up beside me at a stoplight. They I still found him charming. He was smart, and cool. One night we lay roll their windows down; I inch mine back up. The group of them starts yelling down in an abandoned country road, gazing at the night sky while we talked at me. I become temporarily deaf, staring straight ahead, and breathe a sigh of about religion. I felt so deep and intellectual. So this is dating in college. relief when the light turns green. But they proceed to drive beside me, speeding up or slowing down in sync with my car, like a sinister predator stalking its It wasn’t entirely heartbreaking, though, when he decided to go back prey. I glance shakily at Everyday Sexism in the seat beside me. You were right, to Goshen. I moved on, with great ease. Then the following fall, I noticed Laura. some strange activity in my Google drive. One of the files I had shared with him that spring had been recently opened—by him. Curious, I clicked on it. What do men think they’re accomplishing, just by honking and yelling And I saw. In perfect MLA format. His name. At the top of my story. at an innocent woman? Do they expect me to shed my clothing and leap into their speeding car? What the hell? I got all sorts of attention during my cross-cultural semester. Cuban At first I was dumbfounded. This couldn’t be real. How could he men are real charmers. One guy just shouted “Novio! Novio!” at me, which be so blatant about it, so careless? He could have copied and pasted it, or means “Boyfriend! Boyfriend!” I wasn’t sure if he was asking or offering, but downloaded it, or even simply removed his own name from the top after he either way, it was a hard pass. Another guy casually mentioned that he lived printed it out. just down the street. How convenient. But no, this was real. My first wolf-whistle came when I was in the seventh grade, which means I was 12. The guy was driving a huge jacked-up truck, which means he Then I was furious. I seethed, I stomped, I stormed around campus, was at least 16. At the time, though unsettled, I thought it was a compliment. calling my dad, texting my friends. I burst into my adviser’s office. That’s what my mom told me, when I relayed the incident to her. “He must’ve “I’ve been plagiarized,” I announced with great importance. thought you were pretty,” she said. She gave me a loving smile, which meant he’s right, you are pretty, which meant it’s fine, what he did. Turns out, he knew the Goshen professor whose name my ex had so helpfully left on the document. *** The world is a dangerous place. Facebook is no exception. It makes the average male think anything is possible. A girl he’s afraid to approach in real life suddenly becomes the victim of his aggressively tragic attempts at seduction. Imagine his hand hovering over the mouse, the Jaws theme thudding in the background.
“I’ll send her an email,” he assured me. “Justice will be served.”
I felt violated. What a great betrayal, to steal my words and pass them off as his own. What a freaking idiot, to think he wouldn’t be caught. A few days later my adviser called me into his office. He told me that the Goshen professor was taking “necessary disciplinary action.”
A few weeks ago, a guy I knew in high school added me on Facebook. “How well did you know this guy?” my adviser asked. “Because he’s I remember him vaguely from band, where he played the trombone. apparently very enamored by you.” Heyyo, he says. The Goshen prof said he, my ex, had written some love poems about a certain Elizabeth for that very same class. I wonder what sort of cognitive Hey, I respond, very confused. How are you doing? dissonance he had going on. He loved me so much he stole my work. We exchange a bit of small talk. Then comes the kicker. *** Can I tell you something?, he asks. And so here we are. Women, the casual victims of modern courtship Sure. rituals. Why can’t the human male be more like a peacock? Just some pretty feathers, no need to talk. Or like a song bird. Woo me with a beautiful song, I really liked you in high school. I think it is one of my regrets, not don’t have to ask my age to do that. Or like salmon! What if we just deposited seeing if we could have hung out more often. our eggs somewhere and let guys wander by later to fertilize them? Thanks for telling me, I say. It is too bad we didn’t get to know each Train Guy, the Car Honkers, the Tromboner, the Incompetent other better. (I don’t actually think it is too bad. But what the heck, he lives in Plagiarizer…where did they get their start? They didn’t just pop out of a void. Florida now.) Nobody is born to be a creep. Something in our world, our society, our boys will be boys and can’t you take a compliment? has caused this. I just think about it a lot. I wish I was braver back then. Guys of the world, here’s a helpful hint: if you see a cute girl you Well, you told me now! (I am ready to be done with this conversation.) want to talk to, don’t honk your horn at her. Or slow down and drive beside her while she runs. Or try to get her drunk. Or send her five messages in a row Well, to be totally honest…I still really like you. A lot. without waiting for a response. I let him down easy. He’s not done yet. Above all, don’t ask her age. At least not before you’ve asked for her name. I’m really sorry, he says. I’m sorry for all that I did. Now I’m confused and slightly concerned. What exactly did he do, besides professing his love via Facebook messenger? I tell him it’s fine.
I just feel dumb for not being braver, he says.
Senior Elizabeth Nisly has loved to write for as long as she can remember. She leans towards fiction and poetry; this essay is her first major work of creative nonfiction.