Relay for Life raises money for cancer, brings together campus community

Geneseo hosted its 12th Relay for Life with the slogan “Kick Cancer Out of This World” on Saturday April 8. Entertaining performers such as senior Ben Spaid (pictured above), on-site fundraising groups and a remembrance ceremony characterized the night-long event. (Keith Walters/Campus Photographer)

For Geneseo’s 12th annual Relay for Life fundraiser on Saturday April 8 at the Wilson Ice Arena, Colleges Against Cancer had one slogan: “Kick Cancer Out of This World.”

The event had an outer space theme, and the Geneseo community exhibited their strength here on Earth at this “small, but mighty” town, raising over $160,173.25 by the end of the student-run event. The fundraiser supports the American Cancer Society, which funds both cancer research and services for cancer patients.  

“I believe our event was successful because of all the hard work our CAC committee and our e-board put into the event,” CAC president and psychology major senior Ashley Buttice said. “Countless hours spent planning and preparing I think is what allowed for the event to run as smoothly as it did.” 

Throughout the extensive event, there were a plethora of breathtaking and enjoyable performances for all 2,000 participants to watch. This included math and French double major senior Ben Spaid, who hula-hooped his way through modern hits. Different Geneseo performance groups like Between the Lines and Hips ‘n Harmony provided additional entertainment for partakers. 

There were also many aspects that diverted from previous Relay for Life events. On top of on-site fundraising and tabling events—which are ever present at Relay for Life—there were new additions to the yearly event, such as a routine by the dance squad OriGinal Xpressions. 

The entertaining variations also included the incorporation of spirit points. Participants received a Relay Passport on Saturday April 8, keeping with the theme of traveling and outer space. Students would get a stamp on their passport for completing challenges or for going to the different tables of various organizations. Depending on how many places the participant visited and completed on their passport, they received a set number of spirit points.

“We love having the fun stuff like the Lip Sync Battle. We are trying to fundraise—but we also want to put on a great event and bring people together,” Buttice said. “We want people to really get that sense of community and to enjoy the event.”

In addition to the keynote delivered by President Denise A. Battles, there were speeches given at the Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back ceremonies. All three targeted distinct aspects of cancer: celebrating milestones in one’s life in the face of cancer, remembering those who have lost their battle to cancer and moving into the future with plans to fight cancer. 

“I love the Remember Ceremony,” vice president of CAC and childhood with special education and English double major junior Grace Rowan said. “I think the silence in the ice arena is chilling—no pun intended—but I think that when people talk about cancer, people are very closed off about it. In this moment, though, it’s kind of like a space where you can just cry or you can comfort someone next to you if maybe you weren’t directly affected by cancer.”

During the Remember Ceremony at 10 p.m., junior economics and sociology double major Nina Santacesaria gave a personal anecdote regarding her mother losing her fight to cancer. Her speech ultimately showcased that any student in any of your classes could know someone who is facing the adversity that is cancer. A slideshow of those who lost their battle to cancer followed.

With that message in mind, students moved into the rest of the night ready to fundraise to fight cancer—particularly after the Fight Back Ceremony was delivered at 12:30 a.m.   

“I think seeing how many people are affected by it is very upsetting, but it also gives the sense that you’re not alone,” Rowan said. “We’re not alone, and right after it with the Fight Back Ceremony, it kind of makes you go, ‘This is why we’re doing what we’re doing.’”

Impact of SNCC panel discussions debated

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On Tuesday April 4 multiple departments hosted panel discussions as part of Geneseo’s annual honoring of Martin Luther King Jr. Pictured left are Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee intern junior Jenna Lawson, SNCC intern junior Tanairi Taylor, history major senior Tom Garrity and English major sophomore Jen Galvao, who all spoke at the panel. (Annalee Bainnson/Assoc. Photo Editor)

Geneseo hosted panel discussions on Monday April 3 and Tuesday April 4, and as a result Geneseo students have varying opinions on the effects of activist events. 

The discussions were a part of Geneseo’s annual tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., presenting Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee activists Freddie Greene Biddle and Jennifer Lawson. Jennifer Lawson serves as the Senior Vice President for Television and Digital Video Content at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Biddle works primarily to increase black voter registration. 

Multiple departments sponsored the events, including the History Department, the Office of Multicultural Programs and the Sociology Department.

The first discussion, “Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement: An Intergenerational Conversation of 50+ Years of Struggle,” highlighted the backgrounds of the two speakers and of Shaketa Redden, who belongs to Buffalo’s Black Love Resists in the Rust group. The three answered such questions as why they got involved in civil rights activism and what each has done to accomplish change within their lifetime.

Effecting change is necessary, as there are psychological damages that are done to the mind and the body when undergoing these challenges, according to Biddle. Each speaker gave anecdotes as to why they joined both small and large groups of activists; Biddle spoke of how she was personally driven to activism when a bullet was shot through her family’s living room in Mississippi. 

Jennifer Lawson expressed that she mobilizes around issues based on what she thinks she can achieve in her lifetime. That topic was significantly expanded upon in the panel on Tuesday April 4.

“The first discussion kind of brought a new perspective to activism—about why they were motivated to show their activism,” communication major sophomore Jamie-Lynn Irwin said. “We might not have that similar motivation, but hopefully we can be there for somebody, just like they’re being there for us.” 

The second discussion, “Civil Rights Movement, Black Power and Justice Today,” again involved the biographies of Biddle and Jennifer Lawson, with a discussion focused more on the modern relevance of activism. Some audience members asked questions about how to handle the intersection of racism and sexism or how to address issues of gentrification in urban areas.

Intern for the SNCC junior Tanairi Taylor posed her own question about how to combat cultural appropriation. Jennifer Lawson responded by counseling prospective activists to maintain a list of priorities. 

“I feel that time is such a limited commodity, that there is so little time,” Lawson said. “When I look at what I feel I need to work on and to do, [cultural appropriation] comes up so low on my priority list. I could care less about whether Kim Kardashian decides that she’s going to do an afro or whatever. If I can only do three things, it’s not on my list.”

Taylor didn’t fully agree with Jennifer Lawson’s dismissal of cultural appropriation as an issue. 

“I just wanted to know how to make people start to care,” she said. “It just leads to a perpetuation of oppression and I don’t know whether you can just ignore it.”

SNCC intern junior Jenna Lawson, however, agreed with Jennifer Lawson that there are substantial priorities that activists need to realize and expedite when working toward constructively impacting society.

It is not that cultural appropriation does not exist; it is that activists need to reframe their priorities, according to Jenna Lawson. 

“There’s a limit to what you can do on social media,” Jenna Lawson said. “I think that they reaffirmed that if you’re not doing tangible, social change, then you’re just saying empty words, essentially.”

Black Student Union president junior Zakiya Rose said that she believes that events like these have a mixed impact. 

“It lets us know that the school cares, even if sometimes the students don’t care. But if I’m being honest, I’m not sure if it’s helpful for students who aren’t already into activism or equality, because those aren’t the people attending the events,” she said. “Generally, I think they’re beneficial. If they weren’t happening, I think that we’d be more worried about general support from faculty.”

Rose additionally emphasized the value of direct interaction between students. 

“I’d encourage students who don’t feel comfortable going to these events just to go,” she said. “Even if you don’t want to participate, at least go and hear people’s stories. The only way things change is through direct interaction—you can’t stay in your own bubble.”

Associate news editor Malachy Dempsey contributed to writing this article.

Hip-hop expert speaks on evolution of the genre

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Rapper Claude “Paradise” Gray led a discussion on Tuesday Feb. 28 as a part of Geneseo’s Hip-Hop Symposium. He discussed the changes of hip-hop over time. (Ash Dean/Photo Editor)

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me—except when hip-hop is involved. 

Hip-hop legend Claude “Paradise” Gray proved this notoriously trite proverb false in his “The Latin Quarter: An Interactive Discussion with Paradise Gray of Hip-Hop’s Golden Era” on Tuesday Feb. 28 in the Lederer Gallery, as part of Geneseo’s Hip-Hop Symposium 2017: The Timeline. 

Hip-hop hits close to home for Gray—quite literally, as Gray self-proclaims himself as one of hip-hop’s greatest fans. As a child, Gray moved to the Bronx—which is customarily referred to as the home of hip-hop—with his family to escape poverty. 

“Hip-hop was a way of life for me and my friends, growing up in the South Bronx,” Gray said. 

During that time, however, hip-hop was known as disco and rapping as “rocking out,” according to Gray. Keeping with the symposium’s theme of hip-hop’s timeline, Gray asked the audience a plethora of rhetorical questions: What is hip-hop’s DNA? Who influenced hip-hop? 

“Because if we think about it, the greatest story that’s ever told … is that hip-hop was created in the Bronx, and I say this because all of the elements of hip-hop predate hip-hop,” Gray said. “Can we find someone who was rapping in 1940? That’s impossible, right?”

Not impossible—merely difficult, as Gray showcased the YouTube video “Preacher and the Bear” by The Jubalaires. The Jubalaires were a Gospel rap group from the 1940s, with “Preacher and the Bear” dating to 1941—if you can believe it. Hip-hop then used language as a tool to unify people.

“Hip-hop is capable of taking people from anywhere on this planet … and putting them in the same book—on the same page,” Gray said. 

Though in modern times hip-hop has negative connotations of being sexist, homophobic, capitalistic—the list seems endless—Gray debunked these stereotypes by examining hip-hop’s timeline. In fact, Gray said that hip-hop is a great unifier that transcends religions, cultures and politics because it gives us the language to not only uplift ourselves, but others, as well.    

Gray was armed with many facts to validate this statement, including the fact that the first clubs that would let hip-hop artists perform were gay clubs. 

“Hip-hop’s been gay,” Gray said. “[The LGBTQ+ community] could relate to [the African American community], who was also being marginalized. They could relate to all the hatred we were getting because they were getting it, two-fold.” 

Hip-hop even employs language to contradict denotations of seemingly antagonistic words. 

“Hip-hop is good at what we call flipping the script,” Gray said. “All the negative things have been flipped, including negative words like ‘the n word’ and the ‘b word.’ Before hip-hop, if someone said, ‘The man,’ they were talking about a white man, but hip-hop flipped the script so that I’m the man.”

Today, however, such hip-hop artists as Kanye West—who called artist Taylor Swift a “bitch [he made] famous” in “Famous”—use their lyrics to hurt people. Why is hip-hop so negative now, Gray asked. Why aren’t we working to uplift others? 

As a society, Gray stressed the need to challenge the use of language, in and outside of music. For example, the most popular form of hip-hop right now is trap music: but why does that word—“trap”—not bother more people? It should, because who wants to fall into a trap, Gray pointed out.    

“Words plus sound equal power. Words are very, very important to human beings. Never underestimate the power of words … don’t accept negative words about people,” Gray said—even when dealing with loved ones and friends. “If you don’t correct them—challenge them—no one will.”

Spotlight On: Kevin Pierce

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Junior Kevin Pierce is the president and resident beatboxer of a capella group Between the Lines. As a mathematics and secondary education major, Pierce hopes to incorporate his love of music into his future teaching endeavors. (Ash Dean/Photo Editor)

For mathematics and secondary education major junior Kevin Pierce, beatboxing serves as an outlet for his musical energy.

As the president and beatboxer of Geneseo’s coed a cappella group Between the Lines, BTL has been just that for Pierce: a channel to pursue his hobbies. 

“As a math major, I don’t really get a lot of opportunities for music, and like any other Geneseo student, I’m not just my major—not just a math person,” Pierce said. “But BTL has become just like my family; they make me the happiest.”

Pierce has been involved in BTL for three and a half semesters after auditioning as a beatboxer during the second half of his spring semester freshman year. Pierce has been leisurely beatboxing, however, since seventh grade. 

“I auditioned for BTL because I really wanted to be in a cappella and I missed having music in my life,” Pierce said. “When I got in, that was probably one of the best moments of my life.”

Music has always been a part of Pierce’s life; before beatboxing he was a percussionist and has been since fourth grade. In addition to beatboxing and percussion, Pierce is a drummer and even taught himself the ukulele “just for fun.”

“I can do impressions, and so what beatboxing was for me was doing an impression of the drums, and I started doing that in seventh grade when I was going through my seventh grade phase of being really into hip hop,” Pierce said. “Since then, I’ve realized what a cappella was and realized that this thing that I just did as a joke could be used as a part of actual music.” 

Since then, Pierce has been “making beatboxing up” as he goes. Even without any formal training in beatboxing, Pierce wouldn’t say that he practices beatboxing by setting aside time to rehearse.

“What I do is anytime I’m listening to a song or I hear something that kind of interests me, I try to replicate it by beatboxing,” Pierce said. “Music is constantly playing in my head, so I’m always singing something or beatboxing.” 

Pierce’s tastes are eclectic in that his musical preferences change daily. BTL’s music choices, however, do coincide with his own personal music playlists. For Pierce, picking and arranging “Beware the Dog” by The Griswolds—for a vocal solo in spring 2016—is a highlight of his music career.  

“Last year I got the solo, and that’s probably the coolest thing for me because I don’t consider myself a singer: I am the beatboxer,” Pierce said, “So knowing that not only did BTL support me in my singing, but also that I had progressed enough that they thought I was worthy enough to get a solo, meant a lot to me.”

Over the summer, Pierce will have the opportunity to be a part of the EXPLO Summer Program on the Wellesley College campus, which is a project-based educational summer camp. There he will teach logic, puzzles and math, along with an a cappella workshop for children—combining both of his interests.

Looking further into the future, Pierce aspires to continue to fuse teaching and music, as he will this summer. He would like to take a gap year after graduating to either participate in City Year or to teach abroad before beginning his career in teaching math.  

“I really want to either help with choir in a school that I’m placed in or find some way to support the arts while I’m doing math, because I think music is basically applied math, so it’s really easy to tie it into the math curriculum,” Pierce said. “I’d also love to be in a band with my friends or just join some community choir to keep that musical outlet going for me.” 

Until and after then, Pierce will keep beatboxing—which he can summarize in one word:

Spitting.

Prince leaves behind legacy, lessons on individuality

Prince Rogers Nelson died on Thursday April 21 at 10:07 a.m. at his home in Chanhassen, Minnesota at the age of 57. The cause of death has not yet been released. Though this tribute to his death might not be evergreen in the realm of journalism, Prince forever will be. The legendary American songwriter, singer, producer and actor broke boundaries—boundaries that won him seven Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Prince has not only sold more than 100 million records, but he was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004—the first year he was eligible. His film Purple Rain—in which he starred as a semi-autobiographical character of himself—grossed more than $68 million at the box office, proving that Prince was not just a force to be reckoned with in music alone.

Not only was his music eclectic—as he destroyed barriers in funk, rock, R&B and pop—but it was also sexually promiscuous during a time when it wasn’t the norm. His three records—Dirty Mind, Controversy and 1999—heavily emblazoned his trademark sexual lyrics.

Lust was a huge motif in Prince’s songs. Though he and his contemporaries Madonna and Michael Jackson are and will continue to be considered the most important pop stars of the 1980s, Prince will be the one who is known for incorporating an assortment of expressions of lust in his music. And this is more imperative than his plethora of accolades.

“The most important thing is to be true to yourself, but I also like danger,” Prince said to the Los Angeles Times in 1982. “That’s what’s missing from pop music today. There’s no excitement or mystery.”

That excitement and mystery was perfectly portrayed in his music, such as in his song “Kiss.” “U don’t have to be beautiful to turn me on,” Prince sang in “Kiss,” before screaming, “Ain’t no particular sign I’m more compatible with.” He didn’t care that his songs were received as being sexually promiscuous to the public. This was evident even in his albums’ title names, as illustrated through his album title Dirty Mind.

He transcended other artists as a strong spirit—on and off stage. Never did he feel the need to confine himself to societal norms. Officially, Prince wasn’t gay. It was thoroughly discussed, however, as he loved many of the things society has dictated to be associated with being gay, such as a man wearing heels. Prince, however, never publicly declared his sexual orientation. “Am I straight or gay?” he wrote in his song “Controversy,” leaving the audience without an answer.

“You can’t control how other people see you—so stop caring,” Prince said.

Perhaps this is what he had in mind on his 35th birthday when he changed his name to a symbol—a symbol that merged the astrological symbols for man and woman. He didn’t desire to subject himself to society’s whims. To the public, though, he will forever be known as Prince. He doesn’t need a name like ‘the King of Rock and Roll’—he is a prince of music in name and in embodiment; a prince that demands to be looked up to.

People have and still are learning from the pop icon. Though a notoriously trite proverb, Prince teaches everyone how to be true to themselves. And for that—in addition to his renowned talents—he will be missed.

A smoothie to stay cool, energized

With warm summer weather growing closer and closer, there are two tempting, non-alcoholic options when deciding what to sip or not to sip on: a milkshake as a refreshing sweet treat or ice water to work on getting that summer bod. It goes without saying that both of these options aren’t the best if you’re hungry, however, so why not combine the cooling off aspect of a milkshake and the low calories of water by having a smoothie? For a simple, low-cal smoothie, try out this green apple smoothie. It’s sweet, cool, filling and nutritious.

Ingredients

2 cored Granny Smith apples

1/4 cup of dates

1/2 tbsp. of cinnamon

2 cups of water

1 cup of spinach

1 cup of ice

Dash of nutmeg

Directions: 

1. Rinse the fruits off with water.

2. Add all of the ingredients to the blender.

3. Blend them on high until smooth.

4. Pour into a cup.

5. Add a curly straw to the cup—not optional.

Rochester native creates dream pop album, emphasizes nature’s ephemerality

With this year’s surprisingly warm, sans-snow winter in Upstate New York, it’s odd to be reminded of last year’s freezing winter by this snow on the ground in April. Rochester native and singer-songwriter Susanna Rose does just that, however, with her latest album Snowbound. With a title like Snowbound, it’s no question that this album will bring back those peaceful winter tunes we all know and love, such as “Once Upon a December” or “Winter Wonderland.” As Snowbound was released on Nov. 22, 2015, the album’s release is far enough away for listeners to have overlooked—but not have completely forgotten—the frigidly cold winter season.

“This album was written during and inspired by Rochester’s coldest winter ever, the winter of 2015,” Rose said.

The songs’ lyrics emphasize that winter motif, especially in the titular song “Snowbound.” Rose sings, “It’s a cold night out there/So come on in/And let’s pretend/ We don’t know how this ends, we don’t know how this ends.” So many of us don’t wish to dwell on the winter snow and harsh winds—it’s much nicer to go indoors, bundle up in warm sweaters next to a fire and drink a hot chocolate, just as Rose suggests.

Although the other songs on the album aren’t quite so apparently winter-themed as “Snowbound” is, the mellow acoustic guitar—mixed with Rose’s soulful voice—create an alluring type of dream pop music that is ever-present throughout Snowbound. Developed in the 1980s, dream pop is like alternative rock, except its emphasis is on creating a more ethereal and dream-like sound. Dream pop is the type of music a person would play while trying to lull into a sleep—or while trying to warm up from a cold hike in the snow.

Snowbound’s plethora of songs are a perfect depiction of dream pop. It is especially apparent in “Lullaby,” a three-minute song that discusses nature and how Rose simply wants to “catch” the sky’s snow. “Lullaby” ends perfectly with, “So goodnight, my dear/Sleep tight” to finish off the dream pop vibe to Rose’s album.

The background music to “Lullaby” is also very hypnotic and airy, as if listeners truly could “sleep tight” while listening to it. “Separate Ways” promises an OK future of dreams, too, as in “Lullaby”—because right now, Rose’s dreams are ‘unsettling.’

That otherworldly quality is apparent in the other tracks of Snowbound. Though these songs don’t quite have the same emphasis on snow and nature like “Lullaby” and “Snowbound,” they do mention these qualities, such as in “Ancient History.” In “Ancient History,” Rose discusses how one can’t always just sit on a porch drinking lemonade—you’ve got to face reality, because there is a brevity to nice weather that people have to accept.

This idea of nice weather being short becomes a symbol of the transient nature of happiness in the other songs on the album. Rose explores harsh, yet relatable topics that people face in their lives; “Old Broken Heart” showcases the pain of having someone you love fall in love with someone else, while “Working Girl” explores the disenchantment that comes with having a job that leaves you feeling only tired and empty.

“Don’t fear that the good times won’t last,” Rose sings in the song “Benediction.” “Because you know of course they can’t.”

And she’s right. The good weather will not last, and neither do picture-perfect times. But with ethereal music like Snowbound, one can have something to listen to and enjoy while it’s snowing outside or while life seems to be crumbling beneath you.

“Full House” revival full of nostalgia, lacks innovative plotlines

Nearly 20 years after “Full House’s” original series premiered in 1987, Netflix released a “Full House” revival series on Friday Feb. 26. Titled “Fuller House,” the series showcases many of the original cast members, giving them the cheesy narrative arcs that only “Full House” could get away with. The nostalgic feeling in “Fuller House” was extremely prevalent, starting with the title sequence. The opening credits successfully made its audience feel sentimental, featuring a poppy cover of the original theme and displaying pictures of the cast from “Full House” next to the new—but older—cast members. To tug on the heartstrings even more, the credits showcased new film sequences of the cast acting the same as they did in the original title sequence. For example, just as Danny Tanner—played by Bob Saget—threw around a football in the “Full House” sequence, he is shown throwing a football in the same setting 20 years later.

The show managed to sign on most of the original cast, including Candace Cameron Bure as DJ, Jodie Sweetin as Stephanie and Andrea Barber as Kimmy. As guest characters, the show has Saget as Danny, Dave Coulier as Joey, John Stamos as Jesse, Lori Loughlin as Rebecca and Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit as twins Nicky and Alex. Although the show was unable to enlist the second pair of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to play Michelle, “Fuller House” is stockpiled with fan-favorite characters.

Right from the start of the first episode, it’s clear that the writers have used the same cheesy tropes that made “Full House” such a family-friendly show. DJ Tanner is now DJ Tanner-Fuller, a single parent with three boys—very reminiscent of single Danny with his three daughters. Although Kimmy and Stephanie have their own lives now—as Kimmy is raising her teenage daughter Ramona and Stephanie Tanner is trying to start a singing career—family comes first on “Fuller House,” so the two decide to move in to help DJ raise her family in the original “Full House” house.

The show still maintains its fun, G-rated humor with cute little remarks. Kimmy hasn’t changed one bit on the show, still wearing the tackiest outfits as she displays her ever-present stinky feet. Even the Tanner-Fuller children are funny—similar to Stephanie’s classic, “How rude!” catchphrase, middle child Max tries to get his own with “Holy chalupas!”

Although it was very heartwarming to see these beloved characters back on screen together, the plotline past the pilot episode was lacking. Any “Full House” revival series is going to be cheesy—and that’s fine. If viewers don’t like corny shows, then they probably didn’t like “Full House” to begin with. But “Fuller House” had misleading messages that should not be spread to viewers.

For one thing, with Kimmy’s relationship with her ex-husband Fernando, “Fuller House” sends the message that it’s OK to be cheated on and forgive a significant other when they try to get you back by buying you an outrageous amount of gifts. No, not by apologizing through words, but with gifts. And that’s ignoring the fact that the show was racist in its portrayal of the Hispanic Fernando.

In addition, the cast constantly makes snide remarks regarding the fact that the Olsen twins didn’t come back on the revival. In the pilot, Danny says, “Michelle sends her love, but she’s busy in New York running her fashion empire” and the cast shatters the fourth wall by staring at the camera for more than 10 seconds. Stamos can comment all he wants that the lines weren’t digs, but when Kimmy said, “[With the Olsen’s clothes’] prices, no wonder they don’t need to act anymore,” it was clearly meant to insult the twins. Sorry that the Olsen twins are too busy running their successful clothing line to come back—they’re more than just childhood stars like Bure and Sweetin.

Perhaps the most perplexingly misrepresentative plotline was DJ’s, with a love triangle with former love interest Steve Hale and new suitor Matt Harmon. Throughout the series, she strings the two along by dating both of them until the end when she still leaves them hanging onto her with her choice to choose “me.”

Other than these hiccups, however, the show is indeed a cute revival—the original also had some questionable plotlines. It was nice and refreshing to see the cast reunited, and I am looking forward to another season, as Netflix renewed “Fuller House” for a second season on Wednesday March 2.

Beyoncé’s new single controversial, important social commentary

The iconic Beyoncé performed her new song “Formation” at Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7. Both her performance at the halftime show and the music video—which was released a day before Beyoncé took the stage—have received mixed reviews. While some praise Beyoncé for showing visible support for the Black Lives Matter movement, others have gone so far as to protest Beyoncé. Indisputably, Beyoncé was making a political statement. At the halftime show, the backup dancers wore Black Panther berets, formed a letter X for Malcolm X and held up a homemade sign demanding “Justice for Mario Woods.” In the complex music video, Beyoncé references Black Lives Matter with graffiti slogans such as “Stop Shooting Us” and a sinking police car.

Regardless of what Beyoncé chooses to reference from the Black Lives Matter movement, she is creating a conversation that needs to be started. People’s reactions to her activism, however, have been unnerving. Demonstrations such as an anti-Beyoncé protest rally in front of the National Football League headquarters was staged on Tuesday Feb. 16; this on top of a “Boycott Beyoncé” sign-up page and “#boycottBeyoncé.”

Beyoncé rightfully took the opportunity to raise questions of civil rights to an audience of 111.9 million viewers when she took the stage at the Super Bowl. The anti-police motif in both her music video and halftime performance is nothing a person couldn’t see turning on their computer—or even their television.

“I always thought the purpose of the show at halftime was for entertainment and not for political agendas,” President of the Detectives’ Endowment Association Michael Palladino said. “[Beyoncé] incorporated the Black Panther stuff in it and Black Lives Matter. Yeah, I was surprised by the halftime show.”

Palladino inadvertently raised up a separate issue in her performance, the issue as to why people have responded in outrage over Beyoncé’s performance: people see what they want to see. A myriad of people only want to be entertained—they do not want to be politically engaged and they do not want to be involved in what doesn’t pertain to them. Ignorance is bliss.

So, when a public figure like Beyoncé is in the spotlight for generating important conversations, you have those who react negatively. “Saturday Night Live” put it best on their Saturday Feb. 13 episode where they mocked the outrage toward “Formation” with their sketch “The Day Beyoncé Turned Black.”

“It was the day it shook the whole white world,” “What about ‘Single Ladies?’” and “I don’t understand how they can be black—they’re women” are just a few of the skit’s lines that satirize the whole “crisis.”

Beyoncé is extremely sexualized for the public’s viewing pleasure—people forget that she has important things to say. It isn’t as if this is the first time Beyoncé has taken a political stand. Her and Kelly Rowland started a charity to help Hurricane Katrina survivors and she and her husband Jay-Z donate munificently to civil rights charities. The only difference is that decriers weren’t paying attention then because it wasn’t for their entertainment. Now, Beyoncé is making them pay attention.

It is as Eavan Boland states in Object Lessons: a female artist can only take the feminist approach or romantic approach when it comes to being successful. For Beyoncé, that means she can only write songs like “***Flawless”—with lyrics such as, “Why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same?” and “Feminist: a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes”—or she can write songs like “Blue,” which romanticizes child-rearing.

This very notion that Boland refers to dictates what female artists can and can’t say. It is the very thing that shows why Beyoncé commenting on civil rights generated backlash. This idea, however, shouldn’t keep her—or any other female artist—from commenting on civil rights or any other issue of societal importance.

ACE Film Fest showcases varied cultures

With every new year comes new opportunities. For the Alliance for Community Enrichment, this means the start of new ways to spread messages of diversity and cultural awareness around campus. The ACE Film Festival achieved just that, displaying five culturally distinct films in Bailey Hall on Saturday Feb. 6. Unwilling to waver from ACE’s mission statement of promoting and encouraging “the growth of a diverse environment for all students in the Geneseo community,” the annual film festival saw some changes this year. Unlike previous years, the event was scheduled for the spring—not fall—and in the afternoon instead of the evening.

Additionally, ACE chose an eclectic variety of cultures to display in the five movies. The selected films were Babies, The Normal Heart, Four Sheets to the Wind, Bride and Prejudice and West Side Story. Each movie was given its own room within Bailey Hall. Viewers could select which movie they wanted to see and when; ACE played each film simultaneously in different rooms.

“We’re promoting this event by showing films that people wouldn’t normally watch on their own time—unless they were extremely curious about it—and I think it went really well,” Student Association Director of Student Affairs and ACE chair senior Jia Wen Zhu said. “We have over five cultures and lifestyles depicted in these films—it’s not just one culture. There’s more than five cultures, even though there are only five films.”

Sophomore Xiuna Lin agreed with Zhu’s sentiment on viewing the selected films. “It brings attention to those movies and their cultural diversity,” Lin said.

While Babies depicts one year of the lives of four babies from all around the world, The Normal Heart explicitly looks into LGBTQ+ issues in the 1980s, specifically focusing on the gritty reality of the AIDS crisis. Bride and Prejudice serves as the Bollywood-style adaption of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, just as William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” inspired West Side Story to be its New York City counterpart. Lastly, Four Sheets to the Wind is a Native American film about protagonist Cufe, who leaves his Native American reservation for Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“You don’t really see that many Native American films on campus, so we thought [Four Sheets to the Wind] would be a good movie to show because there are Native Americans in Geneseo,” Zhu said. “It isn’t as if there are very few Native Americans on campus, so we wanted to do it for them.”

In between films, the audience was given a break to enjoy the food provided by ACE. Additionally, filmgoers could check out the posters advertising the nine clubs involved in ACE, including Black Student Union and Women’s Action Coalition.

“We have the posters outside as a sort of expo so that when the people watching the films come out for a break, they can see what clubs are in ACE and they can sign up if they want to attend them. It’s a nice boost for the clubs,” Zhu said. “We usually have a lot of people sign up, too.”

At the end of the event, ACE gave out free selfie sticks to their participants—although that won’t be the last time. For those who missed the ACE Film Festival, ACE will also be putting on Fashion Fest for a “night of Intercultural Fashion.”

“[Fashion Fest] is very similar to the Film Festival, except it is fashion, instead,” Zhu said. “[Both the Film Festival and Fashion Fest] are about showcasing each culture because ACE is like the hub for multicultural and special interest clubs. Anyone can come and enjoy themselves—from any culture—because that’s just what spreading diversity around campus is about.”

ACE’s Fashion Fest will take place at the Knight Spot on Feb. 20 from 5-7 p.m.

Geneseo Art Wall contest provides imaginative outlet for community

In an effort to display the creative talent within the Geneseo community, the first ever Geneseo Art Wall contest is currently in the process of accepting submissions. The contest is searching for local artists who can incorporate the Geneseo community into their artwork’s theme. Once three finalists are selected, their pieces will be on display on a temporary wooden wall at 71 Main St. The contest’s only limitation is that the artists must be at least high school age. By allowing a diverse range of ages to submit, it is apparent that the Geneseo Art Wall contest is allowing for Geneseo’s varied population to come together as one.

Although the pieces will only be on display at 71 Main St. so long as the construction endures, Geneseo residents will be able to walk past this civic reflection and be reminded of what it means to be from Geneseo—onlookers can admire the work of the community, for the community, by the community. Moreover, of the three selected finalists, it is the visitors who are going to vote on which piece should win “Best in Show.”

“We thought it’d be great to have a chance for Geneseo Main Street to have some artwork,” Livingston County Development intern junior Caroline Wilson said. “One of the things that we want to emphasize is combining the community and the college. Originally, we thought we would just do the college, but then we thought, ‘Why not see what everybody can bring to the table?’ and get to showcase people from all over the community.”

Taking into consideration the recent deaths of seniors Kelsey Annese and Matthew Hutchinson, a strong sense of unity should be stressed more than ever. The Geneseo Art Wall contest only serves to make Geneseo pride that much more tangible.

“Geneseo is such an impressive community and everybody here loves it. Everybody is proud to be a part of Geneseo,” Wilson said. “That being said, though, people will have these different takes on the theme and I think that different things are going to be important to different people … We want to see what people will come up with about Geneseo.”

The Geneseo Art Wall contest will serve as a reminder that art will always be around in Geneseo, even when funding for the fine arts is diminishing here on campus.

“It’s definitely a bummer that we don’t have a fine arts department now and that there’s not as many opportunities for people to use their creativity in that way, although the option is still there,” Wilson said. “So I think this will be a great outlet for that and it’d be nice to bring some art back to campus.”

The Geneseo Art Wall contest will be accepting submissions until Monday Feb. 1. The three selected pieces will then be up on the temporary wall by Feb. 29, in order for the community to come together as one—in viewing the art and in the art itself. Once the temporary wall is dismantled, the pieces will be transferred to a different location on Main Street befitting of the four by four foot designs.

“[The artwork] will definitely be a positive representation of Geneseo,” Wilson said.

Straight Outta Compton fuses art, harsh reality

A myriad of political events have taken place in the world and on Geneseo’s campus, such as the Nov. 16 walkout protest and march that illustrated the campus’ unity with the University of Missouri’s Concerned Student 1950. With Kino presenting Straight Outta Compton on Nov. 20 in Newton 204, however, the group reminded students that it doesn’t just take a protest to unite struggling comrades or to examine racism in our society. Art, too, can do just that—such as a small movie display within the confinements of a lecture hall. Straight Outta Compton is a biographical film that examines the lives of American N.W.A rappers O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson Sr., Andre “Dr. Dre” Romelle Young and Eric “Eazy-E” Lynn Wright. Although these rappers did not play their own characters’ parts, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were two of the producers of Straight Outta Compton and Ice Cube’s son—O’Shea Jackson Jr.—played Ice Cube.

These rappers hail from Compton, California, a city in southern Los Angeles that is notorious for crime, gang violence and hip hop music. Right from the start of the film, it is illustrated that there is going to be gratuitous violence—violence that is only to be expected from a Hollywood movie of its topic.

For example, the first scene shows Eazy-E entering a crack house that is then raided by the police. The following scene, however, juxtaposes this “expected” scene with one that portrays the anti-blockbuster conventions of the movie. In the second scene, Dr. Dre’s mother kicks Dr. Dre out of the house, emotionally screaming, “I worked hard [for you]. I refuse to let you throw that all away.”

This is key. Straight Outta Compton was praised for its greatness at making everything seem so realistic, even using news clips from the actual time period. This multi-layered realism makes the film more than a story on police brutality. Although police violence is central to the story, there are a plethora of other topics that young adults—such as college students in this day and age—can relate to, like the struggle of family dilemmas or issues of the individual versus group.

In an interview with Deadline, director F. Gary Gray reiterated this notion. “[Straight Outta Compton] is the human beings and the humanity behind the music,” he said. “The story is somewhat universal … there’s tragedy, there’s triumph and it’s all true.”

Furthermore, Straight Outta Compton shines in its authenticity because it’s a movie that depicts the struggles of minorities today, though it’s set in the late 1980s. While watching the movie, I couldn’t help but think about the Spring Valley High School Officer at the time—Ben Fields—who threw a black high school student from her chair and across the room on Oct. 26. The film has similar events of police harassment, such as when N.W.A is unjustly hassled by the police during a recording session, leading to their song “Fuck tha Police.”

In a press conference for the film, Ice Cube emphasized using art as an outlet for expressing the trials and tribulations that one goes through in a neighborhood like Compton. “Our art is a reflection of our reality,” he said.

Many people would agree with Ice Cube’s sentiment. While some might concur with the movie’s press—which condemned N.W.A’s songs for glamorizing gangs and drugs—others would applaud them for their honesty.

That authenticity and relatability is the art in movies and campus protests. It isn’t the cry of a single person. Rather, it is the union of many, the union of movie characters and audience.