Page 3 – The Waltonian

Marin Dremock, a current sophomore at Eastern University, is coming up on her second Spring season as an athlete on Eastern’s Women’s golf team. Last Spring, she placed first in the Lebanon Valley College invitational hitting 86. Below is a brief summary of an interview with Marin.

How long have you been playing golf?

“[Been] swinging a club for about 12 years… [I] never belonged to a country club, just played a lot of sports and golf was one of them… I started competing throughout high school”

This is your second year with Eastern golf. Has it been a good experience so far? Are you looking forward to future years with Eastern golf?

“All I can speak to is my experience individually…it’s been a good experience for playing golf and interacting with people but I haven’t got experience playing on a team…because we haven’t had enough girls. I’m somewhat hopeful that we’ll get more girls recruited, but I don’t know how possible that is because after this year we will be done to one: myself.”

Do you have any role models or inspirations in the professional golf world? “Justin Thomas is my favorite professional golfer. But he is also one who I think my game mirrors a lot… My dad because he is the one who taught me how to play because I never had a swing coach, he really just gave me my clubs and told me ‘here, do this’… he taught me to keep the game fun, and keeps me humble…I’m playing [golf] because I love it. I wouldn’t be here without that mindset.”

What are your aspirations playing golf here at Eastern University and after school? “To become a more mature and consistent player. I’m convinced that I haven’t reached my peak yet and I know that there is still more talent I can pull out of myself… It’s pretty hard to go up from where I have come in the past but I’m hopeful from the amount of work I’ve put in that I will be able to rise to the occasion and step up. After college I’d like to play some amateur tournaments. I’d like to keep playing and to keep working and writing around golf.”

What’s your favorite club? They’re all used in different situations but if you had to pick your favorite, what would it be?

“8-iron. I always go with an 8-iron. It’s versatile and it seems to be my ‘any distance’ club. I find myself hitting it when I’m…in a tight spot.”

Have you ever been asked to choose between two options but you realize you don’t want to, not because you’re lazy but because you like both options? And you can’t just say “both” because that isn’t the spirit of the question. Well I think we need to normalize saying “both.” Are you a cat person or a dog person? Both. I like both cats and dogs for different reasons, and I might even like one more than the other most of the time but that wouldn’t make me a dog person or a cat person. Do you want chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream? I want both, can I please get a scoop of both?

In a world that is already constantly divided over all things big and small, perhaps it would behoove us to allow each other to not have to choose between things that we enjoy. One might ask if this is universally relevant as people often have favorites: favorite movies, favorite books, favorite sports. It is relevant because our favorites fluctuate. I might have favorite movies, but the kind of movie I want to watch at a specific time will be different each time. So asking if I like comedy movies or action movies more would be a struggle because I like both at different times.

If you asked me one day if I prefer reading a new book or rereading an old favorite of mine, I might say reading a new book. Yet if you asked me the same question a different day, I might say rereading an old favorite. So asking me if I like new books or rereading old books better, I would say both.

Now I understand that the “both” answer is unsatisfying and against the spirit of the question, but that is when the complexities of individual opinion can be explored. If you were to ask me if I prefer the chicken sandwich at Popeyes or at Chick-Fil-A better and I say “both,” you would probably be annoyed. So the best thing to do next is to ask what I mean by “both”. I would be able to explain that both are good in their own way and I would probably change my preference each day. I might say that while the Popeyes sandwich is greasier, but it does fill you up more.

To rephrase the importance of accepting the “both” answer: we as a society like to categorize and rate things, but we as individuals have fluctuating preferences and opinions. Thus, it is healthy to answer with a “both” in these contexts. Additionally, when the “both” is allowed to be expanded upon and explained, there is more space for relationship building and communication growth.

Is it wrong to ask if someone prefers one thing or another? No it is not, but it is helpful to remember the kind of pressure that can put on them. Is it wrong to have a strong opinion? No it is not, but it is once again helpful to remember the division that can cause in extreme cases. Don’t be afraid to enjoy different things at different times, and don’t ever be afraid to give the “both” answer.

Video games are perhaps one of the least praised and least respected medium of art and entertainment. Whilst they remain loved and enjoyed by niche fans and younger generations, they are never looked at in the same way as movies and television. Even within larger gaming communities not many kinds of games are popular aside from first-person shooter games like the Call of Duty franchise and sport games like the NBA 2K franchise. Additionally, video games and gaming is frequently looked down upon by those outside of gaming communities for various reasons, some being more true than others.

However, there is one franchise of video games that no one can look down upon; one that is enjoyed by people from all ages and backgrounds; one that has stood the test of time and has over 80 games in it. Being owned and created by perhaps one of the most well-known toy companies in the world, LEGO video games have been viral sensations ever since their conception.

The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen in Denmark. The company was passed down from father to son and is now owned by the grandchild of the founder. The name LEGO comes from an abbreviation of two Danish words “leg godt”, which means “play well”. LEGO has been designing and producing their LEGO sets for over 70 years. But in the 1990s, LEGO recognized the growing popularity of video games.

The first LEGO video game produced was “Fun to Build” in 1995 but was only released in Japan. The first widely available LEGO video game was “Lego Island” in 1997 where players were a citizen on LEGO Island as they defeated crime and raced cars. Though LEGO kept creating original games, their most lucrative and popular games were yet to be discovered until 2001.

In 2001, LEGO made their first video game based on licensed content: “LEGO Creator: Harry Potter”. This video game was based solely on the first Harry Potter movie and was quickly a customer favorite. LEGO hit their jackpot when releasing “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” in 2013 as the Marvel movies were rapidly gaining popularity. “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” remains the LEGO video game that sold the most copies despite now being released almost a decade ago.

In 2017, LEGO expanded what their video games could be with their first LEGO sandbox game: “LEGO Worlds”. LEGO also had their first video game made by a spin-off studio in 2019 with “LEGO Builder’s Journey”.

Now, LEGO’s current major project is their most ambitious video game yet: “LEGO The Skywalker Saga”. This final culmination of the LEGO Star Wars franchise is set to come out in April this year. With the first LEGO Star Wars game coming out in 2005, fans of the LEGO video games will feel a sense of nostalgia as this final space operatic game is released.

Other popular franchises within the LEGO video games include: Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings and Batman. Essentially, if you have a favorite movie franchise, there’s a LEGO game for it.

The fact that LEGO video games have remained so widely popular across all ages despite being in a highly competitive pocket of media says enough about them. While battle royale games, sport games and RPGs (role playing games) tend to dominate the field, LEGO has stood its ground. While game companies have sold out to specific gaming consoles or even created their games around their own console (Nintendo), LEGO has opted to simply keep pumping out fun games for all to play on any console.

New LEGO video games remain fairly high-priced but if you ever get the chance to own or even just spend a little time playing one I can guarantee you will have fun.

As another season of film comes to an end, the industry prepares to celebrate and honor recent movies released between March 1 and December 31, 2021. The 94th Academy Awards ceremony (also known as the Oscars) will be taking place at 8:00PM on Sunday, March 22 this year. Among the numerous awards given at the annual ceremony, the most prestigious three are Best Lead Actress, Best Lead Actor and Best Picture. Between these three awards there are 17 different films featured by nominations.

The films contending for Best Picture this year are: “Belfast,” “Coda,” “Don’t Look Up.” “Drive my Car,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Power of the Dog” and “West Side Story.” The actors contending for Best Lead Actor are: Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”), Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”), Andrew Garfield (“tick, tick…BOOM!”), Will Smith (“King Richard”) and Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”). The actresses contending for Best Lead Actress are: Jessica Chastin (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”), Olivia Coleman (“The Lost Daughter”), Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”).

The film with the most nominations is “The Power of the Dog” with a whopping 12 nominations: Best Picture, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor (x2), Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design and Best Adapted Screenplay. “Dune” comes in second with their number of nominations reaching 10: Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design, Best Visual Effects and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Composer Hans Zimmer has been given his 12th Academy Awards nomination after composing the original score to “Dune” and producer/director Steven Spielberg has been given his 11th Academy Awards nomination after producing and directing the musical “West Side Story.” Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart makes history as the first openly LGBT+ actress nominated for Best Lead Actress.

The Oscars are an excellent opportunity to discover new movies that hold merit as good films and to celebrate the continuation of film as art and culture. Though the Oscars are not without controversy. Often the majority of movie-goers don’t have interest in the awards ceremony due to the nomination selections. Regularly, the movies that are popular in most crowds are not even featured at the Oscars. For example, the widely popular movies produced by Marvel have only had 13 out of their 27 movies nominated for the awards ceremony, with “Black Panther” being the only one to win any award. “Black Panther” won Best Original Score and Best Production Design in 2019. However, fans of the comic book-based films will be glad to see that both “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” have been nominated for Best Visual Effects this year!

For those who enjoy animated films, there are five films nominated for Best Animated Film this year: “Encanto”, “Flee”, “Luca”, “The Mitchells VS. The Machines” and “Raya and the Last Dragon.” And for those who enjoy personable hosts, the 94th Academy Awards will be hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. The Oscars have not had a host since 2018 but are making up for it by featuring three.

Whether you are someone who enjoys looking at different elements of film or someone who simply enjoys watching movies, the Oscars are the perfect way to either branch out and try a new kind of movie or to find a movie that might fit into what you usually enjoy. The 94th Academy Awards show will air at 8:00PM, March 22, on NBC.

The Super Bowl not as a sporting event but as a source of community. You can take this a bunch of different ways, but I was inspired by the Super Bowls of my childhood, where my dad made chicken wings, which I loved, and I read my book on the couch. If you’ve got fun stories to share about it as a cultural or personal moment, that was what I had in mind.

I enjoy sports, but I only really follow soccer. I’ll pay more attention to other sports during their playoff seasons, but I don’t ever get very invested. When it comes to American football, I won’t watch a single game of the NFL until the Super Bowl. Even then, if I see that it is the same old teams in the Super Bowl (ie: New England, Seattle, Kansas City, Tom Brady), I tend to even skip the Super Bowl game.

However, I love Super Bowl Sunday. For me, what makes this sports event worthwhile is the time spent in community with others. As a kid, my family would always watch the Super Bowl, never really invested in the game itself, while hosting or attending a Super Bowl party. I used to love making nachos in a baking sheet in the oven with all kinds of seasoning and toppings while also preparing root beer floats and all kinds of other snacks. I’d often get to hang out with my friends and their families, I’d play games, watch the commercials, and catch some of the halftime show. For me, it was never about the actual game on the tv, it was about enjoying an evening with friends and family and good food while hoping that school on Monday would get canceled.

But having lived all around the country across the years, every single Super Bowl Sunday has looked different for me. In Kentucky, it was often just me and my family staying home and making snacks and playing games. In California, I often went to a big outdoor party with my friends and socialized more. In Indiana, my church hosted a board game party during the Super Bowl with snacks and drinks. Last year, however, I was stuck on Eastern University’s campus with various COVID-19 safety policies preventing my regular Super Bowl traditions. But even last year people found ways to get together with friends and watch the game.

The societal and cultural significance of Super Bowl Sunday is immensely visible all across the nation. While something like the FIFA World Cup that takes place every four years is a world-wide sporting event that billions of people get emotionally and physically invested in, Super Bowl Sunday is one night where people simply come together around a sporting event to spend time together, eat food and play games; the majority of people who celebrate Super Bowl Sunday are not very invested in the game itself but simply have it as a unique opportunity to have fun with friends and family. This year, I’ll be spending my Super Bowl Sunday on rounds as a Resident Assistant in Eagle Hall, but I know even then I will be witnessing and participating in the annual sports event that is more than just a football game. Whatever Super Bowl Sunday has looked like for you in the past and whatever it looked like for you this year, I truly hope that you find joy and relaxation in time spent with friends, family, good food, a dope halftime show and blissful community.

In 2016, Icelandic musical artist, Ólafur Arnald, undertook a seven-week journey across his home country. Arnald stayed in seven different locations all around the island of Iceland, composing a personal and emotional song tied to the history and culture of each location. Additionally, in each location, Arnald collaborated with another Icelandic artist to give a unique sound to each song.

Among the seven creative songs found on the album “Island Songs,” two stand out as stellar compositions. Arnald’s second week took him to the Northwestern peninsula of Iceland, to a small village called Flateyri. In 1995, an unexpected avalanche struck the village, killing many people. A memorial stone sits next to the village church with the names of the villagers who passed away in the tragedy nearly three decades ago. Arnalds partnered with Dagny, a music teacher from the village, to compose the piece 1995 that remembers this tragedy and seeks to honor the lives lost. The story of this piece alone makes it stand out, however, the composition itself features numerous unique instruments and tones that bring out melancholy and remembrance on a scale that has never been achieved before. The second piece in “Island Songs” takes listeners to Arnald’s sixth week where he traveled to the Southwestern end of Iceland, to the community of Garour. For this piece, Particles, Arnald is joined by the lead singer of Of Monsters and Men, Nanna Hilmarsdóttir, a local of the community. The two artists perform in a small lighthouse on the coast and create the only song in the album with English words featured. While other compositions in “Island Songs” stand out with stronger sound, Particles benefits from the extraordinary voice of Nanna and hits each heartstring throughout the piece.

Fascinatingly, even though all of the pieces in “Island Songs” have stories and history behind them that can be found on Olafur Arnald’s website, one of the most interesting parts of this project is the finale. Arnald traveled to seven different locations, but there are eight songs in the album. The album concludes with “Study for Piano Player (II)”; this piece was wholly composed by Arnalds after his seven-week journey, and exhibits the artist’s remarkable talent and passion on the piano. While this album isn’t one full of excitement, many words, or great study beats, it is truly one of the most beautiful works of art created through the medium of music. Ólafur Arnald is most well-known for composing the music for the widely popular BBC drama, “Broadchurch,” but the majority of his work is independent, classically-trained art. I would recommend this beautiful collection of music and stories to those looking for more peaceful or melancholy music, or those who simply need background music while reading. However, for those truly interested in Arnald’s journey, there is a music video for each song in the album that is simply a visual recording of the artists performing the songs. The tone of the music fits perfectly into the visually inciting background that Iceland provides.

College can be difficult, and while schoolwork is a priority in college, it often stresses students out the most. Most students will inevitably feel stress and burnout to a large degree at some point in their college career. So what is the key to not allowing stress to shut you down at college?

Rest. But rest doesn’t just mean getting enough sleep, it also means spending time doing things that you enjoy to give your body and mind a break from constant schoolwork. My freshman year I felt like I had unlimited time to do things apart from schoolwork, but in the years since, I have found it decidedly more difficult to take a break. One of the best ways I have found to give my mind a break and enjoy time with others is to play games. From Uno to Settlers of Catan to Werewolf, board games and card games allow me to spend time with friends while also giving my mind the break it needs from mindless paper-writing and homework assignments. However, there arrives a major problem when trying to play games with friends in college: people are busy. It is hectic to organize a group of people with different schedules together to simply play a game or two in the evening. It is very hard for a majority of college students to be spontaneous, especially deep into the semester. Even when people find time to play some games, it is never enough time or preparation to play anything more elaborate or worthwhile than little card or party games.

There is a solution! A brand new club has been formed this semester out of the ashes of an older one. The Board Game club will be planning to meet every Thursday at 6:30 PM to simply come together to play some games. By having a set time, students can make plans to attend, and folks can play more substantial games. By 6:30, most people will be done with classes for the day and will have eaten dinner. The Board Game Club has not decided on a meeting location yet, but it will be close to the dining commons for convenience. The most significant characteristic of this club is that it is low-commitment. Noone has to come every Thursday; students can simply stop by if they feel they have time and want to play for a bit. The club has no strict end time so students can leave as early as they want to to go get sleep or do schoolwork. Essentially, the Board Game Club offers students a time and space to get away from the stress of college. The Board Game Club is not an Eastern University sponsored club yet as this is our first semester, but if you or a friend are interested in the Board Game Club, you can email me at brian.lines@eastern.edu. Let’s break the cycle of stress with some fun!

On the evening of Friday, Nov. 12, Eastern University had the privilege of hosting three distinguished guests for a conversation on classical education and the Black intellectual tradition. The event was organized and hosted by the Templeton Honors College, and the conversation was led and moderated by Dr. Brian Williams, the dean of the Templeton Honors College and the dean of Eastern University’s college of arts and humanities. Dr. Williams is also the co-director of Eastern’s Masters in classical education program. The event also featured Dr. Eric Ashley Hairston, an associate dean and professor of humanities at Wake Forest University as well as Dr. Angel Adams Parham, an associate professor of sociology at University of Virginia. Perhaps the biggest privilege of this event was that Eastern University was able to also host Dr. Cornel West. Dr. West is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary and is the author of “Race Matters” and “Democracy Matters”.

Dr. Williams opened the event by welcoming the three guests and giving a brief introduction to what classical education is and its connection to the Black intellectual tradition. After his introduction, Dr. Williams presented a water-color painting to Dr. West that featured West and the 19th century Danish theologian Søren Kierkagaard enjoying a conversation over tea. West warmly and enthusiastically laughed at the painting and accepted it before moving to the podium to give his introduction to the importance of classical education and how it is closely tied to the black intellectual tradition. West has been a prolific voice in the Black intellectual tradition as well as the classical tradition for many years and sparked controversy in April of this year when he spoke out against Howard University’s decision to dissolve their classics department. In his opening speech, West emphasized the importance of “raising every voice.” West layed out the significance of classical education in three parts: the formation of attention, the cultivation of a critical sensibility and the maturation of a loving soul. He outlined how the questions raised in classical texts are not only timeless questions, but timely questions: they are “enduring and timeless and timely questions.” He laid out that we need to turn our minds and souls and attention to things that really matter; we need to attend to things that are truly important as we ask the question “what does it mean to be human?” Questions in classical texts provide the formation of attention away from our “quest for insatiable pleasure” and towards what is important. Next, West affirmed that classical education also helps cultivate critical sensibilities in us, and most importantly, leads to the maturation of a loving soul. West went on to emphasize that the “black freedom movement is an important leaven in the democratic loaf.” He plainly admitted that we don’t know if the American experiment will last, but that every single generation must be up for the task. West concluded his speech with a question: how do we sustain hope? West answered his own question by saying that we sustain hope by coming together, and having conversation (not chit-chat).

The conversation was opened up to all three guests as Dr. Williams began to ask Dr. Hairston and Dr. Parham about their own work in their respective fields. The conversation stayed centered around the values of classical texts and the power they have to promote a better society. Dr. West spent some time discussing how the figures in the Black intellectual tradition provided themselves as examples of integrity and virtue and how we need to come to terms with suffering, not just in our education but in our daily lives. He contrasted popular figures in the past with celebrities by comparing current celebrities to peacocks: “peacocks strut because they can’t fly”; we need to fly, we need to leave the Aristotelian cave in order to fly back in and have influence on those still in the dark. Dr. Parham spent some time discussing the reality and dangers of “historical amnesia,” and how ancient classical texts along with black literary classics can help counter historical amnesia.

Before opening up the conversation for a very brief time for audience questions, Dr. West gave a message to our generation of students and young adults: be great, not successful; let awards and titles go because “great is the highest level.”

Only a select few members of our society truly enjoy cold weather. Most of us enjoy the fall season for its activities, colors and fashion, but not for its colder embrace.

For those of us who seek some kind of enjoyment in spite of the cold, we often turn towards warm and seasonal drinks. Some folks love to dive head first into the seasonal flavors of fall and choose drinks like a pumpkin spice latte, while others prefer to stick with classic drinks like hot chocolate.

To write this story, I had a pumpkin spice latte, chai tea, hot chocolate, and warm apple cider. I am not a pumpkin spice enthusiast, although I fully support those select people who are able to enjoy the seasonal latte. If you are a fan or fanatic of pumpkin spice, by all means, enjoy it.

But if you, like me, are hesitant to try it or are simply ambivalent about it… I suggest staying that way. Chai is fantastic as tea or as a latte, but only if you enjoy spices (not “spicy”, “spices”). The rich aroma and flavor of a chai mixture will warm you right up.

For those who don’t really want to bother with spices or too much flavor: why mess with the classics? Hot chocolate not only warms you up, but it leaves a sweet aftertaste in your mouth. If you can obtain a rich and creamy hot chocolate, your night is complete.

All of this being said, if you want to indulge in the fall season but not worry about spices or flavors you’re not used to, look no further than apple cider. A mug/cup of hot apple cider will warm you up as you enjoy the familiar taste of apples without the drink being overly sweet.

When it comes to fall drinks, it really comes down to preference. If you are willing or curious enough, go for the spiced drinks. But there is never any shame when enjoying a warm cup of chocolate or apple cider. Stay warm out there.

When one thinks about writing in books, they probably think about analytical, close readings of deep and difficult texts for academic purposes. While this is definitely one of the many instances in which one can write in their books, it is surely not the only one, and it is absolutely not most people’s favorite. There are a vast multitude of benefits to writing in the margins of texts and underlining and circling parts of texts, aside from just deeper analysis/understanding. However, because reading and writing are both different experiences for everyone, the benefits will vary for each person. Perhaps it could be a way to help someone pay attention to the text, to be able to stay focused and keep their mind active instead of having to reread the same sentence five times and still not grasp any meaning. Perhaps it could be a way to mark things down to remember them. This could be helpful if one is planning to have a conversation about the text with others; if they struggle to understand a large section and a quick summary in the margins is easier than rereading, or even if they just like to go back through books they’ve read before and get reminders of what is happening.

My personal favorite benefit to writing in my books when I read, is for fun. I will underline and circle quotes that speak to me, things that are funny, or just anything that stands out to me. I love to put little remarks in the margins of my books, or just commentary and jokes I think of while reading. Then, when I come back to books I read in the past, I can look back and see where I was at that time and what I drew from each text specifically.

For me, writing in my books has become an art for two reasons. First, it is a complex and yet also simple action that varies on how it actually looks for each person and on the benefits it has for each person. Second, for myself and those I have talked to who write in their books when they read, it has become a necessity. Just as a musical artist or a visual artist feels a desire, or even internal demand to create their art, there is an instinctual desire to continually write in texts once you start to. So whether you enjoy reading or not, whether you can make connections and comments in the text or if you just want to laugh at or throw a random smiley face in the text, it is always going to be beneficial to write in your books as you read. It is an art: there is no expectation, there is no grade, there are no rules, just allow yourself to look at books and read texts a little differently with a pen or pencil in your hand.