Page 2 – The Waltonian

The Hate U Give, The Poet X, Children of the Blood and Bone, The Fault in Our Stars, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter. If you have heard of any of these titles (which I’m sure you have) you are probably familiar with Young Adult Literature. This genre is a category of fiction typically written for readers from the ages of 12 to 18 years old. Even though the target audience for the genre are teenagers, around half of the people who consume YA fiction are adults. This may be surprising to hear, but when you break it down, it’s pretty easy to understand why this is such a popular genre.

One big factor about YA’s appeal is that it is coming of age. This simply refers to most of the young protagonists in these novels are on progression towards maturity and growth. This is relatable to many readers because throughout the course of our lifetimes, we are constantly growing, changing, and experiencing the world for ourselves. Why not read something that relates to our own personal journeys and give us some potential guidance along the way? In YA Literature, you can find some of the most diverse protagonists in fiction. This is important because all different kinds of people can find someone that they can identify within this genre. One powerful example of representation within YA literature is Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, which follows a young Black teenager’s struggle with police brutality and racism in her own community.

Personally, I love YA literature not only because of the diverse characters and story lines, but because there is no limit to what YA can be. There are YA mystery, fantasy, romance, and many other sub genres. There are also novels that are written in regular prose or verse (like The Poet X). One of my favorite YA novels that I have read recently is Renée Ahdieh’s Flame in the Mist, which follows a samurai’s daughter who disguises herself as a boy to get revenge on a clan who tried to kill her. In this story in particular, Japanese folklore is woven throughout which seeps the book in amazing magical realism.

Young Adult Literature is not just a genre for younger teens. It’s a genre for anyone who wants to explore diverse characters, worlds, and stories. It’s a genre that embodies the art of storytelling and coming of age narratives. It is not an ‘immature’ genre as some like to categorize it. YA literature has touched upon important and heavy topics such as race, gender, and injustice. It is a genre that should never be underestimated.

If this sounds like a genre you may be interested in, Eastern also offers a Young Adult Literature class online over the summer that is taught by Sarah Todd. Previous books that have been covered include The Hate U Give, The Poet X, and several others. It also counts as an Arts class for those who may still need their general education art requirement. Young Adult Literature is an amazing and powerful genre. Check it out, or sign up for Eastern’s class, either way, you won’t regret it.

With the bringing in of the new year, 2020 is only right around the corner. Not only that, but 2020 is going to be a monumental year in politics where various Democrats throughout the country will throw their hat into the presidential race. Although it is only the beginning of 2019, many Democratic nominees have announced their intent to run in the future race. Although there are several candidates that are well-known, there are many candidates who are not as known that make for a strong potential Democratic nominee line up.

One well known liberal candidate is Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. She announced her intent to run for president on New Years Eve, sending a shockwave through political communities. Warren is known for criticizing Wall Street and corporations. She is well-known among progressive activists, and intends to spread a message of how there is a rigged economic system and income inequality in her 2020 campaign. However, there is some debate on whether or not Warren will struggle with uniting different generations of Democrats.

Another candidate is former retired Army Major Richard Ojeda who served as the West Virginia State Senator for the 7th district from 2016 until his resignation in January 2019. As a member of the Democratic Party, he is running a campaign for a potential presidential bid. He believes that the Democratic party has distanced themselves from the working class people by supporting special interest groups and big money donors. This may sound promising as a candidate, however, many people still hold against him the fact that he voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, which seems to conflict with a lot of his messaging.

There is also John Delaney and Andrew Yang, both of which who have experiences in business. Delaney is known as former Maryland Congressman as well as multimillionaire banking entrepreneur. He wants the Democratic party to be able to appeal to Independents and moderate Republicans. Yang has a history as a tech executive, and is centering his campaign on automation. His central plan is for every American adult to receive a salary of up to $1,000 a month paid for by a tax on companies who benefit from automation. He wants to be able to establish some kind of universal income for all adult Americans.

There are also more diverse candidates for the 2020 election including Julián Castro and Tulsi Gabbard. Castro, a former housing and urban development secretary, positions himself strongly against Trump’s immigration policies. He is a grandson of a Mexican immigrant and was raised by a single mother. He is also considered to be one of the most prominent Latinos in politics, and he has become a rising star in the Democratic party after a moving DNC speech in 2012.

On the other hand, Gabbard is a Hawaiian congresswoman and Iraq War veteran who wants to focus her campaign on issues of war and peace. She also made history as the first Hindu to be elected to Congress, as well as the first Samoan American. Despite this, she has drawn criticism for meeting with Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad. Some are hesitant to support her due to her past Conservative views, particularly when it comes to social issues.

There is also the senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Gillibrand is a New York senator who lead efforts in congress to change the normalization for sexual assault in the military and on college campuses. She is also a former corporate lawyer and has embraced progressive economic policy. However, she faced some criticism for calling Al Franken to resign for groping allegations.

In addition, there is senator Kamala Harris, who announced her bid for the presidency on Martin Luther King Day. Harris is also a groundbreaking prosecutor who became the second Black woman to serve in the United States senate. As for the issues, she supports Medicare for all as well as the legalization of recreational marijuana and disavows corporate money. However, she has faced some criticism for the increase of the prison population in California during her time in public office.

Sources: Wikipedia, The Guardian, The New York Times

There is no doubt that pop culture influences all of us. It can range from celebrities, music, film, and even your favorite meme. These are all elements that make up pop culture in our society. At the Student Activities Board’s Pop Culture trivia night that was held on January 18, Eastern students who attended were put to the test on how well they knew their pop culture facts.

Attendees were allowed to form their own teams and sit at designated tables that came with a dry erase board and marker, which is where each team would write their answers to each question. The trivia was split into three rounds: music, film and media. The first round focused on music, primarily popular songs and music artists from the past few years. The second round focused on films, which included Disney and Marvel movies, popular actresses and actors, and even award show moments. The third round consisted of everything media, which includes social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, and even some amazing memes.

In total there were about 6 teams competing for fun to test their knowledge on the different areas of pop culture. Some questions were more straightforward such as what was the first Disney movie based on a person (answer: Pocahontas) and who has the most followers on Twitter (answer: Katy Perry). However some questions were a little bit more difficult to answer, such as when did the last Blockbuster store close (answer: 2010-2011) or how many movies did Marvel Studios release this year. There were a few debates going on for this question, some thought it was three while others thought it was six. An answer was a little bit hard to figure out when getting into the technicalities of which studio company releases what content. While some students that attended enjoyed the questions, some students wished that they were a little better.

“I wish the questions were a little more diverse and there weren’t as many about Disney,” said Ruby Baker, a Senior English Writing and Literature Major.

Overall despite the makeup of the questions, everyone seemed to have a good time testing their knowledge on pop culture. It was a fun and interactive way to start the spring semester and the new year. If this sounded interesting to you, and you would like to attend more SAB events in the future, be sure to check out the student activities calendar that can be accessed on eastern.edu for upcoming events this spring.

In Professor Gidjunis’ Postcolonial Women’s Novels class, topics regarding colonialism and postcolonialism are discussed at length. One of the novels that is read in this course is called “White Teeth” by Zadie Smith. In this book, we see how white beauty standards are perpetuated in European society. We especially see this with a young black girl named Irie. Throughout the course of the novel, readers can see how this not only affects her self-worth, but her entire sense of self. These standards impact not only how she views her body, but more specifically her hair.

In Postcolonial Women’s Novels, we watched segments of a documentary called Good Hair narrated by Chris Rock. Although the film and the book gave us insight into this topic, Professor Gidjunis decided to put together a Black Hair panel of multiple people so that we, as a class could understand better Irie’s point of view.

The speakers that attended in person and/or through video chat, were Jackie Irving, Tanishia Coleman, Angeley Crawford, and Paige Poteat. Jackie Irving is Eastern’s own Interim Vice Provost for Student Development, Tanishia Coleman and Angelie Crawford are both former Eastern graduates, and Paige Poteat is a current student who is involved in leadership roles including being a Resident Assistant for Eagle Residence Hall. Since the panelists trickled in at different times, the panel initially began with Tanishia Coleman.

She graduated with a journalism degree from Eastern and has done a lot of research regarding black hair and white beauty standards. Although she wanted to go into journalism, she felt that her hair was unwelcome. She felt like she couldn’t wear her hair naturally in a journalism setting because her hair would be deemed unprofessional. She told us a lot about her own personal journey for hair acceptance. She was actually the first one in her family to wear her hair natural. In this decision, she faced questions from her family about why she didn’t perm it (the process of straightening one’s hair using chemical relaxers). She constantly felt like she needed to do these things in order to fit in. However, she realized quite quickly that she didn’t want to blend in. She also noted that gender norms were also a big factor in deciding to wear her hair short or long.

“Hair is very important to me, its about self-image and helps in how I’m perceived to the world,” she said.

Later on, the panelists started to discuss their own personal experiences with their hair. As the panel continued, it became clear that straight hair is often deemed ‘professional’ while natural hair is not. As we heard black women’s stories, it was stressed that we should affirm them because these events do not happen in isolation.

Angeley Crawford stated that “the way we express our hair is related to white supremacy” and that the American standard of beauty never included black people. She also talked about the white gaze and white supremacy and how that contributes to how Black women view themselves in society. Overall, the panel was very informative and eye opening.

In light of this panel, it is also important to note that Eastern has their own natural hair club called Keeping It Natural or KIN. The members of KIN are committed to the promotion of healthy and natural hair, body, and life practices. If you are interested in learning further about these topics, keep an eye out for upcoming KIN events!

In our society today, we seem to be overcome by a large array of tragedies on a daily basis. Just in the past couple months alone, there have been several mass shootings on innocent people, and multiple lives have been lost. However, as human beings, we have a responsibility to respond justly and appropriately in times of tragedy, loss and hurt, so that we may be a supportive foundation for those who are impacted. I truly believe that how individuals choose to respond to a tragedy can really shape the future of Americans being more kind, gracious and loving towards others, despite our differences. It is important that people in our society take action and set forth this example for others, so that perhaps one day we can live in a kinder world in which we are all more compassionate toward each other. A tragedy that has left many distraught is recent Pittsburgh shooting, where 46 year old Robert Bowers opened fire on a Jewish synagogue killing 11 people and harming many others. In the wake of the Pittsburgh shooting, there have not only been some amazing athletes who have stepped up and demonstrated not only words of support, but fans as well.

One of these people is Pittsburgh Penguins star, Sidney Crosby. Who made a statement to ABC News from Vancouver, British Columbia, where the team was playing the Canucks at the time.

“We woke up to the terrible news this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and families affected by what happened this morning,” Crosby said, “Knowing Pittsburgh, I know we’ll stick together and rally around them and be there to support and help in any way we can.”

A moment of silence was also held before the start of Game 4 of the World Series in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers and Red Sox were set to play. There was also another moment of silence that was observed before the Panthers’ game against Duke at Heinz Field, a moment of silence was observed before the singing of the national anthem. There is no doubt that the recent tragedy that took place in Pittsburgh is in the hearts of these athletes, as well as most people in America.

The Pittsburgh Steelers also paid tribute. In addition to having a moment of silence at one of their games against the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers team president Art Rooney II issued a statement which read, “On behalf of the entire Steelers organization, we offer our support and condolences to the families of the attack on peaceful citizens worshiping at The Tree of Life Synagogue. Our hearts are heavy, but we must stand against anti-semitism and hate crimes of any nature and come together to preserve our values and our community. With that in mind we will ask everyone to join in a moment of silence and prayer prior to our game this afternoon.”

A unique remaking of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ logo has been circulating throughout the internet as well, becoming a symbol of solidarity and strength after the attack. The yellow star on the original logo was replaced with the Star of David, along with the phrase “Stronger than Hate”. The logo was created by Tim Hindes, who was a mile away from the Tree of Life Synagogue when the shooting took place. He wanted it to represent resilience and hope.

“Before it was the logo of a globally popular football team, the three diamonds were the seal of a product which helped develop the foundation of many cities across the globe — steel. Like Pittsburgh and its residents, steel is strong,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

It is words and actions like these by players and fans alike that will hopefully help contribute to the beginnings of healing in the Pittsburgh community.

Source: ABC News, USA Today, CNN

The on-campus literary magazine, Inklings, hosted their annual write-in event that occurs every fall semester on Saturday November 3. The purpose of the event is to help prepare literary work for their magazine submission deadline in the spring of 2019. Students can submit pieces of poetry, nonfiction, and fiction up until March 13th. During the write-in, students are able to foster a community where they can write together, as well as talk and revise their writing for publication.

The event spanned from 10AM to 9PM, and although that may sound like a long period of time, that is what gave the event its name. It allows for writers on campus to have a time set aside for their writing life within the midst of their busy college lifestyle. Even if writers cannot stay the whole time, the main purpose of the event was to be able to give writers a space to focus and concentrate on their writing lives. The write-in took place in HHC 106. The room was decorated with string lights, and there were blankets and pillows dispersed so that writers could get cozy as they wrote. Snacks and tea were also provided. Attendees were encouraged to bring their work and mugs for a cozy day of writing uninterrupted.

However, everyone needs a little break every once and awhile, especially if you plan on writing for hours on end. That’s why the Inklings team decided to incorporate arts and crafts into the event, so attendees who were experiencing some writer’s block could take a much needed mental break. In the back of the classroom, there were several tables set up with supplies such as card stock, paint, markers, and magazines. Writers were encouraged to make art reflecting a character from their favorite novel or one of their own characters. One could even make a piece of art reflecting the entirety of a poem if they chose.

Later in the day, Ruby Baker, the Editor in Chief, led some writing prompts. There were two fiction prompts, one poetry prompt and one non-fiction essay prompt. The two fiction prompts were based on ‘the fae’ or fairies, and fairy tales in a different context. Writers were challenged to create a piece of fiction in ten minutes based those topics through random draw. For example, when fairy tales in a different context was selected, everyone would have to come up to the front to randomly draw a note card. Whatever was inside the note card was your topic. When I opened my own note card it read, “the little match girl is now a phantom luring people to their deaths”. I then had to write a story based on that little prompt. Then for the poetry prompt, everyone was encouraged to pick a number from one to 22. Based on the number that was picked, the selector would receive a prompt that was based on a phrase. For example, I received the phrase, “Words that you were never meant to hear.” I then had to write a poem based on that phrase. For the creative non-fiction prompt, we were simply asked to explore a family tradition that occurs around the holidays.

After an intermission involving pizza, writers had rotating critique sessions with each other that allowed them to get feedback for their work, whether it be poetry, fiction, or creative-nonfiction. This allowed for writers to work with each other on a more personal level. Everyone was encouraged to give feedback on craft elements that could be improved and on elements that worked very well. This was a great way to end the event on a positive and interactive note.

Overall, the event was very successful and not only fostered a community of writers, but created a space where writers of all kinds were welcome to participate and indulge themselves in the craft of writing creatively.

As a country, we are without a doubt in a very politically turbulent time. It seems that this turbulence has also had a ripple effect, impacting various facets within American culture. One of the facets that has been impacted in particular is pop culture. There have various celebrities that have shared their own personal experiences with workplace harassment including Taylor Swift, Kesha, Tiffany Haddish, and many others. When we as a public audience are introduced to the idea that another public figure has done wrong or has done wrong doing against another human being, we are faced with a moral dilemma. Should we continue to consume the art of that person?

Harvey Weinstein has been a part of many successful films including Good Will Hunting, Scream, and Kill Bill: Volume 1. There is no doubt that he is a successful filmmaker. However, I can’t help but personally feel that if I support this person’s art, I am putting money into the pocket of someone who has sexually harassed multiple women and in all honesty, that does not sit well with me and it shouldn’t for a majority of people. However, sometimes it can be the other way around as well.

Melanie Martinez, best known for her appearance on The Voice, was also accused of sexual assault by one of her former friends. Martinez made a statement on Twitter where she stated “She never said no to what we chose to do together”, where she seems to disregard that not saying no does not mean yes.

There are also several other instances of this occurring with other musical artists such as Chris Brown and the late rapper, XXXtentacion. Chris Brown has had a record of allegations of violence against women as recently as 2016, while a recent recording of the now passed XXXtentacion emerged where he admitted that he vowed to kill his ex-girlfriend if she “played with him”.

There is also Dr. Luke, Kesha’s former producer. She filed a suit claiming Dr.Luke “sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally abused [Kesha] to the point where [she] nearly lost her life.” Dr. Luke has produce a mass assortment of songs from most of Kesha’s repertoire to songs for Katy Perry and Britney Spears. Chances are that if you have ever listened to the radio in the course of your lifetime, you have probably heard these songs or had them come up on your shuffle on Spotify or Apple Music.

Dr.Luke, Harvey Weinstein, XXXtenacion, and Chris Brown are not the only ones either. These are only a few examples out of hundreds. There are also the less severe cases of people exerting problematic behavior and even though it may not cause direct physical harm it contributes to the culture of the privilege of ignorance. Just one that comes to mind is Kanye West and his recent remarks on TMZ, claiming that “slavery was a choice”.

So what do we do? Do we stop consuming films and music that are created by these artists? What does it say about us if we continue to stream, buy and play their content despite being confronted with these disturbing words and acts? Some may say that we can’t possibly be conscious about everything we consume, and that may be true, but what does it mean if we continue on consuming in silence? I can’t help but think that we are contributing to the normalization of these behaviors, our actions declaring, “Yeah, but it doesn’t really matter as long as they make good music or movies”.

Sources: Rolling Stone, BBC, TMZ

According to the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson in Jamaica, the Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) have been positively making an impact in the lives of young people who are seeking employment. It provides multiple resources to young people who are searching for employment by matching them with potential employers, as well as providing career counselling, resume writing, and access to information on scholarships and loans.

“In recent times, we have been working with persons in the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs) by providing job-readiness training and employment placement. I have had the chance to see them as they visit our office, and I am proud to share that the programmes offered by the ELE have created a sense of hope for them and their families,” Robinson said.

Robinson also informed that officials from St.Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and Grenada conducted a study of the program to see whether it can be used as a model to combat the issue of youth unemployment in other countries. The study was funded by the Organization of American States (OAS). Robinson is conducting a series of roadshows for individuals who are looking to improve their career. She stresses the importance of maintaining and gaining job skills throughout one’s lifetime.

“Gone are the days that workers complete training which lasts a lifetime. With the rapid changes in the way we manage businesses and perform work, the skills learnt up to age 18 will become outdated by mid-career. To that end, the roadshows will be a vehicle for directing people to improving their skills,” Robinson said.

The roadshow, which includes collaboration with Jamaica Employers’ Federation and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions will travel across the island, will be held until February to help spread awareness of the ever changing dynamic of the working environment.

Source: Good News Jamaica

I have always been fascinated by the concept of stringing words together to make meaning. It is something that not only touches others, but a place deep within oneself because you can look back and say “I crafted this with my own hands, mind, spirit, and soul”. As a poet, that is the feeling that I am always striving to achieve. I am always trying to desperately grasp meaning with the tip of my pen, to articulate thoughts and feelings that are so powerful that you almost cannot put them into words. I have always felt this way about writing. It is something that brings me peace, yet keeps me restless. In one of my classes called Seminar By The Sea, I was truly able to reflect on the power of words and their ability to create meaning.

I remember when I first tried to string meaning through a collection of poems for Seminar By The Sea, a gender studies course that took place in Oceanwood, Maine. It is a class that I highly recommend. In this course, you get to choose between an English or Psychology credit. Not only that, but you get to spend several weeks in a small beach town in Maine. Another benefit is having the opportunity to work closely with your peers and professors. This class is offered every other summer, and will be available to take in the summer of 2019. Although I learned about a lot of topics from multiple faculty members such as Dr. Landi Turner and Alexis Dunbar, I especially learned a lot from Professor Gidjunis who helped me begin my journey of honing my poetry.

This was the first class where I was pushed to achieve an overarching meaning in all of my poems. I wrote about the colonization of Hawaii and their last Queen, Liliʻuokalani. I learned about race, feminism, intersectionality, gender identity, as well as many other topics. I started to become more aware of how to incorporate experiences and weave identity into my poems as I partook in writing exercises. As I took on writing the collection, I started to challenge myself to write about the daily occurrences in my life and create deep meaning out of them.Taking Seminar By The Sea not only pushed me to learn concepts of craft, but it pushed me on a personal level— to see meaning in everyday life experiences that others may disregard.

My experience at Seminar made me realize a personal truth about my own writing and where I would like it to go. Poetry is not just about rhyming lines together. It is not just about abstract ideas and concepts that seem to float above our heads. Sometimes poetry is about the mundane, the daily occurrences and the sights everyday when you wake up. Everyone can see the beauty in the things they cannot touch, but it is the beauty that is right at your fingertips that is the hardest to depict.

About one year ago, Mexico was hit with a cataclysmic earthquake. Despite a considerable amount of time passing, some areas in Mexico still remain in critical condition after the impact of the 8.2 magnitude earthquake. Many families who were affected by this natural disaster are still waiting on federal financial aid.

Mayor Gloria Sánchez stated that 5,200 families affected by the earthquake never received federal financial aid. She claims that 280 million pesos (US $14.5 million) in additional housing funding was given by the Interior Secretariat but it does not suffice considering the massive amount of damage and devastation the earthquake caused.

“We’re calling for the amount granted to each family to build a decent home to be increased, and for a comprehensive plan to be made for the reconstruction of Juchitán; one that considers housing, schools, businesses, public buildings and urban infrastructure,” Sánchez said. In the aftermath of the earthquake, citizens that sustained total damage were given personal aid in the form of cash and store-value bank cards. However, after waiting several months for this aid, victims discovered that their cards were faulty clones without funds. Some victims even gave their funds to construction companies in hopes that they would rebuild their homes but it was fraudulent.

Mayor Sánchez told a newspaper that the municipal authorities have received over 200 complaints from residents who have experienced some type of construction fraud.

“What happened is that a lot of people who were sleeping in the street were driven to despair and in these companies they saw a chance to have a home quickly. They never imagined that these men would disappear with their money.” Sánchez said.

Residents tried to file complaints with a municipal judge, but they still haven’t been accepted because this kind of fraud is not considered a criminal offense.

Source: Mexico News Daily