When people think of a 400-year-old text, not many people would think that it connects to a modern day dilemma such as sexual assaults on college campuses. However, Dr. William Storm, an Eastern English professor, makes just that connection. In a paper Dr. Storm is presenting to the New Chaucer Society, he claims in his abstract that “as sexual assault and harassment becomes more prevalent on college campuses, literature becomes not simply an object of study but a site of conflict through which future and past traumas manifest for students.” Through the literary text of “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale,” he plans to explore how this text can shed light on a plethora of topics such as the value of female voice in the light of male violence, specifically the rape of the unnamed maiden at the hands of the knight, a knight who ultimately benefits from such action through his renunciation of mastery. Dr. Storm also analyzes the correlation between the handmaid’s lack of voice and the silencing of victims, and students being able to see the benefits of societal protection through Guinevere and the other noble ladies, as well as if the ladies can properly act as a bridge to communicate the maiden’s experiences. Dr. Storm’s main question is this: does this text reflect the modern day issue of sexual assaults on campuses? Do we still find ourselves silencing victims? Or are there policies that have been instituted that allow women the right to seek protection for themselves, and ultimately justice?

Just before Thanksgiving break, I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Storm to not only talk about the background of how he came to write this piece and the process of preparing it, but also to engage in a very in-depth conversation about the systemic issues that we face as a society regarding issues of sexual assault, and more particularly, the rising epidemic of sexual assaults that continue to occur on college campuses. First, I gained some background on the New Chaucer Society and how they function. The New Chaucer Society meets every other summer; in the summer prior, the conference was in London, and this summer, they will be meeting in Toronto. Typically, there would be a “call for papers” where the society will request essays on certain topics, and interested members can respond with a proposal. This conference is a little bit different however, because there will be three or four people presenting papers at a time. This upcoming conference is streamlined because they want to be able to hear more papers representing a wider range of voices, so in total there will be around seven to eight papers with people presenting them. After gaining some general knowledge of the event and process, I asked Dr. Storm what inspired him to look more into women’s voice in this particular work of literature.

He went on to discuss how “The Wife of Bath” is often presented as having a unique female voice in literature. In fact, in “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue,” she talks about the need for female voices to be heard and touches upon various scriptures, husbands, and discourses saying women shouldn’t be heard and that their experiences and their ideas are less important than larger cultural ideas.

However, he went on to state, “One of things that we know as readers and writers of this piece, is that it’s not actually a woman saying it. It is a man having her say these things. I am very interested in this notion of what to do in a text that is very much about women’s experiences, women’s agency, women’s voices and how to then make sense of the fact that there is a woman who is sexually assaulted and then is never heard from or named. I think with everything going on in society more broadly right now and on college campuses, these are conversations that we need to be having and need to be thinking about well. What are we doing for victims of sexual assault and harassment? And what are we doing so, if those voices want to be heard, they can be heard?”

Last month, a powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 struck at 21:18 local time near the Iraqi border, killing more than 500 people and injuring thousands, making this the world’s deadliest earthquake so far this year. The quake was so intense that it could be felt as far away as Turkey and Pakistan.

According to seismologists in the country, this was the biggest quake recorded that has hit the western part of Iran. The devastation included collapsed buildings and cars destroyed by rubble. The damage was widespread due to the fact that most homes in the Kurdish mountains are made from mud bricks. In Sarpol-e Zahab, a city whose population is around 45,000 people, the sides of a number of tall buildings fell, forcing many residents to spend the night outdoors in freezing temperatures. Many citizens also fl ed their homes in fear of aftershocks. The earthquake also triggered multiple landslides, making the rescue effort more difficult in the mountainous region. There are also fears that a dam would burst after it suffered damage from the quake. People who were living nearby were asked to evacuate.

“My friend was screaming, saying, ‘I lost my home.’ Thank God, she and her family are doing well. She said people were only mourning and their loved ones were under the rubble,” one resident stated via Twitter.

It was estimated that about 70,000 people will need shelter in result of the damage from the earthquake. The IRNA, the state-run news agency in Iran, reported that at least 530 people were killed and 7,460 people were injured. At least eight people were killed on the Iraqi side of the border, and around 535 were injured. Most of the casualties were reported in Iran’s western province of Kermanshah, which was the epicenter of the quake.

In Tehran, hundreds of people waited in line to donate blood after a call from the government was sent out. Officials from the Health Ministry traveled to the area, as well as the commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, delivered a message of condolences, urging rescuers to keep working in their pursuit of finding more survivors.

“The officials should hasten in these first hours with all their might and determination to help the injured, especially those trapped under rubble,” his office reported in response to relief efforts.

Sources: New York Times, Forbes, BBC

      Starting in the fall of 2018, Eastern University is introducing a brand new program called the EU FastPass. This program will hopefully save students time, money, and stress. To put it simply, residential students in traditional undergraduate programs will be able to receive two tuition-free, online summer classes for each year enrolled at Eastern. As of right now, there are three ways students can take advantage of this program: Students can either set a plan to graduate in three years, lighten their course loads, or complete double majors more easily.

      To graduate in three years, student will have to take on a heavy course load but will ultimately save time and money. To take full advantage of this option, students who wish to graduate early must take 18 credits (six classes) in each of the five semesters, and two online classes during two summer sessions. However, it is recommended that incoming students bring in prior credit from AP tests or dual enrollment programs.

      The FastPass will also make it easier for students to lighten their course load during the regular semester. Students with jobs or vigorous extracurricular activities would most likely benefit the most from this particular plan of action. If students decide to take two classes in the summer, then their course loads would most likely be lightened to 12 to 13 credits in the Fall and Spring. This will allow students to free up more of their time so that they may pursue other responsibilities outside of classes. EU FastPass can be a useful tool for students who want to pursue two majors. During the three summers in the average four academic years, a student can take 18 credits and pay nothing additional in tuition.

      Undergraduate students that live on campus and maintain the required academic standpoint can take advantage of this program. Fastpass is open to all majors, as well as all colleges, such as the Templeton Honors College. Commuter students can also take advantage of the program, but they will have to pay some tuition fees  (however they will be significantly discounted by up to 50 percent.) Commuter students will pay $195 per credit hour for the summer online courses.

      As of right now, FastPass courses will start to be offered in the summer of 2019. The curriculum will focus primarily on core and general education classes, as well as strategically important courses that will fill requirements for a majority of majors and minors. The course catalog will hopefully be released  sometime in the fall of 2018.

      Source: Eastern.edu/fastpass

      Thousands of people gathered on Sunday Oct. 1 to celebrate the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas strip. Total strangers gathered to embrace each other like family for a night of entertainment by some of their favorite singers such as Jason Aldean, Big & Rich, Kane Brown, and Jake Owen. What began as a night filled with joy, pride, and the incredible power of music turned into chaos when Steven Paddock, a 64-year-old white male, unleashed a vicious attack from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino just next to the concert venue. This occurred shortly after 10 p.m local time just as Aldean was performing.

      The horrific attack took the lives of 58 people, and injured over 500, making this the nation’s deadliest modern mass shooting. Paddock was found dead in his hotel room by officials along with explosive materials, 23 guns, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Paddock bugged the hotel room and hallway with cameras. Officials are currently investigating Paddock’s motives and everything leading up to the attack. There is still no explanation as to why he was motivated to cultivate this horrific attack on thousands of unexpecting concertgoers.

      However, in the midst of darkness, humanity has risen up to create light. An Illinois man by the name of Greg Zanis, who has made headlines for his previous tributes for mass shooting victims, traveled all the way to Las Vegas to erect 58 white crosses right in front of the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.  Each of these white wooden crosses was embellished with a red heart,  a picture of each victim, along with the victim’s name. This was an amazing action that will never be forgotten, and was appreciated greatly by the people of Las Vegas.

      Families, friends, and total strangers gathered around the signs to mourn the lives lost, bringing their own personal tributes to the crosses in the form of balloons, handwritten signs, flowers, and candles. Felt tip pens were provided so that people could write messages of love and support directly on the crosses. Courtney Goldman, a Las Vegas local, was there to honor her old friend Hannah Ahlers from over 20 years ago. One of their fondest memories together was when they attended prom. Goldman was interviewed by the San Diego Union Tribune.

      “I wanted to put pictures up of her and her family. I wanted to make sure there was pictures of her and her husband and three children, not just her by herself, because they are the people left behind,” Goldman said. Continuing on how the memorial helps the healing process, “seeing people from the community, and outside the community because a lot of these people aren’t from here, it has touched so many people,” Goldman said.

      As a Christian community, it is urgent to take on the responsibility of helping others in their time of need. Eastern University’s Chaplin, Joe Modica, sent out a public prayer to students and staff, urging everyone to pray for the people affected by this mass shooting.

      “Please pray for Las Vegas. For those who died, for those injured, and for those who witnessed this tragedy. Lord, have mercy. Thank God for the first-responders and others who risked their lives to assist others. We also pray for our alumni and friends in the Las Vegas area. ‘The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit’ (Psalm 34:18).”

      For any EU students or faculty who are called to help, but do not know exactly how, you can donate to the victim’s families on GoFundMe, organized by Steve Sisolak, Chair of the Clark County Commission. If you are willing, you could also set up an appointment to donate blood at one of the local American Red Cross locations, which will help free up the overall blood supply.

      Sources: CNN, CMT, NPR, Business Insider, ABC News, San Diego Union Tribune

      In early September, near the Mexican city of Tecate, and an hour southeast of San Diego, a massive photo of a young toddler named Kitito was placed right behind the border fence with California. If viewed from the American side of the border, the child seems to be peering curiously over the fence.

      A French artist, who goes by “JR,” was responsible for this controversial piece. His speciality is taking portraits of ordinary people and placing them onto the sides of buildings. The concept of walls have been on this artist’s mind for quite awhile. Not just in his artwork, but politically as well. JR is called to place his art in locations where the residents’ humanity is in question, or seem to be silenced politically.

      “Each time I’ve seen walls that have caught my attention, or that I’ve heard about a lot in the media, they would stick in my mind. I would even dream about it. When Trump started to talk a lot about a wall along the Mexican border, one day I woke up and I saw a kid looking over the wall. I was wondering, what is this kid thinking? What would any kid think? We know that a one-year-old doesn’t have a political vision, or any political point of view. He doesn’t see walls as we see them,” JR said in an interview with the New Yorker.

      The toddler pictured lives along the border wall.  In his quest to get closer to the border wall, JR knocked on a random house’s door– a door that led him to Kitito. The woman who answered welcomed JR into her home, and she had a young toddler and a daughter. After a short conversation, he left. He was drawn to the young boy because he was astounded by how closely he resembled the child in his dream. Without a second thought, he turned around and got approval from the mother to take photos and use the young boy’s portrait.  JR thought that having a young child as the portrait would have more of an impact than a grown man would.

      “I hope this will help people see us differently than what they hear in the media, that they will stop taking us like criminals or rapists. I hope in that image they won’t only see my kid. They will see us all,” Kitito’s mother said.

      Although the artwork is politically charged in a sense, there is a great assumption that this piece is a response to Trump’s recent declaration of ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) since it’s reveal was around the same time. DACA  is an immigration policy that lets individuals who were brought to America as children receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation so that they may study, work, and even obtain driver’s licenses. It would be easy to misconstrue the meaning of the artwork considering the recent events, and one could even portray the toddler looking over the border wall as a metaphor for young DACA recipients when they first arrived in the United States–young and unaware of where their own parents are bringing them to. However, the goal of the artist was not to bring a political discussion but a human discussion.

     Sources: The New Yorker, National Public Radio

Wayne is a quaint and lovely town that is known for its historic Quaker origins, beautiful architecture, sightseeing, shopping, and dining experiences. Eastern University students tend to flock there in their free time, enjoying the scenery and getting some good ice cream at the Wayne Coffee and Ice Cream Bar. This year, Wayne is taking an interesting initiative. Over the summer, The Wayne Business Association, also known as the WBA, announced the beginning of the “Wayne Open Late” program. Every Thursday night, participating non-restaurant merchants will extend their normal business hours and stay open until 8 p.m.
The program was announced in the early summer and began August 17. Wayne Open Late will continue throughout the year. The weekly event will be an excellent opportunity for incoming, as well as current students, to get to know the area around them a little bit better, and explore everything it has to offer. Wayne Open Late will feature music and other forms of entertainment, sidewalk sales, wine and food tastings, Happy Hour specials, and even more according to the WBA. There will also be a special theme each week to spice it up and make things interesting. It is a perfect event for college students since there is no admission fee. Main Point Books, a local bookstore, also shared their excitement about the event on Facebook, announcing their participation in the event and how they will be adding their own programs and authors. There is a little something for everybody in Wayne.
If you know a first-year student, or somebody that has never been to Wayne, encourage them to come out and enjoy Wayne Open Late. It could be one of the many attractions around campus that could enhance any student’s college experience, and it will help also support local businesses. More information can be found on the Wayne Business Association Facebook page.