Bright Eyes, Open Minds

Kelsey, myself, Bryn, and Ava outside the Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo by Travis Siegel on iPhone 6 As the daughter of a travel writer/ almost art history major, I have been to more than my fair share of museums and collections dominated by Western art. I've gawked at Bernini's in Rome, Constable's works in London, and portrait after portrait of extravagantly dressed king in Portugal. So imagine how my Western-art trained eyes and ears perked up when I heard Michele Wright pose the question, "What is the role of the black artist?" Kelsey and I excitedly waiting for the speakers to come onstage. Photo taken by Bryn Muraff on iPhone 6 For my SAMO, myself, Kelsey, Bryn Muraff, Ava Izenstark, and Travis Siegel headed downtown for a cultural experience before heading downtown to Skid Row in our performance of Little Shop of Horrors that evening. We attended the Museum of Contemporary Art's Art and Life Talk, lead by New Yorker wr...

Gillian Redstone Henrich CST 473 4-5 B 23 September 2016 CIA Tortures Without Reason and Releases Without Compensation https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/10/03/us-ex-detainees-describe-unreported-cia-torture Two Tunisian men,  Ridha al-Najjar, 51, and Lotfi al-Arabi El Gherissi, 52, were both held by the CIA for over 13 years when they were finally released with zero charges and zero compensation. Najjar was initially taken into custody in 2002 because he was identified as one of bin Laden’s security guards. After undergoing torture such as waterboarding, beating with a baton, and being hung from the ceiling by their wrists, both men are destitute and have significant issues in their lives due to the American torture the experienced. When HRW brought up the topic of these men’s torture to the CIA, a CIA spokesperson said that none of what was claimed actually ever occurred. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPCER8xSxKc The reason why HRW is concerned about this problem i...

“But what happened to doing tech theatre at NYU?” I desperately asked my friend Dani, after hearing she was no longer even planning to apply to her dream school.  “That’s a really great dream for a someone who can afford 70k a year ,” she replied. “But it can’t even be an option for me.” My first reaction was disbelief. I couldn’t imagine my parents not supporting my passions financially. I’d attended lesson after masterclass after summer program to further my extracurriculars. The idea of my parents saying, “You can’t go, it’s just too expensive” was unknown to me.   Summer of 2015, I started to become interested in neuroscience as a  possible major and/or career. I applied for the National Student Leadership Conference's Neuro & Psych program, and was allowed to attend as soon as I was accepted, without question of finances.  Photo by another NSLC participant. I spent both summer 2014 and 2015 doing summer programs at Berklee College ...

Gillian's TEN Rules to Live By 1. Always LOVE and make time for fam{ily}.  2. Surround yourself with people who make you a better person.  3. Never stop being, SILLY, but know when to be mature.  4. Let music never stop being a part of who you are. 5. Learn about & travel the world as if it is rapidly disappearing.  6. Five minutes early is on time.  7. Help those who need it- and without feeling like they now owe you.  8. Never underestimate the power of email.  9. Eat the food that makes you feel royal.  10. Advocate for yourself.