Bright Eyes, Open Minds

We hopped on the crowded train, bright and early at 7:30am. It was jam-packed with other women and inspiring posters galore. One woman on our car passed around donuts and coffee (yes, to complete strangers). The train conductor didn't charge anyone for the ride, and later announced that this would be an express train due to the high volume of riders. Sarah, Erin, Bryn, and I looked at each other with fluttering excitement, knowing this would not be a day to forget and would go down in history ("This will be an APUSH key term one day!"). This welcoming experience on the train was just the beginning of the pride I felt toward being a woman on this day: January 21st 2017, the day after Donald Trump's inauguration: The Women's March. A foggy morning on the March as we walked to Grant Park. Photo by me on iPhone 6.  Even the trek to the route of the march was full of life. Interesting people of all creeds and colors were walking on both sides of the street, eve...

The Onion recently joked that The Academy just makes up a list of names for sound editing and other categories that "people don't care about." I, however, surprised my family when I got extremely excited about a particular nominee in the Documentary category: indeed, 13th  and its director Ava Duvernay, absolutely slaying the red carpet game even though she lost the statute to "O.J.: Made In America." An Oscar nom is a massive honor that was rightfully deserved for more reasons than one. However, one concept Duvernay depicted throughout her documentary that latched onto me deeply was about the humanity of people of color. Ava Duvernay looking like an actual goddess at the Oscars. Source: Amazon Images The beginning of the doc goes into detail about the *coughs in disgust and scowls* "classic" 1915 American film, The Birth of a Nation . The silent movie, based on Thomas Dixon Jr.'s novel and play The Clansmen , depicted black people like ra...

Over the weekend, I saw Wicked for the fourth time (yes, I know) in New York with my boyfriend Mike. Every other time I’d seen the show, I was reminded of the magic of theatre and drawn in by whimsical costumes. But this time, I noticed something new: a complex conversation about this concept of truth. Different plot points stuck out to me like blaring CST sirens: Glinda proclaims to the Wizard that she’ll tell all of Oz that Elphaba is innocent, but the Wizard reminds her that everyone will only turn against her. Mike and I seeing Wicked together - it's truly the best musical. Photo on iPhone 6 by another theatre-goer.  The Ozians are told by the powerful Wizard and Madame Marrable that everything Elphaba says is a lie. And so the people believe them. I was repeatedly reminded of a question that had stuck out to me since we began reading Enemy of the People: What good is truth without power?  CST is absolutely the main source of my new noticings. I push myself ...

The screening began with a powerful slam poem by Rebirth Poetry Ensemble. "Chicago is built on the concept of mopping with dirty water." Poem by Rebirth Poetry Ensemble performing an original and award winning poem at the Logan Center for the Arts and University of Chicago. Filmed by me.  The emotional poem filled me to the brim with feelings unknown to me. However, the performers  helped me to try and understand how they felt, and tears stung my eyes as they finished the poem: "Chicago is African Violence blooming in gun powder." The poem was a perfect precursor to get the audience, a small mix of adults, teens, at least two babies, and UChicago students and professors, ready to hear an important discussion. The Promise of Peace Community Forum that my mom and I attended is part of a larger project with the same title that engages youth and adults in a variety of school-based and public programs including exhibitions, spoken word events, artist talks...

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 ...