England.AskforTask.com, a British technology startup, began allowing nap time for its employees but eliminated the option after it resulted in decreased productivity in the office. Nap time turned out to be counter-productive as many employees would sleep past 15 minutes, and several felt groggy or would take even more time getting coffee or splashing water on their faces to wake themselves up. This decreased production by 55 percent. To regain efficiency, the startup created an “innovation lounge” instead, including mood lighting, music, televisions and reclining chairs.
BBC News
Pakistan. Nine-month-old Musa Khan was charged with murder for being present during a revolt by slum residents against workers at a gas company. The case gained media attention after images of the baby surfaced in which he was depicted crying with a milk bottle while recording his fingerprints. Several critics spoke out against the absurdity of the Pakistani judicial system in charging such a young child. Khan’s lawyer, Ifran Tarar, fought to have the child released on bail, arguing that Khan was too young to be prosecuted. All charges have been dropped against Khan.
Smartphones are a blessing and a curse to music lovers across the globe. On the one hand, they have given us a near unlimited access to just about every song ever recorded, even rarities and hard to find releases — from obscure Jay Z mixtapes to original, not re-released Frank Zappa albums. We receive instantaneous news, streaming and the ability to carry our entire music collection in our pants pocket rather than in crates and boxes.
At the same time, smartphones have produced a new, infuriating breed of concert-goer. Apart from the drunk idiots who absolutely insist on pushing everyone out of their way to get to the front and the incessant talkers, there is no one worse at a live show than those who watch most of the performance through a phone screen. Even worse, people will often be exhibiting two, if not all three of these behaviors at once, making those constantly taking pictures and video even more aggravating.
Note that I am not talking about those who want to snap a quick photo and then put their phone away. Having a picture to show your friends how close to the stage you were or the stage setup is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. It is those who feel the pressing desire to document every second of a concert that are a bane on audiences. It is incredibly distracting to have bright screens bobbing up and down near you face (especially in dark, indoor venues), akin to having a small, brightly-lit companion that instead of yelling at you every few seconds is trying to block your view to get that “perfect angle” for a shot.
Not only is this a problem for other members of the audience, but it is extremely rude to the performers as well. Why would you pay good money to see your favorite band, only to watch most of the concert through a small screen? Some artists, including Prince, Beyoncé and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, have even started requesting that the audience either refrain from using their cameras, or give them an opportunity at the start to snap a few photos before the music begins.
This is a completely reasonable request. You are not there to watch electronic screens, and they are not there to perform for a sea of smartphones. When we start spending more time looking at an image of the band than the band itself, the personal connection forged between the artist and the audience begins to break down.
The absolute worst of the worst — the most evil of concert attendees — are those who take photos or video and then post them to social media during the show. Seriously, we have enough hipsters, 15-year-old “punks” and backpackers listening to a certain artist or seeing them live into a sign of status. You do not need to post your low-quality images during the show. Snap a photo or two, maybe take a video, even write a 140-character update before the band takes the stage. But for the love of all that is still good and just in this musical world, wait untll you get home to upload your media online.
Unless you are very lucky, most of the photos and videos will not turn out amazing anyway. Why add to the ever-growing pile of crappy concert videos on Youtube?
Let the professionals handle it.
Lastly, I encourage everyone to tone down on the smartphone use because you will remember the concert better. This might seem a little counterintuitive at first. Won’t taking a picture help you better remember a moment later on? Turns out it might not.
Studies being conducted at Fairfield University are pointing to the conclusion that seeing an experience primarily or strictly through a lens can impact on the formation of our own memories of the event (you can read more here). This means that you might not want to take a video when your favorite song begins. Instead, watch the artist perform and you will most likely remember it better the next day. Or, since zooming-in seems to better preserve memories, you might want to focus on only one part of the stage, though this will probably result in a blurry, dark picture anyway.
The best concert I have ever attended was at the Sports Coliseum near USC, where, for about three hours, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band held the audience captive. While a few smartphones popped up here and there, the majority of the audience, my friends and I included, were too riveted by the music to even consider taking our cameras out. As a result, it is the concert I remember most vividly, and to this day those of us who were there can talk for hours about what we witnessed.
I would encourage everyone to do the same. Take a few photos, then put the phone away. What is ultimately more important — watching and hearing a band play your favorite song live, or watching a video of the performance later that is more nausea-inducing than Cloverfield? You be the judge.
Jack Butcher is a senior history major. He can be reached at butcher@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyJButcher.
Japan has slaughtered thousands of whales in the name of “science.” Selling whale meat in commercial markets, dropping carcasses and killing the massive mammoths of the ocean has been shocking to conservationists and whale lovers world-wide.
Australia, a country committed to conservation of the ocean’s resources, brought a lawsuit against Japan in 2010, claiming that the federally-established whaling fleet was operating under the very thin guise of scientific research.
The International Court of Justice, established under the United Nations and the highest international court of law, ruled on March 31 that Japanese whaling was indeed irresponsible and illegal and ordered the immediate end to whaling practices. The justifications made by Japan in support of killing whales were not sufficient to support the country’s claims. Killing over 3,000 minke whales since 2005, the scientific benefits of the program were not apparent.
The Nisshin Maru ship holding two whale carcasses. (Source: CC)
The infrastructure of Japan’s system was quite complex– The Nisshin Maru ship, pictured above, is the world’s only whale factory vessel and the primary boat used in the Japanese whaling fleet. Japan’s Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) was charged with conducting research on whales and was in charge of the whaling fleet. The whales that were caught were then sold for commercial purposes, with whale meat, blubber and bone all frequently found in Japanese markets.
Japan stated that they were incredibly disappointed with the ruling, and argued that they felt Australia was imposing their cultural values onto them. Whales have long been a resource for consumption and utilization in Japan, and the ruling, to them, feels personal.
As bounds in science have clearly indicated that ocean resources are much more fragile than previously thought, cultural values start to seem worth shifting toward those more informed and based on science. The International Court of Justice clearly believed that the data output of ICR did not offset the damage that was being enacting in the ocean ecosystem. Even further, the global shift away from the killing of whales has been very noticeable. Japan is the only country left that employs such practices, and protests of their fleet have been ongoing since its official establishment. It is important for Japan to adhere to the ruling of the Court, to set an international example as both a country that is committed to conservation and a country that can shift cultural focus toward sustainable practices.
Jill Goatcher is a senior politics major and marine biology minor. She can be reached at goatcher@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyJGoatcher.
The Associate Students of Occidental College (ASOC) General Assembly hosted a conversation between students and Ruth Jones, the school’s new Title IX coordinator, Thursday. Jones explained the work she has engaged with since her start at Occidental in February and took questions from the audience. Fourteen students attended the event, eight of which were ASOC members.
Jones explained that the Title IX office works with all sectors of the college community to support victims of gender discrimination through counseling and academic and employee accommodations. It acts as a neutral party if a student chooses to proceed with the formal adjudication process, coordinating the investigation, hearing and possible appeal. Additionally, the Title IX office aims to educate the student body through programming and training to prevent future incidents of gender discrimination.
“Of necessity, and appropriately so, Occidental has been focused on sexual misconduct. But sexual misconduct is not the only issue that we are responsible for at the Title IX office,” Jones said. “We are responsible under Title IX for ensuring that gender discrimination/sex discrimination does not interfere with the educational environment of Occidental College. That means Title IX is applicable to students, faculty, staff and administrators.”
At this point, Jones has concentrated most of her work on familiarizing herself with campus policies and procedures, including the education on sexual assault at first-year and transfer student orientation. Audience members asked multiple questions about future training for students, both during the first weeks of school and beyond. Jones answered that she recognized the importance of continuing to educate the student body after orientation and that she would assess when online or in-person training is most appropriate.
Jones also plans to keep the Occidental community educated by distributing a yearly Title IX report detailing the office’s recent work.
“In some ways, it’s important that people understand their rights and responsibilities under Title IX, but what’s even more important is we have an opportunity to engage in real discussions about, ‘Are we the individuals that we choose to be? Are we behaving in a way that creates the type of environment that’s consistent not only with the values of Title IX, but also the values that we hold as an institution?'” Jones said.
Jones emphasized her desire to meet students, educate them about her work and collaborate with them on issues of gender discrimination. She intends to organize focus groups on the findings of upcoming reports from the Department of Education and external consultants Gina Smith and Leslie Gomez.
ASOC President and economics major Nick McHugh (junior) praised Jones for her openness and willingness to learn.
“She’s very accessible,” McHugh said. “That’s one thing that I’ve taken away from my now three conversations with Ruth is that she understands her role on campus is new, she understands that she is new on campus and she knows that the first thing she has to do is get out and be talking with groups on campus.”
Students can learn more about Jones’ work by visiting her in office hours on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon in South Trailer D.
I do not speak lightly when I say Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing” is one of the best television shows ever made. There is no work of art without flaw, but is that not what makes great art memorable? Yes, characters and plot lines often disappear into nothingness and the show has its smug moments, but “The West Wing’s” initial four seasons are a clear vision executed brilliantly. After Sorkin left, the show took a substantial hit in quality that brought it down to ‘great.’
We could learn a thing or two from “The West Wing.” And not just in terms of its politics, although I wouldn’t be opposed to living in a parallel reality where voters denounced unengaged politicians. It is a powerful counter-argument to what the current viewing public believes about episodic drama and TV in general.
Last month, I wrote about how dark modern TV has become (you should go check out that piece if you haven’t already). I believe our generation has shifted conversation from the water cooler to social media, and since we like talking about dark, meaty shows, networks have doubled down on finding their very own “Breaking Bad.” In the world of TV drama, you need to have a morally ambiguous protagonist if you want any hope of success.
On the other hand, “The West Wing” is not even in the same area code as moral ambiguity, and I’m positive this show would do gangbusters today.
You see, “The West Wing” is almost the antithesis of “House of Cards.” In “West Wing,” the employees of the titular office space are starry-eyed do-gooders working under President Jed Bartlet — an enormous nerd with a heavy moral compass and fire in his eyes. It is a show about optimism, compared to “House of Cards’” blue-toned schemes. Frank Underwood does it for the power, but Jed Bartlet does it because he wants to help.
It is also one of the rare shows that combines idealism with actual ideas. There are some weighty debates in “The West Wing,” and the concepts it deals with can get downright bleak. But — and this is of the utmost importance — the show never becomes dark, because the characters remain our emotional center.
For example, one particular season finale deals with one of the main characters ordering an assassination. That’s heavy stuff, and it could make for a very dismal “House of Cards” arc. But “The West Wing” treats it with a light touch, using humanity to keep the storyline from devolving into soap opera territory.
And that’s what most drama lacks these days. Humanity. You could argue “True Detective,”“Hannibal” or any of the other grim show on TV nowadays portrays humanity, albeit with a darker thesis. But there’s no humanity in the characters, so the drama is functionally inert. It is difficult to care about Rust Cohle when all he does is drink and mumble about how religion is the opiate of the masses. Thank you, Karl Marx. That really makes us care about your struggles.
There’s also very little genuine conflict in drama these days, especially when it comes to “House of Cards.” You don’t really care about Frank Underwood, and why should you? He’s not a very interesting character and he utterly crushes every foe in his way. But when you give characters a chance to smile or endear themselves to the audience, then you’ve got drama. It’s so much easier to cry through the laughs.
Of course, “The West Wing” is also one of the best written shows ever, with stellar performances and groundbreaking camera work, but that’s just a general lesson for creative types. “The West Wing” believes the world isn’t just filled with selfish jerks doing terrible things or selfish jerks doing less terrible things. And it’s okay to believe that, because sometimes good wins out. You can be hopeful, you can be idealistic and you don’t have to sacrifice your intelligence along the way.
Mike Cosimano is a first-year psychology major. He can be reached at cosimanowhite@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyMCosimano.
In the final of a series of votes, the Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) Senate unanimously elected to make Bike Share a student service, effective from the beginning of the fall 2014 semester. The Senate took a week after hearing Bike Share’s proposal to receive feedback from constituents before voting. At the end of this semester, ASOC will finalize Bike Share’s new budget.
“I think the unanimous vote reflects the time that Bike Share put into the application,” ASOC Vice President of Internal Affairs and politics major John O’Neill (senior) said.
The decision contributes to O’Neill’s campaign promise to help students get off campus with more ease and energy efficiency. He has worked closely with members of Bike Share over the past two semesters to both create a process for making it a student service and see it pass through ASOC.
According to O’Neill, ASOC senators are tentatively looking into approving a $20,000 budget, roughly twice what Bike Share currently receives. This is the second-largest of three budgets that Bike Share proposed to ASOC. It would allow Bike Share to increase its hours to be open daily, which Bike Share members presented as a priority in their proposal to ASOC. Bike Share’s current and future sources of funding are outlined in a previous article in The Occidental Weekly.
Bike Share plans to use the current resources available from the ASOC Renewable Energy and Sustainability Fund to increase the number of bikes in its fleet. In the coming weeks, members plan to send a request for funding for more bikes, according to Bike Share manager and geology major Robin Bruns (junior).
Bruns began working for Bike Share as a first-year and has contributed to its growth ever since.
“I’m thrilled,” Bruns said. “Bike Share becoming a student service will help the school a lot. Oxy talks a lot about being engaged with the community, and I think that this will make it possible for a whole lot more students to explore Highland Park, Eagle Rock and the Los Angeles area.”
South by Southwest is over, Coachella is just around the corner and the lineup for Lollapalooza has been released. Stagecoach will wrap up in April, Sasquatch will dominate May and Bonnaroo will kick off June, and before we know it, the Warped Tour will come crashing into 40 different towns across the country. It is music festival season and before you get your start stomping in your gladiator sandals, it is time to review what to wear for every kind of music festival and what things will not be tolerated no matter where you go; that is, unless it’s the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), where people are too busy sweating through their MDMA high so anything goes.
Since it is coming up fast, let’s talk Coachella. The hipster-rific weekend-long music and arts festival in fiery Indio, Calif. is having a major throwback moment with the return of OutKast and the Replacements, and will be adding the new, cool kids with Lorde, Disclosure and Chvrches. This leaves you with several outfit options from old-school hip-hop flair to the new school revival of crop tops and leather details. But be warned: This festival is famous for having celebrities attend in masses, so you do want to dress to impress. Men and women alike should bring several pairs of shorts that will keep them cool and comfortable, shirts that are sleeveless in bright, tropical colors and the biggest pair of sunglasses they can find. It is going to be warm and sunny, so wear whatever is comfortable and deceptively stylish. Your celebrity inspiration is Kate Bosworth, who attends the festival every year in perfectly destroyed jean shorts paired with embroidered linen tops in shades of eggshell and cream.
Stagecoach is a whole different style game. This country music festival that occurs on the same lot where Coachella sets up its stages has an all-star lineup this year, with headliners Eric Church, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan all likely wearing their finest Levi and Wrangler denim up on stage. That means you get to be casual, comfortable and, most importantly, all American, for your outfit. Anything with an American flag on it will be applauded by this friendly crop of music lovers. Sundresses, jean shorts, loose cotton tops and plaid button downs are all great options. Bring out your western best with cowboy boots and 10 gallon hats, and take this as an opportunity to let your country-loving, America-proud side show.
There is an additional list of things to consider not wearing for these festivals. It is absolutely crucial to consider the reality that these multi-day concerts usually include messy crowds, dust all over, muddy grounds from spilled drinks and probably even some concert-goers who might throw up their food truck favorites after one too many beers. This means you should really bring clothes that are either easy to wash or easy replaceable, because at the end of a long day of having things spilled on you and someone else’s sweat drying on your shirt, you might not want the bring those clothes home. The golden rule with this is to never bring or wear anything valuable to a music festival, as there are too many ways the item could be lost, stolen or destroyed. Buy your concert wardrobe at cheap stores like Target and Forever 21, with interesting finds from thrift shops mixed in for extra flavor.
The dash of spice that people try to add in with accessories ranges from cutesy to excessive at most music festivals. Ravers who are ready to fist pump with the best of them gravitate toward too many sequins and faux fur. Unless you are in Vegas for the EDC, you should try and nix those options and stick with neon accessories or clip on hair extensions in fun colors for a little flair.
These shows are not taking place in the Staples Center nor a intimate club. Lollapalooza takes over Chicago’s Grant Park, Bonnaroo will find you kicking the Tennessee mud and Warped Tour usually plants itself right on some camp ground. Forget about wearing those skinny high heeled sandals to any of these shows, for those little columns will easily sink into the ground at these outdoor venues.
Have a little self-respect and wear more than just a bra as a top, ladies. I know you worked hard for that body and you should absolutely be proud of your physique, but a brassiere was not mean for being outerwear. What if you get a little too into that Skrillex mix and have a serious wardrobe malfunction? When you take a chance and wear a bra as a top, you risk not only embarrassment, but citation for indecent exposure.
Finally, I am so sick of seeing flower headdresses. I blame Lana Del Ray for making them look so good, but we all must remember that wearing a halo of fake plastic flowers is going to be uncomfortable and itchy after a while. Additionally, consider that the last time you saw plastic flowers was in your grandmother’s living room. Why would you wear that on your head? That’s right, you wouldn’t. So either tuck a daisy behind your ear, wear a patterned scarf as a headband or wear the more regal option of a beaded or bauble embellished tiara on your head. Your look will match the temperatures and be totally hot.
Noel Hemphill is a junior ECLS major. She can be reached at hemphill@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyNHemphill.
Elizabeth Amini ’95 delivered an alumni petition demanding personnel changes in the administration, among numerous other points, to President Jonathan Veitch’s office Thursday. The petition, created by members of the Occidental College Alumni Action Network (OCAAN), does not include the names of individual signatories, but organizers said hundreds of alumni have rallied behind the cause. In the event Veitch fails to meet the demands within seven days, the petition calls for his resignation.
“Hopefully he will have the decency to implement the safety demands or to leave, and hopefully the [board of trustees] will have the decency to do the right thing. The safety problems need to be fixed this week. Safety can’t wait” Amini said.
Although Amini dropped the petition off herself, she was careful to emphasize the faceless and leaderless nature of movement so as not to overshadow the number of other alumni involved. She explained that she dropped the petition off because she is close to the school, not because she is the movement’s leader.
President of the Faculty Council Nalsey Tinberg, Chair of the Politics Department Caroline Heldman and a handful of students also came to show their support for the movement.
“We join with the alumni to show our support for the alumni and the call for systematic change at the college,” Tinberg said. “I am grateful for their involvement, and their request should be taken seriously.”
Psychology major Hannah Kessel (junior), who co-wrote last year’s petition calling for timely alerts on all sexual assaults, attended the event to show her distaste for Veitch’s handling of the issue of sexual assault on campus.
“I have had the unfortunate opportunity to hear [Veitch’s] conceptualization of consent and how rape happens here, and it is very troubling to me,” Kessel said.
Politics major Hannah Baillie (senior) also attended to express her support.
“I agree with what they are doing, and I think a lot of students do, too,” Baillie said. “I wanted to show them that.”
Before dropping off the petition, Amini posted signs outside of the Arthur G. Coons Administrative Building to alert students of alumni involvement and impending action. One sign read, “The problems at Oxy END NOW.” Amini cited the schools “toxic indifference” to the issue of sexual assault as the reason alumni stepped in.
Veitch defended the college’s stance on sexual assault and the actions taken to address the issue.
“It’s impossible to look at the progress we have made – from the revision of our sexual misconduct policy and the hiring of full-time Title IX coordinator, Ruth Jones, to the investments we have made in Project SAFE and mandatory preventative education – and say the college is indifferent to the issue of sexual misconduct,” Veitch said in an email to The Weekly. “Our goal is to create an environment where students reject sexual misconduct and feel comfortable coming forward to report and receive the care and support they need. As I have said many times before, the college is committed to the safety and well-being of all of our students. The only way forward is to keep our focus on what’s best for them.”
In Juliet Suess’s April 2 article on the TEDx conference, junior CTSJ major Andrew Wilcox expresses his disillusion with the event, writing, “The first portion of the event was comprised of a group of salesmen whose successes have been established through the very systems that TEDxOxy should have aimed to re-imagine. Guest speakers betrayed the name of the event, ‘Reimagining the American Dream’ and perpetuated dominant discourses that I falsely hoped TEDxOxy would disrupt.”
As anyone who went to the event and stayed for all three sections will tell you, Wilcox’s analysis is patently false. The “group of salesmen” of which he speaks consists of two men, Dennis Rice and Dave Berkus. Rice and Berkus’s successes are indeed testaments to the “traditional” American Dream. But what Wilcox leaves out of his critique is that these were merely two of the day’s 15 speakers. Was Ella Turenne’s speech about providing higher education to people who are incarcerated a tribute to the status quo? Did Adrian Adams’s passionate talk on the need to include transgender and gender non-conforming people in public spaces “perpetuate dominant discourses?” Did David Gensler’s radical re-envisioning of sustainable building practices not “disrupt” the American Dream of mass development? If Alberto Retana’s account of fighting racialized student push-out in LAUSD didn’t reimagine the Dream, what would?
The reason we are so proud to have organized and/or spoken at this event is that it was a gathering space for many voices. None of the 15 speakers shared a similar vision of the American Dream; all were deeply informed by their personal experiences and perspectives. TEDxOxy, like all TED and TEDx events, invited audiences to share their views on each of the talks—hence the multiple “break-out sessions,” which were designed to facilitate discourse and critical evaluation. How disappointing that Wilcox would rather leave early and pass sweeping judgment on the entire event (of which he saw a third) to the school paper. How terrific, though, that the vast majority of students got into the spirit of the conference and appreciated it for the incredible opportunity it was.
Brian Erickson (Sophomore, Politics – TEDx Speaker) Sarah Tamashiro (Junior, Art History and Visual Arts– TEDx Speaker) Cholpon Ramizova (Junior, Diplomacy & World Affairs – TEDx Co-Manager) Somer Greene (Sophomore, Independent Pattern of Study in Community Based Marketing and Research – TEDx Speaker) Cordelia Kenney (Senior, History – TEDx Speaker)* Adrian Adams (First-year, CTSJ – TEDx Speaker) *Cordelia Kenney is a staff writer for the Occidental Weekly and was also a TEDx speaker; however, she was not involved in the writing of this letter.
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Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to to Ms. Landon’s article from last week’s issue entitled “‘Oxy Confessions’ fosters inclusive community dialogue, anonymously.” I have found a somewhat different outlook, and find the inclusive community dialogue happening few and far between. Landon is right that most of the posts “pertain to typical college social dynamics,” which I believe is what draws so many people to the site. But to classify Confessions as “a place where community members can share their voices with the knowledge that…their peers are listening” with the rosey prefix of “at its best” is to excuse the darker undercurrents of the page, and possibly even allow us as members of the Occidental community to believe this “dialogue” is enough.
I do commend the “host” of Confessions for posting hotline numbers in the more urgent emergencies that occasionally grace the timeline. And I do see great points being made on some posts. But in highlighting these, we passively legitimize the posts that, were they using a name, probably would see cries of cyber-bullying. But the lack of name is Confessions’ saving grace, even though at a school of 2,100 students, naming someone as “person working at ‘x’ with ‘y’ hair on this night” is hardly anonymous, and yet somehow is vague enough to allow someone to write nasty or fetishized things about them.
But beyond even forgiving these posts, we mustn’t forget that the so-called dialogue taking place on this page is often aimed at an anonymous post – akin to screaming at offensive graffiti even after the perpetrator is long gone. Online posts will get this campus nowhere, because even well-intentioned posts stoop to name-calling, erasing civility and any potential growth simultaneously. This is hardly only our fault – the culture of covert retribution on this campus is toxic, and it has forced our discussions of important issues to forums without identity and out of reach of the College’s arms. But to accept that Confessions functions as an at-best good thing for this campus is to ignore the pain and fear of every person “mentioned” with such disdain and violence that is all too common on the page.
Ian Mariani
(Senior, DWA)
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Dear Editor,
I’ve recently come upon a piece of our recent history as a student body I’d like to share. The discovery is a result of the announcement of Talib Kweli’s return to Oxy for Springfest 2014.
When Talib Kweli first came to Oxy in November of 2006, he was part of a Black Student Alliance organized program called “Exploration of Blackness.” The program, as indicated by the title, was a two-week long series of events dedicated to educate and foster discussion among Oxy students around Blackness and its impact on the lives of all members of American society. These events included a, but are not limited to, lecture by Angela Davis, performances and talks by Talib Kweli, as well as public viewings of Spike Lee’s Bamboozled. “Exploration of Blackness” received widespread support from the student body, cultural clubs, faculty, and administration, and was awarded the Equity Program of the Year Award for the ’06-’07 school year. It was this student-led effort that brought artists Lupe Fiasco and Dead Prez to Oxy in subsequent years. By the ‘09-’10 school year, the event had officially become what we now know as Springfest, and was taken over by Programming Board.
Today at Oxy, there is a narrative of discontent around the frequency of rap artists selected for Springfest. This is somewhat ironic considering firstly how relevant Hip-Hop is to contemporary Blackness and secondly that the origins of Springfest are rooted within discourse around Blackness. Springfest has since been divorced from its radical Blackness, social justice beginnings. As a result, it is no longer conceived as an event dedicated to helping foster campus-wide understanding of Black identity and its presence in all of our lives regardless of individuals’ identities. Instead, it has become simply a concert to turn up at.
We should not forget the history and original purpose of what once was explicitly Black radical programming at Oxy. As this campus continues to wrestle over issues concerning race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and justice in general, it is imperative that we look to the past to try and resurrect the once-progressive soul of the college. Going to a Macklemore or Talib Kweli concert is not enough to engage in critical discussion and action regarding prominent (and inescapable) social issues. In fact, we miss out on educational opportunities not offered in most classes by omitting that very element.
I would like to credit the alumni of Occidental for sharing this narrative with others and myself. This letter would not be possible without their institutional memory, without which history concerning Springfest would still be largely forgotten.
