All the Bees: A Closer Look at Beekeeping Club

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February 18, 2014

The recent disappearance of bees worldwide has stung the Occidental community, stimulating the reactivation of the college’s beekeeping club. While the club became inactive about a decade past, students revived it a few years ago in order to work more intimately with these interesting creatures.

“I joined because I really liked bees,” biochemistry major Franklin Maharaj (senior) said. “I love that bees are social insects with complex societies and social structures. There are queen bees, workers and drones.”

The Beekeeping Club provides students with an exciting opportunity to work with bees, eat fresh honey and learn about the issue of disappearing bees throughout the world. The Beekeeping Club hosts speakers on campus who cover subjects such as the biology of bees, different California species and how bees impact students’ lives.

Club members also look forward to suiting up in their beekeeping gear to take care of the hives located on Fiji and extract honey from them. The honey will be shared with the Occidental community at a fundraising event in the quad. The clubs are looking to bring in more bee species so that students can taste different kinds of honey. However, the club’s work with bees has been momentarily halted as members wait to be cleared medically.

“The biggest goal is fostering a better relationship with Emmons and figuring out the best way we can take care of the bees on campus. [Club adviser] Bruce Steele has five hives on campus, and we would love to work with them. In an effort to keep us safe, they have requested that we don’t work on it until we can sort out the allergy issue. They mandate EpiPens, but they don’t offer allergy testing or prescriptions, so it’s a catch-22,” Maharaj said.

While they haven’t been granted permission to make contact with the bees quite yet, the members are receiving training from Steele by working on a dry hive – a hive with no bees – in order to practice the art of beekeeping.

Steele maintains hives in several places. Maharaj mentioned that he actually tasted honey from bees that pollinated avocado trees in Altadena. Due to the different flowers around Los Angeles, the honey collected on Fiji and Altadena have very different flavors.

While members enjoy working with the honey bees, many also care deeply about engaging with these insects.

“The goal is to train people to work with bees before they leave Occidental. You can have a hive, even if you live in a city… People have had bee hives in balconies in apartments. Bees will pollinate the flowers. Unless they’re threatened, they generally don’t sting…” Maharaj said. “We are trying to get people to learn how bees work and how important they are for our survival. That’s the big problem with bees dying, because we are so dependent on them to pollinate our food.”

In addition to teaching people to make more meaningful contact with bees than painful stings or allergic reactions, the club aspires to spread knowledge in the Occidental community.

“Steele… loves to give lectures all about bees…There are a few different TED talks and movies about the disappearing bees, and we want to show those to the student body,” cognitive science major Camilla Folger (sophomore) said.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, over a million bee colonies are disappearing each year. That’s over a third of commercial bees that pollinate crops and make honey that is consumed worldwide. The industry will collapse if they continue to disappear. According to Reuters, millions of bee colonies have been transported to agricultural areas to help the wild colonies pollinate the Central Valley in California.

But after 15 years of research, scientists at the Public Library of Science believe that they have found the culprits – pesticides and mites – threatening our food supply.

“Bees are disappearing because of the use of a particular pesticide…Having fewer bees would devastate us because they pollinate our agriculture. I think in Japan right now, because their bees are gone due to all of their problems with the environment and nuclear energy, they artificially pollinate their food, which is a lot more costly and doesn’t work as naturally. We don’t want that for us. Hopefully, they’ll increase in number, and sustain our agriculture again,” Folger said.

A German company, Bayer, is the primary producer of this poisonous pesticide. It coats over 142 million acres of vegetables is a major ingredient in most gardening products.

According to Reuters, other causes of the disappearance include land development and monoculture agriculture. Monoculture agriculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing a single crop over a wide area for a large number of consecutive years – a process that often includes synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. This practice deprives the pollinators of their diverse food supply and has lead to the extinction of wild species that diversify the bee population’s gene pool. Planting genetically modified crops, which now contain toxic insecticides, poisons bees and weakens their immune systems.

The Beekeeping Club is taking a stance on this global issue by challenging the community to pay attention and move toward different practices – and its members are having fun with bees while they’re at it.

“You don’t have to work with bees to be in the club. If you want to learn more about where your food comes from, and our place in the world with respect to our environment, then by all means, join,” Maharaj said.

To join Beekeeping Club, contact the advisor, Bruce Steele at bruce@oxy.edu or any of the members. The club meets every Wednesday in Johnson 302 at 7:30 p.m. All club meetings are open.

Pedestrians must take back Eagle Rock Boulevard

By

Stephen Nemeth

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February 18, 2014

One of the advantages of living in a small neighborhood like Eagle Rock is how close together everything and everyone is. But one of the aspects of this area that does not prompt people to think “small community” is the traffic that constantly reminds us that we live in Los Angeles.

For a long time, traffic in Eagle Rock has been a very concerning point of controversy for residents who feel unsafe as cars speed down the streets. But in the past few years, there have been many improvements to streets in Eagle Rock, notably the Take Back the Boulevard initiative for Colorado Boulevard. Now that streets are safer, Eagle Rock residents should support these efforts and get out and walk or bike the streets more.

Besides the obvious environmental, financial and health benefits, increased walking and biking around town will also support local businesses and show that the improvements to our roads are making an impact. It will make more people aware that change is needed to accommodate a flourishing pedestrian and cyclist culture.

The Take Back the Boulevard initiative has made great strides in improving the conditions of Colorado Boulevard, making the arterial more hospitable for pedestrians and cyclists. Take Back the Boulevard was started in 2011, and since then, its members have held community meetings for suggestions and pushed for many improvements to Eagle Rock’s busiest and most problematic road.

Colorado Boulevard, before the advent of the 134 Ventura Freeway, was the main road between Glendale and Pasadena. Yet even after the 134 Freeway was built, the conditions of Colorado Boulevard never changed. Many sections of the road still retained the feeling of a freeway, according to adjunct professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Take Back the Boulevard member Mark Vallianatos. It is not uncommon to see many cars traveling down the boulevard at high speeds. In the past decade alone there have been numerous crashes, accidents, injuries and fatalities on Colorado Boulevard.

“What I think is good about the Take Back the Boulevard initiative on Colorado is the example of how people who live in an area can be fed up with some problems or dangers and come together and have an idea and start getting change,” Vallianatos said.

Colorado, and many other streets in Eagle Rock, still has much upon which to improve. More crosswalks, more street lighting, more medians, updated sidewalks and many other improvements can still be introduced. But first, more people must be seen walking the streets.

The Take Back the Boulevard initiative has reduced the number of traffic lanes on the boulevard, making it harder for vehicles to travel at excessive speeds. By creating bike lanes, new crosswalks and improving old crosswalks, the initiative has also encouraged less driving and more walking. It has become a much more welcoming atmosphere for pedestrians.

Another improvement on Colorado Boulevard (the most recent and the first of its kind in Los Angeles) is the introduction of rectangular rapid flashing beacons, which alert drivers when pedestrians are crossing the roads. These were recently put in at the boulevard’s intersections with El Rio, Glen Iris and Hermosa Avenues, according to Field Deputy for City Councilmember Jose Huizar and Take Back the Boulevard member Nate Hayward.

“Colorado is the heart of Eagle Rock,” Hayward said in an email. “It’s definitely improved due in large part to the community’s efforts.”

Beyond Eagle Rock, many other areas of Los Angeles are developing to create a much friendlier urban setting for people who walk, bike or favor public transit. Los Angeles citizens should recognize and take advantage of these changes. Los Angeles is known for wide roads that allow people to drive across lanes and around fellow drivers aggressively. But as more people walk the streets and take alternative modes of transportation, conditions can be different. Already in Eagle Rock we have seen how people can change a community by taking action. That action must be followed up.

In Eagle Rock, the next step is to implement changes on Eagle Rock Boulevard. On this street, cars can still travel at rather high speeds and the road’s highway feel completely undermines changes to roads to make them safer. People must walk the roads, visit local businesses and use bike lanes. Eagle Rock needs more pedestrian activity throughout the community in order to remain a small, friendly, pedestrian-safe neighborhood.

Whether it be for work, leisure or getting a quick bite to eat, walking around Eagle Rock will make the road more than just a space for motorists. Eagle Rock will be a neighborhood for everyone, for every business, and drivers will be more aware that they do not own the road; they have to share it.

Stephen Nemeth is an undeclared sophomore. He can be reached at snemeth@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklySNemeth.

Macklemore receives bad rep for good rap

By

Earl Park

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February 18, 2014

Rap is rhythm-assisted poetry. Rap is a representation of what’s going on in one’s mind and in one’s life. Rap is a craft, an art form that people find solace in because they can relate to the experiences expressed in verses. Many who have gone through tough times have articulated rap as something that was always there for them. It was something they could always count on and fall back on, it served as a form of inspiration and condolence; they did not face these tribulations alone.

The flack Macklemore has been receiving from the media as of late is confusing. Ever since the independent Seattle rapper hit the mainstream, all of his actions have been scrutinized; as a result, there have been countless articles condemning this artist as a privileged, insincere charlatan who uses progressive topics to sell records. Instead of focusing on the negative, critics should applaud or at least acknowledge this artist for attempting to bring positive change.

It is evident that Macklemore has skill. His flow and deployment of his impressive lexicon in his rap skeletons are inspiring. If one listens to “Welcome to the Culture” on his “Open Your Eyes” EP, it is apparent that his proficiency in spitting was advanced, even at age 17 when he recorded the track. The rapid-fire succession of his striking vocabulary to critique the music industry is impressive, especially considering his age.

By no means is he the best rapper; he is not in that conversation yet. However, skill-wise and content-wise he is a force to be reckoned with. Those factors added to the fact that he made it big independently calls for recognition and respect.

Spreading the love should be seen as encouraging – when did it become popular to criticize someone going against hate? Acts of kindness, like Macklemore’s music, that serve to balance the negativity in the news should be met with open arms.

In addition to bringing about positive change, Macklemore is representing the genre in the mainstream well. While hip-hop culture is teeming with skilled lyricists and masters of flow, mainstream rap is not always pretty. The genre, in the public eye, has garnered the reputation of being misogynistic, materialistic and shallow. The success of songs like Lil Wayne’s “Love Me,” with lyrics like, “And all she eat is d**k, she’s on that straight diet,” give support to these assumptions.

“Love Me” makes Macklemore’s pop hits sound like artistic masterpieces. Having an independent rapper break through to the public with uplifting songs is a refreshing break from the monotonous sounds that dominated the airwaves–to say the least.

More so than other genres of music, rap has always had a big storytelling element to it, as rappers are prone to recount the hardships that they experienced. The retellings serve as an assurance that it can get better in the future. For instance, Macklemore’s public announcements and songs concerning his alcohol and Oxycontin abuse paint a grim picture of addiction and inspires hope in recovery.

This independent rapper is one of the many artists that had a profound effect on the perseverance of many. Before we pass harsh judgment, let’s all ask ourselves: Do we really need to be contrarians condemning this rapper with such seemingly good intentions?

Earl Park is an undeclared sophomore. He can be reached at earlpark@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyEPark.

Vagina Monologues came, conquered

By

Cordelia Kenney

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February 18, 2014

With the flair and audacity of Beyoncé’s surprise album, last Friday’s performance of the Vagina Monologues took the classic show in original and personalized directions. New monologues grappled with abortion, masturbation, transsexual experiences and the fluidity of queerness, as well as street harassment. As with previous years, this year’s show generated a whirlwind of emotions, from screaming out loud laughing to silent, stunned awe.

“This year we tried to include a lot more voices that don’t get heard in these pieces and take out some of the ones that we find inherently problematic,” history and sociology double major Hailey Jures (senior) and co-president of Vagina Monologues said.

Jures, who has been involved with the Monologues for the past three years, said that she and other members of the group wanted to make the show more relevant to the Occidental community and to put the cast members’ voices directly into the show. The Monologues, written by playwright Eve Ensler, first debuted in 1996.

“Everyone in the show recognizes that it was revolutionary for its time, but the show hasn’t aged well,” politics major Estrella Lucero (senior) and Vagina Monologues co-president said. “We need to keep it new and relevant.”

To that end, the show incorporated five entirely novel pieces written by members of this year’s cast, including Lucero’s piece “Something Queer.”

“We wanted it to be applicable to the community rather than just what Eve has written before,” Diplomacy and World Affairs major and cast member Harneet Kaur (senior) said. “It’s our performance; our artistic input is in this year’s show. It’s super different than previous years, which makes it really special.”

The performance retained the heavier, more gut-wrenching monologues from the original production, including “Bad Men,” in which three cast members narrate experiences with abusive, violent men. “Say It” condemns Japan’s continued failure to apologize for systematized rape of “comfort women” during WWII. The cast members prefaced it with the news that one of the remaining comfort women died earlier this month, bringing the number of survivors down to 55.

“As an empowerment group, an activist-based group, we’re trying to challenge what’s been given to us and push [the Monologues] a little bit further,” Jures said. “We’re trying to adapt to our ever-changing world to really think critically about how we’re representing these ideas.”

While all performances provoked strong feelings, not all were feelings of anger or sadness. Interspersed between Eve’s uproarious pieces “Reclaiming Cunt” and “Wear/Say,” this year’s performance included originally-produced monologues like “Cuming of Age,” which explored masturbation and the shame women often associate with masturbating. The monologue recounted the occasional mishaps that happen when young women first experiment with masturbation as well as the awkwardness of walking in on a masturbating roommate.

Olivia Davis (first year) adapted “Angry Vagina,” a piece from the original, by rewriting significant chunks to give it it a new feel, according to Jures. Davis talked about how the world tends to not consider the comfort or happiness of vaginas, lamenting the lack of user-friendliness of tampons among other complaints.

Kaur also modified “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy” monologue, more affectionately known as “The Moaner,” by including Occidental-specific moans like the “Marketplace moan,” the “ResEd moan” and the “library moan.” The audience clapped and howled with laughter when Kaur shouted, “I think we can fit three in here!” at the end of the “ResEd moan,” jesting about Residential Education and Housing Service’s (REHS) tendency to put students in forced triples while making a less than subtle sexual innuendo.

Jures and Lucero intended to make the new pieces as accessible as possible and help facilitate dialogue after the show. The events of last spring brought the reality of sexual assault on campus into the open and last year’s performance, according to Jures, helped people think more critically about sexual assault.

Sexual violence at Occidental has not disappeared even if the discourse has quieted down, so Jures and Lucero hope that this year’s performance sparks more conversation about not only sexual violence but also sexuality in general. Both Lucero and Jures wanted to make the additions as relatable as possible for all students.

“Everyone who goes can find at least one piece or one part of one piece that they say, ‘Yes, I connect with that, that’s really special,’” Lucero said.

Lucero’s piece “Something Queer” especially resonated with the audience on Friday, garnering snaps of agreement throughout the monologue. In it, she dismantled the gay/straight binary by exploring from a personal perspective what it can mean to fall somewhere in between.

“It’s something you’ve never been able to put a name to,” Davis said. “Students can identify with the show in ways that they didn’t know they would identify with it.”

Although this year’s monologues covered a lot more thematic ground, Jures noted that violence against women remains the leading cause of harm to women worldwide, with one in three women experiencing sexual or physical assault in her lifetime. For that reason, violence, abuse and disrespect of women remained a prescient thread in the show.

“A lot of people have a hard time admitting there’s a problem,” Kaur said. “They think it’s not a real thing. Our duty is to help get a positive discourse going.”

To that end, Jures and the rest of the cast attempted to delve into the issue from different perspectives. Jures performed “The Best Boyfriend,” a piece adapted from the trans monologue series the “Naked Eye,” which probes the way we conceive of gender and sexuality based on our sexual organs. The monologue was prefaced with a startling statistic: While the average person has a one in 18,000 chance of getting murdered, a transgender woman of color has a one in eight chance of getting murdered.

Other new additions, like “My Body is Not a Public Space,” criticize the widespread acceptance of street harassment. Before the monologue, which closed the show, a cast member listed numerous statistics about women’s experience with street harassment, including that 99 percent of women report having experienced some form of street harassment, according to Stop Street Harassment.

“So many women will identify with the street harassment monologue because it’s something that we’re made to feel like it’s just a part of life, but you don’t have to deal with it,” Davis said. “[The Monologues] are important because they make a space for people who didn’t necessarily have the space to talk about these issues. What we’re doing this year is so different. These are issues in our own community; it’s personalized.”

In response to those who claim that the Vagina Monologues are no longer relevant or that their tactics are too “in your face,” statistics on domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of violence against women shared at Friday’s performance underscore the urgency of the show’s central mission.

“There are two types of people: the ones who are like, that’s disgusting, that’s so gross, who think it’s just a bunch of feminist bullshit,” Kaur said. “The other people are so excited and know they’re going to learn something from it and are there to support their friends.”

Lucero added that the Vagina Monologues are as relevant as ever precisely because of such arguments. A problematic understanding of how women should behave in society underlies the claim that the Monologues’ advertisements are “off-putting.” Using the same understated design as Beyoncé‘s surprise album for the evening’s program and for fliers in the root, however, this year’s cast let the power of the vagina speak for itself.

“To me, that brings up the idea that women should be quiet, as though there’s a standard of loudness we’re allowed to be,” Lucero said.

The group benefits Occidental in multiple ways, according to Lucero. It helps individual women in the cast feel more comfortable with the word “vagina” and all its attendant associations. This comfort, and the culminating production itself, radiates outward into the larger community to make discussion about women’s issues more accessible to all students.

“It’s this big beautiful space to learn from other amazing people,” Lucero said. “[The Monologues] have this dual purpose of building relationships with people in the group and they seek to empower the rest of the community. I’m so much more comfortable now talking to anybody and everyone about these issues.”

Kaur, who saw the show for the first time her first year at Occidental, remembered watching “The Moaner” monologue and thinking that she would never perform something like that. Yet four years later, Kaur moaned in 16 different tones and styles to the thrill of a packed Thorne Hall.

“People perceive [the Vagina Monologues] as an attack on all white males, but it’s totally not,” Kaur said. “It’s a mirror to society. It’s really important to listen because people don’t listen.”

The hope among all cast members is that the excitement and energy from Friday’s performance will spill over into the rest of the community, so that students—male or female—who find the words “clitoris” or “vagina” too aggressive can more ably enter discussions about issues raised in the Monologues.

“It’s very interesting that it’s 2014 and people are still scared to talk about vaginas,” Lucero said.

Undeclared sophomore Magda Wittig, who sculpted the steel vagina outside of Thorne and performed in Friday’s show, described her inspiration for the piece as coming from the stigma around menstrual blood.

“You’re in this world because of [menstrual blood]—it’s something mystical and beautiful, yet it’s shoved under the table and not put in public spaces at all,” Wittig said. “It’s not in the public eye in any way, and I wanted to challenge that a little bit.”

Wittig envisioned audience members walking through the sculpture and interacting with it before and after the show, yet was surprised to see the degree of hesitancy from some students.

“I wanted it to be something that was strong but had an ethereal shape, kind of like a uterus doing a backbend,” Wittig said of her sculpture. “My dream was to show the intricacies of the female anatomy and what would it be if it took a shape. Collectively our uteruses are doing a backbend, contorting for other people.”

Lucero announced after the show last Friday that the group raised over $5,000 in ticket and t-shirt sales for Planned Parenthood and Peace over Violence. By last Wednesday, the group had already raised $4,500.

“It’s up to the larger campus now, not just these ten women, to change campus culture,” Jures said. “We need other people to take it and run with it.”

Tuning in with KOXY's key players

By

Jeremy Childs

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February 18, 2014

They are the unsung heroes of KOXY radio: the playlist crafters, the mix masters, the tastemakers of Occidental. They are the KOXY DJs. Whether they started their show in pursuit of fun or fame, these gurus dictate much of the musical conversation on campus. Here are four interviews with a selection of DJs that aim to represent the quality and diversity KOXY has to offer.

Show: Folk Signals
Airs: Sundays at 4 p.m.
DJs: Geology major Wayana Dolan (sophomore) and physics major Alexander Lumnah (sophomore)
Genre: Folk
Favorite Jam: “Going Home” by Andrew Bird

JC: Why did you join KOXY?

WD: “Both of us individually were thinking about doing a folk music show and then we were hanging out with mutual friends and I said ‘I wanna do a folk show!’ and Alex said ‘wait, me too!’ We didn’t know each other at that point, so [the show] is kind of how we got to know each other.”

JC: What do you like to do during your show?

WD: “One thing we both like to do is look for local artists, and if we can find out where they’re playing, it’s cool if we can announce a show that’s coming up. There’s a lot of folk in L.A., which is surprising!”

JC: What’s been your favorite thing about having a KOXY show?

AL: “It’s an hour every week to just listen to music and talk about it.”

WD: “It also makes you find new music. I’ve learned about a lot of new artists while searching for things to play on the show.”

Show: Cross Joint
Airs: Mondays at 5 p.m.
DJs: Undeclared Miles French (first year) and undeclared Joseph Phuong (first year)
Genre: Hip-hop
Favorite Jam: “A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)” by OutKast

JC: Why did you join KOXY?

JP: “We both spend a lot of time sitting in rooms playing music all day, so we figured we might as well do something productive with it.”

JC: What artists would you never in a million years play on your show?

MF: “Billy Ray Cyrus. He got 24,000 dislikes on his new video, so that means 24,000 people thought it was so bad they didn’t even stop watching it, they had to say they hated it.”

JP: “My answer would be Dave Matthews Band.”

JC: What has been your favorite show you’ve done so far?

MF: “We had a show last semester with our friend Spencer which was pretty fun.”
JP: “It was weird because he didn’t want to be there. It was funny.”

Show: Drop the Bass
DJs: Economics major Jack Durwood (junior) and studio art major Raven Juergensen (junior)

Genre: Electronic

Airs: Mondays at 8 p.m.
Favorite Jam: “1 2 Step Mashup” by DOSVEC

JC: Why did you join KOXY?

JD: “A lot of the reason we wanted to do this was to share music with people and be a part of this community. I like the idea of people being able to find more music and not just have it in the background.”

JC: What role does each of you play during the show?

RJ: “Jack finds all the music and makes the playlist. Sometimes he involves me in the playlist-making, but mostly he makes the playlist and I comment on it.”

JD: “A lot of the fun in the show is getting Raven’s reactions and commentary because she hasn’t heard most of the songs. It’ll be her interrupting halfway through saying ‘Oh my god guys, this drop is so cool!’”

JC: What song will you never play on your show?

RJ: “Anything by Lana Del Rey.”
JD: “I hate ‘Animals’ by Martin Garrix. The first time I heard it I thought it was a joke.”

Show: Mad Sounds
DJ: Media Arts and Culture major Maddy Farkas (sophomore)
Genre: Alternative
Airs: Thursdays at 12 p.m.
Favorite Jam: “It’s About Time” by Young the Giant

JC: Why did you join KOXY?

MF: “I like giving the people the option to get to know my music taste. Before I had the show, people would always come up to me and ask me ‘Oh, could you give me some music suggestions?’ and I said ‘Well, I don’t know what your taste is!’ Now, if you want to know what I listen to, just listen to my radio show and go from there.”

JC: How did you come up with the title for your show?

MF: “My name is Maddy, so ‘mad’ is kind of a pun. On the new Arctic Monkeys album there’s a song called ‘Mad Sounds.’ It was my favorite on the album, so it worked out very well for me. It was the first song I ever played on the show!”

JC: What are some of the things you like to do during your show?

MF: “I’ll usually introduce a song and if I have some sort of story to go along with the song I’ll talk about that. Sometimes I’ll have marathon days. I’ve played an hour of Vampire Weekend; I’ve played an hour of U2. I also give shout-outs to my mom or whoever is listening.”

Warner Brothers doesn't Lego of Youth

By

Will Westwater

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February 18, 2014

Lego, one of the most popular toys in the world, now has a movie with an equally ambiguous title, “The Lego Movie.” Warner Brothers studios and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have created a star-studded animated movie made entirely of Lego pieces. The film captures the open-ended and exploratory nature of the toy while still providing a heartwarming story that kept the audience laughing from start to finish.

The wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) tries to protect the “Kragle” super-weapon from the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell), but the Kragle falls into Business’ tiny Lego hands. Vitruvius warns Business of a prophecy of which a person called “The Special” will find a piece that is capable of stopping the Kragle and use it to save the Lego world. Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) an ordinary construction worker, stumbles upon the piece making him “The Special.” Will the prophecy come true? And will that be enough to save the Lego world?

The actors are on-point throughout and everybody will recognize at least one (or several redundant) celebrity voices during their time with the film. The cast list, without spoiling too much, includes Will Arnett, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.

Though it is digitally animated, all the parts involved in the movie are Lego pieces. That is to be expected in a Lego movie, but what is surprising is that even the fire, water, smoke and steam are all done with Lego pieces. Fights and action sequences whiz by as the characters build objects, weapons and vehicles in a fast-paced, consistently dazzling display of Lego prowess.

The sound design often breaks what the audience might expect. Lego-centric sounds, puns and jokes are explored, but they never over-use any one element of the humor. It ranges from subtle clicks of the pieces to real laser sounds coming from the guns, and occasionally catches the audience off guard with a ship in the sea that sounds like a man just making a “whoosh” noise with his mouth. The nuances are incredible and unlimited.

“The Lego Movie” has the classic message of the everyman as a hero, but with a Lego twist that reminds the audience of the merits of being creative in a world that often only follows the instructions.

With its visually satisfying design, laugh-out-loud hits and perfectly timed surprise cameos from Lego franchised pop-culture mega hits, “The Lego Movie” is a must-see for all ages. As the cast from “The Lego Movie” would say “Everything is awesome!”

Tweet your reactions to “The Lego Movie” @WeeklyWest

Leno leaves on a high note

By

Noel Hemphill

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February 18, 2014

Four thousand six hundred and ten episodes later, James “Jay” Leno’s stint as host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” is over.

Feb. 6 marked the end of an era when Leno finally walked away from NBC. He went out on an incredible high note, having the best “Tonight Show” ratings in 22 years. His final episode included guests Billy Crystal, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian and Garth Brooks, all who enthusiastically celebrated and serenaded the comic. Even President Barack Obama got in on the tomfoolery during the grand finale, offering Leno ambassadorship to Antarctica. The host danced in the studio with his wife and celebrated his long run before driving away from the Burbank set in one of his prized classic cars. Without any word of future plans, Leno appeared relaxed as he headed into quasi-retirement – and at 63 years old, it was about time.

Within hours of Leno’s departure, news outlets and bloggers were buzzing with theories on how new host Jimmy Fallon would take on the program. Fallon is a fairly young player in the comedy game, but comes with an impressive resume, including a wide range of successful film roles and a strong run on Saturday Night Live. Fallon’s accessible humor, friendly stage presence and penchant toward silliness makes him an easy favorite. Almost immediately after Leno’s final episode, advertisements for Fallon’s takeover and Seth Meyer’s appointment to Fallon’s old post were omnipresent. NBC was clearly enthusiastic about the fresh faces they were bringing to the screen: It had been disclosed by The New York Daily News that Leno was paid several million to leave before his contract expired.

New York Times writer Alessandra Stanley synthesized the situation when she wrote, “Mr. Leno’s emotional last bow was poignant not because he is a legendary figure who can never be replaced, but because he is the nice guy who worked really hard, did a great job, and will barely be missed come Monday morning.”

Stanley’s remarks ring true. Leno moved up quickly in the ranks, overcoming his struggles with dyslexia and doing grunt work as a writer for both Carson and Letterman. Leno brought on guests that hosts only dreamed of talking to, ranging from celebrity stalkers to President Barack Obama, the latter of whom marked the first time a president currently in-office appeared on a late night talk show. Leno asked the questions other hosts were too afraid to ask. Though he received plenty of flack for the O’Brien fiasco, he remained stalwart in bringing up the ratings for the network that first gave him a chance. By many reports, he earned every penny of his suspected $32 million yearly salary.

With plenty of savings in the bank and over 190 vintage cars and motorcycles to drive, Leno will surely find some creative ways to fill his free time.

All the Bulbs: A Closer Look at the Prison Beautification Club

By

Wellesley Daniels

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February 18, 2014

Students and faculty coming together to plant seeds is not an unusual sight here at Occidental – figuratively and literally. One group of gardeners is sowing more than just seeds. After learning the tricks of the trade here on campus, the Prison Beautification Club (PBS) brings the fruits of its labor – skills and produce alike – to the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Norco. Its members teach inmates how to garden in an effort to simultaneously aid in their rehabilitation process, improve prison grounds and raise incarceration awareness.

President and Spanish studies major Richelle Jurasek (junior) found inspiration for the club while volunteering at the Prison Education Project (PEP), a nonprofit that works in collaboration with universities to expand educational opportunities for inmates in the state of California.

“Our club is the first of its kind. Richelle wanted to start something a little different because you don’t exactly get to work hands-on with the prisoners in PEP. She wanted a program that could directly teach them something and also make an impact. So she created
this,” PBC co-president and Group Language major Janet Lee (junior) said.

Though the Norco prison is advertised as a rehabilitation center, it offers few rehabilitative programs as of now. Cynthia Y. Tampkins, the warden of Norco, has been working to generate more therapeutic projects.

“The prison had specifically wanted to start a gardening program, so we came in at the perfect time. We told [Tampkins] we’ll provide all the materials, the supplies, the funding, and all they need to provide are the willing inmates,” Lee said.

Tampkins is not the only person at Norco appreciating the club’s work. The Community Resource Manager at Norco, Delinia Lewis, is praises the club for their efforts.

“It’s not every day you find a group of dedicated youth who have chosen to put down the video gaming control and pick up a shovel to make a difference in someone’s life,” Lewis said. “The Prison Beautification Club is one small way to show our inmate population that their lives have value.”

Club members find gardening to be a relaxing and hands-on experience that is easy to pick up.

“Gardening has this great effect where you’re working
with mother nature and it’s really calm[ing], and the feeling you get after having something you put in the ground grow is the coolest feeling ever,” PBC Vice President and biology major Sabrina Moffly (junior) said.

Though they held their first meeting of the semester one week ago, the presidents of PBC have already been in active contact with Norco and Tampkins, crafting three detailed initial projects along with an extensive list of short and long-term goals.

“For our first project we want to plant tall vegetable seeds because they don’t need a lot of water, which is advantageous in this drought. Our second project is raised beds. Different salads, lettuce, turnips. They grow very quickly, so inmates can see directly what they’re creating. And then, finally, [we’d like to create] one bed for more plants that take longer to grow, like melons and tomatoes,” Lee said.

In order to make visits as productive as possible, members are required to become well-versed on particular plants and to practice gardening on campus.

“We’re going to set up [groups of] either twos or threes and they’re going to become the experts on tomatoes, say, and they’re going to teach the inmates everything they know about tomatoes and how to take care of tomatoes,” Moffly said.

Gardening on campus is also a way to engage members while the club presidents sort out the logistics of prison visits with the warden.

“It’s a bit frustrating that we’re off to sort of a slow start. There are a lot of bureaucratic and political hoops to jump through,” Moffly said.

Organized and careful planning are not enough to get past strict prison rules. It also requires creativity and patience.

“That’s the problem [with] working with a prison: thinking about all the details. Initially with our raised bed projects we wanted to bring all materials there and bring beds there, possibly have inmates help. But you can’t bring hammers and nails into a prison because they’re technically weapons,” Lee said. “You have to be very clever and think outside the box in order to bring these things in.”

The club hopes to make its first visit in two to three weeks, if all goes well. In the long-term, the presidents aim to create a gardening book, find a way to get the food they grow back into the prison’s kitchen and even branch out to different colleges in the state of California.

“Looks like we have a bright future. We really want to make an impact. We have high hopes. And our high hopes are going to stay high. It’s going to take some creative thinking and some working within the system, which is frustrating, but we’ll get there,” Moffley said.

To join Prison Beautification Club, email prisonbeautclub@oxy.edu. The club meets on Thursdays in Johnson 106 at 5:00 p.m. All club meetings are open.

The Music and the Misery

By

Jack Butcher

-

February 18, 2014

Let’s clear the air before we get going: at some point since 2011, we’ve all cried to Adele’s “Someone Like You.” I have, you have – we have all bawled our eyes out and all of us have to accept this fact and move forward with our lives as best we can. If for some reason you have lived under a rock or had no access to the internet since then, here is the song I am talking about:

What makes the audience susceptible to that song and other sad tracks as well? Some people might identify with the lyrics, though if you connect with stalking your ex and telling them unannounced that you will date someone who looks and acts just like them, you might need some professional help. Others might feel an emotional attachment to the instrumentals, the simple but effective piano riff that compliments Adele’s vocals throughout the song. Could there be a rational explanation for our unbridled sobbing? It is a question that has been asked for generations: do we listen to pop music because we are miserable, or are we miserable because we listen to pop music?

Surprisingly, their is a reason to the madness and sadness. Even if you are not literate in musical theory or can list your top five sad songs of all time, human brains are hardwired to recognize when certain songs are supposed to make you feel unreasonably good or guilty that you haven’t called you grandmother in over a week. While I am not a scientist, I will attempt to make sense of why people react so strongly to certain tunes. Yes, even a song sung by Bret Michaels. There is no shame in that.

On a basic level, the human brain can subliminally distinguish between “happy” and “sad” notes. Even if you have never heard a certain song before, you can tell if it is supposed to be an uplifting or depressing work. The difference is whether or not a note or chord is major or minor. Major chords tend to sound more upbeat and uplifting, whereas songs in a minor key are usually sadder and make you evaluate your life decisions more intensely. Take R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” for example. Here is the original version:

And a version reworked to be in a major key:

Hear how the latter is a catchy, radio-ready single and the other an endearing, if depressing number? However, as stated earlier, this is just the basic level of understanding the science behind sad songs.

Part of the reason music listeners enjoy depressing tunes lies in the way in the structure of the song’s melody. The term is known as “appoggiatura.” In layman’s terms, this means a note in the melody that deliberately clashes or sounds wrong with the others, not so much as to be completely out of place, but enough to make your brain subconsciously question why it is there. Once the song returns to the “correct” notes, you instinctively calm down and want to apologize to every person you have ever done something horrible to. A perfect example of this is “Rainbow Connection,” sung by the legendary Kermit the Frog.

When Kermit sings, “Someday we’ll find it/ the rainbow conn-,” it is a natural flow, but as soon as he says “-nec,” the listener feels a subliminal unease, at least until the frog returns to the “regular” melody with “-tion. The lovers, the dreamers, and me.” It is this transition that sends waves of emotion and nostalgia over you, and most likely the primary reason the song was nominated for an Academy Award back in the day.

Wouldn’t it not be great if every popular song reminded us of the good times, and not that night where we “accidentally” texted our ex to tell them just how much we missed them? Ideally, the answer would be yes, but in reality, many listeners at some point (if not most of the time) will get satisfaction of depressing songs, and the reason is because they make us cry.

When a person starts shedding tears, the human body naturally releases dopamine into the system, making one feel good (eventually) despite all the painful memories from that high school breakup that are being brought to the forefront of our consciousness. This makes it hard to quit listening to those songs: even though I know I should not listen to The Smiths all day, I do it anyway, because after hours of lyrics about doomed relationships and being socially awkward, I can actually feel better about my life. This reaction can occur for any song that reminds a person of a certain period in their life, providing a rational explanation for listening to Poison or Cinderella before falling asleep in the early hours of the morning. Because listeners really needed a rational explanation for “Don’t Know What You Got “Till It’s Gone).” Seriously, because there is no other reason why a band like this could evoke such strong reactions from listeners.

So when you start crying to Usher in the Green Bean, or just have to listen to The Used to make sense of all the stress in your life, don’t feel the need to explain yourself. Know that you are not alone, and that pop music will always elicit a response from listeners, no matter how cheesy the song is. With that, I am off to listen to My Chemical Romance and The National, and I will enjoy every minute of it.

Jack Butcher is a senior history major. He can be reached at butcher@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyJButcher.

Greek Life's exclusivity plagues Occidental

By

Juliet Suess

-

February 17, 2014

Bids from Greek Life came out Thursday night, and despite the claims by members of Greek Life to be “inclusive,” many students were turned away with no bid.

That is to be expected. Rush participants know that it is a possibility, but no one ever thinks it will be them that is turned away.

Those who rush are often looking for somewhere to fit in; many feel alone and want a group of friends to accept them. Getting turned away from a sorority or fraternity amplifies the feeling of loneliness that they already have.

Rush is a judgmental and excluding process, and at a big school that is fine because there is so much to fall back on. But as Riley Kimball wrote, fraternities and sororities have little place at a small, liberal arts college.

It is hypocritical to claim that Greek organizations are inclusive when the entire process of rushing, bidding and pledging is exclusive. Even the parties Greek Life throws are exclusive. Sure, not all the people that attend the parties are Greek, but a majority of them are, and the rest are the friends of Greeks. Rarely is that circle expanded.

To make matters worse: the sororities on Friday evening ran through the Quad yelling and cheering about the new pledges.

Words cannot even describe the selfishness behind that action. All the people who were rejected by these groups could have witnessed that and twice felt the rejection that was already doled out to them.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of places in L.A. that are great for yelling and cheering, probably the same number of great photo-ops. Since their money does not go toward alcohol (obviously because that’s illegal) or throwing awesome open parties, they could have instead spent the money on a bus to take the girls somewhere off-campus.

It is bad enough having to see the pictures on Facebook that constantly remind rejected rushers of the pain and loneliness they feel. But to have to witness it firsthand is incredibly more painful.

And of course, rather than considering the feelings of others, the sororities continued yelling, smiling and taking pictures.

They should celebrate; they all made new friends and became a part of a probably great group of people. No one can deny the bonds that Greek Life creates.

But how hard is it to think outside of that and consider other people’s feelings?

Apparently pretty difficult.

Furthermore, at a small school like Occidental, students are constantly reminded of their rejection; they are repeatedly confronted by the Greek t-shirts, their peers who got in and their peers who rejected them, which is yet another reason Greek Life does not belong on such a small campus.

Frankly, it is just mean to not let everyone into a Greek organization at a small school. There are probably reasons for it, but those reasons should not outweigh the feelings of those searching for a social home. Again, Occidental preaches acceptance and inclusiveness but doles out something different.

Juliet Suess is a senior ECLS major. She can be reached at suess@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyJSuess.

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