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The Other Side of Taking Time Off by Kristi Kamesch

Spring 2015 has been the most difficult semester of my college career, but I’m not taking any classes.  I never thought I’d take any time off of school.  I’ve lived by the idea that the sooner I get my degree and sort out my future, the better.  UT has been my first priority since the moment I received my acceptance letter in 2012, that is, until my mom got cancer.  

I had just returned from a wonderful visit with my boyfriend’s family in the freezing north and was spending a couple days with my own family before returning to Austin for the weekend.  Two days before my scheduled leave, I accompanied my mother to the hospital at the direction of her primary doctor.  Over the next 16 days, my aunt and I sat in my mother’s hospital room watching her undergo tests and procedures all leading up to her final diagnosis: stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  Goodness, I cried.  

My mom and I 

Each day in the hospital was filled with overwhelming waves of disbelief, realization and acceptance, on repeat.  Perpetually exhausted from small meals and little sleep, it took a long time for me to absorb the shock of what had been the reality even before my mother’s diagnosis.  Cancer had decided to disrupt our lives, and we were terribly late getting in on the joke.

The Friday before all of my friends returned to school, I cancelled my registration.  I had no plan after I did that and no idea what my life would begin to look like in the coming months and years.  I unconsciously decided to live in terms of my mother for the time being, because we still don’t know how long her time will be. I “kept it together” fairly well most of the time, but driving to and from the hospital in my car became my cry sessions.  Here’s a tip for people going through tough times: cry hysterically in your car to extremely loud pop hits; it might be better than therapy.  If only Tyler Durden had found KISS FM before his support groups, he might’ve saved himself a few personality crises.

The weeks following my mother’s discharge from the hospital were truly the hardest of them all.  Her symptoms from the chemotherapy were drastic.  Each day felt like a week, and when I think back to those late January days, all I see is irrelevant, empty space.  Nothing but simple household chores filled my time.  It’s possible that I don’t remember my state of mind during those weeks because I just didn’t have one.  At least, not one worth remembering.

Since her first month of chemotherapy, my mom’s health has been improving.  The size of her tumors has reduced, and her chemotherapy symptoms have decreased in intensity.  In light of this small improvement, I’ve decided to rejoin the UT community for Fall 2015.  My life has been paused for the past four months, which in itself has been surreal.  From age 5 to age 20, I’ve framed my life in terms of school, so I have been finding it really difficult to alter the parameters of my daily life and my short term goals to accommodate this new status quo.  Only once I decided to return to school in Fall 2015 did I have the courage to write this small post.  To speak about my experiences holistically with this new sort of life would take the length of a Brontë novel--Charlotte, not Emily. I miss my old priorities, of school and student organizations.  I miss feeling the ambition of internships and planning for my professional future.  I realize that I’ll be back in the swing of things soon, but I’ve also been in this static place for too long.   I’m ready to return to my beautiful Austin life.  

To all of my friends and fellow students finishing up your final semester of this 2014-2015 school year, relish it.  Truly realize how fortunate you are to be pushing your life forward at UT.  Awful things like cancer can be unceremoniously random, and you don’t know if it will happen to you or someone close to you.  As some of you sprint away from school and classes post-finals, I’ll be coming as soon as possible to finally resume my UT life.  

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Existentialism At A Bar by Kellie Stone

So I made the all too common mistake of watching an existential movie, Waking Life, before going downtown last night.  And if Buckshots or any other bar on sixth doesn’t make you want to think about the meaning of life and how to pierce through the bubble of waking consciousness, then I don’t know what will.

Actually, my weird circumstances of pondering philosophy while at a bar were really a chance of fate and coincidence. My friend had told me about Waking Life a while ago, and for some reason I was feeling kind of philosophical (that would make a great Tinder profile bio, dibs on that), so I decided to watch it.  After feeling as though I just dived into the world’s undersea treasure chest of the secrets of life and resurfaced covered in gold, I felt the need to be around other human beings just to get myself out of my head.  So to sixth’s defense, I was going crazy even before I got to the land of black Xs and cherry vodka sours.

Waking Life is a mindblowing 100 minutes of discussion of philosophical and psychological ideas that I had not even thought of.  Although, I guess that statement isn’t true: I had these questions in my mind, but the answers suggested had never surfaced in my brain.  All the knowledge I received about the ways in which we can look at life and consciousness manifested in me in this one question I had during my whole bar hop later that night: am I dreaming?

Currently in our known life we have two states of consciousness: awake and dreaming.  We are able to play around with these states a bit (think lucid dreaming), but we have grown accustomed to understanding the concept of a dream world separate from our waking world.  However, what if our waking world is actually a dream world?  Let’s add another layer of consciousness to ourselves.

When you die, there are still 6-12 minutes of lucid brain activity after everything else has shut down.  In dreaming, the concept of time is malleable: your dream could last hours while in your waking life it has only been a minute.  So, during this 6-12 minutes of non-alive brain activity, it is possible to conjure up a dream life and have it last for years.  Theoretically at this moment we could be living a dream life in our dying body’s brains.  How do we surface to this baseline?  How do we swim up into the real waking life?

But then if we look at death, we could say that death is just a dream life outside of the confines of time.  Conceptually this makes sense in the same way that it is impossible for our brains to comprehend the concept of ourselves not existing.  But this still confuses me, because in this theory I do not know where to place myself: am I living a waking life pre-death or am I living a dream life post-death?  What is my current reality?

We create the line between the dream world and the waking world from the line of reality.  Reality is what takes place in our waking world; but if our waking life is actually a dream life in another time, then we trouble this question of reality.  Reality could then be defined as anything that is happening at that instant.  This would mean that what takes place in our dream life is just as real as what takes place in our waking life.

At this point of my realizations, I found myself still unable to answer my fundamental question of whether I was dreaming or not.  At one of the bars, my roommate tried to debunk the idea that I was dreaming while minimally dancing to “Party in the USA” (but really dj, step up your game man).  She said, “If you were dreaming, my phone would stand up by itself on this table.”  She then tried to make her phone stand up on its own and, as expected, it fell down.  But this logic doesn’t make any sense: just because you realize you are in a dream doesn’t mean you can control it or know what will happen.  Even in lucid dreaming you cannot control everything.  And, if our waking life is actually the dream life of an alternate state, this is extra true.  I can’t control the actions of the people around me, even if I realize I’m in a dream state and these are my dream characters.  They will say and do whatever they will say and do, even if it is a figment of my imagination or my brain conjuring up all their actions, words, and stories.

But of course these are all just (really cool and mindblowing and groundbreaking) theories.  You can’t live your life constantly thinking about the possibility that you are in a dream life, because at some point your roommates will poignantly tell you to “please shut up about this dream thing”, and you will have to allow yourself the small pleasures of life, like watching heeled giraffe girls stumble through the streets, without wondering about dreaming and consciousness and death.  But, in the unfortunate case you ever find yourself downtown on sixth listening to Jason Derulo tell you how sexy you are when you don’t speak English, it is perfectly acceptable, nay, even encouraged, to wonder if you are actually in a dream.  The answer is yes, yes you are.

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Two Mexican Parties by Julián Muñoz Villarreal

A Mexican party sounds amazing to me. A Mexican party sounds like Easter Sundayin the Upper Rio Grande Valley, where eggshells are filled with colorfulconfetti flying through the air. A Mexican party smells like red molé slowlysimmering over a fire. A Mexican party rings with laughter, reminding me oflotería, Christmas tamales, and tequila slowly poured and even more slowly sipped. A Mexican party is about friends, family, holidays, weddings, births, and deaths.

A Mexican party has never been in West Campus. A Mexican party has never had people in ponchos or sombreros.  A Mexican party has never been about glorifying a process that is slowly turning the Valley, the land of my family, into a proverbial police state on the edge of a drug war. A Mexican party has never been about belittling huge social issues into a few simple-minded stereotypes like undocumented immigrants and the Border. A Mexican party has never been about a sparsely populated archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but somehow a Mexican party is.

I am angry.

But I am not mad at them. Not those individuals that planned that party. I’m not even mad at those that came dressed in grossly insensitive costumes. I am not mad at Greek life, nor the university, nor white people.

But I am angry. I am angry because I am damn tired. In my four years at this university I have seen three racially charged parties planned, Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Delta Delta 2011, Alpha Tau Omega 2012, and now this. All of them singularly stereotyping Latinos and Mexicans. Every time there is shock and measured reactions from the student body and the administration, and yet, another party is thrown another year. It is inconceivable that during one of the most diverse periods in this university and even the nation’s history that this can still happen. I am angry that I am thought of so little as a peer at this university that no one stopped what happened.

I am mad, I am infuriated even, that we live in a society that thinks so little of my rich and vibrant culture and people that it allows one racist party after another. Each and every time this happens, it still doesn’t generate enough empathy and understanding to change. Each and every time, there are so little repercussions, from individuals and the university administration, and people still think it is okay to do this. I am tired of being angry each and every time, again and again. And to what end?

What am I to do now in the face of such a world? Am I to simply resign myself to a system that can stereotype an entire culture, even before these parties were even conceived? Shall I simply allow Mexican parties to be defined by belligerent people in ponchos, sombreros, and poorly chosen tequila?

It will not matter now, because now a Mexican party is not a Mexican party. It has been taken away from me and morphed into racism, stereotypes, and ignorance.

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2015: The Year of the Successful Resolution by Amanda Garcia

At the start of every year, thousands upon thousands of people nationwide make New Year’s Resolutions. They wake up on January 1st wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, like children on their first day of school, eager to begin working toward the goals that they set for themselves. Moms and aunts and second-cousins-twice-removed post all over your Facebook feed about their new gym memberships and yoga mats and online seminars about how to pick up chicks. The New Year turns January into a month full of hope and ambition.

I personally haven’t ever made any resolutions for myself until this year. However, I have heard plenty of stories about resolutions from my more driven friends, mostly involving giving up or forgetting their resolutions halfway through the year. The statistics match those stories, too, which is a little discouraging for first-timers like myself. According to a study by the University of Scranton, 24% of Americans who make a resolution never succeed in achieving their goal, and only 8% of resolution-makers are successful.

To be honest, I immediately regretted looking up those statistics. Here I was, making my first resolution ever, and the stats were telling me that I was, more likely than not, going to absolutely fail and fall flat on my face (which, I’m sure, would ultimately result in a complete lack of faith in the very idea of resolutions, and would in turn haunt me at the start of every new year for the rest of my existence).

The potential for a life-long haunting was enough motivation for me to look into things that I could do to make sure that I didn’t fall short. And besides, if I let every statistic I read affect life as I know it, where would I be?

With a Google search and minimal digging on Pinterest, I found tips for following through with my plans for 2015.

Photo Courtesy of The Iron You 

Tip #1: Be Specific

My New Year’s Resolution was “to take better care of my body”, as written on the sticky note that I keep stuck to the shelf above my desk.  This is a broad statement, which according to the Scranton study, is not a good idea to have as a resolution. Explicit resolutions tend to have better results, apparently, so I changed my sticky note to something a little more specific. “Work out at least twice a week.” Hopefully, the wonderful folks at Scranton would approve of that one.

                  Tip #2: Make A Plan and Write It Down

This little tidbit came from Dr. Kirsti A Dyer at Colombia College, who exclaims that tracking my progress will (hopefully) give me a sense of accomplishment, and therefore further motivate me to continue making strides toward my goal.

                  Tip #3: Plan Rewards

Lifehack.org encourages rewards as “great encouragement to keep you going during the hardest days”, when you just want to curl up in bed and eat a pint of ice cream and watch classic movies all day and pet your cat and not go do whatever it is that you know you should be doing.

  After all of those wonderful pieces of advice, I feel much better about my New Year’s Resolution for 2015 (or, as Dr. Dyer advised to call it, my New Year’s Intention). There’s still a statistically good chance that I won’t make it through the entire year, but at least I’m putting some real effort and planning into it!  At the very least, I will have learned more about how to motivate myself to reach my goals in life.

Good luck to any other brave souls out there with resolutions and high hopes! May this year treat you well, my friends. 

Editor's Note: If you want to stay especially motivated, visit our Facebook Photo Album 'Monday Inspiration'.  We got you! 

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We support this and hope your professors do as well!

Good luck starting classes next week!

- The Liberator Team

Template for Preferred Name/Pronouns Letter to Teachers:

Dear Professor [name],

My name is [Preferred name], and I will be attending your course [blank] on [days] at [time] this [term]. I am transgender and have not yet legally changed my name. On your roster is my legal name, [Legal name]. I would greatly appreciate it if you refer to me as [Preferred name] and use [pronouns] when referring to me. Thank you for your understanding, and I look forward to starting your course next week.

Sincerely,

~[Preferred name]

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The Coldness Settles. by Austin Reynolds

Gingerly you looked into me

Timidly you smiled

We both reached with intensity

Blinding judgment with searing desire

      Your softness eased the tepid fear

And distanced you from the frost

Lust settled into parched soil

Giving life, growing nothing

      The fever kept us wrapped together

Nights were dreams of knitted binding

Filled with passion, sweat, with primal grasping

Heated exchanges ever-lasting

Silence.

      Caressing hands, legs intertwining

Breathy whispers through humid voices

Sun-soaked visions with spice and passion

Thirsty promises never quenched

      Little lies nestled under good intentions

Breaking, Cracking, Leaking

Raised skin from scratches and cuts

Metallic glances, lips welded

      Nights became less aesthetic

The warmth was drained, bullets fired

You removed your hand from my torn heart

And the world sucked on the arid remains

      Then I felt the seasons change

The heat exchanged, the coldness settled

Reality left my remaining pride barren

I plunged into the frozen abyss

Silence.

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Lammily by Karan Mahendroo

With the holiday season fast approaching, every parent wants to take the easy way out and get his or her kid a Barbie doll, but that bright pink box carries quite a bit more than the material girl. Along with the blonde bombshell comes that unrealistic, unhealthy, and unattainable ‘body image mindset’ that you really don’t want to instill in your child. Graphic designer and now toymaker Nickolay Lamm has the perfect answer for you, and her name is Lammily.

Photo courtesy of Nicoklay Lamm in The Washington Post

With the release of a doll making headlines anywhere from Buzzfeed to Businessweek, Lamm created what has been dubbed the ‘normal Barbie.’ Lammily is a brunette version of the infamous Barbie doll with the proportions of a 19-year-old woman’s body based on CDC data.

For sale beginning Wednesday November 19, the Lammily doll is already a huge success. For weeks Lamm has been getting emails from people across the country asking where they could buy his newest creation. Additionally, Time reported that after crowdfunding his creation, Lamm raised over $501,000, leaving his goal of $95,000 in the dust.

“To be honest, I knew it was either going to bomb or blow up, there was no in between,” Lamm said to Time. “I wanted to show that reality is cool, and a lot of toys make kids go into fantasy, but why don’t they show real life is cool? It’s not perfect, but it’s really all we have. And that’s awesome.”

While these $24.99 dolls might already seem to be a Christmas miracle for your little cousin, the newfound popularity for Lammily has Lamm taking his project a little farther.

Starting in January, Lammily will come with a wide array of stickers for young girls to make their doll even more ‘realistic.’ These stickers range from faux acne to stretch marks to freckles to cellulite to scrapes, bruises, and scars. There are even stickers that make the doll seem as if she is blushing.

Photo courtesy of Nickolay Lamm in The Huffington Post

While some think Lamm is going too far by giving these dolls these rather explicit features, Lamm is convinced his doll is revolutionary.  “Some people were like ‘Oh my God,’ as if I’m promoting domestic violence or something,” said Lamm, before assuring Time that that was far from his intention. There are many kids that are self-conscious about their scars and hide them to try to be more like the perfect ideals they see on TV, in movies, and in their other dolls. Lammily, though, aims to be just like them.

“Look, we all get boo boos and scratches. Life isn’t perfect, we all sometimes fall down but we get back up.” - Nickolay Lamm

After some criticism on Lammily’s new sticker package, the Huffington Post published that “an estimated 50 to 90 percent of women will develop stretch marks in their lifetime, and over 90 percent of women have cellulite on their bodies. Acne is also incredibly common, with an estimated 80 percent of people experiencing an outbreak between the ages of 11 and 30.”  These statistics aim to calm down critics who have expressed concern that Lammily is ‘too real’ for kids.  However this is not the case; Lammily embraces what it means to be ‘real’ and gives kids a new role model they can enjoy every day.

Photo courtesy of Nickolay Lamm in Time

The Washington Post relayed a video of 2nd graders reacting to Lammily, and it kind of makes your heart melt. They say that she looks like their big sister or their aunt or even themselves. They like that she looks “normal.” When comparing the traditional Barbie doll to Lammily, the kids thought Barbie would be a swimmer or a model or a “fashion star,” however Lammily was thought to be anything from a teacher to a dentist to a mom. It just shows how relatable this new toy is and how well Lamm is relating to his child audience as well as the adult audience, who are, for the most part, pleased that this new toy promotes a more healthy body image.

While ‘normal Ken’ stocked with armpit stains and a beer belly could potentially be on the way, Lammily is making waves as a ground-breaking and utterly beautiful new doll that gives young girls the perfect role model to aspire to be. 

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Five Rad Day Trips to Get Out of Austin by Cullen Bounds

The UT campus is a bubble. I get so wrapped up in my coursework, organizations, and campus gossip that I forget, believe it or not, there is a world beyond Lamar Blvd and I-35. To counter this isolation, I take day trips out of the city to relax, recuperate, and revitalize my mind before the next week of classes begin. I’ve compiled a list of my five favorite day trips out of Austin below to inspire you to get out as well.

1. Fredericksburg and Lost Maples State Natural Area

This trip will take up an entire day, so I recommend leaving around 9 AM to get the most out of it. An hour and a half outside of Austin is the town of Fredericksburg. When I think of Fredericksburg I think of the word “Hamlet” for some reason; it can only be understood through experience. The first thing you’ll notice when entering is a sign that says “Wilkommen.” This is because the town is very German (I mean the founder was named Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach) and a dialect of German is unique to the area around it. Eat brunch in one of the many restaurants along 290, window shop, and bask in the Tex-Euro small town vibes.

When you’re done basking, get in the car and make the hour and a half drive to Lost Maples State Natural Area. This drive is gorgeous, especially in the fall when the leaves are turning because they actually change colors there, not fall off the trees immediately like the lame ones in West Campus. This park is my favorite in Central Texas. Named after an isolated species of Maple trees typically native to states like Utah and Idaho, the park boasts huge hills and limestone outcroppings that are fun to climb and relax on to take a break from hiking the park’s 12 miles of trails. If you’ve played the Legend of Zelda games, this park will definitely give you some Lost Woods vibes. Hiking around four to five hours is typical before the “I can’t go on, ugh” drive kicks in, but it is worth it because you will get to climb 'mountains' and see many, many dogs. Also they have comfort colors shirts and cool hats in the gift shop so hop on that if you want to show your friends how cool and hip you are.

On the drive home, stop through Fredericksburg for dinner (Mamacita’s is a very good choice) and then enjoy the unbelievably starry night sky on the rest of the drive back to Austin.

2. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

Do you like any of the following?

a. Big rocks shaped like domes


b. Giant dome rocks that you have the freedom to go anywhere on

c. Giant dome rocks with CAVES on top

Then I have the state natural area for you! Enchanted Rock is about two hours from Austin, so the earlier you leave, the better. The drive there is pretty sparse, but if you’re down for some fine Texas dining, there’s a Chicken Express in a Llano gas station along the way that I’m partial to, so have at it, girl. 
Once you get to the park, climb the mountain and explore the trails surrounding it, and then climb the smaller rock next to Enchanted Rock because that’s a cool spot that no one ever climbs. I highly recommend staying for the sunset. I made the mistake of leaving early because I thought it would be cloudy, but literally the second we left the park, the sky turned crazy pink orange and beautiful and I regretted not being on top of Enchanted to see it.

3. Krause Springs

The Krause family lucked out big time. There just happened to be a lush rainforest oasis in the middle of their private property and they decided to open it to the public... charging $7 admission per person. Needless to say, they’re banking. The springs are only 45 minutes out of Austin, so there’s no excuse not to go at least once.

The springs themselves are absolutely gorgeous with 20-foot cliffs, sketchy caves, shady towering trees, and prime Instagram portrait spots. Cliff jumping isn’t allowed, but there aren’t any lifeguards on duty (wink wink). There is also a fun rope swing to watch people wipe out. Stop by an HEB on the drive over, pick up picnic food and eat on the rocks surrounding the water. However, learn from me and seal every bit of food you bring and store it in a secure backpack with no holes whatsoever because the ants here are rabid. Even though my food was sealed, there was a tine little hole at the bottom of my backpack they got in through and I spent 30 minutes shaking fire-ants out of everything I owned (including my phone). But don’t let these little Satan animals deter you from the chill afternoon you will have at Krause Springs!

4. New Braunfels Tubing

I’m going to break the rules a little bit with this one. This isn’t so much of a day trip, but more of an it’s-11-PM-on-a-Monday-night-and-I-can’t-study-anymore-and-want-to-do-something-fun-and-spunky trip. Get some friends, some inner tubes, and some energy drinks and drive to Prince Solms Park in New Braunfels. I’ve only been here at 1 AM on a weeknight, so I cannot tell you how crowded this place gets during the day on weekends, but I think it gets pretty packed so prepare for that if you decide to come here on a sunny Saturday.

I’m not sure if going to this park in the middle of the night is legal, but the gates were wide open and five rambunctious young adults faced no opposition in their two hours here, so take that as you will. There is a natural spring-fed swimming pool whose focal point is a fast and furious tube chute that spits out into the Comal River below. It’s remarkable how clear the water is, but I highly recommend wearing some sort of fashionably functional adventure sandal (such as Chacos or Tevas) to avoid foot damage. Go down the chute in your tube and enjoy the spontaneity of your decision to go tubing when most people are crying in the PCL.

On your way home, stop and eat a Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit at the Whataburger in San Marcos and freak out about how many drink options they have compared to the one on Guad.

5. San Antonio

If you hate the outdoors and just want to eat and shop in a city that isn’t Austin, San Antonio is your best bet. While in the ol’ SA, go check out the Alamo if you want to take the Texan pilgrimage. Then walk along the riverwalk and eat at an incredibly overpriced restaurant with mediocre food! The city also has Six Flags and Sea World which are actually really fun if you like roller coasters and rides.

So there you have it, 5 incredible central Texas places to check out while a student at UT. I hope you found this list useful. Get out there and climb a tree or something!

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Rethinking Taylor Swift by Kellie Stone

I will preface this by saying I am nowhere near “Swiftie” status.  In fact, I was not a huge supporter of singer/songwriter Taylor Swift in recent times.  This was mainly because I felt she came across as a little boy-crazy, and I was not into love songs.  However with her recent musical development, beginning in my opinion with “The Last Time feat. Gary Lightbody” off her album Red, Swift has grown in her music with her chord ranging and surprising progressions.  Not only has her music grown in unanticipated ways, so too has Swift’s personality seemed to change – she has cut her hair, created an online Tumblr presence, reached out to fans individually – all of which are beautiful as they signal the developing and changing of a young woman.  Her new album 1989 illustrates this change in her music and self.

The album opens with the first track “Welcome to New York”, composed of a solid bass beat and techno rhythm comparable to popular 80s music.  These beats are carried over in part to “Out of the Woods”, providing an interesting statement of the album: each element lends itself into the next so that listening to the songs out of order is a sin.  Not only do the beats go together and stay cohesive consistently, the album tells a story, as seen with the soft “This Love” moving into the thrilling “I Know Places”.  This shift from a calming love piece into a vibrant and exciting one creates a division and contrast noted in the space between the songs.  The emotions turn as with the beats, and the listener is taken on a journey in this woman’s love-life.  The album ends with “Clean”, an absolving piece reminiscent of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds best known for its use in “The Breakfast Club”’s ending scene.  But beyond the beats, Swift sings, “And by morning / Gone was any trace of you / I think I am finally clean”, possibly signaling her saying goodbye to her former self.

As for her reputation, Swift has had both a huge fan-base and lots of criticism, specifically through so-called feminist outlets. I think people that say Swift is anti-feminist need to re-evaluate what feminism means to them and what we want the feminist movement to look like.  By discounting what a woman says and creates as her own autobiography because it does not fit your definition of what is acceptable for a woman to portray, specifically pertaining to the dating aspect of a woman’s life, we create an attitude that feminism is a one-size-fits-all movement.  It says that in order to be feminist, you cannot date a lot or talk about your life experience in all its shame and glory.  But feminism is not about that – on its most basic level, it is about allowing women to do what they want.  If a woman wants to write music about relationships, I don’t see a problem in that. 

1989 is a definite turning point in Swift’s career and life, one that will later be looked upon as a defining moment of Swift stepping into this new musical genre and presence she has created for herself.  With its new beats and lyrics, the woman behind this album is a force to be reckoned with and will top the charts and make headlines for some time to come.

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Here Comes the Navy by Karan Mahendroo

Beginning in 2009, with the release of her smash album Rated R, Rihanna released a number one album every November for four years with the successful sequels Loud (2010), Talk that Talk (2011), and Unapologetic (2012). While the media was buzzing with all things Rihanna during 2013, her gap year leaves the Navy (her enormous fan base) thirsty for more.

There are many theories as to why Rihanna didn’t release an album this year. Although she was touring and busy with other projects like her new TV show “Styled to Rock,” many believe this break was actually because her mentor and label manager Jay Z tipper her off about the Beyoncé surprise.

And if you thought Rihanna couldn’t step down in 2013, she’s upping her game more than ever this year. Starting the year off big, she was featured on Shakira’s new single “Can’t Remember to Forget You” in January and helped the single skyrocket to #1 on the charts.

It has also been revealed that Rihanna’s upcoming 8th studio album has been no small project. Using that 2-year gap to make this album bigger than ever, Rihanna has already collaborated with music superstars David Guetta, DJ Mustard, Nicky Romero, Rodney “Darkchild” Jenkins, Kiesza, and many more. Nicki Minaj, Drake, Ester Dean and Chris Brown are also rumored to appear on the album.

Since Rihanna’s past four albums have all been released around mid-November, many believe she is planning to do the same thing with her newest project – meaning her leading single would be released sometime this October. But, like Beyoncé, Rihanna could be planning something colossal and brilliantly new – the possibilities are endless!

Also this year, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, announced that Rihanna would star in and release a concept album (in addition to her own 8th studio album) based around their new 3D animated movie “Home”, which also will star Steve Martin and Jennifer Lopez.

After launching a new fragrance, getting kicked off of Instagram, appearing in Hollywood movies, creating her own TV show, winning some more Grammys, releasing a fashion campaign with Armani, being named the pop star with the most #1 songs of all time, her Diamonds world tour, her exclusive Monster tour with Eminem, and a plethora of other events plastered across too many front pages to count, it is safe to say the unstoppable pop princess is going absolutely nowhere.

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It's 2014 And We've Still Got Some Serious Issues by Amanda Garcia

Recently, there has been a surge in the media concerning the topic of police brutality and, more specifically, the murders of unarmed African Americans by police officers. The emergence of this topic on primetime news has sparked outrage across the nation, generating protests and calls for change in this country, particularly in regards to race relations.

*Photo courtesy of The Malaysian Insider*

One of the more recent cases of this police brutality, and perhaps the most well known, is the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. According to the office of the St. Louis County prosecutor, Darren Wilson, the police officer that shot Brown, never filed a report on the incident. Local police turned the case over to the county; the incident report released by the Saint Louis County Police Department was written ten days after the murder and acknowledged that the offense was a homicide, but said little else about the shooting.

According to Wilson, Brown attacked him while he was still inside his police SUV, and he feared for his life. After that, eyewitnesses said that Wilson chased Brown and then fired at him even though Brown’s hands were raised. An autopsy of Brown revealed that he, though unarmed, was shot by Wilson no less than six times, twice in the head; all bullets were fired into the front of his body.

The protests in Ferguson, Michael's hometown, are centered around justice for Brown's death, but also encompass much more.  Michael Brown’s murder is not an isolated incident; there have been many other cases of unarmed people of color being murdered without probable cause.  

*Photo courtesy of The Free Thought Project

In 2000, Malcolm Ferguson was shot in the head at close range in a stairwell following a pursuit by an officer. The officer remembers telling his sergeant, “I think I shot him”, but his sergeant remembers the officer’s statement as “I had to shoot this guy.” According to the New York Times, the head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Norman Siegel, said that the police had changed their story, and that initially, there was no mention of any kind of scuffle between Ferguson and the officer, but that he was simply running from the cop.

In 2006, Sean Bell was leaving his bachelor’s party at a strip club with his friends. Bell was driving, turned a corner, and struck an unmarked police vehicle with several plainclothes officers inside. Five of those police officers fired no less than fifty shots at Bell’s car. Bell was shot in the neck, shoulder, and right arm. Two others with him were also wounded. The incident occurred just hours before he was to marry his fiancé and mother of his two children.

Oscar Grant III was killed by a shot to the back on January 1, 2009. Grant was lying face down while the officer was trying to handcuff him. Supposedly, Grant had reached for his pocket, and the officer pulled a gun when he meant to reach for his taser.

Eric Garner died on July 17, 2014 (yes, only a few months ago) after an NYPD officer put the man in a chokehold, a move that is not only dangerous, but also prohibited by the Police Department. Garner is seen in a video of the encounter repeatedly screaming, “I can’t breathe!” before dying. As of October 17, no charges have been made concerning the incident.  

I won’t argue that, at least in some cases, those who died were unjustly arrested; for some of these cases there was probable cause of pursuit. However I, as well as many others, believe none of these men deserved the deaths that were dealt to them. Even if an officer was suspicious of a gun, to use that suspicion as justification to fatally shoot someone is barbaric. If these men committed crimes, they should have been able to be brought in front of a judge and jury. None of these men should have ever died.

The murders of these men by police officers have brought to the forefront of the public mind the serious problems concerning racial profiling by police officers. According to USA Today, a white police officer killed a black citizen nearly twice a week from the year 2005 to 2012. 18% of those blacks killed were under the age of 21. These numbers most likely do not even reflect the true statistics; the system that they are based on relies immensely on self-reported killings from law enforcement, and not all departments participate in the survey. The Huffington Post gives another statistic: between 2010 and 2012, of the 1,217 deadly police shootings, 15-19 year old black males were killed at a rate of 31.7 per million. Compared to the 1.47 per million white males of the same age, that number is staggering.

Is law enforcement in this country being fair to all races? Judging by the numbers that these statistics have been spitting out, absolutely not. Are minorities being targeted for crimes? Most likely. A report released by the Sentencing Project, a D.C.-based group that advocates for prison reform, states that racial minorities are more likely to be arrested and convicted than white Americans, and that they are more likely than their white counterparts to face stiff sentences.

The numbers are ridiculous, and they all lead to the same conclusion: it’s 2014, and racial minorities are still struggling to keep their heads above water. The Civil Rights Bill passed fifty years ago, the Civil Rights Act passed fifty-seven years ago, and we’ve still found ourselves amidst blatant racial discrimination. This country has some serious issues, especially considering that in the United States, as of 2013 (according to the national census), nearly 40% of the population isn’t white.

With nearly half of the population being of minority races, these issues might not stay issues for much longer. As of 2009, 44% of children under 18 years old were a minority. The minority demographic is not only growing bigger, but it’s growing up, and it will influence the direction that the United States as a country will go.  

*Photo courtesy of St. Louis public radio

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Fact of the Day: You Are Not Going to Get Ebola by Maggie Morris

Ebola is scary, I understand. There have been over 2,300 deaths in Liberia, 778 in Guinea, and 930 in Sierra Leone. There are tragic news stories everyday about shortages of doctors and hospitals in Africa and desperate family members caring for their infected loved ones only to get sick themselves.  A few months ago, the public believed Ebola would never spread to the US, and yet here we are.  I would be lying if I said that hearing about the first confirmed transmission within the United States didn’t unsettle me.  But if I hear one more person express real anxiety about catching Ebola here in Austin, I might just be the one to puke.

Ebola isn’t transmitted through airborne particles and can only be spread through close contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids. Even then, those who are infected are unlikely to be contagious before they begin presenting obvious symptoms such as fever, vomiting and hemorrhaging. The basic reproduction rate is defined as the average number of people each infected person is likely to transmit an illness to. For Ebola that basic reproduction rate is 2.  This may sound high, but it is the same rate as Hepatitis C and actually means that Ebola is less contagious than the common flu, mumps, measles, HIV, SARS, and pretty much everything else.  So long as you can refrain from close contact with the blood, vomit, and urine of the people around you who are feverish and throwing up, and do not plan on visiting West Africa anytime soon, you are not going to get Ebola.

There are, however, doctors and nurses in the United States and Africa who have volunteered to put themselves at risk. These are people who understand that no protocol is absolute and who accept that the danger caused by any small mistake they may make is amplified by repeated exposure.

Nurses especially have been put in a very difficult position. National Nurses United has been speaking out it in the media recently, addressing the role of nurses as it relates to Ebola. NNU’s major concern is nurses’ lack of training when it comes to dealing specifically with Ebola, and how their lack of training has led to unreasonable expectations and blaming of nurses. It is natural to point fingers and blame broken protocol when Ebola is spread at hospitals, but it is important to keep in mind that these workers are doing their best in challenging circumstances.  

So don’t be afraid to go home to Dallas to visit your family. Don’t complain indignantly about the kid in Chemistry who coughed on you, thus seriously endangering your life. Don’t freak out for no reason, if only to respect the people who truly are at risk and ill.

Let’s not minimize the sacrifice of health workers who are willing to put themselves in harms way by hyping up the possibility of a major Ebola catastrophe in the United States or spreading rumors that you can catch it on the street. 

*For detailed information on Ebola, click here.

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Jennifer Lawrence Speaks Out - by Kristi Kamesch

Even if you’ve been living under a pop-culture-resistant rock, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the nude pictures that were hacked and leaked by users of the imageboard website, 4chan.  Anonymous users of this site stole pictures of many celebrity women, but none of the women were more specifically targeted than Jennifer Lawrence.  While a handful of the attacked women released statements fairly soon after the leak, Jennifer Lawrence stayed publicly silent, until now.

Yesterday, as I read pieces from her interview with Vanity Fair magazine, I felt a multitude of emotions simultaneously.  I felt extreme satisfaction and inspiration because JLaw eloquently and gracefully said all of the things I’ve felt in my speechless reaction to the event.  I was sad and heartbroken when she told us how she had to break the news to her father, who might be faced with a side of his daughter that any father should not be privy to.  I was so angry at the injustice of the world, not because the anonymous users can’t be tracked down, but because platforms like 4chan and users like these exist and perpetuate despite feminist progress.  

Curious, I scrolled through the comment section, always a risky endeavor, on various social media sites, and I found some confusion within the ranks of the YouTube community.  Specifically, some commenters were questioning why this leak, these photos, this crime, has been so blown out of proportion.  They questioned why are people so upset with having nude photographs on the internet as it is nothing that we haven’t all seen before. 

I can only assume that JLaw saw this argument coming when she told the Vanity Fair interviewer, “Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense.  You should cower with shame….I didn’t tell you that you could look at my naked body.”  

The fact is women are people.  We are people with brains and beating hearts, and those who would say that JLaw’s pictures are transferable because all women have the same physique, are insinuating that we are all just objects after all, able to be bought, sold, and shared. They are using flawed logic to protect themselves against the fact that these 4chan users are wrong.  The people who looked at and shared the photos of these women are wrong.  

"'I just didn't think about it' is not an excuse.  That is the exact issue in itself." - Jennifer Lawrence, Vanity Fair

I personally can’t feel pity for Jennifer Lawrence, because being pitied is the last thing I would want in a time of such vulnerability.  But people like Jennifer Lawrence, women who can admit when they’re scared but still bravely speak against those who would try to speak for her, inspire me to do the same, despite patriarchal opposition.

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From Health to Happiness by Julianna Clark

In 2013, The Daily Beast ranked the University of Texas at Austin as the ninth happiest college in the United States. This is quite a feat for such a rigorous, competitive university but why aren’t we the first happiest university in the United States? Well, there are probably a variety of things preventing us from claiming that golden title of being the happiest university. However, the most imminent in my mind is our lack of consideration and care for the students who become ill during the school year. Everyone’s been there at some point in their college career, lying in bed at 9am with a raging fever, a throat that feels like Smaug ripped it to shreds and a nose more congested than i-35, wondering if they can afford to miss class that day.

Eventually, most students decide they just can’t miss class for one reason or the other and drag themselves out of bed one aching limb at a time. Maybe their class’ grade is based on attendance or maybe if they miss class they will never quite understand important material as well as the students who had the privilege of not missing class that day due to illness. What a tricky situation to be in.

Unfortunately, the university does not provide genuinely helpful solutions for sick students and even promotes the spread of germs by allowing classes to mandate attendance through the use of i-clicker questions, sporadic quizzes, and attendance points. Furthermore, the university allows for professors to be non-understanding and uncompromising with students who are noticeably ill. There are no sick days in college, only days that you skip class to rest, fully aware that it could harm your academic well-being in the near future.

The class policies which compel sick students to attend classes not only hinder the ability of sick students to heal quickly but they also lead to viruses rapidly spreading among the university population. In my introductory biology class last semester, there was a point where I could hear the majority of the class blowing their nose, coughing, and sniffling as they struggled to take notes and pay attention. This biology course had sporadic i-clicker questions which forced sick students to attend class when they should actually be resting in bed so eventually we all infected each other with our viruses, be it cold or flu. No one held us at gunpoint and forced us to go to class but rigid class policy threatened us with a decrease in our grades, one of the few assets a student owns and is unlikely to jeopardize. Why sacrifice your grade for your physical well-being?

While some may argue that these inflexible policies prepare students for their future jobs, most post-graduate jobs have sick leave and pay a salary to their workers. University students, on the other hand, pay thousands of dollars each year in tuition to have little consideration put into their physical well-being when they’ve caught the flu. Yes, we have helpful resources such as University Health Services and Student Emergency Services. However, University Health Services doesn’t excuse a student from missing class and Student Emergency Services can only notify a student’s professors of an absence leaving action (or inaction) up to the discretion of each professor. In my experience, most professors do not care if one of their students is sick and will not waive attendance requirements under these circumstances.

University students already have enough to balance without the added stress of being sick and still needing to be in class. Therefore, if we truly want to promote a campus that is jubilant and performing at its best, then students should be given more capability to miss class without their grade suffering and be treated with greater understanding when ill. After all, healthy horns are happy horns.

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The Psychology of Believing by Kelly de Moya

Here’s some groundbreaking news: you can’t rationalize with people when it comes to their beliefs. Seriously, you can’t. Insert cliché about proper dinner conversation topics here. Politics, religion, money… I promise you, you can’t change these opinions by rationalization. But I don’t have to promise you, because you already know. There are certain people that you have fundamental disagreements with and you avoid those topics with them because in that area, at least, you accept that they’re irrational and you let it go. Except that sometimes someone you know, trust, and thought you agreed with lets it slip that he or she holds a differing belief. Then because you respect their intellect and you believe your opinion is the most logical, you foolishly think you can convince them you’re right. Cue awkward fight, and ultimate failure.

Thus, my point again: you can’t rationalize with people when it comes to beliefs. So what can change people’s beliefs? I’ll give you a hint: what is the scariest type of person you can think of and why? The answer: sociopaths, because they can’t empathize.

It turns out that people are FAR more receptive to “emotional” (or affective, if you want to use psychological terms) persuasion than logic. Jonathan Haidt, a prominent researcher in the field of moral psychology, has shown that people’s beliefs are not based in logic, but rather logical arguments are formed to defend the belief after it is already in place. Beliefs are actually rooted in several fundamental values that compete for your attention when you’re deciding whether something is right or wrong. Take, for instance, an internal conflict over something like the death penalty. Some people believe that pre-meditated death is wrong, in which case the fundamental value of “Care” (as opposed to “Harm”) wins out. The other side of the debate identifies strongly with the value of “Justice,” which then overrules this “Care” value.

The important thing to realize is that for either side of the argument, both values compete for dominance. If you want to change people’s minds, you don’t have to convince them that they’re wrong so much as you have to tip the scale. And it appears that emotional stories (think testimonies, identification with groups, and personal bonds) hold a lot more weight than logic in this situation. You can’t argue that the ambiguous value of “Care” is inherently more valuable than “Justice,” but you can demonstrate a situation in which this was the case.

Now, as I write this, my initial concern is that the power of what I’m saying will be misused. This isn’t intended to be a lesson on how to manipulate people, but rather it is a call for an attempt to understand other sides of issues. We don’t live in a world of absolute truths, and we will get nowhere if we constantly condemn those with different opinions as uninformed and ignorant. So my recommendation is to listen to their stories. If you’re scared that you’ll be convinced, then how solid is your belief in the first place?

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Why Is Hermione Telling Me About Feminism? By Madhu Singh

When Emma Watson was appointed to be the UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador, her fans probably scratched their heads in confusion. I certainly thought it was one of the more random things I’ve seen celebrities take on (and I’m a big fan of One Direction’s lipstick/makeup line). If my Young Adult Fiction & Film class has taught me anything, it is to think critically about all things that may seem superficial or one-dimensional at first. So, I tried to find out more about Emma’s involvement.

For one thing, Emma is a graduate from Brown University and has done work in Bangladesh and Zambia to promote education for young girls. Aside from the positive image she projects by playing the intelligent, courageous and brilliant woman that is Hermione Granger (which I will embellish on later), Emma has been lauded for being a good example of a starlet who grew up and flourished in the limelight.

Some actors disparage the role that made them famous because they don’t want to be remembered by just the one thing or they want to branch out. Emma has embraced her role and and is proud to identify herself with Hermione, as Hermione Granger is a feminist. If you have read Harry Potter and disagree with me, you might want to review the facts. Readers can see Hermione as a character equal to Harry and Ron in importance, but surpassing them in skill and knowledge. She doesn’t feel the need to apologize for being, in scientific terms, the boss bitch. If young girls can come to associate feminism with people or characters that they already deeply admire, then half the job is done.

Therefore, the UN Women’s decision was not random at all. In fact, it was a very strategic decision. Watson is a woman that millions of young women listen to and actively follow. The Harry Potter fandom knows no bounds. Non-profit organizations and conventions promoting forward-thinking ideals have emerged from the fandom. Giant global online communities have amassed due to this book series and have changed the way that fans interact. Harry potter fans have an unsaid bond, help each other out, and trust fellow fans. By appointing Watson to be an ambassador, the UN has basically secured the attention of young, open-minded readers and film-watchers. These impressionable minds will hear Watson’s words and not only think of them as a message from her, but as a message from Hermione. And then they will tell their friends (as I, a huge Harry Potter and Hermione fan, am telling you now).

Lastly, our generation, the twenty-somethings, already love Emma because she grew up with us. We were awkward teenagers when she was an awkward teenager. When we see her being at the top of a mega-successful franchise, moving forward to take on more serious roles in her acting career, completing an Ivy League education and then going on to be an ambassador for the UN, we listen up. Not only do we take her seriously, but also see ourselves in her. She inspires us to be more, do more and speak louder. 

*If you would like to watch Emma Watson's speech for the UN, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Dg226G2Z8

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Don't Make (Up) Assumptions by Kellie Stone

I am a huge believer in goals and dreams.  I feel like the people who say, “Oh I’m not making a New Years Resolution because they are stupid” are, well, stupid.  Regardless if you ever achieve your goal or dream, it is important that you made one to begin with.  Which is why when New Years rolled around this past January, I made a list of goals and resolutions I wanted to achieve.  My biggest one, and by far the one that has given me the most joy, has been my 5th Resolution: do something once a month that is out of my comfort zone.  I have had so much fun planning what I will do each month and then doing something totally cool. I’ve gone up in a hot air balloon, cut my hair short, saw a movie by myself.  Throughout all the activities, I always felt really empowered.

 One day I was talking to some classmates and trying to figure out what I should do for the next month.  I suggested that maybe I could try going a month without makeup.  This was back in the school year, before training for my triathlon had filled my makeup-less days.  I could picture myself pulling this one off, but my only hesitation in this idea was that it really wasn’t all that out of my comfort zone.  Sure, makeup sometimes made me feel more prepared for my day and I enjoyed trying out new eyeshadow combos, but this ‘feat’ did not seem really hard to be honest. 

Then, someone in the group said to me, “Oh no, don’t do that!  You won’t ever want to leave the house.”  The comment was short, and the conversation moved along.  But months later, this comment stuck with me.  Why wouldn’t I want to leave the house without makeup?

In reality, what that comment was saying is that without makeup, I will automatically feel bad about my appearance and will feel embarrassed that others have to see my naked face.  It says that I clearly don’t have the self-confidence to appear as I am before others; or it says that this woman making the comment believes that her insecurities are a shared experience.  It makes an assumption that my perceived, calculated beauty is the reason I choose to get up and live my life.  What an awful comment to make.

Here’s the thing about feminism: a lot of feminist comments or rants or things I find on the internet rage against (male-run) ‘society’.  But, we are all a part of society; we make it up.  I understand that feminism is so much more than empowering women to lose the feeling of needing to wear makeup, and I am in no way stating that this ideal should be of the utmost importance to the feminist movement.  But I’ve noticed a trend that underneath all of the standardized forms of oppression of women is assumption.  There’s assumption that women should get paid less, that women need to choose between staying at home and having a career, that women automatically have certain personality traits.  In my case, the assumption is that without makeup my will to live is automatically lessened.  It is also important to note that this comment was made to me by ANOTHER WOMAN.  What an appalling cycle of oppression we’ve created, that the people we are supposed to be working for and with are also the ones who hold us down.

It is important that once we’ve discovered something wrong within our community and lives, we make efforts to change.  It is fairly useless to yell out about wrongdoings and then sit back and actually do nothing.  Sure, bringing attention to a cause is important, but if everyone was aware of something and did nothing, we would be nowhere.  So, here is what I propose in regards to changing the minds of others so that this comment seems just as ridiculous to everyone as it does to me: stop assuming.  This requires real effort, an informed way of thinking and deciding.  Usually, first impressions and fixed stereotypes create assumptions.  The thing is that we cannot really help what initially pops into our heads, especially if we were raised to think a certain way.  But, it is wholly possible to purposefully negate these thoughts and change the path.

Here’s an easy example: if you see a woman not wearing makeup, don’t assume that she must’ve woken up late or is tired or doesn’t care about what others think or is a symbol of perfect self-confidence.  In fact, don’t assume she is trying to make any statement.  It is her decision to do whatever she wants, don’t lessen the importance of that decision by your assumptions.