Despite common misconceptions, feminism is not about man hating. Feminists do not want men to be considered less than women. In fact, most feminists simply want equality. The problem is when someone has a privileged status, that person can perceive someone taking away that advantage as having their status lowered.
Don’t be surprised if someone from the AFC North makes it to the Super Bowl; the league is up for grabs.
The early childhood period is crucial for the development of a child’s character. Children develop interests, habits and personality based on their own acquired knowledge, their surrounding environment and their interaction with others that contribute to how they view the world during this time. Specifically, the visual and performing arts are crucial components during a child’s early years of schooling, as it promotes self-expression through healthy mediums and individualism.This is an extremely important idea because through these experiences, a child can become more sophisticated, appreciative, empathetic and well-rounded as he or she continues to learn in the traditional classroom. I’d like to think of visual and performing arts as learning subjects in a non-traditional classroom that are equally important to an individual’s growth.Several grade schools and community recreation centers offer art programs ranging from choir, and theater, to band and orchestra. The programs help fuel children’s interests in wider subjects. Between the ages of 5 and 11, children often begin learning instruments, singing, acting, painting, drawing or sculpting, and as a result, they learn how to appropriately express themselves and understand and appreciate the artistic expressions of others.Arts have played a major role in the curriculum of elementary and secondary schools across the country for decades. All students should have the opportunity to get involved with music, painting and other art forms. Unfortunately, due to various budget cuts, fine art programs in some schools are being discontinued.It’s all too regular that fine art programs are first in line to be eliminated. Why? Why do schools see sports as more vital and important than the arts? These are important questions that we must consider. Not all children are athletes. Not all children are artists. Every individual has his or her own priorities and preferences, so why selectively limit opportunities for artists and not for athletes? Not only does the elimination of art programs affect children, but it leaves many art and music professionals without a job. It makes for an unhappy life for both the students and the teachers.Throughout my childhood, I participated in several choirs. I first joined my elementary school choir at the age of 10 and continued to participate in choirs until I graduated from high school. If it wasn’t for my fourth grade music teacher — who encouraged me to continue singing and never lose sight of what I love — I wouldn’t be as expressive as I am and I wouldn’t have as great of a connection to others as I do.I don’t believe that cutting athletic programs would yield different results. The action would be just as detrimental as the elimination of the art programs. If the school is facing budget cuts, it’s time to get the community involved to preserve the arts. It’s not only important to students but also for teachers. Juannie Williams is senior studying English and Spanish. Email her at jw206410@ohio.edu
Olivia Hupp discusses the importance of keeping in touch with those at home.
Through a "30 Days of Horror" Challenge, Will Ashton discovered that horror films are rarely good.
Maria Fischer discusses the benefits of on-campus housins.
It seems as if every week, a new horror movie appears in theatres (i.e. Paranormal Activities 1, 2, 3, 4, whatever; The Purge, Insidious, The Haunting in Connecticut, etc.) Demons, loud noises and sub-par acting. How spooky. In the spirit of October and Halloween, I will suggest a few eerie and genuinely frightening movies for the haunting season.
I’ve been dealing with mental health issues for as long as I can remember. While I’m fortunate to not have any illnesses that severely handicap me, coping with depression, anxiety disorders and an eating disorder can be an uphill battle, as I’m sure many of you know. Throwing college into the mix can make it sometimes feel unmanageable.
Have you ever noticed that building that’s tucked away across the parking lot from Clippinger? It’s the Edwards Accelerator Lab. And by accelerator, I mean, particles are accelerated. Have you heard of the Large Hadron Collider, or CERN? Read “Angels and Demons” or seen the movie? Yeah, that.
This past week, the Supreme Court’s decision to refuse to hear same-sex marriage appeals led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in 11 more states, bringing the total number of states with legalized same-sex marriage to 30.
Pope Francis raised some eyebrows among conservative Catholics this week, making this week just like every other week since he became Pope in March 2013.
Jessica Ensley talks about her own personal sexual assault experience and encourages others to join in the fight against rape culture by marching this Friday
Countless activists devote their lives to helping others and giving a voice to those without, so how could we forget about our furry, four-legged friends? Celebrity animal activists strive to make a difference in the lives of shelter animals every day, and as much can be said for the men and women of local animal shelters here in Athens.Actor Ian Somerhalder (popularly known as Damon Salvatore in the television series, The Vampire Diaries), spurred by his love for animals and the planet, established the Ian Somerhalder Foundation in 2010. Despite his acting schedule, Somerhalder has taken his role in the foundation seriously, speaking on the foundation’s behalf about topics ranging from animal activism to climate change. The foundation aims cover a spectrum of goals that focus on the betterment of life for at-risk animals and the environment by supporting green energy and global conservation. They also strive to establish awareness of deforestation and its effects, the eradication of shelters that dispose of unadopted animals, and the care of abused or neglected animals.The Foundation believes that everything on Earth is interconnected and interdependent, which is why the foundation does not discriminate what they support. It has greatly expanded since its inception four years ago. Somerhalder recently released a statement announcing the foundation’s plans to introduce the ISF Sanctuary Project, a plan to purchase a large chunk of land to be used as a sanctuary for wildlife.The beauty of animal activism is that anyone can help. Athens County has several shelters that host charity events every year. Last Saturday, OU’s Alpha Phi Omega fraternity hosted their annual charity walk, Friends of the Shelter Dogs 5k. The walk took place in TailGreat Park Saturday morning. The Friends of the Shelter Dogs volunteer group will also host a “Purses for Pooches” event at Market on State, East State Street on Saturday, Nov. 1 from 6-11 p.m. to further fund the program.I have been wishing to get involved with local volunteer work ever since I moved to Athens, and volunteering for shelter animals has been a perfect fit for me. As a life-long animal lover and a five-year vegetarian, I would do anything to get adoptable animals into good homes. I plan on devoting any time I can volunteering with shelter animals in the area. Luckily, the Athens Humane Society has several opportunities for students to give back in a variety of ways. I look forward to helping these animals find good homes and live better lives, and I hope more people will join me.Jordan Williams is a junior studying English and Women’s and Gender studies. Email her at jw719111@ohio.edu.
Fall is here. October is already bringing a chill to our campus. In the words of Paul Simon, “The leaves that are green turn to brown. And they wither with the wind, and they crumble in your hand.” The changing of weather always makes me think: the more things change, the more they stay the same.
With all the recent news over the “Gamergate” controversy, I decided I should probably check out Depression Quest. Here’s the CliffNotes version of the scandal: Zoe Quinn, an indie game developer, was subjected to a massive amount of harassment after the release of her game, Depression Quest on Steam in August. When the game was released, her ex-boyfriend wrote a pretty nasty blog post claiming that Quinn cheated on him with a journalist from Kotaku, which resulted in more favorable news coverage of her game.After this was posted, it seemed like the entire online gaming community had something to say about it — many members of the community piled her with threats of rape and death.I don’t think I even need to say that there is no reason for the amount of harassment Quinn received.I was really excited to play Depression Quest, an “interactive fiction game” that has you read through the story as you’re making decisions. I hoped that it would properly capture the way that depression feels.The game is playable on Steam or on the web. The main page says that the primary goal of the game is to spread awareness, and players are able to continue for free or pay what they want. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.While I’m glad I played it, I was really displeased. There wasn’t anything that was particularly offensive towards those that suffer with depression — that was my main fear.Moreso, the game felt immature and a little rushed. It was extremely short — I think it took me about 30 or 45 minutes to complete it. It’s a text-based game, so the only action is choosing your decisions.As someone who has — probably much like many readers — suffered time and time again from depression, it felt like Quinn and her team channeled the thoughts of someone going through depression and wrote a script in one or two nights.I’m glad that Quinn made this game, as I think it gets people thinking about the topic. However, I just don’t think that depression is something that can be illustrated in a game.For example: many of the choices you have are already crossed off. The point of that is so players understand that these are choices that a depressed person couldn’t or wouldn’t choose (like ordering food and grabbing a drink when you get home for the evening).Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand Quinn’s reasoning for this and that it is something many people face. But I think it could have been better executed if there were a variety of choices in the spectrum, like maybe not being able to order food but being able to munch at your apartment.All in all, I’m glad I played the game, but it left me unsatisfied with a title I was looking forward to checking out.Sophie Kruse is a junior studying journalism. Have you played Depression Quest? Email her at sk139011@ohio.edu or tweet her @kruseco.
Baseball has seen classic nicknames. There was “Shoeless Joe” Jackson; Willie “Say Hey Kid” Mays; Pete “Charlie Hustle” Rose.But none resonate with me quite like the nickname for a slugger from my own era — the enigmatic Adam Dunn.Dunn will always be “Big Donkey.” And I’m sad to see the big guy hang up his cleats without a postseason at-bat to show for himself.He has a ridiculous nickname, sure, but no other baseball player has hit as many home runs as the Donkey did, while also being so terrible at the same time. And I mean that in the most affectionate way possible.At his worst, Dunn was putrid. Horrid. Think of a synonym for either of those words, and he was it.But what made him such an endearing fan favorite was that he’d admit it. Dunn was his biggest critic. He once told reporters, “When I’m going bad, I’m the worst player in the league.” And historical statistics tell us just what that meant.He’s third on the all-time strikeout list, despite playing seven fewer seasons than the leader, Reggie Jackson and eight fewer than Jim Thome at number two. He also committed 120 errors while bouncing between first base and the outfield.Despite how historically awful he was, Dunn lasted 14 seasons in his career, which ended abruptly last week.Why did teams keep him around so long, despite his lackadaisical outfield play and his haphazard stabs at swinging the bat?Big Donkey could hammer a ball out of any ballpark.During his 14 seasons, he hit 462 home runs — more than half of which were on the Cincinnati Reds, my favorite team. I once saw him hit an electrifying three-run walk-off home run against the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park in 2006. To this day, it’s still one of my favorite moments ever at a ballpark.Only 10 other baseball players in history have a higher home-runs-per-plate-appearances rate — Dunn averages at 14.90 at-bats per home run. Four of them are in the Hall of Fame and the others are Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Jim Thome, Sammy Sosa, Ryan Howard, and Manny Ramirez.Dunn is also tied with former teammate Ken Griffey, Jr. and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson with the most Opening Day homers in history; eight, to be exact.There might not be a more misunderstood ballplayer in this millenium. Fans, managers and fellow players either hated or loved him, or sometimes both. When Dunn came to the plate, there were seemingly three options: He’d strikeout, he’d walk, or he’d blast a home run nearly 500 feet.Heck, the guy even had a cameo appearance as a bartender in last year’s Oscar-nominated film, Dallas Buyer’s Club, which he helped invest.So with all that in mind, I fundamentally disagree, on all levels, with Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin’s decision to keep Dunn from batting in his only playoff appearance last Tuesday. Dunn warmed the bench during the Athletics’ 12-inning American League Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Royals.Dunn retired the next day, having not played in a single postseason game throughout his entire 14-year career.Waiting in vain on the bench for his named to be called as the innings passed Tuesday, Dunn showed little resemblance to the “Big Donkey” persona he embodied: The loveable but feared player who would either change the dynamic of a game with one swing or go down in three consecutive strikes.I wish Adam Dunn would’ve gotten the one postseason at-bat he deserved, but I wouldn’t change anything about the last 14 years. The pathetic strikeouts and pitiful defense, alongside the tape measure home runs made him one of the most entertaining athletes of my lifetime.Thanks for the memories, Big Donkey.Sanuel Howard is a junior studying journalism and the Local News Editor at The Post. Do you think Adam Dunn was incredible, terrible, or somewhere in between? Email him at sh335311@ohio.edu.
Olivia Hupp talks about resources available to help study for midterms.
Will Ashton discusses the movies to come out this fall.
Kristen Saylor discusses the role of symbolism in writing.
Maria Fischer talks about why school rankings are not always the most important factor.
Solutions by The State News