Culture

Not Vanilla: Traveling informed

Historically we’ve been fascinated by travel. You can see it in Western idealism of exploration — explorers risking their lives to seek new lands, to chart and record all the wonders they saw. Now, we know that in reality all the places that were, according to Western history, “discovered,” have long been inhabited by each […]

What we can learn from Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’

As members of a liberal industrialized society, we claim to try to make everything inclusive. Instead, we find labels for those who do not fit in. The segmentation of our “inclusive” society, determined by the 51 percent, has been a labored topic for those who poet Allen Ginsberg called “the great minds” in his 1956 […]

Screenwriter and TV Composer talk making movies in Morey

“It begins with a script, and it ends with putting the music to it.” This was how screenwriter John Richards described his and film and TV composer Mark Water’s roles as bookends for the filmmaking process The pair  discussed filmmaking and the complexity of making art in a well-attended conversation in Morey Hall. Watters isa […]

With Halo-Halloween, FASA celebrates with a Filipino dessert

The Filipino American Students’ Association (FASA) welcomed Halloween a few days early with their annual Halo-Halloween event. The Douglass Community Kitchen buzzed with students on Saturday afternoon, all eager to create their own variations of the Filipino Halo-Halo dessert. “Halo-Halo is a popular Filipino dessert that I think perfectly captures our culture,” said FASA Internal […]

Should Wakanda share its Vibranium? Just ask UR Debate Union

Ethics, racism, colonialism, and culture shock were all discussed by UR Debate Union through the scope of the hit Marvel film “Black Panther” during the union’s public debate for the semester. The debate, held Saturday, Oct. 20, focused on whether Wakanda, the fictional nation from the film, should share its vibranium — the fictional metal […]

A cappella groups fundraise for clean water with Engineers Without Borders

UR Engineers Without Borders put on their fifth-annual benefit concert this past Saturday, Oct. 20, featuring performances by UR a cappella groups, to raise funds for its fifth annual trip to the Dominican Republic. The club will use the funds to return to Don Juan in January, where the members work to implement water filtration. […]

Rubik’s Cube magician gives interactive performance in May Room

Magician Steven Brundage appeared before a small group of UR students, orchestrating an interactive performance by inviting students on stage and engaging directly with the audience’s unconventionally critical behavior. Brundage showcased his most famous tricks involving Rubik’s Cubes and playing cards. The show, which took place in the May Room on Thursday, Oct.18, began with […]

Not Vanilla: The emotional effects of media

Reader, let me warn you before you journey further into this article — if you haven’t seen “A Star is Born” and you don’t want anything to be spoiled, stop reading now. Okay, so the rest of you have now tacitly complied to have the ending of “A Star is Born” spoiled for you: if […]

Nasim Pedrad brings unique, uneven comedy to Meliora Weekend

SNL alum Nasim Pedrad performed an altogether unusual (and slightly lopsided) hour of comedy in Goergen Athletic Center on Saturday. Unlike many visiting comedians, Pedrad did not come with an opener. Instead, Pedrad was introduced by a video of the comedian impersonating Aziz Ansari, followed by a minute of, for some reason, the theme song […]

Biographer Ron Chernow offers history and advice at Mel Weekend

Pulitzer-winning biographer Ron Chernow imparted historical perspective and life advice this past Mel Weekend, painting an unconventional but compelling portrait of Ulysses S. Grant along the way. Chernow is known for works on George Washington and Alexander Hamilton — the latter inspiring Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash-hit musical, on which Chernow served as historical consultant. He visited […]