Camp Hope: Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends

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Vol. 80 Issue 3 Decenber 7, 2015
the harbinger
The student newspaper of Jefferson College since 1964
Camp Hope: Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends
by Christina Miller
PFC Christopher Neal White,
a 23-year old Marine, was killed
in action on June 20, 2006. His
parents, William “Mike” and Galia White, created Camp Hope, a
nearly 250-acre refuge deep in the
woods just south of Farmington,
Missouri, as a way to honor the
memory of their son. Camp Hope
became a reality, and hosted three
veterans their first year, 2007.
Since then, Camp Hope has
provided peace, comfort, and
healing, to over 100 combatwounded veterans and active-duty
combat-wounded military men
and women.
The idea for Camp Hope
A Field Cross on Display
came to Mike White when he was
hunting. As his son was an avid because the veterans have their
outdoorsman, White felt a camp other military brothers there, and
for wounded veterans and soldiers they help each other out.
would be a place for comfort and
Turner further said, “Camp
healing.
Hope is a truly healing place
The camp’s website (www. because you have everyone that
chrisnealfarm.com) states, “The is helping and wants to be there
mission of Camp Hope is to allow for you and take care of you” and
wounded warriors the opportunity also, “My favorite part of camp
to participate in outdoor activities hope is they let you be yourself
with dignity - to not think about and every single volunteer there
what they “can’t” do, only to think treats you like true family because
what they want to do. Soldiers can you are. I didn’t want to leave!
shoot skeet, hunt turkey and deer, It’s the best place in the world!”
fish, hike, explore the country, or
Another camper who enrelax around the
joyed the hunt
ever-burning fire
this past week is
pit.”
active-duty memOne camper
ber Army Capat this year ’s
tain Joe Bogart.
hunt, Chad TurnOn the camp’s
er, harvested a
website, Bogart
10-point buck
said, “After an
his last day at
IED explosion
the Camp. Turnlegally blinded
er suffers from
me I knew my life
combat-related
would not be the
Traumatic Brain
same. I thought
Injury (TBI),
I would never
Post-Traumatic
be able to parStress Disorder
ticipate in the ac(PTSD), and a
tivities I enjoyed
back injury.
Challenge Coins at Camp Hope before fighting
Turner said
overseas. Then I
he found out
spent a weekend
about Camp Hope from a buddy, at Camp Hope and now all that
he met a couple other veterans has changed. Thank you, Camp
at camp that had been in Iraq at Hope!”
the same time as Turner, and said
When Camp Hope first
Camp Hope and its volunteers opened, the main operation was
automatically make a camper feel out of a tidy, but very small
at home and welcome. Turner cabin. Entertaining the camp
said the camp is a healing place guests during their non-hunting
downtime, as well as cooking
their meals, was a challenge in
the small space. Since 2011
the campers and hunters have
enjoyed mealtime and downtime
in a beautiful and simple 2000
square foot lodge.
The downstairs of the lodge
houses the camp’s laundry area, a
small refrigerated storage area, as
well as a recreational area where
the soldiers can enjoy a drink,
play ping pong, video games, or
play a game of pool. Upstairs is
a large common area where they
can relax, visit and reminisce, as
well as a kitchen and dining area.
Both the upstairs and downstairs
have a completely open floor
plan, with a friendly family atmosphere. The long wooden familystyle dining table in the upstairs
of the lodge area was made by
the Perryville Shop High School
Class and donated to the Camp.
Each of the three cabins and
one bunkhouse is handicap accessible. The guests share facilities,
with the smaller cabins having
a set of bunk beds and a double
bed, and the bunkhouse holds
several bunk beds. Each cabin
has a handicap accessible shower
and toilet facility, a small deck
overlooking a spring-fed pond,
and each cabin has been dedicated to the memory of a fallen
soldier. There is also a larger
cabin for guides during the hunts
and camping events.
There are several events
throughout the year for the guests
to enjoy. April is turkey hunting
camp, in June, women veterans
enjoy the float trip camp, October is bow-hunting for turkey or
deer, and November’s big week
is rifle deer hunting. There are
two reunions held each year, and
in August the annual Camp Hope
Poker Run fundraiser makes a
stop at Camp Hope.
All of the camps are free for
the veteran or soldier to attend.
Their transportation and hunting
license costs are provided by
Camp Hope, as well as lodging
and food. Different groups often
provide the evening meal to the
campers, which is family-style
dining.
Camp Hope also sponsors
several veterans and soldiers to
attend an annual fishing trip to
Bull Shoals as well as a past
opportunity to send soldiers
and veterans on a fishing trip
to Alaska.
Camp hope would not be
possible without the generous
donations of individuals and
organizations that see and appreciate the efforts, hard work,
and success this Camp provides
to the wounded veterans and
soldiers, as well as volunteers
who staff Camp Hope and help
out any way they are needed.
Several veteran-related clubs
and organizations make specific
donations, as Camp Hope is
their project.
Camp Hope volunteer, Chad Turner, Shannon Frazier,
Robin Walker, active through Joe Bogart, and Rob Cooley
Desoto AMVETS auxiliary,
participates in many duties of
and Robin and Camp Hope my
helping to operate the camp, both life and can never thank them
when campers are in attendance enough for all they have done for
as well as the many work days me and still do for me. I tell Mike
at Camp Hope throughout the [White] all the time he is lowering
year. Walker says, “I get the thrill the statistics of suicide every day
of helping someone...knowing with what he does.” Kendrick
that it’s truly helped them. I’ve is now an active volunteer with
always been a person to serve Camp Hope.
others and this plays right into
The sign over the lodge door
my role.”
reads, “Enter as Strangers, Leave
Walker convinced her cous- as Friends”. Walker feels that
in, wounded veteran Sam Ken- is the exact sentiment of Camp
drick, to join her at Camp Hope Hope, and said, “One camper
one week. Like Turner, Kendrick even said it should be change
also suffers from PTSD and TBI. to Enter as Strangers, Leave as
When asked what Camp Hope FAMILY.”
does for him, Kendrick said, “BeFor more information or to
ing at camp hope always soothes make a donation or contribution,
me, from getting away from all contact Robin Walker at 636the distractions in life and just 524-5363, or Mike White, Camp
relaxing in a comfortable place to Founder, at 910-599-0640. Also
seeing other vets that have been visit Camp Hope’s website, www.
where you have and know what chrisnealfarm.com
you’re going through...really
makes you see you’re not alone.”
When Kendrick left the military in 2014, he was lost. Feeling he no longer had a purpose,
Kendrick was contemplating
suicide and made a last trip to
Missouri from Oklahoma on his
motorcycle to say goodbye to
family. Walker and her husband,
Pete, took Sam to Camp Hope
the next day.
Kendrick said, “Every person that comes out there [Camp
Hope] finds something there that
heals them inside. I owe Pete
Chad Turner
opinions
page 2
Dec.7, 2015
Freshman 15: Myth or Maxim
by Tommy Welch
Raise your hand if you’ve
been victimized by the Whopper.
Wherever you go in the
United States, your view is likely
obstructed by Golden Arches
forcing their way into your line
of vision. In college towns, this
notion is especially prominent as
the fast food industry preys upon
young adults who are adept at
making poor investments in quick
and tasty cuisine, leading to an
overhaul of weight gain among
first year undergrads. But how can
we put an end to the conniving
ways of Colonel Sanders?
In a study done by the U.S
National Library of Medicine in
2008, first year students at universities were 5.5 times more likely
to experience weight gain than
the rest of the population. 50%
of their total test subjects gained
weight and the average gain for
that group of students was 7.4
pounds. Accumulating a range
of weight gain from 1-20 pounds,
it’s easy to see why the “freshman
fifteen” is such a hot topic among
colleges. Yes, 7.4 pounds does
not equal fifteen pounds, but the
phrase was coined in this way
because it is acoustically pleasant, not because of its scientific
relevance.
The fact of the matter is, first
year college students gain weight
not because they necessarily
make bad choices, (they’re in college, that will happen anyway),
but because they are targeted
by the fast food industry and
are backed into a corner when it
comes to the cafeteria.
In 2006, Jack in the Box
launched an ad campaign called
“Munchie Meals”. In one of these
commercials, a teenager sits
beside a small puppet version of
Jack as they consider going to get
food. When they agree that a late
night snack would be a great idea,
Jack flies out of the frame as the
adolescent stares in awe. Keith
Guilbault, vice president of menu
innovation at Jack in the Box,
was reported as saying that the
commercials are “targeted at folks
looking for indulgent treats…
late-night shift workers and Millennial who get the munchies at
odd hours.” However, I’m not
sure their advertising department
got that same indication.
For the sake of argument,
let’s say that Jack in the Box is
targeting stoners. With a society
so accepting of marijuana and
its legalization, teens across the
globe are using marijuana as ways
to relieve their high stress levels
that come with being a college
student. With hungry potheads
flocking to Jack in the Box, the
lasting effects of JBox tacos take
their toll on the undergrads.
So if, as president, you see
that the fast food industry is
dominating your university, what
do you do? You push for the
usage of the cafeteria so your
school can utilize the money.
However, in most cases, college
cafeterias promote healthy eating
then proceed to charge insane
amounts for a salad and freshly
made chicken. What college student, struggling with finances to
begin with, would pay $6.50 for
a chicken breast when you could
get a burger, fries, and a drink
for $4.95?
Look, I understand that col-
leges have to make money. I’m
sure it costs more money to serve
these fresh alternatives, but if
we truly care about the future
of America and destroying the
world wide idea of obese Americans, something has to be done.
Unhealthy eating habits that are
forced upon students at an age
when they are still developing is
absolutely wrong. America needs
to do what it should’ve done a
long time ago. Launch an attack
against the Big Mac. Students feel
the same way.
Val Williams, on the topic of
healthy vs eating options in the
cafeteria said that the fast food
is cheaper, “Because it’s [expletive deleted] whereas the healthy
food is not, it’s better for you, it’s
harder to get… the vegetables
only grow in certain times of the
year. Therefore it costs more.”
She went on to say that “the diet
of college students changes from
the time that they graduate high
school. It’s a body change and a
lifestyle change altogether.”
When I asked her about
healthy eating and if she thought
the college did enough to promote
it, she said, “Not necessarily because personally I think that the
college food is all overpriced.
So no, I don’t think the college
does a very good job of promoting healthy eating because of
the price factor. College kids are
broke. That’s real life.”
She has a point. What’s the
use of eating in the café that
charges ridiculous prices for a
chicken tender and fries when you
could drive a mile away and get
the same thing for not even half
the cost at McDabs? By attempting to empty the average college
students’ wallet, the JeffCo café
is ultimately turning away would
be devourers, with college student
stomachs, and ultimately losing
out on a substantial amount of
money that could be made if their
prices were actually affordable.
With how much teens are
stressed out financially and educationally, it’s easy to see why
the “Freshman 15” has been
such a reoccurring phrase among
students. Something needs to be
done so that these young adults
don’t create a constant circle of
poor eating habits, and it starts
with eating healthy.
#420BlazeIt: How Legal Marijuana Is Affecting America
by Tommy Welch and Val Williams
Dank. Trees. Kush. You may
have heard these words used to
describe the highly controversial
drug more commonly known as
marijuana. States like Colorado,
Washington, and Oregon have already made the plunge into legalization, but how can one little plant
have such an impact on society?
Since the legalization of marijuana in these states there has
been a decrease in crime rates,
and increase in jobs, a significant
increase in tax revenue, and a
decrease in traffic fatalities. But
authorities are still unsure of the
health effects that the use of marijuana has on the body and the brain
leading to the question of whether
or not legalizing the drug is a good
or bad idea.
Come to find out marijuana
is actually a weed, hence the
nickname. But, a smart one at that.
According to the documentary titled, “The Botany of Desire”
with Michael Pollan, “The female
cannabis plant produces a sticky
resin that catches the pollen that
male plants produce. That resin is
highly psychoactive.”
The film goes on to describe
how in order to make ‘stronger’
cannabis plants farmers intentionally keep male plants away from
female plants, forcing the females
to produce more resin with higher
potency simply out of “sexual
frustration.” Evolution does its job
and works hard in female cannabis
plants to try to attain reproductive goals for the plant’s ultimate
survival.
In the meantime, people are
taking advantage of the plants
struggle to breed. Why, though?
What is it exactly that humans are
getting from the plant?
A molecule called Tetrahydrocannabinol, otherwise known
as THC, that gets people high. In
a lab, the plant was broken down
to see what chemical components
of the plant might be causing these
effects. Scientists found a total of
10 compounds in the plant but
the one in particular that affected
people was THC.
It was discovered that “deep
inside the brain THC molecules
activate a previously unknown
network of specialized chemical receptors” according to “The
Botany of Desire”.
When someone hits a blunt,
THC travels from the lungs and
makes its way into the bloodstream. This acts as a highway
to the rest of the organs and the
entire body absorbs the chemical, ultimately stimulating a large
amount of receptors in the brain.
These receptors were specifically found in the hippocampus
which forms memories, in the
cerebellum which controls motor
functions such as movement, and
in the frontal cortex where humans
think and rationalize.
Marijuana just so happens to
have the precise compound that
has the ability to unlock receptors
whose function is to communicate
with a chemical that the body
naturally makes. This compound
is called anandamide which shares
all the same characteristics at a
cellular level as THC.
When anandamide, a naturally occurring chemical in humans,
is released it affects things such as
appetite, pain, and memory which
plays a critical role in the function
of… forgetting. Marijuana is,
simply put, a drug for forgetting.
This could be seen as a bad
thing, or a good thing. Forgetting
is useful for veterans suffering
from PTSD. In contrast, it is damaging to a college student who is
trying to gain knowledge for their
future.
After years of avid marijuana use it can lead to a decline
in critical thinking, memory, and
also learning functions which can
affect the user long term or even
worse forever.
Are they demons or are they
saviors?
Though many people have
refuted marijuana and viewed it
as the “Devil’s plant”, weed has
been proven to be highly beneficial
to the stimulation of the brain’s
critical thinking capacity as well
as protecting the body from potentially harmful diseases. From
stopping the spread of cancerous
cells and preventing Alzheimer’s
to relieving arthritis and minimizing epileptic seizures, the argument can be made that the positive effects of this fragrant drug
outweigh the bad.
It doesn’t do any more harm
to the body than alcohol does. Actually, it can be more effective as
stated above. If the drug is regulated correctly, it could be extremely
constructive to a person’s health
and a state’s economic status.
That brings marijuana to the
top selling product in the entire
state bringing in more revenue
than alcohol and tobacco sales
combined.
Though the legalization of
marijuana was denied in the state
of Ohio recently, most people
involved in the process voted no
not because they were against the
legalization, but because they did
not like the way the bill was created. If they edit the bill into one
more attractive to state legislators,
Ohio is predicted to be the next
state to join the blaze parade. They
hope that this large leap will prove
to be as successful for their state
as it was for Colorado.
According to the Drug Policy
Alliance in Colorado, “the state
Department of Revenue reveals
that tax revenue from retail marijuana sales amounted to $40.9
million between January 2014
and October 2014, not including
revenue from medical marijuana
and licenses and fees.”
After reviewing the benefits and detriments of the use of
marijuana the simple conclusion
is that the user needs to have a
valid comprehension of what the
drug is going to do for them an
an individual. For certain people
the usage is highly beneficial. For
others it can actually do more harm
than good.
So the question of legalization
remains. Do we allow a drug with
this kind of power to be sold and
smoked legally within our state?
Or do we shun the plant despite its
benefits. These facts are the very
reason Missouri is on the fence
about legalizing the drug.
news & features
Dec. 7, 2015
page 3
Photography through the Years: from Daguerrotypes to Digital
by Christina Miller
Photography. So easy, a New York
rat can do it.
Recently a rat in New York’s President Street subway station crawled on
a sleeping pedestrian and took a selfie.
Was the little guy trying to impress his
little rat friends with how exciting his life
was? With how far his travel adventure
had taken him? With what he was doing?
Eating? Not wearing?
Selfie: A photograph that one has
taken of oneself, typically one taken with
a Smartphone or webcam and shared via
social media.
Photography. So easy a rat can take
its own photograph. So goes photography
in 2015.
Digital cameras became widely available in the 1990’s taking photography to
an instant gratification level. Today the
majority of cameras sold are digital and
almost every single phone boasts a camera.
St. Louis area architectural photographer, Richard Sprengeler, does most of his
personal black and white photography using a 4x5 view camera, and his color work
with a digital camera. Sprengeler says he
enjoys being able to look at the big image
through his 4x5 viewfinder, and he finds
it easier to concentrate on composition
with the 4x5 camera. However, because
of the cost of color film, he does his color
photography with his digital Nikon camera.
With the advancements and ease with
which images can be manipulated with a
variety of software, straight-out-of-camera
photography is becoming rarer. Sprengeler
said that photographers get sloppy when
they take a not great image and then use
post-processing to try and make it great.
Your image “should look like you didn’t
do anything to it”, Sprengeler says, adding
“you can try to fix it [the image] after the
fact, but a good image straight out of the
camera is a good image.”
Photography has come a long way,
Baby, from its beginning. Louis Daguerre
was probably the first person to introduce
the public to an attainable photographic
representation with the daguerreotype
around 1839. Photography in 1839 was
quite involved.
First, the ingredients: a polished sheet
of silver-plated copper, chemicals to make
it light sensitive, a camera in which to
expose the sheet to light, mercury vapor
to make the exposed image visible, liquid
chemicals to “fix” the image to the sheet,
and finally protective glass to place over
the image.
The daguerreotype was followed by,
but not limited to, the Ambrotype in the
1850’s, the tintype of the 1860’s, the Carte
de Visite (CDV) of 1860-1900 (especially
favored during the American Civil War),
Cabinet Cards of 1866-1900, Stereo view
of 1858-1920’s, and 1900 brought us Kodak’s Brownie and “snapshots”.
Early photography relied on natural
cal used to develop the image was Potas- to trading cards of today. Not only were
sium Cyanide, a very toxic, poisonous, the images of family members and loved
and dangerous substance.
ones collected, but also those of celebriThe mirrored, or reversed, image ties, resulting in a movement known as
was developed onto a thin sheet of metal, cardomania.
was not as fragile as the daguerreotype,
The CDV was popular in the American
and did not need to be protected and Civil War when soldiers would either have
displayed under glass.
an image made for a sweetheart and family
Matthew Brady is considered by before leaving for war or as an image sent
many as the father of photojournalism. Brady is best
Kelsi Gmerek takes a selfie with Tara Cannella, known for his images of the
civil war. However, as soJessie Messerly, and Matthew Ugalde
ciety was not ready to view
the carnage of war as it was
lighting and long shutter times. To help a
happening, or soon after, much
subject stay stationary, often a stand or prop
of Brady’s work went unviewed.
was used to keep the subject from moving.
A large portion of Brady’s
A subject was not encouraged to smile, as
work has been permanently lost
a smile was harder to hold, and if a subject
in the years following the civil
blinked, the camera rarely recorded the few
war as Brady’s photographic
seconds the eyes closed.
glass “plates” were sold and
Although the advent of the daguerreoused as glass in greenhouses.
type made photography more available to
Eventually the sun burned away
consumers, often photography was a rare
the image on the glass “negaluxury for families.
tives”.
Post-Mortem, or death, photography
Considering how quickly
was a popular and normal part of culture
and effortlessly a digital photo
in America and Europe in the 19th century
can be taken and viewed toand early 20th century.
day puts into perspective what 2015 image captured with 1940s’ era 120 film camera
As photographs of families and inpreparations Brady made to
dividuals were rare, often a post-mortem
get his battlefield images. His
photo it was the last, and only, chance to get
camera was set up, focused, and the scene back home during deployment.
a photographic memorial of the deceased.
composed. Using a “wet-plate” method
In 1888 George Eastman’s Kodak
The deceased was rarely photographed
(wet-collodion-on-glass negatives), Brady film camera went on the market with the
in a coffin, but rather as if he or she were
then had to coat a perfectly clean plate of slogan, “You press the button, we do the
sleeping or simply posing with other famglass with a chemical, bathe the coated rest.” Shortly thereafter, in 1889, the first
ily members.
plate with silver nitrate to make the coated transparent celluloid film became availplate sensitive to light, and while the plate able to the public, and in 1900 Kodak
was still wet, Brady could then insert the introduced its film camera, the Brownie,
plate into the camera. After taking the which revolutionized the industry and
photograph, the plate had to be developed, popularized the “snapshot”.
fixed, washed, dried, and varnished.
The public could snap the shot, but
The carte de visite, or CDV, was usu- generally not develop the film and print
ally a 2.125” x 3.5” albumen print on thin images. Edwin H. Land introduced the first
cotton paper, glued to a 2.5” x 4” card. The instant camera in 1948, but we wouldn’t
print was generally made from a glass plate “shake it like a Polaroid picture” until the
negative, and several prints were able to be 1970’s.
made from a single exposure.
As the image would be wet when
Referred to as visiting cards, these pulled from an instant camera, it was stanimages were shared and collected similar dard procedure to gently shake the photo
until it dried.
Kodak’s Polaroid gave consumers the
Post-mortem photo from the Victorian Age
ability to take a photo and get a finished
print within minutes out of the camera.
Rather than a bygone luxury, phoReplacing the daguerreotype and
tographs are made of every part of our
preceding the tintype, the Ambrotype
lives today...what we are doing, what we
was produced in a similar manner as the
are eating, where we are going, and often
daguerreotype. Instead of developing an
shared on social media without a single
image on metal, the image was developed
physical print being made. Multitudes of
on glass, displayed over dark material,
memories being captured and dependant
and protected under another sheet of glass.
on the internet’s ability to keep them safe.
Tintypes were quicker and easier to
Consumers, forget your large cammake. Generally, a tintype could be ready
eras, your bellows, your plate glass, your
for a customer in a few minutes. Often,
collodion, your tin, and your Potassium
the photographer’s studio was a booth at a
Cyanide, but don’t forget...Smile!
carnival or fair.
Although the processes for a tintype
were similar to daguerreotypes, the chemi- Another modern photo from an older film
camera
opinions
Dec. 7, 2015
page 4
Social Media
and Teachers
Trigger Fingers
Terrorism: Foreign or Domestic? Textbooks
by Alex Litterst
and Social Media by Nathan Imlay
by Alex Litterst
by Ariel Swopes
Social media is a growing
source of all things entertainment,
news, and information. Many
young people have at least one
form of social media and still
many more are avid users.
Professors are always evolving their teaching methods to the
times and try to engage students
with something that they will
understand. Social media has
provided a wonderful platform
for teachers to integrate their
teaching with the free flow of
information and access that social
media provides.
There are many options for
social media integration outside
of just Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Google Hangouts, Edmodo, Second Life, etc.
These can be used for various
activities, like blogs, discussions,
video presentations, etc.
With the use of social media,
there are benefits for all sides.
• Educators: For educators
this allows for collaboration
with other educators, allows for
an easier access of information
between students and teacher, lets
communicating between students
who may not have normally communicated otherwise
• Students: Students can
increase their networking skills,
more engaging conversation,
more knowledge of technology,
and more general enjoyment of
learning
• Parents: Makes communication between parents and teachers easier, can communicate with
child about school work in a more
child friendly manner, can keep
up with assignments that student
is working on
Social media integration
also leads to improved student
performance. In the pilot program integrating social media
in Portland, students had grades
improve by 50%, reduced chronic
absenteeism 1/3, 20% increase in
assignments completed, and 35%
increase in absenteeism by texting
students “Wake Up” or “Running
Late” through a program that cost
the school no money.
There are many benefits to
integrating social media and technology into the classroom that it is
conceivable to think integrations
like this will be more widespread
within the coming years.
Social media has changed
dramatically over the years.
Social media was originally
designed to communicate with
family, old friends, and for many
professional reasons. Now it’s
used to hide one’s identity. Many
people use social media to express their feelings, whether its
racial ranting or trash talking the
girl or guy you hate.
Facebook and Twitter are
the primary platforms for trash
talking. There’s no more face to
face conversation and problem
solving. Everyone runs to social
media to rant and express their
opinions of others. People used
their fingers as weapons to trash
talk on websites.
Creating fake Facebook or
twitter pages has been common
as well. The purpose of the fake
pages is to target one’s enemy, or
do things that you are not brave
enough to do in person. For
example, a person may make a
fake page to spread rumors about
another person in school.
It bothers me that a person’s
self-esteem can be so low that
they have to humiliate people
through social media to make
themselves feel better. .
Having trigger fingers for
social media can lead to many
problems, including suicide.
According to The American Association of Suicidolgy, suicide
rates among 10 to 14-year-olds
have grown more than 50 percent over the last three decades.
People, particularly students in
grade school, who are dealing
with cyber bullying may want
revenge or attempt suicide to
handle the situation.
Bullying statistics say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings, and
87% of students said shootings
are motivated by a desire to get
back at those who have hurt
them, according to the National
Voices for Equality, Education,
and Enlightenment.
I don’t promote violence
or conflicts at all, but I do encourage people to stop being
cowards. Stop using the internet
to rant on how much you dislike
that girl or guy at school. You
can’t be straight outta Compton
on the internet and a church
mouse in person. If you can’t
be brave on your own, you
shouldn’t use the computer
keyboard as a shield, and you
shouldn’t use your fingers as
the trigger.
The Syrian refugee crisis
has increased American's fears
of infiltration by foreign terrorists. While this is not a totally
unreasonable fear, most of the
radical Islamist terrorist attacks
since September 11, 2001, have
been perpetrated by U.S. born or
naturalized citizens. Additionally,
with the recent shooting deaths of
three people at a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs,
we must be aware that not all
terrorist attacks are committed
by Muslims.
Much media time is devoted
to "radical" Muslims, those that
feel that everyone should follow their religion or be killed.
Yet where is the talk of "radical'
Christians? Why are some calling
for a ban on non-Christian immigrants? Are Christians never
"radicals"?
Robert Lewis Dear, the perpetrator of the Planned Parenthood attack appears to have been
motivated by religious reasons.
Dear identifies himself as a Christian and Barbara Micheau, one of
his ex-wives, reportedly described
him as "very evangelical," although she noted that his actions
often don't seem very Christlike. Whether one believes that
Planned Parenthood is an immoral
organization or not, it is clearly
"radical" behavior to kill them in
the name of religion.
This is hardly an isolated
incident. Since 1977 there have
been eight murders, seventeen
attempted murders, 42 bombings,
and 186 arsons, not to mention
thousands of other incidents such
as vandalism. For those of you
doing the math at home, that is a
rate of one bombing per year and
almost 5 arsons per year. Yet when
we hear terrorist in the media, it
is usually connected to a Muslim.
The Boston Marathon bombing happened 2 years ago now.
Do you remember a bombing
in the U.S. perpetrated by "radical" Muslims since? Or before?
Chances are you can't, because
there have been relatively few
deaths in the U.S. from Islamic
terrorist attacks since 2001. Additionally, most of the Islamic
terror attacks in the U.S. have
been perpetrated by native born
or naturalized U.S. citizens.
In the media narrative about
terrorism, one major factor in
terrorist attacks gets very little
attention: proximity. It is much
more difficult to organize a
terrorist attack from thousands
of miles away. Most terrorist
groups operate within a specific
region, making homegrown terrorists more likely to be a threat
than terrorist groups from across
the globe.
With recent events in Paris,
fears of foreign terror attacks are
probably justified. Although foreign terrorists may be less likely
to be a threat than homegrown
terrorists, there is reason to
maintain security. However, the
perpetrator of the Paris bombings was a Belgian national, not
an immigrant from Syria.
Currently there is a system
in place in the U.S. to vet Syrian refugees for potential terrorist connections. The vetting
process takes 18 months to 2
years and involves an extensive
background check. Only a relative handful of Syrian refugees
have been admitted to the U.S.
Since 2012 only 2,174 Syrian
refugees have been admitted to
the United States.
This is hardly the same
as the sieve that the European
borders are. Europe is dealing
with millions of refugees, which
makes it much harder for them
to keep track of potential threats.
With so few refugees being
admitted to the U.S., it won't
be nearly as easy for those with
terrorist connections to pose as
refugees.
Despite the recent furor
over Syrian refugees, there
doesn't seem to be anything
more to be done to safeguard the
American people. With homegrown terrorists accounting for
most of the attacks on U.S. soil,
there is more reason to worry
about U.S. citizens than foreign
nationals. Terrorism is a real
threat, but the media narrative
often misstates the extent and
origin of the threat.
It is important to note that
the Islamic State hates the refugees. The millions fleeing Syria
put the lie to the I.S.'s claims that
they are a haven for Muslims. By
denying refugees, we are playing into the I.S. narrative. The
I.S. claims that the west doesn't
care about Muslims. Why prove
them right?
Email us at [email protected]. We may
publish your comments as a letter to the editor.
We reserve the right to edit for length and
grammar.
Textbooks can be a student’s
best friend and worst enemy.
If a teacher allows the student to use it on his/her assignments and takes information
from the book for tests, then they
are a great asset. If the teacher
uses their own information and
creates their own assignments,
students wonder what to do with
their $200 paperweight
The price of textbooks has
seen a significant increase over
the years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since
1977 the price of textbooks has
risen 1041%.
This rise in prices has
made it difficult for students
to purchase books from school
bookstores and direct suppliers.
Many students use websites like
Amazon to purchase books at a
reduced price.
The only problem with this
method is that not every textbook is available on these sites,
especially if a new edition of the
book has just been released. This
forces students to pay full price
at major distributors.
Students can’t afford to do
this can hope to find another
student who had the course and
can loan them the book or simply
try and do without.
Neither of those are guaranteed to be successful, however.
In a survey done by the US
Public Interest Research Group,
• 65% said they had decided
against buying a textbook because it was too expensive.
• Nearly half (48%) said
the cost of books had an impact
on how many or which classes
they took.
• 94% of the students who
had skipped buying a required
book said they were concerned
that doing this would hurt their
grade in that course.
With all of the statistics it
shows that the college textbook
industry is clearly booming, but
is it leaving it’s consumers in
the dust?
The bookstore here at Jefferson College is one of the better
places to get textbooks with all of
their great deals. The bookstore
has a price match system where
they will sell a text book at the
same price that you can find at
any big retailer, such as Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, and Chegg. The
bookstore also offers rentals and
used books as well. Then when
the semester is over you can head
back to the bookstore and sell
your books back to them.
opinions
Dec. 7, 2015
page 5
Daily Fantasy Sports Is Not Gambling?
by Val Williams
by Nathan Imlay
Casinos are well known
for throwing out gamblers who
"count cards" at the blackjack
table. This is because blackjack
is a game of skill as well as
chance. Those who are skilled
enough can win consistently,
which is very bad for a casino
that is run for profit. Although the
skill aspect of card games such
as blackjack or poker are well
known, relatively few people
will argue that wagers on such
games are gambling -- even if the
player is the one betting.
Recently, a new kind of
gambling has arisen, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS). In DFS,
players pick athletes to make up
a fantasy team in a draft similar
to that used by the sports leagues
themselves. Players make a
deposit, they don't call it a bet,
and the player whose team outperforms the others wins the pot.
Because DFS is a relatively
new phenomenon, its legality is
still a matter of debate. FanDuel
and DraftKings claim that DFS
is a contest of skill and therefore
is not gambling. If blackjack and
poker are games of skill as well
as gambling, why should DFS be
judged differently?
Currently, the reason is
legal. Sports gambling is still
illegal in 45 states, so if DFS is
defined as gambling on sports,
DFS companies cannot operate in most of the union. DFS
companies cite the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement
Act of 2006, which prohibits
online gambling, but provides
an exception for fantasy sports.
The exemption for fantasy
sports was included in the law
because fantasy sports were
small business and run much differently than DFS. Fantasy sports
began as a season-long game in
which players picked their teams
of athletes and "managed" them
through the course of a season.
Many of these early fantasy
sports leagues were set up by
groups of friends and coworkers
and deposits to enter the contests
were often small.
The exemption did not specify that fantasy sports were not
gambling, it merely said that
they were not illegal gambling.
Yet because of this loophole,
DFS sites are advertising themselves as
"Not a gambling site." According to the letter of the law,
they are gambling sites, just not
illegal gambling sites.
DFS companies have
changed the nature of fantasy
Have Yourself A Merry Little Meltdown
sports. Now, it is much more common for people who have never
met each other to be competing
in one day fantasy contests. The
deposit to enter a DFS league
may be as much as thousands of
dollars. DraftKings and Fanduel
have carved a multi-billion dollar
industry out of a loophole intended for competitions between
friends and co-workers.
Perhaps DFS should be legal, but we should legalize it
intentionally so that we can
regulate it. History has shown
that unregulated gambling often
victimizes consumers. With that
in mind, maybe it is time to take a
hard look at why sports gambling
is illegal, and whether keeping it
illegal is the right answer for a
rapidly changing world.
One of the primary reasons
for keeping sports betting illegal
is the possibility that the gambling industry may compromise
the sport. The 1919 Black Sox
scandal, a conspiracy to fix the
world series, still looms in our
cultural consciousness.
But is it likely that DFS
will compromise the integrity of
sports? Since fantasy players are
choosing athletes who are playing
on different teams, in different
games all across the country, there
is no individual game or event to
focus on in order to manipulate
the odds. With large numbers of
people gambling on teams composed of varying combinations
of athletes from different teams
across the country, it will be extremely difficult for bookmakers
to manipulate the enough games
to radically change the odds.
Internet gambling is illegal
in the United States, but a Google
search of U.S. gambling laws
turns up results that include links
to offshore internet gambling
sites. With this kind of easy access to foreign hosted gambling
sites, is the ban on internet gambling working as intended? If the
ban on internet gambling was intended to protect consumers, can
it work when consumers can, and
will, get around the law so easily?
Many of these offshore gambling sites have little or no consumer protections. With U.S.
citizens skirting the law to gamble
online, there are no measures in
place to ensure fair games. Perhaps it is time to reexamine the
ban on internet gambling. Perhaps
if it were legalized in the U.S.,
it could be regulated to protect
consumers from the kinds of excesses that the gambling industry
is famous for.
It’s that time of year again.
The season of Thanks. The Christmas season. The “Holiday” season as new school laws might call
it. We are taught that this time of
year is the best time due to the
‘joy’ and ‘thanks’ that lingers in
the air as we are surrounded by
our loved ones. This is a wonderful season that should be cherished, but don’t feel discouraged
if you’re not having the easiest
time making the most of the holiday cheer around you.
For the overwhelmed college student this time of year is
actually more like the season of
mental breakdowns. All of your
professors seem to have intentionally ganged up on you with the
intention of suffocating you in
essays, projects, and huge tests. I
mean, are finals really necessary
or can we just not and say that
we did?
Seriously though, it’s like a
360 degree flip. Last week you
had no homework and plenty of
time for Netflix, and this week
you have 2 tests, a research paper
due, 3 readings, 5 assignments,
4 essays, 2 projects, a quiz and
a partridge in a pear tree. Please
tell me how this happens.
Or maybe this is the season
of overeating and low self-esteem
because of unwanted body weight
fluctuations.. All these homemade
meals… the macaroni whose
cheese strings toward you with
steam heat as you grab yet another
portion. Or that turkey, ever so
tender, which melts effortlessly in
your mouth. Or the pie. So much
pie. That dreadfully delicious pie.
For some, your fast-food intake reaches a peak level for you
are too busy for a homecooked
meal. Or in the middle of your
late night cram session you decide
to take an intermission for a few
cheap Jack Tacos and some churros. It sounds like a great idea, it
really does, in the moment, until
you step on the scale again.
It’s that time of the year when
going to the gym is honestly so
unrealistic. With the 500 things
on your plate right now (no pun
intended) physical fitness is the
LAST thing on your mind. Just
wait until New Year’s Day and
make an epic lifestyle change we
all say, so naive.
It’s the season of $1.27 balances in our checking accounts.
The money mom reluctantly gave
earlier this year for our everyday
survival was gone 3 weeks ago
and we are merely scraping by.
During this season you’re
thinking of all the things you
should have done differently
with you money. You are wishing
you would have worked more in
earlier months and not touched
those savings because when you
thought it was bad then, you
had no idea it could actually get
worse.
Your friends are just out of
luck as far as gifts are concerned.
Sorry guys, maybe next year.
But you cannot avoid buying
grandma her favorite sweater and
your sister wants a Jeffco hoodie
to “show support for you”. Then
there’s mom. She does so much
for you...you better have gotten
her a present.
A lack of money can be the
hardest part of this season. All
you can really do is play the
“broke college kid” card and set
a tip jar outside your door. Hey, is
the tooth fairy still in business? If
so, I’m sure those wisdom teeth
can be pulled sooner rather than
later…
It’s the season of inevitable
sickness. It’s so annoying because you don’t even like cold
weather but what do you know,
it’s here and you are a victim, yet
again. Tissues are your new best
friend: well, kind of. Your nose
hates you for this. But sick days
aren’t a thing. Attendance is crucial during these last few weeks.
I know this is a little thing
but it adds to the frustration during this time of year. The season
of dry skin. Lotion is a necessity. And how about that static?
Literally. So. Annoying. Oh and
the pale skin. Where did your
gorgeous bronze skin go? Even
your body is fighting against you.
Why. Just why.
With all this opposition, how
can we possibly be thankful and
jolly? There are numerous forces
acting against us. In a perfect
world there would be no stress
or anxiety. But this isn’t a perfect
world, now is it? I understand
that this isn’t easy. College isn’t
easy. Life isn’t easy.
Embrace it.
Yes, I said embrace it.
This season is exactly that.
A season. And do you know what
seasons do? They change. Know
that no matter how hopeless
things are they will turn around.
Believe it or not it gets better
from here. So take a deep breath.
After it’s all said and done
and you’ve made it you’ll look
back and laugh at yourself for all
your mental breakdowns. You’ll
laugh, thinking, why did I make
such a big deal about that? Now
I’m not saying laughter is in the
near future, but one day you’ll be
so proud of yourself for all your
hard work. Push through, relief
will be here before you know it.
I’m telling you… Do. Not.
Give. Up.
Be encouraged and continue
to set standards and goals for
yourself. They are not out of
reach. Goals are essential to success. Think about it. When you
have to go somewhere that you
have never been you type in the
address on your GPS and then
take the necessary steps to get
there. How can you get where
you’re going when you haven’t
put your final destination in the
GPS? Map out your plans.
Stop procrastinating. You
have to take ownership of your
life and get it together. The work
isn’t going to do itself and it’s not
going to disappear, either. Make
it happen.
Find that hope lingering
in the air and run with it. Once
you’ve got it, don’t let anyone
put out your flame; including
yourself. Remember, this is all
temporary. Remember that in all
this mess; you will be somebody.
You’re not there yet, but don’t
fret. You’ll find what you’re looking for. You’re a fighter.
Talk to someone. Go for a
run. Listen to loud music. Have
a mental breakdown or two if
it helps. Just don’t let your pity
party last too long, there is work
to be done. Find a quick way to
cope and just finish the semester
out. You got this, fam.
That being said, if you are
having trouble finding your
“Christmas Cheer” don’t worry.
It will happen for you. It may
not come until after you’ve completed your last final but you will
get there. Even if you’re crawling
on the ground, crying, when you
turn in that last final, hey, at least
you can say you made it.
Then you can use Christmas
break as a time to recharge yourself. The weight will be lifted and
you can finally breathe again. So
go ahead, find your holiday cheer.
You deserve it, college student.
Always remember that the best
is yet to come.
page 6
The Walk
By Peter Lewis
2012’s Flight may not have
been this great and truly memorable film, but it did bring Director
Robert Zemeckis return from his
past ventures of uncomfortable
motion capture based films.
Three years later, Zemeckis
delivers a film that focuses on
the story of Phillippe Petit’s 1974
wire walk between the World
Trade Centers in NYC.
So, are we ready to revisit
the stories surrounding the WTC
outside 9/11? Well that’s not my
hill to die on, but I can review The
Walk for what it is.
First off, we got a film where
the portrayal of Petit, Joseph
Gordon-Levitt, delivers the story
in a flashback and breaking the
fourth wall style. Unless the character is interesting and charming,
this typically can go south fast.
Luckily, Levitt is great as the
main character. He showcases this
complex but ultimately loveable
character well enough to forgive
this somewhat cheesy French
accent.
Levitt’s breaking of the
fourth wall actually ends up
adding to the story as the film is
so dedicated to the story of his
character, that it never seems out
Spectre
By Peter Lewis
Let’s get to the point quick,
Daniel Craig’s final* performance
as 007, Spectre, the sequel to
2012’s brilliance shown in Skyfall, is a disaster. Generically
007 with no major entertainment
or fascinating Bond moments,
Spectre continues the send film
for the Bond actor to be very
weak, but Craig seemed to draw
the short straw, as even Quantum
of Solace was a better watch than
this disappointment.
Spectre is mostly action instead of any compelling storylines
that Craig’s Bond was shown to
be capable of in Casino Royale
and Skyfall, and the action that
makes up the majority, is very
formulaic and unexciting. Supporting characters and subplots
have no real stimulating factors
to them, it doesn’t feel forced,
simply underdeveloped. Too
much of the film feels reliant on
the 007 tropes without playing
around with it.
Despite its stylistic set pieces
and MI6 imagery, Spectre disappears into itself and makes near
movies
of place and welcoming since
Zemeckis uses the narrative correctly and leveled. .
More impressive than anything is Zemeckis and Christopher Browne’s screenplay to let
the film get to the grand event
as fast as it can, but keep involvement in the buildup. While
Zemeckis’ direction is placed
solely on Petit and his “coup,” so
once Petit gets his idea to walk
between the WTC, the film goes
fully focused on the story and
anything that feels off, plays into
the larger coup.
Most impressive in The Walk
is that the cast list is very small
and other than Levitt and Ben
Kingsley, the cast is largely comprised of unknowns which plays
well into character development
and allowed Zemeckis to fully
transform Levitt in to Petit and
Kingsley inti his mentor, even
though he’s largely absent from
the film.
The Walk does not disappoint on a climatic level. When
the main event comes, it’s very
faithful to the actual events that
made it so impressive. There’s no
scenes where he nearly falls off or
the rope breaks, rather, just Petit
walking across the wire and the
cops confused on how to handle
the situation. It’s rare when this
happens, but when it does, it’s
incredibly refreshing to see.
two and a half hour runtime feel
excruciating.
Returning Director Sam
Mendes and the four screenwriters at times, seem to simply have
given up trying to make a storyline work and rush to get to the
next point. The story itself feels
unfinished and leaves way to
many plot holes where you don’t
have to knit pick to find them.
However, the most glaring
sin of the film is the use of its own
title, Spectre. In 007 lore, Spectre itself, was a major element
in some of the best Bond films
with Sean Connery. After the
handling of the villain plotline in
Skyfall, a final from this company
dedicated to Spectre should have
been magical.
But it’s not.
The Spectre organization
is handled so poorly and underutilized to the point of being
insulting, that it’s astonishing
that it was included, or more
importantly, the title of the film.
Spectre, the film and the
organization, don’t do anything
Steve Jobs
By Peter Lewis
The ending though takes a
more bittersweet angle as that’s
what Petit’s life included and
more of the legacy of the Twin
Towers. Which I like, prior to
9/11 the Towers stood as a symbol
and had great stories to tell, one
can’t simply forget the events of
that infamous day of course, but
if anything it seems Zemeckis is
saying it’s time we revisit those
stories and choose if we wish to
dwell on that September morning.
Because the film ends on the note
of Petit’s main loves being gone,
but certainly not forgotten.
This film is certainly a nice
artistic expression and charming watch, more than enough to
forgive a shortcoming every now
and then.
8.5/10
remarkable or strangely enough,
evil. Their endgame is confusing
and their own plans don’t carry
any real weight to them in the
long run, no matter how the film
justifies 007 and MI6’s involvement with them, it doesn’t work,
there’s no possible way to get
invested in this.
And for anyone looking
forward to Christoph Waltz
as famous Bond villain, Ernst
Stavro Blofeld, then I apologize
in telling you the character is not
only handled atrociously, but is
only in three scenes.
Yes, the main Bond villain
is in three scenes, and in one his
face is not scene at all, while the
final outcome of what happens
to him is almost laughably bad.
The twenty-fourth Bond
film, Spectre, is evidence that
such a long running series, no
matter how much it has improved
in past years, is still capable of
failing, but this film seemed to
be the nightmare scenario.
3/10
Who was Steve Jobs? Depending on one’s views of Apple
and personal feelings towards the
man, numerous responses will be
made. Yet, the man’s life, no matter how one views him, is largely
overshadowed in a heavy cloud
of myth and legends.
2013’s Jobs, from Director
Joshua Michael Stern and Writer
Matt Whiteley, showcased a
linear biographical look into
Jobs himself, but didn’t seem to
want to stray from the mythos or
challenge the perception of the
man. The end result along with
a lackluster performance from
Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs,
was an empty and dull look at
the man who died just two years
earlier in 2011.
But now in 2015, Director
Danny Boyle, Writer Aaron Sorkin, and Michael Fassbender as
Steve Jobs unite to give the true
film that goes fully into looking
beyond the man, the myth, and
the legend.
Rather than following the
linear chronology of Job’s life, the
film is set in a three act structure
surrounding Job’s three most definitive moments: the introduction
of Macintosh, NeXT Computers,
and the iMac. While in the act
itself, Boyle and Sorkin explore
a sense of truth around who Jobs
was.
And if his portrayal in these
years before the explosion of
Apple popularity and cult mythos,
Steve Jobs is an absolute garbage
human being, and Fassbender is
excellent at showcasing this.
Yet, rather than being a piece
that defaces the legacy of Jobs,
Boyle gives a great directorial vision that is obvious, even though
this man is a scumbag, there is
something about him that made
him so interesting and in fact,
someone to cheer on while hate
was evident. The film calls out
Jobs (on his vision and mythos),
but paints him a different way that
better explains the status he’s received in a much better way, and
does it in a way that is much more
understandable than other explanation I’ve heard for why he’s so
Dec. 7, 2015
beloved in tech and culture.
This of course is also well
done with Sorkin’s excellent
script that pays close attention to
the characters so they can provide
a sense of explanation to the audience on just what they’re dealing
with on screen. The performances
of Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Katherine Waterson, and John Ortiz
work well with challenging the
myth of Jobs and giving lessons
on who he was and what he did,
but Kate Winslet does this the
best portraying Joanna Hoffman,
Job’s long time trusted marketing
executive.
In large part with the structure of heavy focus on the three
events, Boyle and company can
truly bring out the character study
faster and better, there’s no empty
space in the film, it’s fast paced
analysis and myth challenging
that works very well.
Boyle has odd directorial decisions every now and then, don’t
get me wrong, but for every slight
mistake my cynical film heart
picks out, there are five incredible
scenes soon after.
The Job’s debates with John
Sculley, the trump card in the
form of Steve Wozniak, the
humanity discussions, and most
importantly, Job’s dealings with
his daughter are some of the set
pieces witnessed in the film that
leave an impact.
At times, some scenes can
have a clichéd tone underneath it,
but not enough to not get involved
or even on the edge of one’s seat,
Sorkin’s writing is that good.
I don’t like to play the Oscar potential game in reviews,
but I will say this, if Sorkin is
not nominated for Best Adapted
Screenplay and Kate Winslet not
nominated for Best Supporting
Actress, than the Academy streak
for numskull decisions continues
yet again.
In the end however, the question, “Who was Steve Jobs” has
an answer, but still retains the hint
of legendary status, even if by the
end, it’s fully obvious, he’s not the
greatest legend out there.
And any film that challenges
the Apple cult’s mythos and
replaces it with true reality, is a
wonderful thing to see.
9.5/10
Like what you see? Want to add your own voice?
Sign up for Journalism in the Spring Semester.
movies
Dec. 7, 2015
The Martian
By Peter Lewis
It’s harder than ever to know
what to expect from Ridley Scott.
But in the case of his new film
with writer Drew Goddard, The
Martian is not a letdown or confusing mess. Instead, it is one of
the smartest and engaging films
of the year.
Based on Andy Weir’s 2011
novel of the same name, The
Martian is a rare sci-fi film in
that it focuses heavily upon, while
working hard at establishing, the
science rather than the fiction itself. Liberties of course are going
to be needed for the art of film, but
even then this is a great intelligent
story of survival and science.
The Martian himself is Matt
Damon, who is surprisingly for
once very engaging and likable.
Maybe Ridley Scott hasn’t lost
all his magic?
Jokes aside, Damon is really
great and fun to watch in this
film. His delivery is on the spot
and acts well as a main character
to get invested and get behind.
Damon presents himself in a way
where his emotions are accepted
by the audience member; if some
goes right it’s hard not to feel
happy with him and if things go
wrong, then the worry and hopelessness is felt with him.
The remaining cast includes
great talents like Jessica Chastain,
Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, and
others, but they can’t really pull
in the audience as Damon did,
even though they give off great
emotion and likability.
page 7
The story
is able to easily
focus on whatever plotline it’s
on while being
both smart, but
not overwhelming to take in.
Because of the
“lets science the
s*** out of this”
mentality, not to
many surprises
are presented,
but it’s still light
tone is enough to
keep the audience
member involved
in what otherwise
could have gone
downhill fast.
And visually, can’t believe
I’d say this about CGI, it looks
great and immersive.
Yet the problematic issue
with the story, incredibly enough,
is not enough Matt Damon. Three
plotlines go on in The Martian.
NASA problem solving, Matt
Damon on Mars, and the surviving members of Damon’s
crew on their way back to Earth.
There’s no problem with the idea
to focus on the non-Damon story
on Mars, it is needed and works
well. Problem is Matt Damon
brings the audience so involved in
the film, the film shouldn’t stray
away from him for too long. Yet
there are long scenes away from
him that feel like they drag on and
keep wanting Damon back. This
isn’t the fault of the actors in the
NASA and crew scenes, the film
Black Mass
By Peter Lewis
simply does Damon’s character so
well that one can’t help but want
more of him and keep sub-plots
at a minimum or maybe even, a
complete focus on him with news
through his eyes.
And yes, I’m quite sure this
is the first and only time I’d every
say “Not enough Matt Damon” as
a negative to the film.
Although, that’s a big issue,
it’s not enough to destroy the film.
There’s too much good going on,
even when it’s away from Damon,
to get to into the absence of the
main character for too long. The
story and character development
is great, the buildup is near-perfect, the climax is not overblown,
and the ending is satisfying. This
is the Martian, easily the best serious sci-fi movie in a long time.
9/5
While Black Mass is easily
Johnny Depp’s best role in the
past decade, the American Mob
movie still has a long way to
go before getting back its past
prominence.
Rising talented, as well
as underrated, director Scott
Cooper teams with screenwriters Jez Butterworth and Mark
Mallouk bring the story of James
“Whitey” Bulger’s story of being a terror on the streets and
underground of Boston as well
as his time as an FBI informant.
It’s no surprise how much
Depp goes into character, but in
the case of Black Mass, this is
the best payoff of any of his past
performances. Depp is terrifying
as Bulger and completely pulls
off the characters violent nature
and criminal genius. Every scene
he is involved in is wonderfully grim and an emotional ride,
Depp nails the role of one of the
most notorious mob figures in
America, it’s easily up there with
the likes of Ray Liotta as Henry
Hill in Goodfellas.
Unfortunately, this is the
extent of what the film does
right in setting itself apart, other
than Depp, everything feels
like a watered-down modern
mob film. What makes mob
films like Goodfellas and The
Godfather great, is they establish the needed criminal tones,
but deliver the excitement that
makes the mob interesting to
begin with. Black Mass juggles
this year or period pieces in the
century, this is rather hard to believe seeing the Coens’ talents at
writing films like Fargo and No
Country For Old Men.
The atmosphere of the Cold
War is more forced than natural,
set pieces indoors are absolutely
ugly to look at and lite below
par, while supporting characters
blend into the dullness of the
film. Credit to Mark Rylance as
Rudolf Abel for pulling off a good
performance and being the most
interesting character shown, but
being underutilized doesn’t help
that much in the long run.
The film takes no real risks
or desire to explore major Cold
War themes and political tensions,
instead it’s as simple as we good,
Soviets bad, find a way to get
back the prisoner.
This Americanized focus
leaves out what could have been
a great duel storyline between
the US and USSR, but again, that
would have been a challenge,
and this is strange as Spielberg
hadn’t really shown these signs of
slowing down in his past directed
films. Hanks comeback from excellent back to back performances
in 2013 is such a major letdown as
well, the two together just seem
not to bring that magic out and
there wasn’t clear support around
them to make something special
happen.
As a film itself, it could be
viewed as a rather good one, just
way too slow for its own good
and watered-down as the only two
major warnings. But with what
multiple ideas for how to make
a film based on Bulger and the
Winter Hill Gang, but can’t
deliver a solid film that leaves
the viewer satisfied.
Black Mass goes through
a lot to fit Bulger’s life from
the mid-70s to the mid-90s. In
this time period a lot clearly is
going to happen for a mobster,
especially when one is an FBI
informant and have people on
the inside to let one get incredible information and treatment.
To the writers and Cooper’s
credit, they make it watchable
and show clear effort, but not
enough to truly stand out. Plot
lines that should have been
longer aren’t while mob movie
tropes, like an exciting and exhilarating spectacle like scene,
never happen on a large scale.
At a two hour and two
minute runtime, the film should
have been longer; possibly
even around the three to three
and half hour range. The FBI
plotline is the main focus, but it
clearly needed more on the actual stories of Winter Hill Gang
itself to really make the situation
feel tenser. What is given is a
lot of exposition and no actual
scenes, a little exposition here
and there is fine, but when it’s
all exposition, then the film feels
empty and disappointing, even
when covering such a large era.
While performances from
Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, and
Rory Cochrane are well done
and memorable; the story of the
film is what largely brings this
potential great film down.
7/10
Bridge of Spies
By Peter Lewis
Director Steven Spielberg
and Tom Hanks reunite eleven
years after 2004’s The Terminal
to bring the dramatization of the
Rudolf Abel trials, 1960 U-2 incident, and subsequent tradeoff of
prisoners between American and
Soviets in East Berlin.
From the get go, the populace excited for this of course
went straight back to 1998’s Saving Private Ryan as that seems to
be the best example of a Spielberg
and Hanks collaboration, never
mind the writers, producers,
editors, and supporting cast of
course, it’s all those two and no
one else (sarcasm). With a Cold
War period piece and somewhat
accurate* (I’m being generous
with that “somewhat accurate”
statement on account of the things
writers have to do to adapt stories
into films) story, does this film
overthrow Saving Private Ryan?
No.
Bridge of Spies is all right
for what it does, but dwells a lot
in playing it safe and the dull sequences to get to the big scenes.
Spielberg’s direction here is rather broken, unfocused, or flat out
poor at times. Hanks is his usual
good self, but can’t seem to get
fully into the character, by that I
mean you never see the character
and simply see the actor, which
in film terms, is a fail. There’s no
way to sugar coat that.
Writers Matt Charman and
the Coen Brothers screenplay
is decent, but doesn’t have the
special factor behind it to make
it stand out amongst other films
we know Spielberg, Hanks, and
company can do with each other,
this goes beyond that as the film
falls flat with those standards that
are save to have.
Is everyone in Hollywood
entitled to that one film that
doesn’t work out? Sure, not all
art will be good or perfect, but it
seemed like Spielberg and Hanks
passed that stage. Yet, as the two
move into their late careers, it
shouldn’t be too much of a surprise along with the Hollywood
landscape, but again, for a ten
dollar ticket, this is not worth it,
even for the Cold War enthusiast.
5.5/10
Dec. 7, 2015
news & features
Student Profile: Damion Futrell
by Ariel Swopes
Damion Futrell is a twenty
year old sophomore here at
Jeffco. His major is business,
but Damion’s primary goal in
life is to be an entertainer in the
music business. He also want
to open up a dance studio to
the local community. Damion
is so determined, that every
summer break he travels to Los
Angeles to take dance classes,
and connect with people to help
him get closer to reaching his
goal. Damion admires Usher
the most when it comes to his
career. He has hopes of working
with great entertainers such as
Usher of course, Chris Brown
etc. Dancing isn’t just a hobby
for him, it’s his life. Damion
decided to come to Jefferson
College because he wanted to
have a backup plan, which will be
his business degree. We all have
dreams, and goals, but as you get
older, you learn that some things
don’t happen overnight. You have
to learn to be patient. I always tell
Damion that with patience comes
blessings, and you were born a
star. You just have to understand
that there’s nothing wrong with
seeking other directions in life,
but when your time come it will
be perfect timing. Damion is an
incredible person, with a million
dollar smile. Check out his dancing videos on Instagram.
“I enjoy what I do, I truly believe Iam gifted, and also follow
me on Instagram to check out my
videos @gifteddamion.”
Culinary Arts Vinaigrette Salad Dressings For Sale!
Back by popular demand!!!
The culinary arts students
have been working hard creating our large selection of bottled
vinaigrette salad dressings. These
dressings are all made with 100%
natural ingredients. All varieties
are low calorie,fat free and gluten
free. They are all intensely flavored and a tablespoon of dressing goes a long way. Samples
available. Try these dressings as
a sauce on grilled chicken or fish.
Small bottles (12.5 fl. oz.) are
priced at $10
Large bottles (25 fl. oz.) are
priced at $15
In our effort to save the
environment, we re-use as many
bottles as possible. Bottles arecleaned and sanitized thoroughly.
Uniquely sized bottles are individually priced. We will give a
$1 refund for each returned empty
bottle and for each returned pour
spout.
Dressings are available in the
culinary arts department, Area
Technical School, room 215
Monday – Thursday, 8:30
am – 5:30 pm., Fridays, 8:30
am – 2:30 pm, Saturdays, 10:00
am – 4:00 pm
Varieties currently available:
Cilantro-Lime, Ginger-Peach,
Jalapeno-Garlic Lemon-Dill,
Pineapple-Sage, Roasted Bell
Pepper, Sun-Dried Tomato Basil, Wild Mushroom, Cranberry-Orange (seasonal),
Plum
& Vidalia Onion (Seasonal),
Tangerine-Tarragon (seasonal),
Ghost Pepper (Very limited supply) EXTREMELY HOT!!!!
All Proceeds from this sale
will be used to send students to
competitions.
Bookstore Buyback and Spring Sales
Spring Books - Spring books go on sale and
financial aid is released for bookstore use on
November 30.
Book Buyback (including TI-83 calculators)
– Dec. 7 – 11 during normal store hours.
Rental Book Returns - Return all JC rental
books by Dec. 16 to avoid late fees (full replacement cost of the textbook) and processing
charges.
PRICE MATCH – the Bookstore will now match textbook prices
page 8
College Named Among
Healthiest Campuses in U.S.
Jefferson College Named
Among Healthiest Campuses in the
United States by Active Minds, Inc.
Jefferson College is one of
seven colleges and universities
across the country that has been
recognized for improving and prioritizing student health.
The College received Honorable Mention in connection with
the 2015 Healthy Campus Award
sponsored by Active Minds and
the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation. It is the only national recognition of its kind that celebrates
leadership, innovation, collaboration, and excellence in campus
health. Jefferson College was the
only higher education institution
in Missouri to be acknowledged.
“We are extremely honored
to be recognized as one of the
healthiest campuses in the nation,”
said Jefferson College President
Dr. Raymond Cummiskey. “This
award reflects the collective efforts
of our staff and faculty to create a
supportive campus environment
where comprehensive well-being
is a priority. Make no mistake, it
does not mean that the College has
achieved all that needs to be done,
but it does reflect a sincere commitment toward the health and wellbeing of students and employees.”
Some of the College’s efforts
to support student health include:
The creation of a holistic
wellness program and the employment of a wellness coordinator
to address seven dimensions of
wellness (emotional, physical,
social, occupational, intellectual,
environmental, and spiritual) in
conjunction with a $153,500 grant
from the Jefferson Memorial Community Foundation;
Full-time student counseling
services through a partnership with
COMTREA (Community Treatment, Inc.);
The establishment of an oncampus health clinic as a partnership with Mercy Hospital Jefferson;
The implementation of a
smoke-free and tobacco-free campus environment;
Programming and support resources such as “r u ok?,” question
persuade refer, suicide prevention,
and bystander intervention; and
Student group/organizations
such as Active Minds and Psychology Club.
“This is an incredible honor for
Jefferson College to be recognized
for the many campus programs
and people who support health
and well-being,” said Associate
Vice President of Student Services
Julie Fraser. “When you review
the caliber of the other institutions
recognized within this process, it is
clear that Jefferson College shines
as a community college invested in
supporting students in all aspects of
their lives. When you view our calendar of activities, you commonly
see events promoting substance
abuse prevention, mental health
discussions, and helping others. We
truly aspire to positively impact the
health of those on our campus.”
Eight elements are central to
the Active Minds Healthy Campus
Award and serve as the basis for
judging: prioritizing a collective,
strategic approach; defining health
broadly and pursuing it comprehensively; championing student
voices; cultivating a deep commitment to equal opportunities for
health; providing quality, responsive, accessible clinical services;
committing to sustainable systems
changes and policy-oriented longterm solutions; securing and making the most of available resources;
and measuring results and sharing
progress to continuously motivate,
guide, and focus action.
For more information visit
www.ActiveMinds.org
The Harbinger is prepared by student journalists of Jefferson College - 1000 Viking Drive, Hillsboro, MO 63050 - and
is published during the academic year. The Harbinger is a class
project of classes Journalism I-IV at Jefferson College, and has
been the student newspaper of the college since 1964.
The editorial opinions featured in The Harbinger should not
be construed to represent the official position of Jefferson College,
its Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, or all students. All
commentary pieces are property of their respective owner.
The Harbinger Staff includes Nathan Imlay, Peter Lewis,
Alex Litterst, Christina Miller, Ariel Swopes, Thomas Welch
and Val Williams.
The Harbinger staff is advised by Susan Todd.