Pop star Kesha and her music producer Dr. Luke, who allegedly raped her, have been filling up the tabloids these past couple of weeks, as a judge denied her an injunction that would have released her from her contract with Sony. Reportedly, Dr. Luke abused Kesha for years, beginning shortly after she signed a record deal with him in 2006, and then not only threatened to destroy her career, but also her and her family’s physical safety, if she spoke to anyone about it.
Fans and artists including Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson have displayed their support for Kesha, claiming that no one deserves the abuse that she suffered. The case brings attention to rape culture and is stirring up mixed and emotional thoughts of people across the country. Many students at Northern Essex also show their undeniable support for Kesha, while others are skeptical of the singer’s intentions.
“Sony is not only being unjust with Kesha, but is teaching our men that it’s acceptable to rape,” says Zobia Tariq, who has been avidly keeping up with the legal battle. “We live in a world where women are taught to avoid getting raped, when, instead, men should be being taught to keep their hands to themselves.”
According to the Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an astounding one in six women have experienced some form of sexual assault, while only one in 33 men have experienced it. 35% of rapes are committed by a work partner.
“It’s completely unfair,” says Adore Calixto. “Dr. Luke has been called out by several artists about how difficult he is to work with. He is definitely guilty and Sony is disgusting for allowing this to continue.”
Other students believe that this is Kesha’s attempt to get herself back out there and gain attention, as the pop singer does have a questionable past.
“If you follow the case, you’ll know that early on in the investigation, she denied the rape claims,” says Jacob Diaz. “And now she’s saying that it really happened, several years later after she hasn’t been making any music. To me, it just sounds like an effort to make a name for herself again.”
In 2011, Kesha and Luke were both sued by a manager, and under oath at the deposition, Kesha denied the allegations that her mother made about Dr. Luke sexually harassing her, testifying that they never had any sexual relations.
“Maybe she wants to get out of her contract and is going to the extreme to get there, or maybe her and Dr. Luke had a disagreement so now she is blackmailing him. Kesha seems emotionally unstable, so neither would surprise me,” explains Kevin Made Brito.
“I don’t have doubts at all,” Tariq claims. “She would have produced her music if she wanted attention. Why would she want negative attention when she could have money and attention for producing her music?”
“All she wants is to create music without being under the hands of her abuser,” Calixto adds. “She’s clearly suffering.”
Now, Kesha has the option to continue recording with Sony and make a third album, without the interference of Dr. Luke, or she could choose not to record with the label but pay damages to them, estimating around $15 billion. Sony could also release Kesha after she makes her third album, as multi-album deals have a contractual option, which allows producers to decide if they want to pick up the next album after one is finished.
The next steps in the case include each side turning in their demands for discovery evidence in the suit by March 21. Any objections to those requests are due the following month. According to the court’s schedule, this is simply an initial step towards Kesha getting her day in court, as the judge is not set to pick her trial date until the beginning of 2017.
Monthly Archives: March 2016
Movie Review: Zootopia
★★★★ (out of four stars)
I can’t remember the last time an animated film made me uncomfortable in the way “Zootopia” did during a handful of scenes. That might be because it’s been a really long time, but honestly, I’m more inclined to believe it’s because no animated film has made me feel this way before.
Now, that might sound like a strange way to start off a four-star review — after all, feelings of discomfort are rarely associated with great times at the movies — but this film challenges its audience in ways I never thought possible under the corporate influence of Disney. Better yet, it does so while being one of the funniest and most gorgeous films in their entire catalog.
Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) has dreamed of being a police officer ever since she was a little rabbit growing up on her parents’ farm in rural Bunnyburrow. Said parents, keenly aware of the fact that there has never before been a “bunny cop,” advise her to set her sights lower.
“You know why your mom and I ended up so happy?” her father asks. “Because we settled!”
Undeterred by this exchange — and by all the other resistance she meets along the way — Judy goes on to become the first of her kind, and moves out of home to the big city of Zootopia. Despite an urgent and developing case involving missing animals, surly buffalo boss Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) sticks her on parking duty without a second thought.
Judy’s no quitter, in case you haven’t figured it out by this point. Hoping her enthusiasm for parking duty will land her in a better position next time, she leaves to hand out a record-breaking number of tickets, in the process running into con-artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). Fortuitously, Nick seems to have a lead on the important case, but he’s also an insufferable cynic and wise guy that wants nothing to do with the investigation.
What follows is the development of a truly adorable relationship: first, one of the snarky back-and-forth variety, as Judy attempts to force Nick into cooperating with the investigation and the latter tries to weasel his way out. As you might expect, though, the two eventually discover they have more in common than they originally thought — a development which could be the recipe for groans and eye-rolls in a different movie, but is perfectly sweet and enjoyable to witness here. These are two whip-smart and loveable personalities, and the script takes its time bringing them together.
But while “Zootopia” may seem to merely filch the cop-buddy formula, it’s got a lot more to offer than just two mismatched characters solving a mystery together. An undercurrent of uncomfortable prejudice runs through earlier scenes, including one where Judy’s parents attempt to give her a number of devices to ward off predators, and remains bubbling beneath the surface throughout the rest of the mystery.
Just as the film seems to be wrapping up its third act, this theme comes roaring back to life, hitting a note of jarring reality that made me both uncomfortable and emotional — and the aftermath reveals both a hidden layer to Judy’s case and a new, even more devastating problem for the plucky heroine to deal with.
Without revealing too much, let me just say that the themes of prejudice and stereotyping really hit home here, in ways I’d never expect an animated film to affect me. This, combined with the humor and fully-realized characters, is especially timely in an era when division as a way to solve problems seems to be coming back into style.
Let Armando Belliard-Harmon entertain you
Armando Belliard-Harmon, 3rd semester theatre major at NECC, got involved with theatre at a
very young age, bonding with his grandmother watching golden age movie adaptations of musicals.
“Singing in the Rain,” “White Christmas,” and works by Ben Crosby is what sparked the fire for him to become a multi-dimensional singer, actor and dancer. Inspired by these icons, Harmon began participating in middle school theatre. “I’ve gotten comfortable with both singing and dancing. In high school, I did show choir as well as all 3 [singing, dancing, and acting] but primarily it was singing and dancing. I can say that helped me a lot, skill-wise and also just overall being comfortable with myself,” said Harmon.
At NECC, Harmon has been a part of the production of King Lear, playing the role of Edmund, the scheming and malicious illegitimate son of Gloucester. “I’ve participated in the [Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival] KCACTF, which is more oriented around the individual, where they have a lot of workshops for the entire week at a select campus. This time it was at Western Connecticut State University and I was blown away by all the energy and the talent. Each day was crazy because you wake up, workshop-workshop-workshop-show. You auditioned for several different professional companies that were there, and also there were some shows that were being judged,” said Harmon.
Two students from NECC succeeded past the preliminary auditions, Hunter Gouldthorpe and Abigail Seabrook.
Harmon became involved in dance at NECC while getting his general education requirements satisfied. “I really didn’t know where I wanted to put my time in outside of the general education requirements and I thought to myself, what do they [NECC] have to offer… dance, theatre… I couldn’t get into any dance classes with my schedule,” said Harmon.
Serendipitously, he met Nina Cabral in a theatre class. Cabral is a dance major at NECC who started helping Harmon hone his ballet skills one-on-one. “As time went on, we thought, well why don’t we start adding people to this small kind of class,” said Harmon. The class is a beginner ballet class that started at NECC’s dance studio and has traveled to Cabral’s studio where she recreationally dances and teaches other classes. “It’s really grown into something and I can definitely say I’ve learned a lot from her. I just feel more confident now if I were to go to an audition that required dancing,” Harmon.
Harmon said that he doesn’t often feel any stigma attached to being a male dancer, partly because it is not as uncommon in his social circle, but that he simply doesn’t supply information to people about his dancing if they don’t ask. Hip-hop is a more popular style of dance for the guys, and more modern styles of dancing, which all relate back to the foundational aspects of ballet. “I realized that ballet was one of the harder things, it’s kind of like the grammar of dance. Once you get a good basis you understand the whole thing which is the vocabulary, and you go to all these auditions and they say ‘oh you need to do a pirouette. It could be a jazz or modern audition and I’ll get it. I wish there was a stronger support all around for other guys to feel comfortable. I always tell my friends who are also in the theatre department to come to the ballet class because it is challenging.” said Harmon.
Dance club is shaking things up
NECC’s dance club is shaking things up during their rehearsal for the spring recital in the Sport and Fitness Center. Every Monday, a handful of students from all different majors and skill levels gather to learn funky new dance moves, or sometimes keep it classical with the integration of classical ballet influences.
Michelle Dean, a dance teacher at NECC, leads the club, putting the members through the warm up, and rehearsing over and over again in preparation for the big show. A passersby may hear “…and 5, 6, 7 8!” walking by as the dancers move in staggered synchronization across the studio.
The Dance Club is really welcoming to beginners, especially those who want to take on the challenge of learning new styles of dance. Grant Bellino, philosophy major, got started with the dance club simply because he has always wanted to dance. On a spur-of-the-moment decision, he signed up for the club. “It’s been extremely difficult because I’ve never been extremely coordinated. I’ve played several sports but dance is just so much… all the choreography. I love it!” said Bellino, “when it all comes together and you’re feeling it, at first it’s kind of fragmented when you’re learning new moves and everything but once it comes together and you’re doing It automatically it’s an awesome feeling.”
One of the veteran dancers, Nina Cabral, dance major, commands stage presence even when behind the other dances. Lithely moving across the floor, she makes the spectators want to follow her movements. Because Dance club is open for all skill levels, Cabral gets just as much out of it as a beginner. She began dancing at age 13, when her mother didn’t know what to do with all of her frenetic energy, dancing all over the house, so she enrolled her in a summer ballet intensive, and Cabral was in love. “I wanted to do all the dancing that is physically possible here [at NECC] because I’m not dancing enough. My favorite part about the dance club is that you get a warm up before you start dancing, but also I really just enjoy Michelle’s teaching style. She really makes sure it’s good for all levels. I’m a higher level than, like, everyone else in the class, but I really like that Michelle alters it for everyone. I really appreciate that, because it’s a hard thing to do. It’s hard to have a class for all levels,” said Cabral.
Letter to the Editor: Observer staff incompetent
The follow is a Letter to the Editor that I’m submitting to the Observer. If I can be of assistance in anyway please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you. -Daniel Potocki
Editor,
The Observer, the award winning student newspaper of Northern Essex Community College, has failed the students, faculty, and greater community it is supposed to serve. In the February 24, 2016 issue of the paper there were a number of errors so fundamental to publishing a newspaper, that it exposes some combination of gross apathy, willful disregard of duty, and stunning ignorance on the part of the Editorial staff.
The Opinions section is one half, the other being News, of the foundation upon which a newspaper is built. In a college newspaper the Opinions section is a place for exploring important beliefs and values as well as sharing new ideas with the community. It is the voice of the community, and a place to reflect. While the News section is supposed to be pure objective reporting, the Opinions section is where that news gets interpreted, broken down, and placed into the community conversation. The Opinions section is where critical thinking lives.
The whole of this issues Opinion section, outside of the Editorial which I will address shortly, was dedicated to the article, “Tutorial: Do-it-yourself Spa Day.” This is a complete and utter failure of journalistic integrity, and a failure of duty to the community. There was a time when the Opinions section was vibrant with the voices of students and faculty. A time when important ideas were discussed and explored in it’s pages. In it’s place now is the essence of vapidity, and the Staff should be ashamed that this was allowed to happen. This is made even more galling by the fact that we are in the middle of a landmark election year, that is shaking the very core of the American political establishment, on both sides of the isle. Given all that, and all the contentious and powerful issues we face in modern American society, the best the Opinions section is capable of delivering in a how-to guide for an in home spa day? The is ridiculous and insulting to the readership.
On top of that to then have the papers Editorial be written in the first person, as part of a Letter to the Editor? Does the staff of The Observer not understand that an Editorial is the unsigned opinion of the newspaper itself? Do they not understand that Letters to the Editor should be kept apart from other articles? Do they not understand that something written in the first person should at least be signed by someone? I honestly don’t know how individuals put in charge of an award winning newspaper could not be aware of the fundamental rules for putting one together. Further, if they are aware, then how did this happen? Did no one in the process from conception to publishing stop and think, “maybe this is a bad idea?”
For the Opinion piece on home spa days to be published, an almost comical series of repeated failures of basic competence had to have occurred. The Opinions Editor, Rachael Sarcione, had to fail to realize the piece shouldn’t be in her section. Then the Copy Editor, Jowi Meli, needed to fail to recognize that the piece shouldn’t be in that section. Finally, the Editor in Chief, Kim Whiting, who is ultimately at fault for this debacle, had to completely fail in her job to see that not only did this piece not belong in the Opinions section, but that both her Opinions Editor, and her Copy Editor seemed to not have a firm grasp on what exactly their job is. I can only hope that some member of the staff raised this concern, but was overruled. Did this happen because of ignorance or apathy? Either way, The Observer owes the NECC community an apology for a total failure of quality control and journalistic ethics.
The Observer is one of the first things people who come to the school will see. For many who don’t attend clubs or activities on campus it is the only way they will ever engage with the rich, diverse, and vibrant community at NECC. For some, the columns in the Opinion section represent the best chance for engagement with new ideas that will challenge their own beliefs, the very purpose of higher education. In all respects The Observer didn’t just fail its own national award winning heritage, it failed the NECC students and faculty, and it failed the other Observer staff Editors who are competently running their sections. The paper is only as strong as it’s weakest links, and this edition exposed some very weak links indeed.
My name is Daniel Potocki, I’ve been a student at NECC since the fall of 2006. In my time at the college, I have been in Student Senate, the President of Contemporary Affairs, the Opinions Editor of The Observer, and the Editor in Chief of The Observer. I am in the unique position of knowing exactly what is required of the Editorial Staff, and how difficult the job is, because it was a job I did for several years.
I’m writing today, as a former Editor in Chief, to express my sadness and frustration at what has become of the newspaper I used to run. As the voice of direct experience, I implore Sarcione, Meli, and Whiting to consider if they are really qualified and suited for the positions they hold on staff. For instance if Sarcione wants to write these kinds of articles then maybe she would be better suited in a different position on the paper. I ask The Observer staff to look back and try and figure out what series of events lead to such a complete failure of the basics. Then they need to go back and relearn the fundamentals of running an Opinions section so they can actually serve their community, and stop tarnishing the reputation of the paper that means so much to so many.
With respect and disappointment,
Daniel Potocki, former Editor in Chief of The NECC Observer
Landing that job
With spring break out of the way, NECC is on a fast track to the end of the semester and the graduating class of 2016 may be faced with the grueling task of preparing themselves for job interviews.
A college degree and a new pair of shoes is great place to start, but sometimes you have to be the cutest puppy in the basket to be chosen from an endless sea of prospects. I don’t mean that you have to have perfect skin or be physically fit, but you’re going to need charm and it definitely won’t hurt to brush up on your social skills. And for goodness’ sake, SMILE!
I know that a genuine smile can be difficult to conjure up nowadays, especially with all that is going on in the world and your own personal obstacles, but a smile, no matter how big or small, can be contagious and can leave a great first impression on a potential employer. A firm handshake and lots of eye contact will get you even further toward that second interview.
Believe it or not, the person who reads your resume will probably do a background check on you and more than likely try to snoop around in your Facebook posts and pictures. So, you may want to reconsider some of those spring break selfies you uploaded. If you have friends that insist on repeatedly tagging you in a “keg-stand” photo from two years ago, it may be time to clean up your “friends list” or explain to them that you are trying to land a job and would appreciate their cooperation in maintaining a new level of professionalism.
Being connected is a great way to keep in touch with family, friends and co-workers. Additionally, email and social media is user friendly even for those who are extremely shy or tend to experience social anxiety. However, the keyboard can be a dangerous tool that can ultimately hurt you and your career. Many times, we are quick to type things we would never say to someone’s face and we have to ask ourselves: has social media completely abolished social grace?
I remember getting ready for my very first job interview and my mother saying, ”Remember, if you don’t have anything nice to say… don’t say anything at all.” I guess a more current rule of thumb would be to never email anything that you wouldn’t want your boss to read.
Although it seems normal to see an electronic device in the hands of, well, pretty much everyone on the planet, leaving your phone in the car will impress the interviewer and help you focus on your surroundings, especially if you know that you have a hard time resisting the urge to text or surf the Web.
Not to be confused with “FaceTime” the app, the art of face-to-face conversation is one that is truly becoming lost. Nevertheless, it is a requirement in much of the corporate world. A modern interview is not simply a collection of closed-ended questions that can be answered with a monotone “yup” or “nope” but a series of verbal essay questions. So, don’t be surprised if the interviewer says “tell me about a time that you went above and beyond the call of duty at your previous job.”
For more sample interview questions, you can visit www.best-job-interview.com.
Employees who possess interpersonal skills are primed and ready to be promoted to leadership positions, which will lead to financial growth and a successful future.
Isn’t that why you came to college in the first place?
HC Media internship opportunities continue
HC Media continues to work with NECC internship program
Cassie Ellson is a twenty-year-old Art major at NECC. She took the Video Field Production class at HC Media, after which she remembered they had talked about the internship positions that would be opening in the next semester. Lance Hidy, graphic design professor, was coming around to the art classes and trying to recruit people for the internship program.
“I thought, why not?” she said.
Ellson is doing the Italy trip this semester and since she doesn’t have classes during the week, which is partly why she decided it would be the best time to do an internship.
She plans on transferring somewhere to pursue film and animation after NECC.
She edits footage to create shows, helps out when they do shows in the studio with setting up cameras and putting the set together for the show.
“I’m listening to music for the radio right now to make sure there aren’t any swear words,” she said. “I kinda love it. Everyone is wicked cool here and it’s just fun. Even when I’m just sitting there staring at the computer, I’m enjoying myself.”
Her goals included to get better at editing, working with the cameras and to improve her communication skills with others.
The first show, which was about 45 minutes long, took her a couple of days to edit completely as she got more familiar with the Adobe Premiere software. The second show she edited was about four hours, but she was able to complete it in one day. As she got more experience, she was able to work more efficiently in shorter amounts of time.
She was able to work in the control room on a live shoot one day where she had to be in control of switching between shots, which she said was stressful.
“I was afraid I was going to hit the wrong thing,” she said.
She did similar work at Salem High School in New Hampshire, where she took a two-year course in TV Production and got to do a little bit of everything.
Ellson is in the internship class that focuses on art, while Columbo is in the class focusing on journalism.
“Everyone except me is focusing more on photography, but it’s still really helpful,” she said. The class is helping her to put together her portfolio and resume for future employers. They helped her to remove unnecessary information from her resume and to also make sure she has all the crucial information that she needs to have on it.
“I definitely recommend doing the internship program. It’s valuable,” she said.
Carly Columbo is a twenty-year-old Communications major with a focus in journalism.
She wants to transfer once she graduates and continue to pursue communications, although there is such a broad range of jobs in communications that she wants to explore every avenue of it before making a decision. She is primarily interested in journalism and public relations.
She also took the Video Field Production class. After the class was over, she was able to work well with the Adobe Premier software efficiently and was offered an internship from Matt Belfiore, Director of Operations at HC Media.
“I really liked editing videos, so of course I accepted,” she said.
In the beginning, she was working on editing videos for The Haverhill Journal, which she expects to continue doing throughout her internship. She also helps the employees at the station by editing videos that they have on their list of things to do so that the work gets done more quickly.
“Matt says that the interns are the glue that fill in all the little holes to put everything together,” she said.
She also got to go out and help with a shoot with camera equipment once for the Boys & Girls Club’s 110th anniversary.
“I do a little bit of everything. Mostly editing, though,” she said. “One of my goals is in the process of being reached, which was just to become more familiar with the software and to learn new functions I can do with videos to improve the quality of the sound or the picture. I am slowly but surely getting better at that.”
Another one of her goals was to become more familiar with the camera equipment which she was able to do by getting to go out and get real experience using it.
“I really like the laid-back atmosphere. Everybody is working so hard and being diligent but the atmosphere is not stressful. Everyone is really comfortable and friendly with each other. It makes working there something I look forward to,” she said. “I enjoy putting the headphones on and zoning out while editing videos. It’s something you can indulge yourself in and get into.”
She said that she loves it because she’s exploring her own major and actually feels like she has a job that is relevant to building a future career. The employees at the station are very willing to help and are approachable which has helped her with any problems she had.
“You get your own desk so you have a space to put your things. If you’re looking for somewhere to really grow in this field but also have a fun time and be in a relaxed environment, this is the internship for you,” she said.
Chris Bowden, producer and videographer at the station, is one of the employees who actively helps the interns on projects.
“Cassie and Carly didn’t have much to adjust to,” he said. “They came in with decent experience from taking the NECC Field Production class and so they were able to hit the ground running. The majority of their workload has been editing, and they’ve been stellar at it.”
NECC Students volunteer at Lazarus House
When spring break comes, students at NECC are looking for something productive to do. One of the ways they can do that is through the school’s Safe Spring Break activities. This year NECC offered students the opportunity to work in different shelters around the Merrimack Valley.
Karla Marte, a Business Transfer student, and Ray Florent, an Elementary Education major, joined seven other students and staff at the Lazarus House in Lawrence. They spent the day there cleaning the facilities and helping out with cooking.
Florent said, “There were nine of us who attended. We cleaned the place from top to bottom and organized all the food and supplies that they had on hand.”
Lots of cleaning and cooking was part of the plan for the students helping out. They were serving meatballs that day and had their work cut out for them — there were a lot of people to feed that day.
“We had to make about fifteen pounds of meatballs, and it turned out to be about two hundred,” said Florent. “I have never made that many meatballs in my life.”
Marte was assigned a number of different jobs around Lazarus House, including vacuuming stairs, rooms and area rugs. She was also a big part in making the meatballs, which was her main project to work on. She loved every minute of it, except having to wear a hairnet for the first time.
“The hair net is just a funny memory that Ray and I had, along with him unplugging the vacuum on me,” said Marte. “We were there to help out with serious work, but you can always have fun doing it at the same time.”
Alba Diaz, a Business Transfer student, did not take part in the event, but knows both Florent and Marte and feels like that people sometimes take having food to eat for granted. She, for one, is comfortable in her living situation and does not have to worry about things to eat.
Diaz said, “We take buying food for granted. Sometimes we don’t realize or even think how other people might be living.”
Even though the students went there only to help out people who need a little extra help at this moment in their life, the students did receive something in return: they had a great feeling inside of them for what they did.
Marte said, “It was a really nice experience. It’s rewarding to do something for others without expecting anything in return. I wish we had group trips to volunteer like this more often.”
Florent said, “I have volunteered at different places before and it always feels good to help out. I think students who have never done this or are afraid to should really step outside of their comfort zone and give it a try.”
Body shaming
Kim Kardashian came under fire earlier this month when she tweeted a nude, yet censored, photo of herself with the caption, “When you’re like, ‘I have nothing to wear,’ LOL.” Women are sounding off, NECC students included.
Singer-actress Bette Midler responded to Kardashian by tweeting a challenge out to her: “Put your selfie to work … for a good cause! Donate, RT, I’ll match (your money) 2-1,” with a link to her charity.
Another celebrity who commented on Kardashian’s post was up-and-coming actress Chloe Moretz. Moretz said that Kardashian should be teaching young girls that they have more to offer than just their bodies.
“I truly hope you realize how important setting goals are for young women,” said Moretz to Kardashian over Twitter.
Jess Palmer, NECC alumna and advocate for body positivity, had a similar reaction.
“I think she’s a horrible influence for young women … She represents that beauty and outer appearances are what matter,” she said. Palmer added that she doesn’t see Kardashian’s representation of herself as authentic, suggesting the photo was probably Photoshopped.
On the other hand, Tarah MacGregor, a Liberal Arts major, said, “As much as I dislike (Kardashian), I was impressed. It took guts to do what she did in a society that objectifies her body daily, but reacts with disgust when she shares her body on her terms.”
This was a sentiment shared by many, and supporters of Kardashian have also taken their turn to speak out against the phenomenon known as “slut shaming.” According to Wikipedia, slut shaming is defined as “a form of social stigma applied to people, especially women and girls, who are perceived to violate traditional expectations for sexual behaviors.”
Actress Bella Thorne tweeted, “I think every woman should be allowed to make their own choices with their own bodies… and it’s not our place to tell them what they can and can’t do with their body.”
Slut shaming, body positivity and the over-sexualization of women’s bodies have been controversial, hot-button issues in the last few years with the rise of movements such as Free the Nipple, which holds the position that society should stop sexualizing women’s nipples and demonizing them for breastfeeding in public; The Selfie Movement, which is a new take on the selfie being a symbol for “self-love,” not “self-centered”; and the #365FeministSelfie project, started by a professor in Chicago, which encourages people to embrace their faces every day no matter what they look like.
“Slut shaming isn’t chill ever,” said actress Abigail Breslin to those speaking out against Kardashian. “Anybody who tries to say how a woman chooses to display their own body is wrong, is severely misinformed and misguided.”
MacGregor said woman-on-woman shaming is the worst kind. “I don’t know a single woman who has not experienced body shaming. The fact that we know the emotional toll this takes on us and use it as a weapon against each other is deplorable.”
As a self-proclaimed “healthy, plus-size woman living in a size-zero world,” MacGregor makes it a point to endorse body positivity. She sees the “body-shaming” celebrities as doing more harm than Kardashian’s initial post.
Melanie Peicott, third-year liberal arts major, elaborated on this point. “We are told to love ourselves and have confidence, but we can’t love ourselves too much because then we’re seen as conceited.”
Palmer turns to social media to give a voice to those who struggle with their own self image. She said, “It’s hard when you find yourself looking at someone and automatically judging them … It’s almost automatic these days.”
After all was said and done, two Kardashian supporters tweeted pictures of white roses and handwritten messages that she had sent them as a sign of gratitude.
One message, sent to Ariel Winter, said among the thanks, “Women supporting other women is so powerful.”
Emily Ratajkowski received a letter that ended with a quote from Emma Goldman, “Merely external emancipation has made of the modern woman an artificial being. Now, woman is confronted with the necessity of emancipating herself from emancipation, if she really desires to be free.”
MacGregor, Palmer and Peicott all agreed that society’s standards of women are harmful. Women are being shamed for hiding their bodies, being proud of their bodies and the size, color, condition and age of their bodies.
“Women have all the power to make the world better if we worked together, loved ourselves, and loved each other more,” said Peicott.
Election update
America started this race with 16 republicans and five democrats. Twenty-six primary elections are now in the books (Editor’s Note: March 22 results not available at the time of production), here’s an update and an overview of what’s to come.
Who’s Left?
Democrats
Lincoln Chafee
Hillary Clinton
Martin O’Malley
Bernie Sanders
Jim Webb
Republicans
Jeb Bush
Ben Carson
Chris Christie
Ted Cruz
Carly Fiorina
Lindsey Graham
Mike Huckabee
Bobby Jindal
John Kasich
George Pataki
Rand Paul
Rick Perry
Marco Rubio
Rick Santorum
Donald Trump
Scott Walker
What’s Next?
March 26
Alaska – 16 delegates
Hawaii – 25 delegates
Washington – 101 delegates
April 5
Wisconsin – 86 delegates
April 9
Wyoming – 14 delegates
April 19
New York – 247 delegates
April 26
Connecticut – 55 delegates
Delaware – 21 delegates
Maryland – 95 delegates
Pennsylvania – 189 delegates
Rhode Island – 24 delegates
May 3
Indiana – 81 delegates
May 10
West Virginia – 29 delegates
May 17
Kentucky – 55 delegates
Oregon – 61 delegates
June 7
California – 475 delegates
Montana – 21 delegates
New Jersey – 126 delegates
New Mexico – 34 delegates
North Dakota – 18 delegates
South Dakota – 20 delegates
June 14
Washington, D.C. – 20 delegates
Party Conventions
The Democratic National Convention will be held in Philadelphia from July 25 to 28.
The Republican National Convention will be held in Cleveland from July 18 to 21.
During each party’s convention, delegates of the respective party will gather to select their party’s presidential candidate and running mate.
