Excerpts from DREAMing Out Loud, PEN America's tuition-free workshop for young undocumented and immigrant writers in New York City

DREAMing Out Loud is PEN America’s tuition-free writing workshop series for young undocumented and immigrant writers in New York City. To celebrate the latest volume in their ground-breaking anthology series, DREAMing Out Loud: Voices of Migrant Writers, Encounters is partnering with PEN America to share contributions that come from Baruch College alumni in this year’s edition. Find out more about the program. https://pen.org/dreaming-out-loud/

Encounters is grateful to share the following two excerpts, from Baruch alumni Erika Apupalo and Annmarie Gajdos.

Erika Apupalo, "A Car Ride"

Dating as an undocumented human has made you feel like an animal. An animal that lives in a human body. This animal revives with love, except even love is insecure. Love feels tied to living in an uncertain country whose laws dictate your existence. You can control everything around you, yet still, things can be taken from you in an instant. No warning signs. Except you still want to try to find love because you are young and dream of a better future. But you return to the present. 

In the present, your human body returns home. On this Saturday, your parents take you to the fruit market in Jackson Heights. The fruit is fresher, and there is some nostalgia about the return to the place your family lived for about ten years. 

On this morning car ride, you inhale softly. You tried. You wonder how absence plays into the emptiness that you feel in the pit of your stomach. There is something about losing someone that way. When his decision isn’t a part of yours, when can he remove his limbs from yours? Meanwhile, you cannot. You don’t want to. You sit listening to the songs on the radio as your parents drive to the fruit market. 

The car swivels down the road. All the while, you are listening to neither the songs nor their conversation. All that is in your head is his name. His face, his body, his self. Because today, he is about to text you, unlike the other days when you have texted him. You crave him, like something out of this world. It is in this craving that you decompose a little each day. You lose yourself to him. All the while, there are others who tell you that he is wrong for you. Yet you still want him. You want all of him. You feel like an animal. 

You look rather calm, with a smile on your face. Your arms and legs are not shaking. You simply stare outside the window with your eyes on the bodies of people who traverse the sidewalk. His message reaches you like this. It punches you whole. He says, We need to talk. Nothing like simple words to take the air out of you. 

You have many conversations with your therapist about dating. There are many conversations with him about your interest in security, but also your pattern in finding uncertainty in relationships. You sit on the couch in front of him, and you swallow back the angry words that lie inside of you because here, you are calm as well. 

You tried, your friend tells you when you complain about the situation to him. 

You think, Yes, I did, but you still feel a bit out of sorts, like you are hanging onto a thread. The needle is about to pierce the fabric, and just as it is about to make it through, they see you hanging on the other end. Suddenly, you are whole and human. Not an animal. 

 This animal craves something that the other has. They always have papers. And smiles, money, and power. It is this power that annoys the hell out of you. This innate power—that with a contract, they could release you into freedom. Isn’t this what the lawyers continually tell you to do anyway? 

Once, a friend asks, Have you envisioned your wedding?, and you tell her, No. How could you imagine the beauty of such a thing when the cruelty of it permeates your skin? Truthfully, you want to imagine the beauty of the dress, of the ceremony, of the friends you must have by that point. 

But you come up empty. You talk to your therapist about how to build meaning now. He tells you how uncertainty has made everything feel like there is no point in anything. You agree. But then, how do you move forward? 

You buy a journal to pinpoint your habits. You buy a journal to save money. You crave normalcy so that your animal body that is human does not disappear underneath the structural lenses of your documents. You are undocumented.

Suddenly, the songs on the car radio stop. You arrive at the fruit market. His text message is still there. You respond, Sure! 

He doesn’t reply for the next three hours. By that time, you return home. You sit thinking that if dating feels this painful, then you never want to do it again. Except you love him—you think. And it is in this love that you get lost. Because if you are in love, then doesn’t everything else not matter? Not his power, not his papers—not marriage. All that you want is to sit with him and talk about books, music, movies, and forget about the things you thought about in the car ride that morning.

Erika Apupalo is a dacamented writer living in New York City. She writes poetry, fiction and essays. She graduated with a BA in Spanish and History.

Annmarie Gajdos, Eternal Nostalgia

To the woman I was, you are stronger than you know.

To the woman I am, you have come so far.

To the woman I will become, I can’t wait to meet you.

And to all the people who shaped me, you mean more to me than you could ever know (although I will never stop reminding you). 

Non sum qualis eram. Vires acquirit eundo.

SCENE 1

THE GUARDIAN

In an alternate reality, the concept of time is disjointed. There is no clear past, present, or future. For some, these periods of time inescapably overlap. Memories are commercialized and sold to those who are unable to fully embrace the present. Theaters loop lived stories of growth, love, and adventure for those who are unable to create their own. Memory overdosing has taken one too many lives, as is the case for our heroine Roxy, who prefers to experience the world through the eyes of others. But I’ll let her story speak for itself. 

Inside a dimly lit theater sits ROXY, a young woman who is displeased with her life. She holds a jumbo bucket of popcorn, eyes glued to the screen in front of her. She watches as an elderly couple strolls along the beach, hand-in-hand, at dawn. The sound of waves crashing fills the old building. 

FEMALE MOVIE ACTOR

(Wistfully) 

Do you remember how beautiful I was in my youth? Sometimes I wish we could go back to those days. To the days when I was desired and seen. 

MALE MOVIE ACTOR

 I see you now.

FEMALE MOVIE ACTOR

You can’t see anything with your cataracts. You’re as blind as a bat.

The male actor stops and grabs his wife by the arm, gazing into her eyes.

MALE MOVIE ACTOR 

I don’t need to see you to know how beautiful you are. I fall more and more in love with you every day.

A single tear rolls down Roxy’s cheek. The scenes playing on the screen become irrelevant background noise as Roxy gets lost in her thoughts. She takes a sip of her half-melted slushie, then she takes out her flask and mixes in two shots of vodka. 

ROXY

(Slurring her words but speaking with urgency) 

Play that again!

MOVIE THEATER EMPLOYEE 

(With an attitude) 

How many times are you going to watch this lame memory? I’ve already played it for you five times. 

ROXY 

I’m paying you, aren’t I? So what’s the problem? Just do it.

MOVIE THEATER EMPLOYEE 

Fine, but if I need to watch these old farts kiss one more time, I’m going to shut this place down for the night so I can go home and rip out my eyes.

The movie theater employee begrudgingly replays the memory loop. Roxy watches the memory as if it’s the first time she’s ever seen it, fully immersing herself in the experience. It suddenly comes to a close. 

ROXY 

Again!

SCENE 2

Roxy wakes up in her apartment to streams of sunshine hitting her face. She grumbles and attempts to roll over but instead falls out of bed.

ROXY

Fuck. Not again.

Roxy gets up and stretches. She searches for her alarm clock, but instead her gaze settles on a picture frame on her desk. It shows her parents on their wedding day. She starts to get emotional, but she pushes the feelings away.

ROXY

(Wistfully) 

Mom. Dad. If I’m on the right track, please send me a sign. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. OWWWWW!

Roxy looks down as her tabby cat pulls its claws out of her right leg.

ROXY 

Shit, when’s the last time you ate?

Roxy runs to the closet and grabs a can of cat food. She empties it into the bowl on the floor, and then quickly waters her plants. Finally, she notices the time on her alarm clock.

ROXY

(Urgently) 

How is it already noon? I need to get going before the theater opens. 

Roxy gets dressed quickly and runs out the door.

SCENE 3

Roxy rushes into the theater in a hurry. She notices that somebody is sitting in her usual seat. Otherwise, the theater is entirely empty. She walks over to confront the newcomer.

ROXY

Who are you? I haven’t seen you here before. 

THE GUARDIAN, Roxy’s shadow self, looks up at her with a perspicacious grin. 

THE GUARDIAN

I’m new to town, and I love these old school theaters.

ROXY

Well, you’re sitting in my seat.

THE GUARDIAN

My apologies. There’s a perfectly good seat right next to me.

ROXY

 I usually watch memories on my own.

THE GUARDIAN

But sharing memories with somebody else can be so exciting.

ROXY

I wouldn’t know.

THE GUARDIAN

Well, let’s give it a try, why don’t we? My favorite memory is about to start. It shows the exact moment that Junko Tabei, the first woman to climb Mount Everest, reached the top of the mountain.

Roxy begrudgingly sits down in her seat, rolling her eyes.

ROXY

Whatever.

SCENE 4

At the end of the film, Roxy and the Guardian sit next to each other in silence. They are in awe of the pure joy that they witnessed in the film.

ROXY

Have you ever experienced a moment so perfect that you wish you could live in it forever? A moment that is so blissful that time stops. Something that you know you will remember your entire life. Moments like these add magic to the monotony and confusion of life. 

Roxy pauses and stares off into the distance.

ROXY

(Somewhat tearfully) 

But, I can never truly appreciate them for what they are. I either live in the past or the future. It’s the present where I truly struggle. My mind is always racing, looking for what’s next, yet over-analyzing the past at the same time. These moments are agonizing for me. I want to be present in the moment, but I don’t know how. 

The Guardian starts to speak, but Roxy cuts her off.

ROXY

Do you know why I love this theater? It doesn’t play the most recent or popular memories. No sex, celebrity scandals, or major scientific discoveries. But what it does have is ecstasy. These memories are raw and full of power. Perfectly content couples growing old together. A veteran arriving home to her dog wagging his tail. A warm embrace from an old friend. Hearing your parents tell you, “I’m so proud of you.” Feeling a cool breeze on your neck right before the start of a rainstorm. These moments, both small and big, are what life is made of. They keep me hopeful. 

THE GUARDIAN

I see. 

ROXY

Is that all you have to say? I pour my heart out to you, and all I get are two words. This is why I only open up to my cats and my fucking plant.

THE GUARDIAN

Why don’t you have anybody else to open up to?

ROXY

Because people can’t be trusted. They always leave. I know my succulent isn’t going anywhere.

THE GUARDIAN

Do you trust yourself?

ROXY

What kind of question is that? Did my therapist send you?

THE GUARDIAN

Roxy, you don’t have a therapist.

ROXY

(Freaked out and increasingly getting more alarmed) 

How do you know that? Who even are you? What’s your name?

THE GUARDIAN

I know a lot of things about you, Roxy. Let’s just say that we’re more alike than you know. I’m here to help you.

ROXY

I don’t need help.

THE GUARDIAN

You don’t know what you need. 

Roxy frowns, but feels an unexpected bond with this stranger. She takes a deep breath.

ROXY

You’re right. If I did, I wouldn’t feel so lost. Sometimes I feel like I’m just floating through time and space with no goals. I’m in my late twenties; I should have it together. But every day, I feel more confused. I’m afraid. Afraid to be alone. Afraid to fail. Afraid of change. I don’t know who the fuck I am. 

THE GUARDIAN

Nobody does. You are no different from everybody else on this planet.

ROXY

Somehow that makes me feel worse. 

THE GUARDIAN

Why? It’s marvelous. Humanity is so fragile. The world could end in an instant, and you are so painstakingly aware of this. Yet, you continue on. You continue to fall down and build yourself back up again. You scrape your knees and break your heart, but you never stop fighting.

ROXY

I stopped fighting a long time ago. 

THE GUARDIAN

We both know that’s not true.

ROXY

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But, it doesn’t really matter. I miss the woman I used to be. She saw the world differently, more purely. I wish my parents were here to guide me. Life hasn’t been the same since the accident.

THE GUARDIAN

Stop throwing yourself a pity party. Earth doesn’t stop turning just because you’ve had a bad day. Or a bad year. There are infinite parallel universes in our galaxy alone. Your problems are fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

ROXY

(Aggravated)

If you’re so smart, riddle me this: What’s the meaning of life?

THE GUARDIAN

That there is no meaning.

ROXY

What do you mean?

THE GUARDIAN

You can’t find meaning; you make it.

ROXY

But I need answers.

THE GUARDIAN

There are no answers. Only time and what you choose to do with it.

ROXY

But how do I know what to do with it?

THE GUARDIAN

You try things. Anything. Something that makes you smile so hard that you forget the pain you’ve experienced in the past. 

ROXY

What’s the point?

THE GUARDIAN

The point? The point is to find happiness. Fulfilment. Enlightenment. Whatever you want to call it. I’ll let you in on a secret. Most people spend their lives searching for something bigger than themselves. They broker peace accords, solve world hunger, or retire early to travel the world. But still, they feel empty. They lie awake at night wondering why their latest achievement hasn’t made them feel more complete. More whole. Do you know why that is?

ROXY

No. But I’m sure you’re going to tell me.

THE GUARDIAN

It’s because happiness isn’t something you find or achieve. At least not externally. It’s a mindset that you need to consciously cultivate. It comes in waves, and you never know how long it will last. But you can find all the tools necessary to maintain it by looking inwards, as long as you’re willing to accept yourself as a beautifully flawed being.

ROXY

That’s not helpful. I don’t know who I am anymore. 

THE GUARDIAN

You will. Just give it time.

ROXY

I don’t want to waste time.

THE GUARDIAN

There is no such thing as wasted time when you embrace every day as your truest self. Go dance in the rain. Tell people that you love them. Take that trip you’ve always dreamed of taking. Make a bucket list and find satisfaction in checking off activities or get inspired as the list constantly grows and becomes unmanageable. Don’t live a life of what-ifs and regrets. Live a life full of mistakes and laughter.

Roxy closes her eyes, letting the weight of the Guardian’s words sink in. When she opens her eyes, the theater is empty. There is no indication that anybody had been sitting with her.

ROXY

What the fuck?

The movie theater employee enters the theater to change the memory playing on the screen. 

ROXY

What happened to the lady sitting next to me?

MOVIE THEATER EMPLOYEE

Lady, are you drunk again? I have no clue who you’re talking about. You’re the only person who’s visited this shithole all day.

Roxy thinks deeply then smiles to herself. She gets up to leave and throws her flask in the trash.

MOVIE THEATER EMPLOYEE

Hey, where are you going? You have the place rented for another two hours. 

ROXY

Thanks, but I won’t be back.

MOVIE THEATER EMPLOYEE

You’re nuts, lady.

ROXY

Maybe I was. But I’m not anymore.

MOVIE THEATER EMPLOYEE

 (Mutters under his breath) 

Damn drunks. They always sound like messed up fortune cookies.

Roxy walks out of the theater with some pep in her step. The sun is starting to set. As she basks in the light of a cotton candy sky, she feels her heart leading her to the train. She has no idea where she’s going, but she doesn’t really care.

ROXY

(Hopeful) 

Next stop, anywhere but here.

Annmarie Gajdos is a Slovak-American activist, creator, and aspiring human rights lawyer. She volunteers abroad extensively and has spent time in China, the Galápagos Islands, Israel, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Republic of Georgia. She uses her multidimensional travel experiences to tell underrepresented stories about culture from the perspectives of youth.  

Annmarie has written for numerous publications, including Dollars & Sense, the Algemeiner Journal, Cornell Tech, and NYC Votes, among others. She is also the co-founder of the Room 3228 podcast, where she encourages youth to share their perspectives on controversial topics in a safe space.

#SayHerName: Black Women in the Fight for Black Lives

By Maya Alexander

"Breonna Taylor, George Floyd Memorial, Minneapolis 8/5/20" by Sharon Mollerus is licensed under CC BY 2.0

On May 25th, the death of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer was captured on camera. The officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 48 seconds, ignoring Floyd’s repeated remarks that he couldn’t breathe. Three officers:  J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane, and Tou Thao, did nothing to correct Chavin’s actions. Thao mocked Floyd’s struggles and the bystander’s pleas for Chavin to release him, saying "This is why you don't do drugs, kids." After five minutes, Floyd was unconscious, Chavin still refusing to remove his knee. George Floyd was pronounced dead at 9:25 PM, just under an hour after the ambulance arrived at the scene. George Floyd’s death was just one of the several incidents this year that had a Black life ended much too early by the hands of the police. 

The #BlackLivesMatter movement began in 2013 following the murder of a Black teenager, Trayvon Martin. The movement was a response to the acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman, and the disregard for Black lives in the United States, especially within the justice system. Since then, the unjust killings of Black people largely due to the actions of the police have become more and more visible, in part because of the rise of video recordings from smartphones and the accessibility of social media platforms.

High profile cases like the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling have proven that the fight for Black lives socially and systematically is far from being over. 2020 has seen a string of gratuitous killings and harassment of black people, from Ahmaud Arbery’s death while jogging to the harrying of Black bird-watcher Christian Cooper by a white woman in Central Park. 

While the discourse surrounding #BlackLivesMatter and police brutality has been necessary for the current climate, there has been a notable lack of attention paid towards Black women in these discussions. The trend of leaving Black women out of the dialogue for racial justice is not new but needs to end if there is truly going to be a drive to acknowledge Black struggles within this country due to systemic racism and the broken justice system.

Historically, Black women have played a central role in the movements for racial equality despite the history books’ tendency to focus on Black male leaders, specifically Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, the two most palatable Black leaders that don’t make white people too uncomfortable to study. Yet, the range of Black female leaders is vast. From Fannie Lou Hamer to bell hooks to Angela Davis, Black women have been consistently advocating, writing, and teaching about the struggles of Black people in America, but they are rarely elevated to the same status as their male counterparts. 

This phenomenon of mistreating and overlooking Black women in the fight for racial justice is nothing new. The Black Panther Party (BPP) was notorious for its duplicitous displays of progressivism and traditionalism while women were relegated to behind-the-scenes roles within the organization. Despite this, at the time the BPP was the most dynamic Black nationalist organization at the time. Social activist Assata Shakur noted this experience saying, “There was a whole saturation of the whole climate with this quest for manhood.” Why do we center masculinity in an organization that, at its peak, was 60% female? Putting manhood at the forefront of these movements has consistently isolated Black women from being fully recognized as equal.

The development of the theory of intersectionality by Black feminist Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw has provided a deeper level of understanding of this issue. Intersectionality at its most basic is a framework used to understand how an individual or group's experience is affected by their overlapping identities and how they interact and intersect with each other. For Black women, this is the dual identity of being a Black person and being a woman. Both inform the unique experiences of Black women. 

The need for intersectional thinking within the conversation of police brutality against Black people has led to the creation of movements like #SayHerName, a response to the lack of attention Black women have received in movements such as #BlackLivesMatter. The recent death of Breonna Taylor has proven the need for organizations solely dedicated to the police brutality, abuse, and overall plights of Black women. Taylor, just 26, was shot eight times by plainclothes officers while sleeping in her own home in Louisville, Kentucky. The reaction to her death did not directly lead to nationwide protests; Instead, her death has been made into an internet meme. Thousands of people, including celebrities, have turned a plea for justice ("Arrest the cops that killed Breonna Taylor") into a punchline. The same joking atmosphere was not created after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and the other countless Black men who have had their lives horrifically and unfairly taken from them. 

Black women are neither jokes or memes. Black women are not emotional cudgel to take advantage of nor political fodder to be used to serve an agenda, so stop treating them as such. In 1962, Malcolm X proclaimed, “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” Nearly 60 years on, his words still resonate.

Tania Speaks Brow Boost

AUTHOR Crystal Chunnu

Growing up, Tania Speaks faced problems due to her naturally bushy eyebrows. No matter where she went, her bullies would taunt her, lowering her self-esteem while poking at her insecurities. “I would cry every day to my mom and tell her that I wanted to cut my brows,” Speaks said. “She would just tell me to embrace them and then one day someone’s gonna love your eyebrows.”

But Speaks wasn’t convinced by her mother’s words. She took a razor and decided to cut her own brows, by herself, without any assistance. The path to beautification took a bad turn. 

“I was bleeding really badly and I had to go to the hospital and get stitches. I really thought I knew what I was doing,” she said. “I actually didn’t understand how sharp the razor was, and after that, I went to school with cut-up brows and I was still bullied.”

She had enough. “I knew that there was nothing I could do to change myself to stop the bullying, so I changed the way I saw the situation,” she said. Thus, Brow Boost, the organic eyebrow gel company Speaks started at 15 years old, was born. 

The majority of eyebrow gels on the market during her childhood weren’t organic and Speaks feared that if she used any of them, she’d eventually get bullied for rashes and pimples as well. This prompted her to research organic ingredients and create her own “secret sauce.” 

Her bullies stopped and people envied Speaks’ new brows and Speaks knew she could capitalize on this opportunity. She brought her eyebrow formula to school, put a sticker on it, and sold one for $3 and two for $5 in her high school bathroom. All of a sudden, her label as “the brow girl” went from an insult to praise.

 “My mission is to make Brow Boost a part of women ages 24-38 and adolescent girls’ beauty routines who need a little help redefining how they feel about their brows,” Speaks explained as the company’s mission statement today. “When you look good, you feel good.” Her tenacity, resilience, and story got her featured in Forbes, Black Enterprise, and named one of Time Magazine’s most influential teens. Her infamous eyebrow gel was also seen in NY Fashion week. 

Today, Speaks, now 18 years old, spends part of her time giving speeches to aspiring entrepreneurs advising them of the power of turning “pain into a booming business.” 

She has four pieces of advice for the up and coming entrepreneur. The first is research. According to Speaks, entrepreneurs need to do three types of research — a quick search, a competitive search, and a legal search. A quick search is a broad search typically done on Google where she learned about organic ingredients she could use for her brow gel. 

A competitive search targets other companies that are offering similar products to yours in order to identify what makes your product unique. “I attached my story to it. It’s not only a brow gel. It’s about me, what I overcame and how I overcame it. When you’re looking at these competitors, you need to be able to attach something to what you’re offering,” Speaks said. 

The third search is a legal search where entrepreneurs will meet with a lawyer to find competitors they didn't know existed. “Don't start with that because that will easily discourage you … You do that towards the end, because after you’ve already started, you’re not going to look back.”

The second piece of advice was to ask for trusted options. No matter what product or service you’re bringing to the market, Speaks advised entrepreneurs to test it on people whose opinions they value, and listen to the feedback and criticism they give for product improvement. 

The next and most unique advice is practicing “instamicacy” or “instant intimacy,” a concept Speaks identifies as the tip to discovering your company’s purpose by making a connection with someone based on sharing an experience. Speaks explained that to practice instamicacy, you need to pick a group of people you regularly interact with, and choose three feelings you’ve felt recently towards them. After writing what triggered those feelings and why it was significant to you, come up with a business idea that resolves those negative feelings. 

Writing down your emotions helps us release negative feelings, reflect on our personal growth as humans, and discover creative solutions. “A lot of times we just keep going, going, going. We kinda forget about what we’re going through,” Speaks said. 

Lastly, she advised entrepreneurs to do the hardest thing: start. Get out there and make yourself known. “How are you going to start a business and nobody knows who you are?” she said. “I was 15 years old and didn’t know where to start. I didn’t know who to talk to, where to go. But now, I learned from just putting myself out there, I was able to get recognized from these big names,” Speaks said, referencing the publications that recognized Brow Boost’s success.  

“You need to start. Today. Whatever you’re thinking about, do it today.”  

A New Kind of Bodega

AUTHOR Katherine Hernández

When Puerto Rican immigrants started opening small shops on street corners in the 1950’s and 60’s, they probably didn’t know they were setting up landmarks and traditions for centuries to come. Bodegas are integral parts of New York City identity, economy, and community, but Bronx born entrepreneur Dinorah Peña added another level to the term bodega. 

In Bodega 7 you won’t find one dollar Arizonas or a bodega cat, because it is a talent management company led by powerhouse native Uptowner, Dinorah Peña, who is dedicated to the progress of her clients’ career. “Bodegas are part of the community,” says Peña, founder and jefa of the organization. “I remember going to one every single day before and after school.”

Born to Dominican parents in the Bronx, Dinorah Peña founded Bodega 7 to correct how talented people of color are represented in the media today. With that mission in mind, some may ask why a bodega? To that Peña says, “A bodeguero saved my life”, while recounting the time when a bodega owner saved her from a bad encounter. “I guess I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I had like a mob of people coming after me. So I rushed into the bodega and the bodeguero saw that I was in trouble and kept me in back.” 

The bodeguero sent the mob away and stayed with Peña, taking her all the way home until she was safe. Peña named her talent management agency after the same place that kept her safe, evoking that atmosphere in the space she created for her clients. 

“I’m a publicist, an agent, whatever my clients need. I go into meetings with their trust because I’m going to be representing them.” Peña clients range from YouTube influencer Franchelli Rodriqguez to actor and former NFL player Devale Ellis. Her interactions with each of her clients are tailored to their individual missions and goals. 

When asked how she can manage such diverse clientele, Peña replied, “Alignment.” She continued saying, “So long as we are focused on the same purpose and goal, we’re alright.” 

Peña credits both her faith and her experience in the field for her and her clients’ success. “Listen, I’m a loud and proud Christian. I know that this is something that God called for me to do and He has a way of building you up to what is He wants you to do. In my previous job, I was led by people who believed in their clients and would get into the work they do. It was contagious to be around people like that. ” And what job was that?

“SheaMoisture.” While working with Richelieu Dennis, founder of SheaMoisture, Peña felt his approach to his work spurred her in the right direction. “It was like God putting something in me that kept building and burning,” says Peña while describing the time that led up to Bodega 7’s birth. “You know, I would talk to my brother about this, how I felt like I didn’t have a talent. Like some people are singers or dancers – my brother looked at me and said ‘your talent is that you can see talent.’”

Since her time at SheaMoisture and while building Bodega 7 from the ground up, Peña has had her fair share of struggles. “There’s been countless times where I’ve not only been the only woman in the room, but the only person of color in the room,” says Peña talking about representation. “I’m going into these meetings knowing that this isn’t just about me.” 

Peña invests much of her time in the getting to know and accessing the needs of her clients. You’ll often see her in the Instagram and YouTube videos of them, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.  “Yeah, it’s not usually that common,” says Peña regarding the close relationship she holds with her clients, “But that how I work. I need to know you and see what’s your drive and purpose so I know if I can get behind you and help you get where you need to go. It doesn’t matter if we have different views or beliefs, so long as that alignment is there, we’re good.” 

Peña plans to continue the expansion of the currently bi-coastal organization, traveling between Los Angeles and New York City to work with clients in either location.

When thinking of advice to give women trying to get into business or pursue an ambition, Peña says, “God has not given you a spirit of fear. He’s given you everything that you need. So take it, and do it, fearlessly.” 

Pole to Pole Fitness

AUTHOR Kenneth Fremer

“I’d never thought I’d be able to have my own business in East Harlem,” admitted Jennifer Rivera, who recently opened the third location of Pole to Pole Fitness, a pole dancing fitness studio, in her home neighborhood. Her first location opened in Woodbridge, New Jersey back in 2005. Rivera first saw pole dancing on TV and realized that she could open up a studio of her own. “In the beginning, a lot of people had their reservations of what I was trying to actually do,” she explained. Though some people may not take pole dancing seriously, or don’t see the benefit of pole classes for fitness, Rivera has been able to expand her business to include locations in Staten Island and East Harlem.

“I grew up with a single mother and I’ve been around a lot of strong women, and pole dancing promotes that strength, both from a mental aspect and a physical aspect,” said Rivera. With Pole to Pole, she is able to pass on that strength to class attendees, regardless of their size or level of confidence. “Sometimes I have girls or men who are not too keen on wearing short shorts or showing skin, or have body image issues,” she explains, adding that having a bigger or smaller body type can enable you to accomplish your fitness goals in different ways. “As the months and years go by, they don’t care if they have stretch marks or if they’re too big or too small.”

After years of teaching pole classes and operating Pole to Pole, Rivera has been able to accomplish a longtime dream of opening a studio in East Harlem, where she grew up. Opening this studio has been difficult, largely because of high rent prices in the neighborhood. “The people that live here don’t have those opportunities to build their community,” she said, adding that a lot of the tax credits and aid given to entrepreneurs are often hindered by requirements that are too specific and don’t help most business owners. “They’ll advertise and say hey, we’ll give you a tax abatement, or we’ll do this for you,” she says, “but then there are barriers like it needs to be in this area, it needs to be a non-profit, it needs to be this type of business—it’s a lot of bullshit.” 

As a result of the many funding barriers, Rivera had to open the first Pole to Pole location in New Jersey, working full-time at a hospital while developing her business. “I had to fight for it,” she said, and though it’s been a long road to get to open up a studio in East Harlem, she is proud to finally be able to grow her business in the neighborhood she grew up in. “I’m starting to realize that fitness has a lot to do with community—that’s what Pole to Pole is, community.”

eeBoo's Toy Company

AUTHOR Crystal Chunnu

She started building her business in her basement, and worked at home with her children for several years until she was able to afford an office. Although eeBoo has no flagship stores, their toys are featured at 3,500 small specialty stores, gift shops, airport stores, museum shops, and retailers, such as Barnes and Noble. 

To promote eeBoo, Galison attended toy fairs and regional shows in New York and decorated her booth in the best way possible to get noticed. She even created a big robot holding a sign that said “thank you” for a trade show she attended. There was no doubt that her unique line of toys propelled her to success. 

“No parent ever put their kid in front of a TV and said they're going to become smarter,” Mia Galison said. “That was the novelty of eeBoo that made it do well when we first came out. I had no competitors at all ‘cause nobody was doing what we were doing.” For the past 25 years, Mia Galison has been the proud owner and founder of eeBoo, an eco-friendly toy manufacturing company that uses the original designs of children book illustrators to bring the imagination of children to life. 

After graduating college, Galison briefly worked in the film industry and was married to her husband, who was a figurative painter. Unfortunately, they were able to make ends meet on their salaries alone. 

“We had a baby and then five seconds later we had twins. We had three kids in less than two years and we knew it wasn’t a sustainable thing for me to have a full-time job out of the house because it was just not possible,” she said. She needed money fast, so she took a moment to examine her skillset and the marketplace. 

“I knew how to curate things and I knew a lot of painters and illustrators and I thought there weren’t a lot of nice children’s things in the market … it seemed practical and interesting to make really beautiful children’s products. There was just sort of a lack of specialty toy market for 20 or 30 years.” 

Galison, like most parents, was concerned about her children spending too much time in front of the TV which motivated her to create tangible toys, books, and products that revolved around free play, which she engaged with frequently as a child. “You don’t have to be Sigmund Freud or have a doctorate in child therapy to see the difference in kids that have the benefit of being read to versus the kids that don’t spend time with their parents and grow up in front of a screen,” she said.

Her mission was to have children participate in a screen-free environment with activities that foster visual creativity and literacy, problem-solving and cooperating, storytelling, quantitative learning, motor ability, social and emotional literacy, and social imaginative play as much as possible. 

When children spend time with their parents, they are more likely to develop greater emotional success and social intelligence. Allowing them to play with dominos, board games, conversation cards, is a good parenting technique and essential to eeBoo’s theme of “developing the whole child.”

They believe that some of the best tangible gifts children can receive are ones that can teach them—whether it be about natural history, weather, plants, animals, or the food chain—to get involved with and question the natural world around them. 

“I have a classic game called I never forget a face which is a memory game with kids’ faces … we've gotten so many letters from parents and I think people really love it” 

Galison noted that eeBoo has received recognition because it was one of few, or possibly the only company out of the 60-80 toy companies at the NY Toy Show that was women-owned and not couple-owned or family-owned.  

Galison received 201 Oppenheim Toy Awards—45 of which are platinum and 156 of which are gold—and publicity from magazines like Parents and Good Housekeeping. “They wanted to support me and I got a lot of free ads, free editorials, free everything because I was really an anomaly,”  Galison said. “People expect the guy to run the business and the woman to do all the fun soft stuff. I didn’t know any woman that runs a business”

Galison recently joined a female organization group two years ago and advised that young women thinking about going into business should also join national or local groups immediately for the camaraderie of connecting with others who share their plight—whether you are married and running a business or are a mother and are running a business, there are supportive groups. 

 “I should have done it 20 years ago. I wasn't thinking about it then, but that was the best thing,” she said. 

Books Are Magic

AUTHOR Arianne Gonzalez

Cobble Hill’s local bookstore was closing, and Emma Straub knew that the community couldn’t afford to lose it. “We can’t live in a neighborhood without a bookstore,” she thought. “We either have to move or open it up, a store.” And so, by spring of 2017, Books Are Magic opened its doors.

From the unassuming entryway to every shelf, the store was built with the community in mind. Inside is a lively space full of books, pink walls, neon lights, and upbeat music providing a fun and comfortable atmosphere. The owners Emma and Mike Straub, who are parents themselves, have made sure they made a kid-friendly space, accessible to the many families throughout the neighborhood. This can be seen by the many kids roaming around the store, reading with their parents on bean bags, or in a quiet corner in the cutaway “hidey-hole.”

“It was such a passion project for them,” says communications director, Colleen Callery. “It really was about like, creating a space they wanted to come to every day.”

Callery has been with Books are Magic since the beginning, and emphasized the idea of civic-engagement the Straubs for with the store.  “I think it was like mostly about being a community space,” she stated. “At least, in our ideal world … We try to host, you know, lot of programming that we feel like is engaging, that’s supporting authors that we love, that are, that also is like serving people that live here and nearby that can come and visit. We have like, a lot of kids programming for those families and people that are around during the day.”

Books Are Magic has run multiple campaigns to aid the community. Most recent, they just ended a campaign with Everytown, the movement calling for gun safety in America. In collaboration with designer Carson Ellis, they sold tote bags, with the proceeds going to the movement, and raised over $10,000 for the cause. “We’re just always trying to be really good neighbors,” said Callery.

 As small as space is, they have also held multiple events for book releases and readings. With an event practically every night, they are booked out months in advance. The importance of hosting different authors and various launch parties is also a key factor for Books Are Magic, as Emma Straub is a writer herself. Her knowledge of the publishing industry has invariably aided them in the business and helps inform their book and author selections. This, Callery expressed, is what makes Books Are Magic unique to other bookstores—especially retail chains. “We need to make sure that we are hosting people we want to host. That we’re reaching the kinds of people that we want to reach. That people feel like they can know they can call us to order a book even if we don’t have it on the shelves.”

Books are Magic also has a monthly subscription service—both fiction and nonfiction—composed of books the staff love and want to share. “I try to think of them as the books that we really love, that we want, that we want other people to read that they may have not picked up on their own,” Callery shares. “We just try to do things that we all feel really good about internally. Again, and just hope that people love what we’re sending them.”

They are aware that they may be one of the many indie bookstores in Brooklyn, but Callery stated, “I feel like Brooklyn has a ton of indie bookstores, but they’re thirsty for them. When we were first opening people were coming in just being, like, ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so glad you’re here. Please don’t ever leave.’ Even if things aren’t as fast, or, as like, perfect.”

Being a small storefront does present its challenges. With a small team and space with limited shelving, it is hard to know when to say no to authors or events that they would not be able to cater to. “I think it’s realizing our limitations,” disclosed Callery. But that does not discourage them. “We have dreams of like, one day, having a much more, bigger space. It would be really cool to have a proper space, or like, I don’t know, like a writing residency, or something. Like, have visiting writers, or even booksellers, like traveling booksellers to come in.”

Independent bookstores are important fixtures in the community. As Callery expresses, “I feel like you can really find yourself in places like this, which I know sounds kind of corny and cheesy, but, as general spaces, they tend to be really interesting. They have really cool people. And there’s a ton of freedom here.” She also mentioned an online platform that supports independent bookstores all over the country and emphasized used bookshops. “Somewhere that you can go to that isn’t this huge monolith that is slowly crushing--maybe not so slowly, that is quickly crushing all of our retail structures.”

When asked on how to support your local bookstore, Callery said, “You should always try to check out your local spots, even if they’re not, even if you think you know they’re like… like, check them out yourself. Whether it’s a bookstore, or I don’t know a restaurant or clothing store.”

Gus Dapperton Illuminates Webster Hall

Written by Felicia DiSalvo

As the suspenseful beat of “Verdigris” by Gus Dapperton began to play, a fully packed Webster Hall thundered under the jumping feet of hundreds of anticipating fans. The floor shook as these eager, inspired, and unique personalities awaited the beloved songs that give them an outlet to be themselves. At least, that is how I interpreted the energy around me. Gus Dapperton has created a fanbase filled with extremely individualistic souls. These fans—seen sporting bold and unusual clothing, accessories, and makeup looks—include artists of many different mediums and people who aren’t afraid to dream, gathering as a crowd to celebrate their inspiration at this historic East Village music venue.

Following the release of Gus Dapperton’s debut album, Where Polly People Go To Read, his fall tour of the United States has been one of the biggest of his career, featuring sold out venues across the country.  The photographs I have taken and included here capture a segment of this tour experience. November  10th, 2019 at Webster Hall.

Gus Dapperton, born Brendan Rice, is an indie/bedroom pop artist from Warwick, New York. He is inspired by “heartache and world class cinema,” as he said in an i-D Magazine interview. These themes are displayed through Dapperton’s music, drawing in fans that are thrilled to connect his lyrics to their experiences. 

Known for his colorfully dyed bowl cut hairstyle and daring fashion style, both inspired by his childhood, he creates an image that defines Gus Dapperton. Taking his stage name and developing his personal style enabled him to grow in his creativity and be himself.  He alludes to his process of becoming himself in an interview with HYPESAGE! on YouTube, claiming it is necessary for his own survival.  He says, “In order to survive I need to be myself. I would spontaneously combust from all the emotions built up inside of me; all of the feelings that I release through a creative outlet.”

In the midst of such a crowd of ambitious listeners and being in front of Dapperton, his band, and a myriad of songs charged with fantastical lyrics felt like being in another world. I have always described my experience of listening to his music as entering a world strange and new, yet so familiar.  Seeing this concert come alive just affirmed how true this experience is.  Dapperton showcases playful lyrics that work towards the personal and relative human experience, with a whimsical and unique flair, for an other-worldly feel to his music.

The pre-chorus and chorus of Prune, You Talk Funny highlight the playful word choice of his lyrics.  They read:

And I would tread upon flowerbeds to stare and stop.

A hominid t’was blossoming from soot and sod.

Prune,

Eating all my food.

Well you’re like the bum

Who begged and pegged me up all wrong.

I’ve got no two cents,

No sense at all.

The instruments Dapperton uses also contributes to this scene, including a synthesizer and a Fender electric guitar with effects such as or similar to chorus, reverb, and delay.  These instruments create a bright, dreamy feel that complement Gus Dapperton’s unconventional singing voice. Dapperton often layers vocals and creates echo effects, further adding to this dream-like feel. 

Gus Dapperton’s music videos evoke the same feeling through their polished production style.  Despite bedroom pop music videos often opting for a more lo-fi and moody theme, Dapperton follows more of a traditional theme.  They incorporate heavy emphasis on styling and having an original storyline. For example, the music video for “World Class Cinema,” directed by Matthew Dillon Cohen, was about Gus Dapperton’s desire to be a movie star.  It featured recreations of iconic movie tropes seen a dream of his after passing out. Creating a video based around this concept evoke the feeling of fantasy. Similarly, the photo and video editing style featured in Jess Farran’s direction of “Coax & Botany” takes on a fantastical mood through the use of muted colors and less obvious camera angles.

Such a sense of unity and Gus Dapperton’s genuine love for making music brought myself and hundreds of his fans together before this Webster Hall stage. This tour has been such a pivotal stage in his career, and I cannot see Gus Dapperton slowing down anytime soon.

“In order to survive I need to be myself. I would spontaneously combust from all the emotions built up inside of me; all of the feelings that I release through a creative outlet.”

Swiper, Stop Swiping: Recognizing the Tinder Effect

Written by Justine Galvan

I told her I was scared. My friend insisted I make a Tinder account because it was fun looking and talking to “hot college guys” online, but advised to not take it too seriously and meet up with someone.  I was 16, sitting on a kitchen stool almost having a panic attack as I came up with ways on how to sneak out at 2 AM to hook up with a 19-year-old who lived at Park Avenue and wanted to send me an uber from Queens, doing exactly what my friend had told me not to. It wasn’t love per se, but I felt some type of way for someone who cared well enough to not let me go through the MTA in the middle of the night.

Tinder, established in 2012, has forever changed the world of romance. Designed for their users to anonymously swipe left (if they don’t like them) or right (if they do like them), dating turns into a game. Now with a whopping 57 million people signed up on the dating-app worldwide, almost two billion swipes are being made each day. People create and brand their best selves with calculated profiles, such as putting their best pictures, quirky bios, and Spotify anthems. With 26 million matches made each day, hook up culture – the quick and uncommitted sexual bonding between two or more people – is romanticized. As a result, this glorification of the new technosexual era has completely strayed us away from the traditions of conventional romance. Whether that is good or bad is subjective. What’s truly concerning is the way Tinder affects the brains of those using it.

Psychologists explain the term instant gratification to be the seeking of pleasure or quick contentment without any delays and interruption. Getting matches on Tinder serves as instant gratification. Living in the most advanced technological era, we are raised to be impatient. A lot of people, unfortunately, and subconsciously, rely on social media platforms, such as Instagram for instance, to evaluate their worth, based on the number of likes or followers they have. It becomes a jungle of comparison and competition with each other’s lives. The more likes or matches they get, the more their egos and acquired narcissism are fed. Consequently, a study conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) conveyed that Millennials and Gen Z members are most likely to have poor mental health, with social media being a major responsible cause. Talking to a friend of mine about being on Tinder, she says:

“When I get a match – not gonna lie – I feel happy because I have very low self-esteem and I’m like ‘Oh my, God. This hot ass boy actually thinks I’m cute enough for them to swipe right,’ but when I don’t I’m like, ‘Holy shit, I’m really that ugly… they didn’t even try to actually get to know me before disregarding me.’”

As human beings, we seek pleasure and avoid pain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is released when human beings feel pleasure such as eating food, having sex, or taking drugs. In comparison, dopamine is also released when one gets a match on Tinder. So Tinder users take part in this obsessive ritual of swiping more and more until they get their next reward, which in this case is another match, to get instant gratification. This whole process is subconsciously addictive, as compared by psychologists to drug-addicts, feeding onto an array of mental health issues. Contradictory to matching, not getting as many matches as one hoped for accounts to a feeling of rejection, which affects one’s mental health negatively if they don’t know how to deal with it. Another study also pointed out that “Tinder users, regardless of gender, reported significantly lower levels of satisfaction with face and body and higher levels of internalization, appearance comparisons, and body shame and surveillance than non-users.” Tinder becomes a swiping game based on superficiality and instant gratification is the temporary fix to deeper mental health issues.

This is not to say that everyone should immediately delete the app and be conscious about participating. Tinder, as with other dating apps, is majorly responsible for diversifying humanity. It’s fun and thrilling talking and meeting new people. There is definitely an adrenaline rush connecting with someone you get to pick. So go talk, flirt, have as much sex as you want, or fall in love – but know yourself, what is best for you, and keep in mind that in every good thing comes a consequence.

Soaring Through The Library

Written by Jason Galak

Every Baruch College student knows that the place to be during their scheduled three-hour gap is the William and Anita Newman library. The library is where students of Baruch have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge in a quiet setting especially during midterm and finals week. For a building that is an automatic go-to for students, the goal is to make it as presentable as possible for the educational experience. Baruch College’s Sidney Mishkin Gallery presents the monumental work of Charlie Kaplan, Soaring, to the Newman Library. This has brought the library of Baruch a sense of art and creativity in addition to their critically acclaimed business setting.

William and Anita Newman Library Information and Technology Building

Charlie Kaplan has various pieces of artwork featured at Baruch College. However, this is only the continuation of the success that Kaplan has achieved in the art of sculpting. He began by devoting his time to welding, blacksmithing, and working with clay, prior to being introduced to marble. It was in Pietrasanta, Italy where he developed his knowledge of the wide variety of marble, as well as sharpening his skills in bronze casting. Kaplan’s journey to sculpting began with his profound interest in working with traditional hand tools. This led to his first creation being made from an old piece of abandoned Douglas Fir with a set of brand-new chisels. Following his retirement from his family’s business in 2006, Kaplan has now fully devoted his heart and soul to sculpting. To this day, he has several works featured in both the United States and in Pietrasanta, Italy.

What is particularly unique about Kaplan’s sculptures is the attention to craft, detail, rhythm, and form. He takes his time to “listen to the stone.” Kaplan emphasizes, “The process is sort of like a dance.” First, he begins with a rock rather than a cube of marble. He smooths out the area and makes it into a pleasant curve that works for him. Then, he enlarges it to bring it all together in the end. Kaplan expresses his happiness more in the actual process than the finished product. 

“The process is sort of like a dance.”

One of Kaplan’s newer works, Soaring, has recently been placed in the Newman Library of Baruch right by the staircase on the second floor. The centerpiece is made out of Bianco Puro Carrara Marble. “Bianco Puro” translates from Italian to English “pure white.” The sculpture portrays a staggering one hundred eight inches of pure white marble “soaring” into the air, hence the name “Soaring.” This compliments the five generously large floors we have within the library. The gaps and openings of the sculpture allow the students to analyze the mathematical and international complications of the work itself. Although Charlie Kaplan isn’t there to explain the deeper meaning behind the creation of the sculpture, students proceed to view the sculpture from all angles with curiosity. 

It is not every day that we get an artist with such skill and precision to showcase his work at Baruch. Charlie Kaplan has several artworks at Baruch College’s Mishkin Gallery located at 135 E. 22nd Street in Manhattan. Students can now take their time to analyze the beauty and structure of Charlie Kaplan’s monumental work prior to soaring up the stairs to get their studying done. 

The School to Prison Pipeline: Tackling Unjust Disciplinary Action in Schools

Written by: Kendra Shiloh

There is an alarming disproportionate tendency for students of color and students with disabilities to become incarcerated—known as the school-to-prison pipeline. The combination of zero-tolerance policies along with a strong police presence in public schools has facilitated the pipeline, normalizing the idea that even the slightest misstep is worthy of negative disciplinary action.

Police presence in public schools has increased dramatically over recent years, which may be attributed to the influx of school shootings. After the Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, every public school in Florida must have at least one armed guard, in compliance with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act. Although this piece of legislation is meant to be a solution, it has had disproportionately negative effects on minority students. The line between “teachable moments” and  punishable crimes has become blurred, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds are suffering at the hands of a system that does not work in their favor. According to a nationwide study by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, black children are three and a half times more likely to be suspended or expelled than their white counterparts. 

In my personal experience, during my years of high school, the in-school suspension room was always occupied. Students were suspended for a variety of trivial reasons, ranging from talking excessively in class to dress code violations. This method of punishment meant students were lose vital class time, a possible cause for falling behind in class or ultimately failing. As the years passed, it appeared as though a specific group was being targeted in my school: black and latino students. As our grade moved onto our junior and senior years, a large percentage of this group dropped out. And while I cannot account for the path each student chose to take after high school, the ones whose paths I am aware of are less than favorable. Several fell down the path of substance abuse and the sale of illicit drugs, leading to arrests and for a select few, time in jail. This could have been avoided, had there been positive disciplinary action procedures in place. 

By taking students out of class, they are set further behind in their coursework. As students advance to junior and senior year, each class session is vital to their success in the world after graduation, especially if the student plans on attending college. Students can miss out on information that may be useful for standardized testing such as the SAT and ACT, impacting chances for higher education and a better future.

When a child faces extreme disciplinary action at school (such as one that involves interaction with the police), they are often labeled as a “bad kid” no matter how juvenile the incident was. In turn, this leads to the student being isolated from the class, which in turn can affect their emotional and mental health.  And due to the disparities in minority mental health care, these students may not receive the help that they need to cope with these feelings. If the student reaches a point where they lash out as a result of the isolation and internalized feelings, more often than not the student will receive yet another irrational disciplinary action. These feelings can be extremely discouraging for students, and a lack of resources can lead to a vicious cycle that further facilitates the pipeline.

It is not enough to just simply attempt to improve the school-to-prison pipeline when dealing with the future of our children. Eliminating the pipeline is a collective effort, and it starts with training teachers, especially in regards to positive disciplinary action, such as counseling. Students of color and students with disabilities enter school with a disadvantage from the very first day, due to a complex structural system that has never worked for them. They shouldn’t have to climb another barrier in order to receive a fair education.

Raise Awareness to Madan Sara

Written by: Julia Cuttone

“Growing up my mom was a Madan Sara and that stayed with me for many years. I was inspired by how so many women raised their kids and ran their businesses while still keeping Haiti’s economy running” said Etant Dupain. A Madan Sara is a woman from Haiti who works tirelessly to buy, distribute, and sell food in markets throughout the country. Dupain explained in Haitian society it is not very common for women to be seen as people who hold positions of power, but in everyday life, it is a Madan Sara sitting on sidewalks and marketplaces fighting to make a living.

The Madan Sara live each day with the local economy’s weight upon their shoulders. They can be found in the marketplace or even on top of cars leading the charge. “There is no aspect of the Haitian economy where women are not at the base. If the Madan Sara does not go to work, the city does not eat. If the Madan Sara does not go up into the mountains and back down into the neighborhood, the market will not operate. Without those women, there is no market, without the market there is no economy, and without economy, there is no country” said Dupain.

“The Madan Sara is at the forefront of the battle for a more robust and inclusive economy in Haiti,” he said. These women are facing obstacles everyday while working in districts that lack investment, infrastructure, and state assistance, but he said: “they continue to be one of the most crucial parts of the Haitian economy and of who we are as a country.”

Dupain realized that he needed to make the voices of the Madan Sara heard throughout the world and tell the stories of the persistent women, who work at ends meet every day to make the Haitian economy run. “I decided that I needed to make a film...working on the film in 2016 it was a small project because I used my money to make the film. It took me a lot of time to shoot. There were many ups and downs but I am proud that we are almost there” he said. 

Dupain plans on having the film, The Madan Sara, finalized this upcoming December. Despite the hardships and social stigma that Madan Sara face, they can put their children through school, provide for their family with shelter, and help ensure a better life for generations to come. Dupain is one of the many generations of Madan Sara children who went on to achieve success in his life.  

Dupain studied at a production school in Venezuela and is now the founder and director of Kombit Productions. As a Haiti-based freelance journalist and producer, he started his career as a reporter for Telesur in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. Since then he has worked as a producer for international news media outlets such as British Broadcasting Corporation, Vice, Discovery channel, Raw TV, CANAL+, Venezolana Televisión Vive TV, and the award-winning film “Where Did the Money Go”? After watching his mother growing up, and seeing the obstacles she faced, he decided to work on his first personal film called “The Madan Sara”.

This film raises awareness to the Madan Sara as they speak directly to society to share their dreams for a life in Haitian society that is fair. “I want to show the film in every community across Haiti and eventually throughout different countries. It is an ambitious dream but the Madan Sara team is ready to rise to the occasion,” said Dupain.

“By launching popular universities, or open public debates after each free public screening event, will give opportunities to start conversations about the matters of concern related to the well-being of the communities.”

“Our goal is to create a film that serves as a powerful tool that can be used in Haiti and beyond to help gain support and visibility for the struggle of the Madan Sara. And now after a year of hard work, we have wrapped up the production, and we are ready to finalize the film,” he said.

A Conversation on Immigration: What it Means To Be Hispanic in America

Written by Kendra Shiloh

CUNY students Andrea Gonzalez and Enrique Pena sat down to spark a dialogue on the topic of immigration. Andrea is a student at Baruch College studying Sociology, and Enrique is a sophomore at Queens College majoring in Urban Studies. Andrea and Enrique met through school events and since then have moved forward in their goals for immigration. Both students discussed their paths to becoming activists for their communities, and the highs and lows that come with being on the front lines of such important, radical movements. Rather than dwelling on the cyclical nature of injustice in the world, they are setting out to change the conversation: encouraging youth to speak their truth; to flip the switch on injustice in their communities.

We began this conversation with Enrique’s immigration story.

He came to America in January 2016, after his brother obtained his citizenship and was able to place a request for him. Enrique came here on a tourist visa, expecting to get his green card after two years; however, after 4 years, he has still not received his residency. 

§ § §

Marwa Mouaki | Illustrator

Enrique: I came here to study engineering, but I realized that I wanted to do something different because, I saw myself and I was like, okay, in two years this is going to be over for me. But it was probably never going to be over for some students. And I know that education, like most of them come with their parents and they would be like, “okay, you need to come here and get an education” and they don't have those resources and that's just painful, right?

So yeah, I became like a mini like guidance counselor, just like pushing students to apply to college and just like talking to them, everyone, about like “you have to go with it” like “you’re great or you have a lot of like energy and like that's everything that you need, just like push for it.”

And yeah, like I became a president of this club Aspira, which was kind of a nightmare, but at the same time, so beautiful because the club had like three people that no one else wanted to be president. That's how I became, because literally it was like,

“Okay, you want to be?”

“No”

“You want to be?”

“No.”

“Okay. Enrique, you are.” 

It was supposed to give opportunities for immigrant students, mostly Latino students to go to college, scholarships, you know, guided trips to colleges. Um and yeah, that was basically like, it was supposed to be a side thing. I was still going for engineering, but I went to this program for scholarships. Um, it was like some kind of like, you know, event called the Puerto Rican Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute. We will learn how bills become lost in New York state and then we would go to Albany and like debate actual bills in the actual assembly. 

And I hated politics. I hated law because I'm from Peru. I know corruption, I know everything. So it was like, no, not happening, but I will go to like every day, every weekend. That was like that Institute before going to Albany to the, um, like advisor to the person organizing it and be like pleased. Like I come here with a bunch of students, they're all amazing. They're all wonderful. They're all like so smart, but they need the opportunities. If you care, like any special thing that you can think of, just like, let me know so I can let them know because he really wants your help. Like, I'm not interested in this at all. Like I can be honest with you. But I really want this for them. 

So somehow she saw that, and she pushed me to the front. And she was like, okay, now you've got to speak. And she ended up giving me this like special recognition to be like, um, representing like the New York City delegation. And then we went to Albany. I won first place statewide. I won a scholarship. Um, and it was crazy because, uh, the day that like it'll change was because they told me that one of the bills that we had to debate was an actual bill proposed by Republican from Ben [inaudible] that proposed that and no quote-unquote illegal aliens should be allowed to go to public higher ed institutions.  

So, um, I just thought of all my students and how they will be denied an opportunity to go to college. And I remember that same day I just went home and I just cried and looked in my computer, different ways to approach and attack that bill as many times as possible and like just argue it, um, because I, I just, I couldn't believe it. 

Um, so I went to Albany. I debated that, I cried on, on that fricking place. And I got that award, I got a leadership award, which is crazy because I got it because she saw that I was asking like for other students to be given the opportunities. 

But I just came home like that weekend and I just told my mom like, you know what,  I'm not studying engineering anymore. Like I'm studying like politics and law. I want to do something different. And I was just like expecting her to hit me, but uh, didn't happen. She actually trusted me more. And that's how it started. Just pushing for immigrants, you know?

Marwa Mouaki | Illustrator

Andrea: Gosh, no, it's so crazy. I've known you for like about a year now. I did not know any of that. It's so crazy. No, but it's, it's funny that you say that too because like there are so like my family too, like they were always against politicians. I think it's like a Peruvian thing. We just don't like politics. We don't like government. And so like now I'm also really involved in that. And so it's, it's really funny the similarities. 

But so that's how you started and now you just passed the Dream Act. Like you supported that and you were in Albany doing that. What was the process of passing the Dream Act in New York state? 

Enrique: Hmm. I know that it was for many years. Um, I think more than 10 that activists have been going to Albany talking to politicians. One thing that I just didn't enjoy as much as the fact that, I’m one of the reasons why it was never passed it was because of, because of the IDC, you know, like the state Senate was controlled by Republicans because of some Democrats  in that caucus with them and didn't let them pass those progressive bills. And like one thing that I felt that it was like, uh, like betrayal, like it was just like betraying, like the students, the person proposing that bill, um, [inaudible]  was also in the IDC. 

So he was asking for students like to have that opportunity, but at the same time he allowed the Republicans to not have that bill passed. When like the IDC was destroyed and it was years, and I was only participating in like the last one. I mostly helped like kind of like pushing like against the IDC because they knew that it was like one issue. And like, I volunteered for Jessica Ramos; I worked for Cynthia Nixon. 

It was just trying to bring that at like progressive politics because I knew that like the Dream Act was one of the things being played in that game. Right. And yeah, it was in Albany that day. That was with Catalina Cruz, that is like the first formerly undocumented person in the assembly.

It was beautiful and it was such a closure because I went to Albany and my first time to um, fight against Republicans pushing SOL document, the students are not allowed to college. And my last time in Albany was seen like an opportunity for undocumented students to go to college. So it was like such a closure.

Andrea: That's like beautiful or you came all the way full circle and it's just, it's so amazing to like see people from our community being able to thrive like that. Like being able to support change and be in these spaces and create change. But like something I definitely experienced or know about was like when I'm in political spaces I also often feel like tokenized, right? 

So like we talk about really important stuff, but then like I always feel like I'm just that little check on a box. Like oh, we have that woman of color in this space. Like we good, we're going to talk about something really important and now we have representation. Like, what has been your experience with tokenization and being marginalized and inclusive spaces? 

Enrique: Well I always feel like there is some of that happening. Like there's a bunch of progressive places, gatherings where I'm just given an opportunity to speak; not because of like me actually having something to say or because something that I did, but because they know my immigration status and they're like, “Oh, let's give the undocumented the opportunity to speak,” like  “it's gonna look good.'' 

Like I understand that and I consider that despite the disadvantages I recognize that it's like also privilege in some way ,because like I can use that opportunity to actually push for issues. 

`For example, like you know that like my best friend is a white lady; a white woman. So it's like I tell her, okay, I’ll use like my male privilege or my, sometimes my like, you know ,“undocumented privilege” to speak; to give you a platform. And you use your woman or white privilege to let me speak. Right. If you are given an opportunity like no matter the space, like you have to fight it so that personality is not only yours but you give it to someone else that also needs to speak.

Marwa Mouaki | Illustrator

Andrea:  It's like a thing that happens in activist communities that we've developed bonds and we realize that like when I'm in a space like we’re a package deal; like if I'm here, she's also here, and this person is also there. 

And then usually I feel too like whenever I speak at places, like they have an intention of me being there. Like they want me to say a certain kind of thing. And so like I will say what they want me to say, but I will also put in my 2 cents and say what I think needs to be heard. Like, I know that people are listening to us and know that they need to hear affirmation that like, you know, their struggle is real and that their struggle is going to be solved and they're going to be helped one day. 

And so when we come into spaces and we talk about this kind of stuff, we need to say what our community is actually feeling. Like it's so important to be in those spaces cause we like ultimately we give hope to people because we made it and then we can change the conversation once we get there.

Enrique:  Even the slightest thing that you can do, it's already like setting up something for the next generation. I think yesterday or two days ago,  I went to this event at Queens College, to kind of, um, how can I say, remember the events of 1969. The students took over the campus, just to demand like more funding and the creation of the S.E.E.K. program. And yeah, students just organized and got it done. And now some of those students and professors that were in 1969 went to campus to talk to students and I was there and I, I just felt that like they did at once. 

It's possible, like I can make it happen. I can just make sure that I organize and get more funding for more students in the future. Like I can do it too. Right? Yeah. 

Andrea:  No yeah, whenever I think about those situations, like it just makes me think about how far we've come already and like how we could do that again. Like people have been thinking radically about what it means to be free and what it means to be liberated. And you know, I just, I get so excited thinking about like, what can we do to make people feel that again. 

Like, we see what's happening at the border, we see who's in power and we just get really, um, I don't know, we get cynical about what's happening in the world and we need to like remind people if there are things to be done then there's things that we all can do. 

Do you have any tips for folks that aren't activists? 

Enrique: It's just a matter of, yeah um, I was going to say showing up but if you can't, at least know what's happening. That's halfway through it. Like just understand that there's issues because as soon as you understand that, there is a way to solve them.

So many times, I cannot even count like how many, I have been told by people even like close friends or family that are like, why are you criticizing this country so much? Why don't you go back to Peru? The answer I always give is like, okay, I criticize because it's like in a relationship, right? And when you're in like in a relationship with someone, it's to grow together, like to help. So how are you gonna help that if you don't recognize mistakes? So it's the same with like a country. Like I'm here, if I actually didn't care about this country I’d go back to Peru. 

It's like you're here; at least understand that there is an issue. Even the slightest thing, just like vote, right? If you feel capable, like if you feel that you can do it, run for office, um and just make sure that everything you do in life is gonna affect someone else. So try to do it consciously; try to do it for the betterment of someone else as well. Right.

Marwa Mouaki | Illustrator

Andrea: And I totally agree. I like to think that like, the word that represents my activism is love and empathy. And it's everything that I do, even when I'm out in the street; in the road shouting to burn down the system. I do it out of love. Like you know, I love my people, I love my community. I love that I'm here in this space, but I also want things to change, you know?

I think the way that I love is really radical and like, you know, revolutionary in a way that like, I love you, but I want you to be better and I want this to be better for my future generations too. So yeah, I don't know. I'm so happy that this community exists. I think CUNY is like a breeding ground for leaders and people who want to change the world. We don't get enough credit for that.  

I think people are changing everywhere. I would like to think that it's smaller out there cause there isn’t like outlets. Like you know, I'm from Staten Island, Staten Island is known as like a conservative borough in New York City. Like we're like the outcast of the city or like the forgotten islands; we’re a bunch of other names. Um, 

No, but yeah, and so I've had my experiences with activism and it was just like my voice into the wind. Like nobody heard it, nobody talks about it with me. My dad was an activist in his country in Peru. And he is the only one that listened to me and without his help, I wouldn't have like, you know, looked elsewhere for opportunity. 

But if you have the access to learn vocabulary and like ideas and theories, it becomes something so much bigger. Like if I didn't decide to go to an internship in Manhattan when I was in high school, I wouldn't be the person I am today. And so I feel like it's our job like folks in New York, folks in like really big liberal cities that have access to resources; I think it's our job to like go there and give them this knowledge because they're, I think everyone, unconsciously, we all want justice and liberation. Like at the core of us, we all want what's good for our people. And so when we give them access to these resources, we like to allow something to grow in their brain. 

And so if like kids in Alabama, I think that there's something in them that wants change and wants something better for them. Cause I'm 100% sure there is. There is somebody just like me; a queer woman of color out there in Tennessee that is really confused about the way that the world works and the way that her parents are treating her because she's queer and the way that she looks. And so I think, I think that is just like ours to bring that to them. I think that the United States is changing as a whole and people aren't really waking up like wherever you are. But I don't know. I think I'm a very hopeful person. 

Enrique:  Same for me. Like it's totally, um, I think we brought up those issues that as sometimes we're just like forgotten, and like people from even the most red states and just like, oh I didn't know this. Like, it's actually important. And let's talk about it more, um, just like see the case with Texas; it like almost turned blue with the Senate and even though Beto is not the most progressive person in the world, his campaign was like, “Oh, what's happening in the border?” Right. So like it's a small step, but I think it's just getting bigger and bigger. 

I've had conversations with friends that are Republicans. I had like real, like really nice conversations from where we both agreed and like “okay, there's an issue.” We might have different ways to approach it, but like we must understand that they should exist and they actually agree with me They actually came with me to some events, protests and stuff. And I think that it's just a matter of because you were raised in a certain way, sometimes your beliefs or just like something that you inherited from your parents, from your family, from like your surrounding. Uh, so it's not your fault. Right? Yeah. I will never be able to attack a young person that is a Republican just because they probably never found something else around them. You just need to show them that there's another way, that there's some things need to, um, like you need to actually think about, and sometimes the issues here in this country sometimes I was just like so hidden. 

Marwa Mouaki | Illustrator

Like if you don't actually look for them, you won’t know. You will not find them because that's how media works. It's just like they try to portray everything as if it's perfect; as if this is the greatest country in the world and everything is just working out perfectly. But it isn't. And  again, like it's the first step as I said, like for you to fix an issue, you first need to recognize the issue. Um, one quote that I always love to say from [inaudible] is like “to know more is to be more free.”I always associated it with how in this country when you're a person of color, you're sometimes given two options: college or prison. Like to know more is to be more free by going to college, by having an access to an education. Um, you're sometimes like buying your own freedom. And so in the end it's just like a matter of getting those same ideas that are “okay, you need to recognize that these people are having like an awful time” and you're not helping it by just ignoring it. Just like talk to everyone and make sure that it happens and it's happening right now. So yeah, like I'm definitely hopeful and I think it's something that is going to change soon. 

Andrea: If you don't have that much to risk, I think people should try to go out into the streets and like really research about what you care about. I think it's important to find what we care about and it's, it's hard. I think like talking about passion is a really difficult thing to comprehend nowadays. I feel like a lot of folks like don't know what their passion is, but I think everyone, there's something that makes your heart beat. I think everyone has that and I think you should find something. Everyone should find something that they care about and go to the street and fight for it. It makes you feel better. It makes me feel like “you're doing something and it's worth it in the end.”

The activist community, it's like a family. We go out and we support each other with our events and what we believe in and  when you need something and we'll be there for you too. I think that that goes back to what I'm saying. Like I think activism is based in love and like everyone that works in activism, we all love each other. Like we are always there for each other. Um, I think it's a super beautiful community here. We're always just there for each other. And even one of the things, even when things are so bad, like in the world and in our personal lives, like people are there for you, they support you. 

Marwa Mouaki | Illustrator

What’s Drugs Got to Do with It?

WRITTEN BY Kyrah Brown

4/20 – An informal, annual “holiday,” acknowledged by non-smokers, but beloved by weed heads, blunt rollers, and junkies alike – waiting anxiously for their next high. Yet, for some, the day is a painful reminder of the raging drug epidemics which have killed off so many of our loved ones.         

A term coined so frequently, yet, the story of its beginnings often go untold; how did the date, 4/20, originate? Over the years, rumors have spiraled in regards to how 4/20 was recognized as the yearly celebration of cannabis culture as we know it. One, possibly a code among police officers for marijuana smoking. Another, slightly more comical and ironic, theory attributed they day with Nazi leader and war criminal Adolf Hitler’s birthday, April 20th. However, Time reports that the most plausible and credited story for the origination of the day begins with a group of five teenagers at a high school in California – San Rafael High School.

Each day, at 4:20 PM, this group of five would meet at the campus’ statue of Luis Pasteur, a famous chemist, for their daily round of passing the joint. Thus, 420 became the new code word for one their favorite after school pastimes. This group of teens, later known as the “Waldos” because they met near a wall, included Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich. How did the phrase spread? Reddix connected with a popular band, Grateful Dead, through his brother, and the band began to call out 420 in reference to their cannabis breaks. Used more frequently and on a wider platform, the phrase launched globally and has been used ever since.

Mary Jane, the Waldos, and the fight for decriminalization of marijuana lives on, but the new drug epidemic that is heavily circulating around America is the use and abuse of opioids. According to CNN, more than two million people in the United States alone have a dependence on these drugs. Opioids are dispensed to patients with acute, chronic pain, due to their ability to replicate the pain-reducing properties of opium. Legal forms of the painkillers comprise morphine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. Those which are illegal include heroin, banned in 1924 in the U.S., and synthetically-made fentanyl. The statistics are astonishing; opioid prescriptions were 122 million in 1992, and the number increased to a peak of 282 million in 2012 – just a 20-year difference. The number of prescriptions administered has declined, but opioid-related deaths that occurred between 2002 to 2016 have increased to a dumbfounding rate of 533 percent. Painkillers, however, are expensive. Many who become dependent on painkillers turn to the street drug, heroin, which is cheaper. Opioids may pose a more lethal effect on society due to the ease of attainability – they’re legally prescribed drugs, but can doubly be retrieved on the streets. The concern, therefore, falls on who is accessing the drug, and at what dosages.

Amidst the opioid crisis, the abuse of the pharmaceutical industry and physicians should not go amiss in this situation. In 2007, criminal charges were brought by the federal government against manufacturer Purdue Pharma who mislead doctors and consumers that their pill, OxyContin, was a safer and less addictive version than other opioids. Eight years later, in 2015, 280 people consisting of numerous doctors and pharmacists were arrested for fraudulently over dispensing large sums of opioids. The prescription drug bust, deemed Operation Pilluted, is the largest in the history of the DEA. In 2016, the CDC published guidelines for properly administering opioids to patients, but several “pill mills” still exist in the shadows.

These are just a few highlights of the abuses of drug-makers and distributors across the country, but with opioid addiction and fraud on the rise, what has the government accomplished in improving our health care system? In 2016, legislators passed the 21st Century Cures Act, which allotted $1 billion in opioid crisis grants. This funding allows for addiction treatment and prevention programs to expand nationwide. Additionally, the launch of an Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit within the DOJ was announced in 2017.

The death and destruction opioids have imploded upon families across America cannot be undone. Nevertheless, hope for future generations lay within increased transparency, accountability, and a dose of compassion.

Sources:

http://time.com/4292844/420-april-20-marijuana-pot-holiday-history/

https://www-m.cnn.com/2017/09/18/health/opioid-crisis-fast-facts/index.html

Algo Más Que Carnaval (“Something More Than Carnaval”)

WRITTEN BY KAT HERNANDEZ

PHOTO BY MARYAM SAAD

February was a month of two-fold importance for Dominican-Americans. While America celebrated Black History Month, back in our motherland, our families and communities celebrated 175 years of independence. And like so many aspects of our identity, we are caught in the middle.

“Es el mes entero,” said Derrick Vasquez, president of Baruch College’s Dominican Student Association. “In the Dominican Republic, we celebrate our independence all month long. So for us here, we’re celebrating it interchangeably with Black History Month.”

Baruch College’s Dominican Student Association, Asociación Estudiantil Dominicana (ASEDOM), brought forward this celebration on March 7th with their annual Carnaval event. Carnaval, the celebration of both Holy Week and Dominican Independence, is evidence of the multiple layers of Dominican identity, with its roots in both African culture and post-independence celebration.  

Celebrated years before the country’s independence, Carnaval finds its origins in African slaves that would mimic and mock the acts of their slave masters. According to Dominican folklore, on the days leading up to Lent and Holy Week, European slave owners would commit sinful acts in public as a way to have something to be repentant for during the fasting period of Lent. As a response to the hypocrisy that they would see, slaves would mimic this behavior during these days when they were included in the sins of their masters. Overtime the act became a festival of sorts and has now become a nationwide parade.

Carnaval takes over the Dominican Republic in an massive display of colors and festivities. The people dress up in traditional clothes or as diablo cojuelos, caricature-like devils with ornate and loud costumes that dance down the streets in parades. They derive from Castilian folklore that dates back from before the country’s independence. The persona was brought to the island through the play “El Diablo Cojuelo” by Luis Velez de Guevara, a Spanish playwright and dramatist, but has been favored by witches and santeros for the mischief and playfulness that it represents.

Diablo cojuelos have evolved into a more colorful display than from de Guevara’s original presentation. Generations of families in the Dominican Republic have dedicated themselves to dressing in elaborate and colorful figures with 3-foot high horns that are decorated with patterns and textures. They parade the streets with long “tails,” made from thick leather or hay, with a firecracker attached to the end, making a loud cracking sound whenever slapped against the ground.

“As a kid, growing up you don’t know what these things mean,” said Vasquez. “I used to just be scared of these random people dancing around and dress up. I didn’t know what they meant to our culture and our values.”

Carnaval mixes much of the Dominican Republic’s different religious backgrounds as well. With its placement a week before the start of Lent, it is seen as the preparation for the Christian holiday. At the same time, however, it’s also seen as a pagan ritual for practitioners of voodoo and Santeria since many components hold non-Christian but spiritual aspects to them. The diablo cojuelos are a perfect example of this.

Alongside these andulleros, the name given to a group of diablos, are the diverse array of Dominican dancers.

“So with this new [generation] coming that are recognizing their African roots, in D.R we’ve always had our African roots,” said Yvonna Perez, a dance instructor who specializes in typical Dominican folk dances. She and her group of dancers performed alongside the diablos at ASEDOM’s Carnaval event, demonstrating dances like los palos that have clear African roots. “A lot of it started with our music. I like to show my dancers what are our lost African dances and dance steps.”

Perez shared her frustration with the lack of knowledge of our African ancestry in terms of dance.

“There’s la mangulina, and as well you have machaco, los palos. You have pri-pri, which all incorporate our African roots with the drums, the African drums. The way you move your hips. The way you move your shoulders,” continued Perez. “People don’t even know these dances exist. You probably mention these dance styles and people ask ‘what is that?’”

Many Afro-Dominicans from the current generation are taking steps forward in trying to educate Dominicans and non-Dominicans on the reality of blackness within the island; however, there are those who feel like more has to be done.

“I’m really proud to celebrate Black History Month, and a lot of times I get that second look of ‘oh, why are you celebrating Black History Month,’” said 30-year-old teacher and dancer Daniel Estrada. He is a light-skinned Dominican that identifies as Black and has felt the need to justify his reasons for celebrating Black History Month. “Dominicans are kind of at this crossroads where you don’t really know what race to identify with ‘cause you don’t really fit into any kind of norm.”

So much of our independence is celebrated in the sentiment of being grateful for what has been done in the Dominican Republic’s past and all of the struggles that have been overcome; however, there is still so much room for effort to accept and truly embrace our African identity and step into our blackness.

“We’ve come a really long way as a nation and as people,” said Estrada. “But just because we’ve come a really long way doesn’t mean that we don’t have a lot of growing to still do. Let’s not shy away from the current struggles we still have and the conversations we still need to have.”

The indigenous Taínos called the island Quisqueya. The Spanish dubbed it Hispaniola. African slaves never had the chance to name the place that would eventually become their home, so in their memory and in the spirit of our independence, we call it home.

Political art must be better scrutinized for cultural nuances

WRITTEN BY KENNY FREMER

Tamil artist M.I.A. continuously faces critic backlash for misconstrued elements in her music. Marred by slanted writing, her affluent lifestyle is often misinterpreted as a gap in her art’s authenticity.           

There is no better example of how political work in music can be misinterpreted than the discourse surrounding M.I.A. Her music is often written from the perspective of minority groups in third-world countries, and she herself has had to flee her home country to avoid political warfare. At her most contentious, she has written from the perspective of a man driven to war to provide for and protect his family, in the song “Sunshowers.” Perspectives like this make her extremely divisive and a scrutinized performer.

             M.I.A. is no stranger to the problem of struggling to control her public reputation. As a Tamil individual, she has had direct experience with the civil war in Sri Lanka. The war centered around efforts by the majority Sinhalese government to contain a Tamil revolution sparked due to a lack of representation for the Tamil people. In a 2005 interview with EGO Magazine, her perceived association with the Tamil Tigers, a controversial group considered a terrorist organization by the Sri Lankan government, is mentioned. Because she had used tiger-related imagery in some promotional images, many linked M.I.A. to the group. She said “I’m not some manufactured propaganda machine by the Tamil Tigers, but I think people assume that I am. I’m like, hell no! Tamil Tigers f—ed my life up and so did the Sinhalese government. They both f—ed my life up.” Although M.I.A.’s decision to use tiger imagery in promotional pieces was clarified, her reputation as being sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers has not gone away.

             A half-decade later, in a lengthy New York Times Magazine cover profile published in 2010, Lynn Hirschberg paints a distinctly unflattering portrait of M.I.A. as a contradictorily bourgeois outsider to the people she sings about.  Hirschberg writes, “Unity holds no allure for Maya — she thrives on conflict, real or imagined. ‘I kind of want to be an outsider,’ she said, eating a truffle-flavored French fry.” As it turns out, however, that moment in the interview was actually prompted by Lynn, who was recorded pressuring M.I.A. into ordering the expensive fries, guaranteeing that the New York Times would pay the bill. Throughout the interview, Hirschberg takes further issue with M.I.A.’s rich lifestyle, including her relationship with the wealthy Benjamin Bronfman and her purchasing of multiple homes in an affluent, mostly white Los Angeles neighborhood. In this 8,500-word profile, only two lines of music are quoted; the conversation has become no longer about the message, but the artist’s flaws and associations.

             In the interview, Hirschberg even writes that M.I.A. “allied herself” with the Tamil Tigers. Once an artist chooses to take a political stance, their character becomes more open to scrutiny, criticism and discourse – especially when the view they espouse is controversial or easy to take out of context. And especially when the artist is a race other than white, or a gender other than male. We need to be more critical of our own biases when evaluating the political statements of others. Instead of dismissing radical ideas as impossible, or reactionary, we should try to understand where that other person is coming from so that we can better understand everyone around us, absorb other perspectives, and make better art ourselves.

Kyrah Brown

Written by Kenny Fremer

Photo taken by Brandon Paillere

Kyrah Brown is an instantly warm, kind person. She’s a senior studying political science and economics at Baruch, but as a creative writer spends a lot of her free time creating characters and stories via long, personal poems.

Her writing explores the many forces — relationships, events, and people — that have a large impact on her life. She usually starts with an emotion, then figures out how to best fictionalize that feeling. “I’ve always written pretty much everything - it’s harder to express things verbally, I end up getting tongue tied.” At the same time, she stresses the importance of keeping certain parts of her life to herself — hence a tendency toward fiction rather than direct stories from her life.

On the topic of her own work, Kyrah expresses her poetic pride and notes that her pieces are often lengthy and descriptive. “The depth that I’m able to express on the paper - it amazes me every time.” She explains that the writing may at first seem dark but there's plenty of light to be found in the untangling of emotions, issues, and thoughts in order to best reflect upon the intricacies of life.

As both an Encounters staff member and frequent poet, some of her work has been published in the magazine for the world to see. She explains, sharing her work can be a pretty terrifying process: “When they’re reading it, I wonder how they’re gonna react - because every poem comes from some element of my life.”

At the same time, however, she hopes that her readers can relate to whatever dissatisfaction or problem with which the poem is grappling; especially young women, who may relate to the poem “Her Growth.” This particular poem contains many elements regarding finding your own place in the world, regardless of the obstacles or people holding you back. Like the subject of the poem itself, Kyrah is constantly creating, growing, and carving out her own creative space in the world.

Benjamin Wallin

WRITTEN BY KYRAH BROWN

PHOTO BY BRANDON PAILLERE

Benjamin Wallin is a writer, film critic, and the current editor of the Arts and Style section for The Ticker. He first discovered that fiction writing could be used as an outlet of personal enjoyment in his senior year of high school when he had to take AP English. Some of his favorite writers are Kurt Vonnegut, Daniel Handler, and Italio Calvino. His new outlook on writing sparked motivation and he entered Baruch College ready to purse a double major in English and Journalism.

Ben’s love of film and cinematic critique pushed him to create a film club his freshman year. Though the club did not draw the momentum that he had hoped, his interest in film and writing did not stop there. His determination in finding an outlet to express his interests brought him to The Ticker. There he began writing film reviews, which allowed him to gain more exposure to the film industry, a new culture, and a new-found perspective.

Ben worked his way up to become an editor where he now covers not just film reviews, but the wider scope of the arts world and beyond. One of his most memorable pieces was an investigative article on a Baruch professor whose tweet may have been seen in a negative light by students. Now, as the Arts & Style editor, his job is to encourage and push other writers to step out of their comfort zones and write what readers need to hear.

As a graduating senior, Ben plans to pursue greater opportunities and write professionally, making note that his days of writing for free are over. His challenge, as is of most writers, is to continue finding originality and new ways to portray different stories. Little by little, Ben is building up his writing profile to develop and be able to adapt to different writing scenarios in his career. Along with The Ticker, Ben has a blog called Auteurial Intent (auteurialintent.com), and periodically writes for Refract Magazine. Wherever his future writing endeavors take him, Ben knows that he always wants his writing pieces to convey meaning and entertainment for his readers.

William Lin

WRITTEN BY SOFIA GHASEMI

PHOTO BY SARAH MISKIN

William Lin is a Chinese-American artist and designer who likes to express the practicality that art can possess. He is currently the president of the Gender, Love and Sexuality Spectrum, a community for LGBTQ+ members and allies. Aside from his responsibilities, he also creates graphics for the organization, as well as designs his own business cards, fashion designs, and logos.

William has always had a passion for sketching. “My first memory when I was a kid was myself drawing,” he explains. Having gained inspiration from his mother, a seamstress, William set out to learn the basics of fashion design and soon began creating fashion pieces himself. Drawing inspiration from fashion icons such as Alexander McQueen, William designed his own dresses and has developed numerous sketch designs.

William is a firm believer that art can be both practical and appreciated. He enjoys the nuances of graphic design and the creativity and problem solving that goes with it. “Art can be versatile,” he states, “art can be for appreciation, entertainment, or practicality.” In the future, William wishes to become a creative director for a firm or agency and is determined to find his place in the graphic design world.

During his freshman year at Baruch, William recalled missing a sense of community. He originally planned to transfer to the Fashion Institute of Technology before finding his niche within Baruch after joining G.L.A.S.S. He understood the stigma of being LGBTQ in the workplace and wanted to help foster a safe haven within Baruch where everyone felt welcomed. “I wanted to build a community where everyone is connected. I wanted a sense of family,” he explains. Now a senior, William hopes that G.L.A.S.S. will continue to flourish after he graduates this coming year.

This feature is part of a series of editorials curated by Encounters Magazine that correspond with a theme for the month. This month’s theme is LGBTQ+ History and will feature creators within Baruch that identify with and empower the LGBTQ+ community.

Joshua Castillo

WRITTEN BY BIANCA NITTA MONTEIRO

PHOTO BY MITCHELL KIM

Joshua Castillo, or Cast, is a Dominican Bronx/Jersey-based creator. His work spans wide and is based deeply in his emotions and his ability to express them. As a performer, a rapper, a writer, and a filmmaker, Josh has surrendered himself to the act of expression, his creative attention grounded in his writing.

“I keep journals in shoe boxes dating from the past eight years of just stories, poems, raps, songs — everything,” he explains. “It’s not therapeutic. Most people will say that’s a way to get out your emotions, but it really isn’t therapeutic for me. It’s like I have to do it at this point. It’s like taking a shit. Or breathing. Or just brushing your teeth — writing, it’s just another thing I do.”

Josh, who first started using Cast when he was 15, uses the alter ego as one of many ways to channel his creative energy. Acting as his own opposite, he’s able to not only flex his creative muscles but indulge in variety of personalities that heighten his work’s impact. His process is erratic and often stems from words or rhymes that he suddenly finds catchy. With this little context, he dives into creating entire worlds for them. “Sometimes it’s just a word. I’ll fall in love with a word,” he reminiscences. As an artist, he explains, “We’re all addicts.”

Josh, who is also the chair of the arts committee within Baruch’s Undergraduate Student Government, dedicates himself to the artistic community on campus in order to voice their needs and work toward creating more artistic spaces. He explains that despite the college’s focus in business, the arts within Baruch thrive and grow bigger each year. “I do think there’s a Renaissance. It’s on it’s way, and it’s happening really quickly.”

Josh is a creator and student at Baruch College majoring in Marketing. His work can be found on Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music, and more.