Author: cmo015

Anna Jones
Writer

On Oct. 25, Dr. Carole Counihan spoke to more than 50 students and faculty in the Willard Smith Library. Her message to the audience was that “food touches everything.” Food is the central item that connects everyone in all different parts of the world, making it something that should be enjoyed as well as protected. She explained that the way to do this is through “food activism,” advancing social and economic justice through food practices, and creating healthy, fair labor conditions as well as fair prices for consumers.

The leading front in food activism today is an organization called Slow Food. It focuses on getting people to slow down and enjoy their food, to make food healthier and to make food practices fairer for everyone involved.

As Counihan discussed Slow Food, her focus shifted to gender in food activism. She pointed out that there are more women working behind the scenes in food activism, yet more men take much of the credit. For example, while at a Slow Food conference, almost the entire board was made up of men, despite the fact that women do most of the actual work.

Although Slow Food has succeeded largely in Italy, with many schools having their own gardens to grow fruits and vegetables, it still faces opposition in other places. Counihan noted that taste versus price is a big issue. If people commit to wanting better tasting food, she said, they’d be willing to pay a little extra. The taste of food is meaningful and emotional, so it’s extremely important to the eating experience.

To conclude her talk, Counihan said that being “honest about your food” is the most important thing in food activism. As long as people are honest about where everything is coming from, food will be better made and people will be able to sit down and enjoy it more.

“This was a topic I’d never considered before, and I believe that more attention should be paid to the Slow Food industry in the United States,” Morgan Houchins ’16 said.

“Everything Dr. Counihan said was relatable to all people on our campus,” Sarah Antonacci ’16 said. “The lengths that some people take to obtain their food and get to know their food are incredible and respectable.”

Counihan is a food anthropologist and professor emeritus at Millersville University. She’s authored several books such as “Around the Tuscan Table: Food, Family, and Gender in Twentieth Century Florence” and “The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning, and Power.” She is editor of “Food in the USA: A Reader” and, with Penny Van Esterik, “Food and Culture: A Reader.” She’s also editor-in-chief of the journal “Food and Foodways.”

Counihan studied abroad in Italy directly following college and became fascinated with the differences between Italian and American food consumption. She returned to Italy many years later to intensely study these differences.

 

Christina Oddo
Arts & Life Editor 

This past weekend, a group of students performed one of Shakespeare’s most renowned works. The University’s Department of Theatre and Dance was proud to present “Macbeth” on Oct. 19-22 in Tustin Theatre. This production was directed by Anjalee Deshpande Hutchinson, assistant director of theatre and dance, aided by assistant directors Gwenn Gideon ’15 and Bronwyn Barnwell ’15.

The set of the production itself included a staircase leading to a door, a trap door in the floor and other openings and pathways. Realistic sound effects, as well as projected images and footage and fog effects, allowed for an even more three-dimensional performance. At multiple times during the production, actors performed right in front of the first row of the audience. Such a cozy venue allowed for great audience engagement, and an up-close, intense experience.

“One challenging aspect of this production was being open to all the historical interpretations of Lady Macbeth while also letting go of all preconceived notions and letting her spirit emerge organically,” said Victoria Moyer ’13, who played Lady Macbeth in the production. “Another challenging aspect for me was to open myself to my own darker nature in order to become Lady Macbeth. The idea of ‘what’s done cannot be undone’ weighed really heavily on me each night … It was such a roller coaster experiencing Lady M’s highest hopes and dreams transformed into her worst nightmares for the past weeks.”

The actors grew as artists through the development of relationships with one another and with their characters.

“We had an amazing cast–I think each one of us opened ourselves, to each other, as fellow creators and artists,” Moyer said. “I had an eye-opening experience developing the relationship of the Macbeths with my phenomenal fellow actor, Elyas [Harris ’13] , and I felt the complexity of our bond and eventual undoing grew immensely with each rehearsal.”

At first, the students needed to tackle Shakespearean language in order to capture and portray the true essence of emotion on stage. Over time, it became less about memorization, and more about immersion.

“Having time over the summer to memorize lines and study the poetry and form of the text was necessary so that the physical exploration could happen right away this semester,” Moyer said.

The actors grasped the language so fully that emotion was expressed with what seemed like ease.

“Everyone was so talented; it brought much more emotion to Shakespeare than I expected,” Nicole Davis ’15 said.

The actors became their characters with this great understanding of the language and its meaning.

“In Shakespeare’s world, the characters are not afraid to speak, and they must articulate for their very survival,” Moyer said. “Being immersed in Shakespeare’s language has rekindled my passion for this kind of expression, yet I am dismayed sometimes to find our generation operating in a mode of stuttering, trailing off, indecisiveness, neglecting the power of the voice. I hope that the audiences this weekend were moved not only by the power of the story, but by the power of the language.”

Above all, the cast not only became a closer group of artists and performers, but also a closer group of friends, creating and enforcing a group environment in the theatre.

“Macbeth was a group effort,” Ethan B. Van Buskirk ’13, who played Angus and Lord said. “Everyone was on top of it; lines down, cues up, extra hours from everyone. Anjalee was great too. She had a strong sense of what needed to happen in the show, but was exceptionally flexible and receptive to everyone’s input. The best part of the show for me was easily the sense of community. Theatre doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it needs people to thrive–including not only production, but the audience.”

 

Laura Crowley
Senior Writer

On Oct. 19, Uptown held Oktoberfest, at which students over 21 were offered three free drinks per person. In the spirit of October and the German holiday Oktoberfest, students were offered Sam Adams’ Oktoberfest draft and hot pretzels. Alternative options of Coors Light, wine and non-alcoholic beverages were also available. The three-drink limit was enforced by a wristband system in which bartenders removed tabs from the band after each drink.

Games of pool and foosball were active all throughout the event, which lasted from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. The music consisted of a DJ who opened the floor up to karaoke for students on several occasions.

“It was my first time at pub night at Uptown, and it definitely won’t be my last,” Ben Sunshine ’13 said. “The atmosphere was very relaxed and I didn’t feel cramped once inside.”

The turnout was substantial, as the bar was quite full towards the end of the night.

Pub Nights at Uptown are typically held on the last Friday of each month, and are a fun way to enjoy time with friends while maintaining a budget.

Uptown also hosted a non-alcoholic Oktoberfest event on Oct. 20. Uptown provided students with free mugs and access to a Birch beer keg. Soft pretzles were also served, along with pierogi and mini brownie dessert bites. Face-in-hole photos and holiday-related music were other fun additives to the event.

“The non-alcohol event, BisonHaus, proved that people can have fun without drinking. Face-in-hole cut outs, free souvenir mugs and typical German food made the event memorable,” Emilie Ratajczak ’15 said. “It is definitely an event that has so much potential, so we hope to hype it up more next year.”

Anna Jones
Writer

After several weeks of intensive planning and advertising by the Spades Committee of Activities and Campus Events (ACE), headed by Asha Harvey ’15, the committee pulled off a successful Fiesta Night in the Terrace Room on Oct. 19.

Upon walking into the room, guests were overwhelmed by the sound of festive music and the enticing smells of Mexican food, including make-your-own tacos and burritos. On the other side of the room, there was a long table filled with bowls of chips and just about every kind of salsa possible, ranging from extremely spicy to more mild. If your taste buds needed something to cool down, virgin margaritas were being served in the middle of the room. In another corner sat cinnamon covered churros with vats of chocolate for dipping. People raved about the food, which was prepared by the University’s dining staff. 

One of the main events of the night was the hot pepper eating contest.

“[It] was a huge attraction for many attendees,” Harvey said.

Harvey said they wanted to “facilitate friendly competition,” and that the committee is working to make the competition even better for next year’s Fiesta Night. This year’s winner was Farhan Altaf ’15, who won a piñata full of $50 in cash and lots of candy.

Guests also had the opportunity to take part in the Mexican piñata activity. Upon entering the Terrace Room, every guest received a ticket with a number. Every 15 minutes, ACE committee members drew five numbers; whoever’s number was called got the chance to swing at the piñata three times after being blindfolded and spun around three times.

After several people beat up the piñata, it fell to the ground and there was a mad rush for the candy inside. A few pieces were labeled with bright green tags; the lucky winners of these pieces won gift cards to shops in downtown Lewisburg. One of the winners was Meghan Mahoney ’16.

“I expected that I had gotten a free Milky Way bar, but it turned out that I’d won a $10 discount at any store downtown. It was a very nice surprise!” Mahoney said.

For the more artistically inclined students, there was a table for decorating maracas and Mexican fans with markers. The Latino Dance Corner performed a dance and even gave a short lesson on the tango to students. For even more of a Mexican feel, ACE had flower pins for guests to put in their hair.

Finally, there was a “guess how many beans” contest. Students could guess how many beans were in a jar, and the closest estimate won a $30 gift certificate to El Caporal, a Mexican restaurant in Lewisburg. Patience Osei ’14 was the lucky winner of this gift certificate.

With almost 300 guests, Fiesta Night turned out to be a huge success.

“I’d say it was a success,” Harvey said. “The Latin Dance Corner turned up the heat and we had so much going on it wasn’t a surprise that people stayed the whole night.”

ACE has many more events planned for this semester, including Casino Night this weekend at the Campus Theatre and BU After Dark on Nov. 2.

“ACE activities are great ways to bring the entire community together and break down boundaries,” Harvey said.