Published by

Center for Writing Across the CurriculumDirector Tereza Joy Kramer

&

Collegiate Seminar ProgramDirector Ellen Rigsby

The Undergraduate Spectrum is published annuallyand available online via the

Center for Writing Across the Curriculum:www.stmarys-ca.edu/cwac

Printed by Coast Litho in Oakland, California

The

Undergraduate

Spectrum

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Masthead

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EditorJoe Zeccardi

Associate EditorsCaitlyn Callahan

Katie HillMarshall LymburnLauren NeumannSabrina Nguyen

Cover ArtSabrina Nguyen

Writing Advisers working with FinalistsLis Arevalo-Hidalgo

Ross BleileMaddie Campbell

Darrion CarlyleTaylor Goldstein

Katie HillKerry-Anne Loughman

Camilla MaraisNick Stillman

Steven WieserSabrina Zehnder

Judges

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Faculty JudgesCathy DavalosDana Herrera Caralinda Lee

Hilda MaJeff Sigman

Jessie Turner

Writing Adviser JudgesLis Arevalo-Hidalgo

Sabrina BarrRoss Bleile

Maddie CampbellCamilla MaraisMia MarambaNick Stillman

Welcome to the 2018 edition of The Undergraduate Spectrum, a journal showcasing the rich diversity of artistic and rhetorical practice at Saint Mary’s College of California. Published here are winners of the 28th annual Newman Awards for writing in Collegiate Seminar and the 30th annual Spectrum Awards for writing in the disciplines. Each year, the difficult task of narrowing the field of submissions requires much serious deliberation by our diverse panel of judges, consisting of both professors from across the curriculum and student Writing Advisers in the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum (CWAC). Accordingly, we extend our deepest appreciation to all the professors who nominated their students’ writing in 2017, to all the students who submitted their own writing, and to all the judges who gave of their time and wisdom during the selection process. Following the first round of selection, a staged editing process, mirroring that which occurs when writers work with professional publications, brings finalists to CWAC to work with a Writing Adviser as they revise their work through three drafts. Working with Advisers, finalists review both idea- and sentence-level issues and refine and resubmit their pieces for final consideration. Winning texts are then selected from among these finalists. This year marks the fifth in which students from the practicum course Communication 190 applied principles of copy-editing and design learned in the classroom to the publication of this journal. Communication 190 fosters a creative environment for Saint Mary’s students to produce this publication, and we are grateful for the collaboration and support of the Communication Department, particularly Chair Aaron Sachowitz, in helping us shape this course. We are also grateful for the contributions of the student artists whose visual works grace these pages and to Art and Art History Department, particularly Chair Costanza Gislon Dopfel, for their commitment to this journal. Please see page 89 for guidelines for both art and writing submissions. Joe Zeccardi

Letter from the Editor

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Honorable Mentions

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“Native redemption”by Megan Holt

SEM-001: Critical Strategies and Great Questions Professor Cathy Davalos

“Used”by Lindsey Gamache

SEM-002: Western Tradition IProfessor Margaret Pagaduan

“Family feud”by Tiffany Pham

SEM-002: Western Tradition IProfessor Rashaan Meneses

Newman

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“Heart of my heart”by Isabel Ponce

ANTH-128: Food and CultureProfessor Paola Sensi-Isolani

“Anna Halprin as a feminist post-modern choreographer/dancer”by Victoria Ball

PERFA-183: Dance History IIProfessor Roberta Chavez

“Convergent evolution of mollusca cephalopod and vertebrates”by Katie Whiting

BIOL-115: Theory of EvolutionProfessor Rebecca Jabbour

“The mystery behind handwriting and personality” 36 by Marie Torre ENGL-005: Argument and Research Professor Naomi Schwartz

“Caricatured: A look at the NFL’s Washington Redskins” 42 by Trey Hannula KINES-114: Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity Professor Steve Miller

“Modern research on the evolution of cancer” 48 by Joey Fiske BIOL-115: Theory of Evolution Professor Rebecca Jabbour

“Logic: A sign of truth and tool of sophistry” 53 by Alicia McCallister INTEG-115: Integral Junior Seminar Professor Elizabeth Hamm

“GentrificationinOakland:Wheredahoodat?” 59 by Victor Jaimes POL-115: Theories of Justice Professor Patrizia Longo

“Black bodies swing” 65 by Symone Williams TRS-125: Liberation Theology Professor Joe Drexler-Dreis

“Boats don’t have kitchens” 70 by Taylor Brown ANTH-128: Food and Culture Professor Paola Sensi-Isolani

“Helen Tamiris: Direct and misunderstood” 74 by Micah Sallid PERFA-183: Dance History II Professor Roberta Chavez

“The importance of culturally relevant curriculum in the lives of Filipinx American students” 80 by Nikki Baluyot JCL-196: Senior Capstone I Professor Manisha Anantharaman

Spectrum Award Winners

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The Mystery Behind Handwriting and Personality

Marie Torre

Throughout my student life, I have always been intrigued by the penmanship of my peers and teachers. Some people choose cursive, with elegant words, making a pretty piece of art on a page. Others would have the classic “bubbly” writing that – to me – seemed to relate accordingly to their “bubbly” personality. Between the cursive, bubbly, small, illegible and print handwritings I have seen thus far, one question has constantly been at the back of my mind: is there a connection between handwriting and personality? For some unknown reason, when looking at my peers’ schoolwork I would unconsciously make the association between the two, thinking, “oh, that makes sense – his handwriting is small and rigid, it points to his straightforward and logical reasoning.” Thus, I wanted to explore the assumption that handwriting can be used to determine personality traits through the field of graphology. By discussing the methodology of various studies on graphology’s reliability, I will explore how the inconsistencies in research and the time period they were carried out in would give rise to questionable conclusions. Then, I will suggest my own study whereby fewer flaws in methodology – and increased use of technology and personalized testing (individuality) – will find a stronger correlation for the existing link between personality and handwriting. Graphology is a field of science that analyzes handwriting to determine a person’s characteristics (King & Koehler, 2000). Their methods consist of looking at the slope of one’s handwriting, how neat or messy, the size, the rhythm, the speed, the flow, the margins of the page, the spacing between lines, words and letters, the pressure, the crossings of ‘t’s and dotting of ‘i’s, and the general impression a handwriting gives, in terms of boldness or timidity. For example, a rising slope indicates the writer is looking towards the future, not the past; whereas small handwriting could imply a lack of confidence, a focus on detail, and that the individual thinks before they write (Brewer, 1999). These particular handwriting traits originate from the brain. This organ, the very core of our selves, also contains the codes to who we are and the key to our personalities. According to The Oxford Dictionary, personality is defined as “the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character” (2017). This “distinctive character,” coming from the brain, is as unique as each individual’s handwriting. In this way, the field of graphology attempts to make the correlation between personality and handwriting. Our handwriting is more complex than an automatic hand gesture – in fact, it is entirely personal. Since it remains the same using all members of our body, this “motor equivalence” illustrates handwriting is more complex than was originally thought (Wing, 2000). The action does not come from commands given to specific muscles as earlier approaches believed, but rather from a set of coded strokes within the brain (Wing, 2000). In Alan Wing’s study, fMRI scans showed there was activity mainly in the Posterior Parietal Cortex (PPC; which has a role

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in voluntary actions) suggesting its role in storing coded strokes. Not only was the PPC activated when the action of handwriting was carried out, but the researchers also discovered that the PPC was activated when an individual solely imagined the action of handwriting. Therefore, we can conclude that handwriting has a root in the Posterior Parietal Cortex (Wing, 2000). What is fascinating is that no matter which part of the body carries out the action – whether the foot, hand, or arm – the style of writing remains the same. This surprising uniqueness of handwriting has led some to believe in the correlation between handwriting and personality. Despite this apparent link, the science behind graphology is still disputed in the modern world. Some do not trust the reliability of the science, yet others are willing to try it out – for example, graphologists have been employed as counselors for employers who wish to hire someone but can’t make a choice. My father, CEO of a bank (BNP Paribas Brazil) in 1998, recruited a graphologist to provide him with additional information to make the choice between two people he would hire. But is graphology really a reliable source? Although its usage is still common – according to Dazzi and Pedrabissi, “between 1983 and 1991, estimated usage of graphology [was] of 52% in France, 16% in Israel, 4% in Holland, 3% in the UK, and 2% in Germany and Norway” (2009) – the fact that different countries cannot agree on the legitimacy of graphology illustrates its fluctuating credibility. This split in credibility, therefore, is also found in the science behind graphology. Sources that found graphology as an unreliable science all had some factors in common: they all took place before 2009 and used similar methodology. The basic idea was that participants would provide researchers with a handwritten text that all would copy from a script (Furnham & Gunter, 1987). The participants would also complete a personality questionnaire themselves, and the results of the questionnaire would be correlated against graphologists’ analysis, or with non-graphologists’ as well. These could include students, psychologists or any control group with no prior knowledge of graphology. When a control group was used along with the personality questionnaire, Neter and Ben-Shakhar made the surprising deduction that “graphologists are not better than non-graphologists in predicting future performance on the basis of handwritten scripts” (1989). Apparently outperformed in their own domain, graphologists may not be worth hiring for enterprises requesting the best employees. Another study came to the same conclusions: Dazzi and Pedrabissi evaluated that, “the personal content of the handwriting texts did not improve the validity of the graphologists’ analyses. Their predictive ability also was not better than that of the non-expert evaluators” (2009). The research indicated that there was no link between one’s handwriting and their personality. The greatest change in methodology post-2012 that swayed the science world towards graphology’s legitimacy was the use of personalized testing and modern technology. The use of machines is much more objective than any human judgment. According to Fisher, Nixon, Williams, and Leet (2012), current technology such as FLEX-Tracker (Foreign Language Exploitation for Handwritten documents) are “handwriting biometric software” (D6.6), allowing the identification

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This surprising uniqueness of

handwriting has led some to believe in the correlation between

handwriting and personality.

Spectrum 2018

of specific traits for each individual. Other technology such as the U.S. Secret Service FISH (Forensic Information System for Handwriting), is used to distinguish individuals who may threaten government officials by matching the handwriting samples with probable candidates in an offline database (Fisher et al., 2012). Overall, they found that entire words may convey more individuality and patterns than individual letter shapes, thus the basic incline, shape and form of handwriting should be the elements focused on. Technology has the ability to determine one’s potential to commit violence through handwriting analysis. Gorska and Janicki performed another study investigating if by training a machine to discriminate levels of extroversion based on handwriting variables, a correlation could be found between the two (2015). Indeed, with the aid of support vector machines, the results were optimistic and showed a relationship between handwriting and extraversion (Górska & Janicki, 2015). Some went as far as stating that graphology was a faster way of determining personality, when compared with the Enneagram (a psychological test to recognize personality) (Pratiwi & Saputri, 2017). This statement was only made thanks to the objective lens of modern technology, which provided a major improvement over previous studies. The best support for the connection between handwriting and personality included an individualistic approach. The next study focused on participants ages eight to twelve; psychiatric teams completed the personality questionnaires for the participants, samples were collected from the latter, and analyzed and interpreted on a similar scale as the personality questionnaires, so a direct comparison could be made (Harish et al., 2015). The findings showed a significant relationship between handwriting and personality. A big advantage to this method was perhaps the more individualistic approach taken by Harish, Gowda, Aslam, Padmanabiah, and Magaji, and may have been the reason the study was successful in determining a positive relationship between graphology and personality (2015). Perhaps an explanation of the negative correlation of studies pre-2009 is confirmation bias. For example, King and Koehler wrote in “Illusory correlations in graphological inference,” “we investigate the phenomenon of illusory correlation as a contributor to the appeal and persistence of graphology’s use as a predictor of personality” (2000). Their results were concordant with their hypothesis. However, they approached the study in a subjective manner. It seemed they were looking to be correct instead of investigating what the true answer was; a good example of confirmation bias. The only differences between the studies were the participants (varying in age and sex), as well as the personality questionnaires: some used the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Furnham & Gunter, 1987) and others used the Big Five (Dazzi & Pedrabissi, 2009); lastly, the content of the scripts were chosen at the researchers’ discretion. Further, all questioned – in light of such negative results – why graphology was increasingly being used. They concluded that the field would appear to have the qualities for inferring personality (known as face validity) and that therefore affects our own subjective perspective (known as personal validity) (Neter & Ben-Shakhar, 1989). However, technology has eliminated the element of confirmation bias, providing more accurate results with a positive correlation between handwriting and personality. While recent research has shown a stronger correlation between handwriting and personality, in addition to the use of technology and individuality, I wondered if new parameters would yield more accurate results. All of the studies investigated above made the participants complete the personality questionnaires themselves; I question this approach. Individuals may think

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they know themselves better than anyone. However, there is also a fair amount of unconscious bias that comes into play in order to conform to society. How willing are people to lie about their personality in order to bend to society’s expectations? It would be interesting to determine, by looking at other sources, how much people unconsciously perfect their idea of their own personality to fit into the mold of society’s expectations – but this is a subject for another paper. I suggest that, to reduce personality bias, family and friends of participants, or psychiatric teams, should be the ones to complete the personality questionnaires in place of the participants themselves. Others see us for who we truly are, which I believe could reduce the flaws of the above studies. Furthermore, the personality questionnaires were all measures of visible personality traits – such as kindness, openness, vigilance, organization, extraversion, and emotionality – which made me wonder if graphology should instead be used to analyze the deeper facets of personality. Dazzi and Pedrabissi themselves wrote that graphology should be considered as a means to measure personality traits not included in the Big Five Questionnaire, illustrating the use of graphology for traits that require deeper analysis, which is less approachable than a simple scale on a questionnaire (2009). Instead, maybe traits such as empathy, tendency for violence, independence, influenceability, and power should be measured, and not solely through questionnaires – a psychological observation of individuals’ behavior in different settings to show the degree of those traits would be an interesting experiment to carry out. Although the scientific world’s split view has made me more dubious and critical of graphology’s reliability, I remain in favor of its use to measure personality. Based on the advancements of improved methodology, and incorporating new research parameters, graphology may well be portrayed as a concrete science. These future findings will be of great importance in the criminology, business, and other modern world sectors. But to me, they will be personally impacting: will that small, neat, detached, simple, and minimalist handwriting of my father’s be a depiction of his direct, quick, effective self? My instinct tells me it will, and with progress like that which we are seeing, graphology will turn out to be a valuable tool both at a personal and global level.

References

Brewer, J. F. (1999). Graphology. Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery, 5(1), 6-14. doi:10.1016/s1353-6117(99)80065-1

Dazzi, C., & Pedrabissi, L. (2009). Graphology and personality: An empirical study on validity of handwriting analysis. Psychological Reports, 105(3F), 1255-1268. doi:10.2466/pr0.105.f.1255-1268

Fisher, J., Nixon, A., Williams, N., & Leet, J. (2012). Identifying personality traits, and especially traits resulting in violent behavior through automatic handwriting analysis. In Proceedings of Student-Faculty Research Day, CSIS, Pace University. 4 May, 2012.

Furnham, A., & Gunter, B. (1987). Graphology and personality: Another failure to validate graphological analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 8(3), 433-435. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(87)90045-6

Górska, Z., & Janicki, A. (2012). Recognition of extraversion level based on handwriting and support vector machines. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 114(3), 857-869. doi:10.2466/03.09.28.pms.114.3.857-869

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Harish, N., Gowda, M., Aslam, A., Padmanabiah, M., & Magaji, R. (2015). Handprints of the mind: Decoding personality traits and handwritings. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 37(4), 409. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.168580

King, R. N., & Koehler, D. J. (2000). Illusory correlations in graphological inference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 6(4), 336-348. doi:10.1037//1076-898x.6.4.336

Klimoski, R. J., & Rafaeli, A. (1983). Inferring personal qualities through handwriting analysis. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 56(3), 191-202. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8325.1983.tb00127.x

Neter, E., & Ben-Shakhar, G. (1989). The predictive validity of graphological inferences: A meta-analytic approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 10(7), 737-745. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(89)90120-7

Personality. (2017). Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com.

Pratiwi, D., Santoso, G. B., & Saputri, F. H. (2017). The application of graphology and Enneagram techniques in determining personality type based on handwriting features. Jurnal Ilmu Komputer dan Informasi, 10(1), 11. doi:10.21609/jiki.v10i1.372

Wing, A. M. (2000). Motor control: Mechanisms of motor equivalence in handwriting. Current Biology, 10(6). doi:10.1016/s0960-9822(00)00375-4

Author’s Note

The idea came from a simple reflection in first grade. At the time, I was living in Cairo, Egypt, where my life thus far had been full of quick changes and slow adaptation; the only thing that remained consistent was the monotony of school. I took notice of my peers’ handwritings, and school became a game. If I could become friends with that person, would my guesses about what I saw in their handwriting be proven right? This curiosity never left me and remained at the back of my mind. I then came to college and in my Freshman year, my PSYCH 002 class was given the freedom to write a research paper on anything of our choice. I plunged into my childhood curiosity about handwriting and personality. Once I had gathered the basic thoughts, the research came easily – there was more than enough material to use for the paper. Taking an English 005 class at the same time helped me write about my topic more fluidly. Although my writing had been of good standard in my Freshman year, it now appeared choppy and inconsistent. Where did this information come from? What did this term mean? What was up with my style? I was going from a personal to an academic tone in a flash, which at the time of writing had seemed a good idea, but one year later felt like a horrendous mix and match. With all of that said, special thanks goes to my CWAC advisor, Nick Stillman, who sat through my awkward reading-aloud voice and gave me advice on the reorganization of my essay. He helped me smooth out the transitions between paragraphs, sentences, and (sometimes) even words. I owe a lot to him – as the first person to critique my writing, other than a professor – for making me realize the value of a second perspective on any piece of writing.

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Caricatured: A Look at the NFL’s Washington Redskins

Trey Hannula

In almost all levels of American sport, whether it be Little League or the major leagues, Native American Indian imagery has become a common mascot for teams and schools to represent themselves. While some fans feel that their respective Native American mascot represents certain admirable qualities, such imagery has become a major controversy in the past few decades and has forced many organizations, especially high schools and colleges, to drop their Indian mascots in favor of less controversial team names (Burkley, 2017). Protesters of tribal imagery argue that the use of Native American symbolism (NAS) is racist as it caricatures tribes and creates negative stereotypes for their culture (Morris, 2015). On the other hand, those in favor of keeping these mascots say it is a part of the team’s, as well as the individual’s, culture and tradition. To further examine the issue, I will review the complications surrounding the National Football League (NFL) and their Washington D.C.-based franchise, the Redskins, as well as the arguments for and against the team’s use of NAS.

The Washington Redskins were founded in 1932 and have used the same moniker and a similar logo ever since. At the time, NAS was common and largely uncontroversial as many college and professional teams donned Indian-related mascots. It wasn’t until the 1970s that Native American groups gained public support and began to convince organizations to change their mascots and imagery. In 1970, the University of Oklahoma became the first major institution to change their mascot due to mounting pressure from activists and shortly after, other universities such as Stanford and UMass also changed their Indian mascots (Dennie, 2005). This movement could also be seen in other levels of sport including interscholastic teams (elementary, middle, and high school) and minor league clubs as 600 organizations dropped NAS between 1969 and 2002 (Laveay, 2009). But despite a change in public opinion and much more regard for Native American tribes, major league teams have stuck to their historical names and logos. There are five major league teams that still employ NAS today: the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Braves, and of course, the Washington Redskins.

The Redskins organization has been criticized for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the NFL is the most popular North American sport and therefore brings a larger spotlight to the team with hugely televised events such as Sunday Night Football and the Super Bowl. Second, the team is located in the nation’s capital and some would argue that this reflects poorly on the United States as a country. Third, and perhaps most obviously, is the disparaging name “Redskins.” While neither politically correct or an accurate description, the name redskin is extremely offensive to Native American tribes (Laveay, 2009). The NFL has also received flak relating to the team name as the organization has remained quiet on the issue without taking a firm stance.

One of the most fervent defenders of the Redskins name is team owner Dan Snyder, who

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claims that the name and logo are a “unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect” (Morris, 2015). While Snyder may actually believe that the appropriated name brings feelings of pride and respect to the team, other factors such as sales and brand recognition may be the real reason why he is reluctant to change the name despite public outcry.

Just because Snyder or other Americans do not find the team name offensive, that does not mean it is inoffensive. As seen in the film, In Whose Honor?, there are many Native Americans who despise the use of their imagery for a multitude of reasons and these are the voices that should be listened to. White Americans are not likely going to be offended as easily because they have no real connection to Native American culture and therefore should not be the judges of whether NAS should be allowed. There have been multiple Indian councils who have spoken out against NAS and their opinion ought to held in highest regard. To give this issue some context, what if a newly formed professional team was named the “New York Jews” or the “El Paso Strawberry Pickers”? These names would be immediately protested and a public relations disaster would occur. There is no reason why Native Americans shouldn’t be treated with the same honor and respect that we extend to all nationalities and races.

In the 2005 legal case of Harjo v. Pro-Football Inc., the Redskins, the defendant in this lawsuit, nearly lost their trademark protection. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff and Native American activist, Suzan Harjo, cited the Lanham Act which was passed in 1946 and barred any trademark that was scandalous or derogatory (Dennie, 2005). Initially, the lower courts ruled in favor of the plaintiff and set to cancel the Redskins’ trademarks but on appeal was overruled due to laches, a clause that means the lawsuit was filed too far after the initial trademark in 1967 to be ruled offensive. Had the trial not have been foiled by this technicality, Snyder and the Redskins would have been guilty of using a derogatory trademark and lost their rights to the name and logo.

My argument is that the NFL should penalize the Washington Redskins, and any team in the future, that uses NAS without explicit permission from a relevant and sizable Native American council. By enacting penalties for derogatory team names and imagery, the NFL would not only make a statement and show where they stand on the issue, but also likely cause the Redskins to change their identity. Such penalties could include loss of draft picks, inability to host home playoff games, or no national television coverage of the team, which are similar to the sanctions imposed by the NCAA to dissuade their members from using NAS. These actions would drastically impact the Redskins’ marketing, team performance, and most importantly, their revenue, which would force Snyder and his ownership group to change their opinion or face major difficulties. Additionally, the penalties would serve the NFL well from a public relations standpoint as many would support the idea of policy aimed at creating a more inclusive environment.

Perhaps the most common counterargument in support of using NAS is that an organization’s use of Indian mascots is a tribute and sign of respect towards the culture. This mentality was continuously shown during In Whose Honor? as the University of Illinois’ administrators

...the Washington Post poll that received much

publicity and declared “9 in 10 Native Americans

aren’t offended by Redskins name” used shady methodology.

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fought to keep their imagery. Snyder is adamant that his team’s NAS only represents positive values and he has been quoted as saying it “represents honor, represents respect, and represents pride” (Burkley, 2017). While some depictions of Native Americans are egregiously racist (such as the Cleveland Indians’ “Chief Wahoo” which features a red skinned Native American with cartoonish facial features), Snyder could make the point that his team’s logo is much more neutral and less controversial as it does not depict Native Americans in a derogatory manner. The team also does not employ any type of mascot that could be seen as racist or an appropriation of the culture.

Another one of Snyder’s arguments is that the term “Redskins” does not actually offend Native Americans. According to polls conducted by the Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center (Laveay, 2009), an underwhelming amount of Native Americans said they were offended by the name. In all polls, roughly 80-90% of respondents said that they did not find the team name to be offensive. In the Harjo v. Pro-Football Inc. lawsuit, one of Snyder’s arguments for keeping the name was that “Redskins” is a dated word that people no longer associate a racial connotation to, but rather connect to the professional football team instead (Dennie, 2005).

While these counterarguments may sound valid at first, they are severely flawed in their rationale and methodology. To begin, it is foolish to argue that the name pays tribute to a culture that in many ways was decimated and abused by the now current white majority. A parallel would be a southern white professional organization naming their team in honor of slaves prior to the Civil War; it is something that would be unthinkable in today’s society. In addition, the supposed honor to the culture is often done incorrectly and without any regard to Native American religious and societal values. This was examined in In Whose Honor? as “Chief Illini,” the university’s mascot, wore the incorrect Indian attire and performed made-up dances. When it comes to the Redskins, fans often wear the feathered chief headgear at games which is inconsiderate and extremely disrespectful to many tribes who view the headgear with a much deeper meaning than a costume prop (Laveay, 2009). This issue received more attention with the emergence of “Chief Zee,” a diehard Redskins fan who would dress up in full Native American attire for games. Chief Zee, an African-American man named Zema Williams, became the “unofficial mascot” for the team and could often be found signing autographs and was even given a special scooter by Snyder to move around the stadium more easily (Freeman, 2016). This type of behavior only reinforces the team’s appropriation of Indian culture without regard to how it may offend actual Native Americans.

This leads to the next point of the contention about the term “Redskins.” According to Jay Rosenstein (2016), producer and director of In Whose Honor?, the Washington Post poll that received much publicity and declared “9 in 10 Native Americans aren’t offended by Redskins name” used shady methodology. Information was collected by calling people who were believed to be Native Americans on the phone and asking if the term offended them (Rosenstein, 2016). Rosenstein argues that people will often lie because there is no penalty or reason not to and, in this case there was no way to confirm whether the respondents were actually Native Americans. This assumption was confirmed by Fraser Laveay (2009), who surveyed real Native Americans as confirmed by a council’s tribal directory and found that the majority strongly believed that team names using NAS were offensive and should be changed. In 2013, the Inter-tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes, an organization that represents over 500,000 Native Americans, made a declaration to denounce the use of the term “Redskins” and petition to change the team’s name.

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This reiterates the notion that Snyder is misinformed about the reality of the situation and deaf to the complaints of Native councils (Laveay, 2009).

I agree with the Council’s decision and believe that the NFL should force Snyder’s team to drop their name and imagery or face severe sanctions. Native Americans are upset with organizations using their culture as a mascot and it is time that the NFL honor the wishes of native tribes and act as a leader in banning or penalizing teams who employ NAS in major league sports. If the NFL forced the Redskins to change their name and imagery, there would be a number of positive and negative repercussions for the league and the team. On a positive note, it would appease the Native American tribes and activists who believe that NAS should be barred from sports teams. The NFL has infamously handled controversial situations surrounding their players, such as Ray Rice (domestic abuse) and Josh Gordon (drug abuse), very poorly and this issue would allow them to finally be recognized and rewarded for noble action. Such an action from the biggest North American sports league could also have ramifications for the other major league teams who employ NAS. Teams such as the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Blackhawks could be the next organizations to be pressured to change their imagery and perhaps this would lead to an ultimate cleansing of all NAS from all levels of sport.

The negative implications that could arise from changing the Redskins name would be almost exclusively financial. The team would need to spend enormous amounts of money rebranding their stadium and merchandise, not to mention paying graphic designers for a new logo. The Redskins are the third most valuable franchise in the league at $2.85 billion (Haden, 2016) so loss of brand recognition may hurt their brand in the short term. On the other hand, the team may also benefit from a whole new merchandise line and new jersey sales, so this issue may actually also be a positive for the team. Another possible issue is the fan outrage that may occur following the rebrand. As we’ve seen in recent years, many fans were upset about players kneeling during the national anthem and they may protest another “politically-correct” decision.

In closing, it would serve the NFL well to take an affirmative stance against the Washington Redskins use of NAS. In the past, we have seen the NCAA reprimand, with great effect, teams for their Indian imagery and league ought to replicate those policies. It would finally set the league’s record straight about the controversial issue and would serve as a pioneer in eliminating NAS in the other major professional teams. Even if there appear to be some negative implications from rebranding, these problems would be minimal if any and would be dramatically outweighed by the potential economic and public relations benefits. Native Americans and activists have been calling for reform for decades and their complaints should no longer go unnoticed. It is time we end our country’s dated tradition of caricaturing Native Americans and finally treat them with the utmost kindness and respect they deserve.

References

Burkley, M., Burkley, E., Andrade, A., & Bell, A. C. (2017). Symbols of pride or prejudice? Examining the impact of Native American sports mascots on stereotype application. Journal Of Social Psychology, 157(2), 223-235.

Cox, J. W., Clement, S., & Vargas, T. (2016, May 19). New poll finds 9 in 10 Native Americans aren’t offended by Redskins name. The Washington Post. Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com

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Dennie, C. (2005). Native American mascots and team names: Throw away the key; The Lanham Act is locked for future trademark challenges. Seton Hall Journal Of Sports & Entertainment Law, 15(2), 197-220.

Freeman, M. (2017, April 12). Death of Washington’s Chief Zee offers chance for NFL to correct long-held wrong. The Bleache Report. Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com.

Haden, J. (2016, May 24). Forget the polls: Here’s why the Washington Redskins should change their name. [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com.

Inter-tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes. (2013, July 12). A resolution supporting the renaming of the Washington Redskins [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.changethemascot.org.

Laveay, F., Callison, C., & Rodriguez, A. (2009). Offensiveness of Native American names, mascots, and logos in sports: A survey of tribal leaders and the general population. International Journal Of Sport Communication, 2(1), 81-99.

Morris, S. (2015). The trouble with mascots. Journal Of The Philosophy Of Sport, 42(2), 287-297.

Rosenstein, J. (2016, May 31). How do Native Americans really feel about the Washington Redskins nickname? Don’t use the phone. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com.

Rosenstein, J. (Director). (1997). In Whose Honor? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org.

Author’s Note

As a senior Sports and Recreation Management major at Saint Mary’s, I wrote this paper for my Sociology of Sport class in which we were given the task of a research paper pertaining to Native American imagery as mascots. As I dove deeper into research and learning about the issue, I found it be extremely interesting yet shocking that we still continue this practice today. I felt that advocating on behalf of Native Americans and bringing light to the issue also connects to Saint Mary’s mission of serving the overlooked and underserved.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my parents for molding me into the man I am today and for giving me an opportunity to pursue a higher education. Without their unwavering support to see me grow and succeed, I would not be in this position to learn and excel at a school like Saint Mary’s.

Second, I would like to thank the faculty at Saint Mary’s, in particular the Kinesiology department. My professors Robin Dunn, Chi-An Emhoff, Claire Williams, Velina Brackebusch, and Deane Lamont have been instrumental in teaching us the multiple facets of Kinesiology and Sports Management while also building personal relationships with their students along the way. Special thanks to Steve Miller for doubling as my advisor and solving whatever issues arose during my time at Saint Mary’s.

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout out to the CWAC for their help throughout the revision process and working with me to better this piece.

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Trey Hannula

Fig 1. Graphical Abstract of Jiménez-Sanchez et al. (2017). A patient with ovarian cancer underwent chemotherapy followed by three years of off-treatment. Metastases in the liver capsule, splenic hilum, right upper quadrant (RUQ), and vaginal cuff developed. The human outline on the bottom shows the different microenvironments for each metastatic tumor and their location.

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Modern Research on the Evolution of Cancer

Joey Fiske

Despite the great progress in our understanding of the molecular aspect of cancer, different therapies and treatments have created evolutionary pressures that have hindered our ability to effectively combat this disease. An evolutionary pressure is any cause that reduces reproductive success in a portion of a population. Darwin’s idea of evolution is typically applied to species, but it can also be applied to individual cells. Genetic variation from one cancer cell to the next can be attributed to the genomic instability seen in cancer cells. Cancer cells are very susceptible to mutation because their DNA is unstable. This variation can be affected by heterogeneity of individual tumors, which is when tumors contain genetic differences, along with evolutionary pressures imposed by therapies such as chemotherapy or targeted therapies. As individual tumors are treated, this variation allows them to develop resistance to treatments, making it more difficult to eradicate cancer. Because there are many different types of cancer and individually evolving tumors, cancer is the most difficult disease to understand. By studying the evolutionary molecular aspects of we can better understand how cancer functions and continues to kill millions of people every year. Through modern research on patients with ovarian or lung cancers, we are able to study how heterogeneity in individual tumors and evolutionary pressures due to different therapies shape cancer evolution, allowing us to further study one of the most deadly diseases and develop new treatments to effectively fight cancer. Some of the most current research involving cancer evolution can be seen in the review article by Venkatesan, Swanton, Taylor, and Costello (2017). According to their findings, heterogeneity of individual tumors and evolutionary pressures imposed by therapy have been linked to two different types of treatment resistances – primary, or de novo, and acquired resistance. When cancer provides an upfront resistance to treatment, it is considered de novo resistance, and when cancer obtains the ability to become resistant to treatment, it is considered acquired resistance. Both cause the tumor to take on a state of the disease that’s distinct from the original diagnosis. However, until a certain treatment-specific selective pressure such as chemotherapy is presented, a genetic difference in the tumor may not increase fitness for individual cells. Basically, cancer cells can’t develop resistance to chemotherapy until chemotherapy is presented to the cancer cells. Cells more fit for treatment-specific selective pressures are called tumor subclones. Venkatesan et al. (2017) discuss different patterns of clonal evolution during treatment-specific selective pressures and focus on genetic mechanisms of treatment resistance to targeted therapies and chemotherapies. Intratumor heterogeneity is when there are genetic differences in the same tumor. Although the concept of heterogeneity has been recognized for many years, it hasn’t been until the last decade that we have begun to gain insight about heterogeneity among different cancer types. There have been many studies exploring the evolution of a tumor from an ancestral cell, but after analyzing the

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way that tumors evolve after diagnosis and treatment, we find that this data isn’t sufficient enough to help find an effective therapeutic approach to treating different cancer types. For example, research has shown that there are two different mechanisms of resistance: genetic differences can directly affect the drug target, or they can bypass the drug target by activation of upstream, downstream, or parallel pathways. Venkatesan et al. (2017) provide examples for both mechanisms. For the first mechanism, Gleevec (Imatinib, STI571), a common cancer medicine, inhibits tyrosine kinase, a common receptor for signaling in cells, by targeting the BCR-ABL fusion oncoprotein in chronic myeloid leukemia. However, months into treatment they found ABL kinase domain mutations that were resistant to Gleevec. In this case, Gleevec attacked a certain site to inhibit cancer cell growth, but these cells developed mutations that prevented Gleevec from effectively treating this case of leukemia. For the second mechanism, monoclonal EFGR-targeting antibodies for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer cells led to KRAS mutations, a downstream effector, and MET amplifications in a parallel pathway. In this case, the antibodies were targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EFGR), a pathway important for cell survival, growth, and proliferation. Targeting the EFGR led to mutations in KRAS, a key protein for cell signaling. It’s also a proto-oncogene, meaning a mutation to KRAS could lead to cancer. Although clinical oncology is starting to use more mechanism-based targeted medicine, chemotherapy continues to be one of the more frequently used anticancer treatments, even though it damages the genome leading to mutagenic effects. Chemotherapy-induced elimination of sensitive subclones and chemotherapy-induced mutagenesis both influence cancer evolution. Because of this, the idea of adaptive therapy has arisen, in which the goal is to maintain a stable treatment-sensitive subclone instead of subclones resistant to treatment. Overall, Venkatesan et al. (2017) discuss how selective pressures due to treatment can lead to genetic variation and evolution of tumors. Modern research has been done to support the theory of cancer evolution. Jiménez-Sanchez et al. (2017) demonstrate how divergent growth rates at different tumor sites show a need for understanding how therapy can contribute to heterogeneous responses. Research on a patient with ovarian cancer shows how tumor regression and progression were correlated with T cell activity, an immune response to cancer cells, and how multiple distinct microenvironments can coexist within tumors from a single individual, leading to heterogeneity of metastatic tumors. The majority of patients with ovarian cancer relapse despite appropriate surgery and chemotherapy. According to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), ovarian cancer has shown that somatic mutation and neo-epitope numbers correlate with survival. Somatic cells are any cells other than reproductive cells, and neo-epitopes are peptides, a chain of two or more amino acids, resulting from somatic non-silent mutations that are presented to the immune system. In their study, Jiménez-Sanchez et al. (2017) analyze a patient with stage IV high-grade serous ovarian adenocarcinoma to understand the interactions of an evolving tumor at multiple distinct sites of disease within the constraints of the local tumor microenvironment. After chemotherapy followed by a few years of off-treatment, the patient was also found to have metastatic lesions on her liver capsule, splenic hilum, right upper quadrant

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of death by cancer worldwide,

with NSCLC being the most common type.

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(RUQ), and vaginal cuff. Jiménez-Sanchez et al. (2017) focus on the occurrence of heterogeneous responses across geographically distinct tumor lesions. After the tissue was taken and analyzed, it was discovered that the patient showed the highest tumor mutation and neo-epitope load in the vaginal cuff and liver, which developed after the initial ovarian cancer. This case study showed that while the immune system can attack some tumors, others can go without immune system detection and response because of tumor heterogeneity from tumor microenvironments and cancer treatment. A summary of the case study in which this occurs can be seen in Figure 1. By looking at the figure, we can see that the sizes of the different tumors increased as chemotherapy was finished, except for the tumor in the RUQ, and that new tumors arose later during chemotherapy. The metastases in the spleen and RUQ developed before the metastases in the liver and vaginal cuff. Although the tumors in the spleen, liver, and vaginal cuff all increased in size, the tumor in the RUQ decreased in size because T cell activity was higher, showing how immune system detection and activity is inconsistent among different tumors. Different microenvironments can also be seen, which provides evidence for heterogeneity amongst the different tumors. Due to chemotherapy, this patient’s original ovarian cancer metastasized and evolved in different parts of her body. This can be seen in the different images of the tumors in the figure. The findings from Jiménez-Sanchez et al. (2017) relate to Venkatesan et al. (2017) because chemotherapy led to different metastases in different tumor microenvironments, supporting the idea of cancer evolution. In another study, Jamal-Hanjani et al. (2017) observe the evolutionary processes of patients with early stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Intratumor heterogeneity due to chromosome mutations and heterogeneous driver alterations were associated with an increased risk of death in patients with NSCLC. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death by cancer worldwide, with NSCLC being the most common type. Jamal-Hanjani et al. (2017) report on the first 100 patients of a study where somatic mutations of NSCLC were classified. Extensive intratumor heterogeneity suggested that genomic-instability processes at the mutational and chromosomal level were going on. They found that squamous-cell carcinomas carried significantly more clonal mutations than did adenocarcinomas, possibly reflecting differences in smoking history. Squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinomas are different types of cancer. However, the proportion of subclonal mutations doesn’t fully capture the extent of intratumor heterogeneity because it doesn’t reflect the evolution and prevalence of genetically distinct subclones. Through known mutational signatures, they analyzed clonal and subclonal mutations and determined that smoking tobacco and chromosome instability contributed to intratumor heterogeneity. Mutations from smoking strongly correlated with the number of early mutations. Chromosomal instability can lead to a loss of genomic segments or can lead to genomic doubling, a mutation in which tumor cells obtain a copy of their whole genome. Jamal-Hanjani et al. (2017) also wanted to determine if there was parallel evolution, which entails tumor cells converging on the same genetic mutation, and selection for mutations in NSCLC. They did not find evidence of parallel evolution, but there was evidence for positive selection, suggesting that mutations may be shaped by selection in NSCLC. However, they found positive selection was significant in late mutations rather than in early mutations. Timing of genomic events, early or late, can influence therapeutic strategies by indicating whether the mutation is involved in tumor initiation and maintenance. Alterations in certain cancer genes were found to be primarily clonal and occurring before genome duplication, suggesting involvement in tumor initiation. These early

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mutations showed a tendency to occur in specific cancer genes, possibly leading to more evolutionary paths for NSCLC tumor progression. Jamal-Hanjani et al. (2017) provide an analysis of NSCLC evolution and discuss how intratumor heterogeneity leads to tumor evolution and drug resistance, just as Venkatesan et al. (2017) discusses. By discovering that there is positive selection in NSCLC, we can change the way we treat lung cancer if we can pinpoint what is causing positive selection in these heterogeneous tumors. It’s clear from these three articles that cancer evolution is a growing field of cancer research, even though the idea of heterogeneity in tumors has been around for a while. Targeted treatments and chemotherapies can influence evolution in cancer, and cancer has the ability to spread to different tissues throughout the body, showing just how hard it is to combat this disease. Recent studies such as these begin to make top-of-the-line treatments such as chemotherapy sound like ancient medicine. So why do we still use it? Since this field of cancer research has just begun to expand, researchers are now looking for new ways to treat this disease, such as the idea of adaptive therapy described in Venkatesan et al. (2017). Once we are able to successfully prevent tumors from evolving, then we’ll have a better chance at being able to treat them. Until then, we’re stuck with our current treatments and are left hoping that they’ll have a positive effect on patients. Regarding Jiménez-Sanchez et al. (2017), however, it’s hard to come to a conclusion that tumor evolution due to heterogeneity can be caused by chemotherapy in what was already considered a “special case.” In order to further support their argument for ovarian cancer and other cancer types, more data must be collected from other patients. In Jamal-Hanjani et al. (2017) they sample 100 different patients, making cancer evolution a stronger hypothesis for NSCLC. Research still needs to be done for other cancer types because different locations may have different characteristics. After extensive research has been done on heterogeneity and cancer evolution throughout the progression of the disease, then what? Obviously we can’t stop researching ways to treat cancer on a molecular basis solely to research cancer evolution. However, combining findings from both sides of the spectrum will greatly aid in creating a new approach to cancer treatment. If we’re able to control cancer evolution, we may be able to treat cancer more effectively like we would with a bacterial or viral disease. We know how bacteria and viruses evolve in the presence of drugs, allowing us to understand how different treatments affect bacterial and viral diseases. So if we were able to do the same with different types of cancer, we may be able to create a safer and more effective treatment method.

References

Venkatesan, S., Swanton, C., Taylor, B. S., & Costello, J. F. (2017). Treatment-induced mutagenesis and selective pressures sculpt cancer evolution. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, 7(8) a026617. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a026617

Jiménez-Sánchez, A., Memon, D., Pourpe, S., Veeraraghavan, H., Li, Y., Vargas, H.A., . . . Miller, M.L. (2017). Heterogeneous tumor-immune microenvironments among differentially growing metastases in an ovarian cancer patient, Cell, 170(5). 927-938. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.025

Jamal-Hanjani, M., Wilson, G.A., McGranahan, N., Birkbak, N.J., Watkins, T.B.K., Veeriah, S., … Dive, C. (2017). Tracking the evolution of non-small-cell lung cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine, 376(22), 2109-2121.doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1616288

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Author’s Note

My name is Joey Fiske, and I’m a senior Biology major at Saint Mary’s College of California. For my Theory of Evolution class, Dr. Rebecca Jabbour assigned an essay in which we were supposed to find a review article on a current topic in evolutionary biology, along with two more recent research articles that provided new information. I struggled with selecting a topic, but since I’m interested in medical school and have studied cancer in other classes, Dr. Jabbour suggested doing it on cancer evolution. I didn’t know this was an area of study and as I started to look at different articles, I became very interested in the topic. Not only was it a fascinating topic, but an important one as well. It’s difficult to find someone whose life hasn’t been impacted by cancer, and any information out there that can help lead to a cure is essential. The review article was easy to find, but it was published in 2017, making research articles that had been published after more difficult to find. After finding two research articles that provided important evidence in the field of cancer evolution, I was able to write what I believe is the best, and most important, essay I’ve ever written. I would first like to thank Dr. Jabbour for helping me pick this topic to do my essay on, and for submitting it to The Undergraduate Spectrum. I would also like to thank The Undergraduate Spectrum for recognizing my work. Finally, I would like to thank Taylor Goldstein at the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum for helping me edit my final essay and prepare it for submission.

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Immanuel Kant explains the goal of his Critique of Pure Reason using an analogy of land and sea. Much of the discussion of metaphysics during and leading up to his time period took place within what he calls “the sea of illusion.” This sea surrounds the island of pure understanding also known as the island of truth. Kant, in his Critique, seeks to start the discussion from scratch and attempts to ground metaphysics in the so-called “land of truth.” Here he hopes to find what he needs without venturing out into the sea. One of the ways Kant attempts to dispel the sea-fog that has crept over the land and obscured truth is by laying out a series of antinomies in which the thesis and antithesis are taken from opposing philosophical schools of thought and set in an apparent contradiction. Kant then proposes that there is not in fact a contradiction but rather a mere dialectical opposition in which the apparent conflict is maintained by a false condition shared by the thesis and antithesis. By removing this false condition, Kant argues that he has resolved the conflict and at the same time has further supported his own theory of transcendental ideality. This seems like a brilliant solution, but it must be noted that the whole of his argument (including the antinomies themselves) relies upon the definitions of terms established by Kant in the beginning of his work. It is therefore not completely clear whether his argument has any more truth to it than the theories proposed by his contemporaries, since his conclusion is reached on his own terms. This condition of Kant’s logic gives rise to the suspicion that his proofs are actually mere sophistry. In order to further investigate this possibility, let us turn to the first antinomy in which Kant considers whether the world is finite or infinite in time and space. In the beginning of his Critique, Kant defines time as a necessary representation which grounds all intuitions. This representation is made up of a succession of parts, all of which are independent of particular experiences. In a similar way, space is defined as a necessary representation which grounds all outer intuitions. Like time, space is not an empirical concept but a condition for all appearances as the form through which they are able to be intuited. Space and time are both considered forms of pure intuition and together allow for the synthesis of all appearances. This synthesis of appearances is known as the world. Moving into the antinomy itself, the thesis is stated thus: “The world has a beginning in time, and in space it is also enclosed in boundaries” (470). The opposite position, the antithesis, states: “The world has no beginning and no bounds in space, but is infinite with regard to both time and space” (471). Simply looking at the opposing statements it becomes immediately clear that it is impossible for both to be correct. Using this fact, Kant follows a reductio method and proves the thesis by disproving the antithesis and vice versa. In this way he leaves the reader with equal evidence on each side therefore making it impossible to ascertain which side is right.

Logic: A Sign of Truth and Tool of Sophistry

Alicia McCallister

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Having brought forth the impasse at which the antinomy is held, Kant reminds the reader that “[i]f two mutually opposed judgments presuppose an inadmissible condition, then despite their conflict (which is, however, not a real contradiction) both of them collapse, because the condition collapses under which alone either of them would be valid” (517). This means that if there appears to be a contradiction between two statements which are each able to be equally proven correct, then the condition which maintains that conflict must be false. To give an example of this, Kant recalls the antinomy:

If I say that as regards space either the world is infinite or it is not infinite, then if the first proposition is false, its contradictory opposite, ‘the world is not infinite,’ must be true. Through it I would rule out only an infinite world, without positing an other one, namely a finite one. But if it is said that the world is either infinite or finite (not-infinite), then both propositions could be false. (517)

In other words, if “the world is infinite” is our “A” statement, then the opposite statement to “A” would be “not-A”, or “the world is not infinite”. To say that both “A” and “not-A” are true is impossible, but that does not rule out the possibility of them both being false. Kant uses the example of smell. If we ask whether something is either good-smelling or not good-smelling we consider opposite possibilities which cannot both be true; a third option, however, is that it has no smell at all. (517) The point that Kant is making here is that sometimes questioning the veracity of conditioned statements can distract from asking about the truth or falsity of those statements’ conditions. It is clear that the world cannot be both infinite and finite; however, according to Kant, it is possible that the world is neither infinite nor finite, since asking the question of whether the world is infinite or finite assumes certain conditions to be true of the world to begin with. Kant posits the possibility of a false condition by considering the antinomy, stating:

For then I regard the world as determined in itself regarding its magnitude, since in the opposition I not only rule out its infinitude, and with it the whole separate existence of the world, but I also add determination of the world, as a thing active in itself, which might likewise be false, if, namely, the world were not given at all as a thing in itself, and hence, as regards its magnitude, neither as infinite nor as finite. (517-518)

By questioning the infinite or finite magnitude of the world in space, and therefore assuming it to be a given magnitude, there are presupposed limits to its infinitude as well as to the possibility of its whole separate existence. This assumption or condition of the world as a given magnitude is not necessarily a true condition, however, and if it is indeed false, then the obstacle of the antinomy collapses. “Thus two judgments dialectically opposed to one another could both be false, because one does not merely contradict the other, but says something more than is required for

Like time, space is not an empirical concept but a condition for all

appearances as the form through which they are able to be

intuited.

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a contradiction” (517-518). Kant considers this sort of opposition which is merely contradictory in appearance due to a false condition to be a “dialectical opposition” whereas if it were to be an opposition of true contradiction, it would be considered an “analytical opposition.” At this point, it becomes clear that the emphasis Kant places on considering the world as an aggregate of parts rather than an absolute totality leads towards the distinction that the world is not a given whole at all. If the thesis and antithesis are regarded as analytical opposites, then one must assume that the world is a thing in itself, for, following the reasoning of the antinomy, the world’s existence remains even if one were to rule out the infinite or finite regress of the series of its appearances. If that presupposition were dismissed, however, then the contradiction becomes a mere dialectical opposition. If the world does not exist independently of the empirical regression of the series of appearances, then it exists neither as an in itself finite whole nor as an in itself infinite whole. This means that the world is not an unconditioned whole, for if it were unconditioned it would have to exist as a thing in itself. Instead, the world must be conditioned and so is never wholly given either with an infinite or finite magnitude (518). Kant takes this one step further as he states:

The series of appearances is to be encountered only in the regressive synthesis itself, but is not encountered in itself in appearance, as a thing on its own given prior to every regress. Hence I will have to say: the multiplicity of parts in a given appearance is in itself neither finite nor infinite, because appearance is nothing existing in itself, and the parts are given for the very first time through the regress of the decomposing synthesis, and in this regress, which is never given absolutely wholly either as finite nor as infinite. (518)

Since the world is shown to be conditioned because of the synthesis of its parts, appearances (which also have a multiplicity of parts) must also be conditioned. This means that appearances are not things in themselves. Later in his argument, Kant further supports this, stating:

If appearances were things in themselves, and hence space and time were the forms of things in themselves, then the conditions would always belong to one and the same series as the conditioned, and from this there would also arise in the present case the antinomy common to all transcendental ideas, that this series must unavoidably turn out to be either too large or too small for the understanding. (534)

In other words, since time and space are the forms of appearances, they are also the conditions of appearances. This means that if appearances were things in themselves, and therefore unconditional, then their conditions, time and space, would have to be conditions of unconditioned things, which is impossible. This conclusion is exactly what Kant laid out as the transcendental ideality of things earlier in the critique, which suggests that he created the antinomy precisely for the purpose of proving his own point. Kant himself admits that the resolution of the antinomies provides support for his theory, stating that it is possible to:

draw from this antinomy a true utility, namely that of thereby proving indirectly the transcendental ideality of appearances, if perhaps someone did not have enough in the

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direct proof in the Transcendental Aesthetic. The proof would consist in this dilemma. If the world is a whole thing existing in itself, then it is either finite or infinite. Now the first as well as the second alternative is false (according to the proof offered above for the antithesis on the one side and the thesis on the other). Thus it is also false that the world (the sum total of all appearances) is a whole existing in itself. From which it follows that appearances in general are nothing outside our representations, which is just what we mean by their transcendental ideality. (519)

This proof is indeed a true utility and effectively supports his theory of the transcendental ideality of appearances. It does not, however, dispel doubts that his logic is masking truth. It must be admitted that in the whole of Kant’s argument, it is hard to pick out any one spot that has a flaw in logic. He relies on reason to prove his points and by this method hopes to easily convince his readers of truth. A logical argument, however, does not necessitate truth if the suppositions are revealed to be false. Kant uses his own terms and conditions to build the proofs in the antinomies rather than applying definitions which would have been used by those who believe either the thesis or antithesis. It quickly becomes clear that by replacing the definitions of key terms (such as defining time as a measure of motion, or space as the extension of a body, or applying any other definition to either of those terms), that the antinomy would not be considered as a dialectical nor an analytical opposition, but both sides would hold their own ground since they are established upon different conditions. Considering then that each thesis, including Kant’s, has its own conditions, it becomes difficult to see why Kant’s argument is any more legitimate than the others. For, if time and space are the conditions for Kant’s theory of the transcendental ideality of appearances, then just as a false condition reveals the antinomies to be mere dialectical oppositions, so would a false definition reveal Kant’s theory to be a mere exercise of logic. This shows that the truth of a proof is revealed in the examination of its definitions as well as its argument. Logic can indeed point to truth, but manipulation of terms in a logical argument leads quickly to sophistry. We must therefore beware of a broken compass before we begin our journey through the land of truth or we may soon find ourselves facing Kant’s greatest fear, to be lost once again in the sea of illusion.

Works Cited

Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Trans & Edit. Paul Guyer and Allen W. Wood. New York: Cambridge UP, 1998.

Logic can indeed point to truth, but

manipulation of terms in a logical argument

leads quickly to sophistry.

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Alicia McCallister

As I approached the end of my spring semester seminar class and began to think about what I wanted to write my paper on, I found myself drawn to Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. The thought was disconcerting both because I still hadn’t forgotten the difficulty of reading the text (I would always say it felt like shoving bricks into my brain) as well as because I didn’t have a question in mind so much as a desire to uproot his argument. Throughout the entire eight seminars we spent with Kant, there was something about his argument that kept bothering me. It was extremely logical, but I just couldn’t be convinced that it was true. I decided I must be missing the flaw in his argument and so decided to start my essay with an investigation rather than a question. As I began to examine the antinomies more closely I noticed a potential flaw which became the focus of my paper: what if the definitions were different? Would the people who Kant was representing on each side agree to the arguments that he put forth for them? Just how influential are Kant’s own definitions in convincing his readers of his argument? This paper does not address all of these questions directly, but it is meant to lead the reader to begin to question whether Kant’s argument is in fact as fool-proof as he attempts to make it out to be. I would like to give thanks to my seminar professor, Tutor Elizabeth Hamm, for walking with me throughout the process of writing this paper, to my fellow Integral classmates with whom I shared many conversations about Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason both in and out of class, to my friends who were patiently willing to let me talk out many of my ideas when they were just beginning to form, and to Steven Wieser and Tutor Joseph Zepeda for their willingness to assist me in editing my work.

Author’s Note

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It is easy to dismiss colonialism, slavery, and genocide as the regrettable past of American history. Our forefathers massacred hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and enslaved tens of thousands of human beings. Today, this practice is seen as deplorable and disappointing. The practice still continues, but with a new image. Instead of sending out missionaries to forcibly convert the colonized, we send out real estate agents to forcibly evict the neighborhood. As Frantz Fanon said in National Culture, “Colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native’s brain of all form and content. By a kind of a perverted logic, it turns to the past of the oppressed people, and distorts, disfigures, and destroys it.”1 Instead of discovering spices, we’ve discovered small food businesses in Oakland as “unknown gems.” Instead of eliminating colonized culture, we’ve appropriated it and claimed it as our own. Oakland is considered by many, especially by its old locals, as the vestige of black culture. It is a historically black city that sprouted the Black Panther movement and the jazz movement in the west coast. It was also the largest manufacturing city on the west coast. That is not to say that Latinx, Asian, and other ethnicities have not contributed to the vibrance of Oakland, as Oakland is also considered one of the most diverse cities in the USA. Today, the city of Oakland is in trouble: many poor people of color are being displaced every year by the encroaching wave of gentrification. Oakland is losing its color: white people have driven away people of color and bled the vibrance out of Oakland. This is not a recent phenomenon, as I will discuss. In this essay, I will go over a brief history of displacement and homelessness in Oakland, analyze the historical implications of gentrification, examine the activity of Oakland law enforcement in maintaining neighborhood lines, and discuss the problem of white liberalism in Oakland today. Finally, I will conclude with my thoughts on what we can do to stop gentrification in Oakland.

A Brief History of Gentrification in Oakland

One of the biggest problems with gentrification is pinpointing when it actually starts. Does it start when a white businessperson opens a coffee shop in an impoverished area? Does it start when property values go up? Does it start when a local sandwich shop starts raising its prices? How do we define “gentrification” in the first place? To begin, gentrification, as defined by Causa Justa, is a profit-driven, race- and class-remake of urban, working class communities of color that don’t receive investment and are thereby abandoned: socially and financially.2 With that definition, we can now begin to unpack gentrification. The phenomenon itself has much historical baggage: contrary to popular belief, gentrification in Oakland has a history spanning decades.

1 Frantz Fanon, “On National Culture,” in Post-Colonial Studies Reader, (New York: Routledge, 1995): 154.2  Standing Up For Racial Justice,  “Displacement & Gentrification: How did we get here and how do we stop  it?” (presentation, Causa Justa, Oakland, CA, October 10, 2017).

Gentrification in Oakland: Where da Hood at?

Victor Jaimes

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Gentrification in Oakland had its start before the end of WWII. Throughout the 1930s, real estate land surveyors surveyed the land to determine which neighborhoods were considered of “low-medium financial risk” and which neighborhoods were considered of “high-very high financial risk.”3 This concept is known as redlining. The neighborhoods that were considered of low financial risk were labeled as “green zones,” while alternatively, neighborhoods that were considered of high financial risk were labeled “red zones.” These “red zones” had a majority “colored” population while “green zones” had a typically all-white population. There were “yellow zones” as well: these neighborhoods were characterized as neighborhoods with “an infiltration of a lower-grade [colored] population.”4 This led many white people to leave the yellow and red zones (where the Oakland Coliseum is, for example) to green zones (where the Oakland Hills are, for example). This course of events is known as white flight. After the long and arduous fighting of WWII, troops came back home looking to start a new life. The Franklin D. Roosevelt administration gifted the returning troops the GI Bill, which granted housing, education, and employment benefits to WWII veterans. Yet, there was a loophole with the bill: only green zones received government-backed mortgages, as they had little or no financial risk. These green zones, as stated before, were almost all white. While white people were getting mortgages to buy homes and fix up their homes (thus leading to the creation of the modern suburb), people of color people were abandoned, as they received no government funds. WWII veterans of color, therefore, were left in the dust. They were denied mortgages to buy homes, and even if they found affordable housing, the housing was typically located in a red zone. Over time, due to the lack of government funding, these houses fell into disrepair. This also applied to other establishments of public infrastructure, such as parks, schools, and other public buildings, generating a wealth gap among people of color and white people. As we look through modern times, we see in other ways how people of color have had their communities destroyed and economic opportunities extinguished. While communities of color fell into shambles due to the effects of redlining, urban renewal projects in the 1970s and 1980s led to the destruction of black homes and black cultural centers, such as the 7th Street Corridor, which was the cultural haven of black culture in Oakland. The Corridor was destroyed to make way for the Coliseum BART rail line.5 The 1990s and early 2000s also contributed to displacement with the rise of subprime lending and financial deregulation from the Reagan administration. Subprime loans were typically offered to people with below average or low credit scores. The rise of subprime loans led to the birth of predatory lenders, who preyed particularly on black people, since they typically had below average or low credit scores. The loans were predatory because they had high interest rates, which led to many people being unable to pay back the loans. Many black people listed their homes and other possessions as collateral to pay back their subprime loans, which led to many becoming homeless and displaced.3 Ibid.4 Ibid.5 Ibid.

Colonialism is not satisfied merely with

holding a people in its grip and emptying the

native’s brain of all form and content.

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Christopher Columbus Syndrome: Oakland & Lockean Property6

Let’s say you are wandering in East Oakland, near Fruitvale at 11:00 PM. The area has a high homeless population and it is not considered to be safe during the nighttime. You are on your toes and you are hungry. You come across a Vietnamese sandwich shop that happens to be open. It is full of working-class people who look to be taking their lunch break as they are still wearing their work uniforms. You scan the menu. “Bánh mi sandwich for $3? What a steal!” you say. You order the sandwich and dig into it. It is the best sandwich you’ve ever dug your teeth into. “I have to tell my friends!” you say. You leave, and find your way back home, excited to tell your friends of your new discovery. Your friends go and they love the sandwiches. They are more enthused by the prices and how the place is relatively untouched to them. So your friends tell their friends. The sandwich shop receives a surge of new clientele as the owner is rushing to keep up with the high influx of customers. The owner makes a sensible business decision and raises the prices of his sandwiches from $3 to $5, then $5 to $8, then $8 to $10 to meet the new surge of demand from his new white, better-paid clientele. The former clientele of working-class people are priced out, as they can’t afford to pay an extra $7 to get their lunch break sandwich. Due to your “new discovery,” working class people have now been kicked out of one of their local food establishments. This is not a one-time occurrence. This continues with other food establishments. The notion of “making a new discovery” in an already existing neighborhood is, as Spike Lee coins it accurately, “Christopher Columbus Syndrome.” Your “steal” is what the working people of color can afford. The example above demonstrates the mindset of the white gentrifier. They take land that is already occupied and look to plant seeds to make it more fruitful, as they see the land currently as a waste. This Lockean view of property is synonymous with how the gentrifier views the neighborhood.7 The gentrifier sees the low land values and real estate values of the neighborhood as potential to grow condos, mall complexes, office buildings, etc. It looks past the living, breathing people living inside an apartment complex and sees it as potential to make a luxury condominium. That is not to say that telling your friends about a new find is inherently bad and should be avoided. What should be exercised in this context, if Lockean property ethics are to be applied, is to ask the current owners if you can appropriate their land. In other words, in order to justifiably occupy a certain land, you must first ask for consent by the current owners.8 On the surface level, it can be argued that today’s gentrifiers violate one of John Locke’s property axioms: the necessity of consent. The mentality behind the axiom is to establish respectful property relations and to prevent the hoarding of property by one person. Yet, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau states, it is through property relations that our relations have been reduced to nothing more than just that, where we all are subjected to perpetual wage labor and slavery, subjects of property.9 The core idea reveals who the working class is: property subjects, not property owners. They have no say in the conversation

6  Lockean property relations are derived from John Locke’s Second Treatise. Essentially, his ideas on property can be outlined like this: since we, as persons, have the self-evident right to own ourselves, we have the right to own property as common persons. In addition, God ordained us to take the world up as our own. Refer to his Second Treatise for more information.7  John Locke, “Second Treatise”, in Political Philosophy: The Essential Texts, 2nd Edition, ed. Steven Cahn (OUP: 2011), 77.8 Ibid., 76.9  Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Discourse on Inequality,”  in Political Philosophy: The Essential Texts, 2nd Edition, ed. Steven Cahn (OUP: 2011), 292.

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of consent. Landlords, on the other hand, have all the say in the conversation, as they are rent collectors and some even own all or part of a housing complex. Therefore, as Locke says in his essay on property, “…to secure each man his own, it had to be possible for each to have something.”10 In order for someone to have worth in Lockean property relations, they must have something of their own. In sum, the more one owns, the more worth one has. What worth does the black working class from Oakland have, according to Lockean property relations? Little to nothing. Yet, paradoxically, their homes, their parks, and their restaurants are stolen from them and sold to one who can “put them more to good use.” This is why we need to recognize their homes, their parks, and their neighborhoods as their own. If we do not, gentrification will continue, as Lockean property relations will continue to dispossess people of color from the little that they have.

White Liberalism in Oakland

There is a common misconception by both liberals and conservatives that because we live in the liberal Bay Area, we are absolved of racism. Of course, as we see in racially motivated redlining, racist policing, and dehumanizing property relations, it is, again, a misconception. “There is no moral distance … between the facts of life in San Francisco and the facts of life in Birmingham,” as James Baldwin said in the documentary Take This Hammer.11 The difference between life in Oakland today and life in Birmingham in the 1960s is that some white people took ownership of their racism in the 1960s. White people in Oakland today refuse to take ownership of it, or ignore it as long gone. It is worse to deny racism than to accept it, as acceptance is the first step to eliminating it. As citizens of Oakland, it is imperative that they “…help sustain the justness of the institutions of their society by virtue of their being citizens, not by virtue of their past actions.”12 The irony is apparent when you walk through white Oakland and see Black Lives Matter signs all over bourgeois storefronts, yet so many black lives were displaced to create the storefronts to hold those signs. White liberals do not see themselves by virtue of being citizens: they see themselves as morally detached and isolated from the history of their forefathers. They never look back at the destruction that their ancestors have caused: they only look forward, building a plank across oceans instead of bridges.

Concluding Thoughts

In these concluding thoughts, I would like to elucidate my stance on gentrification in Oakland. Firstly, white liberalism needs to cease: it is nothing more than dead weight to the fight against gentrification. In order to fully be successful in the fight, we need to acknowledge the issue as a structural, historical injustice. We need to restore the humanity of it, and remove the property relations behind it. We need to remind ourselves of our amour-propre,13 as Rousseau coined. That does not mean we need to abandon these hoods. These hoods still need our resources, our money, and our help. We must cooperate with the needs of the communities of color, as they long have been ignored. While Oakland has a dark, racist past, it is admirable and beautiful to see the culture that 10  Rousseau, “Discourse on Inequality,” 289.11 James Baldwin, Take This Hammer, directed by Richard O. Moore (1963: San Francisco, CA: KQED-TV, 2009), Medium.12  Kok Chor-Tan, “Colonialism, Reparations, and Global Justice,” in Reparations (Oxford University Press: 2007), 289.13  Rousseau, “Discourse on Inequality,” 280. Amour-propre means “self-love”. I added this term to explain that through amour-propre, we are reminded of our innate nature to sympathize and empathize others when we see another person go through pain and suffering, and that our capacity to love is not finite. We cannot love others without loving ourselves, and vice versa.

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comes out of it today. The Hyphy movement, a movement that prides itself in “getting stupid” to hip hop music, is a response from Oakland that it refuses to conform to the American capitalist mainstream culture. The movement, although it did not get much radio time outside of the Bay Area, created networks and unbreakable bonds within the hoods. When you are left with nothing, at least you still had each other. But gentrification is the absolute worst you can do to communities as individual persons: it destroys not only homes but also relationships. When you displace black people, they lose their friends, their trusted neighbors, and their family members. But, in spite of all this, I still have hope for Oakland. Its claim to culture keeps the city alive and breathing, and establishes a common African American identity.14 If Oakland were to unify, how would it look like? It would be like a nation: not like a mere collection of individuals, but like a shared project.15 A project where we do not gentrify, but revitalize: beautify public parks, repaint schools, invest in black local businesses, and build affordable, sustainable housing. My vision of Oakland is this: a community without lines, without borders; diverse, and full of life.

Author’s Note

What can I say about myself: I am Victor Jose Jaimes, I’m from Miami, FL, I’m Colombian American, I’m a senior Politics major, and I like long walks on the beach. I submitted this paper for my Theories of Justice class. I would like to thank Professor Patrizia Longo for pushing me to think critically and for supporting me in my academic endeavors. I would also like to thank her for just being so dope and wonderful! In September 2016, I went to my first Oakland First Friday. There, I went to my first sideshow and witnessed the love and brotherhood between the black people of Oakland, as they danced, shared laughs, and had fun. I wrote this paper because of that time. With the rise of Trump, I expect that many low-income people of color, elderly, and mentally disabled folk are going to be left without a home. Trump does not care about us. He is not the root of the illness: he is a symptom. He is an ideologue of an over-arching system that prioritizes property over human lives. These times have shown that capitalism does not respect the decency of the human person. Yet, in these dark times, I believe there is still hope. That hope does not lie in the American Dream, for that dream has been paved in the blood, sweat, and tears of people of color. While gentrification is encroaching on these hoods, I remember the colors of the human rainbow that make Oakland and hold onto hope that my low-income Latinx, Asian, and black comrades hold on. In the words of Malcolm X, “I don’t see an American Dream: I see an American Nightmare.” Black engineers, artists, and scientists are coming out of the hood, and yearning to build a new world. So, invest in their future, not in condos. Invest in public parks, not in coffee shops. Oh, and as a Colombian, Oakland coffee shop coffee tastes like crap anyways

14 Fanon, “On National Culture,” 154.15  Chor-Tan, “Colonialism, Reparations, and Global Justice” 299.

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Black Bodies SwingSymone Williams

When I left work that day, I headed straight to Fruitvale Station – the closest stop. Bound for 19th, I was met with a crowd of people that I pushed, prodded, and squeezed through to unite with my friend Collin. Truth be told, I was scared. I was underdressed – I had on an overall dress and flats with a thin sweater, though I did have an extra one of my work shirts stowed away in my backpack. I followed the voice of a woman – unwavering, militant, fist raised, thick in her curves, and resilient in her heart. I got to the front of the crowd through the echoing of her words and reached Collin right before the protest took charge. He handed me a sign and on we marched through the crowd. The protest was peaceful, we followed the truck that carried this irrepressible woman; yet, only moments later, the platform she was on suddenly became engulfed in a hazy white cloud. There were children on that truck. They were being tear gassed and pepper sprayed; American terrorists, the police, trying to silence them. Physical oppression. At this point, we reached a barricade of officers and a thought came through my head. Maybe if I just look them in the eyes, they may see that I am human, and maybe I could see them as human too. I stood there directly in front of them, trying to lock eyes. The next thing I knew, my already weak lungs were filled with tear gas, a sensation almost like burning pop rocks filling my chest. I quickly reached for my work shirt and put it around my neck and mouth. The police began charging, and even though I was told not to run, I did. A white woman stood on top of a car yelling “Where are you going? Why are you running?” At that moment, it seemed to me she did not understand the reality of the situation – did not understand the historical lynching of Black bodies. I was not to be another martyr tonight. Or any day. It was also then that I realized concretely why no Black person should ever have to fight with their bodies or endure suffering to prove their humanity and thus gain their freedom. No one should die due to the historical amnesia of White folk. We shouldn’t have to. Suffering will never equal freedom. My narrative is minuscule in comparison to lynchings, but it shows the weight of suffering. It is a heavy weight to carry, possibly even heavier than the Cross that Jesus carried as he willingly gave himself. Heavier because, unlike Jesus, Black bodies that are suffering are not infused with God; also heavier because Black bodies have had to bear this weight more than once, yet have still not been resurrected. James Cone makes an argument about the relationship between Black life and salvation within the Christian framework of redemptive suffering by unifying the lynched Black body to the crucified Jesus. This unity establishes a form of freedom for Cone. While these historical events can be seen as synonymous, making this comparison is harmful as it feeds into a similar type of empire against which Jesus fought. Cone’s argument leads to a form of surrogacy demanded by whiteness (I refer to whiteness as a social construction of power and privilege that has manifested in real forms of violence). Therefore, salvation cannot be found in this connection, especially in light of the brutality Black bodies continue to face today.

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Establishing the lynching of Black bodies as synonymous with Jesus’ death on the Cross is possible only because the empire that Jesus stood so radically against has not yet fallen; it has simply materialized in different ways through coloniality and into whiteness. The Roman empire was a site of power that used its rule as a source of control over Jesus and people who looked like him. Theologian Shawn Copeland writes, “Jesus of Nazareth was born and died in subjugation to the Roman Empire...In his flesh, in his body, Jesus knew refugee status, occupation and colonization, social regulation and control” (Copeland 58). The Roman Empire displaced and subjugated certain bodies. It was an empire that in its essence stood against Jesus’ message. Copeland also writes, “Jesus lived and carried out his mission in the palpable tension between resistance to empire and desire for basileia tou theou, the reign of God” (Copeland, 59). The reign of God called for compassion and acceptance of the most marginalized, sinful, and brutalized bodies. The Roman Empire, in turn, was the structure marginalizing these bodies. Due to the way the Empire maliciously held and oppressed the people of Israel, the reign of God could not be carried out. In this essay, I argue that while Jesus’ crucifixion may be a sign of the reign of God, ultimately the Roman Empire has transcended into an empire still apparent today. This empire can be recognized in the period of colonialism and slavery, though we continue to see specific bodies under the rule and control of the state. While in the Roman Empire these bodies may have been Jews, in the most modern form of empire these bodies are those of people of color, with a focus more specifically on Black people. In The Cross and the Lynching Tree, Cone articulates a form of salvation for Black people in light of the empire’s allowance of state sanctioned violence against Black bodies such as lynching and police brutality. Cone uses the lynching tree as a modern day example of the crucifixion – which he considers a lynching – of Jesus. Cone historicizes lynching for two primary reasons. First, Christian churches have failed to see the connection between Jesus’ death on the Cross and the wide-scale lynching of Black bodies in the United States. Second, connecting the lynched body of Jesus to the lynched Black victim can be a basis from which Black Christian communities can establish freedom. Yet, this correlation between the Cross and the lynching tree becomes dangerous because it reifies the common form of empire that stood in the background of both the Cross and the lynching tree. If this form of empire was not so heavily prevalent, both Christian and Black communities alike could see empire for its face value – plain and simply, wrong. The values of empire – power, control, wealth – mask the pain, cruelty, and foulness of tying a noose right above the raised and reaching root-like scars of a Negro’s back. Cone “wonders what blocks the American Christian imagination from seeing the connection” (Cone 31). What blocks it is empire. Cone asks if American Christians can truly see the theological meaning of Jesus without understanding modern lynchings. But American Christians have always failed to see the reality of the lynching tree, regardless.

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If this form of empire was not so heavily

prevalent, both Christian and Black communities alike could see Empire for its face value – plain

and simply, wrong.

Symone Williams

Comparing the lynching of Black bodies to the death of Jesus becomes an assimilation into whiteness as the suffering of Black bodies becomes a refuge for the evil and hate of the world, excusing the actions of white people. This comparison will serve only to humanize those who dehumanize the Black body (those who adhere to whiteness), which, in reality, only further dehumanizes them, even as they fail to recognize this. Delores Williams describes Jesus as being a surrogate for humans – that is, Jesus stood in the place for sinful humanity. If we take Cone’s correlation of the lynched Black body to the crucified Jesus to be true, Black bodies would then become a surrogate for Jesus as well as whiteness. Black bodies would stand in for sinful humanity and, in the present context, stand in for Jesus. Empire, in its modern form as the construction of whiteness, allows the Black community to act as a surrogate in, “taking away the sins of the world” (Williams 8-13). Why would Black bodies need to act as surrogate if the empire had been abolished? Is placing the power of redemption within Black bodies excusing the power white people have against the continuing of violence? Williams states, “The resurrection does not depend upon the Cross for life, for the Cross only represents historical evil trying to defeat good” (Williams 11). Williams’ critique of the surrogacy role in which Jesus is imagined and the ways that this same surrogacy role gets shifted onto Black women, especially in the United States, allows us to see the historical ramifications of the celebration of involuntary suffering. Thus, the lynching tree is another historical evil, and not a site on which we can reconcile humanity. If it were a site of reconciliation, the evil and exploitation whiteness has brought would be justifiable. Cone’s analysis and historicization of the lynching tree and the Cross is one way we can understand salvation. Yet, there is some irony that 1,984 years after the crucifixion (or lynching) of Jesus there are modern day lynchings of Black bodies. When Collin and I were being teargassed, you could see the hurt in his heart. He was angered that these men in uniforms would do this to innocent people, and he was ready to fight. I had to physically grab his wrist, with tears streaming down my face telling him that we needed to leave, because I knew if he made one wrong move, if he did try to fight back against this oppressive system, he may have been another lynched body. Maybe this is the “beat” James Baldwin refers to (Baldwin 152-153) – that is, the recognition of this harsh reality, and of our humanity that has struggled to leave the voices and hands of those who nailed Jesus to the Cross and cheered on his death. But, if Cone’s analysis is the beat, it will never conquer or change time, as Baldwin suggests (Baldwin 153). It cannot be salvific or be glorified: if suffering is eliminated, is salvation eliminated as well? We know quite clearly that suffering is not necessary for salvation, as white people have always been free without suffering. Placing the lynching tree in line with the Cross does not constitute freedom, as it fails to be anti-empire and forces Black bodies into surrogacy and suffering in order to save humanity from whiteness. There cannot be anymore lynchings, and lynchings cannot be seen as a form of redemptive suffering. Baldwin states, “whoever pretends that the white father did not, literally, and knowing what he was doing, hang, and burn, and castrate, his black son – whoever cannot face this can never pay the price for the ‘beat’” (Baldwin 153). Lynching as a mode of punishment and control has not ended: it has only taken new forms, most visibly through police brutality. The way we imagine salvation in relation to state-sanctioned violence thus still

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matters. Those who fail to recognize that redemptive suffering only perpetuates the violence of humanity can never pay the price for the lives of Jesse Washington, Cordella Stevenson, John Heath, Annie and Bertha Lowman, George Meadows, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Miriam Carey…

References

Baldwin, James. “Of the Sorrow Songs: The Cross of Redemption.” In The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings, edited by Randall Kenan, 145-153. New York: Vintage International, 2011.

Cone, James. The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011.

Copeland, Shawn. Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2010.

Williams, Delores S. “Black Women’s Surrogacy Experience and the Christian Notion of Redemption.” In After Patriarchy: Feminist Transformations of the World Religions, edited by Paula M. Cooey, William R. Eakin, and Jay B. McDaniel, 1-14. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991.

Author’s Note I wrote this piece out of the need to dissect my experience involving police brutality,

to better understand my faith in a period of time that involved the continuous killings of Black bodies through state sanctioned violence, to situate where salvation is for Black people, and to negate the Christian notion that suffering is required for salvation. The title “Black Bodies Swing” is influenced by Billie Holiday’s work, “Strange Fruit,” where she juxtaposes the scene of the pastoral south with the image of Black bodies swinging from trees. Cone takes this contrasting image and reimagines it as a place of salvation for Black people by relating the lynching tree to the crucified body of Christ. In this essay, I try to paint a picture of how painful Cone’s analysis can become when, in the modern day lynched Black bodies have become Black bodies filled by bullet holes; these bodies are bodies not protected through the resurrection of Christ. Instead, the message of redemptive suffering pursued in Christianity serves to further whiteness and thus, overlook the killing of swinging Black bodies.

I am Symone Williams, a current junior with a major in Justice, Community, Leadership, and minors in Sociology and Theology. As someone who will soon pursue a law degree, it is critical for me to analyze structures that serve to oppress in order to create avenues that will allow for liberation from these structures. I would like to thank Professor Drexler-Dreis for introducing me to the world of theology, and for working with me extensively.

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Boats Don’t Have KitchensTaylor Wilde Brown

It took me a week to stop calling it “the kitchen.” The cabinets are stainless steel, lovingly wiped down after every meal with a rag soaked in WD-40 (metal and salt air don’t mix). They’re filled with dishes and cooking utensils and pots and pans and spices and dry goods and canned goods. Anything you can imagine in a can, we have it. The fridge is an original – a giant box with 4-inch thick walls and a trapdoor top that you open by yanking down on a complex pulley system, exposing fresh produce, yogurt, and eggs. Dozens and dozens of eggs. Turning on the oven means getting on your hands and knees and sticking a lighter against the pilot while you fiddle with the propane knob. There’s barely enough room for two people, one in front of the sink, the other in front of the stove, pressed in back-to-back like sardines. The space is small enough that you can stand in its center, reach out your arms, and touch both walls. Everything has a place, down to the last can opener. A single fan, about the size of a dinner plate, offers respite for the chef in front of the stove, but in all actuality, it doesn’t do much beside blow hot air in your face. Your best bet is opening the hatch to the deck to facilitate as much of a cross-breeze as you can. If you’re familiar at all with the principles of thermal conduction, or have ever stuck your hand inside of an oven, you can imagine what it’s like cooking in the galley of a 75-ton steel-hulled ship.

Notice how I said “galley” and not “kitchen.” Boats don’t have kitchens. They have galleys. They don’t have maps, either; they have charts. They’re no beds on board, only bunks. Little did I know that sailing on a boat meant learning a new language. Not only were old words replaced by new ones, but there were new words entirely. Being a gopher didn’t mean impersonating a small rodent – captains throughout maritime history had been asking their crew to “go-for” things long enough that the command itself became a job title. One word that didn’t change was “chef.”

Meal time was ritual on board Ocean Star. Just as an army marches on its stomach, a crew sails on their bellies. The chef and sous chef of the day, determined by the job wheel posted on our captain’s cabin door, did very little else than cook. The rest of the crew seemed to orbit around them, like planets to a sun. Before a meal, deckhands would bring tables and benches up on deck from the salon. Gophers would help ferry up the food, ready to catch pots and casserole dishes as they were sent up from the galley through the hatch. They were rested on hot pads on top of the charthouse as delicately as objects on an altar. Sharing is caring, everyone is reminded, as they scoop the meal into their bowls and hunker down around the dinner table. Elbow to elbow, we feast. Days full of diving, hiking, sailing, classes, and all other manners of adventure made for hungry, gurgling stomachs by the time dinner rolled around. Seconds and thirds are scarfed down all in the midst of boisterous conversation. We gush about today, we reminisce about yesterday, we fantasize about tomorrow. We tell stories about home, hearts glowing as hot food fills our tummies. We joke and poke fun and laugh, our arms and backs strengthened by hard work, our skin browned by the sun, having forgotten how land feels beneath our feet.

After plates are cleared (and rarely is even a morsel of food left), it’s time for the nightly

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Squeeze. A longstanding tradition of the program, the Squeeze starts as the whole crew joins hands at the table, allowing the electric energy to surge through us like a completed circuit. The skipper of the day asks his or her Squeeze question. They range from, what is your favorite marine animal? to sing what you think the opening words to the “Lion King” are. Tell me your deepest insecurity or what are three wishes you’d ask of a genie? Each crew member takes a turn answering, all sixteen of us baring our souls to each other on full stomachs under star-studded skies. After everyone has answered, we squeeze each other’s hands and break the loop and clap. It feels silly at first, but each question reveals a little more about the crew and the tight, nearly instant bond we feel is a result of our nightly Squeeze.

After the electric circuit of the Squeeze is broken, clean up commences immediately. The dishy pit, with its salties, freshies, and driers (more new words, job titles dictated by the job wheel), opens up shop amidships, and each dish is scrubbed in saltwater, soaked in bleach water, rinsed in freshwater, and dried. We use steel wool and sponges and dish soap, wiping and rubbing and scraping until they could be mistaken for new. Gophers toss them down through the hatch and clean bowls and silverware and cups fall like rain. Deckhands stow the tables and benches and scrub the deck while the salon steward sweeps, dusts, and disinfects down below. The chefs clean the galley until the stainless steel shines. All the while, music blares from the ship’s speakers and everyone’s voices add to the cacophony of chatter, banging pots and pans, and bristle brushes against non-slip deck. It’s organized chaos. There’s always singing, there’s always dancing, and there’s always laughter. Every day it’s the same process. Every meal, it’s the same process. Counters are dirtied, things are cooked, food is eaten, and clean-up is meticulous. Everything done is undone. When all is complete, the galley is left like no one has ever even so much as thought about food preparation in its five-by-five-foot space. We run a tight ship. Our captain reminds us to take care of Ocean Star like she takes care of us.

This ritual was something foreign to me on day-1 that by day-80 felt like second nature. Being on board Ocean Star changed the way I cook, the way I eat, and the way I clean. What I thought would be a semester of eating bland food from hermetically sealed bags turned into one of the most impactful culinary experiences of my life. The galley, no bigger than my dorm room closet, gave birth to green curry and naan, French toast, ratatouille, crepes, quesadillas, eggplant Parmesan, and an entire Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone cooked, everyone cleaned, and everyone ate.

The galley was where I cooked my dad’s homemade white pizza for my crew. Golden brown, crunchy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside pizza dough. An even layer of olive oil and minced garlic. Thinly sliced tomatoes. Grated mozzarella cheese and crumbled feta, all topped with basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and garlic powder. We ate it the day we hiked to the world’s only boiling lake, on the island of Dominica, eight hours round trip. We climbed through rain forest, slogged up and down a mountain, trekked through steaming sulfur fields, and splashed around in natural hot springs. We peered over the edge of a cliff into a bubbling pool of bluish-gray water engulfed in clouds of vapor. We ate our packed PB&J sandwiches before turning

Back on the boat, legs sore, slightly sunburned,

covered in mud, I cooked my dad’s homemade

white pizza...

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around to do it all in reverse. Done and undone. Back on the boat, legs sore, slightly sunburned, covered in mud, I cooked my dad’s homemade white pizza, a recipe I’ve known how to make since I was old enough to see over the kitchen counter.

There are countless other meals from my trip I could’ve shared: Caribbean lobster BBQ’d on the beach at sunset in the Tobago Cays, grilled lionfish (spear-gunned that afternoon by yours truly) in Saint Lucia, or gourmet French crepes in Saint Bart’s. All delicious, but none quite so delicious as my dad’s homemade white pizza. Though there was no pomp or circumstance, this meal was my favorite. It’s the one I can still taste when I close my eyes. In an instant, I am transported back to our quiet anchorage off of Dominica. I’m hand rolling dough covered in a sheen of sweat in the boiling galley. I’m eating slice after slice, perched on Ocean Star’s cap rail, listening to my crew relive our hike to the boiling lake through stories that get more extravagant with each retelling. I’m scrubbing the galley spotless and seeing my distorted, smiling reflection in the stainless steel cabinet door. Done and undone. I would return to Ocean Star in a heartbeat, if only for one last night of cooking, eating, and cleaning under the velvet Caribbean sky with my crew.

Author’s NoteIn the fall of 2016, I spent three months sailing with the Sea|mester program through the

Caribbean. Starting in the British Virgin Islands, we sailed down to Grenada before island hopping our way back north, stopping in places like Saint Vincent, Martinique, Antigua, and more. Ocean Star, the 88-foot schooner I learned to sail on, became home the instant I stepped foot on her deck. From this beautiful black-hulled boat, I learned how to sail, how to dive, but most importantly, how to cook. How to look at a handful of ingredients (most of them canned) and make a meal that would feed all sixteen of my shipmates, something that would be filling and healthy and delicious. Something that would make them go back for seconds and thirds. Something that they would remember once they’d returned to land and left the sea and Ocean Star and me far behind.

When Professor Paola Sensi-Isolani asked us to write about a memory centered around food for her Food and Culture class, this experience immediately sprung to mind, a sort of mini-ethnography of my time aboard Ocean Star. Food, above and beyond anything else in the human experience, is closely tied to memory – emotional, personal, and cultural. As an anthropology major learning about the complexities of food and how people eat and what food means across cultures, I reshaped my relationship with food. Far from being an afterthought in life, food is at the center, attached to memories and moments that will lodge themselves in my mind long after the taste has faded away.

Thanks, above all, to Ocean Star for carrying me on the most memorable and meaningful journey of my life. Thank you to my crew, who always ate everything I cooked – whether that was because they liked it or because there were no other restaurants in the middle of the ocean, I’ll never know, but I’d like to think it was the former. Thank you Paola, for teaching me what food means. I am so grateful to have gotten to take a class with you at SMC and even more grateful to have gotten the chance to sample your amazing cooking. Thank you Ross Bleile, Writing Advisor extraordinaire, for Skyping across an ocean to get this paper as good as it possibly could be. And thank you Dad, for a pizza recipe I’ll be making for the rest of my life.

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Taylor Wilde Brown

Helen Tamiris: Direct and Misunderstood

Micah Sallid

Commentary of the world has forever belonged to the artists. Modern dancers are a huge contribution to this commentary. In the 1930s, segregation and racism and the Great Depression had affected many artist’s careers. Helen Tamiris spoke her mind through dance and was active in her community. She, as well as her art, was considered radical. Tamiris wanted to include herself in these issues and use her art to aid her community. She contributed with her choreography and her work toward bringing together the working class, but also, she had a liberal feminist outlook and commented on racial inequality. Her work has deemed her one of the forerunners of modern dance, but the responses to her work did not completely represent her intentions. The reactions not only came from the critics of her time, but they also continue from the dance scholars of today. Tamiris had her own intentions of what she was displaying with her art, but the response that the world gave to her, did not reflect her desired outcome.

Tamiris wanted to create something of her own. She was born in New York City on April 23, 1902 with the name Helen Becker to Russian Jewish immigrant parents and a large family. As a child, she would run around the streets unsupervised so her brother suggested to her father that she be put in dance classes. She studied interpretive dance and folk dance, and at the age of 15, she was accepted into The Metropolitan Opera Ballet despite never having taken a ballet class. She toured with The Met for a while but wanted something more from her dance experience. She decided to go a different route and she began studying with Michel Fokine and at the Isadora Duncan school.1 Though she already made a move to do something new, she still felt like this was not what she was looking for. Her mindset was, “What more can I learn in schools? Each school develops its own type of dancer – I don’t want to be a Duncan dancer – or a ballet dancer – I want to be myself… it doesn’t matter where I dance – even in a musical show – if I can do my own dances.”2 This was the beginning of the era of Tamiris’ choreography. She auditioned a few of her choreographed pieces for a nightclub and was eventually hired. After this, she changed her name to Tamiris, after the Amazonian Persian Queen. This job at the nightclub caused her to change her choreography to fit the norms of the atmosphere. She had to do it once more when she was hired to show her choreography at the Music Box Revue in New York.3 In her developmental years, she was being boxed into specific forms of dance and she did not feel comfortable continuing this way. This caused her to look outside of the normalized forms of dance, and she knew that she had to create something that was her own.

1  Elizabeth  McPherson,  “Helen  Tamiris  (1902–1966),”  Dance  Heritage  Coalition,  http://dhctreasures.omeka.net/tamiris2.2  Elizabeth  Cooper,  “Tamiris  and  the  Federal  Dance  Theatre  1936–  939” Dance Research Journal, 29, no. 2 (Autumn, 1997), 23-48. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1478733.3  McPherson, “Helen Tamiris”.

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Tamiris decided to work hard, fund-raise, and prepare to create her own pieces without constraint. She had the privilege of working with Louis Horst, a mentor, and accompanist for the Dance Repertory Theatre, for her first solo performance of twelve dances. This first performance was very successful and she knew that this was fulfilling for her. After finishing these pieces, Tamiris began to choreograph her second concert, which she was trying to fund by dancing at a nightclub.4 Like many other artists during the Great Depression, she was struggling to finance her art. This struggle inspired her to create the Dance Repertory Theatre in 1930. At twenty-five, she was the president of the Dance Repertory Theatre, and was surrounded by major choreographers of her time, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, and later, Agnes De Mille.5 Tamiris was younger and was less experienced than those with whom she worked, but she had a vision as to what the program could be and wanted to increase the audience for modern dance and create financial stability for those that were involved in the Dance Repertory Theatre. She was successful in most of her endeavors, and was responsible for raising $5000 for their first nine-weekend show at Maxine Elliot’s Theatre.6 Tamiris stood out in this performance because the other choreographers were doing group works and she continued to do solo pieces.7 She was given advice by Horst for the works that she created for this show and the intention for these pieces.

Tamiris took the lead in presenting modern dance in this setting and she wanted it to be considered a serious art form on par with the principal American painters, musicians, and sculptors.8 Though the show was successful and gained the intended funding they had hoped for, it received negative reviews. John Martin wrote a review in the New York Times describing the season as “too esoteric.” He had his own beliefs as to how American modern dance should be displayed. He believed that all the pieces should draw together, so it would look like “a unified whole made up of diversified parts.” He wanted it “to give an impression of the dance as a precious, intellectualized art in the presence of which the audience must work as hard as the dancer is to present a warped view and one that is certain to create in some quarters hostility and ridicule instead of friendship and patronage.”9 His suggestion for the next show was that it should include older known compositions and something more popular.10 This was against Tamiris’ intention for the show. She was interested in the present. Martin represented his lack of understanding of what Tamiris was trying to portray in her work by asking her to present a show with music and dance from the past. He did not see the work as “precious” or “intellectualized” because he did not see the value in showing newer work of the present time. 4 Ibid.5  Cooper, “Tamiris and the Federal Dance Theatre,” 24.6 Ibid.7 The International Encyclopedia of Dance, s.v. “Helen Tamiris.”8  Pauline Tish, “Remembering Helen Tamiris,” Dance Chronicle 17, no. 3 (1994): 327.9  Cooper, “Tamiris and the Federal Dance Theatre,” 25.10 Ibid.

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...she wanted it to be considered a serious art form on par with

the principal American painters, musicians, and

sculptors.

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Tamiris and her administration of esteemed choreographers considered this writing in the New York Times, and with the help of De Mille, the next year they decided to attend to some of Martin’s suggestions.

The Dance Repertory Theatre disbanded soon after, but it did accomplish Tamiris’ goals of giving modern dance a greater audience and visibility in the press. In 1934, the Depression had gotten worse, and financial stability was even more of an issue for dancers. The Director of the Works Progress Administration, Harry Hopkins, “insisted that workers in the arts – painters, musicians, writers, actors, and other artists – were as deserving of support as workers with other skills.”11 Out of this idea, the Federal Dance Theatre was created, and Tamiris was a chief choreographer of the project. Through this, she was able to continue her goals of sharing modern dance with different audiences and keeping dance socially relevant. The idea of social relevancy was very important to her. This meant social protest against themes of the Depression, such as hunger, poverty, racism, unemployment, efforts of unionizing labor, threats of fascism and war.12 She thought it was important for a person to “recognize his role as a citizen, taking responsibility, not only to think but to act.” Tamiris’ choreography was her contribution and action. It was commentary on what she saw around her. In a manifesto she named “Tamiris in a Program of Dance Moods” she wrote,

Art is international, but the artist is a product of nationality and his principal duty to himself is to express the spirit of his race… We must not forget the age we live in… The dance of today is plagued with exotic gestures, mannerisms, and ideas borrowed from literature, philosophy, sculpture, and painting. Will people never rebel against artificialities, pseudo romanticism, and affected sophistication? The dance of today must have a dynamic tempo and be valid, precise, spontaneous, free, normal, natural and human.13

She wanted to make a difference with her choreography and was tired of seeing much of the same. This is what she wanted to represent as a choreographer and what separated her from others.

Tamiris’ first commission for the Federal Dance Theatre was a piece called Salut au Monde. Originally created in 1934 as part of a group of dances she called the Walt Whitman Suite, it did not premiere until 1936. The piece explored themes of racial inequality, oppression, and struggle.14 These ideas were centered on the poem by Walt Whitman, “Salut au Monde.” Pauline Tish, one of Tamiris’ dancers, wrote about the piece, “The production is about an American man’s perception of the world he sees in the future, and the problems he will have to face in the world he created through his own struggle for existence. Whitman represents man the individual as a citizen of the international community.”15 Tamiris was interested in the comparison of the American individual and the concept of othering non-majorities. She created movement based on the plea for harmony among people. Not only was she commenting on issues of race and inequality, she was also commenting on the modern dance before her. Tamiris would call the modern dance of her time esoteric, and by using “living ideas”16 she is 11 Ibid., 26.12 Ibid., 24.13 Ibid., 25.14 Ibid., 30.15 Ibid., 339.16 Ibid., 340.

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bringing reality and her vision of modernity to the masses. Though she received good reviews for Salut au Monde, there were some that would consider Tamiris’ dance structure to be more like theatre. Horst and Martin later thought of her work as “doing acting” and considered it to be inferior.17 These critics were considered formalists. They were more interested in Horst’s traditionalist principals. Salut au Monde was about refusing traditional ideals, be it formalism in modern dance or racial oppression and the action of othering in American culture. Tamiris was less interested in the self-interest that was included in others choreography, and more concerned with how she related to her community and the world outside of it.

Tamiris was a clear leftist regarding equal rights and socio-political issues within the arts. She clearly was a forward thinker for the 1930s, but looking at her work from the perspective of today raises some questions. Authors Ellen Graff and Susan Manning wrote about How Long Brethren? and whether it accomplished communicating Tamiris’ initial message. In her book “Stepping Left: Dance and Politics in New York City, 1928–1942”, Graff talks about the irony of casting all white women to dance in the production. The piece is about protesting racism and the use of all white women to tell the story of African Americans. Graff explains that Tamiris and the dancers felt a connection to the African American struggle. Most of Tamiris’ dancers were first generation American-Jewish women and they felt, because of the religious context and their standing in society, they could relate to African Americans. They also saw it as a parallel to the country’s economic struggle. Dance revolutionaries and activists at the time identified themselves with African Americans because they believed that they were in the same class. The African American spirituals inspired them to take control of their economic lives.18 The hypocrisy with having all white dancers in How Long Brethren? relates to the spirituals themselves. The lyrics to the songs speak of, “Laborin’ fo white folk.” As well as, “White folk he aint Jesus, he jes’ a man grabbin’ biscuit out of poor darkie’s hand.”19 This is a comparison of the white women grabbing the spotlight from black people’s hands. The African American choir that sang for the program never received any credit in the original program. This causes concern given Tamiris’ intention of giving black art a voice. Graff clearly respects Tamiris for her work with the dancers in the Great Depression but she is very clear about the actions and impressions Tamiris made throughout her career. Graff explains, “It is tempting to criticize Tamiris’ efforts from today’s vantage point. She was a white woman who could never really know what it was like to be a Negro in the United States. Moreover, her dances continued a tradition in which white professionals borrowed elements of Negro culture to create their own stage character.”20 I agree with Graff in being conflicted in how to view Tamiris for this part of her work. I think that this is a part of the problem that feeds cultural appropriation, especially within entertainment. Though Tamiris meant to represent the black experience and struggle, it is problematic when looking at it from a more informed view of today.

Manning has a different opinion. She criticizes Graff because she does not believe her sources on the alliance between Jews and African Americans. Manning is more interested in

17  Diane Wawrejko, “Helen Tamiris: Re-Visioning Modernism in Modern Dance,” Moving Naturally: Re-thinking Dance 1900s-1930s (October 2009): 9, http://www.codlrc.org18 Ellen Graff, Stepping Left: Dance and Politics in New York City, 1928-1942, (Duke University Press, 1997), 96.19 Ibid., 9520 Ibid., 97.

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the feminist perspective of How Long Brethren? She describes how audiences were accustomed to seeing dances about women in relation to men. Seeing women in relation to other women is a sign of feminist social progress.21 She also speaks on the whiteness of the piece and how modern dance in general, including Tamiris’ work, became the universal subject.22 This leads to Manning’s biggest question. She wonders if 1930s modern dance legitimizes the performance of the white female body as a high art partly through white dancers’ metaphorical blackface. To explain, she is arguing that modern dance did not evolve and heighten itself away from minstrelsy. She believes, “minstrelsy did not disappear after blackface declined as a professional performance practice in the United States, but rather persisted in alternate guises as a circulation for bodies marked as culturally other. Moreover, my argument implies that the metaphorical minstrelsy of 1930s modern dance legitimized a feminist staging of the white female body.”23 Tamiris would not have seen or understood that this is what she may have been portraying within her piece, but looking at it from Manning’s perspective I can perceive how Tamiris was a cog in the wheel of dancers, and entertainers in general, that have appropriated black culture.

Tamiris wanted to make statements with her choreography. She was continuously misunderstood throughout her career and considered less-than because of her difference in perspective. She wanted to make a difference in her own community and was an advocate for the proletariat. Tamiris and her work have been viewed and reviewed consistently by critics and dance historians. The influence of knowledge, place, and period are all factors in how they regarded her. Tamiris’ lasting impression is her clear advocacy and ambition about the issues of her time, and it is even more important today for dancers, choreographers and all artists to follow in her footsteps and create radical commentary for our own society.

Author’s Note

As a dance major I was able to take the class Dance History II. In this class we had to choose to write about a person in dance history that changed the course of dance. I chose Helen Tamiris because, in high school, my mother and aunt both received the Helen Tamiris Award at New York High school of Performing Arts. When I was researching about Tamiris I found some interesting commentary about her and her work that related to social change. Though there were mixed reviews and some problematic choices, it helped me to see the importance in social commentary through art. As a dancer and choreographer, I am constantly working on creating pieces that project social and political change. Art has always been the radical voice of society and I intend to continue this tradition. Tamiris is just one of many artists that have brought forward this idea.

21  Susan Manning, “Black Voices, White Bodies: The Performance of Race and Gender in How Long Brethren,” American Quarterly 50, no. 1 (1998): 25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30041598.22 Ibid., 26.23 Ibid., 27.

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The Importance of Culturally Relevant Curriculum in the Lives of

Filipinx American StudentsNikki Baluyot

Filipinx Americans are the second largest Asian-American group and the third largest ethnic group immigrating to the United States (Census, 2006). By definition, Filipinx describes a native of the Philippines, while Filipinx American describes a Filipinx person who has immigrated to the United States (Claudio-Perez, 1997). Despite the fact that the Filipinx American student population is increasing at an exponential rate, these students are underrepresented and underserved in schools throughout America. Since Filipinx American perspectives and historical backgrounds are rarely incorporated into the curriculum, Filipinx American students often develop a colonial mentality without being aware of it. Colonial mentality is a form of internalized oppression that pushes Filipinx American students to prefer anything American and reject anything Filipino (Halalgao, 2010). My research is focused on the Philippine curriculum program, Pin@y Educational Partnership (PEP) and the impact that this program has made on student teachers. It is necessary to highlight the importance of supporting groups like PEP because Filipinx American students find it as one – if not the only – way to discover their historical truths. Through the process of understanding and gaining knowledge regarding their own history, Filipinx American students learn more deeply about themselves and the struggles and contributions of their ancestors. The purpose of this study was to examine the voices of the students who participated in the PEP and to determine whether or not their experiences in PEP assisted in decolonizing their colonial mentality. I focused on the impacts the knowledge they have gained about their history has had on their academic and personal lives. After interviewing individuals who were and are still a part of PEP, I found that all participants found a sense of pride in their identity and that the curriculum affirmed and acknowledged their history. In the next section, I review the literature of Filipinx and Filipinx American history starting from when the Spaniards colonized the Philippines in the early 1500s to when America colonized the Philippines in the late 1800s. I then explain how Spanish and American colonization have caused Filipinx and Filipinx Americans to develop colonial mentality over the years, and the effects this mentality has on Filipinx American students today. This leads into my discussion in my main study that examines PEP and the ways in which the program deconstructs colonial mentality through their curriculum and barangay pedagogy.

Literature Review

I. The Forgotten History of Filipinx Americans under Spanish Colonialism

Filipinx Americans make up the second largest Asian American group and the third largest ethnic group immigrating to the United States (Census, 2006), yet the American educational system

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has failed to implement Filipinx history accurately in its textbooks and courses (Letana, 2016). In his book Brown Skin, White Minds, E. J. R. David states that Filipinx history is often known as the “forgotten history” (2013, p. 24). Only a few know about the realities of the Philippine-American War, the colonization of the Philippines, and most importantly, the pain and suffering Filipinx experienced under American and Spanish rule. When the Philippines were colonized by the Spanish, the Tao (The People; natives) were stripped of their indigenous identity and instilled with the belief that they were inferior to the Spaniards. The Tao were the first to inhabit the island of the Philippines and were said to have created an impressive system of living before the Europeans settled on the islands (David, 2013). It is important to know that the famed explorer Ferdinand Magellan did not discover the Philippines and that the indigenous Tao had been living for many generations before the Spaniards ever set foot on the islands (David, 2013). The Spaniards’ early voyages to the Philippines were driven by the desire for power and wealth, as well as the propaganda of the Catholic religion, yet were all encountered by a form of resistance from the Tao. According to T. A. Agoncillo, author of Introduction to Filipino History, it was not until 1571 when a Spanish exploration led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi “established the walled Spanish city of Manila that Spain finally subdued the Tao’s struggles and secured Spanish rule over the islands” (1974). The indigenous Tao wanted to protect their ways of life that led them to fight and resist the Spanish occupiers, which is why they did not welcome the Spanish with open arms. The Filipinx national hero Dr. Jose Rizal argued against Spanish oppression towards the indigenous Tao. He was executed in 1896 due to his unwavering efforts in opposing and criticizing the Spanish rule. One of his passages from his writings states:

...little by little they lost their old traditions, the mementos of their past; they gave up their writing, their songs, their poems, their laws in order to learn by rote other doctrines which they did not understand, another morality, another aesthetics different from those inspired by their climate and their manner of thinking... degrading themselves in their own eyes; they became ashamed of what was their own; they began to admire and praise whatever was foreign and incomprehensible; their spirit was dismayed and it surrendered to... this disgust of themselves. (As cited by Rimonte, 1997, p. 58)

This writing exemplifies that Spanish rule prompted several psychological effects on the Tao. The era of Spanish rule is marked as a time when the Tao developed colonial mentality and “began to degrade themselves, to be ashamed of their culture, and to be disgusted of their characteristics” (David, 2013).

II. The Forgotten History of Filipinx: American Colonialism Colonialism grew further when the Americans took over the Philippines from Spain during the Philippine-American War, which is also known as the “forgotten war” (Omega Loren Letana, 2016). Regardless of the fact that Filipinx “had already declared their independence,

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In his book Brown Skin, White Minds, E.J.R. David states that Filipinx history

is often known as the “forgotten history.”

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democratically developed a national constitution, and had freely elected their leaders, they were still perceived as People who were not intelligent, sophisticated enough, and civilized enough to govern themselves” (Ignacio, De la Cruz, Emmanuel, & Toribio, 2004). It did not matter to the Americans if the Tao were already well established because they felt it was their duty to “Christianize, educate, and civilize the Tao” (David, 2013). Yen Le Espiritu analyzed the Tao’s conditions under the American rule:

Theodore Roosevelt repeatedly linked Native Americans to Filipinos, exploring words like “wild and ignorant “savages,” “Apaches,” and “Sioux” to refer to the Filipino people. In the same way, white American soldiers in the Philippines used many of the same epithets to describe Filipinos as they used to describe African Americans, including “niggers,” “black devils,” and “gugus.” (2003)

Based on Espiritu’s analysis, it is apparent that the experiences of African Americans, Native Americans, and Filipinos intertwine with each others narratives based on their experiences being degraded, dehumanized, and inferiorized by Americans. The analysis above reveals that the Filipinx did not initiate a relationship with the Americans, but rather the Americans established a relationship with the Filipinx through “colonialism, imperialism, and oppression” (David, 2013).

III. Effects of Spanish and American Colonialism in the Lives of Filipinx Americans

David emphasizes the importance for Filipinx and Filipinx Americans to have a “complete, accurate, and critical understanding of such historical period because it may assist in identifying the source of their colonial mentality” (2013, p. 25). Patricia Espiritu Halalgao (2004), in her article “Holding up the mirror: The complexity of seeing your ethnic self in history”, states that colonial mentality is a “denigration of self and aspiration to be like the colonizer” (2004). This mentality has been developed and reinforced through hundreds of years through the Spanish and American occupation. E. J. R. David and Kevin L. Nadal, in their article “The Colonial Context of Filipino American Immigrants Psychological Experiences,” state that internalized oppression is experienced by members of racial groups who have historically been oppressed, such as African Americans, Native Americans, Latino/as and Jewish Holocaust survivors. Because oppression has been developed and reinforced, oppressed individuals feel self-hate and inferiority to those in power (2013). Colonial mentality is most evident for the Filipinx population when:

(a) Filipinos feel inferior for simply being Filipino, (b) feeling embarrassed or ashamed for their ethnicity and culture, (c ) feeling that their physical attributes are not as good enough and are less attractive as European physical traits, (d) discrimination against Filipinos who are not as Westernized, and (e) tolerating or accepting the contemporary oppression. (David & Okazaki, 2006b)

These aspects from the classical colonial model exemplify how oppression can have such an influence on those groups and individuals who are colonized. Paulo Freire (1970), a postcolonial educator, explains that because colonizers attach inferior connotations to the colonized culture and ethnic identities, the colonized then feel that they want to rid themselves of any ethnic identity that resembles inferiority. This often results in the colonized assimilating to the colonizers’ culture

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and is seen through the way the colonized speak, act and dress. Therefore, the colonized then begin to feel a sense of gratitude towards the colonizers for civilizing them from their perceived inferior heritage (Freire, 1970).

...V. Decolonizing Colonial Mentality

Decolonization is often the response to dismantling colonial mentality and internalized oppression as it aims to liberate and transform individuals who consciously and unconsciously have colonial mentality. In Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, Roderick Daus-Magbual, and Arlene Daus-Magbual’s essay, “Pin@y Educational Partnerships: A counter-pipeline to create critical educators,” they explain that because teaching has been used as a tool by the colonizers throughout Philippine history and around the world, the only picture depicted in history are the victors in wars, and in most cases, the stories of the rest of the world are looked at as insignificant. “This colonial education teaches more than dates and facts; it teaches students who are not reflected in the curricula that they are also insignificant” (2010). If Filipinx students have the opportunity to have accurate historical backgrounds of their own history, Filipinx students can come to understand how their history and cultural identities have an impact on their overall educational experiences (Halagao, Tintiangco-Cubales, Cordova, 2009).

Findings and Discussion

I. Pin@y Educational Partnership Story

PEP was founded in 2001 by Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales and her students from San Francisco State University (SFSU) to meet the needs of Filipinx American students in the San Francisco Unified School Districts (pepsf.org). Tintiangco-Cubales brought student mentors from SFSU to Balboa High School for a lunchtime mentoring program. SFSU students performed and provided workshops on Filipinx American history, culture, and experiences, and the high schools students felt empowered and realized the importance of learning about their history and how their history shapes their identity. They began to gain consciousness of the problems they were facing in their communities: high school dropouts, unplanned pregnancies, suicide attempts, increasing rates of HIV/AIDS, and a lack of Filipinx American teachers and professors (Halagao et al., 2009). As a result of the dissatisfaction in their communities, the youth decided to voice out their problems with the lack of Filipinx curriculum in their classes. Students from Balboa High School signed a petition to offer PEP as an elective course in their high school (Halagao et al., 2009). As a result of the campaign, PEP taught their first Filipinx American studies course in the Spring of 2002 at Balboa High School in the San Francisco Unified School District. PEP’s reputation grew after their successful course at Balboa High School, which made the curriculum accessible to the Excelsior neighborhood and the larger Filipinx American community. Since then, PEP has partnered with the Ethnic Studies educational pipeline, which connects schools with universities and community organizations. Their aim is to provide cultural and community-responsive education to students ranging from kindergarten to college, with a focus on Filipinx American Studies and Ethnic Studies. PEP is offered as a course each semester at the University of San Francisco, Skyline College, and City College of San Francisco (Halagao et al., 2009). PEP’s

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goal as a program is to provide transformative, dialogical, and liberating curriculum that creates a critical understanding of their identity as Filipinx American students and the problems they encounter in their world (Halagao et al., 2009).

II. Barangay Pedagogy

PEP has evolved throughout the years. What began as a lunchtime project has expanded into an educational partnership pipeline that teaches students to become critical educators and has become a space for the development of Filipinx American curriculum and research (Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2010). PEP serves the low-income youth and students of San Francisco by providing them with the opportunity to learn about the world’s history, culture, and art through direct community engagement and action (Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2010). PEP’s foundation is built on “barangay pedagogy” (in Tagalog, barangays refer to communities and small political units). The creation of barangays among educators, volunteers, and students is an important part of what it means to serve the larger community. Dr. Tintiangco-Cubales developed barangay pedagogy, which is said to be directly related to decolonization (Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2010). PEP provides a unique decolonized model both individually and communal, for student/teacher training. According to Halagao et al. (2009), PEP’s barangay pedagogy provides a means for decolonizing teacher education and training by providing a barangay structure that develops a community-based curricula. PEP implements barangay pedagogy throughout all levels of education (university, community college, high school, middle school, and elementary school), giving students the opportunity to work as a team to unlearn their oppressions and stereotypes.

III. Gaining Critical Consciousness and Deconstructing Colonial Mentality

Out of the three participants I interviewed, only one of them learned Filipinx American history prior to joining PEP, while the others only learned about Filipinx history once they joined. One of the participants who did not have any prior knowledge about Filipinx history stated, “Throughout my schooling experience there was a lack of representation of narratives in history of those who looked like me. It’s like my history did not matter.” She noted that the history she did learn had a European/Western focus: “I also noticed that every time we did learn about people of color, we were looked at as savages that needed saving, and it wasn’t until college and PEP where I realized that is not the case.” Halagao et al. explain that if Filipinx American students have accurate understandings of their own historical backgrounds, they can come to understand how their history and cultural identities have an impact on their overall educational experiences (2009). One of the participants I interviewed is a high school English teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District. She said that when she was in college, she already knew she wanted to become a teacher, which was why she joined PEP. She knew that the program would give her experience teaching students and a foundation that could not be given in a credential program. In her interview, she mentioned that the lessons she learned from PEP helped her humanize herself and her students: “PEP taught me to be an educator who is culturally relevant and community responsive, and to acknowledge the lives my students live.” PEP acknowledged and affirmed what she knew was missing from her home and school education. Through critical pedagogy, educators come to understand education as a praxis for freedom and humanization (Freire, 2000). Once

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students understand their histories, they are able to use their knowledge to educate others and to spread awareness throughout their communities. Being able to identify the source of colonial mentality through education can result in students liberating themselves from colonial mentality. Lenny M Strobel’s (2001) book, Coming Full Circle: the Process of Decolonization Among Post-1965 Filipino Americans, explains the three steps of the process of decolonization: (1) naming: decolonization begins with Filipino Americans “naming the internalized oppression, shame, inferiority, confusion, and anger” (p. 122), (2) reflection: “to develop the ability to question one’s reality is constructed by colonial narratives” (p. 122), and (3) action: “to decide to give back to the Filipino American community … to take leadership positions in moving the Filipino American community towards visibility and empowerment” (p. 123). All of the PEP participants expressed a sense of empowerment after learning about their ethnic history, but stated that the liberating part about the process was being able to educate other students about what they have learned. PEP’s program focuses on students who underperform in their classrooms, and provides support and opportunities for them to succeed and achieve their goals. PEP implements what Bell Hooks calls “radical pedagogy,” which “must insist that everyone’s presence is acknowledged” (1994). For the students and teachers of PEP, the classroom serves as a critical safe space where they feel that their identities are validated. This sense of belonging is because of their bonding to learn, fight, and overcome their oppression and is rooted in barangay pedagogy and PEP’s curriculum. The students who participate in PEP develop strong bonds because Filipinx American students often feel neglected in their classrooms, and the program encourages students to connect what they are learning in the curriculum to their families and communities (Halagao et al., 2009). PEP’s social justice curriculum urges students to go beyond being passive recipients and become active participants in history. In doing so, students not only spread awareness about their cultural knowledge, but go beyond the curriculum and develop ways to address their knowledge in their everyday lives. In the simplest sense, embracing their identities, dismantling stereotypes of being inferior to the Western influences, and educating Filipinx and Filipinx Americans about our historical oppression could ultimately liberate the Tao. This study asserts that PEP combines social action with learning about ethnic history and culture and empowers Filipinx American students to be active participants in making history. Through the process of understanding and gaining knowledge of their history, Filipinx American students learn more deeply about themselves, along with the struggles and contributions of their ancestors’ history. I hope that this study brings justice to my family, my ancestors, and to future generations of Filipinx and Filipinx American students. That we may know our historical truths, and that it may empower us to learn more about our culture, heritage, and ourselves as Filipinx and Filipinx Americans.

References

Agoncillo, T. A. (1974). Introduction to Filipino History. Quezon City, Philippines: Garotech Publishing.

David, E. J. R., & Nadal, K. L. (2013). The colonial context of Filipino American immigrants’ psychological experiences. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(3), 298–309. doi:10.1037/a0032903

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David, E. J. R. (2013). Brown Skin, White Minds. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

David, E. J. R., & Okazaki, S. (2006b). Colonial mentality: A review and recommendation for Filipino American psychology. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 12, 1-16.

Espiritu, Y. L. (2003). Homebound: Filipino American Lives Across Cultures, Communities, and Countries. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.

Fanon, F. (1965). The Wretched of the Earth. New York, NY: Grove.

Freire, P. (1989). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum.

Halagao, P. E., Tintiangco-Cubales, A. G., & Cordova, J.M. (2009). Critical Review of K-12 Filipina/o American Curriculum. AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice and Community, 7(1), 1-26. doi: 10.17953/appc.7.1.76h786l18u77l541

Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge.

Ignacio, A., de la Cruz, E., Emmanuel, J., & Toribio, J. (2004). The Forbidden Book: The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons. San Francisco, CA: T’boli Publishing.

Letana, O. L. (2016). Sino Ako?: Exploring Filipino American Identity in Philippine Studies Courses. (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from https://repository.usfca.edu.

Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pepsf.org.

Rimonte, R. (1997). Colonialism’s legacy: The inferiorizing of the Filipino. In M. P. P. Root(Ed.), Filipino Americans: Transformation and Identity (pp. 36-61). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Strobel, L. M. (2001). Coming Full Circle: The Process of Decolonization Among Post-1965 Filipino Americans. Quezon City, Philippines: Center for Babaylan Studies.

Tintiangco-Cubales, A., Daus-Magbual, A., Desai, M., Sabac, A., & Von Torres, M. (2016). Into our hoods: Where critical performance pedagogy births resistance. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 29(10): 1308-1325.

United States Census Bureau. (2010). The Asian population: 2010. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov.

Author’s Note

My name is Nikki Allyzon Baluyot, I am a senior studying Justice, Community and Leadership and will be the first person in my immediate family to graduate from college in the United States, this May 2018. I was born in the Philippines and immigrated to America with my parents when I was three years old. Growing up, I only heard Western views of history which makes this study very important to me because I grew up with hardly any knowledge of my Filipinx heritage, and I often felt that there was a missing piece of Filipinx identity that I have never gotten the chance to know. Thus, it was not until I transferred to Saint Mary’s College where I began to gain consciousness of the realities in which my people faced, whose voices have been silenced in

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history. Even in college, I rarely learned about Filipinx perspectives, nor did my college offer any Filipinx classes. It was not until I joined the Filipinx-American research group, started by Professor Michael Viola, myself, and three other Filipinx American students on campus, that I then began to do research about my history. I hope that this study brings justice to my family, my ancestors, and for the future generations of Filipinx and Filipinx American students. That we may know our historical truths, and that it may empower us to learn more about our culture, heritage, and ourselves as Filipinx and Filipinx Americans.

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Art Index

Sabrina Nguyen, Untitled Cover

Lauren Neumann, Untitled vi

Lauren Neumann, Untitled vii

Lauren Neumann, Untitled viii

Katie Hill, Untitled 6

Katie Hill, Untitled 12

Sierra Miller, Windmills 16

Juliann Jugan, Untitled 21

Sierra Miller, Spiderweb 25

Lauren Neumann, Untitled 30

Shyista Ahmed, Sunshine 35

Katie Hill, Untitled 41

Juliann Jugan, Untitled 52

Shyista Ahmed, Hydra 58

Lauren Neumann, Untitled 64

Lauren Neumann, Untitled 69

Lauren Neumann, Untitled 73

Lauren Neumann, Untitled 79

Shyista Ahmed, The Claw 87

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Call for Submissions

WRITING: We welcome submissions in any genre of prose writing produced as part of an undergraduate class in any discipline.

Please submit in Microsoft Word or Google Doc format via email to cwac@stmarys-ca.edu with “The Undergraduate Spectrum Writing Submission” in the subject line, or in person to the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum (De La Salle 110). Submissions should include the student author’s name, the professor’s name, the course number, semester, and year, and any associated prompt or instructions. Writing may be submitted by the student author or professor by Dec. 31, 2018.

ART: We welcome submissions of original, 2D student artwork – photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, digital, or mixed media – through Dec. 31, 2018.

Works inspired by Collegiate Seminar texts are encouraged, but not required. Selections will be made by a jury of SMC faculty, staff, and students. Submissions in JPG, PDF, or PSD file formats with minimum specifications of 5” x 7” at 300 dpi resolution should be shared via Google Drive with cwac@stmarys-ca.edu. Please send with message: “The Undergraduate Spectrum Art Submission.”