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(05/01/18 4:55am)
By Grant Playter
Staff Writer
Members of the radical religious group known as the Bible Believers came to the College on April 12, wielding signs that displayed hateful and discriminatory language.
“Jesus or hellfire,” “Women belong in the kitchen” and “Feminists are whores,” were just a few of the many signs the Believers held as they spouted their rhetoric to an angry crowd of students.
Lost in the anger felt by members of the campus community, however, are the numerous infractions against campus policy committed by the Bible Believers during their tenure on campus.
Two students did not want these infractions to be pushed under the rug. Alina Osborn, a junior biology major, and Emily Zbyszynski, a junior English major, compiled a 10-page document outlining campus policy and the infractions the Bible Believers committed shortly after the group first visited the campus.
The majority of their document concerns Title IX violations. Title IX is a policy which prohibits sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, sexual harassment, stalking and other power based personal violence.
Osborn and Zbyszynski asserted the Bible Believers committed acts considered to be sexual harassment, which included telling women they deserve to be raped, referring to students as “vagina lickers,” and in one instance, calling a student a “cum-guzzling faggot.”
The group frequently targeted students’ ethnicity, religion and sexuality, and these remarks were logged in the report.
A survey conducted measuring students’ reactions to the protest received 112 total responses, however, Qualtrics flagged 43 responses as spam. Therefore, data was only taken from the remaining 69 responses.
56 percent of respondents felt personally “victimized, harassed or otherwise put in a hostile environment” by the group, while 77 percent stated that they knew someone who fell in that category. Additionally, 61 percent of respondents felt that the group did not act in a manner that should have allowed them to return to campus, and 19 percent of respondents to the same question felt that they probably should not be allowed to return.
Notably, 40 percent of respondents felt specifically that the group “definitely did not” act in compliance with campus policy in their demonstration, with an additional 15 percent stating that they “probably did not” act in compliance.
Kerri Thompson-Tillett, associate vice president and chief diversity officer at the College, offered some of her insights on campus policy — while members of the campus community have to be mindful of their speech, that same rule does not extend to outsiders.
“I can’t enforce that policy against people that are not members of our community,” Thompson-Tillett said.
Since the College is a public school, it must allow public access to its campus. According to the survey, 95 percent of the students who responded said they were made aware that the College is a public campus after the Bible Believers had arrived.
Additionally, 77 percent stated they were familiar with the distinction between how public and private colleges handle group demonstrations.
The survey showed that only 53 percent of respondents were slightly or completely unfamiliar with the College’s policy, while 16 percent were extremely or very familiar with the College’s policy. The results demonstrate the problems presented by the Bible Believers in defining their presence on campus, the resulting outcry from students and the tough position the College’s administration was put in.
College Spokesman Dave Muha emphasized how universal the freedom of speech is.
“The freedom of speech is a constitutionally guaranteed right, so that’s the law of the land,” Muha said. “What the Bible Believers were saying — again, I don’t condone it, I don’t subscribe to it, but I do recognize that I can go to NYC and hear that same kind of message as I’m walking through Times Square. It’s protected speech in Times Square, it’s protected speech here.”
According to Muha, the vetting process for groups who wish to use campus grounds is an application indicating what the grounds will be used for and for how long. There is no censure of topics because, as a public space, the First Amendment protects groups from that censure.
“Was what the Bible Believers saying against the values of the institution? Absolutely. Can I understand that some students were upset what they heard? Absolutely, But nonetheless, based on the law of the land the determination by those at the site was that what was being said did not rise to the level of harassment as defined by the law of the country. That, I think, is the distinction,” Muha said.
Muha explained that what the group was saying was objectionable, but did not fall within the boundaries of harassment, as its legally defined, by the various police agencies at the demonstration, which included campus, Ewing and State Police.
“A lot of (the discussion) centers around the notion that students feel harassed, that theBible Believers were harassing students,” Muha said. “In the instance of those two protests, if you will, police on the grounds had to make a determination based on what they were observing and how that relates to freedom of speech protected by the constitution.”
Muha, along with Thompson-Tillett, repeatedly and vehemently disavowed what the group, but also maintained that the Bible Believers complied with requests from administration and did not directly threatened the safety of students during both incidents.
“I would say that there’s a difference between feeling safe and feeling comfortable.” Muha said. “I don’t feel that at any point in time, on either visit of the Bible Believers, that anybody was unsafe … there was a lot of attention given to make sure there was separation between theBible Believers and the members of our community.”
After the incident, administration and students alike are attempting their own methods of action.
“We are looking to bring somewhat of a First Amendment, free speech expert to campus before graduation because members of the community are really interested in these issues,” Thompson-Tillett said. “While we know a lot, we are not the experts, so we thought it would be a good idea to bring someone on campus who can speak squarely to these issues within the context of higher education.”
While Thompson-Tillett’s policy evaluation may not lead to a ban on the Bible Believers, Osborn is looking to strengthen support for student diversity.
“A friend and classmate of mine are attempting to bring an LGBTQ+ resource center to campus,” Osborn said. “Next semester we will be doing independent research with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in attempts to further this.”
Among the many ideas for the LGBTQ+ resource center are additional psychological counseling services for LGBTQ+ students who may not feel comfortable going to Counseling and Psychological Services, as well as specific health services such as hormone treatments for transgender individuals.
“At this time we don’t know the exact timeline over which this would occur,” Osborn said. “It might end up being more like buffing the Office of Diversity itself so it’s more equipped to deal with these sort of issues.
(04/24/18 5:03am)
By Grant Playter
Staff Writer
The Boheme Opera Company debuted a performance of the operas “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “I Pagliacci” in the Kendall Hall Main Stage Theater on Friday, April 20, with a second show on Sunday, April 22. Both operas, independent of each other but often performed together, tackle the issue of adultery and its tragic consequences.
“Cavalleria Rusticana” opened with a soft, building orchestral piece, performed by an in-house orchestra. After a brief drunken monologue from the protagonist, Turridu, the audience is introduced to a beautifully choreographed scene of an Italian community setting up for the day. It features roughly 30 chorus members acting out small, individual stories across the stage.
“The director had us at specific musical points go out at different times to establish what our characterization was,” said Britney Montoro, the chorus master for the play. “There were the people who were the bar attendants, there were people who were selling and giving flowers, there was a bag lady who was specifically selling wares that no one wanted to buy.”
The play details the story of Turridu, who sleeps with his former lover, a woman named Lola who is married to a businessman named Alfio, and spurns his current lover, Santuzza, in the process. After Santuzza confronts Turridu regarding his infidelity, he spurns her again, sending her down the path to vengeance.
Eudora Brown portrayed Santuzza who, fueled by rage and jealousy, revealed Lola’s infidelity to Alfio.
“When she disseminates the information, that means Turridu is gonna die. That is the culture, that’s what happens … that’s her decision point, right there,” Brown said.
Turridu also knows that is his fate once he is confronted by Alfio. Before he walks out to his death, he begs his mother, Lucia, to take care of Santuzza should he die.
At the end of the play, Santuzza still mourns for Turridu despite the play’s events.
“I think that the relationship that (Turridu and Santuzza) have is very broken,” Brown said. “It’s a love-hate kind of relationship, it’s kind of dysfunctional. The director and I decided that there is a real love interest between Turridu and Santuzza, even though it’s completely dysfunctional. He really loves her, and Lola was just sort of the fling.”
The second opera, “I Pagliacci,” concerns the plight of Caino, better known as the clown, and character he portrays, Pagliacci, who endures sorrow following the affair between his wife, Nedda, and a local villager named Silvio.
Caino is part of a traveling performance group comprised of himself, Nedda, a fool named Tonio, who portrays Taddeo and another actor named Beppe.
The band performs plays in which Nedda plays Colombine, a ditzy flirt who is having an affair with Beppe’s character, Arlecchino. Pagliacci and Taddeo provide comic relief to their antics.
When a villager jokes about Nedda cheating, Caino angrily states that he is not a fool in real life.
“Even though Caino might seem a bit angry, often, he does love Nedda,” said Errin Brooks, who portrayed Caino. “He says ‘I’m the one who found you, picked you up off of the street, saved you from hunger and certain death, and I gave you love whenever you wanted, but it apparently wasn’t enough.’ So basically at the end, if (he) can’t have her, no one else can.”
Following this scene, Tonio confesses his love to Nedda, who rejects and insults him. Wounded, Tonio vows vengeance.
Tonio does get his revenge by showing Caino proof of his wife’s infidelity, albeit with unfortunate timing, near the scheduled start of the troupe’s next play.
The play goes on after Tonio managed to placate the furious Caino into performing with his unfaithful wife. During the troupe’s performance, Caino wavers between acting and reality, delivering a powerful performance that left many confused as to what was fictional and what was real.
“There’s the intrigue and the betrayal as a part of the play becomes reality,” Montoro said. “You don’t know at any point in time whether it’s real or it’s not and so you’re in the in-between level. So with Caino, one of the most interesting (aspects) of his character, is that we don’t know if it’s part of the play, and we don’t know if it’s real life until the very end.”
Following the powerful performance, the situation escalates until Caino ends up with two dead bodies at his feet. Despondent, Caino falls to his knees.
Caino looks at the audience as he delivers the final line, “The comedy is finished!”
The productions, fully delivered in Italian with projected English subtitles, contained sensational performances evoking the timeless themes of love and betrayal at the core of both plays. Tragic and melancholic, both plays offered insight into the machinations of the human mind.
“This opera is very much relative to real life,” Brooks said. “It covers love, sex, jealousy, murder — all the delicious ingredients that make up life.”
(04/03/18 6:40am)
By Grant Playter
Staff Writer
Members of TCNJ Musical Theatre awed audiences with incredible choreography and inspired music selections that dealt with a wide array of socially uncomfortable topics for five performances of the rock musical “Spring Awakening,” from Wednesday, March 28 to Saturday, March 31.
From suicide to abortion, masturbation to bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism, “Spring Awakening” is a Broadway musical adaptation of an 1891 German play that discusses sexual repression and its impact on younger generations. With catchy songs like “Totally Fucked” and “The Bitch of Living” that matched a set decorated with snapshots of sexual and pornographic paraphernalia, the play is delightfully candid about its core themes.
The three lead characters, Moritz Stiefel, Wendla Bergmann and Melchior Gabor, each suffer as a result of the interplay between their personalities and their knowledge, or lack thereof, of sexual matters.
Moritz is a student haunted by sexual feelings that he does not understand, and is thereby rendered an anxious wreck.
Casey O’Neill, a sophomore history and secondary education double major, portrayed Moritz in a manner that was perhaps the highlight of the play. O’Neill brought to life the walking contradictions, pains and stressors that eventually lead to Moritz’s suicide.
“It was so much fun but it was so hard,” O’Neill said. “He’s got so many problems with anxiety, and society, and his family. And he doesn’t even have an outlet for it, that’s the society that he was in, and unlike some of his other friends who have loving parents or friends, he just didn’t have that.”
While Moritz struggles with his ignorance, the protagonist of the film, Melchior, is the one lead who knows what sexual reproduction entails. However, this knowledge leaves him a cynical atheist that is critical of adults whose morals ultimately lead to the deaths of his friends.
“Melchior is a very self-confident person in the beginning,” said Suchir Govindarajan, a freshman finance major who played Melchior. “And his arc definitely goes from this person who thinks he knows everything until he has sex with Wendla. (That attitude) diminishes because he realizes not everything that he thought what it was, was what it was.”
After Melchior and Wendla have nervous and confused intercourse, Wendla’s ignorance of sexual reproduction due to her mother’s refusal to educate her becomes deadly, after it was revealed that Wendla was impregnated.
Wendla’s mother sends her daughter to get a botched abortion, which results in the death of both Wendla and the child, and leaves Melchior bereft of his two closest friends, Moritz and Wendla.
The show culminates with Melchior in the graveyard, despondent and riddled with guilt, threatening to commit suicide, but the ghosts of Moritz and Wendla come back to prevent Melchior from doing so.
“For me — the message is when it comes back to that, no matter how hard your life is, you leave so much behind,” O’Neill said. “No matter bad you think it is, it’s never that bad. It’s so important when he comes back and the message is so positive, that life is so important.”
Govindarajan also spoke about the play’s central themes, focusing on the sexual enlightenment the characters experience without guidance from the older generation.
“I think that in this society we’ve evolved so much in how we view sex, and abortions and homosexuality,” Govindarajan said. “And yet you still have factions and groups who still view it as something that we can’t talk about or as something we should punish or avoid. I think that It’s important to be constantly reminded that there’s so much we don’t know and so much we have to work towards to know.”
Not to be lost in the powerful messages at the core of the play were the impressive choreography and music. Smoke effects and pinpoint choreography made for some dazzling spectacles, while the rock-infused sounds in tandem with sex-positive lyrics had the audience tapping their feet along with the actors.
Even the somber songs like “Those You’ve Left Behind” and “Don’t Do Sadness” served their purpose, as actors delivered impactful monologues about the sorrow at the core of the plot.
“(‘Left Behind’ is) the one I worked the hardest on and it definitely increased my range with singing,” Govindarajan said. “I think it’s such a powerful song because (Melchior) not only realizes that the adults are the ones responsible for Moritz’s death but he empathizes with them because ultimately we’ve all lost a friend, a son and someone we can cherish.”
Fighting through occasional technical difficulties and fatigue, the talented actors gave performances that will not be soon forgotten.
“I think it went fantastic,” O’Neill said. “We had a great run. The whole process was great but tonight something really special was happening.”
(03/06/18 7:44am)
By Grant Playter
Staff Writer
Medea entered stage left, the deep red colors of her flowing dress mirrored by the coppery fluid dripping off her arm. She collapsed, her knife skittering across the floor. The deed had been done. Her children may be dead, but her revenge on Jason was complete.
All College Theatre held its debut of the Ancient Greek tragedy “Medea” on Feb. 28 in the Don Evans Black Box Theatre. While a blizzard cancelled the show on Friday, March 2, the campus community was given additional chances to see the production on Thursday, March 1 and Saturday, March 3 for both a matinee and evening performance.
Directed by alumnus Scott Glading (’77), the show tells the lengths a woman scorned will go for revenge. Glading, who has directed over 90 plays over the course of his career, spoke about his desire to put on this particular production in the director’s note of the playbill. Glading noted that the piece’s core concepts are still relevant to modern audiences, thousands of years after its creation.
“Sadly, a production of ‘Medea,’ a play written by Euripides c. 431 BC, is still as current and true and shocking today as it was when Greek audiences first experienced the horrors that would unfold because a woman ‘loathed’ a man more than she ‘loved’ their children,” Glading wrote.
Kelly Colleran, a junior history and secondary education dual major, portrayed Medea, who struggles with the betrayal of her beloved husband Jason, a Greek hero and leader of the Argonauts. Jason left Medea for the daughter of King Creon, and she and her two young sons are to be banished as a result. Medea will not simply allow herself to be banished, however, and so begins the tragedy of the play.
“(Medea) is somebody who was betrayed and scorned,” Colleran said. “She is not in control of her emotions right now. And she does some really horrible things because of that, really inexcusable things because of that, but she’s not completely the only enemy of the play.”
In adapting the ancient tale, ACT and Glading added some contemporary elements to the play. The actors wore modern formal attire, evoking a relatable yet elegant air to the production. The front half of the set was remarkably modern, with sleek furniture, photo albums and a small bar comprising its landscape, while the back half of the set was comprised of Greco-Roman pillars, and the dialogue was spoken in a formal, almost archaic manner.
Molly Knapp, the show’s production manager and a junior public health and women’s, gender and sexuality studies double major, elaborated on the creation of the set.
“(Glading) was actually really great in giving our designers a lot of free reign to sort of do what he wanted.” Knapp said. “We decided to put a contemporary spin on it, so you’ll see that ‘Medea’ is set in this cosmopolitan, Grecian setting.”
The play did not entirely leave its Greek origins behind, according to co-sound lead and junior history major Christopher Loos.
“We still have some Ancient Greek inspirations — the pre-show and intermission music, for example, are all Ancient Greek songs or those inspired by that style,” Loos said. “(Glading) wanted to develop a contrast between these thousand-year-old pieces followed almost immediately by the aria that opens the show.”
Through these endeavors, the play juxtaposes ancient and modern life, almost as if the characters have been transposed directly from ancient Greece to 2018.
None of this would have been effective if not for the cast’s performances that sold the concept to the audience. Colleran’s portrayal of Medea was hypnotizing, alternating between wild emotional outbursts to sauntering, manipulative witch at a moment’s notice.
At times, it was impossible to determine when Medea was lying and when she was being truthful, perhaps because the character herself did not know.
“It’s a really hard piece to do,” Colleran said. “It’s a really sad piece to do, but it’s really rewarding.”
Rob Hicks, a junior political science major who portrayed Jason, elevated the performance by carrying the swagger of someone who knows he is a Greco-Roman hero.
From his perfectly coiffed hair to his dismissive snobbishness whenever he shares the stage with Medea, Hicks’ portrayal was crucial in developing sympathy for a woman who will go on to do unspeakable things.
The two shared a bevy of powerful emotional moments throughout both acts of the play, and the tension carried between them kept the audience on edge as they awaited the inevitable tragic conclusion of the play.
“I think it went really well,” Colleran said. “I’m extremely happy with the way that the show came together. Our cast has put so much hard work into this and I’m super excited for the finished product that we’re able to put on stage for people.”
(02/27/18 7:40am)
By Grant Playter
Staff Writer
Three student soloists belted out an eclectic mix of pop, rock and indie selections to an eager audience on Friday, Feb. 23 in the Traditions Lounge, as part of Student Soloist Night hosted by the College Union Board.
Dylan Lembo, a freshman international studies major and a member of the Manasquan-based rock band Garage Sale, kicked off the show. Lembo was cracking jokes from the minute he took the stage until his finalé, a quality that reflected his style of music.
“I play fun, upbeat, ’80s inspired rock ‘n’ roll,” Lembo said with a bright smile.
True to his word, Lembo delivered a fun and lively performance, tapping his foot in time with the strumming of his guitar. Lembo proved himself a lyricist capable of creating original songs that combined odd concepts with innovative wordplay for his entire set.
“I Could Do a Kickflip” was about Lembo wishing he could do a kickflip, while “Carrier Pigeon” was one of two songs that detailed Lembo’s fascination with Mike Tyson.
By the end of the first song of his setlist, “San Pellegrino,” audience members were already tapping their feet along with Lembo.
“He just plays very quirky, very funny songs that are unbelievably catchy,” said Jack Sofka, a sophomore English major and CUB Alt Co-Chair who helped organize the event. “(He’s) just a really entertaining performer.”
Following Lembo’s performance was Rob Birnbohm, a senior graphic design major, who opened his performance by noting that he had wanted to perform since he attended Student Soloist Night as an audience member during his freshman year.
“A lot of my feelings during this performance were based on the fact that I had put off doing this for so long,” Birnbohm said. “I had wanted to do the student soloist night for four years at this point and every time I made some kind of excuse ... I had to put my foot down and tell myself that ‘Yeah, you’re gonna do it, you’re gonna do it this semester because it’s your last friggin’ chance.’”
Birnbohm performed on his guitar, adding percussion with a tambourine attached to his foot. With a wide vocal range and a strong, smooth melody, Birnbohm covered songs like Newton Faulkner’s “Dream Catch Me” and The Verve Pipe’s “The Freshmen.”
Ben Spizuco, a freshman interactive multimedia major and the sole member of Hello Whirled, closed the show. Spizuco performed a variety of original works on electric guitar.
While Spizuco’s performance was well executed, there were some technical issues between the venue’s sound equipment and Spizuco’s amp, cutting several of the songs short.
Despite the technical difficulties, Spizuco persevered. His final song, “Romantic Distance,” described the struggle of being aromantic and had an almost hypnotizing quality that reverberated through the lounge.
“(Spizuco was) also great,” Sofka said. “The writing that he does is really interesting and I always appreciate it.”
Spizuco has released 30 albums since October 2013, including the 13 albums he started working on as Hello Whirled since October 2016.
“This is all I do with my free time so I get a lot done,” Spizuco said, laughing.
All of the performers took their place on stage with a gracious attitude. Singers played through the occasionally forgotten lyric or wrong note with a smile.
“I think if there’s anything I could pass on to underclassmen, especially to those who perform and stuff, don’t take this time for granted,” Birnbohm said. “Do these performances, it doesn’t matter if you do one, two, or three or all of them. Put yourself out there.”
(02/21/17 3:16am)
By Grant Playter
Staff Writer
The audience sits in eager anticipation as the cascade of production company logos trickles to a stop. Soon we are looking at nothing, and for a moment there is only darkness on the screen. Then, the booming voice of Batman (Will Arnett) invades the IMAX theater, the sole sound in the darkened chamber: “All important movies start with a black screen.”
Artists seemed to have milked Batman for all he is worth. There’s Batman movies, TV shows, video games, amusement park rides and not to mention the comics that kicked his career off. But in spite of this deluge of content, or maybe because of it, what Batman is and why he is so popular seems to have been lost. Despite it’s lighthearted, family-oriented nature, in a way, “The Lego Batman Movie” is the most honest depiction of not only modern Batman, but all Batman iterations.
The movie is packed with jokes and gags. From the one about black screens at the start to another about white screens at the end, the movie is incredibly aware of what it’s trying to be.
The Batman depicted in this movie is different than any given Batman we’ve seen. He’s egotistical, loves to fight, loves himself even more, but also has this odd blend of campy and brooding moments. He’s a bit like a Batman crockpot, where you throw in bits and pieces from each continuity to make the perfect vigilante for this particular plot.
The show has a delightful awareness of Batman, and it has a ton of fun riffing on the conventional tropes with which he's associated. Batman is excessively broody to the point that the Justice League doesn’t invite him to their 65th annual get together.
Robin embodies all the pep of the ’60s series while also serving as a great counter to Batman’s antisocial personality. The cheer and naiveté of the character is great for a lot of laughs and Michael Cera absolutely nails the role. My favorite part of the film is their relationship, with Batman’s ego and antipathy harshly bouncing off of Robin’s sunny demeanor.
Are there flaws in the move? Sure. I love Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, but his whole plot of trying to get Batman to recognize him as his “one true enemy” where he is the sympathetic figure kind of rings hollow for people familiar with the depths of the real Joker’s insanity.
While action-packed, the movie is longer than two hours, with multiple fine stopping points before the ultimate conclusion. I was a bit fatigued at points, and the kids that the movie is targeting would likely be even more tired. The amount of time they spent hammering in the trite wholesome theme of the importance of friends and family likely contributed to that enervation.
Having said that, these don’t hinder the overall product much. The movie is smart, witty and hits all the right notes for fans of Batman and fans of Lego alike. They pack in an incredible amount of references, from esoteric villains like Condiment King or The Eraser, to wry references to other media like “King Kong” or “Harry Potter” or of all things “Doctor Who.”
The action is excellently done and has all the explosions and one liners kids could want. There’s plenty here for any audience, so grab a seat, microwave some Lobster Thermidor and check it out.