Author: Helen Warfle

I’ve always been fascinated by language, perhaps in part due to my own difficulty with the spoken aspect of it. I like to write but I hate to talk. I am a fast talker, a remnant of a childhood speech impediment, and I constantly feel like I’m struggling to slow down and make myself understood. This is part of my daily life and conversations so you can imagine how difficult it is for me to engage in public speaking where nerves speed up an already too-fast mode of speech. Because of this, I prefer to put things in writing. I am more articulate on paper and I don’t have to worry about the connection between my brain and my mouth shorting out as it often does when I talk out loud. I believe from there my love of language has evolved simply because I prefer to read and write, especially when it comes to academics. Because of this, I have thought a lot about how language affects the way that we communicate; as I am in the process of studying both the English language and a foreign language, the importance of thinkING about this has become abundantly clear. Continue reading “The Vocabulary of Learning”

By Lindsey Kriaris, Abby Ritz, and Helen Warfle

Many of us grew up watching Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, which is commonly referred to as one of the most wholesome shows to ever exist. And it certainly is, but in more ways than just the kindness exhibited by Fred Rogers himself— the show, which began airing in 1968, was one of the first to include a black actor in a positive role and one of the first with an African American in “a recurring role on a children’s television series.” François Clemmons played Officer Clemmons, the policeman who did rounds in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. In real life, Clemmons was a black, gay man who, due to the prevailing homophobic attitudes of the time, remained closeted, but was embraced by Mr. Rogers both in the show and in real life, to the point where Clemmons viewed him as a father figure. The two of them remained friends until Rogers’ death in 2003.

Continue reading “Won’t You Be My Neighbor? : Representation of People of Color In Media”

I don’t have very many memories of my great-grandmother. She passed away when I was five and all I have are very vague memories of visiting her when she was in hospice with my dad, wandering through the too-clinically white space and being vaguely scared of the machines. However, the stories my dad and aunts tell about her live on. The problem is, is that not all of them are good memories.

She grew up during the Second World War where her (much older) brothers fought in the Pacific theatre. As a result, she was deeply racist towards anyone of Asian descent, saying things that are almost funny in how ignorant and prejudiced they are. Imagine a stereotype of a racist old white lady and you pretty much have a good picture of how my great grandmother talked about anyone who didn’t look like her. Her racism towards everyone else who isn’t white was less obvious, especially as she grew up and lived most of her life in a predominantly white area, but rather unfortunately, it came out towards the end of her life when she was put in an assisted living facility and hospice with primarily black nurses. Continue reading “Love In Response to Hate”

By Amina Diakite, Niamh McCrohan, Abby Ritz, Corinne Scanlon, Abbie Sorrell, Brian Vargas, Brooke Ward, and Helen Warfle

Sustainability is the balance of three systems: the economy, society, and the environment. The idea of sustainability is that you need to meet the needs of people at present without compromising a possible future for other generations. The Urban Garden piece created by Steve Prince and the students and faculty at SUNY Geneseo is an example of society trying to gain such a balance. In this piece, we brainstormed about the three systems under sustainability and how they can intertwine with one another to either create enormous huge problems that we should be addressing or successes that we appreciate. One half of the Urban Garden showed the unsustainable aspects of how we currently live; but the positive half showed hope—the seeds for how balance can be restored. Continue reading “A Look Into Sustainability In Art”

Dear past me,

The way I imagine you right now, it’s your sophomore or junior year of high school. You’re probably at musical rehearsal doing homework or trying to catch up on sleep between scenes, dreading having to go up on stage. After all, participating in your school musicals was more of a social thing for you — you aren’t a great singer (though you love to sing) and you’re a terrible dancer, which isn’t great considering that your school loves to do tap-based musicals. Continue reading “On Dance”