Something Happens Here

By Lauren Hoenemeyer

Something happens here. When I first came to GW, I thought that this official GW slogan was vague, if not a little bizarre. I imagine that the late Andy Rooney would have a heyday with this motto. What exactly does GW mean by that cryptic statement? What happens here? Something happens here. Actually, a lot happens here. It’s hard to describe the meaning behind this proclamation in a few words but easy to see when walking around campus in the heart of our nation’s capital. The most recent illustration is that President Obama, President George W. Bush, U2 singer Bono, and Alicia Keys are convening in our very own SMPA for World AIDS Day tomorrow morning, and they’ll be interrupting access to my journalism class (rude). But GW is where stuff like this happens all the time. Every day, the classroom meets the newsroom and the pressroom.

My father asked me the other day why I didn’t go to journalism school at Syracuse University, because he heard it’s one of the best journalism schools in the country. I was in the middle of doing sit-ups in the gym and was annoyed that he even asked me such a loaded question over text especially since he knows how much I love SMPA(dads + technology don’t always mix). I responded, well yes, it is a great school, there’s no doubt about it. But why study journalism if you can’t apply it in real life? While SMPA may not necessarily have a coveted number one rating from U.S. News, it has provided all the real-world knowledge any journalism student can hope for. Washington, D.C. is a playground for journalism and politics, and SMPA has a backyard that no other school can compare to. Not to mention, most professors are seasoned journalists who are experts in their craft. Something happens here that no other school can compare too, even if they are number one in the college rankings.

When GW says something happens here, a lot happens here, like the most important politicians in the world interrupting my class time. A writer for The Hatchet said that so many “somethings” happen here that it’s hard to keep track sometimes. While it may sound nice on paper to attend a top-ranked journalism school, I wouldn’t trade my experience in SMPA for anything. I’ll never stop smiling when a presidential motorcade drives through campus, I’ll never stop boasting about the time when five former secretaries of state sat on the same GW stage, and I’ll never stop thanking my dad for telling me that DC would “eat me alive” if I decided to come here. As my four years come to an end and graduation is near, he knows that I proved him wrong. In the meantime, Obama and Bono can interrupt my class time anytime.

More info on tomorrow's World AIDS Day event:

Salvador Dali and the Media

Eugenio Salvador Dali i Domenech was considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time and a leader within the Surrealism movement of the 20^th century. Dali was inspired by many different aspects of life, which is demonstrated in his work. One of the many influences of Dali and perhaps one of the most important was his symbiotic relationship with the press mass media. Dali was fascinated by cinema and created a media world of his own, while the press itself was also infatuated by Dali and his work. This codependent relationship is important to both parties in many ways.

In his early years as an artist, Dali was like a sponge; he absorbed many influences and inspirations that he came across. Some of the main influences include, the death of his brother and the death of his mother, sexuality, his muse and wife, Gala, and the avant-garde lifestyle. All of these influences can be seen in his work throughout his career. However, one of the most important and fascinating inspirations was the avant-garde lifestyle that Dali observed when he was in Paris, France. Dali became infatuated with cinema and its ability to create another world that is separate from reality.

Perhaps a more famous cinematic work of Dali is Un Chien Andalou in which he collaborated with famous filmmaker, Luis Bunuel. This short, black and white French film is known for its graphic opening scene in which a human eye is cut open with a knife. This scene is meant to be an interpretation of one of Dali’s poems about the moon. This scene and other elements in the film are all representations of symbolism; that is, they stand for a greater meaning that Dali wanted to convey through cinema in this film. The interesting aspect of the film is that is has no plot. The entire film is a montage of clips that have different representations that are shown together to create a short collage-like film. This is linked with Dali’s obsession with escaping and demonstrating a different world outside of reality and presenting a dreamlike piece of art. This film was widely accepted by the members of the Surrealism movement and also the media.

Salvador Dali was one of the most influential and inspiring artists of his time and continues to have an impact on the art world today.

A Non Traditional Thanksgiving

All the housewives in my town hate my mom. For years she has been instilling non-American traditions in our family. We've become radicals in my small suburban east coast town. We don't eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

"Look sweetie, the turkey matches the cabinets."

The simple explanation is that no one in my family particularly cares for turkey. It's just a taste thing.

The longer explanation goes like this:

Thirteen years ago my family of four moved to the east coast from California leaving absolutely every single one of our relatives behind. Since then, nearly all of the holidays have been just the four of us. It's been really hard because we don't even get the chance to complain about inappropriate and obnoxious relatives on the holidays like everyone else. Just another way in which our Thanksgiving is non traditional I suppose.

We've had one 'normal' Thanksgiving our entire time here. It was our first year in New England and we jumped through all the Thanksgiving Day hoops: dressing up, football on TV, hosting friends we only moderately liked, and hours spent stuffing butter and herbs under the skin of a dead turkey. Gotta love it.

I don't know what spurred her exactly, but the following year my mother asked if we were okay with trying a turkey-less Thanksgiving. Given that we didn't like turkey much and it was just going to be us four that year, we okayed her plan. So instead she made enchiladas, quesadillas, and sweet corn cake. Yum. And the leftovers were even better. There was simply no comparison to that stuffed, frigid turkey. With no one to impress we stayed in our sweats all day and only spent 2 hours in the kitchen opposed to the usual 7 (elbow-deep in giblets). Traditional Thanksgiving had officially been beat. We never looked back.

Some of the families in our town strongly disapproved. They claimed we're non-American, and unpatriotic. Even some friends I've explained this to over the years have the same opinion. But we've stuck with our tradition for the last 12 years. We do the same thing every year chicken enchiladas, sweats, and Its a Wonderful Life**

Eat me.

We're all supposed to eat turkey because that's what some pilgrims and indians did one Thursday, but what if they had eaten mutton instead? We'd all be screwed, that's what. Sheep are cute, it's a good thing turkey's are so damn ugly.

Tradition is tradition no matter what you do. My mom claims that she will always host her Mexican Thanksgiving and our future families will just have to deal. Guess I will end up with disapproving relatives and awkward holidays after all.

**Yes, I know that Its a Wonderful Life is categorically a Christmas movie, but it also stresses the importance of thankfulness so it is able to straddle both holidays. We watch it on Christmas too... because it's that good.

If no one was watching..

After the recent horrors involving Penn State football and Syracuse basketball coaches and underaged children, I had a conversation with some of my friends that had a rather sour subject. With all of this stuff coming out now, who knows what else is being covered up, or isn't even known. I'm not just talking about inappropriate relations with underaged kids, but any other illegal or inappropriate actions that "adults" take part in. After talking with my buddies the question arose, "If people are doing this type of thing now, what would they or other people do if no one (the law or society) was watching?"

This is a scary thought, but something that leaves me scared for the future, my kids, my grand kids, and even people I don't even know. Growing up in a rather sheltered society where I was shielded by a lot of potentially harmful things, it is only when I see big stories like Penn St. that I am reminded of what kind of people live in our community and often go undetected. I wonder how much of this stuff is really going on, and how many people are being hurt all around us.

These type of stories (Penn St. and Syracuse) always leave me wondering if the evil in the world outweighs the good; what people would do if they knew no one was watching; and what we as a good society can do to prevent it. Unfortunately, it is hard to regulate such actions and so I have come to the conclusion that while society will do its best to educate itself about right and wrong, some things are just going to happen and are beyond our control. A scary thought, but a realistic one.

Miss Representation

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a Q & A session with filmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom on the Mount Vernon Campus at GWU. Newsom is the writer, director, and producer of Miss Representation. The documentary exposes how the mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power and how the media often portrays women in limited and negative ways. According to the film, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media.

During the discussion, Newsom said that in order to change the representation of women in media we need to speak up and more women need to seek out high-level positions in media.

One of the great things about this film, which will be released to the public in December, is its campaign efforts. The website immediately asks users to take a pledge by entering their name and email address. The end of yesterday's discussion focused on how GW students can help spread this movie and its' initiative.

Check out the trailer:

-Jacqueline Corba

'90s Nostalgia

by Aliya Karim

I read something recently that my friend posted a link to (on Facebook, of course), 10 Things 90s Kids Will Have To Explain To Their Children. The post had me laughing all the way through, because I knew and understood everything the writer was talking about: "Boy Meets World," Tamagotchi, and even Lisa Frank.

It is the ideology that no notebook is complete until it literally hurts your eyes to look at from so much color saturation. It is the hope that no school supply, no matter how insignificant, will be left un-bedazzled.

Remember these? I'm pretty sure I owned the folder with the unicorns back in second grade.

It's pretty interesting when you think about how nostalgic our generation is. We're all just entering our 20s, and we already miss childhood and "the good old days."

My friends and I always exchange photos, videos, and links to subject matters pertaining to the 1990s. This summer, we all got extremely excited when we found out that TeenNick would begin re-airing our beloved '90s shows - no, '90s classics - like "All That," "Kenan & Kel," and "Doug."

But really, why are we so nostalgic? The 1990s ended almost 12 years ago - but that's nothing compared to the 1980s, 1970s, and times that our parents and grandparents would be nostalgic about. According to the New York Times,

One possible explanation, say authors who focus on generational identity, is the impact of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The political and economic climate of the late ’90s had been as soothing as a Backstreet Boys ballad: no wars, unemployment as low as 4 percent, a $120 billion federal surplus.

Interesting point. I guess you could say the 1990s were a simpler time. You could also pinpoint the nostalgia to the fact that our generation practically grew up with the Internet and all it has to offer - including remembrances and memories of childhood. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr - they're all filled with posts about this show or that game from the '90s.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be nostalgic - heck, I'm nostalgic for childhood all the time - but it's funny when you think about how quickly we've begun missing something that isn't even 15 or 20 years in the past.

And now, I leave you with this. Let's sing along, shall we?

Las Vegas: Top Five Things To Do

By Lauren Hoenemeyer

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas--the overused mantra of Sin City. Beside the bright lights and late nights, Las Vegas has a lot to offer. Here is a list of the top five must see and do in a city that never sleeps:

1. Ride roller coasters. The tallest building in Nevada, the Stratosphere hotel, houses four rides at frightening heights and scream-inducing speeds. For the ultimate thrill ride, daredevils can jump off the 108^th story of the hotel in the world’s highest controlled free fall. Or ride through a mini-Manhattan on the New York New York roller coaster that zips and zooms right through the hotel.

2. See a show. See a Cirque du Soleil show inspired by musical greats like The Beatles, Elvis, and now Michael Jackson. Or watch a free show like the famous Bellagio fountains show, the Mirage volcano show, or the Treasure Island pirate show complete with battle scenes aboard life-size boats.

3. Party at the pools. For some fun in the sun, head to the Hard Rock Hotel, home to a man-made beach, a water slide, and even poker tables floating around the pool. At Mandalay Bay hotel, float down the lazy river or hang ten in the enormous wave pool. After catching some waves, head to the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquarium to check out crocodiles, komodo dragons, and sting rays. If you want to get more up close and personal, dive into the 1.3 million gallon Shipwreck Exhibit with sharks, sawfish, and sea turtles.

4. Experience Fremont Street and Downtown Las Vegas. After exploring the Strip, take a stroll down Fremont Street, the site of the first Vegas Strip. You’ll see Old Vegas, complete with a blinding neon light show. You can even go zip lining across a neon light canopy for a 30-second thrill.

5. Hike Red Rock Canyon. Even though it’s only a fifteen minute drive from the Strip, Red Rock Canyon feels worlds away. Whether you are a hiking enthusiast or a casual stroller, Red Rock has a trail for everyone. Take in the gorgeous scenery but beware of rattlesnakes and burros.

If that all leaves you bored and looking for a different kind of thrill, go to the Little White Wedding Chapel and get married by Elvis.