CHARGED-UP RESULTS

Jessie Hymowitz Feb. 22 2024 Hello, and welcome back to Reading Odd Films, where I look at odd film adaptations of books. Today we’re looking at “Red Riding Hood” (1989), an adaptation of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, This movie musical was directed by Adam Brooks (who went on to write and direct Definitely, Maybe ) and starred Isabella Rosellini and Craig T. Nelson. “Red Riding Hood” was the last project in a series of films called Cannon Movie Tales by the straight-to-video company Cannon Films. This series of films adapted well-known fairy tales into cheap movie musicals. This beloved stranger-danger morality tale was an odd choice for a full-length feature film because of the original tale’s brevity. The filmmakers got around this by expanding the lore of the movie and developing the character of Little Red, now called Linet. This is the most interesting aspect of the film. The movie has only a vague connection to the original tale. The fairytale is more of a template for the film. Our heroine, Linet, is the daughter of Lady Jeanne and Lord Percival, played by Rosellini and Nelson. When Linet goes missing and is presumed dead, her father’s evil twin, Lord Godfrey, also played by Nelson, rules her land with an iron fist. Godfrey keeps trying to propose marriage to Jeanne, but she refuses.  Linet’s parental grandmother is a healer witch who helps the town. She gives the famous red hood significance by enchanting it to protect Linet. Which becomes the reason she survives being eaten. It’s implied that Linet’s grandmother and her sons (Linet’s father and uncle) have some form of magical powers and/or dabble in magic. But this is another part of the movie’s lore that is never elaborated upon.  The most interesting diversion from the original tale is the inclusion of “the big bad wolf” (who is never called that, but he fills the same role). In this movie, he’s a shapeshifter named Dagger who is implied to be a demon that has Lord Godfrey’s soul. The movie never uses that exact wording, but they do say that Godfrey gave up his “heart” (a.k.a. his ability to feel empathy) because he thought that his “heart” made him a weak ruler.   This fantastically strange lore isn’t explored or elaborated on as much as it could be. But it’s still a really interesting idea. The movie seems to want to give Dagger an arc about wanting to be good, but that’s torpedoed by the end of the film. Dagger is a pathetic little guy, no one in the town respects him, he’s constantly made fun of because his “wolf” form looks more like a cute German Shepherd than a scary wolf. He has a song about how he likes being evil right after having a homo-erotic discussion with Lord Godfrey, debating whether someone can love without a “heart.” In reality, I think he just wants to be liked and to have friends. This is suggested when he’s genuinely pleasantly shocked when Linet wants to have a friendly conversation without any ulterior motives. The end of the movie where he tries to eat Linet is nothing more than character assassination.  Linet’s father is not dead. He returns to Linet’s grandma after “the war”, and she updates him on what’s been going on since he left to fight. So he and some of the villagers make a plan to overthrow Lord Godfrey. For reasons that will not make sense, they hold off on telling Lady Jeanne and Linet until Lord Godfrey is defeated. But father and daughter are reunited when he cuts Linet out of Dagger’s stomach, essentially making him fulfill the role of the huntsman.  Lord Godfrey is defeated when Lord Percival goes up to his castle and tells him to knock it off. Lord Godfrey walked away with his tail between his legs after Percival killed the Dagger, he lost some of his powers, but it’s just another part of the magic system that’s only implied.  “Red Riding Hood” (1989) is a pretty charming fairy tale movie musical. Is it good on a technical level? No, but it’s really fun and has some interesting ideas, even if they were not always explored. Making Linet and “The Wolf” become acquainted before he eats her shifts the message from “stranger danger” to “don’t trust blindly”, which is more applicable to real life.

James Asher Feb. 8 2024 While evil as a sociological concept is abstract and hard to define, administrative evil is not. Administrative evil—as defined by Danny Balfour and Guy Adams in their book “Unmasking Administrative Evil”—is “masked in many different ways, but the common characteristic is that people can engage in acts of evil unaware that they are in fact doing anything at all wrong.” Understandably, this definition can lead some to confusion. How can evil, a poorly defined yet innately understood concept, be performed without an agent’s knowledge?  Picture this: You are a soldier operating in Iraq under Operation Desert Storm, and your commanding officer has ordered you to neutralize a high-profile target. Simple enough, however, the target is inside a building with an unknown floor plan. You and the commanding officer know that if troops were to be sent in, there would likely be casualties due to the lack of vital intel. Luckily for you and any potential ground troops, you have access to a drone, which can not only destroy the building but also take down any and all targets inside, including the high-profile individual. With a push of a button, the building is destroyed, and the target is confirmed as KIA. On the surface, this is an open-and-shut case of an enemy, perhaps even an evil one, being killed. However, your commanding officer did not tell you that the building was a primary school, and the high-profile target was there to drop off his son. In taking down the building, you not only killed your target but also killed dozens of children and faculty, none of whom committed any wrongdoing. That scenario, which American forces have experienced countless times, is a clear case of administrative evil. A large group of unarmed non-combatants were killed in order to take out a single individual. The soldier ordering the firing of the drone was not aware of the building’s purpose, who was inside, or any lasting fallout from his actions. However, in firing the drone, he engaged in an act of evil while remaining completely unaware of any wrongdoing. While that scenario is on the more extreme side of administrative evil, it is just one of the thousands of ways a state can instruct its people to commit violence. Now, with an understanding of administrative evil, an analysis of the most comprehensive act of administrative evil in history can be performed. The Holocaust was an event from 1941-1945 in which Nazi Germany and its allies carried out the systemic and mass killing of over six million Jews across Europe in addition to various other groups. The Holocaust was the single largest mass murder of innocent non-combatants and one of the most effective genocides in history. The significant death count raises the question, is the Holocaust an example of administrative evil? The answer: undoubtedly so. It is arguably the best possible fit for the definition of administrative evil. Nazi Germany was able to commit the Holocaust on such a mass scale through the principle of moral inversion. Moral inversion, as understood by Mark Hoffman in his paper “ The Ten Masks of Administrative Evil ”, is “a situation in which evil is convincingly redefined as good.” Nazi Germany created two categories in which its citizenry could identify: The pure Aryan and the impure Other (Jew). In doing so, the Nazis were no longer massacring innocents; they were protecting their people while ridding the world of the evil and corrupt enemy—an enemy who threatened their way of life and the very sanctity of worldly existence. Thus, in constructing and using the gas chambers, in deporting and separating families, in sending innocents to ghettos, the Nazis were not committing evil; they were committing good. The expert use of moral inversion by Nazi Germany was one of the most vital factors in their ability to carry out their genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Jews in Europe. Through an effective propaganda campaign, in addition to the generally poor attitude of post-war Germany, the Nazis and their collaborators were able to commit the most comprehensive example of administrative evil the world has ever seen.

Monica Dobson Feb. 8 2024 Somewhere between arriving home and going to bed, I stand with the refrigerator door open, unable to decide what to cook for dinner. Closing the door, I opt to place a delivery order, going against my set budget and general dislike of takeout. I have hit the wall mentally, and even the smallest of decisions of what to eat exceeds my mental capacity.    My day has not been unusually busy. It consisted of mothering, commuting, studying, and working. But it was one of those days where the mental fatigue I was experiencing led me to short-cut my solution, by ordering takeout. Mental overload can cause the brain to make short-cut solutions , and trigger procrastination. Have you ever felt depleted at the end of a day? Do you experience exhaustion after driving a long distance? How about when Friday rolls around, and it has been a long week of planning, reading, and studying, and you just want to nap?   If you answered yes  to any of these questions, then you too may have experienced decision fatigue.     What is Decision Fatigue?   Decision fatigue  occurs when we are asked to make so many decisions that we feel overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed. The decisions may be benign, like what to wear, what to eat, or even daily tasks that employ executive functions,  like brushing one’s teeth. All day we make choices, both on the conscious and subconscious levels, and those choices add up quickly.  On average, an adult in the US can make a staggering 35,000 decisions per day .   According to the American Medical Association , “A person with decision fatigue may feel tired, have brain fog, or experience other signs and symptoms of physical or mental fatigue." This happens when we keep piling on prolonged or difficult tasks, not realizing that we are overwhelming our brains.  There is a cumulative aspect to decision fatigue: the more decisions you make, the worse you feel as the day goes on.    Ironically, automation such as self-checkout and other kinds of technological advancements are directly linked to decision fatigue. Those aids allow us to accomplish more tasks in a 24-hour cycle, exponentially increasing the numerous decisions we are forced to make in a day. Online banking, shopping, and virtual workplaces make it possible for us to do so much without ever having to leave our homes, which makes our to-do lists even longer.     Consequences of Decision Fatigue You may simply have trouble making decisions when reading a menu, ordering a coffee drink, or picking something to watch on TV, but decision fatigue can also have more serious consequences.  Decision fatigue can affect willpower, self-regulation and lead to poor decision-making, and result in  burn out.   Decision fatigue is also associated with negative physiological and neurological function. Adverse levels of mental strain can disrupt neurotransmitters responsible for mood regulation, memory and sleep quality. For example, the feeling of being mentally and physically sapped due to decision fatigue comes from glutamate disruption. This is especially concerning because abnormal glutamate levels in the brain are associated with anxiety disorders, Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia and a host of other conditions.   In addition to harming ourselves, fatigued decision-making has devastating effects on the people around us. In a New York Times article ,  John Tierney reports that only 10% of inmates whose hearings are later in the day are awarded parole, versus 70% of inmates whose hearings are first thing in the morning. This data suggests parole board members become overloaded mentally throughout a day's hearings, resulting in an inability to perform their job.     Reducing Decision Fatigue   It can be difficult to identify whether decision fatigue is affecting us because it shares common symptoms with many psychological and psychiatric disorders. Avoidance, procrastination, indecision and impulsive behavior are hallmarks of these disorders, but they are also the chief signs of decision fatigue.   In any case, we can take steps to minimize our exposure to excess decision-making.   Heidi Zak , a contributing writer for Inc. ,   suggests that we zero in on the timing and priority of decisions we must make. Planning ahead, making lists, identifying and scaling down less important activities are all examples of streamlining our actions, leaving us less drained. We can also shoot for that steady bedtime, or if we are students, mothers, or travelers, a power nap. The number-one remedy for decision fatigue is regulated sleep, which helps preserve energy and clear thinking.   Even streamlining the smallest decisions can help. Mark Zuckerberg is known for his famously pared-down wardrobe—a Brunello Cuccinelli gray T-shirt and jeans—which, according to Zuckerberg, helps him streamline his daily decisions and preserve stamina for larger and more complex problems. For the rest of us non-billionaires, a capsule wardrobe might be a pragmatic choice, but we can still take conscious steps to reduce the onslaught of decisions we must make.   The self-check-out at the grocery store may seem like a timesaver—however, it is a decision-fatigue trap. I have learned to steer clear of these "conveniences" whenever possible. It could just be what puts me over the edge after a long day.

Jessie Hymowitz Feb.8 2024 Hello, and welcome to the first column of Reading Odd Films, where I look at odd film adaptations of books. Today we’re looking at Golden Film’s animated “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Victor Hugo’s controversial novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame ” is admittedly a bizarre source material for a children’s animated film, but Disney did it, so it must be fine.  I’d be remiss not to mention, Golden Film’s and many other “The Hunchback of Notre Dame ” adaptations’ (animated or live-action) inappropriate use of the G-slur and lack of involvement or casting of any Roma people. The use of the G-slur is controversial within the Roma community, but, since I am not Roma, I will not write it here. The film, however, puts that word in almost every sentence, despite white-washing one of the central characters, Esmerelda (who is renamed Melody). Anti-Roma racism is a sticky subject in the original novel and adaptations, and should be addressed and subverted.   The second biggest issue with adaptation is its use of what I like to call “key-dangling characters.” These are characters that do nothing but fill time and make loud, annoying noises. Key-dangling characters come in the form of talking bats and musical instruments. It’s never really explained how or why they can talk; however, it’s implied that “Melody” has magic, but that’s never confirmed, and I guess bats just talk in this universe. However, this lack of elaboration is unjustified, since these interchangeable characters contributed nothing to the ill-convinced plot.  The biggest issue with this adaptation is the title character himself, the hunchback Quasimodo. What is this issue, you might ask? Well, he’s not even a “hunchback” in this version. Oh, the other characters call him a “hunchback” all right. But this is “fixed” by him just standing up straight at the movie's end. Quasimodo is also conventionally attractive, with boy band hair and a strong, round face. This is because he and Melody actually get together by the end of the movie. After one conversation and Quasimodo giving her a necklace, they get married.  The infamous villain Frollo, instead of a man who uses his power and influence to abuse an ethnic minority, is now just Gaston with a mustache. In this version, instead of being Quasimodo’s adoptive father, they’re brothers, and their father was the one who put Quasimodo in a tower. The drama of this is much less interesting than it should be. Additionally, Frollo’s predatory pursuit comes off as more cartoonishly comedic than realistically terrifying. The only upside to his character is that he reminds us that “doing anything against the law is illegal” (a real quote from the movie).  The conversation around systemic racism and corruption is lackluster, even for a mediocre ‘90s bargain-bin rip-off. The only nod to these themes is a quick conversation between white-washed Melody and her mother about how it’s a bummer to be actively persecuted. Talking musical instruments cut this conversation short. Of course, as with all tellings of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Melody (a.k.a. White-washed Esmeralda) is falsely accused of witchcraft and is sentenced to death. How is she saved? By Quasimodo deciding not to ring the church bells. Why does Frollo need Quasimodo to ring the bells in order to execute Melody? Beats me. He just does.  After Melody is saved, Quasimodo decides to stand up straight, push back his hair and therefore be declared handsome by Melody. He then tells his brother to stop being evil and that works. No accountability for the father that put his son in a church tower because he was “too ugly.” Now racism is no more, and the two bland leads can get married after knowing each other for about two hours.   The “kidification” of stories such as “The Hunchback of Notre Dame ” is a fascinating phenomenon to watch. Golden Film’s “Hunchback” is the animated equivalent of dangling keys in front of a baby’s face, but the material to make the keys were melted down knives. This movie changes and neuters the original source material to the point where there’s no point in using it other than to cash-in on the Disney one. Relevant and timeless themes and four-dimensional characters are tossed away for the sake of a G-rating.

Macey Moriarty Feb. 8 2024 I come from a naturist place. I live in a small town where locals cannot tell if fall or summer is more beautiful. There isn’t much to do in my town, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to see. I could talk about the confidential driveway that, if you sneak down at the perfect moment, you see the most extraordinary view of the sun beaming close to Earth or the place down a dirt track that leads to glass-like water in the center of the woods that mirrors the mountains above.One of the prettiest places to see is the star of the town.  In the Village Common Square is a tree placed perfectly on top of a hill. The tree’s colors alter when fall rolls around and the beautiful flowers bloom off of the limbs in the summer. Every local walks around town, gazing in awe at that tree, the way it stands in solidarity on the hill, and it holds such elegance.  People come from all around just to witness the beautiful tree blossom. Scenery such as that cannot be held within the four walls of a screen. It would not come close to capturing its full beauty. The piece that makes it so remarkable is the environment with which it encircles itself.  The sun makes these landmarks possible. The sun hits my skin and gives me an immediate boost of serotonin to make my pale face stand out. The sun can take any object, and bring out its colors that were invisible at first glance.  In numerous ways, I want to be like the tree, how it gets to stand there all day at the top of the hill and take in the sun's powers. It is so content with being isolated and not afraid to show its true colors. The way it stands so tall no matter what wind comes around. When the weather gets cold and it starts to shed its color, it still stands there content with itself because it knows that it is just time to sleep before summer.  I want the confidence that tree holds, and I want to look at life with its optimistic energy. I feel like a tree's life is effortless. They don’t have to make any decisions. Everything is selected for them, no stress, no worries. Money isn’t prioritized, and anger isn’t a thing. Trees don’t fight over who has more friends or who has nicer clothes..  I was told growing up to never judge a book by its cover. Today, that's all people do, especially in college. The reason why sight is so important is because it is the only thing people my age care about. How you dress, when you go to class, how much skin you show at a party, the color of your teeth, the way your hair is styled, and the decision you made that day on what shoes to wear. I wish sight wasn’t what made the world spin around. I wish that you could be beautiful without all the name-calling. I wish to be as comfortable in my skin as the tree on top of the hill in the Village Common Square.

Zaria Dickerson-Parker Feb. 8 2024 The treatment Barbie received after Ken made changes to Barbie Land mimics the treatment that Robbie and so many other actresses face with the Academy. The 2024   Oscar nominations  were announced recently, and Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig were not on the list of nominees. This was shocking because “Barbie,” directed by Gerwig and starring Robbie, amassed eight nominations. Gerwig and Robbie having been snubbed  by the Oscars is confusing because the two gained nominations in other awards shows. They received Golden Globe nominations for their respective categories and, usually, the list of nominees remains the same.   “Barbie”—released last July— follows the journey of Barbie, played by Robbie, as she navigates the real world and learns the hard truth about women and power. Along the way, Barbie is introduced to the range of emotions people experience regularly, which contrasts with the happy disposition of Barbie Land. The complicated real world makes its way into Barbie Land, leaving Barbie feeling worthless. This is a direct result of Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, also learning how the real world is run predominantly by men. In Barbie Land, Ken’s job was to let Barbie shine. He had become increasingly dissatisfied with that role. According to Oscar's website, the   Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences  is a global organization with members representing their respective disciplines.  The organization is responsible for deciding who receives Oscar nominations and who ultimately wins through a member vote. Gosling expressed his thoughts on the nominations in a   statement  released on his Instagram. He began by expressing his gratitude for the nomination but clarified that he did not condone Robbie and Gerwig having been left out of their respective categories. “No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit, and genius,” Gosling said.  America Ferrera, who received a nomination for her role in the film as a supporting actress, told Variety: “Perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did.” The idea that an actress’s performance is only award-worthy if it is emotionally extravagant causes actresses with subtle performances to get snubbed. Robbie’s ability to showcase someone feeling a wide range of emotions for the first time proved her caliber as an actress. Her ability to display Barbie’s inner conflict was particularly remarkable because it was so real. Her performance was focused more on relating to the audience members than performing. Robbie responded to   Deadline  about the situation, sharing that she is grateful rather than sad not to have been nominated. “We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact. And it’s already done that, and some , way more than we ever dreamed it would. And that is truly the biggest reward that could come out of all of this.” Robbie said. Robbie’s response speaks to her character but also speaks to the expectation that women aren’t meant to complain when things happen to them. This is a concept seen across the entertainment industry. The industry has shunned Monique, a comedian, and actress after   commenting  on the unfair treatment she received from Oprah, Tyler Perry, and Lee Daniels throughout the making of the 2009 film “Precious”. Oscar nominations have historically been complicated. In   2016,  some actors boycotted the show because of the lack of diversity among nominees. This was the first time the Academy was openly criticized on such a large scale. Over the last decade, the Academy has expanded its eligibility requirements so that more of its members can participate in the voting process. This has helped some, but there is still more to be done. This is not an isolated issue. It is an issue that spans across the entertainment industry. A sentiment was shared by Jay-Z at the Grammys during his  speech  accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. “Even by your own metrics it doesn’t work,” he said. If award shows keep missing the mark, there will be a continued outcry. The Oscars have seen a decrease in viewership in the last few years for a multitude of reasons. Oscar viewership has dropped from 29.6 million viewers pre-pandemic to 18.7 million viewers as of 2023, according to   Statista . Viewership has decreased by 27.63 million people over the last 23 years and is continuing to trend downward. A potential reason for the decrease is the Oscar’s lack of diversity in who is recognized. When people don’t see themselves reflected on the screen, they walk away. An expansion in representation will only help the Oscars and the entertainment industry. The Oscars need to catch up before the world leaves it behind.

Connor Trabal Feb. 8 2024 (Old walkway between buildings at the abandoned Winchester factory in New haven. Photo courtesy of @ct.forgotten on Instagram ) I've lived in New Haven for the majority of my life, and I have tried to explore all I can. I've seen all sorts of restaurants, movie theaters–even other college campuses–though nothing in New Haven has been quite as overwhelming as this industrial giant that is slowly decaying before our eyes. The Winchester factory in New Haven was a manufacturer of ammunition and firearms that opened in 1920. When the company struggled to make the factory profitable, they shut down their Connecticut factory for good in 2006. Building stationed in the center of the property where almost everything except the walls had fallen to the ground. photo courtesy of @ct.forgotten on Instagram In 2014, a small area of one of the buildings was renovated for an apartment complex. The abandoned section of the factory is tucked behind the newly renovated portion of the property and a few other buildings, making the complex seem a lot smaller than it actually is. Walking through this massive factory, you get a feeling that you entered a different world. You get into the 750,000-square-foot property by crawling through broken fences and rubble. After making it through those obstacles, you start to get an idea of how large the complex truly is. A tree growing through the asphalt making a beautiful contrast between nature and the buildings. photo courtesy of @ct.forgotten on Instagram The feeling I had while walking through here was peaceful, almost like a hike. It felt like an escape from the normal, fast-paced concrete environment of New Haven. The way that nature has slowly started to reclaim its land reminded me that the buildings never really belonged there in the first place. It was always nature’s land, we were just allowed to use it for a while. Room with a chair, desk, and fan along with a broken window facing the other side of the complex. photo courtesy of @ct.forgotten on Instagram Room used for manufacturing firearms on the top floor with a small pool of water collecting on the floor. Photo courtesy of @ct.forgotten on Instagram As I found my way around the complex, I discovered all sorts of rooms that took my breath away (just like the room pictured above). I felt so lucky to be able to freely explore this historical landmark. At the same time, I had this overarching feeling of loss. It felt like no matter how cool it was for me in the moment, it was so sad to see a beautiful building with so much history left to wither away. Room where both the floor and the roof have fallen in with only a few remaining features. photo courtesy of @ct.forgotten on Instagram A good portion of the factory is completely irreparable. Most, if not all, of the areas constructed from  wood  have deteriorated and collapsed. This experience made me start to wonder what could be done to stop these buildings from falling into disrepair. Could we stop these buildings from being abandoned in the first place? The repurposing of this building gives me hope for other places just like it, as it shows that it's possible to reuse these locations. Maybe it means companies will want to buy these buildings before they are destroyed. The development of land like this is so important. Not only do these places hold historical value, the architecture is still relevant today and can be used to build our communities instead of tearing them down.

Michaela Savastra Nov.28 2024 Mom,   all she can see   is her little girl   still dressed in her   Cinderella dress up   costume.     This costume that she   would never take off  as it brought her   happiness.     The little girl   who has her favorite   blue eyes.     The little girl   who decided to   hide her wedding   ring in her Elmo couch.    Dad,   all he can see   is his little girl   in her soccer uniform  running up and down   the field making sure he  is watching her.     The little girl   who looks exactly like   him.     The little girl   who also has the   same attitude and fire  as him.     Matt,   all he can see   is his little annoying sister   begging him to play   picnic with her.     Everyone always seeing me  as a forever little girl,   no matter how old   I get.     The most critical   person toward this   little girl,   is the little girl   herself.     She no longer sees   herself dressed in   princess outfits, running   up and down the soccer field,   or begging her brother   to play with her.     She is now a 20 year old adult.   only living through her schoolwork.   The only thing that keeps her  happy is school.     Her family likes to remember   and see her as a bright little   girl full of laughter.     When she looks in the mirror,   she doesn’t even recognize herself.   What happened to the happy little  girl?   Too much. Too much for her   to handle in which she   lost the most important   thing to her.     Her Cinderella dress.

Valentina Ortiz Elian Apr. 25 2024 Freedom of speech has taken center stage on many college campuses, including the University of New Haven. The university has faced the challenge of balancing the preservation of free expression with the maintenance of campus order and safety. Issues from facilities and Sodexo workers demanding union benefits, to political and social conflicts occurring domestically and abroad, have granted young student leaders and community members the opportunity to speak out.  At the heart of academic discourse in private universities, the principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech support the pursuit of knowledge and societal progress.  At the university, the classroom is the first location that trains us to yearn for knowledge and gives us a taste for debate about traditional principles and cherished convictions.  The classroom should not be a place of comfort. Students should regularly engage in critical discourse and dissenting opinions so professors can help prepare students for life outside the confines of this private institution. Central to the university’s need for balance is the recognition that academic freedom also extends beyond the classroom walls.The significance of safeguarding this constitutional right is paramount as the campus community seeks to exercise its voice and advocate for change.  Mason Smith, a political science student and president of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, (YDSA) and former Sergeant at Arms of the Undergraduate Student Government Association, (USGA)  has participated in campus-wide initiatives to protect the rights of Sodexo and facilities workers , and has drafted letters to United States Congress members and university administrators to advocate for a cease fire resolution in the Israel-Palestine conflict. “If you have an issue that you are really passionate about – just follow that with your entire heart and try to find some people that can get behind you with that,” Smith said. “It can be a little daunting doing things by yourself. So just to know that there will be people in your corner that will be supporting you throughout all of it – is sometimes enough inspiration.” But navigating the intersection of peaceful protest, academic freedom, and student handbooks require a nuanced approach that prioritizes dialogue, collaboration, and mutual understanding.  This approach can feel out of reach without leadership and coordination.  “I feel, ironically, that joining the [USGA] e-board has actually stifled my voice,” Smith said. “Granted, I do get to sit in conversations with people in the higher administration more than I normally would, but you still have that avenue if you are a student leader, and you are not on the USGA e-board to begin with.” His sentiment extends from having to remain a neutral party for the populations of recognized student organizations and undergraduate students.  “For instance, I tried bringing [a petition] to the USGA e-board when we were writing our mental health petition to get mental health days on campus,” Smith said. "We had written that as a YDSA e-board, and I brought it to them by saying this is a petition that was brought to us. I was told this was inappropriate – that I was the one presenting it because I helped write it. That’s pretty much the attitude of anything that I bring. Like if I have an opinion, it is automatically assumed that it is my YDSA opinion, but at the end of the day, I am a student that also has opinions. And this does not necessarily need to be tied to by YDSA role, it is just Mason Smith – as a student.”  Campus speech rules exist to make sure all students feel safe.  However, the freedom for students to grow into distinct thinking individuals should be encouraged as well.  “I also said that we should release a statement about Palestine and staying in solidarity and I was told that we couldn’t do that,” Smith said. “That’s why I decided to go the route of doing it through USGA.”  When he was not allowed to release a statement, Smith took matters into his own hands. Peacefully opposing the verbal “no” he was given about standing in solidarity with Palestine, Smith,alongside YDSA was able to write and pass a bill through USGA to proclaim a cease-fire resolution to be sent to the campus community. “We were originally going to do a petition to issue support or solidarity with Palestinians, but then ultimately, I changed it from petition to bill,” he said. “One thing that we can do is write a bill that expresses the feeling of the assembly.” “So that’s what we did with the Palestinian bill,” Smith said. “We felt that the university isn’t providing enough support to Palestinians or not even acknowledging the conflict whatsoever. This University has a voice. And they pick and choose when they want to raise their voice about certain conflicts or certain humanitarian issues”  Students play a pivotal role in shaping the discourse on social and political issues. As incubators of critical thinking and societal engagement, this university relies on diverse perspectives to foster intellectual growth. By understanding the parameters in the student handbook policies, students can articulate their viewpoints effectively while maintaining a respectful environment for all community members.  “Everyone on the [YDSA] e-board but me wrote the bill,” Smith said. “Everything that you see in the bill was written by either a YDSA e-board member or a general member. We’ve also been talking with MSA [Muslim Student Association] a lot, because realistically their members are the members most impacted by this crisis in Gaza. So, we’ve been making sure that they are completely involved and making sure that we are taking steps to include them in all of this.”  Students can leverage existing platforms and channels of expression and utilize student organizations, campus forums, and peaceful demonstrations to voice their opinions constructively. Engaging in open dialogue with faculty, administrators and peers can facilitate discussions on policy changes that promote inclusivity and free expression.  “This university has a lot of red tape when it comes to doing things on campus specifically for demonstrations; you need to make sure that you are not disrupting class flow, them conducting business or a class trying to teach,” Smith said. “Which I understand but if you can do a protest usually for just an hour max on just one weekday – I feel like that in the grand scheme of things – is not enough evidence to shut down entirely.” The commitment to freedom of speech in private universities reaffirms the understanding of academic freedom and freedom of expression that equips college students with the tools necessary to navigate complex societal issues and pushes students to contribute meaningfully to public dialogue.  Embracing the responsibility that comes with the right to free speech fosters a culture of critical thinking and respectful engagement, essential for addressing the multi-faceted challenges of the modern world.

Anne Lee Nov.28 2024 Categorizing colleges makes it easier to judge them. People care about their safety, and college size influences on crime rates. While overall crime rates at educational institutions   are decreasing,  larger schools, which contain over 1,000 students report   higher incidence rates . Grade point average (GPA), success of matriculants, and community impact are other categories used to analyze and compare schools.  Colleges may find it enticing to split their colleges into separable parts for better understanding of each solitary unit, because higher metrics in certain categories link to better ranking and reputation. Is judging a school by its separate parts, such as enrollment size, effective? How about us? How separable is the University of New Haven (UNH)? College rankings use limited data   Life is not fair. Neither are college ranking systems.   Dropout rates, incomes, achievement, and debt are   some of the indicators  used to assess colleges. Due to inequalities within the United States,   socioeconomic class , race, and   gender  play a role in these indicators. College rankings assess several factors of a school acquired from surveys, media and other data. Rankings treat an institution of higher education like a standardized product. Ranking websites even   sell their data back  to colleges to tell institutions what to improve on.  One ranking does not define an individual’s college experience. While it is impressive that the university has the   best forensic science program , this standard works with other aspects of the school to create our student experience. College ranking systems use discrete pieces of data, leaving much to be desired.  UNH and interdisciplinary studies   The University of New Haven does have categories that separate people of different areas of studies and interests. The university has five distinct colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, the Pompea College of Business, the Tagliatela College of Engineering and the School of Health Sciences. There are  over 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, and most degrees fit nicely into one of the five colleges.  Three degrees at the University of New Haven are   interdisciplinary : Bachelors of Science (B.S.) in  Biochemistry, Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) in Game Design and Interactive Media and Masters of Science (M.S.) in Information Science. The M.S. Information Science program, for example, involves coursework in the CAS, the Pompea College of Business and the Tagliatela College of Engineering. Interdisciplinary minors include the Race and Ethnic Studies, Ukraine, Russia, and Eurasia Studies and Gender and Sexuality.  Dr. Margaret F. Savilonis, PhD, is the coordinator of the   B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies  at the University of New Haven. In this program, students choose any two minors for their core coursework, alongside interdisciplinary courses. The program has 42 elective credits, leaving students space to explore and fulfill prerequisites for their minors of choice. Moreover, the elective space gives students the option to switch between minors during their educational journey. By tailoring their own degree, Dr. Savilonis said students could become more adaptable to change and predict future problems. “It’s a good way for students to be flexible thinkers. The more they learn about different disciplines and concepts and theories and are able to bring those things together, hopefully they'll be able to anticipate some of the problems that we can't even imagine yet,” said Dr. Savilonis. Interdisciplinary studies combine two or more aspects of academia. As a theater historian herself, Dr. Savilonis has great faith in the success of the program. One of her responsibilities as coordinator of the program is communicating between departments and making sure that interdisciplinary courses are on the roster each semester.  “As a coordinator, one of the biggest challenges I have with the interdisciplinary program, particularly with those minors, is to make sure that the courses are being offered,” said Dr. Savilonis. “We're still trying to work out those systems to have good communication and also advertising and marketing, because students don't necessarily know the courses exist, or that the programs even exist.”  Although the classes and bachelor's program in Interdisciplinary Studies are just getting started, Dr. Savilonis is hopeful that it would allow students to gain a broader perspective.   “My dream [...] would be to have instructors from two disciplines coming together to teach the course. So, students are always seeing a particular issue or topic explored through both of those disciplines, you know?” said Savilonis.  Currently, the B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies is a program that has existed at UNH for three years. Thirty seven students currently are majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies, combining minors such as public healthcare, marketing, creative writing, and math. The Interdisciplinary Studies program also works with the Yale Prison Education Initiative to provide the incarcerated with a meaningful education despite constraints.  Recognizing our institutional voice   An especially idealistic mindset is expressed in   UNH’s statement of institutional voice:  “the University of New Haven is committed to a core notion of the human good. [...] This commitment is neither partisan nor restrictive of academic freedom. Instead, it marks an acknowledgement of an essential set of values – such as respect for others and a spirit of openness and embedded generosity that welcomes and encourages different opinions, perspectives, and criticisms. These values condition the University’s mission of preparing students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a global society.”  Rankings give a college a good look. Using separate parts of student life and academic outcomes to quantify how “good” a school is misses a key point of college: to advocate for the betterment of society. There is no scholarship or certificate involved with going out of your way to drive a group of freshmen to a party and making sure they stay safe. What we do in kindness for others does not always have a tangible reward, which also means it often goes unnoticed by the “almighty” college ranking systems. A student’s life, therefore, cannot be simply defined by numbers, categories or rankings—there is something more at play.