Boys and girls. Long ago, the two used to lounge in Northside in harmony. Then, everything changed when the administrators attacked (not literally). The Northside dorms, which are exclusively lived in by female scholars, used to be a hotspot for gatherings. Boys and girls alike could be found in the lobbies of every floor of Northside. The Northside dorm was so popular for hangouts, despite being relatively far away from other dorms and only lived in by women, because of its enormous size and new interior. However, boys are no longer allowed in the Northside dorm except for in the first floor lobby. This means boys are now excluded from the basement, second floor, and third floor entirely. Why has this rule been enacted? RAs have come out to say that it is because there aren’t enough RAs to constantly monitor all floors of the building. This is certainly true. The bigger question is what do these RAs need to be monitoring? There have been multiple cases of boys entering the Northside basement to do laundry, which is supposed to only be used by residents of Northside. The GSP administration is undeniably justified in their decision to restrict access to the Northside dorm, if not due to the actions of some scholars, then because of the fact that it is not a right to enter Northside. Still, other scholars think boys should be allowed back into all floors of the building. One female scholar, who wishes to remain anonymous, weighed in on the topic. She explained, “I think it’s unfair… it limits places we can hangout. They [RAs] should provide more supervision but allow boys back in.” This sentiment was shared by another scholar, Mary Katherine, who added, “I get why they took away the basement but they should let them [boys] back on the second and third floor.” However, this is not a fight that many scholars feel the need to pursue. Sam Cotthoff, a male scholar, bluntly stated, “I mean, it's a female dorm…” Most scholars understand the reasoning behind the restriction. The days of big gatherings of boys and girls on the second floor of Northside will be missed. Regardless, there are plenty of great meeting spots on the beautiful Centre College campus, so the new rule hasn’t caused much of a stir. Written by Marcus Shelton
Photographs by Savannah Dowell
1 Comment
Apple Watches have been controversial during the span of the Governor’s Scholars Program. Some students are advocating for Apple Watches to be unbanned, while others are indifferent about the decision.
During the first few days of GSP, many scholars were outraged to learn that Apple Watches (and all smart watches) were completely prohibited from use outside of dorm rooms. A common sentiment among scholars was confusion about the reason behind the ban. One scholar, Jacob Nilby, expressed, “I don’t see the problem with them… I just want to check the time.” Another argument expressed by scholars was that Apple Watches are essentially standard watches when not connected to a phone, which is impossible if the phone is inside of a dorm room and the scholar is not. When interviewed, Luke Morrison, a scholar at GSP, stated that, “I think that they’re being a little bit too harsh with it [the ban] because they [Apple Watches] don’t have as many capabilities as a phone, but I do understand it.” The last argument that scholars have made to support the use of Apple Watches is that there is no explicit ban on smart watches on the Governor’s Scholars web page. Although the web page does explain to bring a watch to GSP, it does not explicitly say that Apple Watches or smart watches are prohibited. However, not all scholars are against the ban on Apple Watches. One scholar, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained that, “Any watch that connects to your phone takes away from the spirit of GSP.” Another scholar, Jacob Moossy, asked, “Why do they need [an Apple Watch] if they could have a normal watch?” Many students have taken this idea to heart as they’ve replaced their banned Apple Watches with newly ordered standard watches. At the end of the first week of GSP, the ban on Apple Watches and smart watches was formalized. Now, RAs are required to confiscate Apple Watches if they are seen at all, just like a phone. The reasoning for the ban was best summarized by the creative writing teacher, Jay Crocker. He explained that, “I think it makes sense… They [scholars] can have a data plan for the watch, so they could be texting someone without being connected to a phone… and I think that goes against the spirit of GSP.” Written by Marcus Shelton and Savannah Dowell Scholars from Ian's General Studies class will view a series of international films over the next five weeks, in their class dubbed Global Cinema. When revealing his general studies topic, Ian explained that he did not wan the class to be called foreign films because "What is foreign?". According to Ian, foreign is a subjective term. An American made movie isn't foreign to Americans but is to New Zealanders. So far, the class has watched three movies, Waking Ned Devine, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and 3 Idiots.
Starting things off slowly, the first film scholars watched was an Irish film called Waking Ned Devine. In a quaint seaside Irish village, lifelong friends Michael and Jackie search for owner of the winning lottery ticket in hopes of reaping the benefits. In a village of only 52, they soon discover that the winner is dead and attempt to swindle the Irish lottery office to claim the winnings themselves. The Comedy was an immediate hit with the scholars who after viewing where asked to reflect how the ideas of country vs city that were viewed in the movie could be reflected in Kentucky. After a successful Irish film, Ian challenged the scholars a little more with a New Zealand movie titled: Hunt for the Wilderpeople. The movie follows foster kid Ricky Baker as he is placed at his last chance home before he is sent to a juvenile detention center. When initially placed on the farm so far removed from his typical skux, a New Zealand term for gangster, life Ricky attempts to run away. Eventually Ricky bonds with his foster mother Bella, but after her unexpected death he runs away and into the New Zealand Bush. The film follows Ricky Baker and his foster father as the run from the law and learn to be wilder people. An instant hit with the class, Hunt for the Wilderpeople inspired the group's GSP Olympics attire. Once scholars viewed two movies in English Ian introduced them to an Indian film called, 3 Idiots. The film uses Hindi and English interchangeably and follows three engineering students during their adventures in college. Unlike American films, the movie is not defined by a single genre. Instead, 3 Idiots encompasses multiple genres from comedy to Bollywood styles. With surprise musical numbers, shocking twists, and a different language, the film challenged scholar's views of movie composition. Three movies down and many to follow, the students in Ian's Global Cinema class are eager to watch, analyze, and discuss movies from around the world. by Morgan David |
AuthorBrought to you by the GSP 2021 journalism focus area. |