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By: Jackilyn Fuller
For Colored Girls
By: Jackilyn Fuller
With themes comprised of Dancing, jumping, shouting, and crying, For Colored Girls is a masterpiece exploring minority women experiences in America while promoting women empowerment.
Coming together
Cast members first began putting the play together late August up until November.
It took a month for cast members and the director to bring together the script. “We started by going through the entire script and analyzing it. And took just like a month to do that part,” said Ginay Lopez, who played the Lady in Brown.
Each cast member will represent a color from the rainbow and each color is symbolic to an emotion. The colors are:
Lady in Red – Passion and anger
Lady in Orange – Love
Lady in Yellow – Youth and innocence
Lady in Green- Bold and persistent
Lady in Blue- Depressed being
Lady in Purple- Positive
Lady in Brown – Intellect and love
“A lot of the monologues are of different women who don’t know each other. It’s just a poem that focuses on African American women and the struggles they face day to day in America,” Lopez said.
For Colored Girls in an intertwining choreopoem telling the story of seven women from various backgrounds who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society. This award winning and inspiring play will be performed by a group of minority theatre performance majors.
“As African American women, we’re considered to be the lowest form of being on earth…so we look for the highest being, God. At the very end they say ‘I found God in myself, and I loved her fiercely’,” Lopez said.
What’s It about?
Just like the original playwright, these Winthrop University students focus their production on abortion, rape, domestic violence and gender inequality. “This is the first minority production that I have ever seen WU produced,” said Stacey Packer, the stage manager.
The senior hopes that more minority driven productions will be in the making after the theatre department sees the students’ support for, For Colored Girls.
For Colored Girls is a legendary and meaningful play that will keep the audience at the edge of their seats with its true-to life narrative scenes that create a vivid and emotional response to all in attendance.
The original poem was written by Ntozake Shange that tells the story of what it’s like to be a woman of color in the 20th century. An educator, a performer/director, and a writer, Shange’s work draws heavily on her experiences of being a black female in America.
From Nov. 5 to 7 Winthrop students will be performing in Plowden Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets will be on sale for $5.
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Democratic Forum held at Winthrop University
Democratic Forum held at Winthrop University
By: Shakevia DeWalt
Winthrop students, faculty and staff members prepare for the big day, the first in the south forum. This forum is history in the making for the University. The forum will be co-sponsored by the Democratic Parties of 13 southern states.
Who’s attending?
The democratic forum will consist of the three democratic candidates. Those candidates are:
The forum will be hosted by MSNBC’s Rachael Maddow. Before the big event, students and supporters of the different candidates are able to campaign and rally on the lawn of Byrnes auditorium while watching Chris Matthews’s special edition of Hard Ball. Some civil right activists such as Rev. Jesse Jackson have stated that he will be in attendant. Winthrop students, staff and faculty members are all welcome to attend the event as well as people from the surrounding areas in the Rock Hill community.
Making history
Winthrop University has hosted many political events. Some of those events were conducted of President Barack Obama when he was running for president in 2008, Mitt Romney when he was running for president in 2012 and also when Bernie Sanders came to give a speech a few months ago. The democratic forum will be the biggest and most exciting event for Winthrop University.
Behind the scenes
With big screen TVs, heavy equipment, lights, curtains and posters, the production crew for MSNBC are setting up stages inside of Byrnes Auditorium as well as outside in front of Winthrop main entrance. A stage is set up for Chris Matthew’s Hard Ball show as well as a stage is being set up inside of Byrnes for the main show. This forum will not be in debate format; instead, each candidate will be interviewed individually and sequentially. Students and staff members are all becoming a part of this presidential experience.
“It’s a lot of stuff I didn’t know Winthrop could get, I feel like it’s a concert about to happen instead of a presidential campaign,” said LeeQuan Lee, a business administration major who seemed very excited about the upcoming event.
Being a part of history
Computer science major, Quanzay Hemphill, who loves to network says “I’m really excited about the event and it brought a lot attention to the school, you see a lot of new faces every day and a lot of big potential to meet a lot of people for networking.” Winthrop students will have the chance to participate in helping with the event.
Students have the opportunity to become runners and volunteers. Jocelyn Leaf, an exercise science major, will be helping with the event as a volunteer. The role as a volunteer will be to direct people to their seats, hold seats for important people and to welcome people to Winthrop University. “I’m really glad I get the opportunity to volunteer, I’m excited to meet a lot of great people such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. John King, and Hillary Clinton. It will be a great expereience,” Leaf said.
What’s next?
The next Democratic debate will be in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, Nov. 14. It will be hosted by CBS News, KCCI-TV and the Des Moines Register at Drake University. The democratic presidential candidates will be Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, again. This will be the first debate to be broadcast over nationwide network television.
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Late Night Breakfast
With final exams week finally here, that means its crunch time for all students on campus. For some it’s the last week to determine if they will graduate. For others, it’s a week to determine if they will be retaking a class. Stress is at its highest peak for college students, so where can they find a moment to temporarily relieve the stress?
On Tuesday, Winthrop Dinning Services held a Late Night Breakfast for students where they had lots of free food and prizes. The event was held at the DiGiorgio Center in Richardson ballroom with 100 to 150 students that attended. For their food, they had scrambled eggs, sausages, biscuits and gravy, fruits, and French toast bread pudding. Students were given raffle tickets when they walked into the door so they had the chance to win free prizes. Students could also participate in the live tweeting trivia to possibly win prizes.
“This was a good study break. It energized me and everything because I was definitely getting sleepy and it was good way to pump me up,” said Corina Samuel, a sophomore Psychology major. The majority of the students who attended the Late Night Breakfast found it also energizing before “preparing for an all-nighter.”
Samuel said her favorite part of the event was the cereal eating contest. “I thought it was hilarious watching people shove cereal in their face.” Samuel felt a little laughter is what she needed for to release some of her stress.
Robert O’Hara, the host of the Late Night Event, said “our goal for tonight is to put students in a good mood for their exams. We know a lot of them are stressed so why not give free food and free prizes to make them feel better.” When it comes to college anything free is certain to be a good time O’Hara said.
Mackenzie Williams, a sophomore education major, said the free food is the reason she first came but the chance to win prizes is what really got her excited. “I didn’t win any prizes but I’m broke and I got free food so that’s a win,” Williams said.
Though this event seemed to be about the free food and the prizes it really helped those who didn’t have time to get any food during the day. “It’s finals week so it’s really hard for me to find and get food at times like now while I’m studying and since it was already in the building I’m studying in it was really convenient,” Williams said.
“They should have this every week during the semester but I might be asking for too much; free food every week. But I’ll take it for just finals week,” said Samuel.
The Netflix of Gaming
A new company is in the mist that’s got all the gamers excited. Utomik will soon be the new way to rent a game at a low price. Personally, I think this is great because it fits into the type of gamer I am. A majority of gamers (including me) want to be able to try out a game, beat it, and be done with it without paying $60 plus. Utomik brings this to it’s costumers, where costumers only need to pay a monthly fee and have access to all games their system has to offer. Just like Netflix, the bigger Utomik gets the bigger gaming titles they will have available for their costumers.
At the moment Utomik is targeting to charge $10 a month for any available game they have for PC. Why PC?? Utomik founder Chris Linden says the demographic their aiming for are regularly playing to serious gamers and these players they believe will own at least a PC that’s strong enough to run games. A player who subscribes will be able to download a game to their PC and then play it as many times as they want as long as they pay the monthly fee. Well what if you cancel Utomik, how will they control whether I play the game or not? Well that’s part of their software. It will require you to have an active account in order to keep playing your downloaded games.
Nonetheless, I think Utomik will bring new change to the gaming world just as Netflix brought to the movie world. Similar companies like Utomik would be GameFly. The difference between Utomik and GameFly is that GameFly ships the games to you and is more catered to console gamers. GameFly has a monthly fee depending on how many games you rent out each month (only 1 or 2) and you can keep the game as long as you want, as long as you pay. For those who are PC gamers, Utomik will be quite similar to Steam with the exception of the monthly fee and their claim to have quick download speed.
Personally, I think this is a great coming because I’ve recently got into PC gaming and I rarely buy games because they are so expensive. The most that I pay for a PC game is $15 and that normally includes small gaming titles and indie games (no big titles). If I could pay just $10 a month for all the games I want I would love it! The only time I play video games really is during the summer so I wouldn’t mind spending $40 for unlimited games. BUT I would have to hear from someone else who gives Utomik a try before I jump in. I want to know what kind of games they offer and how well their software works (if it has constant crashes or if runs slow or not). I would have to give this company a year before I bought into it and if it gets good reviews then I may invest earlier. But without a doubt I will have to give Utomik a try. Does this sound too good to be true? Maybe. Only time will tell.
*whispers* “unlimited” as long as it’s not a big title…
One dislike: With triple A titles (for example a new Call of Duty game) Utomik will have the publishers decide how much they want their games to go for price-wise (so you may be paying extra bucks for high titled games). Though when the price of the game drops in the market then the game will move down into the “free” available games.
An actual start date for Utomik hasn’t been announced but you can sign up for the closed beta and can begin the experience when they email that the beta is open for use. As Utomik calls it, their currently in “Silent Ninja Mode” where their system is still being play tested.
Here’s their trailer! Decide if you get excited.
Will you give it a try?
Drag WU
I had an assignment to cover an event and then create an audio slide show from it. After much consideration, I thought what would be a visually amazing experience to see? Winthrop’s Drag WU Show. The event was put together by the collaboration of GLoBAL and DSU in hopes to bring knowledge about the LGBT community while having fun. Majority of the people in the crowd were experiencing their first Drag Show (me) which made it all the more fun. The event had the crowd smiling and cheering from beginning to end. Without further ado, I present you my Drag WU Show experience.
The Question
This week’s assignment was to pick a question and ask people this question and get their response and reactions. The question: If you could marry any celebrity who would it be and why? I’ll admit, A LOT of people took several minutes to answer the question. Nonetheless it was hilarious to see who people would finally choose. This assignment was a great way to break the awkwardness when interviewing people. I enjoyed it.
Biggest Student Detriment: Procrastination
The problem that may plague a majority of students in college is procrastination. When it comes to completing and turning in assignments by the deadline, several Winthrop students said they’re usually rushing because they procrastinated up until the due date.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, to procrastinate is “to delay doing something until a later time because you do not want to do it.” When searching for ways to end procrastination some students said it’s best to find your reason why you procrastinate.
Kandace Washington, a sophomore mass communication major at Winthrop University, said “I hate when I procrastinate. But usually it’s because I much rather catch up on my TV shows on Netflix then write a four page paper on population and migration.” So how does she solve her problem?
“It’s really difficult to force myself to fully concentrate on a paper but I tell myself if I finish it I can watch all the TV shows on Netflix until the next homework assignment and with no worries,” Washington said. This is a solution a majority of asked Winthrop students responded with.
However, “six out of ten times I still procrastinate on my assignment and turn to Netflix,” Washington said. Saying it’s not a definite solution.
Katelyn Jackson, a sophomore marketing major at Winthrop University, had a different solution to propose. “I seriously procrastinate on almost all of my assignments. I can’t help it but I try so hard to not that I think it almost makes it worse.”
“I try to trick myself. I tell myself its due sooner than it really is and really try to convince myself its due on that date,” Jackson said. However for her, “I’d say three out of ten times that actually works for me, because it’s hard to trick yourself.” Just a few other students also said that this was a method they use.
Not only are students suffering from procrastination but so are professors. Nathaniel Frederick, assistant professor of mass communications, said “the more things I have on my plate I keep replaying it in my head over and over again until it comes close to the deadline.”
“In order to help myself, I bought a white board to see visually what needs to get done and I feel more organized. It doesn’t always work but it helps.” Frederick feels the best solution is learning to prioritize what’s most important for yourself in life (which should be your work) and make it the top of your list.
What’s your best reasoning for procrastination? Solutions?
Diversity at Winthrop University
My most recent project for my mass communication class was to create a video picture slide show of diversity here at Winthrop University. I thought of something that a lot of people on campus would like to see and I myself, dorm rooms. So for the project I went to three different dorm room buildings and knocked on some doors. I definitely enjoyed taking pictures of the different dorms and getting see how people create their temporary home in different ways. Without further ado, I share with you my first project.
Wingbonz
I wanted my next post to be about something very close to my heart…food!
If you were to ask me what my favorite food is I will say without hesitation, wings. Top wing places of mine include Zaxaby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chief’s (a sports bar and grill in Greenville). However, I am always searching for new places for great wings.
This year I was introduce to heaven on Earth literally right across the street from my dorm room, Wingbonz. I told my very good friend about my obsession with wings and that I was having a mad craving. She told me about the great Wingbonz and I said “okay, why not!”
Wingbonz’s menu, of course, mainly consists of wings but in addition has hamburgers, nachos, tacos and a few more choices. Price-wise I was concerned ($10 for 10 wings and side of fries is what I always get) but once I tasted the food and couldn’t finish it all, you sure do get your moneys worth. The wings themselves are delectable and savory and you definitely taste hormone-free in each bite, which is an important factor in eating wings. The fries, one would think they would not get as much attention, are amazing due to its perfect seasoning and crispy bite each time you order them. And to top it all off you must try there strawberry lemonade if you are willing to spend the extra dollar in addition to the $10.
(My first meal)
I can rave over their food all day if I had the time but instead I will highly recommend you to give this place a try if you’re looking to taste something mind blowing. I can eat at Wingbonz everyday and I don’t say that about any place.
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