Featured Senior: Bobby Simons

"Don’t be afraid to explore and find new things! Join clubs, do extra-curricular activities, and participate in everything you can." - Bobby Simons

By Natasha O'Hara

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what sorts of things you’ve been involved in at IUSB.

I am a double major in English and Theatre at IU South Bend. With IU South Bend’s Theatre Department, I have acted in 5 plays, was a member of the stage management crew for 2 plays, and directed 1 play. I also was a part of 2 student-made productions, one of which I wrote, directed, and acted in. 

As for the English half of my major, I have of course submitted several stories and scenes to IU South Bend’s Analecta, some of which I’ve even won awards for. I have also written reviews for the Wolfson Press. I am also a member of the Film Studies Club, and will be participating in their upcoming trip to Los Angeles where we will tour the city and interview screenwriters. 

Outside of that, I have also served as a peer mentor for both FYS and the Guided Pathways Academy, in addition to being a part of the Honors Program. 

What inspired you to pursue both of your degrees?

I’ve always loved language and finding ways to use it. Theatre is a great outlet for creativity, allowing me to collaborate with others to make real something that isn’t, and in general is just a fun activity to do with friends! Theatre and English go hand in hand, as through the study of language, one learns to communicate, while the main purpose of theatre is to communicate something. By combining these two degrees, I have learned not only how to tell stories, but how to create them. 

How has your understanding of literature and language evolved since starting college? What aspects of English do you hope to continue exploring after graduation?

Throughout college I have come to understand the versatility of literature and language, and its practical applications. When starting out, I was always told that finding a solid career with my given choice of major was unrealistic. At the time, I admit that I conceded they were probably right, but didn’t care because the most important thing for me was doing what I was interested in. After four years of college; however, I’ve realized that writing is not reserved solely for entertainment, but truly we rely on language to survive. Following graduation, I hope to explore all avenues of writing, from creative to professional.

Can you share a memorable experience from your time at IUSB?

One time, in a dance class my sophomore year, we had a push-up contest and I won. I was given some Peeps as a reward, but didn’t eat them because I think Peeps are kind of gross, so I gave them to a friend. They thought Peeps were gross too, but there was nothing they could do about it.

What advice do you have for current students?

Don’t be afraid to explore and find new things! Join clubs, do extra-curricular activities, and participate in everything you can. You don’t make friends and/or lasting connections through classes alone, or well I’ve heard some people do, but I don’t think those people are real. Especially for those who commute, getting involved on campus is the easiest way to make friends. In short, if you’re not willing to go out of the way for anything, the best you’re going to get is the bare minimum.

Can you tell us about any favorite classes? Are there any professors that have been an influential part of your academic career?

I think some of my favorite classes included: Jazz Dance, Costume Crafts, Computer Art and Design I, and Screenwriting. I don’t think I’ve had a single professor who hasn’t had some kind of impact on me, and they have all influenced me in distinct ways. Those who have had the most specific influence include Aimee Cole, whose flexibility and inventiveness have made class in the costume shop comfortable despite my intense fear of sewing machines; Karen Pajor, whose unrivaled positivity and energy is contagious in all the best ways; Kelcey Ervick, who is a great creative writer and a great teacher of creative writing (and no, I’m not just saying that because I know she will be reading this); and finally Elaine Roth, who has set up so many great opportunities for me as a student and someone interested in screenwriting.

What are your plans for after graduation?

Great question. As mentioned, I will be going to Los Angeles with the Film Club, and I am also taking a study abroad trip to Germany this summer. I am super excited for both of these trips, especially considering I really haven’t traveled at all since I’ve been in college. After that I plan to take some time to do pretty much anything but school for a while, as that school has pretty much defined my whole life for the past 15 years. When the time is right, unless I’ve found something else I like, I’ll plan on continuing my education by pursuing a masters degree in English. In any case, I’m more than optimistic for whatever my future holds!

Is there anything that you would’ve changed or done differently given the opportunity?

For a while I was interested in getting a minor in Spanish. I enjoy learning languages, and thought it’d be a good idea to add that to my degree, but to do so, I would have had to take on a ridiculous course load each semester if I still wanted to graduate on time, and so it wasn’t really feasible. Thinking about it, I guess then since minoring in Spanish wasn’t possible, it doesn’t truly answer the question, as I really couldn’t have done anything differently there. On second thought, what I would’ve done differently is not get Peeps after winning the push-up contest. 

What inspired you to write bland theft, and did you plan on changing the name for the full one act, or did that come later?)

I was inspired to write the scene in question, and the full one act as a whole by various sources. I wanted to combine comedic and dramatic elements to tell a story that was equally absurd as it was sympathetic. As for the name change from Odd One Out (the name of the original play), that was to avoid breaking any rules for Analecta submissions. I had tried to do a lot of advertising for Odd One Out as I was preparing to have it performed, and my name was very clearly attached to it. Given that Analecta selections are supposed to be made anonymously, I decided to change the name in the effort of preserving anonymity. Bland Theft was simply the first alternate title I came up with.

What does the English excellence award mean to you? 

I am incredibly honored to receive the English excellence award! I am so grateful to this department for everything it has instilled in me as a student of English literature and writing. This award is a great source of validation, and something I will cherish as I look back on my time here.

Featured Senior 2024: An Interview with Madi Bandera

Along with being a senior, Madi was the winner of the Excellence Award in Writing, First Place in Undergraduate Poety with the piece, “A Cosmic Poem for My Father” and Honorable Mention in the same category with the piece “My Mother Was Born From A Star”, Congragulations Madi!

By morgan Mckenna

A bit about yourself and your campus involvement.

My campus involvement has admittedly been very limited. I was one of the co-editors for last year’s Analecta and was one of the presenters at the URC (Undergraduate Research Conference) last April for Kelcey Ervick’s Narrative Collage class, so those were exciting experiences.

What are your post graduation plans?

Honestly, my plans after graduation are wherever the wind takes me. I intend to keep working as a tutor for the Writer’s Room on campus, and might pursue grad school within a year, most likely here at IUSB.

What advice do you have for current students?

I couldn’t settle on just one piece of advice, so pick your poison:

1. Give yourself grace: You’re people first, students second
2. Be brave; you might surprise yourself
3. Don’t compare yourself to others (excruciating, I know). Compare yourself to your self from last week instead.

And some fond memory of your time at here IUSB?

Not trying to self-aggrandize, but a really special moment for me was winning the Undergraduate Poetry Award in 2022, and again this year in 2024. The 2022 poem honored my late grandmother and the ceremony that year happened to fall on what would’ve been her 79th birthday, while my winning poems this year celebrated my parents and my other grandmother who also recently passed away. Sharing those experiences with friends and family who came to support me meant a lot.

Lastly, have you had any notable professors and any favorite classes?

I was fortunate enough to have many brilliant and understanding professors. David Dodd Lee’s poetry workshops helped solidify my love and style for poetry. I also enjoyed any class with Rebecca Brittenham. Her classes were always so intriguing, especially with topics like Victorian Ghost Literature or Food in Literature. I also had Elaine Roth for the first time this semester, and she is a born academic.

Congragulations again, and best of luck to whatever comes after graduation!

Featured Senior 2024: An Interview with Morgan McKenna

Morgan McKenna is a senior majoring in Graphic Design and graduating this spring. In her time at the Pub Hub she has been involved with writing for The Deadline, helped design covers for book projects, and been an integral part of many other projects. Congratulations, Morgan!

By Robin Dubree

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and what sorts of things you’ve been involved in at IUSB.
I’ve participated in Choir, English Club, and an Art Sale while here at IUSB. Outside of college I’ve picked up fishing and have taken a gap year between my sophomore and junior years to work.

What are your plans after graduation?
My plans after graduation are to dive into work. I hope to be able to save up for getting my own car, moving into my own place, and maybe put some towards a fund for hiking the Appalachian Trail. 

Do you have any professors that have stuck with you? Any favorite classes?
With the multitude of history courses I’ve had to take, Professor Andrea Rusnock’s many two and a half hour classes will stick with me. Her lessons were always enjoyable and taking notes in class was the key to passing the quizzes. As for a favorite class, I’d have to say that was Professor William Tourtillotte’s Special Topics in Studio Art which was like an introduction to print making. Being what could be considered a lab course I found it very fun planning out prints and getting my hands dirty with the inks.

What advice do you have for current students?
Some advice I have for current students is to pace yourself. Set deadlines and goals a bit earlier than they need to be to give yourself some wiggle room, especially if you tend to procrastinate like I do.

What’s a fond memory you have of your time at IUSB?
A fond memory I have here is in one of my first classes. An intro to the fundamentals of drawing course where our last project was to do a self-portrait. Traditional paper [and] pencil art has never been my forte and using charcoal instead of graphite had a bit of a learning curve to it. But with all the hours [I] put into that course, I’d do it all over again for the final result I got.

Student Writing Awards 2024: An Interview With L.A. Culver

L.A. Culver (Lindsey Les) won Second Place in the Undergraduate Fiction category for her piece, “Vessels”.

by Robin Dubree

What does winning these awards mean to you?
I’m honored, I have never won any sort of award for my creative writing before. I was very excited to receive the news that I won something.

How would you describe your writing? What themes, ideas, and styles do you find recurring throughout your work?
I write a lot, whether it’s fiction, poetry, or academic writing. For poetry my style is a blend between contemporary and 19^th century. I’ve always preferred the structure and music of 19^th century/Victorian poetry over contemporary. So, in order to write what I wanted and remain appealing I blended the two together. For my prose I typically go for the more modern take where I try not to info dump on every page and have characters speak normally rather than go off on these strange monologues. When it comes to fiction, I don’t particularly enjoy writing contemporary and prefer [genres] like fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and horror.

What are some of your favorite authors? Do you see these authors as influencing your writing?
For poetry my favorite is Emily Dickinson. She was the one who got me writing poetry and her style is so often reflected in my own poems. For prose, it is difficult to choose just one. The two I go for most often are J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin just because they wrote my two favorite fantasies out there. However, if I had to choose an author (or in this case a duo of authors under one name) who influences me the most, it would be James S.A. Corey. They have some of the most well written characters out there in their science fiction series The Expanse.

What is your writing process like?
I wouldn’t say I have much of a process. For my bigger projects like my science fantasy series and high fantasy series, I write outlines since they are eventually going to become books. For poetry the words just come to me. I believe I wrote my poem “Lungs” that made it into Analecta in about ten or so minutes because the words would not stop coming to me. I did not outline “Vessels”, but it was improved thanks to my three beta readers.

Can you talk about one of your pieces a little; how did this particular piece come about? What was your inspiration?
“Vessels” is a gothic/horror short story that follows around a female personification of death. I got the idea for the story after listening to the song “Oh Death” by Jen Titus. I was originally going to write a poem about a personification of death, but I figured it would make a better short story.

My job is not done, it is never done; sometimes clocking out is not an option. I work rain, shine, during hurricanes and volcanic eruptions too. There are no snow days; I am busiest when the roads are coated with ice. I am what some wish to avoid and what others seek, but it is not truly up to you whether I come or not. Fate is the plan that destroyed God and fate is my supervisor who determines when I pay you a visit. You won’t always see me, but when you do, take comfort. You will breathe easier once your vessel is emptied.

Excerpt from “Vessels”

Announcing the Winners of the 2024 Student Writing Awards

Congratulations to this year’s winners of IUSB’s 2024 Student Writing Awards! Submissions were first screened by English department faculty, with final selections made by this year’s judge, Jennifer Oakes. Oakes is a poet and novelist who has won several awards for her work, including the Four Lakes Prize in Poetry (for her book The Declarable Future) and the Brittingham Prize in Poetry (for The Mouths of Grazing Things). Awards Night will take place this Thursday, April 18th, in Wiekamp Hall 1001. A reception begins at 5:30 and the awards ceremony and poetry reading by Jennifer Oakes begins at 6:00 PM. The 2024 edition of Analecta, IUSB’s student literary magazine, will also be revealed during the event.

Undergraduate Poetry
First Place: Madi Bandera, “A Cosmic Poem for My Father”
Second Place: Robin Dubree, “To Make Your Bed and Lie in It”
Third Place: Robin Dubree, “Apprehension is My Middle Name”
Honorable Mention: Madi Bandera, “My Mother Was Born From A Star”
Honorable Mention: Jacob Nava, “Humans”
Honorable Mention: Jacob Nava, “Late Fall”
Honorable Mention: JeniSue Teegarden, “Infected”
Honorable Mention: Robin Dubree, “Sand Castle, Erased by the Tide”

Undergraduate Fiction
First Place: Jessie Jimenez, “The Mortician”
Second Place: Lindsey Les (L.A. Culver), “Vessels”

Undergraduate Nonfiction
First Place: Alexis Martin, “Crumbs”
Second Place: JeniSue Teegarden, “Cows Have Teats”

Undergraduate Drama
First Place: Bobby Simons, “Bland Theft”

Graduate Poetry
First Place: Amanda Jones, “Maybe Today”
Second Place: Brooke Plummer, “A Tilted Earth”
Third Place: Babu Sarker (Fr. Pascal), “The Meaning in Nothingness”
Honorable Mention: Jo Hackett, “Big Brothers”

Graduate Fiction
First Place: Jessica Kado, “Faith No More”
Second Place: Candice Slovinski, “Self-Love”
Third Place: Babu Sarker (Fr. Pascal), “The Storyteller”
Honorable Mention: Jo Hackett, “The Bowling Story”

Graduate Nonfiction
First Place: Missy Hatfield, “Legacy: A Life in Ten Items or Less”
Second Place: Andrea Meyer, “The King”

Current Events: Experience “Puffs” in the Round at IUSB

“…Puffs is full of heart. We set out to create a play, not just a parody. The characters are all fully realized. They go through difficult journeys. They deal with death, personal identity, relationships, and what it means to feel insignificant in the world at large. There may in fact be some tears in the end. Maybe. You don’t have to tell anyone if there are.” – Matt Cox, Playwright

By Natasha O’Hara

The Raclin School of Arts Theatre and Dance Company has brought an incredible world for wizards to campus! Now, as someone who grew up attending Harry Potter conventions but is not a fan of J.K. Rowling, Matt Cox’s 2015 play Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, resonates with me on a deeply personal level. Being that I am in the cast (as the Narrator), I am biased, however, the heart of this comedy captures the essence of fandom, friendship, and the magic of storytelling in a way that feels both nostalgic and exceptionally relatable.

Audience members are transported to the 1990s, a decade filled with, platform sneakers, boy bands, and the boom of the digital age. Something often overlooked about Harry Potter is how deeply rooted the series is into the last decade of the 20th century.  Puffs joyfully celebrates the glory of the ’90s, from the infectious tunes of popular boy bands, to the heartwarming tale of friendship with Free Willy. It’s a nostalgic nod to a time when the biggest dilemma was choosing between VHS tapes or CDs. Puffs not only captures the essence of this iconic decade but also reminds us of the magic of our youth and the power of ’90s pop culture.

Rehearsal photo. Standing is Sophomore Lyla Beard, followed to the right by Junior Jordan Keen, Senior Shanya Osburn, Senior Aaron Smith, Junior Kelly Thomann, Freshman Abigail Moody, Sophomore Taavi Crumbley, and Freshman Mila Kaser.

When you step into Northside’s Upstage theatre, you are stepping into a world where magic meets the mundane. Directed by Justin Amellio-Ashbrook, Puffs follows Wayne Hopkins (played by Senior Bobby Simons), just your average adolescent boy—until he discovers… he’s a wizard! Join him on a hilarious journey to a school in England, where he befriends two companions, Oliver Rivers (played by Sophomore Taavi Crumbley) and Megan Jones (played by senior Shanya Osburn), and embarks on adventures that will have the crowd laughing and cheering along. But here’s the twist: Wayne is no Brave or Smart or Snake; he’s a Puff! 

Rehearsal Photo. L-R: Freshmen Abigail Moody and Mila Kaser, Junior Kelly Thomann, Sophomore Taavi Crumbley, Senior Shanya Osburn, Junior Jordan Keen, and Senior Bobby Simons.

Come along with Wayne and his fellow Puffs as they navigate the ups and downs of wizarding school and the challenges of growing up, all while trying to steer clear of evil wizards and their dastardly schemes. It’s a tale of friendship, bravery, and finding the magic within yourself, even if you’re just a regular kid from small town USA.  

Early Rehearsal Photo. L-R: Sophomore Lila Beard, Junior Kelly Thomann, Senior Shanya Osburn, and Junior Jordan Keen.

PUFFS opens Friday, April 12th at 7:30 pm, then runs for the next two weekends. April 12th, 13th, 19th, and Saturday April 20th all start at 7:30 pm. The Sunday matinees on April 14th and 21st start at 2pm. Puffs is for MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY!!! Admission is free, but we highly encourage those who can to donate a non-perishable food item per person to help support the IUSB Titans Feeding Titans Food Pantry.

Parking to the Upstage Theatre is located in the lower parking lot on the east side of campus, on the corner of Northside Blvd and 20th street. If you have any questions please contact the IUSB Box Office at 574-520-4203

Persons of Interest Poetry Reading with Steven Ostrowski

I’m certainly not an arbiter of what counts as “good” art, but I can recognize that Ostrowski demonstrates a clear mastery of poetic language.

by Robin Dubree

On April 3rd, I had the opportunity to attend a poetry reading sponsored by the English Department here at IUSB. The featured author was Steven Ostrowski, the first winner of Wolfson Press’s annual Poetry Chapbook Contest in 2021. I’ve attended a poetry reading online before, but this was my first time attending one in person, and I’m so thankful I did. Steven Ostrowski read both from the winning book, Persons of Interest, and his most recent book of poetry, Life Field. In my opinion, there’s something so valuable about being able to hear poetry read aloud, even though it is primarily presented to readers in print. I was able to pick up a copy of Persons of Interest and have it signed after the reading, and I spent the rest of the night poring over the words and really absorbing Ostrowski’s work. I always find that I need some time to let the words sit with me after hearing poems read aloud. Good poetry seems to find a way to make me aware of my very small but unique place in the universe, and I was struck with that feeling on my way home from the event.

Persons of Interest is made up of poems that are all in some way dedicated to or inspired by someone else, whether famous artists or old friends. Ostrowski spoke at length about the ways in which each of these people impacted him and his writing, and hearing this context gave each poem so much more weight and soul. In particular, he described being a child surrounded by the sounds of folk artists from the 1960s – Bob Dyan, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young, among others. The way in which these musicians crafted their lyrics resonated with him deeply, and inspired him both to start writing poetry and playing music. In addition to the former, Ostrowski also writes fiction (having just published his first novel, The Highway of Spirit and Bone, last year) and paints. During the reading he described himself as a “jack of all trades, master of none,” but personally, I think that was far too humble a claim. I’m certainly not an arbiter of what counts as “good” art, but I can recognize that Ostrowski demonstrates a clear mastery of poetic language.

The book begins with “Skeleton Blood Memoir With Bob,” as reference to Bob Dylan. Right away, his words make impact. One stanza reads:

And it doesn’t leave you, ever. 
Leaves tracks that harp in your blood. 	
Leaves you spastic balletic, moonful in your poems,
howl-round in the bedroom, a little lonely in the eye sockets
but approaching mystic. His ghost songs,
even fifty years down the highway,
shiver like the last hotel in the hurricane. 

Source

Immediately I was gripped by not only the excellent musicality of the word choice, but by the conviction in each line. Ostrowski’s writing is earnest and down-to-earth in an honestly refreshing way. He invokes the spirit of the subject both by illustrating the feeling of their music (in “Neil Young”, lines like “His eyes follow the rolling wave / of pink-tinted grain; his cracked hand spreads open / like a power chord’s gush / through a mahogany hall”) and in repurposing their lyrics (in “Windows”: “Neil Young has that line in ‘Helpless’: ‘Blue blue windows behind the / stars…’ / I always liked that; that he put the windows behind the stars. That the / stars come first”). I could’ve never heard a single song by Neil Young, and still walked away from reading each poem with a reverence for him; that’s how convinced I was by Ostrowski’s poetry. His writing is witty, approachable, and incredibly well-crafted. He puts his writing philosophy best at the end of “Wayward in the Blood”: “Me, I’m still writing my gravel and dust poems. / For who? I couldn’t say. Doesn’t matter. I know this for sure: / I’m doing what I want to do”. And what more could you possibly ask for?

Steven Ostrowski is Professor Emeritus at Central Conneticut State University and a poet, fiction writer, visual artist and songwriter. His work has been published in numerous literary journals and magazines. He is the author of seven books of poetry (one co-authored with his son, Ben Ostrowski) and two books of fiction. You can purchase Persons of Interest at the Wolfson Press website. You can also purchase his latest book, Life Field, on his personal website.

Recommendation Station: Mistaking the Sea for Green Fields by Ashley Capps

Ashley Capps, a wonderful poet whose slice-of-life story unfolds in the pages of Mistaking the Sea for Green Fields.

 
By Morgan McKenna

Hailing from Northern Carolina, Capps received her MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has held fellowships from the Iowa Arts Council and Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. And in her first book Mistaking the Sea for Green Fields published in 2006, readers are let into her life through an epiphany, symbolisms of animals and the turmoil of interpersonal relationships through the lens of hindsight.

Cover for Mistaking the Sea for Green Fields

To start at the beginning is to start with the epiphany of being displaced. Her first poem is the book, “Hymn for Two Choirs,” sets the tone early in the morning where restlessness staves off sleep and a question is asked, “Why did I only live for one thing.” Compared to a huge dog and a neighbor’s t-shirt, she can only sit and ponder as the world passes her by.

In her very next poem of the humble and poisonous name, “God Bless Our Crop-Dusted Wedding Cake,” the turmoil of her family slowly begins to reveal itself. A brief family of a mother drunk, a father reckless, and a sister dead and gone. But this second poem has a point of view through her father’s eyes, it is through his imagined point of view Capps comes to terms with this part of her life. Where despite the turmoil, sentimentality shows through.

Several of these poems in this book are about an ex, the more popular to quote being “Reading an Ex-Lover’s First Novel.” But I’d like to look at the poem, “Gripes the Lover Leveled (Leaving).” Here there is symbolism of a dog on a sweater, a familiar beast out of place when tied to the sweater it is sewn onto. The tone is agitated with Capps pronouncing herself “gaudy and ruthless,” likely through her ex’s words, a relationship to be good and done with but to look back on and not forget why things ended.

In current days, Capps lives in the Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina. She works with the animal rights non-profit Free from Harm. And she is a writer, editor, and researcher for the food and climate justice non-profit A Well-Fed World. Capps is working on a second collection of poems entitled The FOReSt. Some of her most recent work was published in Indiana University South Bend’s very own annual online literary journal, The Glacier. And she co-edits THE NEW SENT(I)ENCE, with the poet Allison Titus, an animal poetry anthology and manifesto forthcoming from Trinity University Press this year.

Ashley Capps out on a mountainside,
sourced from the about section of her own wordpress site

Recommendation Station: Unwind

Imagine a society that has not only completely irradicated abortion, but has come to a means by which both viewpoints of Pro-Life and Pro-Choice were satisfied. But at what cost?

By Katie Clark

Neal Shusterman’s young adult novel Unwind tells the tale of the conflicting perspectives of three young adults in a society that has abolished abortion and made organ donations mandatory for those who don’t fit society’s mold.

After a second civil war between the pro-life and pro-choice movements, “the Bill of Life” is passed by the government. Every baby is born and none are terminated, at least until the age of thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, every child is evaluated and judged accordingly based on their societal contributions thus far. If someone is deemed to no longer be useful or is believed to be more trouble than they’re worth, they will be what is called “unwound”. Being unwound means you will technically live on, but your physical self will be harvested for the use of others. This is considered a justified means to end the conflict between both movements.

The narrative introduces three characters: Conner, Rita, and Levi. Conner is sixteen and a juvenile delinquent running from his parents who want him to be unwound because he’s considered a troubled teen. Rita is an orphan who is extraordinarily musically gifted, yet at fifteen she still hasn’t been adopted yet and is sent to be unwound because the orphanage can no longer afford her living expenses. Levi is a thirteen-year-old boy who is chosen to be unwound as a charitable religious service. Their very different perspectives clash harshly when the three are thrown into a very rare occurrence of chaos in which their journeys are disrupted and they manage to flee from governmental watch. Rita and Conner, naturally, are eager to keep running to survive their unwinding; Levi however, maintains that he is supposed to be unwound as a service to God and thwarts their plans to continue his religious duty. Throughout their misadventures, all three teens will be challenged and learn the value of human life, no matter age or societal status.

In his five-book dystology, Shusterman vividly captures the horrors and harsh realities of the society that the teens are trapped in, a society that seems not too far off from the one we live in today. The premise of these ideas is mostly fictionalized, however, with each new section of the book, Shusterman displays excerpts from real sources around the world that mimic the themes and events in the story. This compelling, thought-provoking storyline will touch on several modern issues that will frighten you in its relevance today. Through the eyes of Conner, Rita, Levi, and all the teens they come into contact with along the way, Shusterman will evoke many emotions in you and beg the question: what if?

Celebrating Women’s History Month: “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion”

The National Women’s History Month’s theme for 2024 celebrates “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” The theme recognizes women throughout the country who understand that, for a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions. – from the National Women’s History Alliance

by Natasha O’Hara

Women march during Women’s History Week in Sonoma County, California,
NWHA

March. The month that brings forth the renewal of Spring, St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness, World Poetry Day (March 21^st), the Ides, and most importantly, Women’s History Month. The entire month of March is dedicated to honoring and recognizing the contributions and achievements of women throughout history. With International Women’s Day being tomorrow, I thought it would be nice to peek into the History behind such a poignant observance. 

Historically speaking, women have consistently faced exclusion and elimination, with women of color and lgbtq+ women facing more formidable challenges. Understanding and acknowledging these intersections is crucial in our celebration of Women’s History Month, as marginalized women have borne the brunt of the oppressive systems for centuries.

Women’s History Month has roots that can be traced all the way back to the 1800s. The first International Women’s Day was observed in 1911. This day was established to highlight the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. In the United States, the idea for a Women’s History Week was first proposed by the school district of Sonoma, California, in 1978. The district’s celebration was so successful that it quickly spread to communities across the country.

Local Studies, Swindon Central Library

In 1980, women’s groups and historians, led by the National Women’s History Project (now called the National Women’s History Alliance), effectively lobbied for national recognition. In February of that same year, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. This proclamation stated, 

“From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well.”

The next several years, subsequent Presidents continued to proclaim a Women’s History Week, until 1987. That year, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress expanded the week to a month, and March was officially designated as Women’s History Month.

Today, Women’s History Month is celebrated with events and activities that honor the achievements of women in various fields, including politics, science, literature, and the arts. It serves as a reminder of the important role that women have played in shaping our world and inspires future generations to continue the fight for gender equality.

Source

As we reflect on the past, let us also look to the future with hope and determination. Let us use this month as an opportunity to educate ourselves, to listen to diverse experiences, and to advocate for a more inclusive and equitable world for all women. To move forward into the future, we must remember the countless women who have paved the way for progress and change. Their stories remind us of the power of perseverance, courage, and determination, and serve as a beacon of hope for a more inclusive and equal future for all.