The renowned, Eugene-based artist Keith Achepohl said that his works currently on display in the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art are “all about the life and death of plants.” The exhibit, “Vision of Nature/Vessel of Beauty,” will remain in the JSMA Barker Gallery until April 29. However, on Feb. 24, the local community learned that Achepohl passed away in his Eugene home while surrounded by family, according to his obituary in the Register-Guard.

“The works in the exhibition represent six years of an artist’s life — in this case, an artist who is nearing the completion of his own life,” Jill Hartz, who co-curated the exhibit, told the Register-Guard in February.

The JSMA exhibit includes nine distinct but related explorations of objects from nature. One exploration is called “Tree Conversations;” another is “Skunk Cabbage.” Each exploration is grouped separately in the gallery and consists of multiple artworks. Achepohl used an impressively wide variety of media including pencil, acrylic, collage and oil to create the pieces.

A three-week residency at the Morris Graves Foundation’s 150-acre forested artists’ retreat on the Northern California coast called “The Lake” inspired Achepohl to create these pieces. Graves was a colleague of Achepohl and an esteemed artist from the Pacific Northwest who died in 2001. According to the Foundation, upon Graves’ death, “The Lake” became a place to incubate artists interested in utilizing the abundance of nature available in the area. In the past, Achepohl had described his residence at “The Lake” by saying it was like “going to a monastery.”

Through its depictions of the smallest natural objects and minute details, the works implore viewers to look at nature in a way they never have before. Many of the paintings show a single decaying leaf, while others show the minuscule fibers of a lively, grassy plant’s root system. The pieces range from intensely detailed to indiscernible and abstract. Achepohl acknowledges life and death equally in these pieces as he uses vibrant earth colors coupled with the muddled blacks and greys of charcoal.

“The closer you get to it, the better experience you’ll have with it,” Achepohl said about the intimacy viewers feel with the natural objects in his paintings during a February interview with UO’s Oregon Humanities Center.

During the OHC interview, Achepohl said he encountered many people while living in Eugene for the past ten years who told him, “I just came back from a walk in the forest.” When he asked them what they saw, Achepohl found that most people were puzzled by the question and simply say that they saw trees.

“Often they don’t know what they saw, ‘cause they didn’t bother to look. Oh, what a waste, you know?” Achepohl said.

During the decade Achepohl lived in Eugene, his ability to meditate on the often forgotten details of life and translate them into his work made an impression on the directors of the JSMA. He served on the JSMA’s Leadership Council and Collections Committee, gifted and loaned numerous works of art from his own collections and participated in many UO classes and museum events.

“It was a joy to see so many of Keith’s friends and family experience his work alongside our community of museum visitors,” read the JSMA’s post on their website following Achepohl’s death.

“Vision of Nature/Vessel of Beauty” is on display through April 29. The JSMA is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Entry is $5, $3 for people 62 and up and free for members, UO students and faculty.

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In a culture that obsesses about relationships — who’s seeing who, who said what about who, et cetera — it is easy to get swept up in the idea that if you’re not pursuing one, you’re lacking something essential to your life. However, I want to challenge this belief with living proof that you can find two halves of a whole in yourself! I won’t lie to you or come up with some cheesy quote that your mom has told you a million times before — you won’t get any of that “you’re single because you’re strong enough to wait for what you deserve” crap from me. Not that any of that isn’t true, but it simply does not make anyone feel better. Nobody wants to be told that they’re better off alone, especially if they’re feeling isolated and hurt.

Effren Villanueva | Daily Trojan

I myself have waged this war for far too long. I have struggled with doubts and fears about ending up alone, and I’m only 21. Why must we be in a relationship or be “talking to someone” in order to feel attractive, valuable and loved? This is an unhealthy approach that only leads to more heartache down the road. The validation we all clandestinely seek from others in our world will never be able to truly make us feel complete, unless we do so ourselves. We must learn to choose ourselves over what today’s culture says about us and what we should be doing.

If you turn on the radio or pull up Spotify’s Top 50 charts, it becomes glaringly apparent that sex sells. While vulgar lyrics containing explicit language obviously supports this fact, it is the more subtle depictions of modern-day romance that worry me. Young kids and teenagers grow up listening to the lyrics of “Love Story” by Taylor Swift and “Never be the Same” by Camila Cabello. As they grow, their tastes grow with them, eventually tuning into songs such as “I Fall Apart” by Post Malone and “Him & I” by G-Eazy featuring Halsey. These subtle undertones of perfect romance and dependency can develop dangerous assumptions in the minds of young boys and girls, eventually morphing into an extremely high and unrealistic expectation of how their significant other will fit into their life. Starting with songs of sweet, idealistic romance can turn into a slippery slope when adolescents begin to believe that they will “Never be the Same” when they inevitably undergo their first few break-ups.

I find fault in the way these songs paint a picture of relationships. Singing words like “You’re all I need” and “We got that love, the crazy kind / I am his and he is mine” is cause for concern. I frequently catch myself putting too much pressure on my relationships, as if that is a source of life and stability for me. The interdependence and obsession with one another that this culture glorifies is a red flag — an unhealthy combination that will only result in pain and regret, not love and selflessness.

That’s not to say I don’t jam to these songs occasionally! But I am careful to prevent the subliminal messaging within these siren songs from dragging me down to the depths. It is crucial that this generation and all that follow it learn to date themselves. Figure out what you like, what makes you tick and what you want to improve upon. This should be a season of life that is looked forward to, for self-exploratory purposes and a weightlessness and freedom that will never be possessed again. Those that do not value this period do so for lack of self-worth, because they cannot see the benefit of spending time with oneself. I promise you, I have been on both sides of this crazy little thing called love and taking the time for yourself is the best gift you can give yourself. A better relationship with yourself equals better relationships with others. So take yourself out to dinner, buy yourself a slice of cheesecake, settle down with a good book. You deserve a date night that won’t disappoint.

The post How to Date Yourself appeared first on Daily Trojan.

In late 2016, the Israel Fund was established at Brown. An endowment created from alum donations, the Fund seeks to support new and existing programs and courses centered on Israel. As The Herald previously reported, the University has raised $3.8 million toward a $10 million goal for the Israel Fund’s endowment. Upon reaching the $10 million goal, the Fund will return $500,000 annually for a programming budget. In the face of accusations leveled against the Fund by Brown Students for Justice in Palestine that call out the inherent injustice of creating an academic fund for Israel-related programming, Interim Director of Judaic Studies David Jacobson told The Herald that the Fund’s intention is “purely academic, not political.”

But because the Israel Fund was created without any involvement or critical input from the Middle East Studies department’s faculty, it is nearly impossible for the Israel Fund to be apolitical. If Brown was hoping to foster an academic conversation about Israel through the Israel Fund, it started a conversation encumbered by the bias associated with the Fund’s sponsorship. When money is given to fund the study of a specific nation or national context, nothing is apolitical, even if there are some moderate steps taken to create nuance in the conversation. The Israel Fund is an expressly political initiative that implies the University’s support for Israel, owing to its top-down origins and its close links to Israeli business.

In an attempt to distance Brown’s Israel Fund from a politicized rhetoric, Jacobson’s statement that the Fund is “purely academic” unfortunately lacks substance, for two main reasons. The first way the Israel Fund departs from its purported academic aims is the nature of its inception. As Professor Beshara Doumani, director of the Middle East Studies program, told The Herald, “the Middle East Studies faculty have never been approached about this . . . It would be great if we had more information or were brought into the loop of what the thinking is and what the plans are.” The Middle East Studies faculty had not heard about the Israel Fund before the Jan. 30 press release that announced its establishment or the fact that the Fund had been in the works for over a year, he said. Since Israel is, in fact, located in the Middle East, the exclusion of the Middle East Studies faculty raises a red flag about the so-called “academic” intent of the Fund.

Further, in comparison to other academically oriented and regionally focused groups that exist on campus, the Israel Fund was created from the top-down with money from external donors. It seems ill-fitting for the Fund to flaunt academic roots and integrity when the ideas for the Fund were not generated within any scholarly framework of a department or program. Typically, if there is a genuine, grassroots demand for the creation of a scholarly program within the University, students and faculty will take the lead, organize on a grassroots level and work to transform their institutional objectives into reality. In the case of the Israel Fund, however, it seems that the wishes of wealthy alums have been uncritically mapped onto the University, without any apparent organic demand from students.

The Israel Fund’s self-proclaimed “academic” origins are disingenuous, given that Brown is home to a broad range of grassroots, student-led and scholarly organizations and initiatives that are trying to get certain programs of study institutionalized. In fact, five years ago, Middle East Studies spearheaded the New Directions in Palestinian Studies Initiative. “New Directions” aims to shape scholarly works in the field of Palestinian studies through annual workshops at Brown and a book series that brings together emerging and established scholars. Brown Students for Justice in Palestine is another student-led group on campus that stands in solidarity with the Palestinian fight for equality and freedom, and supports the boycott, divestments and sanction movement. Additionally, consider the Southeast Asian Studies Initiative, an entirely student-led and student-driven project that seeks to enhance the visibility of Southeast Asia in the University’s academic offerings and faculty. Students involved in SEASI have had to advocate intently for the intellectual value of Southeast Asian studies, developing their own independent studies.

Despite the Israel Fund’s efforts to support academic programs that, in the words of the Fund’s supporters, aim to “introduce students to the Palestinian experience,”  teach students “to see things through other peoples’ eyes,”and study — rather than reproduce — the “power imbalance” inherent in the narrative of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the secretive and exclusive origins of this Fund undermine its seemingly peaceful academic pursuits.

The second way the Israel Fund assumes elements of a political project — as opposed to a purely academic one — is its inclusion of not only academic programs, but also entrepreneurial enterprises. Last summer, the University launched the Israel Entrepreneurship Internship program. According to Executive Director of the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship Danny Warshay ’87 P’20, students “not only got to experience what it’s like to work at a startup, … (but) they also got a cross-cultural experience to see what it was like to live in another international culture.” While Jacobson defends the Israel Fund as having solely a “academic” purpose, the Fund’s blatant business component proves this rhetoric is misleading.

By allocating a portion of the Fund’s capital to support Brown students immersed in tech startups, the Fund closely and undeniably aligns itself with Israeli politics. It is, after all, Israel’s technology and science sectors that have led to the development of drones, armed bulldozers, border fences and surveillance equipment that are used to carry out violence against Palestinians. As a result, the internships funded by the Israel Fund will most likely reveal to students, through a “cross-cultural experience,” the single-story narrative of how developed, tech savvy and forward-looking Israeli society is. And, in the process, the University — which allowed for little community deliberation about the potential pitfalls of the Israel Fund —  becomes complicit in the systems of racial and ethnic oppression synonymous with Israeli policies today.

Even if the Israel Fund’s academic programs have any redeeming qualities, the Fund’s internship component directly places the Fund within a political framework. It is important to remember that while region-specific programs and scholarly initiatives are integral to pursuing a holistic and liberal education, the methods by which some programs are implemented can, in fact, undermine their academic intentions. In terms of the Israel Fund, its top-down creation and internship component transform the Fund into a political tool. As Brown students, it is our job to remain continuously engaged in and constructively critical of the University’s academic endeavors. The Israel Fund is the perfect opportunity to unite as a community and speak out against an alum-driven and potentially dangerous political project masquerading as an academic program.

Sophia Overall ’19 can be reached at sophia_overall@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

The University of Maine baseball team (8-19) continued their conference play with a doubleheader at home against the University at Albany Great Danes (9-11) on Saturday, March 31. In game one, the Black Bears came out strong and defeated the Great Danes 10-2. The Black Bears hold the series advantage over the Great Danes, 40-35. The two teams met five times last season, with the Black Bears finishing 2-3. The 2018 season also marks Maine’s 135th season of baseball, with the sport starting at UMaine during the 1881 season.

Starting on the mound for the Black Bears was redshirt fourth-year Zach Winn, who appeared in 16 games last season, making two starts with 14 relief appearances. Starting on the mound for the Great Danes was third-year Brendan Smith, who went 1-5 with a 4.37 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 25 walks in over 18 appearances in 2017.

In the first inning, the Great Danes took the lead off of a Maine error at first base. The Black Bears then responded off of a base-clearing double by fourth-year Jonathan Bennett to run the score to 3-1. Bennett then scored off of a single by redshirt junior Caleb Kerbs to make it 4-1. Then, second-year Kevin Doody made it 5-1 after scoring off of a single by second-year Cody Pasic.

In the top of the fourth, first-year Ryan Hernandez hit a home run to make the score 5-2. In the bottom of the fourth, second-year Hernen Sardinas hit a single, which ended up scoring third-years Jeremy Pena and Danny Casals to increase the lead to five.

In the bottom of the fifth, Albany brought in first-year Ben Brown to replace Smith on the mound. Maine also switched their pitcher and brought in fourth-year Connor Johnson.

In the bottom of the sixth, Pasic scored to make it 8-2. Pena then scored on a hit by fourth-year Brandon Vicens.

In the top of the seventh, redshirt first-year Matt Geoffrion replaced Johnson on the mound. Albany then made their final pitching change in the eighth inning, putting redshirt second-year Nick Bird into replace Brown. The game would finish with the Black Bears on top 10-2 after Doody plated Vicens with a single.

“I thought it was a really good game overall. We played like the team we knew we had all along and now it’s about building on that and getting better everyday,” Winn said.

Baseball takes game two of series against Albany

The University of Maine baseball team returned to the mound for the second game of their doubleheader against the University at Albany Great Danes (9-10) on Saturday, March 31. The Black Bears took game two with a score of 4-1.

Starting on the mound for the Black Bears in the second game was fourth-year John Arel, who appeared in 21 games last season, starting 21 of them. Starting on the mound for the Great Danes was third-year Dominic Savino, who finished last season with an ERA of 2.48 with 32 strikeouts and 24 walks with over 27 appearances.

In the top of the first, Vicens put Maine on the board first when he scored two on a single. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, Vicens scored again off of a Doody single, making it 3-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Bennett scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to four. In the bottom of the 6th, the Great Danes got on the board when Hernandez hit his second homer of the game, 4-1.

With one inning remaining, the Black Bears made a couple pitching changes. Second-year right hander Cody Laweryson came in for Arel, and then they switched to Johnson to get the needed final out. With runners on second and third, Johnson came in clutch, getting the needed out. That would do it for game two, as the Black Bears went onto win it 4-1.

“It’s really good to see everything coming together and for everyone to start moving in the right direction. Anytime you can win both games of a double header, especially at home, and have a chance to sweep the series, it’s all a huge positive,” Johnson said.

Maine finishes off sweep

The University of Maine baseball team finished their three-game series against the University at Albany on Sunday, April 1 . The Black Bears swept the series, winning the last game 17-1.

Starting on the mound for the Black Bears was third-year Nick Silva, who started 11 games last season and was second on the team with 62 strikeouts. The starting pitcher for the Great Danes was redshirt first-year John Clayton, who made four appearances last season.

The Black Bears started the scoring in the bottom of the first when Pena scored off of a double by Casals. Then, Sardinas hit a double which scored Casals and Bec to make it 3-0. The scoring continued when Sardinas got a run of his own to increase the lead to four.

In the top of the second, the Great Danes got on the board off of a walk. In the bottom of the third, Bec hit a homer to make it 5-1. In the top of the sixth, Sardinas hit a single that scored Pena to make it 6-1. Then, third-year Collin Ridley hit a single that scored Casals to increase the lead to six.

In the top of the seventh, Casals hit a double to score Pena. The Black Bears then made a pitching change, bringing in third-year Eddie Emerson to replace Silva. The scoring would continue as Bec hit his second homer of the game to make the final score of the afternoon 17-1.

With an inning remaining, Maine made their last pitching change of the day, bringing Laweryson in to replace Emerson.

“It was very nice to play at home and get a conference sweep. We did an amazing job the whole weekend pitching, hitting and playing great defense,” Silva said, who also got the win.

Coach Nick Derba was not available for a statement.

The Black Bears return to Mahaney Diamond Saturday, April 7 and Sunday, April 8 when they host a three-game series again Stony Brook University. The Great Danes return to the field Tuesday, April 3 when they travel to Marist College. The game is set to start at 3 p.m.

Spoiler Warning for Season 8, Episode 14 of “The Walking Dead,” as well as all episodes of the previous seasons. Certain spoilers from the graphic novel series will also be discussed.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes and Lennie James as Morgan Jones. (Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC)

In “The Walking Dead,” the characters are forced to reflect on their pasts, their present and their futures. The latest episode focuses on this aspect of the story by having several of the most important players work together and discuss who they are as people. Everyone has shared trauma, but it is how the characters deal with that trauma that makes the story so fascinating. Much like the previous two episodes, this is yet another example of “The Walking Dead” at its best.

Jumping right into things, the episode flashes back to the Scavengers slaughter at the Heaps, featured in “The Lost and the Plunderers.” It is revealed that Jadis slipped away from the massacre and managed to play dead to avoid being executed; Savior Gary comes up on her “corpse” and spits on her, clearly disgusted at her betrayal. Some time passes and Jadis gets up and strips out of her signature clothing and into her white dress. Time jumps ahead to after she captured Negan and she enters her apartment, which looks like it belongs in an IKEA catalog; the clean and minimalist style is a jarring juxtaposition to the rank and unorganized mess of the Junkyard. For a moment, Jadis breaks down and cries as the gravity of her return to her empty home hits her. She equips herself with Lucille and opens a shipping container to collect Negan, who has been strapped to a makeshift wagon. “What the shit?” Negan hilariously asks as the Garbage Queen pulls him into the center of her Junkyard palace. This is the first time since she was introduced that Jadis looks “normal,” wearing a flannel jacket and tying her hair back; this seems to represent a new side of her character, moving past the cult-leader persona of before and moving toward a independent woman on her own future.

Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis. (Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC)

There’s a unique and unexpected bond that forms between Jadis and Negan during the events of this episode. Jadis has Negan tied to the wagon as she prepares some sort of fire with salt, all the while checking her watch, seemingly waiting for something. Negan vehemently apologizes to Jadis for what Simon did…and he actually seems totally genuine. He reiterates his value that “people are a resource” and that he doesn’t just kill to kill; Jadis swings Lucille at Negan’s head in response, stopping just centimeters from murdering him Glenn-style. Moments later, Jadis leaves the area and Negan takes advantage of the situation by scooting himself over to a bag she had laid out. He removes a flare, a gun and a stack of Polaroid pictures as Jadis rolls out a dilapidated walker that is attached to a dolly, similar to Winslow from “New Best Friends.” Negan threatens to light the pictures on fire unless Jadis sets him free. She pleads for him not to go through with it, making it clear that the photos are the only thing she has left of her “old world.” Jadis is really worried about what Negan might do and her dialogue tells that she still places the blame of what happened to her people and to her on him. Simon may have given the order, but Negan created the environment in which it was allowed to happen.

An unexpected development comes from this as Negan opens up about his wife, named Lucille, who got him through life before the apocalypse; he explains that the bat is what has got him through life since his wife died, therefore Lucille the bat is the only thing he has left of her. While Negan did reveal a significant amount of backstory in “The Big Scary U” while talking to Father Gabriel, this is the first time that he mentions his wife by name. This serves as a fascinating comparison of these two characters as both of them have experienced loss and have their own ways of dealing with it; this is the show’s way of humanizing antagonists and providing some insight into why they are the way they are now. In a panic, Jadis tries to overpower Negan and retake the photos and flare as a helicopter rises from behind the trash heaps. The flare falls into a puddle and Jadis quickly leaves to retrieve another one as the helicopter hovers nearby before turning and flying off; Jadis yells and waves for the unknown pilot to see her, but to no luck. Broken down, Jadis threatens to set Lucille on fire, but ultimately drops to the ground before freeing Negan. Before he leaves, he extends an olive branch and offers her a place at the Sanctuary, to which she declines whilst looking at the photos; this is an open offer and Negan notes that he will return in the future to see if she changes her mind. Jadis returns to her apartment with her packed suitcase and collapses in the bed; whatever trip she just had was cancelled.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan. (Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC)

After being freed from the Junkyard, Negan hightails it back home, but is shocked by someone he finds wandering on the side of the road. He lets the unknown person into his car and drives to the Sanctuary, shocking the Saviors on guard, who very much believed him to by dead after the car chase with Rick. From his dialogue, it is more apparent that Negan has some business to deal with once inside. The identity of Negan’s pickup is just one of the major mysteries of this episode. There are three prime suspects that immediately come to mind: Laura, Sherry and Gregory. Laura makes the most sense seeing as how she has been missing since Dwight gunned down his fellow Saviors, but missed her; Sherry is also a possibility seeing as how she hasn’t been seen since Season 7 after freeing Daryl from the Sanctuary. It could be Gregory, but this wouldn’t necessarily move the plot forward like Sherry and Laura, as they would both blow Dwight’s cover wide open. The other mystery of the episode is the enigmatic helicopter that appears over the Junkyard; while this helicopter was first seen in “The King, the Widow, and Rick,” it becomes a clear plot point here as Jadis seems to be fully aware of it and may have had some sort of arrangement to be on board. The only theory that holds weight at the moment is that the helicopter belongs to Georgie’s group and that she and her people are returning to their home; this plays into the larger theory that Georgie belongs to the Commonwealth, a massive community in Ohio that is featured in the comic books. Is it possible that Georgie’s group flew to Virginia to recruit and are now headed back? Or is this a completely different group that has yet to be introduced?

The other bulk of this episode follows the characters at the Hilltop following the battle. Carol chops woods before speaking with Ezekiel about the escape of the prisoners and the disappearance of Henry. The King is terrified for Henry and points out that Carol believes him to be dead, but a divide forms when Ezekiel claims that she is being “stopped by cowardice.” Nearby, Tara meets with Daryl and lets him know that a day has passed and that she seems to be in the clear when it comes to the infection; Daryl calls Tara a “tough son-of-a-bitch,” a title he gave to Glenn and Hershel in Season 4. Tara deduces that Dwight shot her with a clean arrow, but Daryl isn’t buying it and explains that he still doesn’t trust him at all; there’s a rapid turnaround in Tara’s character as she credits Dwight for saving her life, showing that she has learned from her past mistakes and now knows not to act solely out of revenge. The story checks in with Michonne, who has decided to read Carl’s letter to her, causing her to tear up and seek comfort in Rick. She questions if he has read the letter Carl wrote to him, something that Rick hasn’t been able to do yet. Michonne tells him that he needs to read the letter immediately, citing the fact that writing it was one of the last things that Carl did in his life. She also brings up her deceased son Andre (for the first time since Season 4) and explains that Andrea stopped her from going further down her dark path after he died. In an episode filled with callbacks to the show’s past, this is one of the best because it highlights the fact that Michonne was able to move forward after the worst trauma.

Danai Gurira as Michonne (Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC)

At the Hilltop, there’s a heavy feeling of sadness as Rick sits with Judith, but stares at Carl’s hat. He’s going through a lot and decides to leave the community to get away from it all for a bit. He speaks with Alden about where the Saviors may have escaped to and there’s a bit of trust present as Rick accepts the information that he is given; Alden points Rick to a dive bar nearby, but also asks that he try not to kill all of the prisoners, rather offer them a choice to return to the Hilltop. Alden is a unique character in the sense that he clearly has humanity, unlike many of the Saviors, and really just wants to help out Rick’s group, even though they are hesitant to trust him fully. Meanwhile, Maggie meets with Dianne, Rosita and Daryl to discuss the ammo shortage at the Hilltop. Daryl theorizes that the Saviors must be low on ammo following their escape from the Sanctuary, but Rosita reminds everyone that Eugene is well-equipped to produce bullets at the factory he found. Later in the episode, Rosita and Daryl have positioned themselves outside of the factory with a clear line of sight on Eugene; Rosita tells Daryl that destroying the machines is not the objective here, it is to take out Eugene. Would Rosita really kill her “former traveling companion”? She did give the order to blow him up in the Season 7 Finale, so this is something that she is definitely capable of doing. These are two characters that have a deep shared history, so it will be interesting to see how this plan progresses over the course of these next two episodes. After all that they have been through, it would be utterly devastating for Rosita to have to kill Eugene, but maybe she will be able to turn him back to the side of Team Family.

One of the best aspects of “The Walking Dead” is the all-star team ups and this episode is filled with them. One of the best is Carol and Morgan, an amazing unit since the start of Season 6. Carol questions why Morgan is planning on leaving to hunt down the prisoners to which he rambles about it being what he’s supposed to do; she agrees to tag along with him and the two head out. While on the trail of the escapees, Carol finds a turnip from the Hilltop, but Morgan has his eyes on something else; he spots Henry running through the forest and chases after him. Carol follows closely behind as Morgan comes up behind Henry, only to find out that it is only a hallucination that screams out the same line that Ghost Gavin did in the previous episode. They make their way onto a road, but are stopped by a passing herd of walkers ahead. A lone walker appears, causing immense worry when Carol spots Henry’s staff stuck through it. Tears fill Carol’s eyes as she asks Morgan to help her look for Henry, but he flat out tells her that he is dead and that there is no point in looking for him. Carol and Morgan have a moving conversation about them not being able to save the dead; this plays into a larger theme wherein Carol “saves people” and Morgan “watches people die.” It’s here that Carol points out that Morgan did in fact save her life after she left Alexandria in Season 6. Nothing can stop Morgan though; he believes he’s cursed to a life of seeing people die and clearing those that get in his way.

Lennie James as Morgan Jones and Joshua Mikel as Jared. (Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC)

Something that has been lacking lately is the Rick and Morgan dynamic, but this episode makes up for its absence by sending the two on a mission to hunt down the prisoners together. They cross paths in the forest and Morgan is in such a bad place mentally that he doesn’t even recognize Rick; “you know me,” Rick tells Morgan to try to bring him back, a chilling callback to their first interaction in Season 3’s masterpiece “Clear.” They stay on the Savior trail and eventually come across an amputated arm and leg before being knocked out by an unseen force in a lame commercial cliffhanger. The next scene shows that Rick and Morgan have been captured and taken to the dive bar by the POW group, led by Jared; there are several injured members of the group, including those that were bit and amputated during the Hilltop attack. Jared tries to come up with a plan to get Rick back to the Sanctuary, but Rick tries to sway the others into releasing him and coming back to the Hilltop to join the community and leave the Saviors behind. Jared doesn’t buy what Rick is selling and even Morgan calls this out, reiterating his desire to kill all of the prisoners and put an end to it. There is a fantastic back-and-forth between Jared and Morgan as the “rat-faced prick” mentions the events of “Bury Me Here,” when Morgan strangled Richard to death in front of everyone. A herd is drawn into the bar and chaos is unleashed, forcing everyone to make difficult snap-decision choices about their futures; where do loyalties lie and can enemies be given second chances?

Rick has always been an admirable man who does whatever it takes to protect his family while still holding onto his humanity. This episode shows him give his word to the Saviors that they will be protected if they switch sides; he even repeats his line from “Monsters” about “a man’s word.” As the walkers pile in, a few of the Saviors make the decision to not only help Rick and Morgan, but to save their lives and fight beside them. Just as it seems as though a bridge has been built and new allies have been created, Rick gives Morgan the signal to “clear” and the two slaughter the Saviors that just helped them. It’s horrific to see the sudden turn, and while it makes perfect sense for him to be ruthless like this during a time of uncertainty and mourning (especially considering he is wearing his iconic “murder jacket”), one has to bring up the fact that this is not what Carl would have wanted. Morgan chases Jared into a billiards room, where he hallucinates Henry once again before being attacked by Jared. There is a tense standoff that ends in Jared being cornered and pinned down to a fence by Morgan as he is devoured by walkers. When its all said and done, the bar is a disturbing sight as bodies, blood and guts lay scattered all over the floor. Rick tries to speak with Morgan, asking him why he saved him all the way at the start of the series; Morgan hesitates to respond at first, overcome with emotion, but then states “because my son was there.” This heartbreaking conversation mirrors what Carol said to Morgan earlier; Morgan isn’t cursed like he said, because he saved Rick’s life…right at the start of it all.

Macsen Lintz as Henry and Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier. (Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC)

The remainder of this episode is a fitting conclusion to the arcs featured here. As Carol is traveling back to the Hilltop, she finds a bloody piece of armor and hears the screams of Henry from nearby. She rushes to a creek area and finds him pinned behind tree roots as walkers claw and grab for him. Carol manages to save him and the two embrace in a hug as they both apologize for the mistakes they made. If this area looks familiar, it is because this scene was intentionally filmed to mirror the scene in the Season 2 Premiere when Rick hides Sophia behind tree roots in a creek (the exact same filming spot was used 6 seasons apart). Sophia was lost and ended up dead; Henry was lost and ended up found. While nothing will ever fill the void of her daughter, the survival of Henry proves that Carol is not cursed like the deaths of Sophia, Sam, Mika and Lizzie might have you believe. Carol and Henry return to the Hilltop, much to the surprise and joy of Jerry and Ezekiel. Just a small note, Jerry is pretty much the best person ever as he maintains his sense of humor and happiness during the bleakness of the war. There’s also a touching scene wherein Ezekiel apologizes to Carol for guilting her into searching for Henry (why didn’t he go out and look for him?), before she opens up to him about Sophia; she mentions that she was nothing after the death of her daughter, but that her new family got her through it and helped make her into the person she is today. This may just be a huge turning point for Carol as she finally realizes that she can live and be part of the group without the constant worry and fear that everyone she loves may die; if that does happen, she can and will come back from it and be stronger than ever.

There’s another reunion of sorts as Rick returns with Morgan, who tells Henry that he killed the man responsible for his brother’s death; Henry is actually somewhat disturbed by this and expresses his sadness that Morgan had to kill. Regardless, Benjamin has finally been avenged and those close to him may finally have some closure. Inside their room, Michonne checks in on Rick and the two have a beautiful moment where they confess their love for one another; they embrace and Rick apologizes for going behind her back. There haven’t been many cheery moments between these two in a while, mostly because Carl literally just died, but its always great when they are able to connect. They are simply perfect for each other and this episode shows that while they may not always be on the same page, their connection is unbreakable. Rick then opens Carl’s letter to him and begins to read as the camera focuses in on his face in the mirror, hinting that Carl’s words to him may have a resounding effect that “brings him back” from the dark place he’s in now. If Rick would have read the letter before going after the prisoners, would he have acted differently? Would he have as much blood on his hands? Is there a way back from him or his he teetering in “too far gone” territory?

HUGE round of applause for Joshua Mikel (@Joshua_Mikel) for his portrayal of Jared from S7E2 to S8E14 of #TheWalkingDead! pic.twitter.com/TGx0znAFlr

— The Walking Dead World (@TWalkingDWorld) April 2, 2018

If the past three episodes and this half-season so far have shown anything, it’s that “The Walking Dead” works best when all of the characters are together and interacting with one another. This show is built on the character relationships and dynamics, something that these episodes have really focused on. This episode in particular features some amazing storylines between characters that have shared trauma and history, specifically Rick, Michonne, Carol and Morgan, all of whom have lost children to the same apocalypse. This chapter of All Out War is about the grief that can overcome someone and break them down, but that there is always a way back from it if the person works toward it. There are a plethora of strong performances, particularly from Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Pollyanna McIntosh, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Macsen Lintz and Joshua Mikel. However, the absolute standouts are Melissa McBride and Lennie James, who prove themselves to be among the finest performers on television in this heartbreaking and cathartic hour as they figure out who they are. It’s clear that Morgan is continuing to spiral out of control and is becoming more disturbed by this war; will this be what sends him west to Texas for the crossover with “Fear the Walking Dead”? What will the final two hours of All Out War hold?

Be sure to tune into “The Walking Dead” next Sunday at 9 p.m. on AMC.

On Saturday, March 10, the 20th annual Georgia Tech Women’s Leadership Conference was held at the Historic Academy of Medicine. Following a year highlighted by the Women’s March, movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp and a record number of women running for office, the theme of the day-long conference was “Silent No More.”

The day started with Neeki Memarzadeh, fourth-year BSMS INTA student and Conference Chair, delivering an opening address speaking on these themes to a sold-out crowd. From there, attendees participated in a variety of workshops, ranging from a presentation by students at Spelman College who spoke on urban sustainability and environmentalism to a conversation with District forty-two State Senator
Elena Parent.

A standout from the morning session was a packed workshop led by Georgia State clinical psychologist Dr. Suzann Lawry and doctoral candidate Becky LeCroix discussing their research on “the impostor phenomenon,” an experience often encountered by high-achieving women and minorities who feel like “phonies” despite their success.

After lunch and a networking fair where participants had an opportunity to connect with conference sponsors, awards were given in recognition of influential women in the Tech community. Dean Jacqueline Jones Royster of the Ivan Allen College was recognized with the Outstanding Faculty Award and Ursula Reynolds, Associate Director of Doctoral Programs in the College of Business was given the Outstanding Staff Award. Two $1,000 scholarships were also awarded, one to undergraduate student Taft Weber-Kilpack and one to graduate student Kate Gunderson.

Following the awards was another standout of the conference, a “Fireside Chat” panel of woman activists in the Atlanta area discussing how to translate social activism into everyday life. The final round of workshops featured Tech’s own Dr. Susanna Morris speaking on understanding and disrupting respectability politics. The conference concluded with a panel of women currently working in the tech industry. Passionate closing remarks were delivered by Conference Vice Chair and Cybersecurity MS student Reagan Johnson.

With his latest film “Isle of Dogs,” the famously meticulous Wes Anderson has presented himself with a challenge: Is it possible to make a derelict island full of rancid garbage and mangy mutts beautiful? Using muted tones, intricate sets, and a gorgeous mixture of hand-drawn and stop-motion animation, Anderson has ensured that the film’s aesthetic style is decisively a triumph. But he may have sacrificed some of the soul of the film in the process.

After a wave of dog flu sweeps across the fictional Megasaki City, the cat-loving Mayor Kobayashi enacts a decree to quarantine all dogs on Trash Island. The mayor’s ward, a 12-year-old boy named Atari (Koyu Rankin), flies solo to the island to find his dog, Spots (Liev Schreiber), and encounters a ragtag group of former domestic dogs: the cautious Rex (Edward Norton), the gossip-loving Duke (Jeff Goldblum) and Boss and King (Bill Murray and Bob Balaban). Chief (Bryan Cranston) is the only disobedient stray in the pack — “I bite,” he repeatedly explains. Atari is similar, albeit less standoffish, and the two slowly form a heartwarming bond.

Aside from his perfectly symmetrical cinematography, Anderson’s intentionally stilted, on-the-nose dialogue is one of his most iconic trademarks. This winsome aspect is still apparent yet downplayed in “Isle of Dogs,” as most of the human characters speak unsubtitled Japanese (though an interpreter played by Frances McDormand translates some important scenes). The film is prefaced with a title card stating that all characters speak in their native tongue, while the barks have been translated into English. This means that Japanese speakers may get a bit more out of the film than others. On the other hand, it encourages English-speaking audiences to identify with the dogs rather than the Japanese people. This is a problem.

That problem is exacerbated by the introduction of Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig), a plucky American exchange student and journalist. Gerwig’s voice is delightful as always, but her character is one of the only English-speaking humans — she serves mostly as a vessel for American audiences to project themselves into. Tracy recalls Jared Leto’s character in Netflix’s film, “The Outsider,” in which a white American is forced to assimilate with the Yakuza gangs of Japan.

While these characters aren’t technically examples of whitewashing, a term which refers to the practice of casting white actors in roles made specifically for people of color, their existence still prioritizes the white experience while using Japan as a stylish backdrop. The filmmakers are clearly trying to demonstrate that these characters feel like outsiders in Japan, but they seem to be forgetting that “American” is not synonymous with “white.”

Aside from these missteps, “Isle of Dogs” attempts to be respectful to Japanese culture by throwing in homages to Akira Kurosawa’s classic samurai films and employing Alexandre Desplat’s percussive, taiko drum-heavy score. It’s easy to get distracted while trying to drink in every subtle reference and intricate detail — perhaps too easy. As the plot gets rolling, new obstacles come in at a mile-a-minute, making it hard to focus on what exactly is happening. There’s just no room for the characters (or audience) to breathe.

In addition to the sometimes baffling story structure, frequent exposition dumps also distract from the spine of the film: the devoted bond shared between people and their dogs. The only thing stopping it from jumping from good to great is its inability to get in touch with humanity like Anderson’s other films do — the heart is sorely missing from the dystopian world in “Isle of Dogs.” If only the characters were as complex as the plot.

“Isle of Dogs” opens Friday, April 6 in theaters everywhere.

The post Review: Wes Anderson’s stop-motion ‘Isle of Dogs’ is aesthetically stylish yet emotionally hollow appeared first on Emerald Media.

Fifty percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by spring, according to a study by Statistic Brain Research Institute. The Daily Bruin spoke with researchers at UCLA to find out research-based ways to stick to your New Year’s resolutions.

“Losing weight” is the hallmark of many  New Year’s resolutions list, yet studies have shown that 80 percent of overweight individuals are not successful at long-term weight loss.

Traci Mann, a former associate professor of psychology at UCLA and current professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, said while diets are often successful at first, the majority of dieters regain the weight they initially lost. This is likely because the body undergoes various physiological changes when deprived of its usual number of calories, Mann said.

“Dieting is a battle between your behavior and your biology, and biology generally wins,” she said.

When individuals decrease their caloric intake, their bodies produce more ghrelin, a hormone associated with hunger, while reducing the amount of leptin, a hormone associated with fullness, Mann said. She said this shift leaves dieters hungry after a couple of months of dieting, even if the amount of food they are eating remains constant.

Mann said the brain also goes through changes during dieting that increases its attention to food. During dieting, the body releases more dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with drug addiction, Mann said.

“These kinds of changes make it so that you become very aware of food around you,” she said. “You are more likely to focus on it and not be able to take your attention away from it.”

The body’s metabolism rate also changes to store more calories and burn fewer calories. This is the opposite of what someone would want if they were trying to lose weight, Mann said.

Mann said the same physiological changes that often cause diets to fail helped more primitive humans survive in times of famine. When food was scarce, metabolic, hormonal and neurological changes allowed our starving ancestors to put on weight and store food. When someone today reduces the amount of calories they consume, Mann said the body assumes there is a famine and makes physiological changes to survive.

Unfortunately, because these physiological changes do not happen immediately, many credit the diet for early success and blame themselves for later failure, Mann said.

“Because these changes don’t just directly add weight to you, and operate through your behaviors, it is really easy for people to blame themselves for regaining weight,” she said.

Mann recommends changing New Year’s resolutions to prioritize health over weight loss through healthy eating and exercise.

One strategy Mann suggests to improve eating habits is to put vegetables alone on the plate before getting any other food.

“When you have a plate of food, everything on that plate is in competition to be eaten and vegetables will invariably lose,” she said. “You have to put the vegetable in competition with the only thing it can beat – nothing.”

In order to encourage themselves to exercise, individuals should make it difficult to skip a workout, Mann said. This includes planning to go to the gym with friends, putting their gym bag by the door or even sleeping in workout clothing.

Mann said that although the physiological changes the body goes through during dieting makes it difficult to lose weight, dieting still improves individuals’ health.

“Eating healthy foods and exercising will make you healthier, but it might not make you thinner,” she said. “I know people don’t like to hear that, but unfortunately, that’s the truth.”

The University of Utah Honors College PRAXIS Lab “Worlds Apart: Assessing Utah’s Urban and Rural Divide” is hosting a Rural Day at 5 p.m. on April 2 at the Hinckley Institute of Politics.

The event is part of the culmination of research that students conducted throughout the last school year under the guidance of Matthew Burbank, a professor in the political science department at the U, and Katherine Fife, the principal consultant and founder of Philanthropy Matters, LLC, a consulting firm in Salt Lake City.

The PRAXIS Lab is a yearlong course that challenged enrolled Honors students to identify, understand and ultimately bridge the gap between cities in Utah, particularly Salt Lake City, and the rural areas of the state. Through the Rural Day event, students involved hope to both raise awareness and start a discussion about the issues facing rural students in their pursuit of higher education.

“We are hoping to contribute to efforts, both through this event and through our class projects, that will help improve their academic success,” said Ashli Young, a sophomore in the PRAXIS Lab. “In our research, we found that rural students have proven to definitely have the capabilities to succeed academically, but there is a difference in higher education enrollment and retention between urban and rural areas. We hope to help rural students open doors to start and complete a higher education pathway that is right for them, whether that be a four-year university or a community or technical college.”

Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox will speak at the event, followed by a panel discussion composed of speakers with diverse perspectives on issues that rural students face, including educational leadership and policy professor Jason Taylor and representatives from both the Kem Gardner Policy Institute and Salt Lake City Corporation.

“Lt. Governor Spencer Cox is an ideal speaker because he grew up in a rural area,” Burbank said. “He then went to Snow College and Utah State University, practiced law in the city and moved back to his hometown. He’s still living in rural Utah, and his story is a nice example of the ability of an education to progress your career.”

Numerous on-campus groups and resources have been invited to table at the event in order to highlight opportunities already available in Salt Lake City to support, enable and integrate students into campus.

All students, faculty, staff and the public are all invited to attend and participate in the free event, which includes dinner from The Pie Pizzeria.

“We want the Rural Day event to bring attention to the unique challenges that face students from rural areas,” Burbank said. “We’ve discovered that students in rural areas both in Utah and in other states graduate at a higher rate than metropolitan areas, and yet fewer rural students enroll in higher education programs, like universities. We are thinking about how education can help economic development in rural areas.”

j.mumford@dailyutahchronicle.com

@jacqmumford

Editor’s Note: The Daily Utah Chronicle’s news editor, Emily Anderson, is a student in the “Worlds Apart: Assessing Utah’s Urban and Rural Divide” PRAXIS Lab.

The post Lieutenant Governor to Speak at Event Exploring Urban-Rural Divide in Higher Education appeared first on Daily Utah Chronicle.

No. 10 Cal men’s golf turns in 2nd-place finish at The Goodwin tournament

Cal.isiphotos.com/Courtesy

While springtime is typically known for relaxation and recitation, the No. 10 Cal men’s golf team was hard at work at The Goodwin tournament in San Francisco for the first week of spring.

Coming off of a first-place finish at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate and a runner-up appearance at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate, the Bears were eager to continue their recent success after cracking into the top 10 for the first time all season.

Despite fighting gallantly and making a late push on Saturday to close the gap on No. 8 Oklahoma, Cal had to ultimately settle for second place. The Bears did, however, find solace in besting the tournament’s host and archrival, No. 18 Stanford, which finished in third just a handful of strokes behind Cal.

On an individual basis, redshirt junior Sebastian Crampton continued his dominant play, turning in an impressive third-place finish en route to shooting a 205 (-8). Crampton’s strong finish was his third top-five performance of the year.

Joining Crampton in the top 10 was junior Collin Morikawa, who ended the tournament in a tie for fifth after shooting 207 (-6). Morikawa started off hot on the first day by shooting a 66 (-5) but cooled down by his standards on the second and third day, shooting a 69 (-2) and 72 (+1) respectively.

On day one of the tournament, all teams struggled against difficult windy conditions. The Bears were unable to get anything going, with the exception of Morikawa and sophomore Finigan Tilly, who were the only two Bears to post red numbers.

Through the first 18 holes, Cal didn’t strike the ball as well as it had in recent weeks, and the team could not get enough putts to drop. But at the conclusion of day one, the Bears stood in a tie for fifth — just five shots behind the lead pace set by Stanford.

Day two saw Cal begin to make its move. Whereas on day one the Bears weren’t able to convert their chances of catching the leaders, day two saw their fortunes change.

Of the five Cal players participating, four shot rounds under par to catapult the team into second place. The Bears were led by Crampton’s 66 (-5), which moved him into a tie for seventh after beginning the day in a tie for 26th.

Redshirt junior KK Limbhasut and redshirt sophomore Jamie Cheatham also responded well by shooting a 67 (-4) and 69 (-2), respectively. At this point, the Bears sat five shots behind the Sooners.

On the final day of play, Cal attempted to rally past Oklahoma, but it was never able to finish the deal. In the final round, Crampton, Tilly and Cheatham all turned in scores in the 60s, but Morikawa and Limbhasut weren’t able to follow suit.

The bright spot for the Bears came on the 17th hole when Cheatham recorded a hole in one — an exciting way to cap off his 21st birthday. In the end, Cal finished three shots behind Oklahoma and five shots ahead of Stanford.

With one more tournament, Western Intercollegiate, before Pac-12 championship play begins, Cal will aim to keep up its strong play in pursuit of a deep postseason run.

Praveen Kuruppu covers men’s golf. Contact him at pkuruppu@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian