For months now, I’ve been dreading the coming of September, as I do every year. This year — an anniversary year — I knew would be much worse for me. I was newly one-year-old on Sept. 11, 2001. I don’t remember it. I don’t know where I was. I will never be psychologically affected by watching the towers fall on live TV (or even in-person) as many others have been. I don’t want to take anything away from them or their experiences. 9/11 uniquely affected Black and brown people, an often overlooked fact in our “never forget” and “national unity” rhetoric. 

It’s clear that 9/11 was one of our country’s greatest national tragedies. But we are rarely allowed to discuss its less immediately visible consequences. Perhaps some are afraid of offending others or disrespecting the victims or their families. Let me be clear: Those people who lost loved ones on 9/11 deserve their day to grieve in peace. But if you’re someone who is getting sucked into the national unity narrative once again, I challenge you to interrogate the nuances of that narrative and its roots. 

I genuinely want to know why the lives lost in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 20 years since 9/11 are simply news noise to us. Are we okay with violence when it’s “them” and not “us”? I want to know why we still use the word “terrorist” primarily for perpetrators of violence who proclaim themselves to be Muslim. I want to know why people in this country and around the world still fail to connect the dots of the rise in hate crimes against Muslim communities since Sept. 11, 2001. I want to know why my Arabic textbook is calibrated to teach me intelligence phrases like “United Nations” and “army officer” before we even learn colors. And I want to know why when I went to a language coordinator with this concern, she said to me: “Who knows, maybe those phrases will be more useful to you.” 

9/11 is a day of profound grief for us, too. Who is “us”? Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs, South Asian people or any Black or brown person who was in the wrong place in the wrong outfit in the wrong lighting at the wrong time. Many marginalized groups became an amalgamated target for hate in the wake of 9/11 — but the American mainstream has largely ignored this reality to accommodate a more hopeful post-9/11 national narrative. 9/11 is a day of intense emotion and sadness for all of us. But we — people of color — do not feel welcome to talk about the layers of our sadness nor the reasons for our anger. 

I’m not allowed to say that just hearing the words “terrorist attack” gives me a knot in my stomach, not just because it’s a sickening thing to hear in general, but also because whenever it happens, I have to pray that the perpetrator wasn’t an “Islamic” organization. Because when that inevitably happens, people twice my age expect me to explain the attack to them. It’s strange to me that people still don’t understand the inherent racism of asking me, an American-born Egyptian, about it. What more about terrorism am I expected to know than them? Sometimes, it just feels like they want me to rationalize and explain the terrorists’ logic for them. That’s not something I’m willing to do.

It’s been frustrating to grow up in the post-9/11 era. Despite having no recollection of the events, I am nevertheless subject to their consequences. A number of strange and upsetting things happened when I was a little kid and I didn’t know why. That was just the world we lived in, I guessed. I was fortunate enough not to have been personally attacked with violence, but the damage manifested in other ways. Growing up as an Arab-American, the first time I heard about the Arab world, aside from news about my relatives, was when my father showed me the newspaper’s recent accounts of the Iraq War. 

I grew up watching a lot of movies and TV. That type of media has made me into who I am. It is what I love. But I never saw an Arab character on TV. I only saw Arab characters in film roles as terrorists. And that made me ashamed to be an Arab because it told me that the only way the people I loved — my family and my relatives — would be seen by the artform I held so dearly was as that awful, awful thing. We couldn’t be inventors, intellectuals, innovators or upstanding citizens of any kind.

So, 20 years after our heartbreaking national tragedy, and 21 years into my life, I’ve started trying to process all of that. It hasn’t been easy. Especially not when your high school choir director announces to a room of 60 students that 9/11 “brought our country together” and you don’t have the strength, the nerve or the comprehension to tell him you have no idea what he’s talking about. Especially not when Paul Krugman tweets that there was no significant rise in hate crimes against Muslims after 9/11. Especially not when a language coordinator  tells you that she thinks Arabic is primarily useful to communicate with intelligence officials, not to learn in its own right.

I don’t want it to seem like I don’t think people should be posting “never forget.” Of course they should. Especially the people who lived through it, who will never be able to forget. Everyone has a right to grieve — for their own specific reasons, and in their own specific way. For all Americans, 9/11 was an unspeakable tragedy that shook this country to its core. But many non-white people also have to carry the burden of its racist aftermath. The current 9/11 narrative must not obscure that fact — that’s all I’m asking for.

Reports range from interpersonal conflicts to life-threatening situations.

Eli Turner is waiting for his ride home outside of the Center for Art and Theatre on September 22, 2021.

The post Daily Photo (09.22.2021) appeared first on The George-Anne Media Group.

Salvatore Ambrosino

On the late evening of Sept. 10, 11 students spent an hour planting flag after flag in remembrance of an attack that would rock the entire world 20 years ago the next morning.

“There are lots of feelings,” Emily Miles said. “It means a great deal to me, especially having family in the military and who are first responders.”

Miles, the President of Florida Southern College Republicans, the campus organization behind planning the memorial, described the feelings of excitement she had while preparing and planting the small American flags on Mr. George’s Green, each flag symbolic of a life lost during the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Then, as nearly 3000 flags began to loom over nearly half the massive field outside Allen Spivey, she says the excitement turned to sadness.

“It was humbling knowing that every flag placed was a life lost on that day,” FSC College Republicans member Phillip Roney said. “Each one of those flags represented a family, spouse, children or parent who lost a loved one that day.”

Roney says he lost track of time planting flags, and when he looked up at the flags, which had been planted every year as far as he can recall, he was frustrated and disappointed in a new way.

“Disappointed that 20 years later, we handed Afghanistan back to the parties who supported those responsible. I think with the withdrawal of our military in Afghanistan the meaning of 9/11, instead of being in remembrance, is going to serve as a warning. A warning of what the people we just set free are capable of,” Roney said.

On Aug. 26, nearly two decades after the attack, the bombings of Kabul airport killed over 100: at least 90 Afghans and 13 U.S. Service Members who were evacuating Afghanistan as the Taliban laid siege to its capital. This marked a bloody and poignant end to the U.S. 20-year occupation of the country. In addition to the flags, the deceased in Kabul too are remembered by 13 blue vases, decorated in red, white and blue, their name and a self-portrait taped to each one.

“It shows that even twenty years later, we still remember them and mourn their loss,” Miles said. “The Kabul Memorial also shows that remembrance, given their faces and names shown on the vases.”

Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Bruce Anderson believes not all is lost in the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.

“We risked people over there trying to get people out, that job is a risky, dangerous, bloody job, and we managed to get thousands of people out,” Anderson said. “It was never going to be clean, coming out of Afghanistan.”

But the major lesson in Afghanistan, Anderson says, is for extremist groups like the Taliban to learn. The trillions spent and countless American and Afghan lives lost in the war on terror were never in vain, he says because terrorist attacks the scale of 9/11 have been successfully diverted. 

And while many Afghan women and children face religious persecution under the reinstated theocratic regime, the U.S. has left behind infrastructure in the country that will prove difficult, Anderson says, for the Taliban to tear down.

“What’s happened in 20 years; there have been two generations of Afghans that have grown up with the right to education, the right to voice their complaints, and the right to organize, and the Taliban have to deal with that,” Anderson said.

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Midterm season: Cal to be tested against Stanford and USC

Celine Bellegarda/Senior Staff

Rivalry week is a special time on college campuses — the increased hype and anticipation are palpable in the air as the teams prepare for the intense matchup. Frankly, rival games just mean more.

If a single rivalry game is an occasion for increased effort and heartfelt emotion, then Cal volleyball is in for quite the ride this week. Not only do the Bears begin their conference play Wednesday, but they’ll also do so against bitter rival Stanford before hosting their Southern California foe, USC, on Sunday.

The Pac-12 conference is certainly an unforgiving powerhouse when it comes to volleyball, and Cal’s first two games coming against top teams in the conference are only the beginning of the tough journey that lies before it. Its opponents, Stanford and USC, were picked to finish in the top six in the Pac-12 coaches poll; Cal slotted in at 10.

“One of our goals is finishing top five in the Pac-12,” said senior Katie Smoot. “We have been voted almost dead last in the Pac-12, but I think it’s something we are completely capable of doing. ”

Stanford comes in as the second-highest-ranked Pac-12 team at 14 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Though they sit at just 5-3 overall, the Cardinal have had one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country, facing off against six top-20 teams. Stanford’s season has been highlighted by wins over then-No.5 Florida, No.18 Penn State and No.6 Nebraska.

The Cardinal are led by outside hitter Caitie Baird, who leads the team in points and kills, and freshman standout setter Kami Miner, who is averaging an impressive 11.52 assists per set.

Meanwhile, USC has not quite found the same success against ranked opponents such as Stanford, and it enters the Pac-12 play a game under .500.

Despite the Trojans coming in with better stats than Cal across nearly the entire board — USC averages more kills per set and boasts a higher hitting percentage than the Bears — the red and gold have struggled with serving. Though the Trojans are averaging more aces per set — 1.5 to the Bears’ 1.2 — they have committed a whopping 91 errors at the service line for an average of 10.11 per game, or 2.6 per set.

Committing errors on serve can both be demoralizing and provide an opportunity for the opposing team to claw back into sets. Errors put no pressure on the receiving team to make a play. USC, which averages nearly twice as many serving errors as aces, will need to cut down on the service errors if it wants to start consistently winning games.

On the other side of the net, Cal has been fantastic at limiting opposing team’s damages, as it has held its foes to just a .184 hitting percentage. Yet, it still needs to find consistency within its matches, something that head coach Sam Crosson believes can be helped by the experienced upperclassman.

“Experience goes a long way, especially in end of sets — the 22 alls,” Crosson said. “It’s really nice to have two seniors out there to know how they can react in those environments.”

Those two seniors, Smoot and Mima Mirkovic, have been electric thus far in the season, leading the team in kills and contributing heavily across the stat sheet. Crosson believes work still needs to be done in both their leadership roles and ability to stay levelheaded, however, if they are to take down either of their rivals this week.

“I can certainly appreciate the amount of self-pressure that those two put on themselves in terms of performance. Both of them at times though start to feel like they have to be on for us to be good,” Crosson said. “If you want to get the best of (your teammates), you want to find ways to lead by guided assistance and support as opposed to coming down on them.”

Cal’s game against Stanford will be played Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Palo Alto, after which it will host USC at 2 p.m. Sunday at Haas Pavilion.

Noah Parker covers volleyball. Contact him at nparker@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

Planner 5D, an easy-to-use 3D home design platform, has launched a free educational version that will help colleges teach interior design, architecture, and engineering. With Planner 5D teachers can set group assignments and design challenges for their classes. Any teacher anywhere in the world can apply and get up to 100 free educational licenses for […]

Myles Standish is a product of misplaced, racist nostalgia for some fictional American past. 

Planner 5D, an easy-to-use 3D home design platform, has launched a free educational version that will help colleges teach interior design, architecture, and engineering. With Planner 5D teachers can set group assignments and design challenges for their classes. Any teacher anywhere in the world can apply and get up to 100 free educational licenses for their students.

Planner 5D introduces an interactive learning experience that can enhance any curriculum, and teach the importance of computer-based design and engineering tools. At the same time, teachers can encourage students to foster their creativity while learning basic design principles through color combinations, lighting effects, landscape design, visually appealing graphics, unique sketching, and more. Previously, Planner 5D was only available to colleges as a paid product but the demand it has received and the testimonials from the users pushed the team to make it free.

“We see a great future for the technology that we create and we want as many students as possible to have access to it”, Alexey Sheremetyev, Planner 5D co-founder and CPO, says. “Our goal is to help teachers encourage their students to develop creative and spatial thinking, problem-solving approach, and their unique artistic vision. We hope to make education a more immersive experience, where students can experiment and test their ideas in real-time”.

At the moment Planner 5D already helps more than 70 million users who have created over 300 million projects improving their living or working spaces, renovating their homes, and changing the look and feel of places they belong to. The educational version of Planner 5D provides virtually the full functionality of the app, including the immersive editor and the catalog of over 6 000 objects. Teachers can integrate the interior design software into project-based activities. Students complete their tasks and then share their work with the teachers who’d be able to see and assess these projects in their personal dashboard. Planner 5D is available on Google Chromebook, MacOS, Windows, iOS, and Android.

Planner 5D also launched an online interior design school which has helped 43,000 students master the fundamentals needed to design functional and ergonomic interiors.

About Planner 5D
Planner 5D is an easy-to-use home design platform, which allows anyone to create floor plans and interior designs in minutes without any specialist skills by using powerful AI, VR & AR technologies. Today Planner 5D helps more than 70 million users who have created over 300 million designs to renovate their homes, change interior designs, choose new furniture and decoration. Planner 5D is available on all platforms including Web, iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows 10. For more information please visit https://planner5d.com

Media Contact
Anna Pozniak
Planner 5D
anna@planner5d.com
(813) 373-1400

Take one student-run publication and four women-led labels and, as Golden Magazine proved at Golden Runway Thursday night, you’ll end up with an exhilarating event that’ll leave everyone talking for days.

Golden Magazine held the first-ever student-led Fashion Week MN show at Aria, which is an impressive accomplishment in and of itself. Even more impressive is that the show sold out its seats. Primrose, WAY the Label, ElaMariie Jewelry, and Denim Revival Co. each rolled out a set of carefully curated collections for the event. And while the event seemed to run seamlessly, the process of making it happen was not as effortless as it might have presented itself.

According to Halle Klum, creative director of Golden Magazine, there was a lot of prep work that went on behind the scenes. According to Klum, the team spent hours upon hours working on the event between the rehearsals, fittings and other tasks necessary to put on a show.

“After seeing them build this from the ground up and coming up with all of these ideas, to see where they are now is incredible,” said third-year student Mia Litman.

Nestled in the North Loop and adorned with soaring ceilings, brick walls, pop art and crystal chandeliers, Aria was the perfect backdrop for the good vibes the Golden team wanted to showcase at the event. Attendees circulated between the appetizer table, open bar and red carpet-esque photo backdrop prior to making their way to their seats. Conversation flowed easily, a buzzing undercurrent of excitement running throughout the venue.

The crowd was as well dressed as you would expect an eclectic assortment of faces at a fashion week event to be. Think Reformation mini dresses, glittery gowns, platform boots, neon mini skirts, tailored pantsuits, sleek buns, subtle gold hoops and perfect manicures to match. And even eleven-year-old Izabella Greggoire showed up in space buns, pastel-pink Doc Martens and a sequin-covered jacket she upcycled from a thrifted wrap dress.

Those who shelled out more for their tickets to gain the elusive title of VIP watched the show from private balconies above the rest of the crowd, peering down from not-so-private alcoves. All VIPs at the show were given gift bags that contained a lipstick and face mask, among other things, sponsored by Aloft Minneapolis.

Some of those in the crowd were supportive parents of the Golden team, others were loving friends showing up in support of their friends’ brands, quite a few members were University of Minnesota students and even more were seasoned Fashion Week MN attendees.

DJ Omaur Bliss was in his element, serving as an addition to the show himself as he got into the music on stage. His mixes featured everything from Fifth Harmony’s “Worth It” to DMX’s “Party Up (Up in Here).”

A handful of attendees commented on the priority of inclusivity at Fashion Week MN shows, expressing a mutual appreciation for the welcoming atmosphere.

Golden Runway was many things: noisy, trendy, well-perfumed. But most importantly, the event was well-executed and the designers on display attested to that.

“For their first year, they are doing absolutely amazing — beyond what I thought it was going to be like. We’ve never done this before, and so no one knew what to expect,” said Kaitlyn Paul, co-founder of Denim Revival Co, on working with Golden Magazine. “They’ve been going above and beyond. They’re all so kind and so welcoming. They killed it.” 

The University of Minnesota is likely not the name that comes to mind for prospective students in search of schools with a vibrant fashion scene. However, if Golden Magazine can continue to produce events like Golden Runway alongside their semesterly issues — there’s a chance that might just change.

Georgia Southern now offers the Pfizer vaccine on its campuses, with availability starting this week.

For Statesboro, vaccines will be available Monday through Friday at the Health Services. On the Armstrong campus starting next week, Pfizer will be available on Wednesdays at the Health Professions Academic Building. 

The Pfizer vaccine was the first and only vaccine to get the full FDA stamp of approval last month.

To schedule an appointment, everyone must go to the MyGSPortal and click on the form entitled “COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling” which is located under the heading of “COVID-19 Information and Resources.” 

In addition to the regular vaccine availability this week, there will be a pop-up clinic on Wednesday around lunchtime in the Russell Union.

Since GS began offering vaccines, on the Statesboro campus they’ve given 4,346 people at least one dose of the vaccine and have fully vaccinated 3,495, according to an open records request obtained by the George-Anne.

In addition, faculty, staff and students who are among the first to receive the Pfizer shot will receive $50 EagleXpress credit. GS is giving everyone that gets vaccinated before September 30 this reward.

Plus, there will also be a weekly drawing valued at $500 and two grand prize drawings at the end of September which will be valued at $2,500 and $5,000 for any faculty, staff or student who has been fully vaccinated, regardless of previous vaccination location or time.

To enter the drawing visit your MyGS page and find “COVID-19 Vaccine Drawing”. There’s no need to enter more than once.

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