“This is not a book for the faint of heart,” warns author Jay D. Aronson a mere two pages into his book, “Who Owns the Dead? The Science and Politics of Death at Ground Zero.” The book is also not for those who want entertainment, conspiracy theories or a place to set blame. The book is not for those who seek answers about the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

Instead, this nonfiction work focuses on understanding the results of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. Instead of an in-depth analysis of what happened or why it happened, Aronson chooses to look at another question: what next? The book explores what happened after the attack, from identification of remains to creating a memorial and all the obstacles and struggles along the way.

The book owes its title to retired New York Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches, who unsuccessfully tried to publish an opinion piece with the same title in the New York Daily News. Riches was one of many who lost a loved one during the attack, and was not the only one to question what would be done with the remains.

That question, which is at the heart of this work, is decidedly complicated. Aronson recounts the promise of Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch to identify every remain that was found. For some families this brought hope, while for others it brought heartbreak. As the city of New York found out, there were often conflicting emotions in the families of victims. For the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, this promise has meant continued work on the project, especially as new discoveries in DNA testing emerge.

The science of identification is only one of many issues of “owning” the dead. The questions of memorialization and proper excavation brought along political concerns. Many families of victims felt their loved ones were not being honored properly and that political figures including Mayor Rudy Giuliani were brushing off their concerns. There was tension at every step along the way between politicians, architects, engineers and grieving families.

As a historic account, it is almost assumed that the book is organized chronologically, beginning with the day of the attack and ending with the dedication of the memorial. While these are the beginning and end points, the middle is not strictly chronological. Instead, Aronson peels back layer by layer of the scientific, political and emotional mess that followed the attack to show the larger tangle left behind.

Overall, the work does a beautiful job of giving insight into the tough decisions that surrounded the aftermath. For those of us that were too young to fully understand the implications of the attack or the battles that continued for years after, this book explains the ongoing trauma of tragedy. The work challenges readers to look at the disaster history of 9/11 in a different light.

This book is not for the faint of heart. This book is for those who are interested in questioning how Americans view tragedy, and exploring how the devastation of 9/11 has become a part of our collective history. This book is for those who understand the struggles between grief and progress, and for those who are interested in getting through trauma.

The Triangle talked to Joe Karnes, the bassist from popular band Fitz and The Tantrums. The band’s recent claim to fame has been the song “The Walker,” which has been on the Billboard Top 100 Chart for the past 12 weeks. The song peaked at number 67, but was still number 74 in last week’s chart. Fitz and The Tantrums are also known for their single “Out of My League.”

The band, which was formed in 2008, now consists of Michael Fitzpatrick, Noelle Scaggs, Joe Karnes, James King, Jeremy Ruzumna and John Wicks. Their sound is most identifiable with indie pop or indie rock, but with a distinct retro feel that sets them apart from other groups.

Find out more about bassist Joe Karnes and be sure to see Fitz and The Tantrums live at the Electric Factory Nov. 7.

The Triangle: First of all, what is your favorite song that you play and why?

Joe Karnes: That would be “6AM” off our new record. It’s just really fun to play. It’s a great groove, and it’s something we had come up actually way back in 2010 and something we’ve played for a while, but every time we play it, it makes me pay attention. And it’s got such a heartfelt interplay between Fitz and Noelle and whenever it comes up on the set, I always look forward to it.

TT: How would you describe your musical style as a performer in a few words?

JK: That’s an interesting question. I’ve never thought about that. So many things. There’s influences, there’s people that have influenced me. Really I just want to be completely supportive to the songs and what’s going on out there and making sure that our singers, Fitz and Noelle, are able to, you know, feel whatever they need to feel to get the words and lyrics across. As a bass player, you definitely like to be in a supportive role. I also like to get the energy out there and make sure the whole crowd is having fun. They could look at any one of us and have a good time when we’re up there.

TT: What do you think about when you’re performing?

JK: Most of the time, I really try to think about exactly what I’m doing, but, you know, it’s amazing the amount of different thoughts that can come into your head while you’re doing so many different things. The main thing I really try to think about is being a sense of joy to the audience so that they can have fun too. We put on a show that helps people lose their inhibitions and let their hair down and have a good time. So that’s usually my main focus is just kind of looking out at the crowd and making sure I play the songs correctly and with a great feel that makes them want to dance.

TT: Have there been any shows that stood out in a positive way that you can remember?

JK: Yes, there’s a ton of shows — luckily — that I can remember that stand out. I think one of the biggest ones for all of us was when we first [went to] Lollapalooza in 2011. Our first record was just starting to poke its head out, and get some notice. We were doing lots of club shows and everything was going well and we were on a good trajectory but this was our first time on that size of a stage — we got on the main stage. And it was about 2 p.m. on a Saturday and the Friday was a pretty epic night, I think, and we’re like, “Is anyone going to be out there? It’s 2 p.m., people are probably still showing up.” We looked out at like 1 p.m. and the crowd wasn’t that full, and we’re just kind of gearing ourselves emotionally to go out there and play in front of not that as many people as we would like to. As soon as we got on the stage — we made sure not to peek — and as soon as we got out there and saw the crowd, it was just packed. There were so many people out there, you know, 20 or 30,000 people, and when we started to play we could see that the people way in the back were partying just as far as the people in the front. Our music was reaching all the way back there and everyone was having a great time. We definitely came away from that one like, “Wow, we’ve just stepped into a much larger world.”

TT: Why did you decide to make a commentary album of “More Than Just a Dream?” What was the process behind that?

JK: That’s just something that people are doing these days, I think. You’ll find a lot of other acts have that. I think that’s definitely for the more audiophiles, and the Fitzaphiles, if you will. The people who really want to that extra detail. Most people just want to hear songs. I think it’s Fitz and Noelle doing that one, just talking over the song, but I remember listening to Fun — their record; they did one. It’s really eye-opening for people who want to know how songs are written or people who want to know a little more about some meanings of what the songs are. You know, songs are really great in that they can be interpreted in so many ways and if people have their own interpretations, that’s just as valid as whatever we were trying to say whenever we wrote whatever song we wrote. It’s really different for people to want to dive in a little deeper and learn more about the process of creating our music.

TT: How would you describe the band’s presence in the current music scene?

JK: It turns out to be a lot of friends that we get to make on the road here. I think a lot of times we play at a lot of radio festivals, so we’ve gotten really close with all the guys and Foster the People, we’ve done a bunch of shows with them this summer. We’ve got some shows coming up with Cage the Elephant and Capital Cities. We did a co-headline tour with them last fall, so we’re really good friends. So those are the bands that we really look to as our peers. You look at all the music and everyone’s got their own sound, so it’s not like we’re part of a sound, other than we all get played on similar radio stations. But those are the peers that we kind of look at and go like, “Hey!” So I guess that’s the scene that we’re a part of, even though some of the bands are based in cities far away from us.

TT: What is the general process of writing a new song and how do you, yourself, fit into it?

JK: Every single way you could think of. On this record, songs are written in so many different combinations. Often it starts with someone coming up with an idea, or a demo and sometimes other people get involved. On one of the songs, it was me and Jeremy, the keyboardist, on the song “Get Away” on the album. Jeremy had half a chorus part, and I went over to his house and I came up with the verse; we both came up with the bridge. So we kind of came up with the music and brought that over to Fitz and Noelle, who came up with the lyrics and melody on top of it. Some songs were born out of jams that we had, some songs just came, you know, some were just written by Fitz …

We all just put our vibe and our energy and our arrangements to the song. Everyone gets to put their personality and their stamp on each tune. But, you know, there’s so many different combinations, so we try not to limit ourselves to one process because you never know where inspiration is going to come from.

Phil Griffin, president of cable news network MSNBC, explained the tale of trials and tribulations that led to his success to students Feb. 25 in the Mitchell Auditorium .

Karen Curry, executive director of the Kal and Lucille Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies, interviewed Griffin before opening up the floor for questions from the audience.

The discussion started off with the story of MSNBC’s humble and somewhat unsuccessful beginnings. Griffin told of the initial intention to have Internet news by creating a joint venture with Microsoft in 1996, accompanying his story with a video clip.

Photo Credit: Ajon Brodie

“It was interesting. Bill Gates, the genius, actually thought the convergence of the television and the Web was going to happen in 1999,” Griffin said. “And it’s happening slowly and in different ways than anyone thought it was going to happen.”

Griffin explained that getting viewers and ratings didn’t go well at first. A few methods were tried, including some suggested by Roger Ailes, who is now the president of Fox News Channel. “He did political shows, health shows, cooking shows, sex shows — everything,” Griffin said, describing what he called the “petri dish” of networks.

This passed after about a year, leading to Ailes’ other suggestion, which was to make a conservative news platform, which was rejected, leading to Ailes’ departure for Fox News. Eventually, MSNBC developed a brand and became “the place for politics,” Griffin said.

Griffin remembered this branding moment: “We stood for something — politics. We weren’t just a general-interest news channel with a couple people in it.”

Eventually MSNBC realized that Ailes’ idea about standing for something was insightful, but they took it a different way with their own perspective of progressivism and liberalism.

“You have to stand for something to break up the clutter,” Griffin said. “We’re like Fox News in the sense that we have a point of view.”

Griffin recalled that he realized MSNBC was doing something right after a conversation he had with actor Samuel L. Jackson in an elevator.

“I’m in an elevator, and Samuel L. Jackson walks in. I know who he is. He doesn’t know who I am. And also, he says, ‘I’m going to give the first toast at the luncheon for the new first lady tomorrow.’ This was Inauguration Day,” Griffin said.

Eventually Jackson asked what Griffin did. “I said, ‘I run MSNBC,’ and we had just hit the first floor and the elevator door opened, and he held it, and he put his hand out and he said, ‘Thank you. Thank you for MSNBC.’”

To Griffin, this was what he described as the moment that he understood where media was in the world and when he understood what news stations like MSNBC and Fox, which have opinions and perspectives, mean to people. “That’s when I got it, and that’s when I got the new media age. Because it was emotional, it was connected, it was a community,” Griffin said.

However, he said he also felt the thank you was directed at MSNBC for being different than Fox in some regards. “That thank you said, ‘Thank you for taking on the great Satan, Fox News. Thank you for giving a voice that hadn’t been out there. Thank you for talking about issues that people weren’t talking about,’” Griffin continued.

MSNBC also prides itself on having what Griffin describes as homegrown people on its shows. The host-driven shows on MSNBC, such as “The Rachel Maddow Show,” started as guests who appeared a few times and then as guest hosts of a show before proceeding to get their own show. Griffin said he also admires their intelligence, calling the hosts of shows brainiacs and geniuses.

Kal Rudman of the Kal and Lucille Rudman Institute, which sponsored the event, spoke positively about it.

“As the financial sponsor, I cannot give enough praise to Karen Curry. And Karen Curry has brought the biggest of the big for the benefit of the students. You can’t imagine the value at this time of the inspiration that will stay with the people here forever,” Rudman said.

Freshman TV production major Jessica Franklin also saw the positives of the presentation. “I’m not politically involved compared to the rest of the audience,” Franklin said. “But I [did] really enjoy watching and learning about that aspect of the presentation.”

After the presentation, Griffin gave advice that anyone can use but was specifically meant for people who want to go into media.

“The smartest thing you can do is go somewhere and just, you know, see if you love it, if it’s really what you want to do. And if it is, be there. Do everything. There’s no job too small, and there’s no job too big. You want me to research something big? I’ll do it in my free time,” Griffin said. “If you love it and that comes across, and you do good work, and you really seem like you care, you’re going to succeed.”

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Schoolboy Q and Carnage co-headlined the annual Homecoming Dance Party and brought exciting elements to the show Jan. 25 in the Armory.

This year’s concert featured hip-hop groups and rappers, including a Drexel sophomore whose stage name is Mason IV Real , Ground Up, Trinidad Jame$ and Schoolboy Q. The lineup also included saxophone player Griz and DJ Carnage. Both artists incorporated pop songs, jazz songs and classic rock songs into their electronic dance music. Griz pulled out a saxophone in the middle of his set and started playing live jazz over prerecorded songs.

Photo Credit: Ajon Brodie

The lineup was created with a diverse audience in mind and included a mix of genres from past concerts.

“We’ve always wanted to have an interesting blend of artists,” James Hamalian, a junior entrepreneurship and finance major, and president of Drexel Traditions, said. “When the show originated, we did an all hip-hop show with Mike Jones and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Then we brought in a more pop aspect; we had Jay Sean and Sean Paul. Last year we did a more trap and [electronic dance music] show with Waka Flocka Flame, Flosstrodamus and Porter Robinson.”

Carnage’s performance featured two giant inflatable lookalikes set on both sides of the stage. These inflatable likenesses will be used in only two other performances besides the Homecoming Dance Party: Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., and Ultra Music Festival in Miami. The replicas sported a Chipotle gang shirt and a Carnage jersey. Smoke came out of their ears and laser lights shot from their eyes, creating a light show on the Armory’s back wall.

However, the inflatable men were not the only big effects used in this year’s show. Junior entertainment and arts management student Brett Axler, who has worked this concert for the past two years, explained that this year’s lighting and sound was more professional than that of any other year. Axler said that the Armory was outfitted with a similar lighting rig as this summer’s Made In America concert on the Parkway and that the sound system was comparable to what would be found in the Mann Music Center.

The show also included streamers and confetti that burst out during both Griz’s and Carnage’s sets. There were also yellow, white and blue balloons that fell from the balcony during Carnage’s performance.

For the first time in the concert’s history, VIP tickets were available for purchase. Those tickets gave access to balcony seating, a separate entrance, catered Subway sandwiches and waters and sodas.

“The free food and drink was nice, the extra entrance was nice. The view was great too. If you were just looking to watch the concert, it was great. The only beef I had with the VIP section is that people were very uptight,” Stephen Reading, freshman economics student, said.

This show, with its improved sound and light, had a large target audience, including students from other colleges. Tickets this year were sold to students from 37 different states.

“Everybody [was] basically open to bring two guests as well, which we thoroughly enjoy[ed], to bridge the gap between our University [and others],” Hamalian said.

However, no concert is completely flawless. A few students had to be escorted out during the concert, mostly for rowdy behavior and partaking in crowd surfing. One student was escorted out by medical personnel because of possible alcohol poisoning. A consistent problem was concert goers pushing up against the barricades. However, Axler, who was also in charge of security, said that security was tighter than ever this year, so these problems were efficiently dealt with.

Another concern was the weather. There was light snowfall throughout the entire day, which made it the most snow that the concert had ever seen. Hamalian said he was worried people would not brave the cold to make it to the concert, but this year broke the attendance for a homecoming concert.

The concert was a combined effort of many people, including Hamalian, Axler and junior entrepreneurship major Ben Melman. The concert was hosted by Drexel Traditions and the Dragon Concert Series. It was sponsored by SAFAC, Student Affairs and the LeBow College of Business.

An indigenous prayer accompanied by the hazy smoke of sage was the opening ceremony of the “Two-Spirit People: Sex, Gender and Sexuality” lecture Nov. 12 in the Black Box Theater.

Presented by Harlan Pruden and Sheldon Raymore, members of the Northeast Two-Spirit Society, the lecture gave a brief though wide-ranging overview of the history of indigenous people, focusing specifically on two-spirited people. The gathering was an informal discussion in which people were encouraged to ask questions at any time.

“What we’re trying to do is to reclaim and restore our [two-spirit] roles in the broader Native American community,” Pruden said. But context, he said, is important. “Because many traditional Native American communities had three genders, four genders, six different genders.”

“It is not with a sexual-orientation lens that you look at these people,” Pruden explained. “It is about your role or function within society.”

Indigenous people don’t have corresponding terms for bisexual, gay, lesbian or transgender. Instead, some Native American tribes have what is called a medicine wheel, which is similar to a compass in that it has four cardinal points. In the north are the heterosexual men; in the south are the heterosexual women. In the west are the male-bodied two-spirited and in the east are the female-bodied two-spirited people. People can choose partners out of any point other than their own.

Two-spirited people are the go-between for the separated men and women’s camps, and they work as marriage counselors or help with conflict resolution. They also can participate in both men’s and women’s dances in tribal rituals and have a special place in some dances, such as the sun dance.

Dance is a key part of Native American tradition, Pruden and Raymore explained in their head-to-foot regalia. Sheldon demonstrated three dances throughout the night: the women’s traditional, the women’s fancy dance and the men’s grass dance, each in different regalia. Each dance and each piece of regalia was unique and held a special meaning. “The very act of dancing in this dress,” Raymore said, wearing a blue women’s jingle dress covered in silver cone-shaped bells, “constitutes a prayer for healing.”

Another part of the regalia was an eagle-feather fan, which when raised in the dance symbolizes an upbeat, or an honor beat, as Raymore explained.

“In an honor beat, you’re giving thanks to the Creator,” he said. “Eagle feathers are sacred to us because they send messages to the Creator.”

The women’s fancy dance, which was previously a war dance, told the story of the metamorphosis of the butterfly. This element was seen through the shawl that accompanied this dance. The grass dance, which was performed last, told the story about plainsmen migrating. When they got to an area with high grass, the grass dancers would go first, doing their dance to stomp and pound down on the grass to make it movable.

Dance and even dance competitions are common in tribal rituals.

“It’s how best you tell the story in dance,” Pruden said about how dance competitions are judged. “It’s whether or not you can be a good storyteller with dance.”

However, Native American history is full of oppression and politics.

“It’s hard to even talk about the way we dance without being political,” Pruden said. Indigenous dances were banned until 1978, with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Before that, dancing was considered an “Indian offense” and came with consequences. Because of this, dance has transformed through time.

Oppression came in different forms, too. Pruden explained how many people, including his own relatives, were forced into boarding schools.

“They would have the Indian-ness beaten out of them,” he said.

Native American leaders would also tell the two-spirited people to hide so as not to be prosecuted. However, Pruden saw problems from this as well.

“One is a story of hate and violence, and one is a story of love, but they both come to the same endpoint,” he said.

“The spirit of our people is unassailable, and we have survived,” Raymore added.

Pruden and Raymore have a threefold mission: to educate people about two-spiritedness and its history, to increase the visibility of two-spirited people in the Native American community, and to continue building the two-spirit community.

Edited Nov. 17, 2013 to change a prior reference of costumes to regalia.

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Convocation, a tradition to mark the beginning of the new academic year, is an event that has welcomed faculty, staff and students to Drexel for the past 120 years.

This year’s ceremony, held Oct. 22 in the auditorium in the Main Building, began with a formal procession of faculty members in their academic regalia. The regalia signifies their degree, area of study, and university that they attended. The processional was led by the mace bearer, who holds the mace that signifies the official beginning and end of the ceremony. This tradition stems from the ancient Roman tradition of magistrates carrying a fasces, which is similar to a ceremonial ax.

“It’s like a big academic party,” Provost Mark Greenberg said. “And, like at any good party, there’s food.”

[media-credit name=”Walker Green” align=”alignleft” width=”300″] 1

Before the ceremony, there was a celebratory breakfast for faculty and staff. Following the ceremony, there was a reception, which was open to all.

The event included a series of greetings for both returning and new faculty and students. The University Chorus and color guard both took part in the ceremony. The chorus sang the national anthem, “Alleluia” by Randell Thompson, and the first verse of the Drexel Ode. The color guard led the processional and recessional with the school colors.

“We remind ourselves that this is a new beginning,” the Rev. Sarah Colwill, director of the Asbury Ministry at Drexel, said during the invocation. “So we take this time to honor the new year.”

Each year, the provost and the president choose a speaker who is well-versed in an issue that is relevant to students and faculty. In the past, topics have included environmental concerns and discussing the importance of research. This year’s topic focused on campus diversity.

“Diversity doesn’t happen when we say we want to be more diverse. It happens when we come up with and offer ideas,” President John A. Fry said during his introduction of keynote speaker Freeman Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Hrabowski focuses on teaching math and science to underrepresented minority students. Time magazine named Hrabowski one of America’s 10 Best College Presidents in 2009 and one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012. He was also chosen by President Barack Obama to chair the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

“We were fortunate enough to invite him, and he was gracious enough to accept,” Greenberg said.

Hrabowski spoke about growing up in the South in the ‘60s and his role in the Birmingham Children’s March that was led by Martin Luther King Jr. Because of the march, Hrabowski ended up in prison at the age of 12. He described the event as the beginning of his transformation.

“Perhaps my future didn’t have to be the same as my present,” he said, referring to his 12-year-old self. “What made the difference was this vision that my colleagues had to do things better than we ever thought possible.”

Hrabowski challenged faculty and students to accept and encourage diversity. He explained that both students and faculty are key to success in changing the world in which we live.

“You are a part of the American experiment,” Hrabowski said, his speech at that point directed toward students. To the faculty, he said, “You are a leader in producing leaders.”

One of Hrabowski’s key ideas was that higher education is a privilege that not everyone receives, and it is a privilege that opens many doors and opportunities.

“Where would we be if we had not had the privilege to be educated?” he asked the audience.

Diversity is an important issue because when diversity on a college campus is increased, it means that more people are getting the opportunity to experience education, he said.

To close, Hrabowski ended with a quote from Aristotle: “Choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”

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