The recent breakouts of violence in North Dakota regarding the oil pipeline and its culture-threatening placement has turned a once peaceful protest into a more extreme movement.

Advocacy groups, social justice fighters and people who just want to see change have posted videos and pictures on social media showing the violence committed to the Native Americans at Standing Rock. There are videos showing riots, rubber bullets and tear gas being shot at groups of people. There are pictures of natives with bruises and welts, and videos of people in shock from the attacks.

These videos seem to leave out what might have brought the violence on. It is understandable for a movement to become violent when oil companies threaten people’s’ homes, when their culture and ancestry and even their water supply is threatened, but the people have started a civil disobedience movement. When something of that nature starts, awareness spreads. People hear about how honorable and dedicated the protesters are and it stirs something in their hearts.

“Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals,” Martin Luther King Jr said during a speech on Feb. 6, 1964 in front of The New School in New York. To the oil companies, the protesting becomes an inconvenience. With hundreds of people protesting, the law cannot arrest them all.

When a movement like this becomes violent and when protesters start to bring guns and appear threatening to the men and women of the law, things escalate. As tension grows, officials grow more nervous, everyone feels the tension and violence breaks out.

An article called Native American Pipeline Protest Halts Construction in N. Dekota in Inside the Climate News written by Phil McKenna said, “A group of protesters on horseback staged a mock charge toward a line of law enforcement officials guarding the site, and the county sheriff alleged that others have fired guns and set off pipe bombs.”

The courts will stand behind the police officials who will say they were defending themselves, and the entire movement will fall apart because peace was not achieved.

Awareness continues to be an issue for the movement. From a distance, people only have videos and articles to rely on for the truth, but what if the people who are interviewed share two different stories?

From the article above, Mckenna also wrote, “Protesters denied those allegations. ‘Firearms and weapons are not allowed at the Sacred Stone Camp and our security has done an exemplary job at maintaining safety amongst the crowd.’”

Online:

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18082016/native-americans-sioux-tribe-protest-north-dakota-access-bakken-oil-pipeline-fossil-fuels

People who want to know the truth and people who want to see change in the world should go to the events regarding the protest. Some KSC students attended different rallies and marches and came back saying that before they went to the events, they did not know anything about the issue.

People cannot rely on social media for their news. For so many social and political issues, the only knowledge people have is from videos their friends posted that come from biased or bought out propaganda sights. Even some news sources are too biased to trust.

College students might have a hard time going to some of the rallies that require extensive travel, but KSC had a speaker Fidel Moreno come on Nov. 2 to talk about what is happening in North Dakota. Students who attended said that they were affected greatly by Moreno and still, others decided they wanted to do more.

A video Moreno showed pointed out that as the days get shorter and colder, firewood will become a dwindling necessity.

Some students will be using their thanksgiving break to show support and drive firewood to the protesters at Standing Rock. It’s amazing that students were affected so much that they actually want to make that drive during the holidays. If students want to help, stop spreading Facebook propaganda and help out the people who work to make a difference.

Online:

https://www.gofundme.com/keene-state-stands-w-standing-rock

Sebastien Mehegan can be contacted at Smehegan@kscequinox.com

Males and females in the dance major have different levels of competition, mainly because there are so few male dance majors to begin with. Although this is true for KSC, the program treats both genders the same.

KSC junior and dance major Bethany Peterson indicated that often times at contemporary schools, the male dancers are treated as a hot commodity, as there are so few of them. Many will have free rides to the school or even paid to be in certain performances. The females often pay full tuition and have more competition in the audition process.

Alumnus of the KSC dance program, Alex Davis said KSC better prepared him for the career he wanted than contemporary schools could have. “ I chose to go to a liberal arts program to develop an entire skill set. When you are looking at a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from a contemporary school, you are looking only to be a professional dancer,” David said. “At KSC, we have the option to be what we want in the world of art. It fosters professional artists. But then it also creates beautiful dance educators,” David said.

KSC sophomore and dance major Zach Robinson said he has been passionate about dance since the age of three, and after his first-year, he remains satisfied with the choice to attend KSC. “There is a difference in the competition for men and women, mainly because I am the only male in the program. I know one graduated last year, but I wasn’t in any performances or classes with him so I never met him,” Robinson said.

Robinson also said that most other dance schools don’t offer the same dance education courses as Keene State does, which he factored in when choosing a school.

KSC Dance Professor Marcia Murdock said, “Things are changing in the world, and there was a stigma for men in the dance world. However, the world is becoming more accepting of everyone. Our dance major is nationally recognized.”

Murdock said that because the dance program at KSC is a small liberal arts program, every student is given individual attention. Also, because KSC is a member of the American College Dance Association (ACDA), “one of the premier national and international dance associations,” KSC dance students get to see and connect with schools all over New England.

Davis said because KSC is a part of the ACDA, he had the opportunity to work in Boston through the association.

Peterson said, “There is definitely less competition within the males because there are less of them, but I feel as a female there are a lot of opportunities. The program does a great job at not discriminating based on sex and people’s class [freshman, sophomore, etc.].”

Peterson said that many contemporary schools do not give their students this kind of treatment and only pay attention to those who show “outstanding skill.”

Davis said the small size of the KSC dance program benefits the dancers because each artist is given equal attention from the teachers. “The environment allowed me to focus on what has now become my professional career.”

Peterson also said that for many schools in many art forms, teachers will often hold seniority as a major factor in assigning parts in various shows. The professors at KSC, however, choose parts for those who deserve it, regardless of that student’s current grade level.

Murdock said that in the upcoming choreography showcase on December 9,  senior dance majors will be joined by underclassmen.

Both Peterson and Robinson said they share the goal to complete a masters program. Both stated that because of the way the administration set up the dance program, they will be able to accomplish their goal within five years.

Peterson added that she thinks the arts as a whole on campus do not have as much support as they should from both the students and the administration. “The shows that the dance program sponsors should have more advertisement so that more students will attend,” Peterson said.

Sebastien Mehegan can be contacted at smehegan@kscequinox.com