Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Down At The Cross, Elena Perez-Zetune

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For the first thirteen years of my familial life, I walked a block to devoutly pray to statues with open arms, promising open gates- my radiant mother walking with once thin father, hand in hand like a teenage couple. My sister, with her thick night-black curly hair, skipped and fell every other step, not due to young age but simply an unfortunate quarrel with gravity. Always trailing close behind was my brother clutching his precious cards shouting, “I choose you Pikachu” along the way.

From kindergarten through eighth grade, I walked through the hallways of my Catholic primary school. The …

Fearless: Kaleigh Sosa, Kathryn E. Bucolo

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Fearlessly organizing events on campus addressing issues of sexual assault, serving the campus community by raising awareness of gender, bias, and violence issues, and helping first-years and sophomores as part of Residence Life staff, Kaleigh Sosa ’14 passionately leads her peers toward understanding. [excerpt]

Twice As Likely To..., Adrienne M. Ellis

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TRIGGER WARNING!

I am white. I am bisexual. I am female. I have been sexually assaulted. Three times. [excerpt]

What I'Ve Learned To Expect, Natalie S. Sherif

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“Hey bitch!” someone yelled.

“Biiitttch!” I heard again from the car.

Music blared from inside. I pretended not to notice. Don’t give them the satisfaction, I thought. Don’t do something you’ll regret. So I stood there until the cars stopped whizzing past, pretending to ignore a car of boys yelling insults.

When the light changed, I hurried across Carlisle Street, got into my room, and lost it.

I was furious. Being reduced to an insult while walking home from a movie for class is infuriating. But, what really got under my skin was that incidents like this seem commonplace. While …

Fearless: Sexual Assault Survivors, Kathryn E. Bucolo

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TRIGGER WARNING!

Raped, abused, molested, assaulted. Every other day on this campus.

Grabbed, touched, hit, down. Not a person. Skirt going down, shirt coming up.

Led behind locked doors, poured another drink.

“Not sure if it counted as assault.”

Every. other. day. [excerpt]

To Empathize With An Enemy, Rashida Aluko-Roberts

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I do not like to talk about my time in Sierra Leone, but I think I’m ready to start.

Growing up in Sierra Leone was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I carry with me fond memories of my childhood, growing up on 22 Thompson Street in the one-storey house with red doors and windows and zebra themed paint. Evenings were spent riding bikes with my best friend Fatmata. Weekend afternoons spent playing scrabble and watching our favorite Disney movies with my siblings and neighbors in our living room. Those memories I have kept, happily. [excerpt …

The Strong Silent Type, Alyssa L. Bosold

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Speak up. Be assertive. Lean in. Take up space. However it’s said, there is a stream of discourse telling women that we should be louder and prouder in order to succeed.

As the argument goes, we, as women, are silenced by oppression. Society tells us to be quiet, politely agree, and make ourselves as small as possible. So naturally, we should resist this social pressure by being more vocal, more extroverted, and more assertive. [excerpt]

Fearless: Eric Lee, Eric J. Lee

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Snapping pictures of his fellow Gettysburgians around campus as the visual communications intern, and fearlessly working with other students to create, organize, and lead the new Asian Student Alliance (ASA) group on campus, Eric Lee ’15 finds himself at the crossroads of art and activism.

New to campus this year after two years in the making, the ASA is a student-led, -run, and -organized group focused on celebrating different Asian cultures and heritages, closing the gap between international and domestic students, and creating a social, cultural, and political forum for students to dialogue, specifically about issues facing Asian communities. [ …

Every Other Day, Sarah M. Connelly

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There is a problem on our campus—a problem of sexual assault and its perpetuation due to unnecessary silence. Current compulsory education on the topic through AlcoholEdu and First-Year Orientation are often turned into jokes because of course everyone knows not to rape and not to put yourself in a dangerous situation. The concept doesn’t seem real until a Campus Safety Alert reports that one of our students has been sexually assaulted. But even then, we get those so infrequently that it couldn’t be that much of an issue, right? [excerpt]

Fearless: Adrienne Ellis, Adrienne M. Ellis

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Taking the initiative to change college policies related to LGBTQ issues, restructuring a sustainable community garden in Gettysburg over the summer, and continually being motivated to change and challenge the powers that be through her love of people, Adrienne Ellis ’14 fearlessly fights for what she believes to help the people she loves— everybody. [excerpt]

Gay After Graduation, Laura J. Koenig

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I first went public with my sexual orientation over Surge last spring–my last semester at Gettysburg before graduation. I was scared, but ultimately lucky to be met with support from my friends and family. People generally accepted my sexuality and then moved on. Actually, life went on so quickly that it took me some time to catch up. [excerpt]

Bi The Way, I'M Queer, Chelsea E. Broe

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363 days ago, on October 11, 2012, I came out as bisexual.

Every year, the queer community observes October 11th as National Coming Out Day, a day when queers of all kinds can openly acknowledge and celebrate their sexual orientation and gender identity. [excerpt]

Overheard At Gettysburg, Rashida Aluko-Roberts, Zakiya A. Brown, Monae S. Evans

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Monday. In Old TKE. A student of color is called in the hallway to hear the “funniest thing ever.” (giggling) “Night night little nigglet.”

Tuesday. In an AFS class. “I’m pretty sure the majority of black students in my private school were there because of sports.”

Wednesday. In Musselman. Woman: “I can’t believe Trayvon Martin got shot because someone thought skittles was a weapon.” Man: “To be honest, he did look suspicious because he was black.” [excerpt]

Fearless: Emily Cranfill, Emily J. Cranfill

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Emily Cranfill ’15 has been getting a lot of attention recently, but not necessarily for all of the volunteering, organizations, and groups with which she’s normally involved. Since first hearing last week about the Ku Klux Klan’s (KKK) plans to come protest in the town of Gettysburg, Emily has been inspired to take action by organizing a Rally for Unity Against Hate on campus this Saturday afternoon while the KKK will be protesting. And the responses to her fearless ideas, enthusiasm, and initiative have been staggering. [excerpt]

Red Drops For A Rainbow, Zakiya A. Brown

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Splashes of pool water licked my ankles, scenting my coffee-colored toes with chlorine. Bareback guardians, robed in red, hovered high as flocks of fleshy tangible innocence skipped jubilantly across the pool deck and disappeared into a wet square pocket of sapphire. [excerpt of poem]

I Don't Want To Save Second Base, Chelsea E. Broe

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Tomorrow kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I have one request: This October, let’s not save second base.

I know, I know, you probably think this month is a good thing. If not for all of those T-shirts demanding every female-bodied person to feel their boobies, or the bracelets simply proclaiming “I love boobies,” people with breasts might forget that they even have them, or at the very least might start to think that their breasts are their own business. But the female body seems to be an object owned by the public, so we must always be reminded …

Fearless (Saturday): Michael Hannum, Michael W. Hannum

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In celebration of Alumni Homecoming Weekend and Hispanic Heritage Week, we proudly feature Michael Hannum, member of the Class of 2011, for his fearless commitment to fighting for social justice issues and his continued involvement in serving the Adams County community. Currently working with the Lincoln Intermediate Unit’s Migrant Education Program as a Recruitment Coordinator, Michael began finding his passion for helping identify families in the migrant community who need extra educational support when he was a first-year student just looking for something to do. [excerpt]

What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, And Understanding, Jordan G. Cinderich

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Last Saturday I stood on Stine Lake with a group of friends to pray and spread a message of “Peace for Syria.” This event was sponsored by the Newman Association in response to Pope Francis’s request that “Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: Violence and war are never the way to peace!” Students of all religions and backgrounds came to support us, and it was a very rewarding day for me as a Catholic and as a human longing for world peace and understanding. [excerpt …

The Irony Of Choice, Cam T. Nguyen

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We are having the inevitable late night conversation. You talk about your eventual wedding, your marriage to the person you love, the timeline you’ve created for yourself, and your plans for what our future children will do together. I clarify that I don’t want to have children, but you can’t seem to understand that decision. You question how happy, satisfied, or fulfilled my life will be without children, the maternal instincts I’m supposed to be feeling, and my desire to have something to care for and love. You’re convinced that I will recognize how empty my life will be sans …

In The Thicke Of It, Jessie M. Pierce

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If you’ve been anywhere near your Facebook newsfeed in the last few days, you’re probably familiar with the most recent images of Miley Cyrus at her less-than-graceful VMA performance. From CNN’s front page headline, “What Was Miley Thinking?” to Buzzfeed’s gifset of a cartoon Cyrus twerking on famous paintings, her antics have, for better or for worse, become a hyper-inflated mega-sensation that I, frankly, don’t care about at all. I’m not going to talk about Miley anymore. Instead, let’s talk about her co-performer, Robin Thicke. [excerpt]

The Shortcomings Of A "Diverse" College Campus, Chelsea E. Broe

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“What is the diversity like at Gettysburg College?” As a tour guide, I get asked this question a lot. It’s a tricky question to answer: On one hand, I know that this is probably the family’s way of inquiring about race on campus without having to use such a taboo word, but on the other, my Diversity Peer Educator training chimes in and I want to challenge my questioner’s assumptions about what diversity even means. [excerpt]

Fearless: Bruce Larson And Alice Carter, Bruce A. Larson, Alice Carter

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This Monday, Professor of political science and public policy, Bruce Larson, Assistant Director of Development, Alumni, and Parent Relations, and Technology, Alice Carter, and daughter Lily Larson will be leaving for a semester in Beijing, China. Professor Larson will be joining the ranks of Gettysburg College’s Fulbright recipients, teaching two courses at the China Foreign Affairs University while conducting his research.

Stuff White People Like #1863, Joseph Stephen Slowinski

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There I sat: sun burning my neck, sweat pouring down my face, watching grown men play at death. I’d been meaning for years to get to Gettysburg to see the reenactment, and this past July, I was lucky enough to be there for the 150th anniversary of the battle. And so there I was, sitting in a grandstand in the middle of a farm in rural Pennsylvania, surrounded by fellow white people, watching a Confederate soldier get shot in the back for pretending to desert in the face of the Union cavalry. He flopped to the ground in front of …

Brooks Better Not Come Back, Helena E. Yang

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Every time a new season of the Bachelorette starts, I tell myself that I won’t watch this season—that I won’t give in to the trashiness and the petty drama which is the Bachelor. But I can’t help it. Season after season I’m hooked and 17 seasons later… here I am. [excerpt]

Fearless: Professor Janet Powers And Linnea Goebel, Janet M. Powers, Linnea C. Goebel

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This week we would like to recognize Professor Janet Powers and recent graduate Linnea Goebel ’13 for their work in Bosnia this summer helping to set up a group of female embroiderers with an Amazon Marketplace account to sell their wares on the internet. [excerpt]

What Kind Of Asian Are You?, Uyen T. Le

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You don’t know anything about me. You’ve never been to my country; you don’t know my native language; you may not even be able to locate Vietnam on a map.

And that’s ok. What matters isn’t that you already know about my country and my culture. What matters is your attitude toward learning about it. [excerpt]

Owning Up To The Age Old Excuse, Emily G. Hauck

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A few days ago, I was having a conversation with an older gentleman. He was friendly and very interested in my studies, but every now and then he would interject some racist slur or joke. He insistently referred to undocumented individuals as illegals because, according to him, “that’s exactly what they are.” He also made a few comments about Aryan dominance yet claimed that he wasn’t racist because he discriminates against all non-Aryans equally. The man clearly expected me to laugh along with him, especially with those last remarks, as if it were completely normal to utter them in an …

Does My Hair Bother You? Part 2, Adrienne M. Ellis

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I stopped shaving my legs in May. The decision to quit shaving was part social experiment, but a lot of it had to do with NOT HAVING TO SHAVE MY LEGS ANYMORE.

Honestly I didn’t make the decision to stop shaving my leg hair as some sort of feminist statement. I really just found it stupid how society pressures women to have smooth “sexy” legs. How did this pressure begin? Historically women didn’t shave their legs or underarms in the United States; however, hair removal was a common cultural practice in many other parts of the world such as …

Does My Hair Bother You? Part 1, Nadejiah Z. Towns

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“It’s AMAZING that it’s considered revolutionary to wear my hair the way it grows out of my head…” – Tracie Thoms

I don’t wear my natural hair because I want to join the “revolutionary movement” that has recently swept across our nation. I’m not desperately seeking to get in touch with my roots. Nor do I desire to be acknowledged as the soulful “sista” that eats, sleeps and breathes “Black Power“. I wear my natural hair because I was naive enough to ignore warnings of the effects that Gettysburg’s harsh water would have on my “black hair”. So …

Fearless: Gettysburg Allies, Gettysburg Allies

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In celebration of the Supreme Court’s decision to declare DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)unconstitutional, the revocation of Prop 8, and Hershel Genfer’s fantastic blog, we’d like to highlights Gettysburg’s fearless ALLies Club headed by Ann Sasala ’15 and Adrienne Ellis ’14. This past year Erin Duran, the Residence Life Coordinator for West Quad, also began his partnership with ALLies as the college’s first LGBTQA advisor. [excerpt]