By Juliana Reyes

Ashcraft’s Antics Shift From Suburbs to Second City

Independent Studies Give Students Chance to Design Own Courses

Professor Profile: Professor Denise Su

By Aigne Goldsby
Team Correspondent

Dan Talbot, head coach of Bryn Mawr’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams, has decided to coach his last season for the Owls.

Dan graduated from Haverford in 1991 with a degree in History of Art. During his time at Haverford, he ran cross country and track for head coach Tom Donnelly. Read the rest of this entry »

By Ryan Fealy
Guest Writer
 

Recently exciting developments have taken place in reviving the graduate student mentoring program. In the past there was a link in the Graduate School of the Arts and Sciences (GSAS) website for the above mentioned Mentoring Program. It was originally meant to be for graduate student-undergraduate student relations. From what I have found from my research it seems it has been dormant for a while. Read the rest of this entry »

By Daniel Weaver
Staff Writer

For the third year in a row, the hip hop symposium “AcadeMIX” has brought in hip hop artists whose music often includes intellectual considerations to participate in a panel and performance expressing their musical and academic pursuits. This year they had by far the most impressive lineup at both Thursday night’s panel and Friday night’s performance, with dead prez, Chiddy Bang, and other established hip hop artists speaking and performing alongside Haverford and Bryn Mawr students.
Students on the AcadeMIX Board went all out for this event, and with help from Director of Student Activities Jason McGraw, helped pull together perhaps the greatest hip hop performance and panel Haverford has every seen.

At the panel in Zubrow, stic.man and M-1 of dead prez, Professor Jesse Shipley (who shot a music video for M-1), Simone Crew HC ‘13, Howard Brown HC ‘12, and Nikki Lopez BMC ‘10 each discussed how they were introduced to hip hop and what influence “academics” has on their music and other artistic endeavors.

Shipley’s study of anthropology and religion in West African nations sparked his interest in African hip hop, leading him to produce the documentary film ‘Living the Hip Life’ on West African hip hop. Shipley is currently in the process of completing his book on the same topic.

stic.man was interested in music at a very early age and wrote lyrics and rhymes inspired by records his older brother brought home. In ninth grade for a performance for Black History Month, he wrote a rap describing the troubles of members of his community and the past oppression of black people. Shortly after he began the performance, a white school administrator turned off the microphone and music, arguing that the lyrics of the rap were “divisive.”

These school administrators were controlling celebrations of black history, not permitting a true acknowledgment of historic and current prejudices. This incident prompted stic.man to further explore the social justice issues that go into his music.

M-1 found his inspiration at an early age in “the struggles of Africans living in America.” At Florida A&M University, his concern was not obtaining a degree, but rather obtaining knowledge and gaining an understanding of the world around him. Thus, when he met stic.man there, the duo connected over a mutual interest in music with a bent toward intellect and social justice.

After the panelists discussed their inspirations and influences, students in the audience were given the opportunity to ask them questions.

Shanaye Jeffers HC ’12 asked about the intent of the title of dead prez’s 2004 album “Revolutionary But Gangsta.” stic.man explained that the term gangsta means “not going along with the status quo” and explained that “there was a time when opposing slavery was gansta.” Continuing with this explanation of the term gansta, M-1 explained that being able to redefine terms is a source of power and that being able to make up one’s own mind makes one free. Thus, gangsta means grabbing power and freedom in a society in which many African Americans have neither. The term gansta makes sense with their final goal of putting “power in the hands of the people” and describes the intent of a revolutionary movement in “plain, proletariat English.”

Next, Jason Lozada HC ’11 asked a question about the effect of hip hop lyrics on incarcerated black youth. stic.man explained that the “violence on the streets is a product of the capitalist system, not hip hop.” After all, the violence on the streets that they spoke of has existed long before hip hop and is clearly more a product of the poverty and prejudices that many black people face. Although mass media may portray it differently, M-1 explained, people “do not love to sell crack.” It is often simply the best way to pay the bills.

The following night in Founders Hall, dead prez and artists 40 Love, XV, and Chiddy Bang brought their ideas to the stage. While past AcadeMIX performances have focused more on the social justice aspects of their music and attracted fewer students, the lineup this year brought a greater number of students less interested in the revolution and more interested in the beats. The group, each with a unique musical style, brought students away from the staircase and foyer and into the main room.

The energy in Founders peaked during the performances by Chiddy Bang and dead prez, the most well known groups of the lineup. Chiddy Bang — even though its members are younger than I am and are currently taking time off from their academics at Drexel University — had a set that sounded as though it was shaped by years of experience.

Students were particularly excited by Chiddy Bang’s rendition of their hit song “Opposite of Adults.” It sounded perfect, even with Founders’ bizarre acoustics.

Although students were just as energetic when dead prez came on the stage, Founders was no longer full by that time, a late 1 a.m. Dead prez emphasized the academic part of AcadeMIX far more than any of the other performers, with political and revolutionary topics like those discussed in their albums. They had a vigourous performance and fed off the energy from students, which they said they were impressed and surprised by.

“The concert was crazy. It was awesome and fantastic,” said Adam Mayer HC ‘12, one of the members of the AcadeMIX Board who helped to organize the event. “The panel was informative and educational in a way I was very much hoping it would be.”

In fact, Mayer helped to get Chiddy Bang on the lineup because he is friends with the DJ/drummer/producer “from back in the day,” he said.

AcadeMIX this year showed how well-attended and exciting musical performances can be when Haverford student groups bring impressive acts to campus. Other student groups on campus might look at the success of events organized by Jason McGraw when deciding what artists to bring in the future.

By Elizabeth Held
News Editor

In a surprising turn of events, SC Co-President Will Harrison ’10 and SGA President Sophie Papavizas ’11 have announced they plan to marry this weekend.

The wedding ceremony on the steps of Founders, with the reception at Wyndham in order demonstrate the bi-college nature of their relationship. Read the rest of this entry »