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(10/01/13 8:27pm)
Mercer students lined up outside the Amstar on Zebulon Road as they waited for Midnight Movie to begin. The lines started up as early as 10 p.m., and stretched past the edges of the theatre property into the shopping center next door. With student tickets only $2 and such amazing titles up for grabs, the event proved supremely hard to miss.
Those available movies included: “The Mortal Instruments,” “Insidious: Chapter 2,” “Lee Daniels: The Butler,” “The Ultimate Life,” “The Family,” “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” “Laughing to the Bank,” “One Direction: This is Us,” “Riddick,” and “We’re the Millers.” A majority of students were interested in “Insidious” or “We’re the Millers.” I, however, chose to watch a different movie: “Riddick.”
“Riddick” is the third movie in the “Chronicles of Riddick” trilogy, and if you haven’t seen the first movie, “Pitch Black,” you might be missing some of the finer plot points. Vin Deisel did a decent job in pulling off this role for the third time, but overall, the movie was a bit of a letdown after the second movie. Over-dramatic acting has always been a turnoff for me as a movie watcher, and there were definitely some parts that could have afforded less melodrama. A warning to the sensitive moviegoer, the movie contains some nudity and foul language.
In spite of all this, the movie in general wasn’t terrible. It was action-packed and satisfying for those who enjoy a good adventure. “Riddick” picks up where “Chronicles of Riddick” left off, with Riddick being crowned king of the Necromongers. He was then tricked and left to die on an unknown planet. Strange beasts roam the ground: man-eating zebra-jackals and rattlesnake monsters. Riddick fights to make his way off the planet after some mercenaries come to retrieve his head for a bounty. The impressive CGI coupled with the adrenaline pumping action made for a successful Midnight Movie experience.
(10/01/13 8:17pm)
Robin Thicke’s recently produced “Blurred Lines” is definitely pretty catchy, but do you really know what you’re singing? A closer look at the lyrics reveals some material that should make you think twice about jamming along next time it comes on the radio.
In response to this song, a group of law students from Auckland University created a feminist parody, calling Robin Thicke’s bluff. The video was removed from YouTube soon after it was posted, due to the fact that it apparently violated YouTube’s terms and condition by displaying “sexually explicit content,” due to the men in the video wearing only underwear. But hold up. Isn’t that what the “Blurred Lines” video does? Or would the video be the same without the half-naked women?
Olivia Lubbock, one of the creators of the video “Defined Lines,” admitted that it was meant to be somewhat “tongue in cheek.” She said, “We think that women should be treated equally, and as part of that, we’re trying to address the culture of objectifying women in music videos. It’s just funny that the response has been so negative when you flip it around and objectify males.”
“Defined Lines” was recently reinstated after the girls appealed, and can be found now on YouTube where it was originally posted.
One woman, Reba Hayes, set up a petition on change.org to have “Blurred Lines” removed, since it contained inappropriate content. The petition calls for YouTube to uphold its censor system, as it has done with “Defined Lines.”
The question is, if YouTube lets this happen once, how many times has it happened before? The double standards of media are in question, and one has to wonder if it’s ever going to change. I definitely believe it’s time for people to stand up and protest. The world is changing, but not at the pace that many would want. With every new victory, there’s another setback in the realm of equality.
In an interview on the Today show, Thicke said, “I think that’s what great art does—it’s supposed to stir conversation, it’s supposed to make us talk about what’s important and what the relationships between men and women are.” He added, “If you listen to the lyrics, it says, “‘That man is not your maker.’ It’s actually a feminist movement within itself.”
Sorry, Robin, but I’m not buying the stuff you’re selling. I think it’s great if you claim to love women (yet objectify them), but you are not the next Messiah by telling me that a man is not my maker. The fact that women even need to be told this is a huge concern for humankind. Women should know from the very beginning that they don’t need a man to be their own person.
Do I believe that YouTube has double standards? Most definitely. But the good thing is, there will always be an outcry against it. That much gives me hope for humanity.
(09/13/13 3:59am)
How many times have you been sad to come back to school because it meant that you had to leave your favorite pet at home? Don’t you just wish that you could bring them with you, for those long study nights when you just need some support? I know I do.
As you well know, there is a strict no-pet rule in all living spaces provided by Mercer. Which is all well and good, looking at it from the school’s standpoint. After all, for them, pets on campus could provide a multitude of problems that only begin with messes on the carpets. If left unattended, pets could break furniture, damage the walls and even escape. Escapee pets aren’t exactly in MerPo’s job description, either.
However, we are in college now—if the Mercer officials can allow us to have ac- cess to a kitchen, I think we can be trusted to keep our pets in check (or at least I should hope we could). There is only so far a fish in a ten-gallon tank can take you. I’ve been told to get plants, something to liven up your living space that you can take care of. Pets could be that for many students. Even just keeping pets restricted to those who live in the apartments, who have the space to keep them, would be a vast improvement.
It has been proven that having pets is a bet- terment to your health. Did you know that listening to a cat purring can actually de- crease your stress levels? Specifically, a cat’s purr is also known to lower symptoms of dyspnea, also known as shortness of breath, and can promote healing in the soft tissue of bones. A 2002 study at the State University of New York at Buffalo proved that people experienced less stress when their pet was with them than when another human being that they were close to was nearby. Just imagine pulling all-nighters with your dog; what could be sweeter than doing that last minute paper with your cat purring in your ear?
All in all, I think allowing pets on campus could provide a wonderful opportunity, not just for students, but for the community. Students who work in schools or do volunteer work could bring along their dogs and let the children play with them while they work. Having pets on campus would be another way for people to get to know each other, and socialize. Is college not the place to prepare us to become adults? If so, we should be allowed the responsibility of adults, and be allowed to have pets on campus, at least in the apartments.
(09/13/13 3:59am)
Thousands of people came to see the Mercer University Bears football team come out of hibernation on Aug. 31. In preparation for the first football game in 72 years, students, families and alumni tailgated across campus on Saturday from 1 p.m. until shortly before kickoff.
Students gathered on Cruz Plaza to grill food and play as they waited to see history made. QuadWorks served up orange slushies in color-changing cups, while sororities and fraternities alike set up tents to keep out of the sun.
Tailgating stretched from Cruz Plaza into the parking lot behind Stetson and the lawn in front of the medical school.
Student Athletic Trainer Brittany Pearson said that she saw the whole community come together in honor of this event. Asked about how the football team was feeling, she said,“They’re so excited. They really want it.”
Those who were not around to see the changes on campus take place agreed that the campus has taken a giant leap forward. John Morgan, grandson of Hall of Famer Charley Morgan, stood reminiscing with Glenn Howell, whose father Orbin Howell was at the last football game that Mercer offered.
They talked about how they used to come to the Mercer campus to watch basketball games in Penfield Hall, and when they could ride their bikes on the street where Cruz Plaza now is.
Freshman Carrie Riley said the football program was a heavy influence on her decision to come to Mercer, as well the Cruz Plaza project. Her job at admissions, she said, was her chance to offer others the opportunity to experience the same love that she has for the school and the campus.