Dr. Stephenson is the Chair of the Physics Department at Gettysburg College. She was gracious enough to share the below story with The Forum, with the consent of the student involved, and we are grateful for the opportunity to publish it. 

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving I met with a frazzled first-year physics student who had been juggling her ambitious courseload with her cheerleading obligations.   I assumed she was in my office, wringing her scarf and talking fast, because she was running on fumes like so many of her fellow students at this time of year.  But Alana Allen was not fatigued. She was amped up, wired. She couldn’t shake three incidents that happened to her over the past few weeks and she needed to share.

I took notes, asked questions, preparing to inform appropriate parties in College Life, giving them in this case a first-year male (a self-proclaimed Southerner) and another white male student dressed as a Civil War reenactor to scold for inappropriate comments to students of color.   I could have tracked down the students she would not name (in the first case) and could not name (in the second) and scold them myself, but the Thanksgiving break gave me perspective.  A one-on-one meeting with a white 43 year-old female professor is easy for any 18 to 21 year-old to rationalize away.  I am a meddling freakshow, one shrill voice in the wilderness.

The self-proclaimed Southern boy lives in Alana’s residence hall, a building with common spaces where she was studies with him and others.   Tired one night, she slipped and said “axed” for “asked.”  The first-year student told her she sounded like a “Southern Darkie.”

Now one would think that a white male student raised in the South would fully appreciate the outrageous nature of his comment, but as one who was also raised in the South (albeit two decades earlier), his comment informs me that he is a typical member of the self-segregated South where whites and blacks live next to each other, go to the same schools, but carry a deep suspicion of the Other, handed down from generation to generation. Perhaps this student has come so far from his Southern home because he is wants to know who he is and what man he might become.  Perhaps his mouth has no filter because his own relationship with race itches at him like a rash.  He has good reason to be captivated by his residence hallmate; she is charismatic, witty, generous, larger than life.  Perhaps in his segregated South he has never allowed himself to meet a self-actualized black woman.

Perhaps he is tired of posing, putting on his UnderArmor and his Axe deodorant and parading around like he belongs here or anywhere.  Maybe he will understand one day that this feeling, of being simultaneously invisible and hypervisible is what Alana Allen has known her entire life.   Now she is a Francis Drake, navigating her world with precision, while the Southern Boy has only just realized he’s on the high seas.   This unsettled feeling he has might make him jealous.  And perhaps even mean.

The Civil War reenactor has a similar tale.  Alana was sitting with a group of prospective high-school students in our large campus dining hall.  All of the students were either African-American or Hispanic.  The reenactor approaches them and proclaims, “We fought the war.  Now you slaves are free.”  It is safe to say that none of these high-school students are prospective students for Gettysburg College any longer.  Perhaps the reenactor is new to the hobby and has rarely worn his costume in front of modern civilians.  Did he feel too many eyes pan up and down his uniform and feel shame?  Did he get angry over his self-consciousness, leading him to offer up the stupidest comment ever said to a table of diners?

Alana has had the opportunity to interface with her hallmate since he made the “Southern Darkie” comment.  She even had the honest grace to tell him that his comment was hurtful.  He defended himself, leaving Alana in a position where she either attempted to school him in race relations or just shut up.  She chose the latter since she, like me, understands that the only people who can really school this young man are his white male peers, some who were standing right next to Alana when she had this second conversation.  They said nothing to their Southern comrade, but instead texted Alana to say they supported her and how sorry they were over the entire thing.

As a physicist I know the limitations of the material world, but at times I wish I could take the energy spent on all of this, the energy of my writing, the energy of those text messages, the energy of Alana’s racing mind, and harness the energy; when the next racially-ignorant comment flies out of some boy’s mouth, this energy field surrounding Alana will glow silver-white and he will tremble and be mightly afraid.  Of course, it would be even better and a tad more plausible if when the next racially-ignorant comment flies out of some boy’s mouth, another white boy steps up, speaks out, and talks back.

Last Sunday, Gettysburg College’s Fencing Club went to its second competition against Wilson College. This competition also marked the Club’s first “away” game, with the Club members driving up to Wilson’s campus in order to compete. The Fencing Club managed to get a head start winning bouts in the beginning but struggled towards the end of the competition as Wilson College picked up the pace. Nonetheless, after some intense fencing, Gettysburg College managed to pull its second victory from Wilson College, winning 17 bouts out of 27. Special thanks go to all who went to the competition and represented both their school and their club:  Foil: Mike Behling, ‘13, Robin Miller, ’14, Johnny Santacruz, ’15; Epee: Peter D’Arpa, ’14, Darcy Merrill, ’14, Dominique Saunders, ’13; Sabre: Kenny Anderson, ‘14, club vice president-elect Grace Madland, ‘14, club president Anh Nguyen, ‘14. A big thank you also goes to the IRC for lending their van to the Club in support of the Club’s competition.

Hundreds of students from Gettysburg and surrounding areas crowded into the ballroom Friday night for the college’s annual Fall Concert. This year’s show featured Chiddy Bang, a two-man hip-hop group that sprang out of Drexel University in 2008 and rose to popularity after being featured on the music blog, prettymuchamazing.com, in 2009.

The group is most well known for its 2010 single, “Opposite of Adults,” which debuted at #90 on the Billboard Top 100. The song samples MGMT’s “Kids” and has been used in several TV shows and commercials.

Unfortunately, Chiddy Bang’s live performance on Friday did not live up to the hype surrounding their music.

Many of their songs sounded drastically different than their recorded versions and were therefore difficult to enjoy or sing along to.

The group’s performance of “Baby Roulette,” for example, a song that usually features hit pop rock band Train, was barely recognizable. Without Train to carry the catchy chorus, the song was not well-received by the audience.

“Mind Your Manners,” another popular Chiddy Bang song, was performed with much more rapping and far less singing than in the recorded version.

The group was only onstage for about 45 minutes and aside from a short Gettysburg-themed freestyle rap at the beginning of their set, did not seek out much audience participation.

The evening was not a complete flop, however. Hoodie Allen, the first of two opening bands, gave an engaging show and pumped up the crowd for the acts that followed. Hoodie Allen’s Gettysburg rap far outshone Chiddy Bang’s, as it mentioned local favorites like Mama’s, the kid who plays bagpipes on Stine Lake, and Musselman Library.

The Cool Kids also opened for Chiddy Bang, but their set was excruciatingly repetitive and had the audience yelling “We Want Chiddy!”

Despite Chiddy Bang’s mediocre performance, the show was a hit attendance-wise, and brought students onto campus from all over the state.

Music was a major component in the staging of Blood Wedding. The use of music made the production unique, but at times the music became distracting. In Scene 1, the Groom talks with his Mother in his home. Professor Babatunde Lea, who did the percussion for the show, was featured in this scene with regular sequences on a bongo drum, which were interjected into the dialogue. Had this technique been used more sparingly, and only to emphasize the key moments in the scene, it would have been effective; however, the constant interjections weakened the scene, making it feel broken up and confusing.

As a whole, Blood Wedding was a unique script with unique staging. Though much of the audience was skeptical at first of the “rotation” staging (meaning each scene took place in a different location, either in Stevens Theatre, the scenic shop, or in Kline) many were pleasantly surprised by the overall impression. There was also precise, symbolic meaning behind the director’s decision to move the audience members. Blood Wedding was about emotional journeys, and the audience was literally taken with the characters as they moved from setting to setting, from passionate emotions to rash actions.

The next show to expect from the ambitious Department of Theatre Arts and Owl and Nightingale Players will be Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, to be directed by Chris Kauffman and performed in the winter of next semester.

Last week the Department of Theatre Arts presented its first Mainstage production of the year: Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding.

In the program, Susan Russell noted that the play is distinguished by its characters’ feelings of being trapped; the Mother of the Groom is trapped in her hatred of the Bride’s former sweetheart’s family, Leonardo and his Wife are trapped in unhappiness, and the Bride is trapped in her father’s bidding. This is a fitting description of the play, a play with many related themes such as passion and the desire to break free from societal bonds.

The show itself had its strong aspects of performance and its weak aspects. Featuring the Owl and Nightingale Players of course, three of the strongest actors in the performance were Anna Maria Charalambous, Mariem Diaz, and David Wemer.

Anna Maria’s portrayal of the Mother of the Groom was very revealing of her character’s motivations, concerns, and inner struggles. As mentioned previously, one of the most important themes in the play is passion; she vividly illustrated her character’s passion for family and the family members she loses to murder.

Mariem, who played the Bride, also effectively captured her character’s passions. In particular, she portrayed her character’s passionate internal struggles and the passionate choices she makes. It is clear that deep within, she loves Leonardo, her former sweetheart, and follows her passions by running off with him.

David, who played the Moon, was remarkable in the fact that he played a role that was traditionally female. His expert portrayal of the sinister spirit challenged the audience’s perspectives on gender casting.

The evening officially began at 6:00 with an introduction by the Provost of Hood College, who then led a brief interview session with Hosseini. Questions she asked pertained to his founding of the Khaled Hosseini Foundation, his books’ familial themes, and his approach to writing.

“I rarely make concrete decisions on my writing ahead of time,” The author confessed. “Things happen accidentally, and then I find the purpose in them.”

Following the one-on-one session, the Provost opened up the opportunity for audience members to ask questions. Many audience members jumped at the chance to address their favorite author. One asked for Khaled’s book recommendations; another inquired about his writing career in relation to his success as a doctor. All were eager to learn from this esteemed author.

Finally, the Provost concluded the lecture with everyone’s final question: What was Khaled’s advice to college students wanting to pursue writing?

“I’m not going to tell you to [write]; if you have that bug, you’re not going to be able resist it anyway,” He stated bluntly. He also emphasized the importance of reading.

“You can’t be a writer without reading,” He asserted. “The mark of the amateur is the writer who writes more than he reads,”

For more information on Khaled Hosseini or the Khaled Hosseini Foundation, visit www.khaledhosseini.com or www.khaledhosseinifoundation.org.

Last Wednesday, October 26 at 4:15 p.m. fifty lucky Gettysburg students were bused to Hood College for a very special lecture. Given by none other than Khaled Hosseini, author of international bestsellers The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, the lecture addressed not just the success of his books, but also his background, his acquired writing process, and the current state of affairs in Afghanistan.

Hosseini grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan. In 1965 at age eleven, he and his family were relocated to France, and a few years later were granted political asylum in the United States. Growing up, he loved storytelling, though his parents never encouraged him to pursue writing as a career. He attended high school in San Jose, California and eventually enrolled at Santa Clara University, where in 1984 he received his bachelor’s degree in Biology. Soon after, he earned his Medical Degree at the University of California at San Diego. He wrote his first novel The Kite Runner while working in medical practice. The book became an international bestseller in 2003.

While waiting for the lecture to start, audience members could watch a slideshow on the The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a charity organization founded by the author. The concept was inspired by the author’s return trip to Afghanistan in 2007 with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The organization builds shelters for refugee families in Afghanistan and provides economic and education opportunities for women and children.

Rachel Weisz is Kathy Bolkovac, a real-life policewoman on whose book the film is based, who traveled to post-war Bosnia as part of the UN International Police Force and found a deepset and far-reaching web of sex slavery. For an excellent, concise and historical perspective on the ethnic aspect of Bosnia’s problems, read Patrick Geary’s introduction to his 2002 book, The Myth of Nations (http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i7124.pdf ). For an emotional but unflinching approach, watch The Whistleblower.

Sometimes it takes dramatization to make an issue ‘real. I rarely take a stance on anything and explain my feelings through my sex, and I am ashamed that scripted sexual violence made me realize the horrors of human traffiking, but I am even more disgusted at the New York Times review by Stephen Holden which dismisses the affect of the film with pithy language. (http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/movies/the-whistleblower-with-rachel-weisz-review.html ) As I said, very seldom do I have a genuine emotional reaction as strong as the one I had to The Whistleblower. Whether that’s because I’m jaded and it takes a true melodrama to reach me, or because it is a film meant far more to evoke feeling than as an exercise in technique, and it takes a special kind of something for me to stop and quit dissecting how a movie was made to simply watch it. There is no happy ending, or even resolution to the plot (as Mr. Holden so blithely comments on), but the shock is not the same as a film that pushes proprietary boundaries or places stomach churning gore on screen. It is rather the shock of awakening and terror, like water hitting your face as you sleep, and for a moment you think you’re drowning. Thank God I’m no longer sleeping, but I wish I could stop feeling as though I was drowning.

Through a barrage of 70s color and film pastiche, The Guard tells a story somewhere between a western, a Greek myth and a Wodehouse story, about Gleeson, an Irish policeman (a member of ‘the Guard’) and his ill-matched FBI partner (Cheadle) who must contend with a trio of philosophizing drug barons, corrupt police, and the inhabitants of Galloway. It is a well-trod path but an immensely  enjoyable one, which manages to be unique within the ‘James-Bond-is-the-only-suave-law-enforcing-Brit-so-let’s-make-an-action-comedy-about-the-UK-police’ genre thanks to deft direction and writing on the part of John Michael McDonugh. There was not a moment of the film that felt ill-used, out of place, or unpleasant. I can’t recommend a movie this year more than The Guard, because it is one of the year’s best.

I watch a fair amount of movies, but rarely do I have a reaction as strong as the one I did to The Whistleblower. It is a great shame that by the time this review is published, the movie will have left theaters (It is greater shame that it was only at the Majestic for a week), but then again, human traffiking is neither a popular nor easy subject to make a film about. The Whistleblower is no great piece of cinema, and it is also a hard film to take, but as an eye-opening call to action, it is as important as anything the Oscars will honor this year, and any expose on the front page.