Author: Kate Monger

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Central Park Vibes in the ATL

Imagine yourself in standing in the middle of an open, green field, with trees all around. There is a lake to your left, and all around you in the distance are tall buildings that contrast the nature within your immediate distance.

This is what it feels like to visit Piedmont Park, an urban park about one mile northeast of Downtown Atlanta. Its 185 acres of land are home to many activities and events, including a farmer’s market and sports practices.

As I ordered my Uber to visit Piedmont Park last Thursday afternoon, I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that after a long week of studying and classes, I was ready to be outside in the beautiful weather and have a relaxing afternoon.

The Uber dropped my friend and me off near the Welcome Plaza. As soon as we stepped out of the car, we were struck with silence. Not only were there limited people around, but the only sounds we could hear were the rustling of leaves and the occasional bird chirping. This was brand new to us coming from a bustling college campus.

A map of Piedmont Park. Credit to piedmontpark.org

We decided to take a look at the map to see what the park had to offer. We noticed tennis courts, a swimming pool, and many picnic areas. However, the map was a bit difficult to interpret, so we simply walked forward to see where it would take us.

 

First, we came upon a beautiful lake, where there were multiple people fishing, reminding me of the parks near my home, where my dad used to take me fishing. We sat on a wooden swing near the shore and soaked up the silence as we enjoyed the view: the tops of the buildings downtown peeking out from the rows of trees behind the lake. This view quickly reminded me of Central Park, one of my favorite places in New York. Growing up, my dad’s company would send him to New York three to four times a month, so going to visit him became a common occurrence. I was always so amazed that the city had room for so much greenery and hills, and I had this same feeling as I sat on the swing in Piedmont Park.

Our view from the shore of the lake at Piedmont Park.

 

We continued on our journey and came upon the swimming pool. Only open during the summer, the pool included 4 lap lanes, a concession stand, and locker rooms.

This was the best view we could get of the pool, which is closed for the 2017 season.

The concessions stand at the pool wasn’t the only one in the park however. There are multiple throughout the park, most of them only open on Saturday and Sunday. Blue Donkey Coffee and King of Pops, a couple of Emory favorites, are only some of the food options that the concessions stands have to offer.

After passing dog parks, playgrounds, and picnic areas, we climbed some stairs to my favorite area: The Active Oval. The Active Oval, home to a running track, two soccer fields, two softball fields, and and two sand volleyball courts, is where all of the sports practices take place. To me, the greatest part of it all was the view. Standing on the field gives the perfect panorama of the Downtown Atlanta landscape. Staring wide-eyed at the incredible city in front of me, I was so proud to call Atlanta my new home.

A panorama I took of the view from the Active Oval.
Our newest restaurant discovery, Cactus House, right next to Piedmont Park.

After snapping more than a few photos, my friend and I found ourselves wishing the concessions stands were open. We decided to walk to Piedmont Avenue, the city street where the park’s main entrance is located, to scope out the good restaurants. We quickly came upon Cactus House, a brand new Mexican restaurant about a block away from the park. We sat and enjoyed some chips and guacamole and an avocado taco on the porch, raving about our experience at the park. We agreed to gather a big group of friends and return on a weekend for a long walk and a picnic.

Overall, my experience at Piedmont Park was amazing. College students need to get off campus every once in awhile and spend some time outside to refresh their brains, and a walk in the park was exactly what I needed. However, my recommendation would be to visit the park on a Saturday or Sunday, especially if you’re looking to enjoy a snack and see all of the activity.

 

PARK INFORMATION

 

THE GREEN MARKET: Every Saturday in March-December, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

TOURS: History Tours, Tree Tours, and Bird Walks offered

FITNESS: Guided fitness classes and free monthly yoga

 

UPCOMING PARK EVENTS

 

NOV 1 – Pick Up and Pitch In for Piedmont Park @ 2:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

NOV 12 – Love You Healthy Fitness Party @ 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

NOV 27 – Free Yoga on the Promenade @ 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

 

By Kate Monger

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Spreading the Spirit

As a school that lacks a football team and love for sports of any kind, I always get asked the same question: “So what do y’all do for school spirit?”, and I always give the same answer: “Homecoming week.”

Every year, Emory students, parents, and alumni gather in Asbury Circle to watch the Homecoming Parade while enjoying music and food trucks. Residence halls, fraternities, and other on-campus organizations decorate their floats in accordance to the theme. This year, the “Candyland” theme gave rise to decorations involving board games and candy. The group with the best float in the residence hall division would win points towards Dooley’s Bowl, which is Emory’s version of the “House Cup” in Harry Potter.

As a the Spirit Programming Chair of Complex Hall’s Residence Hall Association Council, I worked a lot on the planning and execution of Complex’s float. Let me tell you, it was a process.

Our idea was “The Sweet Life on Deck”, putting a twist on the title of the popular kid’s television show from the 2000s, Suite Life on Deck, which was centered around twin boys named Zack and Cody who attended school on a cruise ship. We decided we would turn our golf cart into the ship from the TV show, including windows with Zack and Cody’s faces inside, and we would place big versions of candy boxes on the top of the float. Formulating the ideas was the easy part.

After purchasing almost $200 worth of supplies from Walmart, we started painting the Sunday before the parade. After two hours of work, we quickly decided we needed another day during the week to finish everything up. So, that Wednesday, we ordered a pizza and began our work at 9:30 P.M. I didn’t get in bed until 3:00 A.M. that night.

Saturday, the day of the parade, finally came. I woke up at 8:30 to go pick up our golf cart, and after about 30 minutes of cluelessly walking around campus searching for the pickup spot, I finally found it, and my RHA team was able to get to work on building our float.

Our “cruise ship” included windows featuring Zack and Cody’s faces, Froot Loops strung from the ceiling, and giant candy boxes on top. We were able to put it together easily, and didn’t have any mishaps… Until we had to drive it to check-in, that is.

Our float put a twist on the popular kid’s TV show, “Suite Life on Deck”.

 

We had to drive all the way to the intersection of Peavine and Eagle Row (on the opposite side of campus from our dorm) for check-in. Once we reached Asbury Circle, we encountered a large crowd of people and booths that were setting up for parade viewing. As we were blasting Darude’s “Sandstorm” from our speaker, we were cruising in our cardboard-covered golf cart at a speed of 3 miles per hour, surrounded by crowds of upperclassmen and adults staring at us, unimpressed. It was embarrassing, to say the least. But don’t worry, we were laughing at ourselves.

This was our float right before we left for check in.

At check-in, we saw all of the other floats ready to go for the parade. Jungle themed, Monopoly themed, and board game themed carts filled the parking lot, and participants applied body paint, danced to their music, or performed some chants in preparation for driving. Then, the cue came from the megaphone, and everyone loaded into their floats.

Our banner was held by some Complex residents who walked with us in the parade.

Driving through crowds of people who share a love for my school was truly exhilarating. I loved seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces when I would throw them a piece of candy, or the laughs that came from those who found humor in the recognition of our Suite Life on Deck reference. I got to wave to friends I saw in the crowd, and I even passed my parents. Asbury Circle was buzzing with activity at this point, with people gathered around to watch the parade and enjoy lunch from the many delicious food trucks that were there. I could feel the sense of school spirit everyone shared and it reminded me of just how tight of a community Emory really is.

The banner led the golf cart into Asbury Circle for the parade.

While many colleges base their spirit off of sports, Emory has been able to spread school pride in other ways through traditions that our specifically our own. Since I’ve been here, I’ve allowed myself to take part in activities that help spread spirit around campus, and I’ve found that our sense of community here is very strong. Participating in events such as the homecoming parade has made me proud to be a student at Emory, and I can’t wait to continue repping the name over the next four years.

Complex RHA and some residents put up an X after walking in the parade.

 

By Kate Monger

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Everything’s Bigger in Texas

I’m a Texas girl born and raised. If you didn’t already know, us Texans have an endless amount of state pride. It’s hard not to when you grow up reciting the Texas pledge every morning and have multiple pairs of cowboy boots in your closet.

Every Texas stereotype really does ring true in one way or another. No, I don’t ride a horse to school, but I would be lying if I said I haven’t seen other people riding horses in busy streets. Most people do own at least one pickup, and I am guaranteed to see multiple cowboy hats every time I go out in public.

My sister and me at the fair (with the Texas Star in the background!)

One place that radiates state pride significantly more than others is our prized possession: The State Fair of Texas. Open for only one month out of every year, the State Fair is the Disneyland of Texas. I grew up going to the fair at least once a year, and there is honestly nothing better than fair season. Schools give children a free ticket and a “Fair Day”, a day off of school with no other intention but for students to go to the fair. You will never witness a larger amount of food, carnival games (which are definitely rigged, by the way), or rides in your entire life. It’s truly incredible.

Texas likes to take the most random foods of all time, stick them in the deep frier, and serve them. All of this happens at the fair. Fried cookie dough, fried lemonade, fried butter, and fried chicken noodle soup are only a few of the deep fried foods served.

Just about any type of food on earth can be found at the fair, but by far the most popular are Fletcher’s Corny Dogs. I’m not personally a fan of corn dogs, but Fletcher’s is a whole new story. I crave them for the whole year leading up to the fair’s opening.

Fried cookie dough with chocolate and powdered sugar on top.
Fletcher’s Corny Dogs are definitely the fair’s most popular food items.

Part of the fair experience is trying your hand at one of the games, though each one is purposely impossible. If your goal is to win a prize, it’s best to stick to the booths with the “each child wins a prize” sign on the front.  Rides are also a necessity, whether it be the massive ferris wheel (The Texas Star), the swings, or one of the roller coasters. There’s something for everyone.

The fair is a place I will forever hold close to my heart. I’ve never missed a year of going to the fair, and some of my favorite childhood memories took place there. Ever since my childhood nanny’s daughter, Riley, was born in 2010, it’s been a tradition for us to go together each year. Especially now that I’m in college, this time spent together is extremely important to me, and I hope I continue to keep this tradition up as we get older.

Riley, Rachel, and me jumping for joy on our traditional trip to the fair.

Instead of simply describing my experience at the fair this year, I thought I’d show you instead.

https://vimeo.com/237750950

Music: “Another Day in Paradise” by Quinn XCII

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Autism is Changing Emory

Have you ever wondered why there are door levers and door knobs? Have you ever noticed the different types of faucet handles found in bathrooms? Though at first you may only think of these designs as products of architectural advancements, they all serve a bigger purpose in our world as they help people suffering with disabilities and injuries. Whether it’s the simple design of a ramp alongside stairs, or an indent in a curb next to a crosswalk, these architectural modifications all fall under what researchers call “The Universal Design”. As these researchers continue to discover unique ways to make our lives more efficient, some have started to wonder how we can apply this universal theory to the classroom. Though children with disabilities used to receive individual attention, more and more have been assimilating into a classroom setting forcing researchers to identify new forms of accommodation.

Dr. Jennifer Sarrett opens her presentation, “Autism in the Classroom”.

Jennifer Sarrett from Emory’s Center for the Study of Human Health is at the forefront of implementing the Universal Design for Learning on our campus. She crafts her syllabus and each lesson to be accessible to all students, with or without learning disabilities. After noticing a downward trend in graduate rates and post-graduation employment in autistic students, Sarrett knew she needed to make a change.

“These students aren’t being set up for success in the same ways that other students are being set up for success,” she said. “We have autistic students on campus and we want to continue to have autistic students on campus, so we need to figure out what works best for them.”

In order to increase success for students with learning disabilities, Sarrett provides accommodations in the classroom to benefit their learning capacity. She alters her lectures and presentations to suit the needs of all students, whether they be visual, auditory, or sensory. Sarrett’s efforts to better serve autistic and learning-disabled students in class are helping not only her students, but also the Emory community as a whole to become more aware and accommodating. By including all of her accommodations in her syllabus, she is telling her students that her classroom is a safe and open space. Sarrett stresses using a language of difference, not deficit, as some people are different, not worse. She is spreading a sense of respect and normalization for autistic people across campus.

Sarrett shares resources about autism in the classroom that can be utilized by professors as well as students.

When Professor Sarrett opened the audience to questions, it seemed as if every faculty member in attendance immediately raised their hand with a concerning look. These gestures of anxiety instantly made us realize that these professors and TAs were quite apprehensive and inexperienced when approaching students with disabilities. One by one they nervously asked about techniques regarding accommodations and shared episodes of frustration from their classes. With these teachers seeming to lack any knowledge in the field of autism, they desperately tried to obtain any advice they could get from Professor Sarrett. One question in particular sparked an interesting conversation in the audience. A woman questioned how these accommodations truly prepared students for the “real-world” when the working environments can often be harsh and traditional. With most of the audience nodding in agreement, Sarrett made sure to be diplomatic in her response and stressed that a lot of these accommodations are found in companies around the world. This was honestly hard to believe for many as they continued to question the applications to life after college.

The audience, consisting primarily of professors, prepares to leave after Sarrett’s presentation and Q&A.

Emory, as an institution, has a duty to prepare its students for the “real world”. In other words, the school is providing its students with the tools they need to be successful in their future endeavors. Though Emory tries its best to be an accommodating and tolerant school, it is easy to question how such accommodations in college can help students be prepared for careers that are not so tolerant. While Emory acts as a safe haven for social differences and disabilities, this progressiveness is not necessarily universal, making it difficult for students to adapt. With hundreds of schools around the country taking on this Universal Design of Learning, the real question is: Will different companies and career paths also adapt to these accommodations? Or will they continue to be conservative with their working style?

 

RESOURCES

MLA & SDS Access Guidelines

“Designing Collective Access: A Feminist Disability Theory of Universal Design” Disability Studies Quarterly, Aimi Hamraie

Accessible Syllabus

 

By Michael Malenfant and Kate Monger

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A New Home: My First Month at Emory

I have had my heart set on Emory ever since the beginning of my junior year in high school. I attended an information session having never heard of Emory before, partly out of interest, and partly in effort to miss my English class, which conflicted with the session. Every photo and fact about the school that was presented only piqued my interest even more. I left knowing that Emory was high up on my college list.

I attended Emory’s Pre-College Program in the summer before my senior year to take a class in Human Anatomy and to spend more time on campus. I left the program knowing that Emory was my first choice school and that I wanted to apply early decision. I had fallen in love with the brightness and friendliness that radiates off of Emory’s campus, and I knew my heart belonged right there in Atlanta.

Writing my application was stressful, to say the least. After weeks and weeks of ripping up potential essay responses, scratching out grammatical errors, and feeling like giving up, I pressed the submit button, not knowing that the most agonizing part was yet to come: waiting.

I waited and I waited. Finally the day came: December 15. I sat by the computer all day, waiting for the clock to strike 5:00 P.M. And once it did, this is what happened.

The sequence of me getting into Emory.

What came next was just pure excitement that lasted for the eight months leading up to school starting. I found my roommate, I signed up for classes, and I was ready.

Of course, the first few days of college were a little bit difficult for everyone. College is a huge a adjustment–one that nobody is really ready for. I had to say goodbye to my parents, learn how to do laundry, and get accustomed to sustaining myself. But, I was never sad. I never wanted to go home and climb into my own bed, because every single new friend I met made me feel more and more at home. The warm smiles and the friendly faces I was greeted with only served to reassure me that I was in the right place. The people at Emory truly reflect the warm vibe that the campus gives off.

Although I met incredible people all over campus, my current best friends just so happen to live on my floor. These girls are the reason why my experience at Emory has been amazing so far. I go to bed after our daily movie and game nights with a smile on my face, having comfort in the fact that my support system is right outside my door.

Me with some of my hall mates.

My friends and I love to hang out together on campus and have chill nights inside, but when you’re living in Atlanta, some nights you just have to go out and explore. I went to the Fall Festival at Old Fourth Ward Park, the Lantern Festival at the Beltline, and shopping at Lenox Square Mall. For those nights when I didn’t feel up for leaving campus, however, Emory had me covered. I have attended a comedy show by the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, a foam party, and a silent disco–all on-campus and Emory-sponsored. The fact that events such as these happen all the time remind me that Emory really cares about students having fun and being social as much as they care about them succeeding in academics.

Me with my friend Lori at Lullwater Park.

The people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve had have been wonderful, but what has stuck out to me the most has been the community support. Everybody is here to lift each other up and encourage each other to accomplish their goals. Coming from a competitive high school, it’s a breath of fresh air to witness others genuinely wanting me to succeed in everything I do. Rather than my classmates secretly wishing I have a bad interview so I don’t get the position I’m trying for in a club, I receive multiple texts from my friends before and after the interview wishing me good luck and asking me how it went. Having such a strong and reliable support system makes me feel at home and as if I really belong here. I couldn’t be more thankful to be surroundedby people who want the best for me, just like I want the best for them.

My friends and I after winning songfest!

So my advice to high schoolers applying to college is this: follow your heart. It sounds cheesy, but seriously, do it. Students from my high school applied to schools based on their rankings and their names, but in the long run, this only hurt them. Just go with your gut. I did it, and I wouldn’t wanted to have ended up anywhere else. It’s only been four weeks, but I can honestly and truthfully say that I am home.

(Above is the beginning of a personal project I am working on. I am recording one second of every day of my first year at Emory–minus a few when I forget–and the final result will be a compilation of my first year in college. I also started about a week late.)

By Kate Monger

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Discovering Atlantic Station: My Accidental (But Exciting) Find

As the Uber driver, Secunda, pulled up in front of Complex Hall to take my friends and I to explore Underground Atlanta, I had no idea what to expect. Since I had only lived in Atlanta for less than a month, I had never heard of Underground Atlanta or known where it was located. So of course, I searched for it on Google to see what I was getting into, only to find a Wikipedia article that said, “Underground Atlanta was a shopping and entertainment district in the Five Points neighborhood of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States, near the Five Points MARTA station.” Cool, I thought to myself, shopping and entertainment sounds fun. But amidst my excitement, my brain seemed to scan right over the first part: “Underground Atlanta was a shopping and entertainment district…” However, hopping into Secunda’s Dodge Journey, I was unaware of this detail, and we were on our way to Underground Atlanta.

My friends and I were talking and laughing the whole way there, excited to be off campus for the first time all week. Once we reached about the halfway mark of the ride, I see the Uber driver’s eyes look at me through the rearview mirror.

“You’re not trying to go to Underground Atlanta are you?”

Hesitantly, I nodded and told her yes.

“Underground Atlanta has been closed for over a month now.”

Not saying anything, my friends and I looked at each other confused. Apparently, UA was sold to a new owner and closed on August 13th of this year for construction. The sale announcement was released in 2014 for revitalization, and the developer plans to provide more retail options and above ground apartments.

Secunda thought UA was in desperate need of renovations because it was becoming a bit of an unsafe area. She offered to take us to a similar place, and said she would show us a few different options. So, the woman who began as our Uber driver soon became our tour guide.

She first took us to Little Five Points, where there were many different restaurants, boutiques, and tattoo parlors. With a bit of a more grungy and vintage vibe, the little town radiated spunk. While the area looked fun, we were on the lookout for more shopping options. Secunda said she would take us to Atlantic Station, and she said she thought we would really like it.

Little Five Points is a retail center with a unique and edgy twist. Photo courtesy of www.atlanta.net

Atlantic Station, a retail and living neighborhood on the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, began to provide retail options in 2005, and since then has been home to a wide variety of shops and restaurants. As we pulled in, I was impressed with its urbanity and freshness.

   Atlantic Station’s movie theater, Regal Cinemas 16
A view from the middle of Atlantic Station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secunda dropped us off right in front of the movie theater, which seemed to be right in the heart of the shopping center. I wasn’t sure whether it was because it was 1:30 on a Saturday or because the popular music festival Music Midtown was happening at the very same time, but it wasn’t the least bit crowded. We looked around at our options, and I jumped when I saw my most favorite dessert place in the world, Great American Cookies. After everyone said they could go for a cookie, we headed into the store.

My iced cookie cake and Diet Coke at Great American Cookies.

I ordered my usual: a slice of cookie cake with icing and a Diet Coke. It tasted incredible, just like it does at home. We finished eating, and decided on our first shopping stop: Old Navy, which was right across the street.

The Old Navy in Atlantic Station was very big and held lots of options.

Although I didn’t find anything I needed in Old Navy, there were so many options at great prices for college students. From workout clothes to casual clothes to wear to class, the store was great for snagging a few extra clothing items. My friends made their purchases, and we moved on to H&M.

H&M had a similar concept: affordable prices, but the clothes were more suitable for going out to dinner or for a night downtown. I had already left campus more than I thought I would in college, so I knew I would need a couple of new outfits. I tried on four shirts, and ended up buying two. As a college student on a budget, I scored with those two shirts.

Dillard’s was the biggest store that we saw in all of Atlantic Station, occupying almost its own block of the shopping center.
Dillard’s had separate floors for women’s clothing, men’s clothing, shoes, and other departments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our final stop was Dillard’s, if you don’t count each department as its own stop. The store was huge, with each floor dedicated to its own section–women’s clothing, men’s clothing, kid’s, shoes, and more. Obviously, we headed straight for the women’s clothing. As I had expected, the options there were a bit more pricey than desired. I found piles of clothes that I loved, but I knew I had to think logically. I ended up buying two shirts that were on sale. Then, I swore myself off of shopping for the rest of the month.

After browsing through the shoe department and resisting the urge to try anything on, we decided it was time to head back to campus and get some homework done.

Overall, I enjoyed Atlantic Station a lot because of its cleanliness, variety, and small crowds. I felt as if I was in one of my nicer hometown shopping centers, as the area didn’t give off any sense of tourism. Everyone we passed seemed as if they were locals, so we tried our best to blend in. Unfortunately, since we came at 1:30 and left at 3:30, we didn’t get a chance to try any of the restaurants that were scattered around the area. From California Pizza Kitchen to Rosa Mexicano, all types of food were provided. My friends and I agreed that we would be returning for dinner and a movie one night within the coming weeks.

However, if I were to leave campus solely for the purpose of shopping, Atlantic Station wouldn’t be my first choice, simply because other shopping centers, such as Lenox Mall, are the same distance away and have more options. For dinner, light shopping, and a movie though, Atlantic Station couldn’t be a better destination.

My friends and me after our fun excursion to Atlantic Station.

Wikipedia contributors. “Underground Atlanta.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Aug. 2017. Web. 17 Sep. 2017

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“The Yellow Ticket”: Alicia Svigal’s Composition Wows Audience

Close your eyes and think back to home. Is home in Georgia? Is it far away from Georgia? Is it on the West Coast or East Coast? Is it in the Midwest? Is it out of the country? Now imagine a law has passed stating that you can never live anywhere outside of your home state. How would that affect your enrollment at Emory? In what ways would you be limited? As horrible as this sounds, this scenario was reality for many Jews between the years 1791 to 1917, during which the Pale of Settlement was established.

The Pale of Settlement was an area apart of Russian territory that allowed Jews permanent residency, but forbade them from taking up residency anywhere else, which crushed the dreams of many young people who wanted to pursue a higher education outside the borders of the Pale of Settlement. However a loophole was found with the issuing of yellow tickets: a nickname for the identification cards that were given to Russian prostitutes that allowed them to live outside the borders. Many Jewish women took on the titles of prostitutes in order to expand their rights and live or go to school wherever they wanted, and The Yellow Ticket is a 1918 film that depicts such a scenario.

When one of our group members, Rachel, first rushed in, trying to find where the movie was located with only two minutes left before it started, a girl walking behind her stated that one of her friends told her the movie was filled with prostitution, which immediately had Rachel questioning Emory University’s taste in film. But we were pleased to find The Yellow Ticket was an engaging film about the struggles of a young woman who loses everything and must take on a double life as a prostitute and university student in order to have a chance at a better life.

Leaning back in our seats in the Emerson Concert Hall at Schwartz Performing Arts Center, we had no idea what to expect. We had just bought tickets to see the silent film The Yellow Ticket accompanied by a live score. Having never attended an event like this before, we had no idea what to expect.

The show began at 8:00 P.M. in Emerson Concert Hall in the Schwartz Performing Arts Center.

The lights went dim, and the three performers were introduced: composer Alicia Svigals, pianist Marilyn Lerner, and clarinetist Laura DeLuca. It was easy to tell who was the star of the show: Alicia’s long red dress immediately captured the spotlight.

The performers, Alicia Svigals, Marilyn Lerner, and Laura DeLuca are introduced.

Svigals, the world’s leading klezmer fiddler, founded the Grammy-winning Klezmatics and has collaborated with many renowned musical artists. She has also made appearances on shows such as David Letterman, MTV, and more. She is the recipient of the Foundation for Jewish Culture’s 2013 New Jewish Music Network Commission for her score of the Yellow Ticket.

Lerner’s musical style is seasoned with multiple different cultures, performing internationally from Montreal to Havana to Jerusalem. She is a recording artist, and has also toured with other groups of performers.

DeLuca started playing in the Seattle symphony in 1986 and is one of the founders of Seattle Chamber Players. Aside from performing in concert halls all around the world, she has been featured in more than one hundred recordings and has collaborated with distinguished composers and performers.

Beautiful music filled the concert hall the very second the film began, and the tone perfectly matched the mood of each scene. Alicia’s singing voice perfectly complimented the strings she played, matching with her partners beside her. We watched as the music got louder and darker during the dramatic scenes and soft during the comedic ones. The audience, consisting mostly of older adults and a few college students here and there, was captivated by the abilities of the performers and the emotions they evoked from the film.

The performers used reading lights on their podiums to read their sheet music as the film played.

One student in our group, Michael, was able to meet Alicia Svigals as she came to speak to his Music in Film class. Svigals stressed the effort and thought she put into every second of the film as she essentially lived in her studio for two whole months. With The Yellow Ticket being a silent film, Svigals said that she wanted to “make the narrative more clear and bring out the emotion” of the film. Though looking back at it, Svigals said that scoring the film from second to second was a “rookie move”, she is constantly fascinated with how such precision in the score makes each performance slightly different and unique. She explained that playing in complete unison with the score and film was essentially impossible with the amount of detail she put into every scene. Though at first this seemed like a detriment to her work, Svigals came to realize that each performance acted as a snowflake, patterned differently and completely unique from the others.  

Svigals also stressed how the film is filled with unknowns. From the very beginning, the director gives little background information or hints about the setting or main character, Sofia. Instead of trying to make sense of these unknowns, Svigals took advantage of this and layered the score with music from multiple cultures. This melting pot of different sounds emphasized this unknown as Sofia takes us on her journey to St. Petersburg. When viewing the film with Svigals’ score, one might notice that some melodies repeat themselves throughout the movie. Svigals created these specific melodies to represent different emotions and gestures. As Sofia makes the final decision to become a prostitute Svigals plays a melody of shame with a diminished harmony and a strong sense of darkness. This melody appears every time Sofia is seen working her night job in her alternate life. Along with shame, Svigals composed a waltz melody to symbolize romance as Sofia’s classmate quickly fall in love with her. The melody is layered with the three instruments and composed perfectly to bring out the growing feeling of love that falls within Sofia’s story.

Following the performance was a twenty minute Q&A with the artists. Audience members asked about the creation of the score, how they keep up with timing and precision, and the personal lives of the artists in general.

The trio sat down for a twenty minute Q&A with the audience members.

This performance of The Yellow Ticket was a very interesting and unique experience. We enjoyed observing the passion and excitement of the performers which was shared by the audience. The show brought to our attention the effects that music has on the emotions that a film portrays. We left the concert hall impressed, enlightened, and inspired.

By Rachel McNeil, Kate Monger, and Michael Malenfant

Green, David B. “1791: Catherine the Great tells Jews where they can live.” Haaretz.com, 26 Dec. 2016, www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/.premium-1.564905. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

 

“JewishEncyclopedia.com.” PALE OF SETTLEMENT – JewishEncyclopedia.Com, www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11862-pale-of-settlement. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017

 

“Pale of Settlement.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Aug. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_of_Settlement#Jewish_life_in_the_Pale. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

“Yellow ticket.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 July 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_ticket. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

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Close your eyes and think back to home.Is home in Georgia? Is it far away from Georgia? Is it on the West Coast or East Coast? Is it in the MidWest? Is it out of the country? Now imagine a law has passed stating that you can never live anywhere outside of your home state. How would that affect your enrollment at Emory? In what ways would you be limited? As horrible as this sounds, this scenario was reality for many Jews between the years 1791 to 1917, during which the Pale of Settlement was established.

The Pale of Settlement was an area apart of Russian territory that allowed Jews permanent residency, but forbade them from taking up residency anywhere else, which crushed the dreams of many young people who wanted to pursue a higher education outside the borders of the Pale of Settlement. However a loophole was found with the issuing of yellow tickets: a nickname for the identification cards that were given to Russian prostitutes that allowed them to live outside the borders. Many Jewish women took on the titles of prostitutes in order to expand their rights and live or go to school wherever they wanted, and The Yellow Ticket is a 1918 film that depicts such a scenario.

When one of our group members, Rachel, first rushed in, trying to find where the movie was located with only two minutes left before it started, a girl walking behind her stated that one of her friends told her the movie was filled with prostitution, which immediately had Rachel questioning Emory University’s taste in film. But we were pleased to find The Yellow Ticket was an engaging film about the struggles of a young woman who loses everything and must take on a double life as a prostitute and university student in order to have a chance at a better life.

Leaning back in our seats in the Emerson Concert Hall at Schwartz Performing Arts Center, we had no idea what to expect. We had just bought tickets to see the silent film The Yellow Ticket accompanied by a live score. Having never attended an event like this before, we had no idea what to expect.

The lights went dim, and the three performers were introduced: composer Alicia Svigals, pianist Marilyn Lerner, and clarinetist Laura DeLuca. It was easy to tell who was the star of the show: Alicia’s long red dress immediately captured the spotlight.

Svigals, the world’s leading klezmer fiddler, founded the Grammy-winning Klezmatics and has collaborated with many renowned musical artists. She has also made appearances on shows such as David Letterman, MTV, and more. She is the recipient of the Foundation for Jewish Culture’s 2013 New Jewish Music Network Commission for her score of the Yellow Ticket.

Lerner’s musical style is seasoned with multiple different cultures, performing internationally from Montreal to Havana to Jerusalem. She is a recording artist, and has also toured with other groups of performers.

DeLuca started playing in the Seattle symphony in 1986 and is one of the founders of Seattle Chamber Players. Aside from performing in concert halls all around the world, she has been featured in more than one hundred recordings and has collaborated with distinguished composers and performers.

Beautiful music filled the concert hall the very second the film began, and the tone perfectly matched the mood of each scene. Alicia’s singing voice perfectly complimented the strings she played, matching with her partners beside her. We watched as the music got louder and darker during the dramatic scenes and soft during the comedic ones. The audience, consisting mostly of older adults and a few college students here and there, was captivated by the abilities of the performers and the emotions they evoked from the film.

One student in our group, Michael, was able to meet Alicia Svigals as she came to speak to his Music in Film class. Svigals stressed the effort and thought she put into every second of the film as she essentially lived in her studio for two whole months. With The Yellow Ticket being a silent film, Svigals said that she wanted to “make the narrative more clear and bring out the emotion” of the film. Though looking back at it, Svigals said that scoring the film from second to second was a “rookie move”, she is constantly fascinated with how such precision in the score makes each performance slightly different and unique. She explained that playing in complete unison with the score and film was essentially impossible with the amount of detail she put into every scene. Though at first this seemed like a detriment to her work, Svigals came to realize that each performance acted as a snowflake, patterned differently and completely unique from the others.  

Svigals also stressed how the film is filled with unknowns. From the very beginning, the director gives little background information or hints about the setting or main character, Sofia. Instead of trying to make sense of these unknowns, Svigals took advantage of this and layered the score with music from multiple cultures. This melting pot of different sounds emphasized this unknown as Sofia takes us on her journey to St. Petersburg. When viewing the film with Svigals’ score, one might notice that some melodies repeat themselves throughout the movie. Svigals created these specific melodies to represent different emotions and gestures. As Sofia makes the final decision to become a prostitute Svigals plays a melody of shame with a diminished harmony and a strong sense of darkness. This melody appears every time Sofia is seen working her night job in her alternate life. Along with shame, Svigals composed a waltz melody to symbolize romance as Sofia’s classmate quickly fall in love with her. The melody is layered with the three instruments and composed perfectly to bring out the growing feeling of love that falls within Sofia’s story.

Following the performance was a twenty minute Q&A with the artists. Audience members asked about the creation of the score, how they keep up with timing and precision, and the personal lives of the artists in general.

This performance of The Yellow Ticket was a very interesting and unique experience. We enjoyed observing the passion and excitement of the performers which was shared by the audience. The show brought to our attention the effects that music has on the emotions that a film portrays. We left the concert hall impressed, enlightened, and inspired.

 

By Rachel McNeil, Kate Monger, and Michael Malenfant

Green, David B. “1791: Catherine the Great tells Jews where they can live.” Haaretz.com, 26 Dec. 2016, www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/.premium-1.564905. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

“JewishEncyclopedia.com.” PALE OF SETTLEMENT – JewishEncyclopedia.Com, www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11862-pale-of-settlement. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017

“Pale of Settlement.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Aug. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_of_Settlement#Jewish_life_in_the_Pale. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

“Yellow ticket.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 July 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_ticket. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

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Rollins School of Public Health: For the Prospective Student

rsphweb. (2014, December 23). The Rollins Experience [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpvX-iymomw

 

Rollins School of Public Health: By the Numbers. Created using canva.com

If you’re a student in search of a school that will launch you towards your dreams of working in public health, look no further. Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, ranked seventh in the nation, consists of six departments, all of which study and work towards improving the world’s most prevailing public health issues: behavioral sciences and health education, biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health policy and management, and global health. All departments are taught by doctoral level faculty who are also involved in research. Rollins collaborates with some of the world’s biggest health organizations and agencies such as the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With Atlanta known as the “Public Health Capital of the World”, Emory’s Rollins school attracts students from all over the world.  

Rollins encourages a tight-knit and inclusive community between the students, staff, and faculty. The school’s education is enforced through an engaging cultural aspect with respect to all types of diversity, and it doesn’t stop in the classroom. Rollins’s dedication to inclusion sticks as the school reaches out into all communities in effort to eliminate health discrepancies. As a core part of the curriculum, partnership with diverse communities in public health work remains an integral part of a Rollins education. Diversity is evident in the student body itself. Students come from 46 states and 40 countries, with an international student percentage of 15%. Over 70 languages are spoken at Rollins, and the school understands the importance of communication–building university resources with a diverse faculty and staff.

Kate and Michael interviewed Chris Moye, a first year student at Emory who is thinking about studying public health.

Coming from the Atlanta area describe the health disparities regarding different communities. What do you think the underlying issue is?

I think that the underlying issue in the disparities that are experienced by different communities in Atlanta is strictly a result of economics. People who have a lower socioeconomic status are not able to access to the same health care options as middle-class families, and this can be the difference between life and death.  

 

The Robin’s school of Public health emphasizes an environment of inclusion. The school is extremely diverse. How has this impacted your decision when thinking to apply?

The diverse background of students at the Robin’s school is one of the most important things to me as a minority. Being educated with other minorities is important to me because it will help to approach the field of medicine from different perspectives. This will help me to become a better physician in the future, while also helping me to figure out how to solve complex healthcare problems in my own community and beyond.

 

Coming from Atlanta, Chris has seen poverty-stricken neighborhoods that simply cannot afford the same health care options as wealthier communities. Based on the mission of the Rollin’s School, it is clear that these students are striving to not only learn more about public health, but also give back to the community in different ways. The diversity of the school, as Chris mentioned, provides the healthcare community with multiple perspectives and backgrounds. Giving back to the community is an important aspect of life that often goes unnoticed. Much like the free-riding theory of economics, people often wait for others to give back instead of putting themselves out there and making an actual difference. Emory’s Rollins School seems to be that catalyst for action as its students are eager to create solutions to the multitude of problems in the healthcare industry.

If interested in the Rollins school of Public Health, one should start to explore the many steps to apply. Whether its collaboration with experienced CDC researchers, or having tight-knit relations with the Winship Cancer Institute, Rollins is the perfect fit for incoming students in the public health community.

Fall 2018 application:

  • Due August 2, 2018.
  • Average GPA for MPH/MSPH applicants is 3.5 or higher.
  • Transcripts.
  • Two evaluations from academic advisors or faculty.
  • Written piece regarding experience in research.
  • GRE test scores.

Four types of degrees may be earned at Rollins:

  1. Master of science in public health (MSPH)
  2. Dual and doctoral degrees
  3. Master of Public Health (MPH)
  4. and Executive MPH Program.

 

Apply to Rollins for endless opportunities to experience and learn about the world of public health!

Rollins even holds two-hour information sessions on campus from 10:30am – 12:30 pm.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpvX-iymomw

rsphweb. (2014, December 23). The Rollins Experience [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpvX-iymomw