1. Vol. 28 No. 12 April 20, 2015
Activistthe
The Independent University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College Student Newspaper <www.ucba-activist.com>
(See Tuition Deal, Page 2)
On Tuesday, April 14, 63 students
were inducted into the UCBA Chapter of
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
Membership is by invitation. To be
eligible for membership for Phi Theta
Kappa at UCBA students must com-
plete at least 12 semester credit hours of
coursework that may be applied to an as-
sociate degree, have a grade point aver-
age of 3.5 or above, and must adhere to
the standards of the society.
If students meet the criteria, they will
be sent a letter during spring term invit-
ing them to join Phi Theta Kappa. Both
full and part-time students are eligible.
The following new members were in-
ducted at the April 14 ceremony:
Denise Baldrick, Paige Baldrick, Tan-
ner Begley, Jacob Bewley, Derek Bishop,
Alisha Blevins, Jessica Brawand, Melissa
Brooks, Lana Caney, Amanda Cappiello,
Bernard Casey, Sheena Chandler, Jack
Crable, Alison Damon, Shawna Dicarlo,
Brian Doench, Mariah Emery, Josh En-
gel, Maria Fenner, Daniel Finke, Elizabeth
Fisher, Mary Floyd, Linda Friedhof, Lytle
Germann, Jillian Graham, Taylor Helton,
Anh Ho, Juanita Hottle, Suthasinee Jen-
nings, Tequise Johnson, Rachel Kauffman,
Katharine Leonard, Breanne Lyon, Sabrina
Mahan, Alfred Mantey, Godfred Mantey,
John Massaro, Matthew McCarragher,
Grace Meyer, Matthew Miller, Micayah
Mills, Matthew Moore, Apollonia Opoku,
Daniel Ortman, Grishma Patel, Michael
Peschka, Sean Redmond, April Rock,
Chadwick Rogers, Jessica Santangelo,
Vanessa Seaman, Kaitlin Silver, Sydney
Sloane, Marie Snyder, Alexander Sorokin,
Maria Virguez Giron, Huy Vu, Sara Walker,
Ian West, Cory Woodruff, Jill Young, Re-
becca Zeiler, Sheridan Zumwald.
UCBA Phi Theta Kappa
Inducts 63 New Members
UC Blue Ash College is offering stu-
dents a free credit hour this summer. The
college is renewing its 6-for-5 Summer
Program, which means students can take
six credit hours and only pay for five.
“This is a great option for our current
students, as well as any college students
who are home for the summer and want
to get ahead on their courses,” said Dr.
Cady Short-Thompson, Dean of UC Blue
Ash.
To qualify for the free credit hour,
students must be a resident of Ohio who
receives in-state tuition rates, and they
need to register by May 7, 2015, for at
least six credit hours at UC Blue Ash for
the summer semester.
This is the third year UC Blue Ash has
offered the 6-for-5 Summer Program to
help increase enrollment during the qui-
etest time on campus. The college has an
enrollment of more than 5,000 students
College Offering Summer Tuition Deal
UC Blue Ash is offering a free credit hour to students who register for six or more credit hours
at the college this summer.
On Monday, April 20, the UCBA Study
Abroad and Exchange Programs Commit-
tee will hold an information session for
students interested in studying abroad.
The session will run from 1:25-2:20 p.m.,
in Muntz 350 (the Foreign Language Lab).
This session will include a student
panel where past program student partic-
ipants answer questions about studying
abroad, a presentation on saving money
for study abroad by a faculty member
from the UCBA Business and Economics
Department, and information about the
three 2016 UCBA study abroad programs
in Great Britain, Costa Rica and Perú.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Study Abroad Info
Session This Monday

2. Page 2 Page 3
Join the Activist staff
for Fall Semester!
Register for
Student News Workshop I:
English 1071
(See Collaborations Page 5)
by John Hamilton
Activist staff
hamilj5@mail.uc.edu
On Wednesday, April 8, UCBA’s His-
tory Department hosted its final lecture
event of this academic year, called “Repa-
rations for African Americans?”
In this lecture assistant professors of
history, Dr. Robert Gioielli and Dr. Mat-
thew Norman gave a discussion about
what led to the concept of giving mem-
bers of the African American community
reparations for the years of slavery and
oppression that they faced in the last 150
years.
This lecture was inspired by an ar-
ticle published in The Atlantic Monthly,
in June 2014, by Ta-Nehisi Coates called
“The Case for Reparations.” In the ar-
ticle Coates discusses, “Two hundred
fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of
Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but
equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing
policy.” Continuing from the subtitle,
Coates declared, “Until we reckon with
our compounding moral debts, America
will never be whole.”
The lecture started off with Dr. Nor-
man talking about the events following
the American Civil War and how originally
freed slaves from the American South
would be receiving forty acres and a
mule. But then-President Andrew John-
son over-ruled that idea and gave the
land back to the original owners.
“So many of the freed slaves,” Dr. Nor-
man pointed out, “went back to working
for their former owners.”
After Dr. Norman’s discussion of 19th
century events, Dr. Gioielli went on to
talk about what happened in the 20th
century. The main focus of his discussion
was the events that took place during the
1960s in Chicago, when many African-
American residents on the West side were
subjected to unfair rent charges and were
denied home ownership.
Next, the professors played a short
video featuring interviews with promi-
nent activists during that time, including
Clyde Ross.
When Dr. Gioielli finished his seg-
ment, a discussion then started with at-
tendees engaging in a talk about what
should be done with reparations and
whether or not it can work.
Many participants brought up how
they approved the idea, while others talk-
ed about the side effects of it and what
the limits are.
Should Reparations be Paid to African Americans?
UCBA History Professors Rob Gioielli (left) and Matthew Norman (right) during their April 8
presentation on reparations for African Americans. (Photo by John Hamilton)
Over the next three weeks the fac-
ulty artists involved in the “Gaps and
Overlaps” exhibition at the UC Blue Ash
Art Gallery will participate in a series of
panel discussions each Wednesday from
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. at the gallery (located at
Plainfield and Cooper roads in Blue Ash,
OH 45236). All of the events are free and
open to the public.
In the discussions, panelists will ex-
plore the work on display, the collabo-
rations leading to the finished projects,
and what it all might possibly mean. In
the process the artists may utter poems,
break out into song, or recite written
texts. It really can't be guessed what they
might do. You’ll have to show up to find
out!
Panel 1: Wednesday, April 15, 2015
from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Panel Theme: Wynken…
Jody Ballah
Matt Bennett
Ted Ferdinand
Mike Roos
Panel 2: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Panel Theme: …Blynken…
Jamie Albert
Rita Kumar
Robert Murdock
Kevin Oberlin
UC Blue Ash Professor Mike Roos, who collaborated with Professor Matt Bennet on two mu-
sic videos in the exhibit, here shares background on another piece created by other collabo-
rators at the exhibit. (Photo by Pete Bender)
Panels to Highlight Faculty Collaborative Creations
during the spring and fall semesters.
About half that many take courses over
the summer.
Summer classes are offered in differ-
Tuition Deal (Continued)
ent terms at UC Blue Ash, with the first
term starting on May 11. For more infor-
mation, go to www.ucblueash.edu/6for5 or
call (513) 745-5740.
by Hannah Downs
Activist staff
downshk@mail.uc.edu
This past week I met a very special
person here at UCBA. Amanda Janzen is
a first year Pre-Pharmacy student and Mc-
Micken College of Arts and Science Com-
munication alumna.
However, the summer before Aman-
da’s sophomore year of college, she start-
ed getting weird symptoms. After bat-
tling months of fatigue, weight loss, night
sweats, and high grade fevers, she went
to the doctors to get a cat scan.
Her parents sat her down one Friday
afternoon to tell her the results. The doc-
tors found a cancer cell present. A week
later the news was confirmed. Amanda
was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lympho-
ma.
While staying in school Amanda kept
Feature Student
Amanda Janzen Turns Cancer Into Life Lesson
(See Amanda Janzen, Page 4
Amanda Janzen

3. up with chemotherapy in the fall and ra-
diation in the winter. Amanda had a total
of three surgeries, a bone marrow biopsy,
countless CT scans and PET scans, eight
chemotherapy treatments, and 20 rounds
of radiation therapy.
Amanda traveled from home to main
campus everyday to continue taking her
classes. Nothing was going to stop her
from being a full time student at UC.
“See, battling cancer gave me the
rare opportunity to be on the other side
of wellness,” she explained to me. “For a
short period of time, I got to see what it
was like to fight to live. Cancer helped me
to put life into perspective. I know that
it seems kind of ridiculous to take some-
thing that is so negative and life threaten-
ing and turn it into some type of opportu-
nity. But I am not only a different person;
I am a better person from this experience.
In just the blink of an eye, my life was
turned upside down. Life is too short and
too precious to not be respectful, kind,
courteous, and genuine. Life is too won-
drous to not chase all of your dreams and
fulfill your ambitions.”
Amanda ended up taking a spring
semester off after all of her treatment.
She needed a break from everything, so
she could come back 100 percent ready
for school. She got back on track and fin-
ished out her junior and senior year at UC,
graduating in the summer of 2012. She
felt like a new person.
Amanda has been over five years in
remission and declared “cured” by her on-
cologist this past December. She is now
currently a student here at UCBA for Pre-
Pharmacy. She has been inspired to do
pharmacy from her own experiences and
wants to help others out. Drugs are what
saved her life during chemotherapy.
Amanda has hopes to get into main
campus for the Fall 2016 program.
Amanda Janzen (Continued)
Page 4 Page 5
Technology
Apple Watch Arrives in Stores April 24
by Hannah Downs
Activist staff
downshk@mail.uc.edu
On April 24, Apple will be releasing
a new item. As the Apple website states,
“Apple Watch is unlike any device we’ve
ever made. But we wanted interacting
with it to be just as easy and intuitive as us-
ing your iPhone or working on a Mac. So
we invented all-new ways to select, navi-
gate, and input that are ideally suited to a
smaller device worn on the wrist. The re-
sult is an experience that’s both unique to
Apple Watch and quintessentially Apple.”
This watch lets you customize the
face however you want. You can switch
details, colors, and the time. This watch
shows weather and shows you what time
the sun rises and sets.
The Apple watch isn’t just a watch.
It’s also like an iPhone. This watch gets
notifications when you receive a mes-
sage, so you’ll know right away when you
get a text. It’s just a simple buzz, and you
can lower your arm to dismiss it. You can
also receive calls and mail on the Apple
watch.
The Apple watch can predict how
you want to respond to a message, from
the ways you most respond to others.
You can send emojis, send out your loca-
tion, and use your voice for an audio text.
On the side button, there are thumbnails
of people you would like to stay in touch
with. You can also use the built in speaker
on the side for quick phone calls.
The Apple watch also helps you out
with fitness. The activity app shows you
what activity you did for the day. It shows
how many calories you’ve burned and
how many steps you’ve taken. Each week
the Apple watch sets a new customized
fitness goal for you, depending on your
recent history.
There is an Apple watch for every-
one. With three different styles to choose
from, it will fit just right for you. The pric-
es range from $549 to $599. You can pre-
order the Apple watch now.
Sue Sipple
Panel 3: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Panel Theme: … and Nod
David Hartz
Rhonda Pettit
H. Michael Sanders
Claudia Skutar
The Gallery Events will be recorded
by Electronic Media Communications for
broadcast over UCTV and UCTVOnline.
The “Gaps and Overlaps” exhibit will
run through May 1, at the UC Blue Ash Art
Gallery. Regular Gallery hours during the
exhibition are Monday through Saturday
from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
For more information, go to www.
ucblueash.edu/artgallery, send an email
to bagaller@ucmail.uc.edu or call (513)
936-1712.
Collaborations (Continued)
by Mack Davis
Activist staff
davis4mv@mail.uc.edu
All UCBA students join me in wish-
ing Professor Michael Roos a happy,
and healthy retirement. He has served
39 years as an English professor here,
and most of those years he was the
Faculty Advisor of The Activist, our
student newspaper.
His resume includes not only the
outstanding job he’s done as a profes-
sor at UCBA, but he’s penned at least
one book that I know of.
On an even more personal note,
he’s easily the coolest white dude I
have ever met. You have to have a
certain level of cool to have a ponytail
as a man in 2015.
All jokes aside, the two terms
writing on his staff were truly joyful
for me. I don’t care where I end up in
life. I will remember this experience
without question.
If you see him around campus, tell
him thank you and wish him a happy
retirement. He won’t be around much
longer for us to appreciate.
(Faculty Advisor’s Note: This was
not an assigned story! And the words
are entirely Mack’s, for which this Advi-
sor is deeply grateful. Mack did not
need to say any of this to get a good
grade for the course. He has been an
excellent staff member all year long.
But I have to admit, to be called “the
coolest white dude I have ever met” by
one of my students has to go down as
one of the highest compliments I have
ever received! Still, to paraphrase Mark
Twain, reports of my retirement have
been greatly exaggerated. I won’t be
gone long! Following a brief hiatus fall
semester, I shall return as an adjunct
professor and Advisor to The Activist
for the spring semester. See you then!
Mike Roos)
Opinion
Mike Roos Retires
After 39 Years
by Mack Davis
Activist staff
davis4mv@mail.uc.edu
Wednesday, April 1, marked the day
of the annual McDonald’s All-American
Game in Chicago. Personally this was my
fifth year making the trip up to see it.
If you have no knowledge of what
the McDonald’s All-American game is, it’s
the top high school seniors in the country
getting together to showcase their tal-
ents on ESPN.
To be even more frank, McDonald’s
All-Americans are the type of players
that the top programs in the country, like
Duke and Kentucky, highly covet.
As always, I fully enjoyed the game. I
always enjoy seeing players in any sport
before the evils of being a professional
athlete get to them, when the game is
more about the love of the sport.
Lucky for me I always get great seats.
Last year I actually sat next to Tyler Ulis’s
family as they cheered on their soon to be
a Kentucky Wildcat.
Selfishly I hope some of the players
that are undecided about their college
choices choose to attend UC. We sure
could use an influx of top flight talent.
Sports
McDonald’s All-Americans for UC?
Michael Jordan was a McDonald’s All-American in 1981. (Photo by Mack Davis)

4. Page 6
UCBA Study Abroad
Britain2016
Where?
When?
Cost?
Questions?
GRMN 2064 German Cultural History and Civilization
ENGL 2095 The Literary Gothic from Horror to Surrealism
Choose one or both of these courses on this exciting excursion abroad.
May-June, 2016
$3900 + tuition
For more information, contact:
Ruth.Benander@uc.edu or Deborah.Page@uc.edu
Harlaxton Vienna Prague
Page 7
UCBA Study Abroad
Costa Rica
2016
Where?
When?
Cost?
Questions?
EVST2014:Tropical Natural History and Conservation in Costa Rica
Explore one of the most biologically diverse places on earth and
learn what efforts are being made to conserve tropical ecosystems!
May 2-16, 2016 (Maymester)
$2800 + tuition (scholarships & grants available)
Includes all transportation, room, meals and activities.
For more information, contact Susan Willis:
susan.willis@uc.edu

5. Page 8
UCBA Study Abroad
Perú2016
Where?
Cost?
SPAN 2065 Latin American Culture and Civilization
SPAN 2090 Service Learning in Spanish
June 3-20, 2016
$3400 + tuition (scholarships & grants available)
Includes homestay w/ 2 meals a day, international and
domestic (Peruvian) airfare, excursions, and classes at a
language school
For more information, contact:
Teresa Roig-Torres teresa.roig-torres@uc.edu
Angie Woods angie.woods@uc.edu
Cusco, Perú
When?
Machu Picchu
Questions?
Page 9
by Brett Cummings
Activist staff
cumminbw@mail.uc.edu
So we’ve reached our final issue for
the semester. It’s been a pleasure sharing
my fashion advice, opinions, and experi-
ences with you. For this issue, I would like
to leave you with a bite full of interesting
facts and criticism towards certain trends
and styles. There will always be trends
that are popular and some that won’t,
and it’s your job to choose what trends
you’ll follow and which ones you won’t.
Remember that every trend isn’t for ev-
eryone.
For example, now that it’s spring,
colorful prints are in season, so a lot of
people are going to implement them into
their wardrobes if they haven’t already.
The thing is that bigger people have to
be more cautious about wearing them.
Certain prints can make you look big-
ger than what you are, such as stripes or
a large plaid print. Generally, you should
make sure that whatever you are wearing
hugs your body in the right way. Don’t
wear anything that sags or is too tight.
Furthermore, trends such as fringe,
Bantu knots in hair, or high waist shorts
aren’t exactly for everyone. If you have
a kangaroo pouch or a muffin top, then
don’t get high wasted pants! It’s not
flattering, and it draws more attention
to your stomach, not to mention that it
makes you look older.
In most cases leave the bandtu knots
to Rihanna and your four-year-old sister.
There aren’t many people who can pull
them off and be taken seriously.
Fringe can be pretty hot, but where
people mess up is in over styling it.
Fringe is already pretty eye catchy in it-
self, so pairing it with multiple prints and
textures just takes away from the look.
The last thing that I would like to
speak on is something I probably men-
tioned in a previous issue, but neverthe-
less it’s about individuality. Many people
today seem to just be mimicking retail
shop manikins or celeb icons.
Now, there is nothing wrong with
you following a stylish trend and imple-
menting the concept or a piece into your
Style
Let It Be YOUR Style, Not THEIR Style
own style, but when you try to mimic a
whole outfit that you see on a manikin or
a celeb, you’re just becoming a zombie—
especially when it comes to celebrities.
What people fail to realize is that
many fashion iconic celebrities spend
thousands on just one outfit, so there-
fore when you try to duplicate this outfit
on a low budget, you end up looking like
a cheap, knock off version of a celebrity,
and that is just not a good look.
One of the biggest trends to me right
now is trying to be a Kardashian in every
way possible. People need to embrace
their individuality and style. If everyone
looked and dressed like a Kardashian,
then fashion would be boring and taste-
less. Now, in no way am I discrediting
their style or approach, but let it be their
style.
We all express the way we dress dif-
ferently from one another. Let your in-
dividuality and creativity flourish. Start
becoming the trend setter instead of the
follower.
There was good news from the UC
spring football game at the Sheakley Ath-
letics Center earlier this month.
The offense dominated a game in
which the No. 1 offense faced off against
the No. 1 defense and the two played
against each other.
Sophomore running back Mike
Boone stole the show with 154 rushing
yards and two touchdowns, including a
54-yard touchdown run and another run
for 50 yards. Tion Green gained 96 yards
on 18 carries with two touchdowns, and
Hosey Williams added 61 yards on 12 car-
ries.
"Mike Boone is going to be a force in
college football as a running back for the
next three years," said UC Football Coach
Tommy Tuberville.
"There's some areas we've still got to
work on but that's why you have the sum-
mertime for," said senior defensive end
Silverberry Mouhon, who did not play be-
cause of a hamstring injury. "The young
guys are hungry. We're more together
and more of a family now. Today, over-
all we didn't play as good as we wanted
to play but we're still going to make im-
provements. We're still going to be the
best defense in the conference."
Sports
Positive Signs From UC Spring Football
Have a great summer!
The Activist will not be published during the
summer but will return in for Fall Semester.
(off4thandgraham.com)

6. Page 10
My World
WeNeedMore
StudySpaces
by Al’eema Dawson
Activist staff
dawsonam@mail.uc.edu
UCBA has a few areas that are for
students to be able to sit in a quiet set-
ting and study, catch up on homework,
etc. There’s the library, computer lab,
the area by the cafe, and the area by
OneStop. But none of those areas are
fully quiet.
As students we try to focus on
studying and doing our homework
while being on campus, because
most of us live at home and it’s noisy,
depending on whether you have
siblings or not. Here, we have the
computer lab, the cafe and the library
for study spaces. But the problem
is that we don’t have enough seat-
ing areas, and we don’t have a place
that’s just quiet where we can study
and focus.
With tuition being as low as it is,
there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be
able to create an area where it’s strictly
quiet where we can study.
One may argue that we don’t have
the funds to do so, but there are nu-
merous ways we can raise the money:
bake sales, “Pie Your Professor,” dinners,
alumni donations or small events
where people donate money to build a
“Study Studio.”
Being as passionate as I am about
my school work, the cafe is loud, and
people go there to socialize. The library
is an ideal place for me, but there isn’t
enough seating room there. I often see
students sitting on the floor in the very
back, trying to get comfortable while
studying.
UCBA in my opinion needs to think
more about us students. We are the
ones putting in the long hours and
money so that we can have a career
and be successful in life.
(See My World, Page 9)
On the Spot
What Did You Think of March Madness?
by John Hamilton
Activist staff
hamilj5@mail.uc.edu
For this issue we asked UCBA students how they felt about the 2015 March Mad-
ness overall, with Duke emerging as champion.
Fatoumata Kante
“Ididn’tcare much
for it.”
Ana Salas
“I didn’t watch it.”
Sami Abraham
“I was too busy
studying to watch it.”
Eric Phillips
“I wanted Ken-
tucky to win.”
Opinions expressed in this newspaper are
those of the individual writer(s) and do not nec-
essarily reflect the opinion of the Activist as a
whole or its other staff members. Letters to the
editor may be sent c/o The Activist, UCBA, 9555
Plainfield Road, Cincinnati 45236 or e-mail us
at <ucba.activist@gmail.com>.
Please include your name and a phone
number for verification. (The phone number
will not be published).
Also, with the increase of enrollment,
we need more room for all students to
study. As students, we want to feel com-
fortable and be in a quiet area where we
My World (Continued)
Brett Cummings
Mack Davis
Al’eema Dawson
Hannah Downs
John Hamilton
Dezmond Houston
Advisor
Professor Mike Roos
Phone: 513-745-5764
Email: ucba.activist@gmail.com
Web: http://www.ucba-activist.com
Activist staff
Join the Activist staff
for Fall Semester!
Register for
Student News Workshop I:
English 1071
Page 11
by Brett Cummings
Activist staff
cumminbw@mail.uc.edu
I’m sure by now most people have
heard about the recent shooting in South
Carolina regarding a police officer and an
African American man. There is a lot of
controversy over why the cop lied about
how the incident happened, why police
are targeting black males in this way, and
why there is just now something being
done.
Frankly, I feel as if the race card is
being played in each and every one of
these situations that has occurred in the
past few years regarding black males and
cops. The fact of the matter is that Afri-
can Americans feel as though they are
treated unfairly, especially in the court
system, and something needs to be done
about it.
If you ask me, this is the first definite
major “racial situation” that has occurred
in the past few years, simply because
there is concrete evidence that the officer
lied and that he shot the man after he ran.
The Travon Martin incident is argu-
able as far as who was wrong or right. No
one had definite proof about what really
happened during the incident, because
the 911 call was muffled and unclear.
However, with this new case someone
caught the scene on video, and therefore
the officer got caught in a lie.
Now, I know many people are ask-
ing what we should do after something
like this happens. Well, if everyone truly
feels that there is an issue with the law
enforcement in this country, then why
don’t we as African Americans support
each other as a whole? If we see now
that racism is still alive, then obviously
that means that the fight for true free-
dom is not over.
The only way to stop discrimination
is by doing what we did to end slavery
and segregation, and that is to work to-
gether as one unit and support each oth-
er. Many African Americans criticize, ma-
nipulate, and talk down about each other
on a daily basis, but as soon as someone
of another race does something harmful
towards us, we are quick to point fingers,
whine, and play the blame game.
We have to get out of this slave men-
tality. Thinking and acting this way is why
we still struggle with many social and
economic issues. The unity has depreci-
ated. There is no sense of leadership or
stability.
If you truly feel there is an issue, then
don’t just let the officer who killed the
man go to jail. Let him serve as an ex-
ample, proving that there is still a lot of
work to be done in this country and that
the fight is not over for equal rights and
opportunity.
Opinion
The Fight for Equal Rights Is Not Over
by Mack Davis
Activist staff
davis4mv@mail.uc.edu
Sometimes I question if black Lives
even matter to black people. Although
the reasoning behind the #BlackLivesMat-
ter movement are 100 percent valid, I have
a hard time believing that fair treatment
from police will cure the ills of the African
American community in this country.
There is no relationship amongst
black people that isn’t in horrible shape.
Black men and women don’t interact well
with each other, the family structure in our
community is flawed at best, and from the
inside it looks as if we don’t love each oth-
er the way we once did.
There is no policy, law, or march that
can fix that. Although the issues that Af-
rican Americans face in this country are of
no fault of our own, the behavior towards
ourselves that is displayed daily can’t be
forgiven.
Every time I log on to Facebook, there
is somebody posting a video of a black
person beating another black person in a
manner that you’d think they wanted to
kill them. This is sad to me for two reasons:
one, why would you ever do anything to
anybody in that manner? Especially a per-
son that looks like you.
Two, how is this a form of entertain-
ment for anybody? For me, somebody
trying to kill someone else is never enter-
tainment. I surely can’t find any value in
seeing two black people trying to harm
each other.
I fully agree that there should be legis-
lation in place that protects us better from
the treatment of police, but before we go
asking for respect from anyone else, we
have to start by respecting ourselves.
We as a race have to start loving our-
selves first. The closer we are together, the
harder it is to destroy us.
Despite what some of our so-called
leaders may think, the key to black people
progressing in this country starts and ends
with us.
Opinion
Let’s Start Respecting Ourselves
know we won’t hear people talking or we
don’t have to deal with the access noise or
not being able to find a sitting area so we
can study.
The UCBA Library.

7. Page 12
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by John Hamilton
Activist staff
hamilj5@mail.uc.edu
It appears that the crew is taking one
last ride in what appears to be the final in-
stallment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise
with “Furious 7.”
This time around Dominic Toretto
(Vin Diesel) and his crew are being hunted
down by the skilled British assassin Deck-
ard Shaw (Jason Statham), who was the
brother of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), the
antagonist in the previous film, to avenge
his nearly dead brother. Dominic goes to
great lengths to protect his family (both
literal and figurative) and does whatever it
takes to stop Deckard.
I’ll be perfectly honest with you read-
ers: as of right now, this is the only “Fast &
Furious” movie that I’ve seen. For some
reason this franchise has never really inter-
ested me, which is weird. I’ve always been
a fan of the ridiculous over-the-top action
films, within reason of course, but with this
franchise, I can’t put my finger on it.
This film didn’t really help get me
interested in checking out the previous
movies. For one thing, this movie was
clearly made with previous fans in mind,
probably just for them. There are a ton of
references and call-backs to previous in-
stallments that I had to look up to under-
stand.
Thatisn’tabadthing. Isaythatbecause
one of my favorite franchises, “The Expend-
ables,” has a whole ton of inside jokes.
That’s a series that features such bits
of dialogue as “Why don’t you give the
job to my friend here. He loves running
around in the jungle.” That line was deliv-
ered by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he’s
referencing Sylvester Stallone’s famous
“Rambo” franchise. Heck, they even throw
in a Chuck Norris joke in the second mov-
ie, though those could get tiresome. For
example, in the third film they throw in a
Wesley Snipes tax evasion joke.
But anyway back to “Furious 7.” I think
the biggest problem I have with the fran-
chise is that it seems to lose focus on what
it wants to do plot wise. We get a fairly
good set up on the villain of the movie, but
he disappears throughout a good chunk
of the film.
Instead the story focuses on a com-
puter hacker (Nathalie Emmanuel) and
her special computer chip that is appar-
ently God. It’s even called the God Chip.
Deckard pop-ups every now and then and
disappears. It’s pretty much just “Hi Deck-
ard,” action scene occurs, “Bye Deckard!”
One of the other things that was test-
ing my patience was the character Roman
Pearce (Tyrese Gibson). I seriously couldn’t
stand this guy, and I was baffled as to what
he had to offer to the group. Granted, I
haven’t seen the other films, but I still don’t
know why this guy is involved. Every time
this guy opened his mouth, I just shouted
in my head, “Shut up!”
But with all of that being said, there
were a few things that were rather good.
The best thing was the performance by
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I can’t help
but love this guy. He has the charisma and
physical prowess to do these kinds of ac-
tion films. Also, the movie features Kurt
Russell, and he, of course, is amazing.
The other really good thing about the
film is its tribute to Paul Walker. For those
unaware, actor Paul Walker died in car
crash during a break from filming the mov-
ie. Many of his scenes were left unfinished.
So with Walker’s two lookalike brothers
and stock audio of Paul, they managed to
complete his scenes, and I couldn’t tell the
difference.
But for the final scene they’ve decided
to have Vin Diesel give a very touching
speech, in character, about how he and
Walker will always be brothers. It truly did
show that Diesel and company really cared
about their friend.
Movies
“Furious 7” Primarily For Fans of the Series
The “Furious 7” cast (straightfromthea.com)