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Show -- 1 --- cid ses Student witnesses cultural, fell t lo ss I e rance , , t i t i t i WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 4 - DIXIESUNNEVtIS.COM - , t ; BY VALERIE DE LAO 4: F t t:' -, valeriadelaoDSU , i N- 0 !i I '4 ';',',-'''- - - ';':::'( , ,..---, t ... , -- , 1,' L., i,,,., - -, , ,,,, , C '', t. ' t , ,,' L , ,,,, I ' ' ' -- , 44 , ) ' , a' '.1. , ' 1 's ,411, 1 - ,,,i , ' ' ' ' .' ' '' - ,,: , , ''', -, t.- - ' 1 ' , t ,., ',, , i ' ; AN ,,( ,,,t -- ! ,I,- 1, t '' , t - ' ' , , , :, -,' 0 ,.t, , ., .1 s l'w f I ' ' , A --- -4 ,; ' A ,;,,, It ' ,',' '''''.. ., ., , - ,'- .. i , ....,- 'f:. Vs" 1 . -, - 'ix,,. , I ,,, , I - r ' ,,.,o4 I 7, ' ; , , , ',,,,,.4, ' ' 7 ' ,, i i t, ' i i US ' 4',.. A - I, vee ...... '''., 11 . . '' ' , ..., , v r if 's ..., ,, , , ' , , 41 , . 4 1 , ---- , , i , ...... ) J .., 1 I r i t , ''''' N , 4 'IA ' NI, ' i t' . ,e -' , -' ti' , ,,; i . , , - , . I Z i t communion to participants during a mass at Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, California, gives 50th of Fresno's Diocese Catholic anniversary. Kearney Park as part of the Roman DSU in relation to their religious beliefs and cultures. One religious tradition I participate in every year is Ash Wednesday. Ash While resources like the Multicultural Inclusion Center exist, I still find myself running into staff and students who are unaware of cultural differences. I cannot tell you how many times I have felt out of place at DSU because I Saint. am not a Latter-da- y I not am Unfortunately, the only one who feels this way. In a poll I conducted of students in the cafe, five out of seven interviewed said they felt out of place at '' 4' , I diversity? , ,,,'' ','- ,f,..., -''' 1 I ' , -..- , ' , , , , "- - , ' I ' .,,,., ,' t z ,7 :.! 'Vt 1. --. , N,',,,,,- - i ,I ' 1 i 1 i y' -- ''''''.--"!-,. 1 , o''' ' i, ,0;' , ' ' .t.. - - Z? ,,4 , .. ' - , -- r, i , , ''' ft 1 i ' '' ' '', 1,1 , ''4, ,,, '' s.. 1,,E. t ,, - ,,,4, t ' cently cook- , mg dinner in 1 , the commu- .f, ' ' ' nity kitchen in my dorm, I when a girl walked in, me a face of Igiving She said she was surprised at the fac I knew how to cook something I other than beans. You I should've seen the look on , her face when I told her I didn't even like beans. She asked, "But aren't you Mexican?" ' She assumed because I am a Latina, I didn't know how to cook anything that wasn't Mexican food. This offended me and led me to question, is Dixie State 1 University watering down - i it", ,,,,,..wip- re- , ,o0 i ' v , , S - AA; i I was s ...,.,,;.. , . , ,, r ,. ,, , i ... - ..,rr, . , i., 201 forehead, right?" Some DSU employees and classmates even tried to wipe the ashes off. DSU is not doing anything to teach students, and especially faculty members, of the cultural differences. Rather than offend their students, some cultural training among the faculty should be put into place in order to decrease the cultural shock some students experience coming to DSU. Every year the MIC puts together a Miss Native Dixie Pageant. This pageant is a spin-of- f of the traditional Miss Dixie Pageant. Wednesday is a day of fasting celebrated by Christians where their foreheads are marked with ashes, marking 46 days until Easter. On this day last year, I walked to and from classes with ashes on my forehead while receiving many dirty looks. It was as if I was being shamed for being Catholic. Through the rest of that day, I found people asking me, "You do know that you have black stuff on your JONNY are not put on the same pedestal traditional winners are. The winner of the Miss Dixie Pageant gets her photo hung in the Kenneth N. Gardner Center, whereas the International and Native Miss Dixie winners get no When the MIC hosted the Miss Native Dixie Pageant there were seven contestants whereas the traditional pageant included 23. It seems to me that the MIC events are underrepresented through the student association, and this is a problem. Diversity to me means it is the abildifference ity to accept others for who they are. While I am hopeful for DSU's future and its outlook on diversity, nothing will ever change unless we are able to look at others and accept them for what makes them dif-- picture. Why is this? ferent. have always appreciated the MIC was inviting those of native heritage to compete for the title of Miss Native Dixie, but what about international students and the other underrepresented cultures on campus? While there is an International Miss Dixie Pageant, it is a problem the winners I AT THE osomosksomodkeiwoomoosalopeèsm 0 VII M motto ease ors wwwww LETTERS Lady Bird:' A different TO , coming-of-ag- e A 4 as follows: mu at V", THE EDITOR Send letters to the editor to DixieSundixiaedu. Letters to the editor are accepted and may be published in the newspaper andor dixiesunnews.com. The guidelines for letters are E also t t ,, o : oo' b) ) ;. ,.0 , , it pk,L: , j ,., 4, the final frame of faded to black the film was over, I Isignifying was not fond of the IWhen Submissions should be no longer than 250 words and must be Writers must include name, phone number and email address. Students should also include year in school, hometown and well-writte- n. major. Letters are subject to editing for length, style and ending. It isn't that the film isn't good; it's fascinating. I don't completely hate the ending either. I just didn't get the ending I was expecting, and that didn't sit very well with me. The ending I anticipated was a montage of how she continues her journey through life: graduating from college, getting married, etc. The fact that the ending was odd to me gave i me pause. I wondered why I i published. ihad responded to the ending Letters should be submit- f the way I did. ted to dixiesundixie.edu in 1 I found myself thinking about the body of the email, not an the effect "Lady Bird" had on attachment. r me and how I related to the Letters become property !characters in the story. I didn't of Dixie Sun News and may 1 think about the fact that really be published in any format. the film has a mostly female Dixie Sun News encourcast because to me it is one of ages a lively discussion the things that made the film so on its website among its captivating. readers. Instead of a coming-of-ag- e Dixie Sun News does not film from a male perspective edit comments. However, which does happen even an editor will not post any 1 when the film's main character comments that are libelous is female we have a story ',told by a woman from the grammar. Letters consisting of inaccurate, libelous or highly offensive content will not be k f' L story I It was that connection to the film and how I related to Lady Bird, which helped me understand that the ending of the film is the perfect end to Lady Bird's journey because it brings her closure, so my initial lack of fondness for the end of the film turned to acceptance. "Lady Bird" isn't an "art imitating life" sort of film. It is a different kind of blossoming into adulthood, which celebrates life and the journey one takes toward through the people who surround us just as Lady Bird does through her relationship with her mother, her first boyfriend and first break up, and even realizing who her Inie friends , self-discov- D3 0) F 60MailMOMM female perspective, and that is a beautiful thing. The experiences Saoirse Ronan's character has may have been from a female pointof-view, but they were experiences, not unlike ones that I had when I was a teenager, and I could relate to hanging out with your best friend, arguments with one parent or the other, and the first kiss with a person you really like. If I were to compare director Greta Gerwig's "Lady Bird" to another coming-of-ag- e film. in Pink" for example, "Pretty I'd say there were moments I was reminded of the classic Molly Rinpvald film, but unlike that '80s classic, "Lady Bird" is not a film about a female in high school falling in love with the man of her dreams. It is a story about a teenager who wants to find her place in the world and the relationships she has. Of those relationships in the life of Christine McPherson who calls herself Lady Bird the one she has with her mother stood out to me the most. Here is a girl trybetter to herself understand ing and really experience things. Her mother spends nearly every waking hour discouraging Lady Bird's dreams of going to New York and criticizing almost every decision the young teenager makes. In one scene, Lady Bird is brought home from school after telling a woman advocating for abortion at an assembly that"Just because something is ugly, doesn't make it morally wrong." Her mother is angry and proceeds to tell Lady Bird she and Lady Bird's father do so much for her and spend so much of the money they don't have on her, basically giving the teen a guilt trip about how much they sacrifice on her behalf. A later scene shows Lady Bird trying on prom dresses, and when she finds a dress she likes, her mother replies with "Does it have to be pink?" instead of telling her daughter it looks nice on her. These examples of a mother unable to express her love for her daughter made me angry. I couldn't believe how critical she could be. It reminded me of my relationship with my father when I was 17 and what my perception was at that time. i are. et Gerwig does a fantastic job balancing comedy, drama and even a little nostalgia for those who were teenagers in 2003It is a beautifully crafted film and told in a way that I think will resonate with all who view it. That the film has received academy awards nominations for best picture, director, actress, supporting actress and best original screenplay is quit' an accomplishment, and I thili Greta Gerwig is well on her way to becoming the second woman in academy history to win the Oscar for best director, a deed previously accom- plished by Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker" who was the first woman to win the award. C |