disorientation issue

7/29/2019 Disorientation Issue

1/28


2/28


3/28

Dear Freshmen, Freshwomen and ranser-People,

Welcome to college, welcome to UConn, and welcome to your reshmen

disorientation! Tis next chapter o your lie will provide you with ups and downs, o triumphs

and struggles. Boozing, binging, stressing, and de-stressing a whole slew o emotions and

activities that will shape you and your peers or lie.

You may be saying to yoursel, Great, but Ive heard all o this beore. Do I really need

to hear it rom you, too?

Well, you can decide that or yoursel, but wed like to say yes, because at the Free

Press,we are here to give it to you straight; with no bullshit, no spin, and no trans-fats. o

be blunt: we hate that shit, and we know you do, too!

Within these pages, you will fnd our best guesses at answers to some o lies most

daunting, vital questions: Why? Huh? and ZOMG how could they!? And we deliver you

those answers in style, with humor, and without reservation.

We are an anti-fuckery media organization, and thus we write about the things

you (yes, YOU) as UConn students, teenagers and 20-somethings, citizens o America and

the world at large, care about. Armed with the reedoms o the First Amendment, we use our

articles, stories, ancy artwork and the most poetic o poetries to tell you the things we think

you ought to know.

So read our issues, spread em to your riends, and i youve got something on yourmind, eel ree to tell us about it. Maybe youll see it in an issue.

And should you ever fnd yoursel eeling that UConn aint got no heart, then I say: Ya

just gotta poke around. Te Free Press is sure to be out and about somewheres.

Keep scheming yall.

Love,

Te Free Press

UConn Department of Anti-Fuckery

University o ConnecticutDept. of Anti-FuckeryCEN

SORED

esse liberum, esse bonum


4/28

freshmanon fire


5/28

I was a reshman like you werea reshman like you areull o hopes and dreams specically and eagerly deceived.And then I was on re skin peeling burning or release.

I was a reshman like you were alone with my famesthat even though it tried sometimes it could not melt my soul.And there will be times when you walk through campus blazing famesbegging to be seen or heard and no one will give a hot turd.

But other times you will nd others on re riends

and you all shall blaze joyully content to have chosen UC to be.Blazing blue you shall laugh. Smoke? Drink? Party?Maybe run naked through hallways.And in between it all pick up some knowledge.

I was a reshman like you are.And it was beautiul- blue fames that licked awayat what you now think is an eternity o endless nightsendless ice endless tree endless credits endless lie.

Well a ew years down the line you may look back and realizethe exact moment your blue fame began to die

your blue blood began to thin and reality came stealthily creepinghard and bold splashing water cold on your hopeul soul.

-Nyanka Joseph


6/28

MCMAHON

Used to have the worst ood on campus,but now its home to the longest lines.Its nice i you dont want to have to puton real pants to go and eat.

ALUMNI

Not bad, some foors are divided bygender and its halway between southand McMahon dining halls. I you get inhere be happy, you could do a lot worse.

WEST

Its got a putting green anda volleyball court. Dontcongregate in the gazebo, ITSA TRAP!

CONNECTICUT COMMONS

Groups o singles, great i you like yourriends but not really. Has an outside grillin the center or you culinary or donthave a meal plan types.

SOUTH

Nicest dorms on campus. Its gota big ass dining hall and a graband go. A good mix o suitesand singles. My guess is that iyou live here you own more thanone Frisbee and play regularly inthe quad. You can also get reecondoms here. *wink wink

BUCKLEY

Honors reshman dorm.I wasnt an honors reshman so Ihave no ucking clue what goeson here, I would assume some

sort o study party.

SHIPPEE

Its on the east side o nowhere.The only buildings you wont have to walk30 minutes or are arjona and Montieth.But i you have classes in there you havebigger problems to deal with.


7/28

HILLTOP

Its on top o that hill behind thegym. Hence the name. Lovestairs? Live here. Garrigus hasrooms that you can control thetemperature so i youre sick owaking up sweating, you coulddo worse.

NORTHWEST

Its the same ucking thing as north.But slightly to the let.

NORTH

Like sweating your ass o or noapparent reason? Then you mightwanna check this place out. Mostlyunderclassmen. Kind o dirty and old

BUSBY

Its hidden behind north so its quite andits suites, so thats pretty sweet. You caadjust the thermostat and it has big assclosets, like Hilary Clintons ass big.

EAST

Hippies.

HUSKY VILLAGE

Its or rats and sororities, who theuck knows what goes on up there?Human sacrice or some shit.

TOWERS

Might as well be halway to 84,hope you like walking 40 minutesto get to anywhere. Also, i youlove giant ucking hills, youll beright at home.

THEREAL

HOUSING

GUIDEBY: B. CAWS


8/28

NEVER A HOME:A TRANSFER STUDENTSPERSPECTIVEB. Caws

My senior year at UCONN marks my first year incollege where I didnt transfer schools. I started in2009 at Western Connecticut State University andI quickly discovered that I didnt want to graduatefrom the worst school in the state with 90% of myhigh school graduating class so I transferred toUCONN Waterbury. After a year at that loathsomecity, I skedaddled here for my junior year; and nowIm back for my last one.

The intimidation factor for changing schools is cer-tainly high, especially when you dont know anybodyat the new school you switch to. I now understandall those high school movies where the new kidmoves to town. Moving into a dorm where you dontknow anyone on your floor or even your roommateis scary. Knowing which teachers are easy or hard,which classes will consume your life, where theparties are on Saturday: all these things that moststudents take for granted that I no longer do.

Transferring and being a freshman are similar but at

the same time they are completely different experi-ences. All of a sudden it isnt fine to get lost aroundcampus; I would only look at those big maps aroundcampus when nobody was there because I felt likeIm too old to not know where everything was. Idont have an alcohol hook up here I guess Im nothaving fun this semester (but of course I wouldnever drink alcohol underage, thats illegal). Its notalright to know that South is closed from 2-4. Whatthe hell is a flex pass? We didnt have this anywhereelse. Husky bucks? Is that like monopoly money?

I cant say that everything Ive experienced fromtransferring so many times has been negative.Changing so many times has actually forced to bemore social and not spend Friday nights on Reddit.You have to get involved; opportunity isnt goingto find you. I know Im not alone in transferring somany times and Im sure somebody reading this isin the same exact boat that I was in. Im sure most

of you have adapted to changing schools but theremight be a few of you out there who arent so heresa few pro-tips for you. Use common sense. Get in-volved. Say whats up? to the guy who always sitsnext to you in bio, or that chick who lives down thehall, you know that brunette who lives in the cornerroom, no. the other corner room. Yeah, that one.

After three immensely different major changes, andas many transfers with credits that didnt carry overits nothing short of a miracle that Im graduatingin four years. At this point I can clearly say that Imjust about ready to graduate and I wouldnt change

the way I did it. I became more social, actuallysaved a bunch of money and I think I learned moreabout myself then I would have had I stayed at thesame school for four years.


9/28


10/28

Ater the conclusion o syllabus week and movinginto your new dorm at UCONN, it really starts to setin that you have literally been thrust into an entirelynew social sphere. This sphere exists right outsideyour door, constantly surrounds you with its intenseinfuences o academia, and education, but alsopartying, intimacy, and other things classied ascrazy shit. I know, as does any other upperclassman,

that all o these infuences can be entirelyoverwhelming, because weve been there, wevewitnessed engaging them or not, and weve all beensusceptible to them as reshmen at one point too.

So what is one to do, how are any reshmensupposed to have a good time and have collegechange their lie in the best o ways? The answer Ihave or you so ar has been passed down to merom upperclassmen above me and hopeully downto others as well. Its not really that big o a secret,but sometimes seems harder to do than initiallyperceived, because it requires you to stop ocusingon all surrounding infuences. Literally, just ucking

be yoursel, be who you are, do what you l ike to do,learn what you like to learn, eat where you like to eat,talk to who you like to listen to, dance how you liketo dance, and be content with the act that howeverothers may judge you, that you do you, and you justucking be yoursel.

The reason why being yoursel is the key to a goodreshman experience and a lie changing, awesomecollege experience, is because it will allow you togravitate towards others to whom you connect with ina way that actually matters. Instead o staying in yourdorm watching mindless TV every night ater classes,get out there and do something radical. This could

range anywhere rom having a conversation with astranger to dancing your ass o in some corner othe library...And I know everyone says get involvedand it sounds so lame ater being said so many timesto so many people but, get the hell over it and listento yoursel: would you like to waste your eveningsdorm drinking yoursel to sleep, or would you rathermeet people that are passionate about the same

things you are and take each other to a new level oawesomeness?

You as a UCONN student have the chance toconnect with like-minded individuals and enhance yourlie. Join a club or organization, become a membero some sports club, or go to a school show orperormance, sit down with a stranger at a dininghall, actually talk to or ask your proessors somethinginstead o throwing up notes rom their lectures inyour notebooks. Seriously, college gets so muchbetter than a walk to carriage amongst hordes odrunken biddies. Biddies, who cant even rememberyour name, or their dignity, when stumbling over

drinks with their snapped heels, or ass holes withBros4lie beer splattered hoodies, arent really thetypes that bring happiness to your lie. So I suggestbeing yoursel and meeting the people that l ike tohear you speak and listen to your words, the peoplethat will tell you a story or something you didnt knowand bring a smile to your ace. Just imagine the greattimes youll have partying with people you get toknow, i you already have good conversationsand connections throughout the school week, itcould be so much better. When you can work,converse, and educate one another as riends,it only improves your raging so much more.

Freshman Experienceby Titus Ezekiel Abad(ass)


11/28

My reshman experience is a bit dierent thanthe companions o my class. I came to UCONNnot knowing anyone that closely, having arandom roommate semesters ahead o me,and was broke as hell without a job. I met somepeople, and tried to have a chill time hangingout with people rom high school, but therewas nothing to athom. Things were dull and

rightully so because there was no spark. So itwas time or me to get radical, and I was justwaiting or that window o opportunity. It nallycame one night, when, I was chilling with thischick rom out o state, and this crazy bus pullsup in ront o my dorm, obscurely painted withfames and veggies and whatever else spraypaint can do. Out o this bus poured peoplecloaked in airy outts with wings, and othersdressed as gypsies, playing futes, singing andyelling loudly, yelling out to me: come on thebus! Come on the bus! So o course I was justlike: uhmm, what the uck? But they were justso riendly and weird and happy, that it moved

me, and doing the same shit at school everyday was so lame. I wanted to have a goodweekend, so whatever, what the hell, I didnt actto t in with anyone else, I was just mysel, I goton the bus, because it elt like the right thing todo.

Well long story short the bus was lled withwonderul people happily conversing underneatha trippy painted ceiling, blasting jams like amagical school bus should. These peoplewanted to know me, and I wanted to know them,indulging in the weirdness o human nature,

and it changed my lie orever. Aside rom thebus breaking down 2 miles rom campus, andme having to deal with the out o state chick Iwas originally with, crying her eyes out becauseshe was araid to cross the street at night, Ihad a spectacular time. Ater the crazy busexperience I continued to be mysel and wasopened up to so many new riends, real down to

earth people that I loved to get to know, to learnwith, to party with, and I can honestly say thatis when lie changed and college really beganor me. Now my days are lled with interestingclasses and interesting people. My nightsexhibit circles o riends outside east campus,playing music, and dancing like the ree peoplewe are, open to the world and down or a goodtime.

So my advice to you or a good reshmanexperience is to be yoursel, dont blend into thecultural norms o UCONN but dene your ownculture. Get involved, and learn something by

doing hard work or what matters to you. Getweird, and dont worry too much about when orhow you get back to your dorm because its notgoing to change your lie like the people yourewith will. So yeah, uck yeah. Be you.

art by ka


12/28

FACING THE

GESTAPOWelcome to the University of Connecticut. Please enjoy your stay.

Note that i you try to enjoy yourstay too much (i.e. by smokingweed or drinking), you will haveto deal with the UConn Gestapo.Please allow me to explain howto walk away unscathed.

Ill start with a ew basic things.Dont be a dumbass. Dont smokein your room. Dont smoke inobvious places; UConn does haveundercover cops. I you drink inyour room do not host 20 peoplein your 10x14 oot cell. Reducethe risk o an encounter.

Lets say, hypothetically, that youand some riends are enjoyingsome herbal remedies in the reeart space behind Northwest. (Note:Do not go here. This is a badplace on campus to congregate)Anyways, you and your circle arestanding there causing little harmwhen two police ocers approachwith fashlights drawn. Theres noway out; you cant run and you canthide. Youre going to have to acethem. Chances are youll be scaredshitless and reeze up becauseyouve never had to deal with theseuckers beore. Just remember a

ew simple rules.Be polite. Just like your mom taughtyou. Stay calm, cool, and collected.Dont give them a reason to goRodney King on your ass.

I youre being polite, theyll probablybe polite back. This is all in anattempt to gain your compliance.Ocer Fuckery will explain that iyou give up your kush, things will gomuch more smoothly. Dont give upyour shit. The worst thing you couldpossibly do is give up your shit. Bydoing this, youre just waiving all oyour Kanye-given rights.

Next, the ocer is going to say heneeds to search you to make sureyou dont have any guns or knives orhand grenades (exact quote rom aprior police-encounter). He has theauthority to pat you down, but thatsthe extent o it. Calmly state that youdont consent to a search.

Frankly, most ocers dont give auck whether or not you consent toa search so theyre going to sticktheir dirty hands in your pocketsanyways. The dude is going to citeprobable cause based on the odoro marijuana. Bullshit, I know.

Should they nd you possessingcontraband, be it alcohol ormarijuana, youre probably goingto be cited with an inraction. Thisisnt the end o the world, so dontmake it worse by insulting theocer or trying to buy your way out.

These simple rules apply to themasses that choose to drink aswell. While you are less likely todeal with the police i youre justdrinking (thousands o underagestudents walk past the police stationwasted every weekend night withno repercussions), it is important tokeep your cool. We all know alcoholbrings out the obnoxious in people,but dont be yelling about how yousmell bacon as they approach.

Even i you remember all o thesethings and exercise your civil rightsin the most polite way, the ocermight still hand you a ticket anyway.Plead not guilty. Its a pretty simpleand painless process that ends upbeing nothing more than a wasteo time. But it will also give you aclean record and you wont loseyour license. Its worth sticking itto the man.

Stay smart.


13/28


14/28

THE ORIGIN

Growing up, my mother was ademocrat. I dont remembermuch about politics beore 9/11

and that was mostly because Iwas too young to be aware o it;but politics were also somethingmy mom never made me ocuson. I remember being in lockdown in my school that day, anelementary school in Glastonbury,Connecticut. I remember the wordterrorist was so rightening someo us cried, panicked at the notionthat our school was under attack.

This was an important day or mein so many ways and Ive nevercome to understand its lessonsso ully until today; ater a long,

grueling, conusing string oevents I just yesterday becameaware o going through. I read anarticle by a man named JeremiahGoulka (Conessions o a FormerRepublican) in which he describesthe process o discovering what Ialso believe to be one o the aultsthat exist in our modern Americanpolitical dialog, a discovery thatis oten deemed a conspiracytheory; he said: We see dierentrealities, dierent worlds. I youand I take in dierent slices oreality, chances are that we arent

talking about the same things.

MY REALITY

When I was younger, I liked toplay with the boys. In act, Iremember distinctly wishing that

I was a boy a lot o the time, evenprior to being aware o the varyingbiological eatures. I was madeun o, I was underestimated, Iwas bullied and told it meantthat he liked me, but I didntcare. I didnt know TO care. Iwanted to be a boy because Ihad already recognized therespect that commanded (orwhatever reason).

I endured my conusion silentlybecause it was who I wanted tobe, I liked to get dirty, I liked towrestle, I liked to play ootball at

recess and I liked to go with theboys group when our amily wason vacation. I had to laugh whenthey made un o me; it was theonly thing I knew to do to give thejoke less power. I didnt want tobe the whiney girl; I wanted to betough, like they were. I thoughti I was always tough maybe Iwouldnt be the butt o their jokesanymorebut I was wrong.

In middle school I was ortunateenough to come across a groupo riends that orever changedmy demeanor. They were tough;

we didnt take crap rom each

other, or other people. We werehonest, and open, and sincere,and we empowered each otherto be weird. It elt good to be apart o a group that being the butt

o jokes mattered so much less(even when I cut o all o my hairin 8th grade and I was called adyke).

Ater being alone and uninormedor most o high school, collegequickly became my oasis. Thereseemed to be, to some degree,this great orce o liberal energythat vibrated through the halls othe art wing, another sanctuary oat least attempted judgement-reezones.

I didnt know at any time that all o

these things would come to denewho I am today, or why, becauselike Mr. Goulka, my epiphany waswaiting or me to discover it.

MY FRIEND AND A LIGHT

Theres one instance in mycontinuing educational careerat my Community College that Ivesited innumerable times, becauseits telling in all that I ght or now,in all that I have convictions or.

What started o as a rathernonchalant conversation somehowturned into a really meaningulone, and moment in my lie, where

he ended up divulging to me thathed been raped. His honesty tookmeback, and out o my mouth Iheard words that Id never said

out loud to anyone other thanmy best riend.me too.

We both started crying andembraced each other.

I didnt even know that momentwas going to change my lie; itwasnt until a ew months aterthat Id started having an interestin politics, and nearly a year laterthat I read about rape culture orthe rst time. Article ater article,debate ater debate, conversationater conversation, that nightcame back to me more and morevividly. Everything that Id alwayslived with, everything that Idalways seen around me, everytime I was silenced, or meantto eel that I should be silentbecause o the misogyny thatexists in everyday lie, someoneelse elt that, had been liberatedrom it, and made the resolve tonever be ashamed again.

He told me that night that themore he was open about it, themore he ound that opennessreciprocated, and generally, with

the same awul experiences. Inthe same light that Goulka saw

I USED TO BEAPATHETICRACHEL LIMA


15/28

people without bank accounts,and IDs, Is there an entire o-the-grid alternate universe out there?I begin now to realize that I toohave stumbled across an alternate

universe, one that until recently Ihad been a part o; the universethat hasnt yet been awakened tothe call o civic duty. The universein which we all hide our eelingso inadequacy because emotionalwomen are perceived as whineyand naggy, and in turn, men whodemonstrate these qualities arelike women. A universe thathad never considered the eecto subconscious behavior, orinstitutionalized inequality. Auniverse ull o people that carrythe burdens o societal norms

while simultaneously acting as ipolitical aairs dont aect them,as i civil rights are a lost cause.

And so the spectrum is laid out;what has always been told to usto know, what weve always knownconsciously (however skewed),and what actually is.

THE CONNECTION

911? Middle school? Rape culture?Goulka? Feminism? Rachel, whatthe hell are you talking about?

Alright, alright; listen.

Looking back on that day, 5th

grade me, sitting under my desk,clutching my riends hands,switching my stare back and orthrom the window to the door, Irealize as Goulka did, that my

view o how powerul and correctour country is has been skewed.I learned rsthand, real dangeror not, what it elt like to be atthe mercy o an unknown ear;and now I see that it was thatkind o ear that ruled my silentindependence as a child.Especially my generation hasbeen taught that because womenwork now, can vote, that becausewe grew up among minorities,because gay bars exist, etc.,that we are at the oreront o theworlds civil rights movement.

Unortunately, because o thatattitude, a lot o the urgency inthese matters has been lost.But i I learned anything rom myriends in middle school, its thata place o mutual respect despitedierences can exist, and out othat respect people dont haveto eel alienated by the silentburdens they carry.And i I learned anything rom theone boy who decided to divulgea painul secret to anyone whowould listen in hopes o being aport in the storm or all who might

need it, its that the power opassing on a message has surely

been underestimated, and a callto consciousness is all that canhave a lasting eect on you i youchoose to be open to it.

THE NEW REALITY

I started this essay in sayingthat my mother was a democratduring my lie or a very importantreason. I was taught, growing up,that it was okay i I ever wanted todate a girl, that women were justas competent as men, that racialminorities deserved equal rights,that government subsidizedprograms were a hand-up to thosewho were struggling; as we usedthem oten, and needed them. Ilearned that I could do whateverI wanted with my lie. I learnedthat education was necessary,that camaraderie and selfessnesswere virtues, that I had anobligation to others emotionalwell-being.

Even though I was taught all othese things I was still blind to areality I aced daily, and my logicwas skewed because the idea oequality was taught to me as ithe ght was long since over. Dueto this misconception, I ell privyto instances in my lie becauseI didnt know they existed. Inbecoming a civil rights activistI learned that simply believing

all o those things isnt enough.I have to act on them, I have tospeak about them and not shut about it, I have to question gendnorms, I have to rack through

painul memories. I had to beginwhat would be a never endingght. My worst enemy now?Ironically, its apathy.

These eelings exist in everydaylie, rom legislation to whathappens in the home, what yousee on TV, the rape jokes peoplmake, the ood youre buyingrom companies that endorsehate groups. The only thing wecan do as non-politicians is tohelp enorce the attitude we wanmirrored in our political system,an attitude that you would wantbestowed upon you in your houro greatest need, an attitude thais unyielding to inequality.

BY the people, FOR the people;those words were not chosenlightly, but out o convictionsour ounding athers pulledrom personal experience andtranslated into empathy. Neveragain use the excuse that itdoesnt have anything to do withyou, because Im telling you nowin every way; it does.


16/28


17/28


18/28


19/28

UCONNPOLICEIt would be a mistake to think that atUCONN, the student body is sae rom thenow-inamous abuses o police power seenwith the international Occupy protests. I havebecome an eyewitness to this act. During theprevious semester, as a result o an accusationmade with next to no evidence, I was cornered

and harassed in my own dorm room by twoocers o the UCONN police orce. Whatstarted as an uneventul evening rst began togo wrong ater I received a phone call rom anocer saying that they wanted to speak withme. Asking about what they needed to discussyielded no answers, only a reassertion thatthey needed to talk to me and would come bymy dorm. And so I waited, wondering what thereason could possibly be, and araid somethinghad gone wrong.Upon the two ocers arrival, they inormedme another student had accused me ostealing rom their room, and demanded toknow where I had been during the day. Atno point was I inormed o my rights. I was,

on the sole basis o my panicked response,

assumed to be guilty. Cornered in my room,I was shouted at repeatedly and told toconess to a thet I did not commit to makethings easier or mysel. My neighbor heardthe commotion and tried to intervene on mybehal, only to be threatened with arrest.Thenight passed without an arrest. Thanks to theintervention o my dorms RA and a lack oevidence, the so-called investigation drew noconclusion. The only causalities were myability to eel secure at UCONN, and the ideathat my legal rights would be respected. I wastreated as i I had already been ound guiltyand purposeully intimidated by the people Iam supposed to trust to protect and serve theUniversitys inhabitants.I people like mysel are perceived as beinghostile and uncooperative towards thepolice, I hope that sharing my experiencehelps explain the reasons or our distrust. Itstime or the UCONN police orces unjust,ear-based tactics to be subject to the samescrutiny as their infated salaries, or the sake

o the whole student body.


20/28

Share.

Question everything.Think. Act.Visit the Benton.Take the long way home.Be open.Buy the previous edition of your textbooks.Hold the door open for people.Go to the gym early or late in the day.Run outside. Play outside. Be outside.Enjoy nature.Watch the sunrise/set on Horsebarn HillTake back the night.Let cars drive through intersections.

Be good to each other.Install laser tag at Storrs Center.Listen to WHUS.Play your music loud.Fight for your right (To partay).Put yourself out there.Make a new friend.Compliment strangers.Support local businesses.Support local art.Enjoy art spaces.Tag the grafitti wall

Do


21/28

Worry.

Do drunken laundry.Litter your cig butts.Litter at all!Smoke in front of doors.Cheat on your significant other. Cmon now.Always play it safe.Steal mopeds.Stop believing.Yell at girls.Yell at freshmen.Give up.Participate in/encourage Rape Culture.

Ignore sexual assault.Ignore injustice.Take your points and swipes for granted.Forget to take your laundry out.Buy into stereotypes.Let the bastards keep ya down.Smoke at West Gazebo. Its a trap!Use more than one washing machine at a time.And dont do coke... Freshman year.

Dont


22/28

audo vandalimSETH NUDDLE

Artwork by: Titus Abad


23/28

Throwing up love or your hometown, apopular theme in todays music but will always traceback to hip-hop. Some say that hip -hop has changedits path into the turn o the millennium, rom hip-hopto hipster hop, rom baggy jeans and Jordans totight jeans and vans. From the struggle to tting in,transormed into the struggle to stand out. This ideao hipster kid rap has become more o a trend thanLiveStrong bracelets and draw on mustaches. Oneo todays top kid rappers is right rom our backyard.Chris Webby is one o Connecticuts own, and hasshined his way into the mainstream spotlight withsamples rom hit artists such as Aloee black, and ATC.While Webby admits he loves the spotlight, he never

stops to say how he doesnt appreciate Sam Adamsrise to stardom, an adversary in the kid rap game.On the other side o the spotlight,

things look a little darker. Right down the highway,a college dropout rom Boston named Mr. Li talksabout all the wrongs hes seen since he startedspitting back in 95. Mr. Li released a song titledObama making a statement about the state o whichthe country was le t in beore President Obama wasinaugurated, that the land in which he elt has a majorpitall looming behind every alleged opportunity.Some topics brought up in this song reach as ar ashealth privatization, bombs, Americas control overthe Middle East, and propaganda that happen to stil lexist in our country to this day. Mr. Li has the rapperknowledge o Immortal Technique, the production oUnied Tribes could be something you hear rom oldschool Nas, and a creative rhyme scheme has yousinging along. Thievery Corporation, an electronicdowntempo band, which has taken many progressivepolitical stances on war, exploitive trade, and

supporting human rights and ood programs, producUnied Tribes. Songs such as The Cosmic Gameand Richest Man in Babylon were aimed to attackBushs administration. Both Thievery Corporation anMr. Li eel that i you are condent about somethingsociety, its the most essential time to speak up.

Start to head the other way down thehighway towards Jersey a revival rock band namedParlor Mob has really sparked interest in the musicworld and has been eaturing on shows such asEntourage on HBO. They got their name rom a HellKitchen gang active in the early 1900s. Hells kitchewas a series o gangs located in a New York City towwithin earshot o the central railroad. This area had a

reputation o gang extortion, proessional mayhem,and highway robbery near the local Hudson Riverexpress train. The gangsters rulings continued untithey began controlling nearby hospitals and behindbars, corrupt with power and money. Parlor Mob haclear infuence rom Led Zeppelin and constantly ndtheir way into my Sunday a ternoon playlist with sonEverything Youre Breathing For and my personalavorite Aint No Turning Back. Parlor Mobb isnt sor admitting some hometown love by perorming atthe Brooklyn Bowl and constantly doing shows in theupper east coast despite all the excessive music anoptions available in that area.

Its sae to say that artists today stillappreciate love rom their hometown ans, and weare here or support. Whether its giving shoutoutsin music like Webby, never orgetting about the lit tlepeople like Mr. Li, or throwing shows close to homelike Parlor Mobb. The love can easily be spread romthese local artists, a trend that may never really dieout.


24/28

A Letter to my Freshmen self


25/28


26/28

Poetic Release

We do a lot o things at poetic release. These activities rangerom getting on stage and screaming poetry, spitting crazy assbars, working on our crat, kicking ass as well as taking names

and expressing ourselves without the need o giving ucks.

But really, when it comes to using your words as an art, theexperience o perorming your work is exhilarating. Learning

to channel your eelings and thoughts through the mediums ospoken word and lyrics, and developing a sense o shameless-

ness in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere, is crucial. PoeticRelease is the spot. The shameless insaneness awaits you.

Poetic Release - Shut Up and Write Something.Tuesday,s, North Lobby at the Union, 8pm

educate yourself beyond the classroom

Students forSensible Drug Policy

SSDP is an international grassroots organization o kickass studentactivists dedicated to ending the WAR ON DRUGS. We lobby to

change policies rom campus to ederal and everywhere in between.We educate the world about the wasted time, wasted money, rac-ism, human rights violations, ruined lives, and just plain stupidity

associated with the War on Drugs. We work to save lives and reducethe harms associated with drug use. Basically, were on the ront

lines o the movement to better our society and our world by endingthe War on Drugs.

The war on drugs is a war on us.Thursdays, Arjona 115, 8pm

ConnPirgIts a good thing, too. Our generation has some big challenges to

tackle - rom global warming to the rising cost o college, romhomelessness to our collapsing health care system. It wont be easybut by acting together we can nd solutions. Thats where we come

in. Here at ConnPIRG Students, we organize college students tosolve some o the worldsmost pressing public interest problems.

ConnPIRG Students is an independent statewide student organiza-tion that works on issues like environmental protection, consumerprotection, and hunger and homelessness. For nearly 35 years

students with their campus PIRG chapters have been making a realdierence in peoples lives and winning concrete changes to build a

better world.

We give students the skills and opportunity to practice eectivecitizenship. Both here on campus and out in the world, we mobilizestudents to investigate big social problems, come up with practicalsolutions, convince the media and public to pay attention, and get

decision-makers to act

Together we can make change happen.Mondays, Student Union 322, 9pm

Here are some student groups on campus that specialize in justice, freedom, and kicking ass,

Lauching Activism Via ArtAlthough we are just as ery as LAVA, our club is committed to

Launching Activism Via Art. LAVA meets every Wednesdays inthe cozy sanctuary o the Art Building to paint, draw, laugh andsing about activist causes both inside UConn and out. We hostand participate in artist workshops, organize socially minded artshows, collaborate with numerous student groups, create legal

grati (we opened a public art space on campus) and give digitalmedia and other creative tutorials. Whether it be a place to exer-cise your own talents, a catharsis or your global political angst,or just an excuse to meet a hip crowd o olks, Art Building Room

103 is the place to be.

Blast o into the world o art/activism.Wednesdays, Art Bldg Room 103, 9pm

wings by ben


27/28

the Free Press

write

foru

sdraw

foru

combat

fuckery

withu

s

Thursdays at 7pm

in the SOC(Student Union rm 218}

send your art, rants, anpoetry t

[email protected]

Many thanks to the entireUConn Department of Anti-fuckery,starring:

Robby

Tyler

Devin

Seth

Josh

B.Caws

Rachel

Nico

Titus

Salvatore

Ben

Katie

Cara

Danielle

Alex

Kristin

M.E.

5280s

Nyanka

[you]

[and a shoutout toUSG or unding us

listen toFree Press RadioThursdays at 6pmWHUS 91.7 or whus.org

LIKE US!facebook.com/ucfreepress


28/28

disorientation issue

Documents