NORMALnoise volume 1, issue 3 // winter 2016 2 NORMALnoise the erasure issue 3 Dear reader, A lot has happened since a new issue of Normal Noise has seen the light of day. A year marked by drastic change and by crisis - both for the magazine and, of course, for our metro community, our county, our country, our world - has passed. Never, in my albeit short adult life has such a sense of loss, of disillusionment, of terror, of the erasure issue ecstasy, permeated our public life. The theme of this issue has taken on a new relevance and importance in light of recent events, yet its beginnings Letter(s) from the Editors 5 The Editorial Board are tied to a much smaller trial. In the spring 2016 issue, the Founding Editors included a painting by an ASU Our reflections on erasure art alumna. They saw nothing wrong with the painting. The issue was sent to the printer and six hundred copies The Devil Wears Prada, and Is 8 Hannah Gur-Arie arrived at Barrett. However, a small oversight had been made - one which, normally, would have been incon- Probably A Bit Racist, Too. sequential: the Barrett Dean had not reviewed the issue before it was printed, and he did not like the painting. The Dean’s Office refused to distribute the issue. Chess In Decline 11 Benjamin Shindel We, the new Editorial board, convened in August with a double goal: publish a fall 2016 issue and get the spring The commodification of the chess game issue distributed to the public, painting and all. What followed was a dispute characterized by miscommunica- In Defense of The Diary 14 Carolina Marques de Mesquita tion, mis-scheduled appointments, games of phone tag, and seemingly-opposite opinions with regards to the Resisting self-censorship painting. The Thermodynamics of Erasure 19 Cole Mathis As it turned out, we and the Dean’s Office were playing two different games. There were considerations to be had on an administrative level that had nothing to do with the artistic merit of the piece. After a long and, yes, Loose Lass 22 J.D.A. Scaven and Cecilia Nguyen heated discussion with the Dean, the Associate Dean, and our faculty advisor, we came to an agreement. The issue would be published without the painting, and the Editors agreed to foster transparency and open com- munication with the administration moving forward. Clean, Standoffish, and Slightly Uncomfortable 27 Aitana Yvette Mallarie The aesthetic of nothingness At the height of things, our fight was one against censorship, plain and simple. The theme of this issue, erasure, was born of that fight and our sentiments at that time. While we made a compromise, and one we don’t regret, we stand by the fact that we took the struggle as far as we could in the name of what we perceived to be an act of censorship, an erasure. We hope that struggle is felt throughout this issue. editor-in-chief Evan Anderson The erasure we fought against was resolved peacefully; our Deans showed understanding and compassion features editors Carolina Mesquita for what we stood for and reflected that by their willingness to compromise. Yet, it is hardly ever so simple. Amber Ellison In the coming years, it will be more important than ever to identify voices, lives, identities, realities, systems arts editor Amy Axelrod of thought, that are at risk of being erased, marginalized, destroyed. Beneath the veneer of transparency, free information, and massive communication, there is as much conflict and struggle as there ever was. design editor Kaylie Volpe designers Cecilia Nguyen Evan Anderson, Editor-in-Chief Dempsey Wilken faculty advisor Mina Suk, Ph.D. Normal Noise is a semesterly magazine supported by Barrett, the Honors College at ASU. Each issue provokes conversation about the complexities of everyday life through long-form journalism and art. Normal Noise is student-run. Views expressed in the magazine do not reflect those of the administration. Contact the editors at [email protected]. Like Normal Noise on Facebook and check out our website at normalnoise.wordpress.com. 4 NORMALnoise the erasure issue 5 As Normal Noise negotiated with administration to distribute the Play issue to our readers, our changing aesthetic was brought In “The Bluest Eye”, Toni Morrison writes, “Anger is better. There is a sense of being in anger. A reality and presence. An aware- into question. Look to the archives for our humble beginnings as the Barrett Chronicle, a newsletter written to inform students ness of worth.” Shame, by contrast, is characterized by a lack of self-worth: it arises when one is unable or unwilling to fight back, of happenings around campus. Readers who have joined us for a while know of the next three name changes. However, for the or when one accepts injustice as justified. past three semesters that I have contributed my design work to the magazine, the styles and branding have remained stable and unchanging. Morrison’s reflections on shame and anger followed me when I reread her novel earlier this semester. In October, the Phoe- nix City Council voted to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. High school football players across the country Although there are no further name changes in sight, with a new editorial board comes new tastes in style as well as visions for kneeled during the national anthem in protest of police brutality, and I watched with pride as Americans protested the construc- what the publication will bring to the community. As we explore the concept of erasure, one may ask if maturity, an evolution of tion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. At the ASU Clinton rally on November 2, I stood primarily among women of my parents’ identity, is an act of erasure against the past self. I think back to my eighth grade self’s dream of becoming a math teacher when I and grandparents’ generation – women that are frequently ignored not only because of their gender, but because their age often grew up, or even last year when I thought I was destined to be a management guru. Looking back, I laugh at who I thought I was renders them politically and socially irrelevant. and would become. I am not the same person I once was. And Normal Noise is not the same publication that it was at its birth. Regardless of our readers’ political opinion or affiliation, I believe these instances of political activism and civic engagement Despite not loving math the way I once did, and not having the “personality for management,” I know that those experiences would have been impossible had citizens succumbed to shame. Instead, they arose because citizens recognized a “sense of being” have shaped my analytical and detail-oriented personality. Having said this, I can also say that no past iteration goes without in anger: a rediscovery of their voices, an awareness of their own humanity, a desire to resist being silenced into submission. influencing the current publication. Normal Noise is multifaceted, incorporating new ideas and established traditions. The ed- itorial board loves to bring you minimalist aesthetic just as much as obscure theories of thermodynamics. Above all–and this As November progressed, I encountered many people that rolled their eyes at my worries and the worries of my peers. Our rang true with the Barrett Chronicle as well–we love to bring you the many voices of our student body and community at large. preoccupations were unnecessary, overdramatic, exaggerated. Often, I came up against the familiar flush of shame I was so sure So rest assured, dear reader, that although we may not be what we once were, our dedication to provoking intellectual thought I had forgotten. When the Normal Noise editorial board selected erasure as its theme for Fall 2016, we had little idea that its is unchanged. poignancy would only grow as the semester concluded. I once jokingly suggested we profile the 1980s synthpop duo Erasure (incidentally, if this pitch interests anyone, let me know). Yet now more than ever, I am convinced that we are most vulnerable Additionally, Helvetica Neue Bold will stick around as our subheading font of choice. to erasure when shame convinces us we are undeserving of a wish, a desire, or a will: anger, however, is productive, and in the Kaylie Volpe, Design words of Morrison, offers us a “reality and presence.” Like many others, I have trouble conceptualizing this new future. Many have suggested to me that anger toward such ambiguity will make me cynical, but I refuse to recognize and accept such imperious remarks. As we brave this next phase of social, polit- ical, and intellectual uncertainty, I urge that we do so with anger, pride, but no shame. The pages of this issue will remind you On that Tuesday wake, I dry-heaved in a hotel bathroom recently vacated by a congresswoman. Even my hesitations in the final that words are precious. Speak with authority, write with dignity, and feel the anger that will propel you toward progress: it is our days of the election cycle about attending a results watch party hosted by the Arizona Democratic Party (instead of watching only choice. from the comfort of a coffin for one at home) paled in comparison to the reality of the night. It was like an anxiety dream mas- Carolina Marques de Mesquita, Features querading as a rooftop gala. There were catered quinoa chips and a giant screen projecting red, red, red, blue, red. The chair of the ADP’s occasional bellowing interjections (“It’s going to be a long night, everyone! Have a drink!) were followed with a moment of hushed silence and then the bubbling shrill frivolity and panicked laughter.