Panther.Vol. 1, Issue 2 • Nov./Dec. 2012

[ ]Panther.( p a n - t h e r ) noun,

1. The second issue of thewhimsical Panther. magazine.(Yes, we actually made asecond issue.)

2. This issue is dedicated toart in its various forms.(Check out David Pope’sawesome quote on the cover.)

3. Some panthers can run up to50 mph. This Panther.,however, is running late.(Sorry — we got distracted bysome delicious Thanksgivingturkey.)

LetterEditor

from the

Welcome to the Second Issue of

Panther. Staff:Assistant Editor

Director of Design

We are always looking for bright minds and brave hearts here at Panther. Ourpublication is free form with few regulations, allowing you to see your work right

here in these very pages. We’re looking for writers, illustrators, designers, andmodels.

Interested? Of course you are. Contact tal@uni.edu for more info.

Express Yourself

Director of Photography

[ ]Contributors

Essays.

A Common Courtesylong forgotten for you

ladies and gents

This morning, rather than rushing to my 9 a.m class at 8:55, I was

up and moving at 7:30. The air was crisp, my hands were freezing, but I

was surprisingly energetic for Friday morning. Being up at this hour

exposed me to the early morning sidewalk traffic (this mostly being

professors and a few sleepy students) and as I walked from one side of

campus to the other something stuck out to me that hadn’t before. Every

professor I passed, male and female, smiled and said good morning rather

than looking away as our paths crossed.

This might seem insignificant at the surface, but I believe it points out a

huge generational issue: how often do we acknowledge someone’s

presence when they pass us on the sidewalk? You might think always, but

really think about it. We’ve all done the cell phone fake out. The, “Oh look, I

just realized I haven’t refreshed my Facebook News Feed....” Or perhaps

you are guilty of the out of the blue interest in something completely

mundane such as the crack in the sidewalk that you’ve passed every day.

Either way, the interpretation of our insincere distraction is clearly received

on the other end. I would like to suggest a terrifying change of habit. Maybe

we could take these little sidewalk encounters and turn them in to smile

exchanges. Sounds super awkward, eh? So let’s give it a try. You just might

brighten someone’s day.

IndvidualityAccording to Mean Girls.

I don’t know how to be a girl.

A stereotypical girl, anyway. I’m like the

Cady Heron of the real world.

I really don’t. I never have. Physicality

wise, I have it down pat. I have all the

right “parts,” but internally? Internally, I’m

the wreckage after a serious storm. My

mind when it comes to society’s

stereotypical female behavior is like a

tsunami hit by a tornado with an

earthquake thrown in as the cherry on top

of this disaster sundae. I don’t understand

why everybody thinks we need to go to

the bathroom together, or why buying

matching pajamas and wearing them to

the same slumber party is considered

cute. I don’t get it.

I love being my own person. I love being

able to make my own decisions, and have

my own opinion. Take this quote from

Mean Girls as a solid example of why I

don’t understand the female mind:

Gretchen: Well, I mean you wouldn't

buy a skirt without asking your friends first

if it looks good on you.

Cady: I wouldn't?

Gretchen: Right. Oh, and it's the same

with guys. Like, you may think you like

someone, but you could be wrong.

“You may think you like someone, but

you could be wrong?” Last time I

checked, I was the one with the feelings,

NOT Gretchen Weiners. If anyone ever

told me, “No, you don’t like *insert

whatever here*” I would shit a brick and

throw it at their head. Probably not, but

you get the idea. My actual response

would be something along the lines of,

“Thank you, _______. I was unaware of

my own feelings, but since you know me

so well you’ve made my thought process

so much easier by cutting it out entirely

and doing all of my thinking for me. Thank

you”.

And if someone told me I couldn’t wear

gold hoop earrings because they were

her thing, I would find a place to shove

her gold hoop earrings, and I don’t mean

in her ears.

Needless to say, I don’t think the

Plastics would’ve taken to me well.

There are times when I want to say the same thing to my country that I would’ve

said to my mom when I was a bratty, adolescent, “Stop embarrassing me!” You know what the great

thing about this country is? Can you think back to history class and think why everyone moved out

of England in the first place and had that Revolutionary War? Do you? Ah yes, because we wanted

to live in a place that everyone could worship as they pleased and the government wouldn’t be affected

by it. There was this whole agreement we made as a government that we refer to as the Constitution.

On that document we agreed that there will be the separation of church and state. This way everybody

can be happy without having to live by someone else’s personal beliefs.

We also stated that everyone is free and equal. Well how about that. Everyone? Including gay

people? Well fancy that, I guess that would include gay people. There will people that agree and

disagree with me. For those who disagree with me you’ll probably use some form of the argument

that “gay marriage violates the sanctity of marriage”. Let’s think about this for a moment. Sanctity is

defined as:

Wait, what was that? Holy? Sacred? Saintly?

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” -- The First Amendment

Oh shit. Your argument is not only invalid but also unconstitutional. The first amendment specifically

outlaws religious laws! You don’t even have to read the whole constitution! It’s right there at the

beginning! And yet, here we are. Gay marriage needs to stop being an issue everyone can hold their

tongue and grant homosexual citizens their deserved rights and freedoms.

You can argue about gay marriage across the pews of your church, temple, or wherever you hang

out but the government has no constitutional right to deny a basic right from people we call our friends,

colleagues, family, and most importantly fellow American citizens. Many other countries have accepted

gay marriage including: Canada, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Norway, Sweden,

Portugal, Iceland, and Argentina. We are supposed to be a progressive, free country and yet we can’t

get with the times on this issue. Not allowing everyone to get married in the eyes of the government

will one day be as humiliating as slavery and segregation to the United States’ history.

sanc·ti·ty/ˈsaNG(k)titē/Noun.

1. The state or quality of being holy, sacred, or saintly.

sa·cred/ˈsākrid/Noun.

1. Connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purposeand so deserving veneration: "sacred rites".2. Religious rather than secular.

America…You’re Embarrassing Me.

Going to the Movies

After this week, I have decided that I will never choose a movie ever again.

And by that I mean — I will never decide on a movie when my friends have to spend $12

to see something based on my choice.

Choosing a film to watch on a Friday night should be an easy task in this day and age.

With a simple click on Fandango or Rotten Tomatoes, we can receive a compilation of movie

critic's pretentious thoughts and overanalyzed reviews. But even with that and people

posting on social media that a film “made me laugh so hard ROFL,” it is still a task that must

be made with care.

For example. This last weekend, a friend and I decided we wanted to see a film together.

I opened my big mouth and blurted out a choice. For $12, we had to endure a painfully

boring film for two and a half hours and for the whole time, I did not blame the director, actors

or writers. I merely blamed myself for making an incorrect choice and forcing my friend to

endure the choice along with me.

And through the whole time during the movie, even though we could have left right in

the middle, there's always that naïve hope in the back of my mind and every movie goer's

mind that maybe it will get better in this next sequence. Maybe once the main character gets

to the fight scene, or maybe I just need to get twenty minutes into this darn thing and it will

get better. Twenty minutes turns into an hour, and an hour turns into the end of the movie

when the lights go on in the theatre and people are chatting over the credits.

At the end of the film on Friday, both my friend and I did not converse about our thoughts

on the movie like most people do. We both knew how we felt, and we both were too

ashamed to admit that a chunk of our day (and our cash) was gone. But at least he can go

on Facebook and say, “LOLZ this little Asian chick made me endure crap.”

From this point on, I have decided that if I make a decision on something, I will not be

ashamed to take the stale buttered popcorn and run.

Here is a list of things I wish I could reverse:

� Buying that $70 sweater

� Not saying no to him earlier

� Panicking at that party

� Feeding my cat junk when I was a kid. Now she's fat.

� Making her cry

INDIE-vidualBlayne Austin

Fashion/Photography

INDIE-vidualBlayne Austin

C.A. Ferguson“I chose my outfit as indie inspired because one thingI've noticed about clothing trends that are popular inthat demographic is the whole flavor of the past, whichwas why I wore my denim jacket,” said Ferguson. “Ithink an indie look has come to correlate with the styleof many young adult authors, which is what I want tobe once I graduate, along with being a teacher.”

Lizzie Moreno“The outfit idea just kind of came

to me … free flowing and non-conforming,” said Moreno. “I'm avery ‘loosey goosey,’ go with the

flow kind of person, and thisoutfit made me feel like that. The

pieces gave me a lot ofmovement, which I enjoyed”

David Pope“The bald head, the thrift storeleather shoes and the skinnyjeans were inspired by Britishurban men's fashion and mixedunexpected elements,” saidPope. “The mixture of the fadedcorduroy blue button-up with thefloral skinny jeans mixesmasculinity and femininity; thetextures and colors draw you inrather than jump out at you.”

Justin Wurtzel“I picked them because they're a little bit morerugged on the indie side,” said Wurtzel. “I like alot of classic pieces like button ups …. I enjoyhow crisp and professional a lot of them look.”

Linh Ta“While I don’t have any ‘modern’indie-clothing, I felt that my outfitresonated a more vintage ‘indie’style,” said Ta. “I really enjoydressing up and mixing up bothsoft and hard pieces, so I have asoft colored blouse with a harderblack and white patterned skirt.”

Steven Sanchez“I don’t know a lot about indie

fashion, but for some reason thiscoat just screamed ‘indie’ to

me,” said Sanchez. “I built theentire outfit around the coat,choosing pieces that would

strike a balance between dressyand casual, which is something Itry to do with everything I wear.”

Tressa Glass“I used an unusual patterned materialmixed with leather, wool, andturquoise tights. It looks very throwntogether and carefree while there is asense of order,” said Glass. “I alsoincorporated some individualitytheatrics by adding peacock earringsand makeup to look feathery andunique.”

lip gloss, pretty shineFreckle-boy, wish you were mine

wanted you to taste my lips...not just my lip gloss.

only but a few minutesin a dirty college kitchen

why does it seem like hours passedwith the way those moments last?

across my backyou grazed your fingertips-

-you letting me putlip gloss on your lips.

and my drunken wingmanfinding clever ways

to tease megetting you to say you'd kiss a genderqueer,

with me right there.

I almost said "Prove it!" right thenbut chickened out,

in that kitchen.I wish I would have now (but then again

who knows how strange it might have been?)

and later in your eyes I sawor thought I did, or didn't at all

a look that said that had I askedyou'd have said yes, and kissed me back.

Freckle-boy, sober boycould not admit that he liked it-

the lip gloss shine it turned for himinto something dusty, dim.

lip gloss, pretty shineFreckle-boy, wish you were mine

wanted you to taste my lips...not just my lip gloss.

Poems.

Freckle-boyby David Pope

You are dust, and lawn clippings.You are a backpack much too fullI lugged around, bending my backuntil I could no longer lookanywhere but at the ground.

by David PopeBurden

FreeBy C.A. Ferguson

depthDepth is overrated, I wear my heart upon my sleeveAnd my scars are on the surface so that everyone can seeAnd my scars don't run that deep if only just becauseI never did let anyone get that close to me

B Y S T E V E N S A N C H E Z

by

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About a BeggarI guess you could say you inspire me

because you're the perfect example ofwhat I don't ever want to be,

what I was so close to becomingsome time in my past.

And I'd be lying if I saidI didn't ever find it endearing,

how I finally found someone who understands.But I've come to find that sort of thing

gets old really fast.

As time goes by I think of yesterday,while at the same time I think of tomorrow,

Of a new year,& of an old.

I think of memories passed,and the memories I have yet to make.

Some good, some bad.All important for who I am now.

I think of you and me,no longer together;

but not completely free,I think of it all.

The first kiss,the first day,

the first I love you,and the last goodbye.

And as I think of the time,and of all of these memories,

I pray time will heal us,and one day make us one again.

But, if time doesn't allow,for you and I to be together,

then remember me in the past,and look back with a smile.

By Blayne Mapp

Little Miss one big messI've been wondering where this rope beganI've been watching you, letting you wreck

resurrect whatever you wantas I disappear behind the seat

Little Miss one big messstuck in reverse

did you miss me while you were looking for yourselfout there

You led me astray

Little Miss one big messsometimes you gotta lose till you wintakes so long just to feel alright

when you love someone but it goes to wasteit'll diminish in time

Little Miss one big messcall me crazy if you've got it in youseal my heart and break my prideand head back to the milky way

escape this town

Little Miss one big messI know I'm gonna be okay

When I saw the break of dayall I saw were fireworks

I missed them before, but I won't miss them again

Dear Little MissBy Lizzie Moreno

Panther.