the millennial newsmagazine

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M I L L E N N I A LA N E W G E N E R AT I O N O F I N F O R M AT I O N E D I T I O N : 1 | D e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 1 4

Space you may need lorem ipsum in bold

THE

The Interdisciplinary Mind

IN THE ISSUE:

“Learning Through, About and Around Religion p. 6

“A Scientific Report of Science” p. 8

“Philosophy and students” p. 12

“Starbucks for the Historian” p. 14

SIMPLICITY SIMPLICITY2 3

MAPPING THE FUTURE / page 4

RELIGION / page 6

A SCIENTIFIC REPORT / page 8

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER/ page 10

PHILOSOPHY / page 12

STARBUCKS & THE HISTORIAN / page 14

ADVICE COLUMN & QUIZ RESULTS / page 16

Table of Contents

INDEX

ABOUTFrom the editors:

Science

History

Geography

Philosophy

Religion

A Scientific Study of Science

Philosophy: Useless?

The Christian Chronicles

Mapping the Future

Starbucks for the Historian

This is what happens when the researchers become the researched.

Does it have any value to the modern day

college student?

Movie reviews with a Christian flavor.

UW Professor Victoria Lawson speaks to students about the need to move away from purely physical

geography...how does this translate to primary & secondary education?

The historical secrets of a Starbucks cup.

The news industry is changing and mi-llennials are the force behind the change. No longer is news stuck in the past. Welco-me to The Millennial.

Did you know that 67 percent of mi-llennials prefer to be the last one to know information, as long as it is accurate, rather than be the first to know inaccurate infor-mation?

What we seek is accuracy in a conci-se delivery. While most of us receive infor-mation from social media outlets, recent trends show that millennials are sick of the shallow and want depth to writing, as long as we aren’t staring at a mass of text.

Where do we find this balance?In November 2014, a group of six

University of Washington Honors program decided to create a newsmagazine that combines both appealing visuals and short writing bits with depth. It is a traditional news platform with a twist.

We are excited to share our first edi-tion, called “The Interdiscplinary Mind”. It’s hardly breaking news, but the information we present allows any mind to expand. Enjoy.

-The Millennial Editors

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MILLENNIAL MILLENNIAL


MAPPING THE FUTUREUniversity of Washington Professor Victoria Lawson speaks to Honors students

about geography and the need to shift away from studying purely physical

geography in classrooms.

Ethnocentrism: the judgment of cultures accor-

ding to one’s own cultural standards. The followers of

ethnocentrism place little value in different practices

and beliefs that do not align to their narrow and defi-

ned lifestyle.

Ethnocentric individuals create boundaries and

binaries in society that, in a hierarchical sort of way,

assert dominance and influence on cultures that are

perceived as “weaker”. For example, British colonia-

lism affected indigenous tribes of the colonized te-

rritories, thus causing oppres-

sion and sometimes decline in

these native cultures.

But the example of Briti-

sh colonialism is quite a large

representation of ethnocen-

trism. Cultural narrow-minded-

ness happens in much smaller

degrees, even in everyday life.

On Nov. 24, Victoria Law-

son, a professor of geography,

spoke to a small group of freshmen students in the

Interdisciplinary Honors Program about her study of

geography and the influence of geography on an indi-

vidual’s perception of the world.

Surprisingly, much of her interest in the field of

geography stems from her childhood in England and

early ethnocentric tendencies regarding the maps

she studied.

Professor Lawson spoke to the honors students

and said that maps played an important role in how

she perceived the world growing up. For example,

one of the maps she studied in school was the Briti-

sh Commonwealth map, which emphasized the va-

rious territories of British colonization, placing Great

Britain at the center of focus for the world.

Placing one’s own country of origin in the cen-

ter of the map is about power, according to Profes-

sor Lawson. More specifically,

geographical mapping is much

more than lines and oceans,

but an entire commentary on

how our worldviews speak to a

wider interplay of masculinity

and a fight for power and terri-

tory.

Professor Lawson’s ideas

and beliefs are not bound to

the pink Commonwealth map

she learned from as a child. Ethnocentric learning

begins early in American classrooms.

Growing up in California, I was taught according

to California state standards. World maps and the

study of the modern world were hardly touched on

until ninth grade, according to the California State

Board of Education’s standards.

The state educators adopted this idea that geography was

all about a progression of knowledge that began locally and

moved outward to a global worldview.

For example, elementary geography standards in my home

state begin with California history and geography, then move

to the United States in middle school (sixth-eighth grade), with

some study of ancient civilizations around the world. “World

History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World” begins in

grade ten, and lasts only for a single grade-level, until there is a

return to American democracy studies.

The problem with this type of progression in classrooms

is the structure in how a student gains his or her knowledge

about the world. By placing California at the forefront of geogra-

phy at the elementary level, there is an implication that where

one lives is the most important territory to study, instead of

beginning broad and narrowing those worldviews down to one’s

home place. The student ends up taking the geography and his-

tory of California and building on it with the United States and

the world, which can be a scary position to learn from.

Fortunately, despite all of the negative controversy regar-

ding the new education standards known as Common Core,

there are improvements regarding the standards of geography.

The introduction to the Common Core Grade 4 standards

for geography includes a quote from The Road Map for 21st

Century Geography that reads, “One thing is abundantly clear.

If American children hope to participate in our democracy and

play a strong leadership role in our world, they must possess

geographic knowledge, understandings, and skills. Simply put,

if our children are not taught to think geographically, their suc-

cess and the success of our nation and world in the 21st cen-

tury are in jeopardy.”

The sentiments of this organization mirror a change in

the education system: a fear that American children’s percep-

tions of the physical and human geographical world have been

skewed or incorrectly approached.

Thus, beginning early, standards for Common Core read,

“Describe how an individual’s views and understandings of pla-

ces and regions differ, as expressed by his or her mental map.”

In layman’s words, have a child compare how he or she

thinks the world looks versus how it really is.

It’s a conceptual improvement, and while the applications

are an entirely different story, the fact that deficiencies in an

American’s understanding of the world are being addressed in

the classroom marks a huge step, hopefully followed by a grea-

ter push to truly take down ethnocentrism.

Karinne Sandstrom

“About one-quarter of stu-dents perform at or above the Proficient level [for national geography stan-dards] in 2010.”

-U.S. Department of Education

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MILLENNIALMILLENNIAL


Religion can be looked at through a series of lenses as well as analyzed and discussed through multiple facets of learning. Though many see religion as being purely per-sonal and spiritual for an individual, there is much to be learned from the various religions of the world. Religion is a driving force behind so much of what has happened up until today; this allows us to learn about the past, present, and future if we view the world though a religious scope.

Take, for example, the gospels of the Bible. We can view these stories two different ways: historical accounts of what happened long ago or spiritual references meant to guide people today. Religion molds past and present societies; America was founded on both religious and eco-nomic principles, while to this day Israel lives in religious turmoil. Some may say that religious works are meant to be fact-based accounts of what happened thousands of years ago. Others, on the contrary, believe religious texts are meant to guide people through their journey of life. However such texts are interpreted, it is true that such works help people make sense of what has happened, whether that be historically or spiritually. These texts gui-de people through the ways of the past, much like the bible explains what happened during the time of Jesus. Some could say religion is history in spiritual form; one can read a history book or a religious text to learn about the distant past.

Religious documents also provide today’s society with new ways to view a hot topic of contention. Femi-nism, for example, pulls from the Qur’an. In this founda-tional Muslim text, women are often times highlighted as strong characters, and in early Muslim days, women were the first supporters of Muhammad. This, in effect, turns the Qur’an into a feminist document that shapes today’s society. We, as women today, use the Qur’an to show the significance of women in movements such as Muhammad’s, pushing women to be the forefront of to-day’s revivals. Such documents provide the backbone for feminist movements. Religious accounts provide a sense of structure for what is argued in today’s world and allow scholarly debate to continue in circles.

The most obvious way that we can learn from religion is to look back and see how religion has played a role in history. Almost all wars, past and present, are cente-red about some religious beliefs held true to the soldiers fighting. Without religion, where would countries stand today? We learn about countries in a historical context by analyzing their religious stances of the day. Thus, reli-gion is undoubtedly one of the largest players in shaping history.

While all of this is true, one may wrongly assume that religion cannot be a tool for learning unless one is reli-gious. Religion is both emotional and fact based. There is a spirituality that is associated with religion that allows a person to learn about him or herself by following various practices associated with the religious sects. Beyond the emotional ties of religion, however, is the concept of religion tying into all facets of life. Societies were once shaped around the God or gods they worshiped. Although societies aren’t as religiously centered today, religion still plays into modern aspects of learning. While we may no longer directly learn about religion, we still learn through religion. For example, religion plays a major backdrop for debates today. Almost all “hot topics” of contention are argued on religious lines. Abortion, gay rights, the use of “God” in the pledge, and other political topics are fought by those strongly associated with religious views.

Religion is no longer the focal point of a society, nor is it universally accepted as the “truth.” Regardless of those points, however, is the fact that religion ties into the past and current societies of the world. We learn about the past by examining the religion of a particular country or culture, just as we center political and personal debates on religious ties.

MOVIE REVIEW: THE CHRISTIAN CHRONICLESReviewing movies for the integrity of today’s Christian

This movie smashes away

all the holiness of Jesus’s

final hours of life by turning

a beautiful sacrifice into a

two-hour blood bath. The

violence of this movie serves

to satisfy all Hollywood gore

movie lovers, but leaves those

seeking some spirituality left

empty. Whatever religious

message Gibson was trying

to convey was lost amongst

the brutality portrayed in this

movie.

Two angels, fallen from

Heaven, search for a loophole

to get entrance back in. But

an abortion clinic worker

has been sent on a mission

by the messenger of God to

stop them before that can

happen. The overall plot

of this, though religiously

accurate, is provocative

and begs for all followers

of religion to argue against

the way it was satirically and

crudelyportrayed.

While this comedy gets a laugh

out of the crowd occasionally,

we note that all notes of

religion here are twisted into

satirical, religion defacing

moments. The all white scenes

with “God”, who decides he

needs a vacation and leaves all

his duties up to a completely

inept man, and the way in

which religion is portrayed

here debases the importance

of what God has done for us.

The Passion of the Christ

2/5 starsDogma

2/5 stars Bruce Almighty

3/5 stars

RELIGIONLEARNING THROUGH, ABOUT, AND AROUND RELIGION

Can you be a devout believer in a specific religion and still be a good comparative religion scholar?

Can you be a good comparative religion scholar without having any sense of religion?

Hailee Herbst

MILLENNIAL


Abstract

This report contains information pertaining to the field

of Oceanography as a category of the sciences. It seeks

to ascertain the reason behind pursuing a career in the

sciences. The answer was to be found by interviewing

some professionals in this field. Specific questions and

light conversation were used to gather the necessary

data. It was found that most of the desire to study Ocea-

nography came from the joys of discovery. The scientists

loved their field, and found it fun to study each new day.

Introduction

The sciences are a complex field which require large

amounts of quantitative knowledge and years of studying

to get into. There are many very different fields one could

specialize in. That being the case, why does one pursue

a career in the field? It seems to be difficult and complex

and results in a huge commitment of one’s life. There

is likely some overarching reason that can be used to

explain the phenomenon. This can best be uncovered by

reaching out to members in the field and obtaining their

input. The objectives of the study are to find out what

work is like in a scientific field and piece together why

that work is appealing. The field of Oceanography will be

studied as a representation of these effects.

Procedure

1. Send a well-worded email to arrange a meeting with

a scientist and his students. (UW Professor Paul John-

son, Graduate Student Marie Salmi, and Undergrad Una

Miller)

2. Navigate through the maze that is the southern scien-

tific part of campus.

3. Collect photographic evidence of the kind of environ-

ments oceanographers work in.

4. Locate the aforementioned scientist.

5. Inquire about how they became involved in the field of

Oceanography.

6. Construct a graphical representation of time is divided working over

the course of a year.

7. Observe a range of the highs and lows of being in the scientific com-

munity.

8. Ask about embarrassing or humorous stories to observe the fun that

could be had.

9. Thank the scientist for his or her time.

10. Repeat steps 4-9 with an undergrad and a graduate student.

Results

The gathered data can be divided into 3 categories according to the

experience in Oceanography of each interviewee.

Paul Johnson: Professor Johnson displayed a huge fondness of the

field, knowing from a young age that he planned to pursue science.

His time is divided between the field and research (see Figure 1.2)

and his desire stems from how fun he finds the field to be. The most

enjoyment comes from making a new discovery, no matter how small.

The worst part of this field is having a proposal you have worked on for

months get rejected. In his words about the field, “We have a lot of fun.

There aren’t many endeavors where you can do anything than you can

convince the board to fund.”

Marie Salmi: Marie is in the first year of her PhD program. She pursued

science as she enjoyed it much more than the humanities. Working

with a group of like-minded people, making discoveries, and taking

those discoveries public are all appealing parts of science. Having

to write up papers can be one of the less entertaining parts of the

field. In her words, “What surprises me is how little we know about the

world we are on. We still don’t really know the sea floor.”

Una Miller: Una is a senior undergrad who was hooked on science

when she realized that she could be a part of the field, hands on,

here at UW. All the interesting things to discover and exciting people to

work with make the field worthwhile. Specialists from many disciplines

come together with this kind of research. The grunt work of data proces-

sing and feeling of inexperience can be rough for an undergrad, howe-

ver it is something that all scientists have to go through. In her words,

“Oceanography is one of the most fun fields you could choose to be in. It

combines so many different disciplines in one.”

Conclusion

I have come to the conclusion that the fun of making new discove-

ries, working with exciting people, and pursuing one’s desires is what

makes Oceanography so appealing. The gathered data was with the

expected range while also including values that were not expected wi-

thin the initial assessment of the subject. Looking at Figure 1.1 (ave-

raged from the conversations with all three subjects), there is a direct

relationship between fun and work within the field of Oceanography.

There is a dip midway through the graph, coming from the probabili-

ty (85%) of getting a research proposal rejected. This deviation could

also be caused by the grunt work researchers have to get used to with

data processing, or possibly the pain of having to write and publish

papers. I realize that this study is limited in the scope of fields resear-

ched, however it is within the realm of reason to assume that many

of these feelings are shared throughout all specializations of science.

-A special thanks for Professor Paul Johnson, Marie Salmi, and Una

Miller for their help in my research.

A SCIENTIFIC REPORT OF SCIENCE:

Pictured above: The UW Oceanogrpahy research vessel the-Thomas G. Thompson. Photo taken Nov. 20.

Figure 1.2>>The division of work for an oceano-

graphy professor.*Note graph adds up to 110% be-cause scientists always give 110%

>>Figure 1.1The relation between fun experienced and work put into science.

John Feltrup

Peeking into the world of science through the lens of UW Professor Paul Johnson and undergraduates Una Miller and Marie Salmi.



-SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER-

Think science is nothing but test tubes and roses? Well think again, even Oceanographers get seasick!

-Sometimes you just want to have a nice, relaxing research cruise to do some mapping off of Oregon. That’s what professor Johnson wanted, until he got skunked by the weather. What started as a calming studying became three weeks of getting tossed around a boat with no useful data at the end. Sometimes you can’t avoid it, whether you like it or not!

-The best laid plans of mice and men…..have a lot to do with science. How would you feel when you get out on the sea, ready to research some new and exciting thing, only to find out you are dead wrong? It happens more than you think, and scientists need to keep on their toes. You never know when you’ll need to come up with a plan B on the fly, or even a plan C!

The Intelligences of Honors 205

Intrapersonal (19%) Interpersonal (17%)

Spatial (11%) Logical/mathematical (22%)

Kinesthetic (7%) Linguistic (14%)

Musical (10%)

WHICH POSTMODERN IRONIST ARE YOU?

Sure, we all know truth is socially cons-tructed, but what do you do about it?

If you could meet any famous histori-cal figure, who would it be?a. Martin Luther King, Jr. or Gandhib. John Lennon or Marilyn Monroec. Buddha or Machiavelli

You would consider your life most successful if you had…a. Started an orphanage in rural Brazilb. Set foot on every continent and collected every Jimi Hendrix vinylc. Written a bestselling book on epis-temology

When you travel, you…a. Build a school or give vaccinationsb. Hit all the best tourist attractions and work on your tanc. Make sure you go everywhere BUT the places your Lonely Planet recom-mends

You love to talk about…a. Your plans for research and con-troversial topicsb. Your favorite music and edible pot recipesc. The corruption of the government and conspiracy theories

In your spare time, you’d most like to…a. Help your favorite professor with his/her researchb. Party and teach yourself guitarc. Attend Iron Maiden concerts and put studs on your black clothing

You love to read…a. The New York Times and Malcolm Xb. Harry Potter and John Greenc. George Orwell and Edgar Allen Poe

Multiple IntelligencesHoward Gardner’s Theory of >>Comics

>>From the funny files: Science Struggles

by Maya Norton

by J

ohn

Feltr

up

And here are the self-proclaimed intelligences of the 22 honors students of What We Know and How We Know It, averaged and sum-med up in a neat little pie chart. While crunching the numbers, it was interesting to see just how widely varied the results were per person; I had expected the sections of the pie chart to be more evenly sized. Some students reported to possess all seven intelligences to varying degrees; others identified only with three or four. Nobody reported more than 50 percent of their overall intelligence to be one particular intelligence; some people did report to be comprised of 1 percent of one intelligence or other.

It is interesting that the largest slice turned out to be Logical/Mathematical. It seems very feasible that this would be a dominant intelligence in a group of Honors students; this intelligence seems conducive to test-taking (such as the SAT and AP tests) and quantita-tive classes (math and science) which tend to trip up the majority of students, but generally not those who excel enough to get into the UW Honors Program. I was surprised, however, that linguistic intelligence was not as strongly represented. Writing for many disciplines—lab reports in science, language classes, English composition classes, as well as for test taking—such as aforementioned standardized tests—would seem to be a strength for UW Honors students, especially those taking an Honors composition course.

However, it’s comforting to remember that no two-dimensional pie chart could sum up the potential of the minds of the university’s most promising; the skills and inclinations of this class are still forming.

FOR AN EXPLANATION OF RESULTS, SEE P. 16.

Class Survey<< >>Quiz:



PhilosophyUseless to the modern college student?

If you’re reading the title, and

you’re nodding thoughtfully to your-

self, I suggest you take a moment

and reconsider. It is true that many

people, especially in this age of ra-

pidly developing technology, scoff at

the social sciences and the huma-

nities in higher education. Though

required by most high school curri-

culums, higher education in these

fields is usually regarded with muted

dismissal, a barely-there smirk and

sardonic “good luck finding a job”

almost certain to follow. To be fair,

the modern world’s preoccupation

with STEM (science, technology, en-

gineering, and mathematics) fields

and their practical applications are

founded in the human desire for

progress, and it can only be expec-

ted that there be a rush to fill the de-

mand for people with skills in such

fields. But while there is a huge influx

of people aiming for those coveted

jobs in our flagging economy, I pose

that degrees in fields like Philosophy

actually make for a more competitive

candidate in STEM fields, in terms of

applying for graduate schools or jobs

alike.

To clarify, I’m not saying that you

should expect to be a competitive

candidate for a software engineer

job at one of the dot com giants with

just a Philosophy degree in hand at

your interview. I am, however, saying

that double majoring in Computer

Science and Philosophy, for exam-

ple, could aid your hypothetical claim

to a beanbag chair at Google’s offi-

ces. UW Honors author-in-residence,

Frances McCue contends that candi-

dates for jobs and for limited spaces

in graduate schools are expected to

have “the content knowledge and

necessary skills to succeed,” with

the “parity or binary” of contrasting

degrees only serving to further de-

monstrate those skills. With the ex-

pected qualifications for entry-level

jobs at big corporations rising every

year, Philosophy and its associated

skills are useful tools when on the

job hunt.

While you may be disbelieving

now, Philosophy does not just con-

sist of people questioning the me-

aning of life, listlessly staring at the

ceiling in hope of some kind of errant

epiphany to come waltzing through

their mind. Just as Psychology is not

limited to “and how do you feel about

that?” so too is Philosophy more

than its stereotype.

What do I really mean by “Phi-

losophy and its associated skills”?

Well, initially, we can understand

Philosophy as the area of study that

deals with general, big-picture ques-

tions like reality, knowledge, exis-

tence, etc. Furthermore, what sets

Philosophy apart from other fields

Adrienne Chen

“Professional schools want to know they have

well-rounded, collaborative students capable

of critical thought.“

that deal with similar subject matter

is the analytical and logical nature

of its approach to these issues, its

basis in rational argument. “Clarify,

justify, give your arguments, then

consider and respond to objections.”

Such is the basic process of approa-

ching something from a philosophi-

cal standpoint, according to Profes-

sor Ann Baker, herself a prominent

lecturer in the field. I would postulate

that the associated skills of such an

area of study would involve the abili-

ty to articulate an argument or idea

intelligibly, reason through steps,

participate in civil discourse, and ge-

nerally think things through in a clear

and concise manner. And while it is

true that these do not, at all, sudden-

ly make you knowledgeable in how

to write working code, or qualify you

to start designing structurally sound

buildings, these skills do lend them-

selves to other aspects of being part

of a STEM-focused workforce.

Imagine for a moment two peo-

ple show up for the same job inter-

view. Both have the same degrees in

a STEM field, but the second person

has a second degree in Philosophy.

The first person interviews, is found

to be knowledgeable in their field, de-

monstrating a proficiency that meets

the expectations for the skillset the

job is asking for. The second person,

on the other hand, though demons-

trating a proficiency that does not

match up to the first candidate, does

go on to impress the interviewer with

their precise manner of speaking

and communication skills. This dis-

tinguishing quality leads the inter-

viewer to choose the second person.

As contrived as this may sound,

existing, and more importantly suc-

ceeding, in any kind of work environ-

ment requires interacting with other

people. While individual work is im-

portant, some kind of collaboration

or group involvement requiring the

need to articulate one’s ideas clearly

will inevitably arise. Whether it be a

cross-department project or just se-

curing information that is not at your

own disposal, I think it is fair to say

that a generally accepted reality of

working in today’s world is having to

talk to other people. And while deve-

loping the skills needed for a Philoso-

phy degree do not give you the kind

of “hard science” knowledge that is

required for a STEM field, this does

not render them useless.

“Professional schools, like law,

medicine, business,” and compa-

nies, as well, “want to know they

have well-rounded, collaborative stu-

dents capable of critical thought,”

says McCue. And Philosophy, as un-

related as it may seem, can help you

get there.



Here is a Starbucks cup, decorated with festive co-lor and designs to celebrate the holiday season. As an American in the 21st century, you probably see dozens of these cups every day, casually placed on a table or tossed into a trashcan. And, frankly speaking, the regu-lar person would not think much of this 12-ounce (bet-ter known as “tall-sized”) Starbucks cup or the histori-cal and contemporary significance it holds. However, it is a different story with historians. Most people are not accustomed to viewing the world through a historical lens; however, being historically aware can reveal va-rious interesting facts and lead to valuable inferences about a seemingly mundane occurrence or object.

A good example is this Starbucks cup. Yes, we see it so many times everyday that we have grown apathetic to it. But where did it come from? When, why and how was the first Starbucks coffee shop established? Have the ambitions of its founders been realized today? How has the perceived role and significance of Starbucks changed over the years?

The history of the Starbucks cup traces all the way back to March 30, 1971, when the original Starbucks coffee shop was established in Seattle’s notorious Pike Place Market by its three founders, Gordon Bowker, Je-rry Baldwin, and Zev Siegl. Starbucks started out with a mission “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” I would say this goal has been largely realized by this point, seeing that Starbucks has proliferated enough to reach almost every neighborhood in the United States, and many people throughout the globe associate a cup of Starbucks with comfort and rejuvenation. Starbucks, which started out as a small coffee shop no different from any other of its kind, has come to assume a much larger and significant role in the daily lives of people to-day. This kind of change across time is what historians

look for, what they are drawn to. In fact, history itself is fluid, always changing with constantly developing inter-pretations of the past.

Another interesting point of view from which we can analyze a Starbucks cup is by assuming the eyes of, say, a 26th century historian discovering this cup 500 years later (setting aside the fact that the paper cup would have long deteriorated by then; let your imaginations run). A regular person of the 26th century would most

By Ja-Janelle Lee STARBUCKS

FOR THE HISTORIAN

likely be inclined to overlook the importance of this cup and throw it in the trash. However, a historian would see it differently. He or she would wonder what this appa-rently ordinary cup might reveal about the time it is from: the economic, cultural, and social patterns of the 21st century. And, surely, the questions the historian asks would lead to some astounding discoveries.

Starbucks Corporation is without a doubt one of most influential businesses in the world today, as well

as one of the most popular stocks among investors. Considering these facts, it would not be exaggerating to say that it plays a significant role in the modern economy. Moreover, Starbucks has become deeply engrained in contemporary culture, especially that of the United States. It is a common practice to start off one’s morning with a cup of Starbucks coffee; there are more than 16 million posts on Instagram tagged #starbucks; and the arrival of Christmas season is offi-cially announced by the red Starbucks cups.

As a result of such cultural permeation, Starbuc-ks cups have also come to illustrate certain social ste-reotypes in modern America. One of the things that define the “basic white girl” is her love for Starbucks; the stereotypical American white girl during fall would be found wearing a pair of yoga pants and a pair of Uggs, accompanied by a cup of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte in her hand. The 26th century historian could delve into the effects of these often inaccurate perceptions on the Caucasian female in 21st century America.

As illustrated, studying an object as simple as a Starbucks cup can enable an enriching learning ex-perience for the historically minded individual. This emphasizes the importance of respecting the value of even the seemingly insignificant subjects in history, often deemed “dead” history or historical “losers.”

History is living, with every detail actively involved in the intricate web of connection across space and time. Every little part of it is bound to have some effect that could easily reach us today in some form. When we esteem the value of historical thinking and start to consider the historical significance of the things around us, our experience of the world becomes that much more rewarding and meaningful.



Dear Dubs, I am a student at the UW, and I have a problem with the food here. All I want is good food, but all I can think of doing is whining and that somehow hasn’t helped at all. What else could I possibly do?

Sincerely,Hungry Student

Dear Hungry Student,There are many approaches I could recommend you take. It

really depends on the kind of student you are, and perhaps your field of study, too.

One way of changing your point of view could include contem-plating the past. Did your parents have this good of food when they were in college? If not, how did they somehow manage to survive? Also you can take a moment to think about what dogs like me have had to eat ever since the invention of kibble (you could also give that a try and try to tell me your greasy hamburgers and potatoes aren’t tolerable).

Another approach you could take would be to think it out. How do you know that the food is really bad? What if there is an evil genius controlling your tastebuds and simply misleading you as to the taste of the food? It may actually be gourmet food; who’s to say that everything you perceive isn’t just a lie anyway? Since you really don’t have any way to prove the answer to any of these questions, you could try choosing the possible truth that the food actually is good.

When you’re thinking about the food, you could be taking too traditional of an approach as well. Try not thinking about the hard facts of the food—the cost, taste, ingredients, and quantity—but rather think about the intention behind the food. Think about what it implicitly means. What steps went into the making of this food? Maybe enough hard work went into the food at which you turn up your nose make it more appealing than you originally thought.

You could also come up with your own theory about why the food is how it is. Of course, you’d need to start with an observation to form this theory, then test it through several trial runs, recording your observations and collecting data. If this data were compelling enough and all of your sources of error accounted for and determi-ned to not be confounding, you could then draw conclusions.

Finally, depending on your religion, you could pray about this issue or make a sacrifice in appropriate manner to your denomina-tion asking for a change in your mindset or a change in the quality of food on your campus. Many religious idols did, however, fast to achieve enlightenment, so that’s another perfectly valid approach as well.

Of course, all of these approaches are valid, though different. Choose one or two of them, and I’m sure you won’t have as rrrruff of a time.

--Dubs

An advice column from your favorite mascot

Q:

A:

Dubs enjoys long walks on the beach, large pork bones, barking at cougars, and giving advice to his beloved students.

DEAR DUBS

According to Walter Truett Anderson (“Four Di-fferent Ways to Be Absolutely Right”), here’s what your results mean….Constructivists…are tend to be philosophers, sociologists, cogniti-ve scientists, feminist scholars, and liberal theo-logians. They are concerned less with words and more with action. Players…are not as action-oriented as the constructivists. They are curious, taking interest in many different aspects of society and pop culture, and tend also to be rather adventurous. Nihilists…doubt the credibility of the commonly held beliefs of the world. They tend to be defiant and shy away from convention, emphasizing the importan-ce of living in the moment.

QUIZ RESULTS:Mostly As: ConstructivistMostly Bs: PlayerMostly Cs: Nihilist

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