Featured - The McKendree Review

Soulaf Abas: When Art, Passion, Love, and Pain Collide

6Nov

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

Personality

Soulaf Abas: When Art, Passion, Love, and Pain Collide

By Shelby Procko All photos courtesy of (http://www.soulafabas.com) Soulaf (Soully) Abas is an incredibly talented woman from Damascus, Syria. She began her life as an artist as a young child, doodling on anything that she could find the space. At 16 she began to take art more seriously by starting art classes at the Russian Cultural Center. She always knew it was something that she wanted to pursue seriously. In the 5th grade Syrian students begin to learn English, and when asked what she wanted to do when she grew up, Soully said she wanted to be a designer. "I didn't know that a designer was different than an artist then, but I knew I wanted to do something with art, lots of colors, and a canvas," she said, "I know it's a cliché, but I never doubted that." As a third-year Art student...

Starbucks DIY Beverages for Students – Fall Edition: Make it, Drink it, Love it!

1Nov

By The McKendree Review2 Comments

Advice, Entertainment

Starbucks DIY Beverages for Students – Fall Edition: Make it, Drink it, Love it!

By Magdalena Knapp, Editor I admit it: I am addicted. I cannot live without it. I need it every day, it makes me complete. I love the taste, the smell, and the cute white cup with my name on it. I am addicted to Starbucks ®. It is not a secret, well, especially now, but truly who does not love the fancy “Instagram-fashion-blogger-style” cups with their (incorrectly spelled) name on it, the unnecessary plastic lid to drink from, the artistic (complicated) beverage names, and the confusing serving sizes, tall, grande, and venti (three different languages, two of which mean big and one which means 20)? I can tell you who does not like it: my bank account. Every time I enter a Starbucks restaurant, my credit card would like to jump out of my purse in order to stop me from buying an over prized...

30Oct

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

Advice, Entertainment

Still Need a Halloween Costume?

by Sophie Jeffery, Contributing Writer Are you a procrastinator and/or a cheapskate? Need a costume for a last-minute party invite? You’ve come to the right place, my friend! I took a trip to the Dollar General in town today and found pieces for lots of super easy costumes that will surely be a big hit. Most costumes can be put together for less than $10 and require little to no effort, I promise. First up, it’s everyone’s favorite culinary genius turned meme, Salt Bae. This costume could not be any easier, and if you have a white scoop neck t-shirt, will cost you only $8.55. Slick your hair back into a low pony, grab a fake mustache/soul patch if you want, and you are good to go. Here is another costume that literally could not get any easier (especially for the ladies because...

Dr. Jessica Campbell: Fairy Tales, Tap Dancing, and a Cat Named Becky.

23Oct

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

Opinion, Profiles

Dr. Jessica Campbell: Fairy Tales, Tap Dancing, and a Cat Named Becky.

By Sophie Jeffery, Contributing Writer If you’ve walked down the second floor of Carnegie this year, you may have noticed the change in Carnegie room 205's appearance; the walls, no longer hidden behind haphazardly stacked books, have been repainted to a blindingly bright white. The desk has been moved from the middle of the room and now sits up against the wall, no longer covered with piles of folders and loose papers. On the wall above the desk, there’s a Periodic Table of Literary Villains, and on one bookshelf, a picture frame with old postcards of Middlebury College. The nameplate on the door has changed too, and now reads: Dr. Jessica Campbell. Dr. Campbell is McKendree’s new Victorian English Literature expert, taking over for Dr. John Greenfield who retired last year. Along wit...

Life and Kevin Zanelotti Through the Lens of Friedrich Nietzsche

17Oct

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

Entertainment, Personality, Profiles

Life and Kevin Zanelotti Through the Lens of Friedrich Nietzsche

In honor of National teacher’s day (which is when this article was written), I thought it fitting to post a piece covering not just some of the philosophy of McKendree’s favorite philosophy professor, but a bit of humanization for my favorite professor. Kevin Zanelotti grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Archbishop Curly High School, a catholic high school in the center of Baltimore. This school however was a far shot from where Zanelotti would travel and eventually land. However, it was a necessary and one might even say an essential stepping stone. The priests at this high school were Franciscan and thus more accepting/aware of belief systems outside of their own. And it was one of these priests that gave a young Zanelotti his first look into the lens we are viewing this article...

16Oct

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

Campus Events, Campus News

Pinktober – Spread the word

By Magdalena Knapp, Editor When most people hear the month “October” they think about things like Fall, Halloween, pumpkin carving, and of course pumpkin spice everything. Very few know about the importance of this month as it relates to a larger issue, an issue that affects one out of eight American women. October is the “International Breast Cancer Awareness Month”. Countries all over the world raise awareness for breast cancer during this month. A few years ago, breast cancer was a topic no one would talk about, it was a taboo. Women had to suffer in silence; often they were not checked out regularly and missed the opportunity to catch discover the cancer and beat it early. Breast cancer awareness month was created to support women who suffer from breast cancer, as well as for the earl...

An Evening with Sherman Alexie: Vulnerability, Resistance, and Laughter

29Sep

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

Entertainment, Opinion, Profiles

An Evening with Sherman Alexie: Vulnerability, Resistance, and Laughter

By Sophie Jeffery, Contributing Writer On the evening of September 22nd, author Sherman Alexie opened his keynote address for the inaugural BookFest St Louis by admiring the acoustics at The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Gallery. Alexie ensured the crowd he was still going to use his microphone, however, because he could not stand macho poets who think their voices don’t need the extra boost. “My voice is so filled with poetic testosterone,” he mocked, “I’m going to speak directly to you through my penis.” It was clear from that moment this was not going to be a typical book-reading. Sherman Alexie is an acclaimed writer, having published 26 books and received countless awards. He is a poet, short story writer, novelist and performer. He is also the 3rd tallest Spokane Indian, but says...

28Sep

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

Entertainment, Opinion

Father John Misty at the Peabody

By Zach Breeding, Editor in Chief “If there’s going to be a night on this tour where I slip on a banana peel, get my head stuck in a bucket and then stumble into the broom closet, tonight is that night.” This comedy of errors described by the writer/performer of pure comedy, the latest self-described “space opera” from Father John Misty, while descriptive of the artists performance at the Peabody Opera House this past Saturday is a bit misleading. For myself and every other person I asked post show, the mishaps like “French braiding together a microphone cable and a guitar cable” only added to the stellar night. The atmosphere of the show was pure hipster; with the number of flannel shirts in the crowd likely outnumbering the number of people (I, admittedly, was participating in this tren...

Since When are we too Busy to Enjoy our Lives?

27Sep

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

Entertainment

Since When are we too Busy to Enjoy our Lives?

By Magdalena Knapp, Editor Busy, stressed out, exhausted – These three words describe the average human being nowadays. We are always connected and in touch with everyone, always available to everyone, and respond to messages within minutes. For example right now, I bet that your phone is no more than three inches away from you. We run around, do things, meet with people, rush from one appointment to the next one. We do not even have time to sit down and enjoy a meal, but thank God, someone invented corn dogs, wraps and other foods you can grab and eat with one hand while you are on the phone running across the street, and almost be hit by an Uber that is driving another person in a hurry to their next appointment. STOP. When did our society become like this? Is there anything we can do, o...

Andrew Frank – The Comedian for People with Brains

15Sep

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

Entertainment, Opinion, Profiles

Andrew Frank – The Comedian for People with Brains

By Magdalena Knapp, Staff Writer It takes one and a half years of work to have enough material for a 45-minute show – this is what Andrew Frank’s métier, or occupation, has looked like for the past nine years: he is a comedian. Frank performs about 40 shows per month, but he is not a comedian as we typically expect them to be. Andrew Frank provides insightful entertainment for smart people. His brand is intuitive comedy for people who have the required knowledge to be able to understand his jokes. They need to know something about religion, history, politics, and the world in general. In his eyes, humor is an intellectual form of connection. Frank places a high value on humor as we can see in his performances. He defines humor as “A Philosophy, a way to look at life. It is a way to express...