Being Blue at PSU

By Biz Lynch Architecture is inherently political, it can not escape that fact. At its core, architecture has a purpose; a set of values it follows to become what it represents. When a nation’s government decides to construct a new building, the values of the country are expressed in the architecture. The use of architecture as a form of communication helps future generations dissect how every day citizens interacted with their governing officials.  The Forbidden City in Beijing, China, for example, is miles upon miles of gates that the people were not allowed to enter until 1925.  The placement of the compound directly in the center of the city gives us an idea of the importance of those who are allowed inside. Despite access being granted through guided tours, there is still a foreboding picture of their leader that stares them down upon entering. Even the mile long trek through the city is heavily monitored by security and the police to protect the integrity of the fortress...

By Bianca Walder Have you ever opened up Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media and see your feed flooded with posts in support of a social moment? An example can be the black out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in June of 2020. This demonstration accomplished nothing, and potentially did more harm than good. The blackout was a demonstration that called for people to post just a black screen with the hashtag, “BlackoutTuesday”. The posts buried black creators and activists, the people who are actually doing productive work in reforming our current systems of racism. Most of the participants in this movement stopped at the square. They didn’t go out and protest, organize for candidates that could fix our system, or donate/ support black organizations. The idea of performative activism is that you look like you are doing something productive by posting a woke quote on your instagram story, but that post does nothing to enhance the conversation surrounding t...