I’m commonly asked What is Ethos, exactly? I normally stutter for a bit while assorted thoughts of culture bounce around the many clogged corridors of my head. It’s a multicultural magazine, made by students I usually respond, always disappointed with my vague offering. Then I get the follow-up question: Well, what do you write stories about? The floodgates open. We’ve covered a wide spectrum of culture in the last four years. There’s that story about toilets around the world (Winter 2010) or Eugene’s fiery Papa’s Soul Food Kitchen (Fall 2007). What about when we covered the culture of breeding and riding bulls (Fall 2008) or that feature investigating female circumcision (Summer 2009)? Even after working as Ethos’ editor for nine months, I still can’t quite encapsulate this magazine into something concise and tidy. I fail to tighten and pull it into a fashionable bow. Perhaps multiculturalism as a concept is too ornate to iron down to simple terms. So, it’s a multicultural magazine . . . made by students becomes my only mumbled response.

For me, Ethos has been the opportunity to explore and attempt to understand the murky depths of culture, and I hope it provides the same for our readers. Maybe that’s what Ethos is all about: opportunity for exploration.

Our staff has the great fortune to experience life through the lens of a journalist, which is no simple commission. There’s an immense, alluring challenge to telling somebody else’s story accurately, especially if that somebody is from a culture as foreign as stunna shades are to your grandmother (to be fair, I don’t completely get those either). Ethos doesn’t always get it perfect, but we embrace the tricky task.

Sadly — maybe fortunately — my time stumbling through nebulous descriptions of Ethos has come to an end. Graduation is here. This is my final edition working on this remarkable, student-driven publication. I am grateful for the experience, but more so for the exposure to an incredible staff passionately invested in the exploration of curious, cool culture.

At the end of the day, maybe the question should be how do you define culture? How do you explore it? Open the floodgates.

Scrambling through the chaos, I attempted to identify each band. Piles of equipment grew on stage as six Eugene bands loaded into WOW Hall for Ethos’ first annual Bandest of the Bands competition. Through the disarray I examined a small crowd wandering the room, fully clad in homemade Native American costumes. I asked the stage manager who they were. “Uh, that’s Sea Bell – the big band” he mumbled, glancing over the set list. The band had painted their faces and neatly tucked vibrant feathers into braided hair. That night, Sea Bell decided they wanted to dress as Indians – one of the many themes the band features in their energetic shows.

Since the ‘60s, the debate surrounding Native American costumes has been as heated as it’s been complex. Some argue such costuming is disparaging and others — like Sea Bell — believe it’s empowering and respectful. The debate has been widely played out with professional and college teams’ mascots and logos; the results have been varied. Stanford University, for example, dropped the Stanford Indian mascot in 1972. Now the cardinal (the color, not bird) represents the school. But the Washington Redskins, among many other teams, still uphold Indian themes.

While I was apprehensive with Sea Bell’s stereotypical Indian attire, I also had the sense the band members were well intentioned. However, well intentioned or not, some in the crowd were offended (see this e-mail Ethos received after the concert). This issue, like any other involving ethnicity, heritage, or faith is multifaceted and the means to adequately address it are muddled. The recent debates surrounding Pacifica Forum and the attempt by campus leaders to clarify the definition of hate speech depict exactly how intricate cultural considerations can be.

Diversity dilutes simplicity. Complexity creates confusion and ignorance. Far too often ignorance sprouts into hate, progresses into hate acts, and ultimately hemorrhages into violence. Understanding and compassion are the only combatants to such rampant abhorrence.

The collegiate atmosphere is ideal for engaging in the thorny dialogues surrounding racism, classism, sexism, and any other micro or macro aggressions that empower hatred and discrimination. The muscle of student voices paired with the idealism and energy of campus life create a unique opportunity to deflate hostility and gain understanding. While we’re here, it’s imperative that we attempt to engage, question, and challenge all walks of life — vile or otherwise — in order to combat hatred in all of its forms. Only then will we shift this intricate, odious paradigm.

Links

Original Article

2010 Winter Edition, Ethos Magazine

The first decade of the 21st century has come and gone and luckily we’re all still here. Y2K came and went without so much as a light bulb going out. Technology didn’t falter as predicted; rather, it enabled profound progress. We’ve spent the last ten years illuminated by blizzards of information. Nobody seems to remember the way things were—like the days of pagers and dial-up—all the way back in the 20th century. The Web for example, has snowballed, rolling over itself again and again while redefining the ways we walk through life. 

Forward motion appears to be the driving force of humanity. We can’t stay still. Our rate of progress is scary, almost too swift to adjust. But we are adjusting; we must adjust. 

The University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, just two years shy of its centenarian, is scrambling with heavy breaths and gritty determination to adjust. The world of journalism is evolving faster than it ever has before and we’re all attempting to rapidly rethink our roots for the foggy future that’s barreling towards us. I’m surprised even Google, with a reported 100,000 news-related hits a minute, has been able to keep up.

But this is the fun of humanity, the fun of progress. This is what we do—we adjust and move forward just to redefine it all again, hopefully for better. Ethos is doing our best to embrace the modern whirlwind of journalistic evolutions, investigating cost effective printing, and investing further into the cyber world. 

Ethos has some exciting things in the works. Who knows where we’ll progress from exploring the world’s toilets, examining the nuances of socialist health care, or getting a feel for Eugene’s eclectic barbershops. All we ask from you is to keep reading, and maybe hand a free copy to a friend. 

Links

2010 Winter Edition, Ethos Magazine