We had 66 submissions this year and had a hard time choosing from all the great stories. Thanks to everyone who entered, and please keep an eye out for upcoming contests! Our 2021 Winner! My foot cramped under the weight of my little sister’s as she stepped on my toes. I wish dad would’ve buried me deeper. --Molly Tucker Honorable mentions The unfriendly metal elevator doors rumble as I descend into the depths of Dunne, clutching an overflowing laundry bag in one clammy hand and my access card in the other. "Please, let this be the moment" I pray as I turn on the lights in the basement laundry room - only to gaze in horror at the full machines whirring away, knowing the cycle of waiting will continue to stretch into eternity as my clean sock pile rapidly shrinks and my spirit slowly dissolves into dust. --Leonie Casper I love playing the organ, it’s so soothing once you get your hands on it, you know what I mean? Anyway, can you pass me that scalpel so I can finish removing his right kidney. --Alisha Burch She sighed as she gently laid her sleeping baby down on the soft blanket. It had been three days since it had last opened its eyes, but it was bound to wake up soon, right? --Ky Monroe I decided to have another child. I was still hungry and the full moon would be out for another couple hours. --Gideon Devendra
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Werewolves! Zombies! Vampires! Citations! So many writers find those four equally frightening. After all, where’s the logic with any of them?!? Especially with citations!?! Why does one class ask you to use APA while a different class asks for MLA? Or CMS? Or CSE? It can feel like an arbitrary nightmare, where you’re typing away, trying to escape the seemingly inconsistent madness of whatever citation system you’ve been asked to use. At the HUB, we can’t deliver you from those first three horrors, but we’ve got you covered when it comes to citations. Because we get it! We know how tough it can be to figure out what to use when. Luckily, we’ve got some important tips to share so you can better battle those baffling citation beasts. Most importantly, we want you to know that there’s some logic to why some classes use one system and others use another. Because there is some logic there. Specifically, the information a particular citation system asks you to include highlights what is valued and expected in a particular field. Take APA. Notice how you include the date with an in-text citation? Here’s an example of that: (Kruger, 2019). Dates are important because disciplines that use APA -- think Psychology, Communication, Education, and others -- want to make sure readers see how current their information is or how many sources across several years have similar findings. That’s different from MLA, which doesn’t ask for the date with in-text citations. Check out this example: (Kruger 75). There you’ve got the author’s last name and the page number where the quote or idea can be found. MLA-using disciplines such as English Literature, Foreign Languages, and Comparative Literature value direct quotes and the language of particular authors. They don’t mention the time period in those citations because they’re not usually very concerned about how contemporary a source is. After all, if you’re analyzing Shakespeare’s language, it doesn’t necessarily matter that Shakespeare has been dead for a long, long time. So now that we’ve piqued your interest, check out our short video about citation methods -- and their logic. That way you won’t need to stay up at night, fearing what citation system you might be faced with next. And remember, if you’re feeling like you could use some more help with this, make an appointment with a HUB writing partner! You can check out more details about how the HUB can help you here. Lastly, if you want to dive a bit deeper into this, check out how many other citation systems there are. And, yes, we warned you! About The HUB Writing Center:
The HUB is a free resource for all SCU writers. We work with students, faculty, and staff during any stage of the writing process. Writers can come in with something -- or a lot -- written, or they can also come in when they’ve just started brainstorming about a project. Whatever stage you’re writing is at, the HUB can help! “One in every fifteen people born in the United States in 2001 is expected to go to jail or prison; one in every three black male babies born in this century is expected to be incarcerated” -- Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy Throughout Just Mercy, lawyer, author, and equal justice advocate Bryan Stevenson introduces the reader to countless jaw-dropping statistics like the ones above, all working to highlight the pitfalls of the American criminal (in)justice system. And while the statistics and figures Stevenson include do a particularly strong job of illustrating the issues with our justice system today, perhaps nothing will stick with me more than the stories Stevenson offers his readers of the real people he has worked with: the real people who have had their lives completely changed by an unfair and unjust justice system. I was introduced to Just Mercy through my LEAD CTW class taught by the wonderful Dr. Danielle Morgan; our class used the book as a catalyst for greater discussion about race and the criminal justice system in America. Once I started reading the book, I immediately realized why the book had become both so impactful and successful, and I couldn’t put the book down. I think I read Just Mercy over the span of 2 or 3 days (much faster than our class was advised to); after being introduced to the book’s characters and their unjust lot, I felt like I needed to know just how such injustice could have been occurring at such a vast level, and I needed to know quickly. And over the course of his story, Stevenson explained just that: he painted a picture of the unjust world we occupy, it’s reasons and influences, and he importantly painted a picture of what a merciful system could and should look like if we were to make change. After reading Just Mercy, I will never forget the tragic stories of individuals like Herbert Richardson, a black Vietnam War veteran with heartbreaking mental health issues caused by both blunt force brain trauma and PTSD as a result of his service. It was a particularly troubling manic episode that led to him accidentally killing an ex-girlfriend’s niece, resulting in a death sentence for the mentally broken veteran Richardson. Stevenson outlines Richardson’s grim life behind bars while dealing with mental health issues, and how the system’s inherent lack of pity and nuance changed and ended Richardson’s life forever. Perhaps the most memorable story from Just Mercy is its main narrative, that of Walter McMillian’s unfortunate encounter with the U.S. criminal justice system and his fight against it. Stevenson illustrates how Walter McMillian, a black man from Monroeville, Alabama, was charged and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Stevenson surgically but comprehensively lays out the facts of Walter’s case, how he is innocent, how racial prejudice and overall lack of competence on behalf of law enforcement led to his charge and sentencing, and how Stevenson and McMillian worked together to rectify the system’s wrongdoing and keep McMillian away from state-sponsored execution. Just Mercy is intelligent, socially conscious, heart-warming, thought-provoking, tragic, and inspiring all at once. After my reading of it, I was left questioning not only what leads to racial and economic prejudice in our criminal justice system, but what steps we can take individually and collectively to change it. Since my reading of Just Mercy, it has been made into an incredible movie, starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx as Bryan Stevenson and Walter McMillian. While the movie is certainly not a replacement for the book (what movie ever is?), the movie is certainly worth a watch regardless, if for nothing more than to see the inspirational and harrowing stories of Just Mercy illustrated on the big screen. I believe that if a reader is to take any one thing from Stevenson’s series of narratives, to carry a point or line with them beyond their reading of the book, it is this: “Each of us is more than the worst thing we have done” -- Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy Just Mercy has opened my eyes to this simple fact above. As Stevenson emphasizes throughout the book, we must keep our mercy and our empathy with us at all times, we must build structures that mirror our shared mercy and empathy, and we must treat those around us, in both little and big ways, with mercy and empathy. I hope you enjoy and interact with this story as much as I did :) --- Nate Metz About the Author: Nate Metz '23 (he/his) is an English and History double major. He loves all types of reading and writing (especially creative writing) and in addition to working as a Writing Partner at The HUB, he is involved with the University Honors Program, the LEAD Scholars Program, and the Santa Clara Review. |