If you are an up-and-coming musician and have chosen to bless the world with your unique and refined talent you must not take this decision lightly. Street musicianship is not a job; it’s a lifestyle. Well, hopefully it’s not a job. Stay in school, kids.

There are two types of street musicians. Well really, there are far more than just two, but we will speak in grand generalizations to save time.

The first is the artist with something to prove. This wandering soul seeks to convince the audience and themselves that they have something worth sharing. This works as a wonderful motivator in the beginning. The quest for validation drives the performer forward, and with each compliment or sizable tip the artist feels a fierce rush of ambition, every tidbit of praise fueling the search for the next. This cycle however can easily crumble.

The problem is that if the market is flooded with compliments, their value starts to decrease at an alarming rate. Before you know it, praise will be expected and you will receive it, not with grace and appreciation, but instead with the air of someone collecting their monthly paycheck. Do not let yourself fall into this routine of entitlement.

The second type of street musician stands on more solid ground. This musician separates him or herself from their work, and feels pride in their craft in the same way a parent might when hearing that their child is succeeding. This sense of pride rarely deteriorates into entitlement.

Question your motivations. Obviously what you seek foremost is to be seen as a music maker: bringer of joy and inspiration to those going about daily tasks, shedding meaning onto otherwise drab lives, creating art! Unfortunately there are often other roles you unintentionally fill.

These include: conversation disturber, space taker and in the rare but not unheard of case, dirty hippy. You must embrace all of these roles in order to feel truly comfortable playing on the streets.

You must also realize, that in the nature of all art, you will never be appreciated by everyone. On your best day, there will still be someone nearby who finds your performance incessant and distracting, and on your worst you will be ignored.

But as those who intend to take up the trade of entertaining strangers, you must understand that sometimes, for whatever reason, you will be virtually invisible to the public you have subjected yourself to.

I deal with this confusing douse of insecurity by assuming there is something wrong with my audience; but again, this tactic is only necessary if you feel entitled to their acknowledgment.

The trick is to remain separate enough from your music that you can appreciate it as if you were a member of your audience. As a chef you would want to enjoy the taste of your own food without getting fat; it is the same with music.

So now that you have considered the philosophical nature of your desire to perform for the public, where do you go from here? Personally I feel the simplest solution is to start small.

Sit in a corner and play guitar quietly. Maybe mumble a bit of your favorite song while avoiding eye contact with anyone who passes. If you have stage fright, this method has the added benefit of everyone being too weirded out to approach you.

Second step is to dress well enough to deter assumptions that you’re homeless. Nothing too fancy — take a shower before you leave, perhaps wear shoes. This step is important in allowing you to maintain your small corner of public space without some store owner or other public authority explaining to you that you can’t sleep here.

Step three is to ignore the first step. There’s no point in being quiet or humble. Relax and feel confident! You might as well, if you embarrassed yourself then it was a good learning experience, and if you’re under 25 like me, even the strangers who aren’t your biggest fans are generally pretty merciful.

Remember that while street performance requires a symbiotic relationship with its audience, you are also doing this for yourself. Sharing your talent with strangers can be exhilarating.

So get out there! Risk looking stupid, don’t get kicked off private property and add some melody to the world.

To win a rap battle, challenge ELLY OLTERSDORF at eroltersdorf@gmail.com.

The word “feminism” has a connotation that seems to suggest that it’s exclusively a women’s club. The truth is, men need feminism as well. Like women, men too are affected by the strict set of gender roles pressed upon us.

Nurseries are painted pink when girls are born, blue when boys are born. Girls are conditioned to play with cooking sets and Barbies, while boys play with Hot Wheels and ride Tonka trucks. It’s still borderline derogatory for men to indulge in stereotypically girlish ventures, such as fashion and cooking.

Unisex clothing is traditionally masculine clothing. It’s okay for girls to wear their boyfriend’s t-shirts. It’s even a cute look for them. But just imagine a boy walking down the street in peep-toe stilettos and a mini-skirt. An odd sight, isn’t it?

There’s this standard of manliness that is meant to be upheld. We are told from a young age that men are supposed to wear the suits, be the breadwinners and pay for our dates. I’m sure a few men are tired of trying to stick to that status quo but they still feel obligated to. Feminism fights that. We want to get rid of that “tough guy/good girl” dichotomy.

Those are not huge problems, but they are at the root of every conflict with sexism. The main premise of feminism is to get rid of these standards, because they allow people to assume women have no purpose outside of maternal roles or that all the things that women are interested in are vapid.

They also, unfortunately, do not accommodate anyone who is born different from the established norm. Feminism is bigger than just us girls, so please don’t cringe when you hear a girl claim she is a feminist; not many do in the first place because it’s a term that has such a negative, seemingly radical connotation. There will always be a few people who call the cops on the party, but they don’t speak for all the guests.

There is a double standard between the sexuality of men and women in this country. The masculine sexuality is empowered and celebrated, while girls are always taught to be chaste. We grow up teaching girls not to go out alone at night instead of telling boys not to make girls feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

It makes sense, because parents assume that their children know better so they don’t really see the need to drop a casual reminder like, “Hey son, make sure you don’t murder or rape someone today.” It even sounds kind of weird to type that out.

In the end, boys will always be excused for their inappropriate sexual advances because we’ve grown up with the notion that “boys will be boys,” and victims will still be blamed for sexual assaults because of what they chose to wear, what time of night they chose to be out at or how much alcohol they chose to drink.

This is part of a phenomenon known as rape culture, which is the idea that rape-like behavior has become normalized and trivialized and embedded subtly into our daily lives and daily vernacular. When was the last time you heard someone say, “Man, I raped that test!”?

Another product of rape culture is homophobia. The largest stereotype about homosexual men is that they’re girly men — our society’s misogyny extends towards them because the worst thing you could be is a girl. Think about this: the worst thing you can call a man is a pussy.

Racism, homophobia and transphobia are all issues battled by feminism. It’s a legitimate social cause that strives to make the world a more open-minded place and solve a number of problems that occur for people of all kinds.

Men have legitimate problems concerning rape and custody battles, and are more likely to go into life-threatening industries, but that all stems from outdated gender stereotypes where men need to maintain their machismo and women need to maintain their prowess as a homemaker.

Basically if you believe that everyone has an equal chance to take full advantage of their human rights, you’re already a member of the feminism club. Welcome.

If any guys want to try on MONA SUNDARA’s lipstick, they can email her at msundarav@ucdavis.edu.

Why and how has flirting become this extremely mysterious and over-analyzed experience amongst people?

The evolution of flirting needs to be investigated. It used to be a simple, fairly easy process — or so it seems. The men would court the women, perhaps choosing to be a tad bit inconspicuous in their attempts, but always being clear with their intentions.

From what I’ve ascertained, this has changed.

Although current flirting rituals are rooted in medieval chivalry, where suitors wooed women with poetry and serenades, now people tend to go for the more casual and nonchalant approach. This could stem from the Victorian Era, where courting was viewed as a formal art.

A man could not simply walk up to a woman he was interested in — an introduction had to first be made and even after, an appropriate amount of time would have to pass before having a conversation — in the company of a chaperone.

In comparison to centuries past and even decades ago, flirting has significantly altered. Maybe it’s become more thrilling and interesting, but some might entertain the thought that it has become more tiring and confusing. It might also be a mixture.

On one hand, it could seem endless and like no conclusion will ever be drawn, but on the other hand, yolo.

What I’ve observed is that flirting is a mixed confusion of what’s going on in the opposite sex’s heads. I’m sure that this problem has been prevalent in most societies from the beginning of time, or at least since we’ve evolved enough to let it affect us and our actions. That at least seems to have remained consistent.

Generally speaking, today, flirting is this completely tedious experience where at least one person out of the two is never sure whether or not the other is actually interested in them. This may seem juvenile but it happens to people of all ages.

Sometimes, I think this version of flirting is superfluous but it can also add a lot of fun and mystery to the whole process. It’s like, “Which piece of cake do I choose? The one that looks like it doesn’t have much flavor but one that I know I will like or the piece that looks crazy and mysterious and might be one that I’ll love?” It also might just depend on who’s serving the cake.

Flirting evolves with us. With the addition of technology in our lives, sending a winky or smiley face to someone can be perceived as more or less than what it might actually be. That’s the thing — it’s hard to tell.

Society tends to pick apart simple sentences and conversations like they’re some sort of complicated code, but it really might just be a straightforward message. Is this person really interested in me or are they just nice?

I blame technology. Because without it, people would be forced to rely on face-to-face interactions to convey emotion. Now, people automatically go to Facebook messaging, texting, Snapchat, etc. when trying to connect with people they’re interested in.

Sometimes, that makes things difficult in the respect that two people might be getting to know each other through nothing but the monotonous pressing of buttons, which can create a weak foundation for a potential relationship.

In years past, no one had to deal with this. Different cultures would have their own ways of going about things when one person was interested in another, and it all seems more productive than this mysterious gallivanting that exists today.

Although it’s our human nature to be productive in most aspects of life, flirting seems to be one of the exceptions to that. For some, it’s not about getting a quick result, but more about the long and drawn-out experience that could easily be made into an enchanting affair to remember.

When a man or woman (predominantly teenagers, I’ve noticed) seeks the affection of someone else, it automatically becomes this complicated tangle of chaos. How am I cleverly going to let them know I like them? I have to be as casual as possible. I can’t just tell them. I have to be devious.

It all depends on what each individual person prefers when it comes to flirting; we just have to learn how to stop looking at our screens and start looking at other people’s faces.

SAVANNAH HOLMES can be reached at skholmes@ucdavis.edu or around campus if you ever want to discuss how to avoid awkward flirting encounters, or just drink Diet Coke together.

Slug: 131003_op_2ed

Edits: JC EL CT

Notes:

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We’re sure you’ve all heard about The Buzz; according to their website it’s one of the most anticipated and well-attended events at UC Davis. With all the “buzz” surrounding the event, students expect something fun and exciting. But as soon as they get there, it’s a letdown.

The Buzz is disappointing compared to Welcome Week events at other UCs that  have activities for more than just freshman. Sure, there’s free stuff, but the lines are incredibly long. Sure, there’s inflatable bounce houses, but those are rather expensive. Most students end up wandering around aimlessly or leaving.

Various businesses sponsor The Buzz in order to connect with students. However, their sponsorship takes away from student organizations who would want to use the event to reach out. If student organizations want to be represented at the event, it costs $300 for a table. More student organizations at the event would make for a more friendly and enjoyable atmosphere.

UC Davis Student Affairs organizes the event, however Entertainment Council books the performers. In the past couple of years we’ve had performers who are mostly unknown. Truthfully, we’d rather see our own student groups performing. The Buzz could be a good opportunity for student performers to gain some new fans.

Most students like the food trucks at the event, so that’s one thing The Buzz is getting right. Though what would make it better would be more free food and shorter lines. How do you expect to attract college students without free food?

The Buzz is marketed well, but it doesn’t live up to the hype.

As new students who don’t know proper biking etiquette join the crowds of bikers on campus, we urge everyone to bike with caution. Following biking laws and biking with consideration for those around you is necessary in order to avoid accidents, legal fines and angry bikers.

The Editorial Board has several suggestions to make our campus safer.

Do not block traffic. As a basic rule, the left side of the lane is for faster bikes, while the right side is for the slower riders. Bike lanes are not wide enough for groups to ride slowly side-by-side with their friends. Be respectful of the 30 bikers behind you trying to get around you.

Biking while listening to music is fun, but it can prevent you from hearing your surroundings, such as a car horn or someone passing you from behind. It is perfectly legal to wear just one earbud while biking, but this doesn’t mean you’re allowed to weave back and forth in the lane to the beat of your music.

While biking on city roads, you can get fined more than $100 for cruising through a stop sign. You can also get fined for biking at night without a bike light, though police officers might also offer you a light if you’re lucky. However, you might be asked to take an online bicycle traffic course, on top of paying a costly processing fee.

Additionally, one of the easiest ways to end up injured or in court is by biking while under the influence. Since you are operating a vehicle, you are putting yourself and others in danger while biking drunk. Biking under the influence results in a BUI citation, which can be more than a $250 fine and goes on your driving record.

At the higher learning institution we attend, we would hope students bike with common sense. Signal when you’re turning. Yield to oncoming traffic. Don’t be obnoxious on the road. This way, we can all enjoy this bike-friendly town to its greatest potential.

And although it does not seem popular to wear helmets in Davis, we hope that those who do can be regarded highly for their respect toward the safety of their brains. After all, we go to school to learn, and we should value this organ enough to protect it.