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Tate Daniels:
The State Press magazine is back again with The Culture Issue!
Tyler Abrams:
Covering topics ranging from the struggles of being a “No Sabo Kid” to the ASU reputation of being a “party school.”
Tate Daniels:
This is the magazine you will definitely want a copy of!
Tyler Abrams:
I’m Tyler Abrams.
Tate Daniels:
I’m Tate Daniels, and this is State Press Play.
Tyler Abrams:
Also, State Press podcast reporter Abby Bessinger discusses a story in The Culture Issue that breaks down the impacts of fast fashion.
Tate Daniels:
But first ...
Tyler Abrams:
The Culture Issue takes on a unique approach in its reporting. Covering unique and complex topics of ASU students from a different lens. I’m here with State Press Magazine Editor-in-Chief Camila Pedrosa to explain more. Thanks for coming on the podcast, Camila!
Camila Pedrosa:
Thanks for having me.
Tyler Abrams:
So Camila in the editor's letter, you explain how the culture issue gives the reporters a chance to play sociologist what inspired that approach.
Camila Pedrosa:
So doing an issue like this gives our readers and even our reporters an opportunity to step out of their little sphere of influence and learn more about the people who attend this giant university.
Tyler Abrams:
Yeah, you also said in The Culture Issue that this has always been a staple of the fourth issue of every year. What cemented The Culture Issue as a tradition for The State Press Magazine?
Camila Pedrosa:
Yeah, so in recent memory, we've published culture issues as number four in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023. So last year was really the moment where we were like, yeah, this could be a thing. Why not? Because the previous year's Culture Issue was really successful. So this year, my managing editors and I agreed that this could continue in future years, and that we would make that effort.
To hear more from Pedrosa, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: The Culture Issue is available online or in news stands on the ASU campus.
Tate Daniels:
I am joined here today by Audrey Eagerton, a State Press Magazine reporter whose reflections on language and cultural identity offer a glimpse into a daily struggle that many bilingual Americans face. Thanks for coming on the podcast, Audrey!
Audrey Eagerton:
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Tate Daniels:
So, what motivated you to share your personal language learning journey and your experience of reconnecting with your Mexican heritage?
Audrey Eagerton:
Well, it's a story that I've kind of just been like writing in the back of my head for a while. I grew up half Mexican, but my mom doesn't speak Spanish at all. My grandparents can speak Spanish, but they choose not to. So it's sort of just like, I felt like it was something that was missing from my family and something that I really wanted to explore more. So I started taking it seriously in high school, which is really hard because you think if you have a connection to a culture or to a language like it'll just come naturally to you. And languages are very hard to learn. Don't let anyone tell you that they're not, everyone's brain is different. But yeah, I kept with it and I added a Spanish minor in college and it's just been like a process of trying to come to terms with finding that cultural connection and that heritage connection while also feeling like your language skills are subpar or not hitting the mark. Yeah, it's been, I don't know, I'm at a point now where I'm just like, I am comfortable with where I'm at. And fluency wise, I'm comfortable that I'm a learner. And I'm probably won't ever meet anyone's standards of what, you know, perfect Spanish is, but like, no one speaks a language perfectly. Yeah, that's basically where I'm at right now.
Tate Daniels:
In your article, you mentioned labels such as "no sabo kid" and "pocho," which refer to Hispanic people who do not speak Spanish very well. How would you say that labels like these can impact people's cultural identity and sense of belonging?
Audrey Eagerton:
Yeah, so there's always been, you know, terms like that. "Pocho" is like an older term that I kind of just learned from the professor that I interviewed. "No sabo kid" is a very recent trend. So, "no sabo" is sort of like a joke. So the right way means I don't know. So it's like, "I don't know, kid." But "no sabo" is an incorrect way of saying, "I don't know," because the correct form is "no se." But like this idea of if your family has an immigrant background, you're gonna lose your ties to that original language that your family had. It's just more prevalent, especially in the US with, you know, being so close to Mexico. Those terms when you hear them, it's just like a constant feeling of, "I'm not good enough." That's what they really convey.
To hear more from Eagerton, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: INSIGHT: LANGUAGE BARRIERS
Abby Bessinger:
Second-hand shopping is not what it used to be. The blurred lines between sustainable clothing and fast fashion have left many college students conflicted. I’m here with State Press magazine reporter Gib Manrique to give us more information on the pressing issue. Hi Gib.
Gib Manrique:
Hi Abby.
Abby Bessinger:
So when it comes to secondhand shopping, you refer to it as being a competitive sport. Why do you think its popularity has grown so much in the recent years?
Gib Manrique:
From what I've seen, I think the rise of it is absolutely because of the internet. It's impossible to like go on Twitter or you know, X or whatever, or Instagram, or especially like TikTok or something without seeing hauls and hauls. Like it's not "I got secondhand shopping," like stuff like that. You see it everywhere. So it is absolutely because of like trends on the internet, why it's risen so much in popularity. A lot of the trends people are seeing nowadays are just based off of old existing trends. Like a lot of the time people are like, oh, 70s, or like the y2k stuff. And we're also find really authentic clothes like that, then secondhand shopping or, you know, going to Buffalo Exchange or something. So I think like the repeating of old trends rather than creating of new ones. And also the rise of like, the popularity of it on the internet, I think are really what causing everything to be this way. So it's, you just see all these people doing it nowadays. And you didn't used to.
Abby Bessinger:
Yeah and I feel like when you see everyone doing it, you're more inclined to do it yourself.
Gib Manrique:
Yeah absolutely.
Abby Bessinger:
You mentioned the pressure of fitting in and keeping up with trends in your article. Can you elaborate on how that contributes to the problem?
Gib Manrique:
The pressure of it, again, in keeping up with trends like really contributes to the overconsumption problem because if you're constantly recycling new things, or the same clothes are being taken in and out of the market. Like of course, what do you do with the clothes that are officially out of trend? They just end up in a landfill somewhere, especially with the rise of everything being on the internet.
To hear more from Manrique, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: The Culture Issue is available online or in news stands on the ASU campus. "The cost of fitting in" is featured on page 14.
Tyler Abrams:
And that’s all for this week’s State Press Play. I’m Tyler Abrams.
Tate Daniels:
And I’m Tate Daniels. State Press Play is produced by our podcast desk editor, Gabriella Fernbaugh. Original music by Ellie Willard and Jake LeRoux.
Tyler Abrams:
Special thanks to our managing team, Alexis Heichman and Morgan Kubasko.
Tate Daniels:
You can check out all these stories and more on statepress.com. See you next week, Devils!
