X Japan performs one of three reunion concerts at the Tokyo Dome. These performances marked the band's revival after a ten-year disbandment due to artistic differences. (Courtesy of Creative Commons)

If KISS were to raise a child with David Bowie, teach it to use an electric guitar, then send it to Japan to do whatever it wanted, the result would be “Visual Kei.” A sub-genre of Japanese rock, Visual Kei can be roughly described as a cross between glam rock and electro-pop with strong roots in speed metal and punk. While popular in Japan in the 1980s and early 1990s, Visual Kei didn’t see its big break until the early 2000s, when it quickly gained a large, dedicated following both in Japan and overseas.

The boom has prompted several neo-Visual Kei musicians – such as Miyavi, Dir en Grey and D’espairsRay – to tour within the U.S., with sets that have met the artists with warm, enthusiastic crowds. Among the many newcomers is the “Founding Fathers of Visual Kei,” a band otherwise known as X Japan, who will be performing at the Fox Theatre in Oakland on Sep. 28.

“The fact that X Japan chose a venue in Oakland to perform makes me respect them even more,” said Mills College student Malena Du Bois when she heard about the upcoming concert. “Most groups of their success skip over Oakland for San Francisco without even a second glance.”

X Japan was founded in Chiba, Japan by childhood friends Yoshiki Hayashi and Toshimitsu “Toshi” Deyama in 1982. It began as a high school garage band named NOISE. They chose the name “X” as a placeholder until they could think of a better name, and then they decided on “X Japan” in 1992. That same year, X Japan reached its final line-up: Toshi on vocals, hide on lead guitar, Pata on rhythm guitar, Heath on bass and Yoshiki on drums and piano.

Due to the radical nature of their image, lyrics and musical style, no label would take them past their first single “I’ll Kill You” (1985).

So in the tradition of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, X founded its own label: EXTASY Records. Through EXTASY, it produced its second single “Orgasm” (1986) and its first album Vanishing Vision (1988).

From that point forward, X’s rare combination of piano ballads and speed metal played almost constantly on the radio. Its 1994 album Art of Life just a single track stretching 30 minutes, a veritable rock symphony.

Despite its popularity, X Japan disbanded in 1997, citing artistic differences. During the interim, the members mostly focused on solo work, but  Yoshiki once mentioned discussing a revival with hide sometime in the year 2000. However, these plans were tragically circumvented by hide’s death on May 2, 1998.

Nine years later, in 2007, X Japan shocked thousands by announcing its reunion to create the end theme for Saw IV. The song “I.V.” was an instant hit on iTunes, topping the charts worldwide. The bands comeback sparked the interest of not only devoted fans, but of curious listeners overseas – especially online. Katrin X Japan began as an American and a German’s fan site in 2000 and has since had over 958,000 hits. Similarly, fan site Xplosion-Online attracts fans from so many backgrounds that it’s available in seven different languages. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace feature over 117,000 fans, 35,800 followers and 4,800,000 profile views respectively.

The bands first U.S. performance was on the main stage at Lollapalooza 2010. X Japan’s concert in Oakland will be the second stop of the North American leg of its World Tour, a surprising choice for a band with so much success and only one U.S. concert preceding it.

“They’ve sold out huge auditoriums around the world, and having them come to Downtown Oakland is like having a younger, finer Parliament Funkadelic with bigger hair and even more neon color schemes setting up their equipment in my backyard!” Du Bois said.

But for U.S. fans like Du Bois, the band is simply fulfilling a promise Toshi once gave. “As you are always here for us, X will always be there for you, so never give up on your dreams.” X is here for its U.S. fans, even the ones in the often-overlooked city of Oakland.

Thousands of devoted fans gather for one of X Japan’s concerts in Hong Kong. Lights flash in the shape of an “X,” the rock band’s symbol. (Courtesy of Creative Commons)

A new television inside Rothwell is going to be used to advertise campus events and welcome the community.

The Office of Student Activities has purchased two new televisions to advertise community events, according to Courtney Young-Law, the Director of Community Life and Student Activities.

One television is in Cowell and one is in Rothwell.

“In the next week, it will begin advertising the Student Online Community and other events” said Young-Law about the television in Rothwell. “Since the vending machines were moved, we will use the space as a welcome to the Community Life departments of OSA and Student Diversity Programs that are in Rothwell.”

Young-Law said that the other television will provide a similar purpose in the Cowell building.

I can’t remember exactly how it happened.  Maybe we were talking about our various aesthetics. Maybe I suggested a group outing to First Friday. That might have done it. Who knows. All I can remember are those fateful words:  “You’re totally a hipster, Lauren.”

Aghast, I leapt from my chair.  “No!  Hipsters are apolitical snobs obsessed with being supposedly ‘ironic’! I may partake in snobbery but I am not apolitical and I never really even say the word irony out loud — I am definitely not a hipster.”  My defense, a very circular one, did little to dissuade my audience. Perhaps it was my mullet, perhaps it was my excessive cigarette smoking. Regardless, the word continued to echo in my head long after the night was over.

Desperate to disprove this label, I consulted the internet. After rushing to complete an “Are You A Hipster?” quiz, I was horrified to find glaring, irrefutable evidence. The page declared my hipster-dom loud and clear, with a taunting “sweet jesus, you’re a ##### hipster” subheading. Unbelievable. I had to do something but it seemed that I was caught in a disidentification dilemma. According to many a cheesy survey, urbandictionary.com, a few close pals and other trusted sources, claiming that one is not a hipster only serves to prove that you are one.  There was no way out.

Indeed, to be or not to be a hipster is a Catch-22.  I can’t help but still feel disqualified: I am too cheap to shop at American Apparel, I have no tattoos or piercings, and I don’t have a blog — yet.  In the meantime, I will try to be grateful that my own Catch-22 doesn’t require faking jaundice or going on bombing missions. This probably won’t work for long thanks to my new mental preoccupation with whether I am a You-Know-What or not, but I’ll give it a try.

Although unable to fully embrace the whole “hipster” thing, the author of this piece does openly identify as a cyborg. (A Campanil illustration)

Former president Virginia Smith bids farewell to Mills College students, faculty and staff after her decision to return to and be a member of the Board of Trustees. (Courtesy of The Mills college weekly, May 3, 1991)

Smith’s year-long tenure as acting president in 1990, beginning her term just after the famous campus strike -during which students sported shirts that read “Better Dead Than Coed” in protest of the Board of Trustees attempt to make Mills coeducational – Smith led a campus with a passion for women’s issues. President Holmgren, then Janet McKay, took over the presidency shortly thereafter.

According to a memorandum by Ramon S. Torrecilha, the current acting head of the College, Smith asserted “the environment of a women’s college provides a special freedom of development. Anyone who has had any contact with women’s education knows it’s a different process. It would be great if, at some point, every woman could have some of this, sense the freedom of it.”

Current President Janet L. Holmgren attributes much of Mills’ and other colleges’ advancements during the time to Smith’s dedication to university schooling.

“She was a highly regarded administrator and public policy scholar whose innovative ideas and strategies have greatly improved opportunity and excellence in higher education,” Homgren said in Torrecilha’s memorandum.

In rememberance of Virginia Smith, The Campanil staff have selected an article from the May 3, 1991 issue of The Mills College Weekly. In it, Smith bids farewell to fellow students, faculty and staff alike before retiring from her presidency and taking on a position with the Board of Trustees.

Through the article, The Campanil staff intends to allow former president Smith to say goodbye, one last time, in her own words.

Photo of the peer tutors and faculty. (Courtesy of the Writing Center)

The Writing Center has altered its space in response to student feedback when its doors opened Monday, Aug. 30.

There’s new furniture, for one.

“I think the biggest surprise is going to be how the Writing Center looks this year,” Student Director Jessica Menkin said.

Large desks used to occupy the space.

“It just felt really authoritative and not like a tutoring session,” Menkin said.

But now a round table and computer workspaces replace the previous setup.

“Instead of feeling like an office, it feels like a Writing Center should feel.” Menkin said, “It’s a welcoming atmosphere.”

The Writing Center, according to the Mills College website, is staffed by English Department MA and MFA candidates who help Mills students—undergraduate and graduate alike—develop strong writing skills.

Tutor Diana Turken said students are welcome to come in for any writing assignment at any stage of process “—from the bare bones to the polishing at the end.”

Raquel Fay, another tutor, said students’ work won’t be done for them, but the grad students who work at the Writing Center will “help you get to the next level in your writing, be an extra set of eyes and kind of train you to do it yourself for the next time.”

While a student can write on her or his own with a copy of The MLA Handbook or a good reference website, the writing center adds a human touch.

“You can’t really have a dialogue with your computer or MLA book” said Turken. “But,we’re people. You’re able to come to a place where there are people, who are kind of having—or had—the same experience as you, who can discuss things, work things out.

A student’s Writing Center experience, Menkin said, would involve more than just sitting down with a tutor and working.

“There’s coffee offered. There are treats,” said Menken. “We’re going to get stress balls, so if you’re freaking out you can squeeze that stress ball while you’re working on your paper.”

The coffee, treats and friendly furniture are all part of the Writing Center’s new look and feel this fall. Menkin said the changes won’t stop there. Students can look forward to a Writing Center blog, which would feature online grammar lessons. Next semester, there are plans to give workshops on MLA citation, grammar and writing personal statements for graduate school applications.

These changes have been initiated in response to students’ written feedback, the good and the bad. For instance, Menkin said, students complained that 30-minute tutor sessions were too short, so the sessions have increased to 45 minutes this fall.

So far the changes seem to be working really well, Merkin said.

“Our tutors are really, really anxious to help students,” she said. “They’re really excited about working with them.”

Even so, some students might not stop by the Writing Center anytime soon.

Maya Harary, transfer student, hasn’t heard of the Writing Center and thinks she might not need the resource. She’s nearly done with her general ed requirements and now takes all biology classes.

“Just because I don’t have any English classes in my future and I already consider myself a pretty good writer,” she said, “I probably wouldn’t go to the Writing Center. The tutoring I need is definitely more technical stuff.”

But Harary still thinks it’s great that the Writing Center is there. “It’s really helpful for anyone who’s second-guessing their work, just to have another person looking at it, whether or not it’s a tutor.”

Sophomore Llesenia Bolorin, on the other hand, said there should be more faculty involvement when students tutor other students.

Although she hasn’t used the Writing Center, Bolorin has worked with an on-campus peer tutor for another subject.

“The peer tutor was as helpful as she could be,” Bolorin said, “but it felt like she could only go to a certain extent.”

Bolorin said tutors are still students themselves. “They’re still interpreting (the material) more or less from my perspective. But when that question gets stuck, the person still leaves stuck. And that’s not fun. Maybe just having a professor on hand would help.”

Still, Bolorin likes knowing that the Writing Center is there if she needs it – though she doesn’t need it right now. “I’m not writing thesis papers or anything huge,” she said. “I don’t feel intimidated by my work yet, and that’s what people go there for, right, help with writing. You know, I haven’t been.”

Franchesca White, English MA candidate, hasn’t been either, but she’s had some good experiences with tutoring at the other colleges she’s been to. And she’ll definitely use the Writing Center at Mills.

“I have to start writing a thesis,” White said. “I have to start writing 20-page essays. Even if my peers are tutoring me, their feedback is going to be very important to me.”

Fay, White’s peer back at the Writing Center, acknowledged that everyone experiences fear when it comes to writing. “It’s personal. It’s your baby. It’s something you’ve come up with. It’s always hard getting advice, needing help or maybe sometimes stepping back from your own work.”

Fay said she has that problem too.

“I think the important thing to emphasize is that we don’t judge. “We’re not that scary. I promise.”

For more information about the Writing Center, visit www.mills.edu/student_services/writing_center

Ashley Shaffer holds a handful of her granola. (Bonnie Horgos)

Dehydrated Granola Recipe

This is a super-duper rough estimate for the lazy cook, because I basically just throw everything in and adjust by looks and taste.

Ingredients:

- A couple handfuls of oatmeal (Not instant, not steel-cut.)
- Handful of chopped nuts (Any kind! Walnuts, almonds, pecans, macadamia, seriously, whatever you have on hand or is your favorite.)
- Handful of chopped, dehydrated fruit (I don’t dehydrate the fruit alongside the oatmeal, I either use something I already dehydrated or dried fruit from Trader Joe’s. And again, whatever you like: cranberries, apricots, raisins, pineapple, mango, blueberries, etc.  Just make sure the fruit is chopped into little pieces.)
- Ground flax seed (If you have it, add it!)
- Wheatgerm (Again, if you have it, add it!)
- Chia seeds/pumpkin seeds/anything seeds (Seriously, this is the point where I’m throwing in stuff from around the kitchen that is healthy/tasty.)
- A spoonful of coconut oil (Maybe melt it a bit in the microwave first to make it easier to mix.  Also, feel free to add more or less after you mix it all up a bit.)
- Couple dollops of maple syrup (Or agave.  Or honey.  Not too much, though.  When you dehydrate, the sweetness intensifies.)
- Splash of vanilla extract (Like everything else, this is optional for you.  But this is never optional for me.)

Directions:

Okay, so basically you just mix all of this together. Everything should be damp and evenly coated with the maple syrup/coconut oil/vanilla, but not dripping wet by any means.  If you have a dehydrator, this is where you spread the mixture out on your trays (use parchment paper if you don’t have plastic liners) and leave it alone for half a day.

If you DON’T have a dehydrator but DO have an oven, spread out your mixture on a baking sheet and set your oven to its lowest setting.  It’s helpful to leave the oven door open a little in order to get some air flowing, as you aren’t cooking, but rather dehydrating.

Like I said, this is basically a cop-out recipe, because for me granola is kind of a see-how-it-goes thing.  You can add-in or take-out any of the ingredients.

I’ve heard some people mix in peanut butter, add coconut flakes, or use other crazy kinds of nuts and seeds.  The whole point is to throw together some tasty ingredients and see what turns out.

Then, throw it in some milk, add it to some yogurt, mix it into applesauce, whatever you want!

Photo of the cross country team. (Bonnie Horgos)

Six members of the Mills College cross-country team competed against Holy Names University, running through campus and ending the sprint just beyond the Richards Lane parking lot.

Angie Sandoval, in her third season with the team, was the first Mills runner to pass the final orange cones, snatching third overall in the race at 6:08.

“The race was good,” said the 4+1 MBA student. “It was a reminder to my body on what racing and faster paced runs feel like.”

The final times of the fifteen runners ranged from 6:03 to 9:54.

The team began practicing on the first day of school, running one and a half hours per day, five days per week. Despite the short amount of time practicing, cross country coach Laché Bailey said she was impressed with the runners.

“So far it’s been really good,” Bailey said. “A lot of new people, a couple returners—one went to nationals last year. The race went well.”

Next on the cross country team’s list?

The Mills Invitational at 10 a.m. on September 18. They are looking for 50 volunteers to time, hand out water and breakfast and stand along the course during the event. People interested can sign up in front of Bailey’s office, room 108 in Haas Pavilion.

Members of the softball club play catch on Toyon Meadow. (Bonnie Horgos)

It’s time to dust off the glove — Mills students are starting a softball club.

“I bet there are girls secretly hiding in their closets with their gloves just waiting to play,” said the club initiator Kat Hall.

Hall has created a softball club that will meet every week starting this Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Toyon Meadow. Since creating a team requires funding from Mills’ Department of Athletics, Physical Education & Recreation (APER), Hall, 22, was interested in starting a club first in order to stir some softball interest.

“We just want to get together and throw the ball around,” said the senior.

APER said they were in full support of the softball club.

“I feel really excited about the softball club,” said Sports Information and Compliance Director Elese Lebsack. “We’ve definitely had interest in softball in the past.”

According to Hall, all abilities are welcome.

“Anyone can play softball,” Hall said.

Lebsack agreed that the club would give everyone a chance to play ball.

“I feel really excited about people being able to participate at all levels,” Lebsack said.

Worried about committing? Being a club, the softball schedule will be flexible, unlike joining a full-fledged team.

“One thing about softball is it’s such a competitive sport that when you go to school to play, you’re there to play,” said softball club member Aisha Gonzalez, 19.

Still, despite a part-time schedule, Hall said members could reap benefits similar to being on a full-time team.

“With softball, you have to take care of yourself and take care of your team,” Hall said.

The softball club could eventually evolve into a team, although funding would be one of the main hurdles. The sport requires a variety of equipment including gloves, balls, bats, helmets, uniforms and knee pads, not to mention a softball diamond for practice and games.

“If we were to have an official intercollegiate team, we’d have to have facilities,” Lebsack said. “I’d like to be able to have something in the future, but we’ll see. It’s a matter of space and money, but luckily we have a lot of space for a softball club.”

For the time being, though, the softball club will be a time for students to bring their own gloves and throw some ball.

“The idea is to just get softball going at Mills,” Hall said.

Teammates encourage each other during the game. (Bonnie Horgos)

With 11 new players joining the ranks, the Mills volleyball team welcomed a new season with their first game last Thursday. Despite opponents La Sierra winning 3-0, Cyclones’ sets, spikes and serves suggested a promising semester.

Coach Susan Forbes said the new players—ten freshmen and one sophomore—are a breath of fresh air for the team of thirteen.

“I’m really excited for what’s in store,” Forbes said. “We have a really quality group of women.”

The game began with a mixed lineup of veterans and freshmen behind the net, hitters, setters and libero posed and ready.

The first set went to the opposing team with a 25-6 score.

“I want you to be aggressive!” said Forbes from the sideline.

The Cyclones took the advice to heart, playing neck and neck during the second set for a while with an 8-8 score, ending with a 25-12 score.

The final set was equally tense, freshman Audre Mowry frequently sliding to the ground to hit the ball. The set ended with a 25-5 score.

Forbes said the game was an effective warm-up for a promising season.

“I think it was a good opportunity to get our jitters out,” Forbes said. “While there might be some growing pains, there are so many opportunities to grow. They’ll just be working out the kinks.”

According to Jason Landau, the General Manager of Mills’ Bon Appetit Services, the Tea Shop is now making all of its food from scratch.

“Even the pickles are homemade” said Landau.

An example of what Bon Appetit is serving. (Lauren Sliter)

While much of the Deli menu remains the same, a few signature items have been added.

Due to previous problems with long lines of students wanting their morning coffee, the Tea Shop has hired a barista to work exclusively at the espresso machine from 7 until 10 in the morning, according to Landau.

Cafe Suzie’s has also updated its menu, now replacing its previously crepe heavy menu with homemade soups and salads. Students have the option of enjoying their soup in a bread bowel.

“The soups are good” said Mackenzie Bean, a sophomore at Mills.

To accompany the soups and salads, Cafe Suzie’s is also selling 5 different kinds of chai as well as shaken ice teas.

According to Landau, it has been 3 years since the menus have changed on campus.

“It has been a long time” he said. His preference is to update the menus every couple of years.

Another reason for the changes was affordability. While the Tea Shop carries more expensive “meals” that come with a side, customers can also purchase single items, such as the Junior Burger, for less.

“We tried to make things less expensive” said Landau. “If you need something inexpensive, we have that everywhere now.”

Despite these efforts, many students miss certain items from the old menus.

“I’m really upset that there are no veggie burgers” said sophomore Lynora Garner.

Other items that are missed are the sweet potato fries and the crepes from Cafe Suzie’s.