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For more than 100 years, people in Stanstead, Quebec, have been able to walk into Derby Line, Vermont, to enter the border-straddling Haskell Free Library and Opera Houseno passport required. But municipal and library officials said on Friday that U.S. authorities have unilaterally decided to end the century-old unwritten agreement. Coming at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries, the decision is prompting an outpouring of emotion in communities on both sides of the border, which in places has been marked simply by flower pots. Inside the library celebrated as a symbol of international friendship, Pauline Lussier and Chris Blais put their arms around each others shoulders Friday as they stood on either side of the line taped down the floor marking the border. Lussier, a Canadian, and Blais, an American met for the first time that day. A line doesnt separate us, it never has, said Blais, who held an American flag in her hands while Lussier held a Canadian one. Our kids have gone back and forth over this border without any problem at all . . . this is all going to change now, and theres no reason for this, Blais added. Once inside the library, Canadian and American citizens have been able to mingle freely across the border line drawn on the flooras long as they return to the proper country afterward. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama hailed the symbolic importance of the library, built in 1901. A resident of one of these border towns once said, Were two different countries, but were like one big town, Obama said. A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that the divide is about to become more pronounced. Starting in the coming days, only library card holders and employees will be able to cross over from Canada to enter the building through the main door on the U.S. side. And as of Oct. 1, no Canadians will be able to enter the library via the United States without going through the border checkpoint, though there will be exceptions for law enforcement, emergency services, mail delivery, official workers, and those with disabilities. The statement acknowledged the library as a unique landmark, but said the border agency was phasing in a new approach for security reasons. Due to the librarys location, and convenience of local populations, CBP has allowed customers of the library to access its sidewalk, without inspection, for decades, the agency said in a statement. However, during that time, this area has witnessed a continued rise in illicit cross-border activity. It noted there have been a number of incidents in and around the library that resulted in apprehensions in recent years, including a person attempting to smuggle firearms in the past year. Town and library officials say Canadian visitors without a library card will have to enter by a back door on the Canadian side, across a muddy stretch of grass. The library announced Friday that it was launching a GoFundMe to raise the estimated $69,000 ($100,000 Canadian) it will cost to build a sidewalk, new parking lot, and wheelchair access. Stanstead Mayor Jody Stone said the U.S. decision makes no sense. However, he said the decision from U.S. President Donald Trumps administration would not affect the close bond between the communities, which share municipal services and facilities. No matter what this administration does, it will not change the fact that Stanstead and Derby Line are partners and friends forever, he said. Several residents, some in tears, gathered at the border to denounce the decision. Penny Thomas stood on the American side, holding up a sign with a maple leaf on it that said Keep Haskell open. In February, The Boston Globe reported that U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the library and repeated Trumps taunts about making Canada the 51st state as she stepped back and forth across the line that marks the border. According to the librarys website, Canadian visitors had been allowed to enter the library by the main entrance on the U.S. side. While passports or visas were not necessary, library officials had warned that U.S. Border Patrol and Royal Canadian Mounted Police would monitor movements and could request to see identification.
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When filmmaker Travis Gutiérrez Senger reflects on Ascos legacy, he quickly notes they were more than an art group; they created a movement, one with remarkable influence on Chicano art history. That movement continues today, and its very expansive, he says. Theres a lot of books, films and things that will be written about Asco over a period of time. And this was our contribution in some ways. He’s referring to Asco: Without Permission, a documentary that chronicles the story of the 1970s art group founded by multidisciplinary artist Patssi Valdez, muralist Willie Herrón III, painter and performance artist Gronk and writer and photographer Harry Gamboa Jr. They met as teens, formed as young adults, and called their group asconausea or disgust in Spanishafter one of their early DIY exhibits. Their conceptual work and performance art spoke to the exclusion of Chicanos from the mainstream art world and the systemic police brutality endured by the Mexican American community in East Los Angeles. All four founding members of Asco became some of the most notable Chicano artists, later exhibiting works in revered museums around the United States. But in their early days, the group was denied access to the notable galleries and museums. They created their own avenues in the form of public performances, murals, and more to exhibit their work, their way. To behave badly is the most ethical thing you can do, said executive producer Gael García Bernal at the films South by Southwest film festival premiere earlier this month. Youre building identity and questioning and unmasking the facade and the farce that exists. Bernal and Diego Luna executive produced the film under their production company El Corriente del Golfo. The film has yet to find distribution. Speaking with the Associated Press, Gamboa and Valdez praised Gutiérrez Sengers approach to their history. Both members, who appear in the documentary, saw the film for the first time with a crowd of fans and a group of young Chicano artists whose art was inspired by Ascos early rebellion. I felt the film really kind of captured the essence of all of us working together, said Gamboa. Valdez says it was a special moment for her, as the only woman in the founding group, to be given equal time and understanding. For the first time, I was given an equal voice in the group that hadnt happened before, she said, citing how previous stories of the group only highlighted her male collaborators. Without permission Asco emerged at the height of the Chicano civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a time of heightened political and racial tension amid the East LA walkouts, protesting education inequality, and the Chicano Moratorium, an anti-Vietnam War movement during which many Mexican Americans were victims of police brutality. Muralists and collectives popped up as Latino artists sought to process the systemic injustice taking place in their communities. The response to such violence was to create art, said Gamboa Jr. He wanted to alter the mainstream perception of Chicanos and present the possibilities and avenues someone can create despite societal constraints. For Valdez, being the only woman meant she was no stranger to a double dose of both racism in society and the sexism weaved within conservative Latino households, where young women were expected to keep quiet. I couldnt stand it. So I was able to act out these forms of censorship through the performance work in Asco, said Valdez, who once taped herself to a public wall in a piece titled Instant Mural, a metaphor on feeling captive. One of Ascos most known works is Spray Paint LACMA. Gamboa, Gronk and Herrón spray painted their names on the side of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art after Gamboa says he was told by a curator, Chicanos are in gangs, they dont make art. There was another era when people said, Latinx art, you know, doesnt exist. Its not a thing. It doesnt belong. Its not part of American art, said Pilar Tompkins-Rivas, the chief curator and deputy director of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Ascos neighborhood performance art would often draw stares, and even crowds. In Station of the Cross, the group carried a large cross to the local military recruiting office to protest the Vietnam War. In 1974, Gamboa took a photo of Gronk posed as the victim of gang violence to bring attention to the medias sensationalist coverage of crime in East Los Angeles. In the documentary, Gamboa claims that a local news station ran the piece as an actual story. Ascos work as a group remained in obscurity from the mainstream. It was not until 2011 when LACMA mounted Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972-1887, the first retrospective to present the groups performance and conceptual art. On display was an image of Valdez, taken by Gamboa, standing above the graffiti art. Life had presented Asco with its full-circle moment. Latino history has always been erased, said Gutiérrez Senger. Asco: Without Permission is a story of winning a battle, not a war. No Movies and Latino representation A 1974 photograph of Valdez shows the artist glammed up in a gold top, holding a golden statue of a cobra. She had won best actress at the Aztlan No Movie Awardsa fictional award show Asco created as commentary on the lack of Latino representation in Hollywood. The group was inspired by Hollywood cinema and popular culture, but knew the likelihood of starring in studio films was limited, unless they wanted to play a maid, cartel leader or gang member. Hollywood movies, rock n roll. Thats what I was about, said Valdez. And thats why I responded in the way I did with my artmaking. Gamboa photographed Herrón, Gronk, and Valdez using cinema stock to capture the essence of their favorite films. The series was called No Movies and later inspired their satirical award show. Gutiérrez Senger was drawn to it and pays homage throughout the documentary by featuring a group of young Chicano artistsincluding local Los Angeles artists like Fabi Reyna and San Chain short films inspired by Ascos signature DIY style. I think its a necessary obligation as a Latino if youre making films to fight very, very hard to put brown people on screen and behind the camera and to try to create films about our history, said Gutiérrez Senger. We have rich stories, and we have a rich history. Asco: Without Permission includes testimonials from respected Latino artists, including actor Michael Pea and comedian Arturo Castro, who have broken into the mainstream but know the importance of preserving hstory. Our history as Latinos is not in the history books. The movements that we’ve had are not in the history books, Pea says in the documentary. Although it often feels like progression is slow, Valdez says artists need to continue to voice their opinions and misbehave and not ask for permission. You do not need permission to be yourself. You do not need permission to be creative. You do not need permission to be intellectual, said Gamboa. And the thing is, you cannot allow yourself to be repressed or silenced and or visually curtailed from presenting works. By Leslie Ambriz, Associated Press
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Many schools and colleges are underperforming when it comes to sex education. Going beyond the classroom condoms-and-bananas approach, a group of students have taken it upon themselves to deliver sex ed, TikTok-style. The TikTok account @sexedforguys, which has more than 117,000 followers, started as a school project by four students at Colby College, a private liberal arts school in Maine. Launched in 2022, the account features skits tackling consent, toxic masculinity, and homophobiaessential lessons in a time when manosphere content is flooding For You Pages and Gen Z boys and men are more likely than baby boomers to believe that feminism has done more harm than good. @sexedforguys The channel began as part of a study on privilege at elite all-boys schools, led by professor Adam Howard, chair of Colbys education department. His research highlights how these institutions often fall shortespecially when it comes to sex education. While working with student researchers, Howard asked how they could best share their findings. Their answer? TikTok. Howard told Rolling Stone that TikTok was the perfect platform for sharing his research for two reasons: First, thats where young people are (55% of TikTok users are younger than 30). Second, it provides a much-needed counternarrative to some of the worst content on the app. Guys could be scrolling through their TikTok and Andrew Tate will pop up, but as they scroll maybe Sex Ed for Guys will pop up and itll start having them think a little bit differently, Christopher Maichin, a 20-year-old junior at Colby, told Rolling Stone. I think the greatest part of it is that they are getting education without even knowing it. Theyre watching a funny video but theyre learning about consent. Several of the TikTok accounts videos have gone viral, including Respecting Women Workout (which has 11 million-plus views) and the game Thats Whats Up!/Whats Up With That? (which has more than 3 million views). @sexedforguys Thats whats up. #fyp #trending #trend #foryoupage original sound – Sex Ed for Guys Setting boundaries with your partner: That’s what’s up! Backflips: That’s what’s up! Using racial and homophobic slurs: What’s up with that?” the boys say to the camera. Their video goes on to praise the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast March of Madness run, night-vision goggles, and “asking your partner about their day.” This is unironically how we defeat the alt-right pipeline, one user commented under the video. Another wrote: this could actually save america.”
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