Secret Geneva Project

By: Zani Bislimi and Ismael Monomoh Dominguez

When it comes to diversity, having a good time, and having a lot of visitors, Geneva is a well-known city to tourists. In addition to seeking out hidden gems, our group was looking for each pub’s distinctive feature. For each bar, we specifically looked at the cost of a 0.33 cl pint and a captivating feature. We checked out 6 pubs and at the end we are going to rate them from 1 to 10.

L’Alambic

This bar was located next to the Mont Blanc bridge. One special feature about this pub was that on weekends they welcome local artists to perform and it gave really chilly vibes which we recommend to go just for a simple date on a week day. The price of the pint was 6 CHF which was a medium range between all the bars we looked at. Although it was a really nice and welcoming environment, what really stood out was lack of selections when it comes to beers and the terrace was uncomfortable, when it comes to chairs and tables. We rate this place a 7 out of 10.

Le Phare

This pub is located two streets away from ¨Manor¨. This bar in our opinion wasn’t really that special. 2 things that stood out though were the snacks, which really had a lot diversity and they often do themed months and a discount on a specific themed cocktail. However, when it comes to beers it was weird because they did not have 0.33 cl pints but only 0.25 and 0.50 cl. Which means we obviously took the 0.50 and it cost 9 CHF which is a lot. We rate this place a 5 out of 10 because it was too crowded and not really our style of drinking. We recommend this place for people a little bit older and especially for the LGBTQ community because that bar is known to really support them.

Lucky Brothers

This bar was located just by the bus stop of Coutance, when it comes to our opinion this was the bar, we liked the most. It was really friendly, a lot of diversity, a lot of good food and a good selection of pints especially for Belgian beer lovers. What stood out to us was the sportsy way of managing the pub and the customer service which made us feel comfortable just like at home. We ordered 0.33 cl pint which costed us 5.60 CHF each. We truly recommend this place to people that like watching sports and we rate it a 9 out of 10.

Roi Ubu

This bar is located at the entrance of old town. This bar was easily the worst rated because of its simplicity during the day. When it comes to night life, this bar is always full of people and a lot of energy. The best part was the outside tables and chairs where a lot of people passed and big circles of people staying close to the bar. The price was the worst, for a 0.33 cl it was 8. 50 CHF which really did not make sense. We give this bar a 4 out of 10 because of the price and boring vibes during the day.

Café La Clemence

This bar was located at the center of old town, this was the coziest bar out of the 5. Two interesting things we saw were the terrace which was amazing especially for cold weather because it had outside heaters which made you feel just like home. The other thing was the price of the beer which was really cheap, for a 0.33 cl it was 5.00 CHF and it tasted good. We really liked the place and we suggest to everyone, especially during weekends. By that we give this bar a outstanding 8.9 out of 10.

Bubble Tea

By: Zuzanna Andrzejewska and Ileana Passebecq Ghanty

Five Retro and Vintage Places to Visit in Geneva

By: Jessie Baxter, Lama Hajjar, Dominik Sefaj

Before delving into this article, two key words need to be defined which are vintage and retro. Vintage will defined as anything “of age”, something which is produced 40 years before. In this case, it will be referred to as an appearance, something which is more wooden and has vintage attributes such as antiques.

Retro will be defined as something modern, yet nostalgic. An example of retro would be an American diner which is modern but has nostalgic elements of American culture such as neon lights and red seats.

Black tap, a retro American experience

Black tap is located in the centre of Geneva, at Cr de Rive 6. The retro style of the restaurant is clear to anyone passing by, as its black doors and tables contrasted to the neon colours of the sign immediately strikes anyone with the image of an American themed diner with retro and punk attributes.

Walking into the restaurant you are immediately enthralled by the 2000’s American themed ambience. Its retro and r&b style is reflected in the spray painted artworks surrounding the restaustaurant. The music is a playlist of R&B and 2000’s rap songs, with artists such as Eminem, 2Pac, and Alicia Keys.

The waiters mirror the same laid-back impression of the diner. They welcomed us and when they took our orders, joked around and gave us recommendations on what to take. The menu itself featured American staples such as mac and cheese, fried foods, and various burger options. The options were diverse and suitable for anyone, such as vegan and vegetarian selections and a selectibility on the level of spiciness. The main attraction of this restaurant is milkshakes. The crazy shakes are like nothing I’ve seen before. The milkshake itself is either a basic vanilla, chocolate, or starberry flavor, but its decorated with the most eye appealing mix of colours and sweets. The one I got

was the Cake Shake, which featured a large slice of vanilla cake on top of a funfetti milkshake and a rim of sprinkles.

In terms of taste, the milkshake was hard to finish and was sweetly sickening. My friend ordered the truffle burger, which tasted standard with a hint of notes of truffle. The presentation was poor, as the salad and condiments were falling from the sides. The average burger price was 25CHF, with the shakes being 19CHF. For the price, the food was decent as the portions were large, but the quality and taste was lacking.

I was recommended by friends from Lausanne to try out this restaurant, with an overall positive feedback from their experience. From my friends experience, the ambience and food was satisfactory, with plenty of good opportunities for instagram pictures of the food and the location itself. For Webster students, this restaurant is a great place for anyone to eat, as its vibrance and overall ambience is perfect for discussions over tall, cake milkshakes and American themed food. For anyone who enjoys the 2000’s American culture and wants a step back in time, this is the perfect place for you.

Le Chat Noir, a retro bar

Chat Noir is a bar located in Carouge, Rue vautier 13. From the outside, it looks like any standard bar within Geneva. However, this bar has a unique element to it, as it features an underground club in which live music and indie bands perform.

The bar itself displays retro elements, for example, the red and black constrasts gives off an old-style, vintage apperance. The dim lighting and emerging ventilation makes the bar relaxing; a place to kick back and enjoy a drink with friends.

The drinks itself are inexpensive, with a wide selections of classics to specials created by the bartenders at Chat Noir. The bar also has its own menu, featuring burger and salad options at an average price. Although the selection is thin, the food itself was of high quality and in large portions. The menu itself has a vintage feel to it as the meals are displayed on a black board with chalk, giving it an old feeling.

Another key aspect of this location was the diversity of the menu. In a section labeled “food of the world”, a variety of meals from across the globe is listed in this selection, for example, sashimi to samoussas. Overall, the prices were decent for the

amount of food served, yet the quality and seasoning within this selection was poor.

After finishing your drink, you are invited to the underground area of the club. The area is elevated with various lights and blasting music. The style is mainly a mix of hip hop, funk and other related genres often played by amateur musiciens. We each paid 20CHF at the door, and during the night that we went, the music and players were lackluster with the overall crowd being less lively than expected. Overall the experience was dull, as although we enjoyed the ambience of the jazz music and flashing coloured lights, it quickly became mundane.

I had a discussion with a member of one of the bands who was getting ready to perform within the club. He told me that the area was a great place for novel bands to get recognition and find a starting ground within the live performance scene. Him and his band performed there previously and admitted that the club feels dull and spiritless, yet this depends on the day you go, who performs, and your overall preference in music genre.

Overall, being inexpensive, this bar is suitable for university students to grab a quick drink with friends. The club offered at Chat Noir is recommended for anyone who enjoys jazz, and supports indie bands. However, considering the distance, the Chat Noir may deter people from taking the long bus ride there, and would rather prefer a closer bar within central Geneva.

Boreal cafe: A vintage hideaway

This cafe is located in Rue du Stand 60, 1204 Genève, which right in the center of geneva. It is right next to the tram, number 4 and 14, and will takes you right to the cafe which is beneficial as you dont have to walk for a long distance.

The first thing you notice about the cafe is how colorful it is, as the tables and chairs outside are all in various different colors. The vibrant display and the olfactory burst of roasted coffee beans invites any lucky pedestrian to be invited into the coffee shop. Upon entering, the coffee shop expresses its vintage feeling through the many different couches and wooden tables mixed with the brown and copper colours of the cafe. The decoration and detail to color

makes the place feel calming; a quiet location in which you can study and have a isolated moment of peace from the outside world.

In terms of the coffee itself, Boreal cafe offers high quality coffees made from various different beans, such as brazilian and arabic. I ordered a cappuccino, which personally was the finest I’ve ever had. The coffee was 6CHF and was served in a relatively quick manner. The overall excellent service and tasty coffee made for a memorable experience.

Boreal cafe also offers food choices such as cakes, muffins, and cookies. These are all made the morning of, and created within the café itself. The selection offers gluten-free choices and vegan options.

I would recommend this cafe for any students who indulge in coffee, as Boreal’s cafe serves coffee which is smooth, bitter, and leaves one with a pleasant lingering aftertaste. This place is also a favorable for anyone who is seeks gluten free choices. Overall, I would describe this place as a vintage starbucks, as it has very similar elements to the popular coffee shop. However, this place feels more comfy and at home due to the numerous couches, colours, and dim copper lighting.

We interviewed the barista and asked which drinks he preferred, and he stated that the brazilian bean matcha latte was a personal, and customer favorite. Overall, the coffees within the shop are all bitter and rich, and will leave you wanting more.

Patisserie Sofia: Vintage Sweetness

Patisseria Sofia is located at the heart of geneva, Bd Georges-Favon 6, 1204 Genève. The entrance of the patisserie can be described as bubbly and warm, as the entrance is flooded in pink and light colours. Various cakes and pastries are displayed next to the window; an eye-eating image in which anyone passing by will stop and awe at the tasty looking desserts.

Upon entering the patisserie, the retro aspects are noticeable at first glance. The chairs seem like they come out of a 1950’s movie, as they burst with vibrant colours and pink tones. The lighting, specifically the chandeliers, offer a welcoming ambience of warmth and also provide a vintage ambience. Overall, the simplistic yet perky decorations and marble tables make the location unique.

We ordered a carac cake, a swiss dessert featuring a chocolate tarte with green icing and a button chocolate piece. The patisserie was close to perfection as it had extraordinary quality, taste, and a high attention to detail. However, the prices are a bit overpriced, as the small cake was 5CHF.

I would not advise university students, specifically those who are on a budget to come here. However, the luxurious experience which is provided by the decorations, quick service, and overall mood of the atmosphere is definitely worth a visit. We asked another customer for their preferences on which paterssiers were the best, which was the chocolate cakes and large macaroons.

Bongo Joe Records: A vintage music lovers dream

Bongo Joe is a record store located at the place de l’île, 1, Association, 1204 Genève. The place is located on the outskirts of central geneva, and is hidden from the sights of the pedestrians. This place is therefore a hidden vintage gem of Geneva.

The front of the store is plain, but when entering, you are transported into a different world. It feels like a time machine as the music, decorations, and albums surrounding the store make it feel as if you are within the 20th century. The place is surrounded by vintage vinyl records, and incorperates a nature environment as plants protrude the area from the ceiling and walls. There is also a vinyl player to listen to the music with the

workers helping you pick out new options. Overall, the service provided was excellent.

We interviewed the customers in bongo joe and mostly the feedback was positive. People sitting on the couches informed us that the vinyls within the store have some rare gems and is perfect for anyone who is into vintage and retro styles.

Wooden hut: a vintage restaurant

The location can be found at Bd Georges-Favon 19, 1204 Genève. It’s located near the Patisserie Sofia. The place intrigued us as the decorative pieces displayed outside the window gave off a vintage appearance, but it also make it look out of the ordinary as there was various animals in various shapes around the store.

Wooden hut offers authentic Thai food. We went together and the service was fast as the food and drinks came quickly, and it wasn’t too expensive for Geneva. We ordered the fried fish, which was 10CHF for three fish.

The restaurant itself attempts to connect to the original roots of Thai culture. We sat on cushions on the floor and awed at the architecture of the traditional Thai house; a temple like structure with wooden pillars

supporting the building. This itself gave a vintage feeling, but was mostly due to the original Thai culture that the owners were attempting to portray.

We talked with another customer sitting near us. She had ordered the rice rolls with pork, and gave a very positive reaction towards to her food. She stated that this restaurant was one of the only truly authentic Thai restaurants within Geneva, and its food reflectsyears of experience within Thai cuisine from its chefs. When asked about the vintage aspect of the restaurant, she stated that the vintage appearance is derived from the wooden attributes and dim lighting, which gives the restaurant an authentic Thai vibrance.

Overall, these five locations should be placed on the buket list of any vintage and retro admirer, and are all of walking distance from each other. Most are student friendly, and are all pleasant places to enjoy your time with friends.

Tuscany Trip Spring 2022

When you hear about a Tuscany trip you might be thinking about beautiful sceneries decorated by cypresses and olive trees, great food, nice weather… Let me reassure you, it is all of that, but more. It is also, and most importantly, about meeting new people and learning about media production in a beautiful environment.

The Geneva Webster university’s media department used to organize the Tuscany trip annually during spring break, however because of the pandemic the last trip to Tuscany was back in 2019. The silver lining in all of this is that this long postponement made this year’s trip that much more exciting. Though the trip is a course and we do learn a whole lot, it feels more like a productive and educational vacation.

This year three courses were offered: EPMD1000, PHOTO4000, And FTVP3150. EPMD1000 is an introductory media production course taught by Professor Ariese Visconti. It covers the essentials for creating successful audiovisual media. The students have to produce things such as a podcast, photos, and videos.

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PHOTO4000 is a film photography course. More specifically, this course is an 8X10 film photography course. 8X10 cameras are large old-fashioned cameras. You might recall seeing a historic clip of people taking family photos with these where the photographer’s head is behind a drape attached to a large box with bellows that sits on a tripod. This course teaches the film shooting process, film development process, and printing process of 8X10. An experience that forges discipline, patience, and trains the eye. It is a rare opportunity to be able to use such a camera. After this course you will become a better photographer and the skills will have some carryover also when shooting on digital cameras.

Finally, FTVP3150 is a video production course. It goes into more detail about video making than EPMD1000. Students will learn the basic video shots and angles. They also learn to convey a message or theme using only 5 shots of 5 seconds called a 5X5. There are also projects such as a vlog that the course will teach. An amazing course If I may say so.

To give you an idea of the experiences involved, here is what the students had to say:

Roberto: “We stayed at an agriturismo, a sort of cute mini-hotel in the countryside. The night was pitch black because there were no artificial city lights. The air felt so clean and pollution-free. It felt nice to take a break from the urban life.”

Khalid “I am so grateful to have taken photos with an old-school 8X10 camera. It was awesome. I usually shoot on digital and now I enjoy film photography as well.”

Tamara “I have met many amazing people during this trip. It was great and exciting to make media projects with them.”

Student 4 “For me, one of the highlights of the trip was making fire oven pizzas.”

Conclusion: Basically what we are trying to say is to make sure not to sleep on this opportunity. In other words, we truly think you would enjoy it, so make sure to go next time Webster offers this.

Although I managed to get a few film photographs during the trip, I did also have a blank roll of film. Meaning, I took a bunch of shots when visiting the places but none of the photos came out when processing them. It was tough to digest. I made the mistake of not properly placing the film in the camera. Nonetheless, I certainly did not return from this trip empty-handed. Not only did I make nice videos and 8X10 photos, but I also gained a ton of knowledge about media production and met new people.

Artadalia

Title: Artadalia

By: Nabil Hasan & Ashli Sartorelli

The Goal for the Final Project

For this project, we selected the first option, “make something” a project showing connectedness and belonging to the Webster community through a painting and a short video. When Nabil and I chose a subject to paint and a message to communicate, the project took shape. Our friendship started in our first year of University at Webster, and we had commented on how international our community is in addition to the feeling of belonging. We then decided to combine Nabil’s artistic skills for a final result of the painting and Ashli’s media skills to document the process with the intention of having the viewer feel like they are also part of the creation.

Incorporating something that was learned from the ARHS 1050 60 SP 2022 Art Appreciation class was another goal we had in mind. A painting technique that inspired us was dribbling paint which learned through researching Jackson Pollock’s career and techniques in further depth. Jackson Pollock worked on much bigger canvases yet in our case his approach worked perfectly using a more abstract technique rather than a realistic technique.

Furthermore, the music selection for this video is by one of our friends, Youssef Negm known as Mido Roseau. We wanted to show our support as he is slowly building his music career and once again, our goal was to show a sense of community. This is our Webster University Geneva community!

Check out his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdL_3_ttx5rHU24AeMloEjA

Does My Hijab Scare You?

Hijab, my right, my choice, my life. In today’s society, The hijab is generally viewed as a form of oppression by the Western world. I’ve had a few unpleasant experiences because of my choice of wearing it. The first time a stranger commented on my scarf was definitely the hardest one. I was approached by a Christian lady in France who told me to liberate myself from this religion and remove my scarf which is keeping me from living freely. She expressed herself loudly to reinforce her opinion while pedestrians stopped and stared. I felt crushed, I was young and never had a problem with other people’s opinion on my hijab, but the people around me laughed. I was angry but still very hurt because what was once my proudest decision instantly became a regret.

I have discovered that the hijab is frequently misinterpreted by non-Muslims; it is more than just a headdress. It signifies women’s modesty, safety, and privacy. In Islam, men must also maintain modesty by wearing proper attire, lowering their gaze, and treating women with respect. I understand that many people have a misconception that women are forced to wear it, but it’s a personal choice where religion does not force it upon anyone. Islam provides you entire freedom and authority over your decisions; what is written in the Quran (the holy book) should be followed by Muslims, but it is still a choice. The hijab is worn in various nations to follow a culture rather than Islam. Women in Iran are required to wear scarves and are not permitted to leave the house without them. As previously noted, this is a rigid culture rather than a religious practice. And I believe that it is crucial to be able to distinguish and properly comprehend the difference between religion and culture.

Citation:

Hussein, Jennifer. “Four Women Who Are Reclaiming the Narrative ON Hijabis.” Allure, 2 Jan. 2020, www.allure.com/story/muslim-hijabi-women-talk-about-hijabs.

“Why Do Some Women Wear a Hijab?” Wonderopolis, wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-some-women-wear-a-hijab.

Today, the public is normalizing women’s choice to wear revealing clothes, but going against women who want to cover up. For example, in France women who wear the hijab struggle to do simple activities such as going to the beach or dropping their kids off at school. I believe that every woman should be able to dress the way they desire without fear of being judged or harassed, whether it’s online, on the streets, in a restaurant or anywhere else. For many people, how they choose to cover themselves is a kind of expression, a form of art. Women should be able to wear anything they want, whether it’s close to nothing or almost everything covered up. Society should respect a woman’s right to choose how she covers her body, and it should be no one’s business but her own. The hijab is an important part of my identity, and I will always be proud wearing it. It’s not only about covering up; it’s about what you say, what you do, and who you are, and it motivates me to improve as a person.