Arts and Entertainment

Rotimi Inducted into the Hall of Fame

By Jack O'Connell
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On Thursday, June 7, for the second time, Columbia High School Student Council held an all-school assembly to induct someone into the Hall of Fame. Olurotimi Rotimi Akinosho, aka, Rotimi, was honored for excelling in his field of acting and singing.

Rotimi graduated from Columbia in 2006. He was a prominent member of the student body during his time at Columbia. He was a point guard for the varsity basketball team his senior year which was ranked eighteenth in the state. He was also a member of the honors choir and performed in the schools plays. Mrs. Joanna Wright even mentioned that he recorded the national anthem that was played before every basketball team, a task that Lauryn Hill class of 1993 also did during her time Columbia. Today Rotimi starts on the hit TV series Power which airs on Starz. He plays Andre Coleman who is one of the main characters of the series. He is also signed to famous rapper 50 Cent record label G-Unit Records. He released his debut album, Jeep Music Vol. 1 and has opened for starts such as Jennifer Hudson, T.I., and N.E.R.D.

Rotimi was very grateful to be inducted into the hall fame of his alma mater saying, “This is like getting a Grammy or an Oscar.” He was very honored that he was given the opportunity to come back and speak to the next generation of Columbia students. He preached the importance of never letting anyone put you in a box and wanted to make sure that everyone knew the importance of trusting yourself and your instincts. Rotimi also gave high praise to the job Columbia does saying, “What we have here is so different. You are prepared for life, and know how to deal with different people.” After he gave his speech, Rotimi proceeded perform one of his songs for the students.

The speech struck with a lot of students who were very receptive to what the actor and had to say. For Titus Smith, ‘18, seeing someone who graduated from Columbia have success in the arts and entertainment world was very inspiring. Smith said, “I want to be a music producer when I grow up and to see someone who walked the same halls as I am really motivates me. It reminds me that I can reach my goals if I work for them.” Multiple other students shared Smith’s sentiments and the overall impact that Rotimi left on the student body was a positive one.


Photo Via TapintoSOMA.com

The Notorious RBG

By Teddy Higer-Paris

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A documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has quickly become a hit. Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West wanted to break from the superhero dominated movie culture of 2018, and give moviegoers a different option.

The film, produced by CNN, provides an intimate look at the personal and professional life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, starting from her childhood growing up in Brooklyn. “I think the film is an incredibly profound statement about hope in America and people are responding to that”, said Neal Block, president of distribution for Magnolia Pictures, the indie outfit that acquired the film.

The film first discusses the early life of Ginsberg, taking the viewer through the challenges of being one of only 11 women in a class of over 500 at Harvard Law School. When in law school, Ginsberg not only raises to the top of her class academically, but also cares for her husband who is sick with cancer and for their infant child. She had to do her work, as well as her husbands work. 

The documentary then goes into detail about how hard it was Ginsburg to find work after graduating law school, and shows how easy it was for her husband to get hired at a law firm in New York. The film then shows Ginsberg's early work as a lawyer and her immediate interest in working to improve the rights of women. Ginsburg argued six cases in front of the Supreme Court, and talks about how difficult it was. She said, “I had a captive audience...and I knew more about the rights of women then the nine men on the Court”. Ginsburg wanted to prove that women’s rights movement was as prevalent as the Civil Rights issues. “This documentary gives audiences amazing access to the 85-year-old justice, which is a very unusual thing,” said Diane Weyermann, president of documentary films and television at Participant Media. “There is an intimacy here. You are just so close to the justice. The storytelling is resonating with people.”

Photo Via Redbubble.com

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