Sean Bradley, Writer 

During the first few weeks of classes, I had the fortune of harvesting and trying pawpaw.  Now, many of you reading are probably wondering what a pawpaw is, and I’m glad you asked. In this Nature at La Salle article, we’ll learn about America’s forgotten fruit, the pawpaw.  

What is a pawpaw? A pawpaw is an edible fruit in the “custard apple” family (Annonaceae) native to the eastern United States. In fact, it’s the largest edible fruit native to the U.S. While most fruits in this family are tropical, pawpaw are the northernmost fruit of this family and are found in temperate climates despite having the appearance of a tropical fruit.  

The fruit comes from a forest understory tree that does best in fertile soils near water or on hillsides. Last fall, I found a specimen growing on campus in front of a bamboo stand near a runoff stream near the old Japanese Tea Ceremony House. This spring, I saw that the tree had lovely maroon blossoms that eventually transformed into fruits over the summer after being pollinated.

The fruit itself resembles a mango. One must treat a pawpaw like a mango when harvesting and eating one. During the first few weeks of classes, I harvested some pawpaw on campus and brought them home. When I initially harvested them, the fruits were hard, so I let them ripen over a few days by placing them into a brown bag with bananas. Once ripe, the skin should appear slightly yellow with brown spots and feel tender. The flesh should also appear yellow-orange when ripe. Although the flesh is custard-like, the taste is quite delicious and has a nice tropical flavor that’s sort of a combination of banana, pineapple, and mango. Since the skin and seeds are toxic, the easiest way to eat pawpaw is to cut it in half, remove the seeds and squeeze the flesh from the skin.  

The pawpaw has a long history in America. For centuries, many indigenous tribes used the fruit for food and medicine. The word “pawpaw” is derived from early European explorers who confused the fruit with papayas. The species’ scientific name, Asimina triloba, is derived from an Algonquin word for pawpaw “assimin.” In 1541, Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto noted seeing indigenous people of the Mississippi Valley eat pawpaw. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew and ate pawpaw. Pawpaw was also eaten during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Painter John James Audubon even included the fruit in a painting of yellow-billed cuckoos. There’s even a folk song about the fruit titled  “Way Down Yonder in the Pawpaw Patch.” Since 1998, the Ohio Pawpaw Growers’ Association has annually sponsored the Ohio Pawpaw Festival near Albany, OH. Despite its presence in American culture, why isn’t the pawpaw talked about regularly? 

Unlike apples, pawpaw fruits are not sold commercially due to their short shelf life. However, in recent years, interest in pawpaw cultivation has become popular among scientists and organic farmers, suggesting the fruit might one day become popular. Only time will tell.

via Sean Bradley

Peyton Harris, Editor

Founding editor of Jacobin. Columnist and writer for The Guardian US, The New York Times and The Washington Post. President of The Nation magazine. These are just some of the titles held by La Salle’s latest guest speaker Bhaskar Sunkara, set to visit campus this Thursday, Sept. 26.

Sunkara’s talk, “What Capitalism Gets Right, What Capitalism Gets Wrong, and Is There an Alternative?” aims to foster discussion on the benefits of the current economic system within the United States, that system’s flaws and whether an alternative might be able to address the issues that the country faces.

Sunkara, 35, was born and raised in Westchester County, New York. In an interview with the New Left Review, he credits his reading of authors such as George Orwell and Leon Trostky for his first experiences with politics in his early teenage years. By the age of 17, he had joined the Democratic Socialists of America and began writing and editing for their online blog forums.

At age 21, while on leave from George Washington University, the concept of a socialist news outlet came to fruition: Jacobin. Initially launched in September 2010, Jacobin now reaches an audience of 75,000 readers per quarterly print publication, and over 3,000,000 readers per month accessing their online forum. 

As the son of immigrant Indian and Trinidadian parents, he acknowledges the role that his parents played in the shaping of his political views. 

“They were always supporters of left populists, in a very broad sense,” Sunkara says. “They liked both Castro and Clinton in equal measure.”

Using his experience as a former international relations student at George Washington, Sunkara has also written for Foreign Policy and Vox, as well as participating as a frequent guest on MSNBC, FX and PBS. 

By 2019, Sunkara had written and published his first book, “The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality.” The following year, he was featured in Fortune magazine in their “40 Under 40 Most Influential in Government and Politics” as an individual with a large impact on current affairs. 

After becoming president of The Nation in February 2022, Sunkara aims to continue the legacy of the 159-year-old organization by upholding and strengthening the value of independent journalism, while fostering critical debate and bringing focus to issues that matter to working-class Americans. Having been a writer for the periodical since 2013, he is eager to step into this role and continue his work. 

The multi-faceted journalist will be visiting La Salle to share his views on the current economic climate and what he believes can be done to change the trajectory of American economic policies. For any further questions regarding the visit, students can contact Dr. Barbara Allen at allenb@lasalle.edu.

Sunkara’s talk, sponsored by La Salle’s School of Arts and Sciences, will be presented Thursday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. in the Union Building’s Second Floor Music Room. Students and faculty alike are invited and welcomed to attend for an interactive, thought-provoking discussion.

Kenny Lynch, Staff

SHIT. SHIT. SHIT. I knew my life would become hell, but I didn’t know it would happen this soon. It was the first day of ninth grade, and I had woken up extra early. I watched as the sunrise pierced through the hole in the curtain on top of my carpet. I had an hour and a half to spare, so I thought I’d take those thirty minutes to lay in bed and overthink. It was the first day of ninth grade and I already had ninety thousand problems: Would my brother help me navigate? What if I get lost?Who will I sit with at lunch? 

As my head spiraled a thousand different directions, I lost all my excitement. I mean, I was still happy, nonetheless, but the butterflies in my stomach were acting more dramatic than me. 

As I removed my pajamas, I contemplated if what I wanted to wear was suitable for a “first high school day experience.” I had planned to wear long khaki pants with a black belt, a white t-shirt tucked in, an open white button-downwhale shirt and navy-blue converse with dice socks. I thought the clothes would express my style well. My brother wore shorts, a white-collared shirt and sneakers. Ha. Now, that was unacceptable. 

I proceeded to wear what I had on and rushed down the stairs for breakfast. I wanted cereal, but it was too filling. I wanted pancakes, but we had waffles. Nothing was appetizing on the menu. I ran back up the stairs and washed my face, did my hair, brushed my teeth and looked in the mirror to give myself an inspirational pep talk. My mom hollered our names to be ready in five minutes because she had planned to drop Kayden and I off. 

What boggled my mind is the fact that my brother still didn’t have his license as a senior. You can count on me when I say that I will have my license by senior year. As we exited the door,mom said she needed a photo, though not for Facebook. I looked incredible; I would have posted it. If I noticed anything up to this point, photos are supposed to capture the essence of something that was worth taking a photo of. I tend to always fake smiles in photographs. Weird thought. 

On our way to school, I wondered where I would go and who I would meet up with. My brother now practically owns the halls of our high school. He knew where to meet his friends, where to go and what time to meet at. But my friends and I planned nothing before today. I would be stranded on my first day with nowhere to go — I HAD AN IDEA! A lightbulb lit up above my head. I would arrive at my first-period class. I would like to get a good seat and scout for who else is in that class. 

My homeroom and first periodclasses were Earth and Space Science, and it already sounded like it was going to be one of my least favorite subjects. As I landed back into reality, our mom dropped us off and I nervously walked into high school. I first noticed that everyone was divided into cliques, I wondered which one my brother was a part of. It didn’t matter, but I needed a new objective… a game plan: look like a returning student. Technically, I am since I studied every hallway and detour over summer break. 

I made my way towards my locker, passing by incredibly attractive people. As I developed immediate crushes, I noticed my friend group! I walked towards them to say “Hiii,” stress-rant, and go to my locker. I opened my locker, and I started tearing down some of my decorations. I realized it looked too childish to be a part of a mature environment. I grabbed my science binder, pencil case and Hydro Flask. I made my way to my homeroom. I was dreading everything so much. Could this day get any worse? Turned out that everyone in my class had decided to get to class early as well. I found out that the seats are assigned with our ID badge in the spot where our science teacher, Mrs. Cole, wanted us to be. I searched frantically for my ID hoping mine would be at a table that doesn’t have anyone else seated — until my hope was a bust. I was seated next to the top ten most disliked students. I was more mortified that my ID photo was of sixth grade. I cannot believe that our ID photos were from four years ago. 

Anyways, I sat down next to a girl. Iyanna Jones was her name, but everyone called her Anna. Anna is the person who everyone wanted to be but had too much going on for anyone to notice. She used and sold vapes, had access to the best parties and lasso-ed hot boyfriends for each season. On top of that, she was one of our state’s richest families. If you should know anything about our school, Pine Hill High School, it is known to consist of some of the smartest and most affluent families in the state. My family is not dominant for being wealthy but known for my mother’s career and talented kids. 

As the first bell rang, I watched as the other half of my homeroom flooded through the doors. Our teacher started off by taking roll and butchering some names in the process. Then, while she started reading the syllabus, I couldn’t help myself but befriend Anna. She wasn’t a bad person, even if the rumors made her into a villain. She was authentic and broken. Catching up with her was at least more entertaining than the New York Times, but I don’t even keep up with that. 

As our conversation continued, we were interrupted to do a “classroom assignment.” The purpose was to move throughout the classroom and introduce ourselves and our hobbies. If you know anything about me, I will never forget anything. I remember everything and everyone. I knew most of everyone in our class except one girl. Her name was Mia Josh and she looked new to the school district. She had striking black hair and a beige complexion. She wore glasses and a gray T-shirt, and although she was short, she looked even shorter, as though she was trying to shrink and hide from the other classmates. She may have been new, but we conversed as if we’ve been friends for years. We maintained a swift introduction but we only had a few minutes till the next bell dismissed us to second period. 

I had access to all of my class rosters, and I was happy to find out most of my periods consisted of familiar faces. The bell rang and I walked into the hallway traveling to the social studies wing. I entered the classroom and I found Madison Kurdish sitting in the middle of the class. I made my way towards her and sat in front of her. The seats were arranged alphabetically. Since it was the first day, the teachers all followed the same procedure. Madison and I took time to catch up. We talked about one another’s schedule, and I realized that we both had lunch together! Since class was about to end, we went over my schedule rather quickly: period one, science, period two, social studies, period three, English, period four, mathematics, period five, orchestra, and period six, lunch. 

After social studies, I quickly went through my classes, and I was desperately waiting for lunch. When the bell rang, I walked to the English hall and I waited for the next bell. 

We spotted one of our mutual friends, Molly Mayor, and we asked her to join our search for a lunch table. Molly was always smiling cheek to cheek. Her hair was like sunlight, it flowed and shimmered as she walked. Her teeth were winter snow, her eyes were solid ice. She could never be bothered by anything or anyone. She always presented herself to be at peace, but I could tell her mind was in pieces. 

As we found a table to sit at, I saw the girl from my homeroom: Mia. She was sitting by herself so I asked her to move a seat closer to us to join in on our conversation. She said she was from Rhode Island and had moved to Pennsylvania over the summer. 

Rhode Island? I thought. “Isn’t that in Hawaii?” I asked. 

She looked so nervous, I felt a pang of pity for her. But it fascinated me that the mystery girl who no one knew would choose our lunch table for us. The first rule that was instantly enforced was: no judgment whatsoever. You could say anything or be anybody. 

The three girls continued to talk about school, but I had completely zoned out. I looked at everyone who wasn’t as fortunate as me to be at a table with other people. The question lurked in my mind, why are there people sitting by themselves? Either the student is new to the district, disliked, or has no friends to sit with. I was always taught to be inclusive, hence our new friend Mia. 

I had orchestra a few periods ago and a girl who went to the same elementary school as me swapped to homeschool during the middle school time frame. It was surprising to see her again. Her name was Brooke Walters. She was delicate, but her vibrant pink outfits screamed destruction. She was well mannered and well spoken, but always anxious. Whether it was the lack of social skills in a highly social environment or the loneliness that formed during home school, she was alone. As her anxiety progressed, as did time. Although, I noticed Brooke at the high tables by herself. In a way, she was hidden from everyone. She had picked the seat that was blocked by a spiking, blinding piece of daylight that hid her from everyone. I wanted so badly to include her in our lunch table, but I was too terrified to ask. My mind looped through the excuse “What if she chose to be herself?” I find that validating because I am extroverted when I need to be and introverted when I want to be. I dropped back down to Earth where the bell would soon echo to direct everyone to period seven, which for me, was acting. 

I walked back to my locker on my own pondering about whether or not I should invite Brooke. 

Skip forward to a few weeks into the semester, Brooke dropped out of public school and transitioned into home school again. It isn’t my fault, right? I could have talked to her in the orchestra room to make her feel comfortable to finally forward the invite, but I stayed silent and watched as she stashed herself in the shadows. I replayed different scenarios where Brooke was at our lunch table and she’s opening her wings very slowly to catch the wind at the right moment but the butterfly net caught her first. My third week of the school year and I have already encountered my first, for lack of better terms, affair. One problem over with, another one to study for.

Sean Bradley, Staff

Last week, the fall foliage was in its prime. Although the colors are beginning to fade away, you still may be wondering what is behind the changing of the leaf colors and why the leaves fall in autumn. This Nature at La Salle article will explore what causes the leaves to change color as well as why the leaves fall in autumn.

There are three factors that affect fall leaf color, including leaf pigment, night length and weather. First, starting with pigment and night length, most leaves are green in summer because they contain a pigment called chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight to convert into sugars in a process called photosynthesis. But, as the night length increases, the leaves receive less sunlight, resulting in chlorophyll breaking down and yellow, orange and brown pigments called carotenoids being revealed. Also, as the nights get longer, some leaves’ veins, which carry sugars to and from the leaves, close and cell layers form at the leaves’ bases. The sugars then become trapped in the leaves. The clogged veins cause the leaves to produce a red pigment called anthocyanin. Weather also affects fall leaf color, with temperature and moisture being major influences. Regarding temperature, warm, sunny days and cool nights often result in the most colorful foliage. Anthocyanin pigments do particularly well under these conditions. The sugars produced in the leaves during the day become trapped in the leaves at night, resulting in brilliant red foliage. Since carotenoids are found naturally in leaves, yellow, orange and brown foliage occur more consistently. In terms of moisture, warm, wet springs, warm summers and warm, sunny fall days with cool nights often produce the best fall colors. Summer droughts and warmer fall weather result in delayed and duller fall colors.

Additionally, certain leaf colors are associated with particular species. For instance, maples usually have red or orange leaves, whereas oaks have brown leaves. Birches, elms, hickories and tulip-trees have yellow leaves while beeches have tan leaves and dogwoods have purplish-red leaves.

While seeing the leaves change color and fall is a pretty sight, it is also important for the trees’ survival. Unlike evergreen needles, which have protective coatings and cells containing fluids that resist freezing, leaf tissues are tender and thin and lack these sorts of protections. Thus, many deciduous trees drop their leaves to avoid freezing. Lastly, once the leaves settle on the ground, they are still important because they decompose and help form the organic layer of the soil. This process provides nutrients and retains water for the trees to survive. The fallen leaves also provide habitat for small animals, including bees, butterflies, salamanders and earthworms, who hibernate, feed and lay eggs here.

So, the next time you’re outside on a fall day, appreciate the science behind fall foliage. Take a moment to remember the importance of fallen leaves for the trees’ survival and wildlife.

American Elm, via Sean Bradley

Sugar Maple leaf via Sean Bradley 

Red Maple via Sean Bradley

Provided to The Collegian by La Salle’s political science department 

There are more Explorer Café events coming up in November on a range of topics. Read more about them below:

Topic: Overcoming Gun Violence in Philadelphia: A Hope That Lights the Way!

Location: Holroyd Atrium

Time/Date: 12:30 (Universal Free Period)/9 November 2023

Summary: This Explorer Café will screen and provide an open discussion about the film, A Hope That Lights The Way, a community-based engagement process and a documentary that uplifts the impactful stories of people who have successfully overcome the numerous challenges posed by gun violence. The movie chronicles an ongoing narrative of progress and transformation. 

Facilitators: Octavius L. Blount, Coordinator, Mayor’s Office of Black Male Engagement, and Jude Husein, ’20, Director of State Advocacy, Senate of Pennsylvania, Office of Senator Art Haywood 

Topic: Food Insecurity, Homelessness and Poverty in America

Location: Holroyd Atrium

Time/Date: 12:30 (Universal Free Period)/Nov, 14 2023 – 12:30 PM (free period)

Summary: This café will present food insecurity on campus. Are students getting the food they need? Laura Frank, the founder of The Basket student food pantry and professor of nutrition, along with PHEED Philadelphia, student-led organization, will encourage a discussion of food insecurity, its impacts, and ways you can volunteer.

Facilitator: Laura Frank (Nutrition) and PHEED Philadelphia coordinators  

Topic: Pardon Me: Your Rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness after a Criminal Conviction

Location: Holroyd Atrium

Time/Date: 12:30 (Universal Free Period)/Nov, 28 2023 – 12:30 PM (free period)

Summary: This Café will first feature a screening of the new documentary, Pardon Me (trailer here), produced and directed by Shuja Moore. The subsequent discussion will address whether people formerly convicted of a crime deserve to live in a second-class status, being denied access to employment, housing, parental rights, student loans, public office, and other opportunities.  Options to remove this second-class status, including a pardon, will be explored. 

Facilitator: Caitlin Taylor (Sociology & Criminal Justice) and Shuja Moore (local filmmaker) 

Read more about previous Explorer Cafe events.