KAMP Interview Series 2023: Kyla McDole

Interviewer: Peyton Riegel

Interviewee: Kyla McDole

Date Interviewed: February 27, 2023

Edited By: Liam Larkin-Smith

Link to Youtube Upload: https://youtu.be/MJlu2tEIK00

Link to Sound Cloud Audio: https://on.soundcloud.com/9SafU

Thank you for supporting the KAMP Interview Series 2023. To listen to this interview or watch it in full please explore the links above. All interviews take place live on air every Monday from 5-6 pm. Click the streaming link in the top right corner in order to tune in online or tune in on 1570 AM radio every Monday from 5-6 pm.

Peyton: Hello. Hello, everybody. Welcome to KAMP student radio and this is the weekly news interview series. My name is Peyton. I will be your host and lovely guest, would you like to introduce yourself, your name pronouns and where you are from?

Kyla: Hi, I'm Kyla. I use they/she pronouns. And I'm from Dallas, Texas.

Peyton: Wonderful. Thank you for being on the show today. Really appreciate it. Okay, so we're just going to do a little rundown, get to know you. So why did you come here? Why did you come to the University of Arizona?

Kyla: Mostly scholarship, I'm not going to lie. I got a huge amount of scholarship because I had a really good GPA and everything in high school. So they were offering me more than in state in Texas. And so I was like.

Peyton: Really?

Kyla: Yeah, it was crazy. If it's going to be cheaper to go there, I might as well and. Yeah, I know. It kind of ended up here.

Peyton: Definitely. So as of right now, do you think you made the right choice coming here? What's been your overall experience so far?

Kyla: I really like it here. I'm not going to lie. I have more friends here than I do back home, which I was surprised about because I'm involved in so much around campus. I think I made the right decision coming here, I'm not going to lie. I have great friends. I like the area. It's much more artsy and cool than Texas is, especially where I'm from. So I really enjoyed that aspect of it. And I don't know, it's a very nice area to come here and study. There's no mountains in Texas, so it's also a good view, I guess.

Peyton: No, definitely. So then, as of right now, giving a lot of good feedback, and we love that. But what do you think the university could necessarily improve on for students, or, like, what feedback slash criticism do you have overall?

Kyla: I would say from my experiences on campus with safety, I'd say that's, like, my biggest issue, not only with just me, but with my friends as well. I've seen kind of like a disregard, if you will, of students and their well being personally. Obviously, with the shooting that happened last semester, I was really disappointed in how the University, like, handled that whole situation and, like, several other events that have happened since then. I feel like there's just, like, lack of communication between the University and their students when it comes to safety and important things in that regard.

Peyton: Yeah, no, that is totally fair. So then, kind of switching gears a little bit, you say that you have a lot more friends here. What kind of extracurriculars are you in?

Kyla: Well, I'm in KAMP, I have a show.

P:Yes.

Kyla: Fridays. That's it. But I'm also on a Kpop dance group on campus called Underscore. Yeah.

Peyton: So how did you get involved in that? How did you hear about it?

Kyla: So funny thing is, before I joined the club, I really didn't know anything about Kpop, I'm not going to lie. Like I like, I knew a bit about it from like friends back home but I had never really like dipped my toes into it. And I had a friend, a mutual friend I met through my roommate and she was like, I'm trying out for this thing, do you want to come with me? And I was like, I'm doing nothing else today. And I went and I learned the little audition piece and I auditioned and I ended up getting on, which really surprised me because I really don't have dance experience also prior to this. And so my friend V just kind of was like, yeah, you should do this with me. And I've ended up meeting so many great people. It's such like a close knit group of people and we see each other everyday, we talk to each other all the time. It's probably like the closest club I've ever been in in my life and it's taught me a lot about myself and like, how to get through certain things in life, I guess.

Peyton: So how has this exposure to not only a new skill being danced, but a new culture being like, Korean popular music, how has that influenced your newfound perspective on music and art in general?

Kyla: Yeah, the dance aspect is pretty small. Like, I did theater in high school, so I kind of understood dance. But the whole culture behind kpop is such an interesting it's such an interesting thing if you know what you're going into. I had no clue. There's so many different aspects to K pop that a lot of people don't seem to realize. For example, there's something called albums, which you know how when you buy cds, it's like that, but instead of just getting like, the cd, you get like little tiny pictures of members of the group and posters that come in them. And I bought my first album last semester and I was like, this is crazy. Like, what? And it also teaches you, like, there's a lot of different, I don't speak any Korean, but I picked up on certain Korean phrases and certain aspects of respect from Korean culture that I would have never known about if I hadn't joined it. And I think a lot of people like to hate on kpop.

Peyton: Yeah.

Kyla: Because it's an easy thing to hate on. From an outside perspective, I will say a lot of the fans can seem very overwhelming and call it like a fandom. I guess that's the term.

Peyton: Yeah, definitely.

Kyla: Like, the fandom of kpop can be very overwhelming, but I have not had a bad experience with it since I started listening to it. And the music is great, so that's always a plus.

Peyton: So I personally have not listened knowingly to any K pop. So is it do you think this kind of experience, like, being exposed to a genre where it's so different from what you're normally listening to has this kind of broadened, like your perspective on, like, how music can be? I don't know if translated is the right word, but able to be received? You know what I mean?

Kyla: No, I know exactly what you mean. Yeah. I listen to a lot of my music. Taste is from different languages that I don't understand, and Kpop is not an exception. And my favorite thing about music in different genres is when it kind of passes over that language barrier. Even though I don't speak, like, Portuguese or Spanish or Korean, I can still understand the message of the song and vibe along to it, I guess.

Peyton: Do you think that even with that language barrier, do you sense that other people in the community feel the same way?

Kyla: I would say so, yeah. It's very common, I feel like, in the Kpop community to be able to understand a good amount of Korean, but there's definitely a bunch of fans who don't speak Korean, and at least from my experience, because I don't speak Korean, I feel that way. And I feel like with a lot of songs, I'm like I don't know what they're saying or what's going on. I'll look up the lyrics, obviously, but things like the beats or the delivery of the lyrics, that kind of thing, it passes over that language barrier for me.

Peyton: That's pretty cool. So then, as far as, because it's like a dance pop club, how have learning routines with this club kind of pushed you outside of your comfort zone? And then what do the routines entail? Do you perform them? Are they just for fun? Tell me more about that.

Kyla: Yeah, so it's a really interesting process, actually. So with every K pop song or majority of them, there is a corresponding dance that is pre choreographed by the label.

Peyton: Yes.

Kyla: The performers not only perform the dance, but they also sing as well. Wow. It's really impressive. I do the dances and I'm like, I don't know how they're singing along with this. It's insane. And so we learn those dances. Usually there's like, a practice video of the members of that certain group practicing, and you learn the dance full out. Each person who auditions is then assigned like a member if you get in. Okay, so you follow a certain member, and you also, like, lip sync along to their Korean parts. It's really fun. It's cool. After we have learned the dance and learned our parts and everything, we then film them somewhere around campus. Usually we film and we put, like, a video together and we post it to our YouTube channel and then Instagram, Twitter, you know, like all social media. It's a really fun experience doing covers. I've been in three so far. Okay. And I'm hoping to get in more by the end of the semester, but. What was the first part of the question? I apologize.

Peyton: No, it's okay.

Kyla: Completely skipped over.

Peyton: It just kind of like the nuances of it. So is there like a competition aspect to it? Do other universities have clubs like this?

Kyla: Yeah, we have to audition to every cover we get in unless the amount of members who show interest in interest are the amount of members in the cover.

Peyton: Got it.

Kyla: That's like the only case. But that hasn't happened this year. So it's kind of taught me to be a little competitive when it comes to dance and strive for my best. Sometimes it can get a little perfectionist of me, but that's like I feel like with everyone, but it's pretty common. U of A is not the only place where K pop dance clubs are. One of my friends in the club has a club back home in Chicago where she lives and they do the same thing, basically. And they're kind of like all around, not only like the US. But like I know there's some in like Germany and Italy. Okay. It's kind of like a worldwide thing. Like you don't realize how big Kpop is until you get into it and you're like, oh my God, this is insane.

Peyton: Interesting. So as far as speaking of competition wise, obviously it's competitive, like you said, to participate in one of the dances, but is there ever an instance where the clubs are competing with each other or not so much.

Kyla: I mean, there's another dance club on campus, but we're not super involved with them. We're just kind of like doing our own thing. I'd say there's more competition within the members of Underscore itself, not in like a malicious way, obviously. Yeah, but there's got to be a competitive aspect when you're auditioning, in a way. But we're never going to be like, I hope you don't get in, or like, we're all very encouraging getting into covers and helping each other learn the audition pieces and things like that, so. Yeah.

Peyton: Well, that's reassuring. So do you think that this club is accurately funded or promoted respectfully? And whatnot throughout campus? I know some clubs struggle with funding or they're struggling to get membership. How do you feel that this translates to underscore?

Kyla: I would say we do not have a problem with membership. We have a lot of people who are currently on the club and try an audition every year. But I'd say for the most part, I would say we're pretty underfunded by the university. A lot of people don't know about us, and we have like, when we're practicing, a lot of people will come up to us and be like, what are you all doing? What is this? We'll promote ourselves through them. But I really don't see much promotion through the university. I'd say the last time we got promoted was at the East Asian Studies Festival, I think it was called, where we did a random play dance, which is basically like where you play a bunch of K Pop songs. Since people know the dances from them, they go out and dance. It's really fun. It's a cool thing, but we hosted that through us and we promoted that way. But we really don't see that much promotion in regards to the university being like, “this is our Kpop dance group”.

Peyton: That's kind of interesting because I went to a Western bar for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

Kyla: Really?

Peyton: Yeah. And it's common for line dancing to do things. And I'm wondering, because these are prefabricated routines, if there are bars for K Pop.

Kyla: Funny you say that,

Peyton: you know what I mean?

Kyla: Yeah. So, being from Texas, I actually do line dance a lot and I go not to bars because underage and everything, but I'm not promoting underage, I promise. But it's a similar aspect in that you're 100% right with line dancing routines, people know them. It's the same thing with kpop. And there are, like, kpop I forget exactly what they're called, but they're like kpop Nights, I think they're called, and they'll host them. And it's like a big club, but everyone knows all the dances, or everyone's doing all these different dances. I really want to go to one when I go back for spring break or something. They look so fun.

Peyton: No doubt.

Kyla: Not going to lie.

Peyton: So, in the greater dance community, after participating in this club, how do you think the dance community in general looks at the types of clubs like this?

Kyla: I'd say we're pretty looked down upon. I'm not going to lie. At least an example is like, oh, if you're renting the room after us because we have a dance for metina giddings that we do for our practices on the weekends, the groups after us, I feel like almost looked down in a way. And I feel like, I don't know if they know or not, but I feel like, guilty almost. I don't know how to describe it, but I feel like a lot of more competitive dancers, like something like, ballet or people who are in theater, they kind of are like, oh, this is just like a silly little club, and you all are just dancing around. But there's so much effort that gets put into putting out covers and auditioning for things, and we have a showcase. There's so much that goes into the club and yeah, we're not doing grande's across the floor and things like that. But in a way, I feel like we shouldn't be looked down upon just because it's K pop. In a way, I feel like that's the main reason why it's looked down upon.

Peyton: Do you think that's kind of an echoing of the greater Western culture in kind of putting shame on people that really are obsessed with K pop or really enjoy the genre?

Kyla: Yeah, I find it I've noticed this a lot. When people tend to hate on kpop, I feel like it has a deeper, more malicious intent. Not just like, your fans are crazy, but it almost comes across in like, I don't want to listen to, like, Korean music. And it comes off almost to me, like, from what I've seen and experienced, from people who don't like kpop, who are, like, very demeaning about it, it comes off almost racist to me. And I really don't like when people have that misconstrued, like, sense of thought where they think they're superior because I don't know, the music thing in English or yeah. It's really strange to me. I understand, like, Kpop is not for everyone, and I'm not going to try to be like, you should get into Kpop. It's very overwhelming. But I think people should think twice before they decide to have this bad thought about Kpop and the community of K Pop before they've even indulged in it and tried to be a part of it.

Peyton: I totally agree with what you're saying. I think a lot of people share that same sentiment about jazz music. It's not like traditional Western music, like what's on the radio, and jazz music flourish with the African American community. So a lot of Caucasian people are like, what the heck? It's very weird how music can get so divisive with people.

Kyla: It is.

Peyton: Yeah. And even though it's subjective and preference yeah, definitely. So then kind of changing the subject a little bit, besides underscore that you're part of what other communities do you identify with either at the university or in your personal life?

Kyla: Yeah. Let me think.

Peyton: No, you're fine.

Kyla: It's kind of a loaded question. I don't really think about communities that I'm a part of very often. I guess the other two, I don't know if these would count as yeah, I'll count them as communities. I'm a part of the LGBT community, and I identify as non binary and then also autistic as well. So I don't know. I wouldn't say that community, in a way, can be community when you meet people who are also autistic, but I don't really talk about that one that much.

Peyton: That's okay.

Kyla: I think those are the big two that I really self identify with, and for a long time, I hate to compare it to Kpop, but I'm going to

Peyton: No, go for it.

Kyla: It's the same kind of embarrassment that I felt with Kpop that I felt was struggling with my identity and being able to identify that I am autistic. It's been, like, a really tough thing. And obviously Kpop is not on the same level as something like your sexuality and being autistic. But I think also, in a way, it's kind of. I find it a similar experience.

Peyton: They mirror each other.

Kyla: Yeah, they mirror each other. I don't know where I'm going with this.

Peyton: No, I understand. It's like you draw parallels from how you are treated well, partaking in the interest of Kpop, but then the way it's received then by the public can be akin to how some people interact with those that are on the spectrum, more artistic.

Kyla: Yeah, I couldn't have said that. I can be really bad at articulating my thoughts sometimes.

Peyton: Don't worry about it.

Kyla: That's exactly what I meant.

Peyton: No, thank you for sharing. So then, while you identify with these various communities, while being on the University of Arizona, do you feel like you're able to do so safely and without fear on campus?

Kyla: Yeah, I'd say personally, I feel like most of the time, my accommodations for my autism are met with things like double time on tests, other things like that, like quiet testing space. I think most of the time, sometimes the university slacks in that department, I will say. But personally, in regards to my sexuality, I have not but I am also a white person, so my experience is a lot different than someone than a person of color. But I've never personally, obviously had any struggle with that on campus. No.

Peyton: Okay. So then as far as maybe not you personally, having struggled in these regards, but do you feel like others in your community are safe and do have this safety, or do you think there are ways that the university could improve upon protecting, representing, sticking up for these communities?

Kyla: I would say the university is kind of slacking in representation, especially within the LGBT community. I see a lot of lack of representation throughout campus through various activities and things like that. And I feel like I have a lot of friends who are from Underscore who are also LGBT, and they feel kind of the same way. They're like, I don't understand it, campus handles it in a way where it feels very corporate and the responses to things feel very corporate. I feel like it's the same way with representation, where they're just like, look at we have so many people of color on campus, or we have so many gay people on campus but don't want to acknowledge the actual hardships that we go through and almost put on a show.

Peyton: No, definitely.

Kyla: That's how I feel about that personally and what my friends have expressed to me.

Peyton: Yeah. So do you think that there are ways that the university could improve that are tangible, in your opinion, as in, what would you want to see happen to affect change?

Kyla: Yeah, I would say the biggest thing is probably listening to more people of color on campus, because I often see a lot of disrespect and disregard for the people of color on campus, especially within the LGBT community. I think the university really needs to take a step back and listen to those voices because it feels like they're not. I know that sounds like blunt, but it's the truth and people need to hear it.

Peyton: Yeah. Do you think that as our generation kind of grows into these positions of decision making power, that will be more willing and not as afraid to make these decisions and choices for improvement?

Kyla: I think in a perfect world, yes. And I would love to see that happen. I feel like our generation is a lot more accepting than previous generations, and it continues to improve every day.

Peyton: Of course.

Kyla: But at the same time, you're always going to have people who disagree or are going to be ignorant and are going to be hateful. So while positions of power with our generation coming in may improve things like inclusion and diversity and addressing these issues, we're always going to have those handful of people who are going to be ignorant and no amount of generational change I feel like will change that sadly.

Peyton: I know. And it's also super frustrating because I feel like no fresher generation is like, well, I'm going to grow up and make the world worse.

Kyla: Yeah.

Peyton: And yet sometimes that still does happen.

Kyla: No, exactly.

Peyton: Yeah. No, it's super frustrating in terms of then as you get older and then have more economic power and wisdom to then affect your principles of favor onto everyone. How do you want to necessarily project that as you age?

Kyla: I've always been a really big advocate for voting and speaking your mind, especially coming from a place like Texas. I think it's really important to know your rights as a citizen and to know that even though it may not feel like it, you have power in the regard of voting or signing petitions or protesting, I think things like that. That's what I want to project out and show people that like, hey, I agree with these things, but I'm also going to try and make change. And I think it's important that people follow in that suit of continuing to be active within, whether it be like political or social or whatever it might be, remaining active in those communities is the most important way to make change.

Peyton: So then coming from a state like Texas, do you definitely see? Because I feel like Texas gets stereotyped a lot, me being from the East Coast, like, yeah. Do you think that that is accurate or is it kind of like, more inflammatory, what people think?

Kyla: I would say yes. Texas is a very rough state and Texas has a lot of work to go. But in the same way, Texas is interesting because I think a lot of people think that Texas is like a fully red state. There's no hope for anyone. But within the communities that I've been in, and especially if you go to the larger cities, you will see that there is a massive amount of liberal and even like leftist people within Texas. And I think people often, and especially people who are from the north often ignore that fact and they look at Texas as a bigger picture and they're like, well, there's no saving Texas. Texas is red and it's going to remain that way. But I think if we want to make change within this country, I think it's not only is it important to look at northern states, but also southern states because what a lot of people don't realize or are starting to realize is Texas and along with other southern states are becoming more blue. And I think a lot of people are ignoring that fact. So they want to just like brush them to the side. But I think by doing that, you're not wanting change, you're just going to continue this cycle of, well, it's never going to get better, so we can't do anything about it.

Peyton: Yeah, it's also a lot of stereotyping too. And it's also hard because a lot of people in office may promote the ideals of being a red state or something like that. And with the fluctuation of people being interested in voting and then disinterested in voting, it's definitely hard to gauge, well, no one's interested in voting and then who's going to run for office?

Kyla: And that's like a very huge problem in Texas. It's strange. A lot of my friends and family from Texas do not like Ted Cruz. I feel like a majority of people do not like Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott, but they'll still continue to vote for them. And I think that's really interesting because I see it as almost like, they feel like they don't have another option because the last thing a 40 year old white man from Texas wants to do is vote democrat. So I feel like they'd rather see the ship go down than to try and fix it.

Peyton: Scary.

Kyla: Yeah, I don't like it.

Peyton: Not good.

Kyla: There's a reason why I'm in Arizona, not in Texas.

Peyton: That is very, very fair. So then kind of shifting gears a little bit. What do you like to do for fun? Who is Kyla outside of all of your extracurriculars and your external surroundings? Like, who are you, god, besides my extracurriculars?

Kyla: Oh, this is going to make me sound so lame.

Peyton: No, it's okay.

Kyla: I am a major star wars enthusiast. It's going to sound really lame. I have so much Star Wars memorabilia and I'm a huge collector. If you ask any of my closest friends and they're like, what is kylo like? They will immediately be like, star wars, star wars, star wars.

Peyton: Nice.

Kyla: It is my special interest, so it makes sense that it's like one of the biggest things in my life. I like that. I do a lot of cosplaying fun. I do that a lot in Texas. I kind of travel around the country sometimes to go to different conventions. And I've met like, every voice actor under the planet because of all the conventions I ran into. Yeah, I take it pretty seriously. During convention season, I usually try and make all my cosplays from scratch, but sometimes, sometimes I got a last minute con crunch them and then I play a lot of video games as well. My favorite one is the last of us, and that just got a show.

Peyton: All I've heard of the show.

Kyla: Yeah, I'd recommend it. I'm a little biased, so I love Pedro Pascal

Peyton: Fair. Yeah. But then as far as cosplaying goes, how do you feel like? Because I'm assuming it's like head to toe makeup dress. How do you think that transformation process improves? Or does it improve your self confidence? Like, how does that relationship work?

Kyla: It's really interesting, actually. Sometimes I will get into full cosplay and I'll be like, oh, my God. I hate the way I look. I hate myself. Like this sucks. That's like 1% of the time. The other 99% I feel great. Like, whenever I get into full cosplay and everything, it really boosts my confidence. Not only because I'm getting in full makeup, hair, costume and everything. But a lot of times at conventions people come up to you and want to take pictures with you and ask you about how you made your costume or compliment you. And it's a huge ego boost, I'm not going to lie. That's why I love doing it so much. Also because it gives me an ego boost. I'm not going to lie. I never like to dance around being selfish. If that is selfish. I don't know.

Peyton: Or just proud.

Kyla: Yeah or proud. I don't like to hide the fact that I'm proud of the things that I like. And I'm proud of getting compliments on, like, 42 hours of work. I like being able to see that that progress has paid off. And for the most part, the Cosplay community is a very accepting and great community to be a part of.

Peyton: Nice. Do you think that the way cosplay communities are received by the general public is kind of similar to what we were talking about earlier with Kpop fans?

Kyla: Oh, yeah. I'd say, if anything, it's more with cosplay, because you can actually physically see it. I feel like with K Pop, it's more like a conversational thing you bring up and someone's like, “oh, you like Kpop?” But I feel like with Cosplay, it's way easier to be like “oooh”, and people don't like to accept things that they don't understand. So I see that a lot. Even in, like, the Cosplay community. Like, a huge example I like to bring up. I'm not personally a part of this community, but I think it's really interesting, the amount of hate it gets is furries.

Peyton: Was that, like, animal specific or My Little Pony specific I don't know the difference.

Kyla: It's basically where people dress up as animals and put animal hits on and everything. Yeah. A lot of people, especially in the cosplay community,

Peyton: Hate on that.

Kyla: Hate on it. And the thing is about it, they're doing nothing wrong. They're doing the same thing as cosplay, but they're just animals, but somehow it's different and it's worse. I never understood that people make such weird assumptions about them. I have a lot of friends who do do that, and they're some of the nicest people I've ever met. But people jump to such conclusions not only about that, but about cosplay in general, about this is weird, or like, you know, it's fetishizing or

Peyton: Yeah

Kyla: It's a weird, like, perspective that people have on it.

Peyton: I think a lot of people do think of it as more as, like, a sexual thing and really put that as the hallmark of that community. But I'm very ignorant to it, so I like-

Kyla: Oh, no, you're good.

Peyton: I don't know. But no, that has to be super frustrating. And then it's also, like, the same comparison. Like, when we were talking with about music, it's like, Well, I like this, and even though it's also music, it is better.

Kyla: Yeah.

Peyton: We’re gonna like put down.

Kyla: It's like a superiority complex.

Peyton: But we're both enjoying the music, we're both enjoying the cosplay.

Kyla: Why does it matter?

Peyton: That's so weird and strange. Yeah. I wonder why there's like an intrinsic need to force hierarchy on things that are for fun.

Kyla: I have a theory behind why people do not like furries as much.

Peyton: Give it to me.

Kyla: So within cosplay, obviously, there's a huge sexualization of women in every aspect. I've had some great experiences at conventions, but I've had some really bad ones as well. I've had people be like, can you step on me? I've had people be like, can you sit on my back? And I'm like, no, I'm not going to do that. But that's just me alone. I've had friends who have had much worse experiences and I think the reason that people hate furry so much is because you can't really sexualize that without it being like yeah. People try and find a way to sexualize everything, especially men in the Cosplay community. And I feel like the second you see something you can't sexualize or that is different from the norm, you automatically jump to the conclusion of it's weird, without giving it any thought

Peyton: Or, like, trying to pass it off as like, well, why are you thinking that this is sexual? Yeah. That is very interesting and also terrifying.

Kyla: Yeah.

Peyton: Oh, my goodness. Yeah. I feel like people that are in fandoms or quote unquote, stereotypically nerdy culture, opinions are strong.

Kyla: Yeah. The one that gets me the most is I talked about earlier how I'm a huge Star Wars fan. Definitely. And being a person, especially a person who is non binary in the Star Wars community, the amount of men who will just blatantly try and mansplain things to me or explain things that I already know about Star Wars to me is like, insane. And I don't understand why it feels like the same way in cosplay, almost. I feel like men are like it's a huge issue with men. Obviously, there are a lot of instances where men get sexualized as well, and it's a huge problem that needs to be addressed. But I feel like most of the time it's a problem with nonmen. It really upsets me that this conversation needs to be had with them. But unless something changes, you can't really, like, excuse it off because it's such a bad problem.

Peyton: Yeah. And also so unnecessary. Like, it's a movie. It's like we both saw the same movie.

Kyla: Yeah.

Peyton: Do you think I watched it differently? Like, I don't know.

Kyla: I remember a specific instance because I had Cosplayed as a Star Wars character from the Clone Wars and this guy came up to me and he started asking me questions about Star Wars. He's like, jeep, I know who that character is.

Peyton: Name three songs.

Kyla: It’s giving name three songs. But I obviously had the answers to everything because of course I do. And at one point I was just like, I'm tired of this guy. And I was like, do you want to see a quick picture? And he was like, sure. I think he thought it was going to be like something weird. I showed him a picture of my room and I don't have a picture of my room on my phone right now, but it's just it's just like head to toe Star Wars posters march and he just like, shut up so quick. And I think with nonmen in the Cosplay community, we need to learn that you're allowed to be rude to men who look down on you and degrade you in that way. I think we need- be more confrontational. If a man is doing something that you don't like at a convention, like, call him out for it. I've started doing that in my daily life and I've especially started doing that within, like, Cosplay. I think obviously it is their fault. And I'm not trying to be like, we have to do something about it because

Peyton: Like angry feminist.

Kyla: Yeah, no, but I think we need to if they're not going to change, like, I'm going to say something about it. I'm not going to sit here and just let you demean me and claim that I don't know this or that just because I'm not a man.

Peyton: Yeah, I think it's hard. It's hard knowing, obviously you should always stand up for yourself. But with me personally, I struggle with, well, is causing a scene going to be worth it in this moment? Or should I just move about my day? For me, that's always like the tie, the lesser of two evils. Okay, so I think this has been a pretty well rounded interview. So as a final thought, I want to know what your $0.02 are. What do you want to leave at the end of the interview?

Kyla: I would say to anyone in any of the aspects that I talked about is before you jump to conclusions about what people enjoy and people do, think twice. Just like just sit back, think about it for more than like 2 seconds and think. Is what I'm saying going to leave a meaningful impact negatively or positively on this person? And is it necessary to say it?

Peyton: Snaps. That is all I have to say. Kyla, thank you so much for coming on this. Thank you for having me. Thank you, everyone, for tuning in to the KAMP Interview series, where we interview a new person every Monday from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Here on KAMP Student Radio. We're going to be taking a break this upcoming Monday, because it is spring break, thank God. So I hope everybody has a wonderful day and we'll see you in a few weeks from now. Thank you.

Thank you for supporting KAMP News, if you have any questions comments or concerns feel free to reach out to news@kamp.arizona.edu