Cowboy's rope / MON 9-6-2021 / Split in two / Italian city where Columbus was born / Bishop's hat / Disturb, as sediment

Theme answers:

• CHLOE ZHAO (17A: *Asian American who became only the second woman to win the Oscar for Best Director)
• CHANEL IMAN (24A: *Runway model famous for her work as a Victoria's Secret Angel)
• CELINE DION (50A: *Longest resident performer at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace)
• GUCCI MANE (61A: *Atlanta rapper featured on Lizzo's Grammy-nominated "Exactly How I Feel")
• IN VOGUE (38A: Fashionable ... or, where you might find the answers to starred clues)

Word of the Day: YMHA (34A: Jewish community center, for short) —

The first Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) was founded in New York City on October 10, 1874, with Lewis May as its first president.^[7] The first official headquarters were at 112 West 21st Street in Manhattan.^[7] Young Women's Hebrew Association (YWHA) was first established as an annex to the YMHA in 1888.^[8] YWHA was founded to provide spiritual and material support for the young Jewish women who were moving to cities at the time.^[9] YMHA helped young Jewish women find housing and employment.^[9] Fannie Liebovitz was one of the founders.^[10] The first independent YWHA was established in 1902.^[8] The New York YMHA and YWHA now operate together as the 92nd Street Y. (There are two other YM–YWHA organizations in Manhattan, which are not affiliated with the 92nd Street Y. They are the 14th Street Y, and the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood. The 14th Street Y, in the Gramercy/East Village neighborhood, is a branch of the Educational Alliance. The Washington Heights organization serves a diverse community uptown.) In 1917, these organizations were combined into a Jewish Welfare Board.

Following a merger of the Young Men's Hebrew Association, Young Women's Hebrew Association, and the Jewish Education Alliance, the organization was renamed Jewish Community Center (JCC) in 1951.^[4] Many member organizations adopted the new name, but some other member organizations did not do so, particularly in the New York metropolitan area.

(Wikipedia) 

It's another August Monday! We've passed the month where you all get to make jokes about my name, so, hooray for me! I'm starting my third semester (of five) of graduate school, and it's going well so far! I didn't make it to my first in-person class because there were tornadoes, but I'm still having a fun time doing the readings. We're actually talking about some pretty cool stuff this semester, like the effect grief has on archivists. Let me nerd out for the next three paragraphs--

Just kidding. The puzzle! Bonus word of the day is RIATA which is a synonym for "lasso" that I've never heard in my life. "DC squad member" for AOC is cute, especially since the first DC Squad I thought of was of the comic book variety (Suicide Squad: Harley Quinn, Killer Croc et al). Beyond that, though, some of the clues were a little hard for a Monday: did we need PAD, AGGRO, UGH or CRUMB to be like that? Same vibe for some of the crosses, like RIATA/LEGIT and honestly that whole top middle. Would have been fine on a harder day or clued differently, but especially on a puzzle made so proper-noun-heavy by the theme, I'm not sure that this one really felt like a Monday. I still put it at a medium for solve time, it just felt a little off. 

As for the theme, you know I prefer revealers that, well, reveal something. I figured out that we were dealing with brands by the time I got to GUCCI MANE, but I still didn't really get much after it was revealed. And there were just too many celebrities-I-half-know for me to really get into it. Shoutout to CELINE DION, though. My heart will go on! 

Bullets:

• PRISCILLA (29A: Elvis's wife) — Did you know Priscilla Presley is still alive? And a very successful businesswoman, too. Plus she looks amazing for 76. Shoutout to her. 
• OSHA (26A: Agcy. dealing with workplace accidents) — Ooh, time to plug one of my favorite video creators, Brian David Gilbert! This is a little long, but a good one. Plus, he's from Baltimore, so y'know, gotta support his content. The point is that Smash Bros. owes millions of dollars in OSHA violations. 

• OSHA, again: One of my friends (Tin, actually, of TINS fame) has a story to tell about an OSHA violation. His great-great-grandfather was a Croatian immigrant to Chicago, and worked on the skyscrapers there. That was before regulations were as tight, so every time he worked on one he risked falling to his death. Instead, he died by falling off a six-foot-high wall while visiting his home country. Is that ironic? I feel like it's at least Alanis Morrissette ironic, which is to say, not really, but he insisted it go in the writeup so there it is. 
• ROE (30D: ___ v. Wade) — I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the major Roe-related news this week. I'm not going to say much (or argue in comments), just uplift the voices of those affected by reproductive justice issues in your life right now. 
• KUGEL (59A: Baked pudding of potatoes or noodles in Jewish cooking [specifically Ashkenazi, but hey I'm being nitpicky -AT]) — My camp friends and I went to war over whether this food is pronounced KOO-gul or KUH-gul. So, CrossWorld: what say you? 

Signed, August Thompson, tired graduate student. 

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

[Follow August Thompson on Twitter]