Blog
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The Lasting Effects of a Continent on Fire
By Mariah Almonte, Associate Editor “It’s hell on earth!” After four months of devastating bushfires throughout Australia, thousands remain trapped in seaside towns surrounded by fire and clouded with smoke. As temperatures continue to rise above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, “severe” fire danger alerts have been issued across the Continent. On January 1, 2020, Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, deployed the military to provide aid and help evacuate thousands of residents from the southeastern coast. With no way out due to road closures and skies too clouded to fly, hundreds have sought shelter on the beach while living on boats and being transported on naval vessels as evacuations continue. Though the continent…
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Becoming Atlantis: Venice’s floods, Climate Change & Corruption
By Sharon Otasowie, Associate Editor A fragile treasure built on 118 islands off Italy’s northeast coast, it’s a miracle that Venice has managed to survive and thrive for more than 1,000 years. The city has built a naval and commercial empire and created an immense collection of palaces and churches, full of priceless paintings, to which an estimated 20 million tourists flock to every year. With the plan of an underwater fortress of steel designed to rise from the depths during high tides to protect the lagoon city of Venice, it’s among the most ambitious works of civil engineering in modern Italian history. But decades after the idea’s formation, Venice remains…
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Knife-Crime Crisis: Saving UK Youth Before It’s Too Late
By Briana T. Clayton, Associate Editor LONDON, England — On the night of November 7, 2019, a shocking night of violence resulted in three teenagers being stabbed within 10 minutes of one another. The double knife attack in West London resulted in the death of one of the victims, while at the same time, police rushed to Feltham where another young teenager had been stabbed. Sadly, this story has become all too common in the UK. Young people, specifically teens are falling victim to the knife crisis, some having been caught when they are defenseless, losing their lives too soon, while others make the choice to carry the weapon for…
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The NBA’s China Debacle: How Corporations Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Chinese Market
By Max Hubscher, Associate Editor On October 4, 2019, one tweet, and its subsequent fallout showed the influence that a foreign government can have over an American company. On that day, Daryl Morey, the General Manager of the Houston Rockets NBA team tweeted a picture that read “fight for freedom stand with Hong Kong”. The since deleted tweet was posted in support of the ongoing protests in Hong Kong against increased Chinese governmental control over Hong Kong. The tweet had almost instant ramifications for the Rockets. The day after the tweet was posted Tencent, an official broadcasting partner of the NBA in China and China Central Television (CCTV) announced that…
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What’s Going on With Brexit?
By Alexandra Calhoun, Associate Editor In 2016, 51.9% of voters voted in favor of leaving the E.U. How that exit would take place would become a political firestorm. Former Prime Minister Theresa May lost her position because she couldn’t finish what she’d begun- Brexit. Boris Johnson then took her spot with the promise that he’d get a Brexit withdrawal agreement through Parliament. Boris Johnson once stated that he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask Brussels for an extension past October 31, 2019 and that the U.K. would leave on October 31st “deal or no deal” But “deal or no deal” was not the acceptable pathway for many…
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The World’s Most Wanted Man is Dead
By Shannon Bausinger, Associate Editor In the early hours of October 27, 2019 President Trump announced ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had died by suicide after being surrounded in a tunnel by U.S. forces. No U.S. personnel losses were suffered, although many of Baghdadi’s people were killed including his three children who were alongside him when the suicide vest was detonated. This successful mission followed the cancelation of other attacks set to take place in preceding weeks. Baghdadi rose to prominence in 2014 when he declared the creation of a caliphate. Under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS has been held responsible for a reign of terror; displacing millions…
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Ecuador Agrees to Resume Fuel Subsidies After Weeks of Violent Protests
By Grace Mandry, Associate Editor For the past two weeks, the world has watched as conflicts unfolded in Northern Syria, Turkey, and the streets of Hong Kong. Meanwhile, in South America, thousands of protestors shut down the streets of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Violence erupted after the President, Lenín Moreno, announced the end of fuel subsidies and controversial labor reforms. The protests are the biggest to occur in years. The government announced the law, Decree 883, as an austerity measure in an effort to secure a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). President Moreno initially signed the agreement in March. Decree 883 ended forty years of…
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Liberty, Equality, Paternity? France Divided Over Pending IVF Legislation
By Brenna Mason, Associate Editor On October 6, 2019, thousands of people took to the streets of Paris to protest a French bill that would make in-vitro-fertilization (IVF) treatment available to women regardless of their relationship status or sexual orientation. The bill is the largest social issue President Emmanuel Macron has placed on his agenda since taking office in 2017. However, the subject matter of the proposed legislation has divided the country along moral and political lines. Under current French law, IVF treatment is only legal for heterosexual couples who have been married or in a civil union for at least two years and have been deemed infertile by a…
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Old Enough to Save the Planet: Young Activists Lead the Fight for Climate Change
By: Frances M. Rivera Reyes, Associate Editor In this era of social media, distinguished by information overflow, young people have surprised the established system by taking leadership roles traditionally held by nation leaders. Children like Greta Thunberg have made headlines for initiating worldwide movements and expressing blunt frustration with the lack of urgency world leaders have shown in matters that will mainly affect newer generations. Adolescents like Thunberg are paving the way for the growth of movements such as the fight against climate change. Last week, a group of sixteen children ages 8 to 17, including Thunberg, filed a complaint with the United Nations against five of the largest carbon…
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FIFA Lays Down the Law for Iran, Inspired by #BlueGirl
By Jake Gellerstein, Associate Editor In early September, 2019, the hashtag “#BlueGirl” began trending on Twitter. This moniker referred to Sahar Khodayari, an Iranian citizen who passed away as a result of lighting herself on fire in protest. Khodayari was potentially facing up to six months in prison for the crime of entering an Iranian football stadium. Women have been banned from entering Iran football stadiums since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Khodayari’s story received national attention from NGO’s such as the Human Right’s Watch and the Open Stadiums Movement, a coalition started by Iranian Woman seeking to ensure more freedoms for women and end the constant discrimination. Masoud Shojaei,…
