[{"id":176,"pub_key":1,"title":"Anxiety","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Theo Brandt","editor":"","date":"2019-10-21","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/anxiety1.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":169,"pub_key":2,"title":"Nature Screams","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Huiwen Chen","editor":null,"date":"2020-03-25","content":"An Artistic Response To The 2019 Amazon Rainforest Wildfires","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/naturescreams2.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":5,"pub_key":3,"title":"FRAGILE","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Ella Kreifeldt","editor":"","date":"2020-06-05","content":"About the Artist\nElla Kreifeldt (15) is an artist interested in digital art. She is passionate about environmental and climate change.\nShe cares deeply about climate change and wants to spread more awareness about this issue. She has made many different\nenvironmental related pieces, and currently sell them as stickers on her Etsy. A portion of each profit goes to the\nNatural Resources Defense Council. She has also made a piece about equality in love, and a few about self love and\nmindfulness. She plans to find more organizations to donate her profits and sell future posts that are activism related.\nYou can support Ella's work on\nEtsy and see more of her\nart on instagram (@jellabeanninc).\nAbout the Artwork\nFragile is a digital art piece that raises awareness on environmental change. It reflects the fragility of the environment and the need to handle it with care.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/fragile3.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":117,"pub_key":4,"title":"Asian Pacific American Heritage: Exotic","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Murielle Danant-Fung","editor":"","date":"2020-06-05","content":"About the Artist\nMurielle Danant-Fung is an Asian American artist who is passionate about making a difference in the world through her art.\nShe hopes to create a brand and a signature style for herself.She believes that art is powerful and can drive emotions in people.\nShe also uses her art to address social issues such as climate change. In 2019, she created an 8-page Climate Change Book to\nillustrate the impact of climate change on animals in each continent and the Great Barrier Reef. To see more of Murielle's art,\nvisit her website or find her on instagram\n(@artsymuri).\nAbout the Artwork\nTo celebrate Asian Pacific American month, Murielle created six pieces that each reflect a stereotype experienced by most Asian woman. Exotic is the third piece in this collection, which confronts people who look at Asian woman and pursue them for their \"exotic\" appearances. Through this collection of artwork, Murielle wanted to empower other Asian women to be strong and proud.\n*\"As an Asian American artist, I didn't really have much guidance growing up because I simply didn't see any representation in the artist world. Of course, I knew that Asian artists do exist, but I would have to do a deep dive into the media for it. I create art for both the beauty of it as well as to educate others on issues such as representation and climate change.\" - Murielle Danant-Fung*","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/asianpacificamericanheritageexotic4.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":50,"pub_key":5,"title":"Protests Errupt After the Murder of George Floyd","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Malya Robenson","editor":null,"date":"2020-06-07","content":"Over the course of the past few weeks, there have been a number of\ninstances in which black men were killed, footage of the incidents\ndrawing the focus of the public across social media. On May 6th,\n21-year-old Dreasjon Reed was shot and killed in Indianapolis while\nrunning from the police, evading an arrest for reckless driving.\nWhile jogging, Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was shot and killed in February by\na father and son who believed he had committed a series of\nburglaries in the area, video footage of which only surfaced\nrecently. The most recent of such events occurred on May 25 when\n46-year-old George Floyd was murdered by police, the incident\nsparked massive public backlash.\nAt around 8:20 on Monday, May 25th, police officers were called to\nthe scene of Cup Foods where an individual had allegedly been\nattempting to make a purchase using a counterfeit $20 bill.\nFloyd was found by officers in his car not far from the store, and\nhe appeared to be intoxicated. When he was asked to exit his\nvehicle, police claim that he had resisted arrest, despite security\nfootage from a restaurant which captured the moments before the\nviolent incident which the owner of the restaurant claims, does not\ndepict such a thing and the recounting of the incident by Maurice\nLester Hall, 42, who was in the passenger side of the car with Floyd\nwhen the arrest happened, who had attempted to diffuse the situation\nbetween his friend and the officers to no avail.\nWhen Floyd and officers reached the police vehicle, a video posted\nby a woman named Darnella Frazier on Facebook shows the disturbing\nmoments when Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, physically\nrestrained him by pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck.\nWitnesses stood by horrified as Floyd cried out, “Please! Please,\nplease, I can’t breathe,” some of whom urged officers to get off of\nhim.\nFloyd was held for about four minutes until he eventually stopped\nmoving and responding, though Chauvin reportedly kept his knee on\nhis neck for another four minutes until medical personnel arrived on\nthe scene.\nFloyd was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead\nshortly after his arrival.\nThe four officers involved in the incident, Derek Chauvin and Tou\nThao who both appear in the video, and two others who still go\nlargely unnamed, have all been fired from their jobs but many across\nthe nation say that it’s not enough. Even the mayor of Minneapolis\nhad called for Chauvin’s arrest almost immediately after footage of\nthe arrest was released.\nThe state autopsy of Floyd’s body ruled out asphyxiation as the\ncause of his death but the second, private autopsy conducted soon\nafter at the behest of Floyd’s family tells a very different story.\nThat autopsy ruled his cause of death as mechanical asphyxia caused\nby Chauvin’s knee on his neck and the excessive force that two other\nofficers used when pushing on his back.\nTheir desire to press charges against all four officers involved\nproved yet again to people what they had already known; that George\nFloyd was another African American murdered by the police because of\nthe color of his skin.\nIn the days following Floyd’s muder, several protests erupted across\nMinnesota, groups ranging from about two dozen outside of Chauvin’s\nhouse, to several thousand in the streets.\nThe first of such protests occurred the day after Floyd died. It was\nlargely non-violent and protestors held signs and chanted “I can’t\nbreathe,” and “It could’ve been me,” among other phrases as they\nmarched from the street where Floyd was arrested towards the city’s\n3rd Precinct.\nThe atmosphere of the demonstration changed however, when a small\ngroup of people began vandalizing police cars and the building. The\nact prompted police to turn on all of the protestors, tear gassing\nthem, tossing flash grenades, and shooting at them with rubber\nbullets. Some protestors responded in kind, throwing rocks and\nbroken bottles while others ran.\nSince then, civil unrest and disobedience has only gotten worse.\nWednesday saw a slew of looting and vandalism across the city.\nSeveral stores were hit including a Target, Cadillac Pawn & Jewelry,\nChicago-Lake Liquor and several pharmacies, all of which either had\nmerchandise stolen or experienced property damage. The most\nextensive of such acts of discord were the numerous fires raging\nthroughout Minneapolis, fire departments still trying to put them\nout well into Thursday morning. Several arrests were made and one\nperson is reported dead after a shooting connected to the looting of\na pawn shop.\nAs a result of public outcry, Derek Chauvin was charged with 3rd\ndegree murder. The other officers involved however, had not yet\nreceived charges.\nEvery day, more and more protests are appearing throughout the\nnation’s most prominent cities, demonstrations occurring in Chicago,\nNew York City, Los Angeles, Portland, Houston and Minneapolis became\nthe focus of many. There have been demonstrations in over four\nhundred cities across all fifty states, hundreds of thousands\ngathering to protest the racism and brutality that black people face\nat the hands of police officers.\nLike the first protest in Minneapolis however, despite the\ndemonstrations starting out peaceful, many of them take violent and\nunrestrained turns once the sun goes down. Fires, the looting of\nsurrounding buildings, and the vandalism of police vehicles have\nbecome commonplace in neighborhoods across the nation and those who\nare suffering the most are low income families who live in these\nneighborhoods and the owners of small businesses who, after having\nbeen closed for so long amidst the quarantine, will not be able to\nafford reopening.\nThose who vandalize and commit arson are people who have no desire\nto stand against police brutality and racism but instead are those\nwho revel in destruction and discord.\nThese events have prompted thousands of arrests by local police,\noften violently and regardless of whether or not protestors were\nindeed doing anything illegal. Despite fears, this has not scared\npeople away from doing what they believe is right. Protests have\neven gone up in front of the White House to demonstrate to the most\npowerful person in the country how they feel about the state of the\nnation.\nOn May 29th, President Donald Trump took to Twitter with statements\ncalling for more violence. He has declared that military presence\nmay be implemented to suppress demonstrations and he used the phrase\n“when the looting starts, the shooting starts” which dates back to\nthe 1960s by Miami police chief Walter Headley during the civil\nrights movement, requisitioning violence to be used against black\npeople. The next day, he tweeted that protestors outside of the\nWhite House would've been met with “vicious dogs” and “ominous\nweapons” had they breached the building’s outer fence.\nJune 1st saw the most egregious effort by the president yet. Police\nused tear gas and rubber bullets on a group of peaceful protestors\noutside of the White House and once Lafayette Park was free of\npeople, President Trump made his way to St. John’s Church which had\nbeen damaged from acts of vandalism the night before where he posed\nwith a bible for what he called a “very symbolic” photo-op. This\ncoming just after rumors of him hiding out in a bunker beneath the\nWhite House all weekend began circulating, an allegation which he\nfirmly denies.\nThe White House has denied the claims that tear gas and rubber\nbullets were used but many media outlets were quick to fire back\nwith footage of protestors whose eyes were burning from pepper balls\nwhich release an irritating powder and Skat Shell OC canisters, the\noleoresin capsicum in them containing a substance derived from chili\npeppers which can cause intense burning once it enters the nose,\neyes or lungs. Both of these are what the CDC technically considers\nto be “tear gas” and “riot control agents”.\nMany see this as an attempt by the president to suppress the First\nAmendment right of American citizens to stand up and speak out\nagainst the systematic oppression that black people have always had\nto face in America. However, if there is one thing that Americans\nhave proven over the past few weeks, it is that nothing will ever be\nable to stop them from fighting for what they believe in.\nThis has been the way of the American people since the founding of\nthe nation and the civil rights movements have only further proven\nthe tenacity and strength of the will of the American people. The\nmarch from Selma to Montgomery in March of 1965 lasted five days and\nconsisted of 25,000 people and was one of the direct causes of the\npassing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which was passed just a few\nmonths later. The Stonewall Uprising was a series of riots lasting\nsix days in front of Stonewall Inn led by black, transgender LGBTQ+\nrights activist Marsha P. Johnson and it was a critical juncture in\nthe fight for LGBTQ+ individuals to be recognized as human beings in\nAmerica.\nThis is not a new development. Riots and protests have always been\nthe way that people enact change in this country and they work.\nThanks to the efforts of the American people, Derek Chauvin had been\ncharged with 2nd degree murder and the other officers involved are\ngoing to face criminal charges.\nDespite this amazing development, people are still going out,\nprotesting, and spreading awareness because there is the\nunderstanding that the murder of George Floyd cannot be another one\nof the countless stories that people are enraged about for a few\ndays before moving on.\nRight now, we are on the precipice of great change as people are\nshowing the world just how fed up they are with the brutalization\nand the murder of black people at the hands of the supposed\nprotectors of the people.\nGeorge Floyd was described by those who knew him as a kind\nsoul.Those who knew him affectionately called him a ‘gentle giant’\ndue to his impressive stature at 6’6” and his overwhelmingly\ncompassionate nature. He was someone who, after spending some time\nin prison about a decade ago, was looking to turn his life around.\nHe was a father, a brother, and a friend to all.\nFloyd is now one of the countless people who have had their lives\nstolen from them, not at any fault of their own, but because of the\ncolor of their skin and his death has not been ignored. His name\nwill be spoken in the same breath as Eric Garner’s and Emmet Till’s\nas people of all races take to the streets, fighting for the justice\nand freedom that every human being deserves.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/protestserruptafterthemurderofgeorgefloyd5.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":16,"pub_key":6,"title":"Black Lives Matter Protest At Borough Hall, NYC","subtitle":null,"credit":null,"editor":null,"date":"2020-06-08","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/blacklivesmatterprotestatboroughhallnyc6.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Photography"]},{"id":104,"pub_key":7,"title":"Black Lives Matter Protest In NYC","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Margaret Lee","editor":null,"date":"2020-06-08","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/blacklivesmatterprotestinnyc7.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Photography"]},{"id":165,"pub_key":8,"title":"#Revolution Now: Protest Prints","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Ameya Okamoto","editor":"","date":"2020-06-10","content":"About the Artwork\n“For me, the relationship between the creation of my art and social change is symbiotic. I believe that visual art uniquely allows me to influence society by changing opinions, instilling values and translating experiences across space, time, language, and culture. In my current practice, I aim to make art more accessible to all by bringing art to communities that otherwise do not have access and telling their stories to inspire more understanding, empathy, and progress.\nRight now, we are witnessing the intentional and aggressive destruction of infrastructure put in place by hard-fought victories of the civil rights movement only a generation ago, of the Civil War a century ago, and the Revolutionary War at the founding of our country that were working to move us all towards a more equitable society. Seeing and deconstructing social injustices and creating art are both powerfully innate parts of who I am as a person. No matter my future career, I will be using creativity and my art to illustrate and support a world where we can live better together. The fight for justice is continuous and far from over, and I am committed to move through our increasingly complex world with empathy and creativity. As an artist, educator, organizer, and overall multi-hyphenated creative, I intend to continue asking hard questions and create art that amplifies and gives platform to the voices of others.”","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/revolutionnowprotestprints8.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":52,"pub_key":9,"title":"A Brief History of Police Brutality Timeline","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Theo Brandt","editor":null,"date":"2020-06-18","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/abriefhistoryofpolicebrutalitytimeline9.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":62,"pub_key":10,"title":"Thousands of Tons of Oil Flood the Southern Edge of the Arctic Circle","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Malya Robenson","editor":null,"date":"2020-06-23","content":"In the midst of the pandemic and the protests demanding racial\nequality which erupted after George Floyd’s death, public attention\nhas been drawn towards these main focal points and has hardly been\non much else. Regardless, one area that demands the attention of the\npublic is the current situation in Russia.\nOn May 29, a power plant leaked several thousand tons of oil into\nthe river around Norilsk, causing the city to declare a state of\nemergency. Norilsk is a Russian city in the country’s Siberan\nregion, located at the very edge on the Arctic Circle. The Ambarnaya\nand Daldykan rivers, which is located just to the west of the city,\nflooded with about 21,000 tons of oil when a fuel tank at the\nNorilsk Nickel power plant collapsed.\nJarring footage has been released of the Ambarnaya river bleeding a\ndeep shade of red as the oil spreads for kilometers across its\nsurface.\nNorilsk Nickel, the company that owns the plant, chalked the\ncollapse up to being caused by climate change and the thawing\npermafrost which made the ground underneath the tank to become too\nsoft to support its weight, as is the case for a not insignificant\nnumber of buildings in towns in the surrounding area. Further\ninvestigations however, have called that statement into question.\nThis is likely due to the fact that the Russian government was only\nnotified about the incident two days after it occurred.\nIt has come to public attention that the container being used to\nstore the oil had not been cleared for use because it did not “fully\nconform to the demands of industrial safety,” as stated by the\ncountry’s investigative committee spokesperson, Svetlana Petrenko.\nDue to the disregard for environmental protection laws, three people\ninvolved in the incident, two engineers and the plant’s director,\nhave since been fired.\nCurrently, the oil seems to be moving north with the flow of the\nriver, towards Lake Pyasino. Booms have been used to stop the spread\nof some of the oil while pumps remove it and store it in containers,\nonly having resulted in the cleanup of less than 500 tons of oil.\nDespite the attempts of Norilsk Nickel to clean up their mess, the\nharm has already been done.\nDue to clean up and water reparation alone, the estimated cost of\nthis monumental mishap is seeming to be around $85 million\nconservatively.\nThere are also significant consequences from a purely ecological\nstandpoint as well. Greenpeace has dubbed this the first incident of\nsuch a large degree in the Arctic region.\nThe Russian deputy minister of national resources and the\nenvironment, Elena Panova, has estimated that it could take about 10\nyears for the environment to recover. While the deaths of fish,\nbirds and other wildlife in the area are some of the immediate\noutcomes of the spill, the toxins in the ecosystem can affect\npopulations for generations to come.\nCleaning the oil out completely with the use of sorbents is a\nprocess that can take several years by itself.\nIt goes without saying that the preliminary timeline of 10 years is\njust an estimate and that, when it comes to environmental matters,\nthere are a myriad of unknown factors that can alter these types of\napproximations.\nThe damaging effects of an oil spill aren’t limited to harming the\nsurrounding wildlife. The spread of oil across a body of water can\nalso have significant impacts on climate change and the warming of\nthe planet which affects everyone.\nThe thin layer of oil that rests atop the affected water can do a\nsurprising amount when it comes to warming the planet. The oil\nsignificantly decreases the amount of heat that is allowed to escape\nthe water by means of evaporation. Instead, the overall temperature\nof the water warms. When the oil kills plant and animal life, it\nalso lessens the amount of carbon that is able to be captured,\nhalting the flow of the carbon cycle.\nAll of the harmful effects of both oil spills and the burning of\nfossil fuels prove that the use of oil instead of renewable energy\nsources poses a myriad of negative environmental impacts which far\noutweigh the benefits.\nIt is difficult for the concerned public to keep track of exactly\nhow much the story has progressed, due to several contributing\nfactors. The impact that the coronavirus and social distancing and\nquarantine measures have had on the ability of people who work both\nfor government and environmental agencies to do their jobs\neffectively has been incredibly evident. However, the media’s\ninability to go forth and get information for the same reasons,\npaired with their reluctance to cover a story that may not be as\ninteresting to viewers has severely debilitated the public’s ability\nto know about what is happening in the world which is incredibly\ndangerous, especially when the information that they are missing\npertains to environmental concerns.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thousandsoftonsofoilfloodthesouthernedgeofthearcticcircle10.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":133,"pub_key":11,"title":"Interview with Tanya Manoj, founder of Breaking Book Barriers","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Anju Meyer","editor":"","date":"2020-06-24","content":"Tanya Manoj is the founder of Breaking Book Barriers (BBB), a test prep book exchange for high schoolers. She is currently a junior in high school from Massachusetts. Roughly a year after its founding, BBB has a diverse team with members from around the world with over 1,000 followers on their Instagram account! In her interview with Detester Magazine, Tanya explains how she started BBB, the challenges she faced, what she hopes to accomplish in the future, advice she has for other high school students aspiring to start their own student-initiated organizations and much more!\n1. Who are you?\nMy name is Tanya, and I am the founder of Breaking Book Barriers. I am a junior in high school and I started the organization my sophomore year. I am really passionate about making sure that students have equitable access to test prep material, which is why I started BBB. I am also involved in activities related to business and tech education.\n2. What is Breaking Book Barriers' Mission?\nOur mission is to educate people on test prep/educational inequality as well as give students the tools they need to succeed on standardized tests. We educate students and provide testing tips through our social media and blog posts. We also run an online book exchange where students can ship their used SAT, ACT, and AP books to students who need them. We essentially facilitate those exchanges.\n3. How did you start Breaking Book Barriers?\nI assembled a team pretty early on. One of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned is that it is impossible to reach an organization’s potential without having a group of passionate people running it. We ran into some issues early on when getting ourselves organized and building our website, but we definitely overcame those!.\n4. What do you hope to achieve in the future?\nIts not that sisterhood is misrepresented, GenZ Girl Gang wanted to redefine sisterhood by rooting it in\ncommunity-building. We think it’s important to root sisterhood in community because community is the\nlifeline for every strong woman and femme.\n5. Why do you think it is important to empower women through community building?\nIn the future, I plan on doing a lot more collaborations with established nonprofits to maximize our impact. The whole team is also super excited for next fall, when we begin our chapter system and are able to donate even more books! Overall, we are trying to make an impact on students taking standardized tests who may not have as many resources to help them succeed.\n6. Why did you start your organization BBB? What did that process look like?\nI wanted to give students access to test prep. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to take the organization, whether it was purely informational like social media, the book exchange or something else. I ended up starting social media pages, building a website for the book exchange. I started roughly a year ago, worked on it over the summer, and by the end of the summer the website was up. By this time, we were posting consistently on social media and starting to get a team together. It took about two months to get running and to get my ideas together.\n7. What inspired you?\nThe experience of purchasing test prep books. I thought there had to be a way to make it more affordable and more sustainable. Once you’re done studying for a test, you don’t do much with the book, and if you don’t write anything in it then it’s practically brand new. That was the thought process that led me to want to exchange test prep books among students.\n8. How does the book exchange work?\nI like to call it an online lending library. Students can donate their used books once they’re finished studying by filling out a form (stating what book it is and including a picture). Additionally, students can request a book. I, or someone on the team will contact two people for a book to be shipped from one location to another\n9. What challenges did you face?\nAt first, we opened the book exchange internationally, but then we quickly realized that it wouldn’t work due to shipping fees. So, we had to limit the book exchange to within the US. Another challenge was figuring what exactly to do. The book exchange was a challenge to put together, conceptualize, and explain. Starting anything new is a challenge, there were many ideas bouncing around and we had to decide where we wanted to take the organization. With COVID we took a break from the book exchange. We’re just starting it up again. There has been a continuous shift in ideas and desire to start new projects, which is hard, but it is also the cool thing about being a student-run organization where we’re not having to answer to anybody and just testing things out for ourselves.\n10. What have the effects of COVID been on Breaking Book Barriers?\nWe’ve been virtual from the start. I’m from Massachusetts but not that many people on the team are. We have team members from all over the US. We have team members in the Middle East and in Europe too. It was easy to pivot when COVID hit as we didn’t have to adjust to online workspaces. We already had Slack and we were used to making phone calls. When COVID hit, we slowed down a lot due to the shock of it and we had other things on our minds. We took a few weeks off and paused shipping books because people had other things on their minds other than getting to the post office and we did not want to promote people leaving their houses in areas that were under lockdowns or shelter in places.\n11. How did you come up with the name breaking book barriers?\nI’m pretty sure I was just talking it over with a friend. We were throwing out either rhyming names or alliterations, and we came up with this. It sounds good, but if you go in deep, our goal is to break the barriers that test prep book expenses and more broadly test prep inequity. I thought it was cool when I dug deeper into the name.\n12. Do you need to donate a book to get a book?\nNot necessarily, we are trying to help people so that’s not the case at all. However, we want to be somewhat equitable. We’ve had many people get a book without donating one. Check our website for more information: breakingbookbarriers.org\n13. Any advice for students who want to start their own student-led organizations?\nI feel like it can be really hard to take the first step. I came up with this idea and I sort of sat with it for a month because I thought it wouldn’t work or why bother putting myself out there? I think taking that initial step, whether that’s getting a web domain or making an Instagram account, that first step really helps and it helps you get to the next steps. Also, I think it's important to know that if you fail at something, most people have and most successful founders have tried different organizations, start ups or non profits that didn’t work out and they just had to jump onto the next thing and I think that’s totally true. Don’t be afraid of failure.\n14. What is the most rewarding part of having founded BBB?\nThe fact that people use it, the fact that people joined my team, and followed us on social media. To this day I feel like that’s crazy and I feel like the fact that a teenager can start something. We’re such a small organization but the fact that a teenager can have an impact is really cool.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/interviewwithtanyamanojfounderofbreakingbookbarriers11.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Interviews"]},{"id":42,"pub_key":12,"title":"Tourette's","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Christian Medina","editor":null,"date":"2020-06-26","content":"I go out in public and anxiety kicks in\nWhat if my tics act so defiantly again?\nI didn’t ask for this urge to pulse in my veins\nThere’s no cure for this and I have nothing to gain\nDon’t make it obvious, don’t make it appear\nLet it be subtle, and constantly live in this fear\nDon’t quench the urge and no one’ll look at you weird\nBut this is Tourette’s, have I not made that clear?\nIt’s a constant itch inside my mind\nPeople look at me like I’m not part of their kind\nIn public, I can’t be who myself, I can’t unwind\nMaybe you could help because there’s a cure out there to find.\nAbout the Artwork\n\"It shows how a person feels inside. Shattered and broken, though the world might never seem to care.\"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/tourettes12.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Poetry"]},{"id":67,"pub_key":13,"title":"Renewed Outrage Over Presence of the Confederacy","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Malya Robenson","editor":null,"date":"2020-06-28","content":"After the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police on May 29th,\nprotests erupted across the globe, calling for the defunding of\npolice departments across America, and more focus on the injustices\nthat black Americans face as a whole. Several companies and even\nentire industries have been called out on the lack of representation\nthey exhibit and on their problematic behaviours such as Vogue’s\ndistinct lack of diversity in their staff and content and the\ncontinued use of the ‘Aunt Jemima’ character by Quaker Oats. There\nhave also been several white actors who have decided to step down\nfrom their roles as black characters in animated productions such as\nJenny Slate who played Missy Foreman-Greenwald on Netflix’s Big\nMouth and Kristen Bell who played Molly Tillerman on Apple TV's new\nshow Central Park.\nThere had been a lull in media coverage of the protests despite the\nfact that they continue to go strong, largely because of the fact\nthat the rioting and looting have mostly stopped and the protests\nare now mainly peaceful demonstrations. One thing has brought the\nfocus of the media back, however, is the renewed outrage over\nConfederate statues.\nIn the 1860s, several southern states seceded from the United States\nand formed the Confederacy, opposing the Union during the nation’s\ncivil war. The values that the Confederacy stood for and the\nrepercussions of seceding from America have been what have shaped\nthe region into what it is today.\nAcross the United States, though mostly present in the south, there\nare well over a thousand memorials honoring those who fought in the\nCivil War on the side of the Confederacy. These memorials take the\nform of statues and U.S. military bases but now, the nation is\nlargely split on whether or not this part of history deserves to be\nglorified.\nThe debate as to whether Confederate statues should remain standing\nin their positions across the United States is not a new one. The\nissue has arisen a myriad of times over the years, the arguments\nlargely coming to a draw.\nThose who support the continued existence of these statues claim\nthat it would be wrong to take them down because they are an\nimportant part of American history. They believe that the statues\ntell a story and that removing them would be akin to pretending that\nthat part of history did not exist.\nThose who oppose the presence of the statues, however, assert that\nthere are better ways to remember parts of history. Many remark that\nGermans were able to remember what happened during World War II\nwithout erecting statues of Hitler because they document their\nhistory in an appropriate way. Their issue with the states is rooted\nin the fact that they glorify the existence of people who went so\nfar as to secede from the United States in order to continue\nenslaving black people. While the assertion that the southern states\nseceded in the name of preserving states’ rights is technically\ncorrect, the rights that they were protecting were largely having to\ndo with their ability to own slaves.\nThere is the fact that most people who are in favour of the statues\nhave a family history rooted in the Confederacy and view them as\nsomething to be proud of. The issue with this is that they skew the\nnarrative in order to be comfortable with that part of their history\nto the point where they forget that their ancestors weren’t fighting\nfor the United States and actively killing American soldiers on the\nbattlefield.\nRegardless of what controversy that the statues posed in the past,\nthe fact of the matter is that currently, protesters and activists\nhave set their sights on these statues and this time, they are\nleaving little room for debate on the subject.\nAcross the country, protestors have defaced several confederate\nstatues across many American cities, fed up with the ongoing\nexaltation of people who fought for racist institutions. Protesters\nshowed their frustrations by doing everything from spray painting\nthe statues to completely tearing them down.\nOver the past few weeks, several Confederate statues have met their\nend, either at the behest of local governments or at the hands of\nenraged protestors. On June 11th, a statue of soldier Johnny Reb\nholding a confederate flag which stood prominently in downtown\nNorfolk, Virginia was one of the first to go by the order of the\ncity’s mayor. It was followed by countless other incidents across\nthe nation, prominently in states like Alabama and Kentucky.\nThe movement to take down these offensive reminders of racism has\nnot been limited to Confederate statues, however.\nNASCAR has made the move to ban the display of the Confederate flag\nat its races which has sparked some serious backlash from fans of\nthe sport. Many have claimed that the flag, like the statues, is not\na symbol of racism, but of their heritage and their family history.\nAs with the statues, others argue that the flag is representative of\na dark and painful part of the history of others and should be done\naway with.\nOther statues have also been targeted by the crusade, not\nnecessarily because of ties to the Confederacy, but because of ties\nto racism in general. Several statues of George Washington, for\ninstance, have either been defaced or outright torn down. This has\nbeen the case with a few other statues of America’s founding fathers\nas well due to their extensive history as slave owners. Many revere\nWashington as a paragon of what it means to be an American and fight\nfor freedom, but his past as a slave owner is irrefutable. One such\nexample of the sanitization of history is how many children learn in\nschools that Washington had wooden teeth as a funny anecdote. The\ntruth behind that yarn however, was that he wore dentures made of\nteeth pulled from the mouths of his slaves\nA statue of Theodore Roosevelt which stands in front of the New York\nCity Museum of Natural History is soon going to be taken down as\nwell. The statue depicts the former president sitting atop a horse\nwith a Native American man and an African-American man standing at\nhis sides. While many view the statue as a means of exemplifying the\nfriendship between the races. Others, however, can’t help but focus\non the more problematic nature of the statue.\nThere has even been a statue in Bristol, England which faced the\nwrath of protestors. A statue of Edward Colston, a 17th-century\nslave trader, was pulled from its post and was dragged and dumped\ninto the River Avon on June 7th.\nThe removal of monuments glorifying the oppression of black people\nis only a small part of the progress that must be made in order for\nthe nation to come even close to someday achieving true racial\nequality. Nonetheless, it is an important milestone and should be\nregarded as something to be proud of, as it serves as a symbol of\npositive change.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/renewedoutrageoverpresenceoftheconfederacy13.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":160,"pub_key":14,"title":"The Missing Women Of Advertising","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Barnana Hemoprava Sarkar","editor":"","date":"2020-07-05","content":"The one aspect that sets advertising apart from any other creative\nform is its purpose. To sell a product to someone who doesn’t want\nto buy it. That is the simple part. The difficulty arrives when you\nsit to decide on ‘how to’. Most cosmetic brands seem to have cracked\nthe code. As harsh as it may sound the brands and their\nadvertisements feed on a woman’s insecurities. Right from the days\nwhen Madison Avenue’s sparkling billboards displayed a pretty\nred-lipped blonde, the perfect epitome of womanhood, little has\nchanged over the course of time.\nAlthough sincere attempts are being made by brands such as Dove,\nwhich took the initiative to include women - the “Real Women” - of\nevery kind. Some brands have also tried to expand their palette to\nbe more inclusive about skin colour. Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty gave the\nindustry a massive blow when it launched 40 different shades of\nfoundation. It not only shook the traditional notions of beauty but\nopened up a whole platform for all the consumers who have so far\nfelt underserved by the giant cosmetic brands.\nYet, there seems to be a significant absence of those women who till\ntoday are the subjects of several discussions. The transwomen are\nconstantly not included in the narrative when it comes to\nadvertising for these beauty brands. But they form a significant\nportion of the consumer group, all the while constantly fighting\nagainst the concept that only external appearance can define who a\nreal woman is. The concept of this real woman has been so concocted\nby beauty brands that several trans women feel a very superimposed\nneed to use makeup.\nOf course, there are the Pride Month quotas that most brands\ndiligently participate in but it is important to ask: is that\nenough?\nThere are some visibly sincere attempts that showcase the real\nstruggles of a trans woman and how gracefully she overcomes all of\nit. One of the most successful stories we have come across recently\nis Vicks’ ad (although not a beauty brand) titled ‘Touch of Care’\nwhich deals with two significant subjects - adoption and transgender\nrights. The ad perfectly captured the real-life story of Gauri\nSawant, who became the first transgender person in 2014 to file a\npetition in the Supreme Court for the adoption rights of transgender\npeople. Told from the perspective of her adopted daughter, Gayatri,\nthe ad has put a benchmark about what representation should look\nlike. For, while Vicks got it right, several are still staggering in\nthe process of ideal story-telling.\nReliance On Tokenism\nFor decades the trans community remained invisible for brands.\nHowever, with the recent revelation that the queer community’s total\nbuying power can be something as close to $917 million brands are\ntrying to put things out there as much as they can. They are\ncreating exclusive issues and campaigns that only highlight queer\npeople and talk about the community at large during the Pride Month.\nSadly, that is not quite doing the work. In fact, it is nothing but\nsheer tokenism.\nWhile some beauty brands, such as Ciaté London, MAC and Sleek MakeUP\nhave tapped on transgender models for their campaigns, it is\nimportant to ask how much research and work has been put into\ndeveloping the products that suit the transgender community. “Makeup\nproducts are not researched or developed keeping transgender people\nin mind. Earlier the problem was that the developer of a woman’s\ncosmetic product was a man and then with the women’s movements, that\ngradually changed. The same thing needs to happen with the\ntransgender people as well. You have to include people from the\ncommunity in the research and developing sector.”\nInside The Conference Room\nWhile several people will claim that there are many ads today\nrepresenting the community, it cannot be denied that these brands\nhave failed to maintain the true aspect of inclusion. Brands have\nmanaged to sensationalise the subject to a point where they “look\ngood” to the generation that cares about everyone’s rights. However,\nwhen it comes to actually hiring a person from the community, there\nis a large vacuum in the conference room that decides upon the\nnarrative of these brands.\nThere can be two reasons behind it. Firstly, there is a\nstereotypical notion that trans people mostly pick up acting or\nmodelling as their go-to profession. This results in the common\npractice of commodifying the trans woman’s body for either tokenism\nor a “checkbox” for brands to put a tick on. Secondly, the\nconference room continues to remain a heavily male-dominated space.\nDoel Rakshit, a copywriter and activist based out of Mumbai, said,\n“Till today creating narrative is a very cis-male thing. A woman,\neven a cis-woman, or any marginalized gender ideating and processing\nnarratives for brand stories is not something equally applauded.”\nThe problem with change is that sometimes it is too unorganised.\nWhile ads are trying to bring in a new narrative, it is unclear if\nthat is simply a trend they are following or if it is actually\nsomething that will sustain. There is also a lack of data when it\ncomes to identifying the community. Kiran Khalap, co-founder of\nChlorophyll brand consultancy, pointed out, “Advertising in general\nlags behind society when it comes to change. There has to be\nrepresentatives who make the industry conscious about its\nunconscious biases.”\nIn order to make industries aware of the kind of consumers they are\ndealing with there has to be a regular update of census data. With a\nconscious generation that is constantly inclining towards gender\nfluidity and a whole community of people who are fighting every\nsingle day for their rights, a properly structured data can\ncertainly put an end to the age-old question of, “how many people\nare actually in this community?” Put them all together and maybe it\nwill be realised that they constitute a greater percentage of the\npopulation.\nAdvertising is a powerful source of communication. Sometimes even\nmore powerful than films. In order to sell something it convinces\npeople into believing something they do not believe in. That can be\na very significant move when it comes to creating awareness about\nthe rights of trans women - if done right. It is needless to point\nout the obvious fact that recently, especially after JK Rowling’s\ninfamous rant about the transgender community, there is a need to\naddress the issues of trans women more than ever. And advertising\nhas the capability to do just that.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/themissingwomenofadvertising14.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":152,"pub_key":15,"title":"\"All Lives Matter\" My Ass!","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Lillian Hinojosa","editor":"","date":"2020-07-06","content":"All lives matter\nNot only black lives.\nI mean, no one actually said\n“ONLY Black Lives Matter”,\nBut I still think\n“Black Lives Matter” is a quite racist phrase.\nIt’s almost as if\nThey are trying to tell me\nThat my white life doesn’t matter.\nThat chant purposely excludes all other races.\nDoesn’t everyone’s life matter?\nShouldn’t we be fighting for all lives?\nBlack men and women aren’t the only ones who suffer\nFrom oppression.\nWhite people get called “crackers”\nWhite people get bullied for supporting Trump\nWhite people face police brutality as well.\nAlthough, the police brutality we face\nIsn't racially charged,\nAnd we don’t have to suffer\nNearly as much unnecessary force\nAt the hands of a police officer\nThan a black man or women would,\nIt doesn’t matter!\nIsn’t that still enough to show\nthat not only “Black Lives Matter”?\nShouldn’t we be fighting for all lives?\nMy brother is a cop\nHe would never threaten a Black man\nBased on the color of his skin.\nThere is no evidence to prove that Black men and women\nAre racially oppressed day to day. .\nand highly evidential inequalities that still exist...\nBut let's forget about that.\nStatistics don’t actually mean anything\nThey are just numbers on paper\nWhat am I supposed to do about it?\nShouldn't we be fighting for all lives?\n“Black Lives Matter”,\nThe chant that spews like roaring water\nThrough the cities that us true American’s live,\nIs the farthest thing from actually being American.\nAlthough these protesters are demonstrating\nTheir First Amendment rights,\nThey don’t get to use those rights\nIf what they are preaching\nIs that “Black Lives Matter!”.\nWhite people’s labor and hard work\nIs what entirely built this country\nAnd that should not be disrespected.\nOnly white people are allowed\nTo run to our state’s capital\nWith guns strapped to our bodies\nShoving them in police officers' faces.\nHow do we get away with it?\nWell, if you must know,\nIt's because we're white\nOh.\nWe get away with it because of the color of our skin.\nWell damn...\nIf that's the case\nThen I might just have to re-write the whole poem","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/alllivesmattermyass15.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":124,"pub_key":16,"title":"Recognizing Mental Health Issues In Black Communities","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Suzanna Chen","editor":"","date":"2020-07-08","content":"Unlike some individuals hidden in our overall acceptive society, mental health conditions do not discriminate\nbased on gender,\nethnic background, nor race. They can occur to anyone – as many as one in four people worldwide, according to\nthe World Health\nOrganization (WHO) – and currently occupies a place among the world’s leading causes of disabilities. In fact\n- with specific\nmention to African Americans and America’s non-Hispanic white population - statistics by the U.S. Centres for\nDisease Control\nand Prevention shows that these invisible illnesses occur in similar percentages within each of the two racial\npopulations.\nHowever, while the disorders do not show racial preferences nor discriminations, significant differences still\nexist between\nthe two groups in many areas, including the degree of communal acceptance and education on mental illnesses as\nwell as the\naccessibility and quality of mental health care. Through factual context and analysis, we will explore the\nprimary influencing\nfactors behind the mental health environment in African American communities in this article.\nStatistics\nThe following are some statistics to aid in painting a picture of the current mental health situation of\nAfrican Americans.\nSummary Of Statistics\nOverall, from the national statistics, African American adults' mental health status is more or less similar\nto those of\nthe other racial groups, but they have significantly less access to professional treatment. Furthermore, the\nAfrican American\nyouths appear to be in the midst of a mental health crisis – with significantly higher percentages of suicidal\nattempts and\nideations despite less fatality rate. Moreover, black girls seem to be affected by psychological illnesses the\nmost.\nInfluential Factors\nAs shown in previously stated data, what mainly differentiates the mental health environment in African\nAmerican communities\nand those of the other racial groups is not the rates of psychological illnesses. Rather, it is the\naccessibility and quality\nof professional treatment as well as the causes and types of mental illnesses.\nFactors affecting the accessibility and quality of mental health care\nOut of the numerous factors affecting the accessibility of mental health services for African Americans,\nperhaps a lesser-known\nyet significant one is the deep-rooted stigma surrounding psychological illnesses in Black communities.\nHeartbreakingly, a\npsychiatrist from the American Psychiatry Association reported in 2011 that even among the patients whom she\ndeemed as severely\nimpaired, many still refused treatment because they did not want to be one of “those people”.\nSo, what exactly do most African Americans think of “those people”?\nA study from 2008 found that among the Black participants previously diagnosed with a mental condition, over\na third still feels\nthat “mild” psychological disorders – such as depression and anxiety – would be considered “crazy” in their\nsocial circles. Moreover,\nover a quarter of the study’s population felt that open discussion about mental health would not be\nappropriate even in intimate family\nsettings – let alone talking about one’s struggles with a therapist, who is a stranger. The long-standing and\nprofoundly negative views\nmany African Americans hold towards people living with mental illnesses are especially impactful for men.\nHafeez Baoku – author, director,\nand host of The Roommates Podcast – has described his experiences with the stigma with the words “Black men\ngrow up in a culture that tells\nus ‘men are not supposed to cry,’ that we ‘should deal with problems on our own.’” The Black communities – as\nwell as the overall society –\nhold a stereotypical standard of masculinity that would not allow even the slightest display of weakness.\nUnfortunately, needing mental health\nsupport is still considered an embarrassing showcase of personal weakness and outwards admission of family\nfailure – as it reflects the family’s\ninability to handle internal problems – for many. These adverse stereotypes all come back to one detrimental\nfactor – the lack of education\nsurrounding mental health and illnesses. Many professionals wonder that if more were taught on the real impact\nof mental disorders on their\nvictims, would we be able to change the fact that the words “crazy” and “weak” still correspond with “mental\nillness” in the Black communities.\nAnother reason that contributes to the reluctance of African Americans to accept professional treatment is\nthe financial strain it would put\non many families and individuals.The broken and corrupt U.S. healthcare system has been a dystopian nightmare\nfor those without insurances,\nand its commodification – such as the continually rising pharmaceutical costs – further intensifies the racial\nand ethnic disparities in health\ncare access. While the uninsured population consists of members from all ethnic and age groups, people of\ncolour – mainly African Americans and\nHispanics who constitute merely 43 percent of the overall population – make up a disproportional 30 percent of\nthe uninsured. Also, above 80 percent\nof the uninsured were living below the Federal Poverty Level, and members of the Black communities contribute\na startling 27 percent of this population.\nthere are federally-funded healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, they primarily serve to support\nthe elders, the children, and the physically\ndisabled. In 2010, President Obama introduced the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) –\nbetter-known as the “Obamacare” – to expand the federal\nhealthcare support to cover all adults with income below 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Within the\neffective dates of this act, members of the\nBlack communities made up 22 percent of all receivers of the governmental support, though they still\nconstituted about 16 percent of the uninsured.\nUnfortunately, the ACA was partially abolished in 2017 by President Trump, who replaced it with the American\nHealth Care Act (AHCA). The controversial\nAHCA has already reduced persons covered by healthcare insurance by twenty-one million since its activation\nthree years ago, and has disproportionately\naffected everyone below the Federal Poverty Level. The future looks bleak as the African Americans are already\ndisproportionally represented in the\nuninsured population; the financial factor is expected to continue influencing the accessibility of mental\nhealth services for African Americans in the\nforeseeable future.\nThe last prominent factor of influence on the mental health care of the non-Hispanic Black communities is the\nhistoric prejudice within the healthcare system. It may come as a surprise – and a relief – that overt racism\nand discrimination are not significant issues in the current system. Instead, it is the pre-existing bias and\nlack of understanding of Black patients that still play essential roles in the poor qualities of mental health\ncare for African Americans. Within the American Psychiatry Association (APA) – where the majority of\npsychiatrists in the U.S. gather to discuss contemporary issues and accomplishments in treatment – only 2\npercent of the organization’s members are African Americans. The lack of culturally competent professionals –\nmost likely ones from the same ethnical communities – in the field makes it difficult for Black patients to\nreceive adequate treatment as psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy require deep interpersonal\nconnection and understanding between the patient and the psychiatrist. Also, as most current psychiatrists\nfollow generalized and Eurocentric professional practices, the misdiagnoses rate of Black patients is\nalarmingly high. For example, according to diagnostic data provided by the National Alliance on Mental Illness\n(NAMI), African American women are likely to experience physical symptoms – such as body aches and pains –\nalong with mental health conditions. When a professional lacks this knowledge – as most of them do – he or she\nis likely to not consider these symptoms as related to mental disorders, leading to less early prevention and\nintervention of mental illnesses. Similarly, according to a 2019 study by Rutgers University, mental health\nevaluators are likely to misunderstand the Black male patients’ descriptions of mood disorders or PTSD as\nsymptoms of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; contributing to the fact that non-Hispanic Black men\nare five times more likely to be diagnosed with these disorders than non-Hispanic white males. The high rate\nof misdiagnoses – caused by inadequate understanding of culture and unconscious bias – lead to African\nAmericans’ distrust in the mental health care system, further increasing their fear and reluctance to seek or\nstay in treatment.\nLuckily, more Black psychiatrists and mental health clinicians have spoken out regarding this issue in recent\nyears. Some of the responses they proposed include re-assessing professional practices to incorporate core\nvalues of Black culture, such as family, kinship, community, and spirituality; familiarize themselves with the\nliving conditions of Black patients in their communities; and research the unique causes for the decline in\nAfrican American patients’ mental health, such as traumatic experiences of racism. Hopefully, with these\nmeasures being taken into practice, we will be able to enhance the experiences of the Black communities in\nmental health services and encourage more of them to engage in professional treatments.\nPlease note that the above only covers three prominent causes – out of many others – for the poor\naccessibility and quality of treatment for African Americans. Some examples of other notable factors include\nthe religion and spirituality of Black culture, which can play a positive role in decreasing rates of mental\nillnesses; the overrepresentation of the Black communities in American prisons and correctional centres; and,\nthe inadequate mental health support provided for children in foster care – of which African Americans make up\na shocking 45 percent.\nFactors contributing to the causations and types of mental illnesses\nContinuing on with the previously mentioned racial prejudice, we are now going to explore the factors'\nsignificance as a cause of mental illnesses among the African American population. Unfortunately, due to the\nlack of research, statistics on the connections between discrimination and mental health conditions is\nlimited. However, it has been reported by many psychiatrists that racism-induced trauma has detrimental\neffects on their Black patients’ mental health.\nTrauma in the African American community can come in many forms. The most direct trauma resulting from racism\nis the individual trauma caused by discriminative actions – such as physical and verbal abuse. Many African\nAmericans also experience complex trauma, in which racially discriminative trauma experienced by the former\ngenerations causes traumatic memories for the current generation. For example, when an older family member\nsuffers from a traumatic memory of sexual abuse, they might - due to the lack of access to professional help –\ndevelop unhealthy coping strategies, such as substance abuse and tendencies of domestic violence, which are\nhighly likely to cause traumatic experiences for their children as well. The decline in African American\nyouths’ mental health is partially due to this inherited trauma. The rate of complex trauma also correlates\nwith the accessibility of mental health care, as a previous trauma will be less likely to further affect a\nfamily member if resolved under professional treatment. Other common forms of trauma are experienced by the\ncommunity as a whole rather than solely affecting an individual or a family. These include collective trauma,\nin which traumatic experiences that affected a large population continues to be transmitted\ntransgenerationally; historical trauma, in which both contemporary and historical racism fuse to remind\nmodern-day African Americans of their dehumanization and devaluation; and cultural trauma, in which the\ncollective traumas of the past have long-lasting adverse effects on the cultural identities of the future\ngenerations.\nThe trauma experienced by the African American communities is so severe and widely recognized that it has\nbeen given the specific name of Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) – referencing the “battle fatigue syndrome”, now\ncalled PTSD – by the famous race theorist William Smith. Although, since RBF is not a professionally\nrecognized term, we still refer to the African Americans’ struggles with trauma as PTSD. Many researchers,\nincluding Smith, claim that untreated RBF or PTSD contribute to chronic behavioural and mental conditions –\nincluding anxiety, increased usage of profanity, insomnia or stressful dreams, rapid mood swings, difficulty\nthinking or speaking coherently, and social withdrawal – as well as physical symptoms – such as headaches,\ntrembling, chronic pain in healed injuries, elevated blood pressure, and rapid heartbeat and breathing. It is\ndisheartening that PTSD is among the most common types of mental illnesses – alongside depression and anxiety\n– in the African American communities.\nThe inability to function due to unresolved trauma also caused increased impoverishment within Black\npopulations. In addition to the high rates of poverty and homelessness, the lack of proper public assistance\ncontributes to high percentages of substance use disorders and incarceration rates. As well, people living in\npoverty are likely to have unhealthy eating habits – as energy-dense yet nutritionally incomplete foods cost\nless – which contributes to the high percentage of obesity and eating disorders, particularly binge eating\ndisorder (BED), in the African American communities. Moreover, the malfunctioning family environments under\npoverty also resulted in large numbers of African American children in foster care; and adults who grew up in\nfoster care are shown to be particularly vulnerable to several mental illnesses including PTSD, depression,\nsocial phobia and anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and substance use disorders.\nConclusion\nIn summary, while the overall rates of mental illnesses are similar to those of other racial groups, African\nAmericans’ mental health is uniquely affected by the primary factors of trauma induced by racial\ndiscrimination, long-lasting stigmatization of mental illnesses, inadequate treatments due to lack of\nculturally competent professionals, and financial inability to receive treatment. There are still many more\nfactors not discussed in the article, including the overrepresentation of the Black communities in prisons.\nInformation regarding these related yet unexplored topics will be given in the list of recommended readings\nbelow. Lastly, it should be recognized and appreciated that professionals in the fields of psychology and\npsychiatry are working towards formalizing more effective treatment practices for their Black patients. While\nprofessional reformations are being made, there are many supportive, public resources specifically aiming to\nsupport people of colour. If one would like to be involved in supporting their acquaintances of colour on\nmental health issues, there is no better way than to be educated more on mental illness and wellness in\ngeneral. Some useful resources for people of colour and general mental health self-education are included in a\nlist below.\nThank you for reading, and I hope you have gained useful insights and information on this increasingly\nimportant topic.\nUseful Mental Health Resources\n(Please note that these are not emergency resources! If you have urgent mental health concerns, please\ncontact emergency response workers.)\nBlack\nEmotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM)\n“BEAM” is an organization with the mission of removing barriers that Black people experience getting access\nto or staying connected with emotional health care and healing through education, training, advocacy and the\ncreative arts.\nBlack Mental\nWellness\n“Black Mental Wellness” aims to provide access to evidence-based information and resources about mental\nhealth and behavioral health topics from a Black perspective, as well as training opportunities for students\nand professionals.\nBlack Men Heal\n“Black Men Heal” is a Philadelphia-based organization that addresses the financial issue by providing limited\nand selective free mental health service opportunities for Black men.\nBlack Zen\n“Black Zen” aims to remove any and all social and financial barriers that restrict Black and brown\ncommunities from discovering the benefits of meditation, and to make all communities feel included and seen in\nthe wellness space.\nBlack Mental\nWellness\n“Black Mental Wellness” aims to provide access to evidence-based information and resources about mental\nhealth and behavioral health topics from a Black perspective, as well as training opportunities for students\nand professionals.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/recognizingmentalhealthissuesinblackcommunities16.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":80,"pub_key":17,"title":"Aftershock","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Newton \"Salem\" Brophy","editor":"","date":"2020-07-10","content":"Rayleigh Waves:\n-Type of Surface Wave\n-Cause the ground to roll\n-Slowest velocity\n-Last to arrive\n-Most Destructive\nFeburary 2017\n“I want it back!”\nZach and I are shouting in each other’s faces. We’re playing with the escalation of the scene as Alex, our director, urges us on, only making a note every few beats for us to push harder. It’s a fairly mundane acting exercise: two scene partners competing to see who can be meaner, scarier, angrier. Although an actor’s toolbox is eclectic, this is usually achieved through volume. The louder you can roar, the more you feed the fire in your lungs, and the more you can make the audience sweat. The objective is to burn your partner more than he burns you. A common (and helpful) game of chicken for actors.\nI don’t realize anything is wrong until Zach is screaming an innocuous line that I will never remember, and suddenly he does not sound like my castmate, or my friend that I have known for four years, but a man, and that’s all he becomes, a Man that is Yelling. All the fight blows out of my bones and I go rigid and small, and the stage manager and the director see my stillness and my quiet and my friend sees the salt in my eyes and the tremble in my chin and they all know now that something is terribly wrong and I am left exposed and vulnerable and stupidly weak, unable to muster up anything more than smoke.\n“... Let’s take five,” Alex says. I don’t look at anyone when I leave.\nI am stricken, paralyzed by my own clumsy ghosts.\nWhen I return, I assure Zach it was not his fault. I’m telling the truth; his only crime was being a man capable of raising his voice.\nNovemember 2016\nMy brother is a cop\nHe would never threaten a Black man\nBased on the color of his skin.\nThere is no evidence to prove that Black men and women\nAre racially oppressed day to day. .\nand highly evidential inequalities that still exist...\nBut let's forget about that.\nStatistics don’t actually mean anything\nThey are just numbers on paper\nWhat am I supposed to do about it?\nShouldn't we be fighting for all lives?\n“Black Lives Matter”,\nThe chant that spews like roaring water\nThrough the cities that us true American’s live,\nIs the farthest thing from actually being American.\nAlthough these protesters are demonstrating\nTheir First Amendment rights,\nThey don’t get to use those rights\nIf what they are preaching\nIs that “Black Lives Matter!”.\nWhite people’s labor and hard work\nIs what entirely built this country\nAnd that should not be disrespected.\nOnly white people are allowed\nTo run to our state’s capital\nWith guns strapped to our bodies\nShoving them in police officers' faces.\nHow do we get away with it?\nWell, if you must know,\nIt's because we're white\nOh.\nWe get away with it because of the color of our skin.\nWell damn...\nIf that's the case\nThen I might just have to re-write the whole poem","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/aftershock17.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Creative Writing"]},{"id":32,"pub_key":18,"title":"Yemen: An Emergency within an Emergency","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Shreya Margale","editor":null,"date":"2020-07-12","content":"In Yemen, the integrated impact of more than 5 years of\nsocio-political conflict between the Hadi-led Yemeni government and\nHouthi armed movement, economic decline, and institutional collapse\nhas left 24 million people – about two-thirds of the population – in\nneed of humanitarian aid and protection.This long-running conflict\ninvolves Houthi rebels (aligned with the former President Saleh) and\na pro-government institution supported by a military coalition led\nby Saudi Arabia and UAE.\nThe crisis has reached cataclysmic proportions, and with COVID-19\nexacerbating living conditions and spreading cross-country,\nsanitation and clean water are in short supply. Furthermore, with a\nfamine threatening thousands of lives and thousands of children\nsuffering from malnutrition, Yemen requires the utmost attention of\nyounger masses, in terms of donations, petitions, and spreading the\nword. Ideally, countries and their governments should be pushing\nlucrative legislation, monetary and humanitarian assistance, as well\nas mediate the considered conflict. However, inaction by a majority\nof states is evident: to shed light on these atrocities and\nhighlight youth voices pushing for tangible action, the\naforementioned tasks, in addition to being accurately informed can\ngo a long way.\nAs a result, UNICEF has declared Yemen’s ongoing dissension as the\nworld’s largest humanitarian crisis. Ignorance is the stagnation of\ninnovative solutions, which is why recognizing and working towards\nalleviating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis through social media\nactivism, online articles, and word of mouth is of utmost\nimportance. Specifically considering social media, it can be a\nvessel to transform knowledge into tangible action: sharing accurate\ninformation, linking petitions, donations and valid newsreels can\nhelp educate, empathize and create opportunities for the youth to\nstrive for social justice. Often, constant exposure to news on\nsocial media allows individuals to take the conversation beyond an\napp, into the confines of their home and communities, especially if\nthe issue has not been addressed in the media. Sadly, the Yemen\ncrisis does not get NEARLY enough media coverage that it deserves,\nas #BlackLivesMatter is a current focal point (as it should be, but\nwe need to prioritize Yemen too). Therefore, please read the\nfollowing article and inform yourselves: and do your part in\ndonating, and sharing accurate information over social media.\n10 Facts You Need to Know:\n1. The humanitarian situation is still the worst in the world, with\n24 million people in need of assistance.\n2. Every 10 minutes, a child under the age of 5 dies of preventable\ncauses.\n3. Approximately 3 million people have been displaced.\n4. Around 18 million Yemenis don’t have access to safe drinking\nwater and cases of cholera have surged.\n5. Humanitarian response faces a funding gap of nearly 2 million\ndollars.\n6. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000\npeople, including over 20,000 civilians, and has forced 3.65 million\npeople to flee.\n7. In 21 days (tracking from 19th June) Yemen will run out of oil, a\nnecessity for basic household activities and a major export\ncommodity. A majority of underfunded hospitals will shut down, and\nthere will be a scarcity of clean water.\nIn 111 days (tracking from 19th June), Yemen will run out of rice\nand in 97 days will run out of wheat.\n9. In the past 15 minutes, a child in Yemen passed away. Another\nchild will die in the next 15, and another after that, and after\nthat.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/yemenanemergencywithinanemergency18.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":141,"pub_key":19,"title":"Yemen: The History of Conflict Behind the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Suzanna Chen","editor":null,"date":"2020-07-12","content":"While news about the COVID-19 pandemic, the vigorous socio-political\nmovement against police brutality, and the warfare in Syria and Iraq\nare bombarding the rest of the world, a Middle Eastern country\nsilently suffers from what the United Nations coined “the worst\nhumanitarian crisis in the world”. Surrounded by wealthy and\nprosperous oil-producing giants of the Arab world, the Republic of\nYemen – despite being equally abundant in natural resources\n(including oil) – fails to thrive as their neighbors have and\ninstead falls into the realm of seemingly interminable warfare,\nuncontrollable outbreaks of disease, and devastating famines. How\ndid this Middle Eastern nation – once the “heart of ancient Arabia”\n– fall into such an unstable state? Perhaps we can find the answers\nin the history of the nation's never-ceasing domestic and\ninternational warfare since its formation in 1990.\nBackground Information\nGeography:\nPhoto: Map of Yemen with division between provinces and highlights\nof important cities Source: Khabar News Agency, Ministry of Planning\nand International Cooperation, Reuters. (Mar. 25, 2014)\nLocation: Yemen is a country\nin the Middle East region that sits on the southwestern tip of the\nArabian Peninsula. The nation also owns two territories within its\nterritorial waters; the volcanic island of Perim (or Mayuun) and the\narchipelago of Socotra.\nBordering Countries: Yemen\nshares a 1307 km (~812 miles) border with Saudi Arabia to the north,\nand a 294 km (~182 miles) border with Oman to the east.\nMaritime Borders: The main\nterritory of Yemen is surrounded by three bodies of water – the Gulf\nof Aden to the south, the Arabian Sea to the southeast, and the Red\nSea to the west. The island of Perim (Mayuun) is located on the\nStrait of Mandeb at the entrance to the Red Sea, and the archipelago\nof Socotra sits on major shipping routes between the Guardafui\nChannel and the Arabian Sea.\nEnvironment and Climate: Most\nof Yemen’s central and eastern territory comprises of hot and dry\ndesert plains. Thus, the majority of Yemen’s population resides in\nthe western region by the coast of the Red Sea, where the climate is\nmore temperate. The coast is composed of a narrow strip of plains\nand large areas of rugged hills and mountains. Some of the nation's\nenvironmental concerns include limited freshwater supply year-round,\novergrazing, soil erosion, deforestation, and the natural hazards of\nvolcanic activities, sandstorms, and monsoons.\nImportant Sites\nSanaʽa is the largest city and the internationally recognized\ncapital of Yemen. President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi - of the official\nYemeni government - briefly removed its status as the capital after\nhe fled the city amidst the Yemeni coup d'état in 2015. As a result\nof the rebellion, the city is still controlled by the Houthi rebels\nas of June 2020.\nAden is a major port city and the temporary capital of Yemen after\nPresident Hadi escaped Sanaʽa in 2015. The city was the capital of\nSouth Yemen - or the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen - before\nthe unification and formation of the current Yemen. It is the site\nof many conflicts of the current war, the most notable being the\nBattle of Aden, in which the Houthi rebels fought with President\nHadi's forces - representing the Yemeni government - for the control\nof the city. The Saudi Arabian Army aided the governmental forces in\ndriving out the Houthis, but they ultimately lost control of the\ncity to another separatist force – the Southern Transitional Council\n(STC) – in 2018.\nSa‘dah (sometimes spelt “Sa‘ada”) is a city that sits high on the\nhot and dry mountains of northwestern Yemen. Being the site of the\nHouthi insurgents’ first revolt – the Battle of Sa‘dah – in 2011,\nthe city is often seen as the Houthis’ “homeland”.\nRelevant Terminology\nSunni (Sunnī in Arabic) is one of the two major branches of Islam,\nthe other being Shiʿi. Sunni Muslims, referred to as Sunnis, make up\nthe majority – 87 to 90 percent – of all adherents of the religion,\nand therefore often regard their denomination as the larger and\nmainstream branch of the religion. The central split in beliefs\nbetween the two branches occurs after the death of the Prophet\nMuhammad. The Sunnis recognize all of the first four caliphs as the\nProphet Muhammad’s rightful successors, whereas the Shiʿah –\nadherents of Shiʿi Islam – believe otherwise. Countries with the\ngreatest proportion of Sunnis include Saudi Arabia and Egypt.\nShiʿi (Shīʿī in Arabic), sometimes also referred to as Shiʿite, is\nthe minority of the two major branches of Islam. In contrast to the\nSunnis, who believe that all of the first four caliphs are rightful\nsuccessors of the Prophet Muhammad, the Shiʿah or Shia – Shiʿi\nMuslims – firmly hold ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib or ʿAlī, who was the cousin\nand son-in-law of the Prophet, as the sole successor. Countries of\nsizable Shiʿah populations include Iran and Bahrain.\nPhoto: Sunni and Shiʿah/Shia population\nSource: waitbutwhy.com (Sept.12, 2014)\nThe Arab Spring is a series of related political uprisings in\nseveral Middle East countries – including Tunisia, Morocco, Syria,\nLibya, Egypt, and Bahrain – to call for pro-democracy changes in\nregimes. The event was sparked by the protest of a Tunisian street\nvendor, who set himself on fire in response to the arbitrary seizing\nof his vegetable stand by police over failure to obtain a permit in\nDecember of 2010. In the spring of the following year - hence the\nname of the movement - Tunisia became the first country to witness\nthe series of political upheaval. However, despite the protests’\nsuccess in removing authoritarian rule in several countries, the\npolitical unrest also morphed into full-scale civil wars in\ncountries like Syria and Yemen.\nKey Parties\nPresident Ali Abdullah Saleh\nAli Abdullah Saleh was a member of the Yemeni political party\nGeneral People’s Congress (GPC) and the president of Yemen from 1990\nuntil February 2012, when he signed an agreement to transfer his\nposition with Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi – who was the then\nvice-president - in exchange for immunity from execution due to\npublic outrage. Before becoming the head of state of the unified\nYemen, Saleh served as the president of North Yemen – or the Yemen\nArab Republic – since 1978. He had a military background and a\nhistory of leading a coup d’état against the imamate (a state ruled\nby an imam, an islamic leader position) of North Yemen and\nestablishing a civilian government in 1962. By the time of his\nresignation, Saleh had already been in rule for 33 years. He\nfamously compared his experience of ruling Yemen to “dancing on the\nheads of snakes”. After his presidency, he continued to be a\npolitical influencer and allied with the Houthi rebels, who later\nclaimed his assassination on December 4, 2017.\nSource: AFP/Agence France-Presse (Nov. 6, 2019)\nPresident Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi\nAbdrabbuh Mansour Hadi is a member of the Yemeni political party GPC\nand the internationally recognized president of Yemen since February\n2012. He also had a military background and occupied many field\npositions in the army before 1986, when the party he served – the\nYemeni Socialist Party – lost the civil war in South Yemen. After\nthe loss, Hadi followed the former South Yemeni president into exile\nin North Yemen, where he gained recognition in the new army. His\nmilitary prominence remained when the two Yemeni states united in\n1990. At the beginning of 1994, he was promoted as the Minister of\nDefence by President Saleh for his support during the first Yemeni\ncivil war; and by the end of the same year, he further appointed to\nreplace the former vice-president, who turned to fight against\nSaleh. In 2012, he was elected as the president of Yemen after\nSaleh’s resignation. However, he soon met his own rebellion forces.\nHe fled from the capital city to Aden in 2015 - when the Houthis\nconquered the city - and ultimately went into exile in Saudi Arabia\nafter the rebels reached his temporary haven in 2017. Due to the\nongoing hostility against him, he spends most of his time in Saudi\nArabia.\nPhoto: Yemeni President Hadi (right) with American Secretary of\nState John Kerry (left) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia\nSource: U.S. Department of State (May. 7, 2015)\nThe Houthis\nThe Houthis – more formally known as the Houthi movement or Ansar\nAllah (“Supporters of God”) – is a Yemeni political and armed\nmovement that emerged from the city of Sa‘dah in the 1990s under the\nleadership of Zaidi – a minority branch under Shiʿi Islam – leader\nHussein Badreddin al-Houthi. Their rebellion began with the\nopposition to President Saleh, whom they accused of marginalizing\nthem and causing the country's high unemployment rate, economic\ndecline, and governmental corruption. There had been numerous armed\nconflicts between the rebels and the Yemeni government forces under\nSaleh. The most notable revolt was during the Arab Spring in 2011,\nwhich ultimately contributed to Saleh’s resignation in the following\nyear. Ironically, the Houthis joined forces with Saleh in 2014 to\nrebel against the current Yemeni leader, President Hadi. The allied\nforces took over Yemen’s capital city, Sanaʽa, which gave them the\n“upper-hand” in the civil war. As of June 2020, the Houthis still\noccupy the capital city and most populated areas in the country.\nThe Southern Transitional Council (STC)\nThe Southern Transitional Council (STC) is a secessionist\norganization in southern Yemen with the goal of separating their\npart of the country from the rest of Yemen – as it was before the\nunification with North Yemen. The separatist force is led by the\nformer governor of Aden, who grew resentment towards the Hadi\ngovernment after the president dismissed him in 2017 due to close\nrelations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2018, with the\nsupport of the UAE, the STC seized the nation’s temporary capital –\nAden – in a coup d’état. Perhaps due to the increasingly complex\nconflicts of interests and casualties of civilians, the STC signed\nan agreement – the Riyadh Agreement – with the Hadi government in\n2019 to end the power-struggle in southern Yemen. However, recent\noutbreaks of armed conflicts in the south make it doubtable whether\nthe separatist force is determined to follow the Saudi-brokered\nagreement.\nThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)\nThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - currently known as the\nCooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf - is an economic\nand political union between the governments of selective Arab\ncountries surrounding the Persian Gulf, namely Bahrain, Kuwait,\nOman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The\nunion’s main objective is to strengthen the bond between the Arab\nnations based on their similar political and cultural identities,\nand through this bond, achieve economic and military stability.\nThe History\nDespite many sources claiming that Yemen’s political unrest began in\n2015 when the Houthis took control of Sanaʽa and Saudi-led forces\nbegan to intervene – or 2011 when the Arab Spring movement catalyzed\nthe current civil war – the truth is that the nation had never been\nstable since its establishment in 1990. In the following section,\nthe 30 years of history, the present situation, and the future of\nYemen are divided into six sections categorized by significant\nevents.\nThe Uneasy Beginning: Unification of North and South Yemen (1990 –\n1999)\nMay 22, 1990, marked the day North and South Yemen – the Yemen Arab\nRepublic and the People’s Republic of South Yemen – united as the\nsingle nation of the Republic of Yemen. However, accompanying the\nmerge was the uneased tension between the two territories, who had\nbeen periodically at war with each other since 1972. One of the\ndifferences between the two states was the population, with South\nYemen comprised mostly of Sunnis and North Yemen majorly of Zaidi\nShiʿah. The two former countries were also politically diverse, as\nNorth Yemen had a nationalist government at the time of the merge\nwhile South Yemen – although going through reforms – was a socialist\nstate. Despite the disputes between the two Yemeni states that would\nforeshadow future conflicts, the unification had been relatively\npeaceful, as a unified parliament and constitution were formed and\nagreed upon. The joint Yemeni government consisted of Saleh – the\nformer head of North Yemen – as the president and Ali Salim al-Beidh\n– the former leader of South Yemen – as the vice-president. North\nYemen’s capital city, Sanaʽa, became the capital for the unified\nYemen.\nPhoto: North and South Yemen before unifying in 1990\nSource: Al Jazeera (Sept. 19, 2019)\nHowever, in just one year after the nation’s establishment, Yemen\nhad encountered its first international crisis. As a member of the\nUnited Nations Security Council (UNSC) for 1990 and 1991, the\ncountry voted against military intervention in Iraq and Kuwait\nduring the Gulf War against the wishes of many Western and Arab\ncountries – such as the U.S and Saudi Arabia. As a result, the\ninternational financial support for Yemen was cut, and neighbouring\nSaudi Arabia expelled around 800,000 Yemeni workers, leading the\nnewly formed country into a sharp economic decline. It was also\nduring this period of financial difficulty – with hunger and\nwidespread unemployment – that opposition forces to the government\nbegan to emerge.\nIn 1994, as Saleh’s government failed to ease the increasingly\ndreadful economic crisis, vice-president al-Beidh – who was the\npresident of former South Yemen – and many southern officials\norganized a rebellion in an attempt to gain independence for the\nsouth, despite only merging four years ago. Establishing the event\nas Yemen’s first civil war, President Salah declared a state of\nemergency and dismissed al-Beidh as the vice-president. In his place\n– as previously mentioned – was Hadi, the then Minister of Defense.\nThe President and his new vice-president succeeded in vanquishing\nthe separatist forces and resolving the crisis by the end of 1994.\nThe southern succession forces are briefly put to rest.\nTerrorists, Rebels, and Separatists (2000 - 2010)\nIn October of 2000, Yemen once again grabbed Western media’s\nheadlines for a terrorist attack in the country with the U.S. as the\ntarget. USS Cole, one of the United States Navy’s guided missile\ndestroyer was damaged during a suicide bombing attack claimed by the\nterrorist group al-Qaeda. Seventeen American nationals were killed\nand thirty-nine were injured, making the event the deadliest attack\nagainst a U.S. navy vessel since 1987.\nThe country was alarmed, and the government began to take action -\nalthough not after denying and putting off the attack as \"an\naccident\" until U.S. investigation revealed otherwise. However, no\nsignificant progress nor response had been made for over a year,\nfurther decreasing Saleh’s credibility and popularity among the\ncitizens. Even his more notable actions, such as expelling more than\na hundred foreign Islamic clerics in February 2002, had no impact on\nthe worsening of terrorism in the area. In fact, merely eight months\nafter the expulsion, al-Qaeda launched another attack, killing one\nand injuring twelve crew members on the oil supertanker MV Limburg\nin the Port of Aden.\nA year before the end of the decade, branches of the terrorist group\nin Saudi Arabia and Yemen merged to form the collective branch\ncalled al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The AQAP would be\nresponsible for many notorious attacks in the future, which gave the\ngroup widespread recognition as the most dangerous branch of\nal-Qaeda.\nPhoto: USS Cole after the 2000 al-Qaeda attack\nSource: CNN (Feb. 20, 2020)\nIn addition to combating the terrorist threats, the Yemeni\ngovernment was simultaneously facing a new opposition force emerging\nfrom the northern mountains of the country. From June to September\nof 2004, the Houthis – a rebel group of Zaidi Shiʿi minorities –\nsparks up conflict with government forces when attempts have been\nmade to arrest their leader, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. Despite\nthe rebellion’s presence since the 1990s, no armed conflicts have\noccurred until President Saleh has accused the group of trying to\noverthrow the government and the republican system to implement\nZaidi religious law in 2004. The Houthis, in response, have claimed\nthat their actions are merely self-defense against governmental\ndiscrimination on their minority population. Neither party has\nmanaged to claim their cases and instead fall into months of brutal\ncombat.\nThe insurgency has already been disastrous – with hundreds of\ncivilian deaths amid the initial conflicts – but the assassination\nof the Houthi leader on September 10 only fueled the rebels’ anger\nfurther. After losing their leader, the group continued to engage in\nintermittent armed clashes with government forces – notably the\nfight in March 2005, in which two hundred civilians were killed\nwithin the month. The periodic combats would continue until 2010\nwhen the movements in demand for the president’s resignation began\nto build momentum. By this brief period of ceasefire, as many as\n80,000 Yemeni civilians were displaced within the country.\nMeanwhile, frustration towards the nation’s unification rekindled in\nthe south, only to be fueled further when the government launched an\noffensive against the separatists in late 2010.\nHope, Disappointment, and Unceasing Rebellion (2011 - 2014)\nIn the spring of 2011, the wave of pro-democracy uprisings against\nauthoritarian governments - known as the Arab Spring in retrospect -\nswept through numerous North African and Middle Eastern countries.\nAlthough the Yemeni version of the movement is lesser-known, it had\na significant and long-lasting impact on the country’s political and\nsocietal landscape. Similar to the ones of Tunisians and Egyptians,\nthe Yemeni demonstrations started in January of the year with public\nrallies voicing the people’s complaints about the poor economic\ncondition, high unemployment rate, unsettled military unrest, and\nthe marginalization of minority groups under Saleh's corrupted\ngovernment. By March, the increased conflicts between the government\nand the civilian, rebel, and separatist forces urged the protesters\nto harden their demands for Saleh’s immediate resignation. They had\nachieved this - after a few failed attempts at negotiation and a\nsuccessful physical attack on Saleh - in November of 2011. The\nresignation of the president and the transfer of his power to Hadi -\nthe then vice-president - had been overseen and brokered by both\nmembers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the UN to prevent\nlast-minute refusal and disrespect for the agreements.\nPhoto: Saleh (right) handing over the Yemeni flag – symbolizing\nhis presidential power – to Hadi (left)\nSource: Hani Mohammed of the Associated Press/AP (Feb. 27, 2012)\nThe Yemeni people had officially elected Hadi as the president in\nFebruary of 2012. Although, it was unclear whether he gained genuine\npublic support as he won as the sole candidate in an election that\nwas boycotted by both the Houthis in the north and the secessionists\nin the south.\nFollowing the initiatives proposed by the GCC, the new president\nlaunched a National Dialogue Conference (NDC) in March 2013 to\ndiscuss major Yemeni constitutional, political, and social issues.\nThe conference concluded in the following year with Hadi promising\nto take actions - such as constitutional drafting and holding a\nconstitutional referendum - towards transitioning into a more\ndemocratic government.\nHowever, the proposed reforms failed to address many of the\ncountry’s core problems. For example, the threat of terrorism had\nbeen growing - with two significantly destructive suicide attacks in\none year - without constructive and effective actions from the Hadi\ngovernment. Many Yemenis were once hopeful for the change but began\nto show growing disappointment at the lack of improvement. Among\nthese people, the Houthis - who remained peaceful until 2014 - grew\nincreasingly resentful for the lack of motion addressing their\ngrievances. They retook the streets and began another rebellion\ntowards the newly-established government. However, this time, their\nrevolt was joined by forces loyal to Saleh - the Houthis’ once sworn\nenemies - who saw this as the opportunity to return the former\npresident to power. Together, they fought against the federal\nmilitary and conquered the capital city - Sanaʽa - in September\n2014, forcing President Hadi to escape and move his government\nheadquarters to Aden, a major southern port city. The presidential\npanel attempted to draft several amendments to accommodate some of\nthe rebels' demands, but the offers were rejected and the Yemeni\ncivil war began in full force.\nPhoto: Map of Yemen showing the Houthi-Saleh alliance (in\norange) conquering the capital city\nSource: Global Security (Apr. 25, 2020)\nInternational Involvement and Proxy War (2015 - 2016)\nAfter the invasion of Sanaʽa, the Houthis and forces of Saleh\ncontinued to push south towards President Hadi’s temporary base at\nAden. They arrived at the port city and took control of the airport\nand the presidential headquarters in February 2015, forcing the\npresident to flee to neighbouring Oman then ultimately to Saudi\nArabia. The war soon developed into a complex international\ncrossfire.\nDespite the casualty rate quickly increasing since the beginning of\nthe war in 2014, it did not drastically spike into an alarming\namount until Saudi Arabia interfered with nine other predominantly\nMuslim countries. The media often refer to this party as the\n“Saudi-led coalition”. The coalition began its campaign of\nrelentless airstrikes in 2015 - after being defeated by the rebels\non land due to unfamiliarity with the landscape. Despite the nation\nclaiming to be aiming at military targets, the UN estimated that\none-third of the aerial attacks were aimed at civilian gatherings\nplaces and infrastructures - including hospitals, schools, and even\na funeral. Moreover, the international alliance also set up land,\nsea, and sky blockades to prevent military supplies from entering\nthe country and getting into the rebels’ hands. However, in doing\nso, it had also blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the Yemeni\ncivilians, who were desperately in need.\nMany might wonder, why is Saudi Arabia fighting so vigorously in\nthis domestic warfare? In response, according to Elizabeth Kendall -\nsenior researcher at the University of Oxford - Saudi Arabia has\nexpressed three central war aims.\nFirst, the nation wanted to restore President Hadi's power. Doing so\nwould be for the Saudis' best interests as they would be more at\nease with Yemen being under the control of a centralized government.\nSecond, the country strived to protect the southern border it shares\nwith Yemen and prevent the rebels from controlling Bab-el-Mandeb\nStrait - one of the most important shipping routes of oil in the\nworld that lies between the southwestern tip of Yemen and the\nAfrican nations of Eritrea and Djibouti\nLastly, and most importantly, the Arab state wanted to contain the\nperceived growing influence of Iran in the region. The Saudis’ fear\nof Iran gaining power in the region is understandable, as the two\nnations had been long-time rivals due to many reasons, including\nIran being the most significant Shiʿi power in the region and Saudi\nArabia being majorly Sunni. However, why is Iran related to the war?\nDespite denying the accusations of direct military aid, Iran had\nproclaimed its public support for the Houthis, and there was\nevidence that the weapons used by the rebels were Iranian-produced.\nThe situation is the prototypal example of proxy war - where two\ncountries - in this case, Iran and Saudi Arabia - support opposing\nsides in a foreign war. It could almost be perceived that the two\ncountries are at war without declaring one with each other.\nPhoto: Saudi Arabia (represented by Crown Prince Mohammed bin\nSalman; left) and Iran (represted by President Hassan Rouhani;\nright) fighting a proxy war in Yemen (centre)\nSource: Getty Images (Dec. 9, 2017)\nRegardless of the truth about military involvement, the mere\npresence of Iran immensely complicated the situation. Many western\ncountries - namely the U.S., the U.K., and France - became active in\nthe war due to their friendly economic relationships with Saudi\nArabia and rivalries - chiefly the U.S. - with Iran. These western\ngovernments provided the Saudis with logistical and military support\nduring the mission to restore the Yemeni government.\nAs a result, the civil war in Yemen had evolved into a full\ninternational dispute by 2016 - with the U.S., the U.K., France, and\nSaudi-led coalition backing the Hadi government, and Iran backing\nthe Houthi rebel forces.\nGrowing Complexity and Alliance Disputes (2017 - 2019)\nIn December 2017, former president Saleh shocked the world by\nbreaking his alliance on TV and saying that he was willing to\nnegotiate a solution with the Saudi-led coalition. To many Yemenis,\nSaleh was the one and only president they had ever known; struggling\nunder the Houthis' rule, they had been desperately waiting for Saleh\nto take a stand towards mediation. However, the moment they dreamt\nof did not materialize. Merely two days after switching sides, Saleh\nwas assassinated just outside of the capital city. The Houthis soon\nclaimed his death.\nTaking away the only hope for reconciliation, the Houthis were now\nthe target for both the forces loyal to Saleh and the Saudi-led\ncoalition. However, perhaps due to their familiarity with the\nbattlefields and the support from Iran, the Yemeni government and\nSaudi-led coalition had only managed to reclaim parts of the\nHouthis' territory in the south. By the end of 2019, the Houthis\nstill occupy a large portion of the western region, which is the\nmost populous.\nMeanwhile, another alliance - in addition to the Houthi-Saleh union\n- had begun to show cracks. Despite its name, the Saudi-led\ncoalition was chiefly organized by both Saudi Arabia and the United\nArab Emirates (UAE). The two nations took responsibility for battles\nin different parts of Yemen - Saudis in the north and the Emirates\nin the south. While everyone expected them to be working towards the\nsame goal, the UAE shockingly declared its support of the Southern\nTransitional Council (STC) - a southern separatist group - in 2017.\nMany suspect that the newly-formed alliance was based on the reasons\nthat the UAE developed friendly relations with people of the south\nafter four three years of collaboration, and that the Emirates value\nthe STC because they are good fighters against terrorist\norganizations like the AQAP and the rising power of the Islamic\nState. Also, President Hadi had been in exile in Saudi Arabia for an\nextended period of time, causing him to lose contact and support\nfrom the locals in the south - specifically Aden, where his\ngovernment is based. All of the above contributed to the seemingly\neffortless conquest of Aden by the UAE-backed STC in 2018.\nAt this point in the war, the civilian deaths had reached an amount\ntoo horrendous to be ignored. The airstrikes administered by the\nSaudi-led coalitions began to receive international criticism, as\nthe damages they caused were so significant and detrimental that the\nUN had categorized the aerial attacks as war crimes. Being the\nleading supplier of aerial weapons to the Saudis, the U.S. entered a\nrealm of internal debates regarding the true nature of its\ninvolvement in the war. Many Americans took the streets to demand an\nexit to the war when the scandal of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin\nSalman and the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi broke out.\nMoreover, officials acknowledged the alarming trend of Yemeni youths\njoining extremist groups in retaliation to the U.S.’s involvement in\nthe destruction of their county. However, as President Trump -\nagainst the dismay of most Americans - vetoes the Senate's bill to\nend the U.S’s military support in Yemen in 2019, there is little\nprospect of an end to the chaotic war and the mass civilian\nsuffering.\nPhoto: President Donald Trump vetoes measures to end U.S.\ninvolvement in Yemen\nSource: Evan Vucci of the Associated Press/AP (Apr. 17, 2019)\nPresent and Future (2020 - Future)\nThe current situation in Yemen is dire, to say the least. Neither of\nthe two major opposition parties – the Iran-supported Houthis and\nthe Saudi-backed Yemeni governmental forces – show any signs of\nwillingness to negotiate. The constant disruptions caused by\nterrorist groups - including ISIS and the world’s most dangerous\nbranch of al-Qaeda - as well as more than twenty national\nsecessionist forces only complicate matters further.\nPhoto: Map of Yemen showing controlled districts of major\nopposition groups within the war as of March 25, 2020\nSource: Koopinator on YouTube (Mar. 25, 2020)\nMeanwhile, Yemeni civilians – whose casualties are estimated to be\nat least 100,000 since 2015 – are struggling to survive.\nThe United Nations summarized the crisis in 2020 with the\ncharacteristics of “widespread poverty, conflict, poor governance\nand weak rule of law, including widely reported human rights\nviolations”. Unfortunately, the international humanitarian\nassistance – which an estimated 24.1 million civilians, or\ntwo-thirds of the population, depends on for survival – continues to\nbe used by the Saudi-led coalition as a tactic in war, despite the\nUN’s repetitive condemnation. Moreover, with the newest challenge\nbrought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic, the desperately needed\nmedical aids and emergency supplies shorten further as the global\nfocus shifts away from the crumbling nation.\nThe United Nations states that ending the war would be the only\nsolution to this growing crisis. However, the war in Yemen consists\nof multiple oppositions of numerous international and national\nparties. To put an end to the war – or at least the foreign\nintervention in the civil war – would not be easy, as demonstrated\nby the multiple failed attempts at negotiation, but it can be\nachieved if the more stable and powerful countries – such as the\nU.S. – can take the initiative and actions.\nOn the positive side, with the recent increase of international\nattention, experts discover sparks of hope within the war-torn\nnation.\n“If you give the young people...the women...and the non-elites a\nchance to be part of the process to develop a solution for Yemen,\nthere is hope, because they are brilliant, smart people. They just\nhave been left out of the whole process and discussion.”, said\nDirector Muhammedally of the Middle East and South Asia Center for\nCivilians in Conflict.\nHenrietta Fore, the executive director of the United Nations\nInternational Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), also saw hope\nafter interacting with Yemeni children in UN-protected areas. “Many\nof these children have seen so much dying, but if we can get them to\nthese safe places, they begin to have psychosocial support...and\nbegin to put some of those memories into a place that they can deal\nwith it and live with it.”, she said after her visit.\nEver since the beginning of the nation, the civilians had too often\nbeen suffering and ignored. Yemen is known throughout the Middle\nEast as \"Yemen al-sa'id\", which means “happy Yemen” or “optimistic\nYemen”, according to Rabyaah Althaibani, the founder of the Arab\nWomen’s Voice.\nThe battle between international and national forces hangs tens of\nmillions of Yemeni civilians’ lives on a thread. They crave for a\nsolution, for stability, and for peace.\nYet, their future depends partially on our governments and us. Will\nwe, as outsiders to this catastrophic humanitarian crisis, help them\nachieve a future of happiness and optimism?\nPhoto: Yemeni children smiling through their pain\nSource: Art Chartier (Mar. 11, 2013)","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/yementhehistoryofconflictbehindtheworldsworsthumanitariancrisis19.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Gaur, Aakanksha, et al. “Sunni Islam.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 4. Oct. 2019. Web. 28. June. 2020.","Giovetti, Olivia. “5 OF THE WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISES — AND HOW WE’RE HELPING.” Concern Worldwide USA. 27. Sept. 2019. Web. 26. June. 2020.","King, MacDara, et al. “Yemen: A History of Conflict - Narrated by David Strathairn - Full Episode.” YouTube. Uploaded by Foreign Policy Association. 2. Mar. 2020. Web. 25. June. 2020.","Koopinator. “The Yemeni Civil War: Every Day (Feb 2014 - March 2020).” YouTube. Uploaded by Koopinator. 25. Mar. 2020. Web. 29. June. 2020.","Licciardello, Chas. “The war in Yemen explained | Planet America.” YouTube. Uploaded by ABC News In-Depth. 27. Mar. 2017. Web. 25. June. 2020.","McKernan, Bethan. “Socotra is Finally Dragged into Yemen's Civil War, Ripping Apart the Island's Way of Life.” The Independent. 9. May. 2018. Web. 25. June. 2020. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/ socotra-yemen-civil-war-uae-miltary-base-island-life-emirates-a8342621.html","“MIDDLE EAST :: YEMEN.” The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) – The World Factbook. 11. June. 2020. Web. 25. June. 2020.","Mullen, Matt, et al. “Arab Spring.” History. 17. Jan. 2020. Web. 28. June. 2020.","Newman, Andrew J. “Shiʿi Islam.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 28. Jan. 2020. Web. 28. June. 2020.","Noman, Mai. “Ali Abdullah Saleh: Why His Death is a Big Deal for Yemen - BBC News.” YouTube. Uploaded by BBC News. 5. Dec. 2017. Web. 27. June. 2020.","“Sanaa.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 27. June. 2020. Web. 27. June. 2020.","“Southern Transitional Council (STC).” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 21. June. 2020. Web. 28. June. 2020.","Stone, Richard. “Yemen was Facing the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis. Then the Coronavirus Hit.” American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 28. May. 2020. Web. 26. June. 2020.","“Sunnis and Shia in the Middle East.” British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News. 19. Dec. 2013. Web. 28. June. 2020.","Tesch, Noah, et al. “Ali Abdullah Saleh – President of Yemen.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 17. Mar. 2020. Web. 27. June. 2020.","“The Middle East’s Cold War, Explained” YouTube. Uploaded by Vox. 17. July. 2017. Web. 28. June. 2020.","“The US May be Aiding War Crimes in Yemen.” YouTube. Uploaded by Vox. 12. Dec. 2016. Web. 26. June. 2020.","“Yemen.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 25. June. 2020. Web. 25. June. 2020.","“Yemen Arab Republic.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 25. May. 2020. Web. 28. June. 2020.","“Yemen Country Profile.” The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News. 18. Feb. 2019. Web. 25. June. 2020.","“Yemen’s Complicated War Explained.” YouTube. Uploaded by TRT World. 10. Aug. 2018. Web. 26. June. 2020.","“Yemen - Summary of 28 Years of History.” YouTube. Uploaded by Geo History. 19. July. 2018. Web. 25. June. 2020.","Zeidan, Adam, et al. “Gulf Cooperation Council - International Organization.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 18. May. 2020. Web. 28. June. 2020."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":6,"pub_key":20,"title":"Redlining and Racial Segregation","subtitle":"The Fight for Native American Equality: Freedom and Justice for All?","credit":"By: Dorothy Chan","editor":null,"date":"2020-07-14","content":"The recent surge of support for the Black Lives Matter movement has\nhighlighted the widespread implementation of systemic racism against\nthe Black community in America. One contributor to institutionalized\nracism is the act of redlining, the past practice of partitioning a\ncity into color-coded sections. Each color represented the\ndesirability of certain areas to be invested in and the probability\nof being lent mortgages or loans to. Redlining was first implemented\nafter the Great Depression to resolve the housing shortage in\nAmerica, but at the expense of minorities, especially black\ncommunities. It was officially practiced when the National Housing\nAct of 1934 was passed, which then caused the Federal Housing\nAdministration (FHA) to be established to reinforce the policies\nthat actively exacerbated segregation in America’s housing markets.\nThis, in turn, facilitated a “state-sponsored system of\nsegregation,” as author Richard Rothstein labeled it.\nOne direct consequence of redlining was that it significantly\ndelayed the process of urbanization in redlined areas. BIPOC\nindividuals were forcibly congregated into neighborhoods composed of\nhousing projects, which have historically been associated with\nnegative connotations of poverty and crime. Cities, such as Detroit\nand Newark, were also deterred from investing in these areas,\nresulting in the deterioration of public infrastructures such as\nschools and roads. Not to mention, individuals that lived in these\nredlined communities were denied basic services such as banking,\ninsurance, and even access to supermarkets. This resulted in\ndeclines in property value, declines in literacy rates, and\nincreases in crime rates.\nPrivate lenders took advantage of this situation by participating in\na newly introduced practice called predatory lending. They sought\nout black families who were denied by other banks for financial aid,\nand convinced them to take out loans with high-interest rates with\nthe intention of leaving them in economic distress. These lenders\nessentially manipulated this disadvantageous situation for their own\neconomic gain at the expense of the financial well being of many\nblack families.\nRedlining was outlawed as a result of the Fair Housing Act of 1968,\nwhich initiated the process of desegregation in America’s housing\nmarket. As a result of this, neighborhoods began diversifying due to\nthe influx of black families moving into dense white-populated\nareas.\nHowever, this triggered a phenomenon known as “white flight,”\nreferring to when white families moved from urban areas to suburban\nareas with the incentive of low-interest rates as cities became more\ndesegregated. However, as white families migrated to other areas,\nthey brought their taxes along with them. So, considering that the\nnewly moved-in black families were unable to make up for the lack of\nfunds as a result of decades of discrimination that stunted their\neconomic mobility, this led to an urban decline in metropolitan\nareas.\nRedlining, despite being outlawed for over 50 years, has caused\napparent inequalities in our society that ultimately still make it a\nrelevant issue to discuss today.\nOne long-lasting effect is the racial wealth gap in America. This\nstemmed from the fact that black individuals were denied the ability\nto purchase homes due to redlining. Consequently, they were unable\nto accumulate generational wealth through property value and equity.\nConsidering that generational wealth is mostly derived from property\nownership, it is unsurprising that the black-white economic gap is\nstill unresolved since the Great Depression.\nAnother effect is the modern-day school to prison pipeline, which is\na phenomenon in which students of color, especially black children,\nare actively pushed out of schools and into juvenile detention\ncenters and prisons. For many, the pipeline starts in underfunded\nschools lacking adequate resources. This is a commonality seen in\nmany underprivileged black neighborhoods as a result of redlining.\nWithout the availability of basic materials including writing\nutensils, textbooks, and even guidance counselors, black students\nare put at a disadvantage. In addition to other factors including\nzero-tolerance behavioral standard policies and over-policing in\npredominantly black schools, this leads to disproportionate\nsuspensions, expulsions, and even arrests among black students.\nStudents are then pushed towards detention centers and prisons\nwithout an adequate education. Even if given the opportunity to be\nreintroduced into society, the lack of resources to guide them\nultimately counteracts their attempts to do so. From every stage of\nthe school to prison pipeline, black students are constantly\ndisadvantaged solely due to the systemic racism in our country.\nUnfortunately, the racial wealth gap and the school to prison\npipeline are only two examples of the many racial disparities\npresent in our society. These problems, despite being highlighted by\nthe current Black Lives Matter movement, have mattered for decades\nprior. It is not enough to reform our country, but to completely\ndismantle and rebuild our fundamental systems in order to protect\nthose that have been failed by our past and present political\nleaders and legislative systems.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/redliningandracialsegregation20.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Brooks, Khristopher J. “Redlining's Legacy: Maps Are Gone, but the Problem Hasn't Disappeared.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 12 June 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/redlining-what-is-history-mike-bloomberg-comments/.","“Demographic Trends and Economic Well-Being.” Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends, Pew Research Center, 30 May 2020, www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/1-demographic-trends-and-economic-well-being/","Gross, Terry. “A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America.” National Public Radio, 3 May 2017, www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america.","McIntosh, Kriston, et al. “Examining the Black-White Wealth Gap.”, Brookings, 27 Feb. 2020, www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/02/27/examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap/.","“School-to-Prison Pipeline.” American Civil Liberties Union, www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline.","Semuels, Alana. “White Flight Lives on in American Cities.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 July 2015, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/07/white-flight-alive-and-well/399980/."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":118,"pub_key":21,"title":"Asian American Is Not a Disease","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Mahbuba Sumiya","editor":null,"date":"2020-07-16","content":"Asia is the largest continent in the world, where many ethnic groups\nlive — not just Chinese. Yet, many Asian Americans have experienced\na recent surge in racist attacks due to the novel coronavirus\noutbreak. Hostile attitudes toward Asian Americans aren’t new.\n“There’s a long history of blaming Asia and Asian migrants and, by\nextension, Asian Americans for outbreaks of disease. COVID-19 is\njust the most current example of this history,” stated Cathy Ceniza\nChoy for the Berkeley News at the University of California.\nAlong with the fear of the spread, COVID-19 has also given rise to\nharassment and many racist remarks against Asian Americans across\nthe United States. President Donald Trump has called COVID-19 the\n“Chinese virus” and the “Kung flu”. Trump stated at a White House\npress conference that the coronavirus could have been stopped in\nWuhan, China, where the first case of COVID-19 was discovered. It is\nunethical for someone with high authority to criticize a certain\ngroup of people. After her classmate said Chinese people are\n“disgusting” and “dirty,” Katherine Oung, a teenager in Florida,\ntold the New York Times, “As the coronavirus spreads, there’s\nanother virus spreading that we need to be talking about.” Many\nAsian Americans are being bombarded with hateful racist comments\nfrom many of their peers and community members. Many Asian\nAmericans, including myself, who live in Detroit, are anxious about\nbeing targeted by coronavirus racism. Last month, the Detroit Free\nPress reported “an elderly Chinese American had his grocery cart\nspat on by someone.”\nAs a result, UNICEF has declared Yemen’s ongoing dissension as the\nworld’s largest humanitarian crisis. Ignorance is the stagnation of\ninnovative solutions, which is why recognizing and working towards\nalleviating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis through social media\nactivism, online articles, and word of mouth is of utmost\nimportance. Specifically considering social media, it can be a\nvessel to transform knowledge into tangible action: sharing accurate\ninformation, linking petitions, donations and valid newsreels can\nhelp educate, empathize and create opportunities for the youth to\nstrive for social justice. Often, constant exposure to news on\nsocial media allows individuals to take the conversation beyond an\napp, into the confines of their home and communities, especially if\nthe issue has not been addressed in the media. Sadly, the Yemen\ncrisis does not get NEARLY enough media coverage that it deserves,\nas #BlackLivesMatter is a current focal point (as it should be, but\nwe need to prioritize Yemen too). Therefore, please read the\nfollowing article and inform yourselves: and do your part in\ndonating, and sharing accurate information over social media.\nThe coronavirus is spreading rapidly, and so is discrimination against\nAsians. It is a difficult time for everyone. Many people are feeling\nfrustrated and angry, but it’s important to respect every group\ndespite the generalizations that are being made about certain races.\nWhat is happening now is similar to the hatred Muslims faced after the\nSept. 11 terrorist attacks. On that tragic day, innocent Muslims\naround the world were turned from practicing Islam peacefully to\npracticing with fear. That was before I was born, but I still vividly\nremember the day I learned about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks from a\nnewspaper. I remember asking my siblings what they did when this\nsituation was happening and one of them said, “Because of 9/11, we\nweren’t able to come to the United States early in our life.” 9/11 was\ntransformative for all Muslims and not in a positive way. Many Muslims\nwere not only afraid to be their true selves outside of their comfort\nzone but were ashamed to call themselves Muslim. 9/11 is an example of\nIslamist extremism. Terrorists, rioters, and beggars are just a few\nwords that have been used to describe Muslims. Associating incidents\nor diseases with countries, regions, or religions with a certain\nethnic group creates a stigma against certain races that are already\nmarginalized.\nSen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, said, “The virus is a virus. It does\nnot have a race or ethnicity. We cannot let fear during this uncertain\ntime turn people toward prejudice and hate.” Now is the time for Asian\nAmericans to speak up and educate others. A crisis does not last\nforever, but its impact is everlasting. Crises provide people with the\nopportunity to speak out and become stronger as a community. Any sort\nof racism that subjects certain groups can be solved by educating the\ngeneral public on how to be careful with the words they use. Simply\ntelling people that their ideologies are racist is not going to change\nany of their perspectives. However, educating them on the ideologies\nthey hold and the effect it can have on another person is crucial to\ncreating a more united country.\nRising Voices of Asian American Families is doing just that. Formed as\na nonprofit to promote civic engagement at the electoral and policy\nlevel, this organization started a #NoAAPIHate campaign to provide\nAsian Americans with a platform that allows them to speak out during\nthis pandemic.\nCOVID-19 is a disease, but Asian Americans are not. They are human\nbeings, who are facing the same deadly virus as the rest of the world.\nAbout the writer: Mahbuba Sumiya (17) lives in Detroit, Michigan and\nattends Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine. She loves\nstorytelling. All throughout her high school journey, she has been\ninvolved with poetry, journalism, and scientific research. Anything\nthat challenges Mahbuba intellectually, she loves being in that\nenvironment.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/asianamericanisnotadisease21.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Featured Submissions"]},{"id":146,"pub_key":22,"title":"Brecht Lanfossi: An Art Collection","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Brecht Lanfossi","editor":"","date":"2020-07-18","content":"About the Artist\nBrecht Lanfossi (alter ego: nozem) is a Belgian surrealist collagist/digital painter inspired by dream-like\nand psychotic consciousness free of reason and convention.\nHe is a Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK Ghent) drop out who never gave up the idea of making some “art” one\nday.\nA way to interpret Lanfossi's work is to consider each work as a scene in a sort of vague state of mental\nfunctioning where symbolism dominates the whole experience itself.\nOn the other hand, he believes that it would be complete nonsense trying to answer the conundrum concerning\nhis aesthetic creations.\nHe also doesn't like to use the word “art” for his works because of the grotesque sounding connotation it\ncarries with it.\nFor the artist himself doing what he does is just one of the many existing desperate ways of escaping the\nglobal enslaved mind we are all currently living in.\nHe thinks doing that sounds a lot better than the superficial, rat race-driven, chaos that has become our\nnorm.\nAnxiety Attack Before Dawn\nEpiphany\nKalopsia\nMeliorism\nMetanoia\nAbout the Artwork\nTo describe my work or make an artist statement, it's best to start by quoting two men:\n“In the future, humans will be able to simulate entire universes quite easily. And given the vastness of time\nahead, the number of these simulations is likely to be huge. So if you ask the question: ‘Do we live in the\none reality or in one of the many simulations?’, the answer, statistically speaking, is that we're more likely\nto be living in a simulation.”\n– Silas Beane\n“Our brain simulates reality. So our everyday experiences are a form of dreaming, which is to say, they are\nmental models, simulations, not the things they appear to be.”\n– Stephen Laberge\nOne could argue that what Beane says is nothing new. Artists are already simulating universes for their\nviewers in a seemingly effortless way. Because of the immense range of works and styles in art, the number of\nsimulations is already large. An artist offers viewers the opportunity to live in this variety of simulations\nfor a while. And Laberge states that things are not what they seem to be, which can be traced back to every\nartist’s work. In their own context, artists let viewers experience this noble fact.\nWhile creating my artwork, I always keep the ideas from these quotes in my mind, hoping to share them with any\npotential viewer.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/brechtlanfossianartcollection22.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":130,"pub_key":23,"title":"Interview with Sequoia Smith, a Director at GenZ Girl Gang","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Huiwen Chen","editor":null,"date":"2020-07-21","content":"1. Could you please tell us about yourself and introduce GenZ Girl\nGang?\nMy name is Sequoia Smith, and I’m the Directory of Advocacy\nand Communications at GenZ Girl Gang. I graduated from Mount Saint\nMary’s University in Los Angeles, California. I majored in\nPolitical Science and minored in Pre-law in the hope of going to law\nschool and becoming a criminal defense attorney.\nGenZ Girl Gang is a bold experiment in the way we use social media\nas a community-building tool. We challenge the basic features of\nInstagram to build deeper connections and provide resources to our\ncommunity members on how they can support each other and redefine\nsisterhood in the age of social media and infinite connection.\n2. You mentioned that GGG is a bold experiment with a mission to\nredefine sisterhood. What does the “bold” mean to you?\nWhat does “sisterhood” mean to you?\nTo us bold means not being afraid of stepping out of the boundaries\nthat society places us in. GenZ Girl Gang uses a whole new framework\nof how we connect to our audience and build community with them.\nSisterhood to us means community. Your community are the people who\nshow up for you no matter what, cheer you on and support you in your\nendeavors but at the same time hold you accountable when you mess\nup.\n3. In your opinion, what are the biggest issues Generation Z girls\nface today?\nI think our generation is struggling with many issues whether that\nbe affordable housing, student debt, a living wage, gun violence,\netc. but I think the biggest issue is climate change. If we do not\ntake swift action to slow climate change down, it will not matter if\nwe have affordable housing or end gun violence since there will be\nno planet to live on.\n4. How do you see sisterhood being misrepresented? Why is it\nimportant to redefine sisterhood?\nIts not that sisterhood is misrepresented, GenZ Girl Gang wanted to\nredefine sisterhood by rooting it in community-building. We think\nit’s important to root sisterhood in community because\ncommunity is the lifeline for every strong woman and femme.\n5. Why do you think it is important to empower women through\ncommunity building?\nAt GenZ Girl Gang, we believe community building is the best way to\nempower women because it fosters an environment of collaboration\nover competition. We strongly believe that it is important for women\nand femmes to work together instead of working against each other.\nWhen women treat each other as collaborators instead of competition\ninnovation is allowed to take hold.\n6. Tell us about the past campaigns at Genz Girl Gang. How has it\nhelped bridge generational gaps and create a network of sisterhood?\nWhat resources do they offer to girls?\nThis past year, GenZ Girl Gang’s three seasonal campaigns;\nDemand and Disrupt, College Access for All, and Pitch, Please! have\nserved our members directly. The Demand and Disruptcampaign taught\ncommunity members skills to advocate for their needs and disrupt\ntraditional views of professionalism in the workplace, resulting in\nthis Teen Vogue feature. GenZ Girl Gang’s College Access for\nAll campaign used Instagram’s chat feature to connect ninety\nhigh school juniors and seniors to mentorship from current college\nstudents and brought to life an in-person event n inclusivity in\nhigher education in partnership with Samsung 837. Most recently,\nGenZ Girl Gang has been exploring how to celebrate platonic love,\nhype up ourselves and our friends, and build power in our personal\nnetworks through the Pitch, Please campaign.\n7. I know that your organization is leading a coalition, What does\nGGG hope to achieve from the GGG community coalition?\nWe created our community coalition to share resources, uplift other\norganizations, and embrace collaboration over competition.\n8. How can people get involved in this campaign?\nOur coalition is full at the moment.\n9. What vision does GenZ Girl Gang have for sisterhood in the\nfuture?\nOur vision at GenZ Girl Gang is to build the next generation of\nleaders through sisterhood. So often, women and femmes are taught\nthere can only be one seat at the table that we must compete with\neach other for, but our generation won't settle for a seat at the\ntable. We are creating our own. We’re taking steps today to\nbuild a future where congresswomen, astronauts, entrepreneurs, those\nwho will hold jobs that we cannot even imagine yet are connected in\ninterdisciplinary personal networks. It’s this\nrelationship-building that will empower us to take on the challenges\nof tomorrow with a deeper understanding and from new perspectives.\n10. What advice do you have for girls who want to become a\nself-advocate?\nI don’t know if I have any specific advice for that because\nI’m still very much learning how to advocate for myself, but\nwhat I will say is do not be afraid to tell people what you need\nfrom them to be successful. If you need help with something, ask.\nThe majority of people want to help you even if you do not know\nthem.\n11. With all the injustice that has been happening in our current\nsocial climate, how has GenZ Girl Gang been raising awareness of\nsystematic racism in this country and actively creating space for\nblack women and girls?\nWe have paused all of our normal content and have shifted to a more\nracial justice focus. We have been putting our protest safety\nguides, amplifying black voices, and educating people on their\nconstitutional rights.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/interviewwithsequoiasmithadirectoratgenzgirlgang23.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Interviews"]},{"id":13,"pub_key":24,"title":"Justice for Vanessa Guillen","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Malya Robenson","editor":null,"date":"2020-07-24","content":"For the past few months, COVID-19 and the calls for police reform in\nthe United States have overshadowed almost everything else in the\nmedia. The looming pandemic has infected millions globally, and\ntensions over the mistreatment of people of color by the police in\nAmerica have run higher than they’ve been in years. One issue that\nhas been struggling to gain media attention is the disappearance and\ndeath of Private Vanessa Guillen in late April.\nTwenty-year-old Vanessa Guillen was a United States Army soldier\nfrom Houston, Texas. She is believed to have been killed on April 22\nat an armory inside of the Fort Hood United States Military Base.\nHer body was found on June 30th, just over two months after the\nincident.\nGuillen was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by fellow Army\nSpecialist Aaron Robinson, who was considered to be a suspect, but\nhe committed suicide before he could be taken into police custody.\nHis girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, admitted that she assisted him in\ndismembering Guillen’s body using a machete and attempted to burn\nand dispose of Guillen’s corpse in the woods 20 miles from the base.\nIf convicted, she would face up to 20 years in federal prison and\nreceive a $250,000 fine.\nMany believe, however, that Guillen’s murder could’ve been\nprevented. Those who were close to Guillen claim that she had been\nfacing sexual harassment by one of her colleagues during the time\nleading up to her death. This has led many to call into question the\nefficacy of the military’s ability to keep its soldiers safe.\nAlthough army officials have claimed that there was no evidence of\nGuillen being harassed, Guillen’s family and friends tell a\ndifferent story. They state that she told them numerous times that\nshe had felt unsafe at work and that she was being sexually\nharassed. The disparity in their stories probably stems from the\nfact that Guillen didn’t report the harassment, likely because she\nfelt as if she couldn’t, either because she believed she wouldn’t be\nlistened to or because she feared retaliation.\nThe United States military has historically had an incredibly poor\ntrack record when it comes to addressing sexual harassment. In far\ntoo many cases, they cover up any transgressions on their part,\nchoosing to punish women for speaking out rather than confronting\nthe issues. Women often feel as if they shouldn’t speak out against\ntheir harassers because they fear being discredited or ridiculed. As\na result, victims believe that staying quiet is the only right\noption.\nOne of such women is Arizona Republican Senator, Martha McSally, who\nserved in the Air Force for over two decades. She was raped by a\nsuperior officer but stayed quiet about the incident for years\nbecause she was scared that the system wouldn’t protect her,\nespecially because of the rank of her assailant. Instead, she chose\nto live with the intense fear and shame for years.\nReports from the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention\nand Response Office have found that in 2018, 6.3% of active-duty men\nand 24.2% of active-duty women had been sexually harassed. One-fifth\nof women who had been sexually harassed were also sexually\nassaulted.\nThe office also found that 76.1% of victims of sexual assault did\nnot report it, likely because 64% of those who do report the\nincidents face some form of retaliation such as demotion in work\nassignments, being denied promotions or deployment, lower\nperformance evaluations, and even complete discharge. Of those who\ndo face retaliation, 66% receive said retaliation from their chain\nof command, and about a third are discharged.\nWith statistics so staggering, it is no wonder that women are so\nterrified of speaking up.\nGuillen’s family and others who have heard of their situation are\nseeking justice for Vanessa as well as reform in the way that the\nmilitary addresses and handles sexual assault cases. They hope that\nwhat happened to Vanessa won’t happen to any other soldier.\nFrom the day that Guillen disappeared, it was clear to her family\nthat the military was mishandling the case and that proper protocols\nwere not being followed. They believe that her disappearance was not\nbeing taken seriously and that it took them far too long to get\nanswers.\nThe general consensus of the public is that women, especially women\nof color, are being mistreated and discriminated against by the\nmilitary. The League of United Latin American Citizens is\ndiscouraging Latina women from joining the military since it does a\npoor job of protecting those enlisted.\nThe hashtag #IamVanessaGuillen has been gaining steam recently as\nmen and women who were in the military share their stories of\nharassment and assault.\nVanessa Guillen was a bright young individual with great potential.\nHer parents have said that since she was a child, Vanessa wanted to\nbe in the army so she could protect her country. Her sister leads\nthe fray as thousands across the nation have gone to the streets in\nprotest to demand radical change.\nVanessa was an ambitious soldier who had her future stolen from her.\nHer story deserves to be told in every capacity. Coverage of the\ndevelopments in her case have been light at best, and the media\nlargely chooses to ignore the ongoing protests in her name. She\ncannot become just another statistic. Her name must not get lost in\nan endless sea of failures on the part of the supposed strongest\nmilitary in the world. Say her name.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/justiceforvanessaguillen24.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":109,"pub_key":25,"title":"I Can’t Breathe: An Homage to George Floyd","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Zhao Gu Gammage","editor":null,"date":"2020-07-28","content":"On May 25th, George Floyd, an African-American man, was unjustly\nkilled by police officer Derek Chauvin when he held Floyd down by\npressing his knee into Floyd’s neck. Four days later, a CNN crew was\narrested on live television by the National Guard for covering the\nMinneapolis protests. After the video was posted to social media, a\ntorrent of protests emerged: they set the Minneapolis police station\nand other buildings ablaze. The government’s response was to send in\nthe National Guard to combat these “thugs” as Trump tweeted. Instead\nof addressing the white supremacists and blatant racism within the\ncountry, President Trump threatens to shoot protestors. Instead of\nprotecting people, the local police kill them. Instead of addressing\nracism, our federal government supports it. The federal government\nis currently trying to crush the protests, thereby crushing\ndemocracy and exposing the true foundation and priorities of the\nAmerican government.\nWhen #GeorgeFloyd garnered major attention on social media, I saw a\nsurge in calls to action on my social media feed. People didn’t just\npost a “justice for George” picture like they had for Ahmaud Arbery;\ninstead, they posted, “Text Floyd to 55156” and “Don’t just repost,\ntake actual action.” They linked locations of protests to attend,\npetitions to sign, and politicians to call. My ultra-liberal friends\nhad called for an investigation into getting Chauvin’s charges\ninflated and had advocated to charge him with second-degree murder.\nMy more conservative peers have recently asked me, “What is\nsomething all Americans should agree upon now?” To which I replied,\n“Stop allowing innocent lives to be taken because of systemic\nracism.” My point in all of this is that the death of George Floyd\nhas caused a severe reaction from my peers, the national media, and\nthe Black community. The real question is what intensified the\nreaction?\nI believe that George Floyd’s death spurred people to take action\nbecause of several factors: his excruciating death, people being\npent up due to COVID-19, COVID-19 disproportionately affecting the\nBlack community, and his death being the tipping point for the Black\ncommunity. The viewers of the video of Floyd’s death, which quickly\nspread across the Internet, helplessly watched as he begged for his\nlife, saying “I can’t breathe” at least 20 times before his death.\nThey helplessly watched as the other officers-Lane, Kueng, and Thao-\nstood and did nothing. Floyd had been unjustly killed because he\nbought a pack of cigarettes with a suspected counterfeit\ntwenty-dollar bill and because he was a black man who unwillingly\n“threatens” white people. Did three cop cars really need to\ninvestigate a supposedly fake twenty-dollar bill? Do non-Black\npeople know what could happen when they call the cops on a Black\nperson? Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers seems awfully\nsimilar to Eric Garner’s death in 2014. They were both murdered on\ncamera as they were strangled by white cops, though Garner had died\nin a police officer’s chokehold while Floyd had died being\nstrangled. After his death, many people wondered if Chauvin would be\ncharged, something that should have been guaranteed. It took what\nshould have been one day but instead took nine for Chauvin to be\ncharged. Prior to his death, many Americans were on lock-down for\nmonths due to the pandemic. For months, quarantined people have been\nbottling their rage, angst, and energy inside their homes. After\nseeing Floyd’s death, their bottled-up feelings exploded. The\nonce-empty streets became flooded with protests and movements across\ncities, states, and continents. During COVID-19, the Black community\nfaced increased discrimination from police, employers, and the\ngovernment, not to mention worse healthcare and lack of PPE in\nhospitals. It is no secret that police officers prosecute Black\npeople the most, nor is it a secret that Black people were one of\nthe first to become unemployed. Additionally, it is certainly no\nsecret that Trump attacks the Black community. These feelings during\nquarantine manifested after Floyd’s death, which proved to be the\ntipping point for the Black community. All of these feelings\nresulting from the many assaults and systemic racism during\nquarantine manifested after Floyd’s death, proving to be the tipping\npoint for the Black community and its allies. George Floyd was a man\nand a father, who bought a pack of cigarettes and became a martyr\nand face of a protest movement.\nFollowing Floyd’s death, there were multiple curfews in America’s\nbiggest cities, including Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Chicago, as\na response to the vehement protests. Following Floyd’s death, tear\ngas was released on Minneapolis protesters. Following the protests,\nTrump tweeted “Great job by the National Guard.” How can anyone stay\na bystander? How can anyone allow this? Most importantly, how can\nwe, as a society, allow the wealthy to control the government and\nstandby as innocent people are killed? The perpetual fight for civil\nrights in America has been building up for generations, and now...\nit’s about to explode.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/icantbreatheanhomagetogeorgefloyd25.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":123,"pub_key":26,"title":"Police Wellness Check: When Mental Illness Becomes Criminality","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Suzanna Chen","editor":"","date":"2020-08-01","content":"The phone rang, and distressed voices burst through the line.\nThe distance between them and their loved ones made their heart\npound with irrational fear. Although the shortening of physical\ndistance would not bring them any closer to their suffering\nbeloveds, since they were temporarily taken into a state of pain\nthat’s incomprehensible for most.\nThe familiar sirens blared as police officers hurried to the various\nscenes.\nWith their honourable badges, they carried the callers’ desperate\nhopes and earnest expectations that they would secure their dearest\nones’ safety.\nYet…\nWith their countless weapons, they also carried frightful visions\nexemplified by delirious drug addicts, unpredictable schizophrenics,\nand murderous psychopaths.\nThey expected to interact with monsters on the loose.\nIt is perhaps for these dehumanizing thoughts, they justify the\nusage of unreasonable force.\nWith punches, kicks, tasers, guns, and every other violent yet\n“necessary” action imaginable, they aimed to tame the illogical\nminds of their distraught subjects.\nMore often than we would like to believe, these interactions end\nwith notable injuries and deaths.\nIt might be shocking to hear that these visits are called “wellness\nchecks”; with more than six Canadians losing their lives since April\nof this year, it is valid to say that many of them don’t end “well”.\nSo, what exact purposes do these “police wellness checks” serve, and\nhow do they work?\nThe What, When, Who, and How\nAccording to the\nBlack’s Law Dictionary by Henry Campbell\nBlack, a welfare check, also referred to as a wellness check, is\ndefined in simple words as “when police stop by a person’s home to\nmake sure they are okay”. In context, these checks may happen at the\nrequest of anyone who is worried that an elder might have passed\naway in their home, an acquaintance is having or acting on suicidal\nthoughts, or a lover of a long-distance relationship is in critical\ndanger. It is worth noting, however, that mental health crises have\nbecome the leading reason for conducting welfare checks in recent\nyears, with approximately 10,000 related calls every month and\n“growing exponentially”, according to an RCMP commissioner.\nThe requests for these checks are usually made by friends, family,\nor neighbours. However, it is generally acceptable for anyone to\nmake the call – which can be problematic as there are no preventive\nmeasures for potential fraud calls.\nThere are two ways to get in touch with the law enforcement\nauthorities where the welfare check will be conducted: the emergency\nnumber, 911, and a non-emergency crisis line that varies depending\non one’s local police department. Once one is in contact with the\nauthorities, they have the right to accompany the police officers\nwho are going. However, this would not be possible in situations\nwhere one does not live within a relative distance to their subjects\nof concern.\nOnce the police officers arrive at the scene, how they choose to act\nis surprisingly variable. “...[T]here’s no standard for wellness\ncheck protocols across Canada – those are determined by individual\npolice services,” explained Jennifer Lavoie, professor of\ncriminology at Wilfrid Laurier University.\nRegardless of the lack of a universal guideline, it is a common\npractice for officers to knock on the door and identify themselves\nas law enforcement officials upon arrival. After a reasonable time\nof awaiting response, the police may forcefully enter a private\npremise if they hold reasonable belief that their entry is necessary\nto ensure safety. In some cases, this legal permission for\nwarrantless entries can be lifesaving; emergency medical or force\nintervention can be offered when the one inside the residence is\nunable to respond. However, in many other cases, complaints have\nbeen filed regarding the privacy invasion by police officers who\nutilized this permission of forceful entry without informing the\nresidents of their identities.\nAfter the interaction, the wellness checks supposedly end in one of\nthree ways. If the police had ensured the person in question to be\nin good health and safety, they would notify the caller and dismiss\ntheir concerns. However, if the authorities had discovered the\nperson to be physically or mentally compromised, they should\nimmediately call medical assistance and inform the caller of the\nsituation. They will stay at the location until – if possible – the\ncaller comes. Lastly, if a check results with the person deceased,\nmedical attention should be given and an investigation will be\nconducted. The deceased may have passed away due to natural or\nself-inflicted causes before the officers' arrival, but it is also\ncommon – as we have discovered – that police misconduct plays a role\nin the death.\nIt seems that the wellness checks are, overall, initiated with good\nintentions. However, why do we see such shocking numbers of injuries\nand casualties from these potentially lifesaving visits?\nTo gain more insights into the influencing factors, I’ve fortunately\nbeen able to speak with an insider of this growing issue.\nA Survivor’s Tale\nDespite the controversy surrounding police wellness checks stirring\nup around May with the first widely reported casualties, I\nregrettably had not seen it as a personal matter until late June,\nwhen the civil suit featuring Mona Wang against the RCMP was brought\nto my attention.\nThe incident had happened in January of this year, when the nursing\nstudent at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus was\nseverely assaulted during a wellness check. She was kicked, stepped\non, sworn at, handcuffed, and dragged through the floors of her\napartment building half-dressed and on her stomach, which caused\nnotable injuries on her face and body. It is incomprehensible how\nsuch derogatory actions were deemed necessary, as the officer had\nfound her semi-unconscious and evidently more of a harm to herself\nthan others.\nMona’s story, accompanied by horribly disturbing video footage, had\nfilled me with shock, rage, and panic for the proximity of this\ncrisis to myself - as we are both Chinese-Canadian students native\nto the westernmost province of Canada. I contacted her through\nsocial media and acquired her opinions on various aspects of this\nissue, which – with her permission – will be shared below.\nThe Interview\nQuestion 1: “Do you think the\npolice are reliable people to call in the event of mental distress\nor mental health crisis?”\n“I definitely do not believe that the police are reliable,\nespecially not by themselves…because they (the police) deal with a\nlot of sensitive issues, and typically violence, I think that they\nkind of resort to violence really quickly as well, which is\nsomething that I think healthcare workers don't usually do.”\n“I feel like they just skip the words and go straight to violence a\nlot of the time.”\nIt surprises me that Mona can show such compassion by trying to\nunderstand the reason behind the officers’ adverse reactions even\nafter her traumatizing experience. Indeed, many mental health\nadvocates have also pointed out the issue of the police’s\ninstinctual response of violence due to the predominant nature of\ntheir work.\nIngrid Waldron, an associate professor at Dalhousie University's\nSchool of Nursing, had said during a CBC interview, “That's a very\nspecialized skill ... dealing with individuals who have mental\nhealth issues and being able to interact with them in a\nnon-aggressive way.” And it is evident that the police do not have\nenough training in this “very specialized skill”.\n“I just don't believe that they have the necessary training in six\nmonths…I don't think that's enough at all to be handling these\nissues. And, as healthcare workers, like as a registered nurse\n(myself), that's four years of training on healthcare, medical\ntopics, and de-escalation. That's substantially more training than\nthe police have.”\n“If the police aren’t reliable, what can they do to rebuild the\ntrust with the public?”\n“(to rebuild the trust) I think that the best thing that they could\ndo (regarding this situation) is to partner up with a health\nauthority and have a certain program, or certain responders, who\nwould go alongside the police, or have the police not go at all.”\nThe approach of having a mental health crisis response program has\nactually been implemented in Canada since 2014. Most municipal\npolice departments of medium- to large-sized populations have some\nform of an integrated mental health team, which partners police with\nmental health professionals to perform these wellness checks. In\nfact, the use of these teams in cities such as Hamilton, Ontario,\nhas led to a significant decrease in the number of people detained\nfor mental health reasons.\nHowever, as the recent spike in casualties suggests, there are still\nfaults within the system. Some of the problems include these\nspecialized units not responding around the clock – which affects\nthe individuals experiencing mental distress during the very late or\nearly hours of the day – the professionals being brought into the\nsituations too late, and the intimidating authority the police have\nover these professionals.\nSarah Reynolds, a Toronto psychiatric nurse who had worked with the\npolice for 18 months, has commented \"If there was ever any talk of a\nweapon or ‘an unstable situation’ during a wellness check, police\nwould quickly take over.”, and that “The nurses could be far more\neffective if we were front and centre doing the major assessment,\nand having police as back up.”\nRegarding the bolder approach of removing the police completely from\npsychiatric emergencies, there has been a precedent case in\nStockholm, the capital city of Sweden, in which a mental health\nambulance with solely psychiatric nurses and paramedics was\nimplemented in 2015. According to data presented in the\nInternational Journal of Mental Health, this unique program served\nwell during its first year of operations, with high-quality\npre-hospital care being provided immediately to those in crisis and\nsignificant reduction of police interference and workload. However,\nthe program’s manager also revealed the team’s struggle to keep up\nwith the increasing demands.\nThere has been an ongoing conversation between the psychiatric\nprofessionals and police departments of Canada regarding the\npossibility of designing a Canadian version of this mental health\nambulance.\nQuestion 2:“In what ways could\nthe officer have done better in your situation? In other words, what\nmight be the “correct” thing she could have done for you?”\n“I think the ‘correct’ thing to do would have been to call an EMT\n(emergency medical technician), because even in her words on her\nside, she had said that she saw the pill bottle; she had seen that I\nwas bleeding. I think even a regular person seeing that kind of\nthing would immediately think of calling an ambulance or calling for\nsome form of backup, which she had not done at all at any step\nduring her visit to me, she had not called the EMT and like…that's\njust baffling.”\nIt is truly astonishing that medical assistance was never offered;\ninstead, it was replaced by verbal and physical abuse that did more\ndamage to Mona’s physical and mental health. This issue might be\nable to be resolved if a strict and universal policing protocol can\nbe established regarding the procedure to follow upon a suicidal\nact.\nMona further commented on the officer’s lack of experience in\nde-escalating a psychological crisis.\n“(they can) definitely, you know, work on de-escalating the\nsituation. Instead of calling them names or stepping on them or\nbeating them up, work on talking to them. Say things like, “How are\nyou?”, and treat them like they're human…humanizing them and not\ntreating them like they're a criminal,\nbecause having a mental illness is not a warrant to be beaten up\nor to be arrested.”\nThe statement is incredibly powerful and crucial for its revelation\nof the issue of mental illness stigmatization within the larger\ncrisis.\nQuestion 3: “Do you think the\nstigma around mental illness plays a role in the officer’s overly\nnegative reaction towards you?”\n“There's definitely a stigma around mental illness… even though\nwe're in 2020, you know, it's definitely something that needs to be\naddressed within the police force and also on a larger scale in\nsociety.”\n“I think we need to have this discussion about mental health stigma,\nbecause even now people are afraid to speak out about their\ntroubles, to reach out for help, of how the public will see them,\nand all of that kind of thing. And that all contributes to\neverything that happens. I think they (the police) just need a lot\nmore training and education on what mental health really looks\nlike.”\n“They fear for their lives, but there's not really much to be\nfeared.”\nShe also mentioned the media’s negative influence on this\nlong-lasting stigma.\n“…especially in TV and in movies, there is always that trope with\nthe mentally ill being, you know, really violent, have the capacity\nto harm people, or that they're murders. While…in reality, they’re\nmore of a harm to themselves than others.”\nIt is also worth noting that the officer involved in the incident\nhad claimed that Mona was high on methamphetamine or some type of\nillicit drug, which, as multiple tests had shown, is not true.\nRegardless of whether the officer had really held this belief or\nsimply stated this as an excuse for her outrageous actions, her\nstatement implicitly suggested the prominent misrepresentation and\nstigmatization of substance use disorders in our society. Struggling\nwith substance abuse should at no point be an excuse for any kind of\nphysical or verbal abuse.\nSo, despite there being undoubtedly more advocacy for mental illness\nin recent years, it has proven to be far from enough. When a police\nofficer interacts with someone in psychological distress, the\npre-existing hyperbolic stereotype of criminality can have a\ndetrimental effect on his or her actions. The stigma also has an\nextended impact on the receiving ends of the wellness checks. Since\nthose being helped acknowledge that the officers hold a\nstereotypical view of them and are likely to use force, their fear\nof that situation pushes them deeper into mental distress, which\nmight further evoke panic and alarm from the police. Overall, it can\nbe said that “shattering the stigma” and breaking the bond between\nmental illness and criminality will be unmeasurably beneficial for\neveryone involved in this crisis.\nQuestion 4: “What message(s)\ndo you hope to spread by speaking out about your experience?”\nWith thousands – in separate physical rallies and online –\nprotesting for a change, I think Mona’s courageous act of speaking\nout has truly had positive influences. For information on how you\ncan contribute to the movement, links to petitions and related\nstories are provided towards the end of the article.\nThat concludes my interview with Mona Wang.\nThe Last Issue\nLastly, I would like to mention the racial issue involved in the\npolice wellness checks, which, unfortunately, I did not have the\nchance to discuss with Mona.\nOver the last three months in Canada, all of the victims of fatal\npolice wellness checks - D’Andre Campbell, Caleb Tubila Njoko, Regis\nKorchinski-Paquet, Chantel Moore, Rodney Levi, and Ejaz Choudry –\nbelong to the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) community.\nThose notably injured, including Mona, are disproportionately\nracialized as well.\nThe heartbreaking and angering magnification of these individuals'\nrisks is caused by the saddening overlap of their much-stigmatized\nidentities – being of colour and mentally ill. It also clarifies\nthat cultural awareness and empathy among the police are needed just\nas desperately as education and positive advocacy for mental\nillness.\nThe Wind of Change\nIt will be a strenuous journey for us to alter the long-standing\nstigma and malfunctioning system, but by voicing our opinions, we\ncan make a change.\n“People who have lived with mental illness should have a role in\ndesigning a system that better supports their needs, especially in\ntimes of crisis…involve others, you know mental health\nprofessionals, legal professionals, and police service providers at\nthe end rather than at the beginning,” commented Archibald Kaiser,\nlaw and psychiatry professor at Dalhousie University.\nThe heartbreaking and angering magnification of these individuals'\nrisks is caused by the saddening Let us work towards a future where\neveryone acknowledges that:\nmental illness is not a crime.\nEnd Notes\nSpecial acknowledgement to Mona Wang (@vampyrie on Instagram) for\ntaking the time to share her story and insight with me so generously\nand patiently. Without her bravery to speak out, this article and\nthe increasing amount of attention on this ongoing issue would not\nhave been possible.\nAll of Mona’s news articles, interviews, and petitions can be found\nthrough the link below:\nInstagram: @vampyrie\nhttps://linktr.ee/Vampyrie\nThey Matter..\n(April 6, 2020) D’Andre Campbell, a 26-year-old Black man from\nBrampton, Ontario, was fatally shot in front of his three sisters\nand a brother during a wellness check. He had called for help\nhimself, yet the police’s response to his mental health crisis was\nshooting at him with tasers and firing multiple gunshots. He was\nsuffering from schizophrenia and had a history of hospital stays.\nRead the story:\nD’Andre Campbell fatally shot by police in Brampton home after\ncalling for help, family says\nSign the Petition\nPetition · Justice for D'Andre Campbell\n(May 8, 2020) Caleb Tubila Njoko, a 27-year-old Black man from\nLondon, Ontario, jumped off a 15-story highrise after police were\ncalled to help. He was arrested about a week before his death, and\nhis mother attributes his suicide to his anxiety around the\nofficers and their forceful attitudes to enter Caleb's barricaded\napartment.\nRead the story:\nCaleb Tubila Njoko died falling from a balcony. His mother had\ncalled police for help\nSupport the Fundraiser\nJustice For Caleb Tubila Njoko\n(May 27, 2020) Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old\nIndigenous-Ukrainian Black woman, fell from the 24-story balcony\nof her apartment during her interaction with the police. She was\nreportedly in mental distress. There are not many\npublicly-released details regarding her death, but Regis’s mother\nhad stated that her last words were “Mom, help. Mom, help.”,\nbefore she was confirmed dead minutes later.\nRead the story:\nSecurity footage retrieved from highrise where Toronto woman\nfell to her death\nSign the Petition\nPetition · JUSTICE FOR REGIS KORCHINSKI-PAQUETl\n(June 4, 2020) Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old Indigenous woman of\nthe Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, died in a wellness check in\nEdmundston, New Brunswick, after officers fired at her five times.\nThe police officer who shot her is now back at work.\nRead the story:\nD’Andre BC woman shot dead during police wellness check had\njust made fresh start to be with her child, family says\nSign the Petition\nPetition · Justice for Chantel Moore\n(June 12, 2020) Rodney Levi, a 48-year-old Mi’kmaw man of the\nMetepenagiag First Nation, was tasered and fatally shot by the\nRCMP in the Miramichi region of New Brunswick. He dropped his\nknife after he was tasered, but the officers proceeded to fire two\nshots, hitting him square in the chest. His family also stated\nthat during his lifetime, he had sought professional help for his\ndepression and paranoia numerous times, but was always sent away\nwithout explanation or assistance.\nRead the story:\nSister says Rodney Levi, Mi'kmaw man shot and killed by NB\nRCMP, was a 'jokester' with the 'biggest heart'\nSign the Petition\nPetition · JUSTICE FOR RODNEY LEVI\n(June 20, 2020) Ejaz Choudry, a 62-year-old Pakistani man from\nMississauga, Ontario, was fatally shot by the RCMP during a\nwellness check. His extended family had called a non-emergency\ncrisis line in hopes of getting him help through a schizophrenic\nepisode, but instead he was met with police officers breaking in\nthrough his balcony door and firing multiple shots.\nRead the story:\nPolice fatally shoot Mississauga man during mental-health\ncall\nSign the Petition\nPetition · JUSTICE FOR EJAZ\nand sincere condolences to many, many more...","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/policewellnesscheckwhenmentalillnessbecomescriminality26.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Adhopia, Vik. “It's Time to Rethink Police Wellness Checks, Mental Health Advocates Say.” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). 4. July. 2020. Web. 16. July. 2020.","Black, Henry C. “What Is A Police Welfare Check?” The Law Dictionary: Featuring Black's Law Dictionary Free Online Legal Dictionary 2nd Ed. n.d. Web. 16. July. 2020.","Bouveng, Olof., et al. “First-Year Follow-up of the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PAM) in Stockholm County, Sweden: A Descriptive Study.” International Journal of Mental Health. 14. Feb. 2017. Web. 18. July. 2020.","Britneff, Beatrice. “Police Wellness Checks: Why They’re Ending Violently and What Experts Say Needs to Change.” Global News. 26. June. 2020. Web. 16. July. 2020.","Cooke, Alex. “Recent Deaths Prompt Questions about Police Wellness Checks.” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). 23. June. 2020. Web. 17. July. 2020.","Criss, Doug. “When a Police Wellness Check Becomes a Death Sentence.” Cable News Network (CNN). 19. Oct. 2019. Web. 18. July. 2020.","Nair, Roshini. “Nursing Student in Civil Suit Against RCMP Says Wellness Checks Need to Change.” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). 25. June. 2020. Web. 16. July. 2020.","Shire, Hussein N. “A Police Wellness Check Left Me Terrified and Determined to End the Practice.” The Tyee. 30. Jun. 2020. Web. 16. July. 2020.","Treebold, Jim, “What Is A Police Welfare Check?” Encyclopedia.com. 6. June. 2018. Web. 17. July. 2020.","u/xpostfact. “What are Your Rights During a Police Wellness Check? What's the Best Way to Handle One?” Reddit. 29. Nov. 2017. Web. 17. July. 2020."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":64,"pub_key":27,"title":"Abolish ICE","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Ainhoa Merchan","editor":"","date":"2020-08-04","content":"The drawing exhibits not only my opinion but a way to draw attention\nto this issue. I chose the topic of ICE to draw attention mainly to\nthe horrors that have taken place. Overall, the drawing depicts the\nflaws of ICE.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/abolishice27.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":192,"pub_key":28,"title":"The Never-Ending Fight to End Police Brutality in America","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Malya Robenson","editor":null,"date":"2020-08-07","content":"The Civil Rights movement was one of the most critical parts of\r\nAmerican history. In many ways, it was a demonstration of America’s\r\ncore values of liberty and justice to the rest of the world. Those\r\nwho took part fought their hardest to ensure that future generations\r\nof Americans would have equal opportunities in the United States\r\nregardless of the color of their skin. And yet, despite their heroic\r\nefforts, people of color are still facing oppressive prejudice in\r\nAmerica, especially from the police.\r\nThe United States has a rich history of brutalizing those who\r\nexpress dissatisfaction with social and political norms,\r\nparticularly when they are minorities.\r\nWhen it comes to law enforcement, the near entirety of the Civil\r\nRights movement is categorized by overwhelming arrests and violence\r\nat the hands of the police. However, the militarization of the\r\npolice goes even deeper.\r\nSlave patrols, credited as being the basis of America’s current\r\npolice force, consisted of groups of men with weapons who would\r\npatrol areas with large slave populations and enforce legislation\r\nsuch as fugitive slave laws and other practices meant to keep slaves\r\nin line\r\nEven when the police aren’t militarized, they still go out of their\r\nway to target and persecute black people. There are countless\r\ninstances of police officers in America assaulting and murdering\r\nblack people with little or no consequences, even when these\r\ninstances are caught on camera.\r\nHowever, America’s tolerance of police brutality seemed to come to a\r\nhead when the entire nation watched a police officer kneel on George\r\nFloyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds, crushing him\r\nto the pavement as he cried out for his mother and told them he\r\ncouldn’t breathe, killing him before our very eyes.\r\nAlmost immediately, the entire nation was outraged. Within days,\r\nprotests of tens of thousands erupted not only in America, but\r\naround the world to demand reform in police departments across the\r\nUnited States.\r\nAt the same time, there were calls for the revamping of different\r\ncompanies and entire industries, and insistence that they be more\r\ninclusive or that they stop certain practices that have long been\r\nviewed as racist.\r\nOne example is the renaming of the Aunt Jemima pancake brand, the\r\nlogo, and name perpetuating the dated “mammy” caricature of black\r\nwomen from the 1800s when they were caretakers and cooks for white\r\nchildren, especially in the South.\r\nThere has been an onslaught of moves like this, from Band-aid’s\r\ndevelopment of bandages of multiple skin tones, to several white\r\nactors who have decided to step down from their roles as black\r\nanimated characters, to heads of companies vowing to take steps to\r\nensure that their companies’ work forces are more diverse in the\r\nfuture. These moves are undoubtedly important, as they are small\r\nsteps toward a more accepting future.\r\nHowever, there are several problems with this. For one thing, these\r\nare largely paltry gestures that will presently do very little to\r\nenact real, impactful, and lasting change in America. As brilliant\r\nminister and activist Malcom X once said, “The white man will try to\r\nsatisfy us with symbolic victories rather than economic equity and\r\njustice.” Currently, his words are ringing painfully true as very\r\nlittle real change is being done.\r\nArguably, the more important issue with these gestures is that they\r\nhave drawn public focus away from the ongoing protests.\r\nCalls for change came directly after George Floyd’s murder, sharing\r\nmedia space with the protests but now that these small conciliatory\r\nmoves have tapered off, reports on the protests have dwindled as\r\nwell. Coverage of the protests has undoubtedly been to a lesser\r\ndegree than it had been when they peaked around the beginning of\r\nJune, despite the fact that they are still going strong. This is\r\nespecially problematic considering that people have been confined to\r\ntheir homes and are unable to see what has been going on for\r\nthemselves.\r\nThe only reason that there has been some level of renewed coverage\r\nof these protests is because of the presence of federal agents in\r\nPortland, Oregon.\r\nThese agents have been using excessive force in an attempt to quell\r\nthe protests. They have even gone so far as to kidnap protesters in\r\nunmarked vehicles with no explanation since at least the 14th of\r\nJuly. Portland’s mayor has demanded that President Trump remove all\r\nfederal troops across the city, and Oregon’s Attorney General fears\r\nthat Portland has been serving as Trump’s “test case” and that he\r\nwill soon be deploying similar troops to other cities with similar\r\nprotests.\r\nThe President has already ordered troops to be sent to Chicago and\r\nKansas City with even more cities to be named in the coming weeks.\r\nThe mayors of Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Albuquerque, Washington\r\nD.C., and Kansas City have since written to Congress to ask that its\r\nmembers prevent the president from sending more federal agents to\r\ncities.\r\nWhile the situation is being remedied, as it was confirmed by Oregon\r\nGovernor Kate Brown on July 29th that the federal agents would be\r\nremoved from Portland, it is still incredibly important that this\r\nincident not be swept under the rug.\r\nThis was an egregious abuse of power on behalf of the president, and\r\nit seems as if no one is talking about it. This is likely because of\r\nhow little media outlets are talking about it in relation to\r\neverything else going on in the world.\r\nThe change in the atmosphere on social media has been palpable. Most\r\nAmericans are once again falling into the same cycle that always\r\nfollows a tragedy: the incident occurs, people are outraged, they\r\ndemand change, things are debated for a brief period, and then,\r\nconcern dwindles as quickly as it had formed.\r\nThis is a failure on all of society, and it seems no one is\r\ncompletely immune to it. It is the media’s responsibility to keep\r\nthe people informed about these affairs, but it is also the\r\nresponsibility of the people to try to inform themselves as best\r\nthey can and to keep their focus on social issues for longer than a\r\nfew weeks at a time.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theneverendingfighttoendpolicebrutalityinamerica28.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":107,"pub_key":29,"title":"Silence is Violence","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Huiwen Chen","editor":null,"date":"2020-08-11","content":", Huiwen Chen 2020\nAbout the Artwork\nAnti-Blackness can be a difficult issue to discuss in many Asian\ncommunities. This piece, with the words \"silence is violence\"\nwritten in Chinese, urges the Chinese American community to stop\nturning a blind eye or staying silent in the face of social\ninjustice. As Asians, our complicity is violence against the Black\ncommunity. We must actively fight against systemic racism. Black\nLives Matter.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/silenceisviolence29.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":191,"pub_key":30,"title":"The Brown Skin She Wore Was a Weapon","subtitle":"Story & Animation","credit":"Written by Chantal Kapani, Animation by Kristy Lee, Voice over by Theo Brandt","editor":"Edited By: Anju Meyer","date":"2020-08-15","content":"Animation\r\nStory\r\nThere was a smoldering silence before an ear-splitting scream\r\nerupted from the crowd.\r\n“They shot her in cold blood!”\r\nHer footsteps came to a stop as she was helplessly rooted to her\r\nspot. Her body jerked back; crimson fluids erupted from the wound,\r\nstaining the front of her white blouse, drenching it, and\r\nsplattering everywhere uncontrollably. She desperately held the\r\nwound; her body was punctured by one who swore an oath to protect\r\nthe people. Blood sprayed between her fingers and flowed across the\r\ndistance between her and her murderer. She gurgled her last words as\r\nblood gushed from her mouth, and dribbled down her chin. Her breath\r\nweighed heavy in her chest, as she gasped for air. Her eyes bulged\r\nfrom their sockets as another bullet hit her stomach. She flinched\r\nbackward. She gasped again. Her eyes rolled back into her skull as\r\nher legs gave way. The sound of her bones crumbling echoed as her\r\nknees hit the ground. The crowd roared as her head smashed itself\r\nagainst the cold, hard concrete. Her lifeless body laid on the\r\npavement. A pool of blood leaked from the two shotgun wounds in her\r\nstomach. Her mouth jarred open as blood continued to dribble and\r\nflow into the pool of blood that surrounded her body. The crimson\r\npool stretched itself across the concrete. It reached the crowd and\r\nslivered between the stomping feet until it found the only pair that\r\nwere still.\r\nThe blood arrived at its destination in the front of his trainers;\r\nthe fabric welcomed her in. The soles absorbed the last of her until\r\nshe was gone. The wetness of her blood sat under his toes; the\r\ncoldness of her blood made him scrunch them. He wished to scurry\r\naway from her blood filling his shoes. He choked as the stench of\r\nblood and gunpowder hung itself in the dead air. It made his stomach\r\nchurn. His eyes fixated on the stillness of her body.\r\nGet up! Get up! Get up! Get up! He\r\nwanted to scream at her.\r\nThe words never made it past his lips; they strained in his throat.\r\nHe swallowed his cry in a gulp. He wanted to push past the erupting\r\ncrowd, to run to her, to shake her body. He wanted her to move\r\nagain. He wanted her to roll over, get up, and feel her humming\r\nsmile as she laughed at him. It felt as if all of this was some sort\r\nof sick joke, but it was reality. She was dead. All he could do was\r\nstand there amongst the vexed crowd as they marched with their fists\r\nin the air. Enraged strangers threw and rammed their bodies against\r\nthe plastic shields that protected the man in a uniform who had\r\npromised to look after the people. His—-, their—- ,promise was only\r\nfor the white and privileged. The boyfriend reminisced back to her\r\nattempt to make him try and understand his privilege.\r\n“It’s the 21st century.” He looked at her baffled.\r\n“That does not mean racism still isn’t present. I feel them glaring\r\nat me when I am with you, as though interracial couples are still\r\nillegal. As if, I am not good enough for you. They look at me as\r\nthough I am an alien because I don’t share the same skin as you. I\r\nwant them to see me as a normal person. Do you even see me? Or do\r\nyou see my 'exotic' skin?” He was taken back by her question.\r\n“Of course, I see you,” He said calmly, his eyes fixed on her. His\r\nheart ached and grew with regret as he watched her eyes grow cold.\r\nShe stayed fixed in her spot.\r\nHer eyes shifted across his face, examining the blank expression he\r\nwore in an attempt to conceal his true emotions. Anger slowly brewed\r\nas it was not the first time they had a disagreement on the topic of\r\nrace and ‘privilege’. He did not understand why she considered him\r\n‘privileged’ because of the difference in their skin. He did not\r\nunderstand why she felt racism was still present. ‘It is the 21st\r\ncentury’, he would think to himself but not dare say it aloud. After\r\nwatching the news to see another protest, he would say “It was just\r\nan arrest that went wrong” while she would say “A murder and it is\r\npolice brutality.” They could never see eye to eye.\r\n“Bullshit.\" Her face was paler than he had never seen before; it was\r\nas if her blood was slipping away from his presence. As guilt crept\r\ninto him, he broke his gaze with hers. He buried his head into his\r\nhands as she continued under her breath, just loud enough for him to\r\nhear.\r\n“You are privileged. If a police officer pulled you over, they would\r\ncalmly ask you to step out of the car-”\r\n“They would for anyone- “\r\n“Not for me. I don’t have the same privilege as you do” Her eyes\r\nwere stern; she wore no expression on her face.\r\nAt the time, he did not understand what she meant. They did not see\r\nher; they saw the brown skin she was given. To the people in the\r\nuniform, her skin was a weapon that was more threatening than the\r\nloaded guns in their holsters. He understood. He understood that\r\nsince he was one of the white protesters in the crowd, he had not\r\nbeen beaten, sprayed, or verbally abused by the police. The white\r\nprotesters were simply shoved aside to watch their fellow allies\r\nface the wrath of police brutality. All because they did not share\r\nthe same skin. He had to witness the murder of his girlfriend to\r\nbegin to understand what she had meant to finally understand.\r\nHe was beginning to understand his white privilege.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thebrownskinsheworewasaweapon30.png","video_link":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pziuYW4DfV0","srcs":[],"types":["Videos"]},{"id":29,"pub_key":31,"title":"The Fight for Native American Equality: Freedom and Justice for All?","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Lillian Hinojosa","editor":null,"date":"2020-08-18","content":"A Land Stolen From Its People\nWhen white Europeans landed on the shores of the Americas, all they\ncould see was an opportunity to exploit cultures they didn’t\nunderstand. The land we now call “America” (“America” gets its name\nfrom one of Columbus’ soldiers, and not even from indigenous\npeoples) was originally home to diverse Native American tribes who\nthrived long before colonizers decided to justify their encroachment\non native land. Colonizers justified this racially by claiming that\nthey were “saving” and “civilizing” the Native people. This\nmentality would later manifest itself as ‘the white man’s burden’.\nThousands of years before calamitous and destructive colonization\narrived in the Americas, the Native people had established powerful\ntribal nations that were each individually enriched with sacred\nrituals, beliefs, and complex social structures. We are able to see\nexamples of successful Native cultivated life by realizing how\ncivilized and accomplished their societies were before colonial\nrule. Indeginous peoples' hygiene was much better than that of the\ncolonizers. They were able to build successful long standing\narchitecture not only for housing purposes, but also agriculture.\nAmerican textbooks, school curriculums, and ignorant media have\nportrayed Native Americans as either uncivilized and brutal people\nor powerless victims of well-armed Europeans. In reality, Native\nAmericans were an extremely diverse group of nations who shared what\nis now the United States, and their cultures became disintegrated\nthrough the spread of European infectious disease and the systemic\ndepletion of natural resources.\nFrom the beginning, colonizers had made it their mission to deprive\nthe Native people of natural resources, culture, unity, and\nidentity. Colonizers have always been extremely harsh and neglectful\ntowards Native Americans, ultimately starting from when the first\ntreaties (between Natives and colonizers), were broken on the\ncolonizers’ part. The Treaty of Canandaigua, signed in 1794, was one\nof the many treaties signed between Natives and the U.S.. This\ntreaty had promised a return of more than a million acres of land\nback to Native possession after the Revolutionary War and an annual\nreparation of $4,500 worth of goods. Although the promised provision\nof goods has been honored by the U.S., unfortunately the number of\nacres of land given back to Natives has been significantly decreased\nthroughout the years. To put it into perspective, the amount of land\none reservation occupies is close to 640 acres, which isn’t a lot of\nspace for the average 100,000 native occupiers per reservation. Many\nAmericans today like to think that these injustices are history and\nthat we have learned from our wrong doings. However, Native\nAmericans continue to face injustices, often in the form of neglect\non behalf of the U.S. government.\nThe Harsh Reality of Life On a Reservation\nWhen President Andrew Jackson signed the “Indian Removal Act” into\nlaw on May 28, 1830, Native Americans were forced to move from their\nsacred land to government reserved farm land across the United\nStates. Although many tribes went peacefully, others put up a fight,\nmourning over the fact that the land they called home, would no\nlonger be theirs. Throughout the removal process, which lasted long\nafter Jackson's attempt to move Natives, over 15,000 Indigenous\npeoples died from either exposure to disease, harsh living\nconditions, or starvation.\nToday, Native American reservations are still very common in the\nUnited States. Although the media fails to cover reservation life,\nthe struggles Native Americans face implemented by the U.S.\ngovernment remain relevant. Most reservations are poor and\nunderfunded, leaving Native Americans living on these reservations\nwith scarce necessities.\nReforms That Must be Made\nContrary to popular belief, the systems -designed to help keep\nreservation life as originally promised by the U.S. government- are\nseverely underfunded and do little for the Native population.\nHealthcare, technology, and education are particularly underfunded\non reservations.\nHealthcare\nCompared to other minorities in the U.S., Native Americans are\nprovided with insufficient healthcareFaced with challenges due to\nthe isolated land reservations lie on, as well as consistently\nunderfunded agencies (such as The Indian Health Service, or IHS),\nreservations tend to lack basic healthcare support that is\ninequitable to the rest of the country. A large misconception both\namongst Natives, and non Natives, is that IHS is a form of health\ninsurance that will provide Native Americans free healthcare. The\ntruth is that IHS often operates in in-person facilities that lack\nmedical technology or certified professionals. They are also\nentitled to decline one’s requests to see a doctor or be treated.\nYou might be asking, why can’t Natives simply drive to a hospital\nthat isn’t on reservation land? Is that illegal? To put it simply,\nno, it is not illegal, although it is usually very difficult. Not\nonly do a majority of Native Americans report feeling discriminated\nagainst while visiting outside medical centers, but the chance of a\nreservation being close to an outside hospital is low. Because of\nthese realities, it’s not difficult to understand why Native\nAmericans have a lower life expectancy, and experience higher rates\nof diabetes, cancers, and heart disease.\nTechnology\nSince reservations are located on rural land far from larger cities,\nit is a struggle for reservations to be supplied with access to long\nterm internet and technology, such as computers, telephones, and\ntelevision sets. To the average person, an understanding of exactly\nwhy it is so important for Native Americans to have access to\ntechnology might be hard to understand. Access to technology doesn’t\nseem like a necessary resource in order to stay alive, so why do\nNatives need access to technology?\nImagine life on a desolate reservation. You want to provide a better\nlife for you and your family, but without access to technology, you\nare unable to apply for food stamps, job applications, and other\ngovernment-issued services for families with low income. In today’s\nworld, almost every form or application you can think of has been\ntransferred to an online format, and driving hours away to apply for\nservices, or jobs in person is unlikely since most Natives living on\nreservations do not have cars or enough money to spend on gas.\nTechnology can also be utilized for education on reservations.\nReservations with limited access to technology are at an increased\ndisadvantage compared to other communities that are supplied with\ntechnology. Access to technology encourages individuals to seek\nhigher education, better jobs, and ultimately participate in\ncommunities as a whole.\nEducation\nFor Native children growing up on a reservation, finding quality\neducation is difficult. As of today, it remains extremely difficult\nto recruit teachers and principals,along with various other school\nstaff, to work on a reservation run school. The main reason is that\nit’s either too isolated of a place to work, or it is too\n“difficult”, meaning that most educators expect the poverty and\nat-home problems that face children on reservations to be brought\ninto the classroom. Another deterrent is that the salary of a\nteacher typically starts at around 29,000 a year, which is around\n20,000 less than a regular teachers salary. That salary will most\nlikely not increase since school funding is incredibly tight on\nreservations, and education resources for Native students continue\nto be underfunded as well. You’re probably wondering why the\nstudents can’t just enroll in a school outside of their reservation,\nand although that might seem easy enough, driving your child hours\naway to school each day is a major inconvenience for the parents,\nwho also need to get to work and try to make a living for their\nfamily. With limited education funding and the lack of staff, it is\neasier to understand why Native students' graduation rates from\nhighschool are roughly 65 percent compared to 75.2 percent of the\ngeneral U.S. population. College graduation rates of Native students\nare even lower, at 9.3 percent, while the general U.S. population\nhas an average college graduation rate of 20.3 percent.\nHow to be a Reliable Ally\nIn the midst of actively fighting for the reform of Native American\nreservations, we will continue to need your help to consecutively\nmove forward! Being a reliable and active ally isn’t just as easy as\nsigning a petition and walking away. We need you to keep this\nmovement hurling in motion.\nDonations\nA great start to getting involved with Native American reform and\nawareness activism is to donate money to one of the many Native run\nand operated organizations that have been working for years to help\nsupport the Native people. Some of the ways that these organizations\nhelp is by providing tribes with material goods such as clothing,\nsometimes housing, food, and other necessities, as well as funding\nfor educational resources, elderly care, or even community\nrebuilding. Picking a need that you think should be the most\nsupported, and sending donations in that certain direction is always\nencouraged, and a very simple action to take on most websites.\nNonprofits spend almost all of their time trying to raise money for\ntheir organization, so even a small donation goes a long way. Below\nis a list of three Native American supporting organizations that you\ncan donate to!\nThe American Indian College Fund\nLiving in the midst of chaos COVID-19 has created within our\ncommunities, difficult barriers have\n*especially* been challenging Native\nstudents as they pursue a college degree. Quality education for\ncheap is hard to come by without a pandemic present, and you can\nonly imagine how much more difficult it has been since. A donation\nto this organization will help guarantee financial tuition support,\ntechnology, or even rent so that these Native American students will\nhave a chance to stay in school, and further achieve their goals.\nAdopt a Native Elder Program\nSince the name might be a bit confusing, and to ultimately clear\nthings up… no, you don’t actually have to\n*adopt* and move in with a Native elder.\nThis organization is set up for contributors to fund the older\ngenerations of Native Americans on reservations that have been\nstruggling for decades with food and housing issues. The origins of\nANEP began about 40 years ago in the 80’s during the chaotic years\nof the Hopi-Navajo land dispute. This dispute catastrophically\nresulted in around 10,000 Navajos being forced into relocation from\ntheir homelands. Throughout the process, many Navajo Elders were\nfacing the most hardships and deprivation due to the fact that\nunemployment and homelessness was a large scale problem. Today, ANEP\nis still actively working hard to support Native Elders with the\nresources that they need for survival.\nSpreading the Word About Native American Issues\nIf you were to pay attention when watching the news, reading\narticles, or looking over the trending headlines of today, you would\neasily notice how little the mainstream media reports on Native\nAmerican issues. Indigineous struggles don’t get enough attention as\nother more popularized human rights movements that gain much more\ntraction in the media.\nIt has come time for change. Taking the initiative to repost\ninformative and *truthful*\narticles/resources on your social media platforms is a great way to\nstart working towards broader recognition on this topic. Another\nsimple way to start spreading the word of Native American reform is\nthrough petition signing. One of the most utilized online petition\nsigning platforms at the moment, is https://www.change.org/. This\nwebsite is host to thousands of petitions for hundreds of different\ntopics. By searching what topic you would like to find a petition\nregarding, options will pop up, and you can click accordingly. Some\nkey words you can search in order to find petitions regarding Native\nstruggles, and pushes to reform are: Native American, American\nIndian, and Indigenous. Signing a petition will only take a few\nseconds being that you simply input your full name and email address\nthen click “Sign This Petition”. After signing you can either donate\na bit of money to help get the petition to the top of the websites\n“Agenda”, or you can share on social media, through text, or email.\nSupporting Native American Owned Businesses\nDue to the lack of media presence Native Americans currently have,\nit’s not everyday that Native owned businesses are boosted or\npromoted. In a world where most Natives live in poverty, and are\nfaced with higher unemployment rates, and housing issues than the\nrest of the country, the crucial search towards support for\nIndeginous owned companies is sought after and highly valued. Native\nowned companies are today’s beautiful preservations of Indiginous\nhistory, creativity, resilience, and culture. By helping support\nthese businesses, you are also supporting the fight for equality\namongst Native Americans, as well as supporting the rebuild of\nNative economic struggles. Below are three Native owned companies\nthat you can support!\nTrickster Company\nThis company's active and lively attire is designed by Native\nartists whose goals are to integrate traditional Indeginous designs\ninto a modern and innovative setting. Ranging from skateboards,\njewelry, clothing and home goods, at reasonable prices, this company\nbasically has it all. Their work has been featured in the Anchorage\nMuseum, the Burke Museum, and the Museum Of the North.\nBedre Fine Chocolate\nOver four decades ago near Ada, Oklahoma, Bedre Fine Chocolate began\nits journey starting as a small chocolatier. In the year 2000, the\nChickasaw Nation found opportunity in the chocolate company, and\neventually bought it, ultimately passionate to produce the best\nquality chocolate they could. Now, working out of Salt Lake city\nUtah, Bedre takes it’s time to give back to the Chicksaw people by\ncontributing to Native education and health programs helping to\nbetter their community.\nNotAbove\nThis company centers itself around jewelry making that incorporates\ntraditional Native American dialect. Founded in 2013, Nanniba Beck\nmade it her goal to create minimalistic yet beautifully crafted\njewelry that is meant to elevate the falling culture of Indigineous\npeoples. The number one piece of Native culture that continues to\ngradually slip away without a sound is traditional language.\nIndeginous traditional language was forced out of Native culture by\nColonizers who *thought*\nthey were “civilizing” them as they taught Natives how to speak\nenglish and only english. With a loss of dialect comes a loss of\nculture, identity, and faith. Nanniba does her best to preserve\nNative traditional spoken culture through the art of jewelry making.\nShe hand makes her one of a kind jewelry “among the cacti'' of\nSouthern Arizona.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thefightfornativeamericanequalityfreedomandjusticeforall31.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":84,"pub_key":32,"title":"A Look at Education Around the Globe in the Era of a Pandemic: Part 1","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Anju Meyer","editor":"","date":"2020-08-21","content":"*The Detester Team is composed of youth from around the globe.*\n*Despite the distance that separates us, we as youth all share the*\n*experience of receiving an education. However, in times like these,*\n*when a global pandemic by the name of COVID-19 has taken the world*\n*by storm, many of our daily activities are modified in hopes of*\n*keeping us safe whilst also attempting to maintain a sense of*\n*normalcy. The following collection of responses, written by some of*\n*the Detester team members, highlights what education looks like for*\n*youth around the world. These responses provide not only an overview*\n*of the current models of learning that have been designed in*\n*response to the pandemic, but also our experiences, concerns and*\n*hopes for the future. In the coming days, we will post another set*\n*of responses that addresses education in the United States.*\nMelbourne, Australia\nLindsay, our staff writer:\nAs soon as there were rumors of lockdown starting in Australia, with\na growing number of cases, my university started remote learning\nonly in week 3 of the first semester of the year. The transformation\nwas fairly smooth, and we were given one extra week of holiday to\nfully accommodate for this transition to online learning. My\nuniversity has 40,000 students, so in my opinion, they handled it\npretty well. Everyone got accustomed to Zoom tutorials pretty\nquickly and lecture recordings remained the same. Because I am\npursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, all of our assignments are\nvirtual anyway, so there was no dramatic change to this aspect. The\nmain difference is the fact that with tutorials being online, it\nbecame almost impossible to make friends in classes. Breakout rooms\nwere extremely awkward, and I now dread being put into a breakout\nroom. Since remote learning has started, I have not made any friends\nat university, which actually makes me pretty sad because it is my\nlast year of uni and I wanted to be social this year. Furthermore,\nin my degree, I rely a lot on physical sources like books to do my\nresearch for all the essays I have to write, which comprise my main\nassignments. I felt a bit disadvantaged with fewer sources, but I\nmanaged to complete all my research by spending more time online\nsearching for sources. The quality of education hasn’t gone down for\nme since I don’t have any practical aspects in my course. In fact,\nmy grades actually improved during this semester and my overall\naverage mark increased by quite a bit. Because of remote learning\nand quarantine, I stayed at home for much longer, and I was able to\nconcentrate better on my work, which resulted in better grades. I’ve\nalso discovered that the teaching staff for my subjects provided us\nwith more support and resources than ever. I’ve had so many\nconsultations during this past year from tutors, who were\nenthusiastic about helping me with assignments, which I’m beyond\ngrateful for. This whole experience has had its ups and downs, but\nI’m more or less accustomed to online learning now.\nToronto, Canada\nHarvi, our staff editor:\nDue to Canada’s management of the virus, I believe the upcoming\n2020-2021 school year will be effective and safe. My school\nencompasses around 2,500 students. This number is abnormally large\nfor most Ontario secondary schools. The available models of learning\nin Ontario include a hybrid learning model or a fully online model\nof learning for the first semester only. The hybrid learning model\nentails having Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as in-class school\ndays; Tuesday and Thursday are online. The in-class school days are\nonly three hours long. On the other hand, the fully online model\nwill allow students to stay home for the entire week for the first\nsemester. I personally find the fully at-home model more safe and\neffective for me. I believe the quality of remote education is less\neffective than in-class education because of the difference in\nknowledge retainment when in a classroom setting versus being at\nhome. Although I believe in-school education is better at teaching\nme, the mental health state of students during school days is way\nworse than them doing the work at home. Mental health disorders,\nsuch as depression, are at all time highs during the middle of the\nschool semester. Most students I have talked to about online\nlearning/remote learning have stated that they feel at ease and have\nbetter time to process information at their own pace when the\ncontent is online. They also feel less pressured when asking\nquestions and learning content by themselves which is why their\nmental health state and confidence are at ease. I also believe that\nhybrid learning will mean that many students will be in close\nproximity with each other or prolonged periods of time, which can\ncause the rate of infection to rise significantly as the new\nsemester starts. Because I am a senior, I have to worry about\nuniversity applications which will be harder for me to complete if I\ncannot see my guidance counsellor and speak to my teachers about\nrecommendations and evaluations. In my opinion, grade 12 students\nare at most risk due to this pandemic because of the rigidness of\ndeadlines for university applications. Because students are given\nthe opportunity to choose between online and hybrid learning, this\nmeans class sizes will naturally be smaller because of the shortage\nof students in school. Additionally, masks are mandatory in schools,\nbut I believe this rule will not be upheld as properly as authority\nand political figures believe it will. High school students will\nlikely not follow the orders of keeping their masks on and social\ndistancing with one another at all times which is why the number of\nCOVID-19 cases will definitely increase due to hybrid learning. The\nMinistry of Education should have decided to make the whole semester\nonline rather than having hybrid learning as an option.\nVancouver, Canada\nSuzanna, our staff writer:\nDue to my community's relatively successful attempt at \"flattening\nthe curve\" of reported COVID-19 cases, we hope to fully return to\nin-person instruction for the upcoming school term in September. Our\nschool board's plan states that all schools can revert to\n\"normality,\" and even wearing a mask would be optional for both\nstudents and staff. However, this proposal sparked extensive\ncontroversy due to its inflexibility and disregard for the\ncontinuing emotional impact that the pandemic has on some students\nand their families. Specific classes where students would have close\nencounters, including physical education, evoke broad concern as\nwell. Many argue for alterations such as making attendances\noptional, preserving the pre-existing online platform (Microsoft\nTeams) for those unable to attend, leaving room for each school to\ndecide solutions based on their respective circumstances, and\nrequiring personal protective equipment for all school staff.\nPersonally, as much as I anticipate \"waking up\" from this nightmare\nof social distancing, I am not in favour of a complete reopening of\nschools. The mere thought of making my way through a hallway of\ncrowded bodies is anxiety-provoking. As the current conversation\nbetween the board and the public proceeds, it remains unclear\nwhether the officials will acknowledge our concerns and amend their\noverly restrictive plan. I hope that they will, as safety and health\nshould always be prioritized, even in front of education.\nNew Delhi, India\nMahi, our graphic designer:\nI attend one of the largest universities in the world, in terms of\nstudent population, with around 400,000 students enrolled across\nvarious programs. Like in all other schools and universities across\nIndia, we are following remote learning with no clear indication as\nto when or if in the near future we will go back to in person\nlearning.We had our end semester examinations in May and were hence\npromoted without any examination on the basis of performance in the\nprevious semesters as well as on various assignments and impromptu\nonline quizzes. However, senior year students are being forced to\nwrite the Open Book Exams (OBEs) to get their degrees. Filled with\ntons of instructions, guidelines and regulations, the OBEs ensure\nthat everyone gets a \"fair chance\" which is just a moral grey area\nto me in more ways than one. These senior year students are losing\ntheir spots in Foreign Universities due the inability to send in\ntheir grades for the last semester and are losing their chance at\nvarious job opportunities as well and are undoubtedly adding to the\nunemployment rate of India. They have signed several petitions and\nwritten several letters to the prime minister and president of the\ncountry who are both alumni of the same university but have turned\ntheir backs on their own Alma mater. The Indian Government is keen\non NOT making 2020 a zero academic year, however, zero efforts have\nbeen made. Online classes on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams\nare not a feasible option as many students don't own a cell phone,\nlet alone a laptop or iPad. The Bandwidth in India is also too low\nfor students in certain areas of \"Diplomatic\" and \"National\nSecurity\" to attend online classes for reasons primarily being not\nhaving stable internet connection.\nLima, Peru\nVasco, our project manager:\nWhen the first case of Coronavirus was confirmed in Peru, the\nPresident's primary measure was to close all schools. It is\nimportant to note that the school year starts in March and ends in\nDecember. Just days later, the county's borders were shut, curfews\nwere imposed, and people could leave their homes for essential goods\nonly. The mandatory lockdown lasted around four months, making it\nthe longest in the world. Still, the cases kept rising every day; we\nare among the countries with the most deaths per million. Schools\nare not going to reopen anytime soon. Private schools constitute 26%\nof all the schools, and so the annual tuition can go from 300\ndollars a year to 15,000 dollars a year. Many poverty-stricken\nparents who had sent their kids to the cheapest private schools lost\ntheir jobs and decided to transfer their kids to public schools. At\nleast 66% of private schools have been forced to close. The private\nschools of middle and upper-class citizens have started teaching\nwith Zoom and other online video conference platforms like Google\nMeets, Google classroom, and Microsoft Teams. Most of these schools\nhave also reduced their fees. On the other hand, public schools have\nclosed and are not teaching online because many students do not have\ninternet connection in their homes. As a solution to continue\neducating students, the Peruvian government created a program called\n\"Aprendo en Casa\". This program provides a tv show that teaches\nmath, science, language, and civics to kids from 1st to 11th grade.\nAdditionally, the government is sending brochures on math, science,\nlanguage arts, and civics to homes in the poorer districts of the\ncountry so that students can learn a little more. All universities,\npublic and private, are imparting online classes with video\nconference platforms as well.\nEngland, United Kingdom\nAsma, our social media manager:\nI just finished secondary school which meant I was due to sit my\nGCSE exams, however, due to lockdown being enforced in March, I was\nunable to sit my official exams this year. The government and the\nexam board regulator of the country proposed an algorithm to hand\nout grades in a supposedly fair way but when A-level results came\nout, it turned out to be a postcode lottery, meaning the area you\nlived in hugely influenced the grades you wanted. This resulted in\nmany smart students that came from disadvantaged backgrounds to be\nunfairly downgraded while private schools saw a surge in top marks.\nThe unqualified education secretary insisted that no U-turn decision\nwould be made unlike Scootland, however, after public outrage,\nmassive student protests, union legal pursuits, and teenagers\nblocking parliament, they finally gave in and allowed centre\nassessed grades (CAGs) to be given out. This was incredibly\nembarrassing for the government and highlighted the Tory\ngovernment’s utter incompetence regarding the handling of\nCoronavirus. The effect of every 16 and 18 year old in the country\nwas detrimental to their mental health, especially in such\nunprecedented times, and the unnecessary stress and anxiety\ninflicted upon us were cruel, as well. College and University\nadmissions are a mess this year, making it harder for people to\nsecure places in clearing due to a delay in BTEC results that I am\nmissing. We are expected to go back to school next week full-time\nwith in-person classes and, unfortunately, no parent has the right\nto withdraw their child from school. You are not allowed to wear a\nmask as it will be impossible to enforce social distancing at\nBritish schools. As a result, we have been put into year bubbles\nwhere you can freely be with people in the same year as you.\nHowever, different years can still intermingle at break, lunch, in\ncorridors and outside of school. The UK is officially out of total\nlockdowns nationally, however, many cities with a high number of\ncases are getting localised lockdowns. The number of deaths are\nhighly inaccurate as they exclude deaths in communities and care\nhomes as well as people who were only suspected but not confirmed of\nhaving the virus, making it easier for the government to hide the\nreal death toll. Despite this, experts estimated there to be 64,000\ncases in May and the highest death toll to be in Europe. This is\nhugely disappointing since the UK had a huge warning from the WHO\nthat they were 3 weeks behind Italy, and yet I distinctly remember\nbeing told nothing would happen, to simply wash my hands for 20\nseconds, and our prime minister, Boris Johnson, not taking it so\nseriously. Italy managed to keep the death toll lower than the UK\nand had no warning that they would be hit with the virus, yet the UK\ndelayed lockdowns and ran out of PPE for the NHS staff. Experts say\nthat the UK went into lockdown 2 weeks earlier when the death toll\ncould have been halved.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/alookateducationaroundtheglobeintheeraofapandemicpart132.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Creative Writing","Interviews"]},{"id":151,"pub_key":33,"title":"Theatre as Pedagogy: or, Can Leftists Behave?","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Newton “Salem” Brophy","editor":"","date":"2020-08-23","content":"*Author’s Note: For the bulk of the research for this article, I*\n*sought the input of my colleagues, Cornelio Aguilera and Dr.*\n*Clareann Despain, both practitioners of Boal’s Theatre of the*\n*Oppressed, and activists with abundant experience in social justice*\n*work between them. Their thoughts will be presented alongside my own*\n*throughout. This article would not have been possible without their*\n*contributions, nor without the firsthand experience working with*\n*them and with our fellow ensemble members of the Outcast Theatre*\n*Collective, which is why I choose to credit them first and foremost*\n*here.*\nA Preface (Not a Prescription)\nI don’t want to suggest that all leftist spaces have issues with\nintra-group conflict. For one thing, I’ve not been in every single\nleftist organization or collective, so I obviously can’t make such a\nblanket statement about activists and “in-fighting.” Well, I can,\nbut it would be disingenuous -- and besides, about four different\nNew York Times writers have already staked their own claims on that\nparticular brand of half-baked editorializing. A good deal of the\nprogressive spaces into which I have inserted myself were not\nplagued by the stereotypes of the sniping or supposed ideological\npurity that are so synonymous with our reputation. This is probably\nbecause of the combination of the temperaments of the individuals,\nthe culture created within the group, and the clarity of our\npurpose. I have also been in those spaces where there are plenty of\norganizers who do not know how to act, and I’m sure if you’re\nreading this, you probably have too, and some vivid examples are now\ncoming to mind. I absolutely don’t want to suggest that in-fighting\nis unique to leftist organizing. It isn’t. (Look for footage of the\nLibertarian National Convention.) But I’m also really not interested\nin hashing out the ideological conflicts outside of my own team,\nwhich is why the magnifying glass is going to be on ourselves for\nthis discussion. Because, unfair or not, petty squabbling is\nassociated with our movements.\nTo be absolutely clear: I’m not here to diagnose the causes of\ndissent, nor am I suggesting a prescription with the intent of\nending it. I love dissent. I’m a loud, annoying little Irish-Italian\nJew. I live to argue. More saliently, dissent is necessary. It’s\nnecessary in order to ground our movements in the realities of our\npeople, it’s necessary in order to accommodate shifting priorities\nin the face of ever-evolving threats, and it’s necessary in order to\nfoster critical thinking and thus, anti-authoritarianism. If our\norganizations are as heterogeneous as they should be, disagreements\nover policies, objectives, methodology, and whether or not we should\norder Tijuana Flats aren’t just inevitable; they’re wellness checks\nfor the movement.\nBut if you’re like me and you’ve sat through a plurality of IWW\nmeetings that were derailed by people calling each other “tankies”\nand “ancaps”, you probably know that there are plenty of ineffective\n(or just idiotic) ways to fight. Even I, who has just professed love\nfor arguments, do not enjoy fights. That’s what I want to talk\nabout. We’ve got to get better at arguing with one another. Like it\nor not, our exaggerated reputation of being willing to throw down\nover minutiae is still based somewhat in reality. Unwarranted or\ndisproportionate viciousness is as ubiquitous and persistent in some\nof our groups as it is anathema to the very ideals we allegedly\npromote in those same spaces.\nThere are innumerable factors that lead to these nasty dynamics, the\nmost pertinent being the frameworks within which these groups\noperate that reproduce systemic oppressions throughout the space,\nincluding in the make-up of their hierarchies. The desire to uphold\nthe status usually afforded to the privileged by these same power\nimbalances outside this space can be seen in the frequently caustic\nreactions of white, able-bodied, cisgender, heterosexual, male\nleftists when their authority or neutrality is challenged within the\nspace. If you’re a trans or gay activist like myself, or a Black\norganizer, or disabled, or any other iteration of person subjugated\nunder the hegemony we act against, you may have had at least one\nmoment where your specific concerns were dismissed, cast aside, or\nlabeled as “idpol”, a perjorative for identity politics (a term\nitself now employed derisively by conservatives either unaware or\napathetic of its definition). Often this classification is made out\nof the belief that anything outside of class analysis are\n“distractions” from the “real” oppression. I’ve seen this play out\neven in spaces that purport to be “collective”, “democratic”, and\n“non-hierarchical,” which can make these dismissals even more\ninsidious. These actors end up maintaining the very hierarchies that\nthey claim do not exist… which creates conditions conducive to\npervasive in-fighting.\nBoth of these issues -- an inability to engage without\ndehumanization and an unwillingness to acknowledge and reckon with\nprivilege -- will severely inhibit movements from gaining any\nmomentum. Groups that are plagued by either one of these problems\nwill hemorrhage members, and spaces in which both of these dynamics\nare simultaneously at play simply will not -- and should not --\nsurvive in any beneficial way. But I also don’t believe that these\nconditions are inevitable, because they are created, which means\nthat they can be addressed.\nMy belief is informed not only by my positive experiences in\nmultiple organizations, but also in a more general sense by my\nexperience in the professional theatre community. Collaborative arts\nneed to accommodate a rogues’ gallery of individuals, all with their\nown methods and madnesses. Specifically, there is overlap between\nsocial justice movements and artistic practitioners of techniques\nsuch as Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, which emphasizes\ndemocratic, non-hierarchical structures where decisions are\ncollectively reached through the process of consensus-building as\nopposed to merely voting. I think it’s abundantly clear that leftist\nand progressive groups can learn much from Boal’ s techniques; in\nfact, I believe that they were created with that very intention in\nmind.\nShifting from the Vote to the Consensus\nThe most common decision-making process exercised by a democratic\ncollective would obviously be voting, though any of us will be quick\nto admit that this system is far from perfect. The search for any\nperfect system is an exercise in futility, but the endeavor to\ncreate a better system is as obligated as it is unending. It's worth\ndigressing to briefly acknowledge the limit of voting as practiced\nin our various organized gaggles.\nDespite the very best of efforts and the sincerest of intents,\nvoting can still result in dissatisfaction and a lack of resolution.\nAs Dr. Despain points out, \"Voting offers participants fixed choices\nthat are often pre-determined. Often voting means that those who\nhave been outvoted feel disenfranchised. Voting also tends to\nencourage adherence to one option that you fall in line behind.\"\nThis can elevate the stakes of decision-making so that discussions\nbecome debates and comrades become opponents. If the voting\nmechanism in place also contributes to a slogging bureaucracy that\nslows results and overwhelms its members, the tensions can increase\nexponentially.\nFinally, that sensation of having little power is even more founded\nin reality when decisions are made by a plurality of members as\nopposed to a majority. For a more detailed explanation on the\ncomplications that arise from that specific snafu, I highly\nrecommend watching Hasan Minhaj’s piece on how the United States in\nparticular has an embarrassment of an electoral system (Patriot Act,\nVol. 6, Ep. 7). Even if a group employs ranked voting for certain\ndecisions that involve more than two choices, there will still be a\nfaction of “losers.” How do we move towards a system where\ncollective decision-making is not a matter of competition, but\ncooperation?\nIt's appropriate that Dr. Despain mentions the particular hurdle of\ntime constraints. While it's not the only limitation of the process,\nit's likely one of the more obvious ones, with few easy fixes unless\nyour deadline is flexible-- unfortunately congressional votes or\nopening nights tend not to be very forgiving. Cornelio Aguilera\nbrings it up immediately when I query the two of them about the\nobstacles to reaching an agreement that everyone is satisfied with:\n“The amount of time required to do [the process justice] could be\nconsidered a challenge. I also believe those involved with the\nattempt have to be truly vested in what is being considered, and\nfully understand all sides that are being represented.” However, as\nDr. Despain mentioned above, the more familiar a group is with each\nother and with the process, the quicker it may become over time, and\nthe less likely that there will be a lack of clarity or a breakdown\nin communication. Groups with a strong foundation and history\ntogether will be more likely to successfully work through being\nrushed, although of course, the adaptability of the approach will\ndepend on the number of members, how imminent the deadline is, and\nhow cohesive the group dynamic is. Tangentially, I think it’s fair\nto assert that transitioning from a voting model to a\ndiscussion-based model wouldn’t do much of anything to alleviate\nbureaucracy.\nI think the stickier complications arise as members multiply. For\nstarters, there is a point at which there are just too many people\nto hear out at length. “The bigger the group, the harder it is,” Dr.\nDespain remarks. “The faster the decision needs to be made, the\nharder it is. Consensus building wouldn’t work at the Federal level\nbecause there’s simply not time to hear everyone out.”\nPresently, it doesn’t appear that much does work at the federal\nlevel, but I do shudder to think of a hypothetical attempt to reach\na consensus between every individual in the nation. The numbers\nalone are daunting, but that’s far from the only reason why this\nsystem would be disastrous as a proposed replacement for our current\nelectoral mechanism. There must be a starting threshold, a baseline\ntruth that all members accept, from which discourse can begin. To\nput it bluntly: this is not a system you want to adopt for a\npopulace in which not everyone agrees on the humanity of all of its\nmembers. The distance in ideology is just too vast.\nFrankly, I would even hesitate to recommend this system in some\npurely leftist or ostensibly progressive spaces. I pride myself in\nhaving a pretty long fuse (though these days, I have definitely been\ntested), but I would still rather swallow a live grenade than attend\na tea party with Bari Weiss, let alone attempt to reach a consensus\nwith her. The bottom line: humanity is non-negotiable, and anyone\nwho disputes this would be a nonstarter in this model.\n“Consensus building is harder when there are massive divides in\nideology,” Dr. Despain says. “It’s much easier when the participants\nare philosophically on the same page about the work they are doing.\nAt the same time, consensus building discourages groupthink by\nencouraging participants to consider their own subjectivity and the\nsubjectivity of others.”\nBut is this consideration of subjectivity enough?\n*Maybe.*\nIt depends.\nDuring our conversations, Cornelio Aguilera had used what I think is\na fitting analogy: a relay race. Some people run the race in the\ninterest of self-improvement; these individuals are competing only\nwith their past selves, and the goal is progress. Others run the\nrace as a competition, not to better themselves, but to be better\nthan the runners in the lanes beside them. The question Aguilera\nposed is, for me, the big determiner:\n*“Are we trying to run this race in order to dominate the people*\n*that we’re running it with?”*\nThis is the starting line, the question\nwhose answer I believe is the most significant arbiter of whether or\nnot a leftist organization can be improved by transitioning to a\nconsensus-based decision-making model, or whether its foundation is\nsimply too rotten to weather the progress that time brings.\nI also suspect that many, if not most, of the leaders who might\nsecretly answer in the affirmative to that question are the same\nleftists who dismiss the concerns of their less privileged comrades\nby labeling those objections “idpol.” The business of dominating\nother humans is not one that is unique to the Right.\nBut I do want to caution us against believing that the answer to\nthat question is determined by some unchanging aspect inherent to a\nperson, or that the answer we give to that question doesn’t change\nbased on our circumstances, or our choices, or whether we had a\nshitty day. I know that usually, my answer to that question is the\nmost militant of “no’s”. But I also possess a vindictive streak; I\nconfess that on more than one occasion, (a lot more), upon\nencountering someone else unrepentantly running the race for\nsuperiority, my reaction has been to go Tonya Harding on a bitch.\nFunny? Mostly. Justified? Perhaps. A helpful choice? Probably not.\nOn a lark, I asked my two friends how we might persuade people to\njoin our race instead. “Well, that’s the million dollar question,\nright?” Dr. Despain said. “That’s what political organizers are\nasking, that’s what artists are asking, that’s what writers are\nasking, that’s what educators are asking. That’s what everyone is\nasking. [...] Before you can get to consensus-building, you have to\nget [everyone] on the same page, and I don’t know that\nconsensus-building is a way to do that. [...] But Theatre of the\nOppressed is about doing that, because it starts with empathy, and\nallowing for the humanity of others, and putting yourself in someone\nelse’s shoes.”\nBefore we pivot to a broader discussion of Theatre of the Oppressed,\none last word on consensus-building: any system that involves\nmultiple independent actors will run the risk of its abuse. Some\nmodels are more prone to abuse than others, but none are completely\ninvulnerable to it. The three of us eventually found it prudent in\nour discussions to troubleshoot the ways in which consensus-building\nspecifically can be exploited in the aim of domination, so that\nthere can be some warning for anyone who may find themselves in such\nan environment.\nThis facet was first brought to my attention in one of Aguilera’s\nanswers regarding clarity and communication: “If not utilized\nuniformly and correctly,” he cautioned, “the integrity of this way\nof organizing can be abused, potentially causing there to be a\ndistrust [of the system].[...] Complete and clear communication is\nnecessary, which can be difficult to achieve and therefore, limiting\nfor this type of organizing.” When Dr. Despain added that a\nbreakdown in communication could lead to assumed consent (in\nresponse to silence or otherwise), I realized that the question\nneeded to be pursued further. I asked about potential red flags that\nanyone entering a space -- theatrical, activist, or otherwise --\nshould take as cues to remain vigilant. Her response was almost\nimmediate:\n“Any hierarchy that pretends to be non-hierarchical is a trap. Any\nsystem where we refuse to recognize the humanity and the failings of\nthe leaders. And that’s on the leader, not necessarily on the\nparticipants. [...] It means people aren’t contributing, they’re\nbeing dragged along for the ride. And then that means that when\nthere is dissent, it gets subsumed under the will of the leader.\n[...] It means that when it pops up later, the leader goes, ‘well,\nwhy didn’t you bring that up earlier? We’re not hierarchical. This\nis consensus-building, you should have said something!’ But when it\nfeels like there are negative consequences for disagreeing with\nleadership [...] people aren’t gonna speak up.”\nWhat do we watch out for in our leaders?\n“A resistance to accountability. All of us have an initial defensive\nimpulse when we receive critique of any kind, and part of the work\nis, of course, finding a way to\n*offer* critique without inspiring\n[defensiveness], and also figuring out how to\n*receive it*. Someone is telling me I left\nmy headlights on. They’re not saying I’m a bad person, they’re\nsaying I left my headlights on. This is a lifelong process for\neveryone, learning to accept it that way. But if I haven’t seen any\nevidence that you’ve at least committed to\n*trying*\nto do that work, that’s a red flag.”\nAt this, Aguilera added that in a true non-hierarchical structure,\n“diversity in thinking needs to be welcomed.” To me, this means\nquestioning… and returns us to the necessity of dissent. Again:\ndissent, not fights. A disagreement can be blunt, even vitriolic,\nbut fights will poison the dynamic of the group.\n“So the key is,” Dr. Despain says, “to create an environment where\ncreative problem solving and collaboration are encouraged, and\n[give] space for everyone to speak.”\nThe General Utility of Theatre of the Oppressed\nTheatre of the Oppressed refers to a grouping of theatrical forms\nfirst created in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s by Augusto Boal, a\nBrazilian dramatist, activist, and pedagogue. His theories were\nheavily influenced by Paulo Freire and his\n*Pedagogy of the Oppressed.* All forms --\nimage theatre, forum theatre, legislative theatre, newspaper\ntheatre, invisible theatre, etc. -- are fully interactive, with the\nultimate objective of making active participants out of what would\nbe audience members. This is reflected in the terminology; all\ninvolved in the undertaking are referred to as “spect-actors”, with\nthe exception of the “joker”, or the facilitator, who is a\ncompletely neutral guide and is not permitted to comment on the\nproceedings. As the name suggests, these techniques were formulated\nas a means to address social ills while giving agency to those\ninvolved, and ensembles that practice Theatre of the Oppressed are\nmeant to be democratic and non-hierarchical.\nFor this reason, consensus-building is a regular practice for those\nensembles, including that of the Outcast Theatre Collective, to\nwhich Cornelio Aguilera, Dr. Clareann Despain, and I all belong. The\nmanner in which discussions are conducted in spaces like these could\nserve as an example of successful discursive cooperation.\n“Something that I love about consensus building with TOTO [Theatre\nof the Oppressed] is that a space set aside for theatrical rehearsal\nis often already an environment where creative problem-solving and\ncollaboration is encouraged. Theatre people are trained to\ncollaborate and love to help solve problems,” Dr. Despain points\nout. It’s absolutely true; if theatre companies had fights within\ntheir membership with the same vitriol and regularity that many\nleftist activists do, no plays would ever be produced.\n“There is an attempt at establishing an equal weight to all the\nparticipants that make up the group,” Aguilera tells me. “It is made\nup of an understanding that we each are responsible for making up\nour part of the puzzle, and [this] helps us depend on one another to\ndeliver that piece in order for the picture we are presenting to\nsucceed. This focus on the final creation is what drives us to work\ntogether and I believe it helps us work past any other\ndistractions.”\nCollective focus can only be achieved with stalwart cooperation… and\ncollective focus is necessary to achieve collective objectives.\nWhat about the other utilities of Theatre of the Oppressed?\nBoth Cornelio Aguilera’s and Dr. Clareann Despain’s answers share a\ncommon, recurring theme: empathy and critical thinking.\n“We have a tendency to rely on our words and communication more\nheavily than the impulses and feelings that can be conjured up more\nquickly and effectively when working around an issue,” Aguilera\nmuses. “Boal’s work shows us the difference between working from the\nhead instead of the heart, and helps us find a way to reverse that\nin order to better understand oppressive experiences we have/may\nhave/will live through.”\nI can tell you from experience that this process can be a difficult\none. It’s a challenge to shift from cerebral, constructed language\nto unfiltered honesty. It’s akin to removing all consonants and\nbeing left with only vowels to communicate. But as alien as that\nmode is to us, it is freeing to identify and unlearn certain\nconstructions that we’ve absorbed as means to create distance from\nthe full weight of truth.\nFrom Dr. Despain: “Something that’s deeply profound about Theatre of\nthe Oppressed is the way it is designed to de-mechanize the body.\nWe’re efficiency machines. Whenever they can, our bodies find the\nway of doing what we need them to do and then find the most\nefficient way of doing it and then stick to it. What we don’t always\nunderstand is the ways in which that mechanizes our physical\nresponses to everything. Of course, it’s not just biological\nefficiency that dictates this mechanization. We are socialized to\npresent our bodies certain ways and to move them in certain ways. We\ndiscipline children who wiggle too much in public, we stare at the\nperson on the subway who hasn’t mastered sitting silently still\n[...] Our bodies are disciplined in ways we don’t even realize. Boal\ncalls the way we internalize these restrictions the “Cops in the\nHead;” Foucault [...] talks about panopticism. Boal’s techniques\nforce us to explore the possibilities of the body in ways we haven’t\nsince we were children. [...] Through those explorations we can\nrecognize the ways in which our physicality is constrained by\nphysical and social forces. It’s incredibly exciting work because it\nperfectly sets up the process of decolonizing the mind. As part of\nthe body, the mind benefits from the physical freedoms explored by\nBoal. In addition, by beginning with physical examples of the\nimpacts of the “Cops in the Head,” Boal’s exercises prime us to\nexamine the way social forces contain our behavior on a\npsychological level. This opens us up to examine privilege in new\nways.”\nWe return then, to the examination of privilege, and in a way, to\nthe spaces that purport to be non-hierarchical but are not. Is it\npossible for a group to operate non-hierarchically, even\nanarchistically, without reckoning with the politics of identity? Is\nit really acceptable to claim that you work to end hierarchies if\nyou ignore the ways in which privilege operates in your own house?\n“I think activist spaces and [Theatre of the Oppressed] are trying\nto solve similar issues,” Dr. Despain says. “We’re all coming at it\nfrom a variety of angles which I think is valuable. [...] We cannot\nconfront oppression if we don’t acknowledge how privilege is bound\nup in identity. [...] In order for consensus building to bend toward\nsocial justice, it means that the spaces it's operating in must be\ndiverse and non-hierarchical. Non-hierarchical doesn’t work if\nparticipants can’t acknowledge their privilege and the way it\nimpacts interactions. Even when we’re explicitly attempting to be\nnon-hierarchical, the fact is that the power dynamics created by\nsystemic racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism,\nfatphobia, etc. still influence all of our interactions. It’s\nimportant to be aware of those things and explicitly acknowledge\nthem. Conscientious consensus building, then, demands that these\nissues be a part of the conversation as we establish our\npriorities.”\nTheatre of the Oppressed, particularly forum theatre, has a penchant\nfor providing clear scenarios in which observers can more easily\ndiscern and name privilege. Could this be an effective approach to\nteaching leftists that these forces are not just existent, but\npowerful? Dr. Despain thinks so.\n“Theatre of the Oppressed may not be able to change the minds of\npeople who hold extremist views -- although, we have to be open to\nthat possibility -- but Theatre of the Oppressed is really great for\nencouraging people who perhaps haven’t encountered the question of\nprivilege, [...] and having people experience what it might be like\nto not have it, and then deconstructing it.”\nRecognition of these systemic obstacles and malignancies is\ncompulsory if we want to achieve true freedom from hierarchical\nhegemony, but Dr. Despain cautions that this, like everything else,\nrequires patience:\n“We’ve got to remember that no one thing -- no one event, no one\nexperience, is going to be the thing that takes somebody ‘all the\nway,’ because there’s no one place for people with privilege to\narrive.”\nFinal Thoughts\nThere will never be one answer to how our work should be done. The\nsuggestions proposed here do not reflect a belief on my part that\nthey are either easy to adopt or effective in any or all spaces. I\ndo, however, believe that the tactics suggested here -- both\nconsensus-building as a collective decision-making process as well\nas utilizing Theatre of the Oppressed in a more general sense -- are\nat least worth attempting when possible.\nI also want to repeat emphatically that my suggestion of\nconsensus-building over voting is not a prescription for ending\nin-fighting, but one possible method for\n*conducting* it. The suppression of\ndissent is just another flavor of imposing an hierarchy of ideas.\nDr. Despain sums up my reasoning succinctly: “Any process that\nensures that everyone has a say is good for activist spaces,\nespecially since so many coalitions are comprised of people who have\nbeen silenced.”\nSilencing disagreement in the name of cooperating towards some\ngreater good causes more problems in the long run. It’s misguided at\nbest and manipulative at worst. It’s the same mentality that leads\npeople to lament that the great tragedy of this moment is\n“divisiveness”, and not, “there are fucking Nazis out in broad\ndaylight with the faces G_d gave them because they’re unafraid of\nconsequences.”\nI think as activists on the left (I’m not capitalizing that because\nI don’t believe in some monolithic “Leftism”), it would behoove us\nat all times--but especially this one-- to keep at the forefront of\nour minds Paulo Freire’s four dialogical actions set forth in\n*Pedagogy of the Oppressed:* unity,\ncompassion, organization, and cultural synthesis.\nFinally, Theatre of the Oppressed, more than anything else, is about\nrecognizing and respecting the humanity in all people-- the absolute\nfullness of that humanity. I close with Cornelio Aguilera’s reminder\nduring our discussions:\n“We have to remember, these ‘antagonists,’ as we’ve been discussing\nthem, are also us. Part of the conversation is recognizing when\n*we* become them. It’s not simply\n*us* against\n*them*-- They\n*are* us sometimes. [...] It goes back to\nbeing able to use this, not just for folks who we think need it, but\nfor ourselves. ‘Cause we’re all gonna fall down.”","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theatreaspedagogyorcanleftistsbehave33.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":11,"pub_key":34,"title":"We Will Not Forgive & Forget: The Desi-American Me Too Movement","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Shivani Parikh","editor":null,"date":"2020-08-26","content":"About The Author:\n*Shivani is a budding South Asian American, racial and immigrant rights advocate. She is a member of the New York City Chapter of National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, the Emerging Leaders Council of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, and serves as the Vice President of University Chapters of MannMukti.*\nInstagram:\n@little_miss_shivani / Twitter: @browngirlrising\nIn this wave of the high school and collegiate Me Too movement, Desi rapists, assaulters, and their protectors are being\nexposed by survivors or anonymous Instagram accounts. University alumni\nwho did not feel safe coming forward while they\nwere still in school are naming their abusers. This era is unique because people can petition for change, find information,\nand act quickly. Survivors’ supporters are quickly finding where these men are working, demanding that they are no longer\nemployed, publicizing photographs of them, and mobilizing others to spread this information.\nAs for South Asian-Americans, our circles are small, cross ethnic, and religious demographics. In New York City, some youth\ncross boroughs to go to school and find themselves at different SUNYs and CUNYs. College students from across the country\nmeet one another at group dance competitions for bhangra, raas, Bollywood fusion, and traditional styles. The prevalence and\ngrowth of South Asian Greek organizations mean that chapters are connecting and providing networks for “brothers” and “sisters”.\nUnderstanding complicity and coverups has been just as important as identifying the men who have caused harm because the bigger\nquestion is who let them get away with it and move on into the workplace without them facing any consequences?\nSeveral things have disturbed me throughout the past few weeks. Many of the anonymous accounts that have been publishing testimonies\nhave been deactivated for a various reasons: they have been hacked, they are receiving threats of doxxing, or the mental health of\nthe person running the account has been so taxed by the sheer amount of graphic content they have had to sift through and publish\nthat they are unable to continue to run the account. Their fear is palpable. We, as the readers and followers of the account, know\nthat if they transfer the account to someone else, then the account creator might lose their own anonymity. These comment sections,\nwhile largely filled with young women who affirm and support the post and its submitter, are attracting defensive and angry young\nmen who demand proof and question the character of the survivor. Even more horrifying, has been the response of some of the named\nrapists; rather than take responsibility for their actions and make attempts to apologize, they have dug their heels in through a\nnarcissistic rationale along the lines of, “I am a supporter of the Me Too movement and I have a mother and sister(s). Accusations\nlike this against me are undermining the credibility of people who have actually been sexually assaulted.” This rhetoric fails to\nrecognize that caring about one's immediate female relatives does not preclude someone from being a rapist.\nThe first account that I saw (which was taken down within the same week it was created) is “Telling My Story.”\nThe account named\ntwo popular Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) exam prep centers in Queens as companies that are run by or have hired tutors\nthat are pedophiles and misogynists. These organizations, which predominantly serve low-income South Asian families, position\nthemselves as companies that can provide children a chance at competitive specialized high schools and ultimately a stable route\nof upward mobility. The stories in this account and in many of the account’s offshoots covered a wider range of experiences that\nincluded girls’ experiences with being molested by family members, groped by religious figures, or sexualized and demeaned in\npublic spaces by members of their own communities.\nRecently, a pair of South Asian twins from my high school were identified by an anonymous account (without the permission of the\nsurvivor, who subsequently publicly came forward to explain how elements of the published testimony were not wholly accurate and\nactually re-traumatized her) as rapists while they were college students. The two were de-lettered by their former fraternity and\nhave now deleted most of their social media accounts.\nIt was this last revelation that forced me to finally pause and think deeply about how overwhelmed I feel by not having an answer\nto the question, “Where do we go from here?” Some Brown men have seen this movement as something that demonstrates a need for more\nempathy and self-education on what rape culture is and how they actively or passively perpetuate it. Yet the bulk of the response\nhas been their swift backlash to considering their complicity and a desire to more fiercely cling to a propensity to replicate the\nsame norms that for so long have insulated these rapists and sexual assaulters in friend groups, mutual connections, houses of\nworship, and one’s own family. They are in fraternities, on dance teams, and in positions of power and influence. As long they can\ntroll behind their screens and continue to undermine critical conversations and the educational content that women are laboring to\ncreate and democratize, they stand against and resent feminists who are demanding that our mothers, our girls, and our sisters are\nbelieved, respected, and understood.\nYes. We need more South Asian counselors, mental health providers, and social workers. These are the people who will provide our\nsurvivors with culturally competent healing. What are we willing to do in the meantime? Online sexual harassment trainings are\nbeing rapidly clicked through with people sharing the answers to the “quizzes” at the end so they do not have to pay attention.\nTitle IX protections for survivors are being eroded by Secretary of Education Betsy Devos. South Asian fraternities haze appropriate\nBlack Greek traditions, and model themselves on mainstream cultures, predominantly white fraternities that were founded over the\nlast few centuries. They provide hunting grounds for college men who are theoretically of high character, seeking to uphold our\ncultures, and creating spaces for brotherhood for the future leaders of our communities.\nWhat are we willing to fearlessly demand, beyond these fruitless calls for men to, simply out of their good consciences, start\nevolving? Can we commit to seek that these Greek organizations are dismantled? If that is beyond our imaginations, can we ensure\nthat our brothers, cousins and sons avoid these organizations and their members, until the stigma alone has them naturally\ndisappear? Can we require that consent trainings and sexual harassment education are not a single hour or single day event, but\nare ongoing conversations?\nIn our communities, a culture that demands respect for elders makes it rarely safe (let alone culturally viable or sanctioned) to\naddress the immigrant “uncles” in the community who are dangerous and threaten women’s bodily autonomy. The mobilization against\nDr. Ferdous Khandeker MD was a unique example of how girls have told not only their own stories, but those of their mothers’ as\nwell. These testimonies against Dr. Khandeker have been so delayed because we have not yet normalized a reaction to these\nrevelations in which men are the recipient of our anger and righteousness for raping, assaulting, and molesting women. Often, it\nis our women being ashamed of being the recipients of this violence. India is well-known for baming women in situations like these.\nThere is more stigma and labeling for the survivors and what others will think about their family’s values and honor than the\nrepercussions for the perpetrator, which has so many of the victims staying justifiably scared and silent.\nI don’t foresee a near future where men will start to hold one another accountable - not until they see that we do not accept the\norganizations and physical & digital atmospheres they create, which make us feel unsafe and unheard.\nIt is not lost on me that I recently wrote a piece about radical love and an ethics of care when it comes to empathizing with\nSouth Asian men: it relates to mental health and our need for collective liberation. Until we are mutually committed to seeing\nour oppression under the cis-heteropatriarchy dissolve and we are moving forward together with brown men’s uncompromising\nreciprocal investment in our freedom, we must continue to hold that accountability. De-platforming assaulters is not punishment,\nbut actually a form of community care.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wewillnotforgiveforgetthedesiamericanmetoomovement34.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":68,"pub_key":35,"title":"(What) Does a Conservative Think?: The Reactionary Mind of a ‘Child of God’","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Theo Brandt","editor":null,"date":"2020-08-29","content":"Interview with Christian Medina\n\"To obey a real superior … is one of the most important of all virtues--a virtue absolutely essential to the attainment\nof anything great and lasting.\"\n—James Fitzjames Stephen, conservative English lawyer\n\"When the multitude are not under this discipline [of] … the wiser, the more expert, and the more opulent, … they can\nscarcely be said to be in civil society.”\n—Edmund Burke, counterrevolutionary English lawyer/political philosopher\nIn The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin, political scientist Corey Robin argues that\nconservatives are reactionary in theory but radical in practice. Conservatives aim to retain traditionalism and to not\nchange society, but because society is against conservative principles they must act like radicals and perform as\nminorities. That’s why\nthe majority of Americans support liberal policies\nbut\na plurality identify as conservative.\nMore dangerous than this political ideology gaslighting is the conservative (and anti-democratic) belief that virtuous people\nshould be at the top of any societal hierarchy, and reactionaries generally take comfort in “hard-working” and\n“intelligent” people maintaining order over the degraded masses (see quotes above). Oddly, someone who really epitomizes\nthese characteristics briefly joined Detester as a staff writer. So I interviewed him to see how Robin’s framework plays\nout on the level of an individual conservative.\nFrom your poetry, you seem to be more socially conservative than economically conservative? What are your economic\nbeliefs? What do you think about ‘capitalism’?\n“I support capitalism and the right to a private business not owned by the state or government. I think socialism is a\nstupid and failing idea. Venezuela tried and failed. Cuba is failing. Socialism never works, and in a country with a\npopulation of 326 million, it’ll fail from the start. Not sure if the first part is a question or statement,\nalthough I’d say I’m more economically conservative.”\nCan you define “Child of God”? What do you mean by this?\n“Someone who truly follows Yeshua. Someone who breaks free from sin, and the temptations of this world. Someone who\nrepresents and is used for good in the eyes of the Lord. Someone who uses his gifts and abilities to glorify God.”\nYou mention “virtuous people” in your poetry. What makes someone virtuous? Why is it important to be virtuous?\n“Connection to God, or rather, and in most cases, a strong connection to your spirit. Seperation [sic] from the\ndesensitization and corruption of this world.”\nWhat are your parents’ political beliefs?\n“Democratic all the way.”\nWhat do you think about Trump’s response to COVID-19? Do you think people should wear masks?\n“Trump had asked for advice from Fauci months before the virus really started to spread. Fauci told him it was nothing\nto worry about. Trump listened. Now, Fauci made a mistake, and Trump is being blamed for the lives of thousands. I think\npeople who don’t have a connection with God should wear a mask. So I completely agree with wearing a mask, and I’d wear\na mask too. Although note that I’d only wear it because it’s required in most places.”\nWhat do you think of leftists and progressives?\n“I see nothing wrong with progressives in theory and that’s relatively the same in practice. It would depend on what the\ncommon people were like and what their interests were.There are a lot of good leftists that just want certain change,\nand can be civil which is what I respect. I don’t agree on a lot of things leftists want, and their actions are\nsometimes a bit questionable. A lot of lefties do just assume that I stand with all things evil though [sic].”\nYou claim that liberals have made a strawman of your beliefs, meaning that when they hear that you are a conservative,\nthey automatically believe you are prejudiced. Why do you think they do this? How is their strawman different from your\nviews?\n“It’s easier to win an argument if you present the other not with facts, but the assumptions you want in order to win.\nPlus, it’s their way of appearing morally righteous as well. Makes them feel like they’re actually doing something to\nchange or help. It’s different because they seem to think that everything I stand for is meant strictly for destruction\nand chaos to instill in our country. I want the opposite. I want to make abortion illegal for doctors because I think\nit’s immoral, not because I don’t want women to have a choice. I want prosperity and peace to come, but that doesn’t\nhappen by making life appear to be more free. Life still needs discipline and some structural order to keep society\nstable.”\nWhat was one time a liberal has been “aggressive” toward you?\n“I don’t think any liberals have assaulted me. My family calls me a racist and, a white supremacist. A lot of the times,\nthey’ll threaten harm but won’t act on it.”","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/whatdoesaconservativethinkthereactionarymindofachildofgod35.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Interviews"]},{"id":198,"pub_key":36,"title":"Uprooted: The Influence of Immigration on Mental Health","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Suzanna Chen","editor":"","date":"2020-09-01","content":"I will never forget that particularly sunny morning in July.\nIt was when the sight of my mother bursting into tears as soon as she entered our newly rented apartment shattered our\nmutually constructed “happy new immigrants” facade. She was, and still is, a figure of great strength and perseverance\nto me. Perhaps it was for this reason that seeing her break down helplessly was devastatingly shocking for me.\nBack then, my carefree and ignorant self could not fathom the reason and pain behind those tears. I remember standing\nthere, frozen and bewildered, while watching my heroine succumb to an indiscernible force.\nIt brought out something in me—something I had ignored for so long.\nIn retrospect, that summer morning was the beginning of my strenuous and ongoing battle with mental illnesses and the\njourney to recollect my lost identity. Although I can identify subtle signs of mental distress before that day, it was\nthe events of that morning that made me detect my indescribable, internal discomfort.\nDespite acknowledging that all psychological conditions have a biological factor —they might occur as long as I am\ngenetically myself — I couldn’t help but wonder if the forceful relocation and replantation of my cultural roots\ncontributed to my mental health decline. My suspicion was implicitly confirmed by the jointly conducted “Longitudinal\nSurvey of Immigrants to Canada” (LSIC) by Statistics Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada in 2012. The survey\nresults revealed that at approximately four years after landing, 29 percent of immigrants reported having emotional\nproblems and 16 percent reported high levels of stress, with women predominantly being affected with these issues. As\nthe proportion of foreign-born population in Canada is at its highest in 75 years – according to the 2006 census – the\nnumber of people corresponding to these percentages is continually rising, and the mental well-being of this population\nis having a growing impact on the nation’s present and future.\nBeing a young, female immigrant who fits squarely within the 29 percent of mental illnesses’ victims, I invite you to\ntake a trip down memory lane with me. Along the way, some of the unique stressors and mental health challenges faced by\nnewcomers in a foreign country will be unravelled in the context of my very own heartfelt experiences.\nLet us begin.\nI shivered as the chill Canadian spring breeze hit me as soon as I stepped off the airplane. Travelling across the\nairport, I looked back with an unknown emotion as the aircraft diminished in size. The gradual disappearance of the\nfamiliar airline's logo seemed to erase my last, direct tie with my homeland across the Pacific Ocean. In stark contrast\nto the warm and humid climate of my hometown, the dry and freshening winds of western Canada strengthened the\n“foreignness” that I’d felt along with the seemingly randomly arranged alphabets everywhere around the airport.\nThe unfamiliarity of this exotic environment was invigorating to my nine-year-old self, and it had brought me great joy\nfor the first few months. I marvelled at absolutely everything in sight and gasped in wonder at common behaviours of the\n“foreigners” – which is, ironically, what most Chinese immigrants refer to anyone who is white – that are deemed\n“strange” and even “taboo” back in my homeland.\nHowever, the “newcomers’ filter” through which I’d seen my surroundings began fading away three months after our\narrival, when my father had to leave for his job in China. Even though he was already a “frequent flyer” of almost every\nChinese airline due to the nature of his work, our family had never been separated for more than half a month.\nAs my eyes followed his back until it was submerged within the waves of professional-looking businessmen in the airport\nthat day, the word “immigration” finally sank in. My mother and I went back to our strangely empty – as my father did\nnot have much baggage – apartment that day with an equally hollow feeling in our hearts.\nWe are on our own now” was the silent statement exchanged through the feigned impassiveness in our eyes.\nPopulation studies done by researchers of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program have concluded that despite\nimmigrants' mental health status being generally better than native populations in both sending and receiving countries,\nthe “healthy immigrant effect” – as quoted from the study – tends to wear off quickly to match and even exceed the\nmental illness rates of the general population.\nThe “healthy immigrant effect,\" which can be understood as the initial sense of jubilation upon arrival in a foreign\ncountry, can be attributed to the intriguing unfamiliarity and the variety of overall health screenings one must pass\nthrough to be permitted to immigrate. What causes this “effect” to fade differs depending on individual situations, but\nFarzana Doctor, a registered social worker, has discovered a common theme among her immigrant clients.\n“When immigrants move to a new country, there is a sense of loss — of their identities, family, friends, everything. In\ntheir native country, they probably were experts in their field, they knew how the system worked, they had a strong\nnetwork of family and friends, and now they don’t have any of that when they first come here,” Doctor said.\nI had undoubtedly felt a potent emptiness resulted from the sudden depletion of friends. However, these losses were more\nprominent for my parents, who had established nearly forty years’ worth of memories, achievements, and connections back\nin our home country. As she later revealed to me, my mother’s reason for breaking down that summer morning was a\npoignant flashback to her successful career during an English lesson she struggled to comprehend. It is heart-wrenching\nto imagine how desperate she must have felt to transition from having an admirable position in the justice system to a\nmediocre student who was “worthless to the society” – as she stated herself.\nThe anguish was aggravated when her most meaningful connection – my father – had to be separated from her by the vast\nPacific Ocean as well. Despite the convenience of the internet to stay in contact, this separation would, as we would\nheartbreakingly learn, have a devastating impact on our family.\nAs much as I looked forward to my father visiting us after three months of separation, me hiding in my bedroom while my\nparents angrily argued was not how I imagined the reunion would go.\nWhen my father’s figure – notably slimmer than the last time we were together – appeared from the airport's sliding\ndoors, we were all in tears of coexisting joy and sorrow. However, perhaps it was our high expectations of finally\nreverting to our “normal” family life, the situation at home soon turned terribly disappointing.\nNone of us wanted to admit it, but a disheartening gap was emerging between my father and us. The quarrel today could be\ntraced back to our mutual misunderstanding.\nMy father, being exhausted from endless work and despairing loneliness back in our hometown, expected us – my mom and I\n– to acknowledge and appreciate his anguish and perseverance. Ultimately, he saw himself as the “hero” of our family for\nbeing our sole source of financial support.\nOn the other hand, my mother yearned for comfort and respect for the tremendous amount of effort she put into adjusting\nto a new environment while still maintaining composure and being a figure of strength for her child.\nNeither understood the other’s struggles, which led to the bitter fight today over the petty topic of \"what to eat for\ndinner.\"\n“I ate three meals in restaurants and fast-food joints every single day back there. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Is it a crime\nfor me to crave a specific dish right now?” bellowed my father in his raspy baritone voice.\n“Maybe you wouldn’t have to if you have any basic life skills other than microwaving a takeout dish!” my mother shouted\nback. Her mellow, alto voice raised to a pitch that would have made a soprano jealous.\nThe unspoken pain on both sides was causing a rift in our once harmonious family bond. Yet, as “a kid who is too young\nto understand problems of adults,” I was deemed inadequate to take part in their heated discussion. Overlooking the\nsituation as a bystander, I rested my head on my door and silently wept.\nAnd...\nIt seemed that my own tormenting struggles to adapt and fit into a new set of social rules and expectations shouldn’t be\na matter of importance compared to their evident distress.\nAlthough little research has been done on the impact of immigration on families in which only one parent accompanies the\nminor, such form of immigration is extremely common, as many deem both parents seeking a living in a foreign country too\nrisky. In fact, research by Access Alliance has shown that the inability of immigrant parents to integrate into the\nlabour market can cause depression, family tensions, and other mental health stressors on the family.\nSeparation of families during immigration can be compared to the parents suddenly becoming long-distance lovers.\nHowever, immigrant parents who stay with their children are not only subjected to emotional distress from their\n\"long-distance relationships,\" but also to stressors associated with acculturation, the processes of psychological\nchange that occur amid contact between two or more cultures. Such changes might include abandonment and incorporation of\ncustoms, languages, and values. Acculturation is also the reason why the impact of immigration varies between ethnic\ngroups; immigrants with less cultural differences to the receiving country – such as British immigrants to Canada –\nwould have less difficulty adjusting than those with significant differences, like Asian immigrants.\nHow does acculturation affect immigrant families? A study by scholars of Queen’s University has revealed that immigrant\nparents are often at a heightened risk for parenting stress and other mental health vulnerabilities due to acculturative\ndifficulties. Also, perhaps as a rather inadequate reason for my childhood disobedience to my mother, we experienced\ndissonant acculturation – in which differences exist between our speeds of adopting the “Canadian ways” – that caused\nfrequent conflicts and misunderstandings between us.\nWith my mother being exposed to stressful adaptation difficulties – as well as a rambunctious child who thought she was\ntoo \"cool\" and effortlessly “Canadian” – and my father struggling with financial pressure and solitude, their\nsimultaneous yet mutually unacknowledged challenges would eventually cause severe instability in the family that we are\nstill attempting to mend to this day.\nUnfortunately, the issues arising in our family didn’t stop there, as immigration was not only a struggle for my\nparents, but for me as well.\nStaring down at the numerous, purposely left spelling mistakes on the page, my fingers tapped on the wooden table at a\nspeed that seemed impossible for me during my piano recitals, when it was actually required.\nThis repetitive act was my unconscious method of expressing – and therefore relieving – the unsettling restlessness that\narrives alongside an unpleasant bubbly feeling in my chest. I didn’t know what the feeling was back then.\nAfter all, how could I understand the complex word of “anxiety” when my English vocabulary had not even extended to\ninclude terms longer than four letters?\n“Can I…bring your eraser?” I asked tentatively after mustering up all of my nearly non-existent courage. My finger\npointed at the object of concern, situated conveniently within my reach, on his desk.\nEyeing my classmate’s bemused expression, I watched helplessly as the boisterous, imaginary laughter shattered my overly\nfragile self-esteem. I threw discrediting phrases at my inner self for daringly choosing a word that hadn’t gone through\nmy investigation for its every potential definition and connotation in the English-to-Chinese dictionary.\nShutting my eyes to avoid his mockingly exaggerated facial expression of confusion, I added this interaction to my\nmental list named “Reasons to Keep Quiet,” which was already excessively long.\nTwo months into my first school term in Canada, I had already confined myself within the intangible cage of self-made\nsocial restrictions. Despite the unsettling urge to behave like my true self, I deemed these “rules” necessary to avoid\nhumiliation.\nThe list of rules included: don’t speak unless it’s a matter of life and death, which apparently included spelling\nmistakes; avert any gazes – amiable or not – that last more than two seconds; and remain stationary until there is\nabsolute confidence that my next actions will be socially acceptable.\nI thought it was normal for someone to ponder thoroughly before their every single move.\nI assumed that it was typical for someone to be incredibly mentally exhausted after the first hour of school.\nAnd I believed that it was common for one to fear this fatigue so much that they involuntarily disappear into the\nbackground of every social situation.\nIt was lonely and dark in my incorporeal cage, but it surpassed the burning embarrassment when my classmate exclaimed\ndramatically with a horribly insincere look of epiphany on his face, “Oh! You mean ‘can I BORROW your eraser?’”\nPerhaps you might find it unfathomable how such a silly incident affected me so much. However, it should be reminded\nthat even the subtlest embarrassment and hurt can accumulate to an overwhelming amount when lacking an outlet. As\npreviously mentioned, the differences in the rates my mother and I acculturated to the new society – dissonant\nacculturation – caused problematic tensions between us. The tension, combined with both of my parents’ apparent misery,\nprevented me from pouring out my negative experiences to my family, which, as I failed to socialize and obtain\nfriendship, was my sole option. Due to me lacking the outlet to relieve the stress from being a social outcast, I had\nfound unhealthy methods of coping with them – including not speaking at all and overthinking – which led to the\nformation of mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.\nUnfortunately, research shows that I am not alone with this experience.\nAs Access Alliance’s study revealed, the number of immigrant youth aged 15 to 24 arriving to live in Canada has\nincreased by 24.9 percent over the last ten years, with 80 percent of them being visible minorities. For all immigrant\nyouths, the key challenges include learning a new language, adjusting to a different school system, and building foreign\nsocial relationships. However, being from a racial or ethical minority group increases a youth’s chance of adaptation\nfailures. The same article concluded that the racism and discrimination – even as subtle as academic generalizations –\noften encountered by minority immigrants frequently result in social isolation and lack of belonging, which further\ncontributes to low self-esteem and stress – the leading causes of mood disorders.\nDue to there being inadequate research on the mental well-being of immigrant youths, I cannot provide accurate data.\nHowever, from personal experience and encounters with many other youth immigrants, psychological illnesses are far from\nrare among us. Fortunately, as increased awareness has been spread about this issue, more specialized support programs\nhave been set up. Aside from professional interference, the most undemanding and effective method one can help is to\ninclude international students in their activities and conversations. Even an encouraging smile in the hallways can make\nsomeone feel instantly welcomed and less alone.\nOur exploration of the mental health of immigrants would end here for now. There are still countless issues not\naddressed due to the limitations of this article. Some of them include the distinct challenges faced by immigrants of\ndifferent classes, such as family-class immigrants, economic immigrants, and refugees; environmental resettlement,\nincluding getting comfortable with the infamously frosty Canadian winters; discrimination towards immigrants of colour,\nwhich could negatively affect those seeking jobs; and inaccessibility of mental health services due to stigma and\nlanguage barriers.\nWhat motivated me to write this article were the truly disheartening complaints by some who claim all immigrants defiant\nand unwilling to adopt the new cultural and societal values, while most are struggling and trying incredibly hard to do\nso. Through this article, I hope to increase awareness and acknowledgement of the pain and hardships behind the\nseemingly “privileged” act of immigration.\nSome of us who are reaching our hands out to embrace our new “home” are met with hurtful contacts with the unfamiliar\nand foreign reality.\nAll we hope for are reciprocating embraces of welcome to heal our invisible wounds.\nImmigrant mental health- and adaption-assisting resources in Canada\nMulticultural Mental Health Resource Centre (MMHRC)\nWebsite: http://www.multiculturalmentalhealth.ca/en/\nThe MMHRC seeks to address the issues of language, culture, religion, and other aspects of cultural diversity that\nprevent immigrants and minority Canadians from receiving high-quality mental health care. The website contains\ninformation and resources for laypeople, patients and their families, community organizations, health professionals,\npolicy makers, planners, and administrators.\nCitizenship and Immigration Canada\nWebsite: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html\nThe Canadian government’s official website offers information regarding all legal aspects of immigration. It also\nfeatures an interactive map that allows immigrants to locate local services in their provinces or territories.\nYMCA/YWCA\nWebsites:\nhttps://ymca.ca/What-We-Offer/Community-Initiatives/\nhttps://ywcacanada.ca/what-we-do/support-ywcas/\nYMCA/YWCA both have branches scattered across all of Canada that offer newcomer services, financial support, employment\nassistance, and recreational activities to aid in community integration for immigrants.\nCaring for Kids New to Canada\nWebsite: https://www.kidsnewtocanada.ca/about/site\nAlthough Caring for Kids New to Canada is developed primarily for healthcare workers, the website contains information\nfor all to navigate through the (somewhat confusing) Canadian healthcare system. The website also includes a list of\ncommunity service organizations for immigrants and refugees in Canada. The link to the webpage is:\nhttps://www.kidsnewtocanada.ca/beyond/resources\nCanadian Immigrant\nWebsite: https://canadianimmigrant.ca\nCanadian Immigrant is a platform offering news and current events of various topics – such as education and employment –\nregarding immigration. In addition to website articles, videos and podcasts are also available.\nS.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation\nWebsite: https://successbc.ca/learn-about-us/advocacy-research/\nThe S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation is based in British Columbia, and offers a variety of services for immigrants and cultural\nminorities in Canada. They are well-known for offering free Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) classes\nand public workshops on topics ranging from law services to education. Despite their physical locations being in BC,\ntheir website contains useful information for everyone - from youths to seniors - to better experience their “Canadian\njourney.”","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/uprootedtheinfluenceofimmigrationonmentalhealth36.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":113,"pub_key":37,"title":"Colourism","subtitle":null,"credit":"Artist: Azure","editor":null,"date":"2020-09-03","content":"About the artist:\nAzure is 16 and enjoys art and too many random things :).\nTitle of artwork:\n\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\n is a big problem all over the world, especially in places\nof Asia, where pale skin is glorified. I just want to show that no\nmatter what colour you are, you are still beautiful.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/colourism37.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":49,"pub_key":38,"title":"Beyond the Black Square: The Problem With Performative Activism","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Dorothy Chan","editor":"","date":"2020-09-05","content":"When George Floyd was tragically murdered at the hands of now-former police officers Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Alexander\nKueng, and Thomas Lane on May 25, 2020, people were forced to reconsider racial issues in America. Thousands of\nprotesters marched in the streets of Minneapolis, the city where Floyd lived and was murdered by police. These protests\nquickly spread through the rest of the nation and across the globe as a collective act of solidarity for George Floyd\nand countless other victims of police brutality. These protests later became associated with the larger Black Lives\nMatter movement that started in 2013.\nAs a result of police brutality being brought to the forefront of national attention, there was a distinct shift in the\ntype of content being circulated around social media platforms. Posts providing links to petitions and charities were\nshared in mass quantities, replacing the usual images of dogs and poorly lit selfies. During this period, people were\nmore vocal than ever about social justice issues; it was the peak of digital activism.\nSuddenly, on June 2, 2020, a flood of black squares accompanied by the caption #blackouttuesday took social media by\nstorm.\nBlackout Tuesday, an organized event that sparked an abrupt change in our feeds, stemmed from #TheShowMustBeStopped, an\ninitiative created by music executives Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, who recognized that Black artists have been\nhistorically disadvantaged because of their race– from producers discrediting their work to refusing to acknowledge the\nimpact that Black culture has had on the music and entertainment industry. #TheShowMustBeStopped strived to encourage\nits participants to refrain from releasing new music and cease business.\nSpotify and Apple Music, for example, curated playlists entirely composed of songs written by Black artists and added an\n8:46-minute moment of silence on certain playlists, the amount of time that Derek Chauvin had kneeled on George Floyd’s\nneck. Other music companies, such as Universal Music Group and Sony, pledged $25 million and $100 million, respectively,\nto support anti-racist efforts in the music industry and general population.\nAs the movement became more mainstream amongst the youth, many were encouraged to use Blackout Tuesday as an opportunity\nto reflect on the recent events and America’s history with the Black Lives Matter movement. Participants were encouraged\nto silence their voices to show their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by posting black squares on their\nfeeds with the caption #blackouttuesday. While the cause may have been well-intended, the execution of Blackout Tuesday\ninadvertently stunted the progress of the movement. The silence was meant to disrupt feeds, yet it ended up muting the\nmovement completely by drowning out important resources through the misuse of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag and\noverwhelming our screens with nothing but black tiles.\nBlackout Tuesday was a collective act of performative activism. Individuals demonstrated a sense of concern towards\nprominent issues for the sake of their media presence, as opposed to bringing attention to the cause itself. This, while\narguably being more effective than doing nothing at all, does not beneficially contribute to the movement if you\nultimately do not care. When you share an infographic that has been spreading within your group of followers without\nreading it just to promote your own agenda of being anti-racist and socially well-informed, consider the lengths that\nyou’re willing to go to take advantage of the issues in our society to demonstrate how compassionate and educated you\nare.\nBlack Lives Matter is not a trend that you can use to your advantage to build up your social capital. An infographic on\nyour Instagram story should not be used as a shield to prevent backlash when you decide that a picture of your breakfast\nwas more worthy to share than an infographic with information on bail funds and hotlines. Even if you had good\nintentions, your “allyship” is meaningless if the impact you caused is anything but actively supporting and advocating\nfor the issue at hand.\nSimilarly to when Instagram users changed their profile pictures to blue for #BlueforSudan, which was started in\nsolidarity with protests in the wake of the death of Mohamed Hashim Mattar, or when Facebook users used a filter of a\nFrench flag over their profile pictures for #PrayforParis in an attempt to sympathize with those affected by the\nterrorist attacks in Paris, the extent to which people cared about Black Lives Matter was demonstrated through their\ntoken black square and absence of financial, social, and political support.\nThis is the boundary that separates performative and authentic allyship.\nBehind each repost on your Instagram story is a real issue where people are suffering, being oppressed, or fighting for\ntheir lives. They deserve more than the two minutes it takes for you to repost the story. They deserve more than just 24\nhours of attention.\nNevertheless, while having a platform allows you to spread awareness on important issues, you are still entitled to what\nyou post on your own account. Regardless, it is also your responsibility to consider the moral obligation that comes\nfrom this privilege and the effects that result from it.\nWhile utilizing social media platforms is known to be an effective and popular way to participate in activism, it is not\nnecessarily essential to address important issues. Your actions matter as much offline as they do online, if not more.\nSigning petitions, protesting, and educating yourself is just as important as sharing a post on Instagram.\nWith the elections coming up in a few months, one of the most important things you can do as an ally for racial equality\nis to vote– specifically for a candidate that shares the same anti-racist goals as you. After all, posting a black\nsquare is inconsequential to voting for an official that can enact federal change to the most significant contributor to\nracism– institutions. It is counterproductive to vote for someone who is against the policies that you advocate for.\nContinue being active in the fights against social injustices. Even if you are only able to sign petitions, continue to\ndo so– even if you think they won’t make an impact, because they do. Elijah McCain’s case was reopened after his\npetition gained over 2 million signatures. Trayvon Martin’s murderer was charged with second-degree murder after his\npetition gained over 2.2 million signatures. Donate to bail funds for protestors or call your local representatives if\nyou can. Continue the fight for those who have not earned justice yet.\nMake the effort to prove your allyship beyond your hyperactive Instagram page. But to do so, ask yourself this first:\n*When will you stop hiding behind the shield of your black square and start actively fighting against the issues at hand?*","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/beyondtheblacksquaretheproblemwithperformativeactivism38.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":22,"pub_key":39,"title":"A Look at Education Around the Globe in the Era of a Pandemic: Part 2","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Anju Meyer","editor":"","date":"2020-09-07","content":"*The Detester Team is composed of youth from around the globe.*\n*Despite the distance that separates us, we as youth all share the*\n*experience of receiving an education. However, in times like these,*\n*when a global pandemic by the name of COVID-19 has taken the world*\n*by storm, many of our daily activities are modified in hopes of*\n*keeping us safe whilst also attempting to maintain a sense of*\n*normalcy. The following collection of responses, written by some of*\n*the Detester team members, highlights what education looks like for*\n*youth in the United States. Visit*\n*here*\n*to read the set of responses about education outside of the United*\n*States.*\nSouth Brunswick, NJ, USA\nAnshika, our website co-director:\nAs soon as there were rumors of lockdown starting in Australia, with\na growing number of cases, my university started remote learning\nonly in week 3 of the first semester of the year. The transformation\nwas fairly smooth, and we were given one extra week of holiday to\nfully accommodate for this transition to online learning. My\nuniversity has 40,000 students, so in my opinion, they handled it\npretty well. Everyone got accustomed to Zoom tutorials pretty\nquickly and lecture recordings remained the same. Because I am\npursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, all of our assignments are\nvirtual anyway, so there was no dramatic change to this aspect. The\nmain difference is the fact that with tutorials being online, it\nbecame almost impossible to make friends in classes. Breakout rooms\nwere extremely awkward, and I now dread being put into a breakout\nroom. Since remote learning has started, I have not made any friends\nat university, which actually makes me pretty sad because it is my\nlast year of uni and I wanted to be social this year. Furthermore,\nin my degree, I rely a lot on physical sources like books to do my\nresearch for all the essays I have to write, which comprise my main\nassignments. I felt a bit disadvantaged with fewer sources, but I\nmanaged to complete all my research by spending more time online\nsearching for sources. The quality of education hasn’t gone down for\nme since I don’t have any practical aspects in my course. In fact,\nmy grades actually improved during this semester and my overall\naverage mark increased by quite a bit. Because of remote learning\nand quarantine, I stayed at home for much longer, and I was able to\nconcentrate better on my work, which resulted in better grades. I’ve\nalso discovered that the teaching staff for my subjects provided us\nwith more support and resources than ever. I’ve had so many\nconsultations during this past year from tutors, who were\nenthusiastic about helping me with assignments, which I’m beyond\ngrateful for. This whole experience has had its ups and downs, but\nI’m more or less accustomed to online learning now.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/alookateducationaroundtheglobeintheeraofapandemicpart239.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Creative Writing","Interviews"]},{"id":17,"pub_key":40,"title":"Colorism: The Colonization of Beauty","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Jamie Zou","editor":null,"date":"2020-09-08","content":"col·or·ism\n/ˈkələrˌizəm/\nnoun\n“prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group.”\n“I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon\nme, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me...” (Song of Songs 1: 5-6)\nIn this famous passage from Song of Songs, a certain phrase in the English translation alludes to a deep-rooted\nintersection of color and beauty. It’s no surprise that colorism has become interwoven in everyday society; it’s a\nconcept as old as the holy books. However, in the original Hebrew text, “I am black, but comely” reads instead as “I am\nblack, and comely.” This slight alteration in wording makes a world of difference: Black isn’t sinful or unattractive,\nit’s an unabashed statement of beauty. So then, why is it that Western societies choose to embed colorism into religion?\nIn regards to the constant shift of societal standards, trends are and have always been defined by “whiteness”.\nThe global audience has always shown favoritism towards lighter-skin— it’s ignorant to think that colorism is exclusive\nto the U.S. In many countries, colorism has disguised itself as an aspect of culture. South Korea’s evergrowing K-pop\nindustry produces idols that the people adore not only for their music and artistry, but also for their faces of\nideality and whitewashed skin. Asia as a whole has always valued pale skin. Today, colorism has seamlessly been fostered\nby children’s fairy tales— princesses and goddesses almost always have snow-white skin. It’s treated as a symbol of\npurity, which then became an aspect of beauty. Girls on the streets are covered up head-to-toe to preserve their\n“beauty”— large-brimmed hats, doused in sunscreen, parasols, fingerless gloves that climb up forearms. In recent years,\nas an effort to diversify beauty, people from many countries have begun moving away from the idolization of eurocentric\nfeatures to embrace darker skin tones. However, one thing has been made clear— these countries have all been spoon-fed a\ndose of anti-Blackness.\nWhile many attach modern-day colorism to centuries of colonialism, Asia’s obsession with complexion was established long\nbefore colonizers. Color was equivalent to class— only the wealthiest had the luxury of staying indoors, away from the\nsun.\nBollywood’s fixation on light complexions has also perpetuated instances of brownface in the industry. According to NBC\nNews, colorism in India predates Bollywood— rather, the movie industry’s attitude towards fair skin is only a symptom.\nLong before the arrival of British colonists, India’s casteism was built on what we now consider colorism— lower castes\nwere dark and “ugly” from laboring in the sun, while higher castes were fair from lack of toil. Although the caste\nsystem has technically been abandoned, it still exists in subtle ways, such as colorism in the Bollywood industry. The\n2019 film, Bala, depicted a dark-skinned woman’s struggles facing discrimination in Indian society. Ironically, the\nwoman was played by Bhumi Pednekar, a light-skinned actress who needed to darken her skin for the role. The film\nreceived backlash, but it isn’t uncommon for fair-skinned actors in brownface to portray characters from destitute\nbackgrounds— it’s going to take time to dismantle anti-darkness. Unfortunately, ancient concepts aren’t easy to uproot.\nThe U.S. was founded on similar ideologies of colonialism and class, which has shaped the way colorism plays out in\nAmerican society.\n“Now if you was white, should be all right\nIf you was brown, could stick around\nBut if you black, whoa brother, git back git back git back.”\nThe aforementioned text is a passage from Big Bill Broonzy’s Black, Brown and White, a protest song in the 20th century\nthat captures the definition of American colorism. As a country that isn’t nearly as monoethnic as those in Asia, color\nis charged with racial stereotypes. Outside the U.S., the value of fair skin links to culture and history deeply\nentangled with Western colonization. However, the United States never had a culture of colorism before European\ncolonizers. The entire country’s foundation is centered around Western ideals and ultimately, white supremacy. As the\nslave trade peaked in the 18th century, colorism became common practice— while darker-skinned slaves labored as field\nhands, light-skinned slaves were favored and usually worked indoors.\nSimilar antebellum attitudes decriminalized rape on the basis of a victim’s race. Court cases were overturned simply\nbecause the victim wasn’t White. As noted by Jeffrey Pokorak, a professor at Suffolk University, white men were able to\nto justify sexual assault of the “caste inferior” using a “two-pronged criminal law response to Black sexuality”: Black\nwomen could not be raped because of their “temptress” natures, while Black men were “lascivious,” and all rapists. At\nthat time, mixed-raced children were often a result of sexual assault. Although they would never be recognized as\nlegitimate, their lightness and white ancestry were considered “privileges” and assets. A history deeply intertwined\nwith the legalization of racial oppression would leave indefinite scars on the nation.\nEven after slavery had long been abolished, discrimination still persisted. Anti-Blackness had been instilled into\nsociety and many in the Black community felt as though the fallacious association between whiteness and privilege was\ninescapable. In the early 1900s, jazz culture rose to popularity in New York City, but it wasn’t the only thing that\ntook the city by storm. As reported by Daily News, the all-white customers who frequented jazz clubs enjoyed the music\nas much as they did the Copper-Colored Gals, a group of dancers who performed in the well-known Cotton Club. Young\nfemale performers hoping to join needed to meet certain criteria set by the club’s owners— along with being talented and\nattractive, their skin had to be lighter than a brown paper bag. As a result, the ignition of routine paper bag tests\nbecame responsible for anti-blackness within the Black community. Upper-class members of Black society were often\nlight-skinned and performed the bag test on darker-skinned Black people as if lightness was equivalent to worthiness.\nIn the 1920s, this insidious premium on fairness began to fade. While those in Europe’s upper class had always valorized\nfairness (going as far as applying toxic whitening concoctions on their skin, a millennia-old practice), fairness fell\nout of favor at the turn of the industrial revolution. Accordingly, factory work occupied western Europe and “the\nworking classes had moved into the shadows.” With smog from factories constantly in the air, barely any time was spent\noutdoors in the sun. Tan skin was cemented as the West’s new “beautiful” when fashion icon Coco Chanel was photographed\nsun-kissed on her Meditteranean vacation, and at the time, anything Chanel did became a trend.\nGrowing up in America today, tan skin is worn with pride— a symbol of history-rich culture and beauty. However, in many\nindustries, melanin is still largely underrepresented and discriminated against—\nHadid has Palestinian heritage, her white-passing appearance has no doubt benefited her.\nIn 2018, model Gigi Hadid received backlash for her Vogue Italia cover, where she appeared to be heavily tanned. While\nPhoto: Gigi Hadid on the cover of Vogue Italia\nSource: Vogue Italia\nAs stated in Paper Magazine, in the fashion industry, haute couture shoots like this aren’t supposed to portray\nconventionality; to an audience centered in eurocentric beauty standards, the models could be perceived as “exotic”— as\nif anything that doesn’t follow eurocentricity is the “other”. But Brown skin isn’t supposed to be stylized. Fault\ndoesn’t lay in Hadid or in this specific shoot— the entire beauty industry is fueled by subconscious undertones of\ncolorism. Vogue Italia Editor Patti Wilson, herself a Black woman, defended Hadid’s cover, which she had directed: “Gigi\nwas meant to look bronze, tan, and gorgeous.” However, there are actual POC models who could fit the “bronze, tan, and\ngorgeous” image required for the cover shoot.\nMelanin is only seen as beautiful when it’s worn by white bodies. The same melanin that got Breonna Taylor murdered in\nher own home. It’s the same melanin that compels Walmart to exclusively lock up African-American hair products because\nof stereotypes. Melanin, which has ingrained a sense of inferiority within POC, has become an assertion of privilege for\nwhite people.\nAs unfair as it is, it’s unreasonable to expect a definite end to colorism, at least not anytime soon. The fight needs\nto begin within— question your own mindset. Does skin tone affect your perception of others? Of yourself? Is color just\ncolor, or does it represent something else?","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/colorismthecolonizationofbeauty40.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Jagota, Vrinda. \"When Does Tanning Become Racially Insensitive?\" Paper Magazine, 4 May 2018, www.papermag.com/gigi-hadid-tanning-vogue-2565915412.html?rebelltitem=8#rebelltitem8. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.","Hanbury, Mary. \"Furious Walmart customers post videos of stores locking up African-American beauty products.\" Business Insider, 26 Jan. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/walmart-locking-up-african-american-hair-products-2018-1. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020","Mernin, Gabriela. \"99 problems: shades of belonging.\" Daily News, 3 Nov. 2016, www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/examining-paper-bag-test-evolved-article-1.2844394. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.","Nittle, Nadra Kareem. \"The Roots of Colorism, or Skin Tone Discrimination.\" ThoughtCo, Aug. 10, 2020, thoughtco.com/what-is-colorism-2834952.","Sarkar, Monica. \"Why does Bollywood use the offensive practice of brownface in movies?\" CNN, 8 May 2020, www.cnn.com/style/article/india-bollywood-brownface-hnk-intl/index.html. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.","Venkatraman, Sakshi. \"How protests led to a critique of Bollywood's colorism and a reckoning for South Asians.\" NBC News, 23 June 2020, www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/how-protests-led-critique-bollywood-s-colorism-reckoning-south-asians-n1231609. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.","Pokorak, Jeffrey J. \"RAPE AS A BADGE OF SLAVERY: THE LEGAL HISTORY OF, AND REMEDIES FOR, PROSECUTORIAL RACE-OF-VICTIM CHARGING DISPARITIES.\" Nevada Law Journal, scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1418&context=nlj. Accessed 24 Aug. 2020."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":128,"pub_key":41,"title":"The Circle of Life","subtitle":"","credit":"Artist: Lizzie Duong","editor":"","date":"2020-09-10","content":"About the artist:\nLizzie Duong is a junior at Northwood High School who finds\nempowerment through art. What started as a childhood outlet, art is\nthe root of her identity. Additionally, Lizzie plays volleyball, is\na part of Northwood’s Associated Student Body Leadership, and is\nChief Marketing Officer at Interverse Educational Outreach.\nTitle of artwork:\nColourism\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nRacism is an issue that I had to learn by experience rather than\nthrough school lessons. Growing up Asian in America meant making\nsure my lunches, outfits, and traditions were exactly like my\nclassmates. As a child, society told me to be like a goldfish: a\ntrapped prize commonly won at American carnivals. Only through\nawareness did I understand the importance of my Vietnamese culture.\nThe foods, the traditions, the toys. This art piece resembles the\nbattling natures of American and Vietnamese culture respectively.\nThe pair of fish circle in a conflicting cycle of life around my\nchildhood, depicted through a lonely goldfish. Now, I am proud to\nsay that I am educated enough to embrace the duality of my cultures.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thecircleoflife41.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":185,"pub_key":42,"title":"The Power of LGBTQ+ Inclusive Storytelling","subtitle":"","credit":"Malya Robenson","editor":"","date":"2020-09-12","content":"Despite being a historically oppressed minority, the LGBTQ+ community has recently experienced unforeseen levels of\nrepresentation and acceptance in society. It is currently legal for same-sex couples to get married across the United\nStates and in 30 countries around the world. Society’s increasing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community is due in part to\nthe way that queer characters are slowly being integrated into books, movies, and television shows. For the past decade,\nqueer characters had mostly been reserved for media intended for teenagers or adult viewers but, as of late, that notion\nseems to be changing.\nOn August 15th, Disney announced that Luz Noceda, the main character of The Owl House, is canonically bisexual. The Owl\nHouse is one of Disney Channel’s newest animated shows, which follows Luz ‘The Human’ Noceda as she trains in another\nworld to become a witch although she, herself, cannot perform magic in the same way that others at her school can. The\nshow has been a huge hit and has acquired fans of all ages due to its entertaining plot and captivating world that\nviewers can immerse themselves in.\nThe revelation that Luz is bisexual did not come as a surprise to many viewers who had likely already noted the growing\nrelationship between Luz and one of her classmates. Dana Terrace, the show’s creator, recently confirmed that Amity\nBlight, a supporting character, is a lesbian. Terrace had adamantly wished to include LGBTQ+ characters in the main cast\neven before The Owl House was approved by the network. However, after it was greenlit by the studio, Terrace was told\nthat she wouldn’t be allowed to have LGBTQ+ characters on the channel. Nevertheless, through her dedication to her cause\nand the support of some Disney leadership, Terrace was finally able to have a queer character in her story.\nThere have, of course, been some who have contested Disney’s decision to have a queer character on one of its shows.\nMost of these opinions, however, are from people who are not part of the show’s fan base. For the most part, responses\nto the news have been overwhelmingly positive.\nAlthough there have been very few canonically queer cartoon characters in children’s media, there have been many queer\ncoded cartoon characters over the years, Disney characters being some of the most overt examples of such. Disney\nvillains have long since been regarded as queer coded characters due to their flamboyant personalities and the\n‘effeminate’ way that male characters present themselves.\nQueer coding is not necessarily a negative thing per se. In many cases, it has been a way for creators to subtly\nincorporate LGBTQ+ characters into a piece without overtly stating so. In recent years, many have credited General Li\nShang from the 1998 film Mulan with being a queer icon despite the fact that his sexuality was never explicitly stated\nin the movie. This is due to the fact that he displays a clear level of attraction to Mulan when she is still disguised\nas Fa Ping which leads many to believe that Shang is bisexual.\nHowever, queer coded characters, specifically men, have often been antagonistic characters, shrewdly conveying to\naudiences that presenting as what people have historically defined as queer is wrong, as the idea of effeminate men and\nmasculine women went against the grain and opposed society’s strong fixation on traditional gender roles. In more\ncurrent media, the ways in which characters may present as queer aren’t as pejorative. Nevertheless, there are still\nproblems with queer coding characters, specifically when queer coding leads to queerbaiting.\nQueerbaiting is when a show or movie will allude to characters being LGBTQ+, usually insinuating that two characters of\nthe same sex will end up in a relationship when there is no intention of making anything canon. It is a malicious\nmarketing technique that preys on a community that almost never sees itself represented in media in order to build a\nlarger fanbase.\nOne example of queerbaiting can be seen in the Dreamworks Netflix original show Voltron: Legendary Defender, which made\nits debut in 2016 as a reboot of the original 1980s television show Voltron. There were multiple examples of\nqueerbaiting during the show’s two year run, which made many fans of the show incredibly upset. For one, it was revealed\nat a panel during the 2017 San Diego Comic Con that one of their main characters, Takashi Shirogane, was gay and that\nhis fiance would be introduced in the 7th season. Fans were disappointed when not only was it unclear that the two men\nwere even in a relationship, but Shiro’s fiance was barely on screen–in a flashback, at that– before it was revealed\nthat he had died. Their disappointment and irritation did not wane when they watched Shiro get married to a character\nthat he had hardly interacted with during the show in a throwaway scene in the very last few seconds of the last\nepisode. It was not the representation that fans were led to believe they would be watching, and they were rightly\nupset.\nDisney has had many “first” gay characters over the years, Le Fou from the live action Beauty and the Beast, Oaken from\nFrozen, and Officer Specter from Pixar’s Onward to name a few. However, many would argue that these characters hardly\ncount as real representation. With many of them, the fact that they were queer was incredibly subtle; with Le Fou, many\nthought that when Josh Gad played the character, he would do something differently than he did in the animated movie\nwhich was largely not the case. With Oaken, the appearance of his husband in the film went unnoticed by most viewers. In\nOfficer Specter’s case, she does outright say she has a girlfriend, but in some international dubs of the movie, the\nword “girlfriend” is replaced with “partner”. While the small moments of inclusivity are by all means important and a\ndefinite step in the right direction, there is still much work to be done.\nThe LGBTQ+ community continues to face many issues stemming from a lack of understanding and support, one of the most\ndamaging ones being homelessness. A Missed Opportunities: National Estimates survey on homeless youth found that young\nadults who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community had a 120 percent greater risk of homelessness than those who were\nstraight or cisgender. One in 30 individuals who were between the ages of 13 and 17 had experienced homelessness at some\npoint in their lives, and for individuals between the ages of 18 and 25, the number was raised to one in 10.\nAdditionally, LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately victims of suicide. The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey\nfrom the National Center for Transgender Equality has found that between LGBTQ+ teens face a suicide rate that is about\nfive times greater than that of their heterosexual peers.\nBoth of these issues are undoubtedly crippling to LGBTQ+ youth and are largely due to the rejection that youth\nexperience from their parents and families. In an article titled “The Influence of Families on LGBTQ Youth Health: A\nCall to Action for Innovation in Research and Intervention Development”, the United States National Library of Medicine\ndetermined that there is a strong correlation between familial rejection and an array of mental health issues as well as\nsuicidality, substance abuse, and sexual risks.\nThere is also significant correlation between mental health issues and the lack of representation in media. For the most\npart, very fit and attractive gay white men were the extent of LGBTQ+ characters in media. This in itself has\ncontributed to the incredibly crippling body-focused culture that has been a blight on the community and has led to the\never rampant eating disorder epidemic that all too many people in the community have faced. The National Eating\nDisorders Association has determined that LGBTQ+ teens as young as 12 years old often begin to develop eating disorders\nand that more than 4o percent of all men who have eating disorders are gay.\nThere are other factors that contribute to these disorders, but one of the most prevalent ones is that people in the\nLGBTQ+ rarely see themselves represented in the media. They often feel the need to conform to the singular type of\ncharacter that they can relate to, which highlights why having a wide array of characters to relate to, especially\ncharacters of color, is so important.\nIn recent years, there have been multiple depictions of same sex couples, as well as gender queer characters, in\nchildrens’ television shows. In 2018, Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe featured the first lesbian engagement and\nwedding in a cartoon, and the Dreamworks Netflix original show She-Ra and the Princesses of Power featured the first\nlesbian protaganists and one of the first nonbinary characters in a cartoon. Having children and teenagers be able to\nsee characters in shows that they regularly watch and relate to is an incredibly powerful thing. However, it should be\nnoted that Disney featuring its first bisexual character, who is also a person of color, is something that holds more\nweight.\nDisney has been historically regarded as having a monopoly on childhood entertainment due to its widespread popularity.\nIts movies and television shows have enraptured people of all ages internationally for several generations. Having a\nDominican LGBTQ+ character in a Disney show is incredibly important because not only is it a character for children to\nrelate to, it also teaches parents to be more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community.\n“The Parasocial Contact Hypothesis” by Edward Schiappa, Peter B. Gregg, and Dean E. Hewes explains that when people are\ngiven the chance to observe individuals or ideas that they hold prejudices against in movies and television shows which\nallows them to develop a greater level of understanding, they are more likely to become more accepting and lose some of\ntheir biases towards that community. In other words, seeing a queer person of color in children’s media may very well\nallow parents to become more open and accepting people.\nChange is inevitable. First, there was a rise in female characters in media doing more than just being confined to the\nhome. Then, people of different races, especially Black people, began receiving positive representation in likeable\ncharacters that they could relate to. Both helped shape society into a more accepting place for everyone. Now, people of\nthe LGBTQ+ community are finally getting the chance to see themselves on screen in every way. Hopefully, Luz Noceda will\nbe the first of many LGBTQ+ main characters that Disney puts out into the world as we usher in a new and more welcoming\nera.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thepoweroflgbtqinclusivestorytelling42.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":196,"pub_key":43,"title":"Thank You","subtitle":null,"credit":"Malya","editor":null,"date":"2020-09-15","content":"Thank you to the unasked soldiers\r\nThose who fought for a future where I can be who I am\r\nNo one asked you to fight in a war borne of hate and ignorance\r\nOne that was fought in the streets and in the mind and in the heart\r\nBut you did\r\nSo thank you\r\nBecause of you we don’t have to be ashamed of who we are\r\nBecause of you we can have a girlfriend or a boyfriend or any type of partner we want\r\nBecause of you we can use the pronouns and the names we chose instead of those branded on our skin\r\nBecause of you we can find reassurance in those we love when the dysphoria gets too much instead of\r\njumping off a ledge\r\nBecause we know we have each other\r\nSo thank you\r\nThe brick in your fist became my partner’s hand in mine\r\nThe broken glass in your palm changed to the shattered gender norms in my clothes\r\nThe blood on your face turned to the rainbows painted on my cheeks\r\nThe slurs and slander you endured transformed into the reassurance and respect I adore\r\nThe hate in your family’s eyes became the love in mine\r\nSo thank you\r\nI’ll never read your names in a textbook or on a memorial statue\r\nBut I'll still know who you are and all you did for me\r\nI’ll see it in my The New Yorker poster of Bert and Ernie watching gay marriage become legalized\r\nI’ll see it in the queer princesses in the cartoons I like\r\nI’ll feel it in the warmth of my mother’s smile instead of a cold shoulder\r\nI’ll feel it in the embraces of my best friend who looks at me the way she has since we were kids\r\nI’ll hear it when I get to say ‘I do’\r\nI’ll hear it in the laughter of my children who will grow up in a world without hate\r\nBecause I will fight for their future\r\nLike you did for mine\r\nSo thank you","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thankyou43.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":138,"pub_key":44,"title":"Oneness","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Labdhi Shah","editor":null,"date":"2020-09-17","content":"About the artist:\r\n\"Labdhi Shah is an artist based in Ahmedabad, India. Trained as an\r\neconomist, clinical psychologist, and art therapist, she is a\r\nself-taught artist. She specializes in finger-painted art works\r\ncreated from intuition without any reference or pre-sketch,\r\ndistilling the purest expression of her emotion into her art. She\r\nworks with a variety of media including watercolor, acrylic,\r\ncharcoal, and ink, and enjoys the uniqueness of each medium. Her art\r\nwas first exhibited in 2013, and has been exhibited in many art\r\nexhibitions since then. She has been featured in the state\r\nnewspaper, દિવ્ય ભાસ્કર, on multiple occasions for her artwork. Her\r\nrecent participatory art installation on the theme of love, titled\r\n‘Rainbow of emotions’ — ‘લાગણીઓ નું મેઘધનુષ’, was featured at the\r\nAbhivyakti art festival, 2020. Her work is currently on view at the\r\nvirtual online exhibition `Collective Impact’ hosted by Ikouii in\r\nAtlanta, GA. Her passions include traveling and studying human\r\ncomplexity, and has been to over 20 countries.\"\r\nTitle of artwork:\r\n\r\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\r\nissue(s)?\r\n\". “But our humanity is our burden, our life; we need not\r\nbattle for it; we need only to do what is infinitely more\r\ndifficult—that is, accept it.” — James Baldwin That the color of a\r\nman’s skin can call into question his ‘humanness’, reflects that we\r\nhave lost sight of our own ‘humanness’. Art seeks to convey the\r\ntruth of the human experience, in all its complexity, as only art\r\ncan. With my art, my effort is to share the faith I have in the\r\ncapacity of love, and to accept the uniqueness of every human being\r\nirrespective of race, color, gender, and culture. I have consciously\r\nused geometry in these works, symbolizing the static nature of lines\r\nand shapes, in such a way that a change in the point of view changes\r\nthe perception of the painting, lending it a dynamic quality within\r\nits fixed geometry.\"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/oneness44.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":197,"pub_key":45,"title":"Is This Life?","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Abbas Moosajee","editor":"","date":"2020-09-19","content":"In the darkness of dawn,\nThe street lamp casts\nYour shadow on the curb\nThe burning world behind\nForces tears out of you.\nYou shut your eyes-\nis this Life?\nAlways running from\ntheir scarred history,\nOn the path unknown.\nPetrified of being weak,\nof losing control.\nForgetting the brevity of life,\nThe reality of death.\nis this Life?\nWorking to pay, not to Thrive.\nHoping to survive, not to Live.\nAll this for their blood,\nEt tu, Brute?\nYet trying to Love,\nis this Life?\nSo bothered by others’ opinions\nSo consumed by their anger,\nAbstaining from their own desires.\nFocusing too long on their\nregrets,\nForgetting life is too short for dreams.\nis this Life?\nI see you kneeled over.\nI hear the tremble in your voice.\nI recognise the desire for answers.\nI remember that burning inside.\nBut I also remember,\nLife wasn’t over.\nThat is why I urge you to\nopen your eyes and look past,\nPast the world in flames, --To see the\nashen saplings growing. Past the surrounding Brutes,\n--To find the gentle one.\nPast the inevitability of death,\n--For all the choices that remain.\nAnd realise that no matter,\nThe atrocities of yesteryears,\nOr the truths of tomorrow,\nToday is in your control.\nBeta, this... is Life?","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/isthislife45.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":95,"pub_key":46,"title":"Kamala Harris: Joe Biden's Vice Presidential Candidate","subtitle":"A Look at the Nominee","credit":"Author: Anne","editor":null,"date":"2020-09-22","content":"Kamala Harris, a California senator and the Democratic candidate for vice president, stands out for her biracial roots;\nshe embraces her Indian and Jamican culture, which brings a promising hope to minorities that they are heard. In a time\nof racial movements across the United States, her presence as the first Black and Indo-American woman on a major party\nticket is monumental for BIPOC. Her heritage will allow her to connect with various groups and identities, which will\nbring more political recognition to the Indian, South Asian, and African American communities and hopefully bring better\nrepresentation to what being an American is.\nRole in the 2020 Election\nAs Joe Biden’s running mate, Harris plays an integral role in shaping the election. She will allow the Democratic Party\nto connect with a wider audience, as well as help win battleground states, states that swing between Democratic and\nRepublican Parties. Recent national polls have put Biden ahead of Trump in three states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and\nMichigan. These states are significant because in the previous election President Trump secured his seat in the oval\noffice by defeating Clinton with fewer than 80,000 votes in these three states, granting him a total of 46 electoral\nvotes that secured his presidency. Harris may be the ultimate strategy to help Biden win the 2020 election.\nThe demographics for Indian-Americans have reached significant growth, which can swing the outcome of the upcoming\nelection. AAPI Data has revealed that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islander populations have almost doubled in the last\ndecade in six states (Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas). With the rise in AAPI, Harris’s name is\npromising in representing Indian-Americans and other immigrant groups, which can lead to increased voter turnout. Having\nthe support of Indian-Americans to increase BIPOC voting is essential to securing victory in the upcoming election.\nIndian Americans have historically been strong voters for the Democratic Party (77 percent of Indian Americans voted for\nClinton in 2016), and if Harris’ presence can increase voter turnout in this population, the Democratic Party may be\nable to win it. Harris has not only brought positive change to Biden’s campaign, but she has also contributed to the\nrise in Indian-American elected congressmen such as Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, and Raja Krishnamoorthi: a pivotal step\nfor the inclusion of representing Indian-American communities.\nThe Odds of Winning\nSelecting Kamala Harris as Biden’s running mate was a strategic decision. On the day Harris was formally announced as\nBiden’s Vice President running mate, prediction markets about the US election showed that Biden’s chances increased by\ntwo percentage points while Trump dropped by two. So far, Biden has continued to be favored in the polls with a 49-40\nover Trump. In battleground states, the Democratic Party is ahead with 49.7 to 45.7 in Florida, 48.0 to 41.7 in\nMichigan, and leads the polls in Wisconsin, Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Trump won every one of\nthese states in the 2016 election; three states in particular -- Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin -- led him to his\nultimate victory, winning by less than 1 percent of the vote in the previous election. With Biden leading the way in\nthese states and Harris as his running mate, many are hopeful that he will be elected into the office in the winter.\nHaving Kamala Harris as the vice presidential candidate for Joe Biden is a promising hope for underrepresented and\npolitically marginalized communities in America. In all considerations, Kamala Harris has the credentials and expertise\nto be the next vice president, as she is currently the U.S Senator for California and has served as California’s\nAttorney General. However, I believe Biden’s choice of vice president was an act of tokenism. Tokenism is the act of\nincluding members from minority groups to seem more inclusive and accepting to the general public. In this case, it was\ndone by choosing Harris for the reason that she is a part of Black and Indian communities to give the overview of\ndiversity. Before Harris was officially picked, Biden announced that he planned to choose a Black woman to be his\nrunning mate; while Harris was on his list, a majority of the contenders were Black women, shedding a light on tokenism,\nthe idea that her heritage was the reason why she was even considered apart from other equally qualified politicians.\nEven so, Harris is the right person the country needs in a time where racism is a significant issue in society.\nIn my opinion, Harris will provide the pathway for better representation for not just Indian and Black communities, but\nalso prominent issues including marriage inequality. For over almost two decades, Kamala Harris has been a strong\nsupporter of marriage equality. On Valentines Day sixteen years ago, same sex marriage was legal in San Fransico. Harris\nplayed a monumental role since then and officiated the first same sex wedding ceremonies that day. But when those same\nmarriages were later invalidated and not recognized under the law, Harris did not lose hope and continued to fight for\nsame sex marriage for over a decade. In 2008, same sex marriage was legalised in California, but again failed because\nProposition 8 was rebanned, which no longer allowed same sex weddings. Still, these obstacles were unable to hold Harris\nback. In 2010, Kamala Harris took Proposition 8 as part of her campaign platform to become the Attorney General of\nCalifornia. Her victory as Attorney General allowed her to carry through with her pledge to block the state’s defense of\nProposition 8 until a Third Party appeal was brought. The case made its way to the Supreme Court; Harris followed every\nfootstep and attended every court hearing. Finally, the Supreme Court ordered same sex marriages in California to be\nlegalised, and Proposition 8 to be unconstituional in 2010. Harris’ perservance in advocating for same sex marriage\nshows her dedication in fighting for issues that matter to us, and there is no doubt she will continue to do so if\nelected Vice President. Her setbacks never discouraged her, which is what a leader represents.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/kamalaharrisjoebidensvicepresidentialcandidate46.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":94,"pub_key":47,"title":"Interlude: Cassandra of Troy says Mourner’s Kaddish","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Newton T. Brophy","editor":"","date":"2020-09-26","content":"My favorite professor was a Prophet.\nWe shared many things, chief among these being our shared status as\nDifferent in some ineffable way. But I don’t know that I would have\nbeen chosen as a witness if not for the discovery of our common\nfixation:\nShipwrecks.\nWe were linked by-- and moored to-- Titanic, connected by a\ncold night in April of 1912. A catastrophe predating our meeting by\nover a century nonetheless fated our friendship.\nI wonder if you would have liked him. I certainly think you would\nhave seen in him a kindred spirit.\nHe never appeared to care how much or how little his warnings were\nheeded. His attitude, it seemed, was that whatever was coming would\ncome, whether or not we believed it would. He was right, of course.\nBut I do remember one class, an exercise under the direction of my\nclassmates, where he, pretending that I was him, said to me:\n“People think you’re crazy.”\nThey thought you were mad, too. But all along, you were as right as\nhe was.\nI don’t think you could have smiled as much as he does.\n~\nMy best friend is a witch.\nHe was the first to believe that I had an instinct for the craft.\nHe dedicates his altar to Apollo.\nI imagine this distresses you, justifiably so.\nAnother friend believes that Athena watches me. She jokes that the\ntwo of us have \"a difficult relationship.\" This is in reference to\nwhat she-- perhaps correctly-- perceives as my hostility towards any\nwatcher. Israel (the people, not the nation-- I claim only the\nfirst) has always meant “to wrestle with God.” What one person may\nsee as a combative relationship, another may see as simply a\nrelationship.\nI can’t imagine any God I wouldn’t want dead.\n~\nThe Prophet assigned Paulo Freire, Antonio Gramsci, Frantz Fanon. He\ninterrogated our readings of\nPedagogy of the Oppressed, of The Wretched of the Earth. We\nspent hours unraveling hegemony and social death. He used theory to\nforetell the apocalypse while we laughed, thinking he was being\nsilly with us.\nHe could sense the tremors in the soles of his feet long before they\nreached us.\nThe old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born:\nnow is the time of monsters.\n~\nI read somewhere that the final recorded prophecy of the Oracle at\nDelphi said simply, all is ended.\nLess than a decade later, the temple was destroyed, and along with\nit, the old ways.\nI think of who the priestesses were dedicated to, and I wonder:\nDid you celebrate? Or mourn?\nYou were long dead before that paradigm shift, if you had ever lived\nat all. Would you have wanted to survive, just long enough to see\nHim die? Even if you had to watch the world end? Would you want to\nlive through that?\nWere you permitted to rest peacefully for the brief period before He\nwas dug up again by my contemporaries? Did His death finally bring\nyou justice? Were you at last permitted to sigh?\nDid you sit shiva for Him?\n~\nThe afternoon of the 8th of November, 2016, the Prophet took the\ncampus with a brisk walk, asking those he encountered:\nAre you ready?\n~\nI was not, then.\n~\nYou were the first to see your brother’s corpse. You were also the\nsecond, if we’re counting your premonition, which none of your\ncircle ever did.\nEvery paradigm shift has casualties.\n~\nAnother Prophet, more ancient than memory, but no older than story,\nwas so chosen to warn Nineveh of its impending destruction.\nInstead, he ran.\nRather insistent upon the point, Hashem sent a whale after him.\nThe divine may be doubted, even defied. But it will not be trifled\nwith.\n~\nTisha b’Av mourns, among other things, the destruction of the Second\nTemple.\nThe day has laid claim to other tragedies as it has rolled through\nthe years, like a stone collecting dust. But the initial event\nitself, I no longer lament.\nDiasporic does not mean homeless. I have always taken my home with\nme.\nWhen paradigms inevitably and necessarily end, something new takes\ntheir place, regardless of whether we are the ones to create it. It\nwill not wait for us to gather ourselves.\n~\nThe Prophet would often recite the words of the Hopi Elders.\nYou have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.\nNow, you must go back and tell the people that this is the\nHour.\nI have tried again and again to warn everyone I could seize that the\ntime of reckoning approaches, only to be paralyzed when I am\nrebuffed. Now, I am the mad seer.\nHow did you keep trying?\nHow did you wave your arms and scream,\nshe will mean the death of us, Troy will fall, Amerika passed two\nlarge icebergs in 41° 27′ N, 50° 8′ W on April 14.\nOr did you never have a choice?\nI know now that I can’t divert the flow or delay the arrival. The\ncurrent is too strong.\nWe are all together in our lifebelts, waiting for a dawn which may\nnot be coming.\nKnow that the river has its destination.\n~\nIn October of 2016, I was preparing to apply for graduate school in\nthe U.K. I had hoped to study LGBT History in London.\nBy December of 2016, I was just relieved that I had a plan.\nI truly thought that I might be lucky, that I might have what many\nothers did not:\nA lifeboat.\n~\nI remember studying fate and free will in ninth grade English. The\ntragedies of the Greeks were unforgiving.\nDid you ever think that you had a chance? Is that why you never\nstopped fighting fate?\nYou wrestled the will of God, but you received no new name for it.\nJacob strolled through the fucking woods and just happened to get\njumped. Sheer dumb luck.\nYou, wretched, spent the entirety of your life fighting, even\nknowing that you would never overcome.\nYou are the true and rightful Israel.\n~\nWhen the Prophet went down with Titanic, he knew he’d return.\nI have no such assurances.\n~\nWhat did you feel, when Clytemnestra advanced on you with her\ndagger?\nResignation?\nRelief?\nHope, for a hard reset and a clean start?\nOr did you freeze, realizing that you couldn’t breathe, that you had\nno way out, that rescue was not coming?\nThere was never a lifeboat abroad; the Troubles are coming again--\nall power to the Irish people-- and the gay revolution can never\nbegin on the same little island that first conceived the great\ncolonial project. When I finally realized this, it was with\nimmediate acceptance.\nOn that frigid night, when steerage passengers arrived on the deck\nof Titanic to find the lifeboats already gone, did you know\nthat some of them returned to their cabins?\nLike you, they had no illusions about what was to happen. They\nsimply closed their cabin doors and waited for the water to rise.\n~\nIt is 2020, and I am still screaming about icebergs.\nI feel the ocean flooding my stomach.\nEvery paradigm shift has casualties.\nIs it so near, then?\n~\nWere you afraid?\nOr is the waiting the worst part?\n~\nIn another millennium, long before you, yet another Prophet heralded\nthe methodical (divine) destruction of the world.\nNo one listened to him either. Maybe you would have liked him too.\nThe few who did heed his warnings were spared.\nBut we are not in Egypt, and these plagues care not for lamb’s blood\nover the threshold.\n~\nIn May 2020, I discovered that Carpathia, the ship that\nrescued the few survivors of Titanic's sinking, itself\nfoundered only six years later.\nA novel published fourteen years prior to Titanic's ill-fated\nvoyage predicted its sinking; a literary premonition of every\ncircumstance, down to the culprit of the wreck and the name of the\nfictitious ship: Titan.\nThe name of the novel was Futility.\nFutility: pointlessness, uselessness. The endeavor to outrun fate.\n~\nFour years ago, I felt the ocean floor.\nYou died millennia ago, skewered. You saw it coming.\nI was told, but I didn’t listen.\nI am back on the ship, screaming that the same iceberg is ahead. The\nfamiliar passengers who died with me four years ago drink their\nbrandy in the smoking room. They light cigars while my friends who\nare English teachers write their wills and prepare to strike.\nYou tried to light the horse on fire, and Troy still fell.\nWe are trying to bring down columns that won’t shift.\n~\nThe Prophet leads virtual yoga on Mondays and Wednesdays. The\nsuggested donation is $5.\nWhen I meet someone who seems significant, I ask them what they\nthink about shipwrecks.\nThe witch has had to draw wards for me more than once.\nWhen Moshe parted the Red Sea for his people to cross the threshold,\ndid they pass a whalefall, a feast for bottomfeeders and weary\ntravelers, possibly with one lonely human skeleton in its belly?\nOr did they pass a hull half-buried in the silt, smelling of rot and\nterror?\nOver whose graveyard did they walk?\nWe are all living at the crossroads.\nI remember the first borrowed words the Prophet used to beckon me:\n“For those of us who live at the shoreline standing upon the\nconstant edges of decision crucial and alone for those of us who\ncannot indulge the passing dreams of choice who love in doorways\ncoming and going in the hours between dawns looking inward and\noutward at once before and after seeking a now that can breed\nfutures like bread in our children’s mouths so their dreams will\nnot reflect the death of ours--”\nDid Lorde know what you knew?\nWe were never meant to survive.\n~\nAnd still, I make plans.\nI write questions for my Beth Din, pitches for my editors, proposals\nfor my artistic director.\nI race through each year just to get to the candles of Mabon and\nSamhain, just to sing Avinu Malkeinu over apples and honey.\nI weave dreams around a future that I finally want to have.\nIs this why you fought?\nDid you know what Lorde knew?\n“So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to\nsurvive.”\n~\nWhen a shadow breaks across the stars, it will be too late to change\ncourse.\nI have never been a seer. Only a witness.\nIt is already too late to change course.\n~\nEvery paradigm shift has casualties.\nYitgadal v’yitkadash sh’mei raba b’alma di v’ra chirutei,\nv’yamlich malchutei, b’chayeichon uv’yomeichon uv’chayei d’chol\nbeit Yisrael, baagala uviz’man kariv, v’im’ru: Amen.\nY’hei sh’mei raba m’varach l’alam ul’almei almaya.\nYitbarach v’yishtabach v’yitpaar v’yitromam v’yitnasei,\nv’yit’hadar v’yitaleh v’yit’halal sh’mei d’kud’sha b’rich hu,\nl’eila min kol birchata v’shirata, tushb’chata v’nechemata,\ndaamiran b’alma, v’imru: Amen.\nY’hei sh’lama raba min sh’maya, v’chayim aleinu v’al kol Yisrael,\nv’imru: Amen. Oseh shalom bimromav, Hu yaaseh shalom aleinu, v’al\nkol Yisrael, v’imru: Amen.\n~\nI think that maybe you, more than anyone, will understand me.\nWill you mourn me?\nCassandra of Troy cover image credit:\nClick Here","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/interludecassandraoftroysaysmournerskaddish47.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":111,"pub_key":48,"title":"Sense In Me","subtitle":"","credit":"Artist: Yohanes Soubirius De Santo","editor":"","date":"2020-09-27","content":"About the artist:\nPersonal Data :\n- Public Alementary School 5 Kampung Baru (Graduated)\n- Public Middle School 6 Singaraja (Graduated)\n- Public Senior High School 1 Sukasada (Graduated)\n- Ganesha University Of Education / Faculty Of Language And Art /\nDepartment Of Fine Arts Education\n6. Cell Phone Number : +6288219084439\n7. Parents' Names: Yohanes Sudir\n8. Email : yohanessanto95@gmail.com\n9. Social Media : @soubirius\n10. Life Motto : Really Wrong, Not Pessimistic\nTitle of artwork:\n\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\n\"I feel that the changes that have occurred in the world of politics\nhave become more and more arbitrary, so that it needs to be\ncriticized both directly and indirectly.\"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/senseinme48.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":159,"pub_key":49,"title":"Cross Lake 2016: It Takes More than a Suicide Epidemic for Systemic Change","subtitle":"For Suicide Awareness Month 2020","credit":"Suzanna Chen","editor":null,"date":"2020-09-29","content":"Last month, during a brief weekend’s trip into the majestic mountains of Whistler, British Columbia, I stumbled upon the\nSquamish Lil’ wat Cultural Centre (Sk̲wxwú7mesh Líl̓wat7ul Cultural Centre). The physical building, beautifully crafted\nto resemble the Squamish people’s longhouses and the Istken (earthen pit house) of the Lil’ wat people, caught my eyes\nimmediately and lured me into an enchanting expedition.\nWhile the fascinating experiences of the spirited heritage and the authentic bonds with Mother Nature will never leave\nmy mind, I was — surprisingly — particularly intrigued by the notice on the front doors.\n“For Indigenous People, [the COVID-19 pandemic is] not [an] unprecedented time. Indigenous communities are more\nvulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19. Our oral histories tell of villages that were completely wiped out by pandemics…\nAn outbreak in either of our communities would risk a significant loss of cultural knowledge and traditional teachings.”\nYes; it is merely a reminder for guests to wear their masks upon entering the premise. However, I couldn’t help but\nsense a poignant implication from the opening sentence that more profound problems had existed — or currently exist —\nbesides the malignant medical maladies.\nUnfortunately, my anxious speculation would be proven correct.\n*Trigger Warning:\nThe following article might cause discomfort for discussions of sensitive topics; please read with caution.\nMarch 9, 2016 — Cross Lake, Manitoba\nMarch marked the beginning of spring, when the desolate frost melted to unveil the hopeful joviality of kaleidoscopic blossoms.\nHowever, the small Aboriginal community of Pimicikamak Cree Nation — also known as Cross Lake — of northern Manitoba\nremained cheerless; even Mother Nature’s warming embrace failed to brighten the traumatized community from 6 suicides\nand 140 attempts within the past three winter months. Several of the deceased are local youths — even a girl as young as\n14 — and as the aftermath of such a rapid string of self-inflicted deaths, 149 students at the local secondary school\nwere on a watch list for suicidal risk.\nFor once, the harmonious interconnections within this compact community of 8,300 residents became an impediment; as most\nof the residents were familiar with those who took their own lives, recuperation from such traumatic shock and loss\nbecame difficult. Eventually, the collective grief became so profound and overwhelming that Chief Cathy Merrick of the\nband had no choice but to declare a state of emergency for her people.\n“It’s sad that we had to do that,” said Chief Merrick, “[but] we needed to tell the world that as Aboriginal people we\ndon’t have a lot of those things that are available to others.”\n“We want the mental health services, the therapists, the child psychologists, [and] the psychiatrists [that we don’t\nhave] in the community,” she elaborated.\nCalling for a state of emergency was the last resort for the band leaders, as their initial pleas for desperately needed\nresources were met with shameful silence from both federal and provincial governments; a meeting with Manitoba Health\nMinister Sharon Blady in February merely resulted in the precious, non-recurrent eight hours of attention from a single\nmental health worker.\n“It shouldn’t have to get to that level,” said Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson, who spoke for 30 First Nations\ncommunities in the province. “People shouldn’t be killing themselves for proper attention to their needs.”\nAs saddeningly shocking as it is, such despairing cries for help are not uncommon among our Indigenous peoples.\nAccording to Canada’s Centre for Suicide Prevention, suicide and self-harm are the leading causes of death among First\nNations under 44-years-old. The Canadian Institute of Health also reported that suicide rates among First Nations are\nabout five to seven times higher than the national average: 126 per 100,000 people for Aboriginal males and 35 per\n100,000 for Indigenous females, compared with 24 per 100,000 for non-Aboriginal males, and only 5 per 100,000 for\nnon-Aboriginal females; with even wider disparities — sometimes as high as 25 times the Canadian average — for Inuit and\nMétis communities.\nOne might wonder why our First Nations are in such dire anguish.\n“There is no single factor; it’s a combination of several factors,” explained Shirley Robinson, the acting chief of\nCross Lake.\nWith the 8,500 residents of her nation living in an environment where 1,500 families were on a waitlist for permanent\nhousing; where 10 to 15 people under one dwelling was the norm; where a single, under-equipped nursing station responded\nto all physical and mental health issues; where mothers needed to leave 2 weeks before their due dates for a\n3-hour-travel to the nearest hospital; where the high school graduation rate barely passes 30%, yet the unemployment\nrate is as high as 80%, would one still be surprised at the frequency of these heartbreaking losses of lives?\nGerald McKinley, a professor of the University of Western Ontario specializing in Aboriginal health issues, epitomized\nthe situation best with his words, “While suicide is not a traditional aspect of the [Aboriginal] culture, it spreads\nthrough a community like a virus.”\nYet, unfortunately, Cross Lake was not the first nor the last Aboriginal community to be swept by this invisible\nepidemic: the Attawapiskat First Nation reserve of Ontario declared a state of emergency weeks before Cross Lake after\n11 young people tried to commit suicide in one night; the Wapekeka First Nation reserve of Ontario lost three\n12-year-old girls as recently as June of this year.\nAmid the Suicide Prevention Month of 2020, let us divulge the grave causes behind the long-lasting problem of our First\nNations; let the critical cries of Cross Lake, 2016, not be unheard.\nOn the surface...\nWhile, in a broader scope, our Indigenous suicide epidemics could be attributed to current and historic faults of the\nCanadian society and government, we often overlook the most common and direct contributors to individual suicides —\nmental illnesses.\nThe main mental health-related suicide risk factors — depressive disorders and substance use disorders — of the\nAboriginal communities correspond with that of the general national population. However, various studies have found that\nthe rates of both illnesses for our First Nations are noticeably higher than national and global averages.\nDepression — often colloquially referring to major depressive disorder —is the second-most common mental health concern\nin Canada and the world; yet, our Indigenous peoples are twice as likely to experience this illness than average\nCanadians.\nThe bleak situation evidently escalates with substance use disorders, as the national crisis was deemed by the Canadian\nCentre for Addictions as “a cause for great concern,” and given particular emphasis by the World Health Organization\nwithin their global Indigenous Peoples and Substance Use project.\nStatistically, research findings by Health Canada indicate that 75% of the study population — consisting of nationwide\nAboriginal peoples — feel that problematic substance use is present in their community, 33% see it is an issue in their\nown family or household, and 25% report personal struggles with substance misuse. The warning rates of substance abuse\ntrigger exceptional concern, as it has been linked to violence, physical and cognitive development disruptions for\nyouths, school and work problems, and increased risk for other mental health disorders. While the above listed can all\ncumulate to induce suicidal behaviour, the lack of impulse-control caused by substances is especially dangerous for one\npreviously at risk of suicide.\nThe Grotesque History of Systematic Discrimination and Neglect\nIn addition to these two main suicidal risk factors already being more prevalent, their detrimental effects are further\namplified into unique and profound practical problems for our First Nations. Some heartwrenching concerns that had\nbecome a regularity within Aboriginal communities include childhood sexual and physical abuse, teenage pregnancy,\nparental neglect, overwhelmed child welfare programs, and frequent loss of relatives to suicide, just to name of few.\nThus, it can be inferred that the recent suicide epidemic is not merely a solitary mental health tragedy; it exists as a\ncry of distress in a much broader social and communal context. And, as no Indigenous groups in Canada have a cultural\nhistory of elevated suicide rates, it is no surprise why so many directly assign the fault for these calamities to the\nnational government — or rather, the history of colonialism it represents.\nSince the very beginning, when pioneering Canadian settlers introduced exotic, infectious diseases to the First Nations\nas their “greeting gift,” the previously thriving Indigenous population had been nothing but traumatized and agonized by\nconstant warfare and starvation caused by these forceful intruders. However, the consequences of these tangible disputes\nwere minute compared to the countless “generous” attempts at inviting Aboriginal peoples into the “superior” Canadian\nculture.\nPerhaps the phrase “residential school” might spark recognition for many, as it is the most infamous and\ngovernmentally-acknowledged “dark chapter” in our national history.\nBetween the years 1876 and 1996, the Indigenous peoples of Canada lost more than 150,000 members of their future\ngenerations to the horror hidden behind the seemingly virtuously built institutions of cultural destruction. During that\ntime, more than 6,000 children died, and countless unreported victims suffered from physical, psychological, and sexual\nabuse from the outwardly righteous nuns and priests.\nAdditionally, the survivors were released back into a persistently discriminatory society with a paradoxical mental\nstate regarding their identities, as most fundamental aspects of their native cultures — such as languages and\ntraditions — were lost. The tormenting contradictions surrounding one’s very existence were proven to be often ensued by\nself-isolation and social withdrawal, which further resulted in heightened risks for mental distress and suicidal\nideation.\nEven as the cultural genocide halted in 1996, its most detrimental legacy is still horrifyingly evident on the\nAboriginal peoples of today.\nAmber, a First Nations youth whose grandmother was a residential school survivor, recalls, “[my grandmother] would tell\nme about the teachers who would come into her room in the middle of the night and take her away and rape her. She was\nonly nine years old.”\nShe continues, “[t]he only thing my grandma knew was abuse, so that’s what she did to my mother.” Moreover, although\nunstated, this vicious cycle of abuse might have also involved herself; she disclosed the fact that she had contemplated\nsuicide since the young age of 12.\n“The deep-rooted trauma which Canada’s aboriginal people suffered through the assimilation of their culture by the\nCanadian government has been carried on through generations,” explained Stacy Wormell-Street, the director at ASK\nWellness Society, a non-profit Indigenous addictions recovery resource. According to her, the terrorizing influences of\nresidential schools will continue to permeate our Aboriginal communities; many Indigenous children are still being\n\"thrown\" into the child welfare system — likely with memories of domestic trauma — because their mothers and fathers do\nnot have the psychological supports necessary to provide them stable childhoods.\n“Our society is broken,” she says. “We are failing our future generations – this is unacceptable and it is time for\nchange.”\nHowever, some would argue that an increased emphasis on mental wellness would be inadequate, because the root of the\nproblem is colonial and discriminatory tendencies that were never addressed.\n“You can solve [physical and mental] health crises, but as long as you have more people than are capable in a house and\nthe house is full of mould (Canadian variant of “mold”), what’s the point?”\nThe above exclamation by Karl Hale — the director of First Peoples Studies at Montreal’s Concordia University —\ndescribes a typical sight within a Canadian First Nations reserve, with an average of 10 to 14 residents seeking shelter\nunder a mould-contaminated dwelling. The aforementioned situation at Cross Lake — with 1,500 families on a waitlist for\npermanent housing, a single nursing station responding to all forms of health issues, and the unemployment rate being a\nshocking 80% — also demonstrates that when combined with a vast extent of socioeconomic inequities, the\nintergenerational trauma can manifest itself into issues as profound as — and hopefully not more than — a series of\nsuicides.\nWhen asked about her actions addressing the notable economic disparity, Grand Chief Wilson of the Manitoba First Nations\nresponded regretfully, “[w]e’re basically subjects of the government … and we’re not given the resources to make any\nlong-lasting and meaningful changes in our communities.”\nYet, the amount of resources indicated by her does not seem to adequately align with the recent “very significant\ninvestments for indigenous people” that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had regarded as his budget: a proposal of $8.4\nbillion towards issues including education, reserve water and child and family services.\n“[What we need is] to empower our communities to be prosperous and independent, and the only way to do that is create\nprogrammes where we all benefit from the resources,” the Grand Chief voiced her dissatisfaction over the Liberal party’s\nbudget’s supposed commitments to bring forth “transformational change.”\nAlthough, she agreed that the Indigenous peoples’ significantly lower educational achievement and income, higher\nunemployment rates, more frequent food scarcity, more insufficient housing availability, and more barriers to general\nhealthcare are long-lasting adversities that cannot be overcome with any actions by a single government.\n“[Our young people] need stable housing and running water before they can make the most of any opportunity afforded to\nthem,” she said; a reluctant acceptance to the fact that any positive change — despite not being even remotely as\nrevolutionary as the government had claimed — has the potential to ameliorate the current state of despondency within\nthe grieving communities.\nIs a Hopeful Future Possible?\nOn a contrasting note to the sorrowfully insufficient governmental support, mental healthcare professionals are gaining\nconfidence in their understanding of Indigenous communities' unique needs when it comes to suicide prevention.\nFrom the acknowledgement of the Aboriginal peoples’ incomparable historical losses, it has become widely recognized that\nefforts of developing crisis intervention strategies should involve — and, if possible, be led by — First Nations; they\nwould be the most familiar with the values, knowledge, strength, and resilience of their culture that they wish for\nprofessionals to comprehend.\nFor instance, the first Canadian example of an Indigenous-led crisis intervention approach is the National Inuit Suicide\nPrevention Strategy (NISPS). Developed by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the detailed guide combines Inuit traditional values\nand considerations of the specific underlying risk factors with globally-recognized, evidence-based approaches to\nsuicide prevention.\nWhile there are no current statistics regarding the efficiency of such prevention methods, on both national and global\nscales, practitioners in this field acknowledge the necessity of adding Indigenous knowledge to their approaches, and\nagree that the development of suicide prevention strategies is an area within the larger Aboriginal social misfortune\nthat offers great promise.\nWe Never Changed…\n“The colonial authorities … knew that would spread smallpox throughout British Columbia...that was an act of genocide\nagainst Indigenous people,” said Marianne Nicholson, an Indigenous artist and activist from the Dzawada’enuxw Nation,\nwhen addressing the 1862 smallpox epidemic that caused a catastrophic plight of British Columbia’s Aboriginal\npopulation.\n“When I was going through the grieving process for [my cousin who committed suicide] in Ottawa,” Grand Chief Sheila\nNorth Wilson of the Manitoba First Nations recalls after the Cross Lake suicide epidemic, “an elder who was with me said\nthis is just typical of our communities. We are always in a constant state of crisis, so we are constantly grieving ...\nIt should not come to the point where nine-year-olds are killing themselves for our voices to be heard.”\nFrom 1862 to 2016, the epidemics threatening the Indigenous peoples of Canada never ceased, merely evolving from\ndisfiguring viruses to impalpable forms of sickness. However, the most disheartening aspect is the consistency of us, as\na society. We oversaw our First Nations’ notable struggles with power in our hands to make a difference; yet, we allowed\nthe deleterious diseases to spread like wildfire, tearing down the Aboriginals’ Tree of Life.\nCurrently, are there more profound problems for our Indigenous peoples besides the malignant medical maladies?\nYes, and the invisible epidemic is spreading like a raging fire.\nUrgent Crisis Response Resources for First Nations in Canada\nHope for Wellness Help Line\nThe Hope for Wellness Help Line offers immediate, 24/7 mental health counselling (on-line counsellor through chat box on\nwebsite) and crisis intervention (at 1-855-242-3310) to all Indigenous peoples across Canada. In addition to English and\nFrench, the counselling service — not emergency response calls — can also be available in Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut\nupon request.\nMissing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Support Line\nThe number 1-844-413-6649 is a national 24/7 support call line that provides support for anyone who requires assistance\nwhen facing distress related to missing and murdered Indigenous females.\nNational Indian Residential School Crisis Line\nThe National Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former Residential School\nstudents;emotional and crisis referral services can be accessed 24/7 by calling 1-866-925-4419.\nNative Youth Crisis Hotline\nThe Native Youth Crisis Hotline (1-877-209-1266), is answered by staff 24/7, and available throughout Canada and U.S.\nKids Help Phone\nKids Help Phone’s e-mental health services — through phone calls, texts, and online chats — are here 24/7 for youth and\nyoung adults across Canada. When in crisis or needing professional support, simply call 1-800-668-6868, text 686868, or\naccess the online chat on their website.\n*For an extensive list of suicide hotlines for all groups, visit\nTherapyRoute | Find a Therapist | Mental Health Resources\nin Canada,\nand\nThe You Are Not Alone Network: YANAN\nin the U.S.\n(Non-Emergency) Aboriginal Suicide Prevention Resources in Canada\nNational Inuit Suicide Prevention Stategy\nby\nInuit Tapiriit Kanatami\nThe National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy (NISPS) sets out a series of actions and interventions to address the\nhigh number of deaths by suicide among the Inuit People. The document is available for download in 5 languages.\nNot-Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB)\nIndigenous Services Canada’s NIHB program provides all First Nations in Canada with coverage for a range of physical and\nmental health resources that are not covered through other social programs, private insurance plans, and provincial or\nterritorial health insurance.\nTheir mental health services can be access by calling their regional offices, listed below by provinces/territories from\neast to west:\nAtlantic provinces (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador) =\n1-800-565-3294/1-866-414-8111 (specific services for residential school survivors)\nQuébec = 514-496-4270/1-877-583-2965 (toll-free)/1-877-583-2965 (specific services for residential school survivors)\nOntario = 1-800-640-0642/1-888-301-6426 (specific services for residential school survivors)\nManitoba = 1-800-665-8507/1-866-818-3505 (specific services for residential school survivors)\nSaskatchewan = 1-866-885-3933/1-866-250-1529 (specific services for residential school survivors)\nAlberta = 780-495-4837/ 1-888-495-6588 (toll-free)\nBritish Columbia = 1-855-550-5454 (*served by First Nations Health Authority)\nYukon = 867-393-3800/ 1-866-362-6717 (toll-free)/1-866-509-1769 (specific services for residential school survivors)\nNorthwest Territories and Nunavut =1-888-332-9222/1-866-509-1769 (specific services for residential school survivors)\nSuicide Prevention in Indigenous Communities\nby Health Canada\nHealth Canada — on behalf of Indigeous Services Canada (ISC) — offers the above webpage, which contains numerous\nnational resources specifically targeting Indigenous suicide prevention.\nSuicide\nby\nWeRNative\nThe National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy (NISPS) sets out a series of actions and interventions to address the\nhigh number of deaths by suicide among the Inuit People. The document is available for download in 5 languages.\nFor the Curious and Concerned…\n(Short film)\n“Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child”\nby Alanis Obomsawin\n(Documentary)\n“Cross Lake: “This Is Where I Live”\nby The Fifth Estate\n(Video)\n“Canada's Aboriginal Suicide Emergency”\nby AJ+\n(Video)\n“Intergenerational Trauma: Residential Schools”\nby Historica Canada\n(News article)\n“Inuit-led Suicide Prevention Strategy to Focus on Mental Wellness, Social Equity”\nby CBC\n(Article)\nHow a Smallpox Epidemic Forged Modern British Columbia\nby Joshua Ostroff on Maclean’s\n(Online course)\nRiver of Life: Online Course addressing Indigenous Youth Suicide Prevention\nby Centre for Suicide Prevention","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/crosslake2016ittakesmorethanasuicideepidemicforsystemicchange49.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Crawford, Allison. “Suicide Among Indigenous Peoples in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. 26. Aug. 2020. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/suicide-among-indigenous-peoples-in-canada","“Cross Lake: ‘This Is Where I Live’ - The Fifth Estate.” Youtube. Uploaded by The Fifth Estate. 7. Apr. 2017. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfPrfZfPhbY","CTVNews.ca Staff. “More Help on the Way for Manitoba First Nation Reeling from Suicides: Philpott.” CTV Television Network News. 10. Mar. 2016. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/more-help-on-the-way-for-manitoba-first-nation-reeling-from-suicides-philpott-1.2812192","Giese, Rachel. “There is a Child Suicide Epidemic in Canada — Why is it Being Ignored?” Chantelaine. 25. Jan. 2017. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.chatelaine.com/news/wapakeka-suicide-prevention/","“Indigenous Communities: Trauma, Mental Illness and Addiction.” Canadian Centre for Addictions. 7. Jan. 2020. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://canadiancentreforaddictions.org/indigenous-communities-trauma-mental-health-addiction/","“Indigenous Peoples and Substance Abuse.” World Health Organization (WHO). n.d. Web. 19. Sept. 2020. https://www.who.int/substance_abuse/activities/indigenous/en/","Kassam, Anshifa. “First Nations Suicide Emergency: a Symptom of Canada's Systemic Neglect.” The Guardian. 13. Apr. 2016. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/13/canada-first-nations-suicide-emergency-systemic-neglect","Kestler-D’Amours, Jillian. “Canada and the Aboriginal Mental Health Crisis.” Al Jazeera Media Network. 22. Mar. 2016. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/03/canada-aboriginal-mental-health-crisis-160317100523366.html","Kirkup, Kristy. “Liberal Budget Includes Billions in New Spending for Aboriginal People.” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). 22. Mar. 2016. Web. 19. Sept. 2020. https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/liberal-budget-billions-new-spending-aboriginal-peoples-1.3502942","NoiseCat, Julian Brave. “The Canadian First Nation Suicide Epidemic has been Generations in the Making.” The Guardian. 12. Apr. 2016. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/12/canadian-first-nation-suicide-epidemic-attawapiskat-indigenous-people","Ostroff, Joshua. “How a Smallpox Epidemic Forged Modern British Columbia.” MacLean’s. 1. Aug. 2017. Web. 23. Sept. 2020. https: //www.macleans.ca/news/canada/how-a-smallpox-epidemic-forged-modern-british-columbia/","Puxley, Chinta., The Canadian Press. “Manitoba First Nation Declares State of Emergency Over Suicide Epidemic.” CTV Television Network News. 9. Mar. 2016. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/manitoba-first-nation-declares-state-of-emergency-over-suicide-epidemic-1.2810573","Randhawa, Selena. “'Our Society is Broken': What Can Stop Canada's First Nations Suicide Epidemic?” The Guardian. 30. Aug. 2017. Web. 18. Sept. 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/aug/30/our-society-is-broken-what-can-stop-canadas-first-nations-suicide-epidemic","Talaga, Tanya. “Wapekeka First Nation Feared Suicide Pact, says They were Denied Help.” The Star. 19. Jan. 2017. Web. 19. Sept. 2020. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/01/19/wapekeka-first-nation-feared-suicide-pact-says-they-were-denied-help.html","Kirmayer, Laurence., and Valaskakis, G.G. Healing Traditions: The Mental Health of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. University of British Columbia Press, 2008."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":150,"pub_key":50,"title":"Where Are the Girls that Look Like Me?","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Rhea Bogarapu","editor":"","date":"2020-10-03","content":"Miss handed me a book with fair skinned angels,\npretty clothes, pretty eyes, pretty lives.\n“Perfection on a page,” I said with surprise.\nI told her it was silly, just a thing or two;\nand off she went, trying to find something new.\nShe came back bustling, busy as a bee;\ntwenty-five students and none that looked like me.\nAnd there I had it, a book or three.\nscary little monsters staring back at me.\n‘This you’d like, it’s perfect for you!\nunique and exotic, don’t be so blue!’\nJust a child and ever so confused,\nshe sweetly left me bruised\nand took off towards\nthe rest of her crews.\nMaybe she was right, maybe it was true;\nin a land not my own maybe I seemed\nlike a monster too.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wherearethegirlsthatlooklikeme50.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":30,"pub_key":51,"title":"Interview with Sanctuary","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Chantal Kapani","editor":null,"date":"2020-10-06","content":"Sanctuary is a digital platform based in India, founded by Sherya and Riddhi, who aim to break the stigma that is\nattached to the topic of mental health. Sanctuary encourages their audience to educate themselves on topics such as\ntoxic masculinity, therapy, and more. They do this by creating informative infographics for their Instagram page and\nwebsite, and using IGTV to openly talk about their own experiences with mental health. Detester magazine had the\nchance\nto interview the founders and talk about their organization and their goals for shattering the stigma attached to\nmental\nhealth.\n1. Please introduce yourselves!\nHi! Our names are Shreya Margale and Riddhi Puranik, and we are seniors at Mahindra International School in Pune, India.\nWe’re both writers, and we spend a lot of time writing creative nonfiction, fiction, op-eds and editing. Our interest in\nSanctuary comes from a lack of mental health integration in our school’s core curriculum, and the stigma or casual\nlanguage associated with serious mental health issues.\n2. What is the mission and purpose of Sanctuary?\nWe aim to shatter the stigma that pervades the topic of mental health. Instability regarding emotions should be\nnormalized. We strive to combat the negative attitudes and dispel the lingering social stigma around mental health\nproblems. The fear of judgment, discrimination or isolation is a sentiment that discourages individuals from seeking\nappropriate support, and we work towards being heard and transforming knowledge into innovation.\n3. How did Sanctuary get started?\nSanctuary started off as a passion project on social media: it was intended to be a creative and factual medium for\nRiddhi and I to express our personal stories, opinions, and factual ideas about psychology and mental health. As it\ngained traction, we realised that expanding to a multimedia platform and recruiting an entire team would enable us to\nkeep up the quality and quantity of content we create.\n4. Why do you think it is important to inform and educate ourselves on mental health and the stigma that pervades it?\nWe think a lot of people fail to realise that mental health issues aren’t a fictional story. They aren’t made up by an\nauthor. They are palpable pain, and they continuously change lives.\nIt is easy to slip into the trap of “storytelling.” After all, the less “blunt” we are, the less likely people are to be\nput off by the message. Why is that? Why do we feel we have to buy into writing in flowery language to talk about such a\nserious topic? We try and tackle these ideas through the content we put out. We know it’s probably because people are\nstill uncomfortable. People still don’t know how to handle it,so if we are blunt in our discussions, many switch off.\nFriends start to disappear, teachers become distant, parents get mad. You can often feel the shift the minute you\nmention it. But this needs to change, and Sanctuary is our way of doing so.\n5. How can we educate ourselves on mental health, and what sources would you recommend for people to use in order to do so?\nAt Sanctuary, we believe that educating ourselves is the first step to transform knowledge into action and awareness. We\nhave some great resources linked in our reading list, and offer helplines and other tangible medical resources in\nanother document. These are located on our website, and in the links in our social media bios. If you are looking for a\nquick read and not comprehensive reading material, WHO and Healthline are the most credible sources out there: they are\naccredited organisations, employ licensed professionals and academic writers, and update their articles regularly.\n6. Sanctuary publishes personal stories and creative writing. How does someone get featured or involved in what you do?\nWhile Sanctuary is not recruiting new members at the moment, we wholeheartedly welcome one-time contributors and\nfeatures! Our email and Instagram DMs are always open for queries and discussions regarding the same, and there is a\nlink in our Instagram bio to send us a draft or outline for a feature.\n7. What is one message you want the audience to take away from your organisation and Instagram page?\nSelf-injury and bodily harm are hurtful coping mechanisms, not a trend. OCD is an illness, not a life choice. Bulimia is\na condition, not an option. There is nothing romantic about harming yourself. In this day and age, mental illnesses are\narguably the most glorified phenomenon, to an extent where it is idolized or revered. Especially on social media sites,\nlike Tumblr, Reddit, and Instagram, communities have developed a very problematic way of dealing with mental illness.\nThey describe mental illness as ‘tragically beautiful’, implying that pain is pretty and completely disregarding the\nstruggles of people who actually suffer from any such conditions. While it is true that these trends started to be more\ninclusive of those suffering from mental illness, they have gone too far.\n8. What would your advice be to anyone that wishes to follow in your footsteps?\nWe think the stigma of performative activism or this notion of doing activities for the sake of college is heavily\nperpetuated in Gen Z. We think that if you are truly passionate about such an initiative, it is important to just start.\nDo whatever you can to get it going: make social media accounts, start recruiting team members, think of a vision and\npurpose. Don’t be shackled by what you are expected to partake in or what looks good for your future: if it is your\npassion, start NOW, instead of delaying or eliminating them due to outer stigma. Especially with mental health, tackling\nthe stigma associated with others’ opinions is the first step: dismantling it yourself is the first step towards\nbecoming an effective platform.\n9. What is next for Sanctuary?\nWe plan to keep expanding in terms of content: as we begin to venture into multimedia (like Twitter and LinkedIn), we’re\nstarting smaller initiatives to streamline our method of advocacy. September is LGBTQIAP+ mental health advocacy at\nSanctuary, and we hope to create a showcase of personal stories, statistics, factual articles, and op-eds to truly\nvenerate the cause. We hope to continue using this pattern for other subsets of mental health that need dire attention:\nlike POC mental health advocacy, the environment and mental wellbeing, etc..","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/interviewwithsanctuary51.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Interviews"]},{"id":40,"pub_key":52,"title":"Migrant Workers in the COVID-19 Crisis","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Lindsay Wong","editor":"","date":"2020-10-09","content":"There is no doubt that migrant workers, people who migrate within or\noutside their home country for work, around the world are\ndiscriminated against. They are denied human rights purely because\nof their status as migrant workers, which leaves them legally\nunprotected. They are paid minimum wages and suffer from\ndiscrimination with hardly any support or services to rely on.\nFemale migrant workers usually find work in the domestic workers or\nhealthcare sectors, whereas male migrant workers do so in the\nconstruction, shipping, landscaping, and cleaning sectors. Although\nthese jobs are vital for society to function, they are usually not\ntaken up by the local population (Douglas et al.). The barrier to\nentry into the workforce isn’t high and migrant workers can find\nvacancies in these types of work. Despite their significant\ncontributions to the economy, migrant workers suffer greatly in the\ncountries they work in and are subject to harsh conditions and\nsocial stigma, which continues to be exacerbated by the coronavirus\npandemic.\nSocial Stigma and Discrimination\nThere is a stigma around migrant workers, as they are perceived\nnegatively by a large portion of the local population.\nPublic attitudes suggest\nmigrant workers are part of a lower social class because they work\n“dirty” jobs, which are jobs that involve unskilled labor. In\nThailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan a\nsignificant\nnumber of people claim that “migrant workers threaten the country’s\nheritage,” and “[they] have poor work ethics and cannot be trusted,”\naccording to the International Labor Organization. As such, migrant\nworkers are\nsocially excluded\nfrom society and face higher risks of discrimination. There is a\nproblematic, common societal reiteration of how\n“immigrants are stealing [local citizens’] jobs,”\neven though they take up jobs that most locals do not want. The\nstigmas surrounding migrant workers are related to tarnishing the\nhost country’s heritage, lack of trust, and local citizens’\nperception of them having a poor work ethic.\nA pervasive stigmatization leads to negative perceptions and\ndiscrimination against migrant workers in housing, education,\nhealthcare, work, and social security. The challenges faced by\nmigrant workers include language barriers, cultural differences, and\nmore. They are subject to discrimination in the country they travel\nto because of their race, socio-economic status, and troubles with\nthe country’s language. Current laws are also discriminatory towards\nmigrant workers because of restrictive policies that exclude workers\nfrom gaining access to social welfare and benefits (\"Vulnerable\nPeople: Migrants - Let's Fight Racism!\"). For example, when the\npandemic started in Singapore in February, migrant workers were not\neligible for free face masks that the government was providing\n(Yea). This is one example of how many migrant workers’ needs during\nthis time were not met. Migrant workers are not well-integrated into\nthe local communities due to a culture that tends to shun them.\nLocals do not see migrant workers as equals in society. Furthermore,\nmigrant workers are often not a part of labor unions: they generally\ndo not have people helping them fight for their rights or for better\nworking conditions. This means that they are\nnot protected\nby the law against workplace discrimination. Migrant workers are at\nhigher risk of being exploited because of their status, their lack\nof government support, and the local communities’ hostile attitudes.\nThe Direct Impact of the Pandemic on Migrant Workers\nThe onset of the pandemic has worsened the treatment of migrant\nworkers as they are living and working in unsatisfactory conditions,\nleading to higher risks of contracting the virus or becoming\nunemployed. For example, in Singapore,\naround 300,000 workers\nare segregated in dorms on the outskirts of cities away from the\nrest of the general population. There are\n“no legal maximum occupancy rules,”; living in close quarters and unsanitary conditions has made it\neasier for the virus to spread among migrant workers in these dorms.\nThese living conditions make it almost impossible for social\ndistancing to be practiced. The surge in the number of cases\nhighlighted the\n“institutionalized neglect”\nof migrant workers: the majority of cases were among this group. In\ntimes of crises, migrant workers are, in many cases, the first ones\nto lose their jobs (\"Vulnerable People: Migrants - Let's Fight\nRacism!\"). In February, many female migrant workers in the garment\nindustry under the Global Brand Group almost immediately\nbecame unemployed\nin America and Bangladesh because orders were cancelled as a result\nof the pandemic. While migrant workers were already working in\nunfavorable conditions before, they were now unable to work nor\nreceive any income. The pandemic is subjecting migrant workers to\nriskier situations as they are in danger of catching the virus or\nlosing their job.\nThe pandemic has caused mass global disruptions as borders around\nthe world closed, which left migrant workers stranded (Douglas et\nal.) and unable to travel home to be with their families. Restricted\nmovement has also made them subject to more potential abuse in the\nworkplace, especially in the case of domestic workers overseas, who\nstay in their employer’s homes. In the Middle East,\n“working conditions are likely to have worsened”\nas employers may demand more work from migrant workers and abuse\nthem. For families in which remittances are a critical source of\nincome, there will be incidences of rising debt, which can make\nmigrant workers more vulnerable. It’s easier to take advantage of\nmigrant workers, which makes them more vulnerable in the face of\npandemic disruptions.\nMigrant workers make significant contributions to the economy, but\nthey are disadvantaged because of an existing social stigma and lack\nof access to welfare, among other needs. The pandemic is\nexacerbating this. The short-term consequences of the continuous\nplight of migrant workers include the fact that they are still in a\nvulnerable position because of the pandemic. This has prompted\npublic debate\non their treatment and is encouraging locals to recognize the\ncontributions of migrant workers to the economy. In the long term,\nmigrant workers will continue to face stigmatization and\ndiscrimination. It is hard to change public attitudes that have been\nin place for so long, especially without support from the\ngovernment. The mistreatment of migrant workers could lead to the\npandemic worsening if there are no measures in place to improve\nliving conditions, which could prevent the spread of the virus.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/migrantworkersinthecovid19crisis52.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Douglas, Jeremy et al. \"End Stigma And Discrimination Against Migrant Workers And Their Children During COVID-19 Pandemic - World\". Reliefweb, 2020, https://reliefweb.int/report/world/end-stigma-and-discrimination-against-migrant-workers-and-their-children-during-covid. Accessed 30 Aug 2020.","\"Vulnerable People: Migrants - Let's Fight Racism!\". UN.Org, 2020, https://www.un.org/en/letsfightracism/migrants.shtml. Accessed 30 Aug 2020.","Yea, Sallie. \"This Is Why Singapore's Coronavirus Cases Are Growing: A Look Inside The Dismal Living Conditions Of Migrant Workers\". The Conversation, 2020, https://theconversation.com/this-is-why-singapores-coronavirus-cases-are-growing-a-look-inside-the-dismal-living-conditions-of-migrant-workers-136959. Accessed 30 Aug 2020."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":127,"pub_key":53,"title":"Gentrification of the Black Lives Matter Movement","subtitle":null,"credit":"Article by Malya Robenson","editor":null,"date":"2020-10-12","content":"On May 25th, the American Civil Rights Movement saw a renewal in\r\nstrength when the nation watched as Minneapolis police officer Derek\r\nChauvin pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and\r\n46 seconds, choking the life out of him as he cried out for his\r\nmother. Floyd’s murder sparked outrage as protests erupted around\r\nthe world, demanding the defunding of America’s police force so that\r\nfunds can be reallocated to other institutions better suited to\r\nhandle issues that the police have to deal with, such as mental\r\nhealth and community programs as well as housing and education. They\r\nalso insist officers be held accountable for the crimes they commit,\r\nespecially when these crimes explicitly target and brutalize Black\r\npeople.\r\nIn the months that followed, protests continued in cities across the\r\nUnited States as the American people called attention to how poorly\r\nBlack people have been treated since the country's inception. Not\r\nconfined to the streets, people have taken to social media to\r\nexpress outrage and to demand that real change be implemented by\r\ngovernments across the nation.\r\nOver three months have passed since George Floyd was killed, and in\r\nthat time there have been several other instances of the police\r\nusing deadly force against Black people. On August 23rd in Kenosha,\r\nWisconsin, 29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times\r\nas he entered his vehicle with his three children watching from the\r\nback seat. Thankfully, Blake is still alive to tell his story;\r\nhowever, he has been paralyzed. With this incident, he becomes one\r\nof countless voices chanted in the streets as people demand that\r\neffective change come swiftly.\r\nThe protests and the movement have undoubtedly been empowering and\r\ninfluential, however as they gained popularity, they became subject\r\nto gentrification by people who used it as a way to gain popularity\r\nand wealth.\r\nGentrification occurs when affluent people, or people who are not\r\npart of a minority, take control of something that belongs to a\r\nminority group and make it their own. When referring to the\r\ngentrification of neighborhoods, wealthy people, who are more often\r\nthan not white, purchase residences in poor minority neighborhoods\r\nand rebuild them, driving up prices, effectively displacing\r\nresidents who cannot afford to live in the changing neighborhoods.\r\nStores like corner bodegas are replaced with Whole Foods or fusion\r\nrestaurants and bus stops are torn down, effectively creating a far\r\nmore expensive neighborhood and driving out lower-income families.\r\nThis has happened in several neighborhoods across New York City such\r\nas Dumbo, Park Slope, and Carroll Gardens, areas of Brooklyn which\r\nwere once considered ‘undesirable’ that have now become affluent\r\ncommunities.\r\nThe same thing is happening to the Black Lives Matter movement;\r\nBlack voices are slowly being drowned out by people of other races\r\nwho wish to profit from the movement, either financially or by\r\ncultivating clout.\r\nThere have been many instances in which the attempts to exploit the\r\nmovement are more blatant and easily recognized, such as when models\r\non Instagram pose in front of broken windows or protest crowds in\r\nhighly cultivated photos. On the other hand, there are examples of\r\nsuch that are not as easy to identify as harmful.\r\nOnce the movement began to gain steam, social media saw a slew of\r\ninfluencers creating apology videos for things they’d said or\r\nactions that may have been viewed as racist, be it explicitly saying\r\nthe N-word or otherwise. Whether or not the remorse was genuine, the\r\nvideos did very little other than allowing for influencers to stay\r\nrelevant during a time when the focus should be on serious social\r\nand political issues.\r\nGentrification efforts can be veiled under anonymity as well. In\r\nJuly, a woman dubbed by most as “Naked Athena” went viral for doing\r\nyoga while fully nude in front of the unmarked federal troops\r\nstationed in Portland, Oregon, staring down men in full protective\r\ngear pointing military grade weapons at her. While her move was\r\nundoubtedly brave, whether or not her actions did anything to draw a\r\ngreater level of public focus to what was happening in Portland is\r\ndebatable, as many cared more about the theatricality of the stunt\r\nthan the presence of the officers. Many have viewed it as an act\r\nmeant to draw focus and attention to herself rather than to the\r\nmovement as a whole.\r\nAttempts to profit financially from the movement have been\r\nincredibly widespread as well. One of the more egregious attempts to\r\ncash in on the movement came from a nonprofit jewelry company called\r\nShan Shui, started by couple Paul Chelmis and Jing Wen. They created\r\na line of jewelry titled ‘Wear Their Names’, which featured pieces\r\nthat were made from shattered glass from the Charleston protests,\r\neach of them named for different Black people killed at the hands of\r\nthe police. The move was immediately deemed distasteful, especially\r\nthe assignment of different prices to the pieces, as if determining\r\nthe value of those individual lives, directly paralleling the\r\nauctioning of slaves during an incredibly horrific and painful\r\nperiod of American history.\r\nAttempts to gentrify a movement are difficult to identify or define,\r\nbut that makes it all the more important to recognize and call out\r\nwhenever possible. Flashy stunts and attempts to profit off of the\r\nsuffering of others do far more harm than good; they are often\r\ninsensitive to what people are experiencing and they draw focus away\r\nfrom the intentions of the movement. Black people have been silenced\r\nfor so long in America, and it is unacceptable for them to not have\r\na place in a movement that fights for their right to exist with the\r\nsame liberties afforded to every other American.\r\nWhile the gentrification of the movement is incredibly harmful, the\r\nsupport of white Americans is still greatly needed and appreciated.\r\nAt the same time, the manner and degree to which that support is\r\nshown requires discretion as well.\r\nOn June 2nd, the whole of social media banded together and everyone\r\nposted a black square on their pages as a sign of widespread support\r\nfor the movement. While the intention behind posting the square was\r\nclear, many failed to realize how ineffectual the move really was.\r\nThe show of solidarity, while perhaps appreciated, created no real\r\nchange and only served to provide people with an excuse to not\r\nactively take part in the movement, because they’d already proven\r\nthat they supported it. Many influencers are hesitant to speak out\r\nagainst injustices for fear that it would interfere with their\r\n‘brand’ and this was the simplest way for them to show support\r\nwithout using their platform in a meaningful way.\r\nWhile #BlackoutTuesday was not an explicit example of\r\ngentrification, it was very similar in that action was taken with\r\nthe same veil of ignorance and indifference to the actual cause and\r\nwas instead a way for people to say that they participated because\r\nof the movement’s growing popularity.\r\nIt is not enough to post on social media once and to voice support\r\nwhen it is convenient. True allies are those who continue to use\r\ntheir platforms to inform the public and to inspire others by\r\ncreating a larger audience for Black voices and who go out into the\r\nstreets and march alongside their fellow Americans. When white\r\nprotesters stand between their Black peers and the police because\r\nthey know that they stand a better chance of walking away unhurt,\r\nthat is undoubtedly an act of compassion and camaraderie.\r\nAny movement, especially the Black Lives Matter movement, needs to\r\nbe composed of people of all races, religions, and genders moving\r\ntowards a common goal. However, Black voices that have constantly\r\nbeen drowned out need to be at the forefront. When fighting for\r\nequality for the oppressed, leadership needs to come from those who\r\nare the victims of the oppression rather than their allies. Any\r\nattempt otherwise serves to discredit the very ideals being fought\r\nfor in the first place; one cannot preach equality when they are\r\nactively quieting the voices of those they claim to be fighting for.\r\nAs time goes on and the protests dwindle in popularity–as they\r\nalways do– it will be more important than ever to keep public focus\r\non Black issues and the injustices that people face every day, to\r\nlisten to Black people as they tell their stories, and to fight for\r\na more equal future, letting them lead the charge. There will be a\r\ntime and place for everyone to have equal say in these issues but\r\nfor right now, it is more important than ever for Black people to be\r\nthe ones whose leadership the nation falls under when discussing\r\nracial equality and combatting systematic racism.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/gentrificationoftheblacklivesmattermovement53.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":72,"pub_key":54,"title":"Featuring Artist Tjera S. Williams","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Tijera S. Williams","editor":"","date":"2020-10-15","content":"About the artist:\nTijera S. Williams is a multimedia painter, photographer, and design\nartist born in Long Beach, California in 1996. By utilizing\ntraditional techniques of painting and drawing, and marrying that\nwith strong color relationships and significance in dominant linear\nqualities, Tijera's work revises the male-centered Eurocentric\nworldview of that of a twenty-first-century Afro-diasporic female\ngaze as her driving communication. Tijera strives to create work\nthat acts as a megaphone of advocacy for victims, inform and\nchallenge those who have privilege, and deliver a beautiful yet\ncharged image to represent her cultural significance as a Black\nwoman in America. Utilizing stark vibrant colors, conceptualizing\npatterns, and hiding optical illusions inside of the work, these\nthree components are some of my favorite ways to get my message\nacross without compromising the complexity of the work. The subject\nmatter that my work focuses on is transforming and delivering\nre-appropriation based ideas of famed artworks from the fourteenth\nto sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance periods and connecting them\nto my current-day twenty-first century Afro-diasporic female\nworldview. My overall subject matter is constantly and\never-consistently tying with current events, as the toll to be a\nBlack woman in Amerikkka is one that is completely unique on its\nown. I feel that by merging my activism with the Renaissance trope\nin the world today, I am able to exploit the strong relationship to\npower and privilege, while also sharing the wealth with those who\nlook like me and aren't able to be privileged enough to learn about\nthe arts or even see themselves in this representation.\nAll Men Aren't Created\nThe Annunciation of Transatlantic Black Woman\nThe 7 Sins and Virtue Facing Judgement\nDanye Jones\nThe Dual Plight of the Black Family\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nMy pieces advocate for those who have no voice. They focus on\nuplifting Black people as the source of excellence, while also\npointing out what has derailed us form receiving total acclaim from\nother cultures and groups from around the world. My work highlights\nour triumphs and struggles, and raises awareness who still choose to\nbe ignorant to the acts of racial inequality and institutionalized\nracism.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/featuringartisttjeraswilliams54.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":96,"pub_key":55,"title":"A Jury of Your Peers?","subtitle":"The racially-rigged truth behind jury selection in the US","credit":"Written By Hanna Aboueid","editor":null,"date":"2020-10-17","content":"If racist institutions have proven anything throughout the history\nof the United States, it is that they are durable and exhibit an\nunnerving ability to shapeshift. Slavery was made illegal, yet\nprison labor has been deemed a morally-acceptible exception.\nSegregation was outlawed, yet banks and districts are allowed to\npractice it to an alarming extent. Lynchings are discussed as relics\nof a distant past, yet Black people continue to sit on death row\n(largely under wrongful convictions) at a disproportionate rate.\nDespite making up only 13% of the US population, Black people\naccount for 41% of Americans on death row. Black defendants are also\nconvicted at a rate that is 25% higher than that of white\ndefendants, and are wrongfully convicted at much higher rates than\ntheir white counterparts. These disparities are just some of the\nmany manifestations of the systemic racism that plagues this\ncountry. While the results of this systemic issue are evident, it is\nnecessary to explore one of the mechanisms that brings these\ndisparities into being: a racially-rigged jury selection process\nthat leads to a white - and hostile - jury passing judgement on\nBlack defendants.\nFirst, let’s take a look at the origins of a trial by jury in the\nUnited States. According to the Constitution’s 6th Amendment, “In\nall criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a\nspeedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and\ndistrict wherein the crime shall have been committed.” A jury is a\ngroup of people summoned to decide whether or not a defendant is\n\"guilty\" in criminal cases. They listen to evidence presented during\na trial, decide what conclusions the evidence has established, and\ndraw inferences from those facts to form the basis for their\ndecision.\nDespite the scripted call for an impartial jury, the federal\ngovernment originally decided that only \"men of recognized\nintelligence and probity\" or \"key men\" of the community could serve\non a jury. Applying the same ideology that keeps the electoral\ncollege in place, they believed that justice requires above average\nlevels of intelligence, morality, and integrity - which apparently\nonly rich, white men have ever exhibited. In 1968, Congress\nabandoned this system for federal courts under the Jury Selection\nand Service Act, declaring that “all litigants in Federal courts\nentitled to trial by jury shall have the right to grand and petit\njuries selected at random from a fair cross section of the\ncommunity.” By extending the ruling to state courts, the Supreme\nCourt held that the constitutional guarantee of trial by an\nimpartial jury required the jury pool to be a mirror image of the\neligible community population. Unsurprisingly, the justice system\nhas failed its constituents and ensured that this ideal of a “jury\nof your peers'' is rarely a reality. Our justice system has allowed\nall-white juries to prevail in many communities with a substantial\nBlack population, including Houston County, Alabama, where 26\npercent of residents are Black. Let’s look at how the justice system\nsupports this biased jury selection\nJuror qualifications are discriminatory by nature When assembling a\nlist of potential jurors, counties usually randomly select from a\nlist of residents’ drivers licenses, IDs, or voter registration\ninformation. This selection process may seem harmless, but age-old\ndisenfranchisement efforts (ID fees, voter purges, etc.) against\nBlack Americans have made it so that, as of a 2006 report by the\nBrennon Center, 25% of Black Americans nation-wide do not have\nvalid, government-issued photo IDs. Thus, before the jury selection\nhas even begun, a large percentage of the Black population is\nexcluded from participating in a jury.\nAnother factor that comes into play is availability. The first line\nof questioning involved in the jury selection process is done by the\njudge, in which they ask the prospective jurors questions to ensure\nthat they are legally qualified to serve on a jury and that jury\nservice would not cause them “undue hardship.” Now, if you are\nworking a minimum wage job with a family to support, or an education\nto pay for, you simply don’t have the luxury of extra time spent on\na jury, especially when jury compensation is usually only $50 a day.\nIn 2018, 21% of Black people in the United States were living below\nthe poverty line, compared to 8% percent of White people. As such,\nit is easy to see how the lack of decent jury compensation\neffectively excludes another significant portion of the Black\npopulation from serving on a jury.\nProsecutors racially rig juries in their favor A prosecutor is a\nfederally employed lawyer who represents the State and is said to be\nworking in the public’s interest. Despite the government’s pretense\nthat the public interest and the federal government’s interests are\nthe same, they are not. While it’s in the public’s interest to\ndevelop rehabilitation programs for drug addicts, it is in the\ngovernment’s corporal interest to convict drug addicts and profit\nfrom the prison industrial complex. In Abbe Smith’s Can You Be a\nGood Person and a Good Prosecutor?, Smith writes: The government has\ndevoted an arsenal of resources to a mean-spirited and misguided\ncriminal justice policy that has literally stolen hope for the next\ngeneration from entire [poor, non-white] communities. It is the role\nof the prosecutor, the government's lawyer, to carry out these\npolicies. A prosecutor’s primary goal is to put who the law has\ndeemed bad people into prisons. Unsurprisingly, this demographic is\nmostly made up of Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled, and poor\npeople, which makes obtaining a white jury beneficial to the\nprosecution. To understand how prosecutors can secure a white-biased\njury, one must understand the jury selection process. So here’s how\nit goes:\nFirst, through a somewhat random process, a group of potential\njurors is summoned from a list of eligible prospects. Lawyers and\njudges select jurors by a process known as “voir dire,” which is\nLatin for “to speak the truth.” In voir dire, the judge and lawyers\nask potential jurors questions to determine if they are competent\nand suitable to serve (under the court’s standards) in the case. The\nlawyers on each side question the potential jurors about their\nbiases and backgrounds as well as any pre-existing knowledge they\nmight have about the case. After they have completed questioning,\nthe lawyers begin removing potential jurors from the group by making\n“challenges for cause” and “peremptory challenges.”\n“Challenges for cause” are when lawyers dismiss jurors because of\ntheir inadequate responses to the voir dire; this means that the\nexpelled jurors have been deemed not qualified, able, or fit to\nserve in a particular case. It’s important to note that lawyers\ngenerally have an unlimited number of “for cause” challenges\navailable, though they must give defendable reasons for these\nchallenges. Next come the peremptory challenges, and these are where\nthings get blatantly and unapologetically racist.\nPeremptory challenges allow lawyers on each side to dismiss jurors\nwho are otherwise qualified, but “appear likely to favor the\nopposing party.” No reason is required for a lawyer to use a\nperemptory challenge to excuse a potential juror. The number of\nchallenges allowed varies by state, but commonly 15 or more are\npermitted. While both peremptory challenges and “for cause”\nchallenges “cannot be used to exclude jurors on the basis of race,”\nprosecutors have, time and time again, managed to do just that! Here\nare some key findings that have proven what has been colloquial\nknowledge in the legal field for a long time: prosecutors racially\nrig juries against Black defendants.\nA recently published paper on juror removal in North Carolina\nconducted at the Wake Forest University School of Law proves that\nperemptory challenges are indeed a vehicle for veiled racial bias\nwhich results in juries that are less sympathetic towards defendants\nof color. The report indicates that prosecutors remove about 20\npercent of African-Americans available in the jury pool, as opposed\nto 10 percent of whites. Additionally, prosecutors in urban areas,\nwhich tend to have larger minority populations, remove non-white\njurors at a higher rate than prosecutors do in other parts of the\nstate.\nAn analysis of eight Southern states found white-biased jury\nselection in several jurisdictions, including Houston County,\nAlabama, where 26 percent of residents are black. Between 2005 and\n2009, half of Houston County juries were all-white, and the other\nhalf included only one black member. The analysis — conducted by the\nEqual Justice Initiative — also pointed to evidence that some\ndistrict attorneys’ offices trained lawyers to stealthily exclude\nracial minorities from jury service.\nDefense attorneys have uncovered trainings and manuals teaching\nprosecutors to invent plausible-sounding, “race-neutral”\nexplanations for removing Black jurors such as “apparel,” “lifestyle\nconcerns,” or living in a “high crime area.” This method of\nexclusion that prosecutors use is colloquially called the “postman\ngambit,” a reference to the dismissal of a Black woman from an\nall-white jury in the case of Herbert Smulls, a Black man executed\nin 2014. In Smulls’ case, the assistant prosecuting attorney\nsuccessfully had the woman dismissed by the judge on the grounds\nthat she was a postal worker, and the prosecutor “didn’t trust mail\nworkers.”\nJudges exhibit racial bias in the jury selection and sentencing\nprocesses It is important to note that, when cases are tried before\na jury, the judge still plays a major role in determining what the\njury can consider as evidence. The jury is supposed to be the\ntruth-finder, but is left to find the “truth” only from the legally\nadmissible evidence. The judge instructs the jury on the legal\nprinciples, or rules, that must be followed in weighing the\nevidence. If the jury finds the accused guilty or liable, it is\nstill up to the judge to sentence the defendant. The judge also\ndetermines the legitimacy of the “for cause” and peremptory\nchallenges presented by both prosecutors and defendants. This means\nthat, while prosecutors are the ones challenging the presence of\nBlack jurors, the judges are the ones allowing these strikes and\nruling them as valid.\nThe Wake Forest University paper also found that judges approve the\nremoval of Black jurors “for cause” about 20 percent more often than\nthey do white jurors. As such, when the dust settles at the close of\njury selection, the defense attorneys’ attempts to balance the\nscales with their own challenges (which come after the prosecutors’)\ndo not cancel out the combined skewed actions from prosecutors and\njudges. The consistent result is a jury box where Black people\noccupy a much smaller percentage of seats than they did in the\noriginal jury pool.\nAccording to a report conducted by the United States Sentencing\nCommission (USSC), Black men who commit the same crimes as white men\nreceive federal prison sentences that are, on average, 20 percent\nlonger. This disparity was present even after a wide variety of\nsentencing factors were controlled for, including age, education,\ncitizenship, weapon possession and prior criminal history. Nearly\nhalf of the 206,000 people serving life and “virtual life” prison\nsentences in the US are Black. According to a 2016 Herald-Tribune\ninvestigation, Black people are also more likely to have their civil\nrights revoked as part of their sentence, preventing them from\nvoting and making it harder to find jobs and housing. This racial\ndisparity in Black/white sentencing has increased in recent years,\nparticularly following the Supreme Court's decision in United States\nv. Booker in 2005. Booker gave federal judges significantly more\ndiscretion on sentencing by making it easier to impose harsher or\nmore lenient sentences than the USSC's sentencing guidelines\nadvised. Before that decision, federal judges were generally\nrequired by law to abide by those sentencing guidelines. According\nto the USSC's report, the Black/white sentencing disparities are\nbeing driven in large part by “non-government sponsored departures\nand variances,” or sentencing choices made by judges at their own\ndiscretion. The same report also found that judges are less likely\nto voluntarily revise sentences downward for Black offenders than\nfor white ones. When judges do reduce Black offenders' sentences,\nthey do so by smaller amounts than those of white offenders. way.\nHow bad can all-white/white-biased juries really be for Black\ndefendants? How big of a difference does a white-biased jury really\nmake?\nA Duke University study found that juries formed from all-white jury\npools convict Black defendants 16 percent more often than white\ndefendants, and that this gap in conviction rates is entirely\neliminated when the jury pool includes at least one black member.\nNot only are Black defendants more likely to be convicted when\nfacing all-white juries, they also face harsher punishments than\nwhite defendants would. One of the most documented examples of this\nharsh treatment is juries’ increased likelihood of imposing the\ndeath penalty on Black defendents. While the judge is usually the\none who passes the sentence in a criminal trial, in cases involving\nthe death penalty, the jury is often consulted. Even with jury\nconsultation, Black defendants are so disproprtionately sentenced to\nthe death penalty that they make up 41% of people on death row,\ndespite representing only 13% of the US population.\nAccording to a study conducted at Tufts University, heterogeneous\njuries outperformed homogeneous groups in every deliberation measure\nexamined in their research. Diverse juries had longer deliberations,\ndiscussed more case facts, made fewer inaccurate statements, and\nwere more likely to correct inaccurate statements.\nUnfortunately, there is relatively little data collected about the\neffect of the racial composition of juries on trial outcomes, though\nthe studies that have been conducted have highlighted the fact that\nall-white juries are more hostile towards Black defendants than\ntheir white counterparts.\nThis isn’t about personal biases; it’s about a racist system\nProfessor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, a Duke University sociologist who\nstudies racism, explains that “systemic racism is a distinctly\nstructural phenomenon, meaning the practices and behaviors that\nperpetuate racism within a system are baked into the system itself.”\nPut in simpler terms, even if there was not a single racist\nindividual working within our justice system (the jurors,\nprosecutors, and judges weren’t “racist”), just by working within\nour justice system, they would be disproportionately incarcerating\nand brutalizing Black Americans. This means that, when the\nprosecutors single out the Black jurors, and the judges get them\ndimissed, and the jury rules in favor of the death penalty for more\nBlack defendents, they are simply doing what our racist justice\nsystem requires of them in order for the system to maintain itself.\nAs such, the only real solution is a systemic one: abolishing our\nincarceration system, divesting from all of its subgroups, and\ninvesting in our communities instead. There are plenty of writings\nand academic papers on the subject written by Black radical thinkers\nwho are much more detailed (not to mention more qualified) than I am\nin writing this essay. Assata Shakur, Audre Lorde, and Angela Davis\nare some very well-known examples; check their work out.\nThrough exclusionary juror qualifications as well as a racially\nhostile prosecution and judge, juries are often racially rigged\nagainst Black defendants. This discrimination then leads to higher\nconviction rates for Black Americans, which then leads to judges\npassing harsher sentences on Black defendants, effectively fueling\nthe generational poverty that a large percentage of the Black\ncommunity is plagued with. In these ways, Black defendants’\nconstitutionally protected right to an impartial jury is not only\nignored, but vehemently used against them to ensure that they feed\ninto a prison system that has historically been used to minimize and\nbrutalize the Black community. This problem of blatant manipulation\nof jury selection against Black defendents is just one example of\nall that is fundamentally and systemically wrong with our justice\nsystem. That being said, there are steps we can take as individuals\nto help change that. While no wide-scale improvement is imminent\nwithout governmental and systemic upheaval, there are plenty of\norganisations that combat our discriminatory incarceration system\nthat you can choose to donate to, volunteer with, or simply learn\nfrom. Those include The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news\norganization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national\nurgency about the U.S. criminal justice system; the NAACP, the\nlargest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the\nnation; and Power Inside, a holistic harm reduction program for\nwomen in Baltimore. Visit this link for a more comprehensive list!\nAside from donating, volunteering, and educating ourselves, we can\nalso use our vote for those who can’t. In most states, voters choose\ntheir prosecutors and their judges. Visit Vote411 and read up on\nyour upcoming local judicial elections, vote on election day, and\nencourage all your friends and family to do the same. Aside from\nvoting, you can help hold these government officials accountable in\ndifferent ways. Call, email, and write to your legal representatives\nand express concern over any potential rulings or a lack of\ntransparency in proceedings. You can also get involved in prison pen\npal programs that aim to extend some humanity to prisoners who are\nlegally deprived of said humanity via our justice system. Most\nimportantly, support (or start!) local grassroots efforts that aid\nyour community against our incarceration system. Communal strength\nis how we beat corporal interests in favor of human lives.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/ajuryofyourpeers55.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":114,"pub_key":56,"title":"One of 120,000","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by Danica Seto","editor":"","date":"2020-10-20","content":"“...one of the most painful experiences, the feelings about the\nentire wartime experience. That we were judged, not on our own\ncharacter as people and persons, but simply because of our\nethnicity, something that I think goes against the grain of\ndemocracy, of the Constitution and every right and privilege that\nwe’re supposed to enjoy as American citizens”\n—Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga\nWhen we enter our classrooms, what are we taught? The bravery of\nPaul Revere’s midnight ride, or maybe how Abraham Lincoln saved\nAfrican Americans? It’s interesting how when we discuss American\nhistory in the 21st century, we leave out a huge factor: the stories\nfrom everyone who wasn’t white. As we attempt to distance ourselves\nfrom past racial discrimination by overlooking its systematic\nimplementation, we’re imposing an imaginary idea that those\nstruggles have simply been resolved over time. Our socio-political\nclimate tends to gloss over the decades of oppression as well as\nthose who faced it. Scarcity in historical perspectives from who the\n“truth” is told has led us to the lack of accountability in how we\neach play a role in systematic racism. Someone who was determined to\npush for Asian-American rights and liberation was Aiko\nHerzig-Yoshinaga. Not a figure from the movement often celebrated,\nnevertheless, she was someone who endured and fought against the\ninjustices she refused to accept. We should remember Aiko\nHerzig-Yoshinaga’s life and passion to understand the hardships\nBIPOC in this country have endured and continue to experience.\nBorn on August 5, 1924, Aiko Yoshinaga grew up in Sacramento,\nCalifornia. Like most Japanese-Americans born at the time, she was a\nsecond-generation Nisei. The term was used for children of Issei\n(first generation Japanese-Americans born outside the U.S) who were\nraised in the states. By the 1930s, half of the Japanese-American\ncitizens were part of this growing demographic. During the few\ndecades after the 1900s, hostility towards Asians became\nincreasingly apparent. Herzig-Yoshinaga was brought up in an\nenvironment where she neither felt safe nor free with a face that\nstood out among her peers. Only eleven years before her birth,\nCalifornia passed the Alien Land Law, outlawing the ownership of\nagricultural land from \"aliens ineligible to citizenship.\" It\ndiscriminated against Asian-Americans, considering them “aliens” and\nfurther contributed to unease in Asian-American communities.\nHerzig-Yoshinaga said her family burned all their books, including\nher father’s own work because of rumors the FBI would take you away\nif you were found in possession of Japanese text.\nThe tides of the 1940s changed Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga and thousands\nof others’ futures for the worse. The attack on Pearl Harbor on\nDecember 7, 1941, brought the U.S. into World War 2, and resulted in\nunrelenting suffering of Japanese-Americans at the hands of the\nmilitary. When asked about her thoughts after hearing about Pearl\nHarbor she recalls, “we were concerned as to what would happen to\nthe immigrant parents who were considered aliens...We thought we\nwere American citizens, therefore we were protected. We were\nprotected by the Constitution to continue to have the freedom, the\nliberty that we, all Americans have a right to.” In her response,\nshe’s referring to a struggle still observable today among Asian\nyouth: balancing Asian and American culture and identity. Nisei\ndidn’t share the fears of the older generations because they\nbelieved themselves American enough. Unfortunately, this belief\nwould soon be challenged as their rights were stripped away and\ndisorder followed suit.\nWith public perception pitted against Japanese-Americans, in\nFebruary of the following year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt\nsigned Executive Order 9066 approving General John L. DeWitt,\ncommander of the Army’s Western Defense Command, to target\nJapanese-Americans. The government’s actions forced mass relocation\nof Japanese Americans into wrongful imprisonment at internment\ncamps. That spring, Herzig-Yoshinaga was an aspiring tap dancer and\na high school senior in LA eagerly anticipating her graduation. Her\ndreams were brought to a halt though when she was called into her\nprincipal’s office in April. Entering alongside fourteen other\nJapanese-American students, she was denied her diploma as her\nprincipal announced, “All of you people don’t deserve to graduate.\nYour people bombed Pearl Harbor.”\nIn the months after Executive Order 9066 was issued,\nJapanese-Americans were being locked away at alarming rates. In\n1943, out of fear of separation, Herzig-Yoshinaga and her boyfriend\neloped before being forced into confinement in Manzanar, a\nconcentration camp in California that detained Japanese-Americans\nduring World War II. Her family was sent to a racetrack; it was one\nof the many locations meant to temporarily hold “prisoners of war”\nunder suspicion until they were sent to a permanent concentration\ncamp. She later heard they were moved to Jerome, another one of the\nten “incarceration centers” established under the War Relocation\nAuthority (WRA), which detained Japanese-Americans. By seventeen,\nshe found herself coming into adulthood two hundred fifty miles from\nhome, surrounded by guards, and uncertain about her future.\nWhen watching historical movies or reading about these events, it’s\ndifficult to imagine how such atrocities could’ve occurred. Most\nhave never been put under circumstances similar to those who’ve\nexperienced the reality of war, making it all the more likely for\nsome to deny the harshness of life in an internment camp. Although\nwe can’t know the despair in these moments, we should learn about\nand remember the true accounts of those abruptly forced into this\nsituation.\nHerzig-Yoshinaga was among one hundred and twenty thousand others\nremoved from their homes on the West Coast and incarcerated for a\nmiserable four year period. Two-thirds of detainees were American\ncitizens who were denied official charges or hearings. When\nquestioned about her initial impressions after arriving, she\nmentions being taken aback at how depressing it would be to live\nthere. The camp was located in the Mojave Desert, which is known for\nits dust storms, bitter winters, and scorching summers. In an\ninterview, Herzig-Yoshinaga explained how the mountainous area in\ncombination with the heavily armed guards and barbed wire made\nescape impossible. The unavailability of water and food made living\nthere even more challenging. Following the birth of her first child,\nshe had many difficulties as an eighteen year old mother, like\naccessing clean diapers. In addition to the severe lack of\nresources, she shared a sixteen by twenty-foot room with seven other\ndetainees. The conditions Japanese-Americans faced during World War\n2 should be recognized for what they truly were, heinous and\ninhumane.\nIn the summer of 1943, Herzig-Yoshinaga heard her father had fallen\nill. Separated since the start of the war, she requested a transfer\nto Jerome, the concentration camp the rest of her family was brought\nto. It took months before hearing back, but she eventually received\napproval in December to travel to Arkansas. The four day trip can\nonly be described as a nightmare. Caring for a child sick with\npneumonia, she boarded a train and suffered through freezing\ntemperatures and illness. Once at Jerome reconnecting with her\nfamily, her father, at last, held his grandchild.\nHerzig-Yoshinaga recalls her father’s views, “He was happy about the\ndemocratic way of life here. But then, when the war started he was\nrather disillusioned that Mr.Roosevelt, his idol, would abandon\nprinciples and take action upon a people based only on their\nancestral background.” His optimism was replaced with\ndisappointment, a shared feeling among their community, mostly\nconsisting of immigrants in pursuit of a better life for both them\nand their children. Her father suffered a heart attack and passed\naway on Christmas day, ten days after she reached Jerome.\nTwo years later, near the end of the war in 1944, Herzig-Yoshinaga\nbegan a new chapter of her life: leaving the internment camps. After\nher first marriage ended in divorce, she went to New York to be with\nher mother and four siblings. She married Davis Abe, an army\nofficer, and moved to Japan, where she had another two children over\nthe course of five years. After her second marriage ended in\ndivorce, she found herself on her way back to NYC as a single mother\nto two daughters and one son. Working as an office manager and\nclerk, her focus was solely on supporting her children. It wasn’t\nuntil the 1960s when she considered becoming politically involved.\nInspired by Michi Weglyn’s book\nYears of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration\nCamp, she began researching the internment camps and reflecting on her\nown experience there. She participated in Asian Americans for Action\n(AAA), an organization in opposition of issues like the Vietnam War,\nnuclear testing, and racism. She participated in protests and\ninitiatives with them that helped her raise awareness about racial\ndiscrimination. In 1978 she married her third husband, John “Jack”\nHerzig and moved to Washington D.C.\nAfter retiring that year, she put her decades of experience as a\nclerical worker to use, Herzig-Yoshinaga sorted through information\non wartime exclusion and incarceration in the National Archives. She\noriginally focused on her family's history in prison camps, but she\nsoon started looking through more records. She worked Monday through\nSaturday, up to twelve hours a day, exceedingly committed to her\nwork.\nHer role in the redress movement, the six decades following World\nWar 2 when Japanese-Americans made efforts to obtain civil rights,\ncompensation, and an apology, became more prominent in 1980 when she\njoined the National Council for Japanese American Redress (NCJAR).\nThe next year she was hired as a researcher for the Commission on\nWartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), and not long\nafter, she became the lead researcher there, accumulating around\neight thousand documents.\nGeneral John Dewitt, who first proposed the relocation of\nJapanese-Americans, published his\nFinal Report; Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast 1942,\nin 1943, which justified his orders. When challenged in court about\nthe mass relocation and imprisonment, the government argued it was\nrequired because there wasn’t enough time to separate the loyal from\nthe potentially disloyal. On the contrary, the original report\nclaimed, “It was not that there was insufficient time in which to\nmake such a determination,” saying, “[I]t was simply a matter of\nfacing the realities that a positive determination could not be\nmade, that an exact separation of the ‘sheep from the goats’ was\nunfeasible.” It was not only concrete evidence of premeditated\nmisconduct that proved the army had no \"military necessity\" for the\ntreatment towards Japanese-Americans, but it was also an example of\nthe blatant racism that runs through American history. There were\nonly ten copies of the printed report, and the military destroyed\nthem all except the tenth copy which they couldn’t find.\nIn 1982, Herzig-Yoshinaga made a discovery that would rewrite\nJapanese-American history; she came across the tenth copy of\nDewitt’s report. Unsure if it was the real thing, she sought out\nPeter Irons, a civil rights activist and attorney for confirmation.\nNot only did her discovery affirm racist motivation for the\ninternment camps, it also revealed illegal suppression, alteration,\nand destruction of evidence.\nThe tenth copy greatly influenced the CWRIC’s (Commission on Wartime\nRelocation and Internment of Civilians) 1983 final report,\nPersonal Justice Denied, a four hundred sixty-seven page\nreport containing: the historical and legal scholarship about the\ninternment, the testimony of more than seven hundred witnesses, and\ninformation from tens of thousands of documents gathered by the\ncommission. It concluded Executive Order 9066 to be in no way\njustified by public safety and instead demonstrated \"race prejudice,\nwar hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.\"\nThe year of Herzig-Yoshinaga’s discovery, documents from the CWRIC\nand documents uncovered by Irons provided the framework for the\nCoram Nobis cases; they were the reexamination of the cases of Fred\nKorematsu, Minoru Yasui, and Gordon Hirabayashi, three\nJapanese-Americans imprisoned for disobeying orders put in place by\nthe U.S military. With the support of compelling documents, their\ncases made it to the Supreme Court. Korematsu’s conviction was\noverturned, successfully eradicating the legitimacy of the\ngovernment’s actions. Yasui triumphantly won his case as well\nwhereas Hirabayashi’s situation heavily relied on Herzig-Yoshinaga’s\nresearch. Hence, when granted the Coram Nobis petition (a\nlegal order filed when there’s an error in a trial court that may\nhave influenced the court’s judgement), the judge noted her\ntestimony as part of his decision. At the time, the cases were\nhighly symbolic of reparations made from Congress for the\nJapanese-American community.\nJack and Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga became the NCJAR’s (National Council\nfor Japanese American Redress) Washington D.C representatives. On\nMarch 16, 1983, they sued the U.S government for twenty-two causes\nof action and sought out ten thousand dollars of compensation for\neach. In total, they demanded an astounding $27 billion for the\ndamage World War 2 exclusion and concentration camps had on\nJapanese-Americans.\nFive years later, documentation from the CWRIC enforced Congress’\nadoption of H.R. 442, also known as the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.\nPresident Ronald Reagan issued an overdue apology addressing the\ninternment camps and provided restitution payments of twenty\nthousand dollars for each survivor. The decades of\nHerzig-Yoshinaga’s hard work cumulated in this incredible moment of\nglory for Japanese-Americans as they were recognized.\nIn October of 1989, Aiko and about a dozen other classmates, in\ntheir sixties, wearing matching pinned carnations, dressed up in\ntheir caps and gowns. They finally walked across the stage to\nreceive their long-awaited diplomas dated June 26, 1942. Despite\nfour years of imprisonment solely because of their ethnicity,\nlistening to the LA school board apologize for the prejudice, I\nimagine there came joy knowing she had not just survived the\nincarceration, but fought against it.\nShe passed away at the age of ninety-three on July 18, 2018. Aiko\nHerzig-Yoshinaga’s story is one we have the privilege of learning\nabout. It’s unfortunate to have to discuss the horrors marginalized\ngroups have gone through, but when we forget, we’re forgetting why\npeople are still fighting today. From the age of seventeen until her\ndeath, she was an American hero who experienced the brutality of\nsystematic oppression. Where Asian-Americans would be without her\ndiscovery luckily is left up to the imagination. Her story reflects\nthe truth of life for Japanese-Americans only decades ago. Regarding\ninjustices we see and experience today, Herzig-Yoshinaga’s spirit\nshould live on, “I personally feel it can’t happen in my lifetime.\nAll you can do is keep fighting. Even as an old lady, I’m still\njoining causes. And if my feet allow me, I’ll be marching in the\nstreets.”","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/oneof12000056.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Fujita-Rony, Thomas. \"Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga.\" Densho Encyclopedia. 15 Jul 2020, 15:15 PDT. 14 Sep 2020, 06:36 https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Aiko%20Herzig-Yoshinaga.","Jones, Maggie. “Aiko Herzig Yoshinaga Helped Uncover the Truth Behind the Imprisonment of Japanese-Americans.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/27/magazine/lives-they-lived-aiko-herzig-yoshinaga.html.","Omori, Emiko, and Chizuko1994 Omori. “Ddr-Densho-1002-8-1 - Aiko Herzig Interview Segment 1: Densho Digital Repository.” Densho, 20 Mar. 1994, ddr.densho.org/interviews/ddr-densho-1002-8-1/.","Bannai, Lorraine, et al. “Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga: The Activist Who Discovered the Truth About WWII Internment.” POLITICO Magazine, 30 Dec. 2018, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/30/aiko-herzig-yoshinaga-obituary-discovered-japanese-american-internment-223314.","Burton, J., et al. “A Brief History of Japanese American Relocation During World War II (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1 Apr. 2016, www.nps.gov/articles/historyinternment.htm."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":23,"pub_key":57,"title":"A Beginner’s Guide to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by Danica Seto","editor":"","date":"2020-10-24","content":"As Americans are approaching the final days before the highly anticipated November 3,\n2020,\nU.S. presidential election,\nvoters must reflect on the state of disaster the nation has been in,\nafter 2016. The results secured the Republican nominee,\nDonald Trump,\na position in which he has repeatedly demonstrated the harm an administration can have by intensifying hostility against communities of color,\nthe LGBTQ+ community,\nand other marginalized groups. Trump’s victory came as a shock considering most polls conducted at the time predicted his opponent,\nDemocratic nominee Hillary Clinton,\nas the winner. The results generated utter disbelief when the numbers revealed that Clinton amassed close to 3 million more votes than Trump,\nyet still lost the election.\nWhether you agree with a candidate’s political views or not,\nwe must question a system that could allow one to lose the election despite winning millions of more votes. Does the public’s voice not matter as much as we’d like to think when it comes to electing the next president? And more importantly,\nis it not concerning that the root of this flaw,\nthe Electoral College,\nhas been present since America’s formation of the election process more than 200 years ago? The failure to achieve a fair presidential election contradicts a fundamental principle of American democracy : the power to determine those involved in their government should belong to the people. Now more than ever,\nit’s imperative to establish a new system to address the issues that result from our current one.\nDespite popular belief,\nthe U.S. doesn’t elect its president and vice president based on whoever gains the majority of votes. Rather,\nwe use what’s known as the Electoral College,\nwhich is composed of a body of people known as “electors” who represent their state during the election. The number of electors,\nand likewise the electoral votes a state has,\nis the sum of its representatives and senators. While every state has 2 senators,\nthe number of representatives per state is proportional to the state’s population. Once votes from the public are counted,\nwhichever candidate receives the most votes for that state earns all of its electoral votes. This occurs in Washington D.C. and the 48 states that have adopted what’s referred to as the “Winner -\nTake - All” laws. For a candidate to be elected president, instead of winning the national popular vote, all they must do\nis garner 270 of the 538 electoral votes.\nThe flaws in the Electoral College have prompted elected officials to create over 700 proposals to abolish or modify it following the late 1940s. Proposals to amend the process have been raised on 17 separate occasions in the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. Some memorable were the 1950 Lodge-Gossett Amendment,\nwhere a proposal was made to implement a proportional electoral vote (the electoral system that would remain unchanged but electoral votes would be given to the candidate directly proportional to the number they received per state) in the electoral college’s place. While in 1979,\na proposal to the 96th Congress called for replacing the electoral college with a direct election. Unsurprisingly though, little has come from amendment propositions due to their strict requirements, including approval of a two-third majority in the Senate, two - thirds of the House of Representatives, and three-fourths of the states. Garnering such massive amounts of support has proved to be near impossible, especially when the political party in power has supported maintaining the Electoral College as it is.\nWith the current handling of elections in mind, adopting a National Popular Vote in its place has been widely touched upon for decades.\nIt's essentially a proposal for every citizen to directly vote for who they want as president. Therefore, there would be no second round\nof voting done by the Electoral College and whichever candidate receives the most votes from the public, would be declared the winner.\nIn 1967, a poll reported 58% of participants supported direct election, compared to the 22% favoring the Electoral College. By comparison,\na survey conducted in 2013 found support for direct election had grown to 63% of all respondents. After the 2000 election, when George W. Bush made his way into office despite losing the popular vote, public turmoil against the use of the Electoral College grew. Bush should’ve never been president, and an aggressive debate formed with most Democrats quick to point out the unjust matter. Justices such as Ruth Bader Ginsberg expressed their discontent with the Supreme Court decision that led to Bush holding office. She’s often remembered for writing, “I dissent” rather than “I respectfully dissent” the expectation from a justice who opposes the majority decision.\nIn the early 2000s,\ninitial ideas from law professors Robert W. Bennett,\nVikram Amar,\nand Akhil Amar would develop into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). Otherwise known as the National Popular Vote Initiative or National Popular Vote Plan,\nthe NPVIC is an agreement among states that would establish a direct popular election by awarding states’ electoral votes to whichever candidate receives the majority of votes nationwide. If put into motion,\nit would mean, in member states,\nthe legislation would appoint members of the Electoral College sworn to vote for the president and vice president who won the most votes nationwide, rather than the winner of the popular vote in their state. The NPVIC would thus preserve the structure of the Electoral College system but allow for power from the states to decide who they want to be elected.\nFor the NPVIC to pass,\nat least 270 of the total electoral votes must become members and adopt the legislation. The compact became popularized in 2006,\nand initial momentum began in 2007 when Maryland joined as the first state. From then on,\nslow progress has been made with 1-3 states joining each year. After New York’s approval in 2014,\nthere was a long period where no additional states joined. Only in more recent years following 2018,\nhave there been further advancements to the NPVIC.\nAs of October 2020,\nit’s been introduced to all 50 states and enacted into 16 jurisdictions (an extended area of legal authority),\ngaining 196 of the required votes. The jurisdictions include the District of Columbia,\n4 small states (DE, HI, RI, VT),\n8 medium-sized states (CO, CT, MD, MA, NJ, NM, OR, WA),\nand 3 big states (CA, IL, NY). An additional 74 electoral votes are needed for the NPVIC to reach the required 270. The movement towards the compact’s passing differs for each state, but the broad consensus is that most proposals have gone through at least 1 legislative chamber where they’re now being considered for eligibility of enactment.\nWhen examined,\nthe NPVIC’s legality has been questioned on more than one occasion. The U.S. Constitution states,\n\"No State shall, without the Consent of Congress... enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State...\"\nwhich has presented the matter of its constitutionality. Proponents of the NPVIC reason that it must be approved by Congress because it’s an interstate compact that would result in major changes to the presidential election process. The basis of this argument has been refuted when established by the Supreme Court,\n“...not all agreements between States are subject to the strictures of the Compact clause.” U.S. Steel Corp. v. Multistate Tax Comm’n (1978). Rejections to proposals are intended towards,\n“the formation of any combination tending to the increase of political power in the states,\nwhich may encroach upon or interfere with the just supremacy of the United States.” Virginia v. Tennessee (1893). Needless to say,\nbecause the NPVIC has no motivation for doing so, claims against its constitutionality have been disproven.\nCritics of the compact have profusely commented on why they consider it to be an unfit solution to the problems observed under the Electoral College. A point often made is that it would undermine the state's authority, weakening federalism (when power is distributed between the national and state government). Those who strongly believe in federalism favor increasing state power over federal levels of\ngovernment, which raises the worry that the NPVIC could alter this relationship.\nThe weakened federalism myth has been debunked since there 's no increase, nor decrease, in power for state governments, compared to the national government,\nbased on how the presidential electors are elected. Whether it be on state boundary lines (as it is in\nwinner-take-all states), congressional district boundary lines (as it is in Nebraska and Maine), or on\nnational lines (as it would be under the compact), the power dynamic would remain constant. Since the\nU.S. Constitution, state constitutions, and other federal and state laws determine the allocation of\npower, the NPVIC would not affect this matter.\nIt’s also been frequently discussed that the compact would abandon the Founding Fathers intentions for presidential elections to be national and federal events.\nSome say enacting a national popular vote will be unsuitable for the U.S. because it isn’t a democracy, but a republic (where citizens elect those in office to represent them).\nWhile America may be a republic, the NPVIC has been proved to be, in no way, a threat to the structure of government currently existing. Similar to the federalism myth, National Popular Vote Inc. clarifies, “The United States is neither less nor more a ‘republic’ if its chief executive is elected under the state-by-state winner-take-all method ...under a district system…or under the proposed national popular vote system.” Accordingly, the division of power between citizens and elected officials would remain the same. Because a popular vote election would make no difference in our government being a republic or democracy, the argument of the NPVIC contradicting the Founders’ intents, fundamentally holds no value.\nAs opposed to the many faulty claims made against the compact,\nthe reasons justifying its necessity are extremely clear. The most significant difference the NPVIC would make would be the impossibility of becoming president without having won the national popular vote. Although the likelihood of a candidate winning from electoral votes alone is slim,\nit’s previously happened on 5 separate occasions. Presidents who’ve won without ever gaining majority support are an upsetting outcome of the Electoral College as it is. The system’s failure to achieve true American democracy is enough of a reason to abolish,\nor at least neutralize the Electoral College. It’s an unmistakable misrepresentation of the people’s voice,\nthat should no longer be tolerated.\nIn past years, when a president has come to power despite their unprecedented circumstance of never winning the popular vote, it has always been in favor of the Republican party, only having elected Republican nominees to office. Currently, all the jurisdictions that have joined the NPVIC unsurprisingly identify as solid or leaning Democratic. As a result, without the compact, there would continue to be an unfair advantage between political parties.\nAmong the Framers’ original incentives for creating the Electoral College, was the fear of the average voter lacking information to adequately choose a candidate, due to communication and transportation constraints of the 18 th century. Though a reasonable cause during the time, the Electoral College’s fit into modern -\nday American government has been rendered pointless. The purpose it serves is largely debated to have no benefits, but rather be an outdated procedure that’s become trivial. The NPVIC would redirect the use of the Electoral College to better suit the needs of the United States in modern-day.\nAnother prevalent issue the NPVIC would address is the lack of geographical diversity where campaigns focus their efforts. Ideally,\nthey would spend their resources interacting with voters all across the nation. However,\nrealistically, candidates overlook “flyover states” (ones far leaning in one direction) which likely wouldn’t benefit them. Instead,\ncampaigns centralize in “swing” or “toss-up” states with high numbers of independent or potential voters. In the 2012 election,\nout of the 253 election events that year,\n73 were held in Ohio alone, completely disregarding 38 other states. While in the first 4 weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign,\nall 54 events were centered in 10 battleground states. Little to no attention is directed towards a majority of other states,\nleaving voters wondering how much candidates care if they won’t even bother to be present. By making everyone’s vote equally important, no matter one’s state or its number of electoral votes, the NPVIC would ensure balance in campaign prioritization.\nAs with most states that have enacted the NPVIC,\nefforts to reverse it have been made in Colorado. On August 1, 2019,\nProposition 113 was filed to be put on the 2020 ballot to revoke the state’s membership in the compact. Also known as a statute remand or people’s vote,\nProposition 113 is a veto referendum petition,\nor form of ballot that asks voters whether a law should remain the same or be repealed. As early voting has already begun,\nit’s crucial for those in Colorado to vote yes on Proposition 113, upholding legislature for their state to be a member of the NPVIC.\nDemonstrated most recently in Colorado,\nopposition towards the compact’s passing continues to be a great concern. If you feel that the public should have a say in their elected president,\nand want something to be done about the injustices our current system has allowed,\nthe NPVIC is the most reasonable, and overall, best solution. Having said that,\nfor America to achieve such great change to a process ingrained in its history, now is the time to speak up and take action.\nOrganizations such as National Popular Vote Inc. and FairVote,\nare accessible resources to further educate yourself about the NPVIC. On their websites,\nyou’ll find complete lists of each state’s status regarding the compact. For those from states where it has yet to be enacted,\nsending a letter-to-the-editor in local or state newspapers or calling for the NPVIC to be passed, can be crucial. Several easy to follow templates, suggestions, as well as the contact information of local press can be found on said websites.\nSending letters or emailing state legislators of why you feel the compact would be beneficial for your state, is highly encouraged. Even if the NPVIC has already been enacted in your state, because it’s constantly under threat, showing large amounts of continued support for it can be effective.\nIf you’re from Colorado and are eligible to vote this year, we strongly urge you to vote yes on Proposition 113 and to convince others to do\nso. For those unable to vote, convince those who will, to elect candidates in favor of passing the NPVIC.\nSpreading awareness through the media and publicizing the need for the NPVIC to be enacted, can help inform and convince others of its importance.\nIt may seem as if we’re a long way off from the NPVIC officially reaching enactment, but with the help of citizens who believe America can do\nbetter, it can be closer than we imagine. What was once thought of as unobtainable or unnecessary,\nis now a real possibility for the U.S. to successfully alter the presidential election process. For the many benefits it would guarantee, Americans should not only care but be hopeful of the remarkable change the NPVIC can bring.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/abeginnersguidetothenationalpopularvoteinterstatecompact57.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, BallotPedia, ballotpedia.org/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact.","Neale, Thomas H, and Andre Nolan. Congressional Research Service, 2019, The National Popular Vote (NPV) Initiative: Direct Election of the President by Interstate Compact, fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43823.pdf.","Colorado Proposition 113, National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Referendum (2020), BallotPedia, ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Proposition_113,_National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact_Referendum_ (2020).","Daniller, Andrew. Pew Research Center, 2020, A Majority of Americans Continue to Favor Replacing Electoral College with a Nationwide Popular Vote, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/13/a-majority-of-americans-continue-to-favor-replacing-electoral-college-with-a-nationwide-popular-vote/.","Jones, Jeffrey M.Gallup, 2019, Americans Split on Proposals for Popular Vote, news.gallup.com/poll/257594/americans-split-proposals-popular-vote.aspx.","FairVote.org. “A National Popular Vote for President.” FairVote, www.fairvote.org/national_popular_vote."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":105,"pub_key":59,"title":"Interview with Stephanie, the Founder of Dear Asian Youth","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Chantal Kapani","editor":null,"date":"2020-10-27","content":"Dear Asian Youth is a digital platform dedicated to further\nengaging young Asian-Americans by spreading social and political\nawareness about Asian Identity. They aim to empower Asians to be\nproud of their heritage and strive to overcome and challenge the\nstereotypes that have been imposed on them by Western culture.\nWith over 36.6K followers and counting on Instagram, they educate\nand inform their audience with infographics on challenges the\nAsian-American community faces,such as racism, minimal\nrepresentation in media, culture and more. Alongside this, they\nshowcase writing and art from their instagram following to not\nonly voice their opinions and experience from the people working\nat Dear Asian Youth, but from others all over the world, from\ntheir Instagram following and beyond. Dester magazine had the\namazing opportunity to talk to Dear Asian Youth.\nWhat is ‘Dear Asian Youth’ and what is its focus?\nOur organization is built on youth leadership and experience as\nBIPOC in a Westernized and Euro-centric globe, whilst being based in\nthe United States. That being said, our mission is based on raising\nmore political activity in the Asian community domestically and\ninternationally, as well as empowering Asian youth in their culture\nand identity.\nWhy do you feel there is a need to represent the BIPOC community?\nThere is definitely a need to represent the BIPOC community because\nour history, culture, identity, and diversity has been\nsystematically erased and appropriated. There is a lack of education\nin BIPOC history in high school, but a prevalence of European\nfocuses, as well as an overall white representation and\nglobalization due to imperialism and Westernization that has\ninaccurately represented the global population today. Moreover,\nBIPOC communities have built up the United States just as much, if\nnot more with the exploitation they faced and the lack of\nrecognition, and they deserve that acknowledgement and celebration.\nDo you think the BIPOC community needs more representation and\nwhy?\nYes, they absolutely need more representation. That affirmation in\nthe media and environment is so vital to the growth and\nnormalization of diversity within our redlined communities,\ndomestically. But having that importance of cultural acknowledgement\nfrom an accurate GLOBAL sense is vital to understanding the value of\neach cultural difference and historical nuances. Additionally, it\nprovides role models and characters which younger generations and\naudiences can relate to, and find answers and relatability with,\nwhich helps guide them in a consistently more digitized world.\nWhat is culture to you and how has it impacted ‘Dear Asian\nYouth’’?\nCulture is a diverse word in it of itself. Culture directly comes\nfrom all the social, religious, and racial/ethnic groups that\npropagate them. It has impacted DAY at a large level because we are\nactively representing the largest continent, as well as tackling\nissues that are intersectional. That culture that unites and at the\nsame time differentiates us is immense in its impact because it\nhumbles us, and also allows us to constantly educate ourselves and\nothers simultaneously.\nYou discuss your own experience of seeing the ‘stereotype’ of an\nAsian character on TV, do you think Asian youths are defined by\nthis stereotype by western culture?\nAbsolutely, and at the same time some of us are complicit in its\nperpetuation. It’s not a compliment when someone says that ‘all\nAsians are smart,” because it ignores the diversity that comes with\nthe idea of smart and reduces intelligence to merely numbers which\nadheres to a performance calculator made by a specific demographic\nfor a specific demographic. Moreover, it erases the validity of\nindividuals within our Asian community who cannot participate on\nthis level due to their differences whether that be disability,\nneurodiversity, or just a different way of thinking and learning.\nAdditionally, it also ignores that that statement is a testament to\nthe difficult immigration tactics that the United States employed to\ngate-keep, as well as how the Asian community has been unwillingly\nand consistently used as a ‘model minority’ to combat Civil Rights\nMovements and our other BIPOC siblings, that are liberating every\nBIPOC community.\nHow does someone get involved?\nYou can get involved locally in your own political sphere or\nactivism sphere. Be that voice in your community. But, if you’d\nlike, DAY has options for beginning your local chapters and making\nyour own voice through our organization! Plus, you’d be able to\napply for other positions within our organization ranging from\nwriter to social media manager to illustrator!\nWhere do you see ‘Dear Asian Youth’ in five years' time?\nI see DAY being a powerhouse on the activism scene, redefining\nAsians and Asian-American involvement in socio-cultural spheres, and\npolitical ones as well.\nWhat is one thing you want your readers to take away from ‘Dear\nAsian Youth’?\nI want you to know that you can make a difference. Of course, there\nare different levels of change and how much impact that makes on our\nglobal society in general, but know that you matter and that your\nvoice is vital and valued in every circle. Your experience and your\nlife is important to the conversations at hand, and it’s never too\nlate to educate yourself. Be humble and sensitive, but be true and\nkind, that is the first step to any change that can be made in our\nworld. We have to set an example of collectivism, as well as an\nauthenticity that other generations can see and strive for.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/interviewwithstephaniethefounderofdearasianyouth59.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Interviews"]},{"id":56,"pub_key":58,"title":"Chinatown: Reconstructed","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Jamie Zou","editor":"","date":"2020-10-27","content":"Chinatown was killed on a sultry evening,\niridescence floats out of earshot like grease\nand I smell stir-fried ether before I see the\nluck from last year plastered on the street-corner diner,\ndecade-old dragon palace stirring in solitude\nsour in eternity\nsalt my teeth\nAmerican radio cracks, cracks, careens\nwith the princess pop I used to like,\nancestry wanes, waiting for me to salve forgotten promises\nfrom a rejected nation\nbut I sold my blood by the wharf on\nnew years eve;\nmy birth becomes assimilation\nimmortal heritage festers and\nI am faithless—\nAmerican,\nthey’ll call it.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/chinatownreconstructed58.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":154,"pub_key":60,"title":"Six Theses On Why Native People Die","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Ajay Sawant","editor":"","date":"2020-10-29","content":"About the artist:\nAjay Sawant is a artist and student from Pune of Maharashtra, India.\nHe is editorial director at leading poetry community- Globalage\nPoetry. He is an art activist and public speaker. His poems have\nappeared in Literary Yard and forthcoming in VAYAVYA and A&U\nMagazine. Ajay can be reached on twitter at\nwww.twitter.com/ajaycycles\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nGlobalization\n1) a native man looks in the eyes of a composite woman -- and he\nbreaks\n2) he gifts her a casket of convenient future\n3) his stocks are hunted by a wolf and he pets her kitten\n4) she perseveres his green tax in a transparent bottle\n5) he relishes his neighbour and tries to hunt happiness in his\nfamily.\n6) he pours blood on their foundations and finds the world better in\nretro danger","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/sixthesesonwhynativepeopledie60.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Featured Submissions"]},{"id":122,"pub_key":61,"title":"Court of Public Opinion","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Abbas Moosajee","editor":"","date":"2020-10-31","content":"From convictions of the innocent to acquittals of rapists, our legal history serves as a testament\nto the failures of the justice system. For too long, we have accepted these miscarriages of justice.\nWe accepted the acquittal of Casey Anthony, who murdered her own daughter, and the execution of\nGeorge Stinney Jr., a teenager who was falsely accused of murder. We have mythicised racism and\nnormalised rape. We have become immune to the horrors but have become ignorant to the cries for\njustice— we have accepted all this as an inevitable part of life.\nThe reel of unspeakable headlines on local news and NSFW pictures plastered across our Instagram\nfeeds only begins to highlight the failures of the justice system, forcing us to confront an\nunpleasant reality. These platforms make us realise that fundamental flaws in the Court of Law have\nnot only violated fundamental human rights, but continues to force open the cracks of a fragile\nsociety. The reel of unspeakable headlines on local news and NSFW pictures plastered across our\nInstagram feeds only begins to highlight the failures of the justice system, forcing us to confront\nan unpleasant reality. These platforms make us realise that fundamental flaws in the Court of Law\nhave not only violated fundamental human rights, but continues to force open the cracks of a fragile\nsociety.\nHowever, these same platforms allow us to amplify our voices, enabling justice to be discussed\nbeyond the confines of the courtroom. Thus we have discovered the court of public opinion— a court\nmade up of ordinary citizens and is unrestricted by archaic laws. It is the court that contributed\nto the exoneration of Walter McMillian and the conviction of Harvey Weinstein, the court that\nignited the #MeToo movement and urged on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.\nThe mainstream media and the existence of social media platforms have evidently allowed the court of\npublic opinion to address injustices. As such, public opinion has had an increasing impact on the\nevents of the courthouse. However, the increasing influence of the media raises questions about the\nextent of its independence: to what extent is the court of public opinion independent, and is it\npossibly time to abandon it?\nInfluencing Public Opinion\nThe court of law fascinates people because it has the power to change everyone’s lives for better or\nfor worse. However, this ever-powerful court is shrouded in mystery— because interactions with the\nlegal world are limited for most of us, our legal knowledge is inconsistent and incomplete. Our\nperception of the Courts is influenced by the media, through (including but not limited to)\nfictional dramas or case highlights on YouTube. Thus, modern media has become the most accessible\nsource for all information regarding the law.\nHowever, as the media needs to generate revenue via advertising, public viewership is often\nmaintained by sensationalising all information at the expense of accuracy. For example, headlines\nhave become shorter and further from reality, while commercially successful television series like\nLaw & Order, CSI, and Judge Judy oversimplify the legal process. This oversimplification and\nmisrepresentation of the legal system, has colored the public’s perception of the justice system to\nbe black and white—instead of discussing the charges and debating the ethics of the laws relevant to\nthe case, mainstream media simply asks for a thumbs up or down on the “villain” in the storyline,\nforcing people to choose sides.\nFurthermore, even members of the public who try to understand the law more accurately often struggle\nto find reliable resources and even then, are faced with countless possible interpretations of the\nlaw. This is further exacerbated by the fact that laws not only differ from each other at state,\nfederal, and international levels, but also change constantly, making it one of the most complex\nsubjects for the public to understand. Thus, it is difficult for the majority of the public to make\nits verdict based on legal knowledge, and instead, does so based on its own perception of the\ndefendant’s guilt.\nHow to Win in the ?\nIn 1987, Walter McMillian was arrested for the murder of a white teenage girl. As a Black man in a\nsouthern town, his guilt was a foregone conclusion. The media took to this case and portrayed Walter\nas a hot-headed criminal. Thus, despite multiple alibis and questionable witness testimonies, the\njury convicted him of murder within a day. Even more shockingly, the judge overrode the jury’s\nsentencing of life imprisonment, to deliver a verdict of death. This case was evidence to the fact\nthat the media's sensationalism influences the popular opinion around criminal justice issues and\nindividual cases.\nThe road to success in the court of public opinion often depends on who sets the narrative in a\ncase. And unlike the court of law which adheres to the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’,\nthe public does not always concur. This is especially important because traditionally the idea has\nalways been to keep the media away from the public and let it play out in the court. The modern\nreality is that those responses of ‘No comment’ or silence, only pushes the idea of a guilty client.\nHowever, unlike the court of law, where judges are less likely to allow information of a subject’s\npast to be used in the case compared to the media, the court of public opinion is unrestricted by\nsuch limitations. With no statute of limitations or Fifth Amendment rights, people’s lives are\ndissected and examined with a magnifying glass. Everything, from psychological evaluations to family\nhistory, in addition to anything even remotely associated with an individual, is used to create the\npublic image of an individual. Thus, it is an important task for lawyers to identify what the public\nwill love and support, and even more importantly, what they will condemn, then tailor the client’s\npublic image by avoiding the bad and highlighting the good.\nWho wins?\nPeople want to support individuals with stories that they can easily identify with. Even something\nas simple as hailing from the same city or being in the same profession can form a connection\nbetween members of the public and the defendant, making it easier to sympathize with the latter.\nThat becomes the key to creating or even changing a public image— the client needs to be portrayed\nnot as an outcast, but a relatable individual. For example, Richard Scrushy who founded and grew\nHealthsouth, to be one of the leading healthcare companies in the USA, making himself the third\nhighest-paid CEO. However, he was accused of falsifying company financial reports, in order to meet\ninvestor expectations and control the price of the company's stock, to an account of over $2.7\nbillion. In 2003, the FBI charged Richard Scrushy on 36 counts of conspiracy, money laundering and\nsecurity fraud. In a post-Enron financial world, Scrushy was the perfect man to hate: a billionaire\ndefrauding ordinary citizens and using their money to buy nineteen cars and a ninety-two foot yacht.\nDespite maintaining his innocent front, Scrushy knew he had to change his public image. From joining\na local African-American church to hosting a Christian television show with his wife, he portrayed\nhimself as a deeply religious and charitable individual. Even something as simple as choosing a\nlawyer born and brought up in the same Alabama county, connected Scrushy with the local community.\nThis eventually proved to be a successful strategy, because Scrushy was eventually acquitted of all\ncharges in June 2005. Walter McMillian and Scrushy’s cases both highlight the idea that it does not\nmatter whether a defendant is legally guilty or innocent, but it is vital that the public thinks\nthey are innocent. Therefore, lawyers have become adept at controlling the narratives to ensure that\nthe most favorable image of their clients is portrayed.\nInfluence of Public Opinion in the Courthouse\nThese victories in the court of public opinion not only ensure that a client’s reputation remains\nintact but directly influence the outcome of a legal case. For instance, a lawyer could use the\nattention that a case potentially might receive to convince the opposition to not file charges, as\ninformation released during the trial may not reflect the opposition favorably and risks damaging\ntheir reputation. A lawyer might also warn the opposition that persisting the case for an extensive\nperiod of time will require far more resources than they can afford.\nThe direct impact can be significant to a case, because the media’s portrayal of a case often begins\neven before a case enters the legal world. Allowing the media to control the narrative of a case,\nand develop a bias in the public towards a certain verdict that translates into the jury pool of a\ntrial. Thus, a biased jury may overlook the evidence and testimonies presented in the court, and\ninstead use their preconceived opinions of the case created by the media to deliver the verdict. And\nas juries are supposed to be an unbiased representation of society’s opinion on a legal case, the\nmedia's coverage of cases can deny defendants the right to a fair trial.\nTherefore, lawyers try to identify any obvious prejudice against their client and excuse the jurors\nbefore beginning the trial to ensure a neutral jury. However, with the possibility of an inherent\nbias, lawyers can request for a change of venue—when a trial is moved from one court location to\nanother— to avoid substantial prejudice that may be present in local jurors where the crime was\noriginally committed. In February 1999, Amadou Diallo, a 23 year old West-African student, was shot\n41 times by 4 NYPD officers, resulting in outrage and unrest across the local Bronx neighbourhood.\nThe defendant side argued that the memories of the incident would still be fresh to the local\nresidents where the jurors would be selected, preventing a fair trial, and hence received a change\nin venue to Albany, New York. As a result, the officers were acquitted of all charges.\nIt has also shown that public opinion can be a positive influence by overturning wrongful\nconvictions or defendants who were denied a fair trial. The court of public opinion has shown that\nit can correct mistakes made in the courtroom, and become the source of positive change. Increasing\npublic pressure around issues can force the Department of Justice to reopen old cases and\ninvestigate them with modern technology and new perspectives. This is most apparent in death penalty\ncases: where the approval rating of capital punishment has fallen to an all-time low of 36%, this\nincreasing public pressure has forced certain cases to be reopened and re-examined. Rodney Reed is\nan example of such. He was convicted for the murder of a teenage girl and was wrongfully sentenced\nto death. However, Reed’s case quickly gained national attention and with over 3 million signatures on\na petition,\ndemanding Reed’s exonerationbased on lack of evidence. His execution was\nindefinitely suspended by a Texas Court, pending a retrial. This outpouring of support has also\nresulted in numerous posthumous exonerations of death row convicts, including George Stinney Jr..\nFurthermore, it has allowed over 167 death row inmates in the USA to be released since 1973,\nincluding Walter McMillian, who served 8 years on death row despite being innocent of his crime.\nWhen legal options such as re-trials have been exhausted, a federal pardon may be sought after.\nOriginally pardons were designed to be given at the president’s discretion, but they can also be\nused to garner public support. If a particular case begins to develop a large following, where the\npublic believes the accused is wrongfully convicted, granting them a pardon could increase approval\nratings for the president. Alice Marie Johnson was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for\na first-time drug offence in 1997. Following extensive lobbying by the ACLU, countless petitions and\nsupport from Kim Kardashian, President Donald Trump granted Alice Johnson clemency and a pardon in\n2018.\nMany people have realised that while these success stories are wholesome, much of it relies on\nhaving competent legal counsel and media attention. However, this is unsustainable on a larger\nscale, as not all cases fulfill these conditions. Thus, in order to have a lasting impact, the law\nneeds to change. That is why over the past few decades, we have begun to see protests and petitions\nurging for a change beginning at the top.\nMost often this begins with fighting a case in the Supreme Court, the highest court in the judicial\nsystem, it is responsible for the interpretation of the constitution and promoting equal justice.\nThat is why victory here is extremely important because it sets precedent for future cases across\nstates. As in Virginia v Loving, that ruled marrying whom you want is not unconstitutional, forcing\nstates to allow interracial marriages and even paving the way for same-sex marriages.\nIt is because of the significance of its decisions that the Supreme Court is made independent of the\nexecutive and legislative branches of government. This ensures that the court is not pressured by a\nhostile majority to overlook the rights of minorities. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court was supposed\nto issue its decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). However, in the\nmonths leading up to the ruling, President Obama and a\nmajority\nof the Democrats waged a pressure\ncampaign on the Supreme Court, urging the justices to uphold the Act, yet despite these efforts, the\njustices insisted they were impervious to external pressure. Surprisingly, three months later, Chief\nJustice Roberts unexpectedly voted liberally to uphold the health care law. In fact, lately, a\nsignificant positive relationship between public opinion and Supreme Court output has been\nsuspected, as confirmed by a\nrecent survey.\nWhile that success in the court can be dependent on other factors, lobbying elected officials to\nback acts is easier and more successful. That is why sit-ins, freedom rides, and March on Washington\nwere so important; the 250,000 gathered in Washington were so imposing, that President Johnson\nbacked the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through the US Senate to passing, beginning an era focused on\nequality. Hence, public opinion has proved that when the justice system fails, by acknowledging the\ncries and accepting the horrors, we can correct these failures.\nEvaluation\nWhat these changes fail to account for is the impact that publicizing a case has, towards\nindividuals involved and the community at large. In many cases, the information released during a\ntrial can threaten physical security and cause psychological distress, especially in cases of abuse\nand trauma. For example, in 1983 Cheryl Araujo, a 21-year-old mother of two, was gang-raped in a\nMassachusetts bar by 4 men. After deciding to press charges against the rapists, the judge chose to\nallow live coverage of the trial. The horrific nature of the crime meant that her trial quickly\nbecame prime time national television with everyone discussing it. While this coverage helped ensure\nthat her case would not be forgotten, it also resulted in her complete loss of privacy, and physical\nsecurity as she received death threats at home and vilified on news. Even after the rapists were\nconvicted, Cheryl was continued to be slut-shamed and ostracized in the very community she grew up\nin, and eventually forced to leave. Cheryl Araujo developed a drug problem, and despite a year at a\ndetoxification centre, she died in a drunk-driving crash at the age of 25.\nObserving the media’s coverage of the hundreds of cases, and the public’s treatment of the victims\ncan make filing charges for victims a very difficult decision because some want to move on and\nothers fear the impact it will have on their families. As a 2017 study reported, out of every 1000\ncases of sexual assault only 230 are ever reported, and only in 9 instances were charges filed. As a\nresult, while the coverage of criminal trials, especially in cases of abuse seem helpful at creating\nawareness, the reality is that it often acts as a deterrent to victims speaking out in the future.\nPossibly, the greatest failure of the  is how easily it can be influenced, a\nsingle article or someone assuming things, and the general public eats it up. This was apparent even\nback in 1996 with the Atlantic City Olympic Bombing. Richard Jewell, a security guard, discovered a\npipe bomb and began an emergency evacuation of the arena. The bomb which blasted 13 minutes later,\nkilled only 2 people, making Jewell an obvious hero. However, a single article that stated that the\nFBI was treating Jewell as a ‘person of interest’ sparked a media frenzy. Within hours, everyone\nbecame armchair experts on the quality of the picture, Jewell’s mental health and his motives. Over\nthe next months, as Jewell was investigated by the FBI, he was isolated from society and constantly\nfollowed by reporters. Despite having no charges pressed against him, the real perpetrator being\ncaught, and receiving millions of dollars in defamation lawsuits, the damage to Jewell’s reputation\nwas irreversible.\nA court of public opinion however does not limit their judgement to a single person but forms\nopinions about the whole community the offender represents. The most prominent example being the\ntreatment of Muslims in a post 9/11 world, with hate crimes against Muslims tripling in the next\nyears as reported by the FBI. However, countless instances can be used to discuss this, for\ninstance, the aftermath of the 2019 Easter Attacks in Sri Lanka. While the 8 suicide bombings\ncarried out by members of a local militant Islamic group, claimed 267 lives, it became the catalyst\nfor ethnic discrimination and persecution of Muslims. From banning of face coverings, losing jobs,\nto receiving different looks when entering a mosque, Muslims became terrified in their own home.\nEven a year later, while tensions have subsided we all know that something was broken that day.\nThe court of public opinion however has shown that despite its failures, it can be a source for\nchange on an individual, organisational and global level. The #METoo movement is the quintessential\nexample of this happening in modern society. Because when Tarana Burke, in 2006, began using MeToo,\nto show she too was a victim and understood the pain, when people shared their stories of sexual\nharassment. As society read these stories they could no longer ignore the prevalence of abuse and\ninstead of vilifying and ostracizing survivors, we listened and empowered them through empathy.\nEncouraging more women to share their stories of harassment, and make sure their abusers will be\npunished. The most prominent example of this is the case against Harvey Weinstein. The New York\nTimes article originally reported only two harassment charges made by actresses Ashley Judd and Rose\nMcGowan. Over the next few months, more than 80 women accused Weinstein of sexual harassment. And\neven though Weinstein was sentenced to only 23 years in prison, countless other powerful people were\nconvicted of sexual harassment including Larry Nassar, R. Kelly, and Jeffrey Epstein.\nThe growing public pressure forced over 52% of companies to review and change their sexual\nharassment policies. This included forming an action plan on how to deal with sexual harassment\nallegations, training all employees on company policies and implementing initiatives to prevent\nfuture workplace harassment. Furthermore, with the global coverage that #MeToo gained, raising over\n$22 million. These funds helped provide sexual assault survivors with therapy, and legal counsel to\nensure that no perpetrators went unpunished. Most importantly, these funds were used to correct\nmisconceptions and begin a dialogue.\nWhat can you do?\nThe court of public opinion has become a representation of democracy in our broken justice system.\nIt has shown that, when the system fails, we can correct the miscarriages of justice by voicing our\nanger, and become the source of positive change. However, it is our over-reliance on the media that\nhas made the court of public opinion so destructive because it dictates the narrative, controlling\nour ideology. And while publication bans of judicial proceedings have protected the rights of\nvictims, the court of public opinion needs to become far more independent from the media. This can\nbegin with everyone taking a few simple actions:\nStudy the law: Read books that specifically educate the public about the law, such as\nJust Mercy\nand\nRule of Law,\nor subscribe to Youtube channels such as\nLegalEagle\nand\nLaw & Crime Network,\nwhich\nintend to educate the public with more reliable information about the justice system.\nBegin a dialogue- Whether it is discussing a case or just sharing an article, discussing with those around\nyou will create a dialogue, enabling you to ask questions and be more informed and expose yourself\nto different avenues of thinking\nThese few simple steps can create a society with a basic understanding of the law and objectivity,\nand shown that the court of public opinion does not need to be abandoned but remade. Thus, the Court\nof Public Opinion becomes a way for humanity to ensure that failures of the justice system, are\ncorrected and then rectified for the future, so that a system that is just to all can be developed.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/courtofpublicopinion61.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":10,"pub_key":62,"title":"Your Child and Mine","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Apala Bhattacharya","editor":null,"date":"2020-11-05","content":"About the artist:\nApala is a 17 y/o grade-12 student. She is passionate about writing,\ncomputers and volunteer work. She aspires to do her part in changing\nthe world into a safe place for everyone in whatever way she can.\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nThis is a poem that deals with issues faced by youth (or adults)\nthat are highly stigmatised by the society. It talks about the\nstruggles that we face everyday but the “society” tells us that\nthey’re not “real problems”. So, it’s a message to everyone out\nthere that they are not alone in their struggle and that it’s okay\nto seek help even if everyone tells you otherwise.\nShe sits with a pillow over her thighs\nwhen she’s out of her homely confines.\nShe often wonders if it’ll be her size.\nthat’ll be the reason for her untimely demise.\nSorry, did I insinuate it, the unspeakable?\nThat your child, and mine-\nthey both waste away, in bed, at night.\nWhen the guilt and pain and heartache feels unbearable,\nthey both fall asleep, on their mind, suicide.\nHe quickly slips the shirt on the foreign torso,\navoiding the mounds of misplaced flesh, making it more so.\nIt wasn’t any other yet felt another\nit wasn’t a phase, he was never her\nSorry, did I insinuate it, the unspeakable?\nThat your child, and mine-\nthey’re trapped under the weight of genders and tight lines.\nWhen the hysteria caves in , they’re no more stable,\nthey dream of being themselves, but on their mind, suicide.\nShe stays up some nights, reliving his hands on her skin.\nWas this to be his bad karma or her sin?\nThose hands that left bruises, muffled her screams\nWhy her? why HER? disgust fills every drop flowing in her\nbloodstream.\nSorry, did I insinuate it, the unspeakable?\nThat your child, and mine-\nthey both fall prey to the predatory minds.\nWhen they prowl about, handing misfortune with labels,\nthey both fall and when it’s all over, on their minds, suicide.\nHe stares at the walls, within it feels so dark\nThe expectations too much on his tender heart.\nOnly a child, yet so grown, so worn,\nthe weight of the world gave him scars to adorn.\nSorry, did I insinuate it, the unspeakable?\nThat your child, and mine-\nfeel trapped because we expect not peace but dimes.\nWhen they want to fly, we clip their wings.\nthey accept defeat and on their minds, suicide.\nShe befriended the tree by her window,\nthat on a moonlight night, engulfs her in its shadow.\nAnd when her sliced skin and the blade unite,\nIt looks just as hollow, like it understands her fight.\nSorry, did I insinuate it, the unspeakable?\nThat your child, and mine-\nthey both get tired of the happy pretence, the careless guise.\nWhen they close their eyes and the mind,\nthe feelings are free to flow raw, non-refined.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/yourchildandmine62.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Featured Submissions"]},{"id":190,"pub_key":63,"title":"The Destruction of Juukan Gorge, and the Lack of Aboriginal Appreciation","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Rhea Bogarapu","editor":null,"date":"2020-11-09","content":"National Sorry Day has been celebrated annually in Australia on the\n26th of May to reflect and remember the Stolen Generations1\nand the ill treatment of the nation’s Indigenous peoples. Only two\ndays before this year’s annual commemoration, Australia witnessed\nthe destruction of two valued Aboriginal sites by Rio Tinto, the\nworld’s second largest mining corporation, to extract iron ore.\nThe Juukan Gorge rock shelters, located in the Hamersley Ranges, are\nsaid to be over 46,000 years old and show remnants of human\nhabitation, which can be traced back to the last Ice Age\n(Wahlquist). Rio Tinto obtained permission to blow up Juukan 1 and\nJukaan 2 in 2013 under Western Australia’s (WA) archaic Aboriginal\nheritage laws, which failed to protect the rights of the Aboriginal\npeoples and the Traditional Owners2.\nMap of Australia showing the destruction of Juukan Gorge rock\nshelters (AFP).\nAlthough an archaeological dig in 2014 led to the discovery of over\n7,000 artifacts and DNA matches to the current Puutu Kunti Kurrama\nand Pinikura Traditional Owners, the destruction of the sites could\nnot be prevented despite numerous interventions from the Puutu Kunti\nKurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Aboriginal Corporation (Kelly).\nFollowing extreme backlash from the Australian public and media, Rio\nTinto’s CEO, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, revealed that there were three\nalternatives to destroying the ancient rock shelters, which were not\ndisclosed to the Traditional Owners. The alternatives did not\nrequire explosive materials unlike the option chosen, which involved\ndamaging the rock shelters for access to another eight million\ntonnes of iron ore. The PKKP learned of the demolition only 11 days\nprior and were unable to stop Rio Tinto from wrecking the heritage\nsites (Michelmore).\nAn inquiry into the Juukan Gorge destruction has revealed the\npossible destruction of another 124 Aboriginal heritage sites\n(Wahlquist). Rio Tinto’s actions have clearly disregarded the wishes\nof the Traditional Owners and have showcased the lack of respect and\nappreciation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples\nheritage and history by large corporations. Juukan Gorge’s cultural\nsignificance - as one of the earliest marks of habitation in\nAustralia - was cast aside under Section 18 Notice of the WA\nAboriginal Heritage Act 1972; it is now under revision after immense\nglobal pressure.\nThe primary issue with the Section 18 Notice is that appeals cannot\nbe made following decisions to the notice. In this case, regardless\nof the fact that the Traditional Owners had access to new\narchaeological finds, the destruction of Juukan Gorge was completely\nlegal and in accordance with WA’s legislature. Not only does this\nshowcase the disparaging treatment of indigenous knowledge systems\nby the government, but it also sheds light on the lack of empathy\nand understanding towards Aboriginal communities internationally.\nAccording to a statement released by Rio Tinto, the company now\nhopes to “focus on the importance of their relationships with\nTraditional Owners,” yet it is clear that these steps should have\nbeen taken in 2013, when they first obtained permission to mine in\nJuukan Gorge (Rio Tinto). The Traditional Owners, on the other hand,\nhave stated that Rio Tinto provided them with misleading information\nand continued to load explosives onto the rock shelters after saying\nthat the blast would be delayed (Wahlquist). It is clear that Rio\nTinto is only paying attention to the spiritual and emotional loss\nof these rock shelters now that the company is embroiled in\ncontroversy.\nThe company was fully aware of the consequences of their actions,\nwhich highlights the preservation and continued existence of\ncolonial mindsets in Australia. The devastation incurred by\nAustralia’s First Nations in the last 250 years is recurring,\nresulting in a constant cycle of intergenerational trauma. The First\npeoples are protected by weak laws filled with loopholes, and this\nhas led to the degradation of their culture. Without realising that\nAustralia is no longer a ‘white settlement’ and by failing to\nincorporate Indigenous peoples into government settings and\njurisdictions, the destruction of Juukan Gorge is just the beginning\nof what’s left to come.\nThe treatment of Indigenous communities on a global scale is\nhorrific to say the least. Governments and corporations have\nexploited their land, resources, and people for their own personal\ngains;this influences public settings and gives leeway to racial and\nmisogynistic stigmas. These issues go beyond Australia and can be\nseen in Canada, where an Indigenous woman was recently racially\nabused in a hospital while on her deathbed, and in the United\nStates, where Native American women go missing and are murdered.\nWhile Rio Tinto’s executives have agreed to step down, the\nTraditional Owners and future generations of the Aboriginal\ncommunities have faced extensive damage and are left to pick up the\npieces of their, now fragmented, history.\nFootnotes:\n1. These were children of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander\ndescent who were stolen from their families by the Australian\ngovernment and church groups in order to effectively ‘assimilate’ them\ninto a white society.\n2. Descendants of the ethinc groups which inhabited Australia prior to\nEuropean settlement and colonisation.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thedestructionofjuukangorgeandthelackofaboriginalappreciation63.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Kelly, Cait. “From explosion to implosion : How Rio Tinto blew up the Juukan Gorge – and itself.” The New Daily, 2020, https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/09/12/rio-tinto-juukan-gorge/.","Michelmore, Karen. “Rio Tinto didn 't tell traditional owners there were options to save ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelters.” ABC News, 2020, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-07/rio-tinto-had-options-to-save-juukan-gorge-rock-shelters/12534092.","Rio Tinto.“Inquiry into Juukan Gorge.” Rio Tinto, 2020, https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/inquiry-into-juukan-gorge.","Wahlquist, Calla. “Rio Tinto blasts 46, 000-year-old Aboriginal site to expand iron ore mine.” The Guardian, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/26/rio-tinto-blasts-46000-year-old-aboriginal-site-to-expand-iron-ore-mine.","Wahlquist, Calla. “Rio Tinto expected to destroy 124 more Aboriginal sites, inquiry told.” The Guardian, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/21/rio-tinto-expected-to-destroy-124-more-aboriginal-sites-inquiry-told.","Wahlquist, Calla. “Rio Tinto kept loading explosives at Juukan Gorge after promising to stop, traditional owners say.” The Guardian, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/25/rio-tinto-kept-loading-explosives-at-juukan-gorge-after-promising-to-stop-traditional-owners-say."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":27,"pub_key":64,"title":"Lodge 49: if LOST had been good, and also anti-capitalist","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Newton Brophy","editor":"","date":"2020-11-10","content":"My friends have heard me say this pedantic bit of wisdom more than\nonce, but I think it bears repeating at the top of this ramble: all\nart says something, but just because a piece of art is saying\nsomething does not necessarily mean it has something to say.\nLodge 49 absolutely has something to say -- many, in fact.\nTo give a disclaimer upfront, I'm not a television critic. I haven't\nwatched television of my own accord since January of 2017. I haven't\nseen a movie in theaters since BlackkKlansman. I've seen a\nlot of things on streaming services, but usually against my will,\nand generally my opinion on the Netflix originals and such are,\n\"This thinks it's a lot smarter than it is.\" But on the other hand,\nI will rewatch The Mummy and Thir13en Ghosts til the\ncows come home. A television and film connoisseur, I am not.\nBut in this case, I'm going to put on my pencil mustache and wave a\npencil around in my best impression of a critic because I truly\nthink that Lodge 49\n(the first television show I've watched in over three years) is one\nof the best things I've ever seen.\nI think people especially in my age group and its vicinity should\nwatch Lodge 49, if only because it successfully articulates\nour generation's existential anxiety and economic plight -- neither\nof which can be divorced from one another -- with the most respect,\nhonesty, and accuracy I've seen given to our concerns. The\ndepictions of life and struggle within the constraints of the\nAmerican caste system, particularly for those who make up the\nworking poor, are real without becoming pessimistic, which is\nsuch a difficult balance to strike when attempting to give a\ntruthful account of existence under late capitalism.\nLet me give you the quick gist of the premise.\nThere are three principal characters: Sean Dudley or \"Dud\", his twin\nsister Liz, and Ernie Fontaine.\nWe begin with Dud, a white surfer dude and human golden retriever\nboth in attitude and appearance, stumbling upon a gold ring while\nbeachcombing. Dud's kinda got the \"beach bum\" thing going on, but we\nsoon learn that he's sustained a career-ending injury, lost his\nfather, their pool-cleaning business together, and his home, all in\nthe span of the last year.\nHis twin, Liz, is saddled with the debt their father left behind,\nand trapped in a dead-end waitressing job at Shamroxx, a titty\nrestaurant chain. She's the loyal skeptic to Dud's idealist hippie,\nand as is often the case with daughters, she's left with nearly all\nof the responsibility in impossible circumstances… and we soon see\nthat she's not even close to keeping it all together.\nThen there's Ernie, a middle-aged, single Black man with a fabulous\nlong-haired cat and a similarly dead-end job as a toilet salesman at\na company that seemingly sees him as obsolete despite very much\nneeding him. The best things that this poor man has to look forward\nto is the affair he's having with his (married) high school\nsweetheart, and his friendship with the old, senile Sovereign\nProtector of his lodge, whose health and longevity is a big ol'\nquestion mark. We discover fairly quickly he might also have a tiny\npenchant for making bad bets, and he's currently in the red for\n$2,000.\nDud traces the gold ring to the titular lodge, a chapter of the\nenigmatic and obscure Order of the Lynx, a secret society based in\nhermeticism and esoteric tradition… and of which Ernie is a knight.\nFeeling as though fate has brought him to the lodge and to the\nLynxes for a reason, Dud eagerly asks to join, upon which Ernie hems\nand haws… then hesitantly tells him that the initiation fee is\n$2,000.\nThis is all just the pilot, and I've trimmed out a lot. What follows\nis a delightful tangle of personalities; battles over who is the\nrightful heir to the throne of Sovereign Protector, investigations\ninto the secrets of alchemy and the history of this dying company\ntown, turf wars waged within the strip malls that make up the\ncultural backdrop of Long Beach and its many characters, quests for\nlost artifacts, the concocting and collapsing of financial scams and\nshell companies, and the slow unfurling of conspiracies both secular\nand cosmic.\nLodge 49 uses the trope of \"maybe magic, maybe mundane\" to\ndrive at a deeper philosophical discussion at the heart of every\ncharacter's arc, a discussion that is directly influential upon and\ninfluenced by the central question the show seeks to ask us:\ndoes life have to be this way? The answer, according to\nLodge 49, is a resounding no.\nThis question is inextricable from its description of capitalism and\ncorporatism as soul-flaying forces. And the show's answer (and\nultimately its thesis) is inseparable from its development of its\nmyriad auxiliary characters, their relationships and inner lives --\nmore than any other in television.\nTypically side characters, even recurring ones, are devices at best\nand set dressing at worst. But in Lodge 49, you get the sense\nthat each person you see on screen not only has a rich inner life,\nbut also has neuroses and traumas that while unseen, are still on\npar with those our protagonists are struggling through. Every human,\nincluding antagonists and exposition vessels, are depicted as being\ntrapped in the same web as Dud, Liz, and Ernie, all bound within the\nlimits of a system that is fundamentally designed to fuck them over…\nand all doing their best to survive it. The auxiliary characters are\nwhy the show is so pivotal; their histories, their relationships,\ntheir lives, their struggles, it's all crucial to painting the\nfullness of the communities that overlap in the narrative. Without\nthe underpinnings of community and whatever that image evokes,\nLodge 49has no hope to offer us.\nWith its generous use of synchronicity to interweave seemingly\nunrelated storylines, it utilizes the idea of connectedness and its\nambiguity with far more success and profound effect than LOST ever\nhad just waving it around willy nilly. \"It's all connected!\" in LOST\nwas for show, for spooks and chills, even for some vague impression\nof \"fate\". Here, \"it's all connected\" because humans inherently need\none another.\nLodge 49 tells us that a different life is possible, but that\nwe cannot get to it alone. It tells us that we should never settle\nfor a life that doesn't make us happy, but it's brutally honest\nabout the hardships in store for those who choose a different path,\nfor those who search for mystery and magic, and especially for those\nwho choose to make their own. But the series, even in its admission\nthat it doesn't have all the answers, asserts that the quest is\nworth it, that life is not just something to get through.\nOr, as Ernie says in the season two finale, \"That's the deal.\"\nAnd personally? That's a far more profound thing to say than\nwhatever view of humanity AMC is currently peddling with its 42nd\nWalking Dead spin-off.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/lodge49iflosthadbeengoodandalsoanticapitalist64.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":9,"pub_key":65,"title":"They were Gone with the Wind: An Artistic Introduction to a Racialized and Gendered Genocide","subtitle":"For Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada","credit":"By: Suzanna Chen","editor":null,"date":"2020-11-14","content":"The REDress Project by Winnipeg Métis artist Jaime Black at the\nNational Museum of the American Indian. Photograph by: Katherine\nFogden\nWith spirited wind the red dresses fly,\namplified is their mournful sigh.\nThe scattered palette of red,\nin silence they had pled,\nthe dread they had shred,\nyet, unread,\nas if unsaid…\nAt the first U.S. exhibition of her REDress Project, Canadian Métis\nartist Jaime Black had installed thirty-five fiery dresses among the\ndesolate, barren trees outside the National Museum of the American\nIndian in Washington D.C.\nThe mere sight is haunting; a colour of vigorous passion flashing\ndangerously–yet lifelessly–amid a surrounding of despondent\nfrigidness. One’s heart will sink at the thought that the hollow\nemptiness inside the gowns could have been filled with lively joy\nand thriving ambitions. Moreover, how ominous is the size variation\nof the dancing dresses? The smallest one sways with childlike\ninnocence, seemingly embracing the angelic soul of a young girl.\nThe REDress Project at Brock University’s main campus on February\n14, 2019 Photograph by: Jane Theriault-Norman\nIt is indeed true to the words of Machel Monenerkit—deputy director\nof the National Museum of American Indian—that “you cannot walk\nthrough this installation and not have some emotional experience.”\nHowever, what is the message behind such a daunting exhibition?\n“The REDress Project focuses around the issue of missing or murdered\nAboriginal women across Canada. It is an installation art project\nbased on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. The\nproject has been installed in public spaces throughout Canada and\nthe United States as a visual reminder of the staggering number of\nwomen who are no longer with us.”\n- Jaime Black, the artist behind the REDress Project\nDespite being a critical, ongoing issue since the 1980s—though many\nargue that it had begun much earlier—the epidemic of missing and\nmurdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada (MMIWG) has only\nattracted national attention in the past decade. The\ndisproportionate amount of violence faced by the Indigenous\nfemales—who were deemed at the absolute bottom of the patriarch\nsocietal system imposed upon them by European colonialists—had been\nlargely referred to as Canada’s hidden crisis, national tragedy, and\neven national shame. To understand the devastating magnitude of this\nlong-lasting epidemic, some crucial statistics and demographics must\nbe shown.\nThe Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) had also urged for\nincreased emphasis on some daunting official figures showing the\nsignificant disparity in violent interactions experienced by\nIndigenous women versus those experienced by non-Indigenous females.\nMany might wonder: why is this happening?\nIn a 2009 report by Amnesty International called “No More Stolen\nSisters: The Need for a Comprehensive Response to Discrimination and\nViolence against Indigenous Women in Canada,” the five issues listed\nbelow are highlighted as the primary reasons for the continued\nnational tragedy:\n1. Racism and misogyny\n2. Sharp inequalities in fulfilment of Indigenous women’s economic,\nsocial, political, and cultural rights\n3. Continued disruption of Indigenous societies caused by the mass\nremoval of children from their families since the Residential school\nera\n4. A high proportion of women affected by the pre-existing issue of\nAboriginal over-incarceration\n5. Inadequate police response for matters of violence within Native\ncommunities\nA large wall mural dedicated to the MMIWG crisis by Muscogee Creek\nartist Maddie Lamb Photograph by: Mvskoke Media\nSpecifically, many deem the central reason to be the separation of\nchildren from their communities, which had been continually\noccurring since the traumatic era of residential schools to the\ncurrent overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the child\nwelfare systems. The disheartening losses of cultural\nidentities—further leading to vanishing senses of\nself-esteem—resulted in many Indigenous women deprecating themselves\ninto the realms of prostitution, where their physical and emotional\nvulnerability are taken advantage of by grotesque, indecent\npredators.\nTo help understand the impact of childhood cultural separation, an\nartistic creation by Ashton Walker—a teenage artist from Winnipeg\nand the winner of the Indigenous Arts and Stories Contest 2019—is\nshown below. The artist had portrayed her mother’s experience with\nthe sixties’ scoop, referring to when large numbers of Aboriginal\nchildren were “scooped” from their communities into foster homes or\nthe adoption system in 1960s, with the following artwork and\nstatement:\n“Meant Beauty” Artist: Ashton Walker Photograph courtesy of\nHistorica Canada’s Indigenous Arts and Stories Contest\n“I have portrayed the 60’s Scoop experience of my Mother through a\ncultural timeline that adds textured layers until the final\nunveiling. The first layer creates a blurred film with black and\nwhite colours blocking the portrait. The surrounding words in ink\nreveal my Mother’s experienced life feelings as she lives with the\n60s scoop story: identity and belonging. The white band around her\nbody represents the loss of identity as she was surrounded by\nwhiteness, thinking herself to be white, like the white family who\nadopted her. The black and white scratches on her represent the\ndeafening silence and pain, tortured identity. The inked words\nscream out what she couldn’t explain at the time. As she healed from\nthe trauma, layers of racism, hate, disconnection and survival are\nremoved. The viewer is meant to remove the first layer: “Please\nremove film”. The second layer is thus revealed. It is meant to be\nremoved by the viewer to reveal my Mother’s oil portrait as she is\ntoday. As a testament of warriorhood and a life giver. I give back\nmemory to her Sundance chest-piercings, covered by a healing\nmedicine known as Sage. 24 piercings mark her body. The Last layer\nhangs beside her. Her actual piercing pegs that has defined her\njourney of toxicity to peaceful resonance. The depth of human\nstrength is in her. With the plastic film removed, we only see her\nand her piercings, not her past, not her hurt, not her trauma, not\nher stereotypes, but rather her beauty. Her innocence. Her healing.”\nAs the heartwarming statement conveys, there is hope of recovering\nfrom a traumatic past and accepting the true value of oneself; it\ncan be achieved by constant reassurance and understanding from a\nloving daughter. However, when it comes to an issue as grand as an\nepidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, the\nsolution must be actions that are neither simple nor minor in size.\nNational and international organizations advocating for this potent\ncrisis have long called for action into the despairing yet\never-heightening trend. Some of them had launched their own research\nprocesses and produced valuable reports—such as the “What Their\nStories Tell Us: Research Findings from the Sisters in Spirit\nInitiative” report by the Native Women’s Association of Canada\n(NWAC)—but their efforts were unfortunately inadequate to combat the\nshameful yet persistent governmental neglect.\nIn fact, when addressing 15-year-old Tina Fontaine’s death, former\nPrime Minister Stephen Harper stated that violence against\nIndigenous females in Canada should not be viewed as a “sociological\nphenomenon”; thus, denying the mere existence of this crisis.\nThe artwork, “Vanished,” was created in 2016 by Melissa Johns, who\nreceived first place in the Indigenous Arts and Stories Contest\nfor this work. The figure portrayed in the piece was modelled\nafter Maisy Odjick, a victim of the MMIWG crisis who disappeared\nin 2008. “Vanished” Artist: Melissa Johns Photograph courtesy of\nHistorica Canada’s Indigenous Arts and Stories program\nHope arose when Prime Minister Trudeau announced the new\ngovernment’s pledge of $53.86 million to establish the National\nInquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. From\nSeptember 2016 to December 2018, the National Inquiry conducted\nthorough research and analyses with information from community and\ninstitutional hearings, collaboration with Aboriginal Elders and\nKnowledge Keepers, and forensic evidence of previous cases. It is\nalso worth noting that in response to the overwhelming public\naccusation of exclusion, the commission leaders had expended the aim\nof the inquiry in 2017 into hearing testimonies from Indigenous men\nand boys as well as two-spirited and trans people; hence the project\nbeing occasionally referred to as “MMIWG2S” or “for the Indigenous\nWomen, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual,\ntransgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual) community.”\nThe Inquiry’s Final Report was issued on November 3, 2019 with the\ntitle “Reclaiming Power and Place.” The two-volume report spanned\nmore than 1,000 pages and contained 231 “Calls for Justice,” which\nare “legal imperatives”—not merely recommendations—for immediate\naction from Indigenous governments, non-Indigenous governments,\ninstitutions, and all individual Canadians. One of the most\nnoteworthy is the call for a National Action Plan, defined as a\ncomprehensive and coordinated approach for fundamental changes to\nCanada’s laws, policies, and practices. This plan must be\nspearheaded by Indigenous women and girls, pursued urgently with\nsupport and involvement from all levels of government, and\nimplemented within a human rights framework to ensure that the\nrights of Indigenous women and girls are upheld and respected.\n“To put an end to this tragedy, the rightful power and place of\nwomen, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people must be reinstated, which\nrequires dismantling the structures of colonialism within Canadian\nsociety,” the Final Report ultimately concluded.\nAn art installation to honour the missing and murdered in\nWinnipeg, Manitoba, where North America’s largest Aboriginal\npopulation resides. Photograph by: the_amazon on Flickr\nIt will require immense efforts from every one of us to alleviate\nthe urgent crisis of vanishing Indigenous women and girls; even\nforms of advocacy as minor as the appreciation of Aboriginal art and\nliterature on this subject and knowledge of the positions of local\npolitical parties on this matter could be symbolic of hope and\nsupport for our Native neighbours.\nHowever, equally crucial as participating as an ally, we must\nrespect and acknowledge our Aboriginal women's and girls' incredible\nstrength and resilience amidst this horrendous racialized and\ngendered genocide.\nJasmine Sites, an artist from Waldheim, Saskatchewan, and another\nwinner of the Indigenous Arts and Stories contest, had portrayed her\ncousin—a youth victim of the MMIWG epidemic—in her remarkably\npoignant artwork below. What she hopes to convey regarding the\nextraordinary collective strength of our Indigenous women and girls\ncan be best expressed with her own words:\n“My cousin is a symbol of hope for the past, present and the future\nof Indigenous women. In times of struggle, we have proven to remain\nwhole and create a network of support for one another. We are not\nforgotten and we are not broken.”\n“We are the sheer representation of hope.”\n“Hope” Artist: Jasmine Sites Photograph courtesy of Historica\nCanada’s Indigenous Arts and Stories program\nFor more information…\nThe REDress Project\n…is the official webpage by artist Jaime Black featuring all\ninformation relevant to her installations, including the locations\nof exhibitions, interviews, and documentaries.\nHistorica Canada’s Indigenous Arts and Stories contest\n…had been exhibiting incredible Indigenous artworks and stories\nacross Canada for the past fifteen years. Many of the pieces of art\nincluded in the above article are submissions to this contest. More\nwonderful works can be found on their website:\nhttp://www.our-story.ca\nWalking With Our Sisters Project (WWOS)\n…is a collaborative visual art project primarily featuring moccasins\nfrom over 1,300 artists to represent and honour the missing and\nmurdered. Other forms of art, such as music and film, are also\nincorporated.\nReclaiming Power and Place\n…is the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and\nMurdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Its two volumes are available\nin PDF format on their website\n(https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/) for the public to view\nand acknowledge the progress needed to be made.\nMissing and Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and\nGirls\n…is a product of the ongoing investigation into the MMIWG crisis by\nthe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The webpage\n(https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/) features a daunting\nexhibition of a still enlarging database of more than 250 unsolved\nMMIWG cases.\n“Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada” by\nJennifer Brant\n…is an article published on the Canadian Encyclopedia providing\nthorough information into the contemporary and historical aspects of\nthe MMIWG crisis.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theyweregonewiththewindanartisticintroductiontoaracializedandgenderedgenocide65.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":73,"pub_key":66,"title":"Phan's Garden & I don't know what compelled me to swim","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Sindie Kim Ho","editor":"","date":"2020-11-16","content":"About the writer:\nSindie Kim Ho is a genderfluid queer Vietnamese-American. Born in\nnorthern Illinois, he now lives in Milwaukee, WI after recently\ngraduating from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. His work\nattempts to pinpoint his otherness, where vertexes on venn diagrams\nmeets. Otherness from the American, the Vietnamese, the whiteness of\nthe arts, the cis heteronormativity of the places he calls home.\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nMy work is about my own feelings of distance from my culture while\nliving away from family. My relation to my culture isn't linked to\nthe place but my immediate home unit, and how I had to become a more\nresponsible part of it when my father died. These works are about\nunwrapping and tracing back my values to loss and otherness.\nPhan's Garden (read right to left)\nI don't know what compelled me to swim\ni don’t know what compelled me to swim\ni thought it was just the water\nbeing submerged in it\nthe chlorine stung my eyes\ni denied the colonization of viet nam before i even knew it\nmy family is all catholic\nbeing catholic didn’t feel very “asian” to me\ni got books about horoscopes, animal years, astrology\ni didn’t like being a cancer because cancer was a disease\nbut was it that? a water sign\nwhen my 3rd grade class talked about the viet nam war\ni felt like i was the center of attention\nand not even in the way i had wanted\ni tried to ask my father about it\ni had a book about ho chi minh\nhe spat on the concrete\nhow cruel must that have been for him\nto see his eldest child holding that man’s portrait in hands too\nsmall\neyes too wide, unknowing\nthe only thing i knew was my uncle\nsneaking on boats only to be thrown off too far out from the shore\nmaybe it was that\nmaybe it was that my mother still doesn’t know how to swim\nmaybe it was when my dad got sick\nmaybe it was when we locked him up\nburied him into the illinois dirt\nhe told me he was going to get us out of there one day\nhow cruel that must be for him\ni wanted to dig him out\ni was only 14 but now i am the largest of my family\nmy mother can’t swim\nmy sister is too soft spoken\nmy brother too sickly\nit has to be me\nif we have to leave again\nif we’re ran off this continent as well\nwho else can swim back to shore\nwho else is used to eyes burning\nwho else can fill the space he left\nwe are sitting by the pool\nhe throws me up in the air and i screech and laugh ugly\ni can’t see his face\nmy own silhouette overshadowing his\nhe’s holding me a bit too long\nmy armpits are starting to feel sore\n“it has to be you”\nhe drops me into the water\nit’s completely dark","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/phansgardenidontknowwhatcompelledmetoswim66.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Featured Submissions"]},{"id":36,"pub_key":67,"title":"The Rohingya Genocide: The Consequence of Being Different","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Elizabeth Khor","editor":"","date":"2020-11-19","content":"The Holocaust was the genocide of six million Jews during World War\nII. It was\nhorrible event, one that shocked the world. To this day, we\nstill remember it with museums, books and movies. It is a way to\nremember the injustice, remember those who fought for their freedom,\nand those who never made it out. It a reminds us that never again\nwill we allow ethnic cleansing, or a genocide of a particular\nreligion or race, to occur.\nSo why are we letting it happen again, but this time with the\nRohingya?\nWho are the Rohingya\nIn a country where the majority are Buddhist, the ethnic Muslim\nminority known as the Rohingya, are excluded and discriminated\nagainst. A third of the 3.5 million Rohingya across the globe\nresided in Myanmar and they lived in Rakhine State. Until 2017, when\nthe Myanmar government commenced the beginning of a genocide.\nThe Rohingya are constantly being denied their rights because they\naren’t Myanmar citizens. The government adamantly\ndenies their historical ties to the country. By identifying\nas Rohingya, it asserts the ties to the Arakan Kingdom, and now\nRakhine State. “Rohang” derives for arakan in their dialect,\nand “ga” or “gya” means from. The Rohingya trace their\norigins to when thousands of Muslims first arrived at the Arakan\nKingdom in the 1400s. And unsurprisingly, the government refuses to\nrecognise the label, “Rohingya” and denies them as one of the\ncountry’s ethnic groups.\nLegal Status and Injustices\nThe Rohingya have been refused citizenship for countless decades. It\nstarted in 1982, when the Burma Citizenship Law was first\nintroduced. The Rohingya were given “white cards” that labelled them\nas temporary citizens, and resulted in them having limited rights.\nTheir freedom of movement, religion and access to education,\nhealthcare and employment are\nall being denied.\nThere are many ways in which the government attempts to restrict the\nRohingya’s freedoms. One of these ways is with the two-child policy.\nIn the northern towns of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, the establishment\nof the strict two-child policy has affected the lives of many\nRohingya couples. This law allows government officials to perform\nhorrifying acts to ensure that the law has not been breached.\nGovernment officials are advised to force Rohingya women to\nbreastfeed their babies with an audience to confirm that the baby is\nindeed the mother’s. This law is\nonly applied to the Rohingya, but is anybody surprised?\nTheir freedom of religion is also restricted. Rohingya couples are\nonly able to be married after seeking permission from officials.\nHowever, the process of receiving this permission breaches the\ncustoms of their religion: Islam. Photos of both the bride and groom\nmust be sent to government officials. The bride\nmust take the photo without her headscarf, and the groom with\na clean shaven face. Most Rohingya end up bribing the officials,\neven after breaking the customs of their religion. Their freedom of\nmovement is being denied, as the Rohingya have to gain government\napproval to move houses. Even travelling to a new town requires\napproval.\nIronically, Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for\nher nonviolent struggles for human rights, constantly\ndenies the Rohingya genocide. She mentioned it to be a “huge\niceberg of misinformation” and defends her country at all costs. The\nBuddhist population in Myanmar also unfortunately support the\nattempts to eradicate the Rohingya. Although Aung San Suu Kyi is\nalready popular among her citizens, she strengthens their loyalty\nand trust by defending her country. Aung San Suu Kyi is idolised\nwith every lie she tells to cover the genocide.\nAs someone who has been deprived of her rights, and trapped in her\nown home for 15 years, she should’ve been someone the Rohingya could\nrelate to. Aung San Suu Kyi should not be turning her back on those\nwho need her. She is the symbol of hope and peace in Myanmar, and\nthe Rohingya are also her people.\nMyanmar’s Response to the Crisis\nAs mentioned, the injustices that the Rohingya face is unfortunately\nsupported by the majority of the Buddhist population in Myanmar.\nWe’ve seen a lack of sympathy for the Muslim minority. The virus of\ndiscrimination has spread through the community, and many citizens\nonly think negatively of the Rohingya. They are considered\n“terrorists” and a threat because “they produce so many kids”.\nIt’s not just words. The citizens of Myanmar have also actively\ntried to restrict the Rohingya. Recently, the Buddhist citizens\ndemanded for the Rohingya to have less rights. In 2015,\nhundreds of Rakhine Buddhist monks were on the streets,\nprotesting against the Rohingya’s right to vote. Originally, Thein\nSein, an important figure in government and the Prime Minister of\nMyanmar from 2011-2016, was going to grant voting rights to\nwhite-card holders for the upcoming referendum. Although the\nNational League of Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, opposed the\nright of white-card holders to vote, the military appealed for this\nright. Due to the residents of Myanmar pouring onto the streets,\nthis decision was instantly repealed. Hours after the protest, it\nwas declared that the white-cards would instead expire in\nMarch of 2015.\nIt meant everything that the white cards granted, even the limited\nrights, would be revoked.\nHowever, we also have to consider the actions that some Myanmar\ncitizens have took to end the discrimination against the Rohingya.\nThere has been widespread media focus on the Rohingya crisis, trying\nto bring the situation to light. Unfortunately, there has been\npervasive efforts to silence the journalists. One of the most famous\ncases was the case of Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone. It is the case of two\njournalists who were punished severely for trying to broadcast an\nact of murder.\nBoth journalists were investigating and reporting on the massacre of\n10 Rohingya men by the Myanmar citizens and troops. Two were hacked\nto death, and the others were all shot. They were given a grave. One\nsingular grave for ten men. Some of them weren’t even adults.\nKyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone were both charged under the Official Secrets\nAct, and were sentenced to seven years in prison with hard labour.\nThis was a threat to the newfound democracy that Myanmar had\nrecently discovered. When news of the arrest of these two\njournalists spread across the globe, it sparked everyone’s interest,\nfurther fuelling the attention on the Rohingya crisis.\nAlthough the two journalists were in prison, their work was still\npublished on the Reuters website, describing the details of the\nmassacre. Many Myanmar citizens might hate the Rohingya, but some of\nthem believe that this divide should end. And by stepping up and\ninvestigating the injustices that the Rohingya face, it shares the\ninjustices they face. It gives people a chance to empathise and\nmaybe change their minds.\nInternational response to the Crisis\nWhile the majority of Myanmar share the same opinions towards the\nRohingya, the rest of the world does not. Countries all over the\nglobe have condemned Myanmar for their actions, and especially Aung\nSan Suu Kyi, the symbol of hope and peace in her country. Others\nhave donated money and aid to refugee camps where most of the\nRohingya reside. Everyone is contributing in hopes that Myanmar\nrealises the harm of their actions.\nRecently, the Gambia filed the first international lawsuit against\nMyanmar in the International Court of Justice. This is a place that\nhandles disputes\npeacefully between the different nations in the world, in\nattempts to avoid conflict. The Gambia has filed this lawsuit in\nhopes of Myanmar acknowledging that they’re attempting genocide.\nUnfortunately, Aung San Suu Kyi has only defended the military and\nher country. Instead, she blamed the conflict on those who were\nrebelling against the government.\nThe International Court of Justice has not made a decision. However,\nwhile this case continues, other nations of the world are rushing to\nhelp those in need.\nBangladesh is currently hosting\n900,000 Rohingya refugees in their refugee camps. Although\nBangladesh has recently closed their borders to refugees, it is for\ngood reason. Their camps lack basic necessities, such as education.\nDisease outbreak risk are at high points because of the\novercrowdedness and sanitation in these camps. The water is\ncontaminated, and it is basically waiting for a virus to start.\nBecause of their limited resources and land, Bangladesh had to close\ntheir borders.\nUnfortunately, though only a few of them, some other countries have\nsent the Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar. They are sometimes\nconsidered illegal immigrants and instantly sent back to Myanmar,\nthe hell of the Rohingya. India is particularly strict on this rule.\nThe Rohingya also have no legal status in many countries, cutting\ntheir families off from education and healthcare.\nEven though these countries are making no effort to help the\nRohingya, there are many other nations who are trying their best.\nCanada has donated $1 million dollars and has revoked Aung San Suu\nKyi’s honorary Canadian citizenship. Indonesia sent 34 tons of\nrelief supplies to those in Bangladesh and their own president has\nvisited the camps. The italian government pledged 7 million euros.\nThe Japanese have agreed to donate $4 million US Dollars. Australia\nhas given $5 million, and has an exhibition featuring the stories of\nthe Rohingya in Bangladesh refugee camps, spreading awareness.\nThese countries are only a few out of many.\nOrganizations are also contributing their part to this. Aung San Suu\nKyi has had her many awards stripped from her. The US Holocaust\nmuseum has revoked the Eli Wiesel award that was given for her fight\nfor human rights. Amnesty International has ripped the Ambassador of\nConscience Award due to her indifference. Critics are also calling\nfor the Nobel Peace Prize to be taken off Aung San Suu Kyi.\nConclusion\nAlthough you might not have the mighty banks that all these nations\nhave, or important awards to take away from a powerful figure, we\ncan all do our part. It can be as easy as sharing this article to\nspread awareness, or you can donate to the many non-profit\norganizations that are trying to help these children. Below will be\na list of links that you can donate to:\nhttps://www.unicef.org.au/appeals/help-rohingya-children\n- 90% of a dollar goes towards the crisis, and 10% goes to investing\nin future fundraisers.\nhttps://www.msf.org/donate\n- 82% of a dollar goes towards the crisis, 14% to fundraising, and\n5% to management.\nIt doesn’t have to be much, but every single dollar, every single\ncent, counts.\nIf everyone shared their story, if everybody donated, if\neveryone shared their voice, then maybe the Rohingya wouldn't\nhave to live another day in fear. In fear of having their village\nburned down, in fear of being raped, in fear of dying. Maybe we can\nwork together to give them a brighter future.\nMaybe we can give them hope.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/therohingyagenocidetheconsequenceofbeingdifferent67.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":101,"pub_key":68,"title":"Islamophobia isn’t about Islam","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Hanna Aboueid","editor":"","date":"2020-11-21","content":"While most people would acknowledge 9/11 as the rise of Islamophobia in the West, the Western world has a much longer history of viewing\nIslam- having escaped the white-washing and Westernization of Christianity, for example - as incompatible with the former’s core values.\nThe Western world - being an imperialist, white-supremacist entity - has always taken offense at Islam and the Middle Eastern culture\nIslam is often conflated with. My family immigrated to the US in the years leading up to 9/11, where they worked the wage slave jobs\nthat they were drawn to the US for; where my grandmother was often harassed for wearing her hijab; where they were not-so-randomly pulled\nover for “random” traffic stops and vehicle searches. Yes, Islamophobia increased in frequency and notoriety following 9/11, but its\nwhite supremacist life force has always been present in the West. This article will attempt to explain how Islamophobia, as an extension\nof the imperialist tool of Orientalism, has never been about Islam at all. Instead, it has been a method through which world powers can\ncontinue to oppress and vilify the so-called “Eastern” world. After 9/11, Orientalism was reformed into Islamophobia as the West denied\nits role in the attacks while seeking to maintain its existing hold on the Middle East.\nIslamophobia is simply an extension of Orientalism\nKhaled Beydoun, author of American Islamophobia, explains:\nThe predecessor of Islamophobia [pre-9/11] was called Orientalism. That was the system that mothered Islamophobia; it feeds and provides\nmany of the same stereotypes, systems of fear, and caricatures. [Islamophobia] is simply an extension of the fear and vilification of not\nonly Muslims but everyone perceived to be Muslim that’s been taking place for centuries.\nDuring the 19th century, the West moved away from its brief period of “Enlightenment universalism” and adopted an emphasis on differences\nbetween people and civilizations, developing what Etienne Balibar calls an “imperialist superiority complex.”\nThis emphasis on differences\ntook on an ideological form in the body of thought known as Orientalism. In his book, Orientalism, Edward W. Said defines Orientalism as a\nway of seeing that imagines, exaggerates and distorts differences of Arab peoples and cultures as compared to that of Europe and the U.S.\nIt often involves perceiving Arab culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and dangerous. According to Said, Orientalism provides a\nrationalization for European colonialism based on a self-serving history in which “the West” constructed “the East” as significantly different\nand inferior, and therefore in need of “rescue” through Western intervention. As such, Orientalism has always served as a tool that aids the\nproject of Western imperialism.\nDuring this period of colonization, the West also held the reductive view that any society - other than its own - could be fully understood\nthrough its languages and key texts. Philologists (people who study literary texts, as well as oral and written records) advocated for the\nnotion that the study of a society’s written texts could yield the essence of said civilization. Orientalists would therefore learn Arabic,\nPersian, and Turkish and translate and analyze the texts of the East. Instead of examining the historical, social, and cultural context of\nthe East’s inhabitants, philologists simply pursued textual analysis in their quest to “understand” the East.\nIt followed from this that Islam, known for its classical texts, became the key lens through which the West scrutinized Muslim-majority societies.\nWestern philoligists thus looked for evidence of what they saw as failings of Eastern societies in Islam’s characteristic literature. As such, they\nconcluded that, if women were oppressed, it was because of the teachings of the Quran; if the people supposedly lacked entrepreneurial spirit, it\nwas due to “Islamic tradition”; if modernization was rejected, Islam was to blame.\nIn short, a host of negative characteristics that the West refused to acknowledge within its own societies were emphasized in the East and chalked up\nto a reliance on Islamic texts and the mentalities these texts supposedly created. This backward and one dimensional analysis determined that the East\nis inferior to the West, while also popularizing the assumption that Islam is the single most important factor in defining the people who live in the\nEast. Everywhere else in the world, religion is one factor among many which distinguishes a region, but the West withheld this complexity from their\ndescription of the East. Deepa Kumar, in her novel, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, explains:\nThe Orientalist view of the East... was based on a racial and civilizational vilification of Muslims. [The “West”] is seen as a dynamic, complex, and\never-changing society that cannot be reduced to its key religion or any other single factor, while the “Orient” or the “world of Islam” is presented\nas unchanging, barbaric, misogynistic, uncivilized, and despotic. The only logical conclusion that flows from this is that it is the responsibility of\nthe West to intervene in these static societies and bring about change.\nWhile Orientalism began in Europe, it expanded to the United States, which took over the mantle of colonial overlord in the East after World War II. The US\nenvisioned itself as a different kind of world power than “old Europe,” and claimed that its imperial interests were benevolent. In reality, the US’s “new\nimperialism” involved the imposition of violent anticommunist behavior and the vicious rise of free-market capitalism.\nConsequently, the development of Orientalism meant that Islam was viewed as inherently incompatible with the backbones of the West - white supremacy and, by\nextension, Western capitalism. Orientalism set the stage for post-9/11 Islamophobia by establishing 1) the East’s inferiority to the West, and 2) a reductive\nand inaccurate conflation of the Eastern world with Islam.\nThe villification of Islam by the West - connecting the dots and tamping down on rebellion\nOrientalism, as a tool for Western imperialism, led to the constant exploitation and abuse of the East, as its unique characteristics were either stolen\nand westernized, or vilified. From the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I through the carving up of the Middle East by the British and French\ncolonialists, the rise of Arab nationalism, the Cold War, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the oil and land grabs of more recent times, Arabs have\nconsistently been humiliated, degraded, and killed in the name of the West’s expansionist goals. As a result, the Middle East has often been riddled with\nunrest, both because of Western interference and in defiance of it. This unrest would find purchase in militant extremist groups that sought to make the\nMiddle East’s ongoing pain heard by and reflected in the West.\nAfter WW2, the US - desperate to keep communism from taking root and overturning capitalism - adopted a strategy designed to deter the Soviets from further\nexpansion and to simultaneously deprive them from vital oil resources in the Middle East. This strategy, known as the Truman Doctrine, aimed to defeat the\nSoviets by whatever means necessary short of direct military confrontation. The US engaged in open diplomatic and military interventionism in the Middle East,\nmolding the region into a pawn in its war against the Soviets. Part of this intervensionism was “a firm support for anti-communist conservative rulers, who\nafter [WW2] came under increasing pressure from their peoples who were expecting more political freedom and social justice.” It made no difference to the US\nwhether the governments were theocratic, autocratic or democratic, as long as they were anti-communist and willing to side with the West. The uncontested\nexistence of these Middle Eastrn rulers are violently ensured to this day via US economic and military assistance, cash distribution, and multilateral pacts.\nOne method through which the West orchestrates the rise and fall of leaders in the Middle East is through its support of local, religious\nextremist groups. The West does not care about the ideals that these groups fight under; if the group is militantly anti-communist (and by\nextension, anti-Soviet), Western support is guaranteed. This financial and military support has come back to bite the West. Entities that\nthe West has supported (like Al-Qaeda, infamous for its role in 9/11) hated Western imperialism just as much as they hated the Soviet’s\ncommunist agenda. As such, these groups - further empowered and enraged by the West’s condescending support - have managed to land attacks\nagainst major Western nations time and time again. These groups’ motives - and their Western support - are ignored by Western media and\npolitical rhetoric, with the only acknowledgemnt of their ideals being that they identify as Muslim. Instead of highlighting how these groups\nare returning decades of Western terrorization of their homelands to the West in an attempt to finally be heard, Europe and the US chalk\nup their efforts to the inherently “violent” and “oppressive” nature of Islam. This is especially ironic, given the fact that this terrorism\nhas, in fact, been bred through violence and oppression; the violence and oppression that the West continues to impress upon the Middle East.\nDespite having played a large role in the formation and empowerment of Al-Qaeda, Western leaders took advantage of their people’s trauma in the\naftermath of the 9/11 attacks and were quick to blame the attack on the inherently violent and backwards nature of Islam (which orientalism had\nalready made synonymous with the Middle East). By erasing their role in the attacks, the West completely ignores their creation of radicalizing\ncircumstances in the East, as well as their support of the very group that led the attacks. Furthermore, the West manipulated public outrage to\nlay siege on the Middle East through a “war on terror.” The West told the public that these attacks would end the surge of terrorism they were\nexperiencing. This is, of course, not the case. The ongoing war on terror is simply heightening and emphasizing the same circumstances that\nencourage anti-Western sentiment in the Middle East.\nTherefore, not only does the West blatantly not care about the damage it has been doing to the Middle East, but it is also ignoring the fact that\nthis damage is being retaliated, and people living in the West are being harmed as well.\nSubsequently, the West has reduced the Arab world to one of the many religions practiced there, while also dehumanizing said religion and\nstripping its people of any complexity. Religion has always been weaponized and molded into whatever the culture or individual utilizing\nit wants it to be at the moment - prominent examples include the Crusades and slavery. It's understandable to be critical of how a religion\nis exploited in the name of political and social goals, BUT it is hypocritical, ignorant, and, quite simply, racist, to reserve this critique\nsolely for Islam. Furthermore, it is absolutely duplicitous to deny Islam and the way it is practiced the same culturally and historically\nsensitive lens that has been provided to countless other Westernized religions.\nIt is incredibly telling how, when any of the struggles of a Western society are analyzed, multiple factors are taken into account. When the\nstruggles of Arab societies are discussed, on the other hand, the blame is placed on the “violent,” “oppressive” nature of Islam. It just goes\nto show that the story of Islamophobia in the West is older than many of us realize— it’s the simple story of whiteness being given space for\ncomplexity, and other ethnicities being reduced to one-dimensional, crass caricatures. It’s the story of violent imperialists vilifying an entire\nregion of the world in an attempt to justify their destructive, selfish, murderous intentions.\nIt’s easy to see, then, how Islamophobia isn’t\nreally about Islam at all— it’s about white supremacists ensuring the survival of their deadly empire.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/islamophobiaisntaboutislam68.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Jenée Desmond-Harris, “The Way We Talk about Islamophobia Every 9/11 Anniversary Is Maddeningly Oversimplified,” Vox, September 9, 2016, https://www.vox.com/2016/9/9/12856912/islamophobia-september-11-oversimplified.","Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire (Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books, 2012).","Arab American National Museum, “What Is Orientalism? | Reclaiming Identity: Dismantling Arab Stereotypes,” Arabstereotypes.org, 2013, http://arabstereotypes.org/why-stereotypes/what-orientalism","Mariam Elba, “How Islamophobia Was Ingrained in America’s Legal System Long Before the War on Terror,” The Intercept, May 6, 2018, https://theintercept.com/2018/05/06/american-islamophobia-khaled-beydoun-interview/.","Mohamed El Mansour, “U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East since the 19th Century,” TeachMideast, 2004, https://teachmideast.org/articles/u-s-foreign-policy-in-the-middle-east-since-the-19th-century/.","Nafeez Ahmed, “How The West Created ISIS,” MintPress News, September 13, 2014, https://www.mintpressnews.com/west-created-isis/196488/.","History.com Editors, “Al Qaeda: Facts About the Terrorist Network and Its History of Attacks,” HISTORY, December 4, 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/al-qaeda."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":24,"pub_key":69,"title":"My Friend Anna","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Joyce Huang","editor":"","date":"2020-11-23","content":"She told me this was what I wanted. And I believed her, knowing deep\ndown that this wasn’t what I wanted.\nI met Anna three summers ago. She was the new kid at my school, and\nalready she had half of the school competing for her, asking her to\nhang out and adding her on social media. Each one trying their\nhardest to get her attention.\nIt made perfect sense why.\nAnna was smart, funny, and very attractive. Practically everyone was\nmesmerized by her deep brown eyes, equally dark hair, not to mention\nher 18-inch waist, and stomach as flat as my coffee table.\nIf only I was like Anna. Maybe then I’d be happier.\nOne day, I went to this fancy little sandwich shop in downtown\nToronto. I was looking at their menu, indecisive about what to get.\nUsually, I’d go for one of their sandwiches, but an article on the\ninternet said that eating too many carbs was bad for losing weight,\nso I opted for a salad instead.\nI had just finished ordering and emptying my entire month’s worth of\nallowances for this bowl of lettuce when something caught my eye. A\nnumber. A three-digit number. Imprinted in small, bolded font.\nAlmost simultaneously, a familiar, high-pitched voice behind me\ncaught my attention.\n“That has a lot of calories.”\nI instinctively turned around to find Anna.\nWhen did she get here? “What?”\n“Look, if you want to be skinny, you’re gonna have to stop eating\nthese fat-filled salads,” Anna stated bluntly, pointing to the meal\nnow being handed over to me.\nSince when was 400 calories a lot?\nNoticing my confused face, Anna added, “Just because it says,\n‘healthy,’ doesn’t mean it’s gonna make you healthier.”\nI looked at her, shocked, either about the fact that Anna, the most\npopular girl I knew and wished to be, was talking to me out\nof all people, or that she took my salad, threw it in the garbage,\nand I didn’t even attempt to grab it back.\n“Yeah, you shouldn’t be eating here. That is unless you want to get\nfat. And I’m pretty sure that’s not what you want. Right?”\nShe was right.\nGrowing up, I maintained a relatively healthy weight for my age and\nheight. But that didn’t mean I still wasn’t insecure about my body.\nI had a bit more fat on my arms, thighs, and stomach compared to the\ndouble-zero models and famous celebrities on magazine covers who\ndidn’t.\nI wanted to look like them.\n“I can help you, you know.” Her voice was gentle and hypnotic,\nluring me in like a fish drawn to a worm on a hook. “I’ve done this\nbefore, and I’ve helped others, too. I know what you need to do.\nJust trust me.”\nShould I trust her? Knowing me, I would’ve never entrusted my\nlife with someone I barely knew. But oddly enough, Anna didn’t feel\nlike a stranger. Instead, she felt like a close friend or the sister\nI’ve never had. Caring, loving, easy to talk to.\nMaybe this was why she had so many friends.\nAnna did say that she’s done this before, so maybe she\ndid know what I needed to do. Considering her thin-framed\nbody and how much attention she got based on her looks, it seemed\nlike she practically knew everything about health and nutrition.\nI must have given in and replied with an “okay” because, before I\nrealized it, she was adding her number to my phone, and I had\ncompletely forgotten about my growling stomach.\n“We’re going to be best friends, you and I.\nBest friends forever.”\nAfter that week, Anna started to hang out with me more often. We\nhung out before school, during school, and even after school for\nmost days of the week, depending on how busy I was. Though,\nregardless of the type of day I was having, Anna always called and\nmade me stay on the line until I went to bed. She always found a way\nto be with me.\nI didn’t mind her company. I didn’t mind at all. With her being\nthere for me when no one else was, and telling me what to do, I\nstarted to see results. Results that I had so much trouble getting\nbefore but seem like second nature now. I didn’t care that I was\neating as close to nothing every day, substituting my meals for\nsugarless gum, and making excuses as to why I wasn’t hungry.\nIt didn’t matter. Anna knew what she was doing, and I\ntrusted her.\n“Just a little longer,” Anna would say.\n“What’s a bit of hunger anyway?”\n“Beauty is pain.”\n“Keep going.”\nSo, I kept going.\nBut as I kept going, I was not only reaching closer to my goal, but\nto death, himself.\nAs my meals shrunk , my period stopped coming.\nAs my rib cage protruded, my hair started to fall out.\nAs my heart pulsed weaker, my body struggled to stay awake and to\nsleep at night, for fear that I wouldn’t wake up in the morning.\nOn top of that, I was cold. All the time. From my fingertips to my\ntoes. My whole body, a thin icicle on the verge of falling and\nshattering into a million pieces.\nThis is what you wanted. Look how in control you are now.\nBut this wasn’t what I wanted.\nAnd it turned out I was never in control. Anna was.\nI was merely a puppet on strings; my every move, thought and feeling\ncontrolled by Anna.\nShe was never my friend.\nI’d had enough. Enough of crying myself to sleep. Enough of feeling\ncold, weak - alone. Enough of being manipulated and lied to by\nsomeone I thought was my friend. Enough of Anna.\n“I don't want to do this anymore. I can’t.”\n“But you wanted this in the first place. You wanted to be like all\nthe other girls-pretty, popular, happy. You\nwanted this.”\nI started to hesitate. But I forced the words out.\n“I don’t want this. Not anymore.”\n“So what? Are you just gonna stop and give up? Wow, you really are\nweaker than I thought.”\n“Don’t you get it? I’m not happy. At all. I’m cold and tired every\nsingle day… I just want to be normal again. Like everyone else.\nPlease.”\n“But this is normal. People do this all the time. Just\ntrust me.”\nThose two words again. That same urge to give in was back.\nBut I couldn’t. I didn’t want to.\nAnna had taken over my life, and I wanted to take it back.\n“No.”\n“No?”\nI closed my eyes, fighting back the tears.“I am done trusting you.\nTrusting you, your games, your lies. Never once did you help me, nor\nbe there for me.” My voice began to crack. But I wasn’t going to\nbreak. Not this time. “This ends now. I don’t want to talk or be\nassociated with you any longer. I’m done. So just leave me alone.”\nI opened my eyes. And there she was. Staring back at me in the\nbathroom mirror.\nShe scoffed. “You will never get rid of me. Whether you like it or\nnot, I will always be here. And I am not going anywhere anytime\nsoon.”\nIt’s been several months since I confronted Anna, since I ended our\nfriendship.\nShe’s still here. Just like she said. Everywhere I look, she’s\nthere. From the hallways at school to the sandwich shop where we\nfirst met.\nYou will never get rid of me.\nMaybe she’s right. Maybe I can’t get rid of her for good.\nBut I sure as hell can try.\nPost Friendship Breakup with Anna: 1 year in\nIt’s been a year since I made the conscious decision to commit to\nrecovery. Since I chose to begin caring about my future, my life -\nsince I chose me.\nRecovering from an eating disorder, specifically, Anorexia, is not\neasy, as like many other mental illnesses. For me, it has been an\nup-and-down journey, a non-linear graph. There were many periods in\nbetween where I caved into Anna’s demands and fell back into the\nhole of restricting, over-exercising, and starving my body of what\nit needed most. The idea of letting go of all self-control was\nterrifying, and I didn’t know if I could trust my body yet. And for\na while, I contemplated whether or not I was capable of recovery, if\nit was even worth it.\nBut recovery is worth it.\nNo matter how hard it gets, how frustrating and overwhelming it\nfeels. Recovery is worth it and it is possible.\nAnd, to this day, I continue to remind myself of these words and\nmake that same decision I did one year ago.\nResources\nIf I could tell you one thing that I learned throughout this whole\njourney, it would be that recovery is damn hard. And scary.\nExtremely scary. There have been many times where I gave up (because\nlosing control meant failing) and re-downloaded MyFitnessPal to\ncount the calories of my dinner. But times have changed--I’ve\nchanged-- and I’ve never been more motivated to recover.\nThat said, to help me along my recovery journey, I’ve adopted\nseveral strategies that have helped me (and continue to help me)\ncombat those eating disorder thoughts and develop a better\nrelationship with food and exercise. Consider using these strategies\nin your own journey to recovery.\nStrategy #1: Ditch the scale.\n• The number on the scale does not define your health OR your worth.\nIt does not show the bigger picture of health and fitness, and\ninstead, it's an unreliable method for monitoring your health as\nweight fluctuates every single day. With that in mind, don't let\nthat number determine who you are as a person and whether or not you\nshould eat.\nStrategy #2: Focus on you and yourself only.\n• \"Skinny\" doesn't mean healthy, and a healthier weight doesn't mean\na healthier mindset. Simply because someone works out a lot, eats\nhealthy, or has a flat stomach doesn't mean they're healthy both\nphysically and mentally. So, in short, focus on yourself, how your\nbody feels and what your body needs.\nStrategy #3: Let go of control.\n• Food guilt is no secret to anyone. For me, whenever I ate\nsomething \"unhealthy,\" I would get this overwhelming wave of guilt\nand shame, telling me I've lost all self-control and that now, I'm\ngoing to gain weight. But in the end, I had to let go of this\ncontrol and tell myself to think of the bigger picture instead: one\ncookie is a small part of my overall diet, a tiny fraction of my\nwhole life's' worth of eating, and that it won't hurt me in the long\nrun - whatever that \"it\" is. Don't let something so minuscule ruin\nyour day or make you think you've ruined your progress because your\nlife is apart of your progress.\nStrategy #4: Listen to your body.\n• If you're hungry, honour that hunger, and eat. If you want ice\ncream, eat the damn ice cream. Diet culture has told us that hunger\nand cravings are the enemy or symptoms to overcome. But in\nactuality, it's your body's way of communicating what it\nneeds--food. Hunger is not shameful-- it is a necessary means for\nsurvival. The same idea goes with exercise, too. If you're tired,\nsore, or just don't want to work out, don't. Exercise should be an\nenjoyable experience and not merely a way to burn calories. Learn to\ntrust your body, its needs and wants.\nStrategy #5: Learn to love yourself\n• Easier said than done, we have all struggled with self-love. Hell,\nI'm still struggling with loving myself and my body. And that's\nokay. You are human, and it's okay to act like one. That said, you\nare not just your appearance, a number or a picture. Instead, you\nare everything else; you are strong, brave, worthy-enough. You are\nenough. Recognize and acknowledge the parts that really make you,\nyou. For me, it's my strength, my drive, my compassion, my bad sense\nof humour. Reprioritize yourself and begin to focus on who you are\nas a person, not how you look.\nRecovery is hard, yes, and intimidating and long. But remember that\nyou only have one life, and it's up to you to decide whether or not\nyou want to live one afraid of eating cake on your birthday or one\nwhere you CAN eat cake on your birthday and not regret it.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/myfriendanna69.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":189,"pub_key":70,"title":"Plight of the Amazon: Ethnocide and Ecocide in Brazil","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Lindsay Wong","editor":"","date":"2020-11-24","content":"Since the beginning of his presidency in 2019, Jair Bolsonaro has\nadvocated for policies that threaten the survival of indigenous\ncommunities in the Amazon by subjecting them to genocide, ethnocide,\nand ecocide. The Amazon is home to around 400 indigenous tribes, who\nhave lived there for centuries, but their numbers have dwindled over\nthe years. Many communities are barely surviving now because of the\nimplementation of governmental measures to advance commercial\ndevelopment, such as mining and large-scale farming. Indigenous\nlands are being depleted, simultaneously causing severe\nenvironmental damage. Indigenous leaders have responded by calling\nupon the government to protect them and their land to no avail.\nBolsonaro’s prioritization of the economy at the expense of the\nlivelihood of indigenous communities and the Amazon rainforest has\nled to widespread ethnocide and ecocide. They are neglecting the\ncountry’s indigenous tribes and essentially taking away their rights\njust to claim their land to develop the economy.\nBolsonaro’s right-wing government wants to use the Amazon for\ncommercial development, which poses an existential threat to\nindigenous communities. There are many reservations in the Amazon\nwhere indigenous communities reside in isolation. With their\naggressive efforts, the government claims that they will help\nalleviate poverty and improve the lives of 30 million Brazilians.\nThey perceive indigenous communities as an obstacle that hinders\nBrazil’s ability to reach its full economic potential. According to\nBolsonaro, the land owned by indigenous people is full of wealth that the\ngovernment must seize for their own benefit and to fulfill their\neconomic objectives. Furthermore, he has argued that living in\nisolation is not productive for the state as indigenous communities\nare allegedly not contributing to Brazil’s economy. As such, they\nare allowing companies to illegally invade indigenous land and\nexploit it. Although illegal activities have been happening since\nthe 1980s, they have escalated since Bolsonaro was elected president\n- in 2019, and deforestation increased by\n29.5%, according to Human Rights Watch. These illegal activities have\nled to violent clashes and land conflicts between companies and\nindigenous communities. In 2019, at least eight indigenous leaders\nwere killed as a result. The livelihood and survival of indigenous\ncommunities have therefore been greatly affected by the government’s\nefforts for commercial development.\nThe government’s desire for commercial development will lead to\nenvironmental damage to the Amazon rainforest. Until now, indigenous\nvillages have served as bulwarks against deforestation and climate\nchange. However, the government’s plans will accelerate the\ndestruction of the rainforest through mining, agribusiness, logging,\nillegal fishing, and building hydroelectric dams. The indigenous\ncommunities do not condone these acts. Currently, the government is\nbeing held accountable for how the air, soil, and rivers have been\ncontaminated and poisoned. In the past few decades, the Amazon\nrainforest has been razed and is now used for cattle ranches. The\nrainforest’s land area has consistently decreased annually.\nAccording to the New York Times, more than 1600 square miles of\nforest cover was logged and slashed between August 2018 to July 2019\n– an\n84%\nincrease since the previous year. The severe environmental damage is\nevident, and indigenous communities are losing their homes.\nIndigenous communities have attempted to resist the government’s\nattempts at commercial development, but to no avail. They responded\nto the government’s actions by signing a manifesto after a meeting\nin Piaracu in January this year to request the support of foreign\norganizations and environmental activist groups. The leaders of\nvarious tribes had come together to discuss the situation and\nexpressed similar sentiments. Brazil’s indigenous affairs agency,\nFunai, said that this meeting was a private event, and that Funai\nwould not support the manifesto as it does not comply with\ngovernment policy, which states that indigenous communities should\nbe left isolated. Because the agency’s leadership is appointed by\nthe president himself, they are obligated to support Bolsonaro’s\nagenda. Furthermore, the government is not providing indigenous\ncommunities support and protection against COVID-19, which has\nalready reached villages and proved to be detrimental – as of\nSeptember 2020, 27,000 indigenous people have contracted the virus and the\nmortality rate is at 3%. Because they are not receiving support from\nthe government, they have had to resort to asking for help from\nexternal organizations to help ensure their survival.\nIndigenous communities have always had a complicated relationship\nwith the government due to a pre-established term in the Brazilian\nconstitution, which they accused the government of breaching.\nIndigenous leaders claimed that the government had a constitutional\nduty to protect their communities and lands, but they had failed to\ndo so as they refrained from stopping and punishing illegal\ncompanies from exploiting the land. In the 1988 constitution, the\ngovernment promised expansive rights as a form of reparations for\ncenturies of mistreatment against indigenous people. Many tribes are\nentitled to isolation and protection from outsiders. However,\nBolsonaro breached the constitutional duty when he first came to\npower and decreased funding for the National Indian Foundation,\nwhich is in charge of upholding indigenous rights. Even though\nBolsonaro’s government is persistent in their ethnocide and ecocide\nof indigenous communities, the indigenous communities are fighting\nfor their rights and determined in their cause.\nAggressive policies towards economic development and lack of\nprotection for these communities have made it difficult for\nindigenous communities to change their situation. There is a massive\nrisk of ethnocide, genocide, and ecocide in the region, and\nindigenous tribes could become extinct as the land completely adapts\nfor commercial development. Although several human rights\nnon-government organizations, like the Arns Commission, have charged\nBolsonaro with indigenous genocide, the government is not looking to\nchange their stance against indigenous communities anytime soon. The\nextinction of indigenous tribes signifies an important part of\nhistory and a nation’s historical identity being lost, as indigenous\npeople have developed knowledge about the natural world and cultural\nexpression. They should be protected instead of threatened.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/plightoftheamazonethnocideandecocideinbrazil70.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Branford, Sue. \"Ngos Charge Brazil’S Bolsonaro With Risk Of Indigenous ‘Genocide’ At UN\". Mongabay Environmental News, 2020, https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/ngos-charge-brazils-bolsonaro-with-indigenous-genocide-at-un/.","Charlier, Philippe, and Leandro Varison. \"Is COVID-19 Being Used As A Weapon Against Indigenous Peoples In Brazil?\". The Lancet, vol 396, no. 10257, 2020, pp. 1069-1070. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)32068-7.","Londono, Ernesto, and Leticia Casado. \"As Bolsonaro Keeps Amazon Vows, Brazil’s Indigenous Fear ‘Ethnocide’\". The New York Times, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/world/americas/bolsonaro-brazil-amazon-indigenous.html.","Moraes, Ricardo. \"Brazilian Tribes Back Manifesto To Save Amazon Habitat From Bolsonaro\". U.S., 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-indigenous-idUSKBN1ZH0HM."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":187,"pub_key":71,"title":"Newsflash! - Physical Violence and Racial Discrimination against Asians Do NOT prevent COVID 19","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Angela Shen","editor":null,"date":"2020-11-25","content":"The rage of 2020, also known as the SARS-CoV-2, has caused a\nworldwide pandemic of a respiratory illness called COVID-19.\nCOVID-19 has been a devastating blow towards humanity. The freedom\nand lives that it has taken have been egregious, and it continues to\nimpact daily life. However, during these tough times, it has come as\na shock to the masses of racist individuals that physical violence\nand racial discrimination against Asians does not prevent\nCOVID-19. Asians have been a major target of racial discrimination\nduring the pandemic, in the United States. As shocking as it may be,\nnot all Asians have even had contact with COVID-19.\nTo the masses of racist individuals, it comes as a shock to find\nthat not all Asians have actually been to China and had contact with\nthe Coronavirus. Although COVID exploded in China, it has been\ndisheartening to see the president call the virus, the Chinese\nvirus, since its actual origins have been heavily debated between\nthe two nations. Some homo sapiens have taken upon themselves to\nexhibit racist behaviours against the Asian race. Many attacks have\nalso gotten physical, for example, in New York City a woman wearing\na mask was kicked and punched in a Manhattan subway station.\nAdditionally, a man in Queens was followed to a bus stop, shouted\nat, and then hit over the head in front of his 10-year-old son.\nIn San Fernando Valley, California, a 16-year-old Asian-American boy\nwas attacked in his school by bullies who accused him of having the\ncoronavirus. He was sent to the emergency room to determine whether\nhe had a concussion. These behaviors and hate crimes are all unjust,\nracist exhibitions Asians have been subjected to. \"[My son] actually\nsaid to me, 'all the other students who are coughing, they don't get\nsent out of class. 'Because they're not Asian,'' the boy's mother,\nlongtime L.A. News Anchor Leyna Nguyen, told Fox 11. In a similar\nincident, a Vietnamese-American eighth grader in Los Angeles named\nDylan Muriano was sent to the nurse's office at his middle school on\nWednesday because he coughed from swallowing water.\nIt may come as a surprise to these people that their anger towards\nthe virus, and their racist actions as a response, may actually\nincrease the chance of exposure to the coronavirus. In fact,\nhitting, spitting, and remaining in close proximity to the person\nthey deem to have the coronavirus, increases the likelihood of the\nairborne virus spreading to them, and to those around them. As the\ndeath toll and infected toll continues to rise rapidly, common sense\nsuggests for you to consider and think before committing your next\nhate crime and or racist exhibition.\nThe increase of the attacks has been the most prevalent in the\nUnited States, and much to the dismay of those instigating these\nhate fueled attacks, these racist antics have not decreased\nCoronavirus rates. Many Hollywood celebrities have stated their\naffirmation for not social distancing or having not practiced social\ndistancing. Examples range from High School Musical star Vanessa\nHudgens, Tiktok star Bryce Hall, Utah Jazz, and many more. This type\nof behavior is truly sad to see, as it hurts those who value other\npeople’s lives enough to social distance, and the many infected\nindividuals who are struggling to stay alive. Vanessa Hudgens, the\nHigh School Musical star was quoted saying to fans, \"Even if\neverybody gets it, like yeah, people are going to die, which is\nterrible... but inevitable?\" This questionable mindset and\nirresponsibility is a contributing factor, to why the US is the\nglobal leader in COVID-19 cases and death.\nThis virus has increased political tension between the US and China\ndue to unconfirmed legitimate starting points of the virus. The\nvirus exploded in China; however, its roots have not been confirmed\nto have sprung from China. This discussion is among heavy debate\nbetween the US and Chinese government. Regardless, hate crimes and\nracism towards Asians doesn't prevent COVID, rather it makes\neveryone’s life a little more miserable. So, to the racist\nindividuals who are still committing such atrocities, please\nconsider the messages in this article before you decide to commit\nyour next hate crime and or act or racism.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/newsflashphysicalviolenceandracialdiscriminationagainstasiansdonotpreventcovid1971.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Cover: https://www.adl.org/education/educator-resources/lesson-plans/coronavirus-and-infectious-racism","https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-bullies-attack-asian-teen-los-angeles-accus ing-him-of-having-coronavirus/","https://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2020/mar/17/utah-jazzs-rudy-gobert-wishes-he-had-ta ken-coronavirus-more-seriously-video"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":58,"pub_key":72,"title":"Coming of Age: Lack of Female Representation","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Jamie Zou","editor":"","date":"2020-11-28","content":"Gen-Z’s favorite teen coming of age movies are raucous, turbulent,\nand oftentimes perpetuate a dangerously shallow depiction of\nfemininity. Although the growth in popularity of female-centered\nfilms in the past decade is promising, these narratives often lack\nthe complexity and depth that their male-oriented counterparts have.\nThe reason for this is simple— Hollywood is and has always been\nmale-dominated, which means that the “male gaze” will subconsciously\ninfluence a movie’s narrative, production, cinematography.\nThe term “male gaze” was first used by film theorist Laura Mulvey in\nher 1975 essay Visual and Other Narrative Pleasures, in which she\nexplained the movie industry’s tendency to cater to certain\naudiences. This certain perspective is caused by the industry’s need\nto please heterosexual males, which usually requires portraying the\nfemale body and femininity in general as erotic.\nIn 2019, a staggering 84.9 percent of directors in the industry were\nmale. Additionally, in the entirety of the Academy Awards’\nexistence, only one woman has won an Oscar for directing. With the\nmajority of mainstream films being directed by men, narratives will\nusually be centered around male protagonists— even films with female\nprotagonists are often created with the intent of pleasing a\nstraight male audience.\nMean Girls (2004), the cult-favorite classic film, puts a satirical\ntwist on high school. However, its potential to portray an accurate\nfemale coming of age story falls flat. Although the protagonist is a\nyoung woman, the film was directed by a man who obviously had no\nproper understanding of female maturation. Consequently, Mean Girls\nfalls victim to the male gaze, which only perpetuates the trope that\nteenage girls are all shallow, boy-crazy, and catty.\nWith the push for more gender equality in the industry, Greta\nGerwig’s Little Women (2019), once again reveals a masterful\nfemale-focused storyline. Though centuries old, the tale of the four\nMarch sisters remains a timeless example of the female coming of age\nnarrative done right. Although it shares most of Louisa May Alcott’s\nstoryline, a contemporary spotlight is shined on the struggle of\nfemale empowerment that’s a prevalent issue in today’s society. The\nsisters navigate through social constructs, growing tensions, and\nunreached aspirations in a relatable way— they demonstrate the same\nintellectual and emotional complexities as men— the film\ndemonstrates understanding because Gerwig can draw upon her own\nexperiences as a woman.\nAccurate female representation in the industry is needed, and not\njust token representation— female directors should be at the\nforefront of this movement. The lack of relatability only promotes\nthe idea that any story which doesn’t revolve around a male identity\nis insignificant — we want real stories of women, stories that don’t\njust comply with false stereotypes.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/comingofagelackoffemalerepresentation72.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":26,"pub_key":73,"title":"Indonesia's Young Population Growth","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Kaleb Mordechai","editor":"","date":"2020-12-01","content":"About the author:\nA young boy who is passionate about helping people and helping his\ncountry.\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nEducation and social stratification\nIn 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that,\n“Indonesia’s working age population (ages 15-64) is growing.” With\nan increase of Indonesia’s working age population, this is the\nperfect opportunity for economic growth because there is a great\npotential of productivity and creativity. One of the ways Indonesia\ncan maximize this opportunity is by improving its quality of\neducation.\nFurthermore, 2020 hasn’t been the ideal year for everyone around the\nworld. With a global pandemic, a lot of schools are closed and have\nmoved from offline learning to online learning. This transition\nwasn’t easy for a lot of people, because not everyone has WiFi in\ntheir homes, and not everyone has a good quality computer in their\nhomes to do online learning. To fix this problem, the Indonesian\ngovernment has allocated Rp. 1.9 trillion (around $128.4 million)\nfor cellular data subsidies. However, this budget was unable to help\neveryone.\nThe government’s resources are very limited and sometimes we cannot\nfully rely on the government for everything in time like this. So it\nis also up to us, as the young working age population, to see this\nnot as a problem but as an opportunity to help others who are less\nfortunate. We can help each other by volunteering to teach those who\nhave trouble doing online learning, or by donating anything that can\nbe used. Let’s do whatever we can to help maximize this great\nopportunity for a better future for Indonesia.\n“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for\nyour country.” - JFK\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/indonesiasyoungpopulationgrowth73.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Cover: https://indonesia.unfpa.org/en/topics/adolescent-pregnancy-1","Creating Jobs for Indonesia's Youth: Five Charts That Matter. (2018). Retrieved 24 October 2020, from https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/01/26/NA020718-Creating-Jobs-for-Indonesia-Youth-Five-Charts-That- Matter#:~:text=Indonesia%E2%80%94the%20fourth%20most%20populous,workforce%20will%20need%20quality%20jobs.","Population of Indonesia - Demographic Composition | Indonesia Investments. (2017). Retrieved 24 October 2020, from https://www.indonesia-investments.com/culture/population/item67","Angdhiri, R. (2020). Challenges of home learning during a pandemic through the eyes of a student. Retrieved 24 October 2020, from https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/04/11/challenges-of-home-learning-during-a-pandemic-through-the-eyes-of-a- student.html","Olivia, L., & Shofa, J. (2020). Students and Teachers to Receive Internet Subsidy for Online Classes. Retrieved 24 October 2020, from https://jakartaglobe.id/news/students-and-teachers-to-receive-internet-subsidy-for-online-classes"],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":174,"pub_key":74,"title":"Colourism","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Ruchi Acharya","editor":null,"date":"2020-12-05","content":"<p><strong>About the author:</strong></p>\r\n<p>Ruchi Acharya is a Business Analyst currently living in Glasgow, UK. She is the founder of an international writing community popularly known as Wingless Dreamer. She is an Oxford University summer graduate in English Literature. Her poem, &ldquo;Long Distant Call&rdquo; was the winner of the 4th Issue in the featuring Contest of Poetryworld.org. Also, she has been a contributor to multiple writing platforms such as The Pangolin Review (Mauritius), fairytalez.com (Denmark), Overachiever magazine (China), Rigorous Magazine (USA), and 36garhtraveller (India). Her literary works include poetry, romantic short stories, and motivational quotes. She has a deep interest in Victorian Literature. She never ate a dragonfruit.Website: <a href=\"https://www.ruchiacharya.com\">https://www.ruchiacharya.com</a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>How does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political issue(s)? </strong></p>\r\n<p>It's a poem written to encourage the concept that skin colour doesn't matter. A person should not be judged by the colour of their skin. </p>\r\n<p><strong>Colourism</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I look at my skin&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and see the colour brown,</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our backs tell stories&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">about the forbidden crowns.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For I am not just a skin&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but every woman within.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am the original masterpiece,</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gold plated, kind-hearted,</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An intellect waiting to be applauded.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please do not take&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">my chances.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please do not take</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">me for granted.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can cry and roar at the same time.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Listen to the voice around you,</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It says,</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colourism ends here with you,</span></em></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with me for today and tomorrow.</span></em></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all need a new start</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of racial sorrows.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No more singing black or white song,</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are together from </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here on.</span></em></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our skins will create</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Islands for the warmth in winter</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;And cold in summer.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For we are the people</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">into this together as one.</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/colourism74.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":149,"pub_key":75,"title":"Blood Bath and Gnawing at the Seams of Society","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Riea S.","editor":"","date":"2020-12-08","content":"Source:\nhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/native-american-women-missing-murder-mmiw-inquiry-canada-us-violence-indigenous-a8487976.html\nAbout the author:\nRiea, a student preparing to graduate high school loves to creative\nwrite and does so as her hobby. This piece made by her touches on\nthe topic of MMIW in B.C and Canada. She gained interest in writing\nto help advocate for this topic when she heard about the indigenous\nwomen of her community going routinely missing. Riea wants to raise\nawareness of MMIW and she wants her literary piece to shine light on\nan often unrecognized issue.\nBlood Bath\nI bathe in a bath of blood from whom I shared existence with\nAs the colors of burgundy red start to settle, so does my residual\nanger\nThey say care not for what has been cared for, like the words they\nhurled at us meant nothing but the sound of a few audible syllables\nI tried to not pay heed to the evident slurs, the “go back to your\ncountry”, and stares but what a funny thing, you see when you say\nthose words to a person who is indeed in their own country\nAs a woman of indigenous ancestry, I fear being classified as one\nFor what good does it bring me?\nBeing able to go through 3.5 more times of violence than a\nnon-indigenous woman says a lot about my people’s endurance\nTesting the limits of our fortitude and stamina was something you\ndid leisurely\nViscous bubbles do the gallons of blood leave the drain of secrecy\nin moans that long not to be swallowed and pushed down unwillingly\nNot to be forced to be consigned to oblivion with the truth of\ninjustice\nThe scars of hurt turned into scars of remembrance, but you wish for\nus to pick at our scabs, leaving nothing less of a blurred line\nThis game of yours has gone overtime\nWe will not forget\nNo, we will not forget\nFact Check: The Canadian Encyclopedia- Missing and Murdered\nIndigenous Women and Girls in Canada\nhttps://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls-in-canada\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nI made this literary piece from the perspective and stand-point of a\nyoung indigenous woman by using a play of literary devices and\nmetaphors with a hint of satire touching on the topics of MMIW and\nindigenous treatment. The indigenous communities need recognition of\ntheir injustices, and I feel like my generation is finally letting\nthis often unrecognized community be put at the podium.\nGnawing at the Seams of Society\nSeeing all the worlds true colors unfold, seeing the likes and\ndislikes of those who form an opinion of an entire race they have no\nconnections with from the clicks of my phone gave me a hit of a\nreality I never wished for\nNovels of dystopian and immoral topics quickly turning into\nlive-action is something I sought for in my imagination\nHow rapidly these views I've never seen coming from a diverse\ncommunity made me insecure\nInsecure of going anywhere where people like me are stared at for\nstanding out when all I try to do is stop that from occurring\nI saw the fabric of society ripping at its seams from its unsecured\nedges, and my people of color were that loose thread of society that\nothers long to rip off\nA thread not wanted because it soiled the cloth from which the rest\nof society was, the society of whom pale-skinned people in black\nsuits and a powerful way with words prospered\nI cared for my brothers and sisters in which these inordinate\ninjustices had been occurring to them at a larger scale\nThey are not relatives from immediate ancestry, but rather brothers\nand sisters of the same race\nNot the word with the negative connotation of skin color and\ndifferences, but the race of life\nFor they have gone through much more\nBullet holes of hatred turned to scars of the forgotten\nWill what we endured be buried into nonexistence like our people 6\nft under?\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nThis piece was created by Riea to shed light on racism happening\nwithin our communities, albeit a large or small community,\nregardless of its diversity among people belonging to it. Her\nmetaphorical piece elegantly unfolds the truth of the systematic\nracism and race-based injustices occurring in society throughout.\nRiea hopes to raise awareness on this issue to better educate her\npeers and help break this societal construct built up from\ngenerations.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/bloodbathandgnawingattheseamsofsociety75.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":99,"pub_key":76,"title":"The Decision of a Lifetime, and Why You Should be a Change","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Suzanna Chen","editor":null,"date":"2020-12-12","content":"For most high school seniors, the winter season is not characterized by the carefree and fall of pristine snowflakes but rather the\nimmaculate whiteness of Microsoft Word documents, where every single black letter seems to carry the heavy burden of our future. As\nI observe the vertical line flickering on my college application at the exact same spot it had been thirty minutes ago, I struggle\nto resist the incredible urge to slam my forehead into my nearly touch-insensitive keyboard.\nThe entirety of my turmoil can be summed down to six letters: A-U-T-I-S-M.\nI am not ashamed of my identity or the abstract afflictions it has caused, as it—alongside unpleasant social difficulties—shapes the\nunique academic and personal advantages I take immense pride in. However, similar to many of my peers, I fear adverse treatment and\nperception from the admission staff that every high-achieving student strives to impress.\nAs a result, my indecisive fingers have repeatedly deleted and re-included the seemingly life-changing word. Although, a conclusion\ndoes require comprehensive consideration over a crucial question that—according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\n(CDC)—approximately one in six American adolescents would have to answer.\nShould I disclose my current or past mental health concerns on my college application?\nAlong with autism spectrum disorder, the American Disabilities Act (ADA) encompasses all “mental impairment[s] that substantially limits\none or more of the major life activities of an individual” under the definition of a “psychiatric disability.” Thus, any conditions\nranging from depressive episodes to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) must be adequately accommodated by all publicly\nfunded post-secondary schools.\nOver the years, an increasing number of students with disabilities are achieving higher education; according to recent numbers provided\nby the National Alliance on Mental illness (NAMI), the number has reached a historical high. In response, federal-level actions such as\nthe Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) have increased their degree and methods of supporting prospective students with mental health\nafflictions, and most schools have publicly indicated their dedication to accessibility.\nHowever, despite promising advancement in accommodations, a survey of 1442 university students in 2015 found that as much as 60% of\nstudents chose not to disclose their mental health struggles with their schools, purposefully denying adjustments they might need to\nengage entirely in education and employment opportunities.\nThe reluctance of college students to access support stems from the same root of fear prospective students experience upon application:\nthe deep-rooted societal stigma around mental illnesses.\nHistorically, mental disorders have borne the negative stereotypes—ranging from utter disregard to detrimental demonization—not imposed\nupon physical illnesses. In fact, as I ventured onto the infamous online battleground of Quora with my question, numerous responses by\ncurrent college students have indicated intense fear of being equated to notorious school mass shooters if their psychiatric afflictions\nare disclosed. Although such dread is extreme, the degree to which the stigma impacts our confidence in revelation can be seen.\nLuckily, with the emergence of positive media coverage and student-led groups of mental health advocacy, these stigmas are actively being\naddressed both on and off campus. Ollie Kasper of Student Minds—the largest student mental health organization in the UK—had explained:\n“[W]e have this term ‘mental health literacy,’ which is about people understanding more about mental health and [looking] at ways of explaining\nmental health to people…[this initiative aims to give] people the confidence to talk about [mental health].”\nA method through which we can all contribute to raising “mental health literacy” might simply be to declare our invisible struggles with\nconfidence in our applications. By doing so, not only might we alleviate the stigmatization, but we might actually be helping the schools\nin developing adequate and appropriate accommodations for similar students.\nFor example, UCLA had recently begun offering free online screenings for depression; Ohio State University opened a dozen new mental\nhealth clinics; Amherst, Skidmore, Princeton, Drexel, and Carnegie Mellon are just a handful of schools that began offering 24-hour\ncrisis hotlines facilitated by trained mental health workers. However, these had all happened after the delayed media coverage on the\nnumerous, heart-wrenching student suicides.\nWhat if we can make a change? What if we can provide the schools with the feedback and knowledge they will need not only for us but also\nfor future students? What if, by speaking out, we can advocate for the importance of caring for student’s mental wellness that had previously\ntaken such catastrophes to be heard?\nLastly, suppose any are still pondering the question— “Would a school reject me due to my mental illnesses?” —please consider the following:\nan associate of Abraham Lincoln said of the US’s 16th president that the “melancholy dripped from him as he walked,” and if all the\ninfluential figures who were influenced by psychiatric disorders are to be listed, this article would not end.\nIf the stigma is of concern, numerous online resources provide methods of crafting your intangible battles in a way that minimizes potential\ntriggers and maximizes your remarkable strength. But if the fear of rejection prevails, an institution might simply not be suitable if\nthey won’t accept you due to being “unable to support” the unique and profoundly resilient person you are.\nAlthough ultimately choosing whether to disclose on your application is entirely a personal decision—and even if you do, you still have\nan absolute say in how much you decide to share. Yet, for the positive significance your simple act can serve for yourself and your future\ninstitution, I ask you to consider staring back at the work of heart and soul that is your application and choose to disclose with the\npride you genuinely deserve.\n“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears.”\n– Charles Dickens in Great Expectations\nOnline Resources for Transitioning to College with Mental Health Concerns\n“College Guide for Students with Psychiatric Disabilities” by Best College\n“Managing a Mental Health Condition in College” by National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)\nCollege Autism Network\nScholarships for students with psychiatric disabilities:\nAAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability,\nGoogle Lime Scholarship,\nNational Center for Learning Disabilities Scholarships,\nOrganization for Autism Research Scholarship,\nBaer Reintegration Scholarship Program\nReference\nAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.A. §. 12101 et seq. (West 1993).\nAttwood, T. (2007). The complete guide to asperger syndrome. Philadelphia, Pa: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Dillon, M. R. (2007). Creating Supports for College Students with Asperger Syndrome through Collaboration. College Student Journal, 41(2), 499-504.\nBelasco, A. (August 5, 2020). Should I Mention Anxiety/Depression on my College Application? College Transitions. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/tackling-depression-anxiety-on-your-college-application-and-beyond\nDelarieu, L.H. (n.d.). Students with Autism in the College Classroom. The George Washington University/Graduate School of Education & Human Development. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.heath.gwu.edu/students-autism-college-classroom\nLane, C. (September 24, 2019). Is Mental Health Your Uni’s Responsibility? QS Top Universities. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/mental-health-your-unis-responsibility\n(n.d.). Managing a Mental Health Condition in College. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Teens-Young-Adults/Managing-a-Mental-Health-Condition-in-College\n(February 13, 2015). Mental Health in HE: Staff and Students Not Accessing Support. Advance HE. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.ecu.ac.uk/news/mental-health-staff-students-accessing-support/\nNational Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities., and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (June 15, 2020). Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html\n(March 29, 2019). New Data Reveals University Performance on Access and Student Success. Office for Students (OfS). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/new-data-reveals-university-performance-on-access-and-student-success/\nNgo, C. (October 27, 2020). College Guide for Students with Psychiatric Disabilities. Best Colleges. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/college-planning-with-psychiatric-disabilities/\nStudent Minds. (September 9, 2019). The Benefits of Disclosing a Mental Health Difficulty. UCAS. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/benefits-disclosing-mental-health-difficulty","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thedecisionofalifetimeandwhyyoushouldbeachange76.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.A. §. 12101 et seq. (West 1993).","Attwood, T. (2007). The complete guide to asperger syndrome. Philadelphia, Pa: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Dillon, M. R. (2007). Creating Supports for College Students with Asperger Syndrome through Collaboration. College Student Journal, 41(2), 499-504.","Belasco, A. (August 5, 2020). Should I Mention Anxiety/Depression on my College Application? College Transitions. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/tackling-depression-anxiety-on-your-college-application-and-beyond","Delarieu, L.H. (n.d.). Students with Autism in the College Classroom. The George Washington University/Graduate School of Education & Human Development. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.heath.gwu.edu/students-autism-college-classroom","Lane, C. (September 24, 2019). Is Mental Health Your Uni’s Responsibility? QS Top Universities. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/mental-health-your-unis-responsibility","(n.d.). Managing a Mental Health Condition in College. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Teens-Young-Adults/Managing-a-Mental-Health-Condition-in-College","(February 13, 2015). Mental Health in HE: Staff and Students Not Accessing Support. Advance HE. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.ecu.ac.uk/news/mental-health-staff-students-accessing-support/","National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities., and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (June 15, 2020). Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html","(March 29, 2019). New Data Reveals University Performance on Access and Student Success. Office for Students (OfS). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/new-data-reveals-university-performance-on-access-and-student-success/","Ngo, C. (October 27, 2020). College Guide for Students with Psychiatric Disabilities. Best Colleges. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/college-planning-with-psychiatric-disabilities/","Student Minds. (September 9, 2019). The Benefits of Disclosing a Mental Health Difficulty. UCAS. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/benefits-disclosing-mental-health-difficulty"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":81,"pub_key":77,"title":"The \"Tim Burton Aesthetic\": Does it Call For Inclusivity?","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Lana Isabel Abad","editor":"","date":"2020-12-15","content":"Source: http://bigchoicebrewing.com/index.php/event/tim-burton-trivia/\nAbout the author:\nLana Isabel Abad is a 16-year-old high school student currently residing in San Diego, California. A Gen-Z first generation immigrant\nof Filipino heritage and British nationality, she utilizes her experiences to give insight into the topics she's most passionate about\nsharing: Asian-American identity, mental health awareness, racism, and more. She is a co-founder of a SD youth organization -- A.C.E.\n(activists for creative expression) Journal, and a member of Asian youth organization, Next GenerAsian. When she's not drafting an\narticle, she's probably dancing, reading, or eating shrimp chips:)\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political issue(s)?\nThis piece addresses a prime example of the underrepresentation of BIPOC in the entertainment industry, focusing on Tim Burton's\ncontroversial statement defending his predominantly white casts and characters throughout his years as a director. Many people still\nseem to idolize directors in the film industry like Burton that are not inclusive at all and have a history of racist remarks, and I\nthink it's important that people realize casual racism shouldn't be looked past and ignored because when these people are not held\naccountable, it only allows discrimination in the entertainment industry to continue. I personally did not know the reasoning behind Tim\nBurton's artistic choices regarding casting and continued to support him and idolize this \"aesthetic\" he has created. Writing this piece\nwas a very big eye-opener for me. There are a lot of other directors that share these prejudices and it's extremely saddening that it's\nstill prevalent in this industry today; starting somewhere is the first step to recognize this and to start supporting inclusive creators\nand filmmakers.\nBlood Bath\nInclusivity in Hollywood has been a topic of debate among actors and directors in the film industry for decades -- challenging the\nunderrepresentation and racism in Western media in revolutionary breakthroughs by Sessue Hayakawa for the Asian community or Oscar\nMicheaux for the Black community. 21st century film has made important steps in including BIPOC and portraying them respectfully and\naccurately, but many often find confusion in the discernment of whether it is an act of genuine inclusivity or an act of haphazard tokenism.\nThe stereotypes portrayed in film and TV often bridge misconceptions surrounding BIPOC communities in everyday life. Asian, Black, Native\nAmerican, and Latino characters have been used merely as token characters to only supplement the leading, white characters, giving them\nzero to no character development -- using them for a humor break or to be portrayed as a nerd, foreigner, etc., archetypal boundaries used\nacross the board preventing BIPOC individuals to be able to take on more complex roles (which they are incredibly capable of fulfilling\njust as readily as their white counterparts). This act of tokenism has not gone unnoticed, but how do directors and producers respond to\nthis backlash?\nDirector Tim Burton, well-known for his eerie, whimsical movies and the “Tim Burton aesthetic.”\nThe Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, Sweeney Todd, The Corpse Bride,\nand more, Burton features unconventional characters and storylines that border on frightening,\nmaking for an unparalleled watching experience. For most individuals, Burton’s movies are a staple of their childhood or of Halloween,\npraised and admired for these iconic films that broke barriers in animation and live action.\nThough as the years went on, viewers began to notice an odd trend in the characters he centers in his movies -- every single character is white.\nEdward Scissorhands, Victor from The Corpse Bride (and virtually every character in all of his animated films), Sweeney Todd, and more,\na majority of the main characters in Burton’s stories take on a corpse-like appearance with extremely pale faces -- sometimes just a plain\nwhite -- and large, tired eyes. This “dead,” ghost-like look, a signature attribute of his films, it seems, has earned recognition from the\npublic and from other Hollywood directors. This is the “Tim Burton aesthetic” -- this almost-dead facade, heavily praised by the film\nindustry.\nBurton broke his all-white casting trend when Samuel L. Jackson was casted in the movie adaptation of Ransom Rigg’s\nMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Initially a cheer of inclusivity or a sigh of relief, the pleasant surprise of a BIPOC actor in one of Burton’s\nfilms soon dwindled at the realization that the first Black man casted in a Tim Burton movie was the villain.\nInevitably, it raised questions regarding Burton’s casting choices. Was it intentional that every single character in his films are white?\nWhat does this mean for BIPOC individuals?\nWhen asked about the lack of diversity in his films during an interview with Bustle back in 2016, Burton stated, “Nowadays, people are talking\nabout it more. Things either call for things, or they don’t. I remember back when I was a child watching The Brady Bunch and they started\ngetting all politically correct.\n“Like, OK, let’s have an Asian child and a black. I used to get more offended by that than just… I grew up watching blaxploitation movies,\nright? And I said, that’s great.\n“I didn’t go like, OK, there should be more white people in these movies.”\nSo, does the inclusivity of a Black character can only be “called for” when that character is the villain of the story?\nIt is ironic that despite the imaginative, unconventional universes Burton centers his stories around, the thought of including BIPOC actors\nin that framework is out of the question. Are white people the only ones capable of portraying eccentric, magical characters? Is a story of wonder\nand enchantment only limited to white people?\nBurton was never faced with the reckoning of inclusivity and diversity in the past because his privilege allows him to dodge such a question.\nHis staple in the film industry embodying these dead, white characters has devoid him of the responsibility. Burton is white, his characters\nare white, and he remains successful -- his success excuses him.\nTo put it simply, BIPOC characters do not fit the “Tim Burton aesthetic.” Inclusivity, to Burton, is something more temporary, something that\ncan be implemented by artistic choice. The standard and the norm for Burton’s whimsical creations is the casting of white characters, and white\ncharacters only.\nSo sure, only when the villain trope “calls for it,” Burton will cast a Black man.\nThe main flaw in Burton’s statement calls for the addressing of reverse racism. This phenomenon addresses the oppression of white people at\nthe hands of BIPOC individuals -- and for systemic and systematic reasons, this is a phenomenon that isn’t possible in any way. Never in\nhistory have white people been oppressed by the institutions of the country they built for their own benefit.\nBurton, as a white man, has had representation in film. Hollywood and the entertainment industry is undoubtedly white-dominated. The flaw in\nBurton’s statement is that he didn’t complain for the lack of white characters in “politically correct” films and shows because he does not\nneed to. He has been represented — and he, as a white man, has been seen and is visible in the film industry.\nWhite people are unable to be underrepresented in film or in any industry in Western culture, in fact, because they have had the privilege of\ncontrolling these industries from the beginning. They have had the upper edge in opportunities with institutions that aid them to the top. Burton\ncannot accurately speak on his experience with underrepresentation of white characters in film because no such thing exists.\nInclusivity is not a disposable token. BIPOC have struggled with visibility in the entertainment industry for decades, battling racist attacks\nand race-biased stereotypes in the characters they play. White people have not gone through these same struggles, nor do they truly know what\nit is like to be denied opportunities based on their race or ethnicity.\nBurton’s privilege blinds him from seeing the struggles of BIPOC in the entertainment industry. He fails to recognize that the Asian child\nand the Black child in the shows he watched may have been a mere token character in his eyes, but meant the world to BIPOC children -- slivers\nof hope for a future in which these kids will be able to look to their favorite shows and find an ensemble of people that looked like them and\nembodied their culture, not just a mere supplement to ensure the development of the main character, a one-dimensional, surface-level portrayal\nof their culture that is so much more than is shown on screen.\nThis ignorance and desensitivity that Burton displayed in regards to diversity and inclusivity is a mindset that many other people share -- some\nwhite, some even BIPOC themselves. This particular interview -- out since 2016 -- shows how insensitive remarks by directors and those in any\nentertainment industry are brushed off so casually. Burton is among a small cluster of truly influential creators that can seriously influence\nthe media. His statements are not only harmful to BIPOC, but to his fans and those that praise his work, unaware that these sentiments of white\nsuperiority are behind his filmmaking.\nInclusivity is not an “aesthetic.” Inclusivity needs to be a priority.\nOne can only hope that one day inclusivity is called for, each and every time.\nSOURCES\nhttps://www.bustle.com/articles/186641-tim-burton-explains-why-miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children-features-a-predominantly-white-cast","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thetimburtonaestheticdoesitcallforinclusivity77.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://www.bustle.com/articles/186641-tim-burton-explains-why-miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children-features-a-predominantly-white-cast"],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":97,"pub_key":78,"title":"I Will Never Meet Perfect","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Danica Seto","editor":"","date":"2020-12-19","content":"Source: kaurspace.com\nI hate the way my curves fit into the wrong places. I hate the dark\nhair forcing my gaze to a razor until knicks and irritated patches\nappear all over. I hate my lopsided eyes, pudgy nose, and thighs\nblack leggings can’t disguise. Most of all, I hate seeing those\n“inspirational” ads pop up on my screen telling me to just love\nmyself. Just love yourself and you’ll be happy and satisfied with\nyour life. You’ll be who you’ve always wanted to be, your best self.\nIf only marketing brands would be more direct in their intentions.\nThey’re not profiting millions of dollars from products that create\nbeauty, they’re selling the idea of it. Love your body and then\nyou’ll love yourself; the distinction between the relationships we\nhave with our physical appearance and ourselves, skillfully hidden\namong eye-catching colors and aesthetic fonts. Maybe if having such\nblissful thoughts were so easy, 80% of women in the U.S wouldn’t\nalso pick apart every detail about themselves.\nEquating appearance to self-worth is nothing new. Long before the\nwonders of Facetune and cosmetic surgery, civilization as a whole\nhas always been compelled to pass judgment on others for their\nimage. In a way, society has normalized overly editing photos,\nreceiving lip fillers, Botox, and any other operation imaginable,\nall for the goal of improving our appearance. These unrealistic\nideas of impossibly perfect figures are observed by this\ngeneration’s youth, thus forming beauty standards from false images\nplastered all across social media. Granted the ideal woman’s body\nbound by corsets in the 16th century differs greatly from the\nhourglass figure and full lips desirable in 2020. As a result of\nbeing raised in this culture, it remains to be seen, people haven't\nyet progressed past developing implicit bias nor our prejudices\nagainst certain bodies. The complexity of body image issues\ncontinues to be frequently debated among the community, while seen\nas a commercialized success for companies to market their artificial\nsecrets to loving your body.\nOriginating in the late 1960s, “body positivity” has since\ninfiltrated daily conversation. It’s been preached by those all over\nthe spectrum concerning their relationship with their body. Some may\nthink of body positivity before slipping into a bikini too exposing\nfor comfort. Whereas others gush about the good it has done in\nboosting their self-confidence. With 108,000,000 Google searches,\nits early roots began in the “fat acceptance movement”, addressing\nconflicts such as fat-shaming, discrimination, and dismantling the\ncultural stigma surrounding those who strayed from the stereotypical\nbody. Since then, it flourished and expanded the idea of loving\none’s body towards not solely those deemed “fat,” but all groups\ntreated unjustly due to their physical appearance. A spike in\ninterest for body positivity occurred in 2012 when people part of\nthe fat acceptance movement, began using #bodypositivity under their\nposts to call for inclusivity and positive representation in the\nmedia. The immediate spread of this trend crossed platforms from\nTumblr, Facebook, and later reaching Instagram. Women like Nicolette\nMason, Jessamyn Stanley, and Chastity Garner were prominent figures\nraising awareness about their messages and advice on having a\nplus-size body. The movement’s popularization led to those with\nbodies, unconventionally attractive or not, to partake in a greater\nidea of self-love. The diversification incited a subtle, yet\nintegral redefining of the term most weren’t aware of until later\nyears.\nIt came to be a concrete social movement, pressing society’s\nexpectations as to what our bodies should look like and how we\nscrutinize them. In the 1910s, the Gibson Girl style of long necks,\nlarge curls, and tiny waists suffocated by corsets were all the\ncraze. A decade later, the flapper look with flat chests and short\nbodies came into fashion. This concept of a steadily changing set of\nideal features is evident in the unrealistic beauty standards set by\nthe makeup industry of the time, specifically targeting the\ninsecurities of women to persuade consumers to purchase their\nproducts. On various occasions, companies take advantage of their\ninfluence to encourage young girls to buy skin lightening cream or\neyelid tape by falsely advertising claims of becoming more\nbeautiful. These marketing schemes often go hand in hand with\nexclusion and underlying racism depicted by western ideals.\nThe movement sought out defiance against viewing certain features as\nabove others. Instead, it called for the belief that all bodies are\nequally beautiful and everyone should have love for their body.\nPlus-size bloggers championed the movement by posting photos of\nthemselves in bikinis or revealing clothing saying they held no\nshame for their bodies. The overwhelming support for the message\nthey shared, reshaped the way many confront the stigma surrounding\nbody image, and treat their struggles today.\nYet with many campaigns, movements, and internet trends, the\napparent change body positivity has seen over the decades, led to\nthe ironic ostracization of those it was intended for in the first\nplace. While there are plus-sized models who talk about finding love\nfor their figures, under the Instagram timeline of close to 4\nmillion #bodypositivity posts, we also find a shocking number of\nphotos centering around thin, white, able-bodied women. We should\nbear in mind dissatisfaction or dislike for one’s appearance isn’t,\nand will never be, limited to those who have distinct\ndistinguishable features. These internal struggles have more to do\nwith how we see ourselves; taking into consideration the way others\nregard our bodies has influence over this. But as the movement grew\nin popularity, groups such as women of color, those with\ndisabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community, have slowly been pushed out\nof the spotlight by those more conventionally attractive. Space\nmarginalized groups first felt willing to express comfort and\nacceptance for their bodies has unfortunately narrowed down to an\nexclusive image. For those no longer recognized by or identify with\nthe movement, the trademark phrase has long been exhausted.\nOften, prominent figures in the media shine the spotlight on the\nbenefits of body positivity, conveniently leaving out of the\nconversation that it truly isn’t the best approach towards\nself-acceptance for everyone. You aren’t alone in feeling that it’s\nnot working or you don’t recognize yourself in this movement. This\nmay seem like common sense, but for the millions who don’t find\ntheir bodies beautiful, it may appear as another reason finding\nself-love or acceptance for it is nowhere near possible.\nA component of maintaining a positive outlook is to participate in\npositive affirmations. They usually resemble repeating to yourself\nphrases like, “I am beautiful, I am doing my best, I am intelligent,\netc.,” daily. The intent in doing so is to eventually believe in\nwhat you’re saying. A study done by researcher Dr. Joanne Wood and\nher team published in the Journal of Psychological Science gathered\nrelevant findings to the science behind positive affirmations.\nWhen two groups were asked to participate in positive affirmations,\nthey found that one had felt better while the other had the opposite\nreaction after the experiment. The difference between groups was\nthat one included people who considered themselves to have high\nself-esteem while the other consisted of those with low self-esteem.\nThe results of the experiment demonstrated that reciting positive\naffirmations boosted the mood of those who were already confident.\nMeanwhile, those who were less assured of themselves found it\nineffective. Asking participants to give praise without the genuine\nbelief of what they were saying, contradicted their own opinion of\nthemselves and left them in a worse state of mind with increased\nanxiousness as a common trend. Another experiment parallels this\nconclusion, describing the results of a group with low self-esteem\ninstructed to list positive and negative opinions they had about\nthemselves. Given the opportunity to freely judge, participants were\nleft in a better mood by the end. For those with low self-esteem,\nreciting positive affirmations can be similar to the feeling of\nconsciously lying to yourself. The practice of positive affirmations\nmay be useful to an extent, however, for some, they aren’t a\nsustainable approach to dealing with body image issues.\nPopularized by Anne Poirier, now the founder of her company\nShaping Perspectives and a women’s health and wellness guide,\n“body neutrality” has become the next headline boasted about on\nmagazine covers and social media feeds. Most distancing themselves\nfrom the body positivity movement found aiming for indifference to\nhave various degrees of success, but be a superior motivator for\nimproving self-image.\nBody neutrality is exactly what it sounds like. To not obsess over\nour bodies, hence directing our energy on accepting them. The goal\nis to be at a point where you can respect your body as it is,\nwithout the need to love or hate it. Neutrality doesn’t mean you\ncan’t ever have an opinion about your body, but it does hope to\nstray away from the mindset of basing your worth or happiness on\nyour looks alone. By doing so, you can focus on all the incredible\nthings you’re capable of instead of fixating on subjective views of\nappearances. With new buzzwords appearing every week, it’s sometimes\ndifficult to differentiate it from other terms. Body positivity and\nbody neutrality are frequently confused in their goals where many\nask what neutrality can offer that positivity can’t?\nRealistic goals. Although most would love to join a community of\nthose who already feel so great about their body and be instantly\nfreed from body image struggles, that’s rarely how things go. If one\nfaces negative thoughts about their body all the time, it can appear\nimpossible to entirely reverse the way they view themselves.\nEspecially for those suffering or recovering from an eating\ndisorder, diagnosed with body dysmorphia, or who have had trouble\nviewing themselves in a positive light for years, to just be\npositive all of a sudden, isn’t the most plausible. While gaining\nconfidence can be a long term goal, as something to achieve in a few\nweeks or even months, unfortunately, it’s unreasonable. Neutrality,\nhowever, is a movement anyone can strive towards no matter where\nthey’re at with their body.\nBy practicing neutrality, you aren’t forced to love your body all\nthe time. And with a community of people who understand self-love\nshould be addressed however and whenever you choose, the once\nstifling pressure of feeling positive about yourself is alleviated.\nAgain and again, people are frustrated not only with their\nappearance but from the stress caused by the constant overthinking\nand criticization. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we could “achieve”\nself-love and settle this issue at once? You’re not alone in this\nfeeling, but it’s nearly impossible to ever fully embrace yourself.\nWith a mentality of miraculously being at peace with your body all\nthe time, there will inevitably be disappointment as your mood\nfluctuates from days you feel over the moon about it, and others\nwhere you can’t bear looking at yourself.\nIf you refuse to give much thought or care about how you look,\nyou’ll find opinions that previously held power, in truth, to have\nlittle merit. Refusing to waste your time on “imperfections” allows\nyou to be mindful of what matters most. Whether it be your overall\nhappiness, work, or goals, taking a step towards finding peace with\na stable mentality can get you just that much closer to achieving\nthe life you desire.\nMany celebrities have been outspoken about their support for body\nneutrality such as Jameela Jahil who said on\nThe Daily Show with Trevor Noah, “I believe in just not\nthinking about your body and I have the luxury of being able to do\nthat because I’m not constantly being persecuted for my size. So I\nam someone who used to have an eating disorder and I still have body\ndysmorphia and I just manage to get more things done in my day when\nI’m not thinking about my figure.” As a figure millions look up to,\nespecially women of color, it’s refreshing to see someone you admire\nrecognize that loving yourself isn’t always the end-all or be-all of\nbody image. Rather than promote a new line of shapewear or diet\npills as ways of feeling better, those with power can be the most\nproductive by urging discussion around issues and realistic means of\naddressing them.\nBody neutrality, for all its promise, is of course an ideology that\nis not without its faults. Best explained by an anonymous writer\nknown as Your Fat Friend, “Body-based oppression is about how\nthe world around us treats our bodies...And simply changing\nour mindsets, feeling neutral about or loving our bodies won’t\naddress the bias marginalized people so regularly face...it won’t do\nthe work of uprooting our biases for us...And we\ncertainly need to be crystal clear that while body neutrality\ncan be a useful individual tool,\nit is not a movement for body-based justice or liberation.”\nOur society tends to treat movements centering body positivity or\nneutrality as the future of resolving challenges most face with\ntheir image. Despite agreeing that the ideas of these movements hold\nmuch value for individuals who seek change in themselves, once put\nin the context of greater systemic issues, alone, they can’t fix the\nharm done by body-based oppression. It would certainly be more\neffective to observe and participate in these movements as a\npersonal way of improving self-image. By contrast, individuals\nshould be using the ideas and knowledge gained from these movements\nas a stepping stone to advocate for greater change.\nMore often than not, body positivity is presented as a\none-size-fits-all solution to our insecurities when in reality it\ncould just not be for you. Body neutrality, given it may not be\nnecessary for some, could be the next best thing for those searching\nfor an alternative to a movement that isn’t genuinely helping face\nyour struggles with appearances. Whether you remain on the positive\nside or want to give neutrality a chance, the matter at hand of\nindividual attitudes towards body image resulting in body-based\noppression, won’t disappear anytime soon. While I’m not exactly the\nstandard idea of beauty, I’m aware of the immense privilege I have\nas able-bodied and thin. Nevertheless, my body is one I’m always at\nwar with and can imagine being so for the foreseeable future. For me\nand for every other person who feels their body will never be\nperfect enough, we must regard self-image, acceptance, and love all\nas processes we’ll be striving towards at the pace we set for\nourselves.\nReference\nWeingus, Leigh. “Inside The Body Image Movement That Doesn't Focus\nOn Your Appearance.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 15 Aug. 2018,\nwww.huffpost.com/entry/what-is-body-neutrality_n_5b61d8f9e4b0de86f49d31b4.\nWincentaylo, Christine. “Body Positivity vs Body Neutrality.”\nThe Female Lead Society, 3 Aug. 2020,\nwww.thefemaleleadsociety.com/body-positivity-vs-body-neutrality.\nNicholls, Kat. “What Is Body Neutrality?”\nHappiful Magazine, Happiful Magazine, 4 Feb. 2019,\nhappiful.com/what-is-body-neutrality/.\nYour Fat Friend. “Body Neutrality Is Cool and All, But It Still\nWon't End Body-Based Oppression.” SELF, SELF, 22 July 2020,\nwww.self.com/story/body-neutrality.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/iwillnevermeetperfect78.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Weingus, Leigh. “Inside The Body Image Movement That Doesn't Focus On Your Appearance.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 15 Aug. 2018, www.huffpost.com/entry/what-is-body-neutrality_n_5b61d8f9e4b0de86f49d31b4.","Wincentaylo, Christine. “Body Positivity vs Body Neutrality.” The Female Lead Society, 3 Aug. 2020, www.thefemaleleadsociety.com/body-positivity-vs-body-neutrality.","Nicholls, Kat. “What Is Body Neutrality?” Happiful Magazine, Happiful Magazine, 4 Feb. 2019, happiful.com/what-is-body-neutrality/.","Your Fat Friend. “Body Neutrality Is Cool and All, But It Still Won't End Body-Based Oppression.” SELF, SELF, 22 July 2020, www.self.com/story/body-neutrality."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":45,"pub_key":79,"title":"The Problem With Size Exclusivity in a Size Diverse World","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Maya Henry","editor":"","date":"2020-12-21","content":"Credit: Karen Choi from Detester Magazine\nAbout the author:\nMaya Henry (she/her) is working to become a better person. She lives\nin California.\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nThe essay I've attached confronts the size exclusivity in some of\nthe world's most popular stores for youth. Specifically, I discuss\neating disorders, mental health, and becoming an activist by\nwielding one's spending power.\n\nControversy revolving around size-exclusive stores is nothing new.\nFor years, body-positivity advocates have called for stores that\nemploy the “one-size-fits-all” philosophy, to introduce a wider size\nrange. There have been articles written, boycotts proposed, and\nstorms of comments under such stores’ posts written. Companies have\nreleased statements, pointed out that accessories such as earrings\nare size-inclusive, and have more or less left it at that. And by\n“that,” I mean disregarded the problem at hand. So, in short,\nnothing has happened, which is a problem.\nHere’s the thing: we know one size doesn’t fit all, especially when\nthat size is 0-4, as it is in the case of Brandy Mellville.\nAccording to research conducted by the\nInternational Journal of Fashion Design, Technology, and\nEducation,\nas of 2018, the average American woman wore a size 16-18, making\nBrandy Mellville clothes six sizes too small for even “one\nsize fits most” to be applicable to the general public. Again, we\nknow this, but this data doesn’t lessen the hurt when one can’t fit\ninto a skirt that is allegedly supposed to fit everyone.\nThis is the other reason why a one size fits all policy is so\nvirulent. As soon as one does not fit the criteria of what the world\ndeems a “pretty” girl (tall, thin, medium chest, mild curves), i.e.\nthe individuals that these stores have designed their clothes for,\nwe believe we are less of a pretty, and worthy, individual. To make\nmatters worse, the majority of store’s (such as Brandy Melville)\nconsumers are teenagers and young adults, who uncoincidentally are\nthe most impressionable and fragile minded population. This means\nthat those self-doubting thoughts hold an immeasurably large stake\nin the thoughts of young populations, and those thoughts, in\naddition to other societal and mental factors, can easily manifest\nthemselves into body dysmorphia, eating disorders, depression, and a\nmyriad of other harmful mental illnesses.\nI am somebody who fits into Brandy Mellville. I once didn’t. I fell\nvictim to the very cycle of self-doubt mentioned above to such a\nsevere level that I ended up with an eating disorder that eroded me\nand my body for more than a year. I do not, and will not, blame the\nentirety of my anorexia on such stores; eating disorders are not\nprompted by a single event, institution, or person. However, that is\nnot to say that one-size-fits-all-but-doesn’t-fit-me policies\nhelped. Indubitably, struggling to button jeans that all my friends\nand fellow teenagers seemed to fit into was a trigger for me that\nheightened all the body dysmorphia I previously possessed.\nI slowly began to be more observant of what I ate, how much I ate,\nwhen I ate, and who I ate in front of until I was eating less than\n500 calories a day, and burning equal amounts, if not more, by\nexercising religiously. About nine months into my eating disorder, I\nfit into Brandy Mellville’s clothes, and I was ecstatic. I\nfelt as if I had finally earned the right to label myself as pretty.\nThe fact that I am not the only one I know with such stories about\nlosing unhealthy amounts of weight to fit into single-size clothing\nis troubling and points to the larger issue at hand.\nAs I recover from said eating disorder, I still fit into this\nexclusive sizing. But I do not, will not, and have no plans to\nfurther support one-size-fits-all stores of any kind. This isn’t to\nsay that I don’t own anything from these stores -- I do. These\nstores feature cute, trendy, and moderately priced clothes that, to\nthis day, I admire and like. However, I’ve decided that I won’t\nsupport a store that pushes an unrealistic body type onto youth\nhighly susceptible to self-inflicted body-shaming.\nHowever, if you are interested in ending one-size-fits-all\nstores, there are multiple ways to help do so. Each dollar you spend\nsends a message to the world about what you believe in and what you\nsupport. By buying, or not buying, from a certain company, you are\nessentially endorsing, or refuting, them and the messages they are\nsending. Thus, to individually boycott stores whose ethics you do\nnot believe in, you are not only making these companies suffer\neconomically but you are also sending the message that you will not\nstand for their policies. Not only can you refuse to contribute to\nstores with minuscule sizing, but you can also support businesses\nthat do make size-inclusive clothes. By doing so, you are\nencouraging these stores to continue to grow their size range, and\nyou are making sure size-exclusive businesses know they are missing\nout on money and customers because of their policies. Finally, by\nspreading the word, you are creating a greater population to take\npart in the ways of defunding these businesses listed prior.\nAt the end of the day, the choice of whether to support\nsize-exclusive stores or not is your choice, and your choice only. I\ncan, and already have shared with you my thoughts and opinions on\nsuch matters. Whatever it may be, your decision is not a bad one,\nand what you decide to do does not lessen you as a person. It is my\nonly hope that the next time you are about to support a business who\nendorses and practices size exclusivity, you envision how it would\nfeel to not fit into something that is advertised as fitting\neveryone; how it would feel to only be able to purchase a scrunchie\nfrom a goliath store, all because not a single piece of clothing\nfits you. I ask that you think of this before you buy from, and help\nfurther the reach, of such stores. Remember, this generation holds\nthe spending power to change policies, practices, and the planet. It\nis our duty to wield and distribute this power responsibly.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theproblemwithsizeexclusivityinasizediverseworld79.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":110,"pub_key":80,"title":"Social Issues Around the World","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Detester Magazine","editor":"","date":"2020-12-26","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/socialissuesaroundtheworld80.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":162,"pub_key":81,"title":"A Guide to Living a More Ethical Fashionable Life","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Maya Henry","editor":"","date":"2020-12-29","content":"Credit: Huiwen Chen from Detester Magazine\nAbout the author:\nMaya Henry (she/her) is working to become a better person. She lives\nin California.\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nThis piece dives into the fast fashion industry that is killing our\nplanet, fueling economic disparity, and pushing children and women\ninto unsafe work environments.\n\nIn recent months, the controversy revolving around fast fashion\nstores--think Forever 21, Romwe, and Top Shop--has escalated from\nthe occasional article to near-constant coverage. With such matters\ndominating your news and social media feeds, it’s time to unpack\nwhat fast fashion truly is, why it is so harmful, and how to combat\nit.\nBy Merriam-Webster’s definition, fast fashion is “inexpensive\nclothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to\nthe latest trends.” The side effects of such a process are\nsickening.\nIt is estimated that internationally, approximately 80\nbillion garments are bought new, each and every year. Yet of\nthis mass gluttony, the typical shopper will only use 70% of their\nwardrobe and will end up tossing up to 60 pounds of barely worn\nand/or used textiles annually. In a world where things go in and out\nof style in the blink of an eye, not only are humans struggling to\ncatch up, but so are companies.\nTo make sure people keep buying clothes (and as mentioned above, end\nup tossing them), factories use the cheapest materials that are\ninadvertently harmful for the environment. Polyester and other\nsynthetics can take up to two thousand years to biodegrade, and\nthat’s not to mention the harmful microplastics and dangerous fuels\nreleased in the biodegrading process. The factories in which such\nclothes are made are often based in countries with little to no\nenvironmental regulations, such as China, so fuel types and amounts\ndon’t have to be regulated. As of 2014, the fashion industry is one\nof the most heinous pollutants, second only to oil.\nFast fashion also hosts a humanitarian crisis. To stock these\nfactories with an abundance of workers without having to pay the\nprice of such a large quantity of workers, fast fashion companies\ntake advantage of young and poor workers. As of 2016, more than 60\nmillion individuals work in fast fashion factories, and more than\n81% of those people are women, more times than not young, poor, and\nwithout other options. Working in these factories can be incredibly\nrisky, as cheap labor means cheap machines, and when mixed with\nyoung children can lead to serious injuries with no health\ninsurance.\nIf this wasn’t bad enough, fast fashion businesses have a notorious\nhistory of creating dozens of offensive and inexcusable policies and\nproducts. While these offenses are not directly correlated to their\nfast fashion practices, the popularity these brands have gained\nbecause\nof fast fashion has given immunity to such stores. This means that\neven after horrible practices of the stores are made public\nknowledge, the general public still supports them, and is willing to\nsweep scandal after scandal under the rug, which smaller brands with\na weaker fanbase cannot afford.\nExamples include Brandy Mellville’s size exclusivity and complete\nlack of racial, size, and sexuality diversity; Pretty Little Thing’s\nblackfishing models and culturally appropriating kimonos; Urban\nOutfitters marketing a tapestry nearly identical to the uniforms\nLGBTQ+ Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust, selling a\nshirt that read “Eat Less” during Eating Disorder Awareness Month,\nand creating a highly racist Monopoly knockoff named “Ghettopoly”;\nthe list, unfortunately, goes on and on.\nYes, fast fashion pushes capitalism. But it also pushes climate\nchange, child labor, harassment, racism, so on and so forth. If the\ntop ten worst practices were to be compiled in a list, fast fashion\nwould indubitably be one of them.\nLuckily, there are better options and alternatives out there, more\nthan ever before. More and more sustainable and ethical clothing\nstores have been popping up in recent years, including Alternative\nApparel, Aube, and Made With Respect, to name a few. However, when\nlooking into such stores, it’s important to note that because these\nstores source resources ethically and responsibly and pay their\nworkers higher wages, prices tend to be much higher than fast\nfashion alternatives. If your economic situation allows you to\nsupport these stores,now is the perfect time to start the transition\nto these stores.\nHowever, for many, such stores are simply not accessible nor\nsustainable due to the steep price tags. If this is the case, buying\nsecond hand is a revolutionary option. Buying clothes from Depop(an\nonline site where independent sellers can list their clothes,\nhandmade or store-bought, ranging in all conditions. Because prices\nare determined by the seller, price also ranges), ordering clothes\nfrom ThreadUp(an online catalog of mint to new condition clothes\noften discounted at up to 99% the original price), and through\nthrifting(if any thrift stores are accessible) are all excellent\noptions.\nIf you are buying second hand, note that thrifting online or\nin-person once was a way for low-income families and individuals\nexclusively to purchase items. Thus, when buying, be conscious of\nthe fact that you do have other options. This consciousness includes\nnot buying clothing larger or smaller than your size. XXS, XL,\nMaternity, and other non-standard size clothing is extremely hard to\nfind, in both fast fashion and thrift stores. Make sure that people\nwho need those sizes can get them. The same applies to buying petite\nclothing,cropped or tighter wear, as Petites tend to have a harder\ntime shopping. Avoid buying formal business wear unless you need it\nas well, as not having professional clothes is what holds many back\nfrom going to job interviews or booking a job. Finally, when you are\ngoing through your closet, consider donating clothes to thrift\nstores or ThreadUp. This not only cuts down on your carbon footprint\nand how many new clothes are produced and bought, but also ensures\nthere is a steady supply of clothes for future thrifting.\nNobody is perfect, and we are all bound to mess up at some time or\nanother. However, whenever possible, it is our responsibility to use\nthe economic privilege we hold to assist those who don’t have a\nchoice to be more ethical.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/aguidetolivingamoreethicalfashionablelife81.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/projects/recycling-and-waste-minimisation/fast-fashion-quick-cause-environmental-havoc","https://theweek.com/articles/480961/15-urban-outfitters-controversies"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":103,"pub_key":82,"title":"Mental Health Toolkit","subtitle":"","credit":"","editor":"","date":"2021-01-03","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/mentalhealthtoolkit82.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Creative Writing"]},{"id":93,"pub_key":83,"title":"The Research Behind America’s Great Debate","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Danica Seto","editor":"","date":"2021-01-07","content":"To preface: Although people usually refer to those who are pregnant as “women,” I will be referring to them as “a pregnant person” or “someone experiencing gestation.” While this includes cis-gendered women, it also recognizes those who are pregnant and assigned female at birth but don’t identify as female. Transgender men, those who’re non-binary, gender fluid, and gender non-conforming people who’re pregnant need to be acknowledged as part of this conversation.\nSince its legalization in the U.S in 1973, abortion has been a constant area of debate. At some point, it’s brought up in the household, at work, or plastered on the news, making it impossible to not lean towards one direction or another. Pro-lifers will argue that abortion is immoral, meanwhile those who’re pro-choice, don’t necessarily have to approve of abortion, but are in favor of one’s right to have one.\nIt’s unavoidable to bring up abortion without mentioning its intersectionality in areas like reproductive rights, gender inequality, public health, and religion, all of which present conflicting perspectives into the discussion. For instance, it’s common for some groups to protest abortion with claims of it being against their idea of faith (note this only refers to certain cases and should not be taken as a generalization of all religious groups). Truth be told, the subject of abortion in America is best described as a chaotic web; stringing together other issues at odds, no wonder it’s a source of so much tension and a fan favorite for heated debate.\nBut what’s most concerning is that before people even attempt to argue their position on abortion, they’re rarely informed about the matter. In January of 2016, a nationwide survey was done by PerryUndem Research/Communication. It recorded that of 1060 registerd voters 18 years and older, 27% of Americans believed fewer than 10% of women had an abortion in their lifetime and an astounding 51% of participants thought it was less than 20% of women. When in reality the number is closer to 25-30% of women having abortions, it remains to be seen that unresolved misconceptions are still influencing the way people view abortion. Whether or not it changes your opinion, one should still be aware of the proven research when forming your own conclusions.\nIn its most simple terms, abortion is a medical procedure to deliberately end a pregnancy. Choosing to go through with a pregnancy is such a complex decision that whatever the reason a person has for not wanting to do so, it’s always personal. If one is considering abortion for reasons outside medical need (there being no direct threat to a person’s health because of the pregnancy), resources such as a private doctor, family planning centers, health centers, or local abortion clinics are all possibilities. There, a person would get any necessary tests done and speak to a healthcare professional about their options. More information would then be given regarding what to do, where to go, how to prepare, and further directions for pre/post-procedure.\nIf a pregnant person does choose to have an abortion they’ll be recommended either a medication abortion/abortion pill or an in-clinic surgical abortion depending on how far they are into the pregnancy. As it sounds, medication abortion is when someone takes prescribed medicine to end their pregnancy. After the first day a person began their last menstrual cycle, they have until 11 weeks later to have one to ensure it’s done safely and effectively. They’ll be provided with two pills for the abortion itself, mifepristone and misoprostol, and possibly antibiotics to prevent infection.\nWhen using the abortion pill, mifepristone is first taken. During pregnancy, progesterone is a hormone needed to encourage the smooth muscle in the uterine wall to relax. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, resulting in uterus contraction and it refuses to allow the pregnancy to grow. Some may feel symptoms of nausea or begin bleeding at this point, though this isn’t always the case. Following the directions given, 6-48 hours after taking the first pill, a person would take the second medication, misoprostol. 1-4 hours later, it should begin emptying their uterus by causing cramping and extreme bleeding. It’s normal for thick clumps of tissue or blood clots to pass through the body given the process is described as similar to an early miscarriage. This period of severe cramping and heavy bleeding will last a few hours and will stop for most after 4-5 hours. Once the pregnancy tissue has left the body, the cramping and bleeding should slow making the entire process over within a day of taking the second medication. Although these time intervals are accurate for most pregnant people, all bodies are different and the process of having a medication abortion may vary on a case by case basis. If one is concerned or sees no sign of bleeding 24 hours after ingesting misoprostol, they should contact their doctor or health center.\nSometimes the abortion pill will cause unpleasant symptoms such as stomach aches, diarrhea, vomiting, a mild fever, and milky discharge the following day or two after. While there may be discomfort, common medicines like ibuprofen are generally recommended by doctors to reduce pain. Until one has recovered, hard work, heavy exercise, or activity demanding physical strain is not advised.\nWhile it can’t be stressed enough that the chances of complications are extremely rare, there is always a possibility with any procedure. The majority include: the pills not working, pregnancy tissue is left inside the uterus, blood clotting in the uterus, excessive bleeding (use of more than 2 maxi pads in an hour continuously for 2 or more hours), infection, an allergic reaction to the medication, stomach pain and/or cramps that don’t improve with medication, fever, and any symptoms previously mentioned lasting 24 hours after the second medication is taken. Scheduling a follow-up appointment 2-4 weeks after a medication abortion ensures no harmful issues have arised.\nIn terms of efficiency, it’s undeniable that abortion by medication is effective in ending a pregnancy. When done at 8 weeks of gestation (the time between conception and birth) or earlier, it has a high success rate of 94-98%. Even during the last weeks of the first trimester (10-11 weeks in), the pill works about 87% of the time, but if given an extra dose, up to 98% of the time. For most pregnant people, having a medication abortion is straightforward with close to no likelihood of failure. If possible, people tend to choose it over an in-clinic option because the idea of performing one wherever or whenever they choose is more appealing than that of a procedure done in-person. Some say that because the process feels similar to a miscarriage, it’s less invasive and the experience is “more natural.”\nAnother option for abortion is to have it done in-clinic or performed at a health center by a trained doctor or nurse. It involves the use of medical instruments and gentle suction to remove the pregnancy from the uterus and has two types: suction abortion, also known as vacuum aspiration, and dilation and evacuation (D&E). The first, vacuum aspiration, is the most common type of abortion done. One would get pain medicine and possible sedation ahead of time to provide relief from cramping and help open the cervix. Again, antibiotics may be given to help prevent infection. Laminaria are sometimes inserted into the vagina a few hours or up to a day before the procedure. They’re small sticks made of seaweed used to dilate, absorb bodily fluid, and slowly stretch the cervix open. During a suction abortion, they’ll first examine a person’s uterus, place a speculum or medical tool into the vagina to see inside, and inject medication to numb the cervix. If the dilating rods mentioned earlier hadn't already been placed, they would be at this time so a cannula can be inserted, a thin tube used as a suction instrument to remove tissue from the uterus. Any tissue left behind is removed using a curette or a small surgical tool. The entire procedure usually takes around 5-10 minutes and happens 14-16 weeks after one’s last period.\nLike vacuum aspiration, a dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion is done by a doctor or nurse. Getting a D&E abortion is almost the same as that of vacuum aspiration except for the use of medical tools along with a suction device when removing pregnancy tissue from the uterus. For those done in the second trimester, a shot in the abdomen is often needed. A D&E abortion takes around 10-20 minutes and unlike a suction one, can be done later into the pregnancy (16 weeks or longer since one’s last period) working more than 99% of the time.\nFollowing the procedure, a person will stay in a recovery room for up to an hour and will need someone to leave with them if they’ve been sedated. Since cramping and heavy periods are common afterward, rest is suggested. But if feeling ready to do so, a person can return to their usual activities the next day. Once having an abortion, a new menstrual cycle begins 4-8 weeks later. It’s possible to become pregnant immediately after an abortion so birth control options should be discussed as soon as possible with a doctor or nurse. Some health centers can insert an IUD into the uterus right after having an abortion so there’s no need to schedule another appointment. It should be noted price is generally a concern for those struggling with financial hardship. The average cost of an abortion in the U.S during the first trimester is $508, ranging anywhere from $75-$2500. Those done in the second trimester cost around $1195. Any done later can cost more than $3000 because of growing restrictions on abortion. As such, most insurance plans no longer cover D&E abortions. These numbers are alarmingly high but hinging on location and one’s health insurance, they can cost less or even be free.\nDespite many misconceptions, as far as procedures go, abortion is one of the safest. There’s been no evidence to prove it poses a risk to future pregnancies (causing birth defects, miscarriage, infant death, etc.), increases the chances of breast cancer, or affects fertility. Likewise, long-term emotional problems are unusual and appear mostly in those who end a pregnancy due to medical reasons. A study done by the University of California San Francisco revealed complications happen in just less than 2% of abortions. The case fatality rate is less than 1 death per 100,000 abortions done, making the risk of death from childbirth 14 times higher.\nThe last menstrual period (LMP) is used to describe the start of gestation, where most pregnancies will last 40 weeks after this point. As of now, 43 states in the U.S prohibit abortions done past a certain point in the pregnancy. They’re broken down into 1 state banning abortion after the third trimester, 20 banning at viability (where a fetus can survive outside the uterus), and 22 banning between 13-24 weeks LMP. Of these 22 states, abortion is banned as early as 20 weeks LMP (18 weeks postfertilization) up until 24 weeks LMP.\nThough it should be kept in mind, 92% of legal U.S abortions happen in the first 13 weeks of gestation, and only 1.2% of abortions occur after 21 weeks. State restrictions make it very difficult for those who are pregnant to safely or easily receive abortions in the first trimester. Because of this, second or third trimester ones are significantly more of a challenge.\nRestrictive measures are continuously being introduced to limit the number of legal abortions in America. Some comprise of gestational bans earlier mentioned as well as method bans which specifically target the practice of D&E abortions. Parent involvement is a measure used to restrict abortions for minors and disproportionately affects young women of color. It may involve having one or both parents being notified of the procedure, for them to consent to it, or for a minor to need judicial approval before having one. For those in an unsafe household, receiving parental cooperation needed can be another obstacle preventing one’s access to a legal abortion. Most states have medically unnecessary requirements including 18 mandating counseling, 25 having a waiting period between counseling and the procedure, 12 requiring those who are pregnant to make 2 distinct trips to their health center, 39 needing it to be done by a licensed physician, and 19 requiring it be done in a hospital after a certain point in the pregnancy. In most circumstances, factors such as a state’s public funding to cover abortion and insurance coverage, also make receiving one difficult.\nAs recorded by the CDC, 619,591 legal abortions occurred in the U.S in 2018 alone. Let’s state the obvious, that number is not small. That number represents your mother, sister, neighbor, and all those in your life affected by pregnancy. When 68,000 die and 5 million suffer temporary or permanent disabilities from unsafe abortion practice yearly, using the abortion debate as a publicized political issue should be of much greater concern. Why is a country so caught up in winning an argument, where we forget about the lives altered by the decisions officials are making every day? Because for all this talk, what good is it doing for the single mothers raising a child and living off food stamps? How much will you achieve if you were a teen juggling school, a part-time job, extracurriculars, and a child to come?\nInstead of placing yourself on one side of the debate and stopping there, do your part in addressing the root of the issue. Start at the leading cause of abortion: unintended pregnancies. Support efforts in making contraceptives more easily accessible and focus on real concerns like why are they so difficult to obtain? Whether it be societal stigma, inconvenience, cost, etc., learn what you can do to approach that specific challenge in your community. This could involve pushing for improved sex education, given the best way to address teen pregnancy is by fully preparing adolescents to safely be sexually active. Knowledge in itself is the most important. The statistics proving Americans to be severely uneducated or ignorant concerning abortion is startling, to say the least. Support organizations that educate and provide services for reproductive healthcare such as Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the Reproductive Health Access Project. Unlike some would like to believe, these organizations are more than just abortion, covering several areas and offering numerous resources. Abortion is ultimately a health issue and we need to be educating ourselves first and foremost. Then the real work begins.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theresearchbehindamericasgreatdebate83.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Parenthood, Planned. “How Does the Abortion Pill Work & What Should I Expect?” Planned Parenthood, www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/the-abortion-pill/how-does-the-abortion-pill-work.","Godlasky, Anne, et al. “Where Is Abortion Legal? Everywhere. But ...” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 23 Apr. 2020, www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2019/05/15/abortion-law-map-interactive-roe-v-wade-heartbeat-bills-pro-life-pro-choice-alabama-ohio-georgia/3678225002/.","Kliff, Sarah, et al. “We Polled 1,060 Americans about Abortion. This Is What They Got Wrong.: What Americans Think about Abortion.” Vox.com, 29 Feb. 2016, www.vox.com/a/abortion-statistics-opinions-2016/poll.","“An Overview of Abortion Laws.” Guttmacher Institute, 9 Dec. 2020, www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws.","“Abortion Costs.” CompassCare, 17 Dec. 2020, www.compasscare.info/health-information/abortion/abortion-costs/."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":61,"pub_key":84,"title":"Featuring Artist Kennedi Lopes","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Kennedi Lopes","editor":"","date":"2021-01-11","content":"Artist Statement:\n\"What claim will you have? That you rule over a destroyed society?\"\n-AOC\nI want to depict the riot that happened at the US Capitol recently\nand show the irony between many of the slogans that Trump supporters\nhave introduced and their actions on that day. The riot in the piece\nis dramatized to convey the nationwide turmoil that has happened in\nTrump's 4 years and how this turmoil clashes so strongly with\nTrump's slogan \"Make America Great Again.\"\nPatriotism in Modern Day United States","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/featuringartistkennedilopes84.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Featured Submissions","Art","Featured Submissions","Art"]},{"id":53,"pub_key":85,"title":"How COVID-19 Has Only Exacerbated the Inequalities Between BIPOC and White Owned Businesses","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Lillian Hinojosa","editor":null,"date":"2021-01-13","content":"Entrepreneurship is typically observed as a fanatic line of work for a person who is too blindsided by an abundance of wit and skillful determination to understand that they are risking financial hardship, and economic deficiencies in the long term. Starting a business commonly takes the average American an accumulation of savings, loans, and perseverance to even begin working on something small, and although many entrepreneurs masterfully anchor the art of business building after some time, creating a well-functioning company from scratch, isn’t as easily obtainable for everyone ― especially minorities.\nAn estimated half a million small businesses close each year in the United States alone, with minority owned businesses maintaining the standard highest percentage. This is particularly alarming due to the fact that minorities only account for 4 million U.S. small businesses, yet they make up nearly 60% of the half a million failed businesses per year. These factors are inconceivably disproportionate, and further beg the question, “why are minority owned businesses more likely to shut down in America? What are they doing\n?”. The problem here is not poor salesmanship, bad products, or anything else that minority owned businesses are particularly doing wrong. The real problems that have continued to plague BIPOC businesses are the lack of resources, funding, and access to loans that should otherwise be readily available to these companies, but aren’t.\nAs COVID-19 struck America in early 2020, all eyes were on small businesses, as many, (specifically minority businesses) struggled to find sanction amidst chaos, and hoped to create new sources of online revenue that could be adapted due to restrictions that only furthered financial insecurities. Although there was an original fighting push for the support of local businesses, there was only so much that could be done for minority businesses that were facing debilitating financial and resource inequality, even prior to the pandemic.\nPrior to the Pandemic:\nBefore the COVID-19 outbreak, minority owned small businesses were already facing fragile financial stability due to their disproportionately low income, decreased susceptibility of receiving processed loans, and miniscule chances of opportunity resources that are more often offered to White owned businesses. This frangible financial status that many BIPOC businesses were harrowed with, even before the pandemic belabored America, indefinitely forced many localized and small companies to close for good.\nA national poll by the Federal Reserve Banks revealed minority owned small businesses were more likely to show signs of financial distress, in profitability areas, than their non-minority owned business counterparts. These same companies were twice as likely to be classified “at risk”, or in a “distressed state” than non-minority owned businesses. This is ultimately troubling, as the Federal Reserve has indicated that companies deemed “at risk”, are three times more likely than healthy businesses to shut down entirely.\nIt is also estimated that minority owned small businesses faced financial limitations due to a fairly limited access to loans that were more often issued to white small-business owners instead. According to findings from the 2018 Small Business Credit Reserve, large banks had provided 60% of loans to white small-business owners, 50% of loans to Latino small-business owners, and a subsequently low 29% of loans approved for black small-business owners. Loans were more unlikely to be issued to minority owned businesses, due to extensive profiling that has been noted as an incentive for banks to inquire further into an owners' personal financial statements, which in most cases does not accurately reflect actual health, and predict a company's growth. The acquisition of loans is fundamental for many business owners, helping to kick start a company, and grow from scratch. Loans are also crucial in times of income droughts, and help to get many companies out of “rough patches.” Without approved loans, financial fragility only continued to disproportionately burden minority-owned businesses, forcing many to struggle without much assistance.\nCurrent Struggles:\nAlready susceptible to financial onslaught, many economists prior to the pandemic estimated that with any minor recession, minority-owned businesses were increasingly more at risk of permanent closure. According to a recent report issued by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, these predictions were undoubtedly correct. Findings from the report indicate that, in a national polling, 66% of minority small businesses were recorded as feeling distressed regarding their business permanently closing, versus 57% of non-minority owned business owners who felt the same.\nMany of these business owners’ rational fears are compatible with the blatant statistics that have recently surfaced. Between February and April alone, the National Bureau of Economic Research, issued a paper, estimating that 41%, and 32% of Black and Latinx owned businesses, respectively, shut down, due to financial hardship and increased restrictions due to COVID-19. This is constrastable to the subsequently low 17% of white owned small businesses that were shut down in the same three month time span.\nFor the minority owned businesses that continue to operate, a steady income is hardly normal anymore, making the likelihood of staying open for much longer hardly achievable. Findings from the JPMorgan Institute, prove that as of March alone, which marked the beginning of the pandemic, cash reserves for most Black owned businesses decreased by 26% from the last year, while Asian owned businesses had a decrease in cash reserves by roughly 20%. The significant revenue decrease within the Asian owned small business population is particularly alarming, since Asian owned businesses are more commonly reconcilable with maintaining the same capital as that of White small businesses.\nWhy Minority Owned Businesses Matter\nNot only do BIPOC owned businesses help\nprovide both ethnic, and creative diversity amongst the business sector, they also account for around 6 million small businesses that acquire working employees.\nAs minority owned businesses continue to close more rapidly throughout the current COVID-19 crisis, not only will a fearful 6 million small business owners risk financial debilitation, but so will their employees and their families, and stiff incomes to produce. These small businesses are more than just a projected net worth, with a storefront, and a name; these businesses are employers to working class citizens who are trying to provide for themselves, and their loved ones.\nSmall businesses are also a significant bolstering factor to our national economy, and while minority owned businesses account for an estimated 15% of small businesses in the U.S., the downfall of BIPOC owned businesses will significantly burden the national economy with lost capital.\nProlonged Inequality\nThe financially disproportionate hardships that minority owned businesses have been burdened with decades prior to the COVID-19 outbreak has ultimately paved the way for an elongated, more taxing recovery in sight for the millions of businesses now closed, and the innumerable sum of jobs lost throughout this pandemics tolling course. In a public statement released earlier this year, Suzanne P. Clark, the sitting president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, “The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on minority-owned small businesses is further evidence of systemic inequalities in our country. Even more concerning, the pandemic could exacerbate and elongate the economic struggles already facing minority-owned businesses and families.\" Clark proceeded to state that the Chamber of Commerce is actively working to bolster change and equal opportunity for the entirety of America's business sector since they believe that change must soon ensue; allowing America to let down minority owned businesses is ultimately permitting our system to enable the inequality that only continues to fail a group of Americans who deserve the same fair treatment and opportunities as our population’s majority.\nAmerica prides itself on the maintenance of it’s most coveted, “American Dream” ideology that has been exhaustingly peddled for over a century. This ideology has since built upon the nationalistic view of America and all of it’s promised opportunities, freedoms, and equalities ― and yet, minorities are only persisting to fall victim to attacks initiated by our own government system. A nation can not guarantee to protect the freedoms of all people's rights, and then outrightly belittle BIPOC creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs that remain the influential trailblazers of this country. As long as this country continues to fail BIPOC business owners, and further prolong their immeasurable struggles throughout the ensuing course of this pandemic, this nation will remain a hypocrisy at its core.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/howcovid19hasonlyexacerbatedtheinequalitiesbetweenbipocandwhiteownedbusinesses85.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":18,"pub_key":86,"title":"Unforgivable","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Hanna Aboueid","editor":"","date":"2021-01-19","content":"I sent out a search party for the last of humanity,\nBut you told me to stop;\nIt had already been scavenged,\nUprooted and renamed.\nYou told me I was tired\nBecause I had too many dreams.\nA restful sleep is an empty one.\n“Buy yourself something nice”\nSomething about inheritance and inherent things.\nIt’s too naive to hate you,\nSo I turn to the existential, to worship.\nIt’s too innocent to hate you,\nSo I look to words on pages.\nIt’s too insincere to hate you,\nSo I hate myself.\nThere is something so incredibly evil about sentencing humanity to a\nlifetime of drowning.\nYou say our expectations are too high, but we’re just trying to go\nup for air, love.\nIt’s easy, you tell me.\nThe only thing you have to give up is your life.\nBut there is certainty in injustice, and love in our vengeance:\nThe fires you’re setting,\nWe’ll drown you putting them out.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/unforgivable86.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":14,"pub_key":87,"title":"Why Eating Disorders Don’t Have A Look","subtitle":null,"credit":"By Michaela Capulong","editor":null,"date":"2021-01-23","content":"We’ve all seen the image before: a young, white, and emaciated\ncisgender woman, battling an eating disorder. She struggles with\nbody image, starves herself, and has that “fragile” semblance to\nher. She’s impossibly (and enviably) thin—her bones protrude\noutward, creating the shock factor for everyone she comes in contact\nwith. She is inundated with attention and concern: strangers\nadvising her to get help immediately, adults offering her their\nfood, and teenage girls whispering to each other, secretly coveting\nher figure. No one questions the validity of her eating disorder,\nand no one doubts her when she says she is struggling.\nTake To the Bone (2017) for example. The film features Ellen, a\nghostly thin, white woman in her twenties, in the throes of anorexia\nnervosa. The film is considered problematic for a host of reasons;\nit includes graphic and triggering scenes, glamorization and\nromanticization of mental illness, and portrayals of behaviours that\ncould both lead an individual to draw inspiration from Ellen and\nexacerbate a pre-existing eating disorder. However, one of the\nbiggest problems with To The Bone (2017) was that it reinforced the\nnarrative that only naturally thin, young, white, cisgender women\nwho were able to shrink their body to a state of emaciation were\nvictims of eating disorders. And while it’s true that maybe a\nminiscule amount—no more than a single digit percentage—of folks\nwith eating disorders do fit perfectly into this narrow archetype,\nthe vast majority of people with eating disorders do not. Eating\ndisorders affect people all across the weight spectrum and of all\nethnic backgrounds, even though these populations do not align with\nthe universally accepted “look” of what an eating disorder is.\nThe lack of representation when it comes to portraying eating\ndisorders in the media feeds into the idea that in order for one’s\ndisorder to be valid and legitimate, they must appear a certain way.\nThe harmful stereotype and preconceived notion disproportionately\nimpacts People of Color and larger-bodied individuals, as eating\ndisorders are often misdiagnosed among these populations due to\nimplicit biases.\nThe National Eating Disorders Association affirmed that it was\nastronomically less probable for Black, Indigenous, and People of\nColor to be extended help or given adequate treatment when it came\nto eating disorders. An associated study suggests that Black\nteenagers are 50% more likely than white teenagers to engage in\nbulimic behaviors (Goeree, Sovinsky, & Iorio, 2011) contradicting\nall of the messages we are indoctrinated with growing up. A similar\nstatistic additionally asserts that People of Color who recognized\nthey had dysfunctional relationships with food, exercise patterns,\nand body image “were significantly less likely than white\nparticipants to have been asked by a doctor about eating disorder\nsymptoms” (Becker, 2003). As concerning as it is, it is completely\npossible for beliefs stemming from systems of oppression to permeate\ninto the healthcare system also. Black folks experience racial bias\nfrom doctors, and are regularly gaslighted, interrogated, and\ninvalidated amidst their exchanges with medical “professionals”\n(Hall et al). The National Academy of Medicine also found that\nacross the board, racial minorities receive significantly\nlower-quality healthcare than their white counterparts. Imagine how\nmany folks were denied adequate treatment, falsely diagnosed, or\neven dismissed altogether, just because their physicians were\nimbibed with preconceived notions of what an eating disorder “was,”\nand what it “wasn’t.” And where exactly did these preconceived\nnotions stem from? Systemic racism. Systemic racism permeates\nthrough the medical field and training, as the educators and\nprofessionals subconsciously reinforce the narrative that only white\nwomen can be victims of eating disorders. Systemic racism that\ninfiltrates the healthcare system, resulting in physicians being\nnotably less likely to even screen People of Colors for eating\ndisorders. Systemic racism that causes Black communities to live in\npoorer conditions than white people, squalor, and food insecurity,\nwhich is staunchly associated with the development of eating\ndisorders. Living in poorer communities means that People of Color\nwill ineluctably receive worse healthcare treatment that is in no\nway comparable to the healthcare treatment that white folks have\naccess to.\nThe same goes for larger-bodied individuals. We’re told that there\nis no way that a person in a higher weight range could possibly be\nafflicted with a restrictive eating disorder. The very idea is\nabsurd in our culture—laughable, almost. Weight-loss is vehemently\nencouraged for larger-bodied people; they are applauded for\nshrinking their bodies by any means necessary. Weight stigma and\nfatphobia are already pervasive within society. These messages tell\nus that one has to be thin in order to be worthy, beautiful,\nloveable, deemed as “healthy,” and all the rest. Weight-loss ideals\nare essentially foisted onto everyone, but higher-weight individuals\nare especially vulnerable to this pressure. The pressure placed on\nthem to shrink their body is unremitting and incessant; yet, when\nthey understandably develop eating disorders, they are ridiculed,\nturned away, told that an eating disorder is not even a possibility\nfor someone of their size.\nImplicit bias harms everyone. The widespread nature of racism and\nfatphobia affects so many people, hindering those in marginalized\nbodies from getting the care we all need and deserve. So how do we\nchange something that is so deeply entrenched within our own\nculture? That necessary change starts with the individual,\ndeconstructing and unlearning all of the beliefs they’ve ever been\ntold about what an eating disorder should appear as, dismantling\ninternalized fatphobic and racist messages that are so deeply\nembedded in our society. Individuals must change their perceptions\nof what eating disorders look like, or that eating disorders have a\n\"look\" at all, in order to be able to show up and advocate for those\nin the most marginalized of bodies and demand healthcare treatment\nequity.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/whyeatingdisordersdonthavealook87.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Hall, William J., et al. “Implicit Racial/Ethnic Bias Among Health Care Professionals and Its Influence on Health Care Outcomes: A Systematic Review.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 105, no. 12, Dec. 2015, pp. e60–76. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302903.","FitzGerald, Chloë, and Samia Hurst. “Implicit Bias in Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review.” BMC Medical Ethics, vol. 18, no. 1, Dec. 2017, p. 19. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.1186/s12910-017-0179-8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302903.","“People of Color and Eating Disorders.” National Eating Disorders Association, 18 Feb. 2018, https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/people-color-and-eating-disorders.","“Size Diversity & Health at Every Size.” National Eating Disorders Association, 18 Feb. 2018, https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/size-diversity-health-every-size.","“Racism and Eating Disorder Diagnosis and Treatment.” More-Love.Org, 16 June 2020, https://more-love.org/2020/06/06/racism-and-eating-disorder-diagnosis-and-treatment/."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":91,"pub_key":88,"title":"The 2020 Indian Farmers' Protest: What Dilli Chalo means for the world","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Rhea Bogarapu","editor":"","date":"2021-01-26","content":"On September 17, 2020, the Indian Agricultural Acts of 2020 were\napproved by India’s President, Ram Nath Kovind, after being passed\nby the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of Parliament, and the Rajya\nSabha, the upper house of Parliament.\nThat’s when havoc struck.\nAccording to India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the bills allow\nfarmers to directly sell their produce to private buyers and\ncorporates. This move to encourage contract farming and stockpiling,\nwhich was banned under the old laws, has been named ‘anti-farmer’ by\nunions all over India.\nThe deregulation of the agrarian sector brings much cause for\nconcern: the BJP, India’s ruling party, claims that the bills give\nfarmers more liberty when it comes to selling produce since they no\nlonger have to deal with brokers and middlemen. Nevertheless, Indian\nfarmers have been protesting since September as they believe that\nthese new practices will allow corporations to take advantage of\nrising prices by hoarding produce (Bahree).\nPreviously, farmers sold their produce to their state's Agricultural\nProduce Market Committee (APMC). Here, they were guaranteed to\nreceive a minimum price for their goods, but under the new laws,\nthey are open to exploitation from private companies.\nFarmers fear that they are now at the mercy of large corporations:\nthis led to a nationwide strike on November 26 with more than 250\nmillion people taking part to show their support for farmer unions.\nIndia’s farmers make up more than half of the workforce, yet the BJP\nstill states that their concerns are misplaced and contest that the\nbills offer farmers autonomy in place of dependence on the\ngovernment (Hollingsworth et al.).\nThe strike was preceded by a march to Delhi, Dilli Chalo, to\npressure the Central Government into considering negotiations with\nfarmer unions. Farmers from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and\nHaryana have been swarming Delhi and blocking roads and highways in\nan attempt to have their demands met.\nA month later, the blockades continued. The farmers will not stop\nprotesting until the three laws are withdrawn. They also wish for\nthe withdrawal of the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020\nwhich could bring an end to the sale of subsidised electricity.\nOn the 4th of January 2021, the Supreme Court agreed to register the\nfirst plea in favour of the farmers on humanitarian grounds. The\nCourt is urged to look into the use of excessive police force on the\nfarmers (“Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Panjab University Students'\nPlea on Farmers' Protest”).\nAs of when this article has been written, 57 farmers have been\nmurdered by the violence brought about by the police during\nprotests. Pneumonia and farmer suicides have been another\ncontributing factor to the increasing death toll (“'Delhi Chalo'\nexplainer: What the farmers' protest is all about”).\nThese protests aren’t just affecting those in India. Not only is\nIndia the world’s largest producer and exporter of spices, it’s also\nthe leading exporter of Basmati rice, the world’s largest milk\nproducer, and the second largest producer of fruits, vegetables,\nrice, and cereals. What happens to Indian farmers affects the whole\nworld. From cotton to tea to the very food we eat, farmers are the\nfoundation of agriculture (Ebrahimji).\nAt this point of time, the best way to support farmers in India is\nto show up to local protests in your area (while socially\ndistancing), support the numerous protests circulating the internet,\nand to take up the issue with your local leaders (by dropping them a\nletter or calling their offices). Direct donations to farmers unions\nand NGOs based in India are bound to be helpful when so many are\nsuffering on the borders of Delhi.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/the2020indianfarmersprotestwhatdillichalomeansfortheworld88.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Bahree, Megha. “Why are thousands of Indian farmers protesting?” Al Jazeera, 1 December 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/12/1/why-are-thousands-of-indian-farmers-protesting.","“'Delhi Chalo' explainer: What the farmers' protest is all about.” The Economic Times, 2 December 2020, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/delhi-chalo-explainer-what-the-farmers-protest-is-all-about/articleshow/79460960.cms?from=mdr.","Ebrahimji, Alisha. “Thousands of people are protesting with farmers in India. This is why you should care.” CNN, 12 December 2020, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/11/world/farmer-protests-india-protests-hnk-trnd/index.html.","Hollingsworth, Julia, et al. “Tens of thousands of farmers swarm India's capital to protest deregulation rules.” CNN, 6 December 2020,https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/01/asia/delhi-farmers-india-protests-intl-hnk/index.html.","“Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Panjab University Students' Plea on Farmers' Protest.” The Wire, 05 January 2021, https://thewire.in/law/supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-panjab-university-students-plea-on-farmers-protest."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":21,"pub_key":89,"title":"How COVID-19 Might Change City Landscapes Forever","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Malya Robenson","editor":"","date":"2021-01-30","content":"When Americans faced the brunt of COVID-19 back in May– a distant\nnine months ago– entire lives were upended. By early April,\nAmericans had filed over six million unemployment claims, with the\nnumber still remaining unsettlingly high to this day, and eviction,\nmortgage, and foreclosure relief have been in high demand. The\nlandscape of entire neighborhoods was drastically altered in the\nearly months of 2020 and although, for some, life may be returning\nto normal, it is likely that this pandemic will have long lasting\neffects.\nAt the start of the pandemic, a staggering number of people were\nmoving for various reasons: young people who either couldn’t afford\ntheir rent, or were sent home from college, had to move back in with\ntheir parents, some individuals or entire families who were unable\nto pay rent or mortgages were eventually evicted, and some people\nsimply wanted to spend their quarantine somewhere more secluded,\nchoosing to either take up residence at their vacation homes or\nleaving their old homes and apartments all together to start anew.\nDespite the fact that changes to exact residence data may differ\nacross the country, it is clear that the onset of the coronavirus\nprompted an exodus from cities.\nAccording to data from the USPS concerning change-of-address\nrequests from MyMove, over 150,000 people moved out of New York City\nbetween February and July, resulting in a nearly 48% increase from\nlast year’s numbers. Small towns with populations around a few\nthousand inhabitants, like Katy and Richmond, Texas, on the other\nhand, saw people moving into their neighborhoods.\nIt isn’t as if there wasn’t significant incentive to move out of\nlarge cities if one could afford to uproot and move. Due to the\ndense population in New York City – a place with a population of\nover eight million, a number that doesn’t take into account that\nManhattan’s population nearly doubles during the work day– the Big\nApple became the US’s first COVID-19 epicenter.\nSurprisingly enough, because of the unique circumstances presented\nby the quarantine, which everyone needed to find ways to navigate,\nthere are quite a few companies based in large cities that likely\nwon’t be negatively impacted if their employees decide to work\nremotely. Paying rent for office buildings is expensive in large\ncities but after sending all of their employees home, there are\ncompanies that are finding that renting out a space in the future\nmay be unnecessary if people are willing to do their work from home.\nAt this point, everything is highly speculative, however, it would\nbe safe to say that this is an idea that must be taken into\nconsideration when watching how city life returns to some semblance\nof normal.\nIf there are people who can afford to move and perhaps even prefer\nliving away from large cities, and a job market that would cater to\ntheir desire to work from home, then concerns on an economic\nstandpoint arise over urbanization coming to a halt. When arguing\nagainst the necessity of quarantining and closing businesses, many\npeople on the news cited cases such as New York City which became\nvirtual ghost towns when strict stay-at-home measures were enforced\nand businesses had to close their doors for a period. While their\ninterests were mainly centered around the immediate economic\nrepercussions of quarantining, having droves of people leaving large\ncities is something that would likely impact their economies for\nlong periods of time.\nMore pressing issues tend to arise however, when speaking of less\naffluent communities and how the pandemic has impacted their lives.\nAccording to the AARP, the top five types of workers hit hardest by\nthe pandemic were service workers, arts, design, entertainment and\nmedia workers, small business owners, construction or mining\nworkers, and sales workers – unsurprising, as most are jobs that\nmust be done in person. The massive wave of unemployment and\nbusiness closures that struck will have lasting effects, some of\nwhich were largely avoidable, and some of which were inevitable.\nIn terms of outcomes that were avoidable, the response from the\nUnited States government has been underwhelming. Despite the\nlackluster moratoriums put on evictions, millions of Americans are\nfacing mounting bills from months of overdue rent that they will\neventually owe when the moratoriums expire. While there were some\nnotable landlords who could afford to be lenient and not charge rent\nfor their tenants for a while, the same cannot be said for all\nlandlords; an unfortunate but understandable position to take.\nBecause of the massive rise in evictions, there is also likely going\nto be a wave of homelessness that large cities in the United States\nwill have to deal with. San Diego, Los Angeles, and New York City\nare a few of the most populated cities in America and they have some\nof the nation’s greatest homeless populations as well. Because they\nwere three of the hardest hit cities by COVID-19 in the United\nStates, their lock downs were incredibly restrictive, meaning their\neconomies all suffered greatly and many people lost their jobs.\nLarge cities already face incredibly large homelessness populations\nwhich they are not equipped to properly address. A rise in\nhomelessness at a time when economies are already struggling and\ncomprehensive support is hard to come by will have massive\nramifications in the near future.\nDomestic residence evictions are only half of the concern when it\ncomes to overall evictions: there are numerous businesses that have\nbeen forced to relocate or permanently shut their doors because they\ncouldn’t afford their rent due to a lack of customers.\nBecause the manner in which countless businesses have always\nfunctioned was incompatible with the safety guidelines implemented\ndue to the pandemic, rising unemployment rates were always going to\nbe part of the equation as business owners had to either close down\nand reopen after weeks of reevaluating or decide to close shop all\ntogether.\nRegardless of the circumstances, the undeniable truth is that small\nbusinesses across America, but especially in large cities, are\nclosing their doors for good. One main issue that may arise as a\nresult is widespread gentrification.\nGentrification occurs when affluent people or people who are not\npart of a minority take control of something that belongs to a\nminority group to make it their own. When referring to the\ngentrification of neighborhoods, wealthy people purchase residences\nin poorer, usually minority, neighborhoods and rebuild them, driving\nup prices and effectively displace residents that cannot afford to\nlive in the changing neighborhoods.\nAlthough there are those who enjoy living away from large cities, it\nis inevitable that a percentage of the population who fled the city\nwill start to come back as a vaccine becomes readily available and\nit is safe to be among crowds again. When that happens, there will\nbe no shortage of large businesses and companies looking to replace\nsmall businesses in less affluent communities so long as there are\naffluent people looking to buy and rebuild residences in those\nneighborhoods. Gentrification on such a large scale could\neffectively push thousands of families across America out of their\nhomes, worsening the wealth gap significantly.\nThe reverberations of the pandemic will be numerous and both seen\nand unseen. The changing landscape is but one of countless ways that\nlives will be affected in the near and distant future.\nWhile it is impossible to know the exact repercussions this pandemic\nwill have on the American people, it is safe to say that the\nlandscape of cities across the nation will see long lasting changes,\nwhether it is because people have migrated out of large cities\ntowards smaller ones, because homelessness is on the rise as tens of\nthousands of families face evictions in the near future, or because\nof widespread gentrification.\nNow, just as at the start of the pandemic, it is important to do\nyour best to help others in need. Get educated on issues affecting\nyour community. If you can afford to, donate your money, time, or\nresources where you believe they will have the greatest impact. The\nworld as we know it is changing; it is the responsibility of every\nindependent individual to make sure it is for the better and not the\nworse.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/howcovid19mightchangecitylandscapesforever89.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":119,"pub_key":90,"title":"Tech Week Gothic","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Newton \"Salem\" Brophy","editor":null,"date":"2021-02-02","content":"Credit: fallprotect.com\nThe tech director gives you a note from last night’s rehearsal. The blue gel in the cyc light is not in its frame properly. A white, blinding streak of light pierces through the blue wash on the backdrop. It winks at you. You vaguely wonder if it’s propositioning you or just taunting you as you climb the 28-ft. ladder into the catwalks.\nThere is a prop writing desk on loan from a semi-famous local theatre company. You don’t know what they’re called-- as far as you know, they have no name, they’re just That Theatre, the one with all the experimental Shakespeare. The desk is priceless, antique. Walt Whitman wrote To a Stranger on it, and it’s rumored that Emily Dickinson and Susan Gilbert consummated their affair on its hallowed surface. It is a sacred prop, and as you move it downstage right, you break two of its legs off.\nYou have seen the play 72 times. 74, if you count the time you were trapped up in the catwalks in knots of extension cords, and the run last Thursday that was interrupted by a fire truck barrelling through the lobby after someone lit up under a smoke detector. The lines are now inside jokes with your friends, the others in the production. You can perform the scenes on the spot now, if prompted by a phrase coincidentally resembling a cue line. The day before yesterday, your doorman accidentally said something about seagulls, and you performed all three acts from memory. People have fallen quiet around you, afraid to say any words in the English language that may be in the play, which is all of them. They avoid eye contact when you pass.\nThe director gives your lighting designer a note on the actor’s specials; they’re too yellow. You have your electricians add blue-tinted gels in the Source 4s. The director gives your lighting designer a note next rehearsal; the light is now too shadowy. You change out the gels for something lighter. Now the actors are too sickly-yellow again. You change out the yellow gels for something more like rose. The director tells you and the lighting designer that the actors look sunburned. You replace the rosy gels with straw-colored gels. Now the actors are growing boils. You climb up the 50-ft. ladder to the catwalks and remove the Source 4s one by one, beating them with a crescent wrench until they are only twisted, dented scraps of metal debris and you can no longer look your reflection in the eyes. There is no light anymore. The stage is dark. The next rehearsal, the director is pleased. She tells your lighting designer that this is just right.\nThe props are padlocked into the cabinet every night. You’ve never seen the keys, but you’ve heard that the stage manager has them on her person at all times. She sleeps with them. She bathes with them. The keys must always be guarded, lest they fall into the wrong hands. The props, when not onstage, must be returned to the cabinet immediately. When they are not in the hands of their designated character, they must be in the cabinet. This is of the utmost importance. The only thing more important than this is not letting the actors touch their props outside of their scenes. The assistant stage manager tells you in an excited whisper that they try to steal them and take them home. They’re insatiable, he says. During blocking on the first week of rehearsals, the lead attempted to take a prop bottle home. When caught, he made a break for the door, to the cheers of his castmates. He had to be tackled to the floor by no less than ten men. His castmates watched him be martyred, hissing like vampires at the stage manager. That was the first night she began to keep the keys on her person, the assistant stage manager tells you. He makes vague mention of death threats and her locking her windows at night.\nThe lead rips his pants three rehearsals in a row. You sew them up every night. On the fourth night, you wonder if tech week will ever end. Before the show opens, he will rip them clean in half two more times and you will accidentally sew off the freckle on your thumb into his pants with the sewing machine.\nThe tech director gives you a note from last night’s rehearsal. The blue gel in the cyc light is not in its frame properly. A white, blinding streak of light pierces through the blue wash on the backdrop. You send an electrician to fix his error again. He does not appear lucid.\nThe set designer tells the tech director that the set will be abstract, absurdist. The tech director follows the design as closely as possible. You build three staircases to nowhere, and put the house seats on a catapult. When you ask why the audience is to sit in such a precarious trap, the tech director tells you that you may ask why all you like, but in the end, the set must still be built. You continue to build platforms without legs. Somehow, they still stay four feet in the air. You build. You build. You build. You construct a ten-foot tall wall between the house and the stage, obstructing the audience’s view. You are allowed to paint it pink if you like. You build. You build. You build. At some point, you look at the blueprints for the set, and it is like staring into the void, and it is gazing into you. In your head, you can hear the abyss compelling you to build a platform with railings that cannot support any especially careless actor, laughing at your silly whys. At last, you understand. You build. You build. You build.\nYou spend a week off-the-grid. But really you’re 100 feet above the stage in the catwalks, refocusing lights. The first night, the director says downstage left is too dark. You refocus the light. The second night, the director says downstage right is too bright. You refocus the light. The third night, the director says the light is hitting the audience. You refocus the light. The fourth night, the director says the light is giving her fever visions of crabs the size of the Empire State Building, speaking to her in unison, warning of the seas reclaiming the land and Triton rising again. You refocus the light. The fifth night, the actors are too much in shadow. You refocus the light. The sixth night, the actors are too much in light, faceless and haunting. You refocus the light. The seventh night, upstage left is too dark again. You refocus the light. On the eighth night, you rest.\nYour tech director gets a note from the director early on; there’s a squeak somewhere underneath the largest platform, downstage left. As the runt of the litter, you are the only one who can fit underneath. You are sent Below to vanquish the squeak, armed with only a splint and screw gun. You find the squeak-- a crossbeam of warped wood, rubbing against the frame. You fix it quickly and get out of there. The next day, the director gives your tech director another note. The squeak has moved; center-left. The chase is on.\nThe tech director gives you a note from last night’s rehearsal. The blue gel in the cyc light is not in its frame properly. A white, blinding streak of light pierces through the blue wash on the backdrop. It mocks you as you climb up 200 feet to fix it again. You vow to have a word with your electricians.\nThe stage is lit. The house is lit. The catwalks are lit from below. The lobby is lit. The lead actor steps downstage and suddenly he is swallowed by blackness. He has found it; the only shadow left in the entire theatre. He stands in it.\nYou refocus the light.\nThere are no more shadows. The entire cast has gone missing. The stage manager has a panic attack attempting to recover them. They are found hours later, cowering away from their lights underneath the set platforms.\nThe tech director gives you a note from last night’s rehearsal. The cyc light has melted through the blue gel after being left on too long. A white, blinding streak of light pierces through the blue wash on the backdrop. You scale the 500-ft. ladder into the catwalks. As you again replace the blue gel in the cyc light, you look below and contemplate jumping. You realize that this would be pointless; you would never be able to work off all of the bad karma from leaving such a mess on tech week for your co-workers. Hell is inevitable.\nThe director gives the tech director a note from rehearsal. The platform is fine, not disrupting anything. But bizarrely, a door upstage right has begun to squeak every time an actor enters or exits. The tech director relays this information to you, and you pick up the screw gun again. You admire the squeak’s cunning. You tell the tech director to call you Ishmael.\nYou have not left the theatre in many moons. The last time you saw the outside, it was blooming everywhere. You wonder if the leaves have fallen, if the snows have buried the entire building. You ask the actors for any news of the outside. You know they come and go; you see them walk out the doors every night. Their answers, though, are opaque, and they don’t meet your eyes when you ask more probing questions. What color is the sky? You don’t remember anymore. How lovely it would be to see it again, just for a moment... You survive solely on Half & Half from the fridge in the office, and the occasional meatball sub that your tech director brings you from Subway. Your clothes are beginning to peel off, but you’re used to your own smell. The production manager finds you trying to catnap on the set and reminds you that your rent for the month is overdue.\nYou visit the costume shop sometimes. The costume designer vibrates. It used to frighten you, but now it is comforting. On especially stressful days, you come in and ask her to hold your martini mixer. The convenience keeps you from offering her help.\nThe sound board op is coordinating with the sound designer. You hear her telling him about a time she was doing sound cues for the Scottish Play-- but she actually says the name. All of the actors who are present fall silent and stare at her, horrified. She has no idea what she’s done. The sound designer steps away from her as the actors all begin to let out blood-curdling screams. There is a noise like tearing seams, and a rip opens the air like a dark violet slash, and the sound board op is violently sucked through the aether, crying and pleading, unaware that there is no apology for what she has done. The black hole closes and all is silent. The tech director asks you to be the new sound board op, since it’s too short notice to get anyone else.\nA floorboard is bubbling upstage. You make a note of it for the tech director and the set designer, and go after it with the staple gun. The next night, you notice another floorboard bubbling upstage left. You make another note, and get the staple gun. The night after, the first floorboard is bubbling again, along with two more center stage right. You staple them down. The fourth night, every floorboard is bubbling. You are there until daybreak stapling them. The fifth night, you rest your head in your hands, exhausted. Your right temple is bubbling up. In your right hand is the staple gun. You don’t remember picking it up. You stare at it.\nThe penultimate night, you are in the theatre with the lighting designer past midnight. A security guard comes to check on you both. He assures you he is here to protect you, it’s in his job description after all. He tells you stories about real-life Medea’s who drown their children. His heart cannot comprehend the evil; to murder a child in cold blood, he says, should be punishable by death. He could spank a child-- he does believe in discipline, he tells you both-- but to kill a child? Never. Beyond his abilities, although he assures you, looking in your eyes, that he is quite capable of murder. The lighting designer, you see, looks on the verge of a Faustian deal. She seems to want to take him up on the unspoken offer. When he finally leaves, you look up at the wash. A white, blinding streak of light pierces through the blue wash on the backdrop. You discover when you check later that the cyc light has devoured the gel whole. It is insatiable.\nYou excuse yourself to the bathroom around three in the morning. While washing your hands, you remember the elderly worker who fell to his death outside the men’s room. Over your shoulder in the mirror, you watch the door. You hope a ghost would have a more pleasant place to haunt than the bathroom. As you open the door, you expect to see that security guard waiting for you on the other side.\nLater that morning, you notice a white light piercing the purple veil of the gradient upon the wash. Sure enough, when you ascend the mazes of ladders, spiral staircases, and grapevines through the clouds to the catwalks, you find that the cyc light has claimed another victim: the lavender gel has crumpled in its frame. You stare at the white light disrupting the beautiful sunset wash. It’s in the shape of a smirk.\nBefore opening night, you finally destroy the squeak in the platform. It makes its last stand upstage center. With a pneumatic nail gun and shiv, you fight for the crossbeams. Later, you run over every inch of stage. It is finally gone. The masonite is blessedly silent. You don’t know what to do with your time anymore. You think later, when it is already too late, that maybe you loved the squeak.\nYou walk through the dressing rooms to replace a last minute prop. The actors don’t seem to notice you, and your presence does not interrupt their stripping and talking to one another half-dressed. You return to the props mistress. Backstage are more actors, also half-dressed. One strikes up a conversation with you. She is completely naked and unashamed. You don’t know what to do. You leave at the first opportunity, and go to check on the front-of-house. An actor is where he is not supposed to be, talking to his friends. He too, is very not-dressed. You wrangle him back to the dressing rooms. They’re all looking at you now. You’re the only one wearing clothes. You’re the only one with modesty. You feel their eyes on you during the performance later, seeking you out in the house while they’re onstage, or their eyes glittering from the dark of the wings. You can feel them prowling.\nThe tech director gives you a note from opening night. The wash is perfect. The blues, lavenders, ambers, and oranges are beautiful, uninterrupted. This does not assuage you. You know the cyc lights are only lying in wait, teeth bared for the perfect opportunity to strike. You don’t trust the tech director anymore. He could be in league with them. It’s just you and the lighting designer against all the potential agents of the cyc light. You know that if it catches you unawares, it will devour all.\nThe show is amazing. So amazing, in fact, that an extra week is added to the run. Nothing goes wrong. Everyone forgets about tech week and revels in the excitement. An actor improvises an entire soliloquy when a bit player goes up on a line. The Sunday matinee ends with a standing ovation from all the old people in their walkers. The runners are suddenly invisible and five times quicker. The props mistress finds her head. The stage manager smiles. You see her twirling the mythical keys on a finger. Every light and sound cue is on time. The actors are all getting along, even the Diva, and all the chemistry is miraculously authentic. The pacing is consistent.\nEvery prop is accounted for, and the actors have found their lights. No cell phones go off and the audiences laugh at all the right points. Backstage, your mother tells you she has finally found a job, and your newsfeed tells you that a cure for the common cold has been discovered. You catch a glimpse of your reflection. All your acne has cleared up. The director is nominated for a Tony.\nThe third-to-last show, an actor flubs her blocking and steps downstage left instead of downstage center. Under her foot, the platform squeaks. It throws her off, and she goes up on her lines. There is a long, agonizing moment, the audience tense, then she starts again. She’s saying the line from two beats ago. Her scene partner is forced to repeat his old lines. At the same line, the squeak pierces the frigid theatre air. Her mouth is agape, eyes bugging out of her head. She tries again. The scene loops for a second time. The entire audience is in the grips of a full-body cringe. The squeak keeps coming. You realize that the squeak, shrill and never-ending, is coming from her mouth. Terrified, she tries to scream for help, but there is only the squeak.\nThe tech director gives you a note from last night’s show. The blue gel in the cyc light is not in its frame properly. A white, blinding streak of light pierces through the blue wash on the backdrop.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/techweekgothic90.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Creative Writing"]},{"id":193,"pub_key":91,"title":"Black Circle, Once Alive","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Rohan Subramaniam","editor":"","date":"2021-02-06","content":"About the writer:\nRohan Subramaniam is a high school junior from Greenwich,\nConnecticut. He is an aspiring writer, journalist and musician; he\nstudies and writes literature, and plays the electric bass, both of\nwhich he hopes to pursue professionally. He is passionate about\nfurthering the ways poetry changes society, and his goal is to\ncreate poems that serve to spread awareness and educate society,\nwhile maintaining artistic qualities that make them enjoyable to\nread. In his free time, he enjoys cooking and going on walks with\nhis family.\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nMy poem draws attention to the mental health crisis present among\nteenagers in today's society. It uses an extended metaphor to\nportray how teenagers who suffer from depression and anxiety form\ntheir own worlds for themselves, often hiding within their own\nthoughts, within music, etc. and isolate themselves from their\nfamilies, friends and those looking to help. This sometimes can lead\nto suicide - the high teen depression and suicide rates (exacerbated\nby the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic) show just how pressing the\nissue of youth mental health is not just in America, but around the\nworld.\nShe sees herself as a\nBroken record, but not like the\nOnes that repeat themselves.\nLike the ones that just\nCan't be played.\nThe record is spinning around,\nSpinning…\nThe stylus drops, but no sound.\nThe music is a secret\nAlmost purposely kept\nFrom the world,\nTrapped within microscopic grooves\nOn cold polyvinyl chloride.\nIt should be taken in to get\nFixed, shouldn’t it?\nBy an unfeeling technician,\nOblivious to what lies\nInside the thin, black disc.\nAs it is animate, not dead.\nNot yet, at least… until someone\nSnaps it in two.\nAlas, maybe its time has come.\nFor no one seems to be able\nTo stoop down\nAnd click “play”.\nCertainly not She.\nSo one day, her mother\nWalks into her room\nAnd finds the record\nShattered into\nHundreds of wicked shards.\nShattered by\nNobody but her.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/blackcircleoncealive91.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":145,"pub_key":92,"title":"Recognizing Disability: The Forgotten Diversity","subtitle":"","credit":"By Suzanna Chen","editor":"","date":"2021-02-07","content":"2020 would have witnessed the Summer Paralympic Games being held in\nTokyo, Japan; it would have been a celebration of the power,\ncourage, and abilities of people with disabilities.\nPerhaps the festivity and optimism would have been dampened if you\nexamined the troubled history of disability shame: from\ngovernment-facilitated sterilization of people with psychiatric\ndisabilities for over five decades until 1996 to the recent, brutal\nmassacre of 2016—in which a man armed with several knives broke into\na disabled care home in Tokyo, leaving 19 vulnerable people murdered\nin their sleep and another 26 with severe injuries. Moreover, the\nidentities of most of those who passed away were kept private by\ntheir families, reportedly because the revelation of having a\ndisabled relative would be an utmost shame.\nHave you heard of these catastrophic events? You likely have not\nheard about it since the event barely caused a ripple outside a\ntraumatized community of disability advocates.\nAs the perpetrator turned himself in with infuriating nonchalance,\nhis statement regarding his crime—which is Japan’s deadliest mass\nkilling since World War II—was that “[i]t is better that the\ndisabled disappear.”\nThey have indeed disappeared. Once from the world in which they very\nwell could have thrived and once more from the minds of an avoidant\nsociety: one that shied away from their silent distress. However, I\nrecognize and urge you to acknowledge that it is unreasonable to\nkeep dwelling on the past failures; the fact that Japan is holding a\nParalympics should be applauded for the dedication and attempt to\nameliorate a stigma from time immemorial. The Japanese government\nhas also been making efforts to improve the lives of people with\ndisabilities by raising employment quotas—which, despite still being\nfar from their ambitious target, is at least a change for the\nbetter.\nFast forward to the present, as all societal misfortunes seemed to\ndeem 2020 as the year of an epic rendezvous, the COVID-19 pandemic\ndeprived me of the chance to witness the most talented and\npersevering disabled athletes shine in a city previously clouded by\ndiscrimination.\nIn exchange, what was brought in front of my eyes was a\nheart-wrenching video of a disabled man calling for help as several\nBritish municipal authorities made it necessary for disabled people\nto forfeit their right to medical resuscitation during the pandemic.\nHave you heard of this catastrophic event? You probably would not\nhave: those taking to social media to beg for their lives had\nshamefully not been viral enough for anyone to take notice.\n“My life is valuable. I have a PhD, I’m the CEO of a small charity\nsupporting others with my condition, and I volunteer for NHS\nEngland. I have a husband and a loving family. I don’t want to die,”\nexclaimed Dr. Jon Ray-Hastie, the protagonist of the aforementioned\nvideo.\nWhy is our first response to deny resources to our most vulnerable\npopulation rather than urge for governmental protocols to control\ninfection rates? By issuing this order, which is essentially a death\nsentence upon contraction of the virus for disabled people, are we\ninferring that they are less worthy as human beings—with lives that\nhave no chances of blooming as beautifully as anyone else’s?\nAs a disabled person myself—a neurodivergent—I hope to prove that\nnotion wrong by writing this very article.\nMy autism has limited my ability to express myself verbally. Still,\nwith the support I am so incredibly lucky to have, my thoughts can\nflow out in pages and pages of passionate advocacy under the rapid\ntaps of my fingers. Likewise, Dr. Ray-Hastie is able to achieve his\nfull educational potential and give back to the society from which\nsupport was given to him.\nAll moral dilemmas accentuated by the pandemic are worthy of our\nthorough reflection, yet in the case of disability discrimination,\nthe urgent questions are not even exposed to us—a generation with\nunquenchable thirst to make a change in the world—for any\nimprovement to be achieved.\nI, while humbly trying to voice for the disabled community, ask you\nto not discriminate against us nor pity us: include us in your\nadvocacy, and be with us.\nWhen you consciously avert an unintentionally judgemental gaze at a\npeer with autism, when you wait patiently for a man to wheel himself\ninto the elevator, when you avoid rolling your eyes as children with\nspecial needs are allowed to cut in front of you in line at Disney\nWorld, when you grieve and be angered with us when a 7-year-old boy\nwith autism is handcuffed in school, or even when you merely try to\nunderstand more about the unique challenges faced by people with\nvarious disabilities, you are making a change.\nOver the past decade, disability advocates have been actively\nvoicing the forgotten potential of people of disabilities to thrive\nwith no less success than the general population; one of their calls\nis to use “disabled” as a verb. Rather than thinking of someone as\ndisabled, an alternative perspective is that they are being disabled\nby an environment that is naturally not tailored for their\nindividual qualities. What this also implies is that by making an\neffort to accommodate the unique attributes of these individuals, we\nare capable of shaping an environment that is less disabling, more\nencompassing, and more diverse.\nSo, will you, by recognizing the need to learn and listen more about\ndisability, join me in the effort to shape a world of truly\nembracing diversity?\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/recognizingdisabilitytheforgottendiversity92.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["101 East. (November 8, 2018). Japan’s Disability Shame. Al Jazeera Retrieved January 7, 2021, from https://www.aljazeera.com/program/101-east/2018/11/8/japans-disability-shame/","Adams, R. (August 31, 2016). Why has Japan’s Massacre of Disabled People Gone Unnoticed? Independent. Retrieved January 7, 2021, from https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/japan-disability-rights-massacre-tsukui-yamayuriena-gone-unnoticed-a7217661.html","Lintern, S. (June 13, 2020). Coronavirus: Unlawful Do Not Resuscitate Orders Imposed on People with Learning Disabilities. Independent. 1Retrieved January 7, 2021, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-do-not-resuscitate-dnr-learning-disabilities-turning-point-a9561201.html","(March 16, 2020). Satoshi Uematsu: Japanese Man who Killed 19 Disabled People Sentenced to Death. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Retrieved January 7, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51903289"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":7,"pub_key":93,"title":"Self Expression Looks Good On You","subtitle":null,"credit":"By Nathaniel","editor":null,"date":"2021-02-10","content":"Gender identity and expression are currently very important topics\nof conversation in the world today, subject to intolerance and\nacceptance to their respective ideas in a world where discussion\naround gender is taking place as people begin to drop the gender\nbinary enforced by society, creating space for self-expression for\nmany people across the world. Gender identity can be defined as how\none considers themselves and how one experiences gender internally.\nGender expression, on the other hand, pertains to how one\ncommunicates and demonstrates their identity based on factors such\nas gender norms and stereotypes. The fashion industry’s androgynous\nmovement and the beauty industry’s reckoning in erasing established\nnorms surrounding what beauty looks like and who it is for, has\ncreated space for self-expression among young people, giving them\nthe allowance to be themselves and embrace their gender identity.\nBeauty and fashion are a vital part of self-expression and asserting\nidentity for many, holding an important place in gender expression.\nHistorically, a plethora of cultures have embraced the notion of\ngender fluidity but understanding of the gender spectrum in the\nwestern world has only just expanded to have actual reach. The lack\nof education and knowledge on diverse identities from a young age\nhas contributed to repression of people’s identities and true\nselves, constituting self-hatred leading into adulthood which\nrequires a tough process of unlearning and acceptance.\nBoys wearing makeup or wearing dresses is not some new phenomenon\nsweeping throughout society and many forget that without queer\nindividuals, POC, and non-binary and transgender people, who are\nessentially the origin of such self-expression, self-expression\nwould not look like it does today. While cisgender-straight white\nmales who wear eyeliner and skirts are applauded and showered with\ncredit and attention for “breaking gender norms” and being pioneers\nof self-expression when other groups have been doing the same for\nyears, and even in most cases better, breaking barriers and going\nbeyond the monochrome of masculinity found in black and white nail\npaint. Platforms such as TikTok are filled with white cisgender\nstraight male creators who seem to be hopping on the movement to\nerase gender norms and embrace gender fluidity as if of the likes of\nsome sort of trend, rather than a lifestyle and lifelong fight for\nsome that must be taken seriously. What a queer young person would\nbe bullied in school for doing is the exact thing some people are\npraising; the double standard is evident here and this needs to be\naddressed. Trends such as wearing a maid outfit does not erase the\nfact that one could still wear it and be misogynistic or homophobic.\nWe need to actively give credit and appreciate those who have walked\nso others could run and refrain from disrespecting others because\nthey do not fit the ideal image of what you like to see as\nself-expression from them; reserving your applause for straight men\nwho wear eyeliner and showering queer men for doing the same with\nhate are paradoxes that ultimately cannot coexist. Self-expression\nhas no designated look or criteria.\nIt is especially important to consider that the subject of gender\nand self-expression takes centre stage in the setting of LGBTQ+\ncommunity and non-binary as well transgender communities who have\ntaken the leap to unapologetically be themselves against all odds\nand celebrate their identities and bodies in the effort for\nrecognition and understanding.\nWhat needs to be realised is that not every man or woman on the\nplanet is the same. No one has the entitlement to tell another\nperson how to express themselves and live their lives on their own\nterms, as long as how they live their life does not harm others. Not\neveryone is the same and while some boys love traditionally\n‘masculine’ things like sports and trucks, there are little boys out\nthere with affinities for wearing dresses, cat walking in their\nmum’s heels or even playing with Barbie dolls from a young age no\nmatter how laughable it sounds. Some are not even lucky enough to be\nin homes where their parents let them be . This all leads to\nnegative impacts on development with the detriments seeping in later\nlife.\nYou do not have to like men wearing dresses, but you are not\naccountable for people’s personal choices. Your responsibility lies\nwith how you yourself live your life not how others do their own.\nWhat people forget is that everyone is different, and just because\nyou identify with the binaries of ‘man’ or ‘woman’ does not mean one\nhas to live up to the expectations the world prescribes. There are a\nconstellation of ways in which one might identify, and it is\nparamount that perceptions of how men and women can dress expand so\npeople can truly be happy in their complete authenticity. Dressing\ntraditionally or acting in a prescribed way should not be a\nmembership card of gender.\nNew ways of rethinking gender expression through clothing, beauty\nand many other outlets are arising, and people are slowly realising\nthey do not have to conform to ‘gender roles’ or are limited to the\nbinary of male and female. Gender will always be an important part\nof our existence, it's fundamental ,but it is important to create a\nworld where we are free and liberated from the bonds of it because\nafter all, how can you fit in a box never designed to fit YOU\nspecifically in the first place?","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/selfexpressionlooksgoodonyou93.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":181,"pub_key":94,"title":"A Vanishing Population","subtitle":"","credit":"By Danica Seto","editor":"","date":"2021-02-12","content":"Millions dead to maintain racism is one of mankind's greatest shames\nand should be remembered as such when understanding the history of\nethnic cleansing. Ethnic cleansing isn’t recognized by the United\nNations (UN) as an independent crime under international law, hence\nthere is no single definition for the term. However, what qualifies\nas ethnic cleansing is generally described as any person or group\nseeking to create an ethnically homogenous area by forcefully\nremoving an unwanted group. The practice can involve discrimination,\nmass relocation, murder, irrational arrest and sentencing,\nconfinement, enforcing severe injury, and copious other inhumane\noffenses. According to the UN Commission of Experts, these methods\nof ethnic cleansing are said to, “...constitute crimes against\nhumanity and can be assimilated to specific war crimes.”\nThe Assyrain Empire committed one of the earliest offenses of ethnic\ncleansing between the 9th and 7th centuries B.C where millions of\ncivilians living in conquered territories were forced to resettle.\nLikewise, groups like the Greeks and Babylonians also forced\ninvoluntary relocation. Ethnic cleansing was again apparent in 1492\nand 1502, when the Jewish and Muslim population were both expelled\nfrom Spain. Suffering foul treatment, all those who remained were\nrequired to convert to Chirstianity. Once more, these appalling\npractices were evident through the U.S. government's displacement of\nNative Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries. In accordance with\nthe signing of the Indian Removal Act, a period of ethnic cleansing\nfollowed suit as one of America’s darkest moments. Ultimately\ncontributing to the colonization and mass genocide of the Native\nAmerican population, which decreased from 60 million in 1492, to\nnearly 6.9 million in 2019; the repercussions were catastrophic.\nWhile instances of ethnic cleansing have been reported for\ncenturies, when we speak about its interpretation today, it’s found\nto be driven from nationalist (belief that one’s loyalty and\ndevotion to their nation-state is greater than the interest of any\nother person or group) movements. Because of this, some claim it’s\nstrictly a 20th-century phenomenon having to do with the rise of\nnationalist ideology. It tends to feed into illogical rhetoric that\nby ridding groups deemed “alien,” their nation will be purified. One\nsevere instance was none other than the Nazi Holocaust that led to\nthe death of 6 million European Jews during the 1930s and 1940s.\nTaking advantage of the alienation of Jews, Hitler exploited the\nbelief that Jewish people were the cause of all wrong, thus allowing\nNazi Germany to amass such great support for it’s horrific actions.\nThe distinct phrase “ethnic cleansing” was first introduced in the\n1990s after the former Yugoslavia (also known as the Socialist\nFederal Republic of Yugoslavia) began it’s divide into 6 republics\nand devastating conflict ensued. A systematic campaign was launched\nto remove Bosnian Muslims known as Bosniaks, and Croatians from\nareas in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various practices such as\ntorture, rape, and murder were inflicted upon the civilian\npopulation with over 20,000 people forced to relocate. It was\nreported in July of 1995, Bosnian Serb forces massacred 8,000\nBosniak men and boys in the town of Srebrenica as the worst case of\nmass murder in Europe since World War 2. For Bosnian ethnic groups,\n3 years of war brought forth atrocity and tragedy for survivors as\nwell as pressing reconciliation efforts thereafter.\nA report conducted by the UN found there to be a notably high rate\nof ethnic cleansing perpetrated in the 90s because of the irregular\nfrequency in geopolitical crisis’ at the time. These were\ninternational crises that had a geographical nature rooted in a\nnation-states’ national or distinguished values. Because of this,\nunlike political or economic crises, compromise was exceedingly\ndifficult and much bloodshed was brought during these long crises.\nWhen ethnic cleansing is perpetrated, it’s commonly a euphemism for\nthe word genocide. Using these terms interchangeably can easily\ndownplay the severity of a situation. Although they both result in\nharrowing acts, their difference lies in intent. An event would be\nconsidered genocide when the the goal is to destroy a group because\nof their ethnicity, race, or religion. As mentioned earlier, the\ngoal of ethnic cleansing first and foremost is to create an\nethnically homogenous land by whatever means necessary. This can be\nachieved through numerous methods that are both violent (torture or\ngenocide), and non-violent like deportation, imprisonment, or\ndenaturalization. The distinction is very important during\ninternational tribunals where prosecution of war criminals is\nconducted. In these circumstances, genocides, crimes against\nhumanity, and war crimes are cause for criminal responsibility, but\nan instance of ethnic cleansing would not subject an individual to\nthe same charge.\nBoth genocide and ethnic cleansing are unmistakably happening today\namongst the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority in northwestern\nMyanmar where the majority of the population practice Buddhism.\nSince 1982, Rohingya people have faced discrimination, been denied\ntheir rights, and have been subjected to second-class citizenship by\nboth citizens of Myanmar and their government. Summer of 2017, the\nmilitary in Myanmar intensified their attempt to push Rohingyas to\nthe neighboring country of Bangladesh by murdering, raping, and\nperforming other brutal deeds against the ethnic group. It’s\nunfortunate to find that even most of the Buddhist population are in\nfavor of removing Rohingya where they’re unfairly viewed as\n“terrorists” and “illegal immigrants.” In 2015, hundreds of Rakhine\nBuddhist monks took to the streets to express their position and\nbeliefs in the matter. Their protests against voting rights for\nRohingya ultimately led to the limited rights they already had,\nbeing revoked.\nIt’s been documented that tens of thousands have been killed and\nmore than 740,000 people have fled in hope of reaching safety.\nBangladesh’s refugee camps currently shelter 900,000 refugees but\nborders have been closed due to the growing inhospitable conditions\nof camps. Lack of resources, confined space, poor sanitation, food\nand water contamination, little to no education offered, and high\nrisk of disease are factors forcing camps to turn away refugees.\nBefore the International Court of Justice, the country of Gambia was\nthe first to file an international lawsuit against Myanmar known as\nthe Rohingya genocide case.\nAs it is in many countries, ethnic cleansing is not a subject\nfrequently or thoroughly touched upon. When it doesn’t directly\naffect most, people often aren’t aware or educated about these\nblatant atrocities. We can neither ignore nor forget that what we’re\nseeing now, is the present. Not events in a far off past, but ones\nwe have yet to move forward from and are bearing witness to today.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/avanishingpopulation94.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Andreopoulos, George J., et al. “Ethnic Cleansing.” Britannica, www.britannica.com/topic/ethnic-cleansing/additional-info#history.","Manashaw, Linnea D. Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing: Why the Distinction? A Discussion in the Context of Atrocities Occurring in Sudan, CWSL Scholarly Commons, 2005, scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1168&context=cwilj.","“United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/ethnic-cleansing.shtml.","History.com Editors. “Ethnic Cleansing.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/holocaust/ethnic-cleansing.","Valigholizadeh, Ali, and Mahdi Karimi. “Geographical Explanation of the Factors Disputed in the Karabakh Geopolitical Crisis.” Journal of Eurasian Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, July 2016, pp. 172–180., doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euras.2015.07.001."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":75,"pub_key":95,"title":"Womenomics in Japan: Aiming to Close the Gender Gap","subtitle":"","credit":"By Lindsay Wong","editor":"","date":"2021-02-16","content":"Despite being one of the most developed countries and top economies\nin the world, Japan lags far behind when it comes to gender equality\ndue to its traditionalist approach towards gender roles. Last year,\nin the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, Japan ranked\n121st among 153 countries in gender inequality. As such, the past\ndecade has seen efforts by the government to become more progressive\nin their treatment of women in the workforce. In the last six years,\nformer Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced the policy of\n“womenomics” as an effort to encourage more women to join the\nworkforce. However, while more women have joined the workforce and\nperceptions towards traditional gender roles are gradually changing,\nthere are still numerous obstacles that prevent women from pursuing\nfulfilling careers.\nIn order to evaluate the success of womenomics, its origins and\nmechanism should be understood first. Japan fares well in terms of\nequal access to education and healthcare between genders, but this\nis completely different when it comes to “areas of empowerment\nthrough political and public life, and employment,” according to\ncontemporary Japan expert Emma Dalton. In the 21st century, Japan’s\neconomy is dealing with the ongoing problems of deflation, a\nshrinking workforce and an ageing population. Bringing more women\ninto the workforce could potentially resolve some of these problems\nand increase economic output. Abe’s goals also outlined how he\nwanted to create a “Japan in which women shine,” where women could\nhave a family and career at the same time. It is difficult for women\nto work full-time when they have children because daycares are\ninaccessible for many families - there is a shortage of daycares\nthat have put tens of thousands of children on waiting lists.\nWomenomics was established to resolve these kinds of problems while\nsimultaneously pushing for Japan’s economic development. The\nwomenomics policy has been successful to a certain extent. Since the\nlaunch of womenomics, 2 million new women have obtained a job,\ndemonstrating that the primary objective of the policy is being met.\nThe share of women in their prime working years who have a job\nincreased from 73.6% to 77.5%.\nDespite the progress of womenomics, there is still a gender gap that\nneeds to be addressed; however, it is hard to do so because of\nlong-standing traditional values in Japanese society - particularly\nthose that place women exclusively at home and men at work.\nTraditional gender roles place men in the workplace and women at\nhome or in the kitchen, where they focus on raising a family while\nthe men are the breadwinners who take home the money. Women usually\nhave supportive roles at home. They often face pressure from the\nolder generations and even friends and family to not pursue a career\nand instead conform to societal norms of marriage and raising a\nfamily. Particularly in Japanese society, it is almost impossible\nfor women to engage in the “male-style working practices” while\nstill engaging in family care responsibilities, as Dalton points\nout. In Japanese culture, there is no time for work-life balance, as\nlong working hours are required for employees to prove their worth,\neffort and dedication to their employers in order to climb the\ncorporate ladder. As such, it poses a challenge for women to raise a\nfamily at the same time. Women are inherently seen as incapable and\ntherefore are given less opportunities. Japanese women are also\nraised to believe that their ultimate goal in life is to be mothers\nand wives, with no focus on a career. Society places limits on\nwomen’s roles and makes them think that they are not free to pursue\nwhatever path they want in life. Nevertheless, younger generations\nof Japanese are letting go of traditional beliefs, so there is\npotential for a change of mindset eventually in society.\nBecause of this traditional mindset, women professionally\nunderachieve because they face discrimination and inequality in the\nworkplace – in certain fields like politics, discrimination based on\nsex is more severe. Many companies are hesitant to invest in women\nbecause they think that once a woman gets married, she will quit her\njob and become a housewife. As such, companies prefer hiring men\nover women, even if they have the same qualifications. A medical\nschool in Tokyo even lowered female applicants’ entrance scores\nbecause they believed that too many women quit their careers once\nthey had children. Women sacrifice worthwhile opportunities in order\nto increase their marital possibilities – for example, they may\nchoose to attend less prestigious universities. There is also a\ngender wage gap – women earn approximately 25.7% less in wages than\nmen, which is comparatively higher than the global average of 14.3%.\nDiscrimination in the workplaces increases the gender gap as the\ncircumstances and conditions are unfavorable for women looking to\nadvance their careers.\nJapan’s labor market largely excludes women and makes it difficult\nfor them to hold managerial positions. Firstly, the efforts-oriented\nculture in Japan is undoubtedly discriminatory against women as it\ndoes not allow for a work-life balance. A result-oriented culture\nwould help to close the gender gap as women would be able to show\nthey are capable in their jobs based on their results and\nproductivity. Instead of seniority, promotions would be based on\nskill and results. Secondly, reforming the employment system is\nvital in making sure women have access to a stable career. Many\nJapanese women are recruited into casual or part-time roles instead\nof full-time jobs, which means they are excluded from the\nseniority-based promotions and promotions that full-time workers\nhave access to. Out of all the women hired in 2018, three quarters\nwere hired in irregular work, including hospitality and teaching.\nCompanies tend to hire casual stuff in order to cut costs and these\njobs have more flexible working hours. So far, the Japanese\ngovernment has not strengthened legal requirements for casual and\npart-time workers or put a strict quota on women in managerial\npositions.\nOn top of womenomics, the government should work on influencing\nculture to change, for example, by encouraging companies to be more\nresult-oriented instead of effort-oriented. At the moment, the\ngovernment is making an effort to increase the number of daycares\nand have eliminated tax deductions for dependent spouses. It has\nalso improved Japan’s parental leave policy and introduced a law\nthat set a quota for each company in reaching a set number of women\nin staff and in management. These measures will not only encourage\nmore women to enter the workforce but will also influence companies\nto promote more women to senior positions. And with traditional\ngender roles becoming less relevant over time, Japan may one day\nbecome a country where women truly shine.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/womenomicsinjapanaimingtoclosethegendergap95.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Boykoff, Pamela, and Cardiff Garcia. \"6 Years After Japan Launched Its 'Womenomics' Policy Is It Working?\". Npr, 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/05/23/726294619/6-years-after-japan-launched-its-womenomics-policy-is-it-working. Accessed 13 Jan 2021.","Smith, Noah. \"Japan's Labor Market Is Still Rigged Against Women\". The Japan Times, 2021, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/10/01/commentary/japan-commentary/japans-labor-market-still-rigged-women/. Accessed 13 Jan 2021.","Solomon, Richard. \"Womenomics: Mend The Gap\". The Japan Times, 2018, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2018/12/03/commentary/japan-commentary/womenomics-mend-gap/. Accessed 13 Jan 2020.","Tanaka, Chisato. \"Six Years Into Abe's Womenomics Push, Women In Japan Still Struggling To Shine\". The Japan Times, 2019, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/03/08/national/social-issues/six-years-abes-womenomics-push-women-japan-still-struggling-shine/. Accessed 13 Jan 2021."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":163,"pub_key":96,"title":"Maths - A Love Story","subtitle":null,"credit":"By Abbas Moosajee","editor":null,"date":"2021-02-20","content":"a2+b2=c2, E=mc2 and ei+1=0bring back memories of school—from fuming\nin anger over why our shortcuts weren’t marked to revelling the\neuphoria as we approached the final answer. It is through this\nemotional rollercoaster that we were introduced to the world of\nmathematics. After spending hours practising calculus and plotting\ngraphs, we often wondered if we would ever use this in life. Much of\nour early mathematical education simply asked us to follow a\nparticular procedure until mastery was achieved, without ever\ndiscussing -- why?\nIt is only when we ask that simple question, that the wonders and\nimportance of math are truly seen. We see how the very equations\nthat we cursed are used in everything from global communication to\nfighting poverty and even the exploration of the cosmos. And then,\nrealize that mathematics has pivoted humanity into the modern world,\nwhere math has become a prerequisite for most careers and a basic\nnecessity for survival.\nYet that feeling of anxiety when we see an equation has not\nvanished, but instead has just been exacerbated. In fact, a study of\nUS education reported that over 50% of people feel mathematical\nanxiety, which has resulted in 6 out of 10 students failing to meet\nmathematical proficiency. It has become a global crisis where\ninnumeracy has begun to affect normal life, raising the question:\nhow did such an essential and pivotal subject become problematic for\nso many people?\nAnd while countless reasons could be pointed out, the biggest\nproblem is quite simple –– We are teaching maths wrong.\nMathematics and Anxiety\nEvidence of math can be traced back to the prehistoric times, when\nit was mainly used for counting and quantifying time. It was the\nbeginning of a language that sought patterns, formed new\nconjectures, and determined the truth or falsity of problems. Since\nthen, this language has evolved and leapt through some of the\ngreatest eras of human history to develop into the equations we now\nstudy.\nModern mathematics has classified these barrages of equations based\non depth, comprehension and usage into two main divisions: pure and\napplied mathematics. While pure mathematics deals with abstract\nmathematical theories like algebra, geometry and number theory,\napplied mathematics, on the other hand, analyses a multitude of\ninformation across different fields, and then uses mathematical\ntheories to create models of real phenomena. However, this delicate\nbalance of abstraction and logic often requires a human brain to\nguide it and foresee possible anomalies. And in an era where\nmathematical anxiety is reaching an all-time high, finding such\nbrains are an increasing rarity.\nMathematical anxiety, or Mathemophobia, is clinically defined by\npsychologist Mark Ashcraft, as “a feeling of tension, apprehension,\nor fear that interferes with math performance.” This anxiety\nexhibits itself with a variety of emotional, cognitive, and\nphysiological symptoms that can all disrupt an individual’s\nmathematical performance. The cognitive impairment caused by anxiety\nimpacts an individual’s working memory, which is required for\nsolving mathematical problems. However, in individuals with math\nanxiety, much of this space is dominated by anxious thoughts, thus\ncompromising the individual's ability to solve problems.\nPeople who feel this anxiety may say that it is because they are\n‘not a numbers person’, or ‘Maths is just not for them,’ but the\nreality is that anyone can suffer from it. Contrary to popular\nbelief, math anxiety does not mean that one is bad at maths, but\nrather that they are unable to perform to their full potential, due\nto interfering symptoms of their anxiety and thus try to avoid it.\nThis anxiety is not dependent on their abilities or intelligence,\nbut is a result of past experiences. Negative experiences with math,\nwhere one was unable to solve an equation or got the answer wrong,\nmakes one question their abilities and breaks their confidence,\ncausing them to actively avoid math. This avoidance, however,\nresults in lower competency and reduces math practice, leaving\npeople more anxious for the future, creating a vicious cycle.\nMathematical Anxiety can be tracked on various standardized and\ntested rating scales. (An abbreviated version of a math anxiety\ntest)\nA lot of reasons can be attributed to the correlation between\nmathematical abilities and anxiety. For instance, studies of\nidentical and non-identical twins suggest that math anxiety may have\na genetic component, and individuals with a genetic history of math\nanxiety are more likely to develop it. Research has also explored\ngender disparities in relation to mathematical anxiety. For\ninstance, a 2012 study showed that 67% of boys report confidence in\nsolving basic equations compared to 44% of girls. This greater\nconfidence is believed to be related to the gender stereotypes of\nsociety. Because mathematics is often labelled as a masculine\nability, girls often internalize stereotypes about lower abilities\nin math and regard themselves as being less gifted than boys at\nquantitative reasoning. These self-deprecatory statements can lead\nto harmful learning behaviours, lower performance and math anxiety.\ngirls face discrimination in certain math-related fields and have\nlimited opportunities to further enhance their math abilities, shape\nand is simultaneously shaped by such stereotypes. It forms a\nperpetuating cycle.\nCultural differences as to how education and math are approached may\nalso be a possible cause. Specific differences can be identified\nbetween Asian and Western European countries. For example, students\nin Asian countries self-report lower levels of confidence in\nunderstanding mathematical concepts, exhibiting a higher level of\nanxiety compared to students in Western Europe, where students are\nmuch more confident and less anxious. This could possibly be because\nAsian students tend to set higher goals and evaluate themselves\naccording to stricter standards. Additionally, parental and peer\npressure leads to greater competition and less satisfaction with\ntheir school performance compared to non-Asian students. This has\nalso led to the growth of the model minority theory, where all\nAsians are automatically considered to be math prodigies and are\nexpected to ace the class, putting students under greater pressure\nto live up to these preconceived notions. All of these elements\ncontribute to lower confidence and motivation and high anxiety.\nMathematical Education\nThe one common factor across all these various categories continues\nto be education. Because school is often where one is introduced to\nthe world of advanced maths, bad experiences often determine how one\nviews mathematics. As longitudinal studies of students through\nschool show, at age of 9, most kids experience almost no math\nanxiety. Yet as these same students approach high school, their\nanxiety rises exponentially, with 59% of students reporting that\nthey worry math classes will be difficult for them, and another 31%\nstating that they get very nervous when doing math. In fact, the\nProgramme for International Student Assessment reported that\nstudents experiencing high math anxiety receive scores almost 34\npoints lower than other students within one full year of school.\nEven in university, anxious math students take fewer math courses\nand tend to have a more negative outlook towards math. Thus, it begs\nthe question, where exactly did the mathematical education system go\nwrong?\nOne of the fundamental problems with the modern school system itself\nis that it prioritizes conformance over learning. It establishes an\nenvironment that fosters fear and anxiety, making it extremely\ndifficult to learn. This is the case especially with math, which is\ntaught as a subject that is marked by distinctly right or wrong\nanswers. Getting the right answer is paramount, and mistakes are\nviewed as a personal failure rather than a learning opportunity.\nFurthermore, mathematics is taught based on the principles of rote\nlearning and repeated problem-solving. So most topics follow the\nsame pattern of introducing a problem set, explaining the solution,\nand then repeating problems until mastery is achieved. Lastly, math\nis often approached as if there is only one right way to solve the\nproblem and any other methods used are wrong, even if the final\nanswer is correct.\nIn addition, schools’ excessive reliance on high-stakes and timed\ntesting to assess students’ abilities puts greater pressure on tests\nand results in lower achievement for math anxious individuals. And\nbecause the main objectives of mathematical education are preparing\nstudents for exams, rather than exploring the history and wonders of\nthe different theories, it renders the subject monotonous and\nboring. These methods of rote learning and problem-solving rob\nstudents of the excitement and euphoria that self-exploration of\nmathematics can bring about. Together, these principles reinforce\nthe concept and perfect the method, but fail to explain the actual\nmath. Furthermore, it discourages experimentation and demoralises a\nstudent wanting to explore different solutions.\nThus, the role of teachers becomes even more important to ensure\nthat all students have positive experiences, as students who like\ncertain teachers will be more motivated to study and perform well in\nthat particular class. This extrinsic motivation is especially\nessential for students who are not math or science majors, because\nthen it is less about the instructor’s mathematical knowledge, and\nmore so about their personality and commitment to the student. Bad\nteaching not only fails to explain mathematics but can cause\nstudents to develop math anxiety.\nHowever, students are not the only ones to develop math anxiety in\nthe classroom. 21% of teachers report anxiety from not only when\ndoing math but also teaching it. These teachers lack confidence in\ntheir own mathematical abilities, perhaps because many teachers\nthemselves fail to comprehend all the topics, and their fears and\nlack of understanding then pass on naturally to the students. As\nmath-anxious teachers approach maths with negative attitudes, they\nrisk making classes unenjoyable, thus discouraging students from\ndeveloping an interest in maths. Similarly, research shows that\nteachers without professional certifications in math are less\npassionate and committed about teaching, and while not necessarily\nbad, their efforts with the students vary.\nSolutions\nThe flaws in the pedagogy of math are deep— everyone knows it and\nadmits something needs to change, but what can be done? Politicians\nask for higher standards, employees ask for practical skills,\nschools argue they need more money, and teachers say something else.\nBut they are all missing something. The only people who truly\nunderstand the flaws in mathematical education are the ones most\noften blamed and least heard: the students. They shout and cry,\n“math class is stupid and boring,” and they are absolutely right,\nbecause this rich and fascinating adventure of the universe and mind\nhas been reduced to a stagnant set of “facts” that must be memorized\nand procedures that must be followed. The revolutionization of\neducation may be a long and arduous process, but a few simple\nchanges can make the start.\nFirstly, when mathematical processes are taught, greater emphasis\nmust be placed on the process itself, rather than the final answer.\nThis is because it allows mistakes to be made without breaking a\nstudent's confidence, and instead creates an internal conviction to\nunderstand mistakes and perfect the process. Furthermore, an\ninternal motivation to perform well in class can be increased by\nmaking the problems relatable. When topics are similar to everyday\nscenarios and current events, it is not only easier to understand,\nbut one is now able to see how mathematics is used in situations\noutside of the classroom.\nThe educational experience can be made even more exciting by\nintegrating technology, from videos explaining equations to forums\nfor discussing maths, to apps like Photomath, Wolfram Alpha, that\nwork out the problems for you. Technology allows students to spend\nmore time discussing the intricacies of maths and learn its\nimportance, rather than wasting time on attaining the perfect score.\nWhile there is a fine line between technology being a useful tool\nand being over-dependent on it, when utilized carefully, it is an\ninvaluable resource.\n“Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme\nbeauty—a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture, without\nappeal to any part of our weaker nature, without the gorgeous\ntrappings of painting or music, yet sublimely pure, and capable of a\nstern perfection such as only the greatest art can show.” This was\nhow Bertrand Russell, a philosopher and mathematician, described his\nlove for maths. One can find this in the very equations we study,\nfrom a single Pythagorean equation responsible for an entire field\nof mathematics to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity that reimagined\nour cosmos. Even e, π, i three complex constants were brought\ntogether with basic mathematical operations, in Euler’s identity, to\nform an equation of utmost elegance and simplicity. Yet, it is this\nsublime beauty that has vanished from our classes— the beauty that\nmight be exactly what is needed to revive the love for mathematics.\nWhen people begin to discuss the philosophy, history, and beauty of\nmaths, it will attract students of different majors and give a new\noutlook towards maths.\nHowever, these changes will have zero impact if the attitudes of\nteachers towards children do not change. This is why it is necessary\nfor schools to hire teachers professionally certified in both maths\nand education, ensuring that teachers are confident in their\nmathematical abilities and able to explain concepts better, so that\nthey can become a positive influence on students experiencing math\nanxiety. Teachers must also realise that all students are different,\nand should be able to adapt to each student's strengths, adjusting\nteaching styles accordingly. These changes together can create an\namazing and positive experience for all students of mathematics.\nHowever, despite these preventative measures, mathematical anxiety\ncan still develop into a handicap in life. Then, why is learning to\novercome or at least to alleviate mathematical anxiety is just as\nimportant?\nThis begins with people correctly attributing their success and\nfailure to their abilities or effort. By focusing more on past\nsuccesses than failures and believing in their abilities, one can\nform a positive yet realistic self-image and increase\nself-confidence. This self-reflection also gives one the opportunity\nto identify what study techniques work and evaluate their\nmathematical abilities. Mathematical confidence can thus be re-built\nby using trusted problem-solving techniques to improve competency in\nweaker areas.\nStudents can use relaxation techniques so that fear, distaste or\nother negative emotions do not block their working memory and are\nable to alleviate their math anxiety. For instance, negative\nthoughts can be fought with confidence-building affirmations like “I\nknow this” and “I’m prepared.” Physically writing one’s frustrations\nwith mathematics on paper, can work as a form of therapy by becoming\nan outlet for any bottled up anger and anxiety. Even meditation,\npositive reinforcement, and visualizing success have all shown great\nresults in breaking their frustration. In the end, however, there is\nno one-for-all method— it is just a matter of whatever works for\ndifferent people, no matter how obscure and weird, and sticking with\nit.\nConclusion\nMathematics has been an essential factor for the growth of society\nover the past 60,000 years; yet, neglecting its education has\nperpetrated a global crisis of innumeracy— crisis where people are\nanxious when working out basic equations, and whether it is lack of\ncompetency or a fear of failure, it is undoubtedly a product of the\neducational system. By prioritising conformance and test scores, it\nteaches the procedures of math but has failed to explain it or\ncreate a desire to understand it; instead, it has just instilled the\nidea that some people are not good at math and lowered individuals’\nself-confidence.\nHowever, by focusing more on the process and integrating the use of\ntechnology, the concepts can be translated better. Additionally,\nimproving teachers' attitudes towards students and showcasing\nmathematical beauty creates an internal conviction to succeed. By\nrevamping our approach to maths, we can give students the competency\nand confidence needed to excel in maths. Even if negative\nexperiences develop into mathematical anxiety, research has shown\nthat continuous practice and relaxation therapy can alleviate this\nanxiety.\nThis change in pedagogy can expose the world to the definitive\nbeauty of maths. It can allow maths to expand beyond the language of\nscience and become something much bigger, to allow an individual to\nengage in acts of discovery and conjecture, to inspire and\nchallenge; it can cause individuals to be in a state of confusion—\nnot because it makes no sense, but because one is astounded by what\nit reveals and yet still do not understand what it truly signifies.\nMaths teaches us how to think unconventionally, how to be frustrated\nas an artist, and what it is like to be part of something bigger\nthan ourselves, and just maybe, it will help us understand life.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/mathsalovestory96.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["“‘I Hate Maths: Why Do We Need to Do Maths?’ Using iPad Video Diaries to Investigate Attitudes and Emotions Towards Mathematics in Year 3 and Year 6 Students.” 2015. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 14 (Jan): 925-944. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-015-9621-x.","Lockhart, Paul. 2008. “A Mathematician’s Lament.” http://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/devlin_05_08.html.","“Overcome Math Anxiety.” n.d. https://www.weber.edu/wsuimages/vetsupwardbound/studyskills/overcomemathanxiety.pdf.","Programme for International Student Assessment. n.d. Mathematics Self-Beliefs and Participation in Mathematics-Related Activities. https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/pisa-2012-results-ready-to-learn-volume-iii/mathematics-self-beliefs-and-participation-in-mathematics-related-activities_9789264201170-8-en#page3.","Russell, Bertrand. 1986. A history of Western Philosophy. N.p.: Simon & Schuster. 9780671201586).","Simmers, Michael J. 2011. “It’s Not the Math They Hate.” (June). https://www.huichawaii.org/assets/simmers%2C-michael.pdf.","“Spotlight on Math Anxiety.” 2018. Psychology research and behaviour management 11 (Aug): 311-322. 10.2147/PRBM.S141421.","“Understanding Math Anxiety-Investigating the experiences of UK primary and secondary school students.” 2019. (March). https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/290514/Szucs%2041179%20-%20Main%20Public%20Output%208%20March%202019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.","Wikipedia contributors. n.d. “Mathematical anxiety.” Accessed Jan 19, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mathematical_anxiety&oldid=998026158.","Wikipedia contributors. n.d. “Mathematics education.” Wikipedia. Accessed Jan 15, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_education","Fatima, Roohi. n.d. “Role of Mathematics in the development of society.” Article Link"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":161,"pub_key":97,"title":"Nobel Prize Video","subtitle":"","credit":"Video Script written by Abbas Moosajee","editor":"Edited By: Storm Butti","date":"2021-02-23","content":"Transcript\nA machine struck 18-carat gold disk can seem bland in comparison to\nthe intricate trophies and expensive gifts of the modern world. Yet\nthis medal is one of the most desired objects in the world because\nit is the pinnacle of achievement. Even an honorary degree from the\nKing of Sweden and a prize of a million dollars fails to surpass the\nsignificance of the Nobel prizes. Because becoming a Nobel Laureate\nis the ultimate recognition of one’s intellectual achievements and\ntheir contribution too society\nDating back to 1901, The Nobel Prizes were the\nbrainchild of Alfred Nobel. Son of a chemist and an engineer, he\ngrew up surrounded with chemicals and inventions. Nobel quickly\nbegan experimenting with nitroglycerin with inert substances to get\nmore controlled explosives, eventually patenting the formula for\n‘Dynamite’. And in an age of mining and war, he continued to profit\noff the constant demand for explosives However when his brother\npassed away, a local newspaper wrongly assumed it was Alfred, and\nwrote up an obituary calling him the Merchant of Death. While the\nmistake was corrected, Alfred Nobel thought about his impact on the\nworld, and in an effort to rectify his image, rewrote his will.\nIn it, he called for the formation of a trust, Nobel\nFoundation, which would invest his 31 million kronor fortune in safe\nsecurities. It was then stated that every year. The interest\naccumulated would be distributed in the form of prizes to those who,\nduring the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit\non mankind. The prizes were to be divided into five parts for\ndifferent domains. The Nobel prizes for Chemistry, Physics and\nMedicine would be given to the individual who made the most\nimportant invention over the past year. The prize for Literature\nwould be given to the author of the most outstanding work with an\nidealistic tendency; would go to an individual or organisation\nworking for fraternity among nations, and promotion of peace\ncongresses.\nIn 1968, the Central Bank of Sweden (Sveriges Riksbank)\ncelebrated its 300th anniversary, by donating a large sum of money\nto the Nobel Foundation to set up a prize in honour of Alfred Nobel.\nThe following year, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences\nin Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded for the first time. And even\nthough it is technically not a Nobel, it is regarded with the same\nprestige\nWhile the Nobel Foundation handles the awarding of the\nprizes, the nomination and selection is left up to the individual\ninstitutions. Each Nobel Committee, then sends out nomination\nrequests a year before, to 3,000 prominent academics and past\nwinners working in a relevant area. The nominees are not publicly\nnamed, nor are they told that they are being considered for the\nprize, and remain sealed for 50 years. After nominations close on\n31st January, the Nobel Committee prepares a report reflecting the\nadvice of experts in the relevant fields. The prize-awarding\ninstitutions then finalize the laureate in each field by a majority\nvote. This process has recognised some of the greatest\nminds of our generation. From Marie Curie to Albert Einstein, or\nRudyard Kipling to John Nash, and Nelson Mandela to Mother Teresa.\nYet, as with many things, what’s even more interesting are the names\nmissing from this esteemed list. Because the Nobel Prizes is not\nshort of controversies-\nDespite Nobel’s initial desire to give the prize to the\nmost important invention of the previous year, in reality, a\nmajority of the Nobels have gone to the discoveries that opened up\nnew avenues for research, with over 77% of the Nobel Prize in\nPhysics being awarded to theories. For instance, while Edison\ninvented the bulb and Alexander Graham Bell the telephone, they were\nnever awarded a Nobel which instead went to J. J. Thomson for\ndiscovering the electron—the juice that not only made Edison's\nlights and Bell's telephones possible but also fueled the entire\ncommunication and computation industry. One of the most\ncontentious factors for the Nobel prizes is the rule that a single\naward can not be shared by more three different individuals each\nyear. This is especially important for the science prizes because,\nin the modern world, scientific research has become increasingly\ncollaborative, with international cooperation and global exchange of\nideas and discoveries among different research groups, This has\noften meant that the works of the thousands of researchers have gone\nunrecognised. Most notably when the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics was\nawarded to Reiner Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Barry Barish for their\ncontribution to LIGO, which led to the detection of gravitational\nwaves. Despite the contributions of the upwards of a thousand\nscientists and engineers in LIGO, the Nobel Committee continued its\ntradition of only awarding the prize to the top three physicists.\nAll three winners acknowledged the contributions of everyone\ninvolved, saying that the prize belonged to the entire LIGO\ncollaboration. Weirdly, one of the most debated issues\nwith the Nobel Prize, is at what point in one’s career should anyone\nbe nominated. Because while Nobel wanted it to be given to the most\nimportant discovery of the preceding year, it has often not worked\nout. When Johannes Fibiger was awarded the 1926 Prize in Medicine\nfor his purported discovery of a parasite that caused cancer, it\nbecame extremely embarrassing as his theory was later discredited.\nThus, a time-lag, between achievement and Nobel recognition, became\nnormal to ensure that all the discoveries stood the test of time.\nHowever, this has often meant that it can take years for\none to win a Nobel prize, with an average age of 58. And because of\nthe Nobel Statute for no post-humous nominations, trying to\nrecognise the works of people who have had an impact on the current\nworld. Allows many names to go unawarded such as Leo Tolstoy, J.R\nTolkien, and even Stephen Hawking. While Hawking wrote the theory of\nblack holes back in the 1960s, its importance was not understood and\nevidence was undiscovered till much later. Because when the 2020\nNobel prize in physics was awarded for black holes, Hawking had\npassed away in 2018. And even when the Nobel prizes have\nbeen awarded, the committee has faced a lot of criticism for their\nselections. From Bob Dylan’s selection for the 2016 Prize in\nLiterature, many believed that it cheapened the prize as he was a\nsenile, gibbering hippie, to Mario Llosa’s 2010 nomination for\nliterature, where some believed that the political nature of his\nworks was not deserving, and especially because of his right-wing\nideologies. Even Fritz Haber’s 1918 selection for the Nobel Prize in\nChemistry, for synthesising ammonia, saw criticism. Because similar\nmany felt Haber’s role in the weaponising of chlorine during WWI,\ndisqualified him for a Nobel. Thus, it brings about a\nquestion as to whether the Nobel foundation should have the right to\nrescind an award if a recipient fails to live up to particular\nstandards, or revelation of more information in the future. While\nthe Nobel Statutes clearly state that no appeals can be made towards\na laureate’s nomination, as the Prize is for the recipient’s works\ntill that point. This clause has been tested in recent history, with\nAang San Suu Kyi, 1991 Peace Prize winner for campaigning for\ndemocracy, failing to speak out against the military crackdown of\nRohingyas in the Rakhine state. Even more shockingly, the 2019 Peace\nPrize recipient, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who was\ncredited for ending the war with Eritrea. Months later when he used\nthe military against the region of Tigray, sparking off a\nhumanitarian crisis, many questioned whether his award should be\nrescinded.\nHowever, the biggest controversy rising over the past\nfew years is the lack of diversity in the recipients of the prizes,\nand whether the overlooking of minorities is intentional or just a\nrepresentation of the scientific arena, it is undoubtedly a problem.\nSince the inaugural prize in 1901 till 2020, only 57 of\nthe 930 Nobel recipients have been women, which amounts to an\napprehensive percentage of 6.2%. And while over the past few years,\n28 women have received a Nobel, many still consider this as too low.\nThis often amounts to plain old sexism, where women are\ndenied a spot in the nominations for a Nobel Prize. For instance,\nduring the 1930s Lisa Meitner was a physicist, who used Otto Hahn’s\nexperiments, to develop the theory of Nuclear Fission yet her name\nwas left of the final paper, which eventually got the 1944 Nobel\nPrize in Chemistry. But even Esther Lederberg, who pioneered the\nmethod for the transferal of bacterial colonies allowing the study\nfor antibiotic resistance, that won a Nobel in 1958, with her\nhusband. Yet when it came to nominations and credit her name was\nunsurprisingly left out. Because as a historian put it, it was a\nhorrible time to be a woman in academia. This lack of\ndiversity in Nobel laureates is seen across many other metrics\nbecause over the past century the Nobel Prize has been awarded 603\ntimes to 930 different individuals and 25 organizations, yet just 57\nof these individuals were Asian. Mainly, because the Nobel Committee\nhas often shown a blatant disregard to many Asian nominations, for\nexample, R.K Narayan one of the most revered Indian authors, was\ndenied a prize in literature because the committee felt that his\nwriting was too simple and not progressive. While Satyendra Bose,\nwhose research on particles and behaviour of photons, laid the\nfoundation for quantum physics, lost 4 nominations because the\ncommittee didn’t see his work worthy of the Nobel. Even Mahatma\nGandhi, received six nominations in 1948 and was on a clear\nshortlist to the Peace Prize, was denied the award on accounts of\nbeing assassinated just two days before nominations closed. It is\noften said that is the Nobel Foundations greatest mistake and\nregret. Other communities are also woefully\nunderrepresented in the prizes, with 16 black Nobel Laureates and\nonly 6 LGBT laureates. This complete lack of diversity is a\nrepresentation of the workings of the intellectual world, especially\nwhen concerned with academics. Because the bigger\nproblem is that there isn’t enough diversity at the top of the\nacademic tree and whether this is attributed to lack of premier\neducation, funding or something else. The reality is that there is a\nblatant inequality in the academic standard across the world,\nespecially with science being dominated by Western Europe and North\nAmerica. And thus while diversity should be a goal, it can not be\nachieved by simply nominating more women or BIPOC people. But\ninstead, has to be festered through education of the highest\nstandard, ensuring that everyone has equal opportunities. This will\nhopefully ensure that the Nobel Prizes become diverse because of a\nrepresentation of the state of academia rather than the setting of a\nquota or agenda. Because no Nobel laureate should reach the\nheadlines just because they were the first to represent, but because\nof their accomplishments and impact on society.\nRegardless of Alfred Nobel’s intentions with the prize,\nthe impact of the Nobel prizes on modern society is undeniable. It\nhas encouraged scientific advancements, global cooperation and a\nhunger for knowledge. And so while greater transparency from the\nNobel Foundation it does not mean that such prizes should be\nforgotten or valued less. But instead the exact opposite, the world\nneeds more of them as it recognises the efforts of more people and\nencourages change.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/nobelprizevideo97.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://www.nobelprize.org/","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_controversies",""],"types":["Videos"]},{"id":195,"pub_key":98,"title":"Helicopter Parenting and East Asian Cultures","subtitle":null,"credit":"Video Script written by Suzanna Chen","editor":"Edited By: Ify Chidi","date":"2021-02-27","content":"Transcript\nHave you ever had a test filled with questions your teacher didn’t\nallow you to solve independently during classes?\nWell, when a child with helicopter parents enters\nadulthood, they are facing a similar situation, except they are not\njust prone to seeing “x” s on the test paper, but significant life\nfailures and wrongful decisions as well. First of all,\nwhat exactly is “helicopter parenting”? It might not be familiar to\nsome, as the term itself has only exploded in publicity in the past\ndecade or two. Since the term was first used in the book Parenting\nwith Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsibility by Foster\nCline and Jack Fay in 1990, “helicopter parenting” has been used to\ndescribe the type of overparenting with both evident behavioural and\npsychological impact. The name is descriptive as well,\nas it is characterized by parents who hover over their children,\njust like helicopters, and swoops in for rescue upon even the\ntiniest signs of trouble. “That’s wonderful!” you might\nsay, “what is wrong with parents who are considerate and protective\nof their children?” The problem is, in fact, that they\nare too protective. As the metaphor of test-taking we\nmentioned, this parenting style essentially leaves children\nwandering into the complex without adequate independent\nproblem-solving and decision-making skills, and often with innate\ninsecurities, resentment towards parents, and lack of ability to\nsustain pressure. Studies by the American College\nCounselling Association have shown that all over the U.S.,\nmillennial college students who reported to have experienced\nhelicopter parenting showed higher levels of depression. They also\nfeel less competent due to the lessened sense of initiative than\npeers without helicopter parents, which further leads to a\nsignificant decline in self-confidence. Though, it is\nworth noting that helicopter parenting and the infamous “tiger\nparenting” methods differ in that tiger parents typically use\nexcessive criticism and do not convey any warmth. In contrast,\nhelicopter parents provide an abundant—and overly so—amount of\nemotional support for their children. You might expect\nthese helicopter parents to eventually “fly away” once the child\nenters college (likely the elite schools they had been forced to\nenroll in), but that is far from the case. Some examples that\ndemonstrate how much the helicopters cast shadows over their\nchildren’s heads even in college include attending their children’s\njob interviews for an internship or calling their professors to\nargue over a grade. While helicopter parents can be of\nany cultural and racial background, we will primarily explore their\npresence in East Asian communities since their portrayal in the U.S.\nmedia has long been recognized as obsessively controlling. While\nthere are not enough studies to indicate that this mode of parenting\nis indeed more common in these countries, there has been a lot of\nspeculation (and personal experiences of this video’s creators).\nNote that we will define “East Asian” as people from China, South\nKorea, and Japan in this video. A study conducted in\ncollaboration between several U.S. universities and Seoul National\nUniversity in 2018 examined the prevalence of helicopter parenting\nwithin East Asian, or Confucian, cultures. They are given this name\nas the distinct societal values reflect the teachings of the Chinese\nphilosopher Confucius. The conclusion reached by the study is that\nthe concept of helicopter parenting is reflective of the traditional\nConfucian norm of parent-child relationships in these communities.\nFor instance, many East Asian cultures sustain emphasis\non parental authority and intergenerational dependence. In context,\nno matter how mature in age or mental state a person is, their\nparents’ opinions would still be greatly decisive of their own life\nchoices. This can also be shown in the often excessive weight of\nparental permission in a child’s marriage. In addition\nto the parents’ inherent authority over significant life decisions,\nEast Asian parents have often been depicted as highly involved in\nchildren’s academic lives, particularly when compared with European\nAmerican students in a study done in 1994. This aspect of Asian\nparents can also be traced back to their value on interdependence.\nAs parents often see their children as extensions of themselves and\npeople they will depend on in the future, their children’s success\nis more like a family honour than an individual accomplishment. As a\nresult, children are being excessively “helped” in working towards\nsomething likely without meaning to them, and robbed of the credit\nthey deserve upon accomplishments (as their parents did most of the\nwork). So, when we see a typical model minority being a\nstraight-A student, a multi-instrumentalist, multilingual, and with\nall the seemingly age-defying achievements, what we are frequently\nseeing is a saddening version of their parents unachievable hopes\nand dreams. (and a whole lot of resources being dumped towards this\ngoal by overly zealous parents) Lastly, although we\ngeneralized the norms of East Asian cultures in this video, we\nrecognized that these influencing factors of overparenting and the\ngeneral ideals of parenting can vary significantly between countries\ndue to the beautifully diverse societal backgrounds. For example, a\nstudy in 2014 had shown that Korean parents are increasingly\ninvolved in their children’s lives because of the national drop in\nbirth rates that leaves them with fewer children to care for.\nAdditionally, immigration also plays a role in the mode of parenting\nwithin Asian families. Some parents will insist upon academic\nachievements due to an obligation to help their children succeed in\na foreign country. At the same time, some may have adopted aspects\nof the generally “looser” parenting style of Western cultures due to\nimmersion. So, while we want to shine a light on the prevalence,\ninfluencing factors, and harmful impacts of helicopter parenting\nwithin East Asian cultures, it is still important to acknowledge the\nincredible diversity that exists. Overall, in this\nvideo, we have discussed the concept of helicopter parenting, its\nadverse impacts on children, and some factors behind its prevalence\nwithin the East Asian communities. Hopefully, as more awareness of\nthis issue is being spread in our society, parents can learn to find\nthe appropriate balance between caring for and overly controlling\ntheir children. We at Detester wish to see our generation rise with\nthe wonderful diversity and independence needed for a bright future,\nand we hope this video has contributed the tiniest effort towards\nthis goal. Have you ever experienced helicopter\nparenting? What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments as\nwe love to hear your thoughts!\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/helicopterparentingandeastasiancultures98.png","video_link":"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OjDR4F_yZBNB1A-bL6rlJerZrunkdhHR/view","srcs":["Almendrala, A. (March 14, 2018). 5 Signs You Were Raised by Helicopter Parents. Huffpost. Retrieved December 13, 2020, from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/5-ways-to-tell-you-were-raised-by-helicopter-parents_n_5609de6ee4b0dd850308e260","Kwon, K., et al. (2017). Does Culture Matter? A Qualitative Inquiry of Helicopter Parenting in Korean American College Students. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2017; 26(10): 1-12. doi: 10.1007/s10826-017-0694-8","Lee, J., and Kang, S. (2018). Perceived Helicopter Parenting and Korean Emerging Adults’ Psychological Adjustment: The Mediational Role of Parent–Child Affection and Pressure from Parental Career Expectations. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2018; 27(11): 3672–3686. doi: 10.1007/s10826-018-1193-2","Lukianoff, G., and Haidt, J. (September, 2015). The Coddling of the American Mind. The Atlantic. Retrieved December 13, 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/","Almendrala, A. (March 14, 2018). 5 Signs You Were Raised by Helicopter Parents. Huffpost. Retrieved December 13, 2020, from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/5-ways-to-tell-you-were-raised-by-helicopter-parents_n_5609de6ee4b0dd850308e260","Kwon, K., et al. (2017). Does Culture Matter? A Qualitative Inquiry of Helicopter Parenting in Korean American College Students. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2017; 26(10): 1-12. doi: 10.1007/s10826-017-0694-8","Lee, J., and Kang, S. (2018). Perceived Helicopter Parenting and Korean Emerging Adults’ Psychological Adjustment: The Mediational Role of Parent–Child Affection and Pressure from Parental Career Expectations. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2018; 27(11): 3672–3686. doi: 10.1007/s10826-018-1193-2","Lukianoff, G., and Haidt, J. (September, 2015). The Coddling of the American Mind. The Atlantic. Retrieved December 13, 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/"],"types":["Videos"]},{"id":89,"pub_key":99,"title":"Being Black: Facing Medical Racism","subtitle":"","credit":"By River Somerville","editor":"","date":"2021-03-02","content":"From the syphilis outbreak to COVID-19, Black people have struggled\nduring national health crises throughout history. Some may be\nfamiliar with the general—more blatant—discrimination Black people\ncontinue to face in this country, but they may be less aware of how\nracism manifests in the medical field. From 1932 to 1972, many Black\npatients were given -- without consent -- ineffective “medical”\ntreatment that furthered ailment, suffering, and death in exchange\nfor free medical care: this was known as the Tuskegee Experiment.\nAccording to the Young Women’s Christian Association, medical racism\nis “ the systematic and wide-spread racism against people of color\nwithin the medical system.” Both contemporary and historical\nstatistics and personal accounts emphasize the lack of trust felt by\nmany Black Americans towards American medicine, which has\njeopardized their health time and time again.\nPrime manifestations of medical racism can be observed\nto this day. Black people in the United States are 3.7 times more\nlikely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 and 2.8 times more likely to\ndie from the virus than their white counterparts (CDC). This unjust\ndisparity is because Black people tend to work more “essential jobs”\nor lower-income jobs due to a history of discrimination in many\neconomic aspects: the lack of generational wealth, college degrees,\nand more. So, close-quartered jobs—working at a supermarket, a\nretail store, or any job that requires physical human interaction\nand the inability to work remotely—are more common occupations in\nthe Black community: this poses greater health risks for them.\nAnother historical example of an unfortunate and risky disposition\nof Black Americans appeared during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The lack\nof healthcare and social care for Black people contributed to them\nhaving the highest number of cases among those diagnosed and\naccounting for 43% of cases in the United States (CDC, kff.org).\nIn addition to inaccessibility worsening the\nrelationship between Black people and American medicine, there lies\ninterpersonal and structural prejudice—written and unwritten—that\nthe community faces. According to a case study by the Journal of\nGeneral Internal Medicine, African Americans are more likely to\ndistrust physicians due to incompetence during their visits, which\noften leads to a decline in returning patients. One participant\nclaimed that due to their lack of insurance, the doctors who are\nmore interested in the money did not show true care for them.\nAdditionally, due to these subpar experiences, in recent months, the\ndisplay of hesitance by many Black people toward the COVID-19\nvaccine has increased (TIME). Even when money is not of\nconcern, prominent figures also experience medical racism. For\nexample, Serena Williams was denied a CT scan after giving birth,\nwhich almost proved fatal. She claimed that doctors and the health\ncare system have not been listening to Black women, even when\nconfronted with their blatant pain and suffering. Williams is not\nalone in this claim. The CDC reports that Black women are 3.2 times\nmore likely to die during childbirth than their white female\ncounterparts (CDC). Much of the disbelief and discredit to Black\npeople in their confession of discomfort lies within America and\nEurope’s dark history involving eugenics. Nominal\nsciences may be a new concept for some. Science is supposed to be\none of the most objective structures to ever exist, but\nunfortunately, it can be severely partial. Defined as “the practice\nor advocacy of improving the human species by selectively mating\npeople with specific desirable hereditary traits (History.com\nEditors),” eugenics is no innocent pseudoscience. Eugenics has been\nused to justify the aforementioned injustices (Serena Williams’\nstrength, the expendability of Black people in the Tuskegee\nExperiment). It was used to fuel the violence of World War Nazis—as\nwell as some practices of American scientists in the 19th and 20th\ncentury—to prove that Jewish people and Black people had inferior\nanatomical features compared to those of their “racial superiors.”\nTo this day, much of the prejudiced thinking of said scientists has\nbecome entangled in the medical field, harming many Black people who\nseek help for their ailments. This piece may cause\nanger, frustration, or fear for the reader. Many are not doctors but\nstill have the power to fight and advocate. Christine Akechi, a\nBritish OB/GYN writing for the British Medical Journal (BMJ),\nsuggests that honest conversations are key and that they come in\nmany forms: discussing the lack of reconciliation of medical racism\nin much Western history, providing equitable and fair access to\nmedical care, dismantling closed mindsets, and opening the floor to\nmore caring and urging behavior against injustice. Hopefully, this\narticle spreads awareness so that when encountering medical racism,\none will stand and educate. As James Baldwin once said, “not\neverything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed\nuntil it is faced.”\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/beingblackfacingmedicalracism99.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html","https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/africanamericans/index.html","https://www.prb.org/disadvantage-for-black-families-compounded-by-economic-circumstances-of-kin/","https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1924632/","https://www.ywcaworks.org/blogs/firesteel/tue-07212020-0947/what-medical-racism","https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html","https://www.history.com/topics/germany/eugenics","https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/06/25/christine-ekechi-how-do-we-start-a-conversation-about-racism-in-medicine/?int_source=corporate_racism_page&int_medium=referral&int_campaign=usage","https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/quotes-on-racial-injustice/","https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html","https://www.teenvogue.com/story/serena-williams-calling-out-racism-in-health-care","https://www.kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/black-americans-and-hivaids-the-basics/"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":106,"pub_key":100,"title":"Great Gatsby In The Dark","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Rohan Subramaniam","editor":null,"date":"2021-03-09","content":"His lamp won't work. Again. Instead, his flashlight provides a\r\ncircular beacon of bluish light as he lays on his bed, reading. He\r\ndoesn't lie on his stomach as most naïve kids do in their\r\nimpressionable youth, with their legs swinging carelessly upwards.\r\nHe is stiffly upright, closer to sitting, legs crossed with an air\r\nof awareness and maturity.\r\nF. Scott Fitzgerald's tale of the great Jay Gatsby\r\nunfolds before his eyes, as he discerns the words on the page with\r\nthe dim flashlight in his steady hand. He reads of the reckless\r\nwealth of Tom and Daisy, of the scorning of Gatsby, and of the\r\nhopeless yet astutely conveyed struggles of those searching for just\r\none driver to lend their patronage to a failing garage, located in a\r\ndestitute desert outside New York City. He relates to the narrator,\r\nNick - a middle class midwesterner thrust into the glitz and glamour\r\nof the East - but in reality, the fact that his family cannot keep\r\nup with the electricity bill demotes him below the status of middle\r\nclass. In fact, while reading, he becomes increasingly\r\naware of an inadequacy bubbling within. It manifests itself in the\r\noddest ways. As he perceives Gatsby's lust for Daisy in the novel,\r\nhe sees no one in his heart. He recalls only the repulsion at school\r\ntowards the tell-tale signs of his sanitation-worker heritage.\r\nPinched noses, whispered words, a wide berth. Hundreds\r\nof people show up in Gatsby's golden mansion of starlight, to feast\r\nupon enchanted banquets and party until dawn. Parties, he thinks.\r\nThe only party he remembers is a missed opportunity, a mismatched\r\ntrade: his braces for a birthday celebration, because the bank\r\naccount couldn't support both. The feeling of emptiness\r\nsparked within him by the book in his hands gradually morphs into\r\nsomething meaner, something red hot. With hungry, disdainful eyes he\r\nglares through a scene where Myrtle Wilson picks the prettiest taxi\r\njust because she can. And she is supposed to be like him - from that\r\nempty wasteland outside the city - but instead she is posing\r\nungratefully. He is rudely disrupted by a roaring in his\r\nears, but it is not his anger. A train is rumbling over the bridge\r\nnext to his house, traveling from one station to the next, filled\r\nwith the wealthy tuxedo-wearers that furnish the story in front of\r\nhim. He closes his eyes and inhales, trying so hard to calm down;\r\nbut he can only picture the train. However, unlike the\r\none passing by, this one is gold, resplendent with the sparkle of\r\ndreams and financial freedom. It is inhabited by some of the very\r\nsame suit-clad CEO's, looking out through the caboose window at the\r\nshack of a station that neighbors a house like his; their faces are\r\ntwisted into grimaces of quiet disapproval, looking to leave behind\r\nwhat is to them just an unpleasant flash. In the coal\r\ncar, at the smoldering heart of the train, are the ones willing to\r\nget their hands dirty. Rather, those who have no choice\r\nbut to get their hands dirty. Two men in grime-covered\r\noveralls that were once white but now black, shovel coal into the\r\nfire pumping the engine. There is a small window in the room through\r\nwhich the platforms are visible, and at the next stop, they share a\r\nsympathetic glance with the tattered beggar by the trash can. But\r\nthen it is time to go. They wipe the sweat off their foreheads,\r\nthink of their hungry children back home, and shovel harder.\r\nAs the boy sees, feels this so vividly, a little wet\r\ndroplet slides down his cheek. It is too close to home.\r\nHe decides it's time for bed: he switches off his\r\nflashlight, closes the book, lays down, blanketing himself with a\r\nthin sheet. While not comfortable, at the very least he feels at\r\nhome. However as he drifts off, he cannot shake the image of him\r\nstanding on the platform, arm outstretched, fingers just brushing\r\nwarm metal as the train pulls away from him, - leaving him behind in\r\na cloud of wistful smoke.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/greatgatsbyinthedark100.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":66,"pub_key":101,"title":"Black Boys Do Cry","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Dasani Baptiste","editor":"","date":"2021-03-15","content":"Black boys do cry.\nI have grown wings from racism and I have taught myself to fly. In a\nworld where I’m\nendangered, I have made strong my pride. In\nrooms of darkness where nobody sees me, I have built oceans from\ntears. But to serve the fear that haunts me, I will not\ngive in to their lies. Like any other human being, black boys do\ncry. My emotions are unstable, sometimes I feel like\ndying. Your words are like knives cutting me down every\ntime. But I’ve learned to heal, I’ve found the strength\nto survive. I’ve saved my tears in a jar, only to prove\nthat black boys do cry. You talk about my image, you\ncall me ugly. You degrade my race in hopes of burying me. Still, I\nstand firm, because black is beauty. I am twenty years\nold; I won’t let them ruin me. If the stars fell and\nsurrounded me, then and there, the world may finally see\nThe hidden, the darkness, the ugly, the poverty and a\nboy in an ocean of tears drowning slowly. It wouldn’t\nchange who I am, nor would it change who I can be. But the truth is\nblack boys do cry in places you’ll never see.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/blackboysdocry101.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":115,"pub_key":102,"title":"A Closer Look at Overachiever Magazine","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Anju Meyer","editor":"Edited By: Joyce Huang","date":"2021-03-17","content":"In this day and age, there are a plethora of youth publications and\nliterary magazines. Whether you read your school’s newspaper or\nanother youth-led publication, teenagers and young adults alike have\ncreated numerous platforms to share their voices and thoughts on\nanything: politics, art, literature, current events, and more.\nFollow one youth organization on Instagram and I guarantee your\n“suggestions for you” will be flooded with diverse youth\norganizations dedicated to amplifying various ideas and people.\nAmong the many wonderful organizations,\n*Overachiever Magazine* stands out for its\nunique mission and quality content.\n*Overachiever Magazine* was founded by\nRehana Paul in 2018 as a platform dedicated to Asian women and\nnon-binary individuals. The name of the organization,\n*Overachiever Magazine*, ridicules the\nstereotype that Asians are overachievers, especially women and\nnon-binary individuals. However, the name also acknowledges that\nbeing an overachiever is not always a choice: “managing societal\nexpectations, family obligations, and educational opportunities, all\nwhile fighting the patriarchy” does not deserve to be labeled as\nanything less than being an overachiever.\nSince publishing their first issue in November of 2018,\n*Overachiever Magazine* has released\ncontributor-powered bimonthly magazines on their stunning\nwebsite as well\nas Issuu. Each\nissue consists of various art and writing mediums: empowering\ninterviews, poignant essays, informative articles, poetry\n‘roundups’, and art ‘roundups’. Additionally, Overachiever has\nunique sections titled, “Female Gaze”, which spotlights their\nreaders’ stories or the issue’s overachievers, and “Miss Demure” a\nbeautifully drawn and creative comic. Perusing the most recent issue\n(the February II Issue), I wanted to highlight a few pieces that I\nparticularly enjoyed. Kate Anderson-Song’s\ninterview with Dr. Jenny\nWang offered insightful analysis into the types of challenges Dr.\nWang observed among Asian women. On the other hand, Maddi Chun’s\ninterview with Tiffany Sentosa\nexplored Ms. Senstosa’s inspirational baking business that donates\nits proceeds to local communities in Indonesia. Tasia Matthews’\narticle,\n“On Visibility”\nlooks at the recent increase in attacks against Asian Americans\nthrough the lens of Baldwin’s notion of oppression and the\nrelationship between visibility and race. On a final note, the\npoetry and art roundups are thoughtful and resonant, and I will not\nleave out my current favorite\nMiss Demure comic, which is relatable on more levels than I could possibly name.\nThe quality and impact of the work produced by\n*Overachiever Magazine*’s team and\nfollowers are truly incredible. Not only are the issues thoughtfully\nconstructed with meaningful and moving writing and art, but with\nevery issue, the sense of community and support within and for Asian\nwomen and non-binary individuals is ever more present. Please take\nthe time to explore their aesthetically pleasing website where you\ncan find their issues, published work (which has conveniently been\ncategorized into sections from lifestyle to culture, so you are\nbound to find something for whatever mood you’re in), and more\ninformation about the inspiring team of Asian women and dare I say\noverachievers who have made\n*Overachiever Magazine* what it is today.\nBefore you explore their\nwebsite, please\nalso check out *Overachiever Magazine*’s\nInstagram,\nSpotify,\nTwitter,\nand\nFacebook!","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/acloserlookatoverachievermagazine102.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Interviews","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":48,"pub_key":103,"title":"Lost and Found","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Nathaniel","editor":"","date":"2021-03-23","content":"our eyes are magical gateways\nto our daydreams\nwhere the sunbeams are never ending and\nencompassing\nwe try to\nembody a glow that reaches miles copy and paste the way\nthe sun smiles blinding and brilliant on our faces\nbut sometimes our eyes only see cloudy skies in\nour daydreams where gloom lies somewhere beyond the\nhorizon of our wandering minds\nand we realise that our meaning and purpose\nis not found in young adult fiction or slowed songs but\nlost in our reality and actuality when we are no longer\nstarry-eyed\nbut our dreams are shooting stars that come in\ndifferent shades and colours in the oasis of our eyes\nborn from wishes and hopeful whispers a reminder of our\nhorizons: endless and limitless\na reminder that i am not limited to falling asleep\nto be in perfected dreams no matter how an imperfect\nexistence seems and i can lose myself in the realness of touch\nas sunbeams twirl like ballet dancers on my skin\nand i will find myself present not only when the sun\nsmiles but when there are cloudy skies too\nlost and found","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/lostandfound103.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":132,"pub_key":104,"title":"It’s Okay","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Suzanna Chen","editor":"Edited By: Harvi Karatha and Anju Meyer","date":"2021-03-23","content":"for those lost in the ongoing uncertainty\nSitting down by the window,\nglancing past the empty street. Breathing out the fear,\ntaking in the quiet.\n“Everything is going to be alright,” they say.\n“The world is falling apart,” echoes your mind.\nHow can it be okay… When the sight of someone\nbecomes a health hazard? When the peacekeepers are at\nfault for the most horrific of acts? When the figures of\npower spit out words that disappear into thin air;\npromises shattered by the merest doubt?\nHow can it be fine… When your surroundings\nare bustling with fearful energy? When your social media\nfeed no longer makes you smile? When your head is\nbuzzing with the compassion your actions won’t ever suffice;\ndisquietude you can’t ever phrase?\nYou long… for the sensation of your best\nfriend's arms around you; for the grin of acknowledgement\nfrom strangers on the street; for the times when\nyou looked at a blue uniform and felt sincere gratitude\nand confidence in the honour behind the shining badges.\nYou yearn… for a moment free from the paradoxical\nrealities; for a second away from the internal turmoil;\nfor an instant of transportation back to the past for\nits tranquillity you've forgotten to cherish, for its\nbeauty you couldn't perceive.\nPerhaps it is for the best to smoothen that\nwrinkled forehead of yours: with faith in yourself, with\nappreciation for the placid present, with acceptance for the\nfact that it might not be okay.\nIt's okay to lose the optimistic vision amid\nthe stormy sea of worrisome thoughts, but it's essential to\nrecognize that right now in this exact moment...\nYou’re okay.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/itsokay104.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":121,"pub_key":105,"title":"Fight the Virus, Not the People","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Jamee Ganal","editor":"","date":"2021-03-25","content":"The message “” was an effort to emphasize on what we should be fighting. Together, we must fight the ongoing spread of COVID-19, not accuse innocent people for a virus they did not bring. This situation impacts me so much, because as an Asian American, I fear that my parents or grandparents will go out and get attacked by people fueled with hate. Although I painted an innocent man getting attacked, I portrayed a young boy holding up a sign with my message, to show that the youth has power over this situation. By spreading awareness and being united, we as a collective can end the spread of both the virus, and hate.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/fightthevirusnotthepeople105.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":54,"pub_key":106,"title":"Exploring Disability Advocacy with Tiffany Yu","subtitle":"","credit":"Written and interviewed by: Suzanna Chen","editor":"Edited By: Harvi Karatha","date":"2021-03-31","content":"Since publishing the article “Recognizing Disability: The Forgotten\nDiversity,” the overwhelmingly positive feedback has invigorated us\nat Detester; it has made us want to spread more awareness around\nthis (unfortunately) overlooked topic. Fearing that the information\nI have as a newly-diagnosed neurodivergent is insufficient, I have\nreached out to Tiffany Yu—an experienced, impassioned, and\nprofessional disability advocate—to discuss more nuanced issues.\nPlease proceed with a mind that is compassionate and ready to learn.\nMore information about Tiffany and her work can also be found after\nthe interview.\n1. Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers at Detester\nMagazine?\nMy name is Tiffany Yu, and my pronouns are she/her. I am\na social-impact entrepreneur, a podcast host, a disability advocate,\nand a three-time TEDx speaker and multi-hyphenate. Currently, I\nspend most of my time working as the CEO of\n“Diversibility” —a\ncommunity that celebrates disabled lives—and serving on the San\nFrancisco Mayor’s Disability Council.\n2. We’ve received lots of feedback that the issue of disability\ndiscrimination is often unfortunately overlooked. What is your\nopinion on the lack of public awareness around this topic?\nI think that [the lack of awareness on disability\ndiscrimination is] a human rights violation; we, as disabled people,\nare dehumanized to the point that discrimination is not acknowledged\nwhen it happens to us. It also shows how much our society is really\nbuilt on a culture of ableism. Disability discrimination is not only\noverlooked; it’s also just very hard to prove. Similar to most cases\nof discrimination, it is hard to prove unless it’s more overt.\n3. How would you define ableism? I\noften reference Talila Lewis and Dustin Gibson. I will go ahead and\nreference it, and you can find the definition by going to\nhttps://www.talilalewis.com/blog.\nSo, here is the updated working definition of ableism: “[a] system\nthat places value on people’s bodies and minds based on societally\nconstructed ideas of normality, intelligence, excellence,\ndesirability, and productivity. These constructed ideas are deeply\nrooted in anti-Blackness, eugenics, misogyny, colonialism,\nimperialism and capitalism. This form of systemic oppression leads\nto people and society determining who is valuable and worthy based\non a person’s language, appearance, religion and/or their ability to\nsatisfactorily [re]produce, excel and ‘behave.’ You do not have to\nbe disabled to experience ableism.”\nWhen I am working with people, I make sure to define ableism by\ntaking an abbreviated version. Ableism is when we place value and\nworth on a person based on their body and/or mind: you do not have\nto be disabled to experience ableism. We often mistake that ableism\nonly impacts disabled people, but it’s about placing value and worth\non a person’s body or mind. You can see that happen with Black\nbodies [and] women’s bodies. It just goes to show how much ableism\nintersects with so many other identities.\n4. How is ableism harmful to people with disabilities?\nI mean, it’s harmful in so many different ways: it means placing one\ngroup of people above another. I don’t really know how to explain\nhow it’s harmful, but I would say that it condones harm the same way\nracism does to people of colour and sexism does to women. With\nintersectionality, people can also experience multiple forms of\ncompounding oppression if they hold multiple of these [marginalized]\nidentities.\n5. While we acknowledge the diversity within the disabled\ncommunity, is there a way that non-disabled people can act that\nwill be accommodating to everyone?\nI think it really comes down to being as disability-centred as\npossible in whatever types of accommodations or environments you’re\ntrying to create.\nAlso, I would make sure not to identify non-disabled people as\n“normal” because we’re all normal, right? We need to move away from\nsaying that there is a “normal” group and a “not normal” group. The\nuniverse—depending on how spiritual you are—would not have created\ndisabled bodies and minds if that was not something that was\nsupposed to exist in society.\n6. What is your opinion on the current media portrayal of\ndisabilities? How can we improve these portrayals to lessen the\nsocietal stigmatization of disabilities?\nWe just need more disability representation in the media and across\nall industries, period.\nI think that the current media portrayal of disability feeds into a\n“charity-tragedy” model or a victim narrative—which, again,\nperpetuates the culture of ableism. So, [I think we can improve] by\nhaving more representation and showing disabled people as the hero\nor heroine of the story—such as in a love story or a romantic\ncomedy—and not just being the sidekick or the background player.\n(Interviewer’s note: I wrote an article, “Disability in Media: Sia’s\nMusic and the Labels and Libels,” that explores this topic further.)\n7. Do you support special education for children with\ndisabilities? Why or why not?\nIt depends on the type of disability, but as someone who has a\nphysical disability, I don’t see a reason I would need to be in\nspecial education.\nI think that integrated classrooms—again, I’m not super well-versed\nin this particular area because my work doesn’t intersect with\nchildren—better support a culture of inclusion and compassion. As\nthese children become adults, [they’ll] become so used to being\nseparated over and over and over again—whether it comes to having a\nseparate entrance, having to ask if an event is accessible to them,\nor having to ask for permission to participate in a certain\nactivity. Right?\n[We should] create an environment where kids with disabilities don’t\nhave to ask for permission to show up in places and get to interact\nwith their non-disabled peers. [This would] better support how those\n[able-bodied] kids can grow up and treat disabled people well. The\nroot of ableism starts with the parents and teachers in the\nclassroom because kids spend most of their time there.\n8. What is the legacy you want to leave as a disability\nadvocate?\nIt will be that I contributed to making the world more accessible\nand compassionate, and I started a movement that would last for\ngenerations and enable disabled people to really be proud of and\nembrace their disability identities.\nUnfortunately, the interview concludes here. While we\nencourage reading thoroughly to absorb as much as possible, we\nacknowledge that the amount of information presented might be\noverwhelming for a topic seldom discussed. So, we compiled some of\nour key takeaways: The lack of awareness in the general\npublic about disability discrimination is arguably a “human rights\nviolation” and shows the deep-rooted ableism existing in our\nsociety. Ableism is defined as “[a] system that places\nvalue on people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed\nideas of normality, intelligence, excellence, desirability, and\nproductivity.” It leads to systemic oppression against one’s\n“language, appearance, religion and/or their ability to\nsatisfactorily [re]produce, excel and ‘behave.” For more detailed\nexplanations, explore\nTalila Lewis and\nDustin Gibson’s work.\nWhile one does not have to be disabled to experience\nableism, the disabled community is directly harmed by it “the same\nway racism does to people of colour and sexism does to women.”\nCompounded discrimination is also possible if one holds multiple\nmarginalized identities. Do not identify non-disabled\npeople as “normal” because we’re all normal! The current\nportrayal of disabilities in media perpetuates ableism in various\nways, but we are in more dire need of more representation in every\nindustry in general. Irrespective of whether to\nimplement special education (as it depends on the type of\ndisability), we should aim to create accessible environments that\nwould teach non-disabled kids to treat their disabled peers well.\nThis would address the root of ableism in the minds of developing\nchildren.\nHuge thanks to Tiffany for chatting with us!\nMentioned in the interview… Dustin Gibson,\ndisability advocate ->\nhttps://www.dustinpgibson.com\nTalila Lewis, disability advocate ->\nhttps://www.talilalewis.com\nSupport Tiffany’s work by… Learning about\n“Diversibility” ->\nhttps://mydiversability.com\nWatching her TedX Talks ->\nThe Power of Exclusion | Tiffany Yu | TEDxBethesda\n,\nThe Problem with Positivity | Tiffany Yu |\nTEDxYouth@CaliforniaHighSchool,\nThe Truths About Being A Pioneer | Tiffany Yu | TEDxGeorgetown\nListening to her Podcast -> TIFFANY & YU, The Podcast\nFollowing her on Instagram -> @imtiffanyyu","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/exploringdisabilityadvocacywithtiffanyyu106.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":1,"pub_key":107,"title":"Micro Labeling: Approach with Caution","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Maya Henry","editor":"Edited By: Joyce Huang and Eeman Aleem","date":"2021-04-02","content":"The LGBTQ+ community has never been immune to controversy. From the\r\ninclusion of the asexual umbrella to Pride’s defense of working with\r\npolice to the very nature of LGBTQ+ people, nothing has ever been\r\none dimensional. In recent years, however, turmoil within the vast\r\ncommunity has grown in regards to a relatively new concept: micro\r\nlabels.\r\nMicro labeling is a fairly nuanced term that refers to the\r\nidentities of those within the LGBTQ+ community that can not stand\r\non their own. Meaning, micro labels fall under a more vague\r\ncategory. Though vigorously debated, the four true macro labels of\r\nthe community are considered to be gay, queer, genderqueer, and\r\nasexual, making every other label, from lesbian to abrosexual, a\r\nmicro label, for one can not be a lesbian without being gay, and one\r\ncan not be abrosexual without falling on the asexual spectrum.\r\nThe question brewing within is not, ‘are identities such as demiboy\r\nreal and valid or not?’ They certainly are. Instead, the hot-button\r\nquestion is how far can labeling go before it becomes more\r\ndetrimental than beneficial to the LGBTQ+ community?\r\nFew challenge the idea that the expansion in language from “gay\r\ncommunity” to “GLBT,” and later “LGBTQ” that took place in the mid\r\nto late 1900s was an instrumental step forward in the equal rights\r\nmovement. The line regarding labels is drawn at the increasingly\r\nspecific labels that have grown more popular in the past decade,\r\nlabels that many find exclusionary and damaging to the unity of the\r\nLGBTQ+ community. Such labels include demisexual, the attraction\r\nonly to those who one has an emotional connection with, and\r\nbigender, the gender identity of two or more genders at the same\r\ntime, though there are dozens more.\r\nThe growing popularity of micro labels has its downfalls. For\r\ninstance, they can alienate older LGBTQ+ generations who did not\r\ngrow up with such specificity. As Chloe Edwards discussed in the\r\nCourier, “if you don’t have unity, the community is going to fall\r\napart,” referring to how Edwards’ use of micro labels confused and\r\nfrustrated older generations who were perfectly accepting of more\r\nbroad labels. The pressure to further label oneself can be damaging\r\nand opens the door for prejudice within an already disenfranchised\r\ncommunity, such as the disconnect between the bisexual and pansexual\r\ncommunities. Bisexuality is generally regarded as the attraction to\r\nmore than one gender, be it with or without preference. The\r\nemergence of pansexuality, the attraction to multiple genders with\r\nno preference, led to a surge in both biphobia and panphobia, with\r\nsome claiming that bisexuality is exclusive and others claiming that\r\npansexuality is anti-bisexual. Some claim that if it weren’t for\r\nmicro labels, such an issue would never exist in the first place.\r\nBut for all of the unfortunate things that micro labels bring, they\r\ncan gift and empower others with much-needed specificity and\r\ninternal honesty. Niche communities can be found, and the nagging\r\nfeeling that something isn’t right with a broad label can be cured.\r\nAs I myself was first exploring my gender and sexuality, terms such\r\nas demi girl and bisexual felt much more homely than the broad\r\nlabels I use now. Without micro labels, I and so many others would\r\nstill be disoriented and afraid of the dysphoria we were facing.\r\nSexuality and gender aren’t a one size fits all policy. The labels\r\nthat are perfect for one person may be too specific, while not\r\nspecific enough for someone else. It is just as easy to understand\r\nwhy one may revel in micro labels as why one would detest them.\r\nOn another end of the spectrum, many members of the LGBTQ+ community\r\nare fully against labels of any kind, and some such as journalist\r\nJonathan Rauch have outspokenly proposed that all those who are not\r\ncisgender and heterosexual identify simply as “Q.” As Rauch wrote\r\nfor the Atlantic, “[any variation of LGBT or LGBTQ+] carries an\r\nunintended message as well: an embrace of the identity politics and\r\ngroup separatism that have soured millions of Americans on\r\nprogressivism and egalitarianism.” Others, however, argue that as\r\nlong as we exist in a world demanding labels of those deemed\r\ndifferent, it would be cruel to erase the labels that bring many joy\r\nand a sense of belonging.\r\nIn an ideal world, micro labels wouldn’t have to exist because\r\nheteronormativity wouldn’t dominate society. But this perfect world\r\nis decades, if not centuries, away, leaving the LGBTQ+ community and\r\nits allies with a tentative compromise: approach micro labels as a\r\nchoice to be embraced or ignored, but always respected.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/microlabelingapproachwithcaution107.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":164,"pub_key":108,"title":"Why did I Become a Detester?","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Suzanna Chen","editor":"","date":"2021-04-04","content":"Because…\nI think it is brave to take action.\nI think it is youthful to have a strong belief.\nI think it is courageous to explore topics typically tip-toed\naround.\nI think it is benevolent to show passion for causes of societal\nsignificance.\nI think it is strength-defining to call out urgently despite\nexpecting a most-likely-avoidant audience.\nI think it is artistic to let our voices shine through colourful\nartwork, expressive writing, or vehement cries for change.\nI think it is empowering to become an agent of change in a society\nthat overlooks our identities, rights, and communities––it’s a\nprocess of crafting an authentic story of our own.\nI think I remember what it was like, and I never want it to be as\nhard for them as it was for me.\nI think it is imperative to embrace and call for acceptance of our\nidentities, as its discovery is one of our fundamental missions as\nteenagers.\nI think it is ironic that we learn more while using our education to\nreduce the uneducated—a process in which we are prone to be called\n“uneducated.”\nI think it is powerful for us to stand solidly while “Kids these\ndays!” and “You don’t understand anything!” clash against the\nstereotypical image we strive to abandon.\nI think it is valiant to demand our future back from those\nselectively-blind nature’s suffering with eyes of fiery passion; our\npowerful proclamation making your feeble tweet of “Chill Greta,\nChill!” comparatively idiotic.\nI think it is paradoxical that we—who “get on our phones all\nday”—are urged to abandon the condemned screens through which we\nembrace others in physical or psychological pain.\nI think it is valuable to have such a devoted understanding of our\nstrengths, personal and societal goals, legal boundaries and\nresponsibilities, and statuses as global citizens.\nI think it is momentous for us to actively shape a world we want to\nlive in; a world that is free from any forms of discrimination; a\nworld that belongs to us, and us solely.\nI think it is deserving of encouragement and appreciation that we\nare imprinting such prominent and unique paths for ourselves and\nothers in society.\nI think it is necessary to acknowledge that no age-defining numbers\nshould restrict a person from pursuing social justice.\nI think it is worth praising that both minorities and allies join\nforces in this collective effort.\nI think I am honoured to be a teenage advocate.\nI think I am proud to detest.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/whydidibecomeadetester108.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":19,"pub_key":109,"title":"Focus","subtitle":"Featuring Artist Zhao Gu Gammage","credit":null,"editor":null,"date":"2021-04-06","content":"How does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political\nissue(s)?\nThis piece goes inside my mind into what I, and so many other\nAmericans, are thinking. How can anyone focus on school when COVID\ncontinues to circulate, when racism runs rampant, when public safety\nbecame political, when the fabric of America tears apart? The issues\nthat I highlight all contribute to a divisive and polarized society,\nwhether it be political polarization inflamed through social media,\nor societal polarization inflamed through increased police\nbrutality. And amidst a pandemic and an unconventional election, how\ncan anyone focus on one thing, much less school?\nArtist Bio\nZhao Gu Gammage is captivated by truth’s influence on society and\ntechnology’s impact on truth. Born in Gansu, China and raised in\nPhiladelphia, USA, she has developed a global perspective which she\nconveys in her artwork. Her writing has been published in multiple\npublications, such as her high school publication, The Cheltonian,\nand is a staff writer for Reinvented Magazine. She hopes to\nhighlight the importance of truth in society to create a society\nthat values free thought and civil debate.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/focus109.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":157,"pub_key":110,"title":"Disability in Media: Sia’s Music and the Labels of Libels","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Suzanna Chen","editor":"Edited By: Harvi Karatha and Anju Meyers","date":"2021-04-06","content":"The media’s portrayal of disabilities has long lacked an adequate\nbalance between outright defamation and overt partisanship: an\nopinion drawn from the scarcely present representations available.\nPerhaps this devastating dilemma of misrepresentation versus\nnon-representation was what made me initially excited for the film\ndebut of Sia, the well-celebrated singer of “Chandelier” (who\ndescribed her film’s intention as “trying to show love for all of\nthe caregivers and all of the people on the autism spectrum”).\nHow did this supposed “love letter” to the autism\ncommunity become the glittery galore of ableism and insensitivity on\nmy laptop screen? Even from the first few seconds,\nMusic’s trailer has sent me grimacing from its overstimulating\ncolours and music—a combination inconceivably horrific to one with\nsensory processing disorder (SPD), a common condition in people with\nautism. It is almost incredulous how a video that’s less\nthan two minutes long can trigger emotional and physical discomfort\nof such magnitudes when it was—according to the singer in her\nsince-deleted tweets—made after she “spent three f*cking years\nresearching” with “[her] heart [always being] in the right place.”\nPhotograph: screenshot of Sia’s angered Twitter reply\nHowever, every single second of controversial production indicates\nan unfortunate fact: intention does not excuse ignorance and\nunintended harm.\nThe Issues with Music\n“I describe this movie as ‘Rain Man: The Musical’ but\nwith girls,” proclaimed Sia with unsubstantiated confidence in her\nnotorious Variety interview. In the interview, the host compared\nnon-verbal autistic people to objects: “[there’s] this person who\ncan’t speak, she might as well be an inanimate object like a wig...”\nIn summary, the arguably unwatchable film centres around how the\nsudden responsibility of providing guardianship to Music, a\nnon-verbal autistic girl, has drastically improved the troubled life\nof Kazu, who struggles to recover from substance abuse.\nEven from the plot, one can argue that the role of autism in this\nfilm constitutes ableism as it portrays autistic people as magical\nvehicles of healing for neurotypicals rather than people with\nindividual purposes. While such a narrative indeed resembles Rain\nMan, it seems reasonable that the autism community was expecting\nbetter from a film made more than 30 years later.\nFocussing on the characters, a non-verbal girl is inarguably one of\nthe most misunderstood identities, and Music is undoubtedly a failed\nattempt to portray it. Some within the autism community regard it as\nwrong to cast non-autistic actors as autistic characters due to\nrepresentation issues, while others think such casting is acceptable\nwith the prerequisite of adequate research.\nMusic neither cast an autistic actress, nor did proper research.\nSia chose to consult Autism Speaks, an infamously discriminatory\norganization that has been condemned by over sixty disability\nadvocacy groups for defamatory and exploitative practices, while\nproducing the film. The ineptly named organization—as it does not\nspeak for autism—centres around the wrongful ideology that autism is\nmerely a disease to be eradicated rather than fascinating aspects of\nhuman diversity to be embraced. A disability advocate (@EmmetComix\non Twitter) accused Sia of recklessness in her research reference by\nsaying, “[if] you spend twenty seconds on Autism Speaks’ Wikipedia\npage, you will see [that] there is an entire section devoted to how\nthey view autism as a disease that steals children away.”\nPhotograph: Wikipedia page on Autism Speaks’ “advocacy”\nFurthermore, as the film is devoted to portraying a “female version”\nof Rain Man, it fails to consider the well-known fact within the\npsychology field that autism presents differently for different\nsexes. The film’s protagonist appears to be imitative of an autistic\nmale stereotype, making it an inaccurate representation of autism in\nfemales.\nIrrespective of the performance, Sia has chosen to cast\nMaddie Ziegler, a young dancer with whom she had collaborated for\nalmost all of her music videos, for the controversial role. Being\nmerely 14 years old at the time of filming, Ziegler was reportedly\noverwhelmed with the responsibility she was obliged to carry.\n“She cried on the first day of rehearsals [...] and she said, ‘I\ndon’t want anyone to think I’m making fun of them,” Sia said of\nZiegler in an interview.\nDespite this, the singer—according to what was said on the\nAustralian TV show The Sunday Project—“‘bold-faced-ly’ said ‘[she]\nwon’t let that happen’” and assured the teenager of her performance,\nwhich turned out to be a cringe-worthy caricature of the\nstereotypical facial expressions worn by autistic people.\nAn autistic advocate (@autisticats on Twitter) has\neloquently described the performance as “deeply reminiscent of the\nexaggerated mannerisms non-autistic people often employ when\nbullying autistic and developmentally disabled people for the ways\n[they] move.” Furthermore, amid the outrage aroused by\nsuch portrayal, Sia attempted to “save” Ziegler—towards whom she\nclaimed to have a feeling of “nepotism”—by firing back equally\nenraged tweets. In addition to one in which she shockingly insulted\na disabled actress, she insisted that an autistic actress had\ninitially been cast for the lead role regardless of a 2015 interview\nduring which she stated to have written the movie specifically for\nZeigler.\nPhotograph: Sia insulting an autistic actress for speaking out\nIt could be fairly said that her evidently avoidant\nresponses did nothing but fueled opposing voices. Aside\nfrom the choice of actress, another critical controversy of the film\nis the excessive inclusions of autistic meltdowns and how they were\nresponded to by other characters. While perhaps it is beneficial to\nportray the unique struggles of autistic people with emotional\noutbursts, having three intense episodes in one film makes the\nintention questionable. Were they included to demonize\nus? Or were our traumatic experiences deemed sources of\nentertainment? In fact, the role of autistic meltdowns\nis so prominent in the film that Zeigler, according to what she had\ntold Marie Clare, prepared for her role by watching YouTube videos\nof autistic children having violent episodes: insensitive footage of\nparents filming their children’s most vulnerable moments.\nAdditionally, during these on-screen meltdowns, other\ncharacters have attempted to “calm” Music down using a deadly method\nof restraint that has killed a 13-year-old California boy and is\nillegal in over thirty U.S. states. In essence, it involves movement\ncontrol by having others jumping on and pressing Music onto the\nground with their physical weights—or, as explained in the film, “I\nam crushing her with my love!”\n“Music’s restraint scenes will undoubtedly cause harm to autistic\npeople,” Tauna Szymanski, executive director of the non-verbal\nadvocacy group Communication First, said in a press release\n“[because] many autistic people have experienced restraint, some\nwill be traumatized by watching the film.” Sia had since\napologized and promised to remove the movie’s restraint scenes; the\ndeletion has not been confirmed despite the singer deleting her\nTwitter account in mid-February due to the overwhelming backlash.\nThe Labels of Libels\nWhile many have been referring to Music as the first\nfilm to “spark important dialogues” about disability portrayal in\nmedia, only those within the disability community can acknowledge\nthe ever-present attempt to bring this issue to the public's\nattention. “Images and stories in the media can deeply\ninfluence public opinion and establish societal norms,” stated the\nUnited Nations on the topic. Indeed, many of the\ninaccurate labels “slapped onto” disabled characters shaped the\ncorrespondingly false public beliefs. The below categories summarize\nthe popular stereotypes. First, many publications\nthroughout historical and modern film and literature have linked\ndisabilities with ill-intentions and depravity, exemplified by\n“Captain Hook” of Peter Pan, “Richard III” in Shakespeare’s play of\nthe same title, and the infamous “Joker” with his alleged\npsychiatric disability of schizophrenia. It has been speculated that\nsuch depictions are due to the public’s instinctive fear towards the\ndiverse eccentricities of the disabled community, but regardless of\nthe cause, these damaging misrepresentations further marginalize the\nalready misunderstood. Contrastingly, there are\nportrayals of disabled people as having—as Sia referred to\nautism—“special abilities.” On the surface, it might seem like an\ninnocuous attempt to “de-stigmatize” the peculiar quirks associated\nwith disabilities, but according to the Disability Language Style\nGuide, “[the] word ‘special’ in relationship to those with\ndisabilities is now widely considered offensive because it\neuphemistically stigmatizes that which is different.” For instance,\nafter the release of Rain Man, society began to idolize and expect\nthe existence of “autistic savants.” However, doing so merely\naccentuated avoidance towards the condition’s disabling aspects\nwhile promoting false anticipations of extrinsic genius, undermining\nthe immense efforts some make to achieve “normality.”\nLastly, perhaps the most discriminatory yet common\nmisrepresentation portrays people with disabilities as victims and\nhelpless vehicles to obtain the audience’s sympathies. From\n“Quasimodo” in The Hunchback of Notre Dame to “Tiny Tim” in Charles\nDickens’ A Christmas Carol, the characters’ conditions—often\ncombined with delightfully-charming innocence—are emphasized to gain\npity rather than genuine compassion: an attitude often directed\ntowards disabled people in real life. However, while the\nabove exemplify wrongful depictions, many were published with an\nhonourable intention of increasing disabled representation and\nawareness while reflecting an attitude already more progressive than\nthe norms of their respective times. The same cannot be\nsaid about Sia’s Music; the courageous disability advocates who\npushed for media representation thirty years ago would have been\ndevastated by the lack of improvement present in a generation that\ntakes pride in inclusivity.\nMoving Forward\nThe United Nations has stated the following: “[by]\nincreasing the awareness and understanding of disability issues and\nthe diversity of persons with disabilities and their situations, the\nmedia can actively contribute to an effective and successful\nintegration of persons with disabilities in all aspects of societal\nlife.” However, it appears that with Music as our newest\nmedia venture, we are far from being able to utilize media\npositively regarding disabilities. Anne Borden King, the\nco-founder of the autistic-led advocacy group Autistics for\nAutistics, has said, “[autistic] people are people, not props, and\nwe deserve fair and equitable representation in film. The only use\nfor [Music] is to educate future filmmakers of how not to represent\na marginalized group in film.” While King was firm in\nattitude when making the statement, she had arguably mistaken the\npurpose of the film: by snatching two Golden Globe nominations both\nfor plot and acting, Music—in addition to being a deterrent against\nuneducated representations—serves as a sharp reminder for the\ndisabled community that ableism does not only exist, but using\ndisability as a prop in one’s “vanity project” is deserving of\nacclaim.\nSign the petition to stop Music from enforcing the labels of libels!\nReference\nBaron, R. (November 22, 2020). The Controversy Over Sia's Autism\nMovie Music, Explained. Comic Book Resources (CBR). Retrieved\nFebruary 24, 2021, from\nClick Here for Link\nBuckmaster, L. (January 20, 2021). Music Review – Sia’s\nControversial Film about Autism Lacks Coherence and Authenticity.\nThe Guardian. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from\nClick Here for Link\nCastro, D. (November 22, 2020). From Singer to Director: How Sia’s\nMovie is Causing Controversy. Film Daily. Retrieved February 24,\n2021, from\nClick Here for Link\n(n.d.). Disability and the Media. United Nations: Department of\nEconomic and Social Affairs. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from\nClick Here for Link\nDresdale, A. (January 4, 2021). Sia says Casting Maddie Ziegler in\nHer New Film 'Music' was More \"Nepotism\" than Anything. ABC News\nRadio. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from\nClick Here for Link\nGriffith, J. (November 13, 2019). A Boy with Autism Restrained at\nSchool Died. Now, 3 School Staff are Charged. ABC News. Retrieved\nFebruary 24, 2021, from\nClick Here for Link\nOleksinki, J. (February 16, 2021). ‘Music’ Review: Sia’s First Film\nis Unwatchable and Offensive. New York Post. Retrieved February 24,\n2021, from\nClick Here for Link\nWanshel, E. (December 31, 2019). Disabled People Call Out Things\nNon-Disabled People Don’t Realize Are Offensive. Huffpost. Retrieved\nFebruary 24, 2021, from\nClick Here for Link\nWanshel, E. (February 4, 2021). Sia Deletes Twitter Account Amid New\nBacklash Over Leaked 'Music' Scene. Huffpost. Retrieved February 24,\n2021, from\nClick Here for Link","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/disabilityinmediasiasmusicandthelabelsoflibels110.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Baron, R. (November 22, 2020). The Controversy Over Sia's Autism Movie Music, Explained. Comic Book Resources (CBR). Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link","Buckmaster, L. (January 20, 2021). Music Review – Sia’s Controversial Film about Autism Lacks Coherence and Authenticity. The Guardian. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link","Castro, D. (November 22, 2020). From Singer to Director: How Sia’s Movie is Causing Controversy. Film Daily. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link","(n.d.). Disability and the Media. United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link","Dresdale, A. (January 4, 2021). Sia says Casting Maddie Ziegler in Her New Film 'Music' was More \"Nepotism\" than Anything. ABC News Radio. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link","Griffith, J. (November 13, 2019). A Boy with Autism Restrained at School Died. Now, 3 School Staff are Charged. ABC News. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link","Oleksinki, J. (February 16, 2021). ‘Music’ Review: Sia’s First Film is Unwatchable and Offensive. New York Post. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link","Wanshel, E. (December 31, 2019). Disabled People Call Out Things Non-Disabled People Don’t Realize Are Offensive. Huffpost. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link","Wanshel, E. (February 4, 2021). Sia Deletes Twitter Account Amid New Backlash Over Leaked 'Music' Scene. Huffpost. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from Click Here for Link"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":201,"pub_key":111,"title":"Sororicide","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Jamie Zou","editor":null,"date":"2021-04-09","content":"no man’s land under fracturing sterility:\nyou were born bleeding and\nmy old frocks smelled all loved up again.\ndaughters cleaved and mended chastely as\ngirlhood savages us nameless,\nmouths never full\nof that sick kind of serenity\nyou and I\nskipping giddy lengths through\nvacant summers\ntake my hands\nlaugh loveless\ndon’t you get it?\nthere’s no use telling me\nI’m not who I used to be.\nsalvation reached,\nsurrender: undreamt, unlived, unatoned\nyou hunger for more, more, more\nbut our mother dreamt you wedded\na boy who gorged on the sun\nso, save that last piece of cake","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/sororicide111.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":37,"pub_key":112,"title":"A Culture Detonated by Suppression","subtitle":"Why Being Jewish Means Being Fearful","credit":"Written by: Lillian Hinojosa","editor":"Edited By: Kenny Tung & Aliza Shahab","date":"2021-04-11","content":"Growing up, I never stopped to realize that having to suppress one’s\ngiven identity and heritage was anything but normal.\nHaving lived in Los Angeles for the entirety of my life, I’ve come\nto appreciate this city as a melting pot of culture, religion, and\npride. This is in part due to certain aspects of my identity, most\nspecifically my Hispanic heritage, having been honored and respected\nthroughout the years. But now, as a young adult, who has slowly\nbecome more self aware, I have begun to question why in a city,\nesteemed and notarized for its inclusivity, that I as a culturally\nidentifying Jewish person, have been encouraged to hide the fact\nthat I am Jewish.\nWhen I was ten, my Grandma gave me a teddy bear that was dressed in\ntraditional Jewish clothing, and wore a necklace adorning the Star\nof David. Despite being known as a kid who collected an abundance of\nstuffed animals, that teddy bear was my most coveted possession for\nyears to follow. The star on its neck happened to be the same one\nthat I would catch my Grandma wearing, easily allowing me to become\nfascinated by it. This eventually encouraged me to wear the Star of\nDavid as well, yearning to be as prideful as my Grandma. The next\nday, I remember carefully removing the necklace from the bear’s\nneck, slipping it onto my wrist as a bracelet. As I prepared to\nleave the house with my family, my mother stopped me in my tracks as\nsoon as she noticed it. She questioned me as to where I had gotten\nthe bracelet, and why I was “even wearing it in the first place.”\nShe told me, “I think it would be better if you were to leave it at\nhome,” to which I responded, “why?”. She then quickly proceeded to\nexplain that she wouldn’t want anyone to ask questions. Furthermore,\nnoting that she wouldn’t want to put me in harm's way.\nEver since that day, her words have lingered with me. The sheer fear\nthat I had heard from the tone of my mother’s voice thoroughly\nconvinced me that it was the first time I truly felt as though I had\nto suppress a part of my identity to remain safe in the world that\nlay outside of my home.\nThroughout the years, I have accumulated an abundance of experiences\nthat have encouraged me to want to hide my Jewish culture, some\nbeing, classmates at school tormenting other, more openly Jewish\nstudents, as well as having teachers spread Anti-semetic\nconspiracies during lessons. Much of the Anti-semetic ridicule that\nI have experienced has also been incredibly prevalent amongst family\nfriends and extended family members, who would nonchalantly speak\nabout how Jews are destined to “go to hell” and that they are\n“incredibly dirty people''. All of these instances have been\nobserved from the outside looking in ― as a person who has chosen to\nlisten quietly in the shadows, I have remained careful not to become\na target of this aggression myself.\nThese experiences have opened my eyes to see that regardless of the\ndiverse environment one might be exposed to, in which almost\neveryone is encouraged to be themselves, Anti-Semitism only\ncontinues to persist as an ongoing epidemic that remains unresolved\nand clearly unnoticed.\nNever again should a single Jewish person feel inclined\nto suppress their identity in hopes of warding off Anti Semites from\ntheir impudent hunt. The only way for both Jewish and non-Jewish\nindividuals to restore what has become a culture of confinement, is\nto actively work against Anti-semitism. Simply proclaiming that you\ndo not hate Jews does not make the slightest difference in the\ninsurance of our safety. Although, something as manageable as\nintervening in the spread of Jewish hate or the violence that comes\nwith it, helps to set further precedence that this behavior is\nintolerable.\nHaving to suppress one’s given identity and heritage is\nanything but normal, and to ensure that the future of the Jewish\ncommunity does not experience the same fear that so many of us have\nhad to endure, hatred in any amount must be condemned by those who\nseek to better this world we live in.\n“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that\ngood men do nothing.” - Edmund Burke","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/aculturedetonatedbysuppression112.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":186,"pub_key":113,"title":"Tokenism in Australia: The Case of the Aboriginal People","subtitle":"","credit":"By Lindsay Wong","editor":"","date":"2021-04-13","content":"Just like the U.S. and Canada, Australia has a complicated\nrelationship with its First Nations people. Since the land was\ncolonized a few hundred years ago, the Aboriginal people have been\ncontinuously massacred, silenced, and discriminated against in all\nareas of society.\nIn the past few decades, advocacy groups and the Aboriginal people\nhave become more vocal about their visibility and their rights.\nThere have been attempts to pay sovereignty to the Indigenous\npeople, who are the traditional owners of the land, but these have\nreceived backlash from political leaders (the majority of whom are\nwhite). Most recently, the Australian national anthem was amended to\ninclude the Aboriginal people and to advocate for inclusion. The\nline was changed from “Australians all let us rejoice, for we are\nyoung and free” to \"Australians all let us rejoice, for we are one\nand free.\" However, changing one word is simply an act of tokenism\nand does little for actual inclusion. Tokenism is the practice of\nmaking a symbolic effort to do something in particular. In the\ncurrent social and political climate, the Aboriginal people will\ncontinue to suffer from underrepresentation and discrimination\nunless there is more initiative taken to include them in society.\nSince colonizers settled on Australian land in 1788, the Aboriginal\npeople and their voices have largely been erased from history, in\nboth a literal and metaphorical sense. In 1788, there were 750,000\nAborigines on the land, belonging to around 400 different tribes.\nEach tribe was self-sufficient, and all tribes lived harmoniously\nwithin their own resource-rich lands – they respected each other’s\nterritory and established a trade system. Aboriginal lifestyles had\nalways been based on kinship with the land and natural environment.\nJames Cook and the rest of the First Fleet from England decided to\nsettle on the land even though it was already occupied by the\nAborigines. The first influx of colonizers carried highly contagious\ndiseases, like smallpox, which killed more than half of the\nAboriginal population within a year, as they were not immune to\nthese diseases. The settlers needed to clear the land of Aboriginal\ntribes to make way for available land to be used for farming efforts\nand to build their own community. Aboriginal people were assimilated\ninto society by being separated from their families. Authorities\nerased Aboriginal history from school curriculums and efforts were\nmade to erase their identity.\nThe adverse effects of colonization are still being felt today.\nColonial attitudes, exploitation and violence have paved the way for\nAboriginal people to continue to be discriminated against in all\nareas of society. Much like other minority groups, the white\nmajority has an implicit bias against Aboriginal people. This is due\nto a lack of understanding and respect for them; colonial history is\nan uncomfortable truth for many Australians. Since being colonized,\nmany policies and practices have been instituted that marginalize\nand disadvantage the Indigenous people, resulting in high levels of\npoverty and poor health within their community. At the moment,\nAustralia is the only Commonwealth country that has no treaty\nbetween the colonizers and the Indigenous people, demonstrating the\nclear historical injustices that still exist in the country. In the\ncontext of the media, negative stereotypes of the Indigenous people\nare propagated and there is a lack of authentic representation. They\nare stereotyped to be lazy, violent and alcoholic. There is a\nmisconception that Indigenous people live in the desert, but\none-third of them reside in major cities around Australia. This has\nimpacted how society perceives the Aboriginal people – in a\ndiscriminatory manner.\nIn the past few decades, there has been an increase in Indigenous\nactivism and efforts by the government to recognize the Aboriginal\npeople as citizens, but only to varying degrees of success. One of\nthe most important milestones occurred on May 27th 1967, when\nAustralians voted to change the Constitution. Changes included\nremoving discriminatory words and language from the Constitution,\nenabling the Federal Government to make laws for the Aborigines and\nincluding them in the national census. The 1967 referendum\ndemonstrated that at least 90% of Australians wanted to grant equal\nconstitutional rights to the Aboriginal people. However, this\nreferendum merely recognized the Aboriginal people but did not\nactually grant them any new rights. Nevertheless,\nNational Reconciliation Week\nwas established in 1993 and is now celebrated every year on May 27th\nto June 3rd to commemorate the 1967 referendum. These are steps in\nthe right direction to at least recognize the Aboriginal people as\nequals at a constitutional level and to start advocating for more\nvisibility in society.\nIn January 2021, Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison announced\nthat one word in the second line of the national anthem would be\namended to be more inclusive of all Australians. This change is\nmeant to acknowledge the country’s colonial past and make it seem\nlike Australians are all united. It immediately met backlash from\nthe public, who took to social media to argue that this is simply an\nact of tokenism. It does not acknowledge the centuries of erasure\nthat the Aboriginal people experienced.\nLinda Burney, the first Aboriginal woman elected to the federal House of\nRepresentatives, said that more needed to be done in order to foster\ninclusivity. However, some Aboriginal government officials have\nrecognized the change in the national anthem as a small but\nsignificant change.\nAs the traditional owners of the land and rightful citizens,\nIndigenous people should not be discriminated against or silenced\nanymore. Negative stereotyping and perceptions have had adverse\neffects on the Indigenous population and many resort to\nsuicide\nor suffer from mental health issues, as well as experience a massive\ndisparity in terms of income, cost of living, and other factors. If\nthe government sincerely wants to be more inclusive, instead of\nchanging one word in the national anthem, they should be taking\nefforts to educate Australians about Aboriginal history and culture\nand establishing initiatives to be less discriminatory and more\naccepting towards them.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/tokenisminaustraliathecaseoftheaboriginalpeople113.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["\"A Brief Aboriginal History\". Aboriginal Heritage Office, Click Here For Link. Accessed 28 Feb 2021.","\"'Equal Rights For Aborigines': Indigenous Activism And Constitutional Reform\". National Archives Of Australia, 2020, Click Here For Link. Accessed 28 Feb 2021.","\"Something's Not Right\". Australians Together, https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/the-wound/somethings-not-right/. Accessed 28 Feb 2021.","Williams, Joe. \"Changing One Word In Australia's National Anthem Is Mere Tokenism And Does Little For Actual Inclusion | Joe Williams\". The Guardian, 2021, Click Here For Link. Accessed 28 Feb 2021."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":166,"pub_key":115,"title":"No, Super Straight is NOT a Sexuality","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Maya Henry","editor":"","date":"2021-04-16","content":"Transphobia, the dislike or prejudice against transgender people, is\nmost strongly tied to recognizable and established names, such as\nGeorgia Representative Marjorie Greene, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and\ncommentators like Ben Shapiro. Yet a new rank of transphobes is\nrising, strangely enough, on TikTok.\n“Super straight” is the new term for those who exclusively date\ncisgender people of the opposite sex. Kyle Royce, the TikTok user\nwho coined the term\nexplained\nthat, “[he] created it because [he] was sick of being labeled with\nthe very negative terms for having a preference, something [he]\ncan't control, and getting labeled by the community that preaches\nacceptance with that sort of stuff.\" But don’t let Royce’s words\nfool you; super straights are not a part of the LGBTQ+ community. In\nfact, the ideology is like day and night compared with the core\nmissions of LGBTQ+ activists.\nWhy is super straight problematic? Firstly, it should be mentioned\nthat super straightness is not about genitalia. Genital preferences\naren’t necessarily transphobic by themselves. However, transphobia\nbecomes apparent when even after a trans person undergoes gender\nreassignment surgery and matches one’s so-called genitalia\npreference, that person is still completely disregarded as a\npotential partner. The notion that not dating a trans woman makes a\nman “super” straight further implies that dating a trans woman makes\na man not fully straight, and by equivalence, a trans woman not\nfully a woman.\nTurning a preference of any kind into a sexuality is inherently\nhomophobic, as it minimizes the struggle LGBTQ+ people endure. Being\nqueer is not a preference; it’s not an option. To turn a preference\ninto a sexuality is to not only fetishize the preferred population\nbut also to equate preferences with sexuality, which is blatantly\nnot the case.\nTrans women are women. Trans women are women regardless of the\nsurgeries they choose to undergo or not, the hormones they take or\nnot, the clothes and makeup they purchase or not, the name they go\nby or not, and the she/her pronouns they now use or not.\nDating a trans person does not make one any less straight and\nrefusing to date a trans person does not make one any more straight.\nThe rise of the super straight ideology could not have come at a\nworse time amid Women’s History Month. Trans women have long been\nexcluded from both society at large and supposed “women-forward”\nspaces. This past summer, J.K. Rowling\npromoted a store\nselling pins with designs such as “trans women are men,” and “trans\nactivism is misogyny,” to her 14 million Twitter followers. In\nmid-February,\nSenate File\n224 passed a subcommittee vote in the Iowa state senate and advanced\nto further hearings. If made law, the bill would mandate all K-12\nstudents at private and public institutions to use the restroom that\naligns with their birth sex. In countless states, laws with the\nintention to ban trans women from competing in the women division of\nsports have also been introduced. Chris Mosier, the first trans man\nto athletically represent the US internationally, spoke, “Telling\ntransgender and non-binary youth that they are not valid and not\nworthy of having the same experiences as their peers not only\nnegatively impacts them — it also impacts the way the rest of the\ncountry treats transgender people.”\nThere is no doubt that trans women face exclusion, degradation, and\nviolence at an astronomically higher rate than other groups, with\nmore than\n200 documented murders\nof trans women and non-binary people occurring in the US alone since\n2013. Now, trans people can’t open TikTok or Instagram without\nencountering brutal transphobia.\nSuper straight is not a sexuality. It is simply a synonym for a\ntransphobe who cloaks their transphobia under the faux guise of\n‘personal preference.’","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/nosuperstraightisnotasexuality115.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":8,"pub_key":114,"title":"Amelie","subtitle":"","credit":"Art By: Kennedi Lopes","editor":"","date":"2021-04-16","content":"Artist Statement: This piece was inspired by my love for film.\nOftentimes I imagine myself as characters in my favorite movie, but\nI get so carried away that I start to feel like my life isn’t\nsatisfactory. This piece is a depiction of someone who’s arranged\ntheir entire life to look like that of the main character in the\nfilm “” (one of my favorites). While they may have their\n“dream life” they’re still lost and looking for contentment.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/amelie114.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":143,"pub_key":116,"title":"We Need to Talk About the Atlanta Shootings","subtitle":null,"credit":"By Amber Ting","editor":null,"date":"2021-04-18","content":"I remember 2015.\r\nI attended a summer camp in the 5th grade. I was told my skin looked\r\nlike the color of a toilet bowl (not really).\r\nI was connected to the victims of the Atlanta shootings by means of\r\nour skin color - this shade of not-quite gold and being laughed at\r\nin front of toilet bowls.\r\nI didn’t know Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae\r\nYue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, or Daoyou\r\nFeng. I heard Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jay Baker\r\nthrough a screen and felt the impact of his words.\r\n“He was pretty much fed up and kind of at the end of his rope.\r\nYesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did,”\r\nBaker said.\r\nI can’t imagine what it must have been like to be in that conference\r\nroom with him. I can’t imagine how the families of those women must\r\nhave felt on the receiving end of his blows.\r\nThe audacity of Baker to humanize someone who on a “bad day” shot\r\nand killed eight people instead of his victims astounds me. Robert\r\nAaron Long didn’t even confess to committing a hate crime when six\r\nout of eight of the women he killed were Asian.\r\nAccording to Long, he had a “sex addiction.” However, Long didn’t\r\ntarget bars or red light districts. He targeted Asian-owned\r\nbusinesses.\r\nI’ve seen Instagram posts saying they were shot and killed because\r\nthey were Asian. I’ve also seen posts saying everything happened\r\nbecause they were, well, women.\r\nThe sad truth? It’s because they were both.\r\nI hate that Asian women are so often reduced to their bodies in this\r\ncountry.\r\nIf in feminist theory, the male gaze objectifies females,\r\nintersectionality amplifies that.\r\nWe need to talk about intersectionality and the fact that Asian\r\nwomen are vulnerable. It is unacceptable that our bodies are never\r\nour own.\r\nWhether it’s microaggressions, subtle instances of racism, or hate\r\ncrimes (because even if he doesn’t get prosecuted to the extent he\r\ndeserves, Long did commit a hate crime), we need to shed a light on\r\nhatred.\r\nOtherwise, racist and xenophobic attitudes will only persist and be\r\ntransferred to the next generation.\r\nNot many people remember the Page Law of 1875. It effectively banned\r\nthe entry of Chinese women into the United States seven years before\r\nthe Chinese Exclusion Act because they were, in the words of its\r\nsponsor Representative Horace F. Page, “undesirable.”\r\nFour years before that, the massacre of 1871, one of the largest\r\nmass lynchings in modern American history, occurred. A mob of 500\r\nwhite people entered Old Chinatown in Los Angeles to hang seventeen\r\nto twenty Chinese immigrants. Only ten people were prosecuted, and\r\ntheir convictions were later overturned.\r\nIf we do not begin to address the depth of America’s complex racial\r\npast, anti-Asian hate crimes will only continue to spike.\r\nI fear for our futures as lockdowns end. We need to talk about the\r\nAtlanta shootings.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/weneedtotalkabouttheatlantashootings116.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":85,"pub_key":117,"title":"Black Girl, I See You","subtitle":"","credit":"By River Somerville","editor":"","date":"2021-04-20","content":"This poem is from the observatory lens of a Black girl, as she\nwatches another Black girl experience the hardships that come with\nrace and gender identity. Though she cannot offer an immediate\nsolution, she understands and offers herself to be an understanding\nvoice. She knows the isolation and pain the other girl is\nexperiencing. The author of this piece, a Black girl, wants to show\nother Black girls that they are not alone, that they do not have to\nhave it all figured out for their feelings to be validated, and that\nthey will eventually get through this—: even if the way out is not\nclear yet.\nThey want you to be everything - I know. It’s crazy, right?\nNot too ghetto,\nStill some spice,\nTalk real sweet,\nAnd they’ll be nice.\nDon’t get sassy; don’t be mean.\nDon’t be too loud, you’ll cause a scene.\nYou don’t belong; you don’t matter.\nOutside this archetype, your dreams will shatter.\nThe Invisible Other,\nAlways undercover. Unworthy of a voice, A place,\nA lover?\nYou want to hide.\nYou want to scream. They tell you who you are --\nBut what does that mean?\nIn a box, a suffocating box, You feel you cannot\nbreathe, Nor grow nor flourish, Find who you’re meant to\nbe. Wondering if you’re enough, If you’re even worthy.\nWho do you talk to? Where do you run? How do\nyou balance The stress and the fun?\nThey think you’re resilient - but are you really?\nDoes this leave you void of feeling?\nYou are full of fear and you are full of doubt.\nBut how do you manage your head spinning about?\nIt’s a cold, cold world, Of that, you know for\nsure. You search far and wide - What could be the cure?\nYou want them to believe that you’re human, Still\na human! You may tell them one thing, And they hear\n‘superwoman’\nI see you. I am you. I believe you. I\nhear you. Take my hand. Let’s make it through. May\nour days be less blue.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/blackgirliseeyou117.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":63,"pub_key":118,"title":"The Arts in the Confines of Capitalism","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by Michaela Capulong  Cover by Olivia Wu","editor":"","date":"2021-04-23","content":"“If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the\nhead, almost nothing.” - Marc Chagall\nIrrefutably, art, in all of its diverse forms and\nembodiments, is an integral part of our world. By definition, art is\nthe “application of human creative skill and imagination.” Artists\nturn to art as a cathartic way to express themselves or make their\nvoice heard. Inherently, the connection between the artist and their\nwork is impenetrable. The individual experiencing the art is given\nthe opportunity to be filled with a myriad of emotions: some\nbuoyant, some gloomy, some gut-wrenching, all essential. The pure\nfulfillment of creating a piece of art–dance, music, or in the\nvisual realm– that is authentic to oneself and one’s intended\nartistic vision can only be achieved without external forces; in\nmodern-day society, capitalism and consumer culture. The capitalist\nregime, which is contingent on a tenable consumer basis,\nconsistently robs us of our ability to both produce meaningful,\nauthentic art and experience it, independent of capitalism.\nAmericans live in an unapologetically capitalist\nsociety, where profit and personal gain is valued above all else.\nCapitalism has become increasingly detrimental for the arts\nindustry. In order for artists to be able to support themselves and\nmake a livable wage, they must learn to work within the bounds of\ncapitalism, which ultimately stifles and trammels creativity.\nAt its root, the element that makes art fundamentally\nvaluable is the relationship between the artist and their work. In a\nperfect world, there would be no external pressure on an artist to\ngenerate work that did not align with their vision. Artists would\ncreate purely based on what felt meaningful and true to them. In\ncapitalism, art depends on consumerism. Therefore, artists have to\ncater to what is profitable. In return, they are deprived of the\ncreative liberties that fundamentally make art what it is.\nThe relationship between the arts and capitalism is\nblatantly evident within the dance world. Chloe Capulong, a ballet\ntrainee and aspiring choreographer with the Joffrey Academy of\nDance, states, “capitalism is incredibly destructive in art because\nin the choreographic progress, we as creators have to cater to what\nwill be profitable onstage and what is popular within the given time\nperiod. Taking these factors into consideration infallibly limits\nour creative and artistic liberties, as our choreographic pieces are\nno longer intuitive to us and in line with our visions of the art we\nwant to produce; they’re in line with what will sell, and often what\nwill sell is very far from our original, artistic intentions.”\nCapulong later elaborates on her dissatisfaction and lack of\nfulfillment she receives upon producing choreographic pieces that\nare built on external expectations, rather than her own. “Creating\nart is supposed to be an outlet for me to share my voice in\nsituations where words fall short. When I have to base my\nchoreographic works around what will bring in the most money [and my\nwork is transformed into a commodity], my creative outlet is\nstripped from me. The pieces I create no longer seem like my own.”\nAnother integral tenet of capitalism is the emphasis on\ncompetition. Art encourages artists to collaborate, integrate and\nshare ideas, and inspire others in the process of creating art.\nHowever, the competitive nature of capitalism strips the communal\naspect of art away from us, turning individuals within the same\nfield, sharing the same interests, into bloodthirsty rivals, and the\narts industry as a whole into a contentious battlefield. In a\nblogpost by Bfritany Ederveen, the writer describes how “[creating]\nart for the sole purpose of making money” changes one’s motives to\nbeing “selfish, self-seeking, competitive.” The integrity and\npurpose is “no longer to give others an experience.” We\nlive within a capitalist system; thus, the competitive,\nconsumer-based culture infiltrates every aspect of our society. All\npolitical differences aside, it is hard to argue that capitalism\ndoes not stifle creativity. How does the art industry produce\nmeaningful art if the very basis of their work, creativity, is\nstripped from them? Art “should be a form of escapism, not a form of\nimprisonment,” according to Alexander Mcqueen. Within the confines\nof capitalism, the unalloyed escapism is stolen from artists, and\nthey are forced to work within the limits of capitalism, hindering\ntheir creativity, artistry, and ability to collaborate.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theartsintheconfinesofcapitalism118.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":4,"pub_key":119,"title":"Colonialism","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Rohan Subramaniam","editor":"Edited By: Grace Bennett","date":"2021-04-27","content":"Tag (You’re It)\nScarlet ladybugs\nFlee, only one thought in mind:\n“Escape white sneaker!”\nEscape Room\nSteel-made rain drenches\nPale, cold shower tile to drown\nGreen beetle, since dead.\nSandbox\nShiny black ants pour\nOut from grainy home, angered -\nSmall pips stud clenched fist.\nHibiscus\nAzure butterfly\nAlights on scarlet blossom,\nLast on wilted bush.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/colonialism119.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":74,"pub_key":120,"title":"We Have Different Last Names","subtitle":"","credit":"By Danica Seto","editor":"Edited By: Kenny Tung & Eliet Williamson-Diaz","date":"2021-04-30","content":"“No, we’re not related. No, we don’t all look the same.” It’s incredibly frustrating when I’m with friends and someone approaches us with the same few comments. But you look so similar! You have to be twins! As an Asian American living in a predominately white town, other students would often confuse me with my fellow Asian classmates. My first memory of this happening is from kindergarten when my teacher kept mistaking me for the only other East-Asian girl in class. From what I remember, the teacher sincerely apologized when we corrected her, but I found it strange she had such difficulty telling us apart. Even as a five-year-old, I knew we looked nothing alike.\nBy now I’ve grown accustomed to ignoring comments where people, intentionally or not, point out how remarkably similar they think Asians all look to each other. For me, these situations are mostly an annoyance, not worth dwelling on unless followed up with some racist remark. Having to repeatedly explain or justify my discomfort is most realistically exhaustive and hardly worth the energy. Years of dealing with these comments and I have to consider, why is it so hard for people to differentiate others of different races?\nThe other-race effect (ORE), also known as the cross-race effect or own-race bias, is a plausible answer to this complex question. According to the report “A Memory Computational Basis for the Other-Race Effect,” it’s a phenomenon where people have the, “...tendency to recognize and remember faces of one’s own race more readily than those of other races. The concept of the ORE was first documented over a century ago in an early study of environmental influence on visual discrimination.” The study used mnemonic discrimination (a participant must differentiate between a group of previous memories of faces to new faces), and match-to-sample face recognition tasks (a participant is presented with a face, then two or more faces where they must choose which was the same as the original image). Researchers found that the prevalence the ORE has in someone increases when the faces of others are held in memory along with temporal interference. In other words, a person’s recollection of faces works alongside the stimulation of complex structures in the brain. Because of this, we can infer that the ORE isn’t simply perceptual and isn’t rooted in how faces are interpreted through visual senses alone. Although the idea that we can better distinguish the faces of certain strangers better than others may seem odd, in reality, it happens far more often than we think.\nDiffering sources provide numerous explanations for the ORE such that there’s no universally agreed reason. One study establishes multidimensional face-space architecture as a possibility. Using a baseline model, other examples of faces were added to it like layers. Based on the variation from the prototypical average, the new model represents the average of all the faces that a person has ever encountered, hence being unique as it adapts when more faces are observed. Face-space is a theoretical idea that a multidimensional space exists where the faces of those you recognize are all stored. The results of this study conclude that because of the frequency someone’s own people appear in their face-space, the dimensions of their face-space become ideal for recognition of that group of people.\nTThere are many alternative theories for the ORE. One claims that since there's growing exposure to faces from one’s racial group, it creates acute awareness and preference for them. The possibility of racial preference can be recognized within the cultural prejudice many communities have against certain races. For instance, colorism is a prevalent issue many women in South Asian countries like India face. Examples vary from the popularity of skin-lightening creams, to mostly light-skin actors being casted in Bollywood films. Colorism is entrenched within certain cultures because of the preference, and often obsession, to have a lighter complexion.\nThe article, “The Other-Race Effect Develops During Infancy Evidence of Perceptual Narrowing”, discusses the origins of the ORE in the context of early development. It investigates the onset of the ORE during infancy by comparing different age groups' ability to recognize faces from their own and other races. The process is described as, “we assessed the ability of 3-, 6-, and 9-month-old Caucasian infants to discriminate within own-race (Caucasian) faces and within three categories of other-race faces (African, Middle Eastern, and Chinese).” The data collected suggests that the ORE isn’t present in three-month-old infants, but appears at six months and is fully present by nine months of age. In these six-months, infants become more receptive to those of their ethnic group due to closer proximity to such faces.\nThe study explains why a Caucasian person raised in a majority white area might have greater difficulty differentiating between two Black people. When the roles are reversed, the same situation would occur for a population that has a Black majority. Caucasian people tend to rely on attributes such as hair color, while a Black person might fixate on skin tone when differentiating others. It’s important to note this is just one example and can describe the relationship between any two races. The data supports the assumption that the ability for facial recognition is influenced by who people are surrounded by. Therefore, how the ORE applies to specific groups is shaped by one’s environment.\nIf the ORE is present in all groups of people, why should we be concerned about it? Even though the ORE can appear for any race, the demographics of the U.S. must be taken into consideration. As of 2019, 60.1% of the population is white, meaning that racial minorities likely reside in predominantly white neighborhoods. In multiracial communities, there’s often greater difficulty for white people to differentiate between individuals of different races.\nThe ORE's integration into policing and the criminal justice system is when it presents the most severe consequences. The Innocence Project is an organization spreading awareness about exonerations for those wrongfully convicted. Following their data as of March 2021, there have been 375 DNA exonerees (those convicted but later freed from legal repercussions due to DNA technology providing irrefutable proof of their innocence) in America. Predictably, these wrongful convictions disproportionately affect minorities, where 60% were African American. Of those 375 cases, 69% involved eyewitness misidentification, 42% of which related to cross-racial misidentification, and 29% from mistakenly “recognizing” someone and reporting them to the police. The ORE largely contributes to the leading cause of wrongful convictions as an underlying bias at play.\nIn the article, “The Influence of Environment on Identification of Persons and Things” Feingold explains his conclusions claiming, “Recognition does not depend on memory, neither does it depend on imagery; these factors merely serve to strengthen it. It is a primary act of consciousness; it is more like an attitude of the entire organism. The individual had been thrown into a certain attitude on a former occasion, only when the same attitude is aroused once more will recognition take place...Recognition is not an act like that of recalling a fact.” Despite one’s confidence in their memory, their ability to recognize a face is certainly susceptible to errors and lapses of judgment. His statement indicates that eyewitness testimonies are often unreliable and raises many red flags about decision-making concerning potential suspects.\nA section from the Michigan Journal of Race and Law details the response to this concern stating that “The Supreme Court has not provided guidance for cross-racial identifications, and it has not required that trial judges consider these issues when determining if an identification is reliable...The courts will not question the reliability of an eyewitness identification unless the police used an inappropriate method of identification.” To be deemed inappropriate, the process needs to involve law enforcement being unnecessarily suggestive. Situations include when the suspect is the only person shown, if they’re restrained with handcuffs, or if the witness is praised following their decision, etc. While the Supreme Court has described cases of too much suggestiveness, a “reliable” identification has not been precisely defined. Because of the leeway in using eyewitness identification, trial judges can consider evidence that's possibly unsound. The Court fails to properly address the potential harm of the ORE where inaccuracies have resulted in the unjust mass incarceration of thousands. Apart from the simplified numbers, it’s obvious there are real people suffering and wrongfully serving decades imprisoned because of it.\nThe previously mentioned article from the Michigan Journal of Race and Law, “Cross-Racial Identifications: Solutions to the ‘They All Look Alike’ Effect”, gives an in-depth look at the Eyewitness Guide. Taking notice of the issue in 1999, the Department of Justice created the Eyewitness Guide to reform police procedures and properly handle eyewitness identification. It introduces measures for creating well set up photo/live-suspect lineups for improved accuracy. An example establishes that there should be four non-suspects for live lineups and five for photo lineups that match the description, so the suspect doesn’t excessively stand out. The guide also clarifies that the witness should always be informed that the investigation will continue despite no identification made. Most notably, it calls for police to record all identifications and the certainty of the witness’ statements. Having this information suggests its reliability given that it tends to increase for those who choose a person quickly and confidently. While the guide was a step in the right direction, additional initiatives to decrease misidentification were needed.\nWith the ORE’s manifestation in the criminal justice system and real-life scenarios, it’s an issue actively being dismantled through several approaches. Gizelle Anzures, a psychologist from the University of London, best puts it as, “The Other-Race Effect can be prevented, attenuated, and even reversed given experience with a novel race class.” The first “solution” is one we have little control over but should be observed in the coming decades. As our country diversifies, the ORE will no longer be necessary. It’s predicted by the U.S census that in the upcoming years, race demographics will change drastically with projections that the country will be “minority white.” Again, with greater exposure to other races, future generations may become equally skilled in identifying those of every race.\nOne of the leading goals of The Innocence Project is to educate the public by endorsing the improvement of forensic science disciplines, efforts to advocate for error identification/prevention, and better transparency of information at a national level. Some of their objectives include: ensuring the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have scientific evaluations on the legitimacy of forensic disciplines, supporting judicial training for future decisions in admissibility, considering the validity of a forensic test, and reviewing subsequent cases when problems in forensic science are identified. The Innocence Project contributes to policy reform recognized by police, prosecutorial and judicial experience, as well as national justice organizations. For instance, the organization pushed for law enforcement to use the “Double-Blind” procedure where an administrator and eyewitness are both unaware of who the suspect in a lineup is. Applying this procedure reduces the influence an administrator may have on the eyewitness. Another reform policy involves the use of instructions where an administrator will say multiple statements clarifying that whoever committed the crime may not be in the lineup. It helps to prevent the eyewitness from feeling pressured to make a decision.\nFrom my own experiences, I won’t suggest being confused with the only other Asian in the room isn’t humiliating at times, as well as disrespectful to others. To my surprise as well, the ORE isn’t a “result” of racism−that is not to say they don’t coincide. Lawrence White a professor at Beloit College states, \"Studies have found that racial attitudes don’t predict performance in cross-race identification tasks; prejudiced and non-prejudiced people are equally likely to fall victim to the other-race effect.\"\nThe phenomenon isn’t inherently racist on its own, but because of racism ingrained into American institutions, its potential to harm is evident. The other-race effect poses a threat when utilized in ways to oppress marginalized groups like in the criminal justice system. Nonchalant stereotyping from western civilization with phrases like “All Asians look the same” are a result of the lack of diverse communities and generations of ignorance. Are these comments acceptable? Of course not, considering most are laced with racist ideology.\nIt’s imperative to recognize these remarks don’t always come from a place of malice, but are most often the product of an environment. We shouldn’t overlook what these offhand jokes can lead to when the consequences are so dire. Given facial recognition is an ability our brains develop over time, there’s little individuals can do to consciously reverse the other-race effect. Instead, we must minimize the harm it can cause and address the issues it has produced. The Innocence Project is one of many outstanding organizations like the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). By supporting these initiatives, massive efforts are being led to push for the necessary change we need in our criminal justice system. While the other-race effect is just one phenomenon, it’s repercussions are abundant and advocacy must be taken for them to be resolved.\nYaros, Jessica L., et al. “A Memory Computational Basis for the Other-Race Effect.” Scientific Reports, vol. 9, no. 1, 18 Dec. 2019, doi:10.1038/s41598-019-55350-0.\nFeingold, Gustave A. “The Influence of Environment on Identification of Persons And Things.” Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 5, no. 1, 1914, pp. 39–51. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1133283. Accessed 10 Mar. 2021\n“DNA Exonerations in the United States.” Innocence Project, 26 Aug. 2020, innocenceproject.org/dna-exonerations-in-the-united-states/.\nKelly, David J et al. “The other-race effect develops during infancy: evidence of perceptual narrowing.” Psychological Science, U.S. National Library of Medicine, vol. 18,12 (2007): 1084-9. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02029.x\nSchlick, Greta, and Jessica Rossbach. “The Other-Race Effect and Facial Identification.” Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 2007, www.kon.org/urc/v6/schlick.html.\nConnelly, Laura. “Cross-Racial Identifications: Solutions to the ‘They All Look Alike’ Effect.” Michigan Journal of Race and Law, vol. 21, no. 1, 2015, repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=mjrl.\nPomeroy, Steven Ross. “'They All Look Alike': The Other-Race Effect.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 Jan. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2014/01/28/think-they-all-look-alike-thats-just-the-other-race-effect/?sh=35a5a3623819.\nFrey, William H. “The US Will Become 'Minority White' in 2045, Census Projects.” Brookings, Brookings, 10 Sept. 2018, www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/14/the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045-census-projects/.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wehavedifferentlastnames120.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Yaros, Jessica L., et al. “A Memory Computational Basis for the Other-Race Effect.” Scientific Reports, vol. 9, no. 1, 18 Dec. 2019, doi:10.1038/s41598-019-55350-0.","Feingold, Gustave A. “The Influence of Environment on Identification of Persons And Things.” Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 5, no. 1, 1914, pp. 39–51. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1133283. Accessed 10 Mar. 2021","“DNA Exonerations in the United States.” Innocence Project, 26 Aug. 2020, innocenceproject.org/dna-exonerations-in-the-united-states/.","Kelly, David J et al. “The other-race effect develops during infancy: evidence of perceptual narrowing.” Psychological Science, U.S. National Library of Medicine, vol. 18,12 (2007): 1084-9. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02029.x","Schlick, Greta, and Jessica Rossbach. “The Other-Race Effect and Facial Identification.” Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 2007, www.kon.org/urc/v6/schlick.html.","Connelly, Laura. “Cross-Racial Identifications: Solutions to the ‘They All Look Alike’ Effect.” Michigan Journal of Race and Law, vol. 21, no. 1, 2015, repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=mjrl.","Pomeroy, Steven Ross. “'They All Look Alike': The Other-Race Effect.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 Jan. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2014/01/28/think-they-all-look-alike-thats-just-the-other-race-effect/?sh=35a5a3623819.","Frey, William H. “The US Will Become 'Minority White' in 2045, Census Projects.” Brookings, Brookings, 10 Sept. 2018, www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/14/the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045-census-projects/."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":78,"pub_key":121,"title":"The Bias Behind The Test Of A Lifetime","subtitle":"","credit":"Written By Amanda Lee","editor":"Edited By: Chloe Chen, Joyce Huang, and Anju Meyer","date":"2021-05-02","content":"Standardized testing for college applications was created in the early 1900s as a way to fairly judge those in pursuit of higher education. Those who support the SAT claim that standardized testing is the only way to objectively compare students for college acceptance, but recent studies have shown that SAT scores may more accurately indicate one’s socioeconomic status and race as opposed to their potential to succeed.\nFinancial bias heavily stems from test preparation. For many years, the notion that test preparation could not significantly improve scores was widely upheld, but that belief has since been proven to be false. According to a statement published by the College Board on May 8, 2017, new data has shown a positive correlation between test preparation and an increase in score. Not everyone can afford adequate test preparation, however, giving those who can a huge advantage. Test preparation can also be extremely expensive depending on the amount one receives. Research from an article published by Prep Scholar compiled the average costs of 0-40 hours of different test preparation methods. The costs ranged from $200 to $8000 depending on the method of preparation used. Although people can use free resources to study for the SAT, their scores are contingent upon their ability to self-teach. On the other hand, students who receive aid from test preparation centers score increasingly higher. These test centers make a lucrative business dissecting standardized tests, allowing them to teach the strategies of the SAT in the best way possible. The quality of preparation simply can’t compare.\nI, myself, as a high school student, experienced firsthand the demanding tuition of SAT preparation. My bookshelf was filled with numerous thick SAT prep books, costing 30 dollars each, but that wasn’t nearly enough to raise my SAT score to one competitive enough to get into top schools. The amount of money I spent on study books alone is already too much for some families. Although I was blessed enough to have the resources available to hire a tutor, who helped me study effectively for the SAT, not everyone has the luxury to do so. Additionally, there are some students who simply do not have time to study. Students from low-income families could have other priorities that come before studying for the SAT, such as jobs, watching their siblings, helping their family members, and more. Unfortunately, low-income students have no choice but to choose to support themselves and their families over a good test score.\nThe financial demands of SAT test prep are a burden to lower-income families. The scores of those who don’t have the means to afford it are drastically lower than those who can. Research done by The Washington Post in 2014 revealed that students from families with an annual income higher than $200,000 averaged a combined score of approximately 1130, while students from families earning under $20,000 averaged a combined score of approximately 880. While the study was published 6 years ago, more recent score reports of SAT scores from 2016 and 2018 have been released, which show a stark difference in SAT scores of students whose family’s income is above $200,000 compared to students whose family’s income is less than $20,000.\nEven taking the SAT itself isn’t a guarantee for everyone. While a student from a lower-income family might be forced to submit the one SAT score they have, higher-income families can afford to have their kids take the SAT multiple times until they are satisfied with their score. More recently, this financial disparity has become evident with SAT test centers shutting down left and right due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. As SAT test centers closed, some students have been forced to fly out to neighboring states for the few testing centers that are open, incurring travel expenses that some cannot afford. Covid-19 has highlighted how SAT scores, and even access to the SAT test, are a financial issue as much as it is an academic one.\nIn addition to financial bias, cultural/racial bias is also apparent. A Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review article exposed the racist intentions of Carl Birmingham, the creator of the SAT. Birmingham stated that his intentions of creating the SAT were to prove the superiority of the white race and\nprevent the “racial infiltration of the Negros.” Research has also shown that the actual content on the SAT, specifically the verbal sections, is more oriented towards white people. As explained by a study published by\nBrookings Institute, “differential item functioning” is the idea that students with similar achievements and academic backgrounds may actually end up with entirely different answers. The Harvard Civil Rights article explains that one reason why “differential item functioning” exists is because of certain phrases and expressions that are only primarily used in certain cultures. Therefore, while white students have an advantage because the SAT is written in the vernacular of their predominant culture, people of color may struggle on the SAT because the expressions, idioms, and contexts of the reading passages are not native to them. While Collegeboard has attempted to make numerous reforms to its test material, the recent SAT score reports still show the same racial gaps evident in previous years.\nBecause of these systemic challenges to a fair and equitable SAT, colleges are already rethinking their standardized testing options. The University of California (UC)\nschool system, for instance, eliminated the SAT requirement and is in the process of creating its own substitute test by 2025 that aims to minimize any bias. With the UC school system leading the way in SAT reforms, other colleges are starting to follow suit, possibly allowing for a future beyond the current standardized testing system that is more equitable and accurate to students’ true abilities.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thebiasbehindthetestofalifetime121.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":3,"pub_key":122,"title":"Early 20s","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Kennedi Lopes","editor":"","date":"2021-05-06","content":"This piece was made to encourage the normalization of stretch marks on women’s bodies. Oftentimes, stretch marks are seen as flaws or imperfections. In reality, they are only means of growth and should be accepted wholly.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/early20s122.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":147,"pub_key":123,"title":"Terracotta","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Mrinal Pattanaik","editor":"Edited By: Chloe Chen and Eeman Aleem","date":"2021-05-08","content":"When you look like me, you are slowly\nunmade by your desire for perfection, your personhood\nreduced to conceptualism, your stories\ncopied and pasted into pretty palatability.\nI am too loud to be a woman of my kind. I am\ntoo brown to be a voice worth hearing. I live in\nrepeated ideas, sun-bronzed hands raised toward\nthe heavens, begging to be seen as worth my own.\nAt fourteen years old, I sew my heart into the moon,\ncrying — please, let me detach myself from this\nform, let me weave myself into something beautiful,\nlet my skin smooth over like porcelain instead of terracotta.\nSomeday I plea to be heard as myself, but for now\nI am in between.\nWhat do you do if you’re too brown to be\na woman, but too woman to be brown?","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/terracotta123.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":202,"pub_key":124,"title":"At the Intersection of Disability and Race: Interview with Wendy Lu","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Suzanna Chen","editor":"Edited By: Harvi Karatha","date":"2021-05-11","content":"May is marked as Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in\r\nthe U.S.—a time to celebrate the beautiful identity and cultural diversity\r\nbrought to us by the AAPI community. However, while doing so, it is also\r\nimportant for us to acknowledge that many within the community face unique\r\nstruggles and compounded discrimination as they stand at the intersection\r\nof multiple marginalized identities. To explore more, I was incredibly honoured\r\nto have invited Wendy Lu, a disabled Asian-American journalist and advocate,\r\nto discuss her experiences with holding an intersectional identity. We at\r\nDetester Magazine hope that our readers will enjoy\r\nlearning from the most authentic sources, and please remember to visit some of\r\nWendy’s work listed at the end of the interview.\r\n1. Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers at Detester Magazine?\r\nMy name is Wendy, and I'm a news editor and reporter at “HuffPost.” I cover disability, politics and culture\r\n2. Disability discrimination is an issue regrettably overlooked by many.\r\na)\r\nHow would you describe the current prevalence of ableism against people of disabilities?\r\n*Ableism is, unfortunately, everywhere. It comes in many forms,\r\nfrom overt discrimination to the smallest of microaggressions,\r\nacross all systems and levels of society — whether it's\r\neducation, health care, employment, family dynamics and relationships,\r\nand so forth. People with disabilities both visible and invisible,\r\nphysical and mental, intellectual and developmental, etc., can all\r\nexperience ableism. Many people still do not even know what ableism is,\r\nmuch less that it exists,and because we live in a world that's not built\r\nfor us, many disabled people also internalize ableism as well.\r\n*ableism: a system that places value on people’s bodies and minds based on\r\nsocietally constructed ideas of normality, intelligence, excellence,\r\ndesirability, and productivity, leading to discrimination against\r\npeople who do not fit within these constructs. One does NOT have to be\r\ndisabled to experience ableism.\r\nb)\r\nWhat can be done to improve the present situation?\r\nIt's going to take a complete restructuring of\r\nsociety, including changes to our individual mindsets, changes to\r\ninstitutional policies, a move toward community care, and so much more.\r\nIt's going to take dismantling racism, sexism, xenophobia, transphobia,\r\nand discrimination in all forms because disability is an identity that is\r\npresent across all communities. We can't have an accessible, more\r\nequitable society if that doesn't include disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigeous,\r\nand People of Color), LGBTQ+, immigrants and people of other marginalized\r\ncommunities.\r\nTo quote the activist *Mia Mingus, \"When access\r\nis a practice of love, it is no longer simply about logistics and\r\nsomething you have to do, but something you want to do.\"\r\n*Mia Mingus: an advocate who is queer,\r\nphysically disabled, korean, transracial, and a transnational adoptee raised in the Caribbean\r\n3. It has been a positive advancement that many higher education\r\ninstitutions and workspaces are offering increasing accommodations for\r\ndisabled students/employees.\r\na)\r\nWhat are your opinions on the current accessibility of education and work?\r\nAccess is and has always been a major issue in both the\r\neducation system and the workplace. Even though the *ADA was passed more\r\nthan 30 years ago, disabled people still experience employment discrimination\r\nduring the hiring process and at their everyday jobs. Students with\r\ndisabilities often have to navigate an inaccessible campus or encounter\r\nfaculty and staff who don't understand their need for accommodations.\r\nThere's a general fear of liability whenever disability or the *ADA comes\r\nup, so the default is to just not talk about it — which is harmful itself.\r\nAlso, when we request better accessibility or accommodations,\r\nit's often viewed as providing \"special treatment\" for \"special needs.\" —\r\nbut our needs aren't special: they're basic human rights. It's not about\r\ngiving us an extra advantage at all but to make things equitable and to\r\nmake up for a disadvantage that was already placed there by society.\r\nIt's important for both schools and organizations to\r\nrealize that there are many different kinds of disabilities and\r\naccommodations — it can mean building access, yes, but it can also\r\nmean slight modifications to current policies or different versions of\r\nclass or work materials, and this is just barely scratching the surface.\r\nI haven't even touched on the fact that disabled people bring so much\r\ncreativity and innovation to a classroom or workplace; hiring disabled\r\npeople is good for the economy AND it's the right thing to do. There is\r\nso much about access and disability in education and employment that I\r\ncould go on and on about.\r\n*ADA (Amercians with Disabilities Act): a civil law passed to ensure equal\r\nopportunity for individuals with disabilities with five “titles” that\r\ncorrespond with different public sectors: employment, state and local\r\ngovernment, public accommodations, telecommunications, and “Miscellaneous\r\nProvisions'' (ex. ADA’s relationship to other laws, state immunity, its\r\nimpact on insurance providers and benefits, prohibition against retaliation\r\nand coercion, illegal use of drugs, and attorney’s fees)\r\nb)\r\nAs most of our readers are young adults, can you share some of\r\nyour experiences and advice with current or prospective disabled people\r\nin post-secondary education and those entering the workforce?\r\nAfter college, I spent a year working at a recruiting\r\ncompany and saving up money before moving to New York City for grad\r\nschool. I got my masters in journalism, and immediately after graduating,\r\nI did a couple of fellowships at various media outlets. Once those\r\nfellowships were over, I spent two years freelancing, working at a health\r\ncare nonprofit to help pay the bills, and applying for journalism jobs.\r\nIt took me that long to actually get hired at my current company, “HuffPost.”\r\nI think the main takeaway here is that even though\r\nthere's a lot of pressure and expectations around getting the perfect\r\njob right after school, SO many people do not follow a linear path.\r\nTake whatever time you need to prepare for your next step, and it's okay\r\nto veer off if you need to help pay the bills, take care of family, take\r\ncare of yourself, etc. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask for what you need,\r\nwhether it's a higher salary or a mental health day. The reality is that companies\r\nare mainly focused on the bottom line, so you have to be able to put yourself first,\r\nlearn to say no, and (if you're not in a situation that's ideal), take the\r\nsteps to find something better.\r\n4. We understand that your work involves advocating for more representation and\r\nmore accurate portrayals of disabilities in the media.\r\na)\r\nWhat are some current concerns regarding disabilities in the media?\r\nI see a lot of *inspiration porn—stories that praise\r\ndisabled people as heroes or inspirations solely for being disabled.\r\nDisability is often portrayed as either a weakness or a superhero trait\r\nwith little space for nuance. We're often boxed into these stereotypes\r\nthat aren't actually true [and can] even be actively harmful.\r\nOftentimes, disability is viewed as just a \"health\r\ncare issue,\" or it's only covered in the lifestyle or features section\r\nin the form of \"feel-good stories\" (again, inspiration porn). But\r\ndisability is relevant in every news section, whether it's politics,\r\nrelationships, education, celebrity news, or (yes) health care. It\r\nrequires hiring, retaining, and promoting disabled people in newsrooms\r\nto not only cover disability issues well, but to ensure that newsrooms\r\nthemselves are accessible and are inclusive workplaces for disabled workers\r\nto feel welcome and to thrive in.\r\n*inspiration porn: the portrayal of people who experience disability as\r\ninspirational solely or in part due to their disability\r\nb)\r\nHow can we advocate for improvement on these issues?\r\nIt's crucial for non-disabled people to\r\nspeak up about issues of inaccessibility and the lack of\r\ndisabled people in the room. Hiring just one or two disabled people\r\nisn't going to cut it (that's tokenizing), and it shouldn't just be the\r\nresponsibility of the disabled people who are present to convince\r\nnondisabled people to care. It's not something that will be resolved\r\nin a day, a week, or a month. It's going to take very intentional steps\r\nand lots of practice to learn and unlearn. It means putting money behind\r\nthe claims made of inclusion, perhaps by creating an accessibility hub\r\nwhere products are constantly tested to ensure they're accessible for\r\ndisabled audiences. It means speaking up even when it's hard. There's so much.\r\n5. The disabled community encompasses incredible diversity.\r\nMany disabled people, including myself, have an “invisible disability,”\r\nwhich is frequently misunderstood or attracts curious glances upon\r\nrevelation. How would you suggest the non-disabled population interact\r\nwith people with “invisible disabilities”?\r\nOne major and necessary step is for non-disabled\r\npeople to just acknowledge that invisible disabilities exist.\r\nToo often, there's an assumption that if you don't look disabled,\r\nyou must not be disabled.\r\nIt's important to recognize that disability\r\nencompasses a vast array of conditions — it includes wheelchair\r\nusers and deaf and blind people, but also chronic pain, diabetes,\r\nmental illness, and so much more. Some invisible disabilities can\r\nbecome visible or apparent depending on the day — it's important\r\nto be understanding of that and avoid thinking that they must be\r\n\"faking\" or other ableist mindsets\r\nAlso, know that you aren't entitled to\r\nknowing everything about the lives of disabled people and\r\nthat includes people with invisible disabilities.\r\n6. While acknowledging the COVID-19 pandemic’s detrimental\r\nimpact on everyone, would you agree that it has been uniquely\r\ndevastating for the disabled community? Why or why not?\r\nAbsolutely.\r\nWhen health experts talk about how people\r\nwith \"underlying health conditions\" are at higher risk for\r\nsevere illness due to the coronavirus, they're talking about\r\ndisabled people. In particular, disabled people of color are\r\nespecially vulnerable to COVID-19.\r\na)\r\nAs an Asian-American woman, what are your opinions on current\r\nevents and intersectional discrimination?\r\nIt has been heartbreaking and devastating\r\nfor me to see the current rise in anti-Asian attacks\r\n(which, by the way, aren't new at all and have been \"current\"\r\nfor a while), but it's even worse to see instances where\r\nbystanders have done nothing at all to help victims. It's\r\ndifficult for me to even watch the footage of these attacks —\r\nit makes me feel physically ill. There's a long history of\r\nanti-Asian sentiment in this country (consider the *Chinese\r\nExclusion Act, which banned immigration specifically of\r\nChinese people into the U.S., and that was 1882). The\r\ndifference is that more people are actually talking about it\r\nnow.\r\n*Chinese Exclusion Act: a United States federal\r\nlaw signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882 to\r\nprohibit all immigration of Chinese laborers, signifying the\r\nanti-Asian sentiments of the time\r\nb)\r\nHow does having a disability influence those who hold other\r\nmarginalized identities?\r\nHaving a disability often exacerbates\r\ndiscrimination that already exists for people of other\r\nmarginalized identities. For example, Black disabled people\r\nare at higher risk of experiencing police brutality. Disabled\r\nfat women of color are less likely to be believed at the\r\ndoctor's office when they're in pain or having health issues.\r\n(This is true of those who have just one of these identities,\r\nbut the issue is compounded when they hold multiple\r\nmarginalized identities.) Undocumented immigrants often forgo\r\nhealthcare out of fear that they'll experience repercussions\r\ndue to their immigration status and that has a\r\ndisproportionate impact on disabled immigrants. There are\r\nmany other examples.\r\nc)\r\nHow can the non-disabled community support disabled people\r\nexperiencing compounded discrimination (ex. disabled POC and women)?\r\nIt's a lot of what I mentioned before:\r\nspeaking up, recognizing your privileges, putting in the\r\ninternal work of learning and unlearning biases. That goes\r\nfor both disabled and non-disabled people. It's important to\r\nrecognize that compounded discrimination is even a thing.\r\nDisabled people of color experience racism and ableism while\r\nwhite disabled people experience just ableism (unless there's\r\nsome other factor at play, such as class/socioeconomic\r\nstatus). Saying this doesn't take away from the hardships\r\nand experiences that white disabled people have faced; it\r\njust means those hardships aren't a result of discrimination\r\nbased on skin color, [which is] crucial in understanding how\r\nto be a better ally to people who are multiply marginalized.\r\nLikewise, just because I'm Chinese\r\nand have a tracheostomy tube doesn't mean I know what\r\nit's like to have every other disability or to\r\nexperience racism targeted at a different BIPOC group —\r\nI don't. So I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can\r\nbetter uplift marginalized communities that I'm not a part\r\nof.\r\n8. Lastly, what is the legacy you want to leave as an advocate? In other words,\r\nwhat do you want to achieve through speaking out so courageously?\r\nIt feels weird to think I would be leaving\r\nbehind a legacy, and I certainly don't feel courageous because\r\nI feel like I'm just building off of the work that's already being\r\ndone by so many other leaders in the disability space\r\n(including those who were steering the disability rights\r\nmovement since before the ADA was passed in 1990). I do want to\r\nhelp show newsrooms that covering disability issues is a necessity.\r\nIf you aren't covering disability, you're missing so many important\r\nstories and leaving out a good chunk of potential readership. Also,\r\nof course I want to keep telling stories about the disability community\r\nthat are often overlooked — advocacy is one word for it.\r\nTo me, it's about doing well at my job.\r\nI'm doing what more and more journalists should be doing.\r\nThank you Wendy for having this important conversation with us!\r\nSupport Wendy’s work by…\r\nVisiting her social media…\r\nInstagram -> @wendyluwrites\r\nTwitter -> Wendy Lu (@wendyluwrites)\r\nFacebook -> Wendy Lu Writes - Home\r\nDiscovering her works on Huffpost -> Wendy Lu\r\nExploring her website -> https://wendyluwrites.com","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/attheintersectionofdisabilityandraceinterviewwithwendylu124.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Interviews","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":144,"pub_key":125,"title":"Racism Down Under: Anti-Asian Hate Crimes in Australia","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Lindsay Wong","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleem and Grace Bennett","date":"2021-05-15","content":"Hate crimes against Asians have made news headlines since the\nvery beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. All around the world,\npeople of Asian descent have lived in fear because of the\nmisconceptions and negative stereotypes stemming from the\npandemic’s origin in China, particularly in countries where they\nare the minority. While hate crimes in the US and Europe have\nreceived\na lot of media coverage, hate crimes in Australia have\ngone under the radar. Although Australia comparatively does not\nhave as many reported hate crimes as the US and other countries\nwhere Asians are a minority, the anti-Asian sentiment in the\ncountry should not be overlooked.\nHate crimes are fueled by negative media attention and\nstereotypes, thereby increasing the number of attacks that\ntake place. In the US alone, hate crimes increased by a whopping\n150%, according to a 2021 report completed by the Center for\nthe Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University.\nThe majority of the crimes took place in Los Angeles and New York\nCity, where there are significant Asian populations. Nevertheless,\nEast and Southeast Asians all over the country are targeted.\nMuch of the negative media attention has stemmed from how former\nPresident Donald Trump labelled COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus”,\ndefining it by its origin. This is incorrect and fosters anti-Asian\nsentiment. Furthermore, this attitude was not replicated when COVID-19\nvariants arose in the UK. This fostered hate and perpetuated negative\nstereotypes.\nThere is a long history of hostility against Asians dating\nback to the late 1800s, when the Chinese first immigrated to\nAustralia. The first Asians to migrate to Australia were the\ntens of thousands of Chinese who moved to Victoria and New South\nWales during the Gold Rush, when the discovery of gold led a\nsignificant number of workers to migrate from other countries.\nAnti-Chinese sentiment emerged due to a number of factors,\nincluding threateningly large numbers of immigrants, religious\nbeliefs, bad habits like gambling and consuming opium, and the\nbelief that they were more hardworking (similar to the model\nminority myth in the US).\nThe White Australia policy, enacted in 1901, further reinforced\nhostility within the population against all people of color.\nThis policy forbade people of non-European ethnic origin from\nimmigrating to Australia. After World War 2, the policy was\ndismantled and large-scale multi-ethnic migration was encouraged.\nNevertheless, some of the hostility remained.\nPrior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were occasional cases of\ndiscrimination and subtle acts of racism, but Asian Australians\nfelt relatively safe in Australia and international students were\nwelcomed. The country has tens of thousands of international\nstudents from Asia and there are many Asian-concentrated suburbs,\nwhere the risk of discrimination is low.\nWhen the pandemic hit Australia in March 2020 and\nlockdowns were enforced for months on end thereafter,\nAsians became targets.\nSimilar to the US, Australian media has perpetuated an anti-Asian\nnarrative, which had already been on the rise in recent\nyears due to the ongoing trade war between Australia and China.\nIn November 2020, the Australian National University (ANU)\nreported that more than 80% of Asian Australians experienced\ndiscrimination over the course of the year. Meanwhile, the Asian\nAustralian Alliance discovered that around 380 racially-motivated\nattacks occurred between May and June alone. The majority of\nvictims—65%—were women. An example of a racially-motivated attack\nwas when two female international students originating from\nSoutheast Asia were physically attacked in the Melbourne CBD area\nin April last year. Additionally, a 19-year-old Vietnamese\nAustralian girl was threatened with a knife in Sydney. Both attacks\nwere accompanied by racial slurs and derogatory comments, made in\nrelation to the coronavirus. Vandalism ran rampant in Asian suburbs;\nAsian-owned businesses were also targeted.\nThe rise of Anti-Asian sentiment has taken a toll on the mental\nhealth of Asians in Australia. Not only are there increased\noccurrences of discrimination, but there is also a lack of\nsupport from communities and institutions. Many Asians recall\nbeing victims of attacks and bystanders doing nothing to help\nthem. The aforementioned ANU survey found that Asians in Australia\nfelt that they were more anxious, and that their livelihoods were\nthreatened as a result of the pandemic. Asians started working\nfewer hours because the regions they frequented were more likely\nto be impacted by lockdowns. Asian Australian identity has also\nbeen impacted—they were more trusted than their White counterparts\nwhen it came to work, allowing them to take on more leadership\nroles. However, this has changed since the pandemic started and\nAsians are viewed with more hostility, evident by the increased\nnumber of racist incidents around the country.\nIn a world that already has too much division and hatred,\npeople should work on fostering harmony and a safe community\nfor all. Anyone can support the Asian community by spreading\nawareness of the discrimination they are currently facing and\nsharing and amplifying their voices. It is also important to\ndirectly support them by checking in on Asian friends and family\nand supporting local Asian-owned small businesses. With more\npeople standing up for the Asian community, hate can be fought,\nallowing Asians to finally feel safe again.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/racismdownunderantiasianhatecrimesinaustralia125.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":120,"pub_key":126,"title":"I Am Not Your China Doll","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Jamee Ganal","editor":"","date":"2021-05-18","content":"The fetishization of Asian women is something that has been integrated too far into our history, and still prevails to this day. Following recent hate crimes against the Asian community, harmful stereotypes of people with Asian descent have resurfaced. Racist jabs have been common in our daily lives, and specifically racial stereotypes in the Asian community have been so normalized. If I had a dime for everytime a man has commented on my ethnicity, in a malicious way or not, I would be rich. Being an Asian woman myself, somehow my race has been able to worm it’s way in as the topic of discussion majority of the time I speak to someone. Men specifically, have ever failed to make me uncomfortable with their comments, saying I was “exotic” or that my people are “submissive types”. Whether or not their intention was to make me uncomfortable, these exact comments play into the violence that we experience. That we won’t fight back, that we’re the model minority. In my art piece, I especially wanted to portray how the media falls into these stereotypes in our modern day. These are not compliments, and they must stop.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/iamnotyourchinadoll126.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":140,"pub_key":127,"title":"About Time We Bridge the Gap","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Danica Seto","editor":"Edited By: Kenny Tung & Eliet Williamson-Diaz","date":"2021-05-20","content":"In 2016, the New York Times published a piece by American professional soccer player, Carli Lloyd, about the gender inequality the U.S. women’s national soccer team experiences. She writes, \"This isn’t about a money grab. It’s about doing the right thing, the fair thing. It’s about treating people the way they deserve to be treated, no matter their gender.\" Five years later, and how close are we in achieving equal pay for both men and women? Nowhere near close enough. But like many other issues exacerbated in the last year, we are forced to reconsider how the pay gap impacts American society and because of its recent decrease, what position women are realistically left in.\nGender wage gaps are a difference in earnings between men and women, often represented in the form of a fraction or percentage. It can usually be thought of as the amount of money a woman makes, for every dollar a man makes. When referring to the gender wage gap in the U.S., the most prominent source referenced is the Census Bureau, which monitors the annual pay of full-time workers, as well as research for earnings by hourly pay, such that part-time workers aren’t excluded.\nMany reports account for wage distribution, or how income is distributed among populations, when analyzing the gap for different demographics. Outside factors such as race, education level, or occupation result in either greater or lower wage gaps between groups. Gaps that consider these other factors are labelled as “unadjusted” wage gaps and are often greater than “adjusted” ones that don’t differentiate between specific groups. Both types are necessary to understand gender wage gaps, but adjusted gaps tend to be more commonly used since they represent greater general populations like all women, rather than just one group like white women. Only looking at gaps with adjusted data leads to the presumption that gender discrimination in the workplace is less severe than unadjusted gaps would otherwise suggest. Measuring the gap in multiple ways enables researchers to examine data across different communities more accurately. However, it also allows leeway for misconceptions about their reliability, as gaps can sometimes appear inconsistent. Even though the numbers vary across all the studies, the data reflects the same conclusion: the U.S. has a gender wage gap that needs to be addressed.\nAccording to the data company, PayScale, in 2020, women of all races earned on average, 81 cents for every $1 earned by men of all races. Since then, the 19 cent wage gap has decreased by one cent, where women are now earning 82 cents for the male dollar. Given the median pay of women and the 18% gap, in 2021 alone, the difference in compensation between men and women is estimated to be $11,400 in a year. To put it into perspective, over the course of a 40 year career, women will earn roughly $850,000 less than men. These figures can be devastating for women when considering both their financial and household needs. As Americans faced record levels of unemployment in the last year, many were forced into poverty. Affording emergency expenses, student debt, child care costs, prescription costs, and basic necessities have proved to be a growing concern.\nIt should be noted that differences in the gap and loss of earnings is also greatly dependent on race. Relative to the dollar of a white non-Hispanic man, Asian American and Pacific Islander women have the smallest gap, being paid 85 cents and having an average loss of $8,401 per year. White non-Hispanic women are paid 79 cents and have an average loss of $13,884 per year, enough to cover an additional 18 months of childcare. Asian and white men, on average, make more than Black and Hispanic men, therefore Asian and white women also have a greater median pay compared to other women of color. They prove to have the lowest gaps which are less than both Black and Hispanic men and women. To the male dollar, Black and Native American women are paid just 63 cents and 60 cents, respectively. Even worse, Latinas on average only earn 55 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. The difference earned between Latinas and white, non-Hispanic men comes out to be $29,098 per year. The National Partnership for Women & Families found that without the wage gap, the typical working Latina would be able to afford around 20 more months of premiums for employer-based health insurance, three additional years of tuition for a four-year public university, or the entire cost of tuition and fees for a two-year college. The statistics reveal obvious pay disparities for women of color who face intersectional biases.\nNumerous factors contribute to the wage gap including the many employment differences between men and women. Occupational segregation is the categorization of men and women into different industries as a result of social and gender conformities. Historically, “women’s jobs” are those with majority-female workforces, offering less pay and fewer benefits than “men’s jobs” do. For example, pay as a teacher, caregiver, or secretary tends to be considerably less than pay as a software developer or construction worker since they’re female-dominated industries. This discrepancy is found in almost all industries, occupations, and job levels.\nMotherhood plays a huge role in explaining why the wage gap is such an issue. During and following pregnancy, women aren’t able to work as many hours as men. As a “time penalty”, they often receive less pay than both men and women without children. Although it goes without saying that many women earn less during maternity leave, limiting the effects that motherhood has on wages to just this period is far from true. Because mothers are expected to shoulder the responsibilities of childcare, women are conditioned to perform up to 30% more unpaid labor than their partners. Hence, why the same disparities between fathers and men with no children are not apparent. Many mothers who handle a greater share of domestic work cannot compensate for the time high-wage jobs demand and are thus less likely to be considered for promotions. Likewise, women tend to have less work experience because they are disproportionately forced to leave the workforce to fulfill commitments like childcare. For those who remain employed, they’re more likely to have a part-time job with lower hourly wages and fewer benefits.\nOn September 17, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The legislation requires employers to make reasonable workplace accommodations for pregnant workers, as well as prohibiting employers from denying women employment opportunities due to their reasonable accommodations. Legislation and company policies like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act support working parents, specifically working mothers, by providing substantial aid in childcare subsidies. Federal investments in the childcare sector decrease strain on mothers, becoming one of the most relevant methods to actively dismantle the wage gap. The bill was reintroduced in the House in February 2021 and must now pass the U.S. Senate before reaching the president. With a new administration, the prospects of its passing are significantly higher.\nOn January 28th, 2021, the Paycheck Fairness Act was introduced in the House, where it was recently approved in April. Among many components, it increases civil penalties for violations of equal pay and makes it unlawful for employers to require signed contracts prohibiting employees from sharing information about their wages. Furthermore, the bill directs the Department of Labor to conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities and fund negotiation skills training for women. Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act into law would fundamentally help address wage discrimination by establishing equal pay for all Americans.\nAdditionally, the bill is one of many ongoing efforts to increase the amount of information shared with the public about the wage gap. Better access to comprehensive pay data allows researchers and employers to identify where the most significant disparities are. In many instances, law enforcement agencies are only able to access pay data when a complaint is made or a report is conducted. As a result, there isn’t enough information to analyze data across all industries, nor distinguish unfavorable trends to resolve. In 2016, the annual Employer Information Report (EEO-1) form was introduced and mandated all employers with more than a hundred employees to report their compensation data in terms of race, gender, and ethnicity. The data collection has proved useful in improving research and ensuring rights against wage discrimination aren’t violated. Because of the pandemic, the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection opening had to be delayed. But now, the 2019 and 2020 forms will be open for submission between April 26th to July 19th. Information from these forms will provide crucial insight regarding the state of the American workforce, bearing in mind the changes it has seen in the last year.\nThe Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that the weekly gender wage gap for full-time workers decreased from 18.5% to 17.7% in 2020. Meanwhile, the National Women’s Law Center found that the pay gap began the year at 81 cents for every dollar, and ended the year at 84 cents. Then what’s the issue? Isn’t a lower gap better?\nYes, but not at the cost that women are now suffering from. Women have been hit the hardest by pandemic job loss compared to men because the industries most affected by COVID-19, like retail and hospitality, are female-dominated. Nearly three million women were forced to leave the workforce, many of whom were women of color and single mothers at high risk for job cuts. Because low-wage women face the brunt of job loss, women who are still in the workforce are more likely to have higher paying jobs. When the earnings of these women are compared to the earnings of men, the differences in pay appear to have decreased. Yet, women’s overall economic progress has worsened. There is no benefit of a smaller wage gap if it means millions of women are becoming unemployed and even more disadvantaged than before.\nIt’s impossible to predict how long it will take to close the gap, and with the underlying factor of disproportionate unemployment at play, a tidy resolution is unlikely. The date we reach 0% could be decades or even a century away for the most marginalized communities. Since 2010, the average gap has wavered between 81-82 cents for every dollar with little progress accounted for. Jocelyn Frye, an expert in women’s economic security and rights, writes, “Equal pay for women is often touted as an issue that enjoys widespread support; it is popular among the public across gender, race, and political affiliation. Few people, including policymakers, want to be viewed as being opposed to equal pay. But supportive words alone are not the same as effective action.” Her words speak volumes in that we must demand change if it’s expected to come. Policies, legislation, and corrective measures for wage disparity need widespread support for them to take effect. The fight for equal pay is not one that is short-lived, but has been an ongoing struggle that cannot be overlooked as it’s our turn to rewrite America’s narrative on gender equality.\nBleiweis, Robin. “Quick Facts About the Gender Wage Gap.” Center for American Progress, 24 Mar. 2020, 9:01 am, www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/.\nDeLauro, Rosa L. “H.R.7 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Paycheck Fairness Act.” Congress.gov, 13 Apr. 2021, www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/7.\nDonner, Francesca, and Emma Goldberg. “In 25 Years, the Pay Gap Has Shrunk by Just 8 Cents.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/equal-pay-day-explainer.html.\nFrye, Jocelyn. “Why Pay Data Matter in the Fight for Equal Pay.” Center for American Progress, 2 Mar. 2020, www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/02/480920/pay-data-matter-fight-equal-pay/.\nGould, Elise, et al. “What Is the Gender Pay Gap and Is It Real?: The Complete Guide to How Women Are Paid Less than Men and Why It Can't Be Explained Away.” Economic Policy Institute, 20 Oct. 2016, www.epi.org/publication/what-is-the-gender-pay-gap-and-is-it-real/.\nNadler, Jerrold. “Text - H.R.2694 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.” Congress.gov, 17 Sept. 2020, www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2694/text.\nNguyen, Thuy Lan. “Gender Wage Gap Shrank Because of COVID-19, but That's Not a Good Thing.” Wtsp.com, 14 Mar. 2021, www.wtsp.com/article/money/economy/gender-wage-gap-shrank-of-covid-19/67-4b6617b2-9d4c-4e21-b51a-67bd366b4105.\n“Quantifying America's Gender Wage Gap by Race/Ethnicity.” National Partnership for Women & Families, Mar. 2021, www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/fair-pay/quantifying-americas-gender-wage-gap.pdf.\n“Racial and Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2021.” PayScale, 24 Mar. 2021, www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap#section02.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/abouttimewebridgethegap127.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Bleiweis, Robin. “Quick Facts About the Gender Wage Gap.” Center for American Progress, 24 Mar. 2020, 9:01 am, www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/.","DeLauro, Rosa L. “H.R.7 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Paycheck Fairness Act.” Congress.gov, 13 Apr. 2021, www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/7.","Donner, Francesca, and Emma Goldberg. “In 25 Years, the Pay Gap Has Shrunk by Just 8 Cents.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/equal-pay-day-explainer.html.","Frye, Jocelyn. “Why Pay Data Matter in the Fight for Equal Pay.” Center for American Progress, 2 Mar. 2020, www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/02/480920/pay-data-matter-fight-equal-pay/.","Gould, Elise, et al. “What Is the Gender Pay Gap and Is It Real?: The Complete Guide to How Women Are Paid Less than Men and Why It Can't Be Explained Away.” Economic Policy Institute, 20 Oct. 2016, www.epi.org/publication/what-is-the-gender-pay-gap-and-is-it-real/.","Nadler, Jerrold. “Text - H.R.2694 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.” Congress.gov, 17 Sept. 2020, www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2694/text.","Nguyen, Thuy Lan. “Gender Wage Gap Shrank Because of COVID-19, but That's Not a Good Thing.” Wtsp.com, 14 Mar. 2021, www.wtsp.com/article/money/economy/gender-wage-gap-shrank-of-covid-19/67-4b6617b2-9d4c-4e21-b51a-67bd366b4105.","“Quantifying America's Gender Wage Gap by Race/Ethnicity.” National Partnership for Women & Families, Mar. 2021, www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/fair-pay/quantifying-americas-gender-wage-gap.pdf.","“Racial and Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2021.” PayScale, 24 Mar. 2021, www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap#section02."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":134,"pub_key":128,"title":"(no) Return","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Newton Brophy","editor":"Edited By: Anna Kwan","date":"2021-05-22","content":"SuperBowl Sunday\nI’m lounging on Teah’s parents’ couch, (not home), when I abruptly decide that I hate Bruce Springsteen.\nWith the newly traded Brady, the Bucs are demolishing the other team, so at this point in the evening, the mood is jovial and sanguine. We’re just waiting for the cannons to fire.\n(For those not in the know: Tampa has an unholy terror of a pirate ship sitting in our Bay. She fires every time the Buccaneers score, but we were told that this tradition would be suspended during the big game on account of it affecting the other team’s morale. She would only fire if the Bucs won. Doesn’t stop the neighbors from whooping on every touchdown and setting off fireworks, which most Floridians have in surplus.)\nI pause with my Cherry 7-Up halfway to my mouth when that stupid Jeep commercial first comes on. The can gradually lowers back to its coaster east of my armrest as Springsteen lectures me about the righteousness of the center. My annoyance grows, and by the time the brand logo proudly appears, I am slumped halfway down the sofa in petulant disdain. Teah scrunches her face, but is otherwise unaffected. She’s mostly been on her phone. Kelly and Tom are similarly unmoved, Kelly working at her desk and Tom waiting for a funnier commercial to play. I’m the only one who feels particularly singled out by the sanctimonious cajoling for civility. I’m still stewing over that crisp, white text declaring a ReUnited States of America.\nMy last thought before I retreat to the kitchen for Pop Tarts, bitterly amused, is: bold assumption considering the second Civil War hasn’t even started yet.\n~\nI didn’t vote for Biden with the expectation that things would change. I knew that ship had sailed. I voted for him fully resigned to the fact that they would not. Then the first cloying demands for compromise all began in earnest, and I quickly regretted even that concession.\n~\nWhen my mother’s husband insists I be thrown out and forbidden from darkening their doorstep, it’s the third time in my life I’m to be homeless. The first two times, in fairness, were because I chose to run away. Summer of 2014, then again in the Summer of 2018.\nSeptember 2020, it’s an imposed exile.\nThe sentence isn’t carried out immediately, but it is certainly carried out. I will find out later that he wasn’t conscious of the fact that removing my shelter would in effect make me houseless. An incredible statement, I know, but understandable when you realize that thought requires intent requires care. Simply: he knew I was out of his house, and that’s all he cared to know, and if he didn’t want to know more, all he had to do was not think about it. Not think about it and assume that out there, somewhere else, someone loved me enough to not let me stay on the street.\nI believe that the exact phrase used, if I remember correctly, was: he’ll figure it out.\n~\nThe concept of repentance in Judaism is called teshuvah. It translates literally to “return”. This makes more sense when you remember that one of the more prominent words for “sin” is hata, literally “to go astray” or “to miss the mark”. It can be assumed, then, that the act of repentance is returning to the right path. Or, is it how -- the means by which -- we return to the right path? After all, teshuvah has specific, concrete steps. The Talmud spends many passages detailing the requirements of the process of rectification, which differ depending upon the offense. There’s even discussions of restitution, long before the idea of being awarded a dollar sum for “pain and suffering” in small claims court. All this is to say that the primary concern of repentance in Judaism is repair, not necessarily forgiveness.\n~\nThe new favorite buzzword in the cultural zeitgeist right now is “unity”. It’s often accompanied by the question of how to attain it. The tepid prescriptions are issued vaguely, with questionable methodology, and from a rogues gallery of sources, including politicians, MSNBC talking heads in Zoom squares of varying quality, and trite advertisements interrupting your shower playlist. The sentiment, however, is consistent: “we'' have to “come together” in order to “move forward”. This is often expressed with the same energy of a long-suffering patriarch's stern upbraiding for bringing up religion or politics at the dinner table, lest it sow (or reignite) familial discord. The enemy, in this view, is division.\n~\n~\nMy mother and I spend Christmas in a Burger King. Neutral ground.\nShe has tears in her eyes when I tell her, you love me, but you have no room for me.\nI ask how direct violence must be to warrant an intervention. She has no answer. She tells me where she is trapped and how, and I realize she has no good options.\nAfter, she drops me off at Zach’s, (not home), where I am couchsurfing. I am alone that night and he’s barricaded the door to prevent me from taking a running leap, so I get horizontal and turn out the lights. Roxanne calls me just past 10pm, and spends hours telling me that I am loved until I believe it, until I can breathe, until I want to see my forties and plant my garden. I fall asleep past midnight, listening to Phoebe Bridgers and wishing I could see Japan.\nI don’t forgive you (but please don’t hold me to it).\nThe next morning, I wake up and shower in the light. I wake up and I want to live.\n~\nI refuse to talk to Trump voters.\nThis is not an exaggeration or hyperbole. If I find out someone voted for him, they’re excised from my life. I don’t talk to them, I don’t hang out with them, I don’t work with them, I don’t breathe any air that was sitting in their lungs. I don’t care if they’re perfectly nice, or polite, or “apolitical”, or if they voted for Biden the second time around. I don’t care if they’re family or if I’ve known them for years. I don’t care if giving them a wide berth will make my professional life a pain in the ass, or if giving them the cold shoulder makes things awkward and uncomfortable for bystanders. I frankly don’t care if they’re remorseful. I’m not fucking with them.\nI’m the very problem that pundits are talking about when they speak of “divisiveness” and “polarization”. I possess a long, deadened fuse, yet when politics are involved, I am shrewd, critical, and unrelenting. I remember names and keep lists. I cradle grudges like children and bury hatchets in alphabetical graves. When I am chastised to be gracious, I question the urgency for reconciliation before even an armistice. I refuse to blink first.\n~\nNick and Evan's couch (still not home, but it could be) is in the direct line of the aged air conditioner. It rumbles in the window sill, as effective as it is loud. It's a friendly presence, and at night it lulls me to sleep. The breakfast nook in the kitchen reminds me of the one in my childhood house, but instead of an angry man, it's Nick sitting there, reading a new play, bantering with his roommate, the air warm and clean. The kitchen is yellow, and they hate it, but I can't help but wish it were mine. The balcony looks over a St. Pete alleyway in the Historic Northeast, and for the first time in months, the thrum of my heartbeat is slow and peaceful.\n~\nGrowing up, my extended family didn't know what to do with me. I was the obvious gay child, the child with \"issues\" that would later be treated with Zoloft and Concerta. I was different, and worse, I was unrepentant about it. But more saliently, I was the child that spoke without being spoken to.\nI was the child who ruined family gatherings, because I would not ignore Nana's jibes at my hair, or my clothing, or my personality. I would not shrug my shoulders and smile in chagrin when my aunts asked invasive questions or when my uncles reveled in their self-proclaimed lack of political correctness. When adults insulted me, I told them not to. When adults tried to put me in my place, I wriggled. I was the child who was annoying, because she bites back.\nI became the teenager who started fights simply by my lack of appeasement, then the adult who started drama by insisting on respect.\nBut I haven't done anything, protested the child, who never went away.\nBut I had done something. I had broken the most important rule.\nI hadn't laughed it off.\n~\nThe focus on repair in teshuvah means that forgiveness is not a prerequisite. This is very different from the Christian view of atonement, in which forgiveness is both an arbitrator of redemption and the inevitable reward for remorse. Teshuvah is more freeing, for both the assailant and the victim.\nYou don't have to be forgiven to be improved. And I don't have to forgive you.\nPublic rehabilitation often amounts to image laundering.\nYou wait long enough, stay silent and out of sight, the passage of time makes misty the pain you've caused. Someone supposedly worse comes along that makes people say they miss you. Without reflection, without disavowal, without apology, the villains of years past become today's clowns. The people we feared and hated most have libraries named for them, their paintings lauded, their opinions sought. They sow and sow, then retire and leave us to tend the garden.\nEnough time passes and war criminals can laugh beside America's beloved and we laugh along.\nUsually, public forgiveness is just when the statute of limitations on memory expires.\n~\nTroy's apartment (still not home, but I wish it was) is tucked behind the exit of I-375, only a few blocks from downtown St. Pete. His couch is wide as a twin bed, and at night Sabrina curls up on my legs, purring. Like her, one of my favorite things to do at night is stare out the window at the orange streetlights, watching the cars fly by above our heads. Troy invites me to share meals, especially after he finds out I had been banished from my family's dinner table. With just a look, I'm chastened into finishing my vegetables.\n~\nWhen Trump called for a \"complete and total shutdown on all Muslims entering the United States\" in 2015, the first thing that occurred to me was my sophomore World History class in high school.\nOur teacher, Hopkins, had been an old Republican, fond of off-color jokes and egging on debate. He would refer to female students as \"spare parts\", in reference to Adam's rib. Though Obama was in office by then, the echoes of the Bush administration hadn't (haven't) faded. During one particular discussion on religious freedom, he had polled the class: should Muslims have the right to build a mosque near Ground Zero?\n\"Don't you think that's a slap in the face to the victims?\" He had asked.\nThat was the soil.\nListening to Trump, I realized how we had only just begun to reap.\nTen years later, Hopkins is mayor of my hometown.\n~\nSome Rabbis disagree on the role of forgiveness in teshuvah. Maimonides (affectionately called Rambam) explicitly believed that withholding forgiveness from a genuinely repentant person was cruel. In this sense, forgiveness is meant less in the sense of an emotional absolution, but rather in the way that one would pardon a crime or debt; once you are forgiven, the fact of your guilt remains undisputed, but you no longer owe a deficit.\nRambam reasoned that once the obligation of teshuvah had been paid, the wronged party could not decline to forgive the offender more than three times, or the former would be the one in metaphorical debt. In other words, a refusal to forgive someone who had successfully and sincerely performed teshuvah, whatever that may mean, is itself a sin.\nDespite what Maimonides may think, reconciliation doesn't happen just because you repeatedly insist on it.\n~\nThe first time I ran away, in 2014, my mother's husband folded the laundry I left behind.\nShe told me about it later, when taking me out on a weekly visitation.\n\"He seems to realize that how he behaved was wrong,\" she said.\n\"Not enough to apologize.\" I answered.\n\"I think that's his way of apologizing.\"\n\"Not enough to promise to change.\" I added.\nThe conversation trailed off.\n~\nThe rebukes against divisiveness and the subsequent pleas to unify pointedly (intentionally) ignore the causes of said division. Who called for whose disenfranchisement? Who jeered for whose imprisonment? Who demanded whose conversion? Who wants whom eradicated?\nIt's easier this way.\nTo look honestly at the roots of the schism requires us to admit that there is no common ground.\nDoes electoral defeat really change the hearts of people who want me and my friends gone? Or does it only harden them further?\nShould the foxes break bread with the hens, the wolves with the rams?\nDo we sit together at the silent dinner table, without apology for persecution, without apology for existence, without apology for standing by?\n~\nHow do you forgive someone who believes they have done nothing that warrants contrition? According to Jewish law, you don’t.\n~\nSawyer’s house (still not home, but it feels like home should) is in Colorado Springs. I sleep in the spare bedroom, on a mattress for the first time in months. We spend the days cooking and sitting together, quiet and content. When we go out for sodas at Rocket Fizz, I squish my nose against the passenger side window. I can feel the scale of the Rocky Mountains in my chest and my throat. I think, I never knew that something could be so big, and wonder how Coloradoans just go about their days, before I remember that I was born and raised by the ocean.\nAt night, he misses Sam, counting down the days to her return from deployment like counting the Omer. I give him hugs when he needs them. During the day, I miss my mother, but have nothing to count down to. He gives me hugs too.\n~\nThere is Rabbinical precedent for rebuttal on Rambam’s assertion, which will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the role of dissenting opinions in Judaism. Besides the tomes of responsa on the subject, the Rabbis in my own life seem to agree that the forgiveness in the colloquial understanding is not the same forgiveness that Maimonides articulates. None would ever argue that a victim is obligated to forgive an abuser.\nThough not an explicit refutation of Rambam’s stance, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg -- a Rabbi whose theological work deals heavily in teshuvah -- distinguishes between the ideas of repentance, atonement, and forgiveness, asserting that these are all different concepts, linked but not necessarily concurrent; repentance is up to the offender, atonement is up to God, and forgiveness is up to the victim.\nRepentance is the true work of teshuvah. Rabbi Ruttenberg outlines the process in a Tweet thread:\n“There are specific steps to repentance work: 1) owning the harm perpetrated (ideally publicly); 2) do the work to become the kind of person who doesn't do harm (which requires a ton of inner work)\n3) Make restitution for harm done, in whatever way possible; 4) THEN apologize for the harm caused in whatever way that will make it as right as possible with the victim 5) when faced with the opportunity to cause similar harm in the future, make a better choice.”\nApologizing is required. Receiving acceptance of that apology is not; a refusal to reconcile is not a withholding of redemption.\n“In Judaism,” she elaborates, “you can do tshuvah/repentance work and even get right with God (be atoned) even if your victim never forgives you. They’re separate processes. [...] The perpetrator must seek forgiveness genuinely (and repeatedly—three times, to be exact) but the perpetrator being forgiven isn’t a necessary part of their tshuvah/repentance process.”\nIn this sense, then, maybe it would be sobering for someone to not be forgiven; “Note that part of doing tshuvah, according to the classical literature, is accepting consequences of your actions.”\nThis is not to say that denial of forgiveness is always punitive; on the contrary, the idea that a rejection is a punishment can only persist if one feels forgiveness is owed.\n“It’s not just about ‘doing the time’,” Rabbi Ruttenberg specifies. “It’s also about active work of repair and reparations and seeking forgiveness (again: different from receiving it) and transforming into the kind of person who doesn’t do that thing anymore. Even when given the opportunity to do so.”\nWhile we can refuse to forgive, we cannot deny the possibility of a person’s self-improvement. Rabbi Ruttenberg points out that after (and by) having done teshuvah, one is a better person than they were when they committed the transgression.\n“On a human, ethical level there is always a path towards repentance, towards understanding the harm perpetrated and doing the work of repair and restitution, to whatever degree that is possible. [...] We can always grow & change & become better, & even if we can't fix the harm done, can address it to the full extent possible.”\nIt makes sense then that while forgiveness is decided by the victim -- and the victim alone -- atonement is adjudicated by none but God, at least in Judaism. She reminds us:\n“It's not up to us, curious third parties waiting to be entertained, to make the determination re: whether that person is or should be forgiven or absolved. It's not our place. ‘Society’ can't decide if the person is forgiven or atoned.”\nAnd God too requires teshuvah. As Deborah Lipstadt says, unwittingly echoing Rabbi Ruttenberg: “Atonement only comes after one bears the consequences of one’s acts.”\n~\nAs cyclical as the abuse in my house (not home) had always been, so too was the dispute between my mother and me over how to stop it. The cause of said abuse was always absent from these discussions.\n“I agree that he’s in the wrong,” she would invariably say, “but if there’s going to be any progress, there has to be a willingness to forgive.”\n“That comes last.” I would insist.\nAnd so went the snake, biting his tail.\n~\nThere are things, we’re told, that we cannot accomplish alone. This is why we must unify as a nation. I’ve been told this is pragmatism, not principle. You can take your hard feelings across the aisle with you.\nCan you? I’d argue such a relationship is empty. Sven Alkalaj says as much in the symposium of Simon Wiesenthal’s The Sunflower: “[...] you cannot have forgiveness without reconciliation and you cannot have reconciliation without at least a shred of forgiveness.” Further, what do we truthfully believe will be accomplished by such a miraculously fruitful alliance?\nWhere are we going when we “move forward”?\nIs there a destination in mind?\nFrom here, it looks like overflow facilities for detained immigrants. It looks like legislation against children who are like me. It looks like police goose-stepping and raising their own flags after carpet-bombing neighborhoods.\nIn the same symposium, Cynthia Ozick writes; “Often we are asked to think this way: vengeance brutalizes, forgiveness refines. But the opposite can be true. The rabbis said, ‘Whoever is merciful to the cruel will end by being indifferent to the innocent.’ Forgiveness can brutalize.”\nIn other words: “There” looks a lot like “here”.\n~\nTeah's parents insist I stay with them until her condo (still not home, but getting there) is ready and habitable. Teah tells me after the first two weeks that Kelly has been worried about me, wondering what and when I'm eating and if it's enough. It isn’t until I’m in the dim kitchen just before midnight, pilfering food that won’t be missed and can be eaten unsurveilled, that I realize I have taken old habits with me in my crawl from the cave.\nNot all transgressions are forgivable. There are deeds whose scale, like mountains, cannot be eroded away even with earnest effort. The most obvious example is murder; you are not entitled to forgive on someone else’s behalf, and the victims are beyond granting clemency. But there are other actions, short of taking a life, whose consequences cannot be completely repaired. As Cynthia Ozick remarks in the symposium, “There are spots forgiveness cannot wash out.” So too are there stains that repentance cannot rinse away.\nYou cannot make the impressions of fingers fade from the bruised memory of the woman you rape. You cannot give back the confidence of the child you beat or belittle. You cannot restore the trust of your partner once you’re unfaithful. There are paths from which there is no return.\nHow does one begin to atone when the sins are collective? There are steps to be taken, absolutely. Land can be returned. Children can be returned. Bones can be returned. Neighborhoods, money, rights, all returned. Flags can be burned, power can be seized. But is that teshuvah, or is that only retrieving the knife from between the ribs you’ve sheathed it in?\nAt what point is trauma a keloid scar begging to be left alone?\nAll this is theoretical. It’s always been theoretical. The powers that be are not talking about repair. They are talking about forgiveness. Rectification has never been on the table.\nThe knife hasn’t been pulled out. It hasn’t even stopped twisting. How does a nation demand to move on when nothing has ended?\nI don’t want to forgive people who aren’t sorry. I don’t want to forgive people who aided in the destruction of communities, who advocated for the eradication of particular populations. I don’t want to be involved in their process of rehabilitation. This is not the same as barring them from that opportunity. The world is better when people are encouraged to do better. I will not forgive them, I will not break bread with them. I will not move on. I will stay right here, I will build my house on these crossroads and I will live here. I will not blink first.\n~\nThe second time I ran away, 2018, was only weeks after I used the Name to his face: abuse.\nWhat ensued in the wake of the Name was ugly. I tried not to blink first.\n“I know how I am. I lost my son because of how I am!”\nHis son, Bryan. Bryan, who, like me, had ADHD. Bryan, who, like me, questioned. Bryan, who, unlike me, killed himself.\n“You almost lost my mother’s son because of how you are,” I said, steady, refusing to back down.\nMy mother’s son, who was caught red-handed with his boyfriend’s knife. Who Zach had to sit with. Who was inches from the breath of blood.\nI was caught with my boyfriend’s knife.\n“Yeah, you just tried. He actually did it.” He shouted, in front of my mother. My mother, shrunken, paralyzed, tears in her eyes. Without power. Without options.\nThe next day, he would come to me and apologize, cracking jokes, squirting me with a water bottle. His remorse was real. There can be no doubt on this point. It was real. He was sorry.\n“Will you stop?” I had asked in lieu of absolution.\nA long, terrible beat. An explanation, involving some misplaced blame on testosterone, involving the word “trying”, involving the idea of mellowing out with age.\nThere was no yes.\nBy the next month, I was gone.\n~\nMaybe teshuvah would never work in the first place because the only place to return to is the road that led us here. Do we really want to repair that road if it always leads us to the same destination?\n~\nBecky and Darcy video call me. The twins had warned me the previous night that the conversation should not be over text. I have been dreading this, my gut having told me to expect the worst, all the while hoping I was wrong. I am sitting on my bed in Teah’s condo (not home, but a home) with my phone horizontal so I can see them both.\n“You know how you’ve always been an honorary Davis sibling?” Darcy begins, voice a little hoarse. I already know I was correct. I nod, trying to will this to go away.\n“You’ve always been, you were-- are the Brophy Child.”\n“Yeah,” I say, numb.\n“You know how you’re our honorary brother?” Becks starts over, more grounded.\n“Yeah.”\n“Well. You just lost your honorary father.”\nMy first thought: I never told him.\nI never told Ty Davis that when I ran and threw myself into his arms when I was twelve, hyped up on pixie sticks and birthday party adrenaline, screaming “Daddy!”, that it was honest. Never told him that his acceptance of my mental illness and learning disabilities made me feel worthy. Never told him that his resoluteness in speaking to me like an adult -- something no one but my mother up until that point had ever done -- made me feel intelligent. Never told him that his love for my questions and arguments made me feel valued.\nNever told him that he and Claire taking me into their large house (home, always home) every time I needed to get out had helped me make it to eighteen. Never told him that I never feared insomnia or nightmares at their house (home, would always be home) because I knew, even at 3am, I could walk downstairs and find him in the den watching old films in black and white, that I could ask him about politics or Sherlock Holmes and find my own opinions sought.\nAnd now, it is too late to go back. Too late to tell him. He was an atheist, like me. Even if I were to say these things, he wouldn’t hear them.\n~\nThe bridge behind us has burned. We stand on the banks with nowhere to go but forward. It is a horrible loss, and ahead of us lie the shadows of bare branches over dead leaves.\nI am thankful for it.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/noreturn128.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":182,"pub_key":129,"title":"Hate Breeds Hate","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Christina Pan","editor":"","date":"2021-05-25","content":"The ending scene of Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 \"La Haine\" is a moment that I will never forget. The film is set in the 24 hours after a young Arab man is arrested and beaten unconscious by the police: a riot erupts in the notoriously violent suburbs outside Paris, and three of the victim's friends, Vinz, Said, and Hubert wander aimlessly about their home turf in the aftermath of the violence as they try to come to grips with their outrage over the brutal incident. After one of them finds a police officer's discarded weapon, their night takes a bleak turn.\nHate breeds hate in the suburbs of Paris, in America, and in everywhere around the world. The shot of Hubert holding a gun to the policeman's head, the policeman doing exact same back, with Vinz's freshly-shot body glancing off the bottom of the frame, is a scene that has stayed with me ever since. It makes me unbearably sad - yet simultaneously astounded - at how a film released 26 years ago feels like it could have been released last week.\nPolice brutality, racism, class differences, and on its broad shoulders, HATE, is what \"La Haine\" represents brilliantly, but it’s still just a film made by filmmakers. It’s ultimately up to the people in power to implement the policy changes and reforms we need, so we won’t write or draw about how relevant La Haine is 36 years later.\nBio: Christina Pan lives in New York City. She has always taken to film as an artistic medium, and is fascinated at its prospensity to express beauty and brutality in a single frame.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/hatebreedshate129.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":90,"pub_key":130,"title":"I-SCREAM","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Michaela Dumlao","editor":"","date":"2021-05-27","content":"Monday I dressed up as\nCinderella.\nTwirling my wand around the room,\nlonging for silky blonde hair to complete\nmy costume.\nTuesday mommy and I traded.\nVanilla ice cream for\npeanut butter.\nWednesday made me wonder\nwhat I\nwould\nbe like if I were stuffed in a cone\nof vanilla.\nThursday I wondered why I didn’t have pretty\nvanilla skin\nlike mommy did.\nFriday I crumpled in my\nseat.\nSaturday was when I knew.\nI would never be a princess.\nSunday I sat in silence.\njust as\nthe week\nbefore.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/iscream130.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Featured Submissions"]},{"id":15,"pub_key":131,"title":"Questioning Confucius: Chinese Cultural Traditions Versus The Woo-Woo","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Suzanna Chen","editor":"Edited By: Harvi Karatha and Anna Kwan","date":"2021-05-29","content":"It might seem horribly insensitive, but I find myself holding back\na snicker at Lindsay Wong’s hilarious description of her\ngrandmother’s psychotic episode—or, more specifically, her\nPoh-Poh’s electrifying endeavour of combating her\n“aluminum-beast” of a refrigerator. Although, perhaps my\nobnoxious laughter is the author’s intended effect; she\nused this occasionally flabbergasting humour throughout\nThe Woo-Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids, Demons,\nand My Crazy Chinese Family to portray anything from her traumatizing\nexperience of a car accident to the infamous suicide attempt of her\n“Auntie Beautiful One”—whom she endearingly referred to as the “bridge\njumper of Hongcouver.” (The term “Hongcouver” is in innocuous\nreference to the large population of Hong Kong immigrants in\nVancouver, Canada.)\nCover of “The Woo-Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids, Demons, and My Crazy Chinese Family” by Lindsay Wong\nAs described in her almost fictional memoir, Wong’s incredulous\nlife can be summed up to an arduous attempt to survive in a\ntraditional Chinese family besieged by the Woo-Woo\n(a supernatural force responsible for any afflictions). While\nthe exclusively Chinese demon can account for physical concerns\nas minor as psoriasis, it is mainly feared for eliciting insanity.\nFrom Wong’s mother’s absurd exorcism by lighting Wong’s foot on fire\nto her father’s occasional depressive episodes, possession by the\nWoo-Woo is seemingly an explanation for anything abnormal. And,\nwhen I say her family is, unfortunately, “besieged” by the Woo-Woo,\nI mean it; I doubt I can say otherwise about someone who grew up\nwatching her paranoid schizophrenic grandmother attacking—and being\nattacked—by a fridge.\nDespite reading through most of the book in fascinated awe,\nI can precariously relate some of my own experiences as a\nChinese victim of mental illnesses to those of the author.\nFor instance, when picturing Wong’s mother punching her\nforehead like a boxer to make the ghosts fall out of her\nhead, I cannot help but recall my own mother loudly chanting\nBuddhist mantras beside my ear during a panic attack.\n(I can usually find peace with Buddha, but that was an\nexception.)\nWhat we have in common is exposure to a deep-rooted, cultural stigma surrounding mental health—which, even in our comparatively advanced twenty-first-century world, still obstructs many from seeking the help they need.\nFor example, our culture shares the concept of “face,” which can be inadequately translated as “one’s presentation in public,” or “a family’s honour.” It is incredibly vital to our people as we would go to great lengths to “save face.” Any psychological concerns are automatically equated to weakness and viewed as something that would cause us to “lose face.” It is our intense dread of this consequence that results in a reluctance to seek help; even if we do, we might—as experienced by myself—receive psychiatric assistance in the form of bile-like Chinese medicinal soups (“Western medicine is too toxic!”) that can somehow magically resolve depression.\nIn response to the increasing number of sufferers from mental\nillnesses, recent Chinese research has divulged how\nConfucianism—the teachings of the Chinese philosopher\nConfucius and a significant foundation of our societal\nvalues—catalyzed this unfortunate trend. The traditional\nConfucian concepts outlined the critical ingredient to\ncollective harmony as individuals’ submissiveness, which is\nmainly interpreted as emotional restraint and avoidance of\ninterpersonal conflicts. It might have been due to this idea\nthat, as Wong stated herself, our people are stereotypically\nbelieved to be “docile.” However, in simple words, our social\nnorm is virtually a recipe for an unhealthy build-up of emotional\nconstipation, as it demands our sacrifice of emotional outlets\nto make others comfortable.\nAs a result, many of us, including the author and her family, turn to humour for relief. From her father’s horrifically cruel comments to Wong’s own sarcastic tone of dark humour, what I have interpreted is the saddening truth: our direct emotional expression is diverted into million streaks of nonchalant comments, emitting feigned happiness while reflecting pain to ourselves. Of course, this opinion is entirely personal; the author might very well have used humour to dilute the intensive discussion on mental illnesses and accentuate the rare instances of emotional revelation. However, what is worth pondering is the unusual humour’s implication of a population deeply plagued by mental health stigmas—and the Woo-Woo.\nWhen reading The Woo-Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids,\nDemons, and My Crazy Chinese Family, you will discover the truly\nunconventional life of Lindsay Wong through her candid words—and,\nlike me, find your lips curl up uncontrollably at a\nparticularly amusing description of something you probably\nshould not smile at. However, while appreciating the author’s\nplainspoken humour, note that the disbelief, embarrassment,\nshame, and disregard for intangible illnesses described in the\npiercing memoir are all real and continuously impacting a large\npopulation. Hopefully, with the Chinese community—and our society\noverall—being increasingly aware of psychological health and\ndisorders, we will begin to respectfully question the portion of\nConfucius’ teachings that have manifested into our crooked\nstandard of strength.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/questioningconfuciuschineseculturaltraditionsversusthewoowoo131.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["(March 6, 2017). Confucianism and Mental Health. The Confucian Weekly Bulletin. Retrieved December 2, 2020, from confucianweeklybulletin.wordpress.com","Kam-shing Yip. (2003). Traditional Confucian Concepts of Mental Health: Its Implications to Social Work Practice with Chinese Communities, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 13:2, 65-89, DOI: 10.1080/21650993.2003.9755929","(March 6, 2017). Confucianism and Mental Health. The Confucian Weekly Bulletin. Retrieved December 2, 2020, from confucianweeklybulletin.wordpress.com","Kam-shing Yip. (2003). Traditional Confucian Concepts of Mental Health: Its Implications to Social Work Practice with Chinese Communities, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 13:2, 65-89, DOI: 10.1080/21650993.2003.9755929"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":41,"pub_key":132,"title":"Five Things You Can Do for Palestine","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Newton Brophy","editor":"","date":"2021-06-03","content":"It’s easy to feel paralyzed with regard to the ethnic cleansing and dispossession of Palestinians. But it’s important to remember that we are not powerless. To help you push past the paralysis, I’ve put together a simple list of concrete, actionable ways to assist in the movement to liberate Palestine.\n1. Boycott Israel\nAn oldie but a goodie. There’s a reason why the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement has been consistently smeared by Israel’s allies: because it works. Palestinians, time after time, have told us that the single best way to support their efforts is to boycott Israeli exports. This isn’t just restricted to products; that Gal Gadot movie? Don’t see it, and don’t give money to the cinemas that screen it. Eurovision? Don’t watch it; don’t engage on social media with it (Israel isn’t even in Europe). Anything that legitimizes the occupation? Do. Not. Support. It. This is the easiest and simplest method of solidarity, to the point where at this point, it’s the bare minimum. For more information, see the official website: https://bdsmovement.net/ .\n2. Listen to (and Amplify) Palestinian Voices\nThanks to social media, particularly Twitter and Instagram, Palestinians are able to directly communicate their conditions to the outside world. To stay informed ahead of the media (which, in the United States especially, is biased towards the Israeli occupation), it’s best to follow activists, journalists, academics, and civilians that are documenting the attacks. Here’s a list of some people to follow on Twitter:\nMohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd)\nMariam Barghouti (@MariamBarghouti)\nDiana Buttu (@dianabuttu)\nAseel AlBajeh (@AseelAlBajeh)\nMarwa Fatafta (@marwasf)\nDr. Yara Hawari (@yarahawari)\n3. Find Organizations Working to End Occupation\nThere is no shortage of organizations working to end the Israeli occupation. American Muslims for Palestine, for example, is an org that focuses on “the important work of educating, organizing, and mobilizing the Muslim community in the United States to advocate for Palestinian rights.” There are others outside the United States as well; as another example, my personal favorite is the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Of course, for students, there are chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine on campuses all over the United States. If your school doesn’t have one, you can start one! These three aren’t the only orgs out there, and some are dedicated to different things; some may be lobbying, others may be mobilizing at the grassroots level.\nhttps://www.ampalestine.org/\nhttps://www.ipsc.ie/\nhttps://www.nationalsjp.org/\n4. Read Up on the History (and Theory)\nIf knowledge is power, then research is the antidote to that feeling of powerlessness. Below is a reading list. I strongly recommend all of these, but the required ones are bolded, since it’s a big list. Organized by order of importance:\n+The Wretched of the Earth, Frantz Fanon\n+ https://www.ampalestine.org/palestine-101/history\n+ https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/israeli-palestinian-conflict-101/\n+ The Question of Palestine, Edward Said\n+ https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/opinion/pinkwashing-and-israels-use-of-gays-as-a-messaging-tool.html (Sarah Schulman)\n+ The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Ilan Pappe\n+ Apartheid Israel, Sean Jacobs and Jon Some\n+ Freedom Is a Constant Struggle, Angela Y. Davis\n+ Parting Ways: Jewishness & The Critique of Zionism, Judith Butler\n+ Eichmann in Jerusalem, Hannah Arendt\n+ The Battle for Justice in Palestine, Ali Abunimah\n+ Citizen Strangers: Palestinians and the Birth of Israel’s Liberal Settler State, Shira Robinson\n+ Hamas Contained: The Rise & Pacification of Palestinian Resistance, Tareq Baconi\n+ Before The Next Bomb Drops, Remi Kanazi\n+ On Antisemitism, Jewish Voice for Peace\n5. Contact Your Senators & Representatives\nThis one is especially salient for the American readers here. Without the tacit support of the United States, the Israeli occupation would not be nearly as successful as it has. Our country is a strong ally, and we protect Israel from accountability with nearly the same fervor as we protect our own nation. Note that I said contact and not call. If you have particular anxiety around phone calls, don't worry: there’s an abundance of ways to make our officials’ lives hell. You could go Andy Dufresne and write them letters each week, or do your level best to get blocked by them on Twitter for targeted harassment. Get creative, and be persistent.\nBonus Round for Jewish allies:\nUnfortunately, genocide and expulsion are being done in our name, with the enthusiastic support of many of our communities. We have a responsibility to challenge Islamophobia, racism, and anti-Palestinian beliefs in our spaces.\n1. Talk to Your Family\nTrust me, I get it. Explaining shit to parents is often a fool’s errand. Regardless, if we don’t attempt to get through to them, nobody is going to. I’m supplying a guide here for tough conversations, because I know this isn’t an easy ask. But if the work were easy, everyone would be doing it. My personal advice: slow and steady wins the race. They’re thick-headed like boulders? You’re water. It might take ages, but eventually, erosion wins out.\nhttps://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/conversations/\n2. Put Pressure on Your Rabbi to Openly Support Palestine at Your Shul or Hillel\nGranted, this will only work if your Rabbi is one who quietly supports Palestine, but doesn’t talk about it for fear of professional repercussions. Now is the time to hold their feet to the fire, and then make them walk on it. If your Rabbi does not support Palestinian liberation, but they seem reasonable, consider trying to slowly change their mind. If your Rabbi is outright hostile to the idea, and is extremely supportive of Israel, you still have the responsibility to challenge them-- to a point. Do not do anything that will endanger yourself (and by endanger, I don't mean inconvenience). You need your own oxygen mask securely fastened before you can help anybody else.\n3. Debunk Hasbara When You Come Across It\nFor those unfamiliar with the term, “hasbara” refers specifically to the practice of image laundering for Israel. This could range anywhere from pinkwashing-- the practice of touting Israel’s (barely existent) record of rights and freedoms for LGBT people in order to make the occupation appear more “progressive” than the other countries in the immediate area-- to claiming that casualties in Palestine are due to Hamas using civilians as “human shields”. Hasbara is basically Israel’s public relations strategy, except instead of a department, they have supporters in the diaspora to parrot falsehoods. Read up on common tactics, and be ready to debunk them when they come up. Embrace your inner insufferable Hermione Granger.\n4. Speak Out Against “Birthright”\nBirthright both as an organization and as a concept legitimizes the occupation and Israel’s continued aims to annex what remains of Palestine. The name itself implies a kind of Jewish Manifest Destiny. While this organization exists, there will continue to be a mentality in American Jewish communities that Palestine belongs to us. It doesn’t. There is no birthright. Make a commitment with your Jewish peers to refuse to partake in these trips, and make it uncomfortable for anyone who asks if you plan to. We cannot make progress without a bit of unpleasantness and awkwardness.\nhttps://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/returnthebirthright/\n5. Join (or Start!) a JVP Chapter at Your School\nFinally, I know it’s hard to feel like you see a different reality than your family and your community. It’s difficult when your moral compass is saying one thing and your spiritual leaders are saying the opposite. You are not alone. The best way to assure yourself that you are not a traitor, and that you are not crazy, that in fact, you are doing the right thing, is to find other Jewish anti-zionists and work with them and with Palestinians to build a better future. Join a Students for Justice in Palestine chapter if there’s one on campus, and if possible, start a Jewish Voice for Peace chapter to establish a coalition.\nhttps://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/chapters/\nAnd remember the Talmudic teaching: we are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are we free to abandon it","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/fivethingsyoucandoforpalestine132.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":194,"pub_key":133,"title":"Ocean","subtitle":"","credit":"Art By: Kennedi Lopes","editor":"","date":"2021-06-08","content":"This piece was intended to highlight the impact of plastic and other forms of pollution in our oceans. The ocean is full of color and life, but the more we pollute it, the more of that color gets stripped away. It is important for everyone to do their part in protecting our oceans because there may be a time where too much damage has been done.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/ocean133.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":12,"pub_key":134,"title":"Salted Away","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Jamie","editor":null,"date":"2021-06-10","content":"My grandmother’s television plays the same shows again and again, the kind that make my mom grit her teeth—\n“An old woman should watch as she pleases.”\nSo, she watches and I pretend that I don’t— villages cradled by flames, sooty mothers, soldier fathers, the country’s godforsaken youth, as nationalism slaughters them all.\nMy grandmother always remembers her hometown in Manchuria, of the invading Japanese and golden-haired martyrs. Sometimes she mistakes me for my sister or she sends birthday well-wishes thinking I was born on the same day as my mother. But she clings to the forgotten, gutting past: reminding me that at my age, at fourteen, she had rowed for China’s national team, oars stirring bruised waters, sloshing away the rising sun.\n“How come you don’t forget these things?” I ask, curiously— stupidly.\nThe space between us turns scary silent.\n“Well,” the television screen flashes again and again, violently. “Not everything can be salted away.”\nShe basks in the bloody static.\nI learned to bike in the same beach town we used to\nfeed seagulls together, here by the boardwalk on\nmy seventh birthday, glory slicking the seas like\nsome type of ominous herald. Just beyond the lighthouse\n, xanthic light seeped into swelling waters. Xanthic,\nbecause it isn’t quite yellow, my grandmother exhaled,\njust warm.\nMy grandmother urged me to take off the training wheels, and when I didn’t, she unscrewed them without asking again.\nI think we both saw it coming. Sometimes my limbs didn’t listen to sense. My knees refused to bend on impact and the sky above skewed. Skidding on the pavement, my arms blackened to the elbows, knees ripping. Like ruddy pools of popsicle from the fair, sticky on hot cement. The air swelled with some sort of sick moxie.\n“Oh, my dear, it only stings for a minute.” My grandmother holds her hands out. A woman wronged by life; this is her way of apologizing, I guess. There’s some sort of relief in her eyes when I don’t cry.\n“Salt takes the pain away.”\nLapping at the shoreline, seafoam suds the hem of my rolled-up trousers, sloppy red knees pricking. I wiggled my toes, watching opioid relief crust white in the sun.\n“It’s all good.” My throat went raw. I’m not a crier. “I’m all good.”\nI wasn’t and she knew.\nA fast-food advertisement fizzles onto television just as Nanjing crumbles under a plight of ash. My grandmother snores beside me softly, frailly. Her loud sundress mocks the sterility of this senior home, engulfs the room whole.\nAt fourteen, my grandmother rowed circles around the caustic brevity of her adolescence. Crouched and prayed for oblivion, haunted by the memories of war and violence— things she can never forget, never salt away from her mind. On the screen, children gallivant through jingles, down glasses of soft drinks, lick their syrupy smiles. Not everything can be salted away.\nI want to tell her that it never did, never could.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/saltedaway134.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Creative Writing"]},{"id":167,"pub_key":136,"title":"Regulating Social Media","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Abbas Moosajee","editor":"","date":"2021-06-15","content":"In today’s world, social media is an indispensable tool of societal perception, connection, and information. Yet often, we see it as a cesspool of toxic ideologies, misinformation, and hatred, which it can be. We acknowledge the dangers and advocate for change, and blame the social media giants for the exploitation of users, or governments for failing to protect their citizens- only to log right back in.\nTherein lies the biggest problem with social media; not that it is too addictive or there are no alternatives, but the lack of an effective way to regulate it, at least in a way that keeps everybody happy. And even when solutions are proposed, some argue that it violates their right to privacy, while others want free speech. Social media regulation is a topic with too many opinions, not enough information, and even fewer people willing to have an open discussion. What is growing abundantly clear though, is that the misuse of social media is a crisis that can no longer be ignored, and needs to be addressed before it is too late.\nCurrently,\nUsing social media means putting your whole life online, providing the web access to your data and secrets. This is why user trust is pertinent to the success of a platform; while the approaches may vary depending on the goals and audience of a site, the two pillars for instilling trust are strong content moderation and privacy policies.\nSocial media platforms that self-govern, do so under a set of community guidelines on what content is safe, appropriate, and not copyrighted. So either before or after content is published, a team of moderators contracted by platforms flag or remove any content deemed to violate the site’s guidelines, even going so far as to ban users. However, with 60,000 Instagram photos and 500 hours of Youtube video uploaded every minute on social media, reviewing everything is unsustainable. That is why most platforms have resorted to reactive moderation, where content is only reviewed if reported to be in violation of guidelines. Furthermore, AI moderation solutions use filters to screen for inappropriate words, phrases, and images to report and flag content, or even remove it if necessary.\nNames, locations, and a lot of other personal information is publicly available on social media, making it a rich reserve for scammers, frauds, and stalkers. While platforms protect their users with high-end encryption and even suspend suspicious accounts, platforms themselves mine an extensive database of user behaviour to be shared with affiliate companies, market researchers, and even law enforcement. Data collection and privacy policies may differ depending on purpose and country, but they are always extensively outlined in the Terms and Conditions, which we usually agree to. Self-governing allows social media companies to form guidelines that are best suited to their goal and audience.\nCommunity platforms like Reddit and 4chan enlist the help of their users in filtering out inappropriate and irrelevant content, by asking users to tag their posts appropriately or to report any disturbing content that might break the rules. Some platforms even use distributed moderation, where a large volunteer base is used to enforce moderation policies set up by a small policy team. Furthermore,\nallowing users to make profiles private and block specific accounts ensures that individuals are in control of their information and who views it; thus, allowing them to control their privacy. Community regulation helps express users’ views, while also being a cost-effective way to run a platform.\nGlobally, governments have developed laws to regulate social media. These laws give a general outline of content that can or cannot be posted on social media; the consequences of breaking these laws include warnings, fines, or even jail time, to the user or the platform. In extreme circumstances, some governments have, temporarily and permanently, banned social media platforms that were trying to control information.\nGovernments also have privacy laws discussing how data about their citizens should be handled. Examples include the Privacy Act of 1974 in the US, and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires platforms to collect and process data only for legitimate purposes for which consent was obtained, and maintain the confidentiality and integrity of user data by storing it securely and notifying users of any data breaches. These laws also protect user data from external threats, by imposing liability and criminal punishment for hacking and other unlawful methods of data collection. Serving as a preventative measure, these laws are used by governments to protect their citizens’ rights on the internet.\nThis combination of self and community regulation used by platforms with governmental oversight has fought misinformation, cyber-bullying, and extremism on social media. In 2020 alone, moderation reacted to over 100 million Instagram posts and removed 34,707,336 Youtube videos for violating various community guidelines. Furthermore, it has ensured that platforms are held accountable for the lawful processing of data and continue to maintain the privacy of users, making sure platforms are entirely transparent to the data subject.\nHowever,\nWhether it was the photos of Bianca Devins’s murdered corpse being shared across Instagram in 2019, or the Christchurch mosque shooting being live-streamed on Facebook, there are countless examples of the moderation policies failing, as social media floods with violence, porn and abuse, indicating the systems are unable to react fast enough.\nUnfortunately, people have recognised these shortcomings of moderation and capitalised on them, by making social media a tool for spreading violence and hate. With easy access to a global database of vulnerable people, terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS use it to spread their message and showcase their capabilities. By claiming credit for attacks and posting executions online, it gives these groups the power to instil fear, cause havoc, and manipulate viewers. A 2012 study found that nearly 90% of organized terrorism activities on the internet takes place via social media. While platforms continuously remove such content, suspend the accounts, and give access to law enforcement tracks activities, the constant resurgence of accounts and the variety of platforms has made this tactic ineffective.\nWith traditional social media platforms banning hate speech, several “Alt-tech” platforms promising uncensored speech have become extremely popular among extremist groups, for communicating, planning events, and carrying out domestic terrorism. For instance, Telegram, Parler, and Gab were all used to coordinate the 2021 storming of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. Even on traditional platforms, rioters documented the storming of the capitol and incited violence. Most organizations reacted by purging the accounts of former\nUS President Donald Trump and thousands of others linked to QAnon. Parler was removed from Google Play and the App Store, and lost its hosting with Amazon Web Services, for being \"a very real risk to public safety\". Law enforcement and the FBI were able to use social media posts of the insurrectionists to track and arrest them. Furthermore, platforms like 4chan and 8chan are the go-to resource for violent extremists, and where shootings have been announced before taking place, often accompanied by manifestos engineered to go viral.\nTerrorism, however, is no longer only about instilling fear, but also about creating distrust by spreading fake news, which has become easier with social media becoming a primary news source for many. These aren’t conspiracies about Area-51 or the moon landing, but information that impacts and changes lives. It provides credibility to theories about the stolen US election, disavows COVID-19 and vaccines, and reduces people’s trust in all media by 40%. To suppress this issue, organizations have placed disclaimers and tagged content that is fake and misrepresenting information, and governments have created laws to prevent people from spreading fake news. However, these laws can also be used by governments to push certain rhetorics, and remove content opposing these ideas.\nGovernmental control of social media has become problematic, as the extent of this control is undefined.\nChina employs hundreds of thousands of cyber-police to monitor platforms under the pretext of public safety, but their main goal is to erase references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and politically insensitive words; basically, anything and everything that challenges the Chinese government. It has also blocked most commercial sites like Twitter, Google, and WhatsApp, and replaced them with local providers like Weibo, Baidu, and WeChat, to further restrict access and control the narrative. More countries are following suit, with India demanding that all WhatsApp messages be tracked to prevent crime, Russia threatening to shut down Twitter if they don’t remove anti-Putin content, and Myanmar blocking all social media following the coup to prevent contradictory news.\nCircling back to the issue of personal data; even though we value our privacy, gaining access to free platforms in exchange for our behavioural data seems like an acceptable trade-off,\nespecially since we believe platforms hold our best interests in mind and care about their users. This creates the Privacy Paradox, where people are not concerned about their privacy, as they believe themselves to be in control and place their trust in platforms. As a result, most new social media users accept the average 11,972 words Terms of Service agreement without reading the fine print, let alone understanding it, which gives consent to platforms to invade our lives, and handle and share our data as they want.\nThis concept is evidenced by the 2017 data scandal, where the personal data of over 87 million Facebook users was obtained without their consent by consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, predominantly to be used for political advertising. Data was collected through an app called \"This Is Your Digital Life\", and consisted of a series of questions to build psychological profiles on users, and collect the personal data of the users’ Facebook friends via its API. This information was then used to provide analytical assistance to the 2016 presidential campaigns of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Cambridge Analytica was also suspected of interfering with the Brexit referendum, although official investigations reported that the company was not involved \"beyond some initial inquiries\" and that \"no significant breaches\" actually took place.\nHowever, even if the original agreements are acceptable and non-exploitative to users, nothing is preventing platforms from changing the terms to be more beneficial. For example, Whatsapp announced that user data will be shared with parent company Facebook. This amendment enables Facebook’s business customers to communicate with users on WhatsApp, and for the data in those conversations to be mined. The public outrage was over the fact that WhatsApp was forcing users to agree to the changes, or eventually lose access to the platform. It showed that companies can pressurize users to accept dangerous policy changes.\nEvaluation?\nGovernmental regulation of social media ensures that users can be held legally accountable for spreading fake news and violence while ensuring that platforms adhere to their Terms & Conditions. Furthermore, governmental intervention is necessary to prevent the social media market from being monopolized by a single platform. A range of competitors provides users with alternatives to switch to if unsatisfied, thus forcing platforms to listen to their concerns. However, China, Russia, and Myanmar have shown that this power quickly escalates to create an Orwellian state, where a government controls the rhetoric and silences dissidents.\nOn the other extreme, community regulation utilizes a laissez-faire approach where users are free to post all types of content and voice controversial opinions. However, the reality is that the lack of rules and the anonymity provided by public forums like 4Chan, eventually leads to extremism and violence. Furthermore, even if community regulation was successful, an advertising-free model simply isn’t financially scalable to create a secure site for billions of global users.\nThus, self-regulating platforms create an acceptable balance between safety and freedom, attracting more users every day. However, the advertising revenue model requires algorithms to maximise user engagement and this is why the feeds push more violent and hateful content. Furthermore, as networks compromise on data security, and become resistant to change policies that harm their profit line, our trust in the social media giants has been mostly eradicated.\nThe common problem across all these approaches are the misconceptions and myths about what social media regulation is. For instance, some believe content moderation is a way for organizations and governments to control people’s voices by blocking comments and posts deemed undesirable, which is a threat to free speech. The truth is, content moderation is not about censorship; it is about creating a healthy and safe environment where users can upload their ideas and comfortably engage with others.\nFurthermore, our expectations of data privacy are grossly exaggerated, as most constitutions and international human rights treaties do not explicitly recognize privacy rights. And when they do, the rights only protect you from governments and state actors, and often do not recognize what your rights are against private companies or individual social media users. Besides, it is the same behavioural data that allows social networks to be a free product; although privacy is necessary to an extent, its importance to society has been overplayed.\nIn my opinion?\nWhat we need is a global organization, like the United Nations or the International Criminal Court, that will address the regulation of social media. Consisting of average users, government officials, and social media executives, this organization can work towards creating a statutory building code for all social networks, that would encourage sustainable growth and provide governments access as necessary while adhering to basic human rights.\nThus, a content moderation policy based on international human rights law can be used as a foundation for all networks, irrespective of audience and purpose. Platforms will also need to have a certain number of moderators for every million users and spend a minimum percentage of their revenue on improving the quality of the content review. Furthermore, just like the Voluntary Fairness Doctrine required broadcasters to present both sides of any controversial issue, networks must be able to discern fake news and disinformation by highlighting chain mail, tagging conspiracies, and providing unbiased resources.\nThe privacy concerns raised by data collection can be addressed with networks clearly outlining their data collection and storage policies. Data must also be collected and processed for legitimate purposes, and for which consent was obtained from the data subject. Networks must provide complete transparency to data subjects, about everything from moderation to data breaches. Nonetheless, as technology evolves, social media will change, making these rules ineffective and outdated. This is why adaptability is paramount to making sure any regulation is successful.\nSocial media is a representation of our society, and while its anonymity may encourage some people to expose the darker sides of humanity, you will find just as many people sharing their talents and trying to make a change. As a user once said, on social media, you will see message boards trafficking in shock porn and perpetuating hate. However, you also witness people talking about how to roast raw coffee beans or come out as gay to their families. It is for this reason that we need to better regulate social media. This can begin with simply reading the Terms & Conditions of the networks, or calling out friends for spreading hate speech and fake news, while also questioning our use of social media. Working together, we can convert social media into a safe and healthy resource for a global community.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/regulatingsocialmedia136.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_concerns_with_social_networking_services","https://medium.com/enrique-dans/how-social-media-are-increasingly-coming-under-government-control-47de368dc773","https://hbr.org/2021/01/social-media-companies-should-self-regulate-now","https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54901083","https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47135058","https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/7051/6124","https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/12/15/what-does-it-mean-for-social-media-platforms-to-sell-our-data/?sh=4b8052762d6c","https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/cco-digital/july-2019/social-media-moderators-stress/","https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/why-government-should-not-regulate-content-moderation-social-media","https://www.rightly.co.uk/blog/the-privacy-policies-of-social-media-companies-how-do-they-use-your-data/","https://haveibeenpwned.com/","https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/07/25/social-media-companies-are-outsourcing-their-dirty-work-philippines-generation-workers-is-paying-price/","Transparency Reports - Facebook & Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Reddit"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":83,"pub_key":135,"title":"A Slow Vanishing","subtitle":"","credit":"Art By: Puja Pradhan","editor":"","date":"2021-06-15","content":"Puja Pradhan is a junior at BASIS Ahwatukee in Arizona. She enjoys drawing and painting art pieces especially those aimed to raise awareness for current world issues.\n\"\" depicts the effects human activities have over marine ecosystems. Whether its pollution, ocean acidification, oil drilling, or rising sea temperatures, humans have continuously harmed ocean wildlife and habitats.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/aslowvanishing135.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":2,"pub_key":137,"title":"Rise of Social Media","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Abbas Moosajee","editor":null,"date":"2021-06-17","content":"There’s a certain need to be seen and heard, to be able to\nshare emotions without judgement, to be part of a community;\nit is wired into our psychology. This desire for human connection\npowered the communication revolution. It is what pushed letters\nthousands of miles, put the world a phone call away, and set up\nthe first network link back in 1967. As compression algorithms\nbecame more efficient, the Internet began to advance and globalize,\nresulting in the development of features like instant messaging,\nbulletin boards, and chatrooms. Eventually, launching the first\nsocial networking site SixDegrees.com in 1997.\nSince then, countless companies have flooded the market trying to\ncapture maximum market share. While competing for individual\nsuccess, they have also made social media accessible to over\n4.2 billion people worldwide. Furthermore, essentializing\nsocial media access ensures that each user spends more\ntime online; almost 2 hours and 24 minutes each day. These\nare not only astonishing statistics but has been converted\nby advertising into a\nscalable and profitable product. For\ninstance, Facebook, the largest social media company in the\nworld, earns $32 annually off each user and has a market value\nof $778,000,000,000 (778 billion USD).\nAs social media has grown exponentially to be one\nof the most important industries of the 21st century,\none wonders what made it possible.\nUser growth\nSocial media attracted users because it promised to connect people; but it was the ability to share thoughts and vent frustrations that convinced people to stay. As more users began to actively post content on different topics, the world was witness to the beginning of social media’s transformation from mere entertainment to an everyday tool. Free access to it from anywhere in the world had sealed the deal.\nCompanies no longer needed to create content and understand demand, unlike traditional media, user-generated content was the lifeblood of social media. As a result, their sole focus could be on maximising reach and providing the best user experience. As user-generated content was touted to be a reflection of society, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act ensured that networks were not held responsible for their user's content, no matter how extreme or controversial. Together, this allowed social media to tap into a global market without being legally or morally restricted.\nMySpace and Facebook were two networks launched around the same time, targeting a similar audience, yet their paths took very different trajectories. MySpace, which was launched first and was immediately touted for great success, became victim to greed and mismanagement. Despite having a prolific board and a 580 million-dollar acquisition, it became inundated with ads and fell behind on growing as a platform. Facebook, however, had a very different experience thanks to Zuckerburg, who released predecessors like Facesmash to understand the market. Even when launched in 2004, Facebook was limited to Harvard students, and then high school networks, before finally opening membership to anyone in 2006. This period of controlled growth ensured that Facebook could build technical infrastructure and improve user satisfaction. Thus, allowing it to gain maximum market share and erase the early bird advantage that Myspace had.\nFurthermore, the willingness to adapt and change with the market’s needs is extremely important for social media. For instance, Facebook’s constant release of new features and even acquiring other platforms, like Instagram and Whatsapp for 20 billion USD, helped grow their user base. Lastly, public relations are essential to a network’s growth as the negative press can spread like wildfire and destroy a platform. Following the Cambridge Analytica ‘data breach,’ countless promises were made to protect user privacy. While little changed, the user base was saved and as a result, Facebook has continued to dominate the digital world.\nIt went from 1 million users in December 2004, to 1 billion active users in 2012, and finishing 2020 with 2.7 billion people worldwide.\nThe accelerant to social media's exponential growth was the release of the tool we can no longer live without: the smartphone. As social networks released Android and IOS apps, all sites became instantly accessible and completely unavoidable. This meant that people spent more time online, to the point where 99% of social media users are accessing the sites through a mobile device.\nOverall, social media has continued to expand. In 2020 alone, it attracted over 1.3 million new users every day equating to 15½ new users every single second. Not only were there more users, but they spent more time online with each user creating over 1.7Mb of data every second; in total uploading 50 million photos to Facebook and making 500 million Tweets daily.\nFinancial growth\nIn 2000, Lunarstorm became one of the first social networking websites to be financed by commercial advertisement. While it never achieved success, it outlined the business plan for future social networks. The concept was the same used by television and radio channels: provide a free service, and then target the customer’s subconscious mind. What social media perfected was making advertising dirt cheap. For instance, it costs an average of $7.56 for 1000 impressions across the biggest social media sites, compared to the $36 for broadcast TV. Furthermore, social media gave businesses the ability to analyse consumer data and then cherry-pick audiences for targeting. Together this has driven down the cost per click to $2.67, and makes social media advertising extremely attractive to both big and small businesses.\nFacebook is again undoubtedly the leader in this market, as not only does it have a conversion rate of 9.21%, it has\n8 Mn+ active advertisers. In 2020, Facebook converted this to $32 from each user, amounting to over 85.96 Billion USD in revenue. The growth in the advertising market has made social media a desirable and safe investment at the stock exchange. In fact, since Facebook’s initial public offering of $38 per share in 2012, its price has risen to $250 per share as of Feb 2021.\nWhere it stands-\nWhen social media first materialized, it was denounced as a distraction to school kids, a sucker of data plans, and a waste of everyone’s time. As time passed, people began interacting with it. They saw how social media can change their lives with a click of a button. Soon, this simple tool for connecting and communicating with people evolved into something more: It became a tool for teaching and driving business, a tool for self-presentation, a tool for social activism. It drove innovative ideas and global collaboration, under people’s fingertips.\nAll the while, concerns are being raised over the growing digital divide, political polarization, and user addiction. The integration of social media makes it difficult to think of life without it, and the financial opportunities provided by it means that there will likely never be a change in the way social media dictates so many aspects of our lives.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/riseofsocialmedia137.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":156,"pub_key":138,"title":"Gaps","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Jamee Ganal","editor":"","date":"2021-06-22","content":"In this cartoon, I tried to portray the varying gender gaps we have in our society; especially comparing the gaps between men and women. Statistically, women make .87 cents for every dollar a man makes, women must tackle multiple barriers to attempt to compete with a man, and the list goes on. Pocket sizes are just one of the many things that stemmed from sexist beliefs, even in the 20th century, women are undeniably still struggling in comparison to men.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/gaps138.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":65,"pub_key":139,"title":"Harry Styles and the Deconstruction of Gender Norms: Redefining Masculinity for a New Generation","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Brian  Cover image source: Vogue","editor":"","date":"2021-06-29","content":"At the impressionable age of five, adorned in my cousin’s Cinderella dress, I commanded the room. Posing in the full-length mirror, I felt wonderful. The ethereal glow I proudly cast was short-lived, however. My grandma made me take off the dress, scorning me for “looking gay.” Head hung in resentment, I removed the dress and never wore one again.\nOur society dictates how men are allowed to act—not soft or delicate, but rough and lumberjack-esque. Growing up, I was taught that boys liked blue and girls liked pink; girls wore dresses and boys didn’t.\nSeemingly unbothered by this rule, Harry Styles, gowning a flowery, periwinkle dress, stood unapologetically for the cover of Vogue. His poise, elegance, and control over his own narrative is frozen in time through this shoot. All of this could be felt through the page; the weight Styles carried in his confident stance was enough to rock the entire Western notion of masculinity.\nStyles’s gender-fluid expression through pearl necklaces and dresses is admirable to many, yet huge controversy broke out over his fashion choices after this shoot. Conservative pundit Candace Owens’s pathetic tantrum over a man in a dress made me question why I legitimized these standards in the first place. When we’re told from birth how we’re supposed to act, these ideas become long ingrained in our minds, so deeply so that we fail to see how ludicrous they really are.\nOn Twitter, she posted a tweet reading “There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence. It is an outright attack.”\nHer proclamation to “Bring back manly men” sparked a mantra of hate against femininity among men, and bolstered support for the social hierarchies that currently suffocate us. Her tweet, which garnered over 80k likes and 50k retweets, drew attention from crowds of conservatives praising her for “exposing the truth” and shining light on the “sissification of men,” as one user replied.\nThe gender binary stretches far beyond clothing; it encompasses our way of living. Though Harry Styles’s dress controversy may seem inconsequential, it exposes a deeper rooted issue of oppressive gender roles and a tendency for Americans to lean towards established classist hierarchies, and in turn regress society toward a social stone age. In a conservative’s utopia, the strong manly men are on top of the social pyramid protecting the vulnerable women. There isn’t an in-between for them, so when people like Harry Styles reject this idea, they feel threatened. Enforcing gender roles means stability for them—when society is ordered in a sort of caste system, it’s easier for people to be controlled and told what to believe. Gender and economic classes may seem unrelated on the surface, but the upholding of these principles is what forms the conservative’s vision. They’re linked in the sense that they’re hierarchies which serve to keep society in a state of uniformity and compliance.\nMarcie Bianco from NBC News argues “People like Owens... fear the destruction of boundaries and of borders that maintain the traditional social — gender and racial — hierarchy.” Conservatives despise it when someone goes against an established norm because they fear that others will follow suit, thus encouraging people to break from “normalcy” and stray from widely accepted traditions. The western world is very much built off these ideals, so when Candace Owens blames the rejection of these gender and racial norms on “Marxism,” she attempts to connect a society without hierarchies to a foregin and alien concept, in turn comparing Harry Styles to Karl Marx, a controversial figure among Americans. Marxism essentially advocates for a classless society. Owens and other conservatives despise this; they love vilifying Marxism and blaming the root of all social progress on Marx. Capitalism, which is almost polar opposite to marxism, is what conservatives strive for—a society where hierarchies reign supreme. Through this lens, we can see how something as innocuous as men wearing dresses is actually rooted in capitalism and the fear of societal change and progress.\nGender norms have existed\nsince the dawn of civilization. Throughout history, each culture has had different versions of gender roles and how men and women should behave in society. Within the scope of the US, gender norms were strictly enforced up until the 20th century, where progressivism allowed for womens’ rights activism to become popular across the country. The need for social reform has become more and more prevalent as time goes on, with more advocates urging each year for immediate change to a system that we’re all growing tired of. Gender norms don’t need to exist; as our society progresses, so do our ideals. Our social standards shift all the time based on what people want in their society, so no norms are set in stone. The deconstruction of gender norms is an inevitable process that will benefit our society and culture in the long run.\nDeconstructing gender norms doesn’t end with a man in a dress. It starts with society recognizing and abolishing the outdated roles of gender in our modern climate, and pushing for true gender equality instead of settling for sexist complacency. To start, men wearing traditionally feminine clothing should be accepted in all environments, and the understanding of why prohibiting this can be harmful should be spread . Likewise, women wearing “masculine” clothing shouldn’t be seen as socially unacceptable. This isn’t unfathomable to ask for; just a half century ago, it wasn’t socially acceptable for women to wear pants. It wasn’t until society as a whole realized the need to progress, that women were able to ditch dresses and wear trousers as they wished. In 2021, we need to take the same steps to garner change.\nOur society needs to take a step back in order to progress forward. Gender norms are socially constructed, yet our misguided population continues to buy into them. It isn’t the 1950’s\nanymore; the desire to cling to a black-and-white view of the world is an old-fashioned mindset. To be appalled by someone wearing what they want is not only harmful and judgemental, but reduntantly idiotic.\nMen can wear dresses and be beautiful, too.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/harrystylesandthedeconstructionofgendernormsredefiningmasculinityforanewgeneration139.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":60,"pub_key":140,"title":"POC on Ice: Racism in Figure Skating","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Lindsay Wong","editor":"","date":"2021-07-02","content":"Sports have the power to unite the world and foster\nsolidarity between diverse groups of people, no matter\nhow different you might be. Indeed, the Olympics was\nestablished to unite everyone through the power of sport\nand competition. We often do not link racism and sports\nbecause sports seem to be fair, with people of color (POC)\nwinning medals just as much as non-POC. However, some sports\nare more White-dominated than others. Just like in so many\nother industries and fields, racism also exists in the\nworld of figure skating. Even though Asian-Americans and\nAsian-Canadians have been highly successfully in the sport,\nit has historically been largely dominated by the White\nmajority, and Black skaters particularly find themselves at\na disadvantage. The injustice that they experience\ndemonstrates how systemic racism is prevalent, even in sports.\nFigure skating has always been a sport for fairly\nprivileged and wealthy people because many expenses\nare incurred when participating in the sport.\nWhen competitive figure skating started in the early\n20th century, mostly White people could afford it since\nthey had the upper hand in society. This\nhas a long-lasting impact and influences figure\nskating culture today. Furthermore, figure skating\nis judged subjectively, so implicit bias\n(nationalistic and racial bias) has led to judging\nscandals and discourse.\nEven though figure skating has been dominated by\nWhite skaters for the most part, people of color\nhave always existed in the figure skating industry.\nIn the 1930s, brilliant Black figure skater Mabel\nFairbanks was among the best in the world. The 1930s\nwas a tumultuous decade, with discriminatory laws\nagainst Black people in place. She had to skate in the\npublic rink at Central Park in New York City and\nrefined her skill until the manager of the rink\nnoticed her. By her early 20s, Fairbanks had built a\nname for herself and formed a partnership with a roller\nskater. She skated at Gay Blades Ice Arena in Manhattan\nto mixed-race audiences. However, she was rejected from\nmaking the team purely due to her race. In fact,\nFairbanks was never permitted to try out for any\ncompetitive figure-skating event.\nFairbanks appeared in ice shows but still experienced\ndiscrimination there – she was once barred from a show.\nEventually, she turned to coaching and helped legendary\nAmerican skaters like Scott Hamilton and Kristi\nYamaguchi. Fairbanks also coached Atoy Wilson, who\nwas the first African-American to win the US\nnational championship. Fairbanks even invented two\nspins, but they were never named after her because of\nher race, even though other skaters were credited for\ninventing moves in figure skating. Fairbanks is a\nlegendary skater that never had the opportunity to reach\nher full potential because of racial barriers.\nFrench figure skater Surya Bonaly was another POC\nwoman who dominated the ice decades later, in the\n1990s. Bonaly was notable for her extraordinary skills\non ice – she was one of few skaters who could land\nbackflips – and for always standing her ground.\nBonaly was adopted from Madagascar by a\nWhite French couple and raised in an affluent\nhousehold. In her career, Bonaly did not face the\nsame restrictions as Fairbanks, since the 90s was a\ntime when Black people comparatively had more rights.\nHowever, everytime she stepped onto the ice, she still\nfelt an air of hostility and judgment for not looking\nlike the skaters who are usually on the ice. Female\nskaters are usually called ice princesses – and are\nWhite – because they are elegant and graceful, but a\nhandful go against this stereotype, like Bonaly. She\nonce rejected a silver medal in 1994 because she thought\nshe deserved gold. She found it unfair that she was\nsecond place after doing everything she had been told to\ndo, despite not fitting into the ice princess\nstereotype. Bonaly also acknowledged that she felt\nlike the media judged her as an ”exotic animal”\nbecause of her race.\nBonaly gained media attention at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, when she knowingly performed a one-legged backflip – an illegal move due its dangerous premise. Even though Bonaly felt like race was a non-factor in her judging, she knew that she still experienced a racial struggle because she did not get as many endorsements as others, demonstrating that authorities ultimately prefer to see White skaters on ice, especially if they are from White majority countries. Nevertheless, Bonaly left her legacy as a skater who stood up for what she believed was right and just. She challenged the historical narrative of figure skating as a predominantly White sport.\nMost recently, the issue of white privilege in figure\nskating came to light again during the 2020 Black Lives\nMatter movement, highlighting how systemic racism is\nprevalent in society. Asher Hill, a Black Canadian figure\nskater and pairs ice dancer, was appalled by the equality\nstatement made by Skate Canada (the national governing\nbody of figure skating) about racial equality. The\norganization claimed that they were dedicated to\nanti-racism and social change in the sport. However,\nHill had always felt like an outsider on the ice because\nof his race. He continuously experienced racism and was\nalways conscious of his skin color when skating. Hill\nsaid that Skate Canada threatened to take away his\ncoaching license for speaking out against injustice of\nskaters of color and was reluctant to start conversations\nabout making change, but they denied his claims.\nEvidently, there is still work to be done to make figure\nskating more inclusive and welcoming to all POC.\nNevertheless, in White majority countries like the US and Canada, Asians have become a force to be reckoned with. In the 21st century, Asians have dominated the ice, with many of the world’s top skaters now being Asian. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan were US national champions. At the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, half of Team USA’s figure skaters were Asian Americans. In Canada, Patrick Chan and Nam Nguyen are sources of national pride. Currently, the top skater in world standings is Nathan Chen, who is recognized as an Asian-American man going against the stereotype that Asian men are not athletic or expressive. In Asia itself, Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu is known as the greatest skater of all time and is an inspiration for all skaters, having broken world records 19 times. People of color still are recognized in the industry and the sport is not as White-dominated anymore in the present day.\nThe cases of Black figure skaters experiencing discrimination on the ice exemplifies how figure skating has traditionally been a sport laced with white privilege. Nevertheless, times are changing, and if you look at the world standings, there are plenty of POC. There are also Black figure skaters competing in the Olympics and international competitions, but they rarely medal, which is why they are not given much media attention. If the sport becomes more open to accepting POC, the ice will be a more inviting and inclusive space for everyone to thrive.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/poconiceracisminfigureskating140.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":47,"pub_key":141,"title":"Needles(s)","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Rohan Subramaniam","editor":"","date":"2021-07-06","content":"He stares as cold steel and soft plastic\nMeet malleable bicep muscles,\nNoiseless… sharp needles plunge\nThrough tender tendons, stopping near bone -\nThe sensations of an innocuous inoculation.\nBang! A worker drops a box somewhere,\nAnd he flinches, seeing shots protruding\nFrom dark-skinned arms like his…\nWaiting for the crimson bloom…\nWatching how the tiny scarlet dots sprout\nOn clean, innocent midnight skin.\nThey aren’t the guinea pigs this time, but he wonders\nWho were?\nA soft prick breaks his own epidermis\nAnd he can feel himself being transformed\nBy something dark and other, spreading\nFrom the needle under his skin,\nAnd unlike the others,\nHe blooms black.\n(Chatter from a hospital television\nTurned to a strange channel\nWorms its way into his ear).\nHe wonders if this needle\nWill take him from his son\nAnd daughter;\nFaster than\nA bullet from a badge and uniform can;\nFaster than he can fly away from here.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/needless141.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":142,"pub_key":142,"title":"Reflection: What I Learned from an Unlikely Opposition","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Suzanna Chen Cover image source: DLPNG","editor":"","date":"2021-07-09","content":"I love my mom. I really do.\nHowever, as she asked me what was wrong with stating that the Atlanta shooting’s perpetrator was “having a bad day” with an expression nothing short of pure bewilderment, I found myself doubting that—just a little bit.\nPerhaps any other person would have found her attitude incomprehensible because she (whose middle name really should be “I can’t speak English well so you must make this call for me”) is a middle-aged Asian woman—like most of the catastrophe’s victims. However, being used to clashing with her traditional ideals since late May of 2020, my phase of being mildly insulted quickly morphed to one of genuine curiosity.\nI was certain that she held no discriminatory intentions—especially upon the victimization of her own community. So, as an aspiring social advocate, I wanted to understand my sources of resistance through our discourse.\n“How is it okay for an authority figure to dismiss such a heinous crime so entirely?”\n“Well, first of all, you were only replaying the clip of him saying that phrase. It is not reasonable to come to a conclusion without context. What if he was just quoting the perpetrator?”\nOkay. Fair enough.\nBeing riled up solely from edited clips on social media wasn’t exactly what a responsible social advocate would do.\nI found the entire segment of the infamous statement and showed it to her, watching intently as she scrutinized the cracked screen of my phone. Perhaps I was expecting a change in her opinion, but I knew there was none as she glanced up after the video with a raised eyebrow that held no less confusion than before.\n“Okay?”\n“...What do you mean by ‘Okay?’? Do you see what he did now? He tried to normalize a hate crime!” The incredulity I was experiencing seeped through an unprofessional rise in my voice.\n“Woah! Calm down there, young lady,” she held up her hand in a “stop” gesture, “what do you expect him to say then? He can’t immediately announce the tragedy as a ‘hate crime’ without hearing back from the investigation. It is his job as a public servant to not cause panic within the population.”\nAt this point, I am sure that my eyebrows have disappeared under my bangs. “Umm...so the public is supposed to be calm over the fact that murdering eight people with similar ethnic profiles is somehow a ‘normal’ behaviour for people’ having a bad day?’”\n“He never said that this is normal...?” she sighed, “He just...look, I don’t get what you young people are interpreting from his statement, okay? All I understand from my broken English is that the officer is carefully choosing his words to state only the facts. I agree that there has been a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and that this incident is pretty evidently targeting Asian females. But I really don’t understand why ‘having a bad day’ is offensive because the killer was obviously not ‘okay’ today.”\n“But…”\n“No, let me finish. I didn’t grow up in North America, nor had I learnt about the systemic racism and discrimination against the minorities here, so I wouldn’t have caught it if he reflected something in his undertones. Look: racism is horrible, and police brutality obviously exists here. I support whatever you are doing for this cause, but I was brought up in an ethnically homogeneous country, so you can’t expect me to fully understand the extent of this problem here or get as emotional as you are. Okay?”\nOh.\nStaring back at her, I reflected on our arguments about the surfacing social justice issues since the start of the pandemic.\nPerhaps…\n...when she argued against the widespread protests over the death of George Floyd, she was only reflecting her unfamiliarity towards the concept of protest as a civil right as someone from a country that discourages peaceful uprisings.\n...when she stated her preference for “All Lives Matter” over “Black Lives Matter,” she was merely unable to sense the undertone of erasing the Black community’s sufferings behind the foreign words.\nI felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me. Over the past month, our disagreements had led me to ponder the possibility of her supporting ideals of injustice—only to be quickly swept under the rug seeing her avid loathing for Donald Trump. Looking back, it was solely my ineptitude in understanding her situation that caused our discourses.\nThe realization reminded me of the principle that hearing and trying to understand the opposition through emotionally-neutral conversations is the best way to resolve a disagreement and the first step to persuasion and advocacy. In other words, I need to see my mom’s side before I can try to convince her of mine from her perspective.\nHmm...try to persuade her from a perspective she understands...\n“Hey mom! Do you remember when we had that argument over ‘Black Lives Matter’ or ‘All Lives Matter?’”\n“Yeah?”\n“Do you understand and support ‘Stop Asian Hate’?”\n“Of course!”\n“Well, saying ‘All Lives Matter’ instead of ‘Black Lives Matter’ is just like refusing to say ‘Stop Asian Hate’ but saying ‘Stop All Hate’ instead.”\n“Oh! Oh, I see now!”\nAh. There we go.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/reflectionwhatilearnedfromanunlikelyopposition142.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":168,"pub_key":143,"title":"Why We Need Ethnic Studies in Schools","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: River Somerville  Cover image source: Rise Up For Students","editor":"","date":"2021-07-13","content":"What are ethnic studies? According to Northern Arizona University, ethnic studies is the “interdisciplinary study of race and ethnicity, as understood through the perspectives of major underrepresented groups in the United States” (nau.org). Prior to entering college, many high school students lack the experience of learning from a satisfactory ethnic studies curriculum. Though the proposition to include ethnic studies was first introduced in the late 1960s by various clubs (Black Student Union, Third World Liberation Front, and more) in coalition to diversify their college’s educational offerings at the San Francisco State University, substantial work must still be done across the country to make these implementations a reality for America’s adolescents. Based on the findings of Professor Wayne Au from the University of Washington, only 9 states of 50 have a pre-college/K-12 ethnic studies law or policy course. Despite the growth of ethnic studies across the nation, consistent advocacy is necessary to provide learners with the ability to absorb narratives in an equitable way and from multiple perspectives—not just those which perpetuate white supremacy and other forms of marginalization and oppression.\nWhen education lacks ethnic studies, many phenomena consequently occur.\nWhen there is a lack of representation, students are more affected than one may think. Representation means displaying someone or something in their perceived or actual essence. Authentic representation creates a perfect atmosphere for visibility and recognition for many people with marginalized identities. PBS published a news article in which minority teenagers reported on how they were affected by an increase in on-screen, genuine representation; they described feeling seen and heard by the media, resulting in a positive effect on their mental health. Undoubtedly, students seeing themselves, their histories, and their potential in a multifaceted light in their textbooks and classrooms can have a similar effect. Mary Elle Flannery of the National Education Association reports that representation in terms of ethnic studies promotes pride and dignity across cultures.\nUnfortunately, the subpar presence of ethnic studies can mean an abundance of curriculum that can purposefully or accidentally perpetuate white supremacy. When schools teach students stories which mostly center white voices (especially in an American post-colonial, post-slavery, and post Civil Rights context), it sends a clear message to students whose predecessors and contemporary selves are not represented: their stories have not been prioritized and are less worthy of being told. This situation is especially concerning given that half of all students in public primary and secondary schools are students of color (conversation.com).\nAlthough the aforementioned negative effects of inadequate ethnic studies may be disheartening, on the positive side, the goals of an ethnic studies curriculum prove substantially more optimistic. They include open mindedness, community engagement, applicability, awareness, respect, self-esteem, and much more. As schools aim to include the plethora of voices which compose the American student population, they move further away from indoctrination and closer to progression and acceptance.\nIt is extremely important that schools implement ethnic studies to reach these goals before the college level. This is because students of color are much more likely to engage with their schoolwork if they see themselves represented like their white counterparts. They are more likely to feel an urge to participate and contribute when their backgrounds and histories are centered and valued. When curriculum writers consciously work to eliminate narratives of stereotyping, xenophobia, white supremacy, racism, etc., developing students have the opportunity to see themselves outside of the constructs of severely limiting archetypes, which have been present throughout America’s history.\nAs we see civil unrest occur throughout the country and the world, it is increasingly important that we reform our education systems in a way that centers and empowers marginalized voices. Becoming a proponent for these changes in our local communities and states is one of the first steps one can take to help ensure that change is made. Find out who in your community is already advocating for these issues. Sign their petitions. Join their coalition. Initiate your own coalition. Share your story. Testify. As we have seen in places like San Francisco, Tucson, Indiana, and Oregon, ethnic studies and reforms of the like are on their way up, and they could use your help in being enacted.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/whyweneedethnicstudiesinschools143.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":116,"pub_key":144,"title":"Not Your Mascot","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Jamee Ganal","editor":"","date":"2021-07-16","content":"After recently learning that many schools and national team’s mascots are offensive portrayals of Indiegenous peoples, such as the Cleveland Indians Major league baseball team and their mascot of “Chief Wahoo,” it surprised me that it hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in the media and nothing has been done. Using Native people as mascots is not honoring them or their culture, but ridiculing and mocking them. I used Graphite in my process alongside the text in bold red “” because Native People and their culture is not something that should be exploited for the use of stereotypical reinforcement and is a prevalent racist practice. They’re both dehumanizing and offensive in many ways, and because I was able to gain the opportunity to learn about this in history class, I hope that this piece brings more awareness to the situation and note that the majority of teams and schools can still keep their offensive mascots.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/notyourmascot144.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":88,"pub_key":145,"title":"Farmers Dilemma","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Kritika Negi","editor":"","date":"2021-07-20","content":"About the Artist: Kritika Negi is a fashion designer/ illustrator\nbased in India. She has completed her Fashion Design Degree from IIAD,\nNew Delhi. Her areas of focus as a designer are lifestyle accessory design,\ngarment design, fabric manipulation, illustration, and graphic design. As a\ncreative fashion designer, she has worked with clients like Raymonds, Linen Club,\nPepper Content, Jaypore, Antar-Agni, Crea Worldwide, and Fashionsource. She has\nbeen awarded the prestigious Edward Newton Scholarship from Kingston University,\nLondon. In 2020, she was awarded a Certificate for Outstanding Academic Performance\nby the Indian Institute of Art and Design. Kritika has been featured two times on\nOverachiever Magazine for her work titled ‘Illustration on Indian Women’.\nBesides working on commissioned projects, Kritika loves to travel in the\nmountains and attending design conferences to gain new inspirations.\nHow does your piece amplify or raise awareness on socio-political issue(s)?\nPlease specify the issue (e.g. climate change)\nAgriculture has been the most significant occupation in Asian\ncountries but today the farmers in the Asian countries are moving towards\ntechnology and victimization. With the financial uncertainty of farming, the high\nentry cost, and the simple fact that being a farmer is hard, drive people away from\nagriculture, the number of new, young farmers is shrinking year after year.\nThrough this piece, I want to raise awareness about the farmer’s dilemma, where\nthe government needs coordination between their policies and a farmer’s economic\ncondition. This artwork especially supports the women farmers of the Punjab region\nin India.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/farmersdilemma145.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":112,"pub_key":146,"title":"Disability Pride Month","subtitle":"What is it and Why does it Matter?","credit":"Written by: Suzanna Chen","editor":"Edited By: Harvi Karatha","date":"2021-07-27","content":"I have a confession to make: as a self-proclaimed autism and disability advocate, I did not know about the existence of  until it showed up on July 1st as pretty pastel slides on my Instagram feed.\nFor a moment, I could almost feel the mocking glances of “actual” disability advocates travel through the electromagnetic waves of my screen, shattering my precarious proclamation as an amateur activist. (I am joking, of course, since there is no such thing as a “perfect advocate”—the lack of knowledge of one can always be amended by the willingness to learn and improve.)\nIn addition to demonstrating how much disability advocacy is unacknowledged, my embarrassingly late discovery of July as \nbrought forth questions that inspired this article: how did this designation come to be, and why should we celebrate?\nThe Origin:\nAdding to my guilt of being unaware, the world's first Disability Pride Day was held way before my disabled self's birth: in Boston, Massachusetts in 1990. Even though none of my sources confirm this specliation, the creation of this celebration might have been motivated by the instatement of the\nAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA)\nby President George W. Bush on July 26th of the same year. This event indeed deserves grand celebratory gestures: the ADA is a monumental and unprecedentedly comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against the disabled community in all areas of public life. Sadly, the Boston events were halted upon the passing of the lead organizer in 1991.\nHowever, the spirit of disability pride was not so easily extinguished: a revival came in the form of a Disability Pride Parade 13 years later in Chicago, Illinois. It seemed to be an encouraging droplet in a stagnant pond of persistent oppression: similar events soon rippled across the world—including in South Korea, Norway, other places of the United States, and the\nAs a gesture of solidarity with the disabled community, New York City’s Mayor declared July as  in 2015, which marked the 25th anniversary of the ADA. While this designation has yet to gain national recognition in the U.S., disabled communities worldwide eagerly adopted it as an occasion to be heard on their struggles with ableism—arguably the most neglected form of discrimination that has permeated all aspects of past and current societies.\nAbleism is More Commonplace than Most would Think:\nWhile it is common to directly define “ableism” as “prejudice against people with disabilities,” this simplification ignores the radical and nuanced nature of this overlooked form of discrimination\nOne of the more cited definitions within the disabled community is by activist Talila Lewis, who stated that ableism is “a system that places value on people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normality, intelligence, excellence, desirability, and productivity.” By this definition, one does not have to be disabled to experience ableism, as our socially constructed idea of “normality” excludes every single minority group. The prominence of ableism cannot be better stated than by Lewis herself: “ableism is also at the root of every other oppression.”\nIn the context of our daily lives, ableism can manifest in discriminatory behaviours on a personal or systemic level.\nExamples of the former might include acting uncomfortable around disabled people or anyone \"abnormal\"; holding stereotypical views about general or specific types of disabilities (such as assuming all autistic people to be innocent, angelic beings with a child-like level of intelligence); or resenting disabled people for having perceived “privileges” (such as designated parking spaces or waiting queues). It is worth noting that the above demonstrates two main “streams” of ableist—and undoubtedly inaccurate—beliefs: one that perceives disabled people as eternally innocent victims of unfortunate circumstances and the other viewing the community as “inferior” and undeserving of perceived “generosity” and social accommodations.\nHowever, while discrimination on an individual level is more identifiable in our daily lives, we must not ignore that broader systemic forces heavily influence them. From regulations restricting the fundamental rights of the disabled community (such as penalties placed on disabled people for marrying and working by the Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)) to practices seeking to eliminate disability to “benefit\" society (such as pursuing eugenics research and implementation), social practices materialized marginalization and normalized ableist beliefs to be lawful.\nPeople with disabilities are the largest minority within our society: making up\n15%\nof the global popliation and scattering across all racial, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. Yet, society’s prolonged prejudices have reslited in the fact that in the U.S., disabled people account for\nat least 1/3\nof all deaths by police brutality, are\n2.5 times more likely to die\nfrom COVID-19, and have a\ndoubled chance\nof being victimized in violent crimes compared to the non-disabled popliation. (Not to mention that even such heightened statistics cannot depict the extent of compounded discrimination faced by disabled people with other marginalized identities.) Despite the current progress in moving away from the lawful exclusion of disabled people, much more needs to be done to promote disability acceptance and help society’s most diverse minority group recover from the century-old deprivation of self-worth and value.\nIntroducing: the Disability Pride movement.\nPride, Not Pity\nAccording to\nDisabled World\n, disability pride—a relatively new concept—is defined as “accepting and honouring each person's uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity [and] a direct challenge of systemic ableism and stigmatizing definitions of disability.”\nThe movement encourages disabled people to be proudly visible in their existence and fights for justice and accept their disability as a fundamental and unique component of their identity—rather than merely a medical impairment. On the other hand, it urges non-disabled allies to neutralize the term “disabled,” listen and amplify the voices of disabled people, and take actions towards inclusion. While the ultimate goal is to promote these actions as permanent and automatic, the crucial starting point is our willingness to be loud in our support for disability pride in July. (As a side note, this month differs from the Disability Employment Awareness Month, which occurs annually in October and specifically targets workplace discrimination against disabled workers. Despite their difference in focus, both of these months sholid be equally celebrated!)\nSo, let us—both disabled people and allies—come together this  by collaborating in the following activities:\nAttend a virtual Disability Pride event (ex. Chicago’s\nDisability Pride Parade\non July 18, Pennsylvania’s\nDisability Pride Virtual Events\non June 30,\nDiversability’s\nevents\nthroughout July, and Easterseals’\nVirtual Disability Pride Parade\non July 26)\nListen and amplify the voices of authentic disability advocates (check\nthis article\nfor some recommendations)\nEducate yourself because the disabled community is not obligated to educate anyone! Some suggested places to start:\n“How To Be A Disability Ally in 2021” by\nJessica Ping-Wild\n“Words Matter, And It’s Time To Explore The Meaning Of ‘Ableism.” by\nAndre Plirang\nTalila Lewis’s blog on ableism and racism\nDetester Magazine’s interviews with disability advocates:\nTiffany Yu ,\nWendy Lu,\nAmethyst Schaber,\nLauren Melissa, and\nNina Skov Jensen\n\"We don't want your pity. We want your pride.\"\n- Activist Anthony Rios on USA Today","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/disabilitypridemonth146.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":43,"pub_key":147,"title":"Heathens","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Rohan Subramaniam  Edited by Alice Lei and Grace Bennett","editor":"Edited By: Alice Lei and Grace Bennett","date":"2021-07-28","content":"He thinks he’s spent his entire life\nTrying to be above the “heathens”–\nArbitrary preconceptions that make\nHim not want to touch strangers.\nBecause disgust creeps through\nHis pink brain and heart when he\nSees a sanitation worker that displeases him,\nAnd he hates this Feeling.\nBecause he is proud that his own life is not “grimy”;\nIt shimmers with the hope and promise\nOf the stability of two parents and a dog,\nOf a plush down coat on a winter’s day,\nOf a new guitar on a sixteenth birthday.\nAnd as he pushes himself above\nThese people who pop his gilded bubble,\nHe shoves them lower into the mud pit, and\nIgnores their cries simply because he doesn’t want\nTo get infected with the Feeling.\nIgnores all those who don’t have\nTwo parents,\nA plush down coat,\nOr a new guitar.\nIsn’t that selfish?","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/heathens147.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":28,"pub_key":148,"title":"The Power Of A Word","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: JaLacia G   Edited by Chloe Chen and Eeman Aleem","editor":"Edited By: Chloe Chen and Eeman Aleem","date":"2021-08-04","content":"Black.\nI know that word startles you, brings a pit into your stomach, your hairs standing straight at the back of your neck.\nBut none of those initial feelings should happen when you hear that word and see that color.\nIt should have no grave effect on you as you react to the chaos you created.\nWere you conditioned in your mind to do so?\nBy the people in your home, by your peers, or is it who you truly were all along?\nAn evil being that wants to antagonize a race to put yourself at ease and keep things in a “natural order.”\nChange terrifies you, because no matter how much destruction you have wrought, these people are not becoming an endangered species like you wanted.\nIt’s been written in the oldest books, instructing you to leave God's people alone, but you didn’t listen. You never did\nThis will not become a debate of your ignorance, trying to make me prove my humanity to you when you refuse to see it.\nOur bodies are not to be used as scapegoats to spring forth political motivation that benefits the few and harms the rest.\nNow, let that word have a hold on you while you slowly decay as you go on and sing some tunes about the “good ole days.”","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thepowerofaword148.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":172,"pub_key":149,"title":"They Don't Want Us To Win","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Jamee Ganal","editor":"Edited By: Huiwen Chen","date":"2021-08-08","content":"With the recent banning of athlete Sha’Carri Richardson from running in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics,\nit compelled me to make a piece regarding the treatment of Black female athletes. I painted\n(first row, from left to right) Alice Dearling, Serena Williams, Christine Mbomba, (second row)\nSimone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Cece Telfer. Although they all have competed in different sports,\none similarity between all of them is the treatment they underwent in their time in sports. Dearling, who was Great Britain's first Black swimmer\nfor the Olympics, faced disrpustancies when trying to wear swimcaps designed by Black owned brands because they didn't follow “the natural form of the head.” Serena Williams, who faced tremendous ridicule as a Black tennis player; Mboma, who was deemed ineligible to run due to testosterone levels; Biles, who says her skills are being undervalued by officials, Sha’Carri, who most recently was banned from this year’s Olympics; and Telfer, a transgender American runner, inellegible from running in the Olympics. Seemingly, it seems as if the Olympic timeline is constantly preventing Great Black female athletes from reaching their full potential, and through the use of acrylic I wanted to represent these women. I’m sure that there are many more women who are being undermined by policies of the Olympics, and I hope my piece spreads a message fitting for the times.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theydontwantustowin149.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":153,"pub_key":150,"title":"The Issue with Single-Issue Voting","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Maya Henry","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleen and Joyce Huang","date":"2021-08-11","content":"The U.S has always prided itself on the freedom it offers to its citizens. Freedom of speech enables political discourse, freedom of the press allows the people to lift the veil covering politicians, and freedom of protest has served as a microphone for the oppressed.\nFreedom of choice, too, is a long-tooted aspect that U.S citizens relish. At the grocery store, there are multiple types of chocolate chips, chunks, and bars. In the education system, district, charter, and private options. Such freedom of choice ideally enables U.S citizens to consider multiple aspects of nearly anything they purchase, and can easily find the option that fits their many wants and needs.\nYet, the exact analysis of a carton of free-range vs pasteurized eggs is not applied towards more important choices: elected politicians.\nFor decades, single-issue voters have stayed loyal to politicians through thick and thin; from voting for the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to standing by President Trump in the aftermath of the attempted Capital coup in 2021. Countless voters stand behind politicians because of their stance on a single issue. Whether it’s healthcare or same-sex marriage, voters are willing to forgive racism, reckless behavior during COVID-19, sexual assault allegations, and problematic voting records so long as their politician keeps a specific ideology on a specific topic(s). What does this lead to? For-life politicians who do little to advance the issues they claim to fight for, in order to keep single-issue voters in the palm of their hand.\nNowhere was single-issue voting more prevalent than in the past presidential election. An ABC poll conducted in March of 2020 found that of Michigan Democrats voting in the state primary, 57% listed their top priority as defeating Donald Trump in the presidential election. By contrast, only 34% of the polled voters cared that the Democratic nominee shared similar views with them.\nAcross the aisle, single-issue voting is just as prevalent. Since 2001, at least 29% of U.S voters have identified that a candidate agreeing with them on abortion is the most vital factor determining whether or not that candidate secures their vote. The same study found that this devotion to a single issue is much more popular among the Republican voters of the country.\nTyler Reeves, a middle-aged man, acknowledged that he voted for Trump in 2020 because “[as] a Christian, he’s the candidate that most aligns with my values on abortion.” Reeves had never voted before and reported that he didn’t like Trump’s history of tweets, racism, or homophobia. Yet, Trump’s pro-life stance was enough to win Reeves’ vote.\nUndoubtedly, issues like abortion, gun control, and defeating Donald Trump are and—in the case of Trump—were, important to voters. The true detriment to democracy begins when issues like abortion, gun control, and defeating Donald Trump are the only policies evaluated by voters.\nThe Democratic party’s insistent support of President Joe Biden based on the belief he stood the best chance of beating Trump is now, in July of 2021, leaving countless Democrats upset with how little Biden has done to progress pressing issues. Earlier this year, Biden gave up fighting for a $15 minimum wage to pass as part of the COVID-19 relief package. This decision left many of his supporters feeling that they had wished for a more progressive candidate, like Senator Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, instead. Because so many Democrats only wanted to get Trump out of office, many ignored what would happen after the fact.\nBiden’s lack of action is reflected in conservative lawmakers as well, who were similarly elected because of a single aspect of their campaign. For instance, take for-life politician and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been in office for over 36 years. One of McConnel’s main selling points is his promise to be a ‘firewall’ against socialism. Yet, in his multi-decade career, he has blocked significantly more bills from becoming law than putting his own bills into action. In 2017, McConnel was an advocate for a tax cut applying to the wealthiest of U.S corporations, and though passed, the economy never grew by 3% as he and his fellow Republican Senators claimed it would. Despite this bill being one of the few “anti-socialist” actions he took, McConnell’s approval ratings stayed the same, at 70% (note that his approval ratings have plummeted since he and former President Trump fell out), because he kept promising he was anti-communism, even if he was doing little to advance such views.\nTime and time again, McConnell was reelected, despite countless eyebrow-raising moments of McConnell’s career, including how he made a mockery of the sexual assault allegations made against conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, calling them “a little like Groundhog Day.”\nAt the end of the day, U.S citizens have the freedom to vote for who they please for whatever reason they please. This, in itself, is a core value to democracy. Yet as more and more young people begin to dip their toes in the electoral process, it is necessary to remind voters that just as one may keep in mind allergies and price while grocery shopping, one should consider numerous parts of a politician before sending them to the White House.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theissuewithsingleissuevoting150.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":139,"pub_key":151,"title":"All Power to the People: The History of the Black Panther Party","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Kennedy Kelis","editor":"Edited By: Grace Bennett and Alice Lei","date":"2021-08-15","content":"Synopsis: The Black Panther Party —originally founded as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense —was a party devoted to liberation, to solidarity, and to unapologetic, inexorable blackness.\nIn our article “,” we explore the values and accomplishments of the powerful black radicals of the 20th century.\nA 1968 image of Black Panther Party leader Kathleen Cleaver and others at a “Free Huey” rally in Oakland.\n[ Image Source: Image of Kathleen Cleaver and others in Oakland, California. Photos: Radically Cool Images of the Black Panther Revolution in Progress, Rian Dundon, 20 Sept. 2016, timeline.com/photos-black-panther-chic-bb8c6695b719. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021. ]\nThe Black Panther Party was, in short, a league of revolutionaries. It was a group of mostly black radicals who were anti-racists, anti-capitalists, and anti-brutality. The Black Panther Party — originally founded as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense — was a party devoted to liberation, to solidarity, and to unapologetic, inexorable blackness.\nIt was 1966 when junior college students Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, and Elbert “Big Man” Howard founded the organization. It was created partly in response to the assassination of black activist Malcom X, but mostly to the rampant and merciless violence that black people faced at the hands of the police. Their original purpose was to “police the police,” to fight and prevent brutality by patrolling black neighborhoods while toting firearms, law books, and tape recorders. However, their focus soon evolved to seeing the downfall of capitalism, for they believed the economic exploitation that capitalism produces to be\nthe catalyst of many forms of oppression within the United States.\nImage of the black panther, a representation of determination, courage, and freedom. Designed by Dorothy Zellner.\n[ Image Source : Zellner, Dorothy. Image of the black panther. The Black Panther Symbol An Email Discussion May-June, 2006, 2006, www.crmvet.org/disc/panther.htm. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021. ]\nOn October 15th, 1966, Seale, Newton, and Howard created The Ten-Point Program, an explicit outline of the basic goals and principles of the Black Panther Party. Originally titled, “What We Believe,” this document included several monumental demands, such as the complete exemption of black men from military service, an end to police brutality, and “decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings.” Among these ten points —and perhaps the most urgent point of all —was this insistence: “We want an end to the robbery by the capitalists of our black community” (The Black Panther Party). The Black Panthers vehemently opposed capitalist ownership of the means of production, and they demanded the rights of ownership be immediately given to the community.\nDue to their swift adoption of anti-capitalist thought, as well as their continued support for armed self defense, the Panthers just as swiftly became targets of the United States government. In 1969, the Black Panthers were declared a communist organization, accused of advocating for a stateless, classless, and moneyless society. In that same year, the illegal FBI program titled COINTELPRO even expanded in order to target, infiltrate, and dismantle the Black Panther Party.\nFollowing the Panthers’ powerful protest at their California state capitol two years prior —magnums, shotguns, and pistols in hand while ammunition was strapped to their chests and backs —\nformer president and governor Ronald Reagan signed a gun control bill titled the Mulford Act.\nThis bill was created for the sole purpose of disarming the Black Panther Party,\nand several similar bills followed (Morgan). (Ironically, the Black Panthers made the\nNRA support gun control.)\nImage of the Black Panthers at their California State capitol.\n[ Image Source: Image of The Black Panthers at their state capitol. THE REVOLUTIONARY LEGACY OF THE BLACK PANTHERS, David Bliven and Alan Maass, 3 Nov. 2016,\nsocialistworker.org/2016/11/03/revolutionary-legacy-of-the-black-panthers. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021. ]\nMoreover, frequently were the Panthers victims of police raids and violent, deadly shootouts, one of which killed Fred Hampton, leader of the Chicago branch of the Black Panther Party. As claimed by former director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, Hampton was quite literally a “Messiah,” a leader who could “unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement” (J. Edgar). Fred Hampton was a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist, and for this reason, he was feared — and eventually killed — by the United States government.\nNonetheless, while the Black Panthers were perceived by the general public as dangerous, within their community, they were revered. According to the Public Broadcasting Service, the Black Panthers established schools that taught classes on black history and culture, and they offered legal aid to those who were without. They offered free testing for tuberculosis, in addition to free screening for sickle cell anemia. They created ambulance services, offered transportation assistance, and manufactured and distributed shoes to the poor. Their Free Breakfast for Schoolchildren Program even led the federal government to expand national school food initiatives (A Huey P. Newton Story).\nIt is important to note that the Panthers highly valued solidarity as well, not only with their black peers, but also with other people of color and the general working class. In fact, according to Japanese American author Nobuko Miyamoto, when a gathering of Japanese American activists spilled into the streets of Chicago, the Black Panthers readily welcomed them like family: “We wanted to pay homage to their leader, Fred Hampton, and show our solidarity during this time of repression by the Chicago Police Department. The Panthers welcomed us like brothers and sisters, men clasping hands in the Black Power handshake, a physical expression of solidarity” (Miyamoto).\nAnother example of solidarity occurred in 1969, when Fred Hampton, William Fesperman, and José Cha Cha Jiménez founded an organization in Chicago called the Rainbow Coalition. Fesperman was of the Young Patriots Organization, a group of “confederate-flag-wielding, working-class whites,” while Jiménez was of the Young Lords, a former Chicago street gang that eventually turned to resiliently fight for the liberation of Latino Americans and Puerto Rico (Gaiter). The Rainbow Coalition also included Asian Americans and Indigenous people, as it focused on uniting the people of Chicago, regardless of ethnicity.\nTogether, the Black Panther Party, Young Lords, and Young Patriots Organization worked to provide many community services to Chicago citizens. The Young Patriots Organization even abandoned its “embedded ideas of white supremacy” after joining the Rainbow Coalition, as simply working with people of color allowed them to realize that because of their shared suffering under capitalism, the groups had more in common than previously thought (Gaiter).\nSolidarity within the Black Panther Party can also be seen in the way that its members dressed. The Panthers are often shown wearing black pants, black leather jackets, and black berets, for this was the attire decided upon by Seale, Newton, and Howard. At the time, the Panthers knew that they had to dress a certain way in order to receive respect, so they presented themselves to the public in an intentional manner.\nImage of the attire of the Black Panther Party.\n[ Image Source : Image of The Black Panthers, several having clenched fists raised in the air. The Most Important Legacy of The Black Panthers, Brandon Harris, 5 Sept. 2015,\nwww.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-most-important-legacy-of-the-black-panthers. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021. ]\nWhile the Black Panther Party unfortunately ceased its operation in 1982, the spirit of the movement is still very much alive. It is alive in its former members, such as Kathleen Cleaver, the first woman to be appointed to the Black Panther Party’s Central Committee. It is alive in Elaine Brown, the woman who led the party from 1974 to 1977 and established several programs aimed at uplifting and assisting the black community. It is alive in Angela Davis, educator and philosopher, feminist and Marxist. It is alive in the masses of young activists, of young radicals who are dedicated to ending the horrors of systemic racism and oppression. And as long as new generations of revolutionaries are born, as long as the long-known song of black liberation continues to be sung, the spirit of the Black Panther Party will continue to live in permanent, uninterrupted prosperity.\nWork Sited\n“A Huey P. Newton Story - Actions - Survival Programs.” PBS,\nPublic Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/hueypnewton/actions/actions_survival.html. Accessed 8 Aug. 2021.\nGaiter, Colette. “Chicago 1969: When Black PANTHERS Aligned With Confederate-Flag-Wielding,\nWorking-Class Whites.” The Conversation, 26 Jan. 2021,\ntheconversation.com/chicago-1969-when-black-panthers-aligned-with-confederate-flag-wielding-working-class-whites-68961. Accessed 31 July 2021.\nImage of Kathleen Cleaver and others in Oakland, California. Photos: Radically Cool Images of the Black Panther Revolution in Progress, Rian Dundon, 20 Sept. 2016,\ntimeline.com/photos-black-panther-chic-bb8c6695b719. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.\nImage of The Black Panthers at their state capitol. THE REVOLUTIONARY LEGACY OF THE BLACK PANTHERS, David Bliven and Alan Maass, 3 Nov. 2016,\nsocialistworker.org/2016/11/03/revolutionary-legacy-of-the-black-panthers. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.\nImage of The Black Panthers, several having clenched fists raised in the air. The Most Important Legacy of The Black Panthers, Brandon Harris, 5 Sept. 2015,\nwww.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-most-important-legacy-of-the-black-panthers\nAccessed 3 Mar. 2021.\nJ. Edgar Hoover, “The FBI Sets Goals for COINTELPRO,” SHEC: Resources for Teachers,\nhttps://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/814. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.\nMiyamoto, Nobuko. “How the Asian American Movement Learned a Lesson IN Liberation from the Black PANTHERS - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment.” Densho, 12 July 2021,\ndensho.org/asian-american-movement-learned-lesson-in-liberation-from-black-panthers/.\nAccessed 31 July 2021.\nMorgan, Thad. “The NRA Supported Gun Control When the Black Panthers Had the Weapons.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 Mar. 2018,\nwww.history.com/news/black-panthers-gun-control-nra-support-mulford-act\nAccessed 31 July 2021.\n“The Black Panther Party.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration,\nwww.archives.gov/research/african-americans/black-power/black-panthers#bpintro\nZellner, Dorothy. Image of the black panther. The Black Panther Symbol An Email Discussion May-June, 2006, 2006,\nwww.crmvet.org/disc/panther.htm\nAccessed 3 Mar. 2021.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/allpowertothepeoplethehistoryoftheblackpantherparty151.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["“A Huey P. Newton Story - Actions - Survival Programs.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/hueypnewton/actions/actions_survival.html. Accessed 8 Aug. 2021.","Gaiter, Colette. “Chicago 1969: When Black PANTHERS Aligned With Confederate-Flag-Wielding, Working-Class Whites.” The Conversation, 26 Jan. 2021, theconversation.com/chicago-1969-when-black-panthers-aligned-with-confederate-flag-wielding-working-class-whites-68961. Accessed 31 July 2021.","Image of Kathleen Cleaver and others in Oakland, California. Photos: Radically Cool Images of the Black Panther Revolution in Progress, Rian Dundon, 20 Sept. 2016, timeline.com/photos-black-panther-chic-bb8c6695b719. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.","Image of The Black Panthers at their state capitol. THE REVOLUTIONARY LEGACY OF THE BLACK PANTHERS, David Bliven and Alan Maass, 3 Nov. 2016, socialistworker.org/2016/11/03/revolutionary-legacy-of-the-black-panthers. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.","Image of The Black Panthers, several having clenched fists raised in the air. The Most Important Legacy of The Black Panthers, Brandon Harris, 5 Sept. 2015, www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-most-important-legacy-of-the-black-panthers Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.","J. Edgar Hoover, “The FBI Sets Goals for COINTELPRO,” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/814. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.","Miyamoto, Nobuko. “How the Asian American Movement Learned a Lesson IN Liberation from the Black PANTHERS - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment.” Densho, 12 July 2021, densho.org/asian-american-movement-learned-lesson-in-liberation-from-black-panthers/. Accessed 31 July 2021.","Morgan, Thad. “The NRA Supported Gun Control When the Black Panthers Had the Weapons.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 Mar. 2018, www.history.com/news/black-panthers-gun-control-nra-support-mulford-act Accessed 31 July 2021.","“The Black Panther Party.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/black-power/black-panthers#bpintro","Zellner, Dorothy. Image of the black panther. The Black Panther Symbol An Email Discussion May-June, 2006, 2006, www.crmvet.org/disc/panther.htm Accessed 3 Mar. 2021."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":51,"pub_key":152,"title":"The Experience of Being a BIPOC Artist in the Dance Industry","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Michaela Capulong                                            Edited by Eeman Aleem and Elie-Williamson Diaz","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleem and Elie-Williamson Diaz","date":"2021-08-18","content":"Classical ballet is universally regarded as a glamorous art form, the spectacles and individuals performing the movements themselves possessing a quality of elegance and purity. However, what lies beneath the surface in the industry of classical ballet is entirely less glamorous than its global repute from an outsider’s perspective.\nClassical ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance as a form of court dance. Over the past centuries, what was once merely an entertainment for royalty evolved into a full-blown art form, bridging the gap between athleticism and artistry. Ballet soon took all of Europe by storm, and eventually the United States as well. In the twenty-first century, the industry itself remains stuck in its ways, clinging tightly to antiquated, eurocentric values and slow to change.\nFrom someone immersed in the industry for the majority of my life, I am no stranger to the racism prevalent in the dance world. My parents enrolled me in weekly “dance” classes (which consisted mostly of running around with wands and tiaras than actual dancing) at my local mom and pop’s studio, unaware that I would become so deeply involved with classical dance and that it would eventually consume my entire life. I grew up at a predominantly white studio, being one of the only BIPOC dancers in my immediate circle. While I was not overtly ostracized or subject to discrimination at my home studio, the racial barriers became more apparent as soon as I entered the professional realm of dance.\nThe field of classical ballet has a ways to go when it comes to how they approach racial identity. As a maturing dancer, I began to notice an unwarranted amount of attention as soon as I crossed the threshold of recreational, juvenile dancer to a serious, professional-minded dancer—attention which had little to do with my actual ability level or style. Instead, I attracted attention because I am ethnically ambiguous, and possessed “international appeal.” Coming from Filipino and Chinese descent on my father’s side and Irish descent on my mother’s side, I was the perfect fit for the slow-to-change dance world. Diverse enough for ballet companies to have the semblance of being inclusive, but not too diverse, as if such a concept exists.\nMany companies, especially since the Black Lives Matter reckonings in the middle of 2020, have made numerous (performative) claims that they wholeheartedly support diversity within the industry, and deny that they are guilty of racist and discriminatory attitudes towards BIPOC dancers. But with BIPOC dancers rarely given the opportunity to perform leading roles in comparison to their plentiful white counterparts, the exploitation of BIPOC dancers for companies to appear significantly more diverse than they are can not at all be classified as genuine representation, but another case of tokenization.\nWhile ethnically ambiguous and mixed individuals are generally fetishized in the dance industry and in the world, the majority of Black ballerinas are met with more blatant discrimination. At young ages, many aspiring Black ballet dancers are often discouraged from pursuing classical dance altogether, and pointed in the direction of alternative dance styles. To put it plainly, ballet—being an art form so wrapped up in visual aesthetics and archaic European beauty standards—falls short when it comes to inclusivity because so many high ranking individuals and pioneers in the industry adhere to the elitist belief that ballet is a white art form. The Bolshoi Ballet of Russia, one of the oldest and most famous companies in the entire world, has zero Black dancers in a company containing 218 members. In fact, there are very few companies in the entirety of Europe which have more than four black dancers.\nFor the Black dancers that manage to achieve positions in professional companies despite the deep-rooted racial biases in the industry, the experience in the actual company is an entirely different battle. The first Black female dancer in Staatsballett Berlin, Chloé Lopes Gomes, opened up about how she experienced harassment and abuse from a certain faculty member in her company that was racially targeted. In Staatsballet’s production of Swan Lake, she was forced to conceal her natural complexion and skin color with white makeup as a means of “blending in” with her white counterparts. She was repeatedly ostracized and treated as an inferior by her teachers, being told that the color of her skin made her stand out like a sore thumb in a sea of white ballet dancers, and that was unacceptable.\nThis occurrence is not an anomaly for Black dancers in the industry.\nClassical ballet is an art form that I truly love, but its origins, as racist and elitist as they are, cannot be ignored. Many companies claim to be diverse, but their so-called representation is not genuine. Many venerable, well-respected pioneers of the dance industry still cannot accept that Black dancers are equally equipped to dance in major roles in major companies, and few are speaking out about their unacceptable treatment towards the few Black dancers that make it in the industry.\nIn order for the industry to make the necessary changes to embark on a trajectory towards genuine inclusivity, those within it need to acknowledge that ballet is not as wholesome and pure as many assume it to be. The deep-rooted racism in the industry surrounding ballet can no longer be overlooked.\nWork Sited\nMarsh, Olivia Goldhill and Sarah. “Where Are the Black Ballet Dancers?” The Guardian, 4 Sept. 2012\nhttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/sep/04/black-ballet-dancer\nAn Open Letter to the Ballet Community | Arts | The Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/6/22/an-open-letter-to-the-ballet-community/\nAccessed 26 July 2021.\n“Berlin: Staatsballett’s First Black Female Dancer Accuses It of Racism.” The Guardian, 9 Dec. 2020, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/09/berlin-staatsballetts-first-black-female-dancer-accuses-it-of-racism.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theexperienceofbeingabipocartistinthedanceindustry152.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":92,"pub_key":153,"title":"The Kids Are Alright: In Defense of Hannah","subtitle":"A Rebuttal to Cathren Housley & Dr. B","credit":"Written by: Newton Brophy","editor":"Edited By: Anna Kwan","date":"2021-08-22","content":"Earlier this week, for the first time in years, I read some of Motif, a local arts and entertainment magazine in my home state, distinguished by its very “alternative” sensibility. As a gay teenager, I’d sit in Caserta’s and flip through its pages, poring over the political commentary and theatre reviews while I waited for my parents to return to the table with pizza. The magazine was a staple of my adolescence.\nSo you can imagine how taken aback I was by\nCathren Housley’s column on June 7th, “Heavy-Handed.”\nActually, “taken aback” is a really diplomatic and sanitized way to put it.\nI was fucking pissed.\nEverything in the post disgusted me, from the judgement of the reader, to the dismissiveness of Dr. B, to the outright vitriol of Housley herself, all laser-focused on one teenage girl.\nI’ve taught theatre in Florida and wilderness survival in California. I’ve taken kids under my wing at homophobic synagogues and especially discomfiting family gatherings. This very publication, Detester, is run by marginalized youth, from teenagers in high school to young adults at college and university. I’d think someone like Housley, who runs\nchildren’s workshops with Providence Community Libraries\nwould understand just as well as I do how maligned and underestimated kids are, particularly teenagers.\nAnd here’s the crossroads -- and crux -- of this piece, and what I want to say: The answers provided to “Stable Mom” -- its own piece of condescension, but we’ll get there -- were unequivocally wrong, and absolutely inappropriate. When I first read “Heavy-Handed”, I wanted to write directly to Motif and castigate the lot. And honestly, there will probably still be a fair bit of shaming here! But instead of just giving into the very powerful temptation to pen a straight-up hit piece, I want to also provide what the answers should have been, because what’s most important -- and what got lost here -- is the subject: Hannah.\nA Motif reader\nwrites\nthat her daughter, Hannah, criticized (“got on her high horse” toward) another teen for wearing a hamsa, under the impression that it was cultural appropriation by a white gentile. Hannah’s mother, upon telling her that she was incorrect, insisted that Hannah apologize for her perceived rudeness. Hannah refused. This mother is also concerned about her daughter’s (recent?) interest in Palestine, describing this focus as being “on a rant.” She states that as an American, Hannah is unfairly “[sitting] in judgement,” given our nation’s own history of ethnic cleansing. She requests help, feeling that she needs to have some sort of intervention with her daughter; “she honestly believes she’s on the side of justice with these opinions.” She signs off by calling herself, \"Stable Mom,\" the cherry on top of an already sanctimonious letter.\nThat’s more than enough to unpack on its own. Before I do that, let me present, in their entirety,\nthe answers that were provided:\n\"Dr. B says: This is a big question that could be approached from more than one angle. For the purpose of the conversation with your daughter, I would point out that she is in high school for a reason. Teachers stress the importance of sourcing information for a paper, and this matters in the real world too. The opinions expressed without reliable references and sources can have volatile world consequences and do more damage than good. Many of the problems in America right now stem from information bombardment that lacks accuracy or truth.\nPeople are dying from the conflicts these inaccuracies cause – mass shootings, a storming of the Capitol and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories are just a few. Ask your daughter if she wants to be part of the problem, or part of the solution. High school might be more meaningful if she can see that the information skills she is getting really matter.\nIf she wants to see some examples of reliable news sources, direct her to NPR radio broadcasts and educational reference sources such as Google Scholar. And this quip I saw the other day is something else to consider ­– “If you can be offended, you can also be manipulated.” Emotion isn’t data.\nC says: Here’s something you might say to your daughter in regard to cultural appropriation – she is guilty herself of appropriation. She is assuming the role of a wise and informed adult who is in a position to intelligently judge others, when in fact, she is just another emotionally immature adolescent who mouths off without really knowing what she is talking about because she has jumped onto someone else’s bandwagon. If Hannah had bothered to Google search the actual origin of the Hamsa, she would have known better. She probably got her story from Facebook, which is not exactly a source known for its unbiased accuracy.\nHannah probably won’t listen to you because you are, after all, just her stupid mother and she is, after all, a fully mature adult who is wise and informed and capable of judging others. At least she thinks so. Therefore, why don’t you tell her that I, an impartial stranger who has over 50 years of experience on her, has a message: You, Hannah, have made yourself the fool in this equation. What a truly mature, wise, and well-informed adult does after discovering they have made a mistake and insulted someone else out of ignorance is APOLOGIZE. Get with the program, kid. Do your research, or next time – keep your mouth shut.\"\nI'm going to begin by, as briefly as possible, summing up the key problem with these answers;you should not be taking parenting advice from someone who has contempt for your child.\nAs a general rule of thumb, you should not be taking parenting advice from anyone who has contempt for teenagers overall, which Cathren Housley in particular has demonstrated that she certainly does. This isn't a charge I make flippantly. Her response is so wildly out of pocket that her disdain and projection is transparent. As a side note, I'd also disqualify anyone from dispensing advice on teens when they believe that this generation's social media of choice is Facebook. Dr. B isn't guiltless either, though he is milder in his dismissal. Both he and Housley confidently -- and incorrectly -- diagnose the problem as being the hubris of youth.\nLet me start with the\ninitial letter so that I can address what I believe is happening, and from there, how you, \"Stable Mom,\" should proceed.\nSome quick notes: neither you nor Hannah are completely incorrect regarding the hamsa. While, yes, the hamsa is not unique to Judaism -- the \"Hand of Miryam,\" as it's sometimes called by Jews, is also referred to as the \"Hand of Fatima\" in Islam -- it's not actually as common in Christianity as a whole; it depends on the region and denomination. Levantine and Coptic Christians are probably far more likely to wear hamsas than a Southern Baptist or a Protestant in New England, although obviously religions aren't monoliths, particularly ethnoreligions. And the hamsa is far, far older than \"Middle Ages superstition.\"\nWhy does the above pedantry matter? Because it establishes that you might know just as much or little about this symbol as your daughter does. And that's okay! The stupid hamsa isn't the point! But it's important to establish both that this subject is nuanced and that there's just as much of a probability that both of you are talking out of your asses.\nAnd again, there's nothing wrong with that!\nThe question of what can be \"owned\" by cultures (and subsequently stolen by others) is a messy one. It can be both true that this classmate belongs to a culture that uses this symbol, and that this classmate is wearing it because it looks \"New Age,\" with little understanding of its spiritual importance.\nI'm harping on this specifically because it's important for you to recognize and acknowledge that even though you're an adult, you can still get things wrong. That's nothing to be embarrassed about. Hannah's biggest crime here is maybe overzealousness and uncharitable assumptions about someone… something you're also guilty of when you write about your daughter being \"on a rant\" or \"on a high horse\", or when you set yourself in contrast to her by calling yourself \"stable\" in opposition to whatever behavior of hers you find questionable. Adulthood is not neutrality, neutrality is not inherently truth, and age is not inherently wisdom or maturity.\nMoving on to Palestine. I'm going to gently suggest that if you \"just found out\" what the National Parks service did to Indigenous people, then perhaps you should look into what our government is currently\ndoing to Native Americans, including our local Narragansett and Wampanoag tribes. It seems that's what Hannah is doing; international solidarity with Palestine is by necessity an anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist movement. It requires thinking from a global framework about how the struggles of occupied Palestinians, occupied Black Americans, occupied Native Americans and Indigenous peoples, occupied Irish people, and more are all connected, and all in opposition against the same mechanisms. Hannah is likely not just \"sitting in judgement\" as an American; she's probably correctly identifying that the horrors perpetrated against Palestinians are the same horrors being perpetrated in the streets she walks down.\nYou do not reach these conclusions without thinking them through; it takes effort\nin this country to understand that Israel is engaging in ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. As a digression, the United States is one of the biggest funders of the Israeli occupation, so her interest in what our taxes fund is in no way swerving out of her lane.\nAll this is to say: I'm almost positive she knows more about Palestine than you do.\nThis is not me insulting you. This is not an insult at all. Acknowledging that another human being may have a deeper understanding of a particular subject is not a slight on our own intelligence. The core problem I want to address in your letter is the very real probability that you would\nbe insulted by the idea that Hannah knows more about this than you do.\nSometimes children know more about things than their parents. What parent hasn't had their daughter correct a tour guide at the Smithsonian? I guarantee that you can't name as many dinosaurs as my seven-year-old cousin. My friend Fiona was the best Egyptologist in Rhode Island at the ripe old age of eight. For me, it was Titanic.\nOur kids are absolutely capable of knowing more about certain topics than we do. Part of being an effective teacher and parent is having enough humility to not feel threatened by that. The reason why this idea unnerves many adults is because of the implicit understanding that children are lesser than we are.\nDisabuse yourself of this notion.\nIn any case, even if I'm mistaken, even if Hannah reached the correct conclusions by luck and not diligence, that does not justify the derision with which you speak of them. Sometimes it's not about who's right.\nDo you remember being a teenager?\nDo you remember how high stakes everything was? Rejection from peers or family? The discomfort of your own body, the estrangement from your own reflection? The fear of being a bad -- or worse, unlovable -- person? The paralysis that comes with it? Do you remember how the world made you angry, how its nonsense made you confused, and how its sheerness made you vulnerable? Every emotion in high definition, every crisis the first of its kind, with little to no experience to reassure you that life goes on after disaster?\nThat level of hyperawareness, like living in a panopticon, bloats mundane trials with undue significance. Imagine what that bigness does to actual world-shattering issues.\nDo you remember the first time you grasped that the government is hurting people, with intention, with malice? Do you remember the first time, as a teenager, you realized that horrible things were happening? Do you remember when you spoke up about it and an adult treated you like a fool for giving a shit?\nIt's already hard enough to be a teenager. But when the world is literally ending somewhere (everywhere)? All that misery in sharpened focus, which for adults is already overwhelming and debilitating, is emotionally catastrophic for kids.\nImagine how your daughter is feeling, reading about Palestine, reading about anything adjacent. You're shocked and put off by her anger. Maybe she needs you to listen to her. Really listen. Ask her about these social issues she seems to be passionate about. Ask her more questions. Let her teach you. Ask how she feels about it. Ask how she's doing with all of that in her head. Ask what action she wants to take. Ask how you can help her do it.\nYou must on some level be proud of your daughter, for caring so much about others. It's that instinct of care that fuels her investment in these conversations. That is an instinct that should be nurtured, not bullied out of her because of how it will annoy others. And there will be plenty of bullies. Don't be fooled, trying to knock this out of her will not make her more resilient; trauma is increasingly proven to make us less resilient, like hairline cracks in vases.\nYou're not helping her by writing to a publication and asking other adults to publicly ridicule her. The adults who wrote back aren't helping by claiming that self-righteous high-schoolers are functionally as dangerous as adults who believe in Jewish conspiracies and storm the Capitol. They're not helping by mocking her, or by telling her to sit down and shut the fuck up. You're not helping yourself or your relationship with your daughter by participating in the myth that teenagers are vapid and uncomprehending of nuance.\nWhy does this matter?\nBecause your daughter is a young woman, and this will not be her first encounter with ageism. I can tell you from experience working with people who have a good several decades on me that, even as a 26-year-old, I have still experienced heinous treatment from older men and women who believed that their age gave them expertise that equaled or exceeded my degree. You want to set her up for success? Don't be her first bully.\nCan teens be annoying sometimes? They sure fucking can, just like we all can. But for all their faults, teenagers are kids, and treating them cruelly is as abhorrent as it is pointless and antithetical, especially during one of the most harrowing periods of their lives, when they are already perhaps the most sensitive to how they'll be perceived. Humble yourself and ask more questions. Be curious about her and where she's coming from. Acknowledge that she's coming from somewhere.\nAnd stop surrounding yourself with adults that have scorn for youth. That's its own echo chamber.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thekidsarealrightindefenseofhannah153.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":82,"pub_key":154,"title":"Dear College Board","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Maya Henry","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleem and Joyce Huang","date":"2021-08-28","content":"It’s 1:06 am on a Monday in March and I am frantically\ntrying to recall the names of the processes that accompany\nfermentation not found in glycolysis.\nI haven’t left my room in three hours because a break is a\nroyalty I do not have the right to indulge myself in. After\nall, when going through my study guides, I couldn’t remember\nthat indulgences were what Martin Luther was so enraged\nabout. I devote chunks of my day to studying, but I don’t\nthink any amount of Crash Course or released FRQs from 2018\ncan save me. As I write this, my worn prep book sits next\nto me, and a to-do list smothered with ink and red\nexclamation points begs me to study for just another hour.\nPerhaps there is no perfect anecdotal hook for an essay\nwritten about an organization that made a net profit of\nmore than\n$65.5 million in 2010 by selling tests, prep\nresources, and classes relating to compositional English:\nCollegeBoard.\nThe infamous non-profit is a household nightmare for high\nschool students as it is the company attached to the PSAT,\nSAT, ACT, and AP Exams. However, CollegeBoard has not just\nearned a bad reputation for its infamously challenging exams.\nSince the organization was founded in 1899, it has implemented\nvarious eyebrow-raising policies and upheld tests and testing\nprocedures rooted in inequality.\nThe U.S experienced a wave of mass migration in the early\n1900s, leaving many White U.S citizens worried that their\njobs were at stake. Falling back on Social Darwinist\ntheologies and eugenics, Carl Brigham wrote and\npublished A Study of American Intelligence, a book that\nargued that what we now know as standardized tests were the\nbest way to categorize immigrants and ensure that White\ncitizens’ jobs were not given to more qualified migrants.\nFollowing the 1923 publishing of Brigham’s work that warned\nof the “promiscuous intermingling” of those arriving in\nthe U.S and White U.S citizens in the workforce,\nCollegeBoard commissioned Brigham to develop the SAT.\nSince the SAT was first put into the hands of school\nsystems in 1926, it has been rewritten, rebranded, and\nthe idea that it is a complete intelligence score has been\nscrubbed. However, such changes do not replace the fact that\nthe test was initially established less than a century ago\nto provide a reason for excluding immigrants, neurodivergent\npeople, and people of color from the U.S workplace.\nAnd still today, the blatant disparities between White\nand wealthy students taking AP, SAT, and ACT tests versus\ntheir less socioeconomically privileged counterparts are\npresent. As of 2021, AP Exams cost $95 per test, and the\nSAT costs either $52 or $68, depending on the inclusion of\nan essay in the exam. Such fees do not include the prep\nbooks, textbooks, and tutoring that are often crucial to\nsucceeding on such tests.\nWhile some high schools cover the cost of AP Exams, and\nthough one-time fee waivers for the SAT and ACT are\noffered to students who meet certain income criteria, even\nbeing able to register to take CollegeBoard tests once is a\nluxury dependent on disposable income that many don’t have.\nWith the option to retake the SAT and ACT as many\ntimes as available to boost one’s score, the students who\ncan spend hundreds of dollars during exam season are set up\nfor success. Those who can only afford to take the SAT once\nor prep for AP Exams with no outside resources can not.\nYet, it is impossible to separate the College Board from\nthe educational foundations that allow the company’s grip\non students to remain so tight; if CollegeBoard and\nsocioeconomic disparities were the email recipient of\nthis article, the American school system would be CC’d.\nIt’s no secret that the race for coveted spots at top\nuniversities has exponentially taken over students’ lives\nstarting long before their junior and senior years in high\nschool. With countless four-year universities seeing more\nthan a 17% increase in applications for the 2020-2021\napplication session, the pressure high school students\nface to do everything in their power to strengthen their\ncollege applications—including getting 4s and 5s on AP Exams\nand 1600s and 36s on the SAT and ACT despite some colleges\nno longer requiring the latter two tests—is only growing.\nAt an unpinnable point in time, the American education\nsystem has seemingly become less about learning and\npreparing students for adulthood and more about how many\nA’s can be stuffed on a report card,\nhow many volunteer hours packed in a weekend, and how\nmany glowing letters of recommendation sealed in\nenvelopes and shipped away. As colleges and CollegeBoard\nprofit off of students’ anguish, severe mental health issues\ncontinue to grow in popularity amongst the youth. In fact,\none in five high school students reported\nhaving experienced a serious mental health\ncondition between ninth and twelfth grade.\nSuch stress does not just lead to all-nighters and tear\nstains on math textbooks. As of 2014, suicide is the\nsecond-highest cause of death amongst teenagers, and more\nstudents and families are going down the route of\nextremities to ensure college acceptance. The latter\nis seen in the 50 parents indicted in Operation\nVarsity Blues for paying anywhere from $200,000 to\n$6.5 million to cheat parts of the college admissions exam,\nsuch as the SAT.\nSo where do we—as both student individuals and a\nbroken education system as a whole—go from here?\nUnfortunately, the answer can’t be found in a prep book,\nbut in the unbeknownst future.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/dearcollegeboard154.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":148,"pub_key":155,"title":"Implications of COVID-19 on India","subtitle":"","credit":"By: Unmani Tewari  Edited by Huiwen Chen","editor":"","date":"2021-09-05","content":"High income countries have secured more than half of the vaccine doses, despite representing only 14% of the population.\nWhile many US states lifted COVID-19 restrictions , India faced a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths . While you didn't\nneed to wear a mask, India was running out of space to keep dead bodies. While you can be out in the open, while you can\nbe vaccinated, remember, the pandemic isn’t over for everyone.\nAs an Indian I haven’t been able to go to school for a year and a half! As students we were stressed about board exams,\nthe possibility of them happening, the implications of them not happening, etc. We all have had to deal with shortage of\nvaccination, and shortage of oxygen tanks. We all had to deal with the stress and anxiety of a close one suffering Covid-19\nand many of us had to deal with a loved one passing away. This was all while the media showed how the first world is healing,\nthat everyone can get vaccinated, that everything is opening.\nThrough this piece I wanted to show how all ages are suffering. And how all of India is suffering with the flag in the background.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/implicationsofcovid19onindia155.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":126,"pub_key":156,"title":"What it Takes to #StopTheShock: The Unseen Crusade of Disability Against \"Treatment\"","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by  Suzanna Chen                                              Edited by Harvi Karatha and Anna Kwan","editor":"Edited By: Harvi Karatha and Anna Kwan","date":"2021-10-01","content":"“With the treatment, [our residents] can continue to participate in enriching experiences, enjoy visits with their families and, most importantly, live in safety and freedom from self-injurious and aggressive behaviours,” stated Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC)’s representatives at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in early July.\nSounds terrific, right?\nIt doesn’t help that the self-proclaimed “treatment centre” for students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities also boasts a charming appearance as a facility—residents wear proper uniforms and live in embellished houses (with carpets that feel “five inches thick”) instead of institutional dorms.\nAlthough the centre’s architectural design can reportedly clash with many of its students’ sensory needs to the point of physical pain (but, of course, disabled needs matter less than comfortable carpets for everyone else).\nFor many, the combination of JRC's attractive presentation and society’s deep-rooted culture of ableism is enough to undermine the fact that this is an institution condemned by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and described by its own state agency for people with developmental disabilities as “inhumane beyond all reason.”\nJRC: A Scientific Endeavour\nIn a quiet suburb just south of Boston, Massachusetts, JRC stands as a quaint, red-brick building. Its welcoming roadside sign is adorned with colourful “bubble font” letters and the “circle-and-lines” drawing of the sun that children worldwide share as a collective memory. Every external aspect of the place emits normalcy and a childish (infantilizing)\ninnocence, so it is not surprising that many spectators of its controversy will later remark on how they had driven past the now notorious facility without a second thought.\nTo understand the jarring juxtaposition between JRC’s appearance and its internal horrors, we need to know a bit about its history and a man named Matthew Israel.\nFormerly known as Behaviour Research Institute (BRI), JRC was founded in 1971 by Israel—a Harvard graduate and pupil of B.F. Skinner, whose pioneering work epitomized the field of behaviourist psychology (or behaviouralism). In essence, this branch of psychology builds on the theory that all behaviours are learned through our reactions to external events and thus can be altered by purposeful exposures to positive or negative stimuli—rewards and punishments.\nIsrael had been so enthralled by Skinner’s teachings that he established BRI/JRC to materialize the behaviourist utopia described in his mentor’s novel “Walden II”—a controversial motive in itself, as he is essentially experimenting on institutionalized disabled people to fulfil his fantasy. While his goal is to promote practical usages of behaviourism, Israel might be more successful in convincing us that while with notable strengths and contributions to psychology, behaviourist ideals can become problematic upon inappropriate applications.\nSpecifically, when using rewards and punishments to modify behaviour, the degree to which each of the two is applied critically determines whether an approach transpires as “treatment” or torture.\nThe Shocking\nScandal\nSeeing as the issue of disability discrimination is often neglected, many of you probably didn’t recognize the name “JRC” nor were aware of its controversies before this article. However, it may ring a bell if I mention something the centre is known for almost synonymously: shocking disabled students with electricity.\nNo. I am not referring to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which is a scientifically approved and consensual treatment for certain mental illnesses administered on a patient after they are sedated. In contrast, JRC shocks students who are fully conscious and without their personal consent (while parents are authorized to decide for those underage, JRC rarely fulfils their duty of disclosing the full extent of their “treatment” before obtaining signatures).\nJRC’s electrifying\nversion of behaviour modification is characterized by a profitable patent invented and manufactured in-house by Israel: the graduated electronic decelerator (GED). It consists of electrodes attached directly to the skin of various body parts and a 12-volt battery worn over the student’s shoulders, which are both connected to a remote control held by staff who can deliver shocks instantaneously upon any “undesirable behaviours.” (Activists have aptly called the device “a human dog shock collar in the form of a backpack.”)\nWhile JRC and Israel outwardly claim that shocks are only administered “as a treatment of last resort, and its recipients are at risk of grievous bodily harm, or even death, without it,” survivors and their families tell a different story.\nI will leave it up to you to decide whether the following “undesirable behaviours” that former students were shocked for deserve this “life-saving intervention”:\nWrapping a foot around a chair’s leg\nStopping work for more than ten seconds,\nClosing the eyes for more than five seconds,\nNot waking up quick enough,\nUsing the washroom without permission (which JRC pretentiously calls “inappropriate urination”),\nUrinating on oneself after not being allowed to use the bathroom,\nScreaming while being shocked.\nHere is the worst part about the shocks: they are extremely painful\nAround the 1990s was when JRC started using GED. The original model (GED-1) was intentionally designed to be ten times more potent than police tasers—30 versus 3 to 4 milliamps (mA). Despite already being contentious, the United States Food and Drug Association (FDA) briefly approved the device (this version only) to prevent extreme cases of self-harm.\nHowever, Israel, being the experimental scientist he is, quickly found that GED-1’s efficacy was declining in some of his “lab rats\" and developed “much more effective” versions of the device. GED-3a and the current version, GED-4, can release shocks up to 90 mA—about two times past the pain threshold of most adults. Even aside from pain, independent experts involved in lawsuits against JRC have also found that the GED can also be responsible for neuropathy, psychological trauma, and third-degree burns.\nUnfortunately, the general public only became aware of the extent (and existence) of these shocks in April 2012 upon seeing footage of Andre McCollins—a young man of colour who was seen letting out guttural screams while being repeatedly shocked in restraints. Although the video horrified and enraged many, united public opposition against JRC dissipated as quickly as it arose: leaving disability advocates frustrated and, once again, alone in their decades-long battle against blatant oppression.\nOne would think that relevant government agencies would instantly take action upon public denouncements and traumatic evidence, but it wasn’t until 2016, after about two decades of silent suffering by those confined in JRC, that FDA officials announced a proposed ban on any version of the GED.\nThe proposal, then, took another two years to practicalize, only to be overturned barely a year later by the JRC’s appeal up to a federal Court of the D.C. Circuit—ending with the decision that banning the device is a regulation of medical practice, which is beyond the FDA’s authority.\nIf #StopTheShock showed up on your social media feeds over the past few weeks, it has been the lonely effort of disability advocates to protest against the court’s decision to retract the ban as well as the usage of electrocution as “treatment” and the closure of JRC in general.\nTip of the Iceberg\nAny scarce public representation of JRC’s controversy is almost always exclusively about the shocks with the empty aim of attracting audiences, neglecting how electrocution, as inhumane as it is, barely scratches the surface of JRC’s horror.\nPart of why electric shocks were integrated into its program was to replace some manual penalties that were the norm at JRC such as spankings, pinches, and deep muscle squeezes. While many assume that all similar methods were discontinued, JRC’s residents are reportedly still subjected to equally painful punishments like prolonged restraint, sensory deprivation, forced inhalation of ammonia, and starvation—often co-occurring with the shocks.\nAccording to the National Centre for Education Statistics, of JRC’s total student body during the 2015 to 2016 school year, 87.4% are people of colour and 81.5% are Black or Latinx.\nAs if to further demonstrate the intersecting nature of ableism and racism, JRC also has a reputation of sacrificing its low-paid line workers—primarily immigrants of colour—under the wrath of law; they are often the only ones prosecuted for the physical abuse present at JRC (but not the shocks, which have never been tried in court) while white officials remain free from consequence.\nIf you are wondering how such evident atrocities and discrimination managed to remain unchallenged in a society characterized by civil engagement in social justice, you fail to understand how the said society builds upon an ableist mission to ameliorate (if not annihilate) its “inferior” populations—but never to accommodate or incorporate.\nInstitutionalization: Mission Accomplished\nWe have a long history of confining people deemed abnormal, scary, and subversive in “treatment” or “correctional” institutions—examples include residential schools, group homes, mental asylums, and prisons. Therefore, there is inherently no difference between any kind of institution, whether it is a “treatment centre” of disabled people or a prison.\nPerhaps what contributed to our widespread usage of institutionalization is that it is easier to criminalize and lock people away than doing what’s necessary to ensure societal integration. However, it is also indisputable that the general public holds inherently ableist beliefs—which, unfortunately, seem to apply more to disabled people than other minorities—that allow these facilities to operate and thrive.\nTake an incident at another Massachusetts institutional school in the mid-20th-century for example. While you are most likely willing to acknowledge the gruesome history of Indigenous residential schools—which is undoubtedly essential—did it ever reach your ears that disabled children at the Fernald School were fed radioactive Quaker Oats without their knowledge as part of a “medical experiment”?\nIt has become so easy for us to overlook abhorrent abuse due to an instinctive belief in disabled people’s incompetence, inferiority, unpredictability, and aggression—all of which are compounded for disabled people with other marginalized identities.\nIn the case of JRC, society readily accepts the school’s advertisement of “treatment” to dismiss its own fear, revulsion, pity, and hatred towards the disabled community. Unfortunately, these beliefs also permeate our entire system: state agencies, courts, the federal government, and “charities” for disabled people (such as Autism Speaks) either refused to stand against JRC or actively protected it.\nSo, what should we do?\nOn the broadest level, we need to call for the diversion of resources away from institutional facilities and ableist “treatment” practices and the prioritization of actual community integration and self-determination methods as proposed by the disabled people themselves.\nHowever, as individuals, we should try to achieve the following: acknowledge the discriminatory attitudes against disabilities we unknowingly hold due to environmental influence, not flinch and look down the next time someone in a wheelchair enters the room, avoid staring at a child having an Autistic meltdown, and give the disabled community the attention they deserve as equally competent people.\nIn the end, what it will take to #StopTheShock is our commitment, as both allies and disabled warriors, to end the unseen crusade of disability against “treatment.”\nAction Items to #StopTheShock\n-Urge your respective members of Congress to pass the\nKeeping All Students Safe Act\n(KASSA)—which bans nearly all types of restraint and all types of seclusion across the U.S.—via Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN)’s email campaign\n-\nSend a letter in support of Massachusetts Bill H.225\n—which would ban “aversives” like shock torture in Massachusetts—via The Action Network.\n-Explore and use\nAuteach’s outreach email template and contact list of discriminatory organizations\n-Check out @StopTheShock —a resource list compiled by the disabled community) for comprehensive and up-to-date information about JRC\n- Visit our guide of resources and action items","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/whatittakestostoptheshocktheunseencrusadeofdisabilityagainsttreatment156.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Gonnerman, J. “31 Shocks Later-The Rotenberg Center's Controversial Behavior-Modification Program.” New York Magazine, 31 Aug. 2012, https://nymag.com/news/features/andre-mccollins-rotenberg-center-2012-9/","McFadden, C., Monahan, K., and Kaplan, A. “A Decades-Long Fight over an Electric Shock Treatment Led to an FDA Ban. But the Fight is Far from Over.” NBC News, 28 Apr. 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/decades-long-fight-over-electric-shock-treatment-led-fda-ban-n1265546","McLeod, S. A. “Behaviorist approach.” Simply Psychology, 5, Feb 2017, https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html Neumeier, Shain M., and Lydia X. Brown. “Torture in the Name of Treatment: The Mission to Stop the Shocks in the Age of Deinstitutionalization.” Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement, 2019, pp. 195–210., doi:10.1007/978-981-13-8437-0_14.","Pierson, B. “D.C. Circuit Overturns FDA Ban on Shock Device for Disabled Students” Reuters, 7, July 2021, https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/dc-circuit-overturns-fda-ban-shock-device-disabled-students-2021-07-06/","X. Z. Brown, Lydia. “Bearing Witness, Demanding Freedom: Judge Rotenberg Center Living Archive.” Autistic Hoya,15 July 2021, https://autistichoya.net/judge-rotenberg-center/#background","“Graduated Electronic Decelerator.” Wikipedia , 24 July. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduated_electronic_decelerator","“JUDGE ROTENBERG CENTER: A HISTORY OF TORTURE.” National ADAPT, n.d., https://nationaladapt.org/jrc/"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":98,"pub_key":157,"title":"Let’s Chat About Redlining and Environmental Racism","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by  Anushka Sonawala\n           \n                        \n           Edited by Kenny Tung","editor":"Edited By: Kenny Tung","date":"2021-10-06","content":"An issue at the crossroads of racial segregation and climate change is environmental\nracism and redlining. Redlining is the prejudiced immoral practice that rejects services for\ntargeted groups of residents in neighborhoods especially on the basis of ethnicity and race.\nRedlining proves to be a bigoted practice because it dismisses an individual’s qualifications\nto receive amenities. By denying black families housing in their preferred areas of residence,\nthe real estate industry and the government are allowing systematic racism to thrive. Black\npeople are\nconfined to specific areas and aren’t granted home loans outside of them.\nHowever, redlining isn’t a recently introduced scheme. It dates back to the US government’s systems in the 1930s that encouraged racial segregation and xenophobia. The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation printed maps and marked neighborhoods that they considered “perilous” or “threatening” in red. Yet, these hazard levels were determined by the population of Black people living in those vicinities. Evidently, this practice has sustained itself to date despite the implementation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Due to the normalization of institutionalized racism in the US,\nthe outlawed practice still continues – and its effects are worsening.\nStudies have found that neighborhoods that were redlined were also facing considerably high temperatures as compared to other unmarked neighborhoods. Particularly, a study conducted amongst 108 urban areas by the Science Museum of Virginia and the Portland State University showed that almost every redlined neighborhood of the cities surveyed were noticeably hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods. Previously redlined and segregated districts seem to have fewer natural spaces and less access to parks. As such, these redlined areas serve as urban heat islands due to the excess of heat-absorbing materials like concrete and lack of greenery.\nAn increase in heat levels can lead to lower mortality rates and health issues, but the inherent racism that is also entrenched in healthcare systems makes medical aid a challenge. Moreover, communities that are redlined are disproportionately affected especially during climate crises such as the unexpected Texas snowstorm of February of 2021. Food deserts, a lack of provisions, proximity to pollutant-producing factories, and climatic inconsistencies make neighborhoods that face severe environmental racism unprepared for unprecedented calamities. These communities are inopportunely predisposed to intense and long-lasting distress, and cannot receive adequate aid relief because of discriminatory policies.\nUnfortunately, environmental racism and redlining affect Black and Brown people of all income backgrounds. Middle-class Black people may also be susceptible to real estate racism even if they match all required qualifications for services and housing. The embedded racist behaviorisms in these neighborhoods also kindle over-policing in both redlined and non-redlined areas. Racial profiling, stereotyping, and wrongful accusations increase the chances of police brutality and unsubstantiated criminalization against people of color.\nCombined with climate change and pollution, the racial wealth gap, systemic inequity, and unfavorable living conditions put residents of redlined communities in an unfavorable situation. Hashtags and reposts on social media won’t save people of color from this condemnable system. Environmental racism and real estate racism need to be tackled at their roots. Discriminatory zoning laws need to be lifted, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 requires further enforcement and renewal, and the police need to be defunded so that a better budget allocation program can be instated. Climate change is a deeply threatening issue in itself, thus when racism is integrated with its adverse effects, people of color are pushed to the forefront of the battle – unequipped, vulnerable, and defenseless.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Anderson, Meg. \"Racist Housing Practices From The 1930s Linked To Hotter Neighborhoods Today.\" NPR.org, NPR, 14 Jan. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/01/14/795961381/racist-housing-practices-from-the-1930s-linked-to-hotter-neighborhoods-today.","Beech, Peter. \"What is Environmental Racism and How Can We Fight It?\" World Economic Forum, World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/what-is-environmental-racism-pollution-covid-systemic/.","Cusick, Daniel. \"Past Racist “Redlining” Practices Increased Climate Burden on Minority Neighborhoods.\" Scientific American, Scientific American, 21 Jan. 2020, www.scientificamerican.com/article/past-racist-redlining-practices-increased-climate-burden-on-minority-neighborhoods/.","Jan, Tracy. \"Redlining was banned 50 years ago. It’s still hurting minorities today.\" The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/.","McGrath, Matt. \"Global Heating: Study Shows Impact of 'climate Racism' in US.\" BBC News, BBC, 25 May 2021, www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57235904.","Natale, Jessica. \"So You Want To Talk About Redlining.\" @so.informed, So.Informed, 21 June 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CBsjW0jnXV0/."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":46,"pub_key":158,"title":"The Ethics and Entertainment of True Crime","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by  Danica Seto\n           \n                        \n           Edited by Eeman Aleem","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleem","date":"2021-10-09","content":"It’s evident that true crime is a well loved genre that fascinates many, but blindly engaging with it is to also ignore the very obvious ethical dilemma it poses.\nAmong household favorites like Crime Junkie and Tiger King, true crime has become a multi-media fascination that millions indulge in. Originating in the 1500s, the earliest records of the genre come from plays like Arden of Faversham. The domestic tragedy published in 1592 depicts the murder of Thomas Arden, taking artistic liberties with the real public scandal a few decades prior. Since then, true crime has fluctuated in popularity as high profile cases transition into newspaper headlines. Most true crime recognized today involves content where the details of a case are presented, then left for discussion and debate by the masses. From workers getting radiation poising (U.S. Radium Cooperation) to millionaires exposed for sex trafficking\n(Jeffrey Epstein), intrigued viewers have commented on a wide range of crimes.\nWhile the genre has existed long before modern technology, its mainstream appeal from the 20th to the 21st century has created the definitive label of American true crime. In Cold Blood written in 1966 by Truman Capote discusses the murder of the Clutter family. Similarly, Curt Gentry and\nVincent Buglionsi write about the Manson Murders in the infamous novel Helter Skelter.\nFollowing the coining of the term serial killer in the 1970s came the serial killer craze that unequivocally captured media attention. Crime historian Harold Schechter dubbed the period between 1970-1999 the “golden age of serial murder” when more than 80% of known serial killers in the U.S. were active. Case after case took the true crime community by storm with more books, shows, documentaries, blogs, etc. collecting the goriest of details for the most twisted tales.\nWhile countless Youtube channels, Reddit posts, Tiktok accounts, and other forums dedicated to true crime exist, none have been more successful than the classic podcast. Accessible and easily enjoyable, they’ve become the perfect platform for hosts to talk about cases—adding audio clips from interviews or other networks and sharing their own commentary—with those who are also interested. Crime Junkie, My Favorite Murder, and Up and Vanished are a few hits that are racking up hundreds of millions of monthly listeners.\nIn her dissertation “Identity and Ritual: The American Consumption of True Crime”, Rebecca Frost writes, “crime narratives act as restoration rituals within American culture, responding to events that have disrupted public feelings of safety and community.”\nIt often boils down to cases being treated as works of fiction rather than as tragedies. Most cannot truly envision themselves being victimised or involved in the same way as those who actually experienced the ordeal, the events appear as horror story woes that wrap up with a satisfying conclusion. A missing child found, a murderer sentenced, it may as well be a happy ending. The assurance that law enforcement did their job or that victims were respected is at times so overwhelming, comfort is put above the true nature of some cases.\nFor others, the horror is the appeal. There’s something to be said about listening to others' stories from a detached perspective. Someone without involvement but an observer of the known evidence; the information becomes all the more enticing.\nIn the decades of its existence, true crime has had immense sway over public opinion and almost always has the potential to do good. Some have led to corrective legal measures being taken, while others have served victims, those unjustly accused, or those otherwise wronged by the publicity at the time of the event. The broadening public awareness of a case can garner support for the Gofundmes of a victim's family, as well as other organizations that assist victims of crime.\nFor the community, the genre has become well known for its primarily female fanbase. In a study exploring true crime podcast audience, women made up 73% of listeners (Boling & Hull, 2018). Many, if not all, women have at some point experienced discomfort coming from a sexual nature (harrassment, assault, rape, etc.) The exposure to crimes like sexual violence rooted in the patriarchy, more often than not, gets overlooked or dismissed, resulting in a shared frustration that allows oneself to better\nconnect with those victimized because of the position men hold in society. For some,\nthere’s a cathartic release knowing that beyond victimhood, this person's story continues to be\ntold.\nIt’s evident that true crime is a well loved genre that fascinates many, but blindly engaging with it is to also ignore the very obvious ethical dilemma it poses. Time and time again, true crime is created in the interest of entertainment over that of subjective writing or portrayal, such that those who are creating the content are actively capitalizing off of real people and their traumatic experiences. Rather than giving a voice to those involved, a story is crafted that can be best sold to an audience of overeager listeners. Sensationalism sells, and it is a conspicuous fact when considering the most popular true crime stories are those of betrayal, brutality, and the most heinous of crimes being committed. A line is crossed when praising content where it is morally unacceptable to engage in with the goal of being entertained. For example, content that falsifies or exaggerates events, uses the full names of minors or those who wish to have their identities protected, unnecessarily focuses on explicit body horror or gore, etc.\nEvery case begins not with the events that occur, but at the person(s) in control of the narrative. Those responsible for sharing information have an astounding amount of power in the ways they, subconsciously or not, influence how a case is interpreted by their audience. Their own bias at play can be heavily disingenuous to the reality of a situation. Considering a majority of authors, directors, or podcasts hosts don’t come from journalistic backgrounds, they tend to lack journalistic integrity where there aren’t as many standards for the quality of content they are putting into the eye of the public. Under-researched “reporting” becomes mistaken for fact while those involved in the real case are the ones to suffer.\nThe effect of unethical content has on victims, their families, and the community as a whole is largely understated. In the wake of personal tragedy, true crime media proves to repeatedly exploit grieving friends and family until all semblance of privacy is dismissed. Even decades after a case, those originally involved have to listen to the demands of strangers for more information and read countless remarks from people confident that they know every detail without ever actually being there.\nThe Serial podcast hosted by Sarak Koenig produced its first season in 2014 as a twelve part series about the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee. In a Reddit post responding to the massive amounts of public attention, her brother wrote, “To you listeners, its another murder mystery, crime drama, another episode of CSI. You weren't there to see your mom crying every night, having a heartattck when she got the new that the body was found, and going to court almost everyday for a year seeing your mom weeping,crying and fainting. You don't know what we went through. Especially to those who are demanding our family response and having a meetup... you guys are disgusting. SHame on you. I pray that you don't have to go through what we went through and have your story blasted to 5mil listeners.”\nTrue crime media at its worst is when it's used as an excuse to manipulate cases for the sole intent of entertainment value. And at its best, it can be an outlet to fulfill curiosity while maintaining a degree of respect. In her research paper “Ethics and True Crime: Setting a Standard for the Genre” Hazel Wright best puts the ethical goal as, “as much as reasonably possible, does the least amount of direct or indirect harm to the subjects and to readers.” As part of her study in understanding how concerned people are about the ethics of true crime, she uses six ethical concern categories as criteria: research (the quality and methods used), clarity (how comprehensible the material was), sensationalism (how over-the-top the material was), humanization (the tone and language about the materials subjects), glorification (how glorified the materials subjects were, specifically law enforcement and perpetrators), and awareness (how was awareness about issues that affected the crime raised).\nApplying these categories to true crime media would help viewers be aware of the ways they perceive information fed to them. Critiquing sources that aren’t credible, confronting those who share blatant misinformation, and distancing oneself from the idea that they are fully informed are examples of how this awareness can improve the content and reduce ignorant discourse being made. If the true crime community and its content creators were to bear in mind these categories, a healthier mindset about public cases could be brought about, whereas the individuals involved aren’t mere characters but real people who at the very least deserve empathy.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theethicsandentertainmentoftruecrime158.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Chestnut, Rachel. “Is True Crime as Entertainment Morally Defensible?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 June 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/learning/is-true-crime-as-entertainment-morally-defensible.html.","Ehrlich, Brenna. “Why Were There so Many Serial Killers between 1970 and 2000 -- and Where Did They Go?” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2021, www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/serial-killers-1970s-2000s-murders-1121705/.","Frost, Rebecca, \"IDENTITY AND RITUAL: THE AMERICAN CONSUMPTION OF TRUE CRIME\", Open Access Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, 2015. https://doi.org/10.37099/mtu.dc.etdr/17","Wright, Hazel, \"Ethics and True Crime: Setting a Standard for the Genre\" (2020). Book Publishing Final Research Paper. 51. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/eng_bookpubpaper/51"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":31,"pub_key":159,"title":"Deconstructing The \"13/50\" Argument","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by  Kennedy Kelis                                              Edited by Grace Bennet and Alice Lei","editor":"Edited By: Grace Bennet and Alice Lei","date":"2021-10-10","content":"The “13/50” argument is an overused and under-analyzed conservative talking point, one that unfortunately aids in perpetuating lies about the black community and in casting an unfounded presumption of guilt onto black people. The argument proposes that while black people make up only 13 percent of the population of the United States, we commit 50 percent of all known crime. Occasionally, the 50 percent statistic will vary, sometimes only referring to murder or more broadly to violent crime. Nonetheless, because this argument lacks truly concrete evidence and consistently fails to examine the socio-economic conditions that contribute to crime in the black community––such as the nearly 20 percent of African Americans who are currently living in poverty (Creamer)––it will never hold any substantial relevance.\nThe 50 percent statistic is most likely derived from the most recent edition of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting statistics. This database states that African Americans are arrested for 51.2 percent of all murder and nonnegligent manslaughter (Table 43). However, according to this same FBI source, when one includes the thousands of homicides in which the race of the perpetrator was listed as unknown, this number drops to 39.6 percent (Expanded Homicide Data Table 3)\nFurthermore, when referring to all known crime—again, according to this same source—black people account for just 26.6 percent of arrests made, this number being nowhere near 50 (Table 43).\nIt is important to note, however, that this data only refers to arrests made, not convictions, and even then, the UCR itself admits that these statistics rely largely on voluntary reports from law enforcement. This is significant because law enforcement agencies have consistently proven to be biased against people of color. For example, when the United States Justice Department conducted an investigation into policing in Ferguson, Missouri, they found “substantial evidence of racial bias among police and court staff” (Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department).\nThe Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports similar findings in their 2017 analysis of body camera footage from Oakland, California (Voigt). This suggests that the data reported by law enforcement could easily suffer from bias.\nFurthermore, poverty is among the leading causes of crime in the United States (Crime and Criminality), and lack of quality education is among the leading causes of poverty (Soken-Huberty). This proves to be important in discussion of the “13/50” argument, as according to nonprofit organization EdBuild, there is an astounding 23 billion dollar gap in funding between predominantly black and Latino school districts and predominantly white school districts (Lombardo). This is due to the fact that schools are largely funded by taxes collected within the school’s community, and African Americans are at a much higher risk of being low income due to historical oppression (McIntosh).\nUnfortunately, frequently is this a never-ending cycle, as it is hard to increase regional income levels if schools are underfunded, and it is much harder to fund schools if a community is already low income.\nThis means that many black students receive sub-par education—fewer teachers and fewer resources —therefore leading to fewer and lower quality job opportunities and directly contributing to the poverty risk.\nFurthermore, the moment African Americans were brought to the United States, we were immediately placed at a significant social and economic disadvantage. Almost every historical attempt that black people have made at achieving economic prosperity has been hindered by racist policy and action, an example being the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, which ended in the destruction of what is currently known as “Black Wall Street” (McIntosh). Today, due to these horrible acts, black people continue to find it difficult to thrive, therefore finding our communities impoverished.\nThe widely-known mass incarceration of black people in the United States contributes to poverty as well. When a group of people is mass incarcerated, it is robbed of its ability to positively contribute to its community. According to the Center for Community Change, nationally, “if not for the rise in incarceration, the number of people in poverty would fall by as much as 20 percent” (The Relationship between Poverty & Mass Incarceration)\nMoreover, according to the United States Sentencing Commission, black men receive 19.1 percent longer prison sentences when compared to similarly situated white men (Demographic Differences in Sentencing). And according to an analysis of the National Registry of Exonerations, when compared to innocent white people, black people are 3.5 times more likely to be wrongly convicted of sexual assault, 12 times more likely to be wrongly convicted of drug crimes, and 7 times more likely to be wrongly convicted of murder (Gross).\nTherefore, not only are African Americans over-incarcerated, but we are over-sentenced and over-convicted as well.\nRather than offering any solutions to the aforementioned issues, the “13/50”\nargument simply insinuates that violence is somehow inherent to blackness, which could not be any further from the truth. If those who employed this argument truly cared about decreasing the incidence of crime within the black community, they would advocate for the reconstruction of the United States’ criminal justice system and push for more federal funding in schools. Nonetheless, they do not. They simply regurgitate the same, foolish talking point in an often deliberate attempt at maintaining and advancing white supremacy.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/deconstructingthe1350argument159.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Brown, Jerrod. “Father-Absent Homes: Implications for Criminal Justice and Mental Health Professionals.” MNPsych, Minnesota Psychological Association, www.mnpsych.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_daily. Accessed 14 July 2021.","Creamer, John. “Poverty Rates for Blacks and Hispanics Reached Historic Lows in 2019.” The United States Census Bureau, United States Census Bureau, 14 Apr. 2021, https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/09/ . Accessed 25 Sept. 2021.","“Crime and Criminality.” UCDavis, University of California, Davis, www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Richerson.✎ EditSign Accessed 14 July 2021.","“Demographic Differences in Sentencing.” USSC, United States Sentencing Commission, 13 Jan. 2021, www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/demographic . Accessed 14 July 2021.","“Expanded Homicide Data Table 3.” FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019, ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019 . Accessed 14 July 2021.","Gross, Samuel R, et al. “Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States.” Law.Umich, University of Michigan, 7 Mar. 2017, www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents.✎ EditSign Accessed 14 July 2021.","“Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department.” Justice, Department of Justice, www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments. ✎ EditSign Accessed 14 July 2021.","Lombardo, Clare. “Why White School Districts Have So Much More Money.” NPR, NPR, 26 Feb. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/02/26/696794821. Accessed 14 July 2021.","McIntosh, Kriston, et al. “Examining the Black-White Wealth Gap.” Brookings, Brookings Institute, 27 Feb. 2020, www.brookings.edu/examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap. Accessed 14 July 2021.","Morsy, Leila, and Richard Rothstein. “Mass Incarceration and Children's Outcomes: Criminal Justice Policy Is Education Policy.” EPI, Economic Policy Institute, 15 Dec. 2016, www.epi.org/publication/mass-incarceration-and-childrens-outcomes/. Accessed 14 July 2021.","Soken-Huberty, Emmaline. “10 Common Root Causes of Poverty.” Human Rights Careers, Human Rights Careers , 11 May 2020, www.humanrightscareers.com/root-causes-of-poverty. Accessed 16 Sept. 2021.","“Table 43.” FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 22 Sept. 2019, ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/crime-in-the-u.s./. Accessed 14 July 2021","“The Relationship between Poverty & Mass Incarceration.” MassLegalServices, Center for Community Change, www.masslegalservices.org/Mass_Incarceration✎ EditSign . Accessed 15 July 2021.","Umberson, Debra, et al. “Death of Family Members as an Overlooked Source of Racial Disadvantage in the United States.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 31 Jan. 2017, www.pnas.org/content/114/5/915. Accessed 14 July 2021","Voigt, Rob, et al. “Language from Police Body Camera Footage Shows Racial Disparities in Officer Respect.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 20 June 2017, www.pnas.org/content/114/25/6521. Accessed 14 July 2021."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":177,"pub_key":160,"title":"F_r _ W_ld_rn_ss _f M_nk_ys","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Newton Brophy  Edited by Anna Kwan","editor":"","date":"2021-10-14","content":"We never directly see\nShylock’s reaction\nto Jessica’s flight.\nShakespeare never shows us.\nThe closest we get is\nAct III, Scene 1;\nHis conversation with Tubal\na friend,\nthe only other Jew\nin Shakespeare’s canon.\nShylock spends most of it\ncomplaining that she robbed him.\nWe’re never permitted\nto see him in the moments\nafter he returns home\nto discover his only daughter\nvanished,\nalong with his money\nand his late wife’s ring.\nWe don’t see his anguish\nor his rage.\nI remember my Rabbi\nsaying that many\nif not most\nof the stories in the Torah,\nnotably,\nthe Binding of Isaac,\nleave out internal life.\nBy which he meant,\nwe don’t necessarily\nsee what a character\nis thinking\nat all times\nif any.\nWe see their actions\nand sometimes the\nintent\nbehind their words\nto another\nOccasionally\nwe are even told\nthe exact words used\nWe are left to guess\ntheir thoughts\nThis means\nbetween\nthe translation\nof an impossibly old tongue\nand\nthe sparseness of the lines\nthemselves\nthere is just as much of the story\nthat is written\nas\nis imagined.\nDoes Abraham really trust god?\nHow much does Isaac intuit?\nWhat is god playing at?\nWho is testing who?\nIs god testing Abraham,\nor\nis Abraham testing god,\nor\nis Isaac testing his father?\nWho passes\nand\nwho fails?\nMy Rabbi also pointed out\nthat we never see\nAbraham and Isaac\nspeak to one another again\nat any point in the remainder\nof the Torah,\nif, indeed,\nthey did at all.\nWe never see\nShylock and Jessica\nspeak again either.\nI think about\nwhat is left out because\nit is important\nand\nwhat is left out because\n(supposedly)\nit is not.\nI think about\nwhat imagination has to fill in.\nI think about\nthe translation of a language\nthat is familar to us\nbut\nthat we barely remember.\nI think about\nmy sister,\nclassically trained,\nteaching me about\nvowels\nand\nconsonants\nand how vowels\ncame first.\nVowels\nare where emotions live\nthe desperate drive to\nexpress.\nConsonants\nstructure them into meaning,\nor at least articulation\n(translation?)\nVowels;\nthe soul\nwriggling for\nthe surface —\nConsonants;\nthe tetrapod\ncrawling toward\nlanguage.\nI think about how\nthe Hebrew in the Torah\nis written without vowels.\nI think about\nwhat imagination has to fill in.\nI think about how\nwhen Shakespeare writes “O!”\nit is not “Oh”\nbut a howl\nand I wonder\nwhat vowels ripped\nfrom Shylock’s throat\nthat night","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/f_r_w_ld_rn_ss_fm_nk_ys160.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry","Creative Writing"]},{"id":77,"pub_key":161,"title":"Convict Leasing and the Prison-Industrial Complex","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by  Kennedy Kelis\n           \n                        \n           Edited by Grace Bennett and Alice Lei","editor":"Edited By: Grace Bennett and Alice Lei","date":"2021-10-29","content":"Trigger Warning: Mention of abuse, slave labor, and violence.\nIn his essay “A Presumption of Guilt: The Legacy of America’s History of Racial Injustice,” author and lawyer Bryan Stevenson defines convict leasing as “the practice of ‘selling’ the labor of state and local prisoners to private interests for state profit” (Stevenson 11). He then goes on to discuss this practice’s implications in institutional racism, for following the apparent abolition of slavery within the United States, convict leasing was largely created as a way in which many American states could continue to abuse and exploit black labor while, at the same time, narrowly remaining beneath the safeguard of legality.\nThe creation of convict leasing can largely be attributed to the passage and arguably intentional language of the 13th Amendment. This law declares slavery and involuntary servitude to be illegal in the United States “except as punishment for a crime” (United States Constitution. Amend. XIII, Sec. 1). However, due to the exception provided within the law’s text, once the 13th Amendment was passed, it provided Southern legislatures with room for interpretation. Consequently, they then began to view the U.S. prison system as a suitable vessel for enslavement.\nNow, in order to ensure the functionality of their system, many southern states––all of which had previously been a part of the Confederacy––passed a series of “Black Codes.” These codes punished black Americans for vagrancy, or homelessness, and they also illegalized loitering. Moreover, black codes illegalized unemployment as well. In 1865, Mississippi and South Carolina passed the first black codes and required all black people to have “written evidence of employment” each year (History.com Editors). Should an individual not have this evidence, they were subject to arrest by overwhelmingly white “state militia forces” that were “often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War.”\nDue to the sheer amount of illegitimate arrests made at this time, black codes brought in many black prisoners. These black prisoners were then “leased” and sentenced to labor for private companies, while their white counterparts were “routinely sentenced to the penitentiary” (Stevenson 12).\nThe “leasing” of these prisoners was practiced with absolutely zero degree of humanity or empathy. The very use of the word “leasing” is indicative of the United States’ malicious willingness to exploit and dispose of black life––as if profit is somehow more important than livelihood. One Southern man made this claim at the National Conference of Charities and Corrections in 1883: “Before the war, we owned the negroes. If a man had a good negro, he could afford to take care of him: if he was sick get a doctor. He might even put gold plugs in his teeth. But these convicts: we don’t own ‘em. One dies, get another” (Bauer).\nThose who were convict leased were subject to cruel and unsafe working conditions as well. Prisoners working for the Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company in 1907 struggled to live without adequate food, clothing, and shelter. According to the Library of Congress, “Torture and beatings were common, and countless individuals perished from abuse; poor and dangerous working conditions; communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria, and pneumonia; and from environmental conditions like contaminated water” (Terrell).\nFurthermore, an 1887 report conducted by a Mississippi grand jury found that “six months after 204 convicts were leased to a man named McDonald, twenty were dead, nineteen had escaped, and twenty-three had been returned to the penitentiary disabled, ill, and near death” (Stevenson 12). The bodies of the men who returned to the penitentiary bore “‘marks of the most inhuman and brutal treatment … so poor and emaciated that their bones almost come through the skin’” (Stevenson 12).\nBetween 1866 and 1912, at least 3,500 prisoners died due to convict leasing in a single state (Clarke). The practice only officially “ended” in 1945, around the beginning of America’s involvement in World War II and only five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor (Mott). Today, however, the use of the United States prison system as a means of exploiting black labor continues; the exploitation of this labor then creates something that is currently known as the prison-industrial complex.\nBlack Americans have notoriously been over-incarcerated due to systemic oppression. For example, according to the United States Sentencing Commission, black men receive on average 19.1 percent longer prison sentences when compared to similarly situated white men (Demographic Differences in Sentencing). Furthermore, after analyzing more than 220,000 New York City court cases and controlling for any other factors that may influence the outcome of a case, researchers at the Vera Institute for Justice found that\n“black defendants were 19 percent more likely than whites to be offered plea deals that included jail or prison time” (Demby).\nBecause black Americans are disproportionately incarcerated, we are also disproportionately subjected to prison labor. Laboring prisoners today make little to no money, receive no sick days, work with “questionable or no safety regulations,” and are often isolated if they speak out against these conditions (Gutierrez). 4,000 private companies benefit from this systemic exploitation today, treating human beings like machinery and simultaneously leaving grim reminders of the United States’ long history of abusing black labor.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/convictleasingandtheprisonindustrialcomplex161.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Bauer, Shane. “5 Ways Prisoners Were Used for Profit throughout U.S. History.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 26 Feb. 2020, www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/ . Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.","Clarke, Matthew. “Texas Convict-Leasing Burial Ground Uncovered.” Prison Legal News, Human Rights Defense Center, 8 Jan. 2020, www.prisonlegalnews.org/texas-convict-leasing-burial-ground-uncovered . Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.","Demby, Gene. “Study Reveals Worse Outcomes for Black and Latino Defendants.” NPR, National Public Radio, 17 July 2014, www.npr.org/study-reveals-worse-outcomes-for-black-and-latino-defendants . Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.","“Demographic Differences in Sentencing.” USSC, United States Sentencing Commission, 13 Jan. 2021, www.ussc.gov/demographic-differences-sentencing . Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.","Gutierrez, Jareli. “Corporations' Use of Prison Labor.” Corporate Sustainability and Compliance Corporations Use of Prison Labor Comments, 24 Nov. 2020, law.berkeley.edu/corporations-use-of-prison-labor/ . Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.","History.com Editors. “Black Codes.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 1 June 2010, www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-codes . Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.","Mott, Ashley. “Fact Check: Southern States Used Convict Leasing to Force Black People into Unpaid Labor.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 7 July 2020, https://www.usatoday.com/fact-check-convict-leasing-forced-black-people-into-unpaid-labor/ . Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.","Stevenson, Bryan. “A Presumption of Guilt.” Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment, edited by Angela J. Davis, Vintage Books, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2018, pp. 3–30.","Terrell, Ellen. “The Convict Leasing System: Slavery in Its Worst Aspects.” The Convict Leasing System: Slavery in Its Worst Aspects | Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business, United States Library of Congress, 17 June 2021, blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/convict-leasing-system/ . Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.","Morsy, Leila, and Richard Rothstein. “Mass Incarceration and Children's Outcomes: Criminal Justice Policy Is Education Policy.” EPI, Economic Policy Institute, 15 Dec. 2016, www.epi.org/mass-incarceration-and-childrens-outcomes/ . Accessed 14 July 2021.","Soken-Huberty, Emmaline. “10 Common Root Causes of Poverty.” Human Rights Careers, Human Rights Careers , 11 May 2020, www.humanrightscareers.com/root-causes-of-poverty. Accessed 16 Sept. 2021.","United States Constitution. Amend. XIII, Sec. 1."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":39,"pub_key":162,"title":"Come Home, Cooking","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by  Rohan Subramaniam","editor":"","date":"2021-11-04","content":"Technically speaking, I first learned to cook when I was 3 years old. My favorite pastime involved scurrying to the bathroom to retrieve my plastic stool, carefully aligning it next to my mother in the kitchen, and then watching the sambhar - a spicy Indian soup served with rice - being made on the stove. To this day, when it is simmering, the delicious smell never fails to make everyone hungry for dinner. And the smell of my mother's cooking was also my call to action; I was a doctor, and my nose was my pager, beeping every time oil hit the pan. Only, I wasn't a doctor in the sense that I helped with the creation of these home-made delights - I merely absorbed the aura of the kitchen and observed. It was via this method that I conceptualized exactly what food is - the taste, the smell, the recipes - and all at the ripe ages of 3 to 11 years old. At the latter age, I was deemed ready for my first solo culinary mission.\nAt the time, my great-aunt and uncle were visiting from India; my great-aunt is a revered cook in the family, and so an intimidating task awaited me when I banished her and my mother to the couch and took on Mother’s Day dinner. The menu: chapati, potato bhaji, and raita - Indian-style tortillas, served with a cucumber yogurt salad and a simple potato saute that was second-nature to cooks at the level of my mother and great-aunt. When the mustard seeds and curry leaves began to splutter in the oil for the potatoes, I could practically hear my mother biting her nails at the thought of me playing with volatile hot pans. Yet, the meal turned out good-looking and well-cooked; while the simplicity was endearing at my age, it got rave reviews. I was already being jokingly lined up as my mother’s stand-in in the kitchen, a position I would fulfill in years to come. Mission accomplished.\nFast forwarding some years, I have since taken to the kitchen on one-man ventures more times than I can count. Every weekend, a different entree is drawn on my mental menu, and in time, I have guided my family through dishes anywhere from Spain to Jamaica, cooking everything from romesco - a Spanish puree made from roasted vegetables and nuts - to jerk chicken. However, my most fruitful ventures have been when I returned to my motherland to cook Indian food - possibly my most daunting culinary task was when I decided to take on tandoori chicken, which is Indian barbeque with a regal pedigree that rivals that of its American counterpart.\nMy family’s constant feedback and suggestions always motivate me to do better - while making me feel like a MasterChef contestant without the life-or-death stakes as well. Additionally, their constant calls for the food to be more spicy always bring me back to the Indian heritage that I am serving.\nThe aroma of freshly ground spices always reminds me of the smells of the streets of India - something which I experienced on a recent trip there in 2015. Reliving this memory is always a fulfilling experience, as something as universal as food allows me to easily connect with my Indian ancestry - something that I sometimes feel at odds with living in a modern American society. Therefore I have always found it rewarding to cook in a home kitchen, where not only can an onion serve as a portal into numerous different cultures, but where I am also free to return home to India and explore as I please.\nHere are some starting points to get you in the kitchen:\nTips before diving in:\n1) Have confidence. If you like to eat, and notice what is in your food, you can cook well. The key is to taste. If you are unsure about something (and it does not contain raw meat/seafood), taste it! Is it the flavor you were hoping for? If not, you can fix it! Think about what you know about eating, and what tastes like the flavor you would like to add, and try adding it!\n2) Going off the first point, feel free to experiment and freestyle. If you have an idea in mind, go for it! This will not only help you build your confidence, but will also build your knowledge of flavor and what ingredients match well together.\n3) Take your time! Don’t worry if you are trying to prep something while another part of the dish is on the heat - if things are moving too fast, remove the pan from the heat, and continue prepping or take a breather. You can almost always turn the heat down or off on something and be able to resume where you left off.\nSimple Stir-Fry:\nStir Fry:\n- 2 cloves garlic, grated or chopped fine in a food processor\n- ½ inch ginger (one finger thickness), grated or chopped fine in a food processor\n- 2 ½ cups of any veggies/protein you like - tofu works great here, and bell pepper adds a lot of flavor; just chop into bite-size pieces\n- ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes/3 whole dried red chilies, broken in halves (optional, use if you prefer spicy food)\nSauce:\n- 2 tablespoons soy sauce\n- ¾ tablespoon vinegar - any kind works\n- ¾ tablespoon honey or maple syrup\n- 1 ½ tablespoon hoisin sauce - this should be available in most grocery stores in the “Asian/ethnic” food section\n1) Use a spoon to mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl\n2) Heat about 1 tablespoon oil (any kind) in a pan on medium heat\n3) When shimmering, fry the ginger, garlic and chilli (if using) for 30 seconds, or until slightly brown - stir often to avoid burning\n4) Then, add the vegetables, and fry until they are tender, stirring occasionally. Don’t be afraid to taste to see if they are cooked to your liking! Different vegetables cook at different times, so taste a piece after about 5 minutes of frying to see how they are.\n5) Lower the heat to low, and then add the pre-mixed sauce\n6) Mix together for thirty seconds, and then switch off the heat. All done!\nNOTE: If using tofu, prior to frying the garlic and ginger, cube the tofu into bite-sized pieces and fry until golden brown on all sides. Then, remove the tofu from the pan, and then proceed with frying the garlic and ginger.\nScallion-Basil Shrimp:\nNOTE: Don’t get scared of cooking seafood right off the bat. Shrimp cooks quickly and easily and requires minimal preparation in this recipe - it’s a great confidence booster, and also quite impressive when you cook for others!\n- 1.5 lbs. deveined shrimp - frozen or fresh work. If using frozen, thaw in lukewarm water for about 2 hours prior to cooking. Either way, check that they are deveined. If frozen, it will say so on the package. If buying fresh, simply ask the server at the counter if they are deveined.\n- 1 bunch scallions (6-8 individual pieces)\n- 1 cup basil (either Thai or Italian basil tastes great in this recipe)\n- 1 teaspoon salt\n- 1 ½ tablespoon oil\n- ½ to 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional, use based on your preference)\n1) First rinse the shrimp. You can keep them all in the bowl, and wash them like that, or rinse them separately. Either way, dry them completely with paper towels after rinsing, and place in a big bowl. Leave the tails on.\n2) Chop the scallions. First, chop off the root end, but make sure not to chop off too much of the onion itself. Then, starting at the white end, cut the entire bunch into thin rounds. If you are uncomfortable with cutting the whole bunch at once, do them individually! Add to the bowl with the shrimp.\n3) Chop the basil. set aside the biggest leaf, and scrunch all the other leaves into a small ball. Roll the small ball in the big leaf, and start chopping thin strips from the end of the roll. Add to the bowl\n4) Add in the oil, salt, and red pepper (if using) to the shrimp, and mix well with a spoon, until the shrimp are evenly coated\n5) Let the shrimp stand for 30 minutes.\n6) Heat a skillet or grill pan on high heat. It is sufficiently hot when you hover your hand about 3 inches from the pan, and it gets uncomfortable within 3 seconds.\n7) Place each shrimp on the pan carefully using your hand or tongs. Make sure each shrimp is in full contact with the pan on one side.\n8) Let cook for 90 seconds. Use a timer if you like, or you can estimate\n9) Flip using a fork or the same tongs. Again, make sure each shrimp is in full contact with the pan on the other side. Check to see that the first side is cooked - it will be fully pink, and the shrimp will be starting to curl up and shrink.\n10) Let cook for another 90 seconds. You can flip a couple again to make sure the other side is equally pink. If there are any gray or slightly transparent spots, just use the tongs to contact that portion directly with the pan briefly.\n11) Remove from the pan, and serve as an appetizer or with vegetables and rice.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/comehomecooking162.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":136,"pub_key":163,"title":"Banned Books Censor Queer History; this Year, We Read Them All","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Maya Henry","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleem","date":"2021-11-06","content":"“Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.”\n-Stephen Chbosky\nAn estimated 36.3 million people\nhave died from AIDS-related causes since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic less than six decades ago. The epidemic—and the response of governments worldwide—remains one of the most poignant reminders of state-endorsed ignorance and violence against LGBTQ+ people.\nToday, the physical, mental, and emotional toll of the AIDS epidemic still ravages the US. Yet if you walk into any given US classroom, you won’t find history lessons discussing how\nmedical journals first coined AIDS as a “gay-related immune deficiency.” Nor will you find novels or autobiographies about HIV-positive people and their lives. Instead, you will likely walk into a room where the AIDS epidemic has been effectively erased from the curriculum and library via an easy solution: banned books\nOctober is LGBTQ+ History Month and historically, queer media has been repressed everywhere, but especially in the classroom. From inclusive sex education to learning about the Stonewall Riots, parents and school districts have been quick to label anything regarding LGBTQ+ people as mature, inappropriate, and lewd content. Not only does this lack of education result in oblivion, but it pushes children towards a future of anti-queer prejudice. When books about queer people and lessons surrounding queer existence are banned, children are being told that being queer is being wicked: it is unfit for children, it is dirty, and it is something to run away from.\nThis censorship of queer literature frequently falls under the category of banned books, defined by The First Amendment Encyclopedia as “ a form of censorship [that] occurs when private individuals, government officials, or organizations remove books from libraries, school reading lists, or bookstore shelves because they object to their content, ideas, or themes.” Banned books often discuss important topics like race, gender, sexuality, and sexual violence, and though necessary to discuss and learn from, parents challenge books to “protect” their children from the very real and very undeniable truths of history and current events. Books relating to LGBTQ+ experiences and history top the list of the most challenged books. With Banned Book Week having just ended and LGBTQ+ History Month in full swing, there’s never been a more perfect time to read some of these “illicit and unbecoming” novels.\nA recent addition to the banned books list is the middle-grade picture book I am Jazz. Authored by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel, it discusses Jennings’ transition and her struggle with body dysmorphia and a confused family. In 2017, parents at Rocklin Academy Gateway challenged the book and demanded that parents have the right to ensure their children don’t share a classroom with any transgender student after a kindergarten student brought in I am Jazz for read-aloud. Though the school didn’t back down and stood behind not only the student but the book, I am Jazz has continued to meet challengers who believe discussion of gender transition and dysphoria don’t belong in learning spaces.\nFor tween and teen readers, the graphic novel Drama is a fan favorite for its witty and frank discussion of the middle school experience. From first crushes to first kisses to fighting with parents, Raina Telgemeier delivered a book that made young people feel seen, all without including any drug or alcohol use, cursing, or sexual content. Yet thanks to its depiction of two queer boys, Drama has landed on numerous banned books lists. In 2017, it even hit the #3 spot on ALA’s top ten banned books list. Being unsure of one’s sexuality in middle school is common, and discussion and exploration shouldn’t be barred from classrooms and schools where growing into one’s self should be encouraged, not challenged legally.\nYet another book on the banning chopping block is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Authored by Stephen Chbosky, the book follows a teen’s struggle with anxiety, sexual assault, bullying, and queer identity. These topics need to be discussed as they are prevalent in this world, yet the book has been challenged for over 15 years in a row\nfor its discussion of rape and queer identity and exploration.\nPut simply, banning books erases queer history and queer identity. Where students need education, they are being granted a blank page. Where youth need support, they are being spoon-fed prejudice\nSo, this LGBTQ+ History Month—this fall, this year, and this decade—it is our job to fight the challenging of LGBTQ+ books. It is our job to seek them out, support their authors, encourage young readers to read queer content appropriate for their age, and increase our own knowledge of queer history and community","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/bannedbookscensorqueerhistorythisyearwereadthemall163.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":71,"pub_key":164,"title":"An Unhealthy Obsession With Health","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by  Michaela Capulong                       Edited by Eeman Aleem, Chloe Chen","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleem, Chloe Chen","date":"2021-11-11","content":"Content Warning: Eating disorders, mental health issues\nI place my baby carrots onto the electronic food scale on my marble counter, adding or subtracting carrots as the number of grams dictate it necessary. It is a burdensome task, but I eventually reach the ideal weight of eighty grams. I remove the vessel carrying the carrots from the scale and double-check the number to ensure that I have not shorted myself, or—even worse—exceeded the amount of carrots I have so graciously allotted as part of my total caloric intake for the day. To round off my incredibly satiating snack, I count out exactly twelve raw, unsalted almonds. I applaud myself for choosing such a healthy option.\nThree hours later, I sit in my English class, stomach growling obnoxiously, despite finishing off my last almond moments ago. My teacher rambles on about Of Mice and Men —a lecture I have no recollection of, as I am far too preoccupied with hungry thoughts to fully absorb any information regarding the topic. The usual “brain fog” is beginning to set in, as to be expected around this time. Lunch, consisting of a delectable assortment of raw broccoli and handful of unseasoned, pre-measured chicken breast, is nowhere in sight.\nSuddenly, a strikingly familiar sound penetrates my eardrums. A piercing “pop!” perfuses throughout the room, instantaneously quelling any other dialogue or noise. A wistful, childhood memory is conjured up; the nostalgia of sitting in my elementary school cafeteria, munching away at a bag of greasy, sharp, salt-and-vinegar Miss Vickie's® potato chips, without a care in the world. The deafening crunch whets my already substantial appetite, and I am immediately overcome with resentment and envy. If only I permitted myself to ingest such carb dense, processed, sodium-filled garbage! I remind myself that I am pursuing a journey of perfect health, and that one day my body will thank me, right?\nI attempt to tamp down my hankering for acetous crisps, when one of my fellow table partners mentions that her birthday is this upcoming weekend, and she would be elated if we could attend. Two classmates agree to join in on the fun, but I am instantly overwhelmed with trepidation and a sense of impending doom. What if a birthday cake is being served? With ice cream? What if the party’s timing would force me to skip my indispensable exercise regimen? And what could she possibly have regarding healthy dinner options that I could pick at? My brain spins, frantically estimating the number of calories within those foreign delicacies that were a far cry from the foods that I could consume routinely, without guilt or shame.\nIn a moment of weakness, I blurt out, “I totally wish I could go, but I’m actually going to a funeral on Saturday.”\nI spent that next Saturday at home, in sullen solitude. I attempt to comfort myself by remembering that, yes, it is true that my slight proclivity to only ever consume foods I deemed “safe” might not fully authorize me to participate in social gatherings of any kind; and yes, it is also true that I am terrified about what might happen to my body if I violate these restrictive regulations I foist upon myself; and yes, I feel morally obligated to micromanage my weight, and that number unreservedly governs my self-worth. But one day, it will be worth it.\nThat my “willpower” and sacrifices will somehow, in some way, pay off.\nThat I will be the paragon of perfect health, and my inferiors will shower me with praise, claiming that they wish they had as much discipline as me.\nBut until the fruits of my labor come to fulfillment, I am doomed to live a miserable existence, measuring my baby carrots and counting out my raw, unsalted almonds.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/anunhealthyobsessionwithhealth164.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":170,"pub_key":165,"title":"Habitat Destruction","subtitle":"","credit":"By Unmani Tewari  Edited by Huiwen Chen","editor":"Edited By: Huiwen Chen","date":"2021-11-18","content":"Habitat loss is one of the greatest threats to the variety of life and species on this planet today. The world’s forests, swamps, plains, lakes, and other habitats continue to disappear as they are harvested for human consumption and cleared to make way for agriculture, housing, roads, pipelines, and other hallmarks of our industrial development.\nHealthy ecosystems and environments are necessary for the survival and flushing of humans and other organisms. There are many ways to reduce humans’ negative impact on the environment. One approach is environmental management, which is based largely on information gained from earth science, environmental science, and conservation biology. A second approach is the management of the human consumption of resources. A third (more recent) approach adds cultural and political concerns into the sustainability mix.\nA significant amount of loss of biodiversity stems largely from the habitat loss and fragmentation produced by human appropriation of land for development, forestry, and agriculture as natural capital is progressively converted to human-made capital. At the local human scale, sustainability benefits accrue from the creation of green cities and sustainable parks and gardens. Similarly, environmental problems associated with industrial agriculture and agribusiness are now being addressed through such movements as sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and more sustainable business practices.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/habitatdestruction165.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":86,"pub_key":166,"title":"Healing the Colonized Mind with “The Rage Doctor”: Interview with Dr. Jennifer Mullan","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written and Interviewed by: Suzanna Chen","editor":"Edited By: Anna Kwan","date":"2021-11-19","content":"<p>Mental health concerns have already been increasingly prevalent in our hyper-competitive and fast-paced society. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the systemic disparities it brought forth exacerbated the issue and highlighted its heightened impact on historically marginalized identities. My interest in exploring this intersection was kindled by Dr. Jennifer Mullan&rsquo;s Instagram: @decolonizingtherapy. The account immediately stands out with its bold colours and the challenging, firm, and raging content of social justice&mdash;a refreshing contrast to the pretentious pastel colours and clich&eacute; positivity quotes on most mental health advocacy accounts. We are so influenced into tip-toeing around the surface of mental health as a societal issue, but perhaps Dr. Mullan&rsquo;s candidness in exploring the atrocious roots behind our modern crisis is the perspective we need to begin healing. Without further introduction, please join me in exploring our colonized mind with &ldquo;The Rage Doctor&rdquo;: Dr. Jennifer Mullan. 1. Please introduce yourself to our readers at Detester Magazine. I am Dr. Jenn: CEO and founder of Decolonizing Therapy&trade;, author, and trained as a (Western) Clinical Psychologist. I walk in the world as a light-skinned Black cisgender woman of mixed race. I also identify as Fluid identified&mdash;Queer. I grew up in Hudson County, New Jersey, at the poverty line [as a] neurodivergent with a hearing impairment, ADHD, and complex historical &amp; intergenerational trauma&mdash;[these] invisible disabilities affect my life daily. I am [also] an espiritualista, Curandera, Shaman, Santera, Astrology &amp; Tarot lover, Empath, Cancer Sun, Virgo Rising Capricorn Moon, Generator in Human Design, ENFP, [and] Steven Universe Lover. I worked in the capacity of a psychologist at a university counseling center over the past 12 years. There, I provided individual, group, couples, and crisis psychotherapy, facilitated and coordinated a nationally recognized peer education program, Peers Educating Peers (PEP), was an instructor for Multicultural and Group Counseling courses for Grad Students; and co-facilitated and co-founded the LGBTQIA+ Support Group on campus. I was also a founder of the university&rsquo;s AntiRacism Coalition and a trainer for the LGBTQIA+ Safe Zone Program. Currently, [I spend] my time, focus, and energy on emotional-decolonial work: writing about Decolonizing Therapy&trade;, managing the LLC [and its] socials, providing workshops to healers, helpers and therapy workers, grassroots, schools, small business, group practices, nonprofits, as well as creating spaces for a sustained understanding of the individual, collective, and ancestral triad&mdash;the emotional decolonial process I present in Decolonizing Therapy&trade;. 2. In what ways do racial and/or other marginalized identities influence one's mental wellness? Let&rsquo;s keep it real: mental health dis-eases and &ldquo;illnesses&rdquo; (I am big on language) do not discriminate&mdash;people do. Theories do. Systems and structures are certainly constructed to block access: [they] deeply impact those living unhoused, and at or below the &ldquo;poverty level.&rdquo; We know that roughly 1 in 5 people in what is now known as the United States will experience mental health issues in a given year, [which] is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. And, although people not walking in the world as white experience roughly similar rates of mental health issues, the disparities are enormous when accessing mental health support services. There is a plethora of research and lived experiences to support that BIPOC folks are less likely to have access to mental health services that are not stigmatizing (i.e. microaggressions) [and] to seek out support [...] due to histories and experiences of trust violated [by] systems and authority, [yet] more likely to receive poor quality in care (i.e. understaffed community mental health services with long waitlists and exhausted practitioners of colour) and to end services early&mdash;clearly due to the lack of connection and understanding&mdash;even salient identity identification with the providers. Cultural stigma, systemic and structural racism and oppression, language barriers, mistrust of healthcare providers, poor &ldquo;cultural competency,&rdquo; lack of health insurance and enough money to obtain services that meet the emotional and physical needs of a person are [just] some of the barriers that can be attributed to the difficulty related to support for BIPOC. From an emotionally decolonial perspective, many people with racialized identities are still being &ldquo;treated&rdquo; rather than helped to initiate healing in their own lives [and] communities. Therapy is still a very Eurocentric and able-bodied field. Trauma triggers, gender identity and expression, pain levels, and more are often not considered when an individual cancels a session or is unable to complete &ldquo;homework.&rdquo; Additionally, many of us walking in the world as &ldquo;Other&rdquo; have also not been taught to utilize our natural [...] and ancestral ways of healing. Historical trauma&mdash;the types of cultural genocide that impact a culture and People&mdash;deeply affects BIPOC folks. And we do not speak of this: as a society, [...] in our families, and even rarer [...] in our therapies. Being a person of colour means society still has a long way to go regarding the discourse on how oppression impacts mental health. 3. Why do you believe psychological treatment must be politicized? Because we are dying. We are not healing&mdash;we are receiving bandaids that do not adequately clear out the pain and damage of systemic oppression, ableism, racism, transphobia etc. Because [therapy providers] are not the only forms of wellness and healing, and because many of us were educated under White supremacy&mdash;under the guidelines and rules of white institutions seeking to keep our work, craft, gifts in boxes. It is all oppressive. Decolonizing Therapy&trade; is about the return to what is and was: a learning about how we became well [as a] community and how to transform this history with our current trauma-filled lives. How do we begin to live in joy as we step into the unknown future? How can we begin to internally stop policing ourselves and each other? Decolonizing Therapy&trade; begs people to Unlearn, Acknowledge, Relearn, Honor, Release and Clear&mdash;politically, individually, ancestrally, systemically, and globally. We are invited to &ldquo;work&rdquo; that is actually a reclamation of sorts: Ancestral Honoring, Sacred Rage Work, Somatic Work, and Intergenerational Trauma Work. They are ways we can come back Home to ourselves and our lineages &ldquo;the good, bad and ugly&rdquo; again and again and again. It is a practice [of] unlearning [the fact] that empirically validated ways of &ldquo;treating&rdquo; are the only acceptable ways while challenging and investigating the illness and narcissism related to blaming a person for their thoughts (talk about brainwashing). [Our] field is metaphorically quite deep how far down the rabbit hole of gaslighting and working for systemic oppression we are. Our field is full of our own cognitive distortions! We must politicize ourselves and our frames in order to stop Pathologizing. 4. How might mental health professionals (hopefully unintentionally) \"colonize\" in their practice? What would \"decolonization\" mean and look like in a therapeutic setting? This is a huge and important question: one that my book (it is in the works) will cover more deeply. But decolonization looks like... - emotionally and politically holding a frame that is beyond cultural competence and understanding intersectionality (although both can be a start) - understanding whose land we are on, as well as the history of the therapist and client and how this shows up in sessions - looking at our relationship to [forms of discrimination] (whiteness, ableism, racism, etc.) and how these points of violence show up in the session and in the client&rsquo;s lives - investigating why we have various &ldquo;rules\" in place (session limits, 12 session limit, cancelling session if someone is 15 minutes late, minimizing experiences of BIPOC in order to be &ldquo;helpful and realistic,&rdquo; etc.) - disengaging] in prejudice like microaggressions and Eurocentric ways of working with POC&mdash;not including our collective/community/family/loved ones, etc. I could dive into this question forever! For now, allow me to say that mental health and disability are often only viewed through a very specific privileged lens of a colonized, white supremacist perspective. There is often an underlying assumption that there is a bigger stigma in communities of colour&mdash;which is not necessarily true, although it may apply to a particular family or smaller community. [It is important to clarify] that the way that these topics are discussed [in BIPOC communities] is simply different, which can pose an additional barrier to accessing mental health support. Decolonial work in therapy is [the therapist's] work primarily and first. Then , when we are engaging with the work, we will have more authentic joy and presence and less ego in the therapy containers. 5. What determines a mental health professional's competence in working with minority clients? How should the education system improve for more future practitioners to be capable of doing so? Right now, [the certification process involves] just a graduate school [education]. The end. Essentially, if you have not &ldquo;harmed anyone&rdquo; and there is not a paper trail following your name, you are an &ldquo;adequate and good therapist.&rdquo; For me, this is a form of control, Eurocentricity, and violence. Most therapists receive one class on Multicultural Counseling. This is a shame. It is my belief that cultural competence is a watered-down version of implicit bias&mdash;[very] few grad programs really help future practitioners of therapy to dive deep into their own decolonial work and biases. For Decolonizing Therapy&trade;, it is essential in our eyes that practitioners are politicized: they see how the world and systems [...] impact a person they are working with and their well-being. The practitioners must also have a solid analysis on why people are poor (cite: PISAB 's Undoing Racism workshops ), why they are working with a particular community and population, the level of privilege and how this impacts therapeutic relationships, and whether they are constantly growing, learning, and becoming uncomfortable with their own selves and histories [...] before applying to &ldquo;clients.&rdquo; Current therapists need community. Many of us are isolated, exhausted and overworked, [and] very disconnected from the cultural, political, and ancestral happenings [of the] past, present, and future. To me: this is problematic. To the people I have worked with who had horrible experiences in therapy: [this] is problematic, violent, [and] a form of gaslighting. Our education needs to be one of the people and communities we serve&mdash;not just a &ldquo;Eurocentric and elitist institution of higher ed,&rdquo; [but one that asks the question:] what is the People&rsquo;s history? 6. What self-care and healing advice do you have for our readers of marginalized identities? ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED. BEGIN TO TRUST YOUR INTUITION. LEARN TO TEASE OUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR TRAUMA AND INTUITIVE GUT REACTIONS. SEEK OUT SUPPORT AND HELP ACROSS FIELDS&mdash;depending on what may be needed: shamanic indigenous work (if this ties in with your identities), acupuncture, somatic work, rage work, grief work, etc! There are so many great holistic providers [and] great therapists out there that invite in a more integrative view. I would also say [this]: it is just fine to not feel &ldquo;normal.&rdquo; Because what is &ldquo;normal&rdquo;? Who taught us what &ldquo;normal&rdquo; is and is not? Continue to walk paths that no one has paved, to ask questions no one wants to answer, and to live an existence that encourages mutual aid and abolish the systems [keeping] us meek and bow rather than expansive and engaging. Above all else, get involved: in group therapy, group soma sessions, grassroots organizing, creative coalitions towards change, etc. [Find] various collectives and communities and loved ones&mdash;who can and will find their liberation and joy&mdash;together with you, rather than attempt to solve an ancestral problem of disconnect and colonization alone and in silos. Alone is the direct opposite of decolonial work. Decolonizing is to collectively liberate ourselves, our land, our bodies and the world together. The long haul, not the short game. A huge thank you to Dr. Mullan ( @decolonizingtherapy ) for sharing such comprehensive and informative insights with us! Support Dr. Mullan&rsquo;s work by&hellip; Visiting her social media: Instagram -&gt; Dr. Jennifer Mullan's (@decolonizingtherapy) Twitter -&gt; Decolonizing Therapy (@DrJennyJennM) Linktree -&gt; @decolonizingtherapy Exploring her website -&gt; https://www.drjennifermullan.com/ Checking out Decolonizing TherapyTM&rsquo;s mental health resource list -&gt; https://drive.google.com/file/d/view</p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/healingcolonized.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Bianco, Marcie. “Candace Owens, Harry Styles' Vogue Cover and the Tyranny of the Gender Binary.” NBCNews.com, 17 Nov. 2020.","Dickson, EJ. “Why Conservatives Are So Threatened by Harry Styles in a Dress.” Rolling Stone, 2 Dec. 2020.","Haramis, Nick. “Pearls Are a Boy's Best Friend.” The New York Times, 14 Sept. 2020."],"types":["Interviews","Featured Submissions"]},{"id":69,"pub_key":167,"title":"LGBTQ+ representation in media","subtitle":"","credit":"By Unmani Tewari  Art edited by Huiwen Chen  Edited by Eeman Aleem","editor":"Edited By: Huiwen Chen and Eeman Aleem","date":"2021-12-01","content":"Although we have seen more depiction of LGBTQ+ characters in mainstream media in recent years,\nwe still have a long way to go. We mainly see characters being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender,\nhowever, there are not many significant characters who identify as demi girls or demi boys,\nare asexual or aromantic, or even pansexual. There is no full representation of the community\nunless you show more than just a part of the community. Media also\nmainly portrays white queer people. Rarely are queer BIPOC shown, and that needs to be fixed.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/lgbtqrepresentationinmedia167.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":135,"pub_key":168,"title":"what might have once been","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by Myesha Phukan \n            Edited by Chloe Chen and Wendy Zheng","editor":"Edited By: Chloe Chen and Wendy Zheng","date":"2021-12-04","content":"i wish i had learned to talk to her before it was too late,\nto have just one fluid conversation\none without the need for translation,\nthe “likes”\nand “ums”\ninterrupting the flow of words\nit was once bati,\nbut it was now bowl\nand it was once khaana,\nbut it was now food\nwhen the language sailed overseas,\nit caught in the torrent of the waters,\nthe currents mixing words\nand pulling away phrases\nwhen it finally wrapped its arms around me,\nit was nothing but a jumble of letters and characters,\nan amorphous alphabet\ni tried to make sense of it all,\nto put the letters in order,\nto link the words together\nbut every time\ni always came back to where i started\nas the years passed,\nthe language that my ancestors treasured the most,\nslipped from my hands\nbreaking the line linking generations,\ntearing the connection that interlaced two countries\nan ocean apart\nand so now as i blindly grasp for that line,\ni think of ","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/whatmighthaveoncebeen168.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":203,"pub_key":169,"title":"Just Another Attack","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Rohan Subramaniam","editor":null,"date":"2021-12-08","content":"Skyler has four tests tomorrow – calculus, Spanish, biology, and American history. She has studied and studied and studied, but as she lies in bed the night before, her breathing speeds up.\nSweat beads on her forehead.\nHer fingers tighten around her bedsheets.\nShe can’t move, only seeing before her four large red F’s circled on her exam papers.\nShe always gets like this before big days… and little days… and for everything in between. Like the night before prom, Skyler spent her entire night with her head in the toilet, vomiting. Was her dress as pretty as the other girls’? She can’t dance… she’ll look like a paralyzed penguin from the movie Happy Feet. Deep breaths now…\nHappy Feet.\nShe can’t stop worrying. Her brain is overloading her with cortisol, while her sympathetic nervous system is simultaneously dosing her brain with epinephrine.\nShe has to use the bathroom now – she frantically jerks herself out of bed and towards the toilet.\nThe retching begins the episode.\nIn between: a haze of hyper heartbeats and hyperventilating.\nThen the diarrhea finishes the job.\nShe begins to see stars…\nShe curls up into a fetal position just to try and stop every last bit of her body from oozing out of her, but despite her efforts, she can only groan as her brain pressure-cooks into mush and the world goes black.\nHer mother opens her bathroom door at 7 AM, and finds her unconscious.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/justanotherattack169.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Creative Writing"]},{"id":183,"pub_key":170,"title":"I Want to Look Like You","subtitle":"","credit":"By Jamee Ganal","editor":"","date":"2021-12-11","content":"by Jamee Ganal\nSlim eyes, tiny noses, large lips; that’s all you see in today’s media. That’s what’s seen as “ideal” and what the standard young girls should live up to. Oftentimes, white influencers are profiting off of features that are natural to POC, but POC are rarely ever praised for their own features. Many are harassed, made fun of, and are seen as ugly because of these features, but when it’s on a white person, it’s trendy. Through this piece, I wanted to capture not only the hypocrisy of said trends, but the adverse effect it can have on younger POC.\nAs a child, I can recall wanting to look like the white actresses I’d always see in movies, especially since there was rarely ever any Asian representation. I hated my features, my nose, my eyes, my hair. Now, white people want ethnic features such as almond eyes, larger lips, etcetera. For many POC such as myself, it’s not only painfully ironic, but also very saddening to see society once make fun of us, to now praising our features, except when they’re on us.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/iwanttolooklikeyou170.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":70,"pub_key":171,"title":"Red Blossoms","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Vivian Huang","editor":"Edited By: Grace Bennett","date":"2021-12-15","content":"the room is white\nwhen he steps\nonto a rug with dirty shoes\nand shattered glasses.\nthey ask his first\nname and wave, red ink\ndrenching hands,\n(he says his last name first.)\nthey tell him —no.\nand he bows\nuntil his hair\ntickles the ground.\nhis right hand drops\nthe red rose\nthat prints a kiss\nfrom Ma.\nit feels heavy.\n(the white room floods.)\nhe goes home— tells Ma\nin shivering Chinese:\nthey told him —yes,\n& handed him\nall the red roses\nthey could find\nin their white room.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/redblossoms171.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry","Creative Writing"]},{"id":200,"pub_key":172,"title":"Six Weeks","subtitle":"Senate Bill No. 8","credit":"Written by: Madeeha Anjum","editor":null,"date":"2021-12-22","content":"In the first week,\nher lining prepares to break down and bleed like any other month,\naccompanied by fickle mood swings\nand cravings for sweetened goods,\nfor caramelized candies and chocolate drops.\nShe rages and cries in tandem, her mismatched symphony\ncovered in white lilies and the first daffodils of Spring.\nThere are many things that bind humans together,\nemotions and experiences that we simply do not have the words for,\nones that we cannot fully describe with our limited perceptions,\nfor experience comes to us in multiple forms,\nas a kind maiden of the South willing our ascension,\nand as wicked demons crawling from the abyss, willing our\ndownfall.\nExperience is what remains of the second week,\nfilling her bubblegum guts with remnants of a past that was meant to be buried.\nShe wanted to forget, but the past and present stood far too close,\nflushed against each other with a sickly sort of affection.\nThe third week comes quietly,\nmaking a home within her stomach as she rests.\nThe fourth comes as the first sign,\nas a waiting game she must contend with.\nIt’s a teary affair,\na sinking feeling that accompanies the lack of blood.\nShe hangs onto chance,\nonto pure coincidence.\nThe fifth and sixth blend into one another,\nas the nausea kicks in with a vengeance,\nfamiliar cramps and bloating resurfacing—only this time,\nthe lining won’t be falling apart.\nA child’s heartbeat, they say, is the most precious thing a woman could ask for,\nshutting those fateful doors on the sixth week\nwhile they swing around bluebonnets\nmockingly.\nThe Texan State Flower, symbolizes the bravery and sacrifice of a Native American girl","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/sixweeks172.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry","Creative Writing"]},{"id":188,"pub_key":173,"title":"Heritage Day","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Chantal Kapani","editor":"Edited By: Eliet Williamson-Diaz, Eeman Aleem, and Anna Kwan","date":"2021-12-31","content":"Today was  at school, so Lilly excitedly dressed herself for school. She smiled wide as her father tied pretty pins and baubles through her long, dark hair. Finally, he placed a lovely necklace of her grandmother’s (with shiny blue stones!) around her neck. She twirled around in a circle and the soft fabric swished around her legs. She looked very pretty, her mommy had said so!\nLilly waved to her mommy and daddy who smiled from the window, and bravely stepped onto the bus.\nThe other children on the bus looked pretty in their clothes too.\nLilly noticed, as she walked down the aisle, that a few of the other kids were looking at her. Not just looking, but staring. And pointing. She grew nervous when she saw a boy whisper to his friend as she made her way to the back of the bus.\nShe sat down and turned to her best friend, Marisol, who looked very nice in her blue dress and flower crown.\n“Good morning,” Lilly greeted. “Are you excited for today?”\n“What are you wearing?” Marisol said, frowning.\n“It's my dress for heritage day?”\n“But why are you wearing that? I thought you were Latina like me so shouldn’t we be matching?”\n“I am. But I’m also Native American. I’m wearing a ribbon dress and my grandma’s turquoise necklace.”\n“But we were supposed to match.” Marisol looked angry now. “You look wrong.”\n“I like these clothes though, is that okay?”\n“Whatever.” Marisol turned away and started talking to Dylan.\nLilly turned to face the window sadly. If Marisol didn’t like her outfit, maybe the other kids didn’t either. Maybe that was why they were looking at her. Maybe they thought she was weird. Maybe heritage day wouldn’t be as fun as she thought it would be.\nThe rest of the bus ride was quiet. As Marisol and the rest of their friends chatted, Lilly couldn’t help but think about what the rest of today would be like. Were there a lot of other kids who think she looked weird too? She barely noticed the bus pulling up in front of the school. Lilly shook her head as she walked back down the aisle and walked down the steps. No, she wouldn’t let this ruin her day.\nToday would be great… probably.\n~\nLilly and Marisol smiled as they walked into their classroom. Their eyes widened, as their classroom had been transformed into something magical. The four white walls were now covered, from top to bottom, side to side, in colourful flags.\nLilly felt the excitement, buzzing from her toes to her fingertips as she saw two flags. One flag had lined stripes, the first was red, the second was yellow, and the last was green. The second flag had a symbol of a bird in the middle, with the colours of green, white, red, and black in the background.\nHer smile faded and Lilly dropped her eyes to the floor.\nEveryone was staring at her, and not in a nice way.\n~\n“Are you okay?” Marisol asked, leaning over to Lilly, while the teacher told the class to quiet down.\nShe could feel the butterflies in her stomach again, but this time, Lilly felt uneasy. She put on a brave smile and gave Marisol a toothy grin.\n~\nLilly watched with nervous eyes as her first classmate presented.\nHer name was Ami Dai , she was Japanese and wore a traditional Kimono. Ami had her silky black hair in a voluminous bun, held in place with a long thin pin that had two blue flowers on the end, matching with her long and beautiful kimono. “I like your hair pin!” Marisol said.\n“Thank you! It is called a Kanzashi. It is from my Grandmother, she gave it to me before we moved here to America. My mommy and daddy are from a city called Nagoya.”\n“Do you have a religious celebration that is one of your favourites?” the Teacher asked.\nAmi Dai tilted her head to the side as she thought hard. Her eyes lit up with excitement and she grinned from ear to ear. “Tanabata Matsuri. It is the star festival! Two stars, Kengyu and Shokujio, are in love and are reunited by a bridge of magpies spanning the milky way!” she squealed.\n“On the 7th of July, we pray to the Cowherd for a good harvest and to the Weaver for skill in weaving. Then we write down our wishes on a strip of paper and hang them on the bamboo branches in the garden!”\nThe class listened with eager ears and inquisitive eyes.\nLilly smiled at how beautiful Ami Dai looked.\nShe was worried she would look weird compared to her.\nThe next classmate to go up was Sam. He was dressed in a red checked shirt, blue bootleg jeans accompanied with brown leather boots and a straw hat.\nSam cleared his throat. “I am from Texas, a town called Dallas, and we follow Protestantism, Christianity. Um, my favorite celebration is Christmas because of the presents!”\nIt was now her turn.\nLilly’s legs felt shaky as she stood at the front of the classroom. She could feel everyone looking at her.\n“Why are you wearing a Halloween costume?” Someone called. It was the same boy who was whispering to his friend before. “You’re not supposed to be wearing that.” The other students started whispering to each other. Lilly’s heart thudded in her chest, her eyes filling with tears.\nShe wanted to tell them it wasn’t a costume. It wasn’t. She felt her eyes fill with tears and it got hard to breathe.\n“Stop it, Frankie!” Someone shouted at him. It was Marisol. She had her arms crossed and was glaring at him. “Lilly looks really pretty! Just because her dress is different, doesn’t mean you can be mean to her.” She turned to Lilly and smiled a small smile.\n“I really like your necklace!” Dylan shouted from the back of the room. “It’s my favorite color!”\n“And I love your hair!” Ami Dai hollered. “Your hair pin is really pretty too!”\nLilly felt the butterflies disappear and she smiled.\n“But it’s not a real heritage day outfit.” Frankie said, crossing his arms.\n“Yes it is!” Lilly exclaimed. “My daddy’s Native American and so am I! I look really pretty!”\n~ ss\n“I want to hear the rest of your presentation!” Another shouted from across the room. Lilly blushed as the rest of her classmates started to cheer her on.\nLilly took her place in front of the class.\nThis time her legs did not shake.\n“I am half-Latina and half-Native American, so I have two favourite celebrations. My mother is Latina and is from Rio in Brazil, and my dad is from a tribe called Cherokee that are from Oklahoma. From my mommy’s side, I like the celebration of New Year's! We celebrate it differently from others. We all eat 12 grapes at midnight, and if you wish really hard when eating them, it might come true!” she said as she glowed with joy.\n“A-and from my daddy, I like the celebration of the first new moon of spring festival. It is on the first moon in March and it’s the celebration of the beginning of the planting season. We have a fire keeper who prepares the sacred fire and we all clean our\nhouses.”Lilly grinned. “I am very proud of my culture!”\n~\nBy the time Lilly arrived home, her cheeks hurt from smiling for the rest of the day.\n“How was your day, sweetie?” her mother asked.\n“It was the best day ever!” Lilly said, as she ran towards her mother and father, hugging them as tight as she could.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/heritageday173.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":87,"pub_key":174,"title":"The War on Drugs: A War on Us","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Kennedy Kelis","editor":"Edited By: Grace Bennett","date":"2022-01-03","content":"In June of 1971, former president Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be “public enemy number one” to the American people (Smith). He then spent the years of his presidency funding anti-drug enforcement agencies in an effort to ostensibly “control” drug abuse, then creating what is known as the “War on Drugs.” And although from its name this campaign may seem to be well meaning, the “War on Drugs” was merely a monstrous initiative taken by the United States government to disfavor, disrupt, and dismantle communities of color.\nPolicies adopted in the War on Drugs era in the 1970s resulted in a “dramatic growth in incarceration for drug offenses,” and this growth was accordingly seen by people of color (Criminal Justice Facts). Throughout the 70s, black Americans were twice as likely to be arrested for drug offenses, and with the War on Drugs effort in “full force,” by 1988, “blacks were arrested on drug charges at five times the rate of whites” (Fellner). And according to the Human Rights Watch, these disparities “did not reflect racial differences in violations of drug laws prohibiting possession and sale of illicit drugs.” Instead, they existed, and continue to exist, “because drug law enforcement resources have been concentrated in low-income, predominantly minority urban areas.\"\nOne specific law put in place to perpetuate the War on Drugs was in the state of New York. In May of 1973, former vice president and governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller, passed the Rockefeller Drug Laws, therefore mandating prison sentences of fifteen years to life for drug dealers and addicts, “even those caught with small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, or heroin” (Mann). And according to an essay published by the State University of New York at Albany, although white people were, in fact, using “a lot” of drugs and committing “a lot” of crimes in the 70s, “the people being arrested and sent to prison under the Rockefeller laws came almost entirely from poor black and Hispanic neighborhoods.”\nIf these differences in arrests and incarceration do not make clear the purpose of the War on Drugs, a comment made by former White House counsel to Nixon, John Ehrlichman, may be able to: “You want to know what this [war on drugs] was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. … We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the [Vietnam] war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did” (Ehrlichman).\nThe aforementioned phenomenon can also be illustrated by the historical differences between prosecution of the possession of crack cocaine versus the possession of powder cocaine. According to Marc Mauer, former executive director of the Sentencing Project, during the 1980s, “as portrayed on the cover of news magazines and other media, ‘the problem’ was identified as one of black men using and selling crack” (Mauer 47). This media representation, coupled with the fact that crack cocaine was less expensive than powder cocaine, meant that the public would begin to associate powder cocaine with affluent––or specifically, white––individuals, while at the same time associating crack cocaine with the lower class, or specifically, minorities.\nIt is important to note that this association was no accident. In accordance with the comments made by Ehrlichman, by using media to encourage the public to associate certain drugs with certain races, the United States government could “justifiably” overpolice people of color and enact policy that would place incredible burdens on their communities.\nFor example, under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986––passed by former president Ronald Reagan––possession and use of crack cocaine frequently came with harsher penalties, and 80 percent of these penalties were applied to African Americans (Mauer 47). If one possessed five grams of crack cocaine, they were to receive a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. Meanwhile, one would have to possess 100 times this amount of powder cocaine in order to receive this same punishment (England). The reasoning behind this difference in sentencing was not, in fact, based upon any analysis of the dangers of these respective drugs. Instead, it was groundless. According to former representative Dan Lungren, who helped draft the act, \"We [Congress] didn't really have an evidentiary basis for it,” for crack and powder cocaine were simply two different forms of the same drug.\nToday, disparities in the prosecution of drug crimes persist. Not only has the War on Drugs already imprisoned millions upon millions of people of color, but it also continues to do so. While white Americans living states where marijuana is legal are making billions of dollars per year off of its sale, black Americans in other states are facing severely disproportionate representation in the United States prison population for simple marijuana possession (Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers). And according to the Drug Policy Alliance, despite the fact that black Americans are only 13 percent of the United States population and are “consistently documented” to use drugs at similar rates to other races, they “comprise 30 percent of those arrested for drug violations––and nearly 40 percent of those incarcerated in state or federal prison for drug violations” (The Drug War, Mass Incarceration and Race). Moreover, a similar trend can be seen when analyzing the number of Latino Americans who are currently in prison for drug violations.\nThis disparity certainly doesn’t exist due to any observable difference in drug use between different races. Instead, it is largely due to the function of our criminal justice and policing system. According to a study done by the Yale Law Journal, after controlling for “pre-charge case characteristics,” prosecutors were nearly twice as likely as whites to charge black Americans with drug offenses that carried a mandatory minimum sentence when compared to similarly situated white Americans (Starr). This strongly suggests that racial bias plays a large part in the sentencing and prosecution of drug offenses.\nBecause the War on Drugs has historically focused on punishment rather than rehabilitation, communities of color have been substantially weakened by this campaign. Millions of black people have been imprisoned due to the War on Drugs, and it is abundantly known that when a community sees an increase in incarceration, it is much more likely to see an increase in poverty (The Relationship Between Poverty & Mass Incarceration). This means that the War on Drugs also contributes––however indirectly––to impoverishment among communities of color, therefore doing exactly what it was designed to do.\nA personal example of the effects of the War on Drugs on people and communities of color comes from North Carolina-born Alton Lucas, who became addicted to crack cocaine in the late 1980s and subsequently involved in its trafficking (Morrison). He was then sentenced to decades in prison, and because drug abuse in minority communities was not properly seen as the public health issue that it is, he received no help from the United States government in treatment or finding a means of taking care of himself upon his release. He, like many other people of color who were affected by the War on Drugs, struggled to find a job, and even after being sober for almost thirty years, he still cannot do things such as chaperone his own children on school field trips.\nToo many Americans today share similar stories to Lucas. Between 1980 and 2014, the United States has seen an incredible one thousand percent increase in people incarcerated for drug crimes, and a disproportionate amount of these individuals have been minorities (Carroll). This over incarceration seems to do nothing to solve the public health issue that is drug abuse, however, as between the aforementioned years, deaths due to drug use have increased by six hundred percent (Levy).\nThe War on Drugs was waged in order to disrupt communities of color, and that is precisely what it has been doing. In order to truly remedy the issue of drug abuse within the United States, it is imperative that we not only place an intense focus on the rehabilitation of those convicted of drug crimes, but also that we acknowledge the racist history of drug crime prosecutions.\nThe War on Drugs movement has failed us. For this reason, it is time that we abandon this campaign in its entirety.\nWork Cited\nCarroll, Lauren. “Politifact - How the War on Drugs Affected Incarceration Rates.” PolitiFact, The Poynter Institute, 10 July 2016,\nhttps://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/jul/10/cory-booker/how-war-drugs-affected-incarceration-rates/.\n“Criminal Justice Facts.” The Sentencing Project, The Sentencing Project, 3 June 2021,\nhttps://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/.\n“The Drug War, Mass Incarceration and Race - UNODC.” Unodc, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, June 2015,\nwww.unodc.org/ungass2016/DrugPolicyAlliance.pdf.\nEngland, Deborah C. “Crack vs. Powder Cocaine: One Drug, Two Penalties.” CriminalDefenseLawyer, Nolo, 2 May 2013,\nhttps://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/crack-vrs-powder-cocaine-one-drug-two-penalties.htm.\nFellner, Jamie. “United States - Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs.” Vii. Racially Disproportionate Drug Arrests, Human Rights Watch, May 2000,\nhttps://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-05.htm.\nLevy, Gabrielle. “Deaths Blamed on Drug Use Soar 600 Percent from 1980-2014 ...” USNews, U.S. News & World Report, 16 Mar. 2018,\nhttps://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-03-16/deaths-blamed-on-drug-use-soar-600-percent-from-1980-2014.\nMann, Brian. “The Drug Laws That Changed How We Punish.” NPR, National Public Radio, 14 Feb. 2013,\nhttps://www.npr.org/2013/02/14/171822608/the-drug-laws-that-changed-how-we-punish.\n“Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers.” ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union,\nhttps://www.aclu.org/gallery/marijuana-arrests-numbers.\nMorrison, Aaron. “50-Year War on Drugs Imprisoned Millions of Black Americans.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 21 July 2021, https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-health-coronavirus-pandemic-voting-rights-2ac5f3a36cbf3d2c0f3eab780e7ade71.\nSmith, Benjamin T. “New Documents Reveal the Origins of America's War on Drugs.” Time, Time Magazine, 24 Aug. 2021, https://time.com/6090016/us-war-on-drugs-origins/.\nStarr, Sonja B., and M Marit Rehavi. “Mandatory Sentencing and Racial Disparity: Assessing the Role of Prosecutors and the Effects of Booker.” The Yale Law Journal - Home, 2013, https://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/mandatory-sentencing-and-racial-disparity-assessing-the-role-of-prosecutors-and-the-effects-of-booker.\n“The Relationship between Poverty & Mass Incarceration.” MassLegalServices, Center for Community Change, www.masslegalservices.org/Mass_Incarceration.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thewarondrugsawaronus174.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Carroll, Lauren. “Politifact - How the War on Drugs Affected Incarceration Rates.” PolitiFact, The Poynter Institute, 10 July 2016, https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/jul/10/cory-booker/how-war-drugs-affected-incarceration-rates/.","“Criminal Justice Facts.” The Sentencing Project, The Sentencing Project, 3 June 2021, https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/.","“The Drug War, Mass Incarceration and Race - UNODC.” Unodc, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, June 2015, www.unodc.org/ungass2016/DrugPolicyAlliance.pdf✎ EditSign.","England, Deborah C. “Crack vs. Powder Cocaine: One Drug, Two Penalties.” CriminalDefenseLawyer, Nolo, 2 May 2013, https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/crack-vrs-powder-cocaine-one-drug-two-penalties.htm.","Fellner, Jamie. “United States - Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs.” Vii. Racially Disproportionate Drug Arrests, Human Rights Watch, May 2000, https://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-05.htm.","Levy, Gabrielle. “Deaths Blamed on Drug Use Soar 600 Percent from 1980-2014 ...” USNews, U.S. News & World Report, 16 Mar. 2018, https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-03-16/deaths-blamed-on-drug-use-soar-600-percent-from-1980-2014.","Mann, Brian. “The Drug Laws That Changed How We Punish.” NPR, National Public Radio, 14 Feb. 2013, https://www.npr.org/2013/02/14/171822608/the-drug-laws-that-changed-how-we-punish.","“Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers.” ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/gallery/marijuana-arrests-numbers.","Mauer, Marc. “The Endurance of Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System.” Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment, edited by Angela J. Davis, Vintage Books, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, New York, 2018, pp. 31–56.","Morrison, Aaron. “50-Year War on Drugs Imprisoned Millions of Black Americans.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 21 July 2021, https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-health-coronavirus-pandemic-voting-rights-2ac5f3a36cbf3d2c0f3eab780e7ade71.","Smith, Benjamin T. “New Documents Reveal the Origins of America's War on Drugs.” Time, Time Magazine, 24 Aug. 2021, https://time.com/6090016/us-war-on-drugs-origins/.","Starr, Sonja B., and M Marit Rehavi. “Mandatory Sentencing and Racial Disparity: Assessing the Role of Prosecutors and the Effects of Booker.” The Yale Law Journal - Home, 2013, https://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/mandatory-sentencing-and-racial-disparity-assessing-the-role-of-prosecutors-and-the-effects-of-booker.","“The Relationship between Poverty & Mass Incarceration.” MassLegalServices, Center for Community Change, www.masslegalservices.org/Mass_Incarceration."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":158,"pub_key":175,"title":"A Time to Love and Move On","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Rohan Subramaniam","editor":"","date":"2022-01-05","content":"The headscarf coils around her face – a sweet snake\nThat others think will inject venom into their skin.\nEven though it is actually just a pet garter,\nThose who spit in her face will not with trust barter.\nShe simply sits at her desk, writing out psychology notes.\nNo, she is not planning a bombing;\nNo, she was not a conspirator in the 9/11 attacks;\nHer brother’s art supplies are the only thing she playfully hijacks.\nPraying five times a day is just a different software edition\nOf the faith that runs the brains of you and I…\nThere’s nothing wrong with having a different computer,\nAlthough social media foes will use this as a reason to mute her.\nHer innocence is not tarnished, only disrespected\nBy these milk-splitting retorts –\nHer soul deserves forgiveness.\nShe eats halal but her food is happiness:\nDinner with her family is her favorite thing in this world –\nHer mother makes the best ful medames, a stew\nThat warms her insides just as much as mine;\nA hearty meal that shows her life is just the same as mine.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/atimetoloveandmoveon175.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":59,"pub_key":176,"title":"Enjoy Your Youth","subtitle":"","credit":"By Jamee Ganal","editor":"","date":"2022-01-06","content":"Finally being able to experience senior burnout within the first month of school, I wanted to capture the feelings of being drowned or overloaded with work. It’s not just work itself, but pressures to ensure a solid future, grades, and still balance your social life. It’s a universal experience that everyone gets at a certain point of time - and mine happens to be now. As of now, this is the time that most people tell me to enjoy the time I have, and to enjoy my youth. In our society today, many teenagers are dealing with problems unforeseen by our parents, and older generations. The college process is tedious and overwhelming, and we’re faced with the oncoming anxiety of what’s next. To enjoy our youth is easier said than done.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/enjoyyouryouth176.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art","Art"]},{"id":199,"pub_key":177,"title":"Oil Spill","subtitle":null,"credit":"By Jamee Ganal","editor":null,"date":"2022-01-06","content":"Oil spill after oil spill, our oceans and the wildlife in it are facing the consequences, and soon enough, so will we. Big companies, especially ones who refuse to take ownership of their actions are the ones who are creating these problems. Sadly, at the end of the day they will be okay, and people like you and me won’t. Through the use of graphite and acrylic, I hope to draw awareness to the fact these ‘coincidences’ are ultimately purposeful - and they will lead to dire consequences in the future. The top 1% has the ability to do something about it, but they make the average person feel guilty for these problems. We are all accountable for the current condition of the earth, but we also need to hold those with power to also do something.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/oilspill177.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":175,"pub_key":178,"title":"Transnational Surrogacy and its Effect on POC Women","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Mackenzie Pritchard","editor":"Edited By: Wendy Zheng","date":"2022-01-08","content":"As a rapidly growing industry, transnational surrogacy forces us to question our cultural ideas on family, parenting, and motherhood. Its popularity in developing countries, specifically India, also raises bioethical and feminist questions regarding exploitation and commodification of women’s bodies, as well as abuses of power over POC.\nWhat is Surrogacy?\nSurrogacy is a type of assisted reproductive technology, in which a surrogate mother carries a child for a parent or parents in order for them to have a child. There are two main types of surrogacy: traditional and gestational. Traditional surrogacy refers to when the surrogate mother uses her own egg to create an embryo. Gestational surrogacy is when the surrogate mother is given a fertilized embryo from the parents themselves, and is tasked with carrying it. The process in which the embryo is transferred to the surrogate’s womb is called in vitro fertilization (IVF). Given the nature of traditional surrogacy, many legal and contractual loopholes can be exposed due to the fact that the embryo technically belongs to the surrogate mother before the commissioners. A famous case of this would be in the Baby M (1988) custody case. Because of this, the popularity of gestational surrogacy has risen considerably. In this article, we will focus mainly on transnational gestational surrogacy and its implications on women from developing countries.\nThe State of Transnational Surrogacy\nWith transnational surrogacy comes questions regarding maternity, paternity, custody, and children’s rights; it challenges ideas of traditional parenthood, culture, and family. Fariyal Ross-Sheriff, writer of “Transnational Cross-Racial Surrogacy: Issues and Concerns,” states, “The human body is sacred, and a child is a gift from God that cannot be bought, sold, or given away. The sale of a child is a moral outrage, and there are social sanctions against the act” (Ross-Sheriff). Ross-Sheriff looks at the commodification of surrogacy services as a cause for ethical questioning, asking her readers to develop a stance on the various Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) taking over the world. She is right that if surrogacy is taken too far, minority women can easily be exploited and abused for a growing industry. Women in poorer countries look to surrogacy as a way to make money to help support themselves and their families. However, the commodification of women’s bodies can alter traditional views on the role of women and culture. Instead of advancing women’s rights, the surrogacy industry can objectify and lessen them. What used to be seen as an altruistic act, is now being turned into a way to generate income and economic growth.\nSurrogacy is a complicated affair, and it can be hard to find a proper surrogate domestically. It could be due to cost or regulations. In order to skirt this, many couples have found ways to find surrogate mothers internationally. A hotspot for the surrogacy industry is India. Compared to the high cost of gestational surrogacy in the United States ($150,000 per treatment), surrogacy services in India are offered for $25,000-$40,000 (Mercuri).\nWith a rapidly expanding industry comes various issues regarding health and laws. Firstly, gestational surrogacy requires the surrogate to undergo hormonal treatments in order to be prepared for carrying a child. The long-term consequences of these treatments are still widely unknown. Another issue lies in the process of being an egg donor. With unspecific contracts, many vulnerable young women can be enticed into joining studies that could seriously damage their health. In many cases, the studies are beneficial for future surrogate mothers, but can render the donor unable to produce her own offspring. The industry in countries like India is also quite unregulated, meaning that coercion and exploitation are more likely to occur, especially with the power that commissioners can hold over the less educated, poorer surrogates. The interests of the clinics and of the commissioners override the interests of the surrogates in many cases. The Netflix film “Mimi,” outlines a situation in which a young woman is taken advantage of within the surrogacy industry. With aspirations to be an actor, but a lack of finances to support her dream, Mimi agrees to be a surrogate for a visiting couple. However, when things don’t go as expected, the couple breaks their contract, and leaves the child in India with Mimi. Keeping this spoiler free, it is easy to see how young women can be taken advantage of even with contracts and payment. Without further regulation, the cycle of deceit will be difficult to stop.\nIs Transnational Surrogacy a Good Thing?\nThe biggest reason for the rise in popularity of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), is that they open doors for many people who couldn’t have children before. On the surface, surrogacy seems like a wonderful option for those people. However, without proper regulation, issues such as Baby M and exploitation of marginalized women are likely to occur. It is a slippery slope regarding the “commodification” of women and children alike. Surrogacy has always been debated as an ethical and legal issue, and different countries and people have varying opinions on the topic. Daisy Deomampo, an assistant professor of anthropology who focuses on researching commercial and transnational surrogacy states, “Some women saw it as an opportunity and felt it was life-changing—they were providing a service and they were making good money,” she said. “But other women felt it was a degrading experience. They were subjected to a host of medical interventions they didn’t feel comfortable with, and very few ever met the parents who were going to take the babies” (Mercuri). The ethics of surrogacy truly lie in the cultural beliefs of whoever is taking part in the process. In order to create a safe place for POC women in the industry, there must be additions to regulations and guidelines, as well as a cultural mindset change regarding women who participate in surrogacy.\nSurrogacy should be approached cautiously, as with many medical practices. When deciding an ethical stance on it, all different cultures and opinions should be regarded and debated. Does surrogacy produce a “greater good?” Is providing children to families who couldn't have them before worth a risk the surrogate mother must endure? How much is the “good” worth when comparing the pitfalls to it? Can transnational surrogacy be regulated so that POC women are not exploited?\nTransnational surrogacy is not an industry that will fade into obscurity, and because of this, we should not shy away from the ramifications of it. Instead, we should challenge it and improve the regulations surrounding it to protect the ones it employs.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/transnationalsurrogacyanditseffectonpocwomen178.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":178,"pub_key":179,"title":"Ghosts From L.A.","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Vivian Huang","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleem","date":"2022-01-09","content":"the meat of her skin stings\nin the smoking air of L.A.\nher veins are twisted,\ncarved with characters of Chinese;\nred and orange candles\nflicker with smoke of candied\nincense. her legs walk\nthrough roads of alcohol,\neyes shivering as golden rivers\npool around her feet. she sees\nbroken temples, doors ripped\nopen, long black strands\nof hair embroidered into wool\ncarpets. she hears wails, cries,\nscreams as her heels press cold\ncement, sink into soil\nwhere bones sleep and sweat\ntrickles. bloody f-words paint\ncold brick-walls\nof abandoned ginseng booths\nand the clay teapots steamed\nwith honey—melt phrases she\ncannot hear.\nshe shivers once,\ntwice before she leaves,\nthe click-clack of her high heels\nring as she says bye\nto the ghosts\nwaving at her.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/ghostsfromla179.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":125,"pub_key":180,"title":"The Earth: My First Love","subtitle":"","credit":"By River somerville","editor":"","date":"2022-01-11","content":"Often people think their first love is something of which they were first enamored at a very young age, like a binky, or their own thumb. The love that I am discussing is different, for love has many definitions. In this journal entry and letter to Mother Earth itself, I am describing my infatuation with the planet us humans call home—a galactic being that has scientifically and emotionally grown close to my heart over the past few years as I have familiarized myself with its infinite wonders and adaptability. The poem below is intended to illustrate how—during a time of overbearing stress from school, the brunt of climate change, and increasingly partisan government—Earth proceeds with grace, but it is vulnerable. We have a duty to help maintain and nurture its complexity. I love the Earth, but I know our respect is mutual, and we cannot continue to be genuine with our current unsustainability and individualism (specifically here in the United States).\nA Love Letter to Mother Earth (Free Verse)\nThough your weight is on my shoulders, sometimes you dangle above\nAttached by an invisible string—could be cut at any moment.\nI look up as you hang from the sky in my mind.\nI marvel at your beauty; I grimace at your unpredictability.\nRemaining optimistic appears an unending battle,\nWhen we’re actually on the same team.\nYou’re innocent, but wise—purposeful—\nAs you navigate your infinite life.\nYou are a being of many pasts, presents, and futures\nWith you I have little time.\nYour beauty shan’t be stripped,\nToo precious for your own good.\nI am in love with you.\nYou raised me.\nTo you I owe my time,\nWhich I easily lose track of.\nOur relationship halts at the state of imperfection,\nThough our connection only grows deeper.\nProtect you I will,\nBut you have the final say.\nYou’re the most generous marvel I know.\nWe would be foolish to neglect your second chances.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theearthmyfirstlove180.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":57,"pub_key":181,"title":"A List of the Top Ten Absolutely Out of Pocket Shit Cis People Have Boldly Said Within Reach of These Hands","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Newton Brophy","editor":"","date":"2022-01-13","content":"I’ve been out as a guy since August 2014. That’s over seven years of people saying dumb shit to me. In that timespan, I’ve gone from ignoring it, to thinking I can educate, to deciding to set boundaries, to finally coming to the conclusion that sometimes you just gotta ruin somebody’s day.\nThe following is by no means an exhaustive list, just a collection of things that particularly stand out. You can repeat them if you so desire. I would not recommend it. If you do, and then someone hurts your feelings, it will be extremely funny (for me, not you).\n10. “Can I ask what your old name was?”\nNo. No you cannot. This was actually the most recent item on the list, asked by an HR associate at my new job, in front of fellow new hires.\nLiterally all the basic things you're told when engaging with trans people can be boiled down to: Mind your own business.\n9. Literally any implication that I’m going to Hell.\nMultiple strangers in downtown Tampa have felt the need to impress this on me. Tampa is just like that. People love telling you things you already know. I think it’s the southern hospitality.\n8. “Oh thank God you’re a girl!\"\nThis one is a tiny bit funny actually, due to how brazenly incorrect it is. Context: An older gentleman who was waiting for me to sign his program at the opening night afterparty of my first professional show, in which I played a transmasculine teenager who dressed in drag, spotted me and exclaimed this upon seeing the skirt I was wearing.\nI have no idea why he was so invested in my gender, or why his opinion was that I should be one over another. It’s honestly too silly to even be truly angry over.\n7. “Whatever you are.”\nDon’t refer to trans people as “it” unless explicitly told to. I will bite you.\n6. “Do you have a clitoris?” / “Do you have a penis?”\nMan come on.\n5. “What made you want to convert to the most hated people of all time?”\nThis one needs context too: this was almost gleefully asked by an older, white Jewish woman who I had just met and had begun asking invasive questions about my Judaism, while ignoring my friend who had arrived with me… who was also Black. She did not once acknowledge him before the conclusion of the conversation. Not wanting to throw him into the fray in my answer to the above, I simply said, “Well, I’m a transsexual, so.”\nHilariously, later in the conversation she asked if Jews are more accepting of “it”, and seemed genuinely bemused when I laughed out a “No” without elaborating.\n4. “You don’t really act like a man.”\nIt’s only ever men who say this to me. Maybe it’s because eye contact in a restroom doesn't intimidate me.\nThis comment came from the same man who asked if I have a clitoris, a 37-year-old who was trying to get into my pants when I was 23. So honestly I take it as a compliment.\n3. “I’m just gonna call you by your old name.”\nNot if you value your personal property, you're not.\n2. Prioritizing cis feelings about transition\nonce acted in a short play where the central conflict was whether a father's personal angst should prevent his son from transitioning. It was written by a cis man, and I was the only trans person involved.\nI had to explain several times that there is no \"both sides\", that avoiding \"being too political\" is a moot point when it's a play about transness. Both the director and playwright were cis with trans children, and neither grasped the concept that they had no authority over the bodies of their grown offspring. The director also said the last item on this list to my face:\n1. \"I think most trans people expect people to be completely on board with them right away.\"\nThis was intended as a complaint.\nBut honestly, this is a good rule of thumb in engaging with trans people: be completely on board with them right away.\nIf you've got impertinent questions, or moral objections, or ethical dilemmas, instead of making them our problem, consider instead: cope ❤️.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/alistofthetoptenabsolutelyoutofpocketshitcispeoplehaveboldlysaidwithinreachofthesehands181.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":180,"pub_key":182,"title":"Structural Racism in Healthcare","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Mackenzie Pritchard","editor":"Edited By: Wendy Zheng","date":"2022-01-15","content":"Structural racism has been a pervasive issue within the U.S. healthcare system, rearing its ugly head amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Its effect on POC communities shows how crippling implicit biases can be towards a population’s growth and success. Combating discrimination in healthcare should be a priority for all of us, as it affects the wellbeing of minority groups and the majority alike. To begin, we must first identify the prejudices and biases healthcare professionals hold, and find ways to change the system as a whole.\nRacism is a system that permeates U.S. healthcare. Though doctors claim to treat all patients equally, that simply is not the case. Many times, a doctor may hold implicit biases about certain races. For example, over half the medical students that answered this mass survey said that African-Americans have “thicker skin,” and are more tolerant to pain: “Black Americans are systematically undertreated for pain relative to white Americans … This work provides evidence that false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites continue to shape the way we perceive and treat black people—they are associated with racial disparities in pain assessment and treatment recommendations.”\nBiases against POC not only affect their treatment in the medical world, but also in job searches and schools. Historically, we can see how BIPOC communities have been ostracized and put at disadvantage. As described in “The Harmful Impacts of Implicit Bias and Systemic Racism,” an agency focused on providing people with education and health:\nGenerations of housing policies like redlining and racial covenants in the Twin Cities forced BIPOC families into less desirable neighborhoods and banned them from more desirable neighborhoods designated for White families…. And because lower-income neighborhoods are higher in crime, have less availability of fresh foods, and poorer-quality education for children, housing impacts numerous aspects related to one’s health and livelihood. (Neighborhood House)\nBecause of this, BIPOC must work harder for opportunities white people receive readily. Most of the time, it is the environment which dictates a person’s access to health services.\nThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recorded multiple circumstances of health inequality in 2015, including:\nRacism strongly influenced the mental health of POC groups, with higher amounts of stress, depression, and anxiety.\nMore issues in pregnancy: children were born at a lower weight, and birth rate dropped.\nA lack of access to healthcare in certain areas: health inequality is correlated with income inequality. People who live in low-income neighborhoods have less access to health insurance and good hospitals.\nThe State of Transnational Surrogacy\nWith transnational surrogacy comes questions regarding maternity, paternity, custody, and children’s rights; it challenges ideas of traditional parenthood, culture, and family. Fariyal Ross-Sheriff, writer of “Transnational Cross-Racial Surrogacy: Issues and Concerns,” states, “The human body is sacred, and a child is a gift from God that cannot be bought, sold, or given away. The sale of a child is a moral outrage, and there are social sanctions against the act” (Ross-Sheriff). Ross-Sheriff looks at the commodification of surrogacy services as a cause for ethical questioning, asking her readers to develop a stance on the various Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) taking over the world. She is right that if surrogacy is taken too far, minority women can easily be exploited and abused for a growing industry. Women in poorer countries look to surrogacy as a way to make money to help support themselves and their families. However, the commodification of women’s bodies can alter traditional views on the role of women and culture. Instead of advancing women’s rights, the surrogacy industry can objectify and lessen them. What used to be seen as an altruistic act, is now being turned into a way to generate income and economic growth.\nSurrogacy is a complicated affair, and it can be hard to find a proper surrogate domestically. It could be due to cost or regulations. In order to skirt this, many couples have found ways to find surrogate mothers internationally. A hotspot for the surrogacy industry is India. Compared to the high cost of gestational surrogacy in the United States ($150,000 per treatment), surrogacy services in India are offered for $25,000-$40,000 (Mercuri).\nWith a rapidly expanding industry comes various issues regarding health and laws. Firstly, gestational surrogacy requires the surrogate to undergo hormonal treatments in order to be prepared for carrying a child. The long-term consequences of these treatments are still widely unknown. Another issue lies in the process of being an egg donor. With unspecific contracts, many vulnerable young women can be enticed into joining studies that could seriously damage their health. In many cases, the studies are beneficial for future surrogate mothers, but can render the donor unable to produce her own offspring. The industry in countries like India is also quite unregulated, meaning that coercion and exploitation are more likely to occur, especially with the power that commissioners can hold over the less educated, poorer surrogates. The interests of the clinics and of the commissioners override the interests of the surrogates in many cases. The Netflix film “Mimi,” outlines a situation in which a young woman is taken advantage of within the surrogacy industry. With aspirations to be an actor, but a lack of finances to support her dream, Mimi agrees to be a surrogate for a visiting couple. However, when things don’t go as expected, the couple breaks their contract, and leaves the child in India with Mimi. Keeping this spoiler free, it is easy to see how young women can be taken advantage of even with contracts and payment. Without further regulation, the cycle of deceit will be difficult to stop.\nIs Transnational Surrogacy a Good Thing?\nThe biggest reason for the rise in popularity of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), is that they open doors for many people who couldn’t have children before. On the surface, surrogacy seems like a wonderful option for those people. However, without proper regulation, issues such as Baby M and exploitation of marginalized women are likely to occur. It is a slippery slope regarding the “commodification” of women and children alike. Surrogacy has always been debated as an ethical and legal issue, and different countries and people have varying opinions on the topic. Daisy Deomampo, an assistant professor of anthropology who focuses on researching commercial and transnational surrogacy states, “Some women saw it as an opportunity and felt it was life-changing—they were providing a service and they were making good money,” she said. “But other women felt it was a degrading experience. They were subjected to a host of medical interventions they didn’t feel comfortable with, and very few ever met the parents who were going to take the babies” (Mercuri). The ethics of surrogacy truly lie in the cultural beliefs of whoever is taking part in the process. In order to create a safe place for POC women in the industry, there must be additions to regulations and guidelines, as well as a cultural mindset change regarding women who participate in surrogacy.\nSurrogacy should be approached cautiously, as with many medical practices. When deciding an ethical stance on it, all different cultures and opinions should be regarded and debated. Does surrogacy produce a “greater good?” Is providing children to families who couldn't have them before worth a risk the surrogate mother must endure? How much is the “good” worth when comparing the pitfalls to it? Can transnational surrogacy be regulated so that POC women are not exploited?\nTransnational surrogacy is not an industry that will fade into obscurity, and because of this, we should not shy away from the ramifications of it. Instead, we should challenge it and improve the regulations surrounding it to protect the ones it employs.\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/structuralracisminhealthcare182.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Barbara Stark, Transnational Surrogacy and International Human Rights Law, 18 ILSA J. Int'l & Comp. L. 369 (2011-2012) Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/faculty_scholarship/630/","Mercuri, Joanna. “How Transnational Surrogacy Challenges Ideas of Parenthood and Race.” Fordham Newsroom, 23 Mar. 2016, https://news.fordham.edu/politics-and-society/transnational-surrogacy-challenges-ideas-of-parenthood-race/","Ross-Sheriff, Fariyal. “Transnational Cross-Racial Surrogacy: Issues and Concerns.” Affilia, vol. 27, no. 2, May 2012, pp. 125–128, doi:10.1177/0886109912445269.","“The 4 Different Types of Surrogacy You Need to Know.” Types of Surrogacy, https://www.americansurrogacy.com/surrogacy/types-of-surrogacy#:~:text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20the,whose%20egg%20is%20being%20used."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":171,"pub_key":184,"title":"Detroit","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Madeeha Anjum","editor":"","date":"2022-01-16","content":"O say, can you see,\ntheir forms huddled in the darkness,\nchildren whispering and biting\ntheir nails under wooden desks\nwhile their thoughts scream aloud,\ncaught under the footsteps lurking outside,\nthe click of the gun that burns through\ntheir ears while they await a visit\nfrom Death himself.\nAnd the rockets' red glare,\nthe bombs bursting in air,\nwhile the ambulances rush\nacross the streets, their\nsirens raging like the sea\nthrashing against the rocks,\nthe cries from anxious parents\ndrowning under the beating\nSun.\nO say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave\nover the thousands of children that stand and\nwait, counting the lost ones amongst themselves\nwhile the men in blue storm in, attempting\nto become saviors in this lost battle,\nthe thickness of the air hanging from above\nin reminder, cradling this moment of silence.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/detroit184.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":129,"pub_key":183,"title":"I Wish I Was the Fairest of Them All","subtitle":null,"credit":"By: Elizabeth Chern Yue Khor","editor":null,"date":"2022-01-16","content":"7 years old\nSnow White is a fairytale about a princess who had skin\nas white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony\nwood. Mom told me that I reminded her of Snow White each week when\nshe read me the fairytale. It was our tradition.\n“Mirror Mirror on the Wall, who’s the fairest of them\nall?” She would exclaim dramatically.\n“You, my queen, are fair; it is true,” I would chirp in.\n“But Snow White is a thousand times fairer than you.”\n“That’s why you remind me of Snow White,” she would\nsmile as she turned towards me. “Because to me, you’re the fairest\none of them all.”\nEver since she read me the fairytale, she would try and\nwarn me against going outside for too long. She’d advise me against\nplaying sports with all my friends. The heat from the sun might be\nblazing and uncomfortable to many, but to me, the rays of sunlight\nare comforting. I will never understand why Mom hates days when the\nsky is a gorgeous clear blue, and the entire house is touched by\nsunlight.\n“Vivi!” Alyssa, my friend, screams at the top of her\nlungs. “Over here! Pass it to me!”\nI glance at her and send the soccer ball flying in her\ndirection. With a swift kick, she sends it tumbling into the mini\nsoccer goals. The other two players, Parker and Vinumi, groan and\ninstantly accuse us of cheating. It doesn’t matter, a grin pulls on\nmy mouth and I run to hug her.\n“That was awesome!” I gasp.\n“Coach helped me with my aim yesterday. He says I have\npotential!” Alyssa smiles proudly. “I’m going to go tell my mom.\nCome!”\nBoth of us race from my backyard to the patio, where all\nthe parents are discussing important issues, as Mom calls it. Alyssa\nand I call it gossip.\n“Her skin is as pale as Snow White. You weren’t kidding,\nAmy.” A high-pitched voice slices through the air.\n“God, Vivi is so pretty,” a voice cooed. “You know, I’m\ntrying to convince Alyssa to give up soccer. It’s doing horrible\nthings to her skin.”\nAlyssa and I skit to a stop, freezing as the voices of\nour parents and relatives ring through our ears. I drag her behind a\nwall, where we’re hidden but still able to hear every word they’re\nsaying.\n“I’m a bit worried for Vivian myself,” Mom’s voice comes\nin hushed tones. “She wants to join a soccer team, can you believe\nthat?”\n“No!” a range of voices gasp.\nI frown at those comments. I’ve been wanting to play\nsoccer forever; it’s my biggest dream. Even Alyssa agrees that I\nshould, and we would make such a great team. Why is she so against\nthis?\n“If she does soccer, she might look as dark as Vinumi,”\nAlyssa’s mom says. “Alyssa nearly does.”\nThe discussion of sports continues as both of us retreat\nfrom the patio. The walk back to where Parker and Vinumi are is\nsilent as the words of our mothers’ words echo in our head. It\ndoesn’t matter, who cares what they think?\n“So, do you want to play another game?” I grin at\nAlyssa.\n---\n14 years old\nOh God, Mom is going to kill me. My arms and legs are a\nbright red, and it feels as though I’m in an oven myself. At least\nshe can’t see my stomach and back, which are also tinted a deep red.\nThe sunscreen didn’t work, how can sunscreen not work? Mum’s not\neven going to believe me if I say I had sunscreen on. Oh God, this\nis a disas-\n“Vivian!”\nI whip my head around. Speak of the devil.\n“Hi! We won our soccer game!” I smile, meeting her eyes.\nShe does not look happy.\nHer eyes narrow onto the red blotches on my skin. “You\nsaid you would put on sunscreen.”\n“I did!” I defend myself. “It was even SPF 50+.”\n“你在骗我！(You’re lying to me) ” She yells.\nOh no, she’s speaking Chinese now. She only does this\nwhen she’s furious.\n“为什么你要把你的皮肤弄坏? (Why do you want to ruin your\nskin?)” She sighs. “When your relatives come over, you won’t even\nlook like them anymore!”\n“That doesn’t particularly bother me,” I say.\nBut I know my comments and opinions don’t matter because\nMom continues to lecture me on the importance of maintaining my skin\nin perfect condition. She flings out rhetorical questions and\nattacks at me, hoping that one of them will cause my walls of\nindifference to crumble. Each word she throws at me is expertly\nchosen and articulated to make me feel insecure.\nHours after her yelling, I’m in the bathroom. Her words\nare still crystal clear in my head, bouncing off the walls I’ve put\nup, the phrases repeating in my mind. My hands are balling into\nfists as I stare at myself in the mirror. If Snow White ended up\nsurviving her mother, then I would too.\nHer words will not affect me. They won’t.\n---\n15 years old\nI love shopping. I especially love the malls, the new\ndresses that are in stock, and the bright lights that just seem to\nwelcome me. It’s especially fun when I’m with friends and mess\naround with the different outfit combinations. Ooh, or when I’m\nwindow shopping at an expensive store and I just gaze at all the\npretty dresses and- Oh my God.\nI’m staring at a dress that’s on display at a small\nboutique. I can feel my heartbeat pounding faster. It’s the most\ngorgeous shade of pale yellow with shimmery blue butterflies on it.\nThe fabric hugs the mannequin’s figure until it hits the waist and\nflares out. The material looks so soft and I really, really want it.\nWithout thinking twice, I enter the boutique, dragging\nmy mom with me, and grab my size from a nearby rack. I rush into the\ndressing room, desperate and excited to try it on. If it fits, it’ll\nlook perfect on me. The colour is so pretty, and I could wear it to\nanything.\n“Mom, look!” I turn around, whipping the curtain of the\nfitting room.\nHer eyes settle on the dress. I’m expecting her to smile\nand exclaim about how pretty I look. In fact, I’ve expected\neverything and anything other than the response she shows. Her lips\nare set in a frown and her eyebrows are narrowing, analysing the way\nI look in it. I instinctively shrink away from her gaze, a wave of\nunsureness crashes into me.\n“It’s a pretty dress,” she finally musters. “It’s just,\nyour skin tone doesn’t really compliment the dress. In fact, most of\nthe colours of the dresses in these stores don’t really suit . . .\nyou.”\nThere’s a small squeeze in my heart as her words hit me.\nMy walls crumble slightly at that, even though I know they’re just\nsmall, pointless, insignificant words. They’re words that she’s\nrepeated for so many years, so why should they bother me now?\n“Yvonne, is that you?” My mom gasps in surprise.\nMy head swivels around and lands on an unfamiliar girl\nand her mother. My breathing hitches as I realise the girl is\nwearing the same dress as me. She’s smiling angelically with her\nlong black hair, a dark red lipstick contrasts her pale complexion.\nThe dress fits her like a glove and makes her seem like she’s\nglowing. She looks like a literal princess.\n“Abby looks absolutely amazing in that dress!” she\ncontinues. “You should definitely get it!”\nSomething in my gut drops at that, as I look at the way\nMom gazes at Abby in awe, as though she’s an angel. She hasn’t\nlooked at me like that in a long time.\n“Is that Vivi?” Yvonne, the girl’s mother, gazes at me.\nIt’s not a gaze; it’s a glare. “She looks . . . alright. She’s\nchanged a bit from the last time you showed me a picture of her. Her\nskin’s a bit . . . dark.”\nThe smile that I had forced onto my face freezes as my\nmother turns to look at me. I expect her to say something to\ncompliment me or defend me. Instead, she flicks her head around and\nchats with Yvonne and Abby. She says nothing to me.\nI hate shopping.\n---\n16 years old\nEveryone has milky, white skin, except for me.\nI gaze at a performance of Red Velvet on my computer\nscreen, but all I can focus on is their perfect complexion. In fact,\nit’s all I can focus on nowadays. Maybe if I could look like them,\nMom wouldn’t look at me like . . . like I was dirty. It’s not just\nher, it’s everyone. Family friends, relatives, and people in our\nneighbourhood send me looks that are quick and fleeting, but I’ve\nlearned to pick up on them. My stomach lurches at the thought of\nthem.\nI finally decided to quit soccer last year, when I was\nfifteen. I think that was the happiest Mom had ever been about me,\nand she’s working on finding the best products to “restore” my skin,\nas she calls it. Nothing has changed since last year.\nI click out of the tab with frustration and load a new\nvideo. God, if only there was just a product that could-\n“This new whitening cream is sure to bring you that\nclear milky white complexion that even Snow White will be jealous\nof,” a calming voice interrupts my thoughts.\nMy eyes flick towards the screen as an advertisement\npops up. My mind is swirling with thoughts and disbelief as the\nadvertisement continues.\n“Used by many stars, such as Red Velvet,” the voice\ncontinues. “Buy one today and get your second one free.”\nI instantly hit the pause button on my keyboard and gaze\nat the product on the screen. Could this be the answer to all of my\nproblems? I could look like those girls at the mall, and my mom\nwould finally compliment me instead of giving me those snide\ncomments and I wouldn’t look so different from everyone else.\nI buy 10 tubs of whitening creams without a second\nthought, but I could only think of one thing the entire time.\nI can finally look pretty.\n---\n17 years old\nWhy don’t I look like everyone else?\nIt’s been 6 months since I first started using the\ncream, and I’ve done it morning and night because of today, Chinese\nNew Year. It’s the time of the year when the entire extended family\ngathers around and eats a dinner that lasts for hours. As a child, I\nloved it. As a seventeen-year-old that looks completely different\nfrom the rest of her relatives, I dread it.\nI try to cover half of my face with my hair, but I can\nsee my cousins, my aunts, and uncles all glancing at me and talking\nabout me in hushed tones. Sometimes I catch one of their eyes, and\nthey have no choice but to turn away guiltily.\nCurrently, I’m seated alone on the couch. My knee\nbounces up and down. My hands are clasped around the whitening cream\nin my bag by my side. My thoughts won’t slow down. Any second now,\nmy grandmother will come out of the kitchen and I have to greet her.\nOh, God.\n“Vivian?” A shaky voice exclaims.\nI look up and meet a pair of dark eyes, similar to mine.\nThere’s a small crinkle at the sides of those eyes, which match the\nwrinkles on her mouth. Her lips are quirked upwards and I’m a bit\nshocked. Is she smiling?\n“婆婆，恭喜发财，新年快乐!” I rush through the Chinese\nNew Year phrases that Mom drilled into me when I was five.\n“Let me look at you!” she laughs warmly, and I can’t\nhelp but smile too.\nBut as she starts to take a closer look at me, the smile\non her face begins to fade. The crinkles at the sides of her eye\ndisappear. Her face begins to tighten with dismay, and I feel my own\nface mirroring hers. It was so dumb of me to expect anything other\nthan this reaction.\n“Celine,” she beckons my mom over.\nAll our relatives have gathered around to watch too,\nwhich is even better.\n“What happened to Vivi?” her voice trembles. “She was so\npretty. Her skin was so pale. Now she doesn’t even look like us!”\nI feel like I’ve been slapped in the face. I sit there,\nfrozen in my spot as everyone just laughs, and continues to talk\nabout how dark I look. Tears begin prickling in my eyes and my grip\non the cream tightens. The heat beneath my skin makes my cheeks\nflush red and I can’t help but tremble. Even my mother is laughing\nwith all of them. Beneath all of the noise, I can feel my heartbeat\nracing. Racing with anger and humiliation.\nI excuse myself, but I don’t think anyone hears me, and\nmake my way to the bathroom. My tears are threatening to spill over\nonto my hot cheeks, a sob climbing its way up my throat. I force my\ntears back. I will not let them see me cry. Their words do not\naffect me.\nI slap the whitening cream onto the left side of my face\nfuriously. My fingers scoop up a ridiculous amount of cream and\ncontinue to rub it onto my face until it turns red. The tears\nfinally begin to run down my cheeks, but I don’t care and I don’t\nstop. I need to look paler. I need to look prettier. I need to look\nlike them.\nMy eyes catch sight of my reflection in the mirror and I\nstop. Half of my face is covered in splotches of red and white\ncream, and the other half is tanned, almost brown. My dark eyes, the\nones that hold the one resemblance I have to the rest of my family,\nare red and empty, different from the lively glint in my relatives’\nshiny eyes. My breathing is shallow and I struggle to take deep\nbreaths. A quiet sob finally escapes from my lips.\nA memory flings into my mind of Mom telling me a story.\nThe story about Snow White that I still cherish to this day. She\nwould sit by my bed and tell me that I was fair and pretty. I can\nstill hear the echo of her voice in the back of my mind, speaking in\na deep voice to entertain me. I whisper in my mind, meeting my\nreflection’s gaze.\nMirror Mirror on the wall, I wish I was the fairest of\nthem all.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/iwishiwasthefairestofthemall183.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":25,"pub_key":185,"title":"Health: Weight Bias Not Included","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Michaela Capulong                                            Edited by: Summer LaPointe","editor":"Edited By: Summer LaPointe","date":"2022-01-18","content":"<p>Here&rsquo;s a hard pill to swallow: more likely than not, you probably associate good health with having a thin or &ldquo;normal-sized&rdquo; body. If this statement does not apply to you, astonishingly, you have somehow managed to block out the blatant fatphobia within modern society that seeds the perception that larger bodies are inherently bad, disgraceful, or a symbol of laziness and gluttony. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people have been unable to accomplish this for one distinct reason: our world is steeped in diet culture. Diet culture, the traditional paradigm that glorifies smaller bodies, equates thinness to moral superiority and good health, and encourages disordered eating (disguised as &ldquo;healthy eating&rdquo;) in the pursuit of weight loss. This system of beliefs is hidden in plain sight, like visits to physicians who admonish you to &ldquo;watch what you&rsquo;re eating&rdquo;; commercials showing a woman claiming that she &ldquo;lost X amount of pounds on Weight Watchers, and you can too!&rdquo;; colleagues at work pontificating about how they're &ldquo;being so bad&rdquo; because they opted to have a slice of cake during your boss&rsquo; birthday celebration. These beliefs cause you to automatically assume that a larger-bodied person is in bad health and possesses a host of medical complications, and politely suggest that they make some lifestyle changes. Diet culture is dangerously deceptive and incredibly insidious. These microaggressions have become so normalized in our culture that many do not realize the real harm these pejorative comments can have. With all of that being said, here&rsquo;s how to decouple weight bias with health, and approach health from a weight-neutral paradigm. The first order of business when changing your mindset about weight in regards to health is identifying the aspects in which diet culture thoughts are present within your own mind. Do you abash yourself when you consume food that is typically deemed &ldquo;unhealthy,&rdquo; or meticulously compute whether or not you can &ldquo;afford&rdquo; the excess calories in a gourmet dish? Do you subconsciously label foods as &ldquo;good&rdquo; or &ldquo;bad?&rdquo; Be cognizant of when these thoughts come about, and name them as what they are: internalized fatphobic beliefs. After taking the initial step of breaking down diet culture intrapersonally, notice how weight bias shows up in your judgments of other bodies. When you think of a healthy individual, do you immediately envision a thin person? Do you feel that those who do not align with the &ldquo;thin ideal&rdquo; should actively pursue weight loss and attempt to make their body smaller? Sit with the discomfort in this. Often, pinpointing and confronting these feelings can elicit an assortment of emotions; some guilt, some denial, and maybe some confusion. Denormalize shrinking one&rsquo;s body in the pursuit of so-called wellness. Exercise self-compassion and remember that most of these thoughts are due to diet culture indoctrinating you with the belief that smaller bodies are inherently better. Acknowledge that this notion is false&ndash;body size cannot be equated to one&rsquo;s moral virtue nor their worthiness, and this applies to even the most marginalized of bodies. After you&rsquo;ve familiarized yourself with the principles of weight neutrality but find that you have lingering vestiges of diet culture, remind yourself that implementing a lens of body acceptance and eradicating fatphobia&ndash;even in its most subtle manifestations&ndash;is social justice work. If you consider yourself an activist and advocating for necessary change is something you truly care about, higher-weight individuals must be included when you demand equality and representation. Like other systems of oppression, those with larger bodies face a myriad of prejudice in their day-to-day lives, especially institutionally and in healthcare. By separating health from the thin ideal, you are working towards allowing people of all body shapes and sizes the security and accessibility that all human beings deserve. Disassembling internalized diet culture beliefs is not an endeavor that can be done overnight. However, the weight-neutral paradigm approaches health without attaching moral value on body size, celebrates immanent body diversity, and empowers those in marginalized bodies to feel more at home in their natural state without feeling the need to alter or shrink their body.</p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/healthweight.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":33,"pub_key":186,"title":"Embracing My Culture","subtitle":"","credit":"By Unmani Tewari  Edited by : Huiwen Chen","editor":"Edited By: Huiwen Chen","date":"2022-01-20","content":"I am Indian.\nI have grown up in India all my life, my family is also 100% Indian. I was still unable to accept my Indian heritage and culture- in fact rejected it for the majority of my life.\nWe have heard many stories about people not accepting their culture when they are outside their native country. I was not able to accept my heritage while being surrounded by it, while being here.\nThere were many traditions and ceremonies I did not want to be associated with, many aspects I did not understand and numerous habits that did and do not correlate with my personality, likings or beliefs.\nRecently a close family member got married. If you didn't know, Indian marriages have many nitty gritties and traditions. While my family was getting ready and planning these ceremonies, I realised how far I’d pushed my own heritage away from myself, how foriegn I felt. That is when I started on my journey of embracing my culture.\nDon’t get me wrong, I still do not agree with many aspects of my culture but I am able to accept that many of them are part of my history––Indian history.\nThis helped me realise that embracing our cultural heritage is so important. Imagine how boring it would be if we were surrounded by people who were the exact same as us––people who had no customs or past. When you embrace your heritage, you learn to accept your own differences, and those of others because there is a heightened sense of acceptance and open-mindedness to cultures.\nThrough this piece, I want to start the conversation about being able to embrace our own culture, no matter what that entails, no matter where we are, no matter who we are. I want us to be able to talk about our history, be able to spread it, and be able to accept it to the best of our abilities.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/embracingmyculture186.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":173,"pub_key":187,"title":"Broken Promises","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Myesha Phukan","editor":"Edited By: Chloe Chen and Wendy Zheng","date":"2022-01-22","content":"promises are meant to be broken\nat least that’s what they said\nan unbreakable bond cleaved in half\nin an instant,\nto them,\na promise is a minuscule thing\nfickle\nso much so, the wind could blow it away\nin a split second\nbut they didn’t know\nthat as she waved goodbye to her mother\nshe promised her that\namerica would welcome her with open arms\nand\nwould not shun her away for who she was\na promise that was made\nby their entwined fingers\nby the connection of their hearts\neven an ocean away\nbut the country that she had thought\nwould welcome her like its child\ninstead drove her away,\nchipping away pieces of a porcelain glass\nthe american dream\nturned out to be\nher worst nightmare\npromises of prosperity and prospect\nluxury\nand\nopportunity\ndisappeared in the blink of an eye\nand\namerica\nshowed its true colors\na true america\nwhere mothers are pulled away from their children,\nand where loving who they love\nis seen as a crime against God\na true america,\nwhere the rights of her body\nnever existed\na true america,\nwhere being a certain color\nis a death sentence\nand so,\namerica chips at her bit by bit\ndulling her sparkle,\nstifling her shine\nuntil all that’s left\nis a porcelain piece\ncracked beyond recognition,\nlost in her dreams\nto not face the reality of a broken promise","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/brokenpromises187.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":79,"pub_key":188,"title":"ICE Facility Under Construction in Warwick, Rhode Island","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Newton Brophy\n\n          \n                        \n          Edited by: Kenny Tung & Aliza Shahab","editor":"Edited By: Kenny Tung & Aliza Shahab","date":"2022-01-23","content":"On November 2nd, 2021, Never Again Action RI received an anonymous tip accompanied by public documentation and permits, indicating that construction was underway for an ICE detention facility on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, Rhode Island.\nImmigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which has only existed since 2003, is a federal agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS itself is only 19 years old, having been established post-9/11. ICE is most notorious for its detention and incarceration of undocumented immigrants, just one mechanism in the wider deportation and genocide machine.\nAccording to reporting by Uriel J. García for the Texas Tribune , detention numbers under the Biden administration are climbing close to the numbers seen under the Trump administration:\n“On Oct. 1, a recorded 22,129 immigrants were in ICE detention centers, a 56% increase since Biden took office, according to statistics compiled by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, also known as TRAC. Overall, 75% of ICE detainees have no criminal record — ICE classifies a person as a convicted criminal even if the crime is as innocuous as not keeping a dog on a leash, according to TRAC’s analysis.\nAt the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, the number of people in ICE detention was 38,000, according to TRAC’s analysis. Just before Biden took office in January 2021, the number of detainees decreased to as low as 15,000 — a 60% drop. That downward trend continued for the first month of the Biden administration before the number of ICE detainees started to rise.”\nIt increasingly appears that the biggest promise kept from the Biden campaign was the glorified, unapologetic “return to normalcy,” in which we saw record numbers of deportations under the Obama administration before Trump even took office.\nIn the past, the only (known) ICE detention facility in Rhode Island was the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility located in Central Falls, colloquially referred to as the Wyatt. Local activists have been working for several years to close the facility, which is also the only private for-profit prison running in the state. During one direct action in August of 2019 organized by Never Again Action RI, Captain Thomas Woodworth, a correctional officer, drove his pick-up truck into a line of people who were peacefully protesting outside the prison. When protestors refused to allow him to escape in his vehicle, they were heavily pepper-sprayed by his colleagues. The incident resulted in four hospitalizations, all protestors. Woodworth was never charged with a crime.\nNow, ICE appears to be increasing its unwanted presence in RI. The new facility at 443 Jefferson Boulevard is only a few blocks away from the Customs and Border Protection office, located in a suite at 300 Jefferson Boulevard. In fact, during scouting of the construction site at the former location, Never Again members went to the CBP office down the street, only to find this very ill-advised sign on the door, all but confirming their suspicions:\nThe same day,\nSteve Ahlquist for Uprise RI\nreported on the information alluded to in the public permits, emphasizing that the use of the structure was clearly stated to be “office and short-term detention.” I highly recommend reading his article above, and the permits here. In addition, Uprise questioned John Mohan, Public Affairs Officer for the New England Region for ICE. His response: “Thanks for the inquiry. I’m going to decline to comment since we don’t talk publicly about any alleged internal decisions or plans of facilities that the agency works with.”\nOn November 19th, I reached out to Vincent Gebhart, City of Warwick Councilman for Ward 9, as his constituent. During our phone conversation, I was told that this construction was moving a previously existing processing facility, as well as an expansion upon its capacity. This appears to have been a repetition of a statement given by Mayor Frank Picozzi on his Facebook on November 5th:\nIt’s likely that this is the answer Mayor Picozzi was given upon his own inquiries, and that he is simply repeating what he has been told. However, it’s crucial to note that the claim of the new processing center “replacing” an existing facility is misleading; ICE was sharing an office with CBP at 300 Jefferson Boulevard, but now ICE will have its own office at the 443 Jefferson Boulevard location. The CBP office at 300 will remain open. So, far from replacing or moving, ICE is expanding.\nOn December 20th, during a city council meeting for Warwick, Never Again Action RI was present during public comment to bring attention to the construction of the facility. Steve Ahlquist’s coverage of the city council meeting can be read\nhere.\nOutside of Uprise’s sleuthing, there has been little meaningful coverage of the facility. The only other news item has been Alex Malm’s brief piece in the Cranston Herald , which does little to interrogate the veracity of ICE’s claims that the facility is not for detention, but rather for, “processing.” This is explicitly contradicted in the very permits\nthat, I cannot stress enough, state that the purpose of the building is for “short-term detention.” Referring to immigrants as “non-citizens,” ICE’s spokesperson claims to Malm that the facility will have “holding rooms” (read: cells), where it will take a maximum of 12 hours to decide whether the immigrant is “either transferred to a detention facility or released on an alternative to detention program.” Essentially, “processing” is pregaming for detention: when immigrants are detained, they are obviously processed first.\nWith the additional element of an audit of the potentially sketchy bidding process , it strains credulity that there has been little effort to hold ICE’s conflicting statements against each other; likely, because they cannot truthfully be reconciled. Bluntly, the powers that be splitting hairs over the exact correct phrase to describe a system of incarceration of immigrants seems cruelly pedantic.\nLocal activists continue to work for the eradication of ICE operations in the state, but with a second facility on the way, it appears their job is going to become more difficult if construction is allowed to be completed.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/icefacilityunderconstructioninwarwickrhodeisland188.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":34,"pub_key":189,"title":"Unconfined","subtitle":"","credit":"By Ro Kornerup","editor":null,"date":"2022-01-25","content":"Growing up, I’ve always felt uneasy in my own skin. I was never really able to pinpoint what made me so uncomfortable until a year ago. I found out about the term “nonbinary”. “not relating to, composed of, or involving just two things”. I was surprised that such a thing could exist. I admired not being constricted to one or two things. I later Identified with this term, because It felt like I finally had the freedom to express myself. Being nonbinary has no limits to how you can present yourself and how you wish your gender to be perceived.\nMany times people tend to misunderstand what this gender identity means. People often would like to put labels like “androgynous” to what a nonbinary person should look and act like. When in fact, that defeats the whole purpose. To me, it means being free to express yourself and your gender identity in any way you want. There is no specific look or shape to what nonbinary is because it is infinite and unconfined.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/unconfined189.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":108,"pub_key":190,"title":"When a Saint Loses its Virtue","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Danica Seto \n        Edited By: Kenny Tung","editor":"Edited By: Kenny Tung","date":"2022-01-27","content":"If boys had to look the way we do, they’d be six feet below ground. Mom reminds me to smile for the camera. Soften your grace to be desired, your skin admired, a beauty worthwhile. Keep your nails polished and offer your sweet sweet smile. Then maybe you’d satisfy the greedy eyes.\nThey’re entitled to our bodies, so how loud are their voices to stifle our own? Girls greet each other in arms. Entwined with rules bartered in hushed tones. Don’t falter when they study your curves. Don’t shatter under unwanted hands. Don’t let them call you angry. Of course, you are nothing if not respectable.\nGive us breath to describe our sorrow, and we will weep from this world to yours. Mothers, grandmothers wielding hairbrushes like brandished weapons. Tidying strands to be shaped for elegance. A frame of untainted poise. Femininity unvarnished. And knotted thorns rooted in locks of ebony. But if we don’t sculpt hair through bristles of plastic, what else will mold our features into a picture of complicity?\nSmile when the camera flutters to capture your body turned stale. Brutalized beyond recognition, abandoned when you are worth less to this world than the clothes torn off slack limbs. You should have listened. Listened when the universe recited its rules. Too long in the dark, too much skin exposed, too little glancing behind your back. Your hair, a net littered in filth. What happened to that sweet sweet smile? What are you now but a reminder of all the ways we have failed the female gaze?","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/whenasaintlosesitsvirtue190.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":55,"pub_key":191,"title":"> 50%","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Rohan Subramaniam","editor":"","date":"2022-01-30","content":"of Native Americans living in US tribal communities\nHave been discriminated against by the police or their employer.\nScorned, Navajo may be turning the other cheek,\nBut American citizens turn the other way –\n34% don’t see the tear of blood trickling down\nAn Apache face.\nIt all started when European ships floated over the Atlantic,\nWith the Devil on their sides and Hell in their cargo holds.\nMore than 2,500 Choctaw died as they were herded West.\nIroqouis, Cherokee and countless others dropped like flies\nOnto the wilting grass, as the soil soaked up their blood.\nAnd flowers sprouted up in the soil,\nA tribute to the spilled indigenous crimson,\nA reincarnation of those slaughtered.\nBut those were plucked too\nAnd given to the nearest John Doe’s wife.\nNowadays, monuments serve as token gestures\nTo the atrocities – the New Echota memorial in a Georgia\nstate park is a selfie-stick background.\nNo one bothers to read the plaque, or else\nThat 34% would be 0%.\nIn 2021, even our silent stereotyping reaches a finger\nInto young Native American brains and flicks a switch\nLabeled “I don’t feel native enough.”\nThe finger presses a button\nMarked “I feel virtually invisible,”\nAnd pulls a lever designated\n“I am lost, buried deep within this scorching melting pot.”","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/50191.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":100,"pub_key":192,"title":"Let’s Leave Toxic Discussions Around Food in 2021","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by Maya Henry\n\n\n\n           \n                        \n           Edited by Summer LaPointe, Chloe Chen","editor":"Edited By: Summer LaPointe, Chloe Chen","date":"2022-02-02","content":"Every December, malls wrap their fake indoor plants in silver tinsel, radio stations blast Christmas carols with different beats but the same lyrics, and people from Southern California convince themselves that sixty-five degrees is below freezing and worthy of a scarf, mug of hot chocolate, and audible comment about how cold it is outside. The switch that is holiday joy is flipped, and the only acceptable answer to “how are you?” is one of unabashed merriment.\nDecember can be fun: ice skating rinks pop up, those tiny striped candy canes magically appear on desks and in bags, families reunite, and fuzzy socks get their chance to shine. But for every eggnog scented, rose-tinted memory one person savors from the holidays, someone else is reminded of a month of stress, discomfort, and loneliness. Strained relationships with family, economic worries, and school finals don’t magically disappear for the holidays, and instead often see increases alongside the return of Mariah Carey. In fact, such stress is so common that the American Psychological Association found that only 8% of people surveyed reported an overall increase in happiness around the winter holidays. Unfortunately, much of this tinsel-induced stress is the result of a capitalistic system and society, and is ultimately harder to combat on a local scale without the reevaluation and deconstruction of long-held traditions.\nBut one thing we can control this holiday season? The number of youth ending the 2021 holiday season with a worse relationship with food than they began.\nThe holidays can be especially hard for those who struggle with eating: there are delicious, plentiful, and often “unhealthy” dishes everywhere you look. These foods are tantalizing. These foods are meant to be eaten and enjoyed, yet may instead be accompanied by constant scolding. Whether in the form of billboards, judgemental relatives, or sponsored influencers pushing new diet teas and meal replacement gummies, food can be painted as a villain leading indulgers to failure. For years, holiday meals have been dotted with reminders of body insecurities: “We’ll work this turkey off tomorrow, won’t we?” “Everyone deserves a cheat day.” “I’m not eating anything tomorrow to make up for this plate.” And, for years, such comments have worsened the body-image pool that youth look into.\nThe US is already aware of this long-standing struggle with eating disorders in youth: a 2018 study estimated that as many as 10% of teen girls in the US have an eating disorder at any given time. When talk of “new-year-diets” and “guilt-free days” are added to the equation, the pressure to conform to certain body types is only heightened and teens’ relationships with food are worsened.\nDisordered eating doesn’t deserve a platform to speak and recruit new youth over the holidays. One way to block such recruitment this holiday season is to watch your words to avoid fueling disordered eating and to keep discussion of diets and weight loss private. No matter how well-intentioned, discussing weight and plans to start a new diet in 2022 can be extremely triggering to those on the periphery of the conversation. They may feel as if they should be starting a new exercise regime, too, or as if they should cut down on their caloric intake because others are. Even if meant to be a discussion of one’s individual health plans, remarks about calories or waistline size–especially in a season filled with so many conversations around and about food–so easily plant and water seeds of body dysmorphia in other peoples’ minds.\nIn all months, but especially around the winter holiday season, it’s important to not only be extra mindful of harmful language, but to also embrace healthy self-love patterns. Whenever possible, use the holidays as a chance to stress the fact that life can not be measured quantitatively. Life can not be measured by the numbers on a scale or the calories in a slice of cake any more than it can be measured by the size of jeans you wear or the number of stretch marks you’ve gained in the past year. Remind others–and yourself–that the memories you’ll make from sitting at the dinner table and eating the food far outweigh any guilt gnawing at the back of your subconscious, bullying you away from food. And, most importantly, be kind and forgiving with yourself and your body, especially if you’re recovering from an eating disorder or find the holidays a stressful season for one of the plentitudes of other potential reasons.\n2022 is sure to present its fair share of new challenges. As we sort through the good and bad of 2021 and decide which memories to bring with us into January, it’s important as ever to continue advocating for healthier relationships with food, and redirecting the way we discuss body image; one’s relationship with food lasts a lifetime, and it can be difficult. But throughout this holiday season, future ones, and beyond the winter months as well, kindly encourage yourself and others to strive for a new outlook on food and eating habits. For, there’s no reason an even trickier relationship with food needs to accompany us into the new year, too.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/letsleavetoxicdiscussionsaroundfoodin2021192.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":38,"pub_key":193,"title":"Queer romance novels: Because everybody deserves a happily-ever-after","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by Maya Henry","editor":"","date":"2022-02-04","content":"“So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist\nFor decades, one genre of book has continuously supported the book-selling industry. Worth a staggering $1.08 billion a year and making up 23% of the fiction market\nin 2016, romance novels prove every year that there is a mammoth demand for happily-ever-afters. Although such novels continue to be coined as a guilty pleasure and are rarely taken seriously in academic settings, they have a profound effect on youth learning about relationships. Thus, the more pressing issue with romance novels ought to be their undeniable issue with diversity .\nOne such issue with diversity in romances comes to light with regards to LGBTQ+ representation. All genres of media, but particularly romances, center largely around cis-gendered, heterosexual characters –or cishet for short. Meanwhile, queerness is commonly treated as a commodity to boost sales and create buzz. Oftentimes, the only queer representation that non-queer people are exposed to features highly stereotyped, hypersexual, one-dimensional queer characters that either have neverending trauma from being LGBTQ+ or are poster children for extreme carefreeness.\nRarely do we see non-cishet people get a happily ever after, and when they do have romantic success, they are often in unhealthy, abusive relationships that are the antithesis of what young people should aspire to have. Take André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name, a novel so successful that it was adapted into a film, becoming Sony’s third highest-grossing production of 2017. Though often hailed as a revolutionary LGBTQ+ romance, it instead portrayed a sexual relationship between a 17-year-old and 24 year old as consensual, played off controlling tendencies as good-natured protectiveness, and overall told its millions of readers and viewers that queer youth should be so lucky to find a relationship as abusive as the one between Call Me By Your Name’s main love interests. As Cheyenne Montgomery wrote for the Boston Globe, “No, “Call Me by Your Name” isn’t a radical, brilliant piece of art. We need to call it by its name. That name is abuse.”\nYet disappointing representations such as Call Me By Your Name shouldn’t dissuade readers from seeking out romance novels. Romance media can play a large role in many queer youths’ coming out journey, inspiring confidence in youth that they one day can find a partner who accepts them for their identity. And perhaps most basically, they can also be fun page-turners that leave readers with a smile on their face and a box of used tissues.\nAlthough there are fewer than ideal, there is still a selection of excellent young adult LGBTQ+ romance novels. In honor of Valentine’s Day as well as in honor of queer love that should be celebrated every day, here are some favorites:\nFor historical fiction lovers, Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo is a heart-twisting, sapphic story of first love for Lily, a Chinese-American teenager living in San Francisco during the Red Scare. In the 1950s–where being a rumored communist or communist-sympathizer was enough to be fired, blacklisted, or deported–Lily ventures out with Kath, Lily’s friend who eventually becomes much more, and continually risks her safety to be with Kath and explore their relationship, identities, and the town’s LGBTQ+ scene. Kath takes Lily to a lesbian bar, The Telegraph Club, and the more that Lily socializes with others who have never felt comfortable on the arm of a man, the more Lily is unsure of her future.\nProving that inclusive and impactful romance can be done and be done well, Last Night at the Telegraph Club has nuanced, complicated characters who are struggling with things other than their queerness. In addition to LGBTQ+ Asian-American representation, Lo also portrays how Lily faces even more danger than Kath, for she is not only queer but Chinese-American in a decade–and country–where Chinese-American communities were openly and actively persecuted.\nAnother fantastic YA romance with queer main characters is I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver. The highly anticipated novel follows Ben, a non-binary teenager on the brink of adulthood, and the path they take as they learn to come to terms with their past. When thrown out of their house post-coming out, they move in with their older, estranged sister Hannah and her husband. And so, Ben starts a new semester at a new school in a new town with a new family, and the only constant remains their debilitating anxiety and insistence on putting their head down and surviving the year unscathed. They are soon introduced to Nathan, who intrigues Ben and forces them to lower their carefully crafted walls. As Ben starts to feel things greater than strictly friendship towards the quick-to-smile, easy-going boy who has taken Ben under his wing, Ben learns to navigate the confusing feelings of liking someone you fear you’ll never have.\nAn open and honest discussion of mental health, family dynamics, generational trauma, and love that blooms at times least expected, I Wish You All the Best is a book that alternates between inspiring tears of sadness and joy. Featuring a non-binary main character, a diverse cast, and a plot that realistically shows the immense lows, middles, and highs of adolescence, Deaver delivers a memorable novel that everyone deserves the great joy of reading.\nFinally, Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender is a modern-day book that will command your full attention and emotions to the very last page–and even for some time after. Felix, a queer, Black, and transgender teenage artist in New York City, is already facing extensive discrimination at every turn he takes. That's all before a classmate begins anonymously cyberbullying Felix, going so far as to leak Felix's deadname and pre-transition photos. As Felix tries to hunt down their cyberbully, they struggle with the absence of their mom, are conflicted with not always feeling as masculine as he feels he should, and are battling feelings for their best friend, Ezra.\nFelix Ever After is a story about flawed characters whose relationships and actions drive the plot, rather than the other way around. It’s impossible to not grow attached to Felix and Ezra and their developing relationship, and perhaps even harder not to root for Felix as he continually struggles and overcomes curveballs hurled at him. Callender delivers a hard-hitting book with a diverse, at times juxtaposing, cast, with such human characters and dialogue that it’s unthinkable to not be invested in the plot.\nFebruary is the month of Cupid, pink and red glitter, and unabashed love–both romantic and platonic–that everyone should get to enjoy. Romance novels offer people of all ages and identities an escape into a world where soulmates end up with each other, shaping how healthy relationships are perceived and modeled–especially for youth. Thus, inclusive, consensual, loving, and realistic romance books have importance beyond providing giggles and blushes to middle schoolers passing around romances in English class. They can pave the way for queer youth, who may never grow up knowing an established queer couple to examine the relationship dynamics of, to learn about all aspects of the heart: self-love, abusive love, fleeting love, unrequited love, and perhaps most of all, the kind of unconditional love that shouldn’t only exist in romance novels.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/queerromancenovelsbecauseeverybodydeservesahappilyeverafter193.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":44,"pub_key":194,"title":"The Uneven Road","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by Mackenzie Pritchard","editor":"","date":"2022-02-07","content":"In your neighborhood, the sidewalks are uneven and the roads are cracked. In the winter, the alleyways and roads are coated with snow, the plows not taking the time to roll through the streets. Summer nights, you can hear the crickets chirp through your window. There is a small line of shops lining the street near your house, and you sometimes walk with your friend through the area, window shopping at the pawn shop. A river runs through a nearby park and you fondly recall the water soaking your socks as you splashed through it with your friend: there is not a single corner of that park you have not explored. Though the paint on the outside of your house is fading, and there are wasps living beneath your porch, you have nowhere else to compare it to, so it is home.\nOnce a week, your mom drives you to the tennis court, a larger-than-life building made partially of stone and tarp. Sticking by her side, you walk through each pod of tennis courts until you make it to the last one. The class has a very small number of students: you and two others. They are twins, a boy and a girl, both sporting the same pinched expression on their faces.\nAs you walk through the revolving door, the girl presses her pointer finger to her nose, flattening it. “Your nose is flat,” she says plainly.\nYou frown and press your fingers to the side of your nose to make it more like hers. What’s wrong with it, you wish you were brave enough to ask. Instead, you hide behind your mom and watch as she walks away. For too long, you wish for a nose that is not yours.\nThe school you’re going to is not actually the school you’re supposed to be going to; it’s crafted from brown stone rather than bricks and is too far to walk to from your home. Instead, you take the bus, hunched close to the window as it bumps its way over the cracked roads. You are an inherently skittish child, scared to do things without the moral support of your parents or your friends. Your best friend, of course, opts to ride in her sister’s car rather than with you, so there you sit, alone on the bus. Watching from fingerprint-stained windows, the houses seem unfamiliar, though you’ve taken this route everyday. You write hello in the condensation before you get off to start the day.\nIt’s the New Year, and the hallways are decorated with paper lanterns you had made in class. Every year your classmates have asked you what your family does to celebrate, and this year is no different.Though your parents make an effort to incorporate Chinese culture into the home, it is obvious, even to you, that it is not the same.\nThe teachers ask you how to say Happy New Year in Chinese, but you shrink into yourself and let your hair fall to cover your face. When you answer, it’s barely above a whisper: I don’t know. And then they’ll look at you in a way that reminds you of the girl at the tennis court, as if they’re asking aren’t you Chinese? You know you are Chinese, but are you really? Because you don’t know what it’s like to be raised by Chinese parents, you don’t know the culture, or the language. It should be easy to say, but you’re too afraid to say it, too afraid to be different. So instead you sit in silence, embarrassed that you can’t be who they want you to be. Embarrassed of who you are.\nWhen you get home, you ask, “Are you my real mom?”\nShe replies, “Of course I am.”\nWhen you ponder this in your eight-year-old mind, all you can see is that she does not look like you. You tell her so, and she wraps you into her arms. Voice gentle, she says, “We don’t have to look alike to be family.”\nEven among the people you feel you should relate to, you still feel lonely; there is nothing to relate to– you have lived being raised by white parents. How can you know what it’s like to be Asian if you were not raised as an Asian? Sometimes you wish your parents were more strict so that you could feel included. Mostly, you wish you had not quit learning Mandarin, as it would’ve been a scrap of identity to connect with others. Without it, you feel inferior, like you don’t deserve to call yourself Chinese-American. How could you be considered a part of their community if you do not share the same struggles and experiences? Instead of participating with the others, you chose to stay silent, afraid they will judge you for what you lack.\nWhen everyone sees your face, your hair, and they call you Chinese–but you feel unqualified for that label. Yet with your face, you can’t be white either. Your parents encourage you to embrace your culture, saying, “the road is long, but there is always a destination.” You direct your anger towards them even though they don’t deserve it. How could they understand anyways? All you can see ahead of you is an empty horizon; as long as you continue forwards, it seems you will never find your destination. White or asian, distant from each other, from you. And you wonder what to call yourself, since you have decided that you are neither.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/theunevenroad194.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":204,"pub_key":195,"title":"Police Reform & Procedural Justice","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by Kennedy Kelis                                              Edited by Grace Bennet and Alice Lei","editor":"Edited By: Grace Bennet and Alice Lei","date":"2022-02-10","content":"According to professor Gary Potter at Eastern Kentucky University, modern-day policing within the United States largely emerged not as a response to crime, but “as a response to disorder” (Potter). However, the parameters of this disorder, he argues, are unfortunately quite difficult to place. In northern areas such as Massachussetss and New York in the 17th and 18th centuries, police forces––or, “night watches”––were predominantly composed of volunteers or men performing watch duties as punishment. Contrarily, in southern areas such as the former Carolina colonies in 1704, police forces were instead composed of slave catchers whose principal duties were to “chase down, apprehend, and return to their owners, runaway slaves.” This means that not only was the system of American policing created as a way of maintaining “order” instead of preventing crime, but it was also born of a heinous need to ensure the prosperity of slavery.\nPolicing within the United States has historically focused on crime punishment rather than prevention, and this punishment has been disproportionately dispensed to people of color. Consequently, this has led to a negative relationship between communities of color and police, as neither of these groups have positive experiences with the other. Researcher Connie Hasset-Walker discusses the origins of this negative relationship in her piece published by the American Bar Association, specifically focusing on public views of police by black Americans. She refers back to the origins of policing in the south and its establishment for the sole reason of perpetuating slavery, then posing two important questions: “When a relationship begins like this, can citizen mistrust of police ever fully be overcome? Has policing as an institution evolved far enough away from its origins to warrant Black communities’ trust?” (Hasset-Walker).\nIn December of 2016, the CATO Institute found that while 68% of white Americans expressed a favorable view of police, only 40% of black Americans and 59% of Latino Americans expressed this same view (Ekins). This can largely be attributed to racial bias and mistreatment experienced by these communities. For example, according to a study published by Stanford University in 2017, after analyzing 4.5 million traffic stops by the 100 largest police departments in North Carolina, it was found that black and Latino Americans were more likely to be searched than white Americans despite the fact that searches of white motorists were more likely to result in the discovery of contraband (Andrews).\nWhen referring to national data, after examining a sample of black and white individuals throughout their \"adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood,\" Cydney Schleiden, Ph.D, published a longitudinal study in the peer-reviewed Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal (Schleiden). This study found that even after controlling for relevant factors, black participants were arrested seven times more often than white participants. It is important to note that the study also found that \"neither contextual nor behavioral differences\" could possibly account for this disparity, and the results were also concluded despite black participants \"having on average less alcohol use, less drug use, and similar rates of delinquency and arrest in emerging adulthood.\nFinally, according to a study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, in the ninth district of the United States alone, Native American males were 14 times more likely to have fatal encounters with the police as white males, and Native American females were 38 times more likely to have fatal encounters with police as white females (Harvey). It is therefore reasonable for Native Americans to have unfavorable views of police as well.\nThe aforementioned information therefore suggests that the discrimination experienced by people of color when interacting with police may be a cause of negative community outlook, for when a demographic is demonstrated to be targeted by the police, they are accordingly more likely to have a negative view and general distrust of the group as a whole (Harris).\nIn order to mend this negative relationship between police and communities of color, as well as communities as a whole, it is imperative that we rebuild the United States’ policing system in its entirety. We must create a legitimate police force that views citizens as human beings and desires crime and community improvement as opposed to punishment.\nOne excellent way of reaching this goal is by employing procedural justice. The National Initiative for Building Community Trust & Justice defines procedural justice as having four principles:\n\"treating people with dignity and respect, giving citizens 'voice' during encounters, being neutral in decision making, and conveying trustworthy motives” (Procedural Justice). In short, to employ procedural justice is to encourage police departments to engage in positive interactions with the people whom they police, therefore building strong relationships and mutual trust.\nIn her essay “Boys to Men: The Role of Policing in the Socialization of Black Boys,” professor Kristin Henning explains a way in which police departments may employ procedural justice: “Police departments might periodically identify and share success stories about young black males from the local community, including stories about youth who have enrolled in college, secured employment, or excelled in academics or sports'' (Henning 84). Officers may then use their knowledge of black success to counteract stereotypes of young black men, thus interacting with them with a greater degree of patience and understanding. This knowledge, combined with a change in officers’ actions, will certainly improve police’s views of community members, as well as community members’ views of police.\nA specific example of the implementation of procedural justice within police departments comes from New Haven, Connecticut. In this city, researchers from Yale University, Rutgers University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted a randomized trial in order to study the effects of positive interactions with law enforcement on police legitimacy and general public view (Peyton). The police officers in this trial made unannounced visits to randomly assigned homes across the city, then knocking on doors and initiating a formal greeting with the person who answered. These officers were trained to “anticipate suspicion and immediately disarm anxiety” within the first twenty seconds of this interaction, so they met homeowners with phrases such as “Everything is okay. No one is in trouble and everyone is safe” in order to eliminate feelings of fear. Subsequently, police officers engaged in ten minute conversations with residents, encouraging individuals to “provide feedback about policing and neighborhood issues.” Residents were then contacted to complete a survey regarding this interaction, and researchers then found significant improvements in the general view of police, with non-white individuals exhibiting the greatest positive change.\nFurthermore, procedural justice can be applied to communities of all races. In a randomized control trial published in 2012, between three and four hundred drivers were stopped by police at one of sixty roadblocks, and they were then subject to either “a standard traffic stop with a breath test” or an “experimental traffic stop that employed principles of procedural justice before and after the breath test” (Henning 81-82).\nIn the experimental stops, police “explained why they were doing the roadblock testing and informed drivers about the number of deaths from road accidents” (Henning 82). The officers participating in experimental stops also engaged in short conversations with the people whom they stopped, eliciting “ideas and advice” about problems that community police faced. Following this interaction with police, stopped drivers were then given a sealed envelope in order to take a survey regarding their experience. Consequently, drivers who participated in an experimental stop were “significantly more likely” to report altered views on drinking and driving, indicating a “greater willingness to comply with the law” (Henning 82).\nThe aforementioned research demonstrates that when police treat citizens like people, we see a substantial improvement of police legitimacy and willingness to comply with the law within communities. Research has also shown that this improvement is imperative to creating legitimacy coming from community members, for when individuals feel that they can trust the police, they are more likely to report crimes and work with local officers to better their neighborhoods (Kochel). Therefore, not only is procedural justice necessary to improve public view of the police and to put an end to racial profiling, but it is also necessary to ensure the safety of all community members.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/policereformproceduraljustice195.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Andrews, Edmund. “Stanford Researchers Develop New Statistical Test That Shows Racial Profiling in Police Traffic Stops.” StanfordNews , Stanford University, 8 Sept. 2017, news.stanford.edu/stanford-researchers-develop-statistical-racial-profiling-police-traffic . Accessed 17 Jan 2022.","Ekins, Emily. “Policing in America: Understanding Public Attitudes toward the Police. Results from a National Survey.” Cato.org, Cato Institute , 7 Dec. 2016, www.cato.org/understanding-public-attitudes-toward-police-results-national . Accessed 17 Jan 2022.","Harris, David A. “Racial Profiling: Past, Present, and Future?” Americanbar, American Bar Association, 21 Jan. 2020, qa.americanbar.org/criminal-justice-magazine/racial-profiling-past-present-and-future/ . Accessed 17 Jan 2022","Harvey, Matthew. “Fatal Encounters between Native Americans and the Police.” Minneapolisfed, The Center for Indian Country Development, 2019, www.minneapolisfed.org/fatal-encounters-between-native-americans-and-the-police/fatal-encounters-between-native-americans-and-the-police_march-2020.pdf . Accessed 20 Jan 2022.","Hassett-Walker, Connie. “How You Start Is How You Finish? The Slave Patrol and Jim Crow Origins of Policing.” Americanbar.org, American Bar Association, 11 Jan. 2021, www.americanbar.org/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/how-you-start-is-how-you-finish/ . Accessed 17 Jan 2022.","Henning, Kristin. “Boys to Men: The Role of Policing in the Socialization of Black Boys.” Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment, edited by Angela J. Davis, Vintage Books, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, New York, 2018, pp. 57–94.","“Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department.” Justice, Department of Justice, www.justice.gov/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf✎ EditSign . Accessed 17 Jan 2022.","Kochel, Tammy, et al. “Examining Police Effectiveness as a Precursor to Legitimacy and Cooperation with Police.” Taylor & Francis, Justice Quarterly, 23 Nov. 2011, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07418825.2011.633544?needAccess=true . Accessed 17 Jan 2022.","Peyton, Kyle, et al. “A Field Experiment on Community Policing and Police Legitimacy.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 1 Oct. 2019, www.pnas.org/content/116/40/19894#sec-2 . Accessed 17 Jan 2022.","Potter, Gary. “The History of Policing in the United States, Part 1.” EKU Online, Eastern Kentucky University, 20 Aug. 2021, ekuonline.eku.edu/blog/police-studies/the-history-of-policing-in-the-united-states-part-1/ . Accessed 17 Jan 2022.","“Procedural Justice.” TrustandJustice, National Initiative for Building Community Trust & Justice, trustandjustice.org/resources/intervention/procedural-justice . Accessed 17 Jan 2022.","Schleiden, Cydney, et al. “Racial Disparities in Arrests: A Race Specific Model Explaining Arrest Rates across Black and White Young Adults - Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal.” SpringerLink, Springer US, 3 May 2020, https://link.springer.com/article/s10560-019#Sec8 . Accessed 23 Jan 2022."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":131,"pub_key":196,"title":"Crimes in the Water","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Madeeha Anjum","editor":"","date":"2022-02-12","content":"We the people,\nstrapped to the high tides\nand fluttering in the billowing winds,\nour aspirations and desires\nswarming in the gut of the sea,\nMother Nature calling like\na siren in deep waters.\nWhere does distinction\nlie in the sea,\nthe crests and troughs of\nsouls pressed against one\nanother, bodies and\nminds meshed as one\nentity cooled under\nmoonlight.\nWoven of the same silk\nwater sheets, fashioned\nwith the same tools and\nfigures as our siblings,\nwe stand as one under\nthe pulsing heart of the\nsea, breathing alongside\nschools of trout.\nBut we are warriors of fiction,\ncreating division between ourselves\nand overwriting the fine line that\nweaves between us, our water bodies\nsevered by the curse of social\nhierarchy.\nAnd in our need for a clear distinction\narose the need for superiority and the\n“name game,” a battle of slurs and\nvitriol we spat in our pursuit of\nthe world, our conquest of the sea.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/crimesinthewater196.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":35,"pub_key":197,"title":"one more second","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Myesha Phukan\n           \n           Edited by Chloe Chen and Wendy Zheng","editor":"Edited By: Chloe Chen and Wendy Zheng","date":"2022-02-15","content":"the first bang sounds\nfeet stampede through the hallway,\near-splitting screams and cries mingle in the air\n\nthe fifth bang sounds\nclassroom doors slam,\nthe desperate metallic clicking of locks\nechoing throughout\n\nthe tenth bang sounds\nthe silent whooshing of\n“if anything happens”\nand\n“i love you” texts\ndeafen the room\n\nthere’s no keeping count anymore\n\nlife dissipates,\ncrimson surrounds us\nan abrupt stop\nto the last words they uttered\nscreams volumes\n\nheavy hearts’ sigh of relief as\nfaint sirens sound in the distance\n\nlowered heads\nand\ncowering bodies\n\na bullet pierces the door\n,\nplease,\n","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/onemoresecond197.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":76,"pub_key":198,"title":"I'm Yours","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Vivian Huang","editor":"","date":"2022-02-18","content":"the man in white is crying\nagainst his scarlet sheets,\nmade from his Ma’s wrinkled,\ntrembling fingers.\nwhite knuckles grip\nknives from the window\nas he calls out\nin harsh Mandarin—\nGive me a kiss, baby.\nlipstick stains pale skin,\nexplodes like scorching lava,\nlike the laughs that escape\nglistening red lips.\nbaby, please.\nwicked smiles creep onto\ncold cheeks, bruise fragile\nwrists made of glass\ntempered with heated lust.\nthe man in white whispers\nYou’re mine, baby.\n(she’s his.)\nwhimpers escape as\nstiff toes entangle beneath\ncotton sheets that tear like\nwool.\nshattered windows fog,\ncry as they fall\nto snow.\ni’m yours.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/imyours198.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":20,"pub_key":199,"title":"Depressive Episodes","subtitle":null,"credit":"By Unmani Tewari","editor":null,"date":"2022-02-20","content":"A depressive episode in the context of a major depressive disorder is a period characterized by a low mood that lasts for a period of time. The usage of the words low moods makes it feel like something that can be brushed off and something that is casual. I want to spread awareness about how this feels- the loneliness, being unable to do something, peaks in anxiety, the feeling of nothingness and the feeling of being nothing.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/depressiveepisodes199.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":137,"pub_key":200,"title":"Just Breathe","subtitle":"","credit":"By Ro Kornerup","editor":"","date":"2022-02-22","content":"How can something as simple as breathing be so hard? “”, they would say. Yet no matter how hard I try to fill my lungs with air, all I feel is the never-ending doom of drowning.\nExperiencing a panic attack can be very traumatic to many because of how much it feels like you are losing your ability to be able to breathe. The before, the unsettling feeling in your stomach and throat before it happens. The feeling of losing all control over your body, having no choice but to gasp and inhale desperately for air. The after, your body shakes as you try to relax your stiff body. All of it is exhausting, and to many, this can be a problem they will have to deal with for the rest of their lives. The sickening feeling that you will inevitably experience it all over again.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/justbreathe200.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":102,"pub_key":201,"title":"Choice Feminism: An Illusion of Progress","subtitle":"","credit":"By Danica Seto","editor":"Edited By: Joyce Huang and Eliet Williamson-Diaz","date":"2022-03-20","content":"It’s hard not to cringe when hearing signature phrases from the\nearly 2010s. Among terms like woke and lit, #Girlboss rose in\npopularity using enticing colors and aesthetic fonts. Social media\nmainstreamed the phrase into an ideal motto for Instagram timelines,\nPinterest boards, and Tumblr posts. It was plastered onto anything\nand everything profitable: backpacks, mugs, throw pillows, and\nForever 21 t-shirts. Caption your post “girl boss” and you’re the\nepitome of female empowerment. As catchy as the phrase was, it\ninevitably became just another word with little substance. People\nwere obsessed with “Girlboss” because of choice feminism and its\nnarrative that continues to prevent the actions necessary for\nsystemic change.\nAuthor, lawyer, and pundit Linda R. Hirshman’s article “Homeward\nBound” was published in The American Prospect in 2005 where she\ncoined and dismantled the phrase “choice feminism.” She labeled the\ntrend she saw in the U.S. (and most Western societies) saying, “A\nwoman could work, stay home, have 10 children or one, marry or stay\nsingle. It all counted as “feminist” as long as she chose it.”\nPolitical factors of the time such as the Bush presidency’s push for\nwomen’s “access to more opportunities” in the 2000s only stood to\nencourage the growing trend of choice feminism. Whereas second-wave\nfeminism focused on the women’s movement for equal legal and social\nrights in the 60s, third-wave feminism is the period from the 1990s\nto the present day where feminism acknowledges intersectionality and\ndiversity. Choice feminism claims that the accomplishments of\nsecond-wave feminism has allowed women to make choices as a form of\nliberation in the framework of the third-wave.\nChoice feminism is a type of contemporary feminism that\nencourages women to view all choices they make in life as\nlegitimate, and more importantly, always politically correct. It\npraises all women for being feminist, no matter how anti-feminist\ntheir behavior may be. Hirshman compares the decisions women make\nregarding their professional and personal lives as ones directly\ninvolving a woman’s choice. Under the pretenses of choice feminism,\nthey can choose whatever lifestyle they please and by merely being a\nwoman, they would be considered a feminist. The shared\nperspective that women making decisions is inherently feminist is\ncommon among women who make vastly different lifestyle choices. It\nisn’t considered a single ideology or political stance, but rather a\ncommon understanding of feminism, one usually involving the\ninterpretation of freedom. It’s believed that for women to be free,\nthey must be able to make individual choices. As such, choice\nfeminism puts greater emphasis on the liberties women have\nachieved—their freedom to vote, participate in the workforce,\netc.—as well as choices they can take advantage of in the 21st\ncentury. While great feats for their time, a woman’s ability to\npurchase a credit card or pursue higher education cannot be\nconsidered radical in any sense. For feminism to function in today’s\nclimate, it must adapt to challenge the many issues women still face\ntoday: being chastised for speaking up about sexual assault, the\nwage gap, or being undermined in STEM fields. The complexities\nwithin gender inequality have never been limited to a few major\nconcerns, but rather the countless flaws sexual discrimination\nfabricated in America’s institutions. With choice feminism,\nattention revolves around ideas of individualism aiming for women to\nmake choices that will benefit themselves. It neglects to discern\nall the ways gender equality hasn’t yet been achieved.\nIn the journal Choice Feminism and the Fear of Politics,\nMichaele L. Ferguson discusses the environment that allowed choice\nfeminism to thrive. He writes that choice feminism is the result of\nthree conditions in which feminism receives the most critique for\nits failure to appeal to the majority: it’s radical, exclusive, and\njudgmental. A general criticism against the feminism movement today\nis that it’s too radical. For women who don’t identify as a\nProgressive, the strides in feminism today may seem too extreme.\nCalls to abolish the patriarchy in the interest of gender equality\nis an example of an opinion often deemed “too radical”.\nConservatives tend to oppose challenging the patriarchy in favor of\nmaintaining traditional gender roles dictating established\nstructures like marriage and family. Choice feminism encourages the\nidea that the demands of feminism are minuscule, thereby more likely\nto be agreeable and enable the de-radicalization of feminist claims\nthat are viewed as too demanding. Another complaint\nabout modern-day feminism is that it’s become too exclusionary. With\nthird-wave feminism came a desire for diversity by including aspects\nof intersectionality (i.e ability, race, class, ethnicity,\nsexuality, religion, etc). Be that as it may, the rise of\ninclusivity for other historically discriminated groups has led to\nthe critization of white liberal feminism. Opponents of feminism may\nrightfully argue that in America it is dominated by the concerns of\ncis-heterosexual white women, most frequently members of the\nmiddle-class. Ferguson writes “If feminists only loosely form a\ncollectivity, then we can more readily comprehend diverse identities\nand perspectives.” Because choice feminism is so accepting of who\ncan be called a feminist, inclusivity is a focal point that can be\nan amiable quality some support choice feminism because of.\nThe third claim is that feminism is too judgemental. From all\npolitical parties, feminists receive backlash for expressing\nopinions that can be perceived as too harsh. On the right, this\nbelief arises from generalizations that most feminists are anti-men\nor anti-family, such that they’ll make critical remarks against a\nwoman's morals because of her lifestyle. Likewise, feminists are\nsometimes considered too reproachful of stay-at-home-moms by those\non the left. From these arguments, feminists are depicted as overly\nself-righteous in passing judgment. Instead, they should be more\naccepting of how others choose to live, especially when matters\npertain to personal affairs. Open-mindedness has driven choice\nfeminism from the beginning. The community has always embraced\nacceptance because it considers all choices made by women feminist,\nwhereas critique to their decisions is unwelcome.\nIn response to these criticisms, choice feminism has manifested in\nthe choices women make in areas of life that are typically gendered:\nwhether a woman chooses to wear makeup, shave, or adhere to beauty\nstandards. Similarly, it can be used to justify women’s\nparticipation in gender norms as well as pornography, sexualized\nculture, and division of household labor as being feminist. While\nnot necessarily bad, we must acknowledge the negative implications\nof these behaviors on a greater scale. In this context, are these\nactions still reclamation? When taken at face value,\nchoice feminism appears rather harmless, and at times, even\nbeneficial. Despite its broad acceptance of who is considered a\nfeminist, this is yet another of its many flaws. For feminism to\nsucceed in any capacity, deliberate discussion and debate are\nnecessary. As such, the decisions women make to uphold the status\nquo and both ignore or further gender inequality can never truly be\nacknowledged as feminist. Choice feminism abides by a false belief\nthat one can call themselves a feminist when actively contradicting\nthe basic principles of feminism. Because feminism arises from the\nidea that women should receive equal rights (political, social,\nlegal, and economical), there is nothing feminist about being\ncomplicit nor engaging in actions that directly oppose efforts in\nfavor of womens liberation. Choice feminism seeks no challenge to\nexisting environments, hence the inability to initiate or sustain\nchange. Female figures such as Amy Coney Barett are an appropriate\nrepresentation of how choice feminism fails to recognize the\nseverity of gender inequality today. By pushing rhetoric that women\nare inherently feminist, we see women rise to power receiving\nsupport as feminists icons for being women alone, nevertheless\nhaving shown no interest in resolving gender disparities. And while\nthe majority of feminists are women, they are also the group most\nlikely to be absolved of decisions they make that aren’t feminist.\nThe leniency of choice feminism should be stressed as\nboth a shortcoming and a reason for its appeal. Because of the\nall-embracing mantra, it enables feminists to ignore making aspects\nof one’s personal life, political. In doing so, the individual\nactions a person makes are distanced from broader political issues.\nJust as female empowerment merchandise is easily profitable for\ncompanies, feminism feeds into capitalism making it undeniably\npolitical. Politics are fundamentally partial, meaning there’s no\nprospect of engaging with politics in a way where judgment,\nrejection, offense, or demand for change can be entirely avoided.\nFor any person to exhibit feminist qualities, they must make\njudgments of those they’re around, including those closest to us:\nfriends, family, and partners. In most cases, noticing a stranger\nmake sexist comments and criticizing them for it is simple. However,\nwhen celebrities with large followings are called out for sexist\nremarks, fans quickly resort to being defensive, discrediting the\nsource, or downplaying the situation. Unsurprisingly, we see this\nsame reaction to a greater extent when people are forced to condemn\nthose they share an emotional attachment to. As many are unwilling\nto do so, choice feminism provides leeway that is far more palatable\nfor the majority who aren’t inclined to have those uncomfortable\nconversations. Although unpleasant, making room for open dialogue\nwill eventually be rewarding for both parties involved and\ngenerally-speaking, a step in the right direction.\nDespite the faults general feminism has with diversity,\nchoice feminism stands to mislead people into believing it works in\nthe interest of marginalized groups. In truth, it proves to only\ndeepen the divide between women by narrowing its advantages to\nsolely the demographic of privileged white women who can reap its\nbenefits. Under the illusion of choice, we imagine all women in this\nera can make feminist decisions with themselves in mind. A mindset\nlike this is dangerous when neglecting the reality many groups are\nconfronted with. The comprehensive Women in the Workplace study\nfound that at the start of 2020, 29% of entry-level employees were\nwhite women, whereas 18% were women of color. Simultaneously, 19% of\nC-Suite employees (those with corporate titles like CEO, CFO, or\nCIO) were white women, and 3% reported as women of color. Gender\ndisparities cannot be taken into consideration without race, among\nother identities, as a factor. While white women may choose to not\nwear makeup to a job interview, the same cannot always be said for\nmany Black women who fear not doing so will affect the way they’re\nperceived or stereotyped. There’s an assumption under\nchoice feminism that everyone has the luxury of choice. By doing so,\nwe ignore situations where women of color must prioritize conformity\nover feminist activisim. In the last year, the pandemic has\nperpetuated the challenges women in marginalized communities suffer\nfrom, to a greater extent than other groups. Black and Latina women\ndisproportionately held frontline positions like store clerks and\nhealthcare workers where risk for contracting the virus was\ngreatest. They were also among groups experiencing the highest\nlevels of job loss and unemployment. Between January of 2020 to\n2021, unemployment rates increased from 5.5-8.5% for Black women and\n4.5-8.8% of Latina women. A legitimate concern for one’s financial\nsecurity, childcare, health, and mental well-being will always come\nbefore making decisions with feminism in mind. One can make a\n“feminist statement” by not wearing a bra to a job interview if\nthey’re privledged, but for those who may fall victim to racial\nbias, it’s not a risk worth taking. Ultimately, no choice is\ninvolved in the matter. People must do what’s necessary to maintain\ntheir livelihood, and choice feminism cannot function to benefit all\nwomen when this is true of the systems we currently engage in.\nChoice feminism constructs a precarious mindset that\nwomen should practice femininity with postfeminism (a society in\nwhich need for feminism has been preceded, hence gender norms,\nroles, or expressions are no longer definite) in mind. As it sounds,\nthis rationale leads people to feel empowered by the individual\nchoices they are making, in the interest of self-fulfillment. But\nchoosing to wear red lipstick to a conference meeting doesn’t change\nanything. While she may feel confident, by no means is the\nsituation, her struggles, or the barriers she experiences, improved.\nAn individualistic mentality downplays the need for collective\naction to oppose systemic inequalities. No long-term political\nchange can be achieved through individual choice. Policy reform and\nsubstantial action is what’s necessary to amend the deep-rooted\nflaws within American politics. It’s understandably\ndifficult to criticize feminism when there’s so much good that comes\nfrom it. Especially among white liberals and leftists, people\ninstinctively become defensive when their actions are scrutinized.\nYet continuing to allow others to preach choice feminism under the\nguise of feminist empowerment, only stands to hinder real progress\nmade. While the work of individuals can make a difference, it’s not,\nand will never be, enough to bring the ambitious change needed to\nachieve gender inequality. Practicing choice feminism is a privilege\nallowing women to be excused for their harmful beliefs and has no\nplace in the future of feminism.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/choicefeminismanillusionofprogress201.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Budgeon, S 2015, 'Individualised Femininity and Feminist Politics of Choice', The European Journal of Women's Studies, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 303-318. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506815576602","Ferguson, Michaele L. “Choice Feminism and the Fear of Politics.” Perspectives on Politics, vol. 8, no. 1, 2010, pp. 247–253. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25698532. Accessed 9 Feb. 2021.","Hirshman, Linda R. “Homeward Bound.” The American Prospect, 21 Nov. 2005, prospect.org/article/homeward-bound-d2/.","Iuvino, Amelia Ayrelan, et al. “The Failure of ‘Choice Feminism.’” Jacobin, Jacobin, 15 Mar. 2017, www.jacobinmag.com/2017/03/i-am-not-feminist-jessa-crispin-review/.","Li, Vicki. Choice Feminism: New and Hip, but Not Necessarily Good, The F-Word Magazine, 4 Nov. 2019, upennfword.com/2019/11/04/choice-feminism/.","Thomas, Rachel, et al. McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org, 2020, Women in the Workplace, wiw-report.s3.amazonaws.com/Women_in_the_Workplace_2020.pdf."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":240,"pub_key":232,"title":"bring back the chaise lounge: a radical response to girlboss feminism","subtitle":null,"credit":"Ella Burch","editor":"Edited by Kenny Tung and Anna Kwan","date":"2022-04-30","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bring back the chaise lounge: a radical response to girlboss feminism</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with all of the things i hate about girlboss feminism, i am perhaps most dissatisfied with its relevance; my inherent contribution to which frustrates me endlessly. while it&rsquo;s been said that writing about something only promotes it, i hope that one can successfully subvert a concept while educating others. plus, it&rsquo;s unlikely that anyone reading this hasn&rsquo;t encountered girlboss feminism to some extent before encountering this piece.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if you are somewhat unfamiliar with the illustrious girlboss, she wears a sleek power suit, sips ros&eacute; on a rooftop manhattan bar, and clicks across the street to her private car service in sanguine louboutins. think new york city hyper-focused career woman, who drips designer business attire and lives a life of glamour and success marked by her womanhood.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but girlbossery extends beyond the aesthetic. it is personal and moral. in her personal life, a true girlboss should prioritize her career, especially in her youth, shirking the traditional housewife conception of womanhood. ms. girlboss is undeniably a feminist, or so she would identify, and will eventually settle down to marry an equally ambitious businessman to &ldquo;have it all&rdquo;, which is in reality, a full-time office job in addition to a full-time role as a mother/wife.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this starts in a woman&rsquo;s young adult life &ndash; the college-mid-twenties girlboss gets her foundation by curating her aesthetic to exude alluring professionalism. the ideal young girlboss wakes at the crack of dawn to go on a jog, drinks a green juice in her matching lululemon set, steps into her rainfall shower to choose from a wall of tree hut body scrubs, and ends her morning in a luxe power suit and impossible heels with timeless chanel accessories. this woman has been taught, with the undeniably neoliberal sentiment, that the most powerful feminist statement lies in asserting her ability to bring equal or superior value and success to her professional life as a man could to his.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">there is no doubt in my mind that the genesis of neoliberal feminism, or the root of the girlboss, came from an effort to uplift and liberate women. this, however, fell flat as most all late-capitalist efforts ultimately do. instead of taking the opportunity feminism presents as a potential restructuring of society, capitalism hopes that women might just shut up if they feel equal to men, or, better yet, get distracted enough by trying to be. then, capitalism maintained hegemony by saying &ldquo;let women work&rdquo;, gaining incredible socioeconomic and political power while women&rsquo;s liberation gained ostensibly little. sure, women are no longer restricted to secretarial work, but being a ceo is no less violently capitalist and ultimately regressive if done by a woman.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">highlighting the flaws of girlboss and neoliberal feminism has value, but more importantly, we should examine how women are fed this message. this romanticization of labor didn&rsquo;t happen overnight, and by glamorizing a hyper-productive aesthetic that makes women feel lazy unless they sell their twenties to wall street, popular culture has conditioned women to feel fulfilled while doing absolutely nothing for themselves.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sure, girlbosses will purport that their devotion to their careers is fulfilling and purely self-interested, but this lacks critical analysis. not only are these women ultimately serving capitalist interests, and inherently the concurrent interests of patriarchy, white supremacy, classism, imperialism, cisheteronormativity, etc., but they are actively propagandized by corporate marketing. the girlbossification of womanhood would not have been possible without the fashion and beauty industry&rsquo;s capitalization on its lucrative nature. when major fashion brands realized that women were distancing themselves from housewife roles, their content had to concurrently shift to keep up with the effects of the women&rsquo;s liberation movement. this manifested in the proliferation of the image of the feminist career woman as one contingent on the presence of luxurious designer labels and the romanticization of wealth, just as many women began to recognize their household roles as oppressive.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if media romanticization is an effective way to convince women of an ideal form, why not weaponize this cultural power to advance a much more radical agenda: an anti-capitalist lifestyle? if we gather women in beautiful gowns and position them gracefully across vintage chaise lounges, maybe girlbosses will turn away from the painful 5 am jog and the restrictive power suit and just learn to hate labor a little bit more. maybe if women could just lay and read and think and rest, we would see the musings of a generation of revitalized critical thinkers, radical feminists, and women who don&rsquo;t hold men&rsquo;s material conditions as the goal of their own liberation.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it is easy, as a woman, to absorb what we are told: work as hard as you can, hyperextend yourself, pour everything you have into your work, your family, your man, and thus distinguish yourself from oppressed women. by taking fiercely independent, profoundly intelligent women, and convincing them that their only escape from the fate of a strangled housewife in apron shackles is mirroring the capitalist goals of a successful businessman, neoliberal feminism has successfully curtailed radical works and critical thinking by suppressing women&rsquo;s inclination to look beyond what </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and toward what they can create and destroy.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the women who fall victim to idealizing the girlboss are far from stupid &ndash; they are more than capable of critical thought. they are, in fact, well-intentioned in their pursuit of liberation and their independence from men. these women have limitless potential for feminist thinking and community if they are given the right cultural cues and infrastructure to pursue it.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">since lying in bed is significantly more accessible than becoming a ceo, maybe the revival of the chaise lounge is the natural next step toward feminist liberation, especially when late-stage capitalism has us primed to legalize child labor as a character-building initiative or something equally preposterous. with consumerism&rsquo;s ubiquity, it&rsquo;s time we start selling glamorous, bed-ridden contemplation in lieu of grind culture and workplace harassment hidden behind a smiling set of perfectly painted nude lips teetering on patent stiletto pumps.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/bringback.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":220,"pub_key":202,"title":"Imagine A World","subtitle":null,"credit":"Created By: Alexandra Mallios","editor":null,"date":"2022-05-21","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/imagineaworld202.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":219,"pub_key":203,"title":"The Case of Affirmative Action","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written By: Mackenzie Pritchard","editor":null,"date":"2022-05-26","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United States&rsquo; college admission process is a complicated task, with admission officers analyzing all parts of a student&rsquo;s life. This includes grades, test scores, extracurriculars, and most controversially, race. Affirmative action is one of the most disputed topics in admissions, in which colleges use race as a factor in choosing students. As explained by Khrista Sayo and Elissa Choi in the article &ldquo;How Race Plays a Role in College Admissions,&rdquo; &ldquo;Universities around the nation are seeking to maintain a &lsquo;racial quota&rsquo; amongst the student population on their campuses. Racial quotas are implemented to admit a balanced number of students according to their ethnicity, all the while attempting to create representation for all.&rdquo; Although at its heart, affirmative action aims to reverse discrimination, it does not always create the change it claims to support.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The views towards affirmative action are conflicting, with many people disregarding and rejecting it. Even so, there must be a reason it has been such a staple in college admissions up to now. The main argument for affirmative action is the fact that it has diversified university communities. In the article &ldquo;</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why race-based affirmative action is still needed in college admissions,&rdquo; Valerie Strauss points out the drastic differences in opportunity between white families and black families: &ldquo;The average White family today holds more than $170,000 in net assets, compared with just $17,000 for the average Black family. In turn, middle-class Black families tend to live in more disadvantaged neighborhoods than middle-class White families. This affects where their children go to school, and who they go to school with.&rdquo; Affirmative action is a way to bypass unequal education by providing people who are less privileged with a gateway into higher college education.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no question that affirmative action has increased diversity in universities; however, the Asian community is disproportionally discriminated against in many admissions decisions. They are lumped together with white applicants, and many are rejected based on a lacking &ldquo;personal score.&rdquo; A personal score rates a person on non-concrete aspects including likeability, kindness, and respectfulness. Despite this, many people in the Asian American community have benefited from affirmative action. The issue with the debate against affirmative action is that it is backed by white politicians who use people of color as scapegoats for their political agenda. Jonathon Chait, a self-named &ldquo;squishy supporter&rdquo; of affirmative action, writes, &ldquo;Most Asian Americans support and benefit from affirmative action; white conservatives are using Asian Americans as a &lsquo;racial mascot&rsquo; to dismantle affirmative action; Asian Americans will or must not be &lsquo;used.&rsquo;&rdquo; Though this is true, white politicians have no right to speak in the place of the Asian American community.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The very recent case </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may threaten affirmative action. </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key issue in this case, is the intentions of those fighting against affirmative action</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Edward Blum, leader of the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), strongly opposes affirmative action, claiming it prioritizes certain minorities over others. In response to the SFFA&rsquo;s actions regarding affirmative action, president of the </span><a href=\"https://www.harvardaaa.org/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asian American Association</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Harvard, Benjamin Chang states:</span></p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">..the Harvard Asian American community has overwhelmingly supported race-conscious admissions, with 10 Asian student organizations filing an amicus brief for Harvard when the case was heard by the Massachusetts District Court in 2018. We&rsquo;ve held rallies, made countless statements, spoken our truth in every way we know how, yet SFFA still asserts to represent our community.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blum has a history of pitting minority groups against each other when tackling affirmative action cases, something that takes advantage of and increases existing racial inequality. Chang ends his statement to Blum with a powerful quote: &ldquo;So please: Stop using people like me as a political tool to attack other communities of color. You do not speak for us.&rdquo; This is yet another case where the voices of minority groups are subdued by those of white politicians.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When fighting affirmative action, there must also be thought put into how its removal would affect elite universities. In Harvard admissions, race is not the only aspect being considered. There is a disproportionate number of legacy students, and admissions favor richer, more privileged people: all in all, this favors white people. However, these are issues within the university itself, not with affirmative action.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Affirmative action teeters along a thin line between racial equality and discrimination. Its overuse can easily isolate minorities, the most obvious being Asian Americans. However, it also has its merits, diversifying communities and reaching out to people of all different backgrounds; it provides opportunities and encourages learning for all people in and out of the classroom.</span></p>\r\n<p><br /><br /></p>\r\n<p><strong>Works Cited</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chait, Jonathan. &ldquo;The Left Is Gaslighting Asian Americans about College Admissions.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intelligencer</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Intelligencer, 8 Feb. 2022, nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/02/the-left-is-gaslighting-asian-americans-on-school-admissions.html.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chang, Benjamin. &ldquo;Opinion | I'm an Asian American Harvard Student. The Anti-Affirmative-Action Case Does Not Speak for Me.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Washington Post</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, WP Company, 4 Feb. 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/04/harvard-asian-american-student-believes-in-affirmative-action/.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sayo, Khrista, and Elissa Choi. &ldquo;How Race Plays a Role in College Admissions.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Mirror</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 15 Dec. 2016, vnhsmirror.com.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strauss, Valerie. &ldquo;Perspective | Why Race-Based Affirmative Action Is Still Needed in College Admissions.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Washington Post</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, WP Company, 30 Jan. 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/01/30/needed-affirmative-action-in-college-admissions/.&nbsp;</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thecaseofaffirmativeaction203.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Chait, Jonathan. “The Left Is Gaslighting Asian Americans about College Admissions.” Intelligencer, Intelligencer, 8 Feb. 2022, nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/02/the-left-is-gaslighting-asian-americans-on-school-admissions.html.","Chang, Benjamin. “Opinion | I'm an Asian American Harvard Student. The Anti-Affirmative-Action Case Does Not Speak for Me.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 4 Feb. 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/04/harvard-asian-american-student-believes-in-affirmative-action/.","Sayo, Khrista, and Elissa Choi. “How Race Plays a Role in College Admissions.” The Mirror, 15 Dec. 2016, vnhsmirror.com.","Strauss, Valerie. “Perspective | Why Race-Based Affirmative Action Is Still Needed in College Admissions.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 30 Jan. 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/01/30/needed-affirmative-action-in-college-admissions/."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":218,"pub_key":204,"title":"First Steps","subtitle":null,"credit":"First Steps","editor":"Edited By: Madeeha Anjum","date":"2022-05-30","content":"<p><strong>First Steps</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There&rsquo;s a weight that follows a child&rsquo;s first steps</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&mdash;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a pressure that hangs over their heads &amp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a persistent tremble in their hands and legs</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that causes them to fumble about the room,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;tears streaming down their faces and against&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">their parents&rsquo; clothes as they collapse.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Confidence is what makes those first steps&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">memorable, the steady placement of each foot</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as they plant them in an effort to make a stride</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">forward.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Ruby Bridges took her first steps</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">through the gates of William Frantz Elementary,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">she was met with scorn, not applause&mdash; a</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mass of white arms and legs stomping near</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">her, daring her movement with their curses</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and vitriol. They piled their anger in the streets,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">waiting for her to trip&mdash;waiting for the screams,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the tears, the angst of a six-year-old child who would&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">run away in fear of what was to come if she moved closer.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They wanted her to cower, but she stood tall,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as the Sun brushed her dark skin and dyed it gold</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for them all to witness&mdash;the black child who fought</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for a cause greater than herself, who refused to&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trip and cry in her parent&rsquo;s arms, who dared to&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">take those first steps towards a new America.&nbsp;</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/firststeps204.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":217,"pub_key":205,"title":"Thank You To Our Healthcare Workers","subtitle":null,"credit":"Created By: Jamee Ganal","editor":null,"date":"2022-06-01","content":"<p>In the current event of another rise in the pandemic, many people have become lenient towards mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and social distancing. Although the masses are becoming more and more infected, and COVID, alongside many variants, are spreading, those who are heavily impacted by this surge are healthcare workers. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was so much sympathy and empathy towards workers - but now it&rsquo;s as if everyone is forgetting how much they sacrifice to help those infected. In this art piece I want to convey the aura of hope they bring, and how thankful I am for healthcare workers.</p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thankyoutoourhealthcareworkers205.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":216,"pub_key":206,"title":"Dreams of Gold","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Vivian Huang","editor":"Edited By: Eeman Aleem, Anna Kwan","date":"2022-06-05","content":"she sees gold \r\n\r\nin her dreams,\r\n\r\nhands reaching cold\r\n\r\nthrough seams\r\n\r\nof rich wood\r\n\r\nand thinned string.\r\n\r\n\r\nshe wakes\r\n\r\nfrom her dreams of gold,\r\n\r\npauses and trembles\r\n\r\nfor just a moment\r\n\r\nas her eyelid blinks\r\n\r\nfuriously.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nshe sees red sprayed\r\n\r\npaint over her walls,\r\n\r\nscreams telling her to\r\n\r\ngo back to her own.\r\n\r\n\r\nshe sees wrinkled paper\r\n\r\nflying over her head,\r\n\r\ncartoons resembling her,\r\n\r\nlaws that break and break\r\n\r\nher dreams.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nin this land of red, \r\n\r\nwhite and blue,\r\n\r\nin this land of prosperity,\r\n\r\nshe sees\r\n\r\nnothing.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/dreamsofgold206.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":215,"pub_key":207,"title":"Self Harm","subtitle":null,"credit":"Created by: Unmani Tewari","editor":null,"date":"2022-06-08","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/selfharm207.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":214,"pub_key":208,"title":"Believing Lies","subtitle":null,"credit":"Created By: Alexandra Mallios","editor":null,"date":"2022-06-11","content":"<p>My name is Alexandra Mallios, and I enjoy creating art that advocates for change in our society, with a specific focus on climate change. &ldquo;Believing Lies&rdquo; (a charcoal piece) reflects the growing misinformation from the media about climate change and its effects. The children reflect society&rsquo;s innocence and naivety regarding our planet&rsquo;s safety. We, like children, often attempt to dismiss the danger at hand and focus on the present impulses. As a result, we believe lies that the media portrays: the idea that we will find another planet before ours falls apart, that we don&rsquo;t need to save the planet we have, and that we can &ldquo;leave it for the next generation.&rdquo;</p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/believinglies208.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":213,"pub_key":209,"title":"6,078,271+","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Newton Brophy","editor":null,"date":"2022-06-15","content":"I led my first Mourner’s Kaddish\r\n\r\nduring a Shabbat dinner\r\n\r\nin the third Spring.\r\n\r\n\r\nMy Aramaic was clumsy,\r\n\r\nbut the silence —\r\n\r\n\r\nOver 2,000 people had died\r\n\r\nbetween that Shabbos\r\n\r\nand the previous,\r\n\r\nand that’s just here.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe dinner was a poetry reading\r\n\r\nwith new friends\r\n\r\nand no empty chairs\r\n\r\nbut the shroud of absence\r\n\r\nwas heavy over the table.\r\n\r\n\r\nThis morning I wake up\r\n\r\nto my father bickering with his wife\r\n\r\nabout how her decorating taste\r\n\r\nspreads like ivy through the house\r\n\r\nleaving him no untouched wall.\r\n\r\n\r\nHe says we will not have people over,\r\n\r\nand anyway,\r\n\r\nit’s Covid.\r\n\r\nMy stepmother snaps back,\r\n\r\n“You can’t use that as an excuse, Covid is over.”\r\n\r\n\r\nI wonder how long\r\n\r\nit would take me to say\r\n\r\nKaddish\r\n\r\nsix million times.\r\n\r\n\r\nI hate\r\n\r\nthat someone has asked this question\r\n\r\nbefore.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/6078271209.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":212,"pub_key":210,"title":"378326","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Myesha Phukan","editor":"Edited By: Chloe Chen and Wendy Zheng","date":"2022-06-18","content":"as of 2020\r\n\r\nsourced from the National Crime Records Bureau\r\n\r\nMinistry of Home Affairs\r\n\r\n“Crimes in India 2020”\r\n\r\n\r\n378326\r\n\r\ncrimes committed against women in india\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n219\r\n\r\nmurder + rape cases\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n7045\r\n\r\ndowry death cases\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n62300\r\n\r\nkidnapping + abduction cases\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n28046\r\n\r\nrape cases\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n2640\r\n\r\nrape cases committed against girls under 18\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n86745\r\n\r\nassaults on women with intent to “outrage her modesty”\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n111549\r\n\r\ncases of cruelty by the husband or his relatives\r\n\r\n\r\n378326 \r\n\r\n\r\nas girls, we are taught to keep our heads down\r\n\r\nbut our eyes forward\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nto stay hidden\r\n\r\nfrom the tendrils of evil \r\n\r\nthat try to wrap around us\r\n\r\n\r\nwe are taught to cover ourselves in swaths of fabrics\r\n\r\nand if even a sliver of skin peeks out\r\n\r\nwe must clothe it in darkness again\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nbut even with all of\r\n\r\nthe “precautionary measures”\r\n\r\ntaken— \r\n\r\n\r\n378326\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nwho’s next?","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/378326210.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":211,"pub_key":211,"title":"Gaining Losses","subtitle":"","credit":"Written by: Myesha Phukan","editor":"Edited By: Chloe Chen and Wendy Zheng","date":"2022-06-22","content":"ravaged battlefields\r\n\r\nform among places we\r\n\r\nused to sit and laugh in\r\n\r\nplaces where we used to\r\n\r\nsleep, without\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nthe threat \r\n\r\nof raining bombs\r\n\r\nor the sounds of shelling\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nwhite flowers sprout\r\n\r\nin the fertile soil\r\n\r\ndrenched with the blood of our people\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nteddy bears sit untouched on a nightstand,\r\n\r\ngathering dust\r\n\r\nlonging for the touch of their owners who\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nfled in a whisper,\r\n\r\nleaving trails of unshed tears\r\n\r\nand quelled screams \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nhushed by towering tanks,\r\n\r\nweapons held at the ready\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\na blazing fire spreads\r\n\r\nfrom city to city\r\n\r\nswallowing them whole,\r\n\r\nturning a blind eye to the calls\r\n\r\nfor it to be doused\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nand,\r\n\r\nthe final score reads,\r\n\r\ngains: 0\r\n\r\nlosses: too many to count\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nwhen war tears us apart,\r\n\r\nbit by bit,\r\n\r\npiece by piece,\r\n\r\nthe only thing it gains\r\n\r\nare losses","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/gaininglosses211.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":210,"pub_key":212,"title":"The Lesbian Identity","subtitle":"","credit":"Created By: Aurora Kornerup","editor":null,"date":"2022-06-29","content":"","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/thelesbianidentity212.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":236,"pub_key":226,"title":"Defending Abortion: To Respect Bodily Autonomy and to Protect Women of Color","subtitle":null,"credit":"Kennedy Kelis","editor":"Grace Bennett, Anna Kwan, and Veeraja Kamthe","date":"2022-07-01","content":"<p><strong>Introduction</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On June 24th, 2022, five Supreme Court Justices&ndash;&ndash;four of whom were cisgender men and the remaining one a woman past childbearing age&ndash;&ndash;voted to overturn </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roe v Wade</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, thereby blatantly attacking bodily autonomy and subsequently forcing millions to question their reproductive safety. This decision has produced a surge in conversation surrounding the legality and ethics of abortion, as well as inquiries regarding what exactly this means for the millions of people who will be affected by the overturning of this case.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this piece, I will assert that we need to protect access to safe abortion, not only to respect the right to bodily autonomy, but also to protect the lives and livelihoods of the millions of people of color who will uniquely and disproportionately suffer from abortion restrictions.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To fully support this claim, I will begin by providing a critical explanation of the traditional anti-abortion argument, which predominantly rests upon the assertion that the fetus is a human being, the same as you and I, and must therefore have an undeniable right to life. The traditional abortion debate has largely focused on the accuracy of this assertion, but I will explain&ndash;&ndash;with the help of a modified version of Judith Thomson&rsquo;s violinist thought experiment&ndash;&ndash;that even if one were to concede that the fetus is the same as you and I, this still does not give it the right to use someone else&rsquo;s body for the sake of its own life. Thereafter, I will argue that to restrict abortion is to restrict bodily autonomy. Lastly, this article examines the unique ways in which abortion restrictions negatively impact women of color, providing statistical evidence in order to demonstrate the necessity of safe abortion access in these communities specifically.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>The Traditional Anti-Abortion Argument</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In &ldquo;On the Wrong of Abortion,&rdquo; scholars and philosophers Patrick Lee and Robert P. George argue that the choice of abortion is wrong because a &ldquo;human being,&rdquo; the same as you and I, is killed. Therefore, because the choice of killing you or me would be wrong, the choice of killing a fetus would also be wrong.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lee and George make three points about the human embryo (and fetus). First, they assert that it is &ldquo;from the start distinct from any cell of the mother or of the father.&rdquo; The embryo grows in its own distinct direction, and its growth is directed towards its own survival and maturation. Second, they assert that the embryo is genetically human, which is of course objectively true. Finally, Lee and George assert that from the moment of conception, the embryo is &ldquo;fully programmed actively to develop himself or herself to the mature stage of a human being.&rdquo; Lee and George also make a distinction between human embryos and other cells, claiming their inherent dissimilarity due to the fact that from the beginning, the human embryo possesses the resources and disposition to develop to full maturity, while other cells simply do not.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lee and George argue that the human embryo (and fetus) is undoubtedly a human being, albeit a human being at an extremely early stage of development. Because fetuses and embryos are &ldquo;the same kind of entity as you or I,&rdquo; the choice to kill them must be wrong for the same reason that the choice to kill you or me is wrong.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The argument made in &ldquo;On the Wrong of Abortion&rdquo; directly aligns with the traditional anti-abortion argument. Many may argue, however, that the evidence presented does not automatically mean that the fetus or embryo should be viewed as a human being. For example, the growth of human cancer cells is directed toward their own survival, and they also possess the resources and disposition to develop to full maturity (i.e. a tumor),&nbsp; but we do not see these cells as human beings. Nonetheless, even if we were to ignore these types of objections and afford the anti-abortionist that the fetus is a human being, it remains clear that we should still protect the right to safe abortion.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>To Restrict Abortion Is to Restrict Bodily Autonomy</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In her essay, &ldquo;On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion,&rdquo; author and philosophy professor Mary Anne Warren offers an altered version of Judith Thomson&rsquo;s violinist thought experiment in order to aid her in establishing abortion as morally permissible.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Warren affords the anti-abortionist that the fetus is, in fact, a human being, the same as you I. She then proposes a scenario in which there comes about a disease to which violinists are particularly prone, and the only cure for this disease is for the violinist to use someone else&rsquo;s bloodstream for nine months. For this reason, there has been formed a society of music lovers who decide that whenever a violinist falls ill, the society will draw names at random, and whoever has their name drawn will be made the only person capable of saving the violinist. Assuming you join willingly and your name is subsequently picked, Warren asks if you should then be obligated to cooperate in curing the violinist, for you were already aware of the possible consequences before joining the society.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This thought experiment accounts for the frequent assertion made by anti-abortionists that consent to sex (joining the society of music lovers) is consent to pregnancy (cooperating with curing the violinist.) Nonetheless, there still exists a significant objection to the similarity of this circumstance to that of many people to decide to have an abortion. Your actions did not directly result in the violinist&rsquo;s illness in this case, while, as many anti-abortionists may argue, the actions of pregnant people&ndash;&ndash;whether it is choosing to have unprotected sex or choosing to have sex at all while not prepared to have a child&ndash;&ndash;did directly result in the creation of a human life. Because you created this situation, you should be responsible for the life of the fetus, and you should be responsible for maintaining its life.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So instead suppose that this disease is only contractable by violinists but can be spread by anyone who comes in contact with it. You decide to join the society of music lovers as established by Warren, but one day, you enter a public place in which you know this illness can possibly be spread. You are sure to take all the correct precautions. You wear a mask, you sanitize, and you keep your distance from others, but you still manage to unintentionally spread this disease to a violinist, and he must now come to the society of music lovers for treatment. This thought experiment is not dissimilar to that of individuals who decide to have an abortion, for according to an observational study conducted over the course of fourteen years, it was found that 51% of abortion patients received an abortion due to failed contraceptives (Jones).&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your name is picked, this once again raises the question of whether you should be forced to sacrifice the resources of your own body to sustain the life of another being. You willingly joined this society, and your actions caused the violinist&rsquo;s illness; the only reason the violinist is in this situation is because of you, for </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> caused his condition.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Should one agree that you should not be forced to give up the resources of your own body to sustain the life of the violinist, it must follow that people with uteruses should not be obligated to give up the resources of their own bodies to sustain the life of a fetus. In these two scenarios, the fetus and violinist were both placed in their situations due to the actions of another person, but this does not automatically mean that said person is obligated to sacrifice control over their own body in order to sustain the life of someone else. Even if you did not take the correct precautions in the violinist scenario, occasionally taking off your mask or interacting closely with others, this still does not justify you being forced to sacrifice your body for the sake of someone else. This is due to the simple fact that, as argued by Warren, the right to life does not override bodily autonomy. To force someone to carry and give birth to a child against their will is to completely disregard the rights of all people to have unrestricted autonomy over their own bodies.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, even if we were to afford the anti-abortionist their assertion that the fetus is a human being, the same as you and I, the fact still remains that you and I cannot justifiably use someone else&rsquo;s body against their will for the sake of our own lives. Thus, we should protect access to safe abortion, for if we choose not to, we will be choosing to disrespect the right to bodily autonomy.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>Abortion Restrictions and Women of Color</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a 2020 report published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native women currently face pregnancy-related mortality rates that are over three and two times higher, respectively, when compared to the rate of white women. This disparity was found to widen by maternal age, with the rate increasing to over four times higher for Black women aged 30 to 34 and nearly four times higher for AIAN women in this same group.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reason for this disparity is extremely complex, caused by several factors such as broad social and economic issues that place women of color at disproportionate risk for complications in pregnancy. A more specific problem, however, lies within the healthcare system itself. A 2019 study found that rates of mistreatment (e.g. &ldquo;shouting and scolding, ignoring or refusing requests for help&rdquo;) in maternity care were consistently higher among women of color. In a separate study, it was found that even after controlling for insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions, people of color are&nbsp; &ldquo;less likely to receive routine medical procedures and experience a lower quality of care.&rdquo; People of color are also more likely to be uninsured, therefore creating a great financial problem in regards to pregnant women receiving adequate maternal care (Artiga).</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These profound issues contribute directly to the unprecedented rates of pregnancy-related deaths within communities of color, and with more people being forced to carry pregnancies to term due to abortion restrictions, this problem is only expected to get worse. In fact, the University of Colorado, Boulder estimates that banning abortion will result in a 21% increase in the number of pregnancy-related deaths overall and a 33% increase among Black women specifically (Marshall).&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means, very plainly, that if we do not protect access to safe abortion, people are going to die.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, abortion restrictions also have important economic implications. People of color currently have the highest poverty rates in the country, and abortion restrictions will simply exacerbate this problem. Due to the fact that the people who receive abortions are disproportionately women of color (Diamant), and women who are denied abortions are four times more likely to be living in poverty years later (Ludden), abortion restrictions will only increase the rates of poverty within these communities.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the aforementioned reasons, it is abundantly clear that we should protect access to safe abortion. If we do not, we will be placing in danger the lives and livelihoods of some of the most vulnerable people in our present population.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To restrict abortion is to restrict bodily autonomy and to unnecessarily place millions of people with uteruses in situations of possible harm.&nbsp; We must protect access to safe abortion, not only to respect the right to bodily autonomy, but also to ensure the safety of communities of color, for the effects of these restrictions will fall heavily and disproportionately upon these groups.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support is available for those who are currently seeking an abortion in states in which abortion is illegal or restricted. Nonprofit organizations, such as Holler Health Justice, which is BIPOC and queer-led and based in West Virginia, are working to provide abortion-seeking individuals with the necessary financial and practical resources needed to receive reproductive care. The National Network of Abortion Funds, the Women&rsquo;s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, and many other organizations are also working to provide reproductive care to those who need it. You can read about these organizations, as well as donate, here:</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://abortionfunds.org/need-abortion/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://abortionfunds.org/need-abortion/</span></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.hollerhealthjustice.org/abortion-funding-practical-support\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.hollerhealthjustice.org/abortion-funding-practical-support</span></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://wrrap.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://wrrap.org</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>Works Cited&nbsp;</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Artiga, Samantha, et al. &ldquo;Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: An Overview - Issue Brief.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KFF</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Kaiser Family Foundation, 10 Nov. 2020, https://www.kff.org/report-section/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-an-overview-issue-brief/.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jones, Rachel K. &ldquo;Reported contraceptive use in the month of becoming pregnant among U.S. abortion patients in 2000 and 2014.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contraception</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> vol. 97,4 (2018): 309-312. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2017.12.018</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lee, Patrick &amp; George, Robert &amp; Embryos, Human. (2005). The Wrong of Abortion. </span><a href=\"http://hdl.handle.net/10822/985573\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">http://hdl.handle.net/10822/985573</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ludden, Jennifer. &ldquo;Women Who Are Denied Abortions Risk Falling Deeper into Poverty. So Do Their Kids.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NPR</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, National Public Radio, 26 May 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/05/26/1100587366/banning-abortion-roe-economic-consequences.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marshall, Lisa. &ldquo;Study: Banning Abortion Would Boost Maternal Mortality by Double-Digits.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CU Boulder Today</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, University of Colorado Boulder, 24 June 2022, https://www.colorado.edu/today/2021/09/08/study-banning-abortion-would-boost-maternal-mortality-double-digits.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mary Anne Warren, On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion, <em>The Monist</em>, Volume 57, Issue 1, 1 January 1973, Pages 43&ndash;61, <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.5840/monist197357133\">https://doi.org/10.5840/monist197357133</a></span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":[]},{"id":239,"pub_key":231,"title":"Letter to America","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Rohan Subramaniam","editor":"Edited by Summer LaPointe","date":"2022-07-04","content":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">07/04/2022</span></em></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dear America,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy 246th birthday. I say this with a period because the excited connotations of an exclamation mark is unwarranted on a day in which the political holiness of this nation&rsquo;s birth is undermined by the trees that have grown from the dark roots of the Constitution. While the nation&rsquo;s Constitution does not entirely account for the problems facing America, maybe it is the point of origination (via the many modern reinterprations of a dated document) for the issues that have been shamelessly forgotten amidst today&rsquo;s celebrations.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The raging gun violence epidemic, overly justified to the breaking point by the 2nd Amendment and related laws, is yet another issue that threatens American lives on your birthday. As people die in the suburbs of Chicago parading to celebrate this very occasion, the tragic irony of the intersection of these two topics seems to be lost &ndash; an irony that darkly undermines the significance of Independence Day more than anything else. More recently, constitutional law has fallen short in the courtroom. The recent overturning of Roe v. Wade has left many women worrying whether they will be able to receive the abortion-related health care they need; it has gone so far as to threaten the availability of reproductive health care for both women and men. As it is now more evident than ever before, I hope I don&rsquo;t need to remind you that in neither of the revered founding documents are the citizens of this nation referred to anything more than the confining noun &ldquo;men.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I also would like to add that across the world, the war in Ukraine makes me feel dirty about celebrating my independence while others don&rsquo;t have any &ndash; of course I am truly grateful for what rights I have, but it still feels rude in a sociopolitical kind of way. You have taught us that America is a &ldquo;shining city upon a hill,&rdquo; a beacon of hope for other nations to believe in. This means that our lives as Americans go beyond our private, domestic concerns and demand a consideration of the state of the world to be incorporated within our celebrations. These are just a few of the issues threatening the lives and livelihoods of Americans across the nation as the nation itself is celebrated; I fear an &ldquo;etcetera&rdquo; may not be big enough to encompass them all.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To step back and clarify, I don't wish for today to be a day of morbid atonement to the point that the good and honor that is left in this nation is denigrated. I merely ask that today is a day of remembrance rather than forgetting, a day of accountability rather than justification. Indeed, amidst the celebrations I merely ask that you, America, do not allow your citizens to blindly forget and be lost in fairytale celebrations and instead wake them up to the reality in which they live: a reality whose harshness undermines those fairytale celebrations. They should take on and feel the responsibility of the welfare of one another &ndash; especially as the governing bodies do not.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regards,</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rohan Subramaniam</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/letter.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Creative Writing"]},{"id":209,"pub_key":213,"title":"The Myth of Money: A Short Sighted Solution to World Hunger","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Elina Kayumova","editor":"Edited By: Veeraja Kamthe","date":"2022-07-06","content":"<p>Elon Musk&rsquo;s refusal to spend even 2% of his income on helping 42 million people on the brink of starvation raised an important question of whether world hunger can be stopped by the injection of a large sum of money. Some people believe that donating a significant amount of money can stop world hunger. Often, there is a misconception that green dollar bills are the cure to any and all problems. This research article attempts to resolve the question of whether money could be the force that can stop world hunger and lead humanity to a better future. To tackle the problem, we need to first find the cause of it. In the root of world hunger lie food crises, that are caused by an array of different factors. First, the exponentially growing world population that is rapidly approaching 8 billion, can, in the near future, be a threat to scarce resources. According to UN statistics, the world makes enough to feed 10 billion people. However, if the population continues to grow with the same speed it has been during the last century, the results will be staggering, involving even more deaths caused by starvation and malnutrition. Presently, hunger kills approximately 9 million people every year, more than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined. It is also important to note that generally, the population grows more rapidly in less-developed countries due to various reasons, including a less advanced external and internal economic standing. Population growth in such places runs two or two and a half times greater than in affluent countries. The second contributing factor to world hunger is the uneven resource distribution. According to R. Brown, author of By Bread Alone, the average North American requires five times as many agricultural resources - land, water, energy and fertilizer - as the average Indian, Nigerian or Colombian. Therefore, even though the population growth rate is smaller in affluent countries than in less-developed economies, &ldquo;big&rdquo; people require more resources, including food, to maintain their standard of living. It is estimated that there is around 30-40% food waste across the US - one of the leading economies of the world. Therefore, while some people in one part of the globe are suffering from starvation, other nations can afford to throw a significant portion of their food away. Natural disasters also play a huge role in accumulating hunger around the world. While it may seem that humans have no influence on droughts or earthquakes, almost 80% of weather-related disasters are associated with climate change, which we are held accountable for. Unexpected weather conditions can result in a shortage of food and eventually lead to hunger, but, as shown by statistics, most of them do not occur as unexpectedly as it may seem. And lastly, political and geographical conflicts may be the reason why people do not have easy access to food. For example, in 2017, 180,000 people in South Sudan were in need of food assistance because of active hostilities within the borders of their country. As we have seen, most of the factors that affect hunger are man-made and are results of a rapidly growing population, unwise and uneven usage of food resources, mistreatment of nature, or conflicts that arise on a political level. Because it entails such a broad range of factors, hunger is a multidimensional problem that requires collaboration of professionals from numerous fields, from environmentalists to politicians. Even though there is a quicker solution - instantly providing food to those in need - it will not have a lasting effect until people unite and think over ways to sustain the population growth, distribute resources more wisely, deal with climate change, and resolve conflicts peacefully without having to take violent measures. Now remains the question of whether money can stop world hunger and resolve all of its causes. While dollar bills can certainly provide aid to those in emergency, it can not cover, or at least fully cover, all the causes of world hunger discussed above. Food should be available to everyone, regardless of their financial or geographical status. However, the ideal reality, where everyone has enough food, can be achieved only by developing smaller economies and educating their population, changing people&rsquo;s attitude towards the usage of food, putting enough effort into dealing with climate change, and finding nonviolent ways to resolve conflicts. All of these can be indirectly addressed to some degree by a huge monetary investment from Elon Musk in the short run, but the real solution lies in the collaborative effort in changing perceptions and establishing new ways of living.</p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/themythofmoneyashortsightedsolutiontoworldhunger213.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Suffering from Hunger in a World of Plenty Author(s): Hilal Elver Source: Middle East Report, No. 286, SUFFERING AND THE LIMITS OF RELIEF (Spring 2018), pp. 14-17 Published by: Middle East Research and Information Project, Inc. (MERIP) Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/45198455","The World Food Problem: Can Hunger Be Conquered? Source: Great Decisions, eat Decisions (1975), pp. 1-12 Published by: Foreign Policy Association . Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43739965","Food Waste FAQs from the official U.S. Department of Agriculture website: https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs","TEDxPeachtree talk by Jasmine Crowe on the topic “Hunger is not a question of scarcity”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_dMHLxcIsA","TEDxToronto talk by Nick Saul on the topic “Why food won’t solve the problem of hunger”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwyrMK81-FQ","15 reasons why money won’t solve world hunger by Alux.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt2Kys-8uyA","The paradox of hunger in the world by SOS Faim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZRFrvmjfDs","Food program chief responds to Elon Musk's challenge on world hunger by CNN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yceesD4WFwU","Elon Musk talks Twitter, Tesla and how his brain works — live at TED2022 by TED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdZZpaB2kDM"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":208,"pub_key":214,"title":"On the Masculinization & Sexualization of Black Women","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Kennedy Kelis","editor":null,"date":"2022-07-12","content":"<p>Trigger warning: Sexual &amp; physical violence, Slavery For centuries, several set precedents regarding the black, female existence have contributed to oppression and degradation of black women as a whole. The masculinization and sexualization of black women were both originally perpetuated in order to punish us, and in the 21st century, these processes continue to fulfill the purpose of their design. The sexualization of black women dates back to centuries ago, when white slaveholders would subject their female slaves to the terrorism that was consistent rape, beatings, and brutalization. Enslaved black women were viewed as objects of sexual conquest, as &ldquo;sexually lascivious and seductive temptresses&rdquo; (Watson). White men characterized black women as &ldquo;animals in heat&rdquo; in an effort to justify their sexual abuse, exaggerating their feminine features in media and perpetuating the idea that they were simple temptations to the white man&rsquo;s flesh. Unfortunately, this excessive sexualization has followed black women for hundreds of years, haunting us for the entirety of our lives. Today, little black girls who decide to wear lipgloss or paint their nails any shade of red are quickly deemed &ldquo;fast.&rdquo; Little white girls may do the exact same thing, but they are almost always labeled as &ldquo;cute,&rdquo; never falling victim to the same menacing societal expectation as their black counterparts. This is indicative of the continued belief that the simple existence of black women is somehow inherently sexual. This dangerous notion manifests in the form of sexual violence and exploitation of black women as well. The American pornography industry has plentiful examples of this exploitation, having films with titles such as &ldquo;Black Chicks in Heat,&rdquo; &ldquo;Hoochie Mamas,&rdquo; and &ldquo;South Central Hookers&rdquo; (Pilgrim). As argued by a piece written by Dr. David Pilgrim, PhD and founder of the Michigan Jim Crow Museum, films such as these repeatedly depict these women as mere objects of sexual entertainment, arguably &ldquo;validating&rdquo; the idea that black women are sexually promiscious. Furthermore, more than 20% of black women in the United States today report having been raped in their lifetimes, this number being higher than that of women overall and therefore again exhibiting the dispraportionate belief that black women are simply objects of sexual conquest (Barlow). Moreover, not only are black women and girls today falling victim to excessive sexualization, but partly due to the historical precedent that has been set regarding our simple existence, we are also consistently masculinized. This masculinization can be seen in the creation of the nineteenth century character by the name of Mammy, this woman being originally portrayed as &ldquo;old,&rdquo; &ldquo;dark-skinned,&rdquo; and &ldquo;sometimes morbidly overweight&rdquo; (Pilgrim). With this depiction then came the notion that no &ldquo;respectable&rdquo; white man would choose a &ldquo;fat, elderly black woman&rdquo; over an &ldquo;idealized white woman.&rdquo; Amidst the continued sexual exploitation of black women by white men in the United States, Mammy&rsquo;s character was created and shown in media in an attempt to deprive black women of any form of feminine beauty, therefore ensuring the security of white wives in their relationships with their husbands. The masculinization of black women can also be attributed to the general view of blackness as a whole. Research has found that blackness is closely associated with masculinity, regardless of gender or sex (Coles). This then contributes to the general perception of black women as &ldquo;loud,&rdquo; &ldquo;angry,&rdquo; and sometimes &ldquo;dangerous&rdquo; despite the fact that the behavior that elicits these perceptions of black women may often elicit completely different views of our white counterparts. As asserted in a thesis written by Dr. Daphne Valerius, filmmaker and graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia, &ldquo;white women are able to position themselves in such a way that their anger is profitable in the media, while the anger of the black woman is condemned&rdquo; (Valerius). Should black women display an ounce of disagreement or &ldquo;militance,&rdquo; we will quickly be labeled as masculine, as if to be feminine is to simply bend to the wills of others. Due to this aforementioned perception, black women are all too often faced with societal degradation. Black female celebrities such as Megan Thee Stallion are frequently compared to men due to their bodies and facial features, while white female celebrities are frequently praised for these same qualities. Black women are also repeatedly degraded by black men due to our perceived &ldquo;combativeness,&rdquo; with the majority of married black men in a 2013 study blaming black women for their singleness and attributing it to their &ldquo;bad attitudes,&rdquo; &ldquo;high standards,&rdquo; and consistent &ldquo;nagging&rdquo; (Hurt). Nonetheless, it is important to note that this &ldquo;attitude&rdquo; of not settling and complete refusal of complacency was, in fact, the impetus of many modern and historical black power movements. The masculinization and sexualization of black women has existed and followed us for centuries. These processes coincide in their creation as deliberate attempts to oppress us, to punish our mere existence and to hinder black women from reaching true liberation. Moving forward, with this truth in mind, it is imperative that we abandon these preconceived notions of black, feminine existence, instead choosing to celebrate black women as powerful, intelligent, and greater than historical falsehoods.</p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/onthemasculinizationsexualizationofblackwomen214.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Barlow, Jameta Nicole. “Black Women, the Forgotten Survivors of Sexual Assault.” Apa.org, American Psychological Association, Feb. 2020, https://www.apa.org/pi/about/newsletter/2020/02/black-women-sexual-assault. Accessed 27 Mar. 2022.","Coles, Stewart M. “Black Women Often Ignored by Social Justice Movements.” Apa.org, American Psychological Association, 13 July 2020, https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/07/black-women-social-justice. Accessed 27 Mar. 2022.","Hurt, Tera R et al. “Married Black Men's Opinions as to Why Black Women Are Disproportionately Single: A Qualitative Study.” Personal Relationships vol. 21,1 (2014): 88-109. doi:10.1111/pere.12019","Pilgrim, David. “The Jezebel Stereotype.” Ferris.edu, Ferris State University, 2012, https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/jezebel/index.htm. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.","Pilgrim, David. “The Mammy Caricature.” Ferris.edu, Ferris State University, 2012, https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/mammies/homepage.htm. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.","Valerius, Daphne S. “DO BLACK MEN REALLY LOVE BLACK WOMEN? A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON HOW MASS MEDIA SHAPE BLACK MEN’S PERCEPTION OF BLACK WOMEN FOR LONG-TERM ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP – OR NO.” Mospace.umsystem.edu, Univerity of Missouri-Columbia, May 2021, https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/handle/10355/85821. Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.","Watson, Laurel B, et al. “African American Women’s Sexual Objectification Experiences.” Journals.sagepub.com, Sage Journals, 10 Aug. 2012, http://sage.cnpereading.com/paragraph/suppl/10.1177/0361684312454724. Accessed 27 Mar. 2022."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":206,"pub_key":215,"title":"Disrespected, Unprotected, and Neglected: Black Women and American Liberation Movements","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Kennedy Kelis","editor":"Edited By: Grace Bennett","date":"2022-07-13","content":"<p>In a <strong>1962 speech</strong>, minister and black radical Malcolm X declared the black woman to be the most &ldquo;disrespected,&rdquo; &ldquo;unprotected,&rdquo; and &ldquo;neglected&rdquo; person in America (Emba). And while this statement was made, of course, amidst a burgeoning and violent political climate that severely abused Americans of color, in the 21st country, his words continue to ring uncomfortably true. During the 19th and 20th centuries, black women fought resiliently for the voting rights of all Americans. These women organized events and meetings, and they used churches, newspapers, secondary schools, and colleges to promote their ideas (Bailey). However, although their goals were similar to those of black men and white women, these groups often blatantly refused to listen to black women, even going so far as to completely exclude them from their organizations and activities. According to the National Park Service&rsquo;s Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education, neither black men nor white women acknowledged the &ldquo;unique challenges&rdquo; faced by black women in America, for they were arguably far too concerned with the possible liberation of their respective groups and their respective groups only.</p>\r\n<p>Nonetheless, even while remaining largely ignored and having the prospect of their liberation placed in abeyance, black women continued to push for the universal suffrage of all Americans. When the black man was fighting for his individual right to vote, the black woman stood beside him, even when his right was granted and hers denied. When the white woman was fighting for her individual right to vote, the black woman stood beside her, even when the intricate details of her personal oppression were horribly reduced and completely cast aside. Moreover, black women played an essential role in the American Black Power Movement of the 1960s, as well. For example, black radical Mae Mallory, born in 1927 in Macon, Georgia, spent the entirety of her life fighting for black Americans and the working class as a whole, advocating for school desegregation and armed self-defense for African Americans who were not only targeted by individual people, but also by systemic oppression (Rimer). Her decision&ndash;&ndash;as well as the decisions of other black mothers&ndash;&ndash;to keep her children unenrolled from segregated and underfunded public schools due to what they called &ldquo;educational abuse&rdquo; even led a New York City judge to acknowledge the &ldquo;inferior educational opportunities by reason of racial discrimination&rdquo; faced by black children in the city.</p>\r\n<p>According to a piece published by Boston University, Mallory&rsquo;s work with other black women &ldquo;laid the groundwork for future desegregation battles in New York and other Northern cities.&rdquo; Activist Gloria Richardson, pictured below as she pushes aside the bayonet of a National Guardsman in a 1964 Maryland protest, also led similar initiatives during the 1960s. She helped to form and lead the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee, an organization that actively worked against segregation and racial inequality in the city of Cambridge. She worked with United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy to negotiate the Treaty of Cambridge, therefore committing the local government to the desegregation of schools and other public facilities and also creating a human rights commission and a provision for public housing (Treaty of Cambridge). Richardson also attempted to speak at the significant March on Washington as one of the six &ldquo;Negro Women Fighters for Freedom,&rdquo; but she&ndash;&ndash;as well as the five other women attempting to speak&ndash;&ndash;was swiftly denied a chance at the microphone by black male organizers (Gloria Richardson Dandridge, Civil Rights Leader).</p>\r\n<p>Both Richardson and Mallory highlighted the unique abuses experienced by black women in America, simultaneously acknowledging the inability of black male leaders to truly address these abuses. However, the names of both of these women have largely been forgotten in American history due to their shared status as black women. Finally, black women have historically been among the many leaders of American queer liberation movements as well. Black trans woman Marsha P. Johnson was an incredibly important figure in the Stonewall uprising, a series of revolutionary demonstrations done by queer Americans following a police raid in June of 1969, and even before the riot, she spent her entire life advocating for queer people (Rindner). Black lesbian Storm&eacute; DeLarverie was a major leader in the Stonewall uprising as well. She was an important drag performer at The Jewel Box Revue, the only racially integrated drag ensemble at the time, and her detainment by local police and subsequent victimhood to physical abuse was actually the catalyst of the demonstration. The uprising ignited by these two black, queer women led to the eventual creation of pride month, as well as many gay rights organizations, such as the Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries and the Gay &amp; Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, both, of course, founded in large part by black women. Today, black women in America continue in their fight for the liberation of all people. The modern Black Lives Matter movement was started by a group of black women following the brutal murder of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watchman turned vigilante. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi have continued in their fight to protect black Americans from unjust brutality, expanding their once-remote movement to a nationwide organization with over 40 chapters across the country. The Black Lives Matter movement specifically has led to the approval of the duty to intervene police reform measures, the banning of no-knock warrants in Louisville, Kentucky, and the repealing of a former New York state law that previously concealed police disciplinary records from the public view (Menjivar). Black women also continue in their participation in several women&rsquo;s and queer liberation movements, although many modern and ostensibly &ldquo;progressive&rdquo; organizations today completely disregard the unique experiences of women of color in their advocacy. Nevertheless, despite our significant contributions to American liberation movements, black women today are still falling victim to senseless violence, degradation, and mistreatment, and the groups for which they have fought are simply allowing it to happen. In 2015, according to the CDC, black women and Native American women experienced the highest rate of homicide in the country, and &ldquo;nearly half&rdquo; of these homicides were related to violence from a male intimate partner (Hargrove). Black women aged 25 to 29 are also eleven times more likely than white women to be murdered while pregnant or within a year after giving birth. Nonetheless, many white &ldquo;feminist&rdquo; organizations completely fail to address this issue in their activism. Moreover, when compared to all other racial groups in the country, black women also fall victim to the &ldquo;highest rates of intra-racial violence&rdquo;, meaning that we are overwhelmingly killed by black people&ndash;&ndash;or more specifically&ndash;&ndash;black men (Jones). This can plausibly be attributed to the attitude within communities of black men that to be masculine is to gain the status of &ldquo;head of the household&rdquo; by monetarily providing for a family. However, social worker and writer at Time Magazine by the name of &ldquo;Feminista Jones&rdquo; argues that when black men are robbed of this ability to economically contribute to their communities due to systemic oppression, many may then turn to assert their masculinity by way of physical or emotional dominance over women. The black man who participates in this behavior knows that the black woman is the breadwinner of the majority of black households, yet he still somehow expects her to bend to his will (Anderson). This dangerous and unnecessary display of &ldquo;masculinity&rdquo; does not only manifest in physical violence. It also manifests in areas of black conversation, such as on the 1.3 million subscriber-strong Youtube platform of late, black &ldquo;relationship advisor,&rdquo; Kevin Samuels. Kevin Samuels notoriously brought women&ndash;&ndash;mostly black women&ndash;&ndash;onto his channel, making a show of their crucifixion for an audience of men, then proceeding to ask these women questions regarding their height, weight, number of children, and more. He referred to women by their &ldquo;sexual marketplace value,&rdquo; even comparing a black woman to a former NFL linebacker and insisting that she should be &ldquo;grateful&rdquo; that a &ldquo;high-value man&rdquo; would pick her over a 5&rsquo;4, 120-pound woman (Hopkins). Kevin Samuels berated women for their independence and &ldquo;masculinity,&rdquo; and he shamed single, black mothers for their parental status, completely paying no attention to the black men who left these women this way. Nonetheless, what is worse than Samuel&rsquo;s behavior on its own is the fact that the black women whom he has degraded have historically fought for his liberation&ndash;&ndash;and have continued to&ndash;&ndash;since the Africans&rsquo; arrival in America. He simply refused to fight for us. Lastly, not only are black women as a whole falling disproportionately victim to violent crimes and extensive degradation, but black trans women specifically are currently facing a severe epidemic of violence. According to the Human Rights Campaign, in 2021, America saw the highest number of transgender and gender non-conforming people murdered in a single year, and the vast majority of these people were black trans women (Brown). And despite the fact that queer Americans as a whole owe their pride to trans women of color&ndash;&ndash;such as the aforementioned Marsha P. Johnson and Storm&eacute; DeLarverie, as well as Latina-American activist Sylvia Rivera&ndash;&ndash;many white queer people still simply refuse to acknowledge this crisis. This piece is not meant to be antagonistic, nor is it meant to be an attack on any individual people. Instead, this piece is a critique of the groups of people who continue to degrade, murder, and assault black women despite the fact that we have been fighting for them for centuries. The black woman has arguably been a significant leader and contributor to many American liberation movements, and it is time that she immediately be treated as such.</p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/disrespectedunprotectedandneglectedblackwomenandamericanliberationmovements215.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Anderson, Julie. “IWPR #Q054 September 2016 Breadwinner Mothers by Race ...” IWPR, Institute for Women's Policy Research, Sept. 2016, https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Q054.pdf. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.","Bailey, Megan. “Between Two Worlds: Black Women and the Fight for Voting Rights (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 9 Oct. 2020, https://www.nps.gov/articles/black-women-and-the-fight-for-voting-rights.htm. Accessed 13 Feb 2022.","Brown, Jay, and Tori Cooper. “An Epidemic of Violence.” HRC Digital Reports, Human Rights Campaign, 2021, https://reports.hrc.org/an-epidemic-of-violence-fatal-violence-against-transgender-and-gender-non-confirming-people-in-the-united-states-in-2021. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.","Emba, Christine. The Washington Post, WP Company, 22 Feb. 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/black-women-deserve-better-will-2019-be-the-year-of-change/2019/01/09/fc40e842-1439-11e9-803c-4ef28312c8b9_story.html. Accessed 13 Feb 2022.","“Gloria Richardson Dandridge, Civil Rights Leader.” VisitDorchester, Visit Dorchester, 30 July 2021, https://visitdorchester.org/gloria-richardson-dandridge/. Accessed 13 Feb 2022.","Hargrove, Stephanie. “Intimate Partner Violence Homicide - Ujimacommunity.org.” Ujimacommunity, The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community, Oct. 2018, https://ujimacommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Intimate-Partner-Violence-IPV-v9.4.pdf. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.","Hopkins, Eartha. “How Pseudo-Love Guru Kevin Samuels Exploits the Vulnerability of Black Women.” TheGrio, The Grio, 19 May 2021, https://thegrio.com/2021/05/17/kevin-samuels-exploits-black-women/. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.","Jones, Feminista. “Ray Rice: Black Women Struggle More with Domestic Abuse.” Time, Time Magazine, 10 Sept. 2014, https://time.com/3313343/ray-rice-black-women-domestic-violence/. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.","Menjivar, Jackie. “Black Lives Matter Protests: What's Been Achieved so Far.” DoSomething.org, DoSomething.org, 13 Aug. 2020, https://www.dosomething.org/us/articles/black-lives-matter-protests-whats-been-achieved-so-far. Accessed 13 Feb 2022.","Rimer, Sara. “Black Female Activists of the Black Power Movement: The Brink.” BU, Boston University, 13 Feb. 2017, https://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/black-female-activists-ashley-farmer/. Accessed 13 Feb 2022.","Rindner, Grant. “No One Knows Who Started the Stonewall Rebellion, but These Leaders Were Key.” OprahDaily, Oprah Daily, 2 Nov. 2021, https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a36319161/stonewall-riot-leaders/. Accessed 13 Feb 2022.","“Treaty of Cambridge.” SNCC Digital Gateway, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 14 July 2020, https://snccdigital.org/events/treaty-of-cambridge/. Accessed 13 Feb 2022."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":207,"pub_key":216,"title":"Katherine Johnson","subtitle":null,"credit":"Created By: Alexandra Mallios","editor":null,"date":"2022-07-13","content":"<p>This piece is dedicated to Katherine Johnson, who I believe to be one of the most influential women in history. Being a black woman, she was heavily discriminated against in a male dominant workplace at NASA. However, she was able to break through social barriers, which led her to be a key factor in the calculations for numerous space missions.</p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/katherinejohnson216.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Art"]},{"id":205,"pub_key":217,"title":"People Pronounce My Name","subtitle":"","credit":"Written By: Rohan Subramanium","editor":null,"date":"2022-07-14","content":"When people pronounce My Name,\r\n\r\nThere is a twinge of nervous embarrassment\r\n\r\nAs I anticipate their utterance of my ethnicity.\r\n\r\nAnd then they speak: \r\n\r\nThe syllables come out mangled,\r\n\r\nAnd I do not correct them,\r\n\r\nAshamed that my identity is to them \r\nA foreign language.\r\n\r\n\r\nFor indeed, names hold the power and are \r\n\r\nThe first portal into the ancestral blood\r\n\r\nIn our veins, the cultural timeline that has \r\n\r\nCulminated in us.\r\n\r\nAnd when we allow them to be misconstrued\r\n\r\nWith passive desecration, the first layer of \r\n\r\nOur identities crunches under assimilatory feet –\r\n\r\n\r\nAnd thus the door is opened for unholy discrimination.\r\n\r\n\r\nTherefore I must reach out of the\r\n\r\nTurtle shell of self-conscious ethnicity\r\n\r\nAnd instead proudly correct the mouths\r\n\r\nThat maybe innocently, maybe apathetically\r\n\r\nTwist my identity onto itself,\r\n\r\nAnd teach them to pronounce\r\n\r\nMy Name correctly.","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/peoplepronouncemyname217.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]},{"id":226,"pub_key":218,"title":"How Concerned Should We Be About the West Virginia v. EPA?","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Elise Fornaro","editor":"Edited by: Grace Bennett, Aliza Shahab","date":"2022-08-01","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On June 30th, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not regulate the carbon emissions of power plants in the case termed </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Virginia v. EPA</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While this may appear to be a major loss for American environmentalists, its actual impact is relatively negligible. The case, which built upon and drew from several previous environmental programmes established by U.S. Presidents Nixon, Obama, and Trump, may limit the ability of Biden to enact major sustainability legislation; however, it largely serves as a reminder of the U.S.&rsquo;s continued failure to properly enact climate change legislation.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Virginia v. EPA</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> removes the authority granted to the EPA by Nixon&rsquo;s 1970 Clean Air Act (CAA). This act allowed the EPA absolute control in regulating the carbon emissions of industries in an effort to improve air quality and ensured that the levels of known harmful pollutants remained below standards determined by the agency.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EPA&rsquo;s authority would go largely unchallenged until Obama introduced the Clean Power Plan (CPP) in 2015. With this plan, all states were required to lower their power-plant emissions to a set level by 2030. This could be done by using either natural gas or wind power in place of coal power plants. This plan was temporarily suspended due to objections that it required the EPA to have authority beyond the scope allowed in the CAA. In 2019 the CPP would be further challenged by the Trump administration and sent to the district court to decide whether the large-scale changes required by the CPP were beyond the authority of the EPA. In place of the CPP,&nbsp; the less stringent Affordable Clean Energy rule (ACE) was introduced. This would allow each state to set their own emission goals which power plants within that state were required to meet. Projections under ACE actually showed emissions rising, and the initiative did not go into effect.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2021, the district court ultimately ruled that the EPA did have the authority to enforce the CPP; however, it had been fully repealed by this point. Instead plans were made for Biden&rsquo;s administration to introduce a new climate initiative. Shortly after the district court ruling, West Virginia, nineteen other states, and several major power companies challenged the district court ruling and the dispute was brought before the Supreme Court as </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Virginia v. EPA</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In short, the case was dealing with an already repealed and obsolete initiative from Obama&rsquo;s presidency, making it fairly ineffectual.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, some analysts fear that this is only the first of several steps the current conservative-majority Supreme Court will take in limiting climate change legislation and obtaining greater control over all federal agencies.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chief Justice John Roberts based his argument for repealing the CPP on the Major Questions Doctrine. The Major Questions Doctrine states that in regards to issues of &ldquo;major economic and political significance,&rdquo; federal agencies must have Congressional authorisation to make decisions. This is the first instance of the doctrine being used, and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan states that she &ldquo;cannot think of many things more frightening&rdquo; than the Supreme Court having greater authority on climate policy than the EPA itself. In many ways, Kagan is right in her assertion that the Supreme Court wields an unnerving amount of power, as shown by both this case and the recent overturning of </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roe v. Wade</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Still, with regards to the Major Questions Doctrine, the Supreme Court is not omnipotent, as Congress still has the authority to take sweeping action on behalf of federal agencies.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the ruling is disheartening, another one of many instances where the U.S. has failed to pass and maintain effective climate legislation.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1993, President Clinton introduced and subsequently withdrew an energy tax plan due to public backlash. In 2001, the U.S. cited the economy as a reason to drop out of the Kyoto Protocol which mandated that industrialised member countries cut greenhouse emissions. In 2020, the U.S. temporarily withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond these larger policy failures, hundreds of climate change proposals have failed to pass the House of Representatives or Senate.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suppose that analysts&rsquo; fears about the future impact of this EPA ruling do not come true. What then? At our current rates of consumption and power production, climate change will be irreversible by as early as 2025. Every year, 9 million tons of toxic chemicals are released into the air by the U.S. Oil and Gas industry alone. PM2.5 pollution can be linked to 85,000 to 200,000 deaths every year. Of these deaths, BIPOC were disproportionately affected, with statistics showing that three times more African-Americans died of air-pollution related diseases than white Americans.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering the U.S.&rsquo;s failures regarding climate change during the years when the EPA had full authority, it is unlikely that the outcome of </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Virginia v. EPA</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will drastically impact climate legislation. Journalist David Wallace Wells writes that while it could &ldquo;prove a significant setback in the year ahead,&rdquo; this is only the case &ldquo;under a more aggressive&hellip;Democratic administration&rdquo; than we currently have.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Change was not coming either before or after the </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Virginia v. EPA</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ruling. At this point, the ruling serves not as a devastating blow to climate activism, but simply another one of the increasingly alarming signs that the status quo will not cut it when it comes to climate change.<br /><br /></span></p>\r\n<p><strong>Works Cited:</strong></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clean Air Act Saves Lives. Will SCOTUS Change That?</span></em><a href=\"https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/four-reasons-to-care-about-wv-v-epa-at-the-supreme-court/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/four-reasons-to-care-about-wv-v-epa-at-the-supreme-court/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 17 July 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Is the US Uniquely Bad at Tackling Climate Change?&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grist</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 6 Jan. 2022,</span><a href=\"https://grist.org/politics/is-american-democracy-uniquely-bad-at-tackling-climate-change/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://grist.org/politics/is-american-democracy-uniquely-bad-at-tackling-climate-change/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Supreme Court Curtails EPA&rsquo;s Authority to Fight Climate Change.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SCOTUSblog</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 30 June 2022,</span><a href=\"https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-curtails-epas-authority-to-fight-climate-change/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-curtails-epas-authority-to-fight-climate-change/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tabuchi, Hiroko, and Nadja Popovich. &ldquo;People of Color Breathe More Hazardous Air. The Sources Are Everywhere.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The New York Times</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 28 Apr. 2021. </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NYTimes.com</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,</span><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/climate/air-pollution-minorities.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/climate/air-pollution-minorities.html</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wallace-Wells, David. &ldquo;Opinion | The Supreme Court&rsquo;s E.P.A. Decision Is More Gloom Than Doom.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The New York Times</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 1 July 2022. </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NYTimes.com</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,</span><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/opinion/environment/supreme-court-climate-change-west-virginia-epa.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/opinion/environment/supreme-court-climate-change-west-virginia-epa.html</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/westvirginia.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["“Is the US Uniquely Bad at Tackling Climate Change?” Grist, 6 Jan. 2022, https://grist.org/politics/is-american-democracy-uniquely-bad-at-tackling-climate-change/.","Tabuchi, Hiroko, and Nadja Popovich. “People of Color Breathe More Hazardous Air. The Sources Are Everywhere.” The New York Times, 28 Apr. 2021. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/climate/air-pollution-minorities.html.","Clean Air Act Saves Lives. Will SCOTUS Change That? https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/four-reasons-to-care-about-wv-v-epa-at-the-supreme-court/. Accessed 17 July 2022.","“Supreme Court Curtails EPA’s Authority to Fight Climate Change.” SCOTUSblog, 30 June 2022, https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-curtails-epas-authority-to-fight-climate-change/.","Wallace-Wells, David. “Opinion | The Supreme Court’s E.P.A. Decision Is More Gloom Than Doom.” The New York Times, 1 July 2022. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/opinion/environment/supreme-court-climate-change-west-virginia-epa.html."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":241,"pub_key":233,"title":"Modern Veganism in the Black Community","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by River Somerville","editor":"Edited by Veeraja Kamthe and Grace Bennett","date":"2022-08-01","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What comes to mind when you think of veganism? More importantly, who comes to mind? Maybe you are thinking of people who can afford such luxurious lifestyles: white, middle and upper-class. Whatever your connotation, people choose veganism for a variety of reasons. Whether to improve their health, support animals, fight climate change, or express their aversion toward animal products&mdash;all are valid.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, representation of a vegan lifestyle in the media could definitely better spotlight the rise of veganism in Black American communities. With racial, economic, and social pressures influencing this movement toward plant-based diet changes, one ought to learn about the history of Black veganism, its nuanced motives, and its up-and-coming (as well as established) hubs within communities across the nation.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In January, Anthony Hill, a reporter for ABC Action News, cited that &ldquo;8% of African Americans identify as vegan or vegetarian compared to just 3% of the general population.&rdquo; With that said, how has history catalyzed this 5% difference? According to the YouTube channel ATTN:, prior to the American colonial period that thrived on slavery and monoculturally raising crops and animals, populations across Western Asia, India, and Africa embraced vegan lifestyles. As many Black Americans trace their roots, the ability to exhibit an ancestral connection via diet has both implicitly and explicitly motivated many Black vegans. In fact, a significant amount of African vegan staples were also transported through the Columbian Exchange alongside the enslavement of African peoples &mdash; sorghum, okra, and sweet potatoes all have cultural significance in the Americas and the African motherland. Additionally, Amirah Mercer, when writing for </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eater</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to attest to developing and living out her Black vegan lifestyle, cites a cookbook, </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afro-Vegan</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Bryant Terry, that transforms recipes innovatively sewn into Black culture throughout the diaspora (in the Caribbean, United States, Africa) into vegan dishes that shift the predominately white portrayal of veganism into a radical portrayal of personalized diets as a cultural (and inevitably political) statement.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One notable historical shift toward veganism among Black Americans occurred as far back as 40 years in the city of Chicago. In the Chatham neighborhood, Soul Veg City&rsquo;s soul food has been served vegan and vegetarian to the community since the Civil Rights Movement, initiated by a Black and Jewish leader, Prince Asiel Ben Israel&rsquo;s (alongside his children) political and dietetic values. This change was sparked by the realization of racial oppression perpetuated by unhealthy food corporations and a motivation to preserve important dishes from African American culture.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, to combat food insecurity and food deserts as a by-product of systemic racism in the United States, &lsquo;Slutty Vegan&rsquo; in Atlanta serves to enlighten more minds in Black American communities and proceeds to open locations in nutritionally underserved neighborhoods, especially as fast-food restaurants compete for the pockets of working-class Americans of color. Alongside direct detriments via consumption of unhealthy, non-vegan food, when writing for </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Desiree Daniels highlights other aspects of environmental racism such as pig farming toxins in her native North Carolina making their way into Black communities.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tied to these systemic failings of African Americans are the more violent, directly disheartening tragedies that have also motivated veganism in the Black community. The </span><a href=\"https://blacklivesmatter.com/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black Lives Matter Movement</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&rsquo;s peak during the 2010s and early 2020s has catalyzed this correlation by acting against police brutality and beyond. Consequently, Black entrepreneur Louis Hunter and owner of Trio Plant-Based from Minneapolis, Minnesota&mdash;the city of George Floyd&rsquo;s murder and state of Philando Castile&rsquo;s murder&mdash;responded to his hurting community of distressed Black Lives Matter protesters by empathetically distributing vegan meals. Before this, he turned to veganism for many of the systemic reasons mentioned above and eventually connected his personal story to this broader, important racial justice issue.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alongside the Black Lives Matter Movement, co-developing were the indirect tragedies of exacerbated deaths and hospitalization rates among the Black community, especially at the beginning of the pandemic as resources were less available in poor communities of color. As police violence and sickness progressed, Tracye McQuirter&mdash; vegan activist, nutritionist, author, and speaker&mdash; undertook the duty of popularizing veganism in the Black community as a means of spreading resistance to both COVID-19 and systemic oppression (which undoubtedly worsens COVID&rsquo;s symptoms).&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With all of this information in mind, how can one best support Black vegans&rsquo; initiatives? One way is to continue educating others that veganism is not one-size-fits-all, and there are endless recipes to try! If interested in African American, Caribbean, and/or African vegan recipes, an abundance resides online. Discover these &ldquo;</span><a href=\"https://veganyackattack.com/2020/06/09/low-effort-vegan-recipes-by-black-creators/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low-Effort Recipes by Black Creators</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&rdquo;! Support your local Black vegan restaurants, however possible. One of the most important things to do is realize the systemic connections of veganism with the Black community, how Black vegans&rsquo; existence is an act of resistance, and that everyone chooses veganism for their own reasons!</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>Sources</strong></p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https://www.eater.com/22229322/black-veganism-history-black-panthers-dick-gregory-nation-of-islam-alvenia-fulton\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.eater.com/22229322/black-veganism-history-black-panthers-dick-gregory-nation-of-islam-alvenia-fulton</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https://www.today.com/food/black-vegan-why-so-many-black-americans-are-embracing-plant-t209743\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.today.com/food/black-vegan-why-so-many-black-americans-are-embracing-plant-t209743</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53787329\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53787329</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https://veganyackattack.com/2020/06/09/low-effort-vegan-recipes-by-black-creators/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://veganyackattack.com/2020/06/09/low-effort-vegan-recipes-by-black-creators/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https://blacklivesmatter.com/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://blacklivesmatter.com/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https://www.soulvegcity.com/about.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.soulvegcity.com/about.html</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/prince-asiel-ben-israel\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/prince-asiel-ben-israel</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span></li>\r\n</ul>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/50191.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":238,"pub_key":230,"title":"A Dark History of the Present Racial Wealth Gap","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Elina Kayumova","editor":"Edited by Veeraja Kamthe","date":"2022-09-15","content":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data), only 44.7% of Black Americans are homeowners compared to 74% of White Americans. Why are these numbers so distant from each other? Why do we need to care about these statistics? And how can we reduce the gap?</span></em></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to answer the questions above, we should first understand what wealth is using the following formula:&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wealth = what you own - what you owe</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We often tend to mistake wealth and income as the same, however, those two are quite different in nature. Income is the value or payment&nbsp; people receive in return for their inputs (such as labor, ideas, and land); whereas wealth is the difference between your assets (e.g. property, business, stocks) and liabilities (e.g. bank loans, mortgages).&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing this, we can now figure out how wealth is accumulated. The best way to do so is through an example. Imagine taking a bank loan to buy a house in 1980. After you get an approval from a bank, you now have the means (let&rsquo;s say $84,000) to purchase property. Forty-two years later, when you&rsquo;ve already paid back your loan, you can sell your (same!) house for $400,000 in today&rsquo;s money (or around $113,000 in the 1980 dollars). The growth in price is huge, considering the fact that it increased all by itself. And you hardly needed to do anything, only made sure you paid back the loan on time. The main idea of this example is that you need wealth to generate wealth. If you hadn&rsquo;t received&nbsp; that loan from the bank, you wouldn&rsquo;t have been able to invest it into buying property that would increase its price over time. One of the best ways to generate wealth is through housing. The reason why white families&rsquo; median net worth is 10 times more than the median net worth of black families is partially attributable to this 30% gap in homeownership rates.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&rsquo;s look back in history to find the roots of this racial wealth gap.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the emancipation of African Americans in 1863, Abraham Lincoln established a settlement that would include 40 acres of land and a mule for each black family. However, right after Lincoln&rsquo;s assassination, president Andrew Johnson said that &ldquo;formerly enslaved people should work to buy their own land&rdquo;. Remember the idea that you need wealth to generate more of it in the future? Instead of getting land as a starting capital, Black Americans received the Freedman&rsquo;s Savings Bank that eventually closed and wiped out around $3 million of Black earned savings.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One way of buying property is through mortgaging loans that many Black Americans could not take because of &ldquo;redlining&rdquo;, a discriminatory practice that people started to use in the 1930s. Take a look at this map:</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 1936 </span><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Owners%27_Loan_Corporation\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HOLC</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Home Owners&rsquo; Loan Corporation)&nbsp; \"residential security\" map of </span><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Philadelphia</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, classifying various neighborhoods by estimated </span><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_risk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">riskiness</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of mortgage loans. </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining</span></em></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such maps were used to determine the &ldquo;riskiness&rdquo; of issuing mortgages by race. The places colored in red signified predominantly Black areas. People from risky neighborhoods were denied housing loans, even if they were creditworthy.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even after the Fair Housing Act of 1968, Black families still did not get equal opportunities. In the 1990s,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">low-income Black families were 5 times more likely to receive subprime loans than white families. Subprime loans are loans with high interest rates that were issued to low-income families. They seem reasonable at first but then grow rapidly over time. Without adequate access to housing mortgages, people were unable to buy property and generate wealth in the future. Going back to the example at the beginning, if you were denied a loan or were given an opportunity to take only a high-cost loan, would you be able to buy a house that could, in the future, generate wealth? Only if you were ready to pay back a huge sum of money that would make accumulated wealth seem less appealing.&nbsp; Hence, unequal distribution of resources and access to low-cost loans are responsible for the wide racial gap in homeownership rates.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But surely, homeownership is not the only way to build wealth? This belief is refuted by the author of &ldquo;</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom&rdquo;, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, who says that for most people 70% of net worth is tied to their home. Apart from housing, business ownership and investment are also generators of wealth. Both require initial capital to generate wealth in the future: opening a business usually starts with a bank loan, and wise market investments require initial knowledge of strategies and money. Hence, if given the needed resources as a starting point, many Black Americans can increase their wealth with time.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, where do we go from here? This might be easier said than done, but we certainly need to aim towards a more flexible banking system that would provide equal opportunities to people regardless of their skin color, increase encouragement and investment in businesses owned by Black Americans, and raise the market participation rate. This article might not make any difference on systemic racism or the banking system, but it can raise awareness to influence decisions made in the future.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sources</span></p>\r\n<p><br /><br /></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NHWAHORUSQ156N\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FRED: Homeownership Rates by Race and Ethnicity: Non-Hispanic White Alone in the United States</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BOAAAHORUSQ156N\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FRED: Homeownership Rates by Race and Ethnicity: Black Alone in the United States</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2022?endYear=1980&amp;amount=400000\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inflation Calculator</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/how-to-close-the-racial-wealth-gap-post-pandemic/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3 Ways To Close The Racial Wealth Gap After The Pandemic</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emancipation Proclamation</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvMISzAIc-Q&amp;t=684s\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Money as a Democratic Medium | The Color of Money: Banking and Racial Inequality (with Slides)</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zxn2QV1cJw\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Racial Wealth Gap? It All Comes Down to Black Banks | Amanpour and Company</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHkVvdPqvH4&amp;t=760s\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Racist History Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Gap | Doha Debates</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9diZJks95Ko\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How America Created Its Shameful Wealth Gap | Robert Reich</span></a></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqrhn8khGLM\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explained | Racial Wealth Gap | FULL EPISODE | Netflix</span></a></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":228,"pub_key":219,"title":"Students in the Aftermath of COVID-19","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Elise Fornaro","editor":"Edited by: Grace Bennett, Aliza Shahab","date":"2022-10-01","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the 2022-2023 school year marks the second year of in-person lessons for many schools and the pandemic is increasingly being viewed as \"over,\" the long-term effects of COVID-19 on students are only beginning to emerge and should not be forgotten.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing to address upfront is the slight misconception that COVID-19 is &ldquo;over.&rdquo; Recently, the U.S. President Joe Biden declared that &ldquo;the pandemic is over.&rdquo; With the CDC no longer recommending social distancing, mask mandates being lifted throughout the U.S., and vaccines being readily available in most first and second-world countries, this initially does seem to be the case. While these are welcome changes for many, risks of infection remain high and there are still almost 100 million total cases in the U.S. Keeping this in mind, protecting the health of both school staff and students should still be a consideration in school policies.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regardless, the world as a whole is trying to live with COVID, a necessary measure for most countries' economies. A large part of living with COVID is moving back to fully in-person learning and away from virtual and hybrid systems. While this began to occur last year, this upcoming school year represents an almost full return to pre-pandemic education procedures, with many schools no longer even requiring students or teachers to wear masks.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While this year marks a supposed return to &ldquo;normal&rdquo; education, it&rsquo;s important to be aware of both the long and short-term impacts of the pandemic on children and how this may have affected their behaviour in and attitudes towards school.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The unexpected switch to virtual learning in the early days of the pandemic had many parents concerned about whether their children&rsquo;s academics would suffer. Studies over the last few years can give us an indication of the impact it had.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One study by Mckinsey &amp; Co. shows that for K-12 students, an average of 5 months of mathematics and an average of 4 months of reading were lost during a year of online schooling. As always, within these already disheartening statistics, there are massive racial and socio-economic disparities. The same study shows that students in low-income schools were almost seven months behind in mathematics.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps even more significantly, many high school students have simply decided not to make up for their lost studies, as shown by the dramatic rise of chronic absenteeism in the Mckinsey study. From pre-pandemic levels, chronic absenteeism among eighth through twelfth graders has risen by 12%, a number that seems small, but actually amounts to several million students.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rise in chronic absenteeism is not only linked to the academic struggles of the pandemic, but also the mental health toll it has taken on many of them. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that from 2019 to 2020, the number of emergency room visits for teens related to suspected suicide attempts increased 30%.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the data on short-term effects is alarming, the long-term effects of COVID-19 on students cannot yet be determined. Some studies have looked to historical instances of missed schooling to try and predict the longer-term effects of the pandemic on students.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One study looked at the 1988 to 2014 regional teacher strikes in Argentina. Those worst affected by the teacher strikes missed around 88 days of school, slightly under half of the school year, in their K-5 years. Looking at these students 20 to 30 years later, Argentinian men who had experienced significant school closures earned 3.2% less than Argentinian men who had had undisrupted education. Similarly, affected Argentinian women earned 1.9% less than unaffected ones.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The study suggests that the frequent school closures affected the ability of the students to manage in school, and forced many mothers to quit work to care for their children, lowering the family&rsquo;s socio-economic status and leaving less money for the children&rsquo;s future education.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, none of these studies are entirely comparable to what children around the world have experienced during the pandemic. Most notably, many school closures have far exceeded 88 days. For instance, schools in Germany have been fully closed for 14 weeks and partially closed for 24 weeks since the beginning of COVID-19. On a more optimistic note, the Argentinian study does not account for the technological leaps and bounds we have made since the late 1900s. Online schooling, while difficult, is still a possibility for most middle and upper-class children. Similarly, many enrichment activities and tutors are also available online to ensure that children do not fall behind. As always, an important thing to note is that these opportunities do not exist for many children from less privileged families.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is truly no precedent for what students are experiencing in the aftermath of COVID-19, which is why it is so important to monitor their emotional and academic well-being both in the long and short-term.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing the potentially drastic impacts of missed schooling on students, how can education systems help students recover?</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between the American Rescue Plan Act, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, and various other pandemic relief funds, schools in the U.S. have approximately an extra $190 billion, to be used over the next four years, to aid students and teachers in recovering from the impacts of COVID.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What makes these grants particularly interesting is the large flexibility schools exercise in how to spend the money. Provided that a minimum of 20% of the money is spent on helping students catch up academically, school districts essentially have free rein to spend the money as they see fit. This means that the U.S. school system has a unique chance to reform in the next few years. Besides the additional funds, students, parents, and teachers have also adapted and become used to less traditional styles of learning over the past two years. In a 2020 teacher survey done by Education Week, 87% of teachers reported that the pandemic had improved their ability to use technology.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering the relative freedom school districts have in spending this money, a sizable portion of it should be spent on helping students re-acclimate to a school environment and providing better mental health resources. The director of behavioural health services for Boston public schools, Andria Amador, argues, first and foremost, schools should focus on &ldquo;re-creating the school community&rdquo; and solely focusing on academic recovery will leave many students floundering.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many different ways to do this.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chicago Public Schools, for instance, have partnered with the University of Chicago to develop a student prioritisation index (SPI) which pinpoints students at high risk of dropping out based on various factors in the student&rsquo;s life and their performance at school. With this knowledge, the school district can hopefully address and alleviate the student&rsquo;s stress points to prevent future chronic absenteeism. Besides this, the programme also includes partnerships with community groups that might have a more personal connection with the student and can carry out home visits to assess the situation. As of right now, the programme is fairly new and the district continues to monitor its effectiveness.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to these new programmes, several states including Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, Virginia, and others have made mental health a valid excuse to miss a set number of school days. Systems like these are flawed, not only due to the high possibility of abusing the system, but always because the stigma around mental health discussion might make it difficult for a student to justify taking a mental health day. Still, they are a step in the right direction, acknowledging that students' lives do not and should not revolve around school.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no clear path to recovering from a global pandemic in any sector and education is no exception. Regardless of what education was like in the past, these next few years represent the foundation of education in our new normal, and individuals on all levels, from students to principals, should have a say in how we move forward.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>Works Cited:</strong></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Country Dashboard &ndash; Covid-19 Response</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://covid19.uis.unesco.org/global-monitoring-school-closures-covid19/country-dashboard/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://covid19.uis.unesco.org/global-monitoring-school-closures-covid19/country-dashboard/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 7 Sept. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID Harmed Kids&rsquo; Mental Health&mdash;And Schools Are Feeling It</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://pew.org/3EMGbUH\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://pew.org/3EMGbUH</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 7 Sept. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID-19 and Education: The Lingering Effects of Unfinished Learning | McKinsey</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/education/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/education/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 9 Sept. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How the Covid Pandemic Will Follow Today&rsquo;s Kids Into Adulthood - WSJ</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-covid-pandemic-will-follow-todays-kids-into-adulthood-11659972345\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-covid-pandemic-will-follow-todays-kids-into-adulthood-11659972345</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 8 Sept. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Future of Education: Lifelong, Flexible, Skill-Based Learning After COVID-19</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://redshift.autodesk.com/articles/future-of-education\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://redshift.autodesk.com/articles/future-of-education</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 5 Sept. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br /><br /></span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/studentscovid.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Country Dashboard – Covid-19 Response. https://covid19.uis.unesco.org/global-monitoring-school-closures-covid19/country-dashboard/. Accessed 7 Sept. 2022.","COVID Harmed Kids’ Mental Health—And Schools Are Feeling It. https://pew.org/3EMGbUH. Accessed 7 Sept. 2022.","COVID-19 and Education: The Lingering Effects of Unfinished Learning | McKinsey. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/education/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning. Accessed 9 Sept. 2022.","How the Covid Pandemic Will Follow Today’s Kids Into Adulthood - WSJ. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-covid-pandemic-will-follow-todays-kids-into-adulthood-11659972345. Accessed 8 Sept. 2022.","The Future of Education: Lifelong, Flexible, Skill-Based Learning After COVID-19. https://redshift.autodesk.com/articles/future-of-education. Accessed 5 Sept. 2022."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":227,"pub_key":220,"title":"China's Issue With Anti-Blackness","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Elise Fornaro","editor":"Edited by: Grace Bennett, Aliza Shahab","date":"2022-12-01","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Former Premier of China, Zhao Ziyang, once declared that racism was a prevalent issue &ldquo;everywhere in the world except China,&rdquo; a sweeping statement that overlooks decades of anti-black sentiment and aggression at both the micro and macro level.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discussion around anti-blackness, though quite prevalent in modern society, often overlooks countries outside of the West. Particularly in East Asia, which is typically quite homogenous in its racial makeup, this issue is not acknowledged or researched to much depth.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In many ways, this has allowed countries like China to deny and ignore prevalent racial issues and continually point to the West as the source of all racism.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since China&rsquo;s founding in 1949, several prevalent examples of anti-blackness have occurred on college campuses. Starting in the 1960s and continuing to the present day, the Chinese government has started numerous programmes to encourage students from &ldquo;friendly&rdquo; countries in Africa to study at their universities. As a result of this, foreign African students make up a large percentage of the black population in China. During the late 1900s, these African students in China would face numerous instances of anti-black violence and protests that led many to return to their home countries.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A notable early example would be the 1979 Shanghai Incident in which Chinese students confronted African students for playing music too loud, referring to them as &ldquo;black devils.&rdquo; The conflict escalated over the next few days as the foreign student hall was vandalised and several Africans were attacked. Local police provided no assistance to the African students, 16 of which were hospitalised, and all of whom were eventually forced to evacuate the foreign student hall. When commenting on the incident, the Chinese press suggested that the African students had provoked the attack through their drunken and womanising behaviour.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accusations of this sort were made after many of the incidents involving African students in China. For instance, after a 1989 incident, a group of Chinese students claimed that the African students were \"polluting Chinese society with their relations with Chinese women.\"&nbsp; At other anti-African protests, leaflets stating the need to &ldquo;protect our women&rdquo; were distributed by Chinese students.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&rsquo;s worth noting that although xenophobia may have played a role in the hostility towards African-Chinese relationships at the time, it was not the primary factor in inciting violence and protests. Anti-blackness was evidently at the root of this harassment, as records from the time show that Chinese hostility towards interracial relationships was often overlooked with white students.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incidents such as these not only undermine Chinese denial of racism in their country, but also show how Western racism and Chinese racism share many similarities; primarily, both are rooted partially in a fear of miscegenation, or the interbreeding of different races. While some, like Chinese historian Yinghong Cheng, describe Chinese racism as an &ldquo;independent variation&rdquo; from Western racism, this is clearly not entirely true.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rhetoric spouted by Chinese students and officials described above is eerily similar to that disseminated by famed American eugenicist Madison Grant in his highly influential 1916 book, </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Passing of the Great Race</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In this book, he encouraged the idea of scientific racism, claiming that Nordic people, meaning Northern Europeans, were the pinnacle of humanity and other races, particularly those of African descent, were inherently inferior due to their physiology. From 1916 to 1937, the book sold 16,000 copies in the U.S alone.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The views held by the Chinese public in the late 1900s were at least partially influenced by popular Western eugenicists at the turn of the century. In China, powerful intellectuals Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei, who were influenced by Grant and others, emerged in the early 1900s, cementing the skin-tone bias in the minds of the Chinese masses.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, Chinese perception of dark skin as inferior is not entirely influenced by Western ideals. While eugenicist ideas were more radical than previous ideas, China is a country that has valued whiteness for much of its history. Traditionally, darker skin has been associated with hard labour and poverty, whereas lighter skin indicated education, wealth, and leisure. The association of dark skin with biological inferiority would have seemed fairly logical at the time.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1949, the rise of the Communist Party to power and the subsequent formation of the People&rsquo;s Republic of China supposedly altered traditional perspectives on class hierarchy. The narrative was shifted to portray peasants from third-world countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America as loyal communist revolutionaries that would come to dominate their countries.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite this changed narrative, the actions of Chinese students and officials throughout the late 1900&rsquo;s suggests that the idea of a racial hierarchy remained firmly entrenched in the minds of most Chinese.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, China&rsquo;s issues with anti-blackness can be seen in the present day. As recently as February of 2021, the Chinese state-owned television station featured performers in blackface as part of their Lunar New Year&rsquo;s Gala variety show, one of the most watched television events in the world due to China&rsquo;s large population. In addition to blackface, many of the skits involving black actors leaned heavily on tribal stereotypes. A similar incident had occurred in the 2018 Gala show, sparking outrage online. In response to the 2018 controversy surrounding the Gala, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that Western media sought to &ldquo;exaggerate matters&rdquo; as a way of worsening Afro-Sino relations and denied that it was at all racist. The return of blackface as a form of entertainment in the 2021 Gala shows the extent to which this criticism was disregarded.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Chinese leaders to continuously claim that racism doesn&rsquo;t exist within its borders is a blatant lie. Even ignoring their escalating extermination of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, their society is no more exempt from accusations of racism than those in the West.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What truly differentiates China&rsquo;s anti-blackness is not the level of its severity or its origins, but the state&rsquo;s obstinate denial of anti-blackness. By refusing to acknowledge the issue of anti-blackness, China is preventing the intellectual discussion that needs to happen to solve or at least reduce it.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the path to racial equality in every country is long, even seemingly endless, China has yet to even find the road.<br /><br /><br /></span></p>\r\n<p><strong>Works Cited:</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Anti-Blackness in Asian Communities.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daikon* Zine</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, %April,</span><a href=\"https://daikon.co.uk/blog/anti-blackness\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://daikon.co.uk/blog/anti-blackness</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asia Has Its Own Strands of Racism. It&rsquo;s Time to Take Them Seriously.</span></em><a href=\"https://thediplomat.com/2022/06/asia-has-its-own-strands-of-racism-its-time-to-take-them-seriously/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://thediplomat.com/2022/06/asia-has-its-own-strands-of-racism-its-time-to-take-them-seriously/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 14 Aug. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;China Denies Racism, Says Hyping up TV Blackface Skit &lsquo;Futile.&rsquo;&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reuters</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 22 Feb. 2018. </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.reuters.com</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,</span><a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lunar-newyear-china-blackface-idUSKCN1G60ZE\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lunar-newyear-china-blackface-idUSKCN1G60ZE</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Chinese State Media&rsquo;s New Year Gala Once Again Features Blackface in Segment Depicting Africa.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Washington Post</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.washingtonpost.com</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,</span><a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/02/11/cctv-gala-blackface-chunwan/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/02/11/cctv-gala-blackface-chunwan/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 14 Aug. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Madison Grant (1865&ndash;1937) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/madison-grant-1865-1937\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/madison-grant-1865-1937</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 14 Aug. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sautman, Barry. &ldquo;Anti-Black Racism in Post-Mao China.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The China Quarterly</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, no. 138, 1994, pp. 413&ndash;37.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br /><br /></span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["“Anti-Blackness in Asian Communities.” Daikon* Zine, %April, https://daikon.co.uk/blog/anti-blackness.","“China Denies Racism, Says Hyping up TV Blackface Skit ‘Futile.’” Reuters, 22 Feb. 2018. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lunar-newyear-china-blackface-idUSKCN1G60ZE.","Madison Grant (1865–1937) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia. https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/madison-grant-1865-1937. Accessed 14 Aug. 2022.","Asia Has Its Own Strands of Racism. It’s Time to Take Them Seriously. https://thediplomat.com/2022/06/asia-has-its-own-strands-of-racism-its-time-to-take-them-seriously/. Accessed 14 Aug. 2022.","“Chinese State Media’s New Year Gala Once Again Features Blackface in Segment Depicting Africa.” Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/02/11/cctv-gala-blackface-chunwan/. Accessed 14 Aug. 2022.","Sautman, Barry. “Anti-Black Racism in Post-Mao China.” The China Quarterly, no. 138, 1994, pp. 413–37."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":225,"pub_key":221,"title":"Relationship between climate change & inequality","subtitle":null,"credit":"Elina Kayumova","editor":"Veeraja Kamthe","date":"2022-12-01","content":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In today&rsquo;s age, discussions on climate change are constant; it is a pressing matter. But why is it so? What is so dangerous about these two words? Who is contributing to climate change and in what amounts? Who is taking action to prevent the disaster? And is climate change correlated with inequality?</span></em></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is climate change? If you were to google it, you would most likely find something similar to this: &ldquo;</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Climate change describes a change in the average conditions &mdash; such as temperature and rainfall &mdash; in a region over a long period of time.&rdquo; Heat absorbed by greenhouse gases (i.e. Carbon dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous oxide) warms the Earth. These gases are the product of industrial activities and the burning of fossil fuels. They are the major contributing factor to climate change. Yes, human activity is the core of the problem. (Here&rsquo;s </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the research</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by NASA that proves the earlier statement.) The easiest way to understand this is by imagining a huge harmful blanket sweeping over the planet. A blanket created by humans &mdash; the conscious citizens of Earth.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why is this blanket in the atmosphere &mdash; so far away from our countries, neighborhoods, and families &mdash; so dangerous? As climate change progresses, natural disasters (such as storms and draughts) become more frequent and severe. Not only can disasters be lethal for us but they are also able to spark political conflicts and leave millions unemployed and helpless overnight. Simply speaking, all living creatures are at risk when weather conditions are not under control.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do we contribute to climate change? In other words, how do we worsen the already dreadful climate situation? The usage of cars that use gas to operate, air conditioners, as well as deforestation (trees release CO2 when burnt) are just a few examples of the factors contributing to global warming (although they contribute in different proportions.)</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on our financial means, we have different capacities to contribute to the change in the atmosphere. Those with larger resources have a better chance to emit greenhouse gases (but it does not necessarily mean that all people with enough financial means choose to live unsustainable lives). This is when inequality, income inequality specifically, comes into play.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to statistics, on average, each member of top 1% o</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">f the world&rsquo;s population emits 110 tonnes of carbon per year. To put this number into perspective, a typical american emits 15, and an average indian 2 tonnes. But how so? The answer is private jets, which are one of the most inefficient means of transportation in terms of CO2 emissions per person.&ldquo;Our data reveals that celebs have emitted an average of 3376.64 tonnes of CO2 emissions in just their private jet usage in 2022 so far.&rdquo; </span><a href=\"https://weareyard.com/insights/worst-celebrity-private-jet-co2-emission-offenders\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yard</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reports&nbsp; on their website. Again, if we put this enormous number of tonnes of CO2 emissions into perspective, it is alarming if we compare it with the 7 tonnes emitted by an average person annually.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is banning private jets a solution? No. Because they are sometimes life-saving in situations when a surgery or organ transplantation is needed. Taxing the flights might not be the best solution either </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&mdash; </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they will just become&nbsp; more exclusive to the ultra rich. But then what is it? What is the solution? It lies in our collaborative effort that can be achieved through raising awareness.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crimes of the rich regarding climate change are clear</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">even if we take into account only one contributing factor </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&mdash; private jets</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Average people could stop driving gas-using cars and quit flights altogether, and this would still not be sufficient to confront the damage made by jets. This is not to say that we should stop fighting. We should not. But we should do it together. We need to create awareness and collaborative effort that would involve all socio-economic classes.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;To some, climate change might not seem pressing even now. After all, many of us do not feel its effects yet. But we need to act now to ensure a better future. The idea is simple (although quite hard to implement): </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">people who contribute to climate change the most are the ones who should help mitigate it. They have the most power. And they would be able to reduce a great chunk of emissions.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I strongly believe that with the effort of every human being on earth, no matter whether they own a private jet or not, we will be able to reduce, if not reverse climate change and create a better future together.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sources&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://climatekids.nasa.gov/climate-change-meaning/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://climatekids.nasa.gov/climate-change-meaning/</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/02/taylor-swift-kylie-jenner-private-jet-emissions/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/02/taylor-swift-kylie-jenner-private-jet-emissions/</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvPlCr_fPSA\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvPlCr_fPSA</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/54251980\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/54251980</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-global-warming-faq.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-global-warming-faq.html</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brvhCnYvxQQ\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brvhCnYvxQQ</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C65iqOSCZOY&amp;t=4s\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C65iqOSCZOY&amp;t=4s</span></a></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/relationship.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://climatekids.nasa.gov/climate-change-meaning/","https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/02/taylor-swift-kylie-jenner-private-jet-emissions/","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvPlCr_fPSA","https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/54251980","https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-global-warming-faq.html","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brvhCnYvxQQ","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C65iqOSCZOY&t=4s"],"types":[]},{"id":231,"pub_key":223,"title":"Out of Touch? - Criticisms of the Supreme Court","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Emilia Rubalcaba Kates","editor":"Edited by: Summer LaPointe","date":"2022-12-01","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The overturning of Roe v. Wade has ignited a massive controversy in the United States and abroad, with both sides of the debate rushing to add more fuel to the fire. Listening closely to the discussions surrounding the case, though, one will realize that the conversation tends to recenter upon criticism of the Supreme Court&ndash;its decisions, its structure, its makeup, and the way it functions. This criticism is nothing new; in fact, it has been prevalent in American society and academia since the creation of this highest court of the land.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As ex-Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times Anthony Lewis put it in his 1961 article on the subject,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The criticism (of the Supreme Court) today falls into three broad categories: abusive criticism motivated largely by the results reached in particular cases, criticism of the Court's exercise of the power of judicial review of legislation, and academic criticism directed chiefly at the reasons the Court gives for its results.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The result-oriented criticism might seem the most obvious. Naturally, with larger, more high-profile cases (</span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education, Engel v. Vitale</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, etc.) the divided public and an often-sensationalist media will combine to create a hurricane of outcry. The criticism, however, that stems from the struggle over drawing the line of judicial power&ndash;that is to say, </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">where </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">when </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the Court should step in&ndash;is one that is more complex.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the official website of the U.S. Supreme Court, of the thousands of petitions received each term, less than a hundred are actually heard. The justices decide which ones to hear by voting&ndash;if four out of nine agree, then the case will appear before them.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court's \"standing\" rules are kept in mind during this process, which indicate which cases are of sufficient significance to be heard by the Supreme Court.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This area has caused confusion in the past due to the Constitution's vague wording on it. Article III, Section 2, Clause 1 begins by saying that \"The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made&hellip;\" and goes on to list a plethora of other situations under which the Supreme Court would have jurisdiction. However, it doesn't exactly describe the kinds of cases it should hear&ndash;or more specifically, whether it has authority over moral issues.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3,4</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This question has come to the forefront of many legal discussions, especially in the 20th century. The Court faced backlash when it expanded the standing doctrines in the 1960s with major rulings on topics like segregation and school prayer, or even Congressional redistricting in Tennessee.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3.4 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Judge Irving R. Kaufman wrote in 1963 on this last matter, &ldquo;...legal scholars have expressed grave doubts as to the propriety &mdash; indeed, the capability &mdash; of a judicial body to engage in such traditionally nonjudicial activity as telling state legislatures how to go about drawing political boundary lines.&rdquo;</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, he continues, it is possible that it might even be worse for higher courts to </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">step in, at least when situations that might not typically be under their authority infringe upon previous decisions (such as the Constitutional right to equality).</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As is known from experience&ndash;and from taking one look at social media today&ndash;people don&rsquo;t often take kindly to others telling them what they can and cannot do, which is why Supreme Court decisions on topics that can be considered \"moral\" (abortion, racism, etc.) are usually the most controversial. Judge Kaufman mentions this when he says that \"...perhaps most conducive to a vigorous and often unkindly public reaction to the work of the Court is the fact that questions of public law frequently concern questions of morals.\"</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court goes through phases of broadening or tightening its standing doctrine&ndash;just like it does with many other aspects of its function&ndash;so its tendency to make major, polarizing decisions that are rooted in morality shifts along with it.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3,4</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, the cases the Supreme Court decides to see may relate to ones it has seen in the past. This results in a revisitation of a decision, as has happened with Roe v. Wade. The tendency of a Court to decide to revisit past cases is another decision that shifts with the times&ndash;although it isn't all that common that a decision is overturned entirely; in fact, according to Professor David Schultz of the University of Minnesota, less than 0.05% of the Court's total cases have ever been overturned.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The process of revisitation has faced critical remarks and concerns about its legal basis, particularly in cases when it appears to occur not due to concrete concerns of constitutionality, but of the ideology of the justices \"...in relation to the ideological preferences of the justices on the enacting Court,\" as stated in McMillion and Vance's paper on the subject.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4,6</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ideology and partiality of individual justices is one of the major complaints of the public. This concern is particularly due to the method of their appointment&ndash;many believe a justice cannot be entirely impartial and focused on carrying out justice, as they are supposed to be, if they've been nominated by a president meaning to further their own agenda and that of their political party. According to a study conducted by Pew Research Center (prior to Justice Breyer's retirement and Justice Brown Jackson's appointment), 84% of American adults believe that Supreme Court justices should not bring their political views into their decisions, but only 16% of them believe that they do an excellent/good job at doing so.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This shows the skepticism or even mistrust Americans hold in the impartiality of the Court or its justices&ndash;a return to the mindset of the 1930s, when during a series of clashes between the Supreme Court and the Roosevelt administration, the president attempted to \"pack\" the Court with six new justices who would support his New Deal policies; much to the chagrin of Congress and the public.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Polls conducted in the last decade or so, such as the one previously cited, demonstrate that the majority of Americans believe the Supreme Court should be an apolitical institution. It may surprise the reader to know that \"for the better part of American history, the U.S. Supreme Court was a much more partisan and political institution than we remember.\"</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many justices have had significant political affiliations, from being political strivers, to receiving money from outside interest groups, to having relations with politically active individuals or groups.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Times have changed, however, and it is now generally deemed highly improper for a member of the judiciary to partake in political activities or to have a clear partisan bias. It's even listed in the Code of Conduct for federal judges: Canon Five states that \"A Judge Should Refrain from Political Activity\" (including but not limited to holding an office in or making speeches for a political organization; publicly endorsing, opposing or giving money to a political candidate; running for candidacy while on the bench, etc).</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It isn't surprising that the expectation that a judicial official should remain politically \"neutral\"&ndash;at least when it comes to their work&ndash;would only solidify when it comes to one as influential as a Supreme Court Justice.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Framers of the Constitution didn't want the Supreme Court to be tainted by the motivations of politicians. For this reason, they installed safeguards in the government's structure to prevent it&ndash;for example, by not implementing a mechanism enabling Congress to review or even override the Court's decisions.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court is meant to be one of the major \"checks and balances\" of the government, making sure that Congress complies with the Constitution; it would then seem logical that the very establishment they're monitoring&ndash;comprised of elected officials with political motivations&ndash;shouldn't be able to overturn decisions that aren't in their interest. Yet, what happens when the Supreme Court itself becomes potentially compromised? What happens to the integrity of the Court, to that of the law, to that of the Constitution&ndash;to that of the country itself?&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are the questions worrying Americans. And perhaps it wouldn't be such a large concern if the justices' terms weren't so extensive&ndash;in fact, limits are virtually nonexistent. The \"good behavior\" clause in the Constitution allows a justice to stay in their position for as long as they like (i.e. until they pass away or retire), assuming that </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they follow the code of conduct and are not impeached for any kind of infraction.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">11</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some argue that the Framers didn't foresee just how long the life term could actually end up being, as life expectancy was so much shorter than it is today. Others believe that lifelong terms can lead to a drift over time between the Court and the public; its needs and wants. Chief Justice John Roberts once said it best: \"Setting a term of, say, fifteen years would ensure that federal judges would not lose all touch with reality through decades of ivory tower existence.\"</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">12 </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many Americans also express concerns that a much older Court composed of a majority of aging White men may not be able to fully represent a public diverse in race, age, gender, and class.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court has always been subject to reproof. Concerns or questions about the institution or its work have not simply appeared overnight. Whether they are in regard to the Court's caseload, functions, or its justices themselves, history reveals that people have always had opinions about how the Supreme Court could be changed for the better.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>BIBLIOGRAPHY&nbsp;</strong></p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Lewis, Anthony, \"The Supreme Court and Its Critics\" (1961). Minnesota Law Review. 847. </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/847</span></li>\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &ldquo;Frequently Asked Questions.&rdquo; Home - Supreme Court of the United States, </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/faq_general.aspx</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></li>\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &ldquo;Article III. Judicial Branch.&rdquo; Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-3/section-2/clause-1/standi ng-require ment-overview.&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Kaufman, Irving R. &ldquo;The Supreme Court and Its Critics.&rdquo; The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 28 May 2022,&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1963/12/the-supreme-court-and-its critics/658567/</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<ol start=\"5\">\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Frommer, Frederic J. &ldquo;The Most Important Decisions the Supreme Court Has Overturned.&rdquo; The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 June 2022,&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/05/12/supreme-court-decisions-ove</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rturned/</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<ol start=\"6\">\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Vance, Christopher P. McMillion et al. &ldquo;Criticism from below: The Supreme Court's Decision to Revisit Cases: Journal of Law and Courts: Vol 5, No 1.&rdquo; Journal of Law and Courts, </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/690086</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></li>\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &ldquo;Public's Views of Supreme Court Turned More Negative before News of Breyer's Retirement.&rdquo; Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics &amp;amp; Policy, Pew Research Center, 7 Feb. 2022,&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/02/02/publics-views-of-supreme-court turned-more-negative-before-news-of-breyers-retirement/</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<ol start=\"8\">\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Kennedy, Lesley. &ldquo;This Is How FDR Tried to Pack the Supreme Court.&rdquo; History.com, A&amp;amp;E Television Networks, 28 June 2018,&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.history.com/news/franklin-roosevelt-tried-packing-supreme-court</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 9. &ldquo;The Supreme Court Has Never Been Apolitical.&rdquo; POLITICO,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/04/03/the-supreme-court-has-neve</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">r-been-apolitical-00022482</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<ol start=\"10\">\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Stanford Law Review. &ldquo;Politicizing the Supreme Court.&rdquo; Stanford Law Review, 12 Apr. 2019, </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/politicizing-the-supreme-court/</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 11. &ldquo;Good Behavior Clause: Doctrine and Practice.&rdquo; Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute,</span></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-3/section-1/good-behavior-c</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lause-doctrine-and-practice#:~:text=In%20other%20words%2C%20the%20Good,a%</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20high%20crime%20or%20misdemeanor.</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<ol start=\"12\">\r\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Buchanan, Maggie, et al. &ldquo;The Need for Supreme Court Term Limits.&rdquo; Center for American Progress, 4 Nov. 2021,&nbsp;</span></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.americanprogress.org/article/need-supreme-court-term-limits/</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Lewis, Anthony, \"The Supreme Court and Its Critics\" (1961). Minnesota Law Review. 847. https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/847.","“Frequently Asked Questions.” Home - Supreme Court of the United States, https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/faq_general.aspx.","“Article III. Judicial Branch.” Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-3/section-2/clause-1/standi ng-require ment-overview.","Kaufman, Irving R. “The Supreme Court and Its Critics.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 28 May 2022,  https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1963/12/the-supreme-court-and-its critics/658567/.","Frommer, Frederic J. “The Most Important Decisions the Supreme Court Has Overturned.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 June 2022,  https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/05/12/supreme-court-decisions-ove rturned/.","Vance, Christopher P. McMillion et al. “Criticism from below: The Supreme Court's Decision to Revisit Cases: Journal of Law and Courts: Vol 5, No 1.” Journal of Law and Courts, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/690086.","“Public's Views of Supreme Court Turned More Negative before News of Breyer's Retirement.” Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics &amp; Policy, Pew Research Center, 7 Feb. 2022,  https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/02/02/publics-views-of-supreme-court turned-more-negative-before-news-of-breyers-retirement/.","Kennedy, Lesley. “This Is How FDR Tried to Pack the Supreme Court.” History.com, A&amp;E Television Networks, 28 June 2018,  https://www.history.com/news/franklin-roosevelt-tried-packing-supreme-court.","“The Supreme Court Has Never Been Apolitical.” POLITICO,  https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/04/03/the-supreme-court-has-neve r-been-apolitical-00022482.","Stanford Law Review. “Politicizing the Supreme Court.” Stanford Law Review, 12 Apr. 2019, https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/politicizing-the-supreme-court/. 11. “Good Behavior Clause: Doctrine and Practice.” Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-3/section-1/good-behavior-c lause-doctrine-and-practice.","Buchanan, Maggie, et al. “The Need for Supreme Court Term Limits.” Center for American Progress, 4 Nov. 2021,  https://www.americanprogress.org/article/need-supreme-court-term-limits/."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":229,"pub_key":222,"title":"The Racist Roots of Popular Halloween Costumes and Monsters","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Elise Fornaro","editor":"Edited by: Grace Bennett, Aliza Shahab","date":"2022-12-01","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though Halloween has been around for thousands of years, first as the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, and later officially as Halloween, in recent years it has become yet another source of tension and unease as accusations of cultural appropriation, blackface, and general racism are thrown about regarding costumes. Colleges warn students to avoid offensive costumes and holiday retailers like Spirit Halloween have pulled costumes that oversexualise or exotify marginalised groups.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A particularly egregious, yet unfortunately common example of such a costume are the &ldquo;indigenous&rdquo; outfits popular throughout the 2000s and early 2010s. These costumes which included fringe, feather headdresses, beads, and fake suede were loosely based on ceremonial and festival garb from various indigenous tribes. Many of these costumes were overtly sexual, not only disrespecting the history of the outfit, but also further amplifying the exotification and fetishisation of native American women. Besides this, in combining only the easily recognisable elements of various tribes&rsquo; outfits, indigenous people were portrayed as an unchanging monolith. In reality, customs varied greatly in different time periods and between different groups. The U.S. has yet to make significant efforts regarding the wrongs done to Native Americans in past centuries, and most Americans are severely undereducated on their culture, history, and traditions. Costumes such as these only further perpetuate the issue by feeding misconceptions and building on stereotypes. Henu Josephine Tarrant, a performer of the Ho-Chunk, Hopi, and Rappahannock tribes, notes that one of the greatest issues with the costumes is that they depict Native Americans as primitive and stuck in the past, having not developed with the rest of modern society.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Native Americans are not the only group to experience the commercialisation of their culture and beliefs. Many Asian cultures face similar fetishisation, not only on Halloween but during all parts of the year. The Chinese cheongsam (or qipao), for instance, has a often overlooked feminist history. The outfit originated in 1920s China, a period of both chaos and revolutionary spirit. In 1911, the Qing Dynasty which had controlled China since 1644 had been overthrown by the authoritarian nationalist party, the Kuomintang (KMT). With the fall of the Qing came a push for modernisation and Chinese women began looking to express more freedom. The cheongsam represented this freedom, an escape from the restrictive traditional robes of the Qing Dynasty. It initially had a looser cut, allowing for mobility, and more closely resembled a man&rsquo;s changpao. While the leg slits and tighter cut of the garment became popularised in China in the 1930s, the hyper-sexualisation of the outfit occurred in the West. That&rsquo;s not to say that outfits can not develop and change in response to modern fashion and beauty trends. The issue emerges when a culture takes the traditional clothing of another culture and sexualises it with little regard for the garment's history or the customs of the original culture. The sexualisation of the qipao is rooted in &lsquo;yellow fever&rsquo;, the fetishisation of Asian women, not modern fashion trends.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While many of these Halloween costumes stand out as obvious examples of the racism ingrained in American society, many of our favourite horror movie monsters also have their roots in racism and colonialism. The zombie, first appearing in the 1932 horror film &ldquo;White Zombie&rdquo;, is a prime example of this. Rather than being a unique American invention, the zombie is rooted is Haitian slavery in the 17th and 18th centuries. During this time period, Haiti (which was then known as Saint-Domingue) was a colony of France. France imported enslaved Africans to Haiti to work on the sugar plantations which fueled France&rsquo;s economy. Enslaved individuals in Haiti faced harsh treatment and around half of them would die of overwork, suicide, or injury within several years of arriving in Haiti. The zombie emerged as a part of Haitian folklore under this oppressive system and became integrated into local religion even after the 1804 enslaved Haitian Revolution removed French colonists from the island. Conditions in Haiti were so harsh that many enslaved saw death as their escape, as a way of returning to their African homeland freely. However, one could only escape via a natural death &ndash; not suicide. If an enslaved individual committed suicide, the common belief was that they would return to the sugar plantation as an undead slave, in other words, a zombie. Following the removal of slavery from Haiti via the Haitian Revolution, the zombie became less synonymous with slavery and was gradually incorporated into Voodoo religion of the island. Shamans and voodoo priests could reanimate and control the dead. By the time Hollywood stumbled upon the concept of zombies, their roots in slavery had been largely forgotten.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In regards to issues of colonialism, cultural appropriation, and fetishisation, it's difficult to lay out clearly defined rules and guidelines. For individuals outside of a culture, it can be difficult to determine what crosses the line, what is cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation.&nbsp; Even within a culture or community, people may have different views on what is offensive. While it could be argued that one&rsquo;s intent is what matters, this is not always the case. What you may intend as a compliment to another culture or group can play into stereotypes or &lsquo;other&rsquo; a marginalised group.In many cases, researching the history behind your outfit can give you better insight into whether it might be offensive. If someone from that cultural background or community does take offence to your outfit, considering why they do and not blindly lashing out can open up a discussion about cultural appropriation. There&rsquo;s no perfect solution, but there are steps that can be taken towards improvement.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>Sources:</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brotten, Aimee. &ldquo;The Qipao and The Western Tendency to Appropriate and Fetishize.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ends of Globalization</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 10 Mar. 2021,</span><a href=\"https://medium.com/writ-150-at-usc-fall-2020/the-qipao-and-the-western-tendency-to-appropriate-and-fetishize-dbc36d7f0ff4\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://medium.com/writ-150-at-usc-fall-2020/the-qipao-and-the-western-tendency-to-appropriate-and-fetishize-dbc36d7f0ff4</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cheongsam: Then and Now &ndash; Transpacific Popular Culture</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://blogs.brown.edu/amst-1905l-s01-spring-2017/cheongsam-then-and-now/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://blogs.brown.edu/amst-1905l-s01-spring-2017/cheongsam-then-and-now/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fadel, Leila. &ldquo;Cultural Appropriation, A Perennial Issue On Halloween.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NPR</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 29 Oct. 2019. </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NPR</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,</span><a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/29/773615928/cultural-appropriation-a-perennial-issue-on-halloween\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.npr.org/2019/10/29/773615928/cultural-appropriation-a-perennial-issue-on-halloween</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From Haitian Slavery to &ldquo;The Walking Dead&rdquo;: The Forgotten History of the Zombie - The Atlantic</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/how-america-erased-the-tragic-history-of-the-zombie/412264/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/how-america-erased-the-tragic-history-of-the-zombie/412264/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The History of Racist Halloween Costumes, and the Progress We&rsquo;ve Made in Saying Goodbye to Them &ndash; The Hill</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span><a href=\"https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/523694-the-history-of-racist-halloween-costumes-and-the/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/523694-the-history-of-racist-halloween-costumes-and-the/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br /><br /><br /></span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Brotten, Aimee. “The Qipao and The Western Tendency to Appropriate and Fetishize.” The Ends of Globalization, 10 Mar. 2021, https://medium.com/writ-150-at-usc-fall-2020/the-qipao-and-the-western-tendency-to-appropriate-and-fetishize-dbc36d7f0ff4.","Cheongsam: Then and Now – Transpacific Popular Culture. https://blogs.brown.edu/amst-1905l-s01-spring-2017/cheongsam-then-and-now/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.","Fadel, Leila. “Cultural Appropriation, A Perennial Issue On Halloween.” NPR, 29 Oct. 2019. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2019/10/29/773615928/cultural-appropriation-a-perennial-issue-on-halloween.","From Haitian Slavery to “The Walking Dead”: The Forgotten History of the Zombie - The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/how-america-erased-the-tragic-history-of-the-zombie/412264/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.","The History of Racist Halloween Costumes, and the Progress We’ve Made in Saying Goodbye to Them – The Hill. https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/523694-the-history-of-racist-halloween-costumes-and-the/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":224,"pub_key":224,"title":"Apartheid in South Africa","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Elina Kayumova","editor":"Edited by Veeraja Kamthe","date":"2023-01-01","content":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apartheid, translated from Afrikaans as &ldquo;apartness&rdquo;, is a discriminatory government policy that reigned in South Africa to segregate its white minority from the nonwhite majority. It sanctioned discrimination against people of colour during much of the second half of the 20th century. When did it start? What cost did people pay to abolish this terrifying policy? And what effects does apartheid have in the 21st century?</span></em></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although Apartheid existed only for a few decades, the history of segregation in South Africa goes back centuries. From 1650, this southern part of the continent was colonized by the Dutch and later by the British. For Britain, it was not more than a strategic location for trade &mdash; up until the 1870s when they discovered diamonds in Kimberley (the capital of the Northern Cape province of South Africa). From then, South Africa became economically significant: Britain&rsquo;s most exploited colony. In 1913, the British colonizers even introduced the Natives Land Act that relocated Black people to diamond mining areas, so that the British could procure the needed workforce. Although Britain&rsquo;s legal hold of the region ended in 1934, an even more brutal segregation was introduced by the descendants of the Dutch colonists. During 1949-1971, they wrote 148 apartheid laws &mdash; legalizing racial discrimination even further. People of color had to carry passbooks that specified where they could live, work, and travel. Similar to the British, the new nationalist government relocated nonwhite people from economically advanced territories to less developed areas. Ridiculous tests were created to identify people&rsquo;s race. One of them entailed putting a pencil in an individual&rsquo;s hair: if it fell on the floor, then the person was considered European; if the pencil stuck &mdash; the person was identified as colored.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apartheid has met critisism and opposition since its foundation. Many violent protests, demonstrations, and strikes organized by Black African groups, with the allyship of a few white people, were oppressed by the government. One of the first and most violent demonstrations occurred in 1960; resulting in 69 killed Black Africans and many more wounded. With time, the opposition, the protesters&rsquo; measures, and tension grew stronger. Even white women were rallying against the government, who responded with massive imprisonment and violent oppression. The apartheid regime faced a changing, progressive world with movements around the globe that opposed and protested against this utterly unfair system. The government could hardly fight back the pressure, therefore, the discriminatory policies gradually evolved into more democratic laws starting in 1986 (after the UK and US imposed economic sanctions on the region in 1985). A formerly imprisoned anti-apartheid revolutionary, Nelson Mandela, became South Africa&rsquo;s first democratic black president in 1994. He was the first South African black person with governing power after centuries of white rulers&rsquo; reign.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although legalized racial segregation does not exist in South Africa nowadays, the long discriminatory history cannot simply be erased from people&rsquo;s memories. How do different races start to live together in peace, when they were separated by law for so many years? This question represents the social effect of apartheid that is prevalent even today. Take a look at the distribution of South Africa&rsquo;s population:&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https://southafrica-info.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/South_Africa_population_distribution_map.jpg\" alt=\"Map showing the distribution of South Africa's population, as well as the population distribution of black, coloured, Indian and white South Africans.\" width=\"498\" height=\"430\" /></span></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://southafrica-info.com/infographics/infographic-maps-geographic-distribution-south-africa-races-population/\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source</span></em></a><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Data taken from Statistics South Africa Census 2011</span></em></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The country as a whole does not appear to be racially segregated. But the picture changes when you zoom in:&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https://external-preview.redd.it/6ti3juA_AoSpsbAIF_c2KPgFWLO327Clg0huQ9RzOeM.png?auto=webp&amp;s=0c82b119bdf927dd9e5cbf9b783a8183e0ccefe2\" width=\"500\" height=\"346\" /></span></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://external-preview.redd.it/6ti3juA_AoSpsbAIF_c2KPgFWLO327Clg0huQ9RzOeM.png?auto=webp&amp;s=0c82b119bdf927dd9e5cbf9b783a8183e0ccefe2\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source.</span></em></a><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Data taken from Statistics South Africa Census 2011</span></em></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The map above shows racial population distribution of a single city in South Africa &mdash;&nbsp; Cape Town. Here, the segregation is more vivid and very much apparent.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The effects of apartheid are not merely geographical. Despite the efforts of South African government to alleviate the economic condition among the poor, many black households still continue to live worse lives and receive less income than other people in the country. A citizen of South Africa described the situation in his country in 2019 as: </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;South Africa is still a country of two nations: the rich whites&rdquo;&mdash;he points down the hill&mdash;&ldquo;and the poor blacks.&rdquo; (source: </span><a href=\"https://time.com/longform/south-africa-unequal-country/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://time.com/longform/south-africa-unequal-country/</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reason why the legacy of apartheid is persistent even today is the blueprint of discriminatory history that reigned in South Africa. In order for the apartheid to completely vanish from the land of South Africa, time has to pass, perceptions have to change, and policies must be made.<br /><br /></span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SOURCES&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Britannica: apartheid</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdlD-Q9wmfY\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apartheid in South Africa - Documentary on Racism | Interviews with Black &amp; Afrikaner Leaders | 1957</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVH7JewfgJg\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why South Africa is still so segregated</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJOU9YYMzpw\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apartheid: The rise and fall of South Africa's 'apartness' laws</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-10-30/south-africa-s-racial-income-inequality-persists-census-shows\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Africa&rsquo;s Racial Income Inequality Persists, Census Shows</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55333625\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55333625</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa/Diamonds-gold-and-imperialist-intervention-1870-1902\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa/Diamonds-gold-and-imperialist-intervention-1870-1902</span></a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/southafrica.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdlD-Q9wmfY","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVH7JewfgJg","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJOU9YYMzpw","https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-10-30/south-africa-s-racial-income-inequality-persists-census-shows","https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55333625","https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa/Diamonds-gold-and-imperialist-intervention-1870-1902"],"types":[]},{"id":234,"pub_key":228,"title":"Annalise Keating and the Myth of the Strong Black Woman","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Kennedy Kelis","editor":"Edited by Veeraja Kamthe","date":"2023-01-01","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Airing for six incredible seasons, ABC&rsquo;s </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Get Away With Murder </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">offers brilliant insight into the United States&rsquo; merciless legal system while simultaneously providing a level of thrilling drama that follows the series to its finale. The show features Viola Davis as Annalise Keating, a dark-skin Black woman who acts as a criminal defense attorney and professor of law at the fictional Middleton University. For the entirety of the series, Keating is characterized as dictatorial, heartless, and unrelenting, building her career by helping murderers and rapists evade prison time. However, at her core, Keating is nothing but empathetic and attentive, often willingly taking on others&rsquo; burdens to ensure their well-being while she herself suffers. ABC&rsquo;s </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Get Away With Murder </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">features Annalise Keating as a real, physical manifestation of the consequences of the &ldquo;strong Black woman&rdquo; stereotype and of the subsequent expectations that this belief unfortunately entails.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the show&rsquo;s beginning, Keating faces consistent disrespect from a group of students that she calls the &ldquo;Keating Five.&rdquo; Keating selects these students from her Criminal Law class to intern in her law office, and the five then spend most of their time competing with each other to earn their professor&rsquo;s favor. Despite her portrayal as a cut-throat lawyer, Keating&rsquo;s students largely admire her due to her existence as a &ldquo;strong Black woman,&rdquo; an individual who is incredibly powerful and self-reliant, overcoming all obstacles and remaining strong despite challenges (White). However, because she is so directly characterized as self-contained and capable, Keating is therefore expected to be willing to fix others&rsquo; problems, especially the problems of the people who are close to her. For example, in the first season, when she learns that her students have been involved in the murder of her husband, Sam, Keating immediately instructs one of her students on disposing of the body and ensuring that the Keating Five is not implicated in her husband&rsquo;s murder. In doing so and not simply reporting to the police, Keating willingly places herself in danger of imprisonment, solely for the sake of her students. However, later in the season, a</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s the police investigate Sam Keating&rsquo;s murder, the Keating Five meet at&nbsp; Keating&rsquo;s home, discussing the investigation and for some reason </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">criticizing</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> her for her ostensible shortcomings: &ldquo;Her husband was just found murdered. She should be grieving, instead of blowing off the cops and taking on mobster drug dealers who she cares more about than saving us&rdquo; (Nowalk). The expectation that Keating has any obligation to &ldquo;save&rdquo; the people who murdered her husband is indicative of a great sense of entitlement amongst her students. This then manifests in the form of disrespect, and this disrespect follows Annalise into each episode.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Season four Episode 13, Keating accomplishes a long-standing personal goal when she is able to argue a case before the Supreme Court. The fictional </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">provides Keating with an opportunity to display her skills as a lawyer and to experience genuine pride as she accomplishes something incredible. However, this feeling is short-lived, for at the very end of this episode, Keating receives a call from her associate, and she is again forced to clean up after her students, this time following their involvement in the shooting of one of their fellow classmates. The moment in which Keating is allowed to experience genuine joy is cruelly ruined by others&rsquo; expectations that she will fix each and every problem that they themselves create. Keating&rsquo;s willingness to actually </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">do so</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can be attributed to a feeling of obligation to help those who are close to her, as if they are a family of some sort. Cheryl Woods-Giscomb&eacute;, Associate Dean of the Ph.D. Division at the University of North Carolina discusses this obligation in her 2010 research article, surveying Black American women in regard to their identities and the roles they assume in their daily lives: &ldquo;My children are never going to know what it&rsquo;s like not to have lights, or not to have food. So I work hard, but I hate my job . . . all to maintain my children&rsquo;s stability and happiness&rdquo; (Woods-Giscomb&eacute;). This attitude is apparent in Keating&rsquo;s actions, for while the Keating Five are not her biological children, Keating arguably acts as their mother, cleaning up after and caring for them at the expense of her personal well-being. Keating is never allowed to experience true joy and pride, for there will always be someone who needs and </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">expects</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> her to take on their burdens.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout the series, Keating also suffers from severe mental health issues that manifest in the form of alcohol abuse. The premiere episode of Season six, titled &ldquo;Say Goodbye,&rdquo; includes an incredible scene in which Keating releases her pain by beating her fists into a pillow, screaming that she is more than what others believe her to be: &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not trash. You&rsquo;re not cold. You&rsquo;re not a bitch. &hellip; You&rsquo;re not a monster. You deserve to be loved, and touched, and felt. You deserve to be free&rdquo; (Nowalk). Keating&rsquo;s recognition that she deserves to be free offers a great degree of vulnerability that viewers rarely see in the show. This can largely be attributed to the stereotype of the &ldquo;strong Black woman,&rdquo; from whom others often expect &ldquo;unyielding strength,&rdquo; &ldquo;assumption of multiple roles,&rdquo; and a general willingness to care for others (Liao). Kelly Yu-Hsin Liao, associate professor at Cleveland State University, explores this myth in her research article titled &ldquo;The Misunderstood Schema of the Strong Black Woman,&rdquo; noting the effects of the stereotype on the mental health of Black women in America: &ldquo;In interviews, African American women disclosed that depression is a reality in their lives, and it results from exhaustion tied to the burdens of supporting others, not attending to their own needs, and repressing vulnerable emotions&rdquo; (Liao). Annalise Keating undoubtedly embodies this reality, for, as previously mentioned, she spends the entire show cleaning up after others while simultaneously never taking the time to sympathize with and care for herself. This then results in her depression and subsequent alcoholism.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, Keating&rsquo;s frequent refusal to even </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">acknowledge</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the validity of her own struggles with depression also demonstrates the&nbsp; degree of the beliefs surrounding the &ldquo;strong Black woman.&rdquo; Earlier in this same episode, when Keating is in rehab for her alcoholism, her therapist offers a harsh reality about what would happen should she continue behaving the way that she does: &ldquo;You put other people first. You put their feelings before yours&ndash;&ndash;what they need, what they want. Until you end up in the hospital again, strung out, left for dead. Or just&hellip;dead&rdquo; (Nowalk). Keating spends her time so engrossed in others&rsquo; problems that she is rarely able to truly examine her own problems when it comes to her mental health. This is not uncommon for Black American women as a whole, for as explained by Dr. Opara, assistant professor at the Yale School of Public Health, because Black women are often perceived as &ldquo;naturally resilient,&rdquo; they are therefore less likely to be taken seriously or to take </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">themselves</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> seriously when experiencing mental health crises (Denise). The stereotype of the &ldquo;strong Black woman&rdquo; often forces real women to simply refuse to acknowledge their own pain, for even they believe themselves to be &ldquo;resilient&rdquo; and thus never truly in need of help. In Keating&rsquo;s case, because she ignores her own problems for so long, she unfortunately ends up in rehab, having her teaching and law careers threatened due to her alcohol abuse.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Annalise Keating spends the entirety of </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Get Away With Murder </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plagued by others&rsquo; expectations. At the show&rsquo;s conclusion, even after everything that she does for them, Keating&rsquo;s own students still choose to sell out their former professor in exchange for plea deals, and Keating is subsequently put on trial for every murder in the series. After Keating fortunately defeats the prosecution in her own trial, the show&rsquo;s producers move forward in time to the woman&rsquo;s funeral, and viewers are then forced to face the legacy that Keating leaves behind. The comprehensive consequence of Annalise Keating&rsquo;s embodiment of the &ldquo;strong Black woman&rdquo; stereotype is that she was never truly allowed to be a human being, never allowed to experience joy or pride or to truly care for herself in the ways that she needed. Instead, Keating existed as a mere reconciler of others&rsquo; problems, only meant to be called upon when others couldn&rsquo;t carry their own burdens.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>Works Cited</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Denise, Jazmine. &ldquo;When You're a Black Woman Struggling with Alcohol Abuse, Getting Help Can Be Complicated.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MadameNoire</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Urban One, 8 Oct. 2021, https://madamenoire.com/1137741/when-youre-a-black-woman-struggling-with-alcohol-abuse-getting-help-can-be-complicated/.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liao, Kelly Hu-Sin, et al. &ldquo;The Misunderstood Schema of the Strong Black Woman ... - Sage Journals.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sage Journals</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29 Oct. 2019, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0361684319883198.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nowalk, Peter. </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Get Away With Murder. </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shondaland, NoWalk Entertainment, and ABC Studios, 2014.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">White, Cynthia. &ldquo;When Being Strong Hurts: Trauma and the Strong Black Woman Stereotype.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scholar Commons</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, University of South Carolina, 2021, https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/6538/.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Woods-Giscomb&eacute;, Cheryl L. &ldquo;Superwoman Schema: African American Women's Views on Stress, Strength, and Health.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qualitative Health Research</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 12 Feb. 2010, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3072704/.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br /><br /></span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://madamenoire.com/1137741/when-youre-a-black-woman-struggling-with-alcohol-abuse-getting-help-can-be-complicated/","https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0361684319883198","Nowalk, Peter. How to Get Away With Murder. Shondaland, NoWalk Entertainment, and ABC Studios, 2014.","https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/6538/.","https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3072704"],"types":[]},{"id":230,"pub_key":225,"title":"Nobody’s Free Until Everybody’s Free","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Kennedy Kelis","editor":"Edited by: Veeraja Kamthe","date":"2023-03-01","content":"<p><strong>The name of this article comes from a speech given by voting and women&rsquo;s rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer as she spoke at the 1971 National Women&rsquo;s Political Caucus in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;</strong></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1969 in Chicago, Illinois, Fred Hampton, Jos&eacute; Cha Cha Jim&eacute;nez, and William &ldquo;Preacherman&rdquo; Fesperman formed what is known as the Rainbow Coalition. Hampton was of the Black Panther Party, Jim&eacute;nez was of the Latino-American-led Young Lords, and Fesperman was of the working-class, white-American-led Young Patriots Organization.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This organization existed as a means of uniting the people of Chicago on the basis of their shared suffering under capitalism. At this time, the city was facing extensive gentrification, as well as severe police brutality, specifically against poor youth. Regardless of ethnicity or background, the Rainbow Coalition welcomed all, working to confront these issues and to alleviate the suffering of Chicago&rsquo;s poor and working class. Cha-Cha Jimenez, now seventy-four, recalls the transformation of the Young Lords into a political organization: </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Fred took the Young Lords under his wing. He gave us the skills that we needed to come right out of the gang and start organizing the community&rdquo; (Serrato). </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the help of community donations, the Rainbow Coalition created a free breakfast program, as well as free daycare centers for neighborhood children. Nonetheless, Hampton and Jim&eacute;nez were repeatedly jailed and placed in solitary confinement due to their organizing.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Rainbow Coalition would eventually collapse, partly due to the incessant pressure coming from local and federal law enforcement and partly due to Chicago Police&rsquo;s assassination of Fred Hampton while he was sleeping in his own home. Nonetheless, the Rainbow Coalition still exists as an excellent example of solidarity among communities of color. Mike Klonsky, a former Chicago leader of Students for a Democratic Society, recalls his involvement in the group: </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;If there was a protest or a demonstration, the word would get out and we would all come to it and support each other. If somebody was arrested, we would all raise bail. If somebody was killed or shot by the police, we would all respond together&rdquo; (Serrato). Members of the Rainbow Coalition made the decision to acknowledge their differences and to still work collectively to </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">break long-standing barriers and fight against systemic oppression. They knew that their peers were not their enemies.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The solidarity so abundantly present within the Rainbow Coalition is essential to the dismantling of systemic oppression and of white supremacy as a whole. It is downright </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">impossible</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to achieve true liberation without first supporting and aligning oneself with other oppressed groups, for white supremacy does not simply come for one group or another. This system of exploitation works in ways that are designed to create barriers between different communities of color, for it is much easier to attack and dismantle these communities when they are busy fighting amongst themselves. An example of this is the British-imposed policy of &ldquo;Divide and Rule&rdquo; in India. Following the revolt of 1857, in which Hindus and Muslims jointly fought against the rule of the British East India Company, British leaders developed &ldquo;</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a systematic policy of fomenting separate consciousness among the two communities&rdquo; (</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tharoor</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). The British overtly promoted division between Hindu and Muslim communities, for they knew that collective resistance would threaten and eventually lead to the collapse of their rule. Division would keep people compliant. This is arguably the reason for the assassination of Fred Hampton, as well, as he spent his political career uniting those who were suffering, regardless of race.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is incredibly important to remember that the liberation of all communities of color is linked. White supremacy is intended to reach into and attack </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">every single </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">non-white group, and even if one group were to achieve &ldquo;liberation,&rdquo; the continued oppression of their other counterparts of color would be indicative of the continued existence of white supremacy. Therefore, there would be no true &ldquo;liberation,&rdquo; for the instrument of oppression, the very thing from which said group was ostensibly &ldquo;liberated,&rdquo; would still exist.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout the United States&rsquo; history, there have existed several additional examples of racial solidarity. In 1974, Stokely Carmichael, a black revolutionary activist, traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota to show his support for the Indigenous people who stood on trial for the sieging of Wounded Knee, South Dakota (Mays). Carmichael, like many other black revolutionaries, understood the United States to be Indigenous land; Europeans simply stole it. He understood that the foundation upon which our country was built included racial capitalism and the </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;economic subjugation&rdquo; and &ldquo;dispossession&rdquo; of Indigenous land. Carmichael told a largely Indigenous crowd that he, as well as other black revolutionaries, would shed blood for the Indigenous struggle, for &ldquo;it represented the larger struggle for humanity&rdquo; (Mays).</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, in 1968 and 1969, minority students at San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley united to create what they called the Third World Liberation Front, a coalition of students who demanded self-determination and freedom regarding their education. UC Berkeley&rsquo;s chapter was born after the strike for Ethnic Studies at SFSU and included the Asian-American Political Alliance, the Native American Student Alliance, the African American Student Union, and the Mexican American Student Confederation (Gilmore). Students worked together to strike and protest for three months, eventually resulting in the creation of Berkeley&rsquo;s Department of Ethnic Studies (Third World Liberation Front). In 1999, when UC Berkeley students witnessed a series of cuts to this department, they again joined together to hold rallies, sit-ins, and a hunger strike which eventually resulted in a &ldquo;five-point Agreement in support of Ethnic Studies&rdquo;. Today, Berkeley&rsquo;s Center for Race &amp; Gender exists due to this agreement (Third World Liberation Front).&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only is racial solidarity possible, but it has been displayed time and time again in our country&rsquo;s history. Today, we continue to see examples of this solidarity, with people of all races supporting movements such as Stop Asian Hate, Black Lives Matter, and Land Back. People are outwardly holding conversations regarding the subjugating nature of white supremacy and the intricacies of systemic oppression.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to dismantle white supremacy, it is imperative that we recognize the fact that it reaches beyond the scopes of our own communities. It is designed to infiltrate and oppress, and the only way we will truly reach liberation is by aligning ourselves with those who have fallen victim to this same oppression.&nbsp;<br /><br /></span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><strong>Works Cited</strong></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gilmore, Anthony, and Kai Nham. &ldquo;The Third World Liberation Front.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Berkeley Revolution</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, University of California Berkeley, https://revolution.berkeley.edu/projects/twlf/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mays, Kyle T. &ldquo;The Forgotten History of Solidarity between Black and Indigenous Freedom Movements.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HistoryNewsNetwork</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, History News Network, 3 Oct. 2021, https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/181434. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Serrato, Jacqueline. &ldquo;Fifty Years of Fred Hampton's Rainbow Coalition.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SouthSideWeekly</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, South Side Weekly, 14 Feb. 2021, https://southsideweekly.com/fifty-years-fred-hampton-rainbow-coalition-young-lords-black-panthers/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tharoor, Shashi. &ldquo;The Partition: The British Game of 'Divide and Rule'.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aljazeera</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Al Jazeera, 10 Aug. 2017, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/8/10/the-partition-the-british-game-of-divide-and-rule. Accessed 27 Aug. 2022.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Third World Liberation Front.&rdquo; </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UCB Center for Race &amp; Gender</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, University of California Berkeley, https://www.crg.berkeley.edu/research/third-world-liberation-front/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022.</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br /><br /></span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["Gilmore, Anthony, and Kai Nham. “The Third World Liberation Front.” The Berkeley Revolution, University of California Berkeley, https://revolution.berkeley.edu/projects/twlf/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022.","Mays, Kyle T. “The Forgotten History of Solidarity between Black and Indigenous Freedom Movements.” HistoryNewsNetwork, History News Network, 3 Oct. 2021, https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/181434. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022.","Serrato, Jacqueline. “Fifty Years of Fred Hampton's Rainbow Coalition.” SouthSideWeekly, South Side Weekly, 14 Feb. 2021, https://southsideweekly.com/fifty-years-fred-hampton-rainbow-coalition-young-lords-black-panthers/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022.","Tharoor, Shashi. “The Partition: The British Game of 'Divide and Rule'.” Aljazeera, Al Jazeera, 10 Aug. 2017, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/8/10/the-partition-the-british-game-of-divide-and-rule. Accessed 27 Aug. 2022.","“Third World Liberation Front.” UCB Center for Race & Gender, University of California Berkeley, https://www.crg.berkeley.edu/research/third-world-liberation-front/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022."],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":237,"pub_key":229,"title":"Why does 68% of India's population live on $2 a day?","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by Elina Kayumova","editor":"Edited by Veeraja Kamthe","date":"2023-03-15","content":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is the fifth largest economy in the world. And yet, a huge chunk of its population lives in poor conditions. To put this into perspective, in 2019, 1 out of every 3 Indians was living in extreme poverty. Why cannot the majority of India&rsquo;s citizens afford to purchase fast food, even when its economy is thriving?&nbsp;</span></em></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;India is the land of two worlds. There are poor slums on one side and rich mansions on the other,&rdquo; said an Indian friend of mine. His description of his living environment shocked me. Only a few days before our conversation, I had been looking at the prosperous state of India&rsquo;s economy. If you look at the economic data, you will find that India&rsquo;s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has been steadily rising in the past 20 years. Although GDP is helpful when one wants to assess the global standing of an economy, it hardly helps in understanding the income distribution within a country.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Income distribution in India is dreadfully uneven. In 2018, around 68% of its population had to live on less than $2 a day, while the elite was building &lsquo;mansions&rsquo; in another &lsquo;world&rsquo;. Here are some more statistics from 2021:&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R1QCTWD-M4zUq37v8xX1uK42GwJM2DhF/view?usp=sharing\">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R1QCTWD-M4zUq37v8xX1uK42GwJM2DhF/view?usp=sharing</a>&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to understand a vividly widening income gap in India, one needs to look at the mindset of Indian people, their traditions, and their societal structure.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian economy is not the only fast-growing statistic in the country. The population is increasing just as rapidly -&nbsp; more than 27 million Indians are born every year. Some think that overpopulation may be the biggest impediment to reducing the income gap. However, that does not mean economists and politicians can disregard other social problems India faces, because they greatly contribute to the financial unfairness.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first on the line is the caste system&ndash;a class-based system that has prevailed in India since antiquity. It has adjusted to the present time, but the problem is still present: those at the top are treated with honor, respect, and receive a huge amount of money. And those on the far end have to suffer from poverty and social discrimination.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W9cb-LBv9r6wNXnNpx2KtUlvguZ9B0Oi/view?usp=sharing\">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W9cb-LBv9r6wNXnNpx2KtUlvguZ9B0Oi/view?usp=sharing</a></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why not change the system? Why not establish it on the basis of human qualities and merit? The caste system is a human creation, so it should not be impossible to abolish it. Although it might seem feasible to overthrow this existing unfairness, the problem is deeper than it seems to be.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is needed here is understanding the way poor Indians think and why that is keeping them poor. In 2019, 50% of India&rsquo;s female population could not read because of a lack of educational opportunities in the poor districts of the country. Most of the poor are too busy with work (65 million children work to survive ) to have time for education. Most of the 68% of people living on less than $2 a day do not strive to become billionaires. Their goal is survival. They do not dream about mansions and yachts. From the first day of their conscious existence, they are forced to work.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One would think that if the poor are forced to work, they should be earning more. However,</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the reality is quite different:</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the children/poor work dangerous harsh jobs that no one else would do, for very meager compensation &mdash; that too in the informal sector meaning no job security and no wages. Because the poor are in the informal sector, the people paying them are free to exploit them as they wish. Additionally, since they're working since childhood, they often face many physical disabilities that require even more money for treatment. Most poor Indians believe giving birth to more children would mean more money in the future (hence the rising population), but children without education are nothing but more mouths to feed.</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oppression by the caste system, lack of education, and lack of time and awareness are the major contributing factors to poverty in India. The poor were taught to struggle through life by earning crazily small amounts of money for their labor.&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reducing poverty in India is not an easy task. It entails restructuring the long-ago-established caste system, education of the poor, and financial and social mobility opportunities.&nbsp;</span></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholdercover.png","video_link":null,"srcs":["https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MKTGDPINA646NWDB","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKoyc7Qx468","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWQdZoq3iN4","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBquUuEteis","https://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/news/poverty-in-india-602","https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2017/10/world/i-on-india-income-gap/","https://www.cgdev.org/blog/great-indian-poverty-debate-20","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGkKjtduZSc"],"types":["Articles"]},{"id":242,"pub_key":234,"title":"to beg the world as they rip my tongue apart","subtitle":null,"credit":"Written by: Vivian Huang","editor":null,"date":"2023-04-25","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">i don&rsquo;t remember when the world was torn&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">out of my hands. i watched as hills turned&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">into sloped sidewalks, and my home: a rusted&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">butcher shop, wisps of incense lingering from the burns</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">left on my family&rsquo;s flesh. my fingers are still gripping&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">onto edges of sunken clouds as i beg for skies&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to stop hammering into my mouth &amp; melt the iron&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gloves they use like worship to brand my scarred ankles&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with things like </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">god</span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that i cannot understand. but they&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">don&rsquo;t know my tongue as well as i do, watching uncertain&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as it curls back to brush the walls of my sore throat,&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">clawing out with fervor words they claim plagues&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eardrums: </span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ngo ngai nei / please stop / </span></em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&amp; instead&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they treat my chest like it is a jigsaw: my organs&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">forced apart until they are the only ones left to piece&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">me back together. but my throat stays locked &amp; empty</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">because i&rsquo;m not allowed to spit another word that keeps&nbsp;</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">my foreign tongue stuck together to the words they claim</span></p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">unbelonging.</span></p>\r\n<p><br /><br /></p>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">translations // ngo ngai nei: Cantonese for &ldquo;i beg you&rdquo;</span></em></p>","cover_image":"https://detesterimages.s3.amazonaws.com/placeholder.png","video_link":null,"srcs":[],"types":["Poetry"]}]