Category Archives: Opinion

Opinion

Gun laws in America vs. New Zealand

UNSIGNED

The deadliest mass shooting in modern New Zealand history occurred at a Islamic Mosque in Christchurch killing 50 people and injuring 50 more. Immediately after the attacks, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced “Our gun laws will change, now is the time … People will be seeking change, and I am committed to that.” New Zealand’s Parliament voted 119-1 to take legal action and ban semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles.Their government has made more progress in a month’s time than the United States has made in 20 years.

Many Americans who are used to little to no change in gun laws after mass shootings, are shocked by the quick government reaction. New Zealand has corrected gun laws to ensure better security of its people after every mass shooting in their country, the last major reforms occurring after the Aramoana massacre in 1992. Whereas, 103 mass shootings have taken place in the United States since 1990 each followed by pushes for change and no results.The United States has the weakest gun laws in the developed world, and considering the elimination of gun rights is debated in the aftermath of every mass shooting constitutional right and organizations such as the NRA who resist substantial changes.

In New Zealand, citizens do not have any constitutional rights to firearms, and considering 15,000 of the 1.2 million registered firearms are labeled semi-automatic weapons, they have a significantly low crime rate compared to the United States. However, they are subject to an extensive background check in order to obtain a license, which will then allow them to purchase a gun.

With no rights to a firearm, laws and bans can be put into effect with more ease than in the United States, which currently only guarantees a swift and easy background check in order to obtain a gun. Purchasers are asked to complete a form in which they are asked for their name, address, place of birth, race, and confirmation of citizenship. Their information is then entered in to a database called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) which scans through the National Crime Information Center, the Interstate Identification Index,

and the NICS Index for indications of any record that would disqualify the customer to purchase a gun. In many cases, however, crucial records are not entered in the database which allows convicted felons to legally obtain firearms with no red flags.This crucial mistake has occurred numerous times, including the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, TX. The shooter, Devin Patrick Kelly,

slipped through the cracks in the system simply because he was sure to avoid checking the box that would disqualify him from obtaining the six firearms he used to kill 26 victims in Nov. 5, 2017. Although it will be hard to ban semi-automatic rifles, only 1.2 million civilians have firearms which is easier to monitor compared to the population of civilians in the United States who own firearms.

While the second amendment cannot be changed and will always be a right to Americans, people should push for stricter gun laws, intensive background checks, and better administration of gun licenses to eliminate holes in the process of obtaining firearms. Implementing these regulations will aid in the further prevention of mass shootings in the United States.

Opinion

Fast Fashion: The price we pay for trendy

Belen Cocke

Guest Writer

It’s April 24, 2013. A normal day in Dhaka, Bangladesh.Women, men, and children make their way to work, most commonly in the textile factories. Textile production moved to Asia in the 1970’s, where labor costs were next to nothing and clothing could be made exponentially faster than in the United States. As countries like China, India, and Vietnam began to urbanize, an influx of jobs drew people from their subsistence farming lifestyles to large cities such as Shaoxing or Jaipur, and the cycle began to take place: cheap labor, fast production, clothing shipped to overseas shopping malls. Production then moved to Bangladesh (where labor was astonishingly cheaper) in the 1990’s, where large multinational corporations could take advantage of an abundance of labor at low costs.

After failing to act on the employees’ complaints of structural flaws and instabilities, the Rana Plaza conglomerate building in Dhaka, where thou- sands worked to support their families, collapsed, killing 1,134 people. The Rana Plaza building was not supposed to house textile factories, only apartments and shops. But money talks, and corporations such as Benetton andWalmart were among the many brands taking advantage of cheap labor in the developing world and producing goods in Rana Plaza.

The unfortunate and unnecessary deaths at the Rana Plaza factory served as eye-opener for the world.Who is making our clothes? And for what cost?

Fast fashion is defined by goodonyou.eco as “cheap, trendy clothing, that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed.” Brands like Forever 21, H&M, Zara, Urban Outfitters, Charlotte Russe, and so many more, can be categorized as fast fashion brands. Every week, sometimes even multiple times a week, a completely new collection is found in the stores.This appeals to the consumer: gone are the days of entering a store, only to find the same boring old styles and cuts that are “oh- so-last-season.” In the world of fast fashion, there is no Spring/ Summer and Fall/ Winter; there are 52 seasons, one for each week, and the consumer ought to catch up.

So, what is the issue with fast fashion? Primarily, the ethics. Here’s an example: You enter H&M, and you’re looking for a new pair of jeans. Alas! They’re on sale. And for $15! You grab the pair and purchase, and they look great for the party the next week- end. However, after a couple of washes, the jeans begin to sag, fade, and tear. You throw them out—a shame, because you just bought them 2 months ago. Sound familiar? It shouldn’t be, but this is just one example of the vicious cycle fast fashion has on us as consumers. Cheap, low-quality, expendable clothes that spend a fraction of time in a closet, only to be thrown out when they deteriorate.

To be able to manufacture a $15 pair of jeans, and still manage a prof- it, is a terrible humanitarian crisis. Not only does this equate to a lower quality item, but it means that the company selling the jeans are paying the workers to manufacture them for about 1-2% of the final selling price an hour ($0.15-$0.30) according to Washington Post, and assuming this is occuring in Bangladesh, where most fast fashion production exists, this is still vastly underpaying the workers (minimum wage was set to $65 a week in Bangladesh in 2014 as reported by Bd News 24; whereas, someone working for $0.30 an hour, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, is only making $21.60). The only possible way to be able to pay workers a living wage would be to increase the price of the garments, which most consumers would have to adjust to, and would decrease business. So, companies like Zara, H&M, and Forever 21 keep prices low, whilst keeping quality low and ethics at the bare minimum.

Not only is fast fashion an ethical dilemma, it’s an environmental one too. According to EcoWatch in 2015, Fast Fashion is the second “dirtiest” industry on Earth, right after Big Oil.The reason for this is that the materials used in the fast fashion industry have to be cheap and disposable, so synthetic fibers such as acrylic (substitute for wool) and polyester (substitute for cotton) are manufactured and shipped to the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia and sold for dirt cheap, where they are worn a few times, then most likely thrown away or put in a charity bin.The problem is that, because the synthetic fibers are not naturally occuring, they don’t decompose well, and can take tens of thousands of years to leave the Earth, much longer than the week they spent in a mall. In addition, many of the dyes used in the clothing are cheap, and thus heavily toxic, and make their way into streams and oceans, furthering our pollution epidemic.

Fast fashion is a horrendous problem, and can only be stopped once consumers halt the demand for cheap, easy cloth- ing.The simplest way to avoid this toxic industry is to simply boycott: refuse to shop at stores that are not producing their garments ethically and sustainably, and instead shop at second hand stores or with companies that are transparent about their production process, such as Patagonia, Reformation, and Everlane. To quit fast fashion is a massive endeavor, one that will take practice and strong will—but it can be done, as long as one remembers the horrors behind the $10 sweater at the shopping mall.

Opinion

Mental health: Anxiety

Jennifer Gardner

Staff Writer

   A student walks into class blurry eyed from lack of sleep, exhaustion heavy in every thought. Maybe they were late for school and skipped breakfast because they were cramming for exams and quizzes while juggling various homework assignments on the side. Or maybe they had to cover for someone at their part-time job where they work to save up enough money to get their first car or to stash away for college. Either way, they’re late and the teacher makes them go to the tardy station.

When they pick up their slip they go back to their class, which may or may not be having a quiz that they didn’t have time to study for during the hectic week. They stop at the door take a deep breath and walk in despite the rising fear inside of them. That’s what most people would do in this situation, but not individuals with an unhealthy anxiety level.  

“We have all of this anxious kind of thoughts but typically we just go do it. You’ll just open the door and you’ll just live with it and go through it. Somebody with [an] anxiety disorder would not be able to open the door. They would be so overwhelmed with that prospect of having those things happen that they couldn’t function. They couldn’t open the door and just take their seat,” councilor Shanna Hewgley said.

An unhealthy anxiety level can be caused by many many things, some of which might not even be evident to the individual at the time. Hewgley shared times when students having panic attacks would answer no when asked if they thought anything had caused their attack.

“You could probably tease it apart and start digging and find things that are unresolved conflicts or issues of concern that are starting to manifest and the pieces just aren’t being aligned or put in place to where those connections can be made,” Hewgley said.

Whether it be midterms, Holidays, or school work in general, stress can cause a severe negative impact on a student’s mind, body, and spirit, resulting in things such as nervousness, exhaustion and even states of depression.

One of the major impacts of stress can take on the form of anxiety; anxiety that can hinder an individual’s ability to function. There are however many ways to combat and handle anxiety attacks and help to decompress from all the ongoings of school and life. Anxiety can take many forms in everyday life, it’s your body’s natural response to stress.

Let’s suppose that with our tardy student they start getting dizzy as their thoughts run wild in their head. They think back to all the things they’ve been doing and start second guessing everything they’ve done. Have I been paying attention this past week? Have I been doing a good enough job on my school work?  

Regards to stress, what most students may not understand is that there are typically three types. According to Learnpsychology.com, these three types are Acute, Episodic, and Chronic stress with Chronic being the most hindering to a person’s potential at living their life while Acute is the most common and will usually pass with time. Students are the at the most risk for Chronic stress because of the high-pressure environment that is high school. From back-ups to failed tests to find ways to navigate new social dynamics.

Counselors are visiting classrooms and presenting information on reducing anxiety to students.

“Anxiety is just part of the human condition so its always been around just like all the other emotions that we experience as humans and anxiety has a pro-social component to where it usually encourages us to study and do things that we probably don’t wanna do but that is good for us but the level of anxiety where we’re seeing students it’s just really can be crippling to them,” counselor Shanna Hewgley said.  

Anxiety can be mild or severe including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(OCD), Phobias, Panic attacks, Post-traumatic stress(PTSD), and more. These types of anxieties and disorders can have a detrimental impact on the individuals struggling and they should seek help.

“We offer a wide variety of services here at [school] one of them being we call responsive services. So that would be any time a student comes in with any mental health or emotional need that prevents them from being able to pay attention or concentrate in their classes,” Hewgley said.

Counselors will visit with the student and see if it’s something they can help to manage in a session in the counseling office if it’s minor the goal is to get the student back to their class and keep them from falling behind in schoolwork. Hewgley shared if the student is needing deep treatment or critical, parents and family support will be involved and the counselors will connect the family with the appropriate resources.

“Mental illness in terms of depression, anxiety disorder, [and] any of those more severe mental health issues we would first ascertain that they are getting treatment and that they’re receiving it,” Hewgley said.

Some students may just need time to decompress or talk.

“Whatever it is that they would need we offer for them within the school involvement to the best that we can without compromising their education,” Hewgley said.

The counselors encourage students to find outlets for their stress including exercise, meditation, and talking over their stress with friends and loved ones. Hewgley said the counselors are aware some students carry a heavy load of challenging courses and are involved in several activities on and off campus.

“The pressure of their classes and [managing] their life their work-life balance. It may become difficult to prioritize and to spend time as much time as you needed to each course for each project for each club for each performance and I think people just spread themselves so thin that they get overwhelmed,” Hewgley said.

Its encouraged for students to reach out and make an appointment if they are feeling overwhelmed and take the upcoming holiday break to decompress and relax. School work, grades, work, family, and friends are important but don’t hurt yourself by stretching yourself to a breaking point.

Opinion

One Year Later, Hallmark still lacks substance

Seva Hester

Editor-in-Chief

Last year, I wrote an article about the Hallmark Channel’s failure to produce accurate romantic shows. Or just having good shows at all. This is the follow up to that beautiful call-out I wrote. Now, here we are, one year later, and Hallmark has still failed to produce quality television shows. The main issue? Diversity.

It seems as if though Hallmark prides themselves on producing movies exclusively with white heterosexual couples. On almost every single Christmas show poster this year, they are all white males and females wearing red and green. On any shows they have since produced, there are barely any people of color in them. If they are, then they are just side characters. However, this year, they did produce a movie called “Christmas Everlasting” featuring Tatyana Ali as the main character with Patti La Belle and Dennis Haysbert as her supporting characters. Although this is good, that’s only one movie so far where they have an African-American lead. One. Movie.

Why does Hallmark insist on letting this happen? There needs to be more if they’re going to say that they’re including more diversity in their movies.

Love is not restricted to only one race or to the opposite gender. Hallmark should be showing inclusion, not following the bandwagon of other discriminating TV/movie channels.They need to show people of color as main characters, not off to the side.

Doing that shows inclusion and representation, both of which are needed in movies and TV show segments.

I mean, Hallmark is trash (to put it bluntly), but what makes them even trashier is how they just don’t include people of color.The acting is terrible too, it’s like they have made zero improvements, and on top of that, the plots continue to be fluff that don’t involve any character development. Unless you include finding fake love, like somehow meeting a “handsome hunk” of a guy on the corner of the street because her “clumsy” arse just couldn’t walk straight kind of thing.

At this point, there is no reason why anyone should be watching the channel. It’s too unrealistic, racist, and fake, with a capital ‘f.’ And for those who say I don’t know what love is, well, how can you know if you watch Hallmark? They don’t depict what real love is anyway. So maybe you’re the one who doesn’t understand love.

This year, and for upcoming years, we need to boycott Hallmark. They are not contributing to society at all. #boycotthallmark2018.

Opinion

Assault rifle ban expired nearly a decade ago; Why has it not been renewed?

Seva Hester

Editor-in-Chief

On a day which should’ve been filled with worship and love, it was instead filled with terror and death. On October 27th, 2018, 46-year-old Robert D. Bowers armed with four guns, went to the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killing 11 people and injuring six. A legally-obtained AR-15 was one of the four guns used.

A total of 157 mass shootings have taken place in the United States since
the 1966 shooting at the University of Texas.The numbers of shootings per year has climbed higher and higher in recent years, with investigators reporting that a total of 305 guns have been used. Out of that, 175 weapons were legally obtained whereas 52 were not. For the rest of the weapons, it is unclear how the shooter got ahold of them.This sudden spike in mass shootings is our government’s fault.

In 1994, there was a bill passed that put a ban on assault rifles called the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, prohibiting the sale and purchasing of semiautomatic assault rifles. 10 years later, in 2004, it expired. There has been no action to revive the bill since then.This is extremely concerning. In recent years, over half of all mass shootings were executed out with an assault rifle.Although there are gun laws that prevent people from purchasing one, most of the time they are not enforced.The reason why the ban was never renewed is because it was created under a sunset provision act, meaning that bans under this act will expire after a specific amount of time unless they become formally renewed. Again, how come the government won’t renew the ban? Do they not care about the safety of the students? School is no longer a safe place, nor are bars or nightclubs or even stores.There will always be the fear that someone can come in at anytime with a gun and harm people. This is not okay.

Graphics by Sytha Beth Ortiz and Seva Hester

In total, since 1966, there have been 21 mass school shootings ranging from elementary school to college campuses in the United States. The most common weapon, in recent years, is the AR-15, a military assault rifle similar to an M16. AR-15’s can be equipped with legal “bump-fire stocks,” which allow the semiautomatic weapons to fire like automatic ones. School shootings aren’t the only places where AR-15’s are used. In the Las Vegas shooting in 2016, the shooter used AR-15’s with the bump-fire stocks, allowing him to kill and injure more people.   

  There is no way we can get rid of the 2nd Amendment, but the least we can do as a country is stop making it easy for a civilian to purchase an assault rifle. Nobody should be scared of getting shot or killed wherever they go out in public. We need to change the system as soon as we can or else it’s going to be too late.   

Opinion

Women take extra precautions in everyday situations

Faith Collins

Online Editor

Earlier this summer, I applied for a job at a pool company that required its employees to work alone. I arrived at the interview prepared and genuinely wanting the job to help my parents with my first car. My boss introduced himself to me with a warm smile and I finally calmed down enough to shake his hand and greet him. I later learned that he used to be
a youth pastor at my church, and that explained why he was so welcoming and effective with teens. I felt comfortable with the job and I never thought I would want to leave.

Then, I started taking night shifts that ended anywhere between 8-10pm, which meant I would be left to an open space, at night, by myself.This severely upset my parents and they pushed for me to email my boss that I couldn’t take any- more night shifts.This overwhelmed me and put an immense amount of stress on my shoulders because I knew there was no way I would ever email my male boss that I couldn’t work due to paranoia. Additionally, a female friend of mine also worked for the same pool company, and she had no problem working shifts at night. I didn’t want to sound like I was complaining about hours or that I was making up excuses for being too lazy to work. How was I supposed to express this to my boss in a way that he could understand?

At this point I mentioned this to a male friend in a conversation, and he told me that it had never occurred to him how girls can easily feel unsafe in common situations like these.This surprised and sparked envy in me, that boys my age never had to worry about these very common instances that may make some- one of my gender feel insecure with her surroundings.

Rowan Blanchard, an American actress who is known for her star role on an influential Disney show called “Girl Meets World”, is appearing more frequently on social media timelines with her political stances and activist views. Earlier this year she appeared in a video filmed by Vice with other teen actresses in the same industry as Blanchard. In the video, Blanchard reveals how a similar incident happened to her, and that when she turned to a male colleague, he was shocked to hear what went on behind the camera with women in the workplace. Blanchard followed up with “I fantasize about being shocked” after she talked about being “immune” at this point with stories she hears about in the news in correlation to the #Metoo movement.

A social media study was taken earlier in the month on Twitter by a user who asked women the question: “What would you do if all men had 9 pm curfew?” to which multiple women responded with activities such as running at night and traveling the world solo.Women were stoked to imagine a world without worry or fear of assault after 9:00. One user replied, “I would sit alone on a deserted beach with my feet in the water. I would travel the world – think of all the places I could go if I weren’t worried about solo travel.”

Expectantly, various men found offense in this thread and felt the need to respond negatively. However, there was also a small (though appreciated) percentage of men who realized the uncomfortable positions that women are put in on a daily basis by men. One male user in particular commented that he “regularly visits other countries by himself, walking city streets after midnight while listening to music on [his] headphones while not speaking the language. [It] never occurred to me that this was a gender privilege.”

Although this thread was only referring to men as the predators, there are also other people to be aware of if you’re ever alone.The thread was not blaming solely men, or blaming anyone at all.The question was simply intended to provoke thought, so that people would listen to women about some of their grievances, and hopefully come to a realization or understanding of what we have to go through.This was accomplished as another Twitter user asked what he
and other men could do differently to prevent putting women in uncomfortable situations without the intention of doing so.Women already have the common sense that they were raised with to carry pepper spray, walk with their car key sticking out of their hands, and other methods of fending off potential threats. However, men should also have to do their part in ensuring a feeling of comfort when around women, even in situations you would consider normal. What is a normal situation for a male, is most likely not the same for a female.

I shouldn’t dread the future conversation with my boss, and I shouldn’t have to lie to him when I give my reason for leaving.

Opinion

Dangers of Juuls/ E-Cigs

Emily Bayardo

Staff Writer

The development of e-cigarettes has grown exponentially, with the introduc- tion of new smoking alternatives such as the vape came the birth of the juul.This device contains much more risk potential than any other alternative. Juuls have gained rapid exposure and popularity amongst teenagers and young adults within the past two years. Juuls seemed to be everything that old vapes weren’t. However, there’s a catch.

Although juuling is considered to be an “alternative” to smoking, the effects it has can be far more lethal. The company JUUL states that a single juul pod holds about the equivalent amount of nicotine- to a pack of 20 cigarettes. Meaning that the device delivers a heavier amount of nicotine to the body.

Unlike other e-cigarettes, the nicotine packs a punch and is about 5% of the weight. By number, 5% may not seem like much, however, compared to other alternatives such as vaping, the juul contains about 40% more nicotine than other e-cigarette.

The drastic amount of nicotine that is inhaled while using juuls has begun to worry doctors about the effects the juuls really have on developing adolescents. Their main concern was about the chemical effects in relation to the teenage brain. Pediatrics conducted research and stated the chemical has the ability to completely rewire the teenage brain and even encourage them to try cigarettes.These concerns suggest risks pertaining to excessive juul usage.

Pediatrics had administered a case study about an 18-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with a disease referred to as “wet lung” within only weeks after she had taken up using e-cigarettes.

Doctors believe that the girl’s lungs had an allergic reaction while ingesting the chemical, causing her respiratory system to shut down. Because of this, she had been forced onto a breathing machine until her lungs had fully recovered. This case study truly displayed the deadly impacts the chemical can inflict on the body.

The e-cigarette is a long thin rectangular shaped device that looks equivalent to an everyday USB flash drive. The device can fit right in the palm of the hand and go easily undetected in public allowing for an inconspicuous puff of the device. The juul contains a simple two-part system: the e-cigarette portion which holds the battery and the temperature regulation system. The other portion is the pod system where small cartridges can be disposed of and replaced quickly and efficiently. These cartridges are filled to the brim with a substance which is basically liquid nicotine.

Many teenagers and young adults are drawn to test the waters with the device, especially with its “attractive” flavors like mango, creme brule, mint, cucumber and so on, the buyer has a range of variety to choose from.With such variety, the device becomes marketed more so to teenagers than smokers who need an alternative to quit.

So what really is the hype behind juuls? Many individuals say that juuls are great due to its efficiency. Some share they felt it was easy to charge, obtain, and restock on pods. The device is very low maintenance which is what it has such a large appeal to its buyers and users.

The trend of juuling is at an all time high which concerns many doctors and parents. Although there is talk surrounding a pod system with less nicotine, juuling should be avoided.The health risks are far too fatal to take up as just a mindless “hobby.”

Opinion

Ohio State bleeds black and blue amid scandal

Joseph Till

Sports Editor

Much to the disappointment of Ohio State fans, the university suspended their head coach, Urban Meyer, and athletic director, Gene Smith for more than two weeks.The suspension came after an investigation from the school that found both Meyer and Smith, “Failed to take sufficient management action relating to Zach Smith’s misconduct and retained an Assistant Coach who was not performing as an appropriate role model for OSU student-athletes,” a statement from the school said.

Zach Smith is the now ex-assistant Ohio State coach who was fired almost a month earlier, on July 23, for domestic abuse accusations that arose from 2015. Smith was hired in 2012 by both Gene Smith and Urban Meyer.When he was hired in 2012, Gene Smith was unaware of a 2009 incident where Zach Smith was arrested for a felony assault on his then-pregnant wife, Courtney Smith. The incident happened while Smith was working as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Florida under then- head coach, Urban Meyer. Meyer said he did know of that event at BigTen media days on July 24, and that he and his wife, Shelley, advised Zach and Courtney Smith to seek counseling. Although Meyer did talk openly about the 2009 incident, he reiterated the fact that he knew nothing about the 2015 information. Other things he mentioned at Big Ten media days was that Earle Bruce, the former Ohio State head coach from 1979-1987 and Zach Smith’s grandfather, was, “the strongest relationship,” he’d ever had other than his father. Smith also played for Urban Meyer when the coach was at Bowling Green. Besides those things and a criminal trespassing misdemeanor that was reported by ESPN’s Brett McMurphy three days before his firing, Meyer claims that Smith was fired because it was “the best decision for the team.”

  Under these extenuating circumstances, the highest profiles connected to Ohio State’s athletics have crumbled when it comes to their overall knowledge and handling of this peculiar situation. Ohio State has been caught up in controversy before, but not for something like domestic abuse from a staff member in the middle of the #MeToo Movement where many high profile people across the country are losing their jobs from these types of allegations. Ohio State’s last head coach, Jim Tressel was given a five-game suspension following reports he knew of player involvement in NCAA violations. He resigned two months following the suspension.Those violations stemmed from players possibly receiving improper benefits from a local tattoo parlor. But, when it comes down to the wife and mother of a coach’s children getting beaten on multiple occasions by that same coach, the two men responsible for him are given a slap on a wrist with one not even getting suspended for more than two-and-half weeks.What does this say about an organization that made over $37 million from its football program last year and might be even better this season? That it values winning and the revenue from those wins over everything else. Ohio State has made their stance clear. After taking this investigation into their own hands, they’ll give two high-profile and handsomely paid men, who took multiple wrong steps in reporting and taking action involving questionable ethical behavior from an employee, with nothing more than a ‘don’t let it happen again’.

At the core of this firing and controversy are the young men involved.The coaches are supposed to be role models and demonstrate positive behaviors for their players.They should build up these players to be more than great athletes, but great members to society as well. How can this be done when we have certain people in power who refuse to take responsibility for their actions? In an interview following his suspension, Meyer reinstated that he has a strict, “zero-tolerance,” policy. If he did have such a policy, then Zach Smith would not have been on his coaching staff for as long as he was. Even if he had been adequately evaluated before being hired, questions about how his past could have come up and if he had taken the proper actions following those 2009 events. Depending on his answer then, and the answers that were given by both Urban Meyer and Gene Smith, maybe all this could have been avoided. Although that isn’t a guarantee, the missteps in their actions regarding these events have now been magnified and will forever be a part of their legacy. We must hold people in power to higher standards to show that one’s actions and behavior, no matter the time frame, have consequences.

Opinion

Netflix’s Insatiable: A “Fat” Flop

Salma Valadez

Staff Writer

The new Netflix show “Insatiable” sparked controversy this past summer long before the show was released in August due to a misleading portrayal of fat-shaming in the show’s teaser. Many falsely accused the show of fat-shaming on various social media platforms, however, after the show’s first season dropped viewers quickly substituted the heavy bashing for the praise of the show’s satirical take on the popular formerly fat trope that’s plagued television, movies, and literature for decades. However, the issue with the amount of support the show is receiving, though, lies in the fact that the qualities of the show for which it is being praised for are subpar at best and utterly non-existent at worst.

While the main premise of the show is centered around the realization that becoming skinny doesn’t result in the immediate end of all of the main character’s problems, an eye-opening truth that hasn’t been shown before, the show manages its message without seemingly any regard for maintaining a central focus on the purpose behind its creation. Consequently, the primary intent to disprove a trope that society has been brainwashed to believe for decades becomes confused
and unclear. The show seems to associate lampshading, a technique that allows the show to highlight its self-awareness without having to handle the responsibility of deconstructing or criticizing the harmful aspects of a specific trope or topic within it, and satire as synonymous which enables it to depict problematic themes without consequences.

By labeling itself as a satirical work it convinces viewers that, despite the insensitive nature of a situation, action, or character, it’s able to portray certain scenes without facing any repercussions for being offensive. However, merely calling a show satirical because its main topics are dealt with humor, irony, and exaggeration doesn’t automatically mean the show is successful in being a satire. As a result of the lack of commentary or critique on the prominent societal issues within the show, it ultimately fails at what it was purposed for. Certain scenarios in the show are often riddled with damaging, inappropriate, and sometimes even stereotypical jokes that it attempts to pass as acceptable because it repeatedly confuses knowledge of the destructive tropes it depicts for satire. For example, the show’s male lead Bob Armstrong, a disgraced lawyer, and former pageant coach has false allegations of child molestation made against him. Through- out the show, the situation is handled with insensitive humor unsuitable for the seriousness of the extremely topical issue. Insatiable’s choice of ridiculing sexual assault allegations is especially concerning considering one of the show’s actresses is responsible for popularizing the #MeToo Movement by encouraging women to come forth with their experiences regarding sexual harassment and assault. Instead of providing commentary on rape culture and its impact on the lives of both women and men, the show alternatively decides to use false claims of sexual harassment as a revenge plot which is both belittling and profoundly insulting to the entire objective of the #MeToo Movement.

Insatiable’s poorly handled attempt to address the damaging effects the formerly fat trope has instilled in media for years resulted in the production of an amateurish satire with an inconsistent message. While the show aimed to criticize society’s standards regarding body image, in comparison to other series and films that properly promote body positivity, the final product was an offensive, insensitive, and unrealistic show.

Opinion

Modern misconception of marijuana

Nico Cortes

Staff Writer

Many people perceive marijuana as an equally dangerous drug compared to other commonly abused drugs such as cocaine, heroin, ketamine, prescription opioids, and many others. And while marijuana is still illegal in 41/50 of the states here in the U.S, there are many other much more harmful things that are still legal compared to this drug. It seems very counterproductive to let things that are more dangerous to remain legal while maintaining strict laws over things that have a much less negative impact.

For example, alcohol is completely legal to consume, and more dangerous than marijuana is and is much more commonly abused. In fact every single year approximately 88,000 deaths are caused solely by alcohol abuse, 17.6 million suffer from alcohol dependence, and it is the 3rd leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the entire nation. Deaths from marijuana are extremely remote, the deaths caused by it are because of the actions are done by those under the influence and do not have nearly as much impact or even close to the negative effects of alcohol. If you were to give these facts to someone without telling them what the drug is and ask which one they think should be illegal, they would be more likely to say the one with more deadly statistics would they not. Right off the bat, you can see that something that is perfectly legal to consume has had a much more deadly impact than something that is much less harmful.

And some studies, according to Martin R Tramèr, show that Cannabinoids, or medical marijuana, are shown to be very useful for treatment for control of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. As well as having a number of antiemetic properties that are helpful to those undergoing chemotherapy to help with the side effects which would normally be caused by other treatment. Other uses of medical marijuana include the treatment of chronic pain, sleep disturbances, muscle spasticity, and even anorexia. This is mostly because the drug contains THC which act on the cannabinoids, which are a specific set of brain cell receptors that have mild painkiller effects. The THC is known to change the neurotransmitter release that takes place in the spinal cord which results in the pain relief. It is much more than just the dangerous drug that many people make it out to be, and while there are some harmful effects when the drug is abused and used in excess it also has many properties that are positive when used in medicine. When you take a look at not just alcohol, but many other more harmful things that aren’t made illegal compared to a medicinal drug that is proven to have positive consequences when used, it makes you wonder why it was ever made illegal in the first place.