November 17 2017

The

PROMETHEAN Vol. 31 Issue IV

The Student Voice of Siena College Since 1938

November 17, 2017 newspaper@siena.edu

Hate Speech is Hate

By Alexis Oldfield, Staff Writer

Two days after President Trump was elected, the words “Make America White Again” were graffitied along with a swastika on the back of a softball dugout in Wellsville, New York. This image was among the most alarming in Lecia Brooks’ presentation on Wednesday, Nov. 8, on the topic of “Hate Speech” in America. Brooks is the Outreach Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is a non-profit that focuses on legal advocacy and the fight for civil rights. As “hate speech” grows in its relevance in the country, college campuses are not immune to the subject. In her presentation, Brooks discussed indepth the growing rates of diversity and the also increasing rates of “hate speech” and hate groups in America.

Brooks opened with a comparison of the 1950s display of hate crimes towards African-Americans to today’s hate crimes against Muslim-Americans. In the 1950s and earlier in American history, black churches were burned. Fast-forward 60 years and the same harsh and vile acts of hatred are carried out, but now it is the burning down of mosques. Another group Brooks brought up was Jewish people and how in 2017, Jewish cemeteries are desecrated with spray-painted swastikas on gravestones. She expressed that these hate acts are typically carried out by one of the 917 known hate groups that live, congregate, and make evil plots in the United States. The group of people with the highest risk of being a part of a hate-motivated incident are immigrants and the most common place for these incidents to be carried out is in public schools, grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. Brooks spoke about these attacks and how they affect not only those involved, but also the nation as a whole. She also explained the

program’s stance on monuments, specifically those in the south that are based on the confederacy; “History is held in books, monuments celebrate.” The idea is that the monuments represent a time in history that we as a nation could learn from, and this is why the Southern Poverty Law Center feels they should be placed in a museum rather than left in public.

Although she expressed that the rate of hate groups in America increased 50 percent between 2013 and 2016, Brooks also went on to discuss the increasing levels of minority populations in the country. In 1970, the United States population was 83 percent Caucasian and 17 percent other races, while today it is 66 percent Caucasian versus 34 percent other races. Experts predict that by the year 2050, for the first time in the country’s history, other races will outweigh Caucasians in the United States 51 percent to 49 percent. There are currently more children of color than white children attending public schools.

The Southern Poverty Law Center fights for justice for all of those that are victims are hate crimes still in the year 2017, and college campuses like Siena are included. The program emphasized the growing diversity in the United States alongside the growing number of groups which exist purely to spread words and acts of hatred towards people who are different than those of the group and the irony of these two coexisting.

Below is the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate map” for 2016, which maps the locations of various types of domestic hate groups. The SPLC tracks more than 1,600 extremist groups across the country.

November 17, 2017

Editorial Board Emily Radigan Editor-in-Chief Alexander Colby Assistant Editor Emily Rhoades Academic & Social News Editor Jaymie Hoelldobler Arts & Entertainment Editor Mahima Dhanekula World News Editor Hugo Castro Politics & Opinion Editor Julianna Sebastian Sports Editor Karin Lin-Greenberg Faculty Advisor

Editorial Policy The opinions and views expressed in editorial and opinion columns are solely those of their author and do not represent the views of The Promethean staff or of Siena College. Any response to an editorial without intent to publish should be submitted directly to the author of the article. If you wish to send your reaction to The Promethean or its Editor-in-Chief, it falls under the guidelines of Letters to the Editor. Letters must be no longer than 700 words. Submission to the paper does not guarantee publication.

Opinion and editorial articles submitted are edited strictly for basic spelling and grammar only.

The editorial board reserves the right to make any and all decisions and editorial changes on newspaper content, with the final decisions belonging to the Editor-inChief. Any changes besides spelling and grammar will be run by the author before publication.

Article Submission Guidelines The Promethean reserves the right to deny publication of any article that is deemed by the Editor-in-Chief to be • Slanderous or libelous • Advocating violence or harm to any person or group of people • Advocating discrimination of any sort • Advocating performance of illegal actions • Improperly researched and cited • Lacking sufficient journalistic integrity References must be formatted in AP style and will not be accepted in any other form.

Statements made as fact in letters to the editor and editorials/opinions are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Promethean, its staff, or Siena College.

Next Issue: December 1, 2017 Article/Advertisement Deadline: November 24, 2017

The Promethean Academic & Social News | 2

A Letter from the Editor

By Emily Radigan, Editor-in-Chief Dear Reader,

As the semester comes to a close, the inevitable thing on everyone’s mind is the upcoming semester. With registration past for some and upcoming soon for others, everyone is talking about classes for the next semester. What do I need to take? What should I take? What can I get into? Which professor should I take? Should I really take this class?

Take the class. You know which one I’m talking about. Take the class that you’re unsure of. Maybe you’re unsure because you think it’ll be too hard. Maybe you’re unsure because you don’t know anyone who has taken it or who is taking it. Maybe you’re unsure because it’s not required for your major/ minor/certificate. Take the class. College is about learning and exploring. What better way to do this than enroll in a class you’re unsure of? Yes, it’s a risk, but it also has the potential for enormous gain.

My freshman year, I was an undeclared liberal arts student. When I got my schedule the summer before my first fall semester, I was dismayed to learn that I was taking two core classes in subjects I knew that I was not at all interested in. I thought I would do awful in them and fail them because they were definitely not my areas of interest at all and I had no prior experience with them whatsoever.

However, as I was a freshman, there was little I could do to change my schedule. Now, as a junior, I forever grateful that I could not change my classes. I took the two core classes, grudgingly at first, and ended up excelling in them. More than that, I found, to my surprise, that I did have an interest and a talent in both of them. Eventually, I ended up declaring both as my majors.

If it were not for taking these core classes I had hardly any choice in taking and was deeply unsure of, I would not be where I am today. I would not have discovered my passion and talent for these areas. Even as a junior now, I look forward to seeing what new experiences different classes might open up and offer. This is why I encourage you to take the class you are unsure of; it will be a new experience and one that has the potential to teach you a lot about yourself. Obviously, at this point, if you’re a current student, you have a choice in how your schedule looks and you might be tempted to stick to classes in your comfort zone. You certainly can do this, but think about what you’re missing out on in doing this? At what other point in life are you going to be able to explore topics and subjects that might be so out of your normal life and comfort zone? Exploration is part of a liberal arts college experience.

I’m not saying you’ll necessarily get a new major out of taking the class you’re unsure about, but I am saying that you never know what’s going to happen when you take a class. If you have the room in your schedule for it, why not? The worst thing that can happen is that you hate it and you drop the class, which isn’t the end of the world. Even if you don’t end up loving the class or the subject, at least you tried and learned something new. This, in itself, sometimes, is a worthy experience. The best possible outcome, however, is that you discover a new passion.

Take the class.

3 | A c a d e m i c & S o c i a l N e w s

The Promethean

November 17, 2017

Academic & Social News

Former Presidential Candidate Speaks at Siena

By Emily Rhoades, Academic & Social News Editor

Austin Petersen, a former U.S. presidential candidate, visited Siena on Nov. 6 to discuss free speech on college campuses and how to defend your right to free speech. A politician from Missouri, Petersen was the Libertarian Party’s runner-up for presidential nominee in 2016. He will also be running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in 2018. During his talk, Petersen expanded on the importance of maintaining free speech and included some contemporary examples in which free speech was brought into public debate.

Petersen explained he never thought free speech would become a controversial topic. He more fully realized the public restrictions to free speech during a college tour. He was shown a “free speech zone” that the university’s students were instructed to use, especially if what they had to say was controversial. “I thought to myself, isn’t college where you’re supposed to come and be challenged in your beliefs, or is this a place where we come just to confirm our biases?” Petersen said. “Free speech is under attack, not just on college campuses, but in the real world.”

One of the main arguments of his talk was that free speech does not mean you are free from the consequences of your speech. He cited a recent example of consequence in which a cyclist made a rude gesture at President Donald Trump’s convoy and was, as a result, fired from her job. Petersen then brought private property and free speech into question, employing a second example in which a Christian bakery denied service to a lesbian couple because of the bakery’s religious beliefs. He explained that he did not agree with the bakery’s choice to refuse service, but it was a right under free speech because, according to a Supreme Court ruling, wedding cake is a form of artistic expression. “The problem with defending liberty is that eventually you’re going to defend people whose beliefs you despise,” Petersen explained.

Petersen pulled social media into the discussion, questioning whether free speech exists on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. He recently clashed with Facebook because they deleted one of

his videos and blocked his account for thirty days, though he believed he did not violate Facebook’s terms of service. According to the law, Petersen explained that his free speech was not taken away but restricted because Facebook is a private company. He then segued into a discussion of the recent controversy in the NFL and kneeling for the National Anthem.

Similarly to the cyclist and Trump’s convoy, Petersen explained that NFL players have the right to kneel but are not immune from the consequences of their actions. Petersen ended his visit with a Q&A during which he fielded questions from students on a wide array of topics, extending from a discussion on gun-free zones to his opinion on Bitcoin. More information on Petersen’s campaign can be found on his website, www. austinpetersen.com.

Having a former U.S. presidential candidate was a valuable experience for Siena students, especially for those involved in the political clubs on campus or considering a career in government. It allows students a chance to reflect on how they interpret their free speech on Siena’s campus, as well as free speech in the real world. Having speakers with diverse political beliefs prompts Siena students to challenge their own beliefs, which, like Petersen mentioned during his talk, is an important feature of any college campus.

If students are interested in discussing politics on campus or becoming more involved in political organizations, Siena offers multiple opportunities in the form of political clubs such as Democrats Club, Republican Club, Young Americans for Liberty, and Siena’s Political Science Society. There are also “Town Hall” debates every three weeks that all students can attend to discuss important political issues. For more information, check out these clubs at the semesterly club fair or keep an eye on the daily Student Digest.

Photo courtesy of Emily Rhoades

The Lost Stories of Irish Famine Immigrants

By Alyssa Guzman, Staff Writer

On Nov. 2, Dr. Tyler Anbinder, a professor at George Washington University, came to talk to Siena students about his new book dealing with the lost stories of New York’s Irish potato famine immigrants. Dr. Anbinder used old bank records to discover many of lost Irish immigration stories. He detailed the various links between their fortunes, jobs and immigration status all through the use of digital media.

The immigration of Irish potato famine victims took place between the 1840s and the 1850s. Anbinder recounted that these immigrants were “the most ragged and hungry to ever arrive in America.” The potato famine immigrants were the largest immigration wave in American history and the majority of immigrants did not bring family history records with them. Some reasoning behind this was that, at the time, Ireland was an English colony and the English records on Ireland were poorly kept, many survivors did not want to discuss the tragedy they went through, and for those who did had the same names, it made tracing difficult.

Oddly enough, Anbinder found a unique way of discovering the lost Irish stories and that was through old bank records.

He shared the stories of Cornelius Sullivan, Thomas Fenton and Peter

Faye. When Sullivan arrived in America, he lived in a poor house and was a farmer. His bank records showed his history of saving, which led to Anbinder discovering the economic tendencies of Irish immigrants.

As for Thomas Fenton, he was a gardener when he first opened his bank account in 1850, but later when he opened another, Anbinder found out that he was a gardener at an orphan asylum on 5th Avenue. This would later lead him to find out through digital media that, after Fenton’s death, his money and possession would become a NY Supreme Court Case. The story of Peter Faye made him known as the “King of Wall Street” and he was only a doorman at the New York Stock Exchange. People would pay him to tell them any news he heard about the stocks. Anbinder would later admit he had trouble finding the stories of women immigrants through the bank records. The most prominent problem was women disappeared from bank history after marriage.

If you would like to know more about Dr. Anbinder’s work, he has various books published and a website (currently under construction) at www.beyondragstoriches.org.

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress

November 17, 2017

The Promethean

Po l i t i c s & O p i n i o n | 4

Politics

DHS Reviewing Temporary Protected Status

By Carla Garavito, Staff Writer

The fate of 50,000 Haitians and 195,000 El Salvadorians immigrants is now in the hands of the Department of Homeland security, more specifically, the hands of Elaine Duke, the department’s acting secretary. These immigrants, currently under Temporary Protected Status, are mostly from Central America.

DHS is expected to decide the status for the 50,000 Haitians and 195,000 El Salvadorians

by Thanksgiving seeing as the deadlines expire Jan. 22 and March 9, respectively. 60 days before these dates arrive, the department must make a decision whether to terminate or extend TPS. During this time, Duke and her department must examine the situation in Haiti and El Salvador. If the department determines that the country is too unstable, then it is possible for immigrants to stay for a longer period. If not, the immigrants will have no choice but to leave the country, apply for residency or face deportation.

Undocumented immigrants whose nations have been designated a Temporary Protected Status can apply to stay in the United

States for a limited time. Typically, TPS lasts 18 months but the Department of Homeland Security, or Department of State can renew the designation as they see fit. To be qualified, a nation must be under a disruption that would prevent people from going back to their homeland such as a famine, war or a natural disaster. Under this protection, previously undocumented immigrants have legal status. But just because an immigrant has TPS, it does not guarantee residency. Instead, they can apply for it.

Earlier this week, on Nov. 6, the Department of Homeland Security was supposed to make a decision regarding Nicaraguans and Hondurans. Duke took away the TPS designation for 2,500 Nicaraguans. They were granted such status because of an earthquake in 1999 and continued to have it because previous administrations permitted it. She determined that the conditions in Nicaragua had improved.

Nicaraguans have until January 2018 to go back to their homeland, or change their immigration status. She added that the department needed

By Elizabeth Vinal, Staff Writer

After the circus that was the 2016 election, history was made in 2017.

The first openly transgender person to campaign and win an election for state legislature was Danica Roem in Virginia. And the first transgender woman of color was elected, City Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins, in Minneapolis. Roem was not only trans, she was a local woman who returned to the district after college.

She worked as a journalist for a local newspaper, so she was familiar with the issues the community faced, both personally and professionally, which made her an ideal candidate.

Her election is even more of a win for the trans* community because she beat Republican Bob Marshall.

Marshall introduced a transgender bathroom bill that forces trans* people to use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificate. Though this bill was not passed, it shows just how he and others in the legislature feel about the trans* community. He is also against same-sex marriage and calls himself Virginia’s “chief homophobe.” Marshall has won 14 straight elections, a set incumbent that would normally be guaranteed reelection. Jenkins won her race by a stunning 73 percent of the vote. She is a poet and historian who spent years working as an aide for other council members before running herself.

Roem ran an intense campaign. She knocked on doors more times than there were registered voters, she got to know individuals to understand their problems and was interviewed as much as possible. She was open about her

gender identity, but was clearly campaigning on able to speak from experience in saying that local issues and the concern of the people over this is a problem that must be fixed. Jenkins has a similar passion for helping better the community. She is known for addressing youth violence and improving local neighborhoods.

She was critical in the redevelopment of an intersection in the city through her work with small business owners, community leaders and artists, and plans to use these same ideas for the rest of the community.

This type of historical election was not just in these two districts.

Transgender people also took office in several city councils and a school board throughout her gender. Part of the reason she could be with the country. These elections, along with other the people so often is because Marshall refused groundbreaking elections of a turbaned Muslim to debate her, while calling her by male pronouns. and many Latino/a officials, show a clear change in Along with this disrespect, he started a smear public opinion. With all the hate and fear that was campaign criticizing her transgender identity. He spread a year ago, the people are putting policy made his opinions of her clear in his introduction and issues over race and gender, which is critical of the bathroom bill, as well as how he talked in changing how American politics functions. about her in interviews and in ad campaigns. The people in Virginia directly went against the Roem countered this by calling him a “mirror” hatred and bigotry that was happening in their of Trump and said he was more concerned with legislature in favor of someone who cares about his conservative crusade than actually dealing the issues that are so important to them, and with the problems the people were facing. Roem the people of Minneapolis looked past their backed this by addressing something that was differences for someone who would work hard near and dear to her own heart, and the hearts of to help the community they share. many in the area: the traffic problems on Route Photo courtesy of Teen Vogue 28. She grew up right by Route 28, so she was

more time to assess the situation in Honduras, thus activating a 6-month extension period during which time Hondurans can stay in the country. It is very possible, however, that after the 6-month extension period, the TPS for Hondurans could change seeing that Duke will likely be replaced by Kirstjen Nielsen, currently undergoing her confirmation hearing within the Senate.

It was recently reported by the Washington Post that before the Nov. 6 announcement, White House Chief of Staff and former DHS Secretary, John Kelly, called Duke to pressure her to terminate TPS for Nicaraguans and Hondurans on the grounds that the program is meant to be temporary. Some believe this is yet another move by the Trump administration and President Trump himself to tighten immigration control, given his strict views on immigration.

As of right now, it appears Duke and her department are determining Temporary Protected Status for each country case-by-case.

The decision for Haitians and El Salvadorans is still unknown.

Making History Through Transgender Elected Officials

5 | P o l i t i c s & O p i n i o n

The Promethean

Trump Advisers Indicted

By Rosa Rodriguez, Staff Writer

Politics has been talked about more than ever in this modern time. The media has made exposure much easier nowadays and everything turns into a headline. Our recent president has continuously been in the headlines since the beginning of his campaign. Very recently, the New York Times released an article on Trump’s former campaign aides, who were charged with fraud. There are other conspiracies, more than just money issues, such as false and misleading Foreign Agent Registration statements. Robert S. Mueller III announced these charges against three of Trump’s advisers. Mueller brought out very detailed evidence that reached back to Trump’s presidential campaign and described how it coordinated with the Russian government to negatively impact Trump’s rival at the time, Hillary Clinton.

Paul Manafort and Rick Gates have been indicted by a grand jury and this is not Manafort’s first scandal, either. Back in his

early work as an international lobbyist, he testified and admitted to using his political influence to win millions of dollars and contracts. This affects him now because he is giving Trump a bad name. More information was brought to damage Trump in the sense that Mr. Mueller also announced George Papadopoulos pleading guilty to lying to the FBI and was cooperating with investigators. This does not look good for our president because Papadopoulos was a former policy adviser to Trump’s campaign.

Bringing this back to the 2016 election, it is becoming more clear that Papadopoulos’ emails are related to a certain meeting held in Trump Tower in June 2016. This seems to show that the Russian government offered to help the president in his candidacy and the campaign officials were willing to accept it. It is concluded that Vladimir Putin, president of Russia tried to tip the outcome of this past election and took Trump’s side.

November 17, 2017

“Kevin Spacey’s Fall From Grace” continued from page 8 would be its last. Also, the director of the latest film he was working on, “All The Money In The World” has confirmed that his role will be recast, with actor Christopher Plummer taking over, and all the scenes already filmed will be done again with the new actor, a bold and praised move that will effectively halt Spacey’s career. The response has been timely and efficient, and while more has to be done, the amount of exposure this case is getting might finally lead to harsher punishments for famous men who believe they can assault whoever they want to and be forgiven for it.

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Opinion

“Women Aren’t Funny”: Louis C.K. and Comedy’s Patriarchal Hierarchy

By Alexander Colby, Assistant Editor

The past few weeks have seen the reputations of some of Hollywood’s most influential figures crumble due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey are among these men. This past week, Louis C.K.; one of the (previously) most beloved and well respected comedians of our time too was faced with such accusations. While cases like those of Weinstein and Spacey bring light to the inequality that still exists between the sexes, Louis’ case also brings light to a seldom discussed issue: the power dynamics that exist within the realm of comedy.

To this day, comedy remains to be one of the least inclusive professions, especially within the creative arts; a discipline generally believed to be inhabited by some of the more progressive members of society. According to Forbes’ “Top Earning Comedians of 2013” list, none of the top ten earning comedians are women. Louis came in at No. 5, with an estimated earnings of $16 million dollars in 2013. Amy Schumer became the only woman to ever make the list in 2016.

Clearly, there is an issue of underrepresentation of women within comedy.

Without any insight, this problem seems baffling. How can women be so underrepresented in such a popular profession.

To me, there seems to be one major answer: “women aren’t funny.” For years, these three words have been used to account for this underrepresentation and discourage women from entering the profession.

These three words have done so much to discourage female inclusion into comedy for a few reasons. Firstly, it has been the belief of many of the successful figures of comedy. Early slapstick comedy legend Jerry Lewis was known for commenting that a woman doing comedy

“sets him off” and that he thought of female comedian Lucille Ball as “a producing machine that brings babies into the world.” In a more recent example, comedian and “Deadpool” actor T.J. Miller came under fire for claiming that women are taught to repress their senses of humor when they are young. Louis C.K. himself even commented on a 2012 “The Daily Show”

appearance that feminists and comedians are naturally at odds because “feminists can’t take a joke.” When even the pillars of the profession stack the odds against you, it becomes nearly impossible to excel.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, these three words have come to keep many women out of comedy not only because it is a belief held by the successful figures of comedy, but because it is a classic example of a descriptive stereotype that has become so prevalent that it is now prescriptive. Though the issue dates back much further, a good example of this can be found in a Vanity Fair article written by social critic Christopher Hitchens in 2007. In this piece, aptly titled “Women Aren’t Funny,” Hitchens reasons that there are more good male comedians and that men are all around funnier by referring to a number of research articles which seem to support this

hypothesis. Unfortunately, it is very likely that such research articles have created this stereotype and brought it into the mainstream.

Because it is “scientific evidence,” people take it to be the truth. Partially, in thanks to such research, this stereotype has grown to be so prevalent within our societal constructs that it has gone from a way women are described to a trait that is prescribed upon them. People no longer just say “women aren’t funny.” People tell young girls not to be comedians because women aren’t capable of being funny. Women do not chase their dreams of being comedians because society tells them that women aren’t capable of being funny.

Such problems indicate something a bit more grim about the reality of the patriarchal nature of comedy. Obviously, this problem didn’t begin with Louis C.K. He even recognizes this himself in his confession to sexual misconduct when he states that he is “a defender and a beneficiary of an entrenched system of oppression.” This conundrum even goes beyond the issue that comedians cause by abiding by the mantra that women aren’t funny.

Rather, these words have been prevalent within our society for so long that they have immense power. People believe so heavily in these words that they actively discourage the participation of women in comedy. Society tells women that they are incapable of being funny, so many just don’t even bother. We can’t just ask Louis C.K. to change, nor can we just stop at comedy. If there is ever to be change in the patriarchal structure of comedy, the first step would be to stop letting society discourage women from entering the profession by telling them that they’re incapable. The first step is to finally give up on the notion that women aren’t funny.

Photo courtesy of Autostraddle

November 17, 2017

The Promethean

Po l i t i c s & O p i n i o n | 6

Donna Brazile Releases Book on 2016 Election

By Hugo Castro, Politics & Opinion Editor

Donna Brazile, the former head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), wrote a book that details Hillary Clinton’s “brazen corruption” and “tawdry deceits,” as laid out by the New York Post. Brazile, in her “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House,” documents how she considered trying to replace Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president after Clinton’s collapse at the 9/11 anniversary ceremony. To describe the Clinton team as furious over this supposed betrayal would be an understatement. Brazile has been bombarded with personal attacks by Clinton’s camp, accusing her of lying just to sell her book. Brazile’s indictments could prove fatal to Clinton’s prospects of a 2020 comeback, so it is very easy to see where the frustration comes from. Still, though, the Clintons’ critiquing others for lying about political ethics is laughable.

Clinton’s platform for the 2020 presidential race is simple: she is the default Democrat for the role. She guarantees her position by beating the dead horse of the fact that she won the 2016 popular vote, and by promising a vast conspiracy against her from Vladimir Putin to James Comey. This practically remarks why Brazile’s accounts are so devastating. Aside from documenting how Clinton slyly took control of the DNC to disadvantage Bernie Sanders, a well-deserving candidate, Brazile’s book is, at heart, a cry for a

different candidate for 2020. Brazile, hopefully soon among others, has not pulled back on standing up to the Clinton machine and telling them that their time is up. Democrats deserve a better candidate and this, unfortunately, cannot be found in Hillary Clinton.

Although President Barack Obama performed admirably in his time in office, he placed policies that worked against the middle and working class, who soon became the champions of Trump’s regrettable victory in 2016.

Thankfully to voting day’s results, though, Democrats have shown promises of a winning approach in future elections. As the rhetoric for stronger diversity and representation is becoming more prominent, and the schism in the GOP continues to widen due to Trump’s shaky and disagreeable leadership, Democrats are hopeful for new faces to run for the presidential ticket in 2020. All Democrats have to do is develop a new face of policy and promise a forward-looking message of economic growth. Again, as well as Obama executed his position as the executive, his misrepresentation of certain demographics practically guaranteed the win for current POTUS Donald Trump. As we face a strictly

New Tax Act Doesn’t Help All Citizens

By Thomas Yakalis, Staff Writer

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the latest of the great Republican lie that trickle-down economics will actually benefit and grow the American middle class. Tax cuts on the wealthy mean new economic investment.

It is free capital that can be used to create new jobs, hence the wealth at the top “trickling down” to those on the bottom.

This is what Republicans tell American voters every election cycle. The reality, however, is that the rich and powerful will only use this extra money to better themselves, not the standard of living for hardworking Americans and their families.

There are several ways in which this legislation will benefit the rich. It will lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from its current standing at 35 percent.

The exemption for the payment of estate taxes will be doubled, meaning that an estate valued as high as $11 million would be exempted under the new law (the current exemption stands at $5.6 million). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also seeks to eliminate the alternative minimum tax, an additional tax imposed on individuals or corporations with large amounts of deductions. In essence, this tax removes the possibility of avoiding payment of an adequate amount of taxes on one’s income. These things further skew the wealth gap in this country toward those elite few who control the majority of America’s wealth.

Tax breaks like this only increase the control of the rich over America’s assets.

Lower corporate tax rates mean that

companies invest, not in job growth or higher worker salaries, but instead they invest this extra capital into their product, or into stocks and bonds. The extra money from lower taxes simply becomes an extra bartering tool for the rich. On top of this, these sharp tax cuts will increase the size of the national deficit, a move that is unaffordable given the current $20 trillion debt. In its current form, this bill is clearly not what is in the best interests of the American people, and it will not improve the economic conditions of the country, nor the standard of living for the average citizenry.

Such criticisms are not meant to suggest that being wealthy is, in itself, inherently bad. People should have the opportunity to be financially prosperous and enjoy the rewards of their wealth. But this opportunity for advancement should not simply be for an elite few. All Americans should be given a chance to better their lives, to live the “American Dream” of owning their own home, driving their own car and saving their own money. These are values so essential to who we are as a nation. However, this bill will only crush the chances of so many aspiring to be prosperous citizens, when the few who are rich are allowed to possess all of the country’s wealth. A clear indication of the problems with this bill is that all Democrats, and even some Republicans, are unsupportive of this bill. If tax reform is to be enacted, it must be in a comprehensive plan that includes people from all political spectrums and social classes: a plan that will work not for a select group, but for all American citizens.

Republican cabinet with extremely insecure support, it will become easier for the Democratic Party to regain a chance of victory in 2020. A new candidate is needed with a better message and stronger policies than bashing Trump for hours on end. As well as Democrats performed on voting day, it is pertinent that they maintain this momentum and begin the search for newer faces, and even more importantly, stronger candidates. As promising as Hillary Clinton may have been at the commencement of the 2016 race, her prospects have been tainted by Brazile’s claims and her own manipulation of the DNC to be rid of Bernie Sanders.

Editorial Policy

The opinions and views expressed in editorial and opinion columns are solely those of their author and do not represent the views of The Promethean staff or of Siena College. Any response to an editorial without intent to publish should be submitted directly to the author of the article. If you wish to send your reaction to The Promethean or its Editor-inChief, it falls under the guidelines of Letters to the Editor. Letters must be no longer than 700 words. Submission to the paper does not guarantee publication.

Opinion and editorial articles submitted are edited strictly for basic spelling and grammar only.

The editorial board reserves the right to make any and all decisions and editorial changes on newspaper content, with the final decisions belonging to the Editor-in-Chief. Any changes besides spelling and grammar will be run by the author before publication.

Article Submission Guidelines The Promethean reserves the right to deny publication of any article that is deemed by the Editor-in-Chief to be • Slanderous or libelous • Advocating violence or harm to any person or group of people • Advocating discrimination of any sort • Advocating performance of illegal actions • Improperly researched and cited • Lacking sufficient journalistic integrity References must be formatted in AP style and will not be accepted in any other form.

Statements made as fact in Letters to the Editor and editorials/opinions are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Promethean, its staff, or Siena College.

7 | A r t s & E n t e r t a i n m e n t

The Promethean

November 17, 2017

Arts & Entertainment

Hollywood’s First All-Asian Cast

By Maria Gigliello, Staff Writer

It was recently announced that a new romantic comedy, “Crazy Rich Asians,” will be released by Warner Bros. on August 17, 2018.

The movie is based off of Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel of the same name. It follows the story of an American-born Chinese economics professor, Rachel, who travels to her boyfriend, Nick’s, hometown in Singapore, for his friend’s wedding.

Rachel soon finds out that Nick comes from an incredibly wealthy family and he is potentially the most eligible bachelor in Asia. Rachel finds herself competing with a large group of women who are pining over her boyfriend.

The film is directed by Jon M. Chu (“Now You See Me 2,” “Step Up 3D,” “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never”) and it is the first film in an American-Hollywood studio that has an all-Asian cast. According to an interview with Buzzfeed, Chu is adamant about staying true to the book, which means a cast of only Asian actors and actresses. Constance Wu from “Fresh Off the Boat” stars as the film’s leading lady, Rachel. Newcomer Henry Golding will play Nick. Other cast members include Michelle Yeoh (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Gemma Chan (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”) and Ken Jeong (“The Hangover”).

This is quite the historic event for Hollywood as the film industry is always accused of “whitewashing,” or casting predominantly white actors in films. In the past, Hollywood has made some questionable casting calls for Asian roles. In the film “Aloha,” Emma Stone plays a character who is a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Chinese. The film was

heavily criticized for getting “the whitest Asian person Hollywood could find,” to play an Asian woman. There was also a lot of controversy when Scarlett Johansson was cast to play an Asian woman in “Ghost in the Shell.” The movie was an Englishlanguage adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series and fans were outraged that a non-Asian woman was playing the main character who is clearly supposed to be Asian.

Films all across Hollywood are whitewashed. There has been controversy surrounding multiple roles in Hollywood films that are played by white actors when they probably shouldn’t have been.

Online publication IndieWire has listed Angelina Jolie playing a mixed-race woman in “A Mighty Heart,” Emile Hirsch playing an originally Japanese role in “Speed Racer,” and Johnny Depp playing the Native American, Tonto, in “The Lone Ranger” as some of the most controversially casted characters in Hollywood films.

It is extremely important for Hollywood to represent all different types of cultures and ethnicities in films. Movies and television are something that all people worldwide are watching every day, so people all over the world should be represented. I think the allAsian casting of “Crazy Rich Asians” is vital to boosting this representation in the film industry. Hopefully, this monumental cast will kickstart more diverse casting in future films as well.

Photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

Director Joe Johnston to Retire

By Jaymie Hoelldobler, Arts & Entertainment Editor

At Comic-Con Paris this year, while announcing that production for the fourth installment in the “Chronicles of Narnia” series - “Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair” - would commence next year with the end goal of a release for the winter of 2019, Joe Johnston also notified the public of his upcoming retirement.

“The Silver Chair” will come out almost fifteen years, if you can believe it, after the original movie “Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” and will also be the last movie we see produced by Johnston, a fact many fans are surprised and disheartened by.

Joe Johnston is a renowned director who started out showcasing his talents through special effects and design. He was a concept artist for the first ever “Star Wars” and was the guy behind Boba Fett’s armor and equipment. He got his first taste of director’s fame, in 1989, with the production and release of “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” This was followed by “The Rocketeer” in 1991 - a movie based off of a comic book, that did not have as big of a positive response from audiences as Johnston had been hoping for. It got pretty good reviews from critics, but only made $46 million in the box office, and the movie had only had a $40 million budget for the movie in the first place. He bounced back quickly with the release of “Jumanji” in 1995. This movie was immensely popular - it made over one hundred million dollars. Johnston continued his rise to fame by shifting to a more personal movie in 1999. “October Sky,”

starring a young (and very attractive) Jake Gyllenhaal, was astounding, and a movie that many viewers would come to call their favorite.

Johnston is also behind well-known movies like “Jurassic Park 3” and “Captain America: The First Avenger.” With all of these amazing movies in his repertoire, Johnston says he is “ready to go do something else now.”

I’m not the biggest movie buff, but even I know that having such movies as “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” and “Jumanji” under your belt is pretty impressive. And, of course, as a huge Marvel fan, it was clear to me that “Captain America: The First Avenger” was an amazing movie. So, audiences are expecting a lot from Johnston in his last movie. He has some great ideas, it seems, and is cited as saying, “I want an audience to look at ‘The Silver Chair’ and think ‘This is a whole new vision of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia.’ In fact, I don’t even want to reference the other films.” He’s also offered a leading role to Millie Bobby Brown, one of the stars of the Netflix original series, “Stranger Things.” There are mixed emotions amongst Narnia fans on a movie coming forward that is completely different from the familiarity of the other movies in the series. However, no matter what is yet to come with the release of this Narnia movie, it will be hard to forget the lasting impression Johnston has left on the film industry and fans will miss him.

Photo courtesy of Zimbio

November 17, 2017

The Promethean Ar ts & Enter tainment | 8

Taylor Swift Releases New Album

By Kiera Mitru, Staff Writer

In Taylor Swift’s sixth album, “Reputation,” Swift’s lyrical prowess takes another step away from her Southern roots and towards a reconsidered view of “America’s Sweetheart.” In this album, Swift appears as a woman who has the ability to be vulnerable, while still sparing listeners the details, rather than the previously known Southern Belle, using music to write out her heartache. This album acts as a testament to Swift realizing that negative criticism holds little value, and using this fact to her advantage as she recognizes she does not have to be what others perceive her to be and, in turn, refuses to be tamed. With modern and bold similarities to the pop music we know today, this bombshell album allows listeners to take a glimpse into, quite literally, Taylor Swift’s “Reputation.”

Despite high levels of anticipation over the album, “Reputation” is nearly untouchable to fans. Taylor Swift openly spoke out against several streaming services including Spotify and Pandora that pay musicians inadequate royalties for their work. This resulted in Swift removing her repertoire from Spotify in 2014, and not returning it until earlier this year. Not even streaming services that offer artists high percentages of royalties, for example, Apple Music, will allow subscribers to hear the album in its entirety for a while. With these restrictions, the only way fans

will be able to listen to “Reputation,” is to put forth the $13.99 to purchase a virtual or physical copy of the record.

The “reputation” that Taylor addresses throughout this album is undeniably a new vision for her, as the discography includes more distinctive beats and rhythm, mimicking that of large-scale rappers and modern pop music. The album, dissimilar from Swift’s previous work, is very much in tune with the culture of pop music in 2017, yet makes a point to add more of an edge.

From start to finish, each song would not sound out of place blaring from the radio of teenagers everywhere, as Swift quite literally raises the tempo to meet and exceed that of her competition.

Another progression she makes in this album is the inclusion of collaboration. “End Game” is the third piece on the album, featuring Future (a songwriter/singer/rapper) and Ed Sheeran (a singer/songwriter). This unique combination of musical powerhouses attracts more attention to the release of “Reputation.”

Other than this exciting collaboration, this album should also be granted attention for its anthemic qualities. These songs seem to have been designed to echo through arenas and stadiums worldwide, for audiences to sing their hearts out to, as Taylor is likely to take the album on tour soon.

Kevin Spacey’s Fall From Grace

By Tianny Ocasio, Staff Writer

Sexual assault in Hollywood has arguably been an underrepresented and infrequently discussed topic, a tragic injustice to all the people affected by it. There is a belief that prominent actors are incapable of doing wrong, and too often when others speak out against them, they are silenced or viewed as liars. Recent events regarding allegations of sexual misconduct perpetrated by famous people have made many reevaluate the issue. One extremely pertinent case is the one in which actor Kevin Spacey is involved in.

Kevin Spacey is a familiar name to most people, and he is often regarded as a competent actor with a multitude of ranges. He started as an actor on the stage and is known for his stage presence and acting flexibility. In recent years, he has perhaps been best known for his portrayal of Frank Underwood in the Netflix original series “House of Cards” and films such as “The Usual Suspects,” “Seven” and “Outbreak.” The actor has always been asked questions about his sexual orientation as he was notorious for not addressing any rumors about his personal life and refused to be linked to a person romantically. People speculated this indicated he was gay, while others asserted he has a right to privacy like anyone else. This all changed on Oct. 30, when Spacey came out on Twitter stating, “I choose now to live as a gay man.” Now, this should have been seen as an empowering statement, coming out as gay while being famous is never easy, and when celebrities come out they are seen as brave and are typically applauded by their fans at the very least. However, this particular coming out was done in the worst way as Spacey came out after being accused of sexual misconduct by fellow well-known actor Anthony Rapp.

Rapp, an openly gay man known for his roles in “Rent” and “Star Trek: Discovery” opened up about his experience with Kevin Spacey in a Buzzfeed interview released on Oct.

29, saying he felt inspired by the women who named Harvey Weinstein as their assaulter and brought attention back to the sexual misconduct rampant in Hollywood. He told Buzzfeed that in 1986, when he was 14, he met Spacey, who was then 26. The two were both involved in Broadway shows and when they met, Spacey invited Rapp to a party he would be hosting a few nights later. At the party, Rapp claims he went to the bedroom to watch television and was about to head home when he realized every other partygoer had left. Spacey then came in, visibly drunk, and picked Rapp up, laid him on the bed and then got on top of him, trying to seduce him. Rapp then says he was able to get away much to Spacey’s annoyance and left the apartment, shaken and scared. He never spoke to Spacey again. He has told his story to the people in his inner circle but did not want to report it at the time because he was young and did not want to have to talk about his own sexual orientation. In his coming out, Kevin Spacey “apologized” for the incident, saying he doesn’t remember it but if it happened, he was sorry for drunken behavior, excusing his lewdness by mentioning being intoxicated and implying he wasn’t in control of his actions.

Since this, 13 other men have accused Spacey of similar misconduct, instances in which there was groping and sexual assault, some of which they say occurred when they were still underage. Some of the allegations go back decades while others are as recent as a few years. What is interesting about the cases is that several of the men did not report because they did not want to “out” Spacey, who was closeted during these incidents; he had an advantage by always insisting on the importance of privacy.

Spacey has also suffered a professional fall from grace, something many applaud. Netflix has officially separated from Spacey, stating they will no longer be associated with him and that the upcoming season of “House of Cards” Continued on page 5

Taylor Swift is no stranger to getting personal with her lyrics, however, seeing into this phase of her life is interesting, as the connections she brings up in these songs can relate to many, and some do not relate to listeners. For example, “Gorgeous,” is the eighth piece on the album, which illustrates someone who is so intimidatingly gorgeous that it is nervewracking to look at them. The thirteenth track is called “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” and leaves enough breadcrumbs for listeners to guess that it is about Katy Perry, a female pop artist with whom Swift holds “Bad Blood.”

Many songs on the album communicate themes in Taylor’s life which include having a good time, enjoying life and encouraging others to do the same.

This record is revolutionary for Swift, who uses her voice as an afterthought on the album rather than the focus. “Reputation” does not reveal any significant strengths in Taylor’s singing ability or range, which is compensated by her ability to build rhythms and bold tracks for her to layer her voice over. “Reputation” opens a new musical avenue for Taylor Swift and gives her an edge as a powerful female artist in 2017. The record is cohesive and appropriately illustrates to listeners the ebb and flow relationships in 2017. Swift takes off her mask and recognizes that she doesn’t have to please everyone, which is what makes this album everything.

Sexual Assault Allegations Against Louis C.K.

By Desiree Nestor, Staff Writer

Louis C.K. is only just beginning to face the consequences of his actions. In the past couple of days he has been dropped by Universal pictures for the upcoming children’s movie “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” the release of his sexually political film “I Love You Daddy,” about a man’s relationship with an underage girl, has been cancelled, and he has been fired from FX Networks, a network that has been working with him for years on several different projects such as “Better Things” and “Baskets.”

However, this is just some of the backlash that Louis C.K., a comedian, actor and Emmyaward winning writer and producer, is facing in light of the New York Times article published Nov. 9, where five women retell their experiences with Louis C.K. and his inappropriate sexual behavior.

Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov describe a night with Louis C.K. in 2002 after a successful comedy festival. He invited both of the women back to his hotel room to hang out and celebrate their performances. While inside his hotel room, Louis C.K. proceeded to make uncomfortable sexual advances. The next day, the women told other fellow comedians about their experience, however, they felt they were faced with immediate backlash. They felt as if people began distancing themselves from them because of the power held by Louis C.K.’s management and publicist.

The second report about Louis C.K’s behavior came from Abby Schachner who reported that in 2003, during a professional phone conversation with Louis C.K. she heard him masturbating on the other end of the line.

The next report came from Rebecca Corry, a comedian who states that while working on set with Louis C.K (whose, now former, spouse was pregnant at the time), he asked her if he could Continued on page 9

9 | A r t s & E n t e r t a i n m e n t

The Promethean

November 17, 2017

“The Lion King” Live Action Cast Announced

By Abigail August, Staff Writer

The most anticipated live-action remake of a Disney classic is finally here.

Following the footsteps of “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Jungle Book,” Disney just confirmed its pictureperfect cast of their live-action version of “The Lion King.” Although the movie will not hit theaters until the summer of 2019, this cast has fans more excited than ever.

Director Jon Favreau is taking Disney fans back to Pride Rock with a cast line-up of famous actors such as Donald Glover and Beyonce Knowles-Carter. Donald Glover has been cast as the future king of Pride Rock, Simba. Simba’s friend-turnedlove-interest, Nala, will be played by the one and only Beyonce Knowles-Carter.

Reprising his iconic performance in Disney’s 1994 animated classic, James Earl Jones was asked once again to portray the character Mufasa, Simba’s wise and caring father. Portraying Simba’s loving mother will be actress Alfre Woodward.

Other favorite actors will be in the movie as well. Simba’s evil uncle, Scar, will be voiced by actor Chiwetel Ejlofor. John Oliver is cast to portray Mufasa’s loyal confidant, Zazu, and

the hilarious Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner will portray Pumbaa, the naive warthog, and Timon. Young actors JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph were called on to portray the young confident cubs, Simba and Nala.

The reaction on social media from fans of the original 1994 animated version of “The Lion King” has indicated that the anticipation and excitement are overwhelming.

Celebrity Ernest Owens tweeted, “America, please don’t self-destruct before this comes out,” joking about his excitement for the movie to premiere in 2019. Other Twitter users tweeted, “This cast is LEGENDARY...

I am so excited to see this” and “This is as close to perfect as things get.”

Personally, being a huge Disney fan myself, my feelings align with the excitement shared all over social media. To ease my anticipation of the upcoming live-action version, I might just have to watch the original over and over again.

Photo courtesy of Disney

“Stranger Things” Season 2

By Miguel Porter, Staff Writer

When Netflix released season one of “Stranger Things” on July 15, 2016, it immediately took the world by storm. It became the show to watch. Binge-watchers around the world rejoiced at such a fresh, original and “strange” show. We fell in love with the show and its characters, as we usually do with any new series. But once that final episode ended, we needed something to fill that void inside of us. Coming to the rescue were the actors from the show. With their stage presence and charisma, they were once again able to reach our hearts. True child actors, ranging from 12 to 14, with overwhelming talent. Joint appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and other talk shows gave us a glimpse of in-cast friendships and chemistry, while red carpets and award season showed off their incredible fashion sense. The world looked on just as proud parents, wishing the world for these kids, but also kind of just wanting to hang out with them for a bit. The excitement over the actors was able to match, maybe even surpass, the excitement initially held by the show.

Things barely died down before the “Stranger Things” season two teaser during this year’s Super Bowl. The excitement was back when the world saw the gang in their “Ghostbusters” costumes. As the world drew closer to the Oct. 27 release date, excitement grew more and more. This time, we weren’t getting a new show, but we were getting an almost guaranteed amazing season of an already great show. The usual excitement of any new season was present. What has everyone been up to? Where is everyone? How much time has passed? We had our

“Sexual Assault Allegations Against Louis C.K.” continued from page 8 masturbate in front of her. She declined his offer, but never the less, the fact that he asked her speaks volumes about his respect for women’s boundaries in a professional setting.

One day after the New York Times published the article on November 9th, Louis C.K. released a statement addressing these issues.

He said that “these stories are true” and he thought it was okay at the time because he “never showed a woman his [my] dick without asking first.” Louis C.K. goes on to say that he had power over these women and that he “wielded that power irresponsibly.” C.K.’s apology letter expresses regret, however, the sincerity and motives are questionable.

The rumors had been circulating for years and he only released the apology letter after the New York Times broke the story resulting in his firing from several projects by a number of production companies.

Another disturbing factor is how some of C.K.’s material is closely related to the events these women describe. Many of his shows, movies

predictions and hopes - some of us were even getting their “shipping” for the new season done already. Unlike “Grey’s Anatomy” for instance, we weren’t just excited for the reemergence of the show, but the reemergence of the actors. A new season would mean new appearances of the gang on late-night TV. Our favorite multi-talented youngsters would be back and our love for them would only grow.

The gang showed off their musical prowess by dancing on Fallon and harmonizing on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” while Millie Bobby Brown broke the Internet with her rap on Fallon and her recent meet-up with Drake. The fans were getting just what they wanted - a great season to binge on Netflix and being able to see all their favorites back in the public eye.

The problem comes around when the obsession takes an unhealthy turn. It is important to remember that these actors are still kids. And with that realization should come the knowledge that they should not be sexualized or have too much pressure placed on them. They are just kids. Hardworking, famous, kids but still kids. The best chance for them to grow into healthy and successful young adults and adult actors is for us, along with the media, to allow them to move through life in a healthy way. They should be free from our judgments, criticisms and standards.

Photo courtesy of Netflix and stand-up routines are sexually controversial and cover the topics of masturbation as well as public masturbation. When looking at this event along with other acts of sexual harassment and misconduct perpetrated by men in Hollywood, including Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein, it is clear that Hollywood has an issue with not only men acting as sexual predators but also with ignoring these acts until, say, the New York Times runs a story about it. Rumors about Louis C.K.’s behavior have been circulating in the comedy industry and on the Internet for years, with Tig Notaro being one of the only comedians to call him out for it. Until the New York Times broke the story, C.K. kept ignoring it, and continued to receive offers and deals from Universal Studios, Netflix, FX networks and many more.

Hollywood should view these past events as a wake-up call. The entertainment industry needs to reevaluate how they address claims of sexual assault and sexual misconduct allegations.

November 17, 2017

The Promethean

Wo r l d N e w s | 10

World News Saudi Arabia Anti-Corruption Campaign

By Megan Kelly, Staff Writer

Saudi Arabia is in the middle of the biggest anti-corruption purge of its elite in the kingdom’s modern history. Mass arrests of Saudi Arabian royals, ministers and businessmen have been expanding since Nov. 6. A top entrepreneur was on the list of those detained, as well as dozens of top Saudis, including Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire investor.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been taking a series of dramatic steps, the purge adding to the list, in order to “assert Saudi influence internationally and amass more power for himself at home,” according to Reuters.

By Nov. 9, dozens more had been taken into custody by Saudi Arabian authorities, making the number of detained 201. Investigators have shared that they have uncovered approximately $100 billion in money gathered through corrupt methods. Critics from the kingdom have called “the unprecedented purge of top princes and businessmen a bold and risky move by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aimed at

consolidating power as he keeps an eye on the throne, sidelining potential rivals and dismantling alliances built with other branches of the royal family,” according to Time. 208 people were called in for questioning, seven left without charges, and 201 were left in custody. The purge originally began overnight on Saturday, Nov. 4, catching 11 princes and 38 business leaders and military officers. The government has kept the identities of those in custody a secret, as they are respecting their privacy during this point in the investigation. Approximately 1,700 individual bank accounts have been frozen at this time.

Over the past three years, at least $100 billion dollars has been used improperly through embezzlement and corruption.

This has been a deeply rooted problem in the country. Experts have expressed that this might be Mohammed bin Salman’s attempt to consolidate power by removing challengers before his father passes.

The Washington Post describes the anti-graft campaign in Saudi Arabia saying, “The anti-graft

campaign has overlapped with a spike in tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, its regional nemesis: a coincidence of timing, or a sign that Mohammed and the Saudi leadership were mounting a broad offensive against enemies at home and abroad.” Saudi Arabia claimed that Iran was responsible for the missile strike that reached Saudi Arabia’s capital, and the two countries traded “bitter accusations” over it.

Also, Saudi Arabia seems to play a central role with Lebanon’s prime minister, as he criticized Iran in a speech on Saturday, Nov. 6 at the capital.

On Thursday, Nov. 9, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, told CNBC that Saudi Arabia has adopted a “zero-tolerance policy on corruption” and he denied that these “detentions would affect investor confidence.” He ended by saying, “A sizable percentage of our budget, we discovered, was being stolen. And this cannot stand. Where you have corruption, you cannot have justice, you cannot have investment, you cannot have efficient and transparent government.”

Action Against Sexual Assault in UK Parliament

By Kaitlyn Winkler, Staff Writer

The Harvey Weinstein effect is not only taking place in the U.S. but across the pond in the United Kingdom as well. Recently, women have been coming forward accusing Parliament members of sexual harassment. As of Oct. 30, there have been 36 accusations against Conservative Party members of Parliament including men in the cabinet of British Prime Minister Theresa May. The allegations became public when The Sun reported that female staff and reporters have been sharing their experiences of sexual harassment on WhatsApp. They allegedly would message each other to warn about certain lawmakers. Behaviors these women have reported include inappropriate touching, lewd comments and sexual relations with subordinates in the party.

The recent accusations have been reminiscent of the 1990s. In the late ’80s, the number of women in Parliament doubled, however, they were not treated with the respect one would expect of a lawmaker. When women would speak in the chamber, men would often taunt them by gesturing as if weighing their breasts. It was a time when the alcohol use in

Parliament was high and meetings would stretch late into the night, which only worsened their behavior. More recently, there have been efforts to decrease alcohol consumption and create a more respectable environment.

Some of the men mentioned in the allegations include Defense Minister Sir Michael Fallon, one of Prime Minister Theresa May’s high profile cabinet members and Mark Garnier. Fallon has since stepped down from his position due to inappropriately grabbing the knee of reporter Julia Hartley-Brewer 15 years ago. A cabinet investigation has been launched against Garnier who has admitted to making sexual remarks to a staff member and instructing her to buy him sex toys. However, while he called his actions “dinosaur behavior,” he does not consider it sexual harassment.

The prime minister’s office has been urging staff to come forward with any allegations of sexual harassment and report the misconduct to the police. May has contacted the speaker of the Commons, John Bercow, to find better ways for lawmaker employees to make complaints about their employers. On the contrary, Bercow believes he should not step in because it is up to

the party leaders to control their own members.

Despite this, he does believe that action needs to be taken against the sexual harassment stating, “Make no mistake there is a need for change.” Currently, lawmakers employ their own staff and there are no human resources.

In 2014, a harassment hotline was established due to increasing complaints of misconduct by employers. Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons, believes the current safeguards for the staff, including the confidential helpline, are inadequate. Many other women in Parliament agree that change is long overdue.

There is a discrepancy as to how long May has known about the sexual harassments.

The government whips, members appointed to organize and discipline their respected parties, have been reported to regularly meet and debrief May about the allegations on a regular basis. There is even a long-standing rumor of a “black book” in which the whips record all the accusations against Parliament members. A spokesman has said that May acted once the allegations became public and denies these meetings.

By Mahima Dhanekula, World News Editor

The Syrian border town of Boukamal was retaken by Syrian and Iraqi troops on Nov. 9. Boukamal was the last major town held by the Islamic State in Syria. The Islamic State’s militants, however, are still armed and are expected to continue to carry out bombings and other attacks in the region. The extremist group’s media is also intact, and this has allowed them to be able to continuously gather supporters and incite them to carry out terrorist activities.

Additionally, there are still some small towns that Islamic State militants are scattered throughout.

However, the caliphate that they declared over a vast area in Iraq and Syria in 2014 is now on the verge of complete defeat.

Syrian government and Iraqi forces have made significant military strides against the Islamic State in the past year. On Nov. 3, Iraq announced that it had captured Qaim, a town on the western edge of the Anbar province, and this was Iraq’s last military fight against IS. The town was once an important military crossing.

The town of Deir El-Zour was also captured in early November by Syrian forces. Deir El-Zour is a town in the eastern part of Syria that is one of the country’s main oil-producing regions.

On Oct. 7, after a four-month campaign, Syrian Democratic Forces captured the town of Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State’s caliphate. This town has seen many massacres and executions, and was featured prominently in

propaganda videos.

On July 10, Iraqi and Kurdish forces reclaimed Mosul after nine months of heavy fighting. It was Iraq’s second-largest city, and the largest city that IS has ever held. Many civilians and members of Iraqi forces lost their lives in the battle, as IS militants placed snipers and bombs on almost every street.

There are still IS supporters in many Northern African countries such as Libya and Egypt. IS has also claimed to have associates in Afghanistan and even the Philippines. The extremist organization continues to spread their propaganda online. However, IS has lost about ninety-five percent of its former territory.

Continued on page 11

Last Major Town Held by Islamic State in Syria Captured

1 1 | S p o r t s

The Promethean

November 17, 2017

Sports

Men’s Basketball Starts Season

By David Le Blang, Staff Writer

With the 2017-18 season right on the horizon, the Siena Saints men’s basketball team has had a long offseason to prepare for their upcoming games. Looking back on the 2016-17 season, Siena posted a 15-16 (12-8 conference) regular season record, which landed Siena at fourth place in the MAAC, and also won them the fourth seed in the MAAC Tournament. With wins over Fairfield and a huge upset over the top seeded Monmouth, the Saints got themselves to the MAAC Championship.

However, their playoff run culminated in a hard fought 87-86 OT loss to Iona in the final game, where a win would have secured Siena a spot in the upcoming March Madness tournament. Going into this season, Siena is looking to improve their record, build upon the seven new players who joined the squad and hopefully secure themselves a spot in the March Madness tournament.

On Saturday, Nov. 4, Siena had its first action in eight months as the Saints faced off against the Le Moyne Dolphins in their only preseason game of the year, held on campus in the ARC. While still only being a preseason exhibition game, the Dolphins unfortunately proved to be too much for the Saints, as they leapt forward on a commanding 24-8 lead with 8:34 to go in the first half. Due to an outstanding effort from junior captain Nico Clareth, with 17 points alone in the first half, the Saints were able to close out the half just trailing the Dolphins, 35-31. During the second half, Le Moyne held tightly onto their lead, pulling away for as many as 15 points on their 69-54 run. However, even though the Saints rallied to bring themselves back to a 69-68 score with just over a minute left to play, a last second turnover cemented their 7371 loss to the Dolphins. Siena’s Clareth went on to outscore all shooters with 33 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. Sophomore Khalil Richard put in 13 points coming off the bench, and freshman Prince

Oduro contributed nine points, four rebounds, and two blocks.

Siena retains seven players from last year’s team which advanced to the MAAC Championship game, and also welcomes seven newcomers to the squad. Joining the Saints this season are junior captain transfer Kevin Degnan, sophomore walk-on Ben Diamond, and five freshmen: Christian Bentley, Manny Camper, Jordan Horn, Prince Oduro, and Roman Penn. Siena does not start conference play until December 29th, where the Saints first travel to Poughkeepsie to take on the Marist Red Foxes.

Photo courtesy of Siena Saints

Houston Astro’s Historic Win

By Dominick Murdock, Staff Writer

The MLB World Series this year came down to the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite having a slightly worse regular season record, the Astros were able to tackle the Dodgers in the final game to win the series. While it did take Houston the full seven games to seal the deal, it was worth every moment as the team clinched its firstever World Series victory.

Like the rest of the season, the World Series was characterized by large doses of home runs and strikeouts.

The Astros hit 15 homers while the Dodgers managed to whack 10 over the wall. In doing so, the teams cooperatively broke the record for the most home runs during a World Series, a record previously set back in 2002 when the Anaheim Angels and the San Francisco Giants smacked 22 dingers. However, 25 home runs came at the cost of a total of 119 strikeouts. What there wasn’t many of, however, was stolen bases. The series saw a total of four stolen bases over the course of seven games.

To put that into perspective, Lou Brock holds the record for the most stolen bases by an individual in a World Series at seven bases. This series had about half that, portraying that two full teams couldn’t even steal as many bases as one man.

This World Series was considered one of the most exciting in recent memory due to slim margins of victory throughout each game. In fact, besides the final game seven, each game went into the 9th inning with both teams no more than two runs away from each other. While it was overall exciting, some fans had the pleasure of attending games that lasted twice as long as others. The longest game of the series lasted 5 hours and 17 minutes, while the shortest lasted 2 hours and 28 minutes.

As far as the players go, George Springer of the Astros deservingly won the MVP award for the series. He hit a total of five home runs himself,

which broke the record for most home runs in a series by an individual player. His most notable being a two-run blast during game 2, leading to a 7-6 win for the Astros.

Other notable players included Joc Pederson of the Dodgers, who hit three home runs during the series. Charlie Morton of the Astros was also essential to the series, allowing only two runs during the 11.2 innings he pitched during the series. Finally, Alex Bregman of the Astros deserves a shoutout for his consistent and efficient play at third base throughout the season. He also was the player who hit the game-winning single to give the Astros a victory in game 5.

This World Series was definitely exciting, although, in modern times, victories are short-lived as the off-season begins. It’s time for both teams to go back to the drawing board and begin to prepare for next season. The 2017 series is in the books, a well-deserved victory for the Houston Astros.

Image courtesy of MLB “Last Major Town Held by IS in Syria Captured” continued from page 10

All that is left of the Islamic State’s caliphate now is a few villages along the border, and a small area of land near Syria’s capital, Damascus.

Joshua Landis, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said “We’re at the end in the sense that there certainly is not going to be a rebel revolution… There’s a raggedy ending here, with bits and pieces left.”

Another challenge comes from the conflict between the Kurds, who make up less than ten percent of Syria’s population but have been instrumental in the fight against IS, and Syrian president Assad’s troops.

Bouthaina Shaaban, a senior advisor to the Syrian president, recently described the US forces helping the Syrian Democratic Forces as invaders, and there have been no plans expressed by the U.S. regarding their support for the SDF after the now possible and probable complete defeat of the Islamic State’s caliphate.

November 17, 2017

The Promethean

Sports |12

Women’s Soccer Finishes Impressive Season

By Jarred Davis, Staff Writer

With the change in the weather, it’s now time to bring the soccer season to an end. This year, the women’s soccer team posted a very impressive year.

They had an impressive winning record of eleven wins and eight losses during the regular season. Within this, their conference record was also a winning record of six wins and four losses. This put them as one of the top teams in the MAAC division. They also showed a lot of success in the playoffs, where they made it all the way to the conference semi-finals where they lost against Monmouth. They will look to build on this success moving forward into next season. This success could not have been done without the backing of their very good statistics which was that they were third overall in the division in goals scored, second in assists and third in saves made.

The team’s achievements were so great that six players were honored for their performances this season for academic achievements. On top of this, a record of fifteen players on the team were honored as well for their performances on the field. They all were named to the All-Academic Team at the MAAC awards this year. This is the fourth year in a row and the fourth year in the team’s history that multiple players have received this high honor. A player to receive this honor was senior captain Madison Vasquez, who has been named to the first team for multiple seasons. A very impressive showing for her and each of the players that were honored this year.

Looking into what they’ll need to do going forward, they will have to fill a bunch of spots on their roster. The team had to say goodbye this season to seven seniors and will have to find people to replace their positions. Spots being lost include their senior goalkeeper, their captain and many of their forward positions. This also includes a few defensive positions on the team. It will hurt to not have these seniors on the field

next year, but they will still find a way to come out on top.

Going into the spring, we have some things to look forward to with the team. Starting in April, they will be conducting their spring clinic that they do every year in order to connect with younger girls and to teach them how to become a better soccer player. This is a good way to give back to the community and to look at possible new recruits. If anyone knows someone who may be interested in attending the camp, this is a great opportunity to increase their skills and to gain experience from some very skilled players.

Overall, this year was very successful for the team as a whole and we can expect them to build on this next year.

Photo courtesy of Siena Saints

Siena Women’s Basketball Wins Home Opener

By Julianna Sebastian, Sports Editor

As fall sports seasons are starting to end, Siena men’s and women’s basketball is just beginning.

This past Sunday at the brand new MAC ARC facility, the Saints played St. Bonaventure in their season opener game on their home court.

For this 2017-2018 season, the Saints are looking to return to the MAAC tournament and proceed further into the rounds in March. This season, helping to do this, Coach Ali Jaques brought in three new freshmen players and a junior college transfer to add to the roster. Three of these team members are coming from overseas to play in Loudonville from Spain, Greece and Australia. Coach Jaques expands her roster internationally with adding these players to the team.

Returning for the Saints this year are senior starters, Kollyns Scarbrough and Joella Gibson. Scarbrough and Gibson help the Saints make their games more physical, as they seem fearless when they go up for a drive to the basket. Fellow senior forward Emmanuella Edoka adds serious power for the Saints under the basket despite a knee injury her freshman year.

The Saints also have an impressive junior and sophomore class.

Juniors Karolina Severova and Deja Rawls are regular subs and starters on the team contributing points on the board. Also, sophomore Maddie Sims, at 6’2, plays strong defense for the Saints and always plays with aggression. The Saints lost their first game against Penn State 86-72, but showed a strong performance from senior Kollyns Scarbrough, who went double-double in the game. However, in the Saints game versus St. Bonaventure, Siena came out on the winning side.

Over a thousand fans showed up for this game in the Siena ARC. Going into the game’s first quarter, the Saints were behind, with the Bonnies clinching an early 12-11 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter. The Bonnies secured the first quarter leading the Saints at its end 22-15. Scarbrough in this quarter had five points and one rebound for

Siena.

The second quarter of the game proved to go the same way as the first, with the Bonnies extending their lead 26-15 with less than eight minutes left in the half. With five minutes left in the half, junior Deja Rawls stole the ball from Bonaventure, passing to sophomore France native Sabrina Piper for the layup, bringing the games score to 2619. For the last three minutes of the half, the Saints played some impressive defense holding the Bonnies scoreless until halftime.

The second half of the game, the Saints came from behind, beginning to shut down the Bonaventure offense. Joella Gibson sunk a three in the third quarter of the game, bringing the Saints to only a five point deficit 38-33. Soon after this, senior Emmanuella Edoka, winning the half’s initial tip-off scored two for the Saints, followed by Piper for three and Maddie Sims for two, bringing the score of the game to 42-41 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

The Saints finished the third quarter leading Bonaventure 47-46.

In the fourth quarter, the Saints remained dominant with a huge steal and a layup, bringing the Saints to their first lead of the game at 5146. In this last quarter, the Saints limited the Bonnies points with stellar defense, causing Bonaventure to spend their drives passing the ball around the three-point line. With 10 minutes left in the game, the Saints went on a 10-0 run, extending their lead to 64-55. The Saints ended up winning the game with a final score of 70-62. The Saints outscored Bonaventure in the second half 44-27 in their win. Sophomore Maddie Sims recorded a careerhigh of 16 points in the game.

The Saints’ next home game is Monday, Nov. 20 in the ARC. The men’s team opens up their season just a day after the women at the Times Union playing Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Siena Saints