Baitline Vol. 3, Issue 2

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Baitline CORAL REEF SENIOR HIGH'S

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2

Daniel Ortega’s Autocratic Zeal

STEALING THE THUNDER

West Side Story: An Analysis of Latinx Portrayal and Representation in Movie Media

MARCH 2022


Publication Policy The Baitline Newspaper is the official student news publication of Coral Reef Senior High School, and is written, designed, and published entirely by its staff members. Baitline is an established public forum, and welcomes a wide variety of pieces with the ultimate goal of informing students about news, events, and happenings both inside and outside the Coral Reef campus. Through its articles and issues, Baitline hopes to create a more educated student population that is more overtly open to discussing current events and analyzing a variety of points of view. As the producer of a scholastic publication, Baitline abides by the guidelines presented by the National Scholastic Press Association Code of Ethics for scholastic journalists and advisers. According to the policies of the Miami-Dade County Public School System, media produced by students is not subject to mandatory review by school administrators or district personnel. Thus, all Baitline content is the product of views and opinions held by student staff members only, and is in no way a reflection of overall school views or beliefs. The student editorial board and corresponding student staff members assume complete legal and financial liability for the content of the publication. Baitline gladly welcomes reader questions, comments, or feedback. Letters to the editor may be submitted to Ms. Woolley-Larrea’s mailbox, delivered personally to room 228, or emailed to baitline@coralreefhigh.org with the subject line "Letter to the Editor." Letters to editor should not exceed 300 words, must be signed, and must include writer's address and phone number for verification. Baitline reserves the right to publish any letter sent.

Baitline

Coral Reef Senior High School Student News


CONTENTS 13 Daniel Ortega’s Autocratic Zeal Eric Parilla

34 Stealing the Thunder Ana Lucia Garcia

49 West Side Story: An Analysis of Latinx Portrayal and Representation in Movie Media Gianna Alvarez

4 Editors' Note 5 Mountain Gorillas: Who They Are and the Threats They Face Lucia Vigil 23 Dynamic Dinosaur Discoveries Abril Strachan 28 The Season of Love: Single vs. Coupled Carolina Calleiro 31 Changing What Once Was: The Importance of Having a Good SAT or ACT Score Mercedes Rodriguez

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Baitline Editors-in-Chief

Supervisor

Editors

Newsmagazine Staff Writers

Layout Staff

Samantha Perez Krystal Li Mrs. Stephanie Woolley-Larrea

Isabella Armendariz Justin Fernandez Katelyn Peña Valeria Velasquez Paulina Yu Gianna Alvarez Carolina Calleiro Ana Lucia Garcia Martina Lenz Eric Parrilla Mercedes Rodriguez Abril Strachan Lucia Vigil Annick Abello Ana Lucia Garcia

CORAL REEF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 10101 SW 152nd CT +1-305-232-2044 | baitline@coralreefhigh.org

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EDITORS' NOTE An Arrival of Change With Spring approaching amidst this tumultuous time for people at home and abroad, our staff at Baitline has strived to capture the way in which society overcomes its various challenges while embracing change as a means to progress. Through the incorporation of student voices and experiences, this issue aims to push the boundaries of

Samantha Perez

creativity and explore the intersection of the

good,

the

bad,

and

the

groundbreaking developments of this year. We hope you read this issue and take note of the opposing forces of resilience and vulnerability that guide our unique thoughts, hopes, and worries, which lay await in the following pages. - Samantha Perez & Krystal Li Editors-in-Chief

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MOUNTAIN GORILLAS: WHO THEY ARE AND THE THREATS THEY FACE Lucia Vigil

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Throughout time, gorillas have suffered majorly from many threatening causes, including habitat loss, disease, and hunting. However, not everything is looking bad for the gorillas; some important organizations around the world, such as the Dian Fossey Fund, have recognized this problem and are working with others to fix it. In 2019, there were approximately 1,063 mountain gorillas left, whereas now, in 2021, there are only about 880. This makes it seem like things have gotten worse and while the gorillas definitely aren’t in the best situation with their habitat loss, disease, and population-threatening poaching and hunting, organizations, like the Dian Fossey Fund exist to protect them. Although the gorillas’ populations have been decreasing since 2019, the Fossey Fund is a large influence and one of the main forms of help for them. The Dian Fossey Fund International, which started out as the Digit Fund in 1978, functions as a charity that works to protect the endangered mountain gorillas.

Scientifically known as Gorilla beringei beringei, these gorillas are a subspecies of the Eastern gorilla species. The Fund started out as a much smaller operation in Rwanda, used by gorilla specialist Dian Fossey during her studies at the Karisoke Research Center. Dian Fossey was determined to help gorillas survive coming from their vulnerable state and the Fund continues to work for this same goal today. Dian herself was a determined woman who dedicated her life to the protection of mountain gorillas, specifically in the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda. She started out in these mountains with only a camp where she would work hard to learn about the gorillas and collect data while also scaring off poachers and hunters by using “active conservation,” where she actively fought off threats to the gorillas, oftentimes physically. She would use unusual methods to do anything she could to protect the gorillas such as wearing masks to scare off poachers. Sometimes she’d even confront the poachers herself. Her work started the long process of allowing gorillas to be comfortable BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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enough around humans that they could be observed for research purposes. Without habituating the gorillas, the Fund wouldn't be able to function in such close proximity with gorillas like it does today. The Dian Fossey Fund has learned a lot about gorillas since they first began observing them and recording data in 1967. By assigning tracker teams to different groups of gorillas, they can ensure that each group is healthy while also noting any changes that might have occurred in behavior or habitat. the reason the gorillas are so well-monitored. Without them, the entire operation wouldn’t work the way it’s supposed to. From their extensive research, the Dian Fossey Fund has learned a significant amount of new information about mountain gorillas and released a number of scientific publications about their findings. These publications range from social status and behavior to the births and deaths of each animal.According to a study done in 2016 by the gorilla fund in collaboration with a team of specialists, 93% of Eastern gorillas will be eradicated by 2054. BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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The assessment also covers how increased poaching, habitat loss due to human advancement, and lawlessness can continue the decline in the mountain gorilla population of this area regardless of natural population increase. This is because no matter how much the population increases, man-made effects can always cause a faster decline than incline in the population. This is certainly one of the main reasons why mountain gorillas have been critically endangered since 1996. No matter which way we look at it, the population is decreasing. On the lighter side, the study also explores how gorillas function on a day to day including their diet, population, habitat, and reproductive development . For example, mountain gorillas are, for the most part, herbivores. Some of the foods they consume are stems, piths, leaves, bark, and ants. But their favorite foods are wild celery, thistles, bedstraw, and young bamboo shoots. Additionally, different conservation centers assign different elevation levels on their residential mountains to each species of gorilla. For the gorillas at lower levels, such as the mountain gorillas in the


Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, there are more food options, which change seasonally. Whereas the gorillas that live higher up don’t have as many options. There are many other species in similar positions to the mountain gorillas or that are on the same path that they were, prior to endangerment. In terms of future solutions, it’s our responsibility to resolve the problems that the gorillas find themselves facing today. Oftentimes, we forget that we’re not the only ones inhabiting this planet. According to IB Freshman Martina Jaramillo, “in the future, to avoid these situations, we need to spread awareness and direct more resources and research towards valuable causes such as this one. Endangered animals should be paid attention to, even before they’re endangered.” She believes “we shouldn’t be at the point where there are animals at the brink of extinction. The fact that we’re in this situation in the first place reflects humankind’s mentality when we are the ones sharing a planet with these amazing creatures.

Right now, as a world, we need to come together and help not only mountain gorillas, but also many other endangered species by dedicating funds, people, and programs to help better the situation.” The gorilla population is struggling, there’s no doubt about it. However, the gorillas need help from organizations that are like the Dian Fossey Fund who know how much the gorillas are in need. An organization that believes in helping the gorillas just as much as its founder, Dian Fossey, did. An organization that carries the message of being dedicated to work to protect gorillas while helping and educating the people who live near them can prove to bring the gorilla population back to normal in our future.

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e h t d n i h e B orous m E a M l GNES OF FA E C S MARTINA LENZ

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Celebrities can be seen all over the world, from the television screen to the cover of a magazine in a supermarket aisle. Their glamorous lifestyle causes almost everyone to want to know more about them. However, what makes celebrities so alluring? Why do we always have the curiosity to reach into these lives so far away from ours? Answers to these questions vary, especially when different age groups are questioned, but they all revolve around the same ideas: the curiosity to understand high class individuals, the dream to become a celebrity one day, the ability to navigate society better, and the attraction to the contrast between the celebrity lifestyle and theirs. We see movies, plays, comics, videos, interviews, and TV shows with famous celebrities in them. These people are rich, famous, and somehow always smiling – a life that someone could only dream of living. Are all celebrities really living the life they let the people see, though? Oftentimes, these individuals are so influential that they can change fashion, beauty standards, or political standpoints with just one post or Twitter

comment. This type of influence may give many of them the incentive to create an image for themselves that people love, care about, and feel they know about. This image is admired, as can be seen when IB sophomore student Natalie Jacob states that the “way Taylor Swift stands up for herself is inspiring.” This allows famous individuals to develop a fanbase, or a group of people that support and are inspired by the celebrity. For example, on a survey published on YouGov published in 2021, singer and songwriter Harry Styles is said to have been known by 92% of test takers, demonstrating how powerful a fanbase can be in spreading knowledge of their idols around the globe. Taking this test further advertises his name, which may boost his popularity even more. In a survey conducted by the Baitline Magazine in 2021, 60% of students talk about their idols with friends. People gossiping or fanbases discussing their idols may be a substantial source of these celebrities’ popularity. Through social media platforms, the fanbase of celebrities can easily spread information on the BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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individuals, and the celebrities themselves can be active on various platforms to branch out their influence to all audiences. Social media has helped many musicians spread their music, and in the end, their influence. For example, with the band BTS, Coral Reef High Business junior Ritha Fenelon mentions that “Ever since I saw the first music video from them, I just kept looking for more and fell in love with them.” Although this love for an individual may be helpful in spreading the influence of that celebrity, it may also have consequences. This type of relationship between celebrities and fans is called a “parasocial” relationship – this one-sided relationship created by social media allows fans to know about celebrities’ lives even though the celebrities do not know them back, as described by Stephanie Pappas in a LiveScience article. So many teens are intrigued by their celebrity icon’s life. These iconic individuals allow teens to better understand the high class of society, giving them a window into the dazzling social, political, and romantic life of celebrities. This view of their lives allows fans to feel like they know the celebrity, which then allows them to connect with them further. BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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Students have also felt this connection with celebrities. For example, IB junior Mateo Silvi states that “it’s about feeling close to the celebrities and relating to them.” It is almost like a personal relationship with them, since they share their likes, dislikes, interests, and standpoints on social media. This can fuel the wish for people to learn everything about the lives of any particular celebrity, since they already feel attached to the person’s life and views. Millions of tabloids such as People and Entertainment Weekly are sold every year, speaking of the lives of celebrities as something extraordinary. Coral Reef High Medical Junior Alessia Forni states that she “follows the life of celebrities she admires, daily.” Teens are always dying to know what is happening at the top of the social hierarchy, and these juicy gossip articles give the people exactly what they want. Sometimes, these articles may not even be completely accurate, but exaggerations allow more people to be interested in the private – or not so private – life of these celebrities. This common interest teens have in one celebrity causes new friendships to arise from bonds of common interest, as well as topics of conversation for strangers to emerge.


Different age groups may also have different reasons to be interested in certain celebrities. For example, older people will generally follow people from their generation, because these are people they grew up with and can relate to more. Teenage students at Coral Reef High School also voiced varied opinions on the topic of celebrities. For example, IB sophomore Joni Furtwaengler mentioned that “a lot of it is sex appeal. For example, many teenage girls will follow boybands they find attractive”, and that “older people will follow older people.” On the other hand, Business junior Glorimar Pagan states that “younger generations look up to celebrities while older generations see them more as entertainment than role models.” In a poll conducted by Cuda Baitline, 80 percent of students believed that different age groups followed celebrities for different reasons. Some mentioned that their parents follow celebrities that they know from their childhoods, individuals they grew up with and became attached to at a young age. Future generations will look up to new celebrities that emerge with time, looking to them as role models. More than half of the students participating in the poll stated that they speak to their friends about the celebrities they admire or follow, demonstrating the influence these

celebrities have on the everyday lives of teenagers. Moreover, celebrities could be seen from a more political standpoint as an adult. For example, if a celebrity votes for a specific politician, there is an incentive for their followers to do so as well. For example, after Taylor Swift, a singer and songwriter, encouraged her fans to register to vote on instagram, 169,000 new people had registered to vote in the next forty eight hours, according to an article published on the Washington Post. Other than politically, celebrities may influence social life through new trends in fashion, makeup, or simply human composure. If a celebrity supports a product or cause tremendously, it is very likely that fans will consider looking into this item or cause more. British actress Emma Watson is a strong feminist and environmentalist, prompting women to stand up for themselves as well as people to act upon climate change more quickly. Celebrities impact our world as we know it, leaving imprints everywhere that change society for better or for worse. Our attraction to this bright, seemingly unreachable world of fame fuels their influence as individuals, and causes us to be drawn to their seemingly-immaculate lives. BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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BAITLINE

Daniel Ortega’s Autocratic Zeal E R I C

P A R R I L L A

South of the border, a country in Central America, Nicaragua, conducted an election in which its incumbent president, Daniel Ortega, was reelected for the fourth consecutive time. The election took place in November 2021 and was immediately labeled as fraudulent and illegitimate by the governments of the United States, the European Union, and much of Latin America. The governments accuse Ortega and his government of ordering a pre-election crackdown on opposition figures with the intent of steamrolling electoral opponents and ensuring his reelection. The accusations raised against the election are the latest manifestation of Ortega’s drive towards authoritarian control, a process that has been repeatedly flagged by his political opponents and human rights groups. With his reelection, Ortega, who has dominated Nicaragua's politics for the past 4 decades, has 5 more years to not only increasingly consolidate his power but also purge his citizens of any conception of a Nicaragua without him and his party.

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While his present actions warrant substantial scrutiny, Ortega’s storied past lends insight into the shift from an effective leader who sought to reduce the suffering of the country’s poor to a power-hungry politician with little appetite for opposition to his progressively autocratic control. This development has resulted in the increased oppression seen in Nicaragua today and has greatly worried opposition groups and human rights observers, who fear that Ortega’s rollback of democracy will not end anytime soon. Daniel Ortega was a revolutionary who participated in the overthrow of the country’s U.S.-backed government in 1979 as a leader of the National Sandinista Liberation Front (FSLN), a leftist political party that actively opposed what they saw as a government primarily serving the interests of Washington and the country’s landed elite rather than the working class. The deposed leader of Nicaragua, Anastasio Somoza Debayle,


was the last of the three Somozas that ruled over Nicaragua for 43 years from 1936 to 1979. His father, Anastasio Somoza Garcia, effectively ruled as a dictator, allowing foreign companies to extract the nation’s resources, such as gold, providing great wealth to him and other members of the elite while most citizens experienced unabashed poverty and little political freedom. In its bid to prevent Communism and Soviet influence from reaching Latin America, the U.S. supported the anti-communist Somoza, along with his successors, through 1979. Ortega and other FSLN members believed that it was simply unfair that while much of the population lay wasted with little food, medicine, or education, a wealthy yet small elite profited from their exploitation. Somoza Debayle transparently preferred this reality, admitting, in regards to educating the country’s workforce, that “I don’t want an educated population; I want oxen.” For most in the country, this was an unacceptable reality, and FSLN, through mostly guerilla warfare, captured most cities from Somoza’s army, the National Guard, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Somoza Regime on July 18, 1979, in what is now termed the Sandinista Revolution. From that day, Ortega would rule the country as President until 1990, when he was beaten by Violetta Chamorro, an

opposition candidate opposed to his party platform and leadership ability. During Ortega’s 11 year rule, a campaign to promote the nation’s health system that included the initiation of vaccination campaigns, the construction of numerous hospitals, and the expansive training of new health workers led to vastly improved health outcomes. From 1976 to 1982, infant mortality reportedly dropped from 120 per 1,000 live births to 74 per 1,000 and more than 400 health care centers were built from 1977 to 1985. Catalyzed by the FSLN’s belief that the Somoza regime utilized illiteracy and ignorance, as Somoza Debayle implicitly admitted, as tools for control over the population, a governmental campaign against illiteracy was initiated. Urban high school and college students volunteered as part of the “Popular Literacy Army” whose goal was to increase literacy in rural areas. Additionally, the government, through its Ministry of Education, embarked on constructing more schools and increasing the country’s number of teachers. As a result of the government’s actions, the illiteracy rate was reported to have dropped a staggering 68% between 1979 and 1981 and the number of enrolled students in schools surged from 300,000 in the outset of the Sandinista Revolution to over a million by end of the eighties. BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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President Jimmy Carter, who witnessed the overthrow of the Somoza Regime, mostly accepted the Sandinista Revolution and even invited Danel Ortega to the White House, a meeting Ortega described as “a very positive meeting” that was able to “lay the basis for future stable relations between the United States and Nicaragua.” Not long after that meeting, however, President Ronald Reagen was elected into office bringing along a vendetta against any and all leftist governments in Latin America and around the world in his fight against Communism. Throughout the eighties, the Contras, paramilitary soldiers aimed at toppling the Sandinista government, were provided with tens of millions of dollars in funding by the U.S. Congress while the CIA would primarily train them in the neighboring country of Honduras. The intended purpose of the Contras was to, as Linguist and intellectual scholar Noam Chomsky put it, “retard (slow down) social reform and to restrict the possibility for an opening and developing society.” In an affirmation of Chomsky’s view, the Sandinista government was compelled to spend nearly 50% of its budget on defense against the insurgent Contras in 1986, leaving little money for government services and infrastructure. By 1988, when the Contras had begun to negotiate with the Sandinistas after the 1987 Central American Peace Accord

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and the conflict de-escalated, per capita income had fallen 17% from 1979 and unemployment reached a record-setting 23%. Following the end of major U.S. aid to the Contras, Ortega would face tough economic challenges that would entail harsh austerity measures, such as vastly reduced government spending, which significantly lowered his party’s popularity among the Nicaraguan electorate. By his next election in 1990, Ortega and his party would be voted out due to rampant concerns over the economy and the widespread fear that another presidential term of Ortega would entail a continuation of U.S.sponsored violence. Ortega’s successor, Chamorro, an opponent of FSLN, would hold the presidency until 1997. Two other opposition (non-FSLN) presidents would ultimately succeed Chamorro until Ortega won back the presidency in 2007. Even before he regained the presidency, Ortega sought to maximize his power in deceptive ways and set the stage for his political return. The most notable move he made was in 1998 when he made the Aleman-Ortega Pact with thenPresident Arnaldo Aleman, leader of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party, a liberal, center-right party.In return for allowing Ortega and his party to appoint party loyalists to the country’s Supreme Court


and magistrates to the Supreme Electoral Council, a public body that organizes national elections, Aleman was ensured a reduced sentence for his corruption charges. The pact paid great dividends to Aleman when his conviction of embezzling over $100 million of government money was overturned by the FSLN-dominated Supreme Court in 2009, allowing him to walk free. Most importantly, however, the pact altered election laws so that rather than requiring a simple majority to gain the presidency, a presidential candidate could win with 35% of the vote if that candidate was at least 5% ahead of the second-place candidate. This was a critical provision for Ortega as his electoral base of loyal supporters only made up roughly 40% of the electorate and, as a result, his party had always lost to a liberal candidate that managed to unite the country’s anti-FSLN voters and win a majority. Now with the altered electoral requirement, Ortega was now better positioned to win the presidency in the event that there was no unity among liberal, non-FSLN voters. To Ortega’s luck, that exact scenario occurred in the 2006 election when two different liberal candidates ran for office which effectively split the anti-FSLN vote allowing Ortega to win the presidency with only 38% of the vote, 8 points ahead of the candidate in second place.

In his second run as president, Ortega continued to undermine the democratic institutions that have historically prevented the country from descending into the sort of totalitarianism seen under the Somoza Regime. On October 19, 2009, after Ortega had challenged a constitutional article that banned presidential reelections, the nation’s Supreme Court, stacked with his appointed judges, decided that the article was not “applicable” to him meaning that the ban still stands against other politicians. Because of this ruling, Ortega has been able to successively run for president in 2011, 2016, and, most recently, 2021. In the 2011 election, Ortega’s election vote share dramatically increased by 24 points to 62% partly due to an improvement of living conditions for the working poor through greater spending on government programs. In its first term, the Ortega government had made visits to a health clinic free for all Nicaraguas and paved roads across the country. In a subtle throwback to the progress made for the country’s poor in his first years in public office, Ortega managed to drive down extreme poverty to 9% in 2010 from 17.2% in 2005. However, in its first undemocratic interference with an election, the Ortega government denied domestic and international election observers, including those from the Organization

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of American States (OAS) from entering polling booth locations. The government also effectively prevented European Union election observers from inspecting the preliminary aspects of the election including voter registration and election campaigning, denying them the ability to accurately verify the quality of the electoral process. The Carter Center notes that there was a clear lack of procedures that could safeguard the ballot boxes from fraud including the denial of non-FSLN poll watchers from reviewing the packaging of election materials and the ballot boxes as they were assembled in polling stations. Two years later, in June 2013, Law 840 was passed by the FSLN-dominated National Assembly, allowing for a 50year land grant to the Hong Kong-based firm HK-Nicaragua Canal Development (HKC) in exchange for the firm’s financing of the Interoceanic Grand Canal’s construction. The proposed $50 billion canal was planned to connect the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea via Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. Law 840, passed with minimal input from stakeholders, contained troubling provisions for the people living along the canal’s proposed route whose properties were potentially subject to expropriation, an amount that numbered up to 119,200. Firstly, the compensation to be provided to

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most expropriated property holders would be based on a governmentestablished value that is oftentimes lower than a property’s market value. Due to this, several expropriated property owners would be provided with unfair compensation not adequate to buy another property of similar size or quality as the one before. In a dismantling of legal recourse for the expropriated property owners, the law also prevented the owners from appealing any expropriation order for review. Prior to the law’s passage, Law 840 was barely ever discussed with the affected stakeholders and, in a study by Amnesty International, over a hundred affected farmers complained about the lack of transparency surrounding the Interoceanic Grand Canal and admitted that they neither knew nor were consulted about Law 840. A 2015 poll conducted by CID Gallup indicated that the broader Nicaraguan public was not knowledgeable of the proposed canal either with more than 50% of respondents to the 2015 poll responding that they knew little to nothing about the canal. When the law finally passed, peaceful protests involving farmers and environmentalists were staged across the country, protesting the law’s lack of transparency and democratic input. Instead of disseminating information


about the bill and providing space for stakeholders to express their disagreements with the legislation, the Ortega government suppressed the protests through harsh means including police beatings and the usage of tear gas. Despite the controversy surrounding the canal, however, the feasibility of the canal’s construction always remained a question. The canal required immense amounts of resources that all needed to be shipped overseas including 400,000 tons of dynamite, millions of tons of concrete and steel, and billions of liters of fuel. Due to the canal’s immense costs and the apparent political opposition to its construction, the proposal barely materialized. Ultimately, the project met its doomed fate when the Hong Kong firm responsible for its funding was unable to finance its multi-billion-dollar price tag making the plan, as of yet, all but scrapped. Unlike the proposed canal, which, per the 2015 poll had greater support (41% of respondents) than opposition (17%), President Ortega’s announced pension reform in April 2018 was massively unpopular and was met with an unprecedented wave of opposition by numerous sectors of the population from university students to senior citizens. The proposed reform, which would have increased payroll

contributions from workers and employers to the pension system, was decreed with little public discussion. Though the reform was swiftly shelved, the unrest continued as Nicaraguans poured their border outrage with the Ortega government out onto the streets with many calling for both the president and vice president, Rosario Morillo, Ortega’s wife, to resign. Besides just rejecting the proposed pension reform, the protesters sought to reverse the increased control FSLN has obtained over aspects of public life along with Ortega’s increasingly dictatorial power. Many protesters were displeased that they needed to be affiliated with FSLN in order to apply for government programs or work as government employees. Additionally, most protesters remained annoyed at Ortega’s blatant compromise of the country’s sovereignty when he planned to have much of its territory sold to make way for the Interoceanic Grand Canal. In response to the wave of protests, the Ortega government met them with an equally, if not more powerful, wave of oppression and affirmed the opposition’s fears that the country was on a downward spiral to authoritarianism. From the outset of the protests on April 18, state police forces were reported to have excessively used tear gas, rubber pellets, and firearms on

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peaceful demonstrators. Additionally, state police aided and abetted the violence of paramilitary squads including militant members of Juventud Sandinista, the official youth organization of FSLN, reportedly escorting such groups to demonstration sites and standing idly by while they attacked demonstrators with pipes and stones. As a way to block some of the harmful projectiles and defend against aggressive attacks, the protesters erected barricades made of concrete blocks across the country. In a span of just 3 days, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported that the disproportionate use of force by the police led to the death of 35 demonstrators, the vast majority from gunshots. Paramilitary squads raided universities where student protesters had been camping, oftentimes leading to mass casualties, and even fired at student protesters residing in and around a cathedral in the capital, Managua. In grave violation of humanitarian law, protesters who received bullet wounds from state police or paramilitary forces were occasionally denied entry into hospitals by police stationed in front of them. Some hospital workers reported that government officials had helped make arrangements to prevent wounded students from accessing medical care in their hospitals.

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Overall, state police forces and proOrtega parapolice groups led to the killing of at least three hundred protesters along with the disappearance of over a thousand protesters. In May 2018, although the Catholic Church had agreed to mediate the conflict between the protesters and the government, Ortega called off the talks only two months later accusing the church’s bishops of being “coup mongers” and not eligible to be mediators in the conflict, obliterating any chance for a peaceful resolution to the issue. Since then, Ortega has maintained that the 2018 street demonstrations were part of a U.S.-sponsored coup attempt and that the reported number of protester casualties has been inflated by human rights organizations. After the intense civil strife, there was little question that Ortega was set on running for president in 2021 and willing to, once again, commit undemocratic acts in order to bolster his power. In the summer of 2021, a series of arrests of well over 30 opposition figures and potential presidential candidates including the daughter of former president Violeta Chamorro, Cristina Chamorro, and Berenice Quezada – who was Miss Nicaragua in 2017 – were made.Most western countries accused Ortega of undermining


the upcoming elections to his benefit while the government countered that no actual presidential hopeful was ever arrested and that some opposition figures, such as Chamorro, were arrested and charged for illegal financial practices including money laundering. However, many of the arrests carried out against opposition leaders were made with obscure charges of treason and national security crimes. One of the opposition figures arrested, Lesther Aleman, was a student leader in the 2018 protests and was driven into hiding for 3 years after Ortega canceled any mediation with the opposition. Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, a 76-year old former diplomat under former president Arnaldo Alemán and frequent Ortega critic, was intercepted by state police while driving along a highway and was taken away on a pickup truck to an undisclosed location. Little is still known about both Lesther Alemán’s and Aguirre Sacasa’s whereabouts. Regardless of the opposition figures he arrested, Ortega was facing his fourth consecutive election on November 7th and the results would prove whether or not a silent majority of the country held a deep resentment for Ortega’s suppression in 2018 and his incessant debasement of democracy. The odds, however, were heavily in Ortega’s favor. If election trends were to have stayed relatively the same as Ortega’s last two

elections, both of which he won with over 60% of the vote, the incumbent president was assured a resounding victory unless a complete makeover of the electoral landscape occurred. Unsurprisingly, the results showed a resounding win for Ortega with his party gaining 75.87% in the election. Western countries, understanding the undemocratic prelude of the election, immediately deemed it a shame and denied Ortega’s win with President Joe Biden calling the victory “nonlegitimate.” In terms of the election itself, there have been accusations of high unaccounted rates of absenteeism, Urnas Abiertas, an organization committed to analyzing Nicaraguan election results, used 1,450 election day observers to estimate that around 81.5% of the electorate chose to sit out the election though other election observers have questioned the methodology of the organization's study. The Supreme Electoral Council placed the level of absenteeism far lower at 35%.Non-state media faced difficulties entering polling locations and reports emerged of an intimidating presence of military and plain-clothes police around voting centers. Concerningly, some government workers recount being ordered by their higher-ups to vote for FSLN and to take pictures of their ballot for verification. Public university students in Managua

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report being threatened of having their scholarships rescinded if they did not vote in the election. Despite heavy criticism from opposition groups and media over these election irregularities, a triumphant Ortega made a victory speech the day after the election in which he labeled the U.S. and other western countries as “imperialists” for their refusal to recognize his reelection and derided his jailed opposition figures as “not Nicaraguans.” In response to Ortega’s continuous assault on democratic institutions and elections in the past decade, international pressure has mounted against the Ortega government. In 2018, after reports of hundreds of casualties from the government’s suppression of protesters, the U.S. Congress responded by unanimously passing the Nicaraguan Investment and Conditionality Act (NICA) later signed by President Donald Trump. The Act gave the U.S. President the authority to impose sanctions on Nicaraguan government officials, including President Ortega, for human rights abuses and also restricted the country’s access to financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank, two financial institutions based in Washington D.C. Ortega’s recent preelection crackdown on opposition spurred greater legislative action from

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the U.S. Congress, recently passing the RENACER Act in early November. Among its provisions, the Act calls for a federal review into whether Nicaragua can continue participating in the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), expands oversight of international financial institutions’ lending to Nicaragua, and bolsters coordination with Canada and the European Union to enact sanctions that pressure the Ortega government to relent its antidemocratic moves. For its part, the European Union also responded to the crackdown by placing sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans to Europe, on Ortega, vice president Murillo, and other senior officials. Rodrigo Panta, an eleventh grader in the IB academy, notes the need for swift international action against Ortega given his continuous undermining of democracy. “Just like where Cuba is at now, Nicaragua is basically run by a dictator, Ortega, who doesn’t care about human rights violations or the dignity of his own people.” “An international response has to confront Ortega and his dictatorship in a way that discourages any future attacks on democracy and elections. If there is no response, how do Nicaraguans have a chance against the tyranny?,” Panta emphasized.


In the face of international condemnation and sanctions, however, Ortega has remained defiant, ordering two weeks after the election that his country leave the OAS due to the organization’s denunciation of his election as having no “democratic legitimacy.” Additionally, the Ortega government has continued its information blackout on the imprisonment and whereabouts of hundreds of opposition figures jailed during the 2018 protests and the runup to the 2021 election. A revolutionary who helped liberate working-class people from the chains of a family that viewed them as “oxen” and ushered in great social advancements at breakneck speed to a burgeoning autocrat with uncanny similarities to the dictatorship he helped topple, few current Latin American politicians have a history as prolonged and complex as Ortega’s. His debasement of democracy in recent years illustrates his inability to recall the dictatorial regime he fought in the late seventies and his personal obsession with power. His 1990 election loss spurred him to regain the power he once enjoyed which led him to make corrupt political maneuvers that would secure his political return at the expense of the country's democratic institutions. From the time he regained the presidency in 2007, he has sought to

retain his power and limit opposition through illegitimate means, such as the rampant suppression of protests, and through dubiously legitimate ones, such as, most notably, consecutive elections.Ortega’s most recent election win partly fulfills his goal of creating a populace that cannot remember a time when he and his party, FSLN, were not in power. Ortega's 1990 election loss, which began a prolonged period without Ortega at the helm, hampered that goal but the 2021 election helps to compensate for those lost years, bringing him and his party 5 more years of, as far as most Nicaraguans can predict, increasingly autocratic control over Nicaragua.

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DYNAMIC DINOSAUR DISCOVERIES Science has evolved to be at such an advanced level that we can gather many complex conclusions from simple rock. Science’s knowledge on archaic organisms deepens to an extent that could have never been thought possible; a big reason behind that is the constant discovery of fossils. Fossils, simply put, are preserved remains or traces of something that once lived. One may not think that the stone they find on the ground is actually the largest dinosaur on record or was an animal with a club-like tail used to battle opponents, but thanks to the brilliance of science today and new

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technologies, this can be made possible. One discovery that proved the apt knowledge of science was the finding of what would be called Baby Yingliang. Not many know much about dinosaur discoveries mainly due to their uncommonness, as said by Coral Reef IB sophomore Martina Lenz: “[students] don’t really learn much about [dinosaurs] in school, but that's also because a lot about them is not known.” Luckily, with these discoveries, more people have the chance to be more informed. This finding was a


breakthrough in science history because it consisted of a perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo in a fossilized egg, and such an intact uncovering had never before been seen. With this, scientists had more accuracy when constructing an image of what the baby oviraptorosaur appeared like, which journalist Amanda Kooser noted was a “small animal in a tight tuck, legs pulled up, back curved and beaked head bent toward its tail,” a posture known as tucking. Actually discovered in 2000, this fossil was stored away in the China University of Geosciences for years until staff sorted through the storage and found the egg, which then went

through some studying until the embryo was discovered. Today, many archaeologists believe that dinosaurs may not have appeared as those in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, but instead may have had feathers and a closer relation to birds than reptiles. Baby Yingliang is their evidence due to its close characteristics to a baby bird. This fossil was a catalyst to finally ending what one previously thought of these prehistoric beings, and thanks to the discovery of Baby Yingliang, the science world is now even more informed in the mysterious world of the past.

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Another significant find was the discovery insect skeptics would no doubt dread. According to the Lancashire Evening Post, a group of scientists found the fossil of a “millipede as big as a car” in Northumberland, United Kingdom, in 2021. Archaeologists argued that this fossil belonged to the species Arthropleura; however, by measuring around nine feet long, it was the biggest Arthropleura finding to date. Earth scientist Neil Davies said that the finding was a “complete fluke of a discovery,” for the fossil was only revealed when a team of PhD scientists coincidentally walked by the cracked-open boulder with the fossil inside. Fluke or not, this uncovering helped scientists learn more about the Carboniferous period in which Arhtropleura lived and how this creature adapted to its conditions. The Carboniferous period occurred around 100 million years before the dinosaurs arrived. While no food could have been preserved in the stone, scientists made assumptions that because the plants in this period

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had many nuts and seeds, those made up the primary diet of these 300-legged creatures. They also believed that the downfall of the Arthropleura were dry climates due to global warming, or—as author Sean Gleaves noted in 2021 —the “rise of reptiles” which outcompeted these millipedes for food. Although the science world has learned much from this encounter, no help was needed to fill in the blanks on how this creature appeared, the head of the fossil being nonexistent. Because of the extent that science has advanced, a clear image was produced, all of this information received from a simple stone. IB student Brianna Garcia even said that “technology and resources” help the growing number of dinosaur discoveries.


A more familiar finding was a simple one: dinosaur footprints. In 2021, dinosaur footprints detailed enough to reflect the dinosaur's scaly skin were discovered in Poland. These tracks were called a “treasure trove” by the Polish Geological Institute-National Research, with at least seven dinosaur species identified through the footprints. In a trail 80 miles south of Warsaw, different dinosaurs were running, sitting, resting and swimming, said geologist Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki. These types of dinosaurs ranged from herbivores to carnivores, with the meat-eating creatures’ foot sizes shown to be the biggest ones of them all at around forty

centimeters in length. The footprints themselves were like mounds in the ground, separating into 3 branches representing the talon-like fingers, with sharp claws at the end of it, many similar to the claws of a raptor. These prints, discovered in Borkowice, 80 miles south of Warsaw, are predicted to be around 200 million years old, dating back to the Triassic period. Several hundred dinosaur tracks have been found, and geologists say that more will surely be found thanks to hardworking archaeologists. The last significant prehistoric finding is the discovery by paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Zhiheng Li of Brevirostruavis macrohyoideus, a bird species that lived during the Cretaceous period. This type of animal appears much like a present day feathered friend; it had a small beak, wings coated in feathers, and tiny eyes. However, one unusual aspect about this animal was its elongated tongue.

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Not many birds have the same fleshy capacity a person’s tongue has. On the other hand, some birds today do have a tongue similar to that of Brevirostruavis, the most common resemblance being a woodpecker’s, which Li said can “wrap around the top of [woodpeckers’] heads and even enter one of their nostrils.” It is still not thoroughly determined why this ancient bird had such a long tongue, but some theories were drawn up. Woodpeckers use their tongue to grab insects or sap from trees, so scientists determined that these prehistoric birds used their tongue to grab hard-to-reach morsels. Besides the tongue, journalist in the website Popular Science Kate Badgley said that Brevirostruavis may have inhabited trees because of its “long claws and the proportions of its toe bones.” As IB sophomore Joni Furtwaengler said, “it’s fascinating that we can learn about animals so ancient through such a delicate science.”

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Science is constantly growing and changing, becoming more advanced with every discovery it makes. Everything today is so progressive that from simply looking at unique features in a fossil, people can learn complex truths about what they are studying. And with that, each discovery also helps scientists learn more about the world they are studying with each new fossil they find. Science is constantly evolving, helping illuminate the mystical past of the world we live in.

Brevirostruavis macrohyoideus


The season of love:

By Carolina Calleiro

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With Valentine’s day coming up, the plethora of lovey-dovey couples, hearts, and chocolates might be an eye-sore for singles who wish to continue on with their lives without having to surpass this ultimately disappointing holiday. This special day, February 14th, is home to millions of couples who celebrate their blooming relationships and undying happiness. While it’s coined as the day of love, in which people in all stages of life - whether single or in a relationship - celebrate with their loved ones, it is no secret that this day is mostly directed towards those IN love. Both singles and couples celebrate love on this day, yet the question always arises of whether or not it’s better to be single or in a relationship, a debate that doesn’t seem to have a direct answer.

To begin, being single comes with many benefits which most couples don’t realize they’re even missing out on. The first and most important one is complete and utter freedom. The freedom to date multiple people, the freedom to go on whatever path you choose, the freedom to be yourself without having to worry about how your partner might react or feel. Being single gives one the flexibility to do what one chooses; there’s no need for compromise or sacrifices because ultimately the only person you have to worry about is yourself. You can focus on your school or career, your passions or hobbies, and work to improve yourself, mind, body, and soul without distractions. According to Lisa Maarek (IB Junior), “ Being in a relationship can be great, of course, but it takes away from this time where I should be prioritizing who I am and where I wish to go in life.” This being the primary reason as to why people remain single, solitude allows you to focus on yourself. There are many more reasons why being single could be considered more beneficial for oneself. Single people have much more time to exercise, with a 2004 study from the University of Maryland, proving that “unmarried adults exercised more

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than married ones, including those without kids”. These individuals are also less likely to gain weight as seen in a 2013 study in the journal Health Psychology, titled “Marital satisfaction predicts weight gain in early marriage”, which found “that happily married couples tend to gain weight in the four years after getting hitched” due to decreased pressures to find a partner. Singles don’t have to constantly be spending money because they have fewer things to worry about in regards to finances, housework, and taking care of their partners, providing them a wider range of liberties than most couples.

smoking, smoke heavier, or have a harder time quitting. Singles are also more likely to drink in excessive amounts, according to a 2016 study conducted by the University of Virginia.

Despite the multiple benefits that come with being single, though, this group of people is more likely to fall into unhealthy habits regarding substance abuse due to their loneliness. Single people don’t usually have that shoulder to cry on which we all sometimes need to cope with life’s stresses and our personal problems or trauma, thus, they often harbor feelings of loneliness which could transform into depression. A 2020 study led by researchers from the University of Bristol found that loneliness seems to be a significant factor that may lead people to start

Now moving on to the relationship side of the coin, while relationships might paint the picture of perfection and absolute bliss, they are actually much more complex than we are led to believe. Relationships take a great deal of effort and care, and when entering one, both parties must be comfortable with themselves and with each other. Most relationships often fail due to a lack of trust, respect, or communication, as well as intense jealousy or possessiveness. More likely than not, the prime reason why relationships fail is due to differences in life goals. According to BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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Sanjana Gupta, a health writer and editor, the main issue between couples is “ the fear that communication will cause the relationship to end.” Sometimes, two individuals just aren’t good for one another and can prove to be toxic or unhealthy together. When entering a relationship, one must be patient and understanding, because, in reality, they take a lot of hard work to maintain and grow. Relationships can also create a lot of stress for those who aren’t fully ready to commit to one. On top of having to deal with the already multiple stress factors in one’s daily life such as work, chores, or family, individuals in relationships also have to focus on dealing with their partners, which in itself, is a whole other rollercoaster of emotions. With the average cost of raising a child to 18 being $233,610, the average price of maintaining a household being $9,552 annually, and 8-hour work days, putting in the necessary effort and time into nurturing a relationship can be stressful. According to The American Institute of Stress, “About 33% of people report feeling extreme stress, 77% of people experience stress that affects their physical health, and 73% of people have stress that impacts BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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their mental health”, proving that individuals are already stressed enough on their own without the added pressure of a relationship. However, despite all these cons, which in reality are just efforts, being in a healthy relationship can be so fulfilling and wonderful because it gives you someone to lean on; someone who will completely be there for you despite rain or sunshine to ensure that you are okay. According to Helen Fisher, Ph.D., Biological Anthropologist, “...there are three essential neuro-chemical components found in people who report high relationship satisfaction: practicing empathy, controlling one’s feelings and stress and maintaining positive views about your partner.”


"The state of one’s love life also has to do with the stage they are at in their life. " The state of one’s love life also has to do with the stage they are at in their life. As young people in our teen years, we tend to focus much more on ourselves and having fun. Louison Bonnefoy (IB Junior), logically concludes that she doesn’t think she’d have the time to be in a relationship because, “I have to do my homework for each class, study, spend time with my family and with friends, it’s already difficult to manage, so adding a relationship into the mix just wouldn’t be enjoyable at this stressful point in my life.” Other people, such as Anthony Barril (Legal Sophomore), agree that “being single is a lot more fun because you don’t have to be worrying about checking up on your partner and you have the freedom to

date multiple people.” In this stage of our lives, in which we are dealing with a lot of stress from school and our future, many teens often choose to be single because it allows them much more time to focus on themselves and what’s important without the added pressure of maintaining a relationship. For most older people, on the other hand, the feeling is not mutual. Older people are more eager to get into a relationship, not only for love but for stability. Women, for example, have a biological clock that starts ticking around the age of 32, signaling that their time to reproduce and have children is slowly decreasing. By age 45, fertility in women has declined so greatly that it is almost impossible to achieve pregnancy, and once women reach menopause, the idea is out of the question. As a result, single women who desire to have children but are running out of time, are more likely to want to find a partner. About 56% of people in their thirties are married, while the other 44% are single, however, this number changes drastically as people hit their 40s with only 21% of people being single, as proven by The Pew Research Center. Furthermore, according to Hillary Back, a Northwestern University BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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graduate in Journalism, being married also provides many benefits such as joint bank accounts, increased borrowing power or credit score, income tax, social security, or health benefits which aid in making life easier. Considering these factors, it makes a lot of sense for people entering the “settled down” stage of their lives to seek out a partner. In the end, however, “being present within your situation, whether it’s single or not, is important for your mental health and the health of your relationship,” as Sofia Oviedo, a 21year-old student at the University of Central Florida, so perfectly wraps up the moral of the story. Happiness doesn’t lie in being single or in a relationship; it has to do with being happy and content with who you are as a person. As much as a relationship might help cure your loneliness and make you feel loved, it won’t cure the emptiness or unhappiness you might be feeling with yourself. In order to truly be happy with another person, you must first be happy with yourself. As the saying goes, “You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation,” meaning you can’t love others until you learn to love yourself. So before jumping into a relationship, it's BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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important to focus on yourself, work towards your goals, and reach a true sense of happiness and satisfaction which can then prepare you for the beauty and challenges which come with being with someone. So, what is your position in the debate between the joys of a relationship and those of being single, and how will you be spending this Valentine’s day?


By Ana Lucia Garcia To ignore the patriarchy is to ignore the fundamentals of history. It is a force found in every aspect of life – including the present day – and a force that will take long to be eradicated. Men have managed to run our society for millennia, minimizing women to maximize themselves, making their presence even larger in the eyes of those around them. This has been continuously evident

throughout history, specifically with the insurmountable amount of women whose creations have been stolen and used for profit by men, preventing their names from ever being associated. Women have invented and discovered aspects of everyday life that now seem unimaginable to live without, yet were stripped of that credit time after time. From DNA discoveries to the creation of windshield wipers

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and even the great American novel, men have stolen and discredited female work persistently – it is time that these women’s names are known. One of the biggest thefts when it comes to female discoveries was that of Rosalind Franklin, a British scientist who played a significant role in the discovery of the double helix shape of DNA. This discovery was originally credited to scientists James B. Watson and Francis Crick, with additional help from Maurice Wilkins. It all started when Franklin was recruited as a scientist for King’s College in England, working under Wilkins

Rosalind Franklin: Key Figure in DNA Discovery

but with minimal communication, damaging their work relationship. She repeatedly investigated DNA structure using X-ray diffraction images, and by 1953 concluded that there were two helices in the shape. However, her opportunity to be known as one of the greatest scientists and contributors to medicine came to a screeching halt when Wilkins took her findings and showed them to Watson and Crick. They published their findings in a paper called Nature in 1953, which garnered tremendous attention in the scientific community, winning them a Nobel prize in 1962. However, not once in those nine years did any of the three men mention Rosalind Franklin, nor the fact that they had used her findings (without her consent or knowledge) to publish their “groundbreaking revelation”. Using her newfound knowledge, the three men took all the credit for the discovery that changed science forever, not once naming the woman from which they stole.

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Franklin’s existence became a footnote in their story and did not become a topic of discussion until after her death, when Watson published his memoir, The Double Helix, in 1968. In this book, he finally confessed how he and his partners had used Rosalind’s research, describing it as critical to their discovery. However, he did not go without also portraying her as a selfish and jealous brat who hid her research out of envy, a portrayal that garnered negative responses from many. Wilkins and Crick agreed that his treatment was unfair, and many close to Franklin spoke out about the inaccuracy of the situation. Not only does this example show a woman not getting credit for her own work, but it also shows how women are seen and portrayed by the media. If a man had kept his work private after being treated poorly by his supervisor, people would applaud him and announce how clever he was. If a man had been found to have discovered an important scientific contribution, he would be credited. If a man had his work stolen, he would be pitied and praised, rather than be called arrogant and envious. This can be seen with Eduardo Saverin, the cofounder of Facebook. When news BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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of his lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg came out, most of the media sided with him over how he had been “screwed over” and not given proper credit for his contributions. Nobody seemed to question if he had been disrespectful or hard to work with, and empathy was no longer conditional. Rosalind Franklin’s story demonstrates the doublestandard when it comes to gender in the workforce. She never once got to see nor hear her name in association with her own work and died with her attributions being ignored. This is proven once again with Mary Anderson, the unknown inventor of windshield wipers. A device that seems so ordinary nowadays was once unimaginable, and Mary Anderson was the first to make it come to life. In 1902, while driving through an NYC rainstorm, she noticed the inconvenience that derived from the driver having to repeatedly get out of the vehicle to clean off the water on the windshield. She started designing her invention right there and then, coming up with a prototype that she applied for a patent. Although she received the patent, the trouble came when Anderson tried to get


manufacturers to consider making her product. Endless companies denied her requests, with a letter from the firm of Dinning and Eckenstein even stating “[they] do not consider it to be of such commercial value.” Many, including her family, thought this was due to her gender, as well as the fact that she was unwed and lived by herself. Being a woman during this time was already insanely difficult, but being an independent woman only escalated the situation. Anderson eventually gave up trying to sell her idea, but thankfully lived to it being used, just not with any of her credit.

Mary Anderson: Creator of Windshield Wipers

Other inventors followed with similar designs that were instead credited, such as those by Jozef Hofmann and Mills Munitions, and it was not for decades to follow that the world finally heard of Mary Anderson. However, one of the most controversial thefts of female work has been with what is known as “the great American novel”, The Great Gatsby. A literary classic, The Great Gatsby is one of the most famous works to this day, with it still being taught at schools nationwide. It is considered one of the most influential novels throughout history and a significant display of the American dream so many longed for during the twenties. Its use of clever symbolism and lyrical writing has been appreciated, admired, and taught for over a century, while one of the creators behind it remains a secret. It is now known that the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, repeatedly stole and plagiarized his wife – Zelda Fitzgerald’s – writing and used it in his novels, never informing her of it nor explicitly giving her credit. For instance, one of the most famous quotes in The Great Gatsby is spoken by Daisy as she views her infant BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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daughter: “I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” However, this quote was first spoken by Zelda Fitzgerald herself, as she viewed her daughter for the first time after giving birth. She had explicitly said she hoped for her daughter to be “a beautiful little fool”, and Scott stole this saying and included it in his novel. The issue is that many have admired the brilliance of this quote as it provides a demonstration of the social values upheld during this time and how they affected women. But F. Scott Fitzgerald never explained how this quote was not of his own creation, and that it had instead been his wife’s, leaving him with all the credit and admiration. While this may not be an example of plagiarism by definition, along with the theft of this saying, F. Scott Fitzgerald even stole pieces of writing from Zelda herself. When writing a review for the New Yorker magazine – on Scott’s novel The Beautiful and Damned – Zelda stated: “It seems to me that on one page I recognized a portion of an old diary of mine which mysteriously disappeared shortly after my marriage, and, also, scraps of letters which, though considerably edited, sound to me vaguely familiar.” F. Scott Fitzgerald included his wife’s own writing, both from her private diary and her letters, BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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Zelda Fitzgerald: Co-writer of The Beautiful and Dammed into his many novels, gaining him all the success and credit while leaving her with no recognition. Once again, this shows that stealing from women is part of a repeated pattern that aids in uplifting men while simultaneously pushing down women. Scott is still recognized as one of the most influential authors in history though he repeatedly stole from Zelda, while she is remembered for being his spouse, not even rising to the ranks of “partner”. However, to think that women getting their works stolen is a thing of the past would be incredibly incorrect. It is an occurrence still plaguing life today, and one that will take long to be eradicated. Such can be seen with the


globally known pop star, Taylor Swift. Known for her lyricism and top-charting music, Swift has become one of the most famous celebrities at the moment, making her a household name. Not only that, but she has managed to remain relevant in pop culture for over 15 years, starting with her debut album released in 2006. She has also taken this fame and has used it to raise awareness on topics she cares for, including the LGBTQ+ community and feminism. The most pressing issue she has spoken about lately has been her attempt at trying to regain ownership of her masters. When her record deal with Big Machine Records expired in 2018, her previous manager and close friend, Scott Borchetta, sold the masters (rights to the first recording of a song) of her first six albums. Scooter Braun, a producer, investor, and manager to famous artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, was the buyer of these masters. Swift felt blindsided by this, as it gave all rights to the music that she wrote and created to a third party that was never involved in her career previously. Additionally, Big Machine

Records tried to prevent Swift from performing any music from her first 6 albums, seeing it as rerecording her music. This was direct theft of a woman’s work. It stripped Swift of her own works and creations, preventing her from having any ownership over what she, herself, had made. Although she is still credited with the music, she lost control over what happened to it, leaving men in charge of it.

Taylor Swift: Grammy Award Winning Singer/Songwriter BAITLINE NEWSPAPER

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Thankfully, Taylor Swift has found a way to regain control of the narrative. She is currently in the process of re-recording her first 6 albums, with Fearless and Red already out. To further prove her ownership of this music, she has added the phrase “(Taylor’s Version)” to both the albums and individual songs, marking them as fully hers. This is a display of women finally getting the chance to regain their work, slowly putting an end to the cycle of theft that has been constantly repeated over time. It is time to speak out about the injustices

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that women around the world and throughout history have had to endure at the hands of stealing and misleading men, making sure to mention the countless women who have had to live without seeing their names in lights. Credit must be given, and we must condemn those who have acted in such theft. The only way to finally rid the world of this calamity is by switching the roles around – giving women the power and position to own and use their work as deserved – as well as demonstrating how crucial of a problem this has become.


changing what once was:

The importance of having a good sat or act score

Mercedes Rodriguez

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Movies often tend to romanticize high school, making it seem like this magical place where students have the best four years of their lives. Ninth graders have this fantasy engraved in their minds when they first walk into the hallways of their high school. However, reality settles when they realize high school is nothing like the movies. Students are expected to have a high GPA, have various extracurriculars, take challenging classes, get a good SAT/ACT score, and make sure they are standing out in a crowd of thousands of students. But with COVID-19 completely changing what used to be “normal” for the world, expectations for students have also changed. Colleges all around the world have shifted to testoptional admission processes for the 2021-22 application cycle. This means students have the option to choose whether they want to submit their SAT/ACT scores or if they even want to take the test at all. Despite some

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students being worried about this massive change, the policy has not only removed a large amount of stress off of many students’ shoulders but has also made the application process for many universities a lot more fair for all social classes. In 2020, students could not take the risk of going to testing locations to obtain their valuable SAT or ACT scores due to the pandemic. The College Board also decided to not accept athome testing to avoid cheating and unfair advantages. According to the Washington Post, in the incoming class of 2021, about 1.5 million students took the SAT and about 1.3 million took the ACT. Compared to the previous class, the total amount of test-takers decreased 22 percent for the ACT and 32 percent for the SAT. As a result, many colleges turned to be testoptional, understanding the difficulties these teenagers were encountering as many testing dates got canceled because of


the rising cases. Although the cases have fortunately been controlled in 2021, more than 1,600 colleges and universities in the US are extending their testoptional policies through the 2021-22 application cycle, with some making the policy stay for longer or even permanently. The University of Chicago went testoptional in 2018, before the pandemic, along with other popular schools such as Indiana University, Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and the University of Washington. Even the prestigious Ivy leagues, including Columbia University, Cornell, and Harvard have switched to test-optional. With this new policy completely changing the application dynamic and the education system, over 400 colleges and universities reassured students that they will not be penalized for not submitting an SAT or ACT score with their applications this fall. Other schools, however,

emphasized that they do value these scores to a certain extent, so they encouraged students to submit them if they were capable of doing so.

“STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES WILL NOT BE DISADVANTAGED IN THEIR APPLICATION PROCESS,” HARVARD DEAN OF ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID WILLIAM R. FITZSIMMONS EXPRESSED, “THEIR APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED ON THE BASIS OF WHAT THEY HAVE PRESENTED, AND THEY ARE ENCOURAGED TO SEND WHATEVER MATERIALS THEY BELIEVE WOULD CONVEY THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL AND THEIR PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE.”

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should the test-optional policy stay? Many would have never expected this new test-optional policy to stay for longer because universities have always held so much value to these scores. Students have this idea of needing to get a good SAT or ACT score to get into their dream college, but with this new policy, their perception has completely changed. This policy started because of the effects of the pandemic, but it has stayed for many other reasons. It has become a landmark for a fastspreading movement that aims to limit the role of standardized exams in college admissions. Standardized testing has always had many negative impacts on students’ mental health as it causes an absurd amount of stress and anxiety. Standardized tests make some students see their self-worth through a number, and if that number is not high enough, they begin feeling like they are not good enough. Many students believe

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that if their scores are not strong enough to compete with other peers, they must find more extracurriculars to prove their worth and get into the college they want, no matter how exhausted they may feel. Even though this can teach teenagers the importance of working hard, it can also have a detrimental effect on their physical and mental health. Valeria Velasquez, a Junior in the IB academy, is feeling these negative effects as she tries to balance out all her extracurriculars while preparing for the SAT. “IT’S REALLY HARD TO DEDICATE SO MUCH TIME TO SOMETHING THAT YOU MAY SEE AS SO IMPORTANT WHILE ALSO BALANCING YOUR OTHER CLASSES, EXTRACURRICULARS, COMMUNITY SERVICE, AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO PREPARE FOR COLLEGE,” VELASQUEZ SAID, “IT’S ALL HAPPENING THIS YEAR AND IT HAS BEEN VERY HARD TO MANAGE, I’M HAVING A REALLY HARD TIME.”


In addition, families may also add to the stress and anxiety these students feel. Many parents expect their children to get good SAT/ACT scores, so not only do students have the pressure of not disappointing themselves but they also have the pressure of satisfying their parents to make them proud. Parents begin getting so involved in the process that they get affected by the stress as well University of Hartford Psychology professor, Natasha Segool, has been studying the links between anxiety in children and high-stakes testing for the past six years. She conducted a study with third graders, fourth graders, and fifth graders in Michigan and found that students reported significantly more anxiety when taking statewide assessments compared to other classroom tests. About 11% of the children surveyed reported extreme feelings of anxiety and stress tied to the assessments..

From such a young age, students begin to take standardized tests and struggle with negative effects from them. When it comes to SAT or ACT scores, some students have a clear advantage over others. Upper-class and middle-class students may have the opportunity to pay for SAT or ACT tutoring. These tutors are experts when it comes to these tests, they are individuals who know the types of questions the students will be asked and know how to approach every type of question. In addition, students tend to buy several prep books to prepare themselves for the test. These prep books can be very expensive for someone who is not economically stable. That leaves people in the lower class at a huge disadvantage as they cannot afford these useful tools. This is why many students feel relieved with the new testoptional policy as it makes the admission process fairer for those who are less privileged.

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“I THINK THE NEW TESTOPTIONAL POLICY IS BENEFICIAL FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT GET A HOLD OF A SAFE TESTING ENVIRONMENT AND IT’S ALSO A GOOD STEP FORWARD AGAINST STANDARDIZED TESTING WHICH MAY NOT BE FAIR TO EVERYONE,” PABLO SANCHEZ, A JUNIOR IN THE IB ACADEMY SHARED. “I DON’T LIKE HOW BIG CORPORATIONS LIKE THE COLLEGE BOARD ARE ABLE TO EXPLOIT STUDENTS FOR LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY FOR SOMETHING THAT IS CRUCIAL FOR THEIR EDUCATION.”

Not only can preparing for the exam be expensive and unattainable to many but actually taking the exam costs too. Aside from the $96 fee for each exam, there is an additional $40 fee if a student signs up late. If a student registers for an exam and decides to cancel, it is another $40. Students are becoming stressful clients rather than curious learners due to these standardized test organizations. The new testoptional policy in applications allows students to also save money. However, an important

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factor in this issue is that many students that are economically disadvantaged have the opportunity to get test waivers or test for free, giving an incentive to follow through with testing, although it may not be required by many colleges at the moment. While this opportunity may not be given to all students, if you are within the guidelines for economic aid, this can be a great way to be able to take these tests, even if they may not be required by many colleges at the moment.


Furthermore, although many students feel liberated with this new policy because they do not have the pressure of having to submit a good SAT or ACT score, counselors say the choice to send scores or not has also become a major stress point. Regardless of what Harvard or any college says, many students and parents do not believe there will be no penalty for applying without a score because scores have always been so valuable in determining a student’s acceptance, especially in Ivy leagues. The option that students now have of not

submitting any scores also leads to students not feeling the need to try hard on these large, important tests. Preparing for the SAT/ACT is not only about getting a high score on a test, but it is also about teaching students how to work hard for the score they wish to get. Oftentimes, colleges have very high standards for students, which can be shown by their high expectations of SAT/ACT scores. Therefore, a great way for students to prepare themselves for these high expectations is by trying their hardest to accomplish the highest possible score on the SAT/ACT. Receiving both positive and negative feedback, this new testoptional policy has made a gigantic change in how applications used to be. Although the policy was first made due to COVID-19, many colleges are keeping it because of how many students are negatively affected by the stress

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and overwhelmedness that comes from standardized testing. Some colleges have also realized this policy allows their application process to be the fairest it can possibly be since some students have financial privileges and others naturally struggle from test anxiety. Yet, some students still find

themselves worrying over applications because they wonder, does not submitting a score really not affect one's chances of getting in. Students must now adapt to the new options they have and attempt to make smart choices for their futures.

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WEST SIDE STORY: AN ANALYSIS OF LATINX PORTRAYAL AND REPRESENTATION IN MOVIE MEDIA

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America, the melting pot of the world, is prized for its diversity and its variety of cultures, colors, ethnicities and so much more. However, for much of America’s history, that variation has not been represented or celebrated in mainstream media, with much of it being overshadowed and cast aside in favor of white individuals and stories. One of these groups is the Latinx community, with many of its talents going under the radar and its stories either misrepresented or unrepresented completely. For example, the legendary 1961 film, West Side Story, was groundbreaking for being critically acclaimed while showcasing Hispanic characters; however, it created a significant amount of controversy over its issues with casting and an overall misrepresentation of Hispanic people. In December of 2021, sixty years after the initial release of the film, a new remake was released that boasted many changes from its predecessor and highlighted the

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obvious changes in the climate in which the two films were released. Latinx portrayals in mainstream American media have generally evolved alongside America in comparison to the time period in which the original film was released. So, this new remake highlights the significance that Latinx representation in pop culture has had on the community and how that’s progressed in the sixty years in between these two film adaptations. To better understand the evolution of the media representation that the Latinx community has had in the past sixty years, we must first understand the significance that


representation holds for marginalized groups. With the U.S’s incredibly ethnically and racially varied population, many people believe that it’s important that this diversity is reflected in our media and entertainment. The media has a large impact on people, often influencing our perception of others and being a way to learn about individuals who lead different lives compared to ours. As a result of this, good representation of people can be extremely beneficial as it helps fight and break harmful stereotypes and stigma that can cause limitations for marginalized groups. On the other hand, negative stereotypes can perpetuate and create these stereotypes, resulting in consequences for the community.In the past and even some occasions in the present, minority groups were often misrepresented if they were given the spotlight at all. In Inquirer article“How Misrepresentation in Media Impacts Marginalized Communities,” sociocultural

journalist Cassie Owens brings up the point that “what is easier and cheaper to produce [is] going to lead to the most common denominator,” also pointing out that “the problem is that…again, we could fall into that trap of reproducing tropes.” Providing diversity in a cast and authenticity to a story was seen as an unnecessary and painstaking task, leading to two unfortunate options: misrepresentation or no representation. This, as a result, virtually erases Latino’s significance and stories in this country. The legendary film West Side Story (1961) did pave the way for Latino stories at a time when they were severely lacking. However, although depicting Latino characters and stories, the film primarily used an all-white cast to depict Latino characters. They even went so far as to put the actors in brownface to fool the audience into believing that they were watching Hispanic actors on their screens. Another critique of it was the over-the-top and unreali-

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stic accents that were used and the overall poor depiction of Puerto Rican people and culture. Alongside this, the characters in the film were added to the long list of media that have created and perpetuated stereotypes about Latinx individuals. One of the most significant is the depiction of Hispanic women as “hot tamales” or “spicy Latinas.” In the movie, Latina women were often represented as loud, volatile, and mainly introduced for solely sexual purposes. These women are usually depicted as having been “tamed” by the presence of a white man, their temptress natures being subdued

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and having found a sense of propriety that is appropriate to the mainstream. Oftentimes, the presence of stereotypes against a certain group results in the internalization of this stigma, causing an active rebellion against these depictions. For example, these stereotypes can cause their victims to adopt new aspects of their lives and personalities so as to not be grouped into the clichés that surround them. Many Latina women may avoid certain types of clothing, manners of speaking, and many other things to avoid being branded as the typical fiery, ditzy, and sexually promiscuous Latina woman. Along with the internalization of these stereotypes comes the media consumers that believe the stereotypical ideas about Latinx people that they see on television. Through a lack of understanding of Hispanic culture, or through limited interactions with any individuals of that group, these portrayals rein-


force the myths and stigmas about Hispanic people and culture. Along with this comes negative propaganda against Latinos, their community, and ways of life. Coral Reef junior Cynthia Olivera recounts her own experiences with nonHispanic people, who sometimes seem to be expecting something from her based upon stereotypes. “I’ve met people who expect me to act a certain way or look a certain way because I’m Hispanic.” She also admits that on occasion she even believes certain ideas about other minorities based on what she sees in the media. “When your only knowledge of a certain group is what you’ve seen on tv, you tend to believe it.” The Los Angeles Times highlights this point with their point on how West Side Story (1961) impacted and is still influencing the Puerto Rican community today by “drawing on centuries-old stereotypes about Latinos.The women are virginal and childlike or sexual and fiery; the men are violent and clannish. [It] widely popularized

racist and sexist stereotypes that continue to shape how the world sees Puerto Ricans and how they see themselves.” These things can all manifest themselves into a limit in opportunities for the Latinx community and its members. For example, a report done by the National Hispanic Media Coalition provides data that described how “non-Latinos report seeing Latinos in stereotypically negative or subordinate roles most often in television and film.” When individuals who are not necessarily intertwined with these communities see these stereotypes, they begin to believe that all Latinos are “gardeners, maids, dropouts, and criminals.” This resulted in ideas about Latinos being less educated, more dangerous, etc, possibly placing limitations on the opportunities they might receive from people who are usually unfamiliar with the Latinx community and believe these misco-

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onceptions. At the very worst, violence and animosity can be facilitated as a result of this heavy stigma. Now on to today, sixty years after the release of the original West Side Story, times have definitely changed during those six decades and that can be reflected in the release of the new film. First of all, the cast is made up of a variety of Latinx actors and is no longer participating in brownface as it controversially did all those years ago. While this may be considered the bare minimum for many, it does show that there are some improvements that have been made. Also, some changes were made in an effort to make the characters feel more authentic, one being the use of Spanish throughout the film without the inclusion of English subtitles. An article from online American magazine Bustle, titled “These Changes In The New West Side Story May Surprise Fans Of The Original,” states that the director, Steven Spielberg, did this

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as a way to show respect to the language and to not give off the message that English had power over Spanish in the film. However, the new film definitely still has critics, like Milla Matallana with her belief that “the movie still reinforces those old stereotypes, they just mask it with a brown cast and pretend that everything’s fine.” So, even though West Side Story may not be a perfect film in any way, it’s evident that some changes have been made in an attempt to better the movie and modernize it.


The changes also exemplify the evolving climate that America adopted since the sixties. In an analysis done by the UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, they point out that “there has been a lot of progress for women and people of color in front of the camera.” They claim that there have been improvements regarding the amount of representation that people of color receive in 2021 than there was in 1960. However, the analysis continues, saying that “unfortunately, there has not been the same level of progress behind the camera.” This is incredibly significant as many believe it to be crucial that there are people of the same group that are being depicted on screen, working on the crew or at least allowing the crew to have a better understanding of them. One big reason for the misrepresentation of minority groups on film or television is because of a lack of members of that minority group in the writers room. Without the aid or the advice of a

knowledgeable member of that group, many writers simply go off of their conceptions of the group, which run the risk of being wrong or bombarded with stereotypes as we touched on before. So, even though there have been many improvements and changes made for the benefit of the Latinx community regarding representation, there is still such a long way to go. Another analysis by the Hollywood Diversity Report shows that even though there has been improvement regarding minority representation as a whole,

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the progress has been very slow for the Latinx community. “That report found that Latinos held 4.6% of movie acting roles in 2019” and “Latinos’ share of lead acting roles was 6.6% on scripted broadcast shows, 5.5% in cable and 4.0% in digital in 2018–19.” Even with the new focus on inclusivity and a change of climate, a disproportionate lack of media representation for the Latinx community continues. As a Latina myself, I believe that not all hope must be lost, as this year alone produced many celebrated films and TV shows depicting Latinx

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characters and stories like In The Heights and Encanto. This brings hope to the fact that more and more representation will come as a result, and that the portrayals of the characters will be as authentic as possible, omitting stereotypes and misconceptions that have plagued our community for far too long. While there is still a long road ahead to get where we should be, there is hope for the Latinx community and for all minorities to be rightfully and authentically represented. Maybe one day, if there is a third make of the film, we can hopefully see even more improvements and change for the better of the community.


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