VOL . 2, NO. 9
M AY 2 6 , 2 0 2 3
THE YELLOW PAGES BASIS Independent Fremont Journalism Club
GUN VIOLENCE, REVISITED
By Ryan L . , Krish M. , and Ariana Y. A sharp bullet fires, its sound ringing through the warm spring Texas air. It cuts through the side door of a vehicle and lands in the leg of Payton Washington, a local high school cheerleader. The critically injured high schooler has recently undergone surgery due to gunshot wounds in the leg and back. 5 days earlier, an eerily similar incident happened around 700 miles northeast. 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri was shot in the head by an 84-year-old homeowner after going to Northeast 115th Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace, the two being a block apart. When he opened the door to the wrong house, he was met with bullets from a .32 caliber before even crossing the threshold or exchanging any words. This isn’t the end of the road, though. On April 15, not long after the other two incidents, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis and her friends were searching for a friend’s house with little cell service. As they drove up to a secluded driveway, they realized their grave but small “mistake”. Unfortunately, their realization occurred a moment too late to prevent the ensuing tragedy. The suspect, Kevin Monahan, fired two shots at the vehicle, and Gillis was tragically pronounced dead due to the incident. It’s evident that these incidents are tragedies. Within a time span of around two weeks, three separate but coincidentally similar incidents occurred, with all three tying back to gun violence. In any other nation, this would be a historical catastrophe. However, in America, the land practically known for gun rights, these incidents were just people facing the same fates as thousands of others before them. A statistic released by IHME showed that America has the highest rate of homicides per 100,000 people in all countries. As media and news consumers, these headlines don’t even faze us anymore. Gun violence has become so common in such a divided country that it has ‘numbed’ us to these catastrophic events, with the victims even typically being forgotten after around a month. There’s a term for this sort of numbing. You may have heard about it before, even in a previous article by The Yellow Pages. It’s called desensitization.
It’s a feeling of numbing the mind, especially in political or stressful issues, due to repeated examples of said issues. Many have become desensitized to this sort of gun violence – it’s easy to do so, as headlines and news seemingly report weekly or even daily about a ‘shooting in Oakland,’ ‘mass shooting in Chicago,’ or an ‘armed robbery in downtown San Francisco.’ It’s even easier to forget about these issues or their victims, especially with all the other information our minds need to consume or keep track of throughout a typical day. It’s important not to forget these victims and their stories. Those affected by shootings are more than just random numbers and statistics; they are the deaths and trauma of real people. Behind the numbers, statistics, and media headlines, the personalities of these victims get lost. Payton Washington, Ralph Yarl, Kaylin Gillis, and more, are all people, with their own families, friends, and lives. Each of them has their own pastimes, hobbies, social lives, far more than what is portrayed on the news. Despite the dissimilarities that these individuals all have, they all face unfortunately similar fates. A question that this leads us to is: Will gun violence ever stop? Gun violence is such a multifaceted problem that it’s hard to specifically predict if and when it will end. So many aspects play into preventing gun violence, as it has so many causes, that finding a solution for all of these aspects is incredibly difficult, if not impossible. Furthermore, the varying access of individuals to firearms also makes this situation difficult. Gun laws vary in different states across the United States, with some states having almost no regulation, and others having noticeably stricter laws. Moreover, the cycle of people owning firearms is unbreakable. Many victims and people scared of gun violence think that the only way to protect themselves is by having a firearm of their own. The solution to gun violence has to be a united approach, especially when considering the divides between political parties and their roles in such cases. Political parties have to agree on a solution to this problem for it to be implemented and effectively used. However, it’s pretty clear that some sort of regulation or change to the right to bear arms is needed — after all, the cases we mentioned above were all committed ‘in the name of self-defense.’ It’s just a matter of what will provoke this change, or if unity is even possible with such a controversial topic.
HUMANS OF BASIS: LIFE OF THE PARTY
By Esha B. , Shirley F. , and Kevin W. It’s almost impossible to walk the hallways of the school without finding something Aditi helped initiate. From flyers advertising the school dance to the spirit week board — the walls are plastered with the newest developments from Student Panel, an organization of BIF student leaders Aditi co-founded. “Out of all the clubs I’ve participated in, Student Panel is a definite favorite. There was just something missing in the school,” she explains. “The Panel gave students a platform to be leaders, where they can show the school the importance of working hard while having fun.” That’s precisely why she helped create BIFU’s Student Panel — to bolster school spirit and design the much-needed pep rallies and high school dances that BIF lacked. The panel of students from all grade levels have brought us our first Homecoming and Pep Rally, Halloween Cat Walk, and Prom. You could feel Aditi’s infectious passion permeate every event. One of her main goals for Student Panel was to bring greater participation and school-wide spirit to BIF. To help high school become a hallmark experience for everyone, she tries to attend every event she possibly can, and encourages all her friends to do the same. Heeya (11), who founded Student Panel along with Aditi,
summarized the experience: “She’s been my best partner, and together, we really brought a strong administrative voice to students. But I think what we did best was bringing people together. That’s really been our goal from the beginning.” However, launching Student Panel was not without obstacles. The experience required resilience — a skill she developed through grueling training in tennis. “Tennis taught me how to keep calm and in control,” Aditi explains. “There was a time
FROM FOX TO CNN: BYE-BYE BROADCASTERS By Olivia Ma
From questionable network anchors to internet memes to unemployed public figures, the recent departures of Tucker Carlson from Fox News and Don Lemon from CNN have sparked much discussion about the state of cable news and the role of controversy in modern journalism. While both anchors have been polarizing figures, their departures highlight the larger trend of cable news moving toward sensationalism and away from unbiased reporting. For many years, cable news held a reputation as a source of reliable information and a trusted source of connection between the public and information in the world around them, “until cable TV discovered that controversy could generate higher ratings than sober journalism,” said Mark Feldstein, chair of broadcast journalism at the University of Maryland. Today’s popular networks like Fox News and CNN have seen a spike of accusations from both sides of the political spectrum for prioritizing ratings, controversy, and fake news over journalistic integrity, leading to a decline in trust and credibility among viewers. Tucker Carlson, in particular, was known for his controversial comments on his show, including his pro-gun and anti-abortion rhetoric and
his promotion of conspiracy theories. While he had a loyal following among conservative viewers, many criticized his speech as divisive and harmful. On the other end of the spectrum, Don Lemon was known for his outspoken commentary on issues of race and social justice. While he was seen as a progressive voice on CNN, many viewers still found his rhetoric controversial and offensive. For instance, his comment about Republican congresswoman Nikki Haley being past her prime at 51 years old drew substantial criticism. While both were laid off due to their strained and tense relationships with other staff and fellow anchors, their long stay in popular networks underscores the growing prevalence of opinion and controversy over unbiased, “sober journalism”. At a time when the media landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented and polarized, it is more important than ever for cable news networks to prioritize objective reporting and journalistic integrity. While radical, partisan journalism may drive ratings in the short term, they ultimately undermine the credibility and relevance of the news industry as a whole. In the wake of these departures, it is up to cable news networks to reevaluate their priorities and refocus on the true principles of reporting. By doing so, they can begin to rebuild trust among viewers and salvage their status as a reliable source of news and information.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
when I wasn’t getting results, and I felt like never picking up a racket again. But I realized failure does not define who I am — and things got better.” This newfound mindset helped her recognize that her biggest competition was herself, which motivated her to train harder. After hours upon hours of practice sets, she got the results she desired, ranking top 40 in California. She had also gained another, somewhat unexpected result — she found joy in playing for herself, rather than playing to impress others. “Eventually, I realized that there’s much more to life than working for others,” she explained. “You should never take on so much stress for something that’s not important to you.” Aditi’s conviction has navigated her through various challenges, even during the tumultuous COVID-19 lockdown. In the face of uncertainty, she fearlessly embraced the guitar, delving into the world of music despite having no prior experience. “I saw one of my family-friends play the guitar at a family gathering. You could see how much joy it brought,” she explains. “So I started practicing to try to do the same thing.” As her skills developed, she started sharing her talents with others. One of her greatest joys — simply playing guitar and sharing music with her close friends. Music and the arts have played major roles in shaping Aditi’s identity. When asked about her favorite hobbies, she instantly singled out
dance — an activity she has enjoyed for longer than she can remember. “I would always dance with my mom. It’s been one of the best ways for me to express myself,” Aditi says. “And since I have to learn everything on my own, it makes being onstage, showing people what I love to do, even more magical.” To Aditi, dance is more than art — it’s a way for her to connect with her loved ones. For her sixteenth birthday, her friends used that very fact, and performed a Bollywood dance for Aditi filled with over-the-top props and numerous music numbers. “Aditi and I love Bollywood, whether it’s watching the classics at 2 am or crying over Shah Rukh Khan’s amazing acting skills,” laughed Shreya (11), one of her closest friends. “We always dreamed of actually being in Bollywood — and to make that dream come true, we all performed for her on her birthday.” Her birthday inspired her to bring the same happiness to her wider school community — so she choreographed the Multicultural Day Dance, in which she taught a Bollywood dance to classmates she recruited. A performance was given later in front of the entire school. “I loved the groupy vibe of the dance,” explained Advait, a good friend of hers who had been eager to join the dance. “People who weren’t close at all before were now dancing and laughing in the same room. And I’m sure everyone will be looking forward to the next event as well.”