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CARDINAL VOICE
Opinions Editor Alexa Dumas
Friday, April 2, 2021
Editorial
End sexism in sports The highly anticipated National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament kicked off in early March, after a year hiatus due to COVID-19. Larger colleges around the United States that fall under the Division One category participate in “March Madness,” where casting bets on tournament brackets is competitive. Men’s and women’s teams compete every year to gain the title of NCAA champion. This year, the tournament displayed blatant inequality between the men’s and women’s teams; the men’s team had a fully stocked equipment room, while the women’s teams had a set of dumbbells and yoga mats. One thing is for certain: sexism in the NCAA has gone on for too long. Sedona Prince, forward for the University of Oregon women’s basketball team, post-
HANNAH DOWNS /Cardinal Points
ed a TikTok March 18 calling out the NCAA for inadequate facilities for team “bubbles.” These bubbles contain college teams and their coaches and include a practice court and workout equipment. Her viral video showed clips of a men’s weight room with various equipment, while Prince’s
PROTEST Continued from page seven If the bill passes, the local police departments will be able to set a noise limit, as well as set start and finish times for protests. These rules even apply to one individual protesting. This could impose on the UK’s Human Rights Act, which protects the freedom of speech. The bill not only harms free speech in the UK, but it could also inspire legislation in the United States to limit protests for movements, such as Black Lives Matter, which opposed
hate crimes and police brutality. The outrage over Everard’s case did cause some backlash due to her race. Everard was a white woman, while the deaths of women of color go unnoticed or underreported. The death of Blessing Olusegun, a London student and Black woman, was found dead on an East Sussex, UK beach in Sept. 2020. Olusegun’s case has only been in the spotlight because of Everard. Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector, Pippa Nicklin, issued a statement regarding an update on Olusegun’s case, in the wake of the Everard murder. “Although there continues to be no evidence of a crime, we
SUPERHEROES Continued from page seven He is sent to Earth to find all three of the Mother Boxes, which when combined will turn the planet into a nightmare world. This aggression will not stand, so Batman, played by Ben Affleck, decides to assemble the titular team of superheroes. There’s more to talk about here than all the heroes and stars that team up, so please consult the poster for more information on who is part of the Justice League. The film covers quite a lot of ground compared to the theatrical cut. Everything in the 2017 version feels disjointed and poorly set up. Here the larger runtime allows for scenes to play out entirely and for motiva-
team was provided a set of six dumbbells of varying weight. “If you aren’t upset about this problem, then you are a part of it,” Prince said at the end of the video. Prince’s video showed viewers how sexist the NCAA is toward female athletes. Lynn Holzman, the NCAA Vice President of Women’s
tions to be better conveyed. Cyborg has an impressively detailed back story that is done with some grace. These character-driven moments are much appreciated considering what the rest of the scenes consist of. One special scene takes its time to sit down with Lois Lane, played by Amy Adams, and Martha Kent, played by Diane Lane, the respective wife, and mother of Superman. They connect with each other about their grief over Superman’s death in 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” It is a heartfelt moment that is performed well and gives the film some stronger emotional grounding. Then, a pointless twist fueled by fan service un-
ROCK Continued from page seven SUNY Plattsburgh graduate Dylan Lesniewski adds how her singing style is noticeably reflected by other singers like Robert Plant and Steven Tyler. Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane is another prominent female rock icon of the 1960s. Though her style was not as bluesy and Americana as Joplin’s, both women respectively laid down the groundwork for musicians to follow. Slick was more or less a psychedelic queen with folk inclusion. “She’s the first example that I can think of where a woman was one of the main faces of a rock group,” said Lesniewski. The Mamas and The Papas were revolu-
Basketball, issued a statement following the video claiming that the reason for the reduced weight room was due to limited space. “We acknowledge that some of the amenities teams would typically have access to have not been as available inside the controlled environment,” Holzman stated. “In
are still carefully and fully examining all the circumstances leading up to Blessing’s death, from her arrival in Bexhill, to her leaving the house where she was working and walking to the beach,” Nicklin said. “It has been reported that we have not properly investigated Blessing’s death because of her ethnicity and we strongly refute these claims.” Jenny Jones, a British politician, proposed a curfew for men after 6 p.m. for women to safely roam the streets. “I would argue that at the next opportunity for a bill that is appropriate, I might actually put in an amendment to create a curfew for men on the
dercuts it all. The fan service reaches a peak during the epilogue of the film that starts to feel like it is holding its audience hostage. The last 30 minutes are dedicated to setting up future films to come, but because this is purely a director’s cut there won’t be any future films. If it makes the fans happy, so be it, but any casual viewer will be better suited shutting off once (spoiler alert) the good guys defeat the bad guys. Despite the entire world being at stake, Batman and Wonder Woman, played by Gal Godot, find a lot of time to stand or sit in their headquarters to talk about this threat. They talk about why this threat is coming, who is doing the threatening, and how it is the biggest and most serious threat ever. The plotting can leave the casual viewer comatose if it weren’t for the bombastic
streets after 6 p.m., which I feel will make women much safer, and discrimination of all kinds would be lessened,” Jones said. Jones’ proposal did not pass, as her idea was viewed as a hysterical solution from the men in British politics. What actions need to be taken for women to finally feel safe? Everard’s murder is the awakening of social change for women’s safety. The US should watch the case unfold in London and take action. Violence against women does not just occur in one city; it happens all around the world.
action sequences sprinkled throughout. When the action hits it is well directed, with special accommodations to a mythological fight between the aforementioned Darkseid and the old protectors of the Earth. It is epic in scale, the bloodshed does justice to the R rating and the use of a shirtless Zeus harkens back to Snyder’s “300.” That sense of mythos is missing in the theatrical cut, which is puzzling because that scale would set the DC films apart from every other superhero movie. To rewind in time to a pre-pandemic world, Martin Scorsese ruffled feathers when he spoke out on the lack of personal vision in comic book movies. He stated that superhero films lack any risk and do not feel like art. In this case, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” starts to get closer to that idealized
tionary in their counterculture harmonybased quartet at this time. However, Slick was a lone female lead in a rock group full of men. This has now become rather commonplace with some modern bands, but she was truly a pioneer in this type of lineup. Slick was also capable of growing with the times and carrying through that same level of success after Jefferson Airplane split into two separate groups. Slick and Paul Kantner went on to form Jefferson Starship in 1974. Meanwhile, Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac is another powerhouse. Her voice is gruff and just as iconic as her graceful style, consisting of key elements like fingerless gloves, platform boots and bohemian dresses. “Stevie has always walked a fine line between pop and rock throughout her career,” said Lesniewski. Much like Slick,
part, this is due to the limited space and the original plan was to expand the workout area once additional space was available later in the tournament. However, we want to be responsive to the needs of our participating teams, and we are actively working to enhance existing resources at practice courts, including additional weight training equipment.” In Prince’s video, it is apparent that there was ample space for the weight room. The evidence further suggests that the NCAA is sexist and doesn’t equally support the advancement of collegiate athletics. Female athletes deserve the same opportunities as their male counterparts, no matter the sport. Dumbbells shouldn’t be the only factor turning the tide, the NCAA needs to fight inequality head-on.
Email ALEXA DUMAS cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
form of “cinema.” The film still feels like a cog in a bigger machine, worrying about including comic book nods more than delivering on human interaction. However, Snyder includes enough of his style in the action to make it stand apart from the usual superhero fare. Is the Snyder Cut better than the theatrically released “Justice League?” Technically yes, the consistency of storytelling is better in the Snyder Cut, but there is a whole lot more to take in. It is far from perfect, but there is a sense of catharsis to see a director’s full vision be released after seeing a corrupted version of a film like the 2017 “Justice League.” One thing is for sure, no one who sat through this can complain that “The Irishman” is too long. Email CAMERON KAERCHER cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
Nicks was able to change and adapt to the times with her solo career. “It’s inspiring to see someone like Stevie Nicks flourish in the industry and ultimately change [it] into a more diverse platform,” said Walsh. These women brought their own attitudes and ideas to the rock genre. Every time a woman composes, sings or produces a record, it breaks down the systemic sexism in the music industry. It’s women like Joplin, Slick and Nicks who inspire many other female artists to do what they do: be heard. “Their successes are empowering and ultimately make me feel proud to be a woman,” said Walsh. Email HALES PASSINO cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
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