Opinion

Star Diavolikis Columnist

Facebook memes are never a reliable source, no matter if that right-wing or left-wing Facebook page claims to only tell the truth. Chances are these memes contain cherry-picked quotes, misleading statistics and anything else to deceive. It’s 2021, we should all know how to get reliable sources by now.

I recently saw a meme going around quoting Joe Biden regarding a statement he made addressing voter fraud. The meme stated something along the lines of, “BIDEN ADMITS TO ORGANIZING VOTER FRAUD AND GETS AWAY WITH IT, WAKE UP AMERICA” followed by a quote.

Biden’s quoted statement is, “We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics.” While this quote is real, it is cherry picked and lacks context from a podcast interview Biden participated in.

The quote comes from “Pod Save America,” a podcast interview hosted on Oct. 24 by Dan Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer asked Biden for his response regarding citizens who had not yet voted nor do they plan to vote, and his response is where this quote comes from. Biden answers the question in multiple parts; firstly mentioning potential voters can make a plan to vote and proceeds to address resources available if citizens are having issues voting, where this quote comes from. fistically bringing peace to their country, begin, and this healing from hurt will bring peace.

Naruto does this in a way that is so compelling, Nagato gives his own life to undo the damage he had recently done to the residents of Naruto’s village. I won’t try to pretend that to viewers Naruto’s argument is a give-your-life level of compelling, but for the purpose of the story it’s trying to tell the meaning is clear.

Naruto believes in something more rooted in truth than Nagato does, and his willingness to listen and understand allows him to bring attention to Nagato’s faulty reasoning while proving the same flaws don’t appear in his own.

We see Naruto do this many times over as “Naruto: Shippuden” progresses, facing off against ill-proposed solutions to conflict that range from ending all conflict by trapping everyone in a dream to becoming the most powerful villain in the world so everybody else must unite against them.

Every time, Naruto argues that he won’t give up on the people he loves and that cycles of hurt must be broken for healing to begin, and every time he is able to show the villain of the moment that this holds more truth than their faulty, though just as tightly held, beliefs.

This isn’t even to speak on the side plots that occur throughout the whole show. We see other characters struggle with questioning their beliefs, and surrounded by people who aren’t Naruto we see them led astray through faulty logic and malicious appeals.

Because it is an anime and Naruto is the protagonist, he invariably leads them back to the correct path. But seeing these characters struggle throughout the show is just as powerful as seeing Naruto be right in the face of irrationally held ideals, I would argue.

Naruto provides a pre-teen crash course in critical thinking, and I think him modeling how to critically think in this

In short, this quote was taken out of will target any and all politicians in the context to deceive unknowing Facebook public eye. These memes may also target users trying celebrities, to get in- businesses, volved in pol- organizations itics without and other doing prop- entities. er research. A FaceBiden’s “vot- book meme ing fraud or- shared by the ganization” page Proud is actually a Republican system set USA shows in place to an image of prevent vot- boards being er fraud, not put in the the other windows of way around. Detroit’s balThankfully lot counting this post was center, with taken down, the caption however, “Poll workit wasgot ers board shared many up windows times from at Detroit’s one user be- TCF Center fore being so observremoved for ers can’t see being mis- ballots being leading. It counted.” is unsure T h i s how many is anothright-leaning er case of a or anti-Biden page being pages have Graphic by Meghan Salsbury misleading reposted this meme individually. regarding the election process, as the

Memes painting politicians in bad post implies the workers are hiding illelight happens daily on the internet, and gal activity. This led to comments such as, “The only way Dems could steal [the] election!”

Detroit Free Press reports the real reasoning for boarding up the windows is due to challengers being aggressive towards ballot counters and appearing intimidating, which also included members of the crowd attempting to photograph or record the counting process. Security addressed the issue by boarding up the windows.

Please inform your grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt and whoever else to fact check these memes before believing them and sharing them. We all most likely have one family member who believes in these with their heart and soul. There are many reliable sources to confirm these quotes and events in these memes.

Reliable fact-checking sources include FactCheck.org, politifact.com and snopes.com. Facebook has recently installed a feature that notifies the user of “potentially misleading information” if a meme gets enough attention, and this feature also provides a source to explain why the meme may be misleading or incorrect.

The public relying on Facebook memes as their main source of information for world news is harmful to both the general population and to journalism itself. Sharing of these misleading posts creates distrust for news outlets and distrust in the government, and while nobody can officially stop these memes from being created, we can all discourage the

Believe it! “Naruto” has a valuable lesson to teach

Bailey Tomlinson Columnist The Akatskuki are strikingly compelling villains, originally started by a war orphan named Yahiko as a means of paci-

I recently watched both “Naruto” and which often suffered from being caught its sequel, “Naruto: Shippuden” with my in the crossfire of larger warring counboyfriend at his request. It was an endeav- tries on either side of it. or that took us six months of watching in- After the traumatic death of Yahiko, tricately plotted, at times convoluted epi- the new head of the group and one of his sodes during dinner, but it’s finally over. best friends, Nagato, decides that the only

Admittedly, I went into “Naruto” and way that peace can be achieved would be its sequel expecting a children’s show for everyone to experience such resonatabout ninja fights. To my own surprise, I ing pain that they could never again willactually now believe that at the center of ingly inflict it on anyone else. Naruto is a lesson on the importance of He acts on this ideal, which through questioning why we hold our ideals and a long series of events ends up involving the value of critical thinking. Naruto. Up to this point in the anime,

It wasn’t until we started getting Naruto has shown us repeatedly that he into “Naruto: Shippuden” that I realized is both steadfast in his ideals and able to “Naruto” was a show critically that, at its core, asks consider the its viewers to con- perspec sider questions about tives of othwhy we accept ideals. ers. After a The examples it gave, devastating being at least a little attack on bit a show about nin- Naruto’s vilja fights, were partic- lage by Naularly about how best gato, Naruto to end conflict. faces him in

In “Naruto: Ship- person and puden,” a group of vil- hears the lains called the Akat- rationale suki are introduced, behind his and while it’s not beliefs. immediately all laid After plain, they’re working doing so, toward a larger ide- Naruto exology while still pos- plains that sessing nuanced (and though he at times conflicting) Graphic by Ilse Orta Mederos can unworldviews of their own. The way these derstand Nagato’s reasoning, espeideologies unfold over the course of cially in the light of trauma Nagato the anime ended up surprising me with has undergone, he rejects the path how complex and intertwined they all to peace he is trying to take. Ulwere with each other and with the ninja timately, Naruto argues, cycles of world as a whole. hurt must be broken for healing to

sharing and the trust put in these memes. way is a really valuable thing in a show, especially one aimed more towards the pre-teen age group. To that point, however, I’m 21 and I found the beginning and middle of Shippuden compelling. It has enough depth for it to be interesting for anyone who wants to engage with it, regardless of age.

As far as how it is as a show in general, I’ll say that if you plan to watch it and you’re not 11 years old, I recommend you skip all of “Naruto.” As in, the entire first anime. Read a synopsis. Go straight to “Naruto: Shippuden.” Naruto as a young child is one of the most nerve-grating, exhausting ordeals I’ve been put through in the name of entertainment media and there’s not really enough payoff content-wise to justify it. By “Naruto: Shippuden” he is a teen, and though he’s the same person, it’s more bearable and the plot of the show becomes much more interesting to help make up for it.

The ending of “Naruto: Shippuden” also takes a lot of big leaps very fast, which was disappointing. The focus shifts from the Akatsuki to other villains that get larger than life with otherworldly powers too quickly, and it reaches a point where it can feel entirely unrecognizable from the show it began as.

Overall, in the parts where “Naruto: Shippuden” felt balanced and well-explored, I was pleasantly surprised with the questions it prompted me to ask myself about the situations it presented. There were moments throughout where some villains would explain their logic and for a moment I’d go, “Oh no, that makes total sense,” which I feel is the mark of a well-written villain with a compelling ideal behind them.

I would show this to a pre-teen and fully believe that they could get something valuable out of it. I think many of us could be surprised at the value we could get out of “Naruto.”

CWU’s Wi-Fi is Loading… Please Wait

Hollis Zepp Columnist

Nothing in college is more frustrating than having a laggy Zoom call, or even worse, being kicked out of a class because your Wi-Fi suddenly disappeared. In my short time as a student here at CWU, one thing has been blatantly apparent.

The school Wi-Fi is in no way shape or form stable or fast enough to sustain all of the students that are on campus.

For example, I have an Xbox One console, and as many may know it needs a stable wireless connection to load pretty much everything it could hope to provide. When I first moved in, I was very surprised to find that the public wireless network provided for students wasn’t secure, or strong enough to sustain a connection.

Then, after many inquiries, I discovered there was a network that was supposed to be faster if you registered for it with your device. However, I was very disappointed to find that it still wasn’t stable or strong enough.

Eventually, I figured out that if I used an ethernet port, then it would work most of the time. I got lucky enough to have an ethernet port in my room, otherwise I wouldn’t have even been able to use my console.

I have figured out when good times are to get online on my computer, but I know that not everyone has the freedom to get on whenever they want. I know that the Wi-Fi gets incredibly slow and spotty during the afternoon, when the majority of the students have class and are using the bandwidth.

The really unfortunate part is the fact that campus isn’t even at full capacity right now, so it is only going to get worse. My Clara Wetzel

Columnist

Annual iPhone upgrades are a waste of money. Every year Apple Inc. comes out with its newest iPhone model along with the newest iOS updates. The newest models illustrate Apple’s latest designs such as better camera abilities and the newest security features - but is it worth it?

Let’s be honest, even with the iPhone upgrade program you will still be paying 12 monthly installments before you are eligible to upgrade to the newest model. Dumping upwards of $35 in monthly installments in addition to paying your phone bill every month for endless years to come is a waste of money - especially for college students living on a budget.

I know it’s difficult to hear, but just because you don’t have to spend the money all at once, does not mean you won’t be burning a major hole in your pocket.

According to data provided by price comparison engine Flipsy, the average lifetime cost of a smartphone comes to a staggering $75,000. This includes usage bills, equipment and apps, among other things. Now just imagine how much that price increases if you’re someone who purchases the latest models on a bi-yearly or yearly basis.

Fox Business did a nice little breakdown for us using Flipsy to determine roommate has gotten kicked from multiple zoom meetings just this quarter, and she also very rarely is able to turn on her video so that her professors can actually see her. I can only imagine what it must be like for teach- ers that are on campus try- ing to post and host lec- tures.

Y o u may be wondering why I am sur prised at the state ments that I have j u s t m e n tioned. Well, when you’re paying $15,076 just for tuition and living expenses, you would be surprised too. That price doesn’t even include mandatory fees, and the one of the required meal plans that comes when you live on campus as I am.

That price is after a full three quarters, with 18 credits per quarter. The end price will vary slightly person to person depending on your meal plan and where you decide to live, but I as a freshman am paying $6,474 for tuition every quarter, and $8,602 to live on campus for 30 weeks of classes. When you’re givhow much money the average American spends on smartphones over the course of a few years. Assuming that we begin our purchase history at the age of 18 and upgrade roughly every 32 months with the latest models having a minimum selling price of approximately $500, the average American will spend $12,559 in just ten years.

Apple is a $2 trillion company and it’s no wonder why. We live in a material world where status can be determined by which latest model of smartphone we have.

As a long-time iPhone user myself, I admit that I too have occasionally fallen victim to upgrade envy and late model shame. As I have gotten older, and consequently wiser, I have realized that my money can be better spent on more important things. I have also caught on to the corporate America agenda of consumerism and realized that smartphone upgrades are by large a scam.

Apple capitalizes on pushing their latest models onto consumers and we don’t even stop to second guess their true intentions.

In addition to the annual model releases, Apple also releases iOS updates for all iPhones and has openly admitted that they slow down older models intentionally. ing an institution that much money, you would think that they would have good, if not great, internet.

According to SecureEdge Networks, there are several different things that could be contributing to this problem. One could be that the design of the network is outdated, and when they started expanding the cam -

p u s with new buildings they didn’t redo everything. Another could be that the sheer amount of users is bogging down the signal and using all of the band-

width, and they haven’t Apple claims that the updates are meant to prolong the battery life of older models and protect against hardware malfunction in order to keep up with the peak app demands. This was confirmed after a shared performance test indicated that older iPhone models slowed considerably after iOS updates had been installed but retained their original speed after battery replacement.

Apple stated that it is not their intention to encourage people to upgrade through slowing down older models but it is certainly more enticing to upgrade to a shiny new model than it is to replace the battery. added any WiFi boosters to try to help solve the issue. I am making assumptions, since these are the most common reasons that large facilities or companies have Wi-Fi that struggles to meet the requirements.

On SecureEdge Networks, it is provided that “The type, amount and location of your access points can have disastrous effects for your mobile devices and how well they perform. Deploy too many APs (access points) and you can cause too much interference, too few and you don’t have enough coverage.” Wi-Fi boosters are generally under $50 for the bare minimum, and I find it very hard to believe that what I am paying to live on campus won’t cover at least one booster. That route wouldn’t be very hard, it would just depend on the range of the boosters that they purchase.

Another option would be to invest in MU-MIMO (Multiple-user, multiple input, multiple output) access points, which would mean that the Wi-Fi signal would be directed toward a specific device, instead of spread out in a general area. The price for these depends on who CWU goes through for the internet.

The resources for the University are in no way limited, so there is no reason for students to be missing out on class, and people who live in on campus apartments having to purchase their own Wi-Fi. CWU has the resources, the only question is whether they know about the problem, and if they have the desire to fix it. Once this problem is fixed, online school won’t be nearly as stressful.

Stick with your iPhone until it stops working

Graphic by Ilse Orta Mederos

Now, I’m not saying that you should never upgrade your phone, but what I suggest is that you hold on to your phone until it no longer serves your requirements. If you’re someone who needs fast internet speed and high-quality camera capabilities, then by all means, upgrade. However, if your phone works well enough and performs its base-line functions, hold on to it and save your money.

There will always be a newer, shinier model, but don’t fall victim to the corporate consumerism. Your iPhone model doesn’t make you any cooler and it certainly doesn’t determine any kind of social status.