DIVERSITY
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Jaeda Nelson builds a legacy as CWU’s first Wildcat Pantry Coordinator
Bawa Health Initiative fundraiser provides healthcare to African village
Vol. 125 NO. 8
Kiante Goudeau: A young coach with a detailed approach to elevating CWU’s cornerbacks May 24, 2023
The decline of local newspapers: How journalism is affected See Story on Pg. 6 Wildcat statue in front of the SURC. Photo by Megan Rogers
CWU Safe Group holds open forum New Voices for Change training proposed for students Morgana Carroll and Megan Rogers News Editors
Billionaire bows out: Elon Musk steps down as Twitter CEO CWU communication faculty weigh in on the development Elon Musk walking into Twitter office to let his takeover “sink in”. Photo courtesy of Flickr
Beau Sansom Staff Reporter Twitter has undergone a series of changes over the last few months since its acquisition by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk in 2022 for $44 billion. On May 11, Musk announced that he will be stepping down as CEO of Twitter, but will transition to being executive chair and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) overseeing production and software, according to NBC. According to Senior Lecturer in the Communication Department Dr. Nicholas Temple, who specializes in public speaking rhetoric and digital contexts, there is a sort of duality to Twitter, as it has been a source of spreading both information and misinformation to the public. According to Temple, Twitter has had an undeniable cultural impact. “I don’t use Twitter, but you can’t have existed in the culture without brushing up against Twitter tangentially,” Temple said. “Twitter has been great for spreading information and it’s been bad for spreading misinformation, that’s kind of the dual-edged sword that exists for a lot of communication media that exists out there right now. As much as I don’t use it and I sympathize with the idea that it’s like the cesspool of the internet in a lot of cases, you can’t deny that it had a lot of cultural impact.” Twitter’s massive presence within the cultural landscape led to a huge reaction when Musk announced his takeover of the company in the fall of 2022, according to Mashable. According to the BBC, Musk
claimed that he wanted to purchase Twitter to help humanity and create a “digital town square” where he would promote freedom of speech for all. However, according to Temple, Musk has repeatedly gone against his supposed ideals of free speech after frequent bannings of his critics on the platform, such as CNN’s Donnie O’Sullivan and Mashable’s Matt Binder, according to PBS. “Based on what I’ve heard, you have what Elon says he did [it] for,” Temple said. “Which was [Musk] advocating for free speech and he didn’t feel like Twitter, as it existed, was promoting free speech, [and] you have his actions after he did it which is to silence people who are his critics, which is not free speech.” According to Assistant Professor of Communication Dr. Josh Nelson-Ichido, who specializes in interpersonal and intercultural communication, Twitter restructured global communication on a level that hadn’t been seen before. According to Nelson-Ichido, Musk’s takeover, while not eradicating that international connection, has diminished it. “Since Musk has taken over, it hasn’t eradicated that [global community], it has diminished it,” Nelson-Ichido said. “In a lot of those areas where you have oppressed people, you have social movements that are still using Twitter as their lifeline [and] their method of communication, the fact that Musk is [messing] everything up is secondary to the fact that Twitter still very much matters to them.” According to Nelson-Ichido, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter was, at least in part, motivated by ego rather than a genuine desire to improve the service.
“This is all speculation on my part, it’s influenced by things and ideas I’ve seen other people put out there,” Nelson-Ichido said. “This was all ego, I can’t not see that as at least a contributing factor. [Musk] has a persona that exists out there… he’s now an entity or character and this is something that [Musk] would do.” In his six months as Twitter’s CEO, Musk has introduced a number of changes that caused controversy among users, including the reinstating of many previously banned controversial accounts (Kanye West, Donald Trump and Andrew Tate) and the removal of legacy checkmarks (meaning any previously verified account now has to pay for verification and has no way of proving they are truly that person/entity) according to the BBC. According to the Washington Post, paid verification (called Twitter Blue) has also stirred a response from users. According to Temple, these are all things that Musk has done that limit Twitter’s viability and credibility. “By making [verification] a paid thing, it removes the ability to know you’re dealing with the real person [or] the real organization,” Temple said. “I teach public speaking, I teach rhetoric, so ethos is a big deal, online, part of that is being able to trust that somebody is who they say they are and if you can’t do that, what is even the purpose of this program?” While the extent of the role these factors played into Musk’s departure can only be guessed at, what is certain is that Musk has found someone to fill his role as CEO: Linda Yaccarino. According to CNN, Yaccarino left her role as chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal.
CWU’s Safe Group held an open forum on May 15 for CWU’s community members to review recommendations created by the group. The open forum meeting served as an opportunity to present the goals that the team had created and get feedback from students and community members. The workgroup was established in response to student and community protests regarding instances of Title IX violations in late 2022. (See past coverage: “Cats Against Assault claims lack of accountability in Title IX cases on campus.”) According to Chief of Staff and Vice President of Public Affairs Andrew Morse, the goal of the workgroup was to understand the strengths, processes, practices and resources of CWU as well as how the university could better grow to live up to its mission of being a “model of equity and belonging.” “The goal of this work is to also create a safe space for our students and our employees. Nobody should be hindered by victimization as they pursue their educational, professional and personal life goals,” Morse said. According to the presentation given at the forum, the group came up with recommendations for accountability and sustainability, policies, survivor support and education. Morse said they looked at the university’s current Title IX, Violence Against Women Act and the Clery Act and had an opportunity to talk with campus experts about the matter. He said they are now awaiting the release of new Title IX regulations. During the meeting, Cochair for the Safe Group and Director of Wellness Center, Marissa Howat, said that one
of the recommendations was for students to have a required education course. According to the presentation, the training will be a “required consent, bystander intervention and campus resources prior to students registering for their first class.” Howat said that this training is called Voices for Change and will be required for every incoming student at CWU. DEC Program Manager Justin Santoli said he had concerns regarding accessibility for students to finish Voices for Change during the meeting. “[We need to be] conscious of students who don’t have tech or English isn’t their first language,” Santoli said at the meeting. Santoli suggested during the meeting that the training should be due by the end of the quarter instead of before registering for classes. Another recommendation Co-chair of the Safe Group and Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Cindy Coe, said at the meeting that the group is strongly recommending more required training for employees than has been required of them in the past to help create more accountability. Coe said they want to ensure there is documentation of the investigation and the results of the investigation faculty undergoes to ensure accountability and transparency. Howat said, from her understanding, this documentation will not go in their personnel file but will be put into a separate investigation file. “Personnel records are sealed so those are actually not available in a public records request, but investigative reports can be attainable [through a public records request],” Howat said. Two more open forum meetings will be held on May 25 1-2 p.m. in SURC 301 and May 31 4-4:45 p.m. virtually.