OPINION
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Friday, October 5, 2018
Abroad Brush Strokes: Plastic jellyish in Bali’s mantas ALEX SCHWARTZ
OPINION EDITOR
In this series, a writer recounts his experiences studying environments and natural resources in Indonesia. When I jump into the water at Manta Point, the first thing I see is a plastic bag. I almost mistake it for a jellyfish as it floats just below the surface: ripped, gnarled and ghostly white against a backdrop of deep blue. I begin to imagine it as a new species, albeit lifeless, invading the complex underwater web of life. Who will it choke? Who will it smother? I’m off the southwestern coast of Nusa Penida, a small island in Bali’s rainshadow. Working partially on behalf of the Marine Megafauna Foundation — an international charitable organization dedicated to the research and conservation of extra-large sea creatures — our curious mix of first-time snorkelers and experienced SCUBA divers has one mission: to find and identify manta rays. The Nusa Islands, as they’re sometimes referred to, sit smack in the middle of an incredibly biodiverse stretch of sea. Indonesia’s over 17,000 islands lie at a vast marine crossroads, serving as a buffer between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Currents from the northeast, containing huge amounts of nutrients, plankton and larvae from throughout the Pacific, spill through a few gaps between the islands as they travel southwest toward the Indian Ocean. The deep, narrow expanse of water I’m floating in is one of these passageways. The scattered islands and gaps between them, combined with the constant stream of life-giving material from both the Pacific and Indian oceans, give Indonesian reefs the highest diversity of coral reef fish species on the planet. In fact, much of
Alex Schwartz/Daily Senior Staffer
A plastic bag floats below the surface at Manta Point, off the coast of Bali. Plastics large and small are beginning to clog Indonesia’s crucial current passages, spelling trouble for marine life.
Indonesia comprises the Coral Triangle, an area that contains around 76 percent of the world’s coral species. This is the perfect underwater cocktail that plankton feeders — like manta rays — can’t get enough of. Now, trash discarded into oceans around the world is being added to the mix. My mind returns to a video I saw on Facebook a couple weeks ago, in which a SCUBA diver made his way through a sea filled with trash. Coincidentally, that spot was Manta Point, where I saw that jarring plastic cnidarian. In recent years, the island has experienced occasional blooms of plastic along its coast. These occurrences depend on weather and currents, but they’ll only get worse as waste continues to pollute our oceans. Luckily, the plastic bag — along with a few
other small pieces of trash we later pick up in the vicinity — is about as much trash as we encounter, and we still have the visibility we need to see manta rays. I power through despite my constantly-fogging mask, trying to make out the underwater vista before me. It’s deep, dark and pretty chilly for being just eight degrees south of the equator (that’s the fault of those cold upwellings from the Indian Ocean). As we swim closer to shore, I begin to make out a rocky drop-off: a manta cleaning station. The rays will glide up here for a bit of a spa break during their lengthy oceanic journeys. A host of small, eager fish are ready to receive them, eating their parasites and cleaning their wounds before they’re ready to swim back out to sea. Soon enough, the seasickness-ridden trip to Manta Point pays off. I hear a muffled shriek
from within our snorkel formation and pan my head downward. A grey diamond the size of a Mini Cooper floats below us, headed toward the cleaning station. Its wings undulate hypnotically as it curls up its head fins. I stare at it incredulously — I feel like I’ve been shrunk down. I’d heard about how these mantas can grow up to five meters wide, but it’s impossible to fully capture their majesty in words or even pictures. By the time I get out of the water, my teeth chattering and my adrenaline pumping, I’ve seen about five — If I hadn’t been biting my snorkel, my jaw would have dropped. I’m thankful to have avoided encountering a trashy tide like the one in that haunting viral video, but the problem reaches beyond that. Even when the water is clear, microplastics may be poisoning mantas and other marine organisms around the world. They’re carried along currents and end up on coastal reefs just like larvae and plankton. Indonesia has a littering problem that should be addressed, but what many people fail to realize is that much of the trash here comes from throughout the Pacific, brought by the very life-giving currents that make this area so biodiverse. In other words, the now faded plastic bag I encountered thousands of miles away from American shores could have very well once sported an In-N-Out Burger logo. Perhaps it was left on a beach in Los Angeles or San Diego, washed out to sea by the tide and carried all the way to the other side of the world. A lifeless jellyfish among the mantas — and all the more deadly. Alex Schwartz is a Medill junior. He can be contacted at alexschwartz@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern. com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
Kavanaugh’s disregard for due process de-legitimizes him CATHERINE BUCHANIEC
DAILY COLUMNIST
One’s reputation is their most valuable asset. It is beliefs generally held about a person that elicit their legitimacy, or lack thereof. The Supreme Court — an institution that rightfully retains a reputation of integrity and justice — holds vast legitimacy. The decisions concluded hold the same degree of authority as law. The behavior Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh displayed last Thursday during his testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee was not in line with the reputation of the Supreme Court. Regardless of the allegations of sexual misconduct Kavanaugh is accused of, it is his temperament and lack of composure that should be considered by the Senate before Friday’s cloture vote. During his testimony, Kavanaugh shouted and glowered, connected challenges of his authority as a potential justice to the Clintons and even fired back at the senators whose job it was to question him. I find it hard to imagine Neil Gorsuch or Ruth Bader Ginsburg acting in the same manner.
Part of the judicial process is questioning. A claim is made and then investigated. However, on Thursday, Kavanaugh showed contempt for the very process he himself is supposed to preside over if confirmed. Judicial inquiry is how results are concluded; Kavanaugh himself even stated, “Allegations of sexual assault must always be taken seriously, always.” Yet, despite this statement, Kavanaugh appeared disdainful for the very process of doing so. According to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, “A judge should maintain and enforce high standards of conduct and should personally observe those standards, so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved.” However, during his testimony, Kavanaugh maintained anything but “high standards of conduct.” He likened the inquiry into Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations to a political plot. He said he wanted due process but raged against the very notion. Furthermore, between bouts of indignance, Kavanaugh presented himself with the innocence of a choir boy, one who attended church regularly and occasionally had a few beers with his friends, a dedicated athlete and a student who abstained from sexual conduct for several years. However, Kavanaugh’s classmates have claimed otherwise. Some have said Brett Kavanaugh did not just “like beer,” but that he was a
consistently aggressive drinker. The problem is not with the fact Kavanaugh drank during high school or college, it is the notion that Kavanaugh deliberately misrepresented himself while speaking about it under oath. Moreover, Kavanaugh not only talked around his alcohol consumption, but his overall character. When questioned by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in regards to the phrase “Beach Week Ralph Club — Biggest Contributor,” in Kavanaugh’s yearbook, Kavanaugh artfully maneuvered around the phrase’s connection to excessive alcohol consumption. This was not the only slang Kavanaugh finagled around; from “Devil’s Triangle” to “boofing,” Kavanaugh provided definitions inconsistent with their colloquial meanings. This was the same issue Bill Clinton faced decades earlier: misrepresentation and lies were the compounding reasons behind his impeachment, more so than his sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. The point senators should consider is not the substance of the information, but the manner in which it was delivered. If Kavanaugh did not respect the oath under which he swore, how can we expect him to uphold a position on the highest court in the land? The scope of the FBI investigation into Brett
Kavanaugh that occured this week was limited and did not encompass a full examination of Kavanaugh’s character. Only nine people were interviewed and only in relation to sexual misconduct. A multitude of former Kavanaugh classmates say they have stories to tell, especially in regards to his misrepresentation. Yet, they were not interviewed. If Kavanaugh is appointed, he will serve for life. Do we want a justice who misrepresents himself ? A justice without respect for the process of judicial questioning, a man lacking integrity and a man with allegations of sexual misconduct against him? The United States is a country of more than 325.7 million people. We can find someone else to sit on the Supreme Court. Someone who does not have any allegations of sexual misconduct. Someone who will be consistent with the court’s honorable reputation. Someone who deserves to sit on the highest court in our nation. Catherine Buchaniec is a Medill freshman. She can be contacted at catherinebuchaniec2022@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@ dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
The Daily Northwestern Volume 139, Issue 8 Editor in Chief Nora Shelly
Managing Editors
Troy Closson Jonah Dylan
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR may be sent to 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, via fax at 847-491-9905, via e-mail to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com or by dropping a letter in the box outside The Daily office. Letters have the following requirements: • Should be typed • Should be double-spaced • Should include the author’s name, signature, school, class and phone number. • Should be fewer than 400 words They will be checked for authenticity and may be edited for length, clarity, style and grammar.
Opinion Editors Alex Schwartz Marissa Martinez
Assistant Opinion Editor Cassidy Jackson
Letters, columns and cartoons contain the opinion of the authors, not Students Publishing Co. Inc. Submissions signed by more than three people must include at least one and no more than three names designated to represent the group. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily’s student editorial board and not the opinions of either Northwestern University or Students Publishing Co. Inc.