“Don’t Say Gay” Bill

By AREEBA MEHMOOD ‘22 and ALANA MCLEOD ‘25 Staff Reporters

The world watches in horror as the destruction of Ukraine occurs by its neighboring country: Russia. The imperialist power, Russia, has desired to control and conquer Ukraine, notably for a while. In October of 2021, Russia had started moving their military power near the shared border with Ukraine. The U.S. intelligence community stated its suspicions about Russia invading Ukraine in 2022 at that time. This was proven right when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 21, 2022. Russia was afraid that Ukraine would join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and did not want the European powers to gang up on Russia so they decided to invade. It has been amazing how the news has covered these issues to keep people up to date, yet some of the coverage has been questionable. Unbiased reporting is key to being a journalist. However, some news reporters have been making noticeable comments and remarks during their reports. For example, some reporters compare their own ethnic features to Ukrainians. They are characteristic for their pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. CBS news anchor Charlie D’Agata, while reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine, mentioned that Ukraine was not a place like Iraq or Afghanistan and is “relatively civilized, relatively European.” Saying that just because a certain group is not European, or that they are not civilized, is racist. Insinuations such as Europeans being the only civilized race are incredibly harmful and force ideas that people of other races are like animals. In France, on BFM TV, journalist Phillips Corbè said “We’re not talking here about Syrians fl eeing the bombing of the Syrian regime backed by Putin. We’re talking about Europeans leaving in cars that look like ours to save their lives.” A group of people, looking like “us” should not be the reason to have empathy. Empathy should be there regardless of the fact that their cars look like “ours” or that they are like “us” in any way. This lack of empathy has led these news anchors to think that what they are saying is right and should be said. If it is a mistake and the reporter’s intentions were in a good place of heart, it still does not justify the words they have said or actions they have done. The Western media has been known to show their prejudices on screen but now

Unbiased reporting is key to being a journalist.

this prejudice can be seen by the rest of the world. It rejects the carefully crafted narrative that the United States and Europe want to maintain. As countries that strive for equality and believe in human rights, casual racism should not be taken lightly and should not be ignored. We could change for the better if we hold these news anchors and journalists accountable.

Coverage of the Russia/Ukraine War infl uences how people understand and view the tense situation. Photo by McLeod ‘25/Camva

The “Don’t Say Gay” bill

By ALANNA STEIN ‘24 and MAYA DUNKELMAN ‘24 Staff Reporters

Inclusive and tolerant. Two adjectives that should be used to describe school districts nationwide. However, when Florida administrators prohibit teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, are they alienating the LGBTQ+ youth from a supposedly accepting environment? The Parental Rights in Education Bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill by LGBTQ+ activists, restricts educators from speaking on specifi c LGBTQ+ topics deemed inappropriate for primary school students. The bill allows parents to sue schools if they feel the district violated any policies included within the law. On February 24th, the Florida House passed the Republican-infl uenced legislation in a 69-47 vote. Upon proceeding to the Florida Senate, the bill was approved in a 22-17 vote on March 8th. The “Don’t Say Gay” Bill will now make its way to the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis, who has signaled his support for the act. In a recent press conference, he commented, “ We’ve seen instances of students being told by different folks in school, ‘Oh, don’t worry. Don’t pick your gender yet. Do all this other stuff.’ They won’t tell the parents about these discussions that are happening. That is entirely inappropriate.” Yet, DeSantis’ assumption that all students have the ability to freely discuss sexuality and identity with their parents is untrue and inaccurate. According to the Trevor Project, only 34% of LGBTQ+ youth fi nd their home life to be accepting, while 50% feel the same towards school. Thus, how could the Florida government be so ignorant to

Hateful and merciless retract the LGpolicies, enforced as early BTQ+ youth’s safe space at such a as primary school, hinders vulnerable age? future generations from Besides, how often is sexuality fl ourishing into who they and gender idenwant to become. tifi cation formally taught in primary school? Almost never. Is this bill a solution to a non-existent problem looking to further ostracize LGBTQ+ youth? Yes. There is no reason to implement legislation where none was needed to begin with. The “Don’t Say Gay” Bill targets individuals already facing discrimination, shaming them for who they love or how they feel. Hateful and merciless policies, enforced as early as primary school, hinders future generations from fl ourishing into who they want to become. By passing this bill, Florida will tint the image of sexuality in the eyes of the youth — both homo and heterosexual individuals. As high school students from New Jersey, we tell Florida that LGBTQ+ youth will keep being born, whether you say the word or not.

From Genesis to Revelation: Gender equality remains an illusion

By ALESSANDRA ALINEA ‘23 Special to the Voyager

Women from the start of time have been targeted. From the time we are conceived until our deathbeds, we have a premade target of oppression. We carry ourselves for the glares and sneers of society. Like Abigail Adams, women have long recognized and advocated for gender equality. But is it an illusion? “So I see feminism not as a kind of war between the sexes or any of these stereotypic images, but actually a kind of effort to shift the ratios of our emphasis that is expressed through our institutions” (McKenna). In other words, feminism does not mean the takeover of women. It is, rather, the equality of all genders. The 20th and 21st centuries have created more opportunities for women, but is this enough? Looking at political reforms and contributions, the steps taken upon feminism have proved to show drastic changes, but not enough to the potential that feminism endures. Elizabeth Cady Stanton of the United States was the fi rst of many to initiate the fi rst wave of feminism. She, alongside many others, gathered together to discuss the current lack of women’s suffrage; this event was known as Seneca Falls. It was the fi rst step known to American history to contribute towards political equality. Years later, on June 4th, 1919, the 19th Amendment was added to the United States Constitution. The amendment states that votes will not be discriminated based on sex. Later in the 20th century, the Equal Pay Act and Civil Rights Act was signed. The Equal Pay Act states that jobs and

businesses are not prohibited to alter the work rates between employees of the same job and hours based on identity. The Civil Rights Act prohibits jobs and businesses from denying qualifi ed employees based on identity. Other notable feminist accomplishments also include the recent election of 2020. Vice President Kamala Harris broke the pattern of white male domination in high government positions when she was sworn into offi ce. Many other women across the world were also elected. Throughout history, feminism has taken win after win politically, Today, women are not but if one allowed “to be.” In othwere to take a look into er words, women are society, can you not see not permitted to “ex- the dangers that women ist” as anything but the face daily? These are societal defi nition of our mothers, our sisters, “woman.” our daughters, our friends. Society has always placed people into categories. Society likes the binary: the One and the Zero, the yes and the no, and the black and the white. Today, women are not allowed “to be.” In other words, women are not permitted to “exist” as anything but the societal defi nition of “woman.” As I stand in my school as androgynous woman, I get more stares than conversations. My experience is a major on my scale, but for the world of women, my experience as a woman is miniscule. Every day, all around the world, women are assaulted, cat called, raped, and beaten simply for being a woman. But what makes a woman a woman? I certainly don’t know. Society, for sure, does not know, but that does not stop the target from being removed from our backs. While the world sees the reforms, laws, and acts being signed and approved, society has not changed enough for feminism’s goals of gender equality to be accomplished.