April 5, 2019

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OUTHERN S The Student Voice of Florida Southern College

Non Profit Org. US Postage PAID Permit 38 Lakeland, FL

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019 VOL. 133, NO. 13

Lakeland celebrates first La Francophonie Day Religion

department hosts feminism and scripture symposium Victoria Salvatore Staff Writer

Photo by Ariel Molinaro

The Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College hosted Lakeland’s first La Francophonie Day. The program honored the French language and culture through lecture, performance and art. Mayor Mutz declared March 23 as La Francophonie Day in Lakeland. See page 2 for the full article.

Roux Library helps students learn to fight fake news Taylor Wilson Staff Writer

The Roux Library: Pro Tips informational workshop held on March 27 discussed how to identify “fake news” and how to respond to it. The Pro Tips series was designed by the librarians to aid students throughout their studies and daily lives. The workshop was called “Fighting Fake News” and was presented by Julie Hornick and Steven Wade, two of Florida Southern’s Instructional Services Librarians. They have presented this topic before due to the increase in fake news circulated. The talk began by an image of two headlines being presented. Students were asked what they thought each conveyed and how they differed. They discussed the importance of headlines in regards to their purpose, possible bias, and if any information is being left out. The activity that wrapped this portion up was done by splitting the tables up into three groups and the groups choosing parts of a sentence and their level of neutrality. The first sentence was the most neutral, saying, “With Senate vote, Oregon will limit access to firearms for people with domestic violence convictions.” Next, students were asked to put together the most inflammatory sentence. It read, “With sweeping legislation, Oregon will strip gun rights for stalkers and abusers.” This was to show how the same story could have different headlines based on the emotional fuel of the writer. “It’s a scientific process of getting the most views and most hits,” Wade said. He referred to the fact that some publications change the headlines for online articles. Companies like The Wall Street Journal

SOCIAL MEDIA

and The New York Times will run several headlines on different routers and track which gets the greatest number of clicks. “I thought the most interesting part was how even really credible news sources constantly change the title of their articles based on public preference,” freshman Amy Wieleba said. “I like pop-up sessions and I have really enjoyed the Pro Tip Series. I’ve attended all of them so far this year.” The next piece that the librarians discussed was how to look at individual publications and determine their validity. They taught

“Just because we don’t believe [a news source] doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

- Julie Hornick, Instructional Service Librarian

that when looking at a website, consider looking at its reputation, ownership and where its funding comes from. Another important aspect to look at is the aesthetics of the website. Most credible sites look plain and sophisticated. A key giveaway of a phony webpage is the extensive use of emotionally loaded language. The goal is to find something neutral and that presents straight facts. Hornick went on to talk about how you can see credibility in social media. On Facebook, when a news story is posted, the site will also provide an “About this Website” feature that will provide more information about the site. Instagram and Twitter also have the verification feature

that puts a check mark by the name of real accounts. There are numerous fact-checking tools available to Internet users. There is Politifact, a website that allows you to search and fact check using the subject, speaker, or direct quote. The B.S. Detector is a browser detector that can be installed on computers or laptops that will warn the user about possible fake news. Students were also urged to visit Roux Library to view their “Fake News Guide” or talk to a librarian. The librarians suggest to not be taken in by emotional photos because they can follow a bias. When looking at sources students were encouraged to look at independent sources, sites with multiple sources, and one that has an informed tone. Bias is also key due to the fact that there is a lot of bias in the news. Hornick made a point of discouraging filter bubbles. “Periodically check in with a news source that you don’t always agree with. Just because we don’t believe it does not mean it’s not true,” Hornick said. Wade and Hornick encouraged students to avoid fake news by avoiding fake facts, fake information and anything that is trying to totally change your world view. They ended the lecture by extending the question, “What can you do to help fight fake news?” The last Pro Tip workshop of the semester is going to be on Internet self-defense and will be held on April 11 and 12 in the thirdfloor classroom at Roux. If there is a particular topic that student would like to hear about, they are encouraged to contact Wade or Hornick, whose emails can be found on the Florida Southern College website.

@fscsouthern

Three speakers visited campus on March 27 to talk about the topic of feminism and the Bible at The Department of Religion and Philosophy’s annual Biblical Symposium. “The department discusses different topics and we really wanted to bring some feminist biblical scholars to campus,” Professor of Religion Dr. Sara Harding said. The first speaker was Dr. Susan Hylen of Emory University, who talked about New Testament women owning property and being benefactors within the context of First Century Rome. The second speaker was Dr. Robin Jensen of University of Notre Dame, who spoke about myths relating to Jesus’ mother, Mary and her virginity. The last speaker was Dr. Carol Meyers of Duke University and she spoke about the gender gap in relation to Israelite women. A panel was held with each of the scholars following the presentations. Members of the audience, students and local residents were allowed to ask questons during that time. “We haven’t done [had the topic of feminism for the symposium] before so it was long overdue,” Harding said. Many students were in attendance at the symposium to hear what each of the scholars had to say.

“We haven’t done [the topic of feminism for the symposium] before, so it was long overdue.”

- Dr Sara Harding, Professor of Religion

“I thought that it was very interesting,” freshman Elisabeth Clarke said. “It gave me different perspective on how Roman culture viewed women and how the Bible views women.” Clarke says going into the symposium she thought women in the Bible were more oppressed, but she learned that they had possessions and the Bible supported that, which shifted her viewpoint on the topic. Harding said that the faculty wants students to connect things they’re doing in their classes with the experience of seeing a presentation done by an internationally known scholar. “Looking at women instead of as victims, as empowered, that made me feel empowered,” Clarke said. “I would go to an event like this again, for sure.”

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