Panorama
January 16, 2014
Die-in for change
news (Photo by Yifan Zhou)
NEWS EDITOR
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mary xiao w ART EDITOR
he Ferguson grand jury decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the death of Michael Brown sparked controversy and nationwide protest. Students at Ladue held their own peaceful demonstration Dec. 5. More than 100 students left their W8 class to stage a “die-in” on the floor of the Commons. This month, Panorama sat down with one student who participated in the protest, sophomore Journey Smith.
ES: How have you been affected by the events in Ferguson? JS: Ferguson didn’t necessarily personally affect me and my family. However, it did showcase the racial intolerance that has been apparent in St. Louis and throughout the U.S. ES: Why were the events surrounding Ferguson so significant? JS: The events in Ferguson are important because they pushed the lingering racial tensions between
blacks and whites into the public eye. Hopefully with cases like this one, and others like Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner, and with the push of people across the globe, race relations will improve. The goal is that regardless of background, race or socioeconomic status, innocent men and women will not be slain in the streets. ES: Why is it important for students to get involved in these issues? JS: It’s important for students to be actively involved in civil rights issues because this is our world, and we have to strive to make it the best place we can. The passion of youth
[can] help bring a louder voice to the cause. Passion and involvement grant change. ES: What else can students do to continue to promote social change? JS: First and foremost, students should educate themselves on the matter. After that, there are many ways to get involved. Social media has played a key role. Twitter still helped get the story across with hashtags such as ‘black lives matter,’ ‘hands up don’t shoot’ and ‘I can’t breathe.’ Social media lets [teens] form their own opinions on the matter. v
States file lawsuit against immigration bill President Obama’s executive action causes debate and concern isabella fu NEWS WRITER
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eventeen states filed a federal lawsuit in response to President Obama’s executive action regarding immigration. The action, announced Dec. 3, offers temporary legal status to millions of illegal immigrants and indefinite reprieve from deportation. The proposal “contains four main principles: strengthening border security, simplifying the process of legal immigration, providing illegal immigrants a legal way to earn their citizenship and cracking down on employers hiring undocumented workers,” said the White House website. According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than half of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are from Mexico, while the rest are largely from other countries in Latin America and Asia. “Poverty, armed conflict, social strife and political turmoil” are the most common causes of immigration, according to OneAmerica, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington state. Though many families immigrate legally, some people remain undocumented and face the threat of deportation. In 2009, the Urban
In the
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ethan shuchart
Ethan Shuchart: What happened at the protest? Journey Smith: There was a group of students who talked about the issues at hand and stated the purpose of the die-in, which was to offer respect to Brown and his family. After that, we were asked to lie down [to represent] the time Brown lay in the street.
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Institute, a Washington D.C. policy do,” Attorney General Greg Abresearch institute, published an bott of Texas said in a New York article reporting the psychological Times article Dec. 3. effects of deportation on children. While presenting the lawsuit According to the article, home at a news conference, Abbott said raids are often conducted in the Texas was “uniquely qualified to presence of children, leaving them challenge the president’s executive prone to post-traumatic stress order” because the state had sufdisorder and depression. Obama fered greatly from illegal immigrasaid in his address that he aims to tion. The lawsuit also claimed that end the separation of families by the reform would encourage more stopping deportation for those who border crossings, forcing states to are willing to legally immigrate. spend more funds on law enforce“We’re going to keep focusing ment, health care and education. enforcement resources on actual “Our immigration system is threats to our security– felons, not broken, and it must be fixed,” families; criminals, not children; Abbott said in a news conference. gang mem“But it The safety of Latino [families] is bers, not must be key. This nation needs immigraa mother fixed by working Contion reform, but [it] should go hard to gress.” through the proper channels to provide for In rebecome a law. her kids,” sponse to - senior Abigail Donahue his action, Obama said in his naRepubtionally televised address Nov. 20. lican Representative Ted Yoho Within two weeks of the presidrafted the “Preventing Executive dent’s proposal, 17 states sued the Overreach on Immigration Act of federal government. They argued 2014.” If passed, this would nullify that Obama violated his constithe president’s immigration plans. tutional duty and illegally placed “Notwithstanding any other new burdens on state budgets. law, the executive branch of the “[Obama abdicated] his respongovernment shall not exempt or sibility to... enforce the laws that defer, by executive order, regulawere duly enacted by Congress and tion, or any other means, categoattempting to rewrite immigration ries of aliens considered under the laws, which he has no authority to immigration laws,” the bill reads.
Senior Abigail Donahue is a member of Young Republicans, a club that educates its members about political and social issues. According to her, Obama’s use of executive power is disconcerting. “In the U.S., we have a system of checks and balances, not a monarchy,” Donahue said. A study by economists at the University of California Los Angeles estimated that in the short term the legalization of four million immigrants will generate $6.8 billion in labor income, around 16,000 jobs and $2.5 billion in tax revenue. A different study by the White House estimated that in the long term the plan will increase gross domestic product by 90 to 210 billion dollars in the next ten years. “Everyone agrees that the economic benefits will be positive from the legislation,” Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst with the Cato Institute said. Though a dispute remains over Obama’s proposal, both sides wish to see a betterment in the lives of immigrants and their families. “Republicans need to remember that although this abuse of power is concerning, a level head must be kept,” Donahue said “The safety of Latino [families] is key. This nation needs immigration reform, but [it] should go through the proper channels to become law.” v
Police in Evansville, Ind., arrested 19-year-old Michael Barnes and his girlfriend after finding a video on his cellphone in which the 1-year-old son of his girlfriend playing with a handgun and placing the muzzle in his mouth.
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, who was convicted in May of multiple charges, including plotting to start a terrorism training camp, was sentenced to life in prison by a court in New York Jan. 9.
George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the murder of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, was arrested Jan. 9 for aggravated assault and domestic violence after throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend.
Veronica Rutledge was accidentally shot and killed Dec. 30 by her two-year son in a Walmart in Hayden, Idaho after the boy reached into Rutledge’s purse and found her weapon.
Two people were killed at a camel farm in Wichita Falls, Texas after a camel trampled them Jan. 10.