STOP TRYING TO BE HARLEY AND BE JESSICA PAGE 7
NEW MUSIC RADAR: JON BELLION PAGE 10
FROM SINKING HOLES TO SCORING GOALS PAGE 15
YOU SPEAK WE LISTEN PACEMAKER WINNER
THELOQUITUR.COM
VOL. LVIII, ISSUE 6
THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017
Donald Trump’s attack Students learn through the eyes of another in Guatemala on the media and what it means for citizens BY CAITLYN HUEBNER Web Editor
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JERRY ZUREK
Cabrini students, faculty and alumni smiling proudly after hiking up a mountain in Guatemala. BY KATIE BRIANTE AND JACLYN LABES Perspectives Editor and News Editor “I left San Lucas and met my husband and left this community. I had four children at that point and was married in 1984 and divorced in 2003. After separating from my husband, I ended up in Guatemala City and there I joined another group that worked on building women’s self-esteem and also to know their value, think about ways in which we could be self-sufficient.” Guicha is a Guatemalan women from San Lucas Toliman. She is a single mother with four children. She runs the women’s center in San Lucas and works to promote self-esteem and self-sufficiency in the women in the community. This past spring break, Cabrini students had the chance to learn about many global issues, one of which was women’s rights and issues. In the United States, the month of March is dedicated to women’s history. This experience allowed students to be able to expand their global viewpoint by hearing personal stories about how women are treated in Guatemala. Every year Dr. Jerry Zurek and Dr. Raquel Green take a group of dedicated students to Guatemala. They get on a plane in Philadelphia and then hours later they walk off a plane into Guatemala City where they have to travel another almost three hours to a small town called San Lucas Toliman. On a global scale, San Lucas seems unimportant. It is a small town around a lake, but do not let that fool you. San Lucas touches the heart of everyone who steps foot there. The charm, openness and graciousness of the people of San Lucas does not leave students for the rest of their lives and this year was no different. Three faculty members, 10 students and two alumni made the trip this year. They had the opportunity, through the mission there, to work alongside with and talk with a number of different people in San Lucas, one of those people was Guicha. According to the mission’s website, the women’s center is “a place where women can work, think, be together – not just a meeting hall or a meeting
place.” Guicha not only runs the women’s center but she also teaches lessons on weaving, sewing and other skills that can help women become more independent and self-sufficient. She works hard to make sure that this generation has rights because she remembers when woman did not. “Before the Peace Accords and before this change, women were not aware that they had rights. They just sort of accepted their gender roles and did not question,” Guicha said. “And it was at that moment when they began to think about it and think of their own dignity and how they could improve their lives.” In the 1960s Guatemala began a brutal civil war; it was the government fighting against various rebel groups. According to a CNN article, “During the conflict, atrocities were committed against women, who were used as a weapon of war. In 1996, a ceasefire agreement was reached between insurgents and the government.” However, many of the people who committed these are still in positions of power and their views on women have not changed. The culture in Guatemala is very machismo, or male-centered, and that often gives way to gender-based violence. “Here in Guatemala, there is quite a bit of gender violence against women as a way to control,” Guicha said. “So, if there is a case of gender violence and the women appeal to some kind of judicial process, it takes time and it takes a lot of money. They may not have money or they may not have the time to travel the distance. Many times women just don’t go there.” “Guatemala ranks among the countries with the highest rate of violent deaths among women,” according to the United Nations. “In 2013, 748 women lost their lives to violence, a 10 percent increase compared to 2012, this gives an average of two deaths per day.”
President Donald Trump took to social media on Friday, Feb. 17, declaring that fake news, such as the New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN, is not his enemy, yet the true enemy of the American people. This was done after information about inappropriate communication between Trump’s inner circle and Russia was leaked. In a confusing statement, Trump said the leaks are real, but the news is fake. Since Trump’s attack on the media, the press has been watching and reporting very closely. “I think the media got somewhat lazy and didn’t take Trump seriously,” Dr. Jerry Zurek, professor and chair of the communication department, said. “[This was] a wake-up call to start asking the tough questions.” Zurek believes reporters will now be much more careful and diligent with their reporting. The media, sometimes referred to as the fourth estate, is responsible for holding the executive branch beyond reproach. According to Dr. Dawn Francis, communication professor, the media is the unofficial fourth branch of government to check powers. “I see the media as serving two purposes,” Francis said. “First, to serve the people in order to bring news and information in [people’s] lives. Also, it serves to hold people in power accountable.” This check of power can be dated all the way back to the early 20th century. Muckrakers, often now referred to as whistleblowers, were journalists who would report on corruption in politics and economics during the Industrial Revolution. According to Dr. James Hedtke, history and political science professor, the media plays a very important role in politics. “To me, the media’s role is to responsibly and accurately report the news,” Hedtke said. He added that previous presidents did not share this same belief. Roosevelt, Hedtke said, saw the press as a means to bring about action. He believes that Trump’s expectation of the media is far from anything that has been seen before. “The president wants a biased news,” Hedtke said. “Fake news is anything that doesn’t fit his reality.” Both Hedtke and Zurek noted that Trump is a business man— that his new role as president may be the first time he has been criticized publicly. Even as a TV personality, his high ratings brought very little criticism. “He’s really out of his depth,” Hedtke said. If the press was dissolved, even for a day, it has the possibility of wreaking havoc on democracy itself. Senator John McCain spoke with “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd a few days after Trump’s tweet. McCain joked about how much he hates the press, but how vital it is to a democracy. CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 4
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 4 FLICKR / MICHAEL VADON