6 The Marlin Chronicle | marlinchronicle.vwu.edu
More than a name
President Trump derogatorily calls senator “Pocahontas”
Bing Photos|Courtesy Pocahontas and John Smith as shown in DIsney’s version of the story. BY MARLYN SILVA mhsilva@vwu.edu
No matter how many years have passed, no matter how progressive society may get, we always seem to move a couple steps back. One of the many racially charged incidents that have happened in the past year involved President Donald Trump and Native Americans. Recently, there was a ceremony at the White House honoring three Navajo World War II veterans. It was at this ceremony that President Trump referred to Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas.” This turned out to be a dig at the Senator as she has previously identified herself to have Native American roots. While the remark was supposed to be a joke, it didn’t help that it was told in front of a painting of President Andrew Jackson, who famously passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The act itself resulted in the forcible move of Native Americans to the west coast of the United States. Many died as they moved west, resulting in the journey’s infamous name: The Trail of Tears. Given all the history behind Trump’s remark, it’s not surprising that it quickly went south, attracting attention from people across the nation. It brings up the question, was it a poor joke with unfortunate circumstances, or bad taste in humor? Now, what’s important to take note of is the fact that there are many things wrong with this incident. To start, President Trump using “Pocahontas” in what can only be seen as a snide remark is insulting in many ways. Not only was it to tease Senator Warren, and we’ll get back to her, it’s using Pocahontas’ name as an insult. Just to refresh some memories, Pocahontas was not just your favorite Disney princess, in fact her name wasn’t Pocahontas. Pocahontas was born as Matoaka, while “Pocahontas” was just a nickname. Matoaka/Pocahontas was then married off at a young age, but eventually married an English man named John Rolfe, not John Smith, despite what Disney may have told us. The fact of the matter is, is that regardless of the way people know her, the President used her name not to be funny, but to be insulting. This is a woman that if people researched further, would know that she had gone through many hardships in her life. She isn’t someone that we, as a society, should cash into her name and heritage for a simple movie or joke. Maybe it’s time to recognize who she truly was. Not only was the joke insensitive, it wasn’t smart to have delivered it in front of three Native Americans. For years, Native Americans have gotten the short end of
the stick where their culture is constantly being disrespected. It doesn’t help that this was done all in front of a portrait depicting someone who had a big hand in causing many Native American deaths. As reported by various media outlets, the Native American community found this insulting and derogatory. On the other hand, Senator Warren isn’t off the hook either. The whole reason such a remark was made in the first place is because she had originally claimed to have Native American genes. While no proof has been presented, making such a statement is obviously going to be controversial. The general idea being if a person claims to be a part of the minority population without experiencing being a minority, then they shouldn’t have the right to claim to be one at all when it comes to actual experience. There have been way too many incidents in which people state that they are for example, African American, or maybe even of Latino descent when they are not. Most of the time such a statement attracts negative attention. Let’s look at Rachel Dolezal. She was the woman who made headlines a few years ago when it was revealed that while she was a civil rights activist and identified as African American, she was in fact white and of European descent. What made her lose credibility, even more than she could have, was the fact that she had created this lie and even lied about hate crimes she had been a victim of due to the color of her skin. As anyone could imagine, people were outraged. She eventually lost her job and her name became associated with negative reactions. At the end of the day, from what the people know, Senator Warren could be lying or stretching out the truth. The deeper issue and question from this situation being that if a person hadn’t experienced the hardships, trials and tribulations of a minority race, should they be able to claim it as their own even if they may have some of the genes? While this is a deep-rooted issue, the disrespectful way President Trump brought it to everyone’s attention was definitely unnecessary. The common argument being that “it was just a joke” doesn’t cut it at all. If the Native Americans have said that they feel insulted, then maybe there is something wrong with what was said. This is just another lesson to be learned, but when will it stop? When will society reach a point in which people become aware that race is not a joke?
HAIR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 Now, there are many different ways to go natural. There’s the big chop, cutting out all of the permed/relaxed parts of hair, usually resulting in an extreme change in length, or you can just grow out the hair until the permed sections are gone. Seeing as how I already hated my short hair, cutting it was not going to work for me. I decided to just grow out the perm and learn how to take care of my natural hair. I am now a senior, and over this past summer my hair has officially become all natural and healthy. That being said, I still run into obstacles. My hair hasn’t grown since that fateful day of the perm and is stuck at shoulder length. I’ve tried everything I have seen on YouTube or Google for hair growth, to no avail. At least the black castor oil helped bring back my edges. I see people online leave comments concerning natural hair, talking about how easy and cheap it supposedly is. News flash: they are liars. In no way is being natural cheap. When I first started going natural, I bought shampoo and conditioner, oils, gels and hair accessories to try and manage my transitional period. I spent about $50 and had to go back a month later to buy more shampoo and conditioner. There is definitely a lot of research that
6Opinions.indd 1
goes into maintaining healthy, natural hair as a person of color. You have to determine your hair type, which contains a lot of factors, but in the long run it helps you figure out what works and doesn’t with your hair. This includes products and styles among other things. I thought I had one type, but it took my friend, who is a part of the Naturalista club on campus, to lead me in the right direction. Transitioning involves the most extensive research in my opinion. You have to find styles that work for you and your lifestyle. It was hard and still is hard. There are days where I am so unsatisfied with my hair, the length, the texture, all of it. It makes me so mad that it gets to me so much. Plus, some of what is good for natural hair I happen to be allergic to: coconut oil and avocado oil. Some days, I feel that I don’t love my natural hair when I should be embracing it. Honestly, I wish I had never gotten that perm when I was younger. If my hair was still that long and I was still natural, maybe I’d love it a bit more. But there’s nothing good that comes of dwelling too much on the past. I’m looking forward to my natural hair journey and eventually embracing the power that are my curls.
Thursday, December 7, 2017
The joy of volunteering BY JONATHAN JOYNER jrjoyner@vwu.edu
With the fall semester coming to a close in the coming weeks and the thoughts of winter break rolling into our minds, I am sure some are wondering if they will be doing something to occupy their time during the upcoming winter session. Since taking a winter session class can be expensive for all of us on a college student budget, and getting a job for just a few weeks is highly unlikely, a good way to pass the time would be to do some volunteer work. Now, I am not going to give you some long-winded explanation of why volunteering is a good idea, but I would like to highlight some key reasons why it would be worth your time. First of all, volunteering is a great résumé builder as well as a time to create some worthwhile connections out in the real world. Volunteering can bring you into contact with some amazing people and can lead to some great opportunities. These opportunities can include, but are not limited to, finding possible future careers, a finding of one’s own self (you can discover new things about yourself such as what you enjoy doing) or meeting some really great new people who could become lifelong friends and possibly act as bridge to your future. The results of volunteering go far beyond what I just listed above. Second of all, if you are not taking a winter session, you have a six-week gap between the time the fall semester ends and the spring semester begins. During that time, I understand you want to relax, spend with family and catch up on all the sleep and Netflix that you have been missing out on because of your assignments. Trust me though, six weeks of nothing to do but rest will drive you crazy. It is not enough time to get a job, but it is too
much to spend just being lazy. You will get bored very quickly; I have learned this from personal experience. Instead of spending your time lounging around doing whatever, you could give back to the community. There are volunteer options literally everywhere you go, no matter where you are or where you are staying. Finally, giving back to the community is a great way to spread some cheer and happiness during these cold winter months. There are probably people in your community who are struggling to make through this winter season. Help is needed everywhere. It could be at your local church or even in your own neighborhood. You can help with donations to organizations that help people worldwide, help with all the recent flood relief chaos that has been ravaging this part of the country or you can even do something as simple as shoveling snow for people when, and if, we get snow this winter. Share the happiness you carry within you, and if you do not have happiness within you, then volunteer this winter because someone’s happiness may rub off on you. Honestly, volunteering is probably one of the best ways to spend one’s free time. Especially when that free time is six weeks of pure boredom when you cannot afford to do winter session. Whether it is for connection building, a new pass time or even just to spread some love and kindness, you should volunteer. Now, I could go on and on with more reasons why volunteering is important, but it is a choice that you as a person have to make. I cannot force you to volunteer, but if you are looking for something new and exciting to do, then volunteering may be for you.
Decorate your cap
Val Miller|Marlin Chronicle BY FARAH HAIDARI fahaidari@vwu.edu
In my lifetime, I have been to a few graduations. There are some people who always enjoy decorating their graduation caps because it makes the experience feel more personal. According to the Virginia Wesleyan University website, the Commencement Day instructions prohibit any personal, “adornments of any kind to be worn on the cap, gown, or hood. This includes badges, corsages, and lettering of any kind.” Tuition at this school is expensive, and students often communicate with one another about how stressed they are because they may not be able to get a meal or pay for their textbooks. If students want to decorate their caps, then they should be able to do that. I understand that the university has rules, but the reasoning for making this rule is beyond me. I love this school and am going to miss it. However, one thing that I will not
miss about it is how it can sometimes be overly controlling. Graduation is that one time where students should do whatever they want. If they want to decorate their caps, then they should do that. When I first started thinking about what school I wanted to attend, I thought about what location I wanted it to be in; how big the school should be and other factors as well. The main reason I decided to go to school though was to earn a diploma. Most everyone who goes to college goes because they want to earn a diploma. This school shouldn’t make it a rule that they want students to not decorate their caps when they have worked their hardest for the last four years to earn one. I already know that I am not going to be decorating my cap because it isn’t my sense of style to decorate it, but I can imagine that a lot of people would want to decorate their caps and they should be able to.
SWIFT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 Taylor Swift has always been a smart business woman with how she handles her fame, but I think what she’s doing is crazy. It makes me feel that she thinks she’s better than her fans. If I want to purchase a ticket now, then I should be able to do that. I shouldn’t have to earn it. Even though I am annoyed with having
to earn the tickets rather than just buying one, I still hope to earn it eventually. I’ve only been to one of Taylor Swift’s concerts when she went on tour for her album 1989, but I remember having the best time. Taylor Swift knows how to get her fans’ attention.
12/6/2017 1:52:05 AM