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Volume CXVIII, No. 4
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Thursday, March 3, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
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“Let’s talk about race”: students respond to YAF This Week’s Top Stories National Currently, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are leading the polls for their respective political parties. Hillary Clinton is the first woman to win large victories in a major political campaign. Donald Trump, on the other hand, is one of few businessmen in history to be successful in a major political campaign. He currently has ten victories in the first fifteen states to vote. Trump and Clinton’s opponents have a steep hill to overcome to win the nomination against either of them, as they are both currently strong frontrunners.
Young Americans for Freedom’s pro-life posters stir controversy on campus B y K ayla B ritt N ews E ditor The student group Young Americans for Freedom recently put up pro-life posters with messages such as “Let’s talk about race... Abortion is the number one killer of black lives in the United States” with the hashtag #blacklivesmatter. In response to these messages, some students on campus who felt the posters unfairly targeted a group of people and misrepresented the Black Lives Matter movement. These students planned a response on Feb. 23 in the CUB lobby. The students called for others who wanted to support them and their message to wear black and to stand in solidarity. The response followed several weeks after the Town Hall Meeting, a forum to discuss racism and racial issues on campus. The response protest started at noon, with a spoken word about the historical exploitation of black women’s bodies as well as the stereotypes they are sometimes saddled with. The students rebutted the poster’s assertion that
the number one killer of black lives in America is abortion, saying that according to the Center for Disease Control, the number one cause of death among African-Americans is heart disease. They also asserted that the statement that black women are more likely than any other group to have an abortion needs to be put in context. Specifically, minority groups are less likely to have access to adequate healthcare, including birth control, which would help prevent unintended pregnancies. Ja’Nai Harris, president of the Black Student Union, closed with a short speech calling for accountability and inclusiveness: “YAF whats good. You tried to put us in a box, sum up our identity and slander the #BlackLivesMatter movement. I know a lot of you attended the townhall meeting and as we continue to try to make our campus a more inclusive space, organizations like YAF push us further away from that goal, but they are only a small part
of the larger systemic and institutionalized racism that gears our nation. And let this be known ... This is not a performance, we are not putting on a show and just because you are here does not mean you’re standing in solidarity! And to YAF.. If the college won’t hold you accountable but WE WILL.” The response protest was also recorded in a video which circulated across Facebook and accumulated over 8,000 views. When asked about the purpose of the posters and the intention of posting them, Alissa Lopez, a student member of YAF, said that “We put up the posters because we felt as though this is an extremely important issue. We were not trying to delegitimize the black lives matter movement, but rather add to it. We believe abortion has a huge negative impact on the African American community. That’s not right. By sparking up the debate about abortion, the issue of context came up.”
The Young Americans for Freedom posted a series of posters on walls and boards in buildings across campus. Photo Credit: Naima Scott
Lincoln Lyceum lecturer talks freedom of speech Lecturer Harold Holzer has authored and co-authored 52 books about Lincoln B y A nnika J ensen W eb E ditor
With a huge influx of migrants still flooding into Europe, the European Union has proposed giving 700 million euros to Greece, a country which has been struggling financially. The EU commissioner calls on “extraordinary times” as Greece asks for aid to provide basic necessities for migrants in the region. The number of migrants in Greece hovers around 24,000 currently. Many other countries are currently changing and restricting their immigrant regulations, which could have disastrous consequences. NATO also warned that ISIS is spreading due to this mass migration. There are also concerns of islamophobia, particularly after the tragedy in Paris several months ago in November.
This week’s “Top Stories” were compiled by Kayla Britt with information from CNN (www.cnn.com) and Project Syndicate (www. project-syndicate.org)
Distinguished scholar and lecturer Harold Holzer delivered the 2016 Lincoln Lyceum on Wednesday, Feb. 23. Holzer spoke about his latest book, Lincoln and the Power of the Press: The War for Public Opinion, and addressed the question of whether the 16th president was a master or a monster when it came to the media. After cracking a few jokes about some notable absences in the audience, namely Dr. Allen Guelzo and Dr. Peter Carmichael, Holzer began by delving into the world of partisan journalism in the Civil War era and inviting his audience to imagine the press culture of the mid-19th century. He described the media at this time as having no shame about their agenda; newspapers were open about their opinions, and most major cities had a paper for each political party. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were particularly up for press interpretation. Holzer described that with the inception of the Civil War, however, the actions taken by the Lincoln administration and the Union army against newspapers were overtly anti-war and anti-draft: about 200 newspapers in Northern and bor-
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der states were suppressed by the federal government in all. The turning point in the attitude of the Lincoln administration, Holzer claimed, was the First Battle of Bull Run, after which the president and his cabinet took a stricter approach about indicting and shutting down Democratic newspapers; they wanted editors and writers who were pro-enlistment. Life for the president thus became a series of challenges. Many writers and editors were imprisoned in army camps and faced military tribunals instead of civilian courts. One hundred and fifty four newspapers were placed on a watchlist because they presented anti-war sentiments. Moreover, top generals like William T. Sherman banned reporters from their camps and even went as far as to court-martial some. Holzer described that in his research, it was difficult to find any condemnation of the Lincoln administration’s censorship by Republican editors and concluded that Lincoln should not be condemned because of the uniqueness of civil war. The president was worried about traitors and spies, and it should be understood that he had to combat rebel-
lion. While Lincoln should not be given a complete pass, Holzer reminded his audience that the press has never had, and will never have, complete freedom. While the topic of his
lecture was largely historical, Holzer alluded to contemporary controversy, namely Tim Cook and the current Apple debate. He also mentioned immigration and gave Donald Trump a sly
quip, saying that “nobody built a wall” for immigrants in 1861. H o lzer is the autho r, co-author and editor of 52 books about Lincoln.
The Lincoln Lyceum lecture was held on Feb. 23 and the lecturer was Harold Holzer, a distinguished scholar who has authored 52 books about Lincoln.
The Vagina Beach Reading: Bionic spines may cure Monologues Weird News, A look at seaside paralysis, vocalize feminist pg. 2 literature, pg. 4 thought, pg. 3 pg. 5
Photo Credit: Annika Jensen
Stop the tax on feminine sanitary products, pg. 7
Women’s basketball earns CC Crown, pg. 8