A fond farewell to Markham pg. 2
Riverside catches Black Panther fever pg. 4
Founded in 1991
Vol. XXVII Issue IV
March 2018
http://thepirateshook.com
Building a female future RHS women join the Women's March and spread awareness of sexual assault By Zoe Ashe-Jones When Mira Rahili’s friends go on dates, her biggest fear is that they won’t make it home. “Every woman I know, we text each other before going on dates,” said English teacher Mira Rahili. “We text our locations, drop a pin [on Google Maps], text when we’re in our house. Even now that I’m getting married, I still text my friends to make sure they’re in their house.” Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. 9 of of 10 rape victims are female, according to RAINN.org. According to a February 2018 NPR article, 81 percent of women have experienced sexual harassment. While the statistics are scary, the growing number of marches and movements working to give a voice to women give hope to women for their future. “Our voices are becoming recognized,” said junior Joala Downey. “We are becoming more united. That counts for something.” The #metoo movement, which gained popularity in the fall of 2017 thanks to a tweet by actress Alyssa Milano, works to give autonomy to victims of sexual harassment and assault. Her original tweet, which reads “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted, write ‘me too’ as a response to this tweet,” has over 68,000 replies, 24,000 retweets, and 53,000 likes. “I think it’s good that people are speaking out against their abusers and bringing awareness to a serious problem that was previously getting little attention,” said freshman Jahna Davis. “When more people in a position of power use their platform to speak out against it, maybe it will be recognized as a serious problem to be addressed. However, it’s not clear if or when, with this government, a change will be enacted as they have so easily ignored other problems as serious as this. While Milano’s tweet mobilized the #metoo movement, she didn’t come up with the idea on her own. Tarana Burke created Just Be Inc. in 2007 to support women of color who had been victims of sexual assault. Burke used #metoo at Just Be Inc. workshops and online to give a name to her movement. In an interview with the New York Times, Burke acknowledges the position she and
Francisco. These marches serve to spread awareness about issues that affect women. Despite the fear associated with speaking out, people are coming out in droves to speak up for their rights. Some wonder about how effective the movements are. Will anything change, or will these movements die out like others? “It’s been almost 100 years since women could vote,” said a Riverside teacher who did not wish to be named. “They still don’t make the same amount of money. Neither of the [#MeToo or the Women’s March] movements are making good, lasting change. The only thing that makes a difference is laws.” While neither of the movements have changed laws, they have changed the conversations people are having. “The movement has made me feel like I am part of a whole,” Twietmeyer said. “For a long time the issues that are being • PHOTO BY ZOE ASHE-JONES discussed - date rape, catcalling, reproductive rights, A woman holds a sign at the Raleigh Women's March. Celebrities are using awards shows as platforms to speak out about sexual assault and women's rights pay equality, menstruationhave not been topics that are safe to talk about in public Milano have been put in. affecting the way women perceive or with others, let alone men. Now “I think it is selfish for me to try moments of harassment or assault. that social media is a huge thing, to frame Me Too as something that I Some also see it as a learning expe- issues are being spotlighted for own,” Burke said. “It is bigger than rience for their communities at large. everyone to hear.” me and bigger than Alyssa Milano. “Most of my male students hadn't In the 2016 presidential election, Neither one of us should be centered heard about the #metoo movement,” women made up 63.3 percent of the in this work. This is about survivors.” said science teacher Mika Twietmey- voting pool. The impact from the While Rahili worries when her er. “I would love the #metoo move- Women’s March and the #MeToo friends go out to dates or parties, ment to keep going and to influence movement is already starting to be sexual harassment is not uncommon policies and trainings at out school. felt. In Alabama, Democrat Doug in professional spaces. A Time article For example, the dress code policy Jones won an election to fill a Senate from October 2017 reported that limits what young women can wear, seat. His Republican opponent, Roy 48 percent of women in the United mainly because if the items are too Moore, lost by 21,924 votes. Moore States workforce have been harassed revealing it is considered ‘distracting’ was facing accusations of sexual at work. and ‘inappropriate.’” misconduct during the election. “There was a [former] colleague The Women’s March was started “Women are a majority and who would tell me, while we were by Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez, impact elections in big ways,” said at meetings, that I had a ‘beautiful Linda Sarsour, and Bob Bland in Twietmeyer. “At the end of the day smile’ and that I ‘wear that dress direct response to the election of I have been inspired. I have called very well’,” said Rahili. “I didn’t Donald Trump as president. The and written my representatives more report it because I questioned if it march, which happened the day af- often, joined groups with other was crossing the line. I wondered if ter Trump’s 2017 inauguration, has women advocates, and called out I was dressed inappropriately.” spurred sister marches, including the patriarchy.” The #MeToo movement isn’t only ones in Durham, New York, and San
Students protest gun violence By Ingrid Castro Lara Riverside students and faculty walked out of school Wednesday to advocate for school safety and gun control. Participants left class at 10 a.m. They gathered at the football field and stood in silence for 17 minutes to honor the 17 students killed on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Teachers and administrators supervised the event. Students could receive disciplinary consequences for their actions, but RHS Activism Club vice president Chalisa Phoomsakha believes the consequences will be minimal if students protest peacefully. “It is our decision,” she said. “Whatever the consequence is, we’ll just have to go through with it because it is a choice to walkout. Phoomsakha also said principal Tonya Williams trusts the activism club members because they have organized walkouts before and they have not turned into chaos. Williams did not encourage or discourage students from walking out. “As long as we know about the plan, we can assist the leaders with identifying a safe place in or out of the school with proper supervision,” said Williams. “It is important to note that a walk out is not the only form of protest. I support all students in advocating for their beliefs as long as those beliefs do not create a hostile environment for others who may not share that belief.” The walkout was part of a national event in response to the Feb. 14 shooting. Schools throughout North Carolina and the United States held similar protests using social media to plan and promote their actions. In addition to Wednesday’s walkout, activism club members plan to call government representatives to ask for for gun law changes and send letters to the families of victims.
New superintendent visits Riverside Pascal Mubenga shares background and plans for DPS By Josh Nicholson Even at a young age Dr. Pascal Mubenga knew he wanted to make a positive impact on students and schools. He just had to figure out how. Now Durham Public Schools’ (DPS) new superintendent, Mubenga spent the majority of his childhood as a citizen of the Central African Democratic Republic of Congo. It was there at age 19 Mubenga realized his passion for school, which inspired him to pursue his education full-time in the United States. After arriving in the U.S., Mubenga attended Shaw University and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Math Education. Mubenga later went on to Liberty University to get his Master’s in secondary education and earned his Ph.D in Educational Literature from Capella University. Mubengas’ first job was in in Nash County teaching high school math. Later, he transitioned to Chewning Middle School in Durham to teach eighth grade math. “I remember after first being a [math teacher], that I really enjoyed teaching. When I reflected, I said, ‘how can I do something different
ilated into Durham Public Schools once again. As part of that process, he made a visit to Riverside where he met with faculty and staff about what he is bringing to DPS. A student pulling a fire alarm after school postponed the meeting temporarily, but after things settled down, Mubenga gave a presentation about his ideas and acknowledged concerns for the district. Riverside faculty members and DPS staff from other schools were very receptive of Mubenga. “I appreciated how open he was to questions,” said RHS media specialist Kate Mester. “I feel like if it were a bigger event there probably would have been a huge line for questions and people trying to cut each other off. However, that • PHOTO BY JAVIER MORALES didn’t happen. Everyone got to ask Pascal Mubenga speaks with The Hook. He has been superintendent for five months.
to impact more students than just my own classroom?’’’ Those reflections led him to a series of jobs that took him from leading a classroom to leading schools and districts. Fast-forward to 2018. A few months after DPS superintendent Bert L’Homme announced his plan to retire, Mubenga left Franklin
County Schools, where he had been superintendent for two-and-a-half years, to take on the position. Mubenga is familiar with Durham and spoke about the time he spent working closely with DPS as a consultant for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Since becoming the superintendent on Oct. 16, Mubenga has assim-
what they wanted, and he even gave some good teacher tactics.” Principal Tonya Williams has met with Mubenga on several occasions and feels he can bring a lot to DPS. “It’s easy to just sit and look at all 53 schools,” said Williams, “but when you’re coming into the schools, and really working with the principals and the teams - which is what he has been doing - then I think that most people will have a little bit more respect for you, and [see] that you really want to be a part of the work.” Teachers and faculty have their fingers crossed as they a wait to see the impact Mubenga can have on the district. Science teacher Mika Twietmeyer, who first met Mubenga at Riverside and at a speaking engagement he had with the Durham Association of educators, wants to see a lot more teacher involvement in decisions regarding schools and how they function. “I wish he would have been more involved in welcoming the teachers in more decisions,” said Twietmeyer, referring to the encounters she has had with Mubenga. Mubenga plans to release his strategic plan sometime in March.