The Voice of Skyline College, San Bruno, Calif. Volume VII- Issue 7
November 16, 2017
The truth about fake news
Photo illustration by MintZhet Tan
By Olivia Bowman TSV News Editor
The media landscape is constantly changing but with the explosion of technology and social media that has come in the last few decades, some print newspapers have struggled to keep up. Millennials are using technology more than ever and many are getting their news through social media platforms such as Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook.
However, with Trump’s claim that many news organizations are coming out with “fake news” it has led to widespread doubt about the credibility of the news that comes across people’s screens. Biology student Rima Pascual says she gets her news through Twitter and Snapchat. However, she has mixed feelings about the news she finds on social media. “I feel like a lot of it is fake, unless a big mass of people believe it,” she said. Tarek Atshan, whose major is undeclared,
Realities of sexual assault By Olivia Bowman TSV News Editor
The sexual assault claims that have come out recently have rocked Hollywood and many people’s perspectives of American society. Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Louis C.K. are just some of the celebrities that have been outed for sexual assault. The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) reports that one in every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. “It’s disturbing, but not surprising,” said psychology major, Claybourne Go. “Certain people in power can tend to abuse their authority.” Marketing student, Amr Shomali thinks it’s good that people are coming out about the issue, “It’s not talked about in public, so I’m glad there is support for the cause.” Some feel that the negative reaction to reporting sexual assault has kept people from coming forward. “People who experience (sexual assault) may tend not to make a complaint because they are afraid of victim-shaming,” said Paulette von Giese, a biotechnology major. “They could be ignored,” said
said he looks at news on websites like The Washington Post and The New York Times. “It’s easy and credible,” he said. But he doesn’t talk about news in his day to day life. He said he, “almost never” talks about news with people and the only person he talks about current issues with is his dad. When it comes to news on social media, Atshan says he doesn’t rely on it. “It’s hard to tell if it’s real or fake”. When asked if he stays informed, Atshan said he did. “It’s important
www.theskylineview.com but I don’t know why”. Former journalist Wanda MacClarin might. Now retired, she spent “25 or 30 years” working as a journalist at newspapers such as The San Francisco Chronicle, The Examiner, The Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, and The Alameda Newspaper Group. Fake news first came to the public consciousness when President Trump called out CNN for being “fake news” earlier this year at his first press conference since Election Day. President Trump has called out several news organizations for spreading “fake news” in spite of the truth of their stories. Encouraging his followers to boycott “fake news” organizations can be dangerous. MacClarin finds this dangerous because the President “discredits genuine information that has been vetted.” In her several decades of working as a journalist MacClarin said, “I’ve never seen anyone deliberately lie. I never saw a conspiracy to lie. Everyone was desperately concerned with getting facts correct to get the most complete picture.” When it comes to news on social media, MacClarin said, “It’s a tremendous danger to the whole society. One paragraph of news gives the illusion of being well-informed.” Another reason MacClarin is wary of news on social media is she thinks it sensationalizes issues and can cause public panic with clickbait headlines. “Print newspapers don’t give in to that. They don’t get paid per click.” She says print newspapers are “accurate down to the nuance, and have as much information as possible in the headline so they are not sensationalist and don’t initiate fear or panic” in readers. “It’s easy to be lied to when you’re ignorant. Uninformed masses can change history.”
respiratory major, Jenina Lavilla. Nursing student Hazel MacDonald said that reporting the sexual assault could backfire, “They could say, ‘You’re a liar. It was your fault.’” When it comes to reporting sexual assault on campus, the process is easy. “It’s not difficult at all,” said Public Safety Captain Jim Vangele. “It’s streamlined, simple, and straightforward." If students are sexually assaulted, they can go to Public Safety, the police, or the VP of student services. Vangele said students could also report anything where they felt there were, “threats of force or intimidation or a more serious event.” When it comes to what should be reported, Vangele said that while sexual assaults should always be reported, how a person decides to deal with certain kinds of touching, like a hand on their shoulder, is up to them. “Some may construe it as accidental while others may find it inappropriate,” Vangele said. Vangele doesn’t want students to feel incapable of handling these sorts of issues on their own, but says, “It depends on what they Christian Magallanes/The Skyline View Photo Illustration by MintZhet Tan
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