Irina DiCunto '21
As most of us know, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd (46 years old) was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His last moments were spent gasping for breath because of Derek Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, which caused Floyd to die from low oxygen, or asphyxia. On March 12, Minneapolis did agree to pay Floyd’s family $27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. However, the family and people needed the justice that George Floyd deserved; they needed the policemen involved to be held accountable for their heinous actions. From March 8, 2021 to April 20, 202, the case of the State v. Chauvin was held at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Throughout the testimonies, the prosecutors heavily depended on the jurors to believe their own eyes when watching the terrifying video of Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck. The video itself was taken by Darnella Frazier, who was one of the 38 witnesses that were called to court. Chauvin’s second-degree murder charge was given when he assaulted Floyd with his knee, which was the cause of his death. They gave Chauvin the third-degree murder charge because the police officer had behaved with a “depraved mind.” Lastly, they charged Chauvin with manslaughter because of his “culpable negligence.” Judge Peter Cahill ordered Chauvin’s bail to be revoked, and Chauvin was taken back into police custody due to him being a flight risk and because of the danger that came along with this case. He was booked into the Oak Park Heights maximum-security state prison. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, who assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd, and Tou Thao, who prevented any bystander from interfering, were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Their case is scheduled to begin on August 23, 2021. Floyd’s attorney Ben Crump remarked, "We frame this moment for all of us, not just George Floyd... This is a victory for those who champion humanity over inhumanity, those who champion justice over injustice, those who champion morals over immorality." President Joe Biden further mentioned, "Nothing is going to make it all better," but "at least now there's some justice."
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Olivia Bodnar ‘23
Cancel culture has targeted a new enemy. Instead of celebrating Dr. Seuss’ 117th birthday on March 2nd, the author became the latest victim in the cancel culture movement, by his own company no less. Dr. Seuss Enterprises has made the decision to stop publishing six books that they feel are “hurtful and wrong.” After discussions with a panel of experts, including educators, the company announced that they will stop publishing the offensive books because they send the wrong message and discriminate against certain minority groups. The six books Dr. Seuss Enterprises has decided to stop production on are: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer. The decision to end future publication of certain books is a growing movement that comes in direct opposition to the freedom of the press and free speech. The company has the right to stop publication, but it is the bigger picture that could be troubling. Do schools and bookstores then have the right to ban them from their shelves? Some of the reasons behind the decision are because the books promote white supremacy, are offensive to Japanese people, and portray Orientalism in a negative manner. Some schools have already made the decision to pull these books. After the announcement was made public, the popularity of these books shot up and flew off the shelves in bookstores and online stores like Amazon. Some students also disagree with the announcement. Freshwoman Anna Mancino said, “I think the cancellation isn’t a clever idea because many children read Dr. Seuss books so it can get people annoyed that they’re cancelled.” Another student, sophomore Jenna Walcott, agrees with the stop in publication. She said, “I think that it should have been cancelled because of the influence it had on people.” While the decision to stop publication is certainly within the rights of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, is it for the right reasons or are they being pressured to act because of the politically correct climate today? Also, because no new books will come out, is it right to keep these books from the public? If there is something an individual finds offensive, they don’t have to read it, but the opportunity to read them should still be made available. Let people go back to thinking for themselves. Angelic Molos '21 Have you ever read an article that someone shared online and cannot tell whether it is true or not? This situation has become alarmingly more common as time goes on.
One thing I have learned though, is that in a world full of fake news, you have to be a skeptic. Check your sources, and their sources! How long ago were they written? Are they biased? How do you know? One of the most interesting parts of journalism is that everyone has a bias! Whether they realize it or not, there are many factors that push someone towards feeling a certain way about a topic. These are not all of them but some of these factors can include: beliefs that someone grew up with, beliefs that stem from personal experiences, and beliefs that stem from learning in a certain environment. Bias is best and easiest seen in pieces that are written about an emotional and controversial topic. Even if you cannot tell how a writer may lean, luckily, we have sites like AllSides.com that break it down for you. There are usually at least three sides to a story, and AllSides is an amazing tool if you want to learn more about detecting bias in writers so you can be a more educated and attentive reader. Almost half of Americans aged 19-29 get their news from social media now and just go along with it because why wouldn’t it be true right? So, so wrong! Lack of attention to detail is the biggest driving factor behind misinformation shared through social media. The best rule of thumb when it comes to sharing news you see online would be that if you are in doubt - just do not repost it or share it with others. Sharing stories on topics that you do not know much about or a story that may not be from a reputable source is only contributing to this problem of fake news. Now you may be thinking, so where do I get my news from then? Some of my personal favorites that stay relatively unbiased would be the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal. They also have apps and email subscriptions so you can stay informed in real-time and through your phone. Everyone has a responsibility to fight fake news and I strongly believe that it is possible as long as you never stop asking questions and use the resources that are available to you. Happy reading! Irina DiCunto '21 We all know that ever since COVID and quarantine started, we have forgotten that the world does still turn. Just like how school continues, politics maintains its steam, and internet drama still exists, the field of science will also continue to expand. Every day there are new discoveries being made and new technology being created. Mentioned below are just a handful of new scientific discoveries made in 2021.
Supermassive Black Holes On February 18, 2021 Scientists were able to create a map showing over 25,000 different supermassive black holes and published it to the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. These astronomers were able to use 52 LOFAR (LOw-Frequency ARray) radio telescopes to find the blackholes that only cover about 4% of the northern sky. Syfy Wire mentioned in their article “Hold Your Breath and Enter This Hypnotic Map of 25,000 Supermassive Black Holes,” ‘After many years of software development, it is so wonderful to see that this has now really worked out,” Leiden Observatory’s scientific director Huub Röttgering noted. “Black holes are related to Albert Einstein's General Relativity, which is simply put, the theory of gravity and how it warps space. Studying black holes can help us understand the evolution and even the destruction of galaxies. Perseverance Video and Audio On Monday February 22, 2021, NASA had released video footage and audio from when their Perseverance Rover landed on Mars on February 18th. The rover's main mission was to check the planet's recent weather conditions, its geology, and ancient microbial life (any microscopic organism). As mentioned by NASA in their article “NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover Provides Front-Row Seat to Landing, First Audio Recording of Red Planet,” ‘“This video of Perseverance’s descent is the closest you can get to landing on Mars without putting on a pressure suit,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science. “It should become mandatory viewing for young women and men who not only want to explore other worlds and build the spacecraft that will take them there, but also want to be part of the diverse teams achieving all the audacious goals in our future.” Even though the audio is only around 20 seconds long, it is still an amazing accomplishment. It is also just astonishing that we can now even hear a soft breeze coming from another planet, especially since we are only used to our own planet. You can find the audio on SoundCloud, and the audio/ video on the NASA website. A “Vaccine” for Multiple Sclerosis We all know BioNTech as the German biotechnology company that paired with Pfizer to create the first-ever COVID vaccine. However, on January 7, 2021, they revealed that a similar technique to mRNA technique used for the COVID vaccine, was proven effective to stop multiple sclerosis (MS) in lab mice. Even though there are already existing treatments for MS, they often suppress the immune system so much that it leaves the patient open to many infections. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society mentioned in “Researchers report using novel mRNA ‘vaccine’ to treat mice with MS-like disease – further research needed to translate to people” that, “The goal is to induce immune tolerance to the targets (“antigens”) – in this case components of the protective myelin coating that is damaged by immune attacks in MS – without compromising normal protective immune responses.” MS is an unpredictable disease that affects around one million people in the United States, and there is currently no complete cure for it. However, with these continued new tests and with the improvement in science and medicine, we might be able to cure this so-called “incurable disease.” An Artificial Uterus On March 17, 2021 The New York Times reported that at Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, the scientists were able to create an artificial uterus to hold a baby mouse. Originally, this study was meant to just help us understand how mammals develop in the womb, but then they began to question whether a human artificial embryo could be possible. Gina Kolata mentioned in her New York Times article “Scientists Grow Mouse Embryos in a Mechanical Womb” that, “The artificial womb may allow researchers to learn more about why pregnancies end in miscarriages or why fertilized eggs fail to implant. It opens a new window onto how gene mutations or deletions affect fetal development.” Paul Tesar, a developmental biologist at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, stated, “The holy grail of developmental biology is to understand how a single cell, a fertilized egg, can make all of the specific cell types in the human body and grow into 40 trillion cells.” “Since the beginning of time, researchers have been trying to develop ways to answer this question.” Dr. Tesar further noted though, “whether that is appropriate is a question for ethicists, regulators and society.” Our FabLab Manager and Science teacher, Mr. Williams, mentioned that, “This is a fascinating development because it opens so many new doors of both capability and moral application. An artificial womb could potentially mean that anyone could have a child regardless of reproductive issues or health, or old age. In fact, technically speaking, this technology would make it so that no one would ever have to carry a child for 9 months or deliver it, reducing major stress, strain, diet oversight, or delivery complications. Then of course that brings into question how (or if) this will affect the child's development, will it create some sense of detachment between mother and child? Time will tell, and with something this morally gray it will likely be a long time before we know. But either way now we know science fiction concepts that are found in things like Horizon Zero Dawn are more and more science non-fiction.” While being able to study a growing fetus has many great benefits, it is mentioned all throughout the medical field to continue to be ethical. The topic of growing a fetus in an artificial womb is definitely a topic that will have to be further discussed in length. The “Field of Dreams” Hypothesis A new study that was performed tested the theory of “Field of Dreams” hypothesis, which basically states that if one were to restore all of the natural plant diversity, animal diversity would soon follow and grow. The study wanted to overall find out if the increase in animal diversity was caused because of the planet diversity, or if something else was giving a helping hand. They study of course found a strong correlation between animal and plant diversity. However, they also found that certain management strategies such as controlled fires, were just as effective or more than of introducing plant diversity. In the NIU Newsroom, professor Holly Jones mentioned, “This is an important study… With Earth's biodiversity rapidly disappearing, ecological restoration has emerged as an important strategy to slow or reverse biodiversity losses. Critical tests of the Field of Dreams and other hypotheses are needed to improve restoration science and ensure we get the most bang for our buck." This should not need to be mentioned, but diversity in our environment is incredibly important since it impacts people's livelihoods, income, and even health. The amazing scientific discoveries mentioned above are only a few of what else has been uncovered. It is important to try to keep up with scientific activities and maybe even one day try to aid in them. Kareena Joseph ‘23
Rapper Lil Uzi Vert, if you didn't know, implanted a $24 million dollar diamond on his forehead. With many people still struggling to grasp the pink diamond forehead implant, the rapper recently had a sit down on IGTV with Fat Joe, another fellow rapper, to clarify why he did it. Lil Uzi Vert states that when he first came across a huge shimmering stone from Eliantte & Co., he originally intended to place it in a ring. But with the spectacular price tag, Uzi then opted to lock it to his forehead for fear of misplacing the ring. "I am the Lil Uzi. I'm going to turn up. So, $24 million for a ring is the stupidest idea, because I'm going to glance down and the ring isn't going to be there... I know me. I wake up in mysterious places and different landscapes." Uzi also noted that he originally had other positions in view before he decided on his forehead, after being cautioned against the decision. "Don't believe it was just a 'come on, let's get his money,' he said. "No, brother, they've been arguing me down. It's almost crazy of the ordinary person, or of any person." Finishing their discussion, Fat Joe and Lil Uzi Vert spoke about the notorious 27 Club, the name of a group of musicians who died at the age of 27, before Uzi said he had to "get to work," joking that he was working on new songs. Lil Uzi Vert’s pink diamond implant has raised claims that his choice is an example of cultural exploitation for its semblance to the Indian practice of placing a bindi on one’s forehead. Many individuals on social media called him out for the body transformation, with one person posting on Twitter, “Where r all the people saying cultural appropriation?" I guess it doesn't matter when it's asian cultures.” “Hey glad to see you sharing your thoughts and knowledge,” Vert responded in a tweet. “But I’m not mimicking anything I know about a lot and love different forms of art…do you even know where the images are from? Honestly…I love y’all.” NME news unfavorably criticized Lil Uzi Vert, after the rapper stated that he recently joined Grimes in declaring that he will get a brain chip implanted. Damian Jones, a writer for NME news, called it “The bizarre pledge.” However, Aleia Woods, a writer for XXL news, writes almost as if she is not surprised, like she were expecting this. “What Lil Uzi Vert wants, he gets.” I think that Lil Uzi Vert can do whatever he likes with his own body. I side with XXL because Lil Uzi Vert is not a novice to spending a long amount of money on inanimate objects. For example, Lil Uzi Vert is known to have a $2 million car collection. So this situation is not surprising. I wouldn’t agree with NME news because they should not call his choices bizarre. After all, it is his body and he can do whatever he pleases. Amanda Gopie 21'
During the month of February, we celebrate Black History Month. Black History Month is a time to highlight the accomplishments of African Americans in history. When you think of February, you first think about Valentine’s day. Once Black History Month is actually acknowledged, we only talk about it for the first few days. The whole month is supposed to represent these accomplishments, but it feels like we just talk about it then it’s never brought up again until the next year. I think that Black History Month is almost like a pity gift. I believe the reason it was made was because they “had” to show what African Americans contributed to society. We talk about the same people in history like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and more. We go over the same people in history class not learning anything new. We should talk about the accomplishments that aren’t in the textbooks, or the events that no one hears about. We shouldn’t pick parts of history that we want to hear, but we should look for those parts that no one is willing to share with us. Needless to say, the Fontbonne community has taken the time to acknowledge Black History Month. The week before break, the morning announcements talked about Black History Month during FA. I asked some people in the Fontbonne community about who inspires them. One of the people I asked was the Social Studies teacher, Ms. Wurglics. Ms. Wurglics said, “I would like to say that an inspiring African American figure is Claudette Colvin. She is most well-known for being the first African American to refuse to give up her seat on the bus to a white woman in March 1955, a full nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. At the time, Colvin was a 15-year-old high school student and she was riding the bus home from school. Colvin's story is not as well known as that of Rosa Parks for a variety of reasons, but when I discovered Colvin, it reminded me, as a high school history teacher, to always keep searching for the truth and continue to research and study because there is always more to every story. Colvin bravely participated in a crucial movement and displayed to all that her voice would not be silenced, even as a 15-year-old girl”. Claudette Colvin is an important figure in history because she was one of the first people to refuse to give up her seat. Not until recently did she get mentioned when talking about the bus boycotts. There are many people who get overlooked when talking about African American accomplishments. When thinking about Black History month, we usually look back on the past, but the more recent accomplishments should be highlighted too. Another person I asked was the science teacher, Ms. Rivera. Ms. Rivera said, “I've always looked up to people who used their talents, gifts, and altruism to represent their communities in a positive light. Chadwick Boseman played an important role in uplifting young African American children whose dreams are often being superheroes. Although for an adult, a superhero may just be a fictional character, for children it may mean the world. A black superhero represents strength, courage, willpower, and responsibility. Not only did Chadwick Boseman embody those characteristics in Black Panther. He was also a role model for everyone in real life. Despite the circumstances with his declining health, he continued to be a role model that all of us will want to aspire to for generations to come.” Chadwick Boseman was a very famous actor who recently passed away in 2020. Boseman has acted in Black Panther, 21 Bridges, Get On Up, and more. Even though he passed away, he is an inspiration to other people because he inspires people to follow their dreams. He also shows us in his acting how we should be strong, courageous and take risks. An African American that inspires me is Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama is a former first lady and a role model for women. She advocates for those in poverty, education, healthy eating, and more. She has power and influence over people, and she uses it to help and affect the people around her in a positive way. She helps others in need and I wish to do the same with others. She also inspires people that they should follow their dreams and work hard. When she speaks, she is very realistic and tells us it won’t be easy, but it doesn’t matter because we can still get it accomplished. As Black History Month comes to an end, we shouldn’t forget the accomplishments of African Americans. The accomplishments of African Americans aren’t supposed to be talked about and highlighted during this one month, then forgotten once March comes. We should remember all the accomplishments and advancements that African Americans contributed to our society. Giana Capialbi 24'
It has become more apparent thanks to the crazy weather we’ve been having, that climate change is real. And it got me thinking, what can we do to try to fix it? The first idea I thought about was sustainable clothing. Now, as a 14 year old with no job and who is saving all her money for concerts, (if we even have them again) it is difficult to buy from popular ethical brands. However, fast fashion has a huge environmental footprint, and most companies treat their workers rather harshly. After doing some research, I found some brands that are sustainable that I will feel less guilty buying from. As a disclaimer, some of the mentioned companies are a little more expensive, but it might be worth it if it's better for the environment. One company is Happy Earth. Along with their clothing, they have accessories like water bottles and blankets. They use organic and sustainable materials and use recycled packaging. With every purchase, you get to choose your impact, like planting trees or fighting climate change. https://www.happyearthapparel.com/ Another brand is called Pact. They sell organic clothing and are known to have comfortable clothing. https://wearpact.com/ The last brand I saw is CHNGE. Their clothes have organic cotton and are made in India ethically. They have sweatshirts, crop tops, t-shirt dresses with positive graphics with topics such as feminism and unity. https://chnge.com/collections/all Another great way to reduce your clothing consumption is using apps like Depop and Poshmark. You can not only buy used clothing, but you can also sell clothing you do not wear anymore. Another way is going thrift shopping. Instead of buying brand new clothing, you can buy used clothing. All of the mentioned options for clothing shopping can help the environment, even if it is a small change. Olivia Bodnar '23 In order to protect people from COVID-19 and prevent the spread, vaccines have been made available to the public. New York City’s rollout for the vaccines first started on December 13, 2020 when New York received its first shipment of the Pifizer vaccine. Moderna arrived the week of December 20th, 2020. They are being offered at schools, pharmacies, hospitals and other local health departments statewide.
The shots are currently being offered to doctors, nurses, health care workers, first responders, teachers, public transit workers, grocery store employees, public safety workers and people who are 65 and over. As of February 15th, people with other health issues such as cancer, kidney disease, developmental disabilities, heart conditions, or pregnancy to name a few. The two most commonly used types of vaccines are the Moderna and the Pfizer shot. Moderna is made with RNA. It activates our immune system to recognize foreign protein and develop antibodies and other immunities. It is 94.1% effective after the second dose. It also seems protective in all the age groups and ethnic groups. The Pfizer is made with mRNA. It is 95% effective after the second dose across age and ethnic groups. The side effects of these shots include pain, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, and joint pain. Some people said that they have gotten fevers. Side effects from the shots are more likely to happen after the second dose, especially for younger adults who have stronger immune systems. There are no serious side effects that are related with receipt of the vaccines. Very rarely, either vaccine may trigger anaphylaxis, which is a severe and possibly life threatening reaction. The actual rollout of the vaccines has not been smooth sailing. The first doses ran out and people needed to have their appointments rescheduled. Rollouts have also been slow and mismanaged. Shots are being distributed at an extremely slow pace. Storage is also another issue. Both vaccines must be kept in freezers, limiting the places for distribution. On a personal note, sign up is difficult for people, especially seniors who are not tech savvy. All registration for the first and second doses must be done online. Many seniors are in need of assistance when making their first appointment and then scheduling their second on site. My parents and grandparents have all gotten the first shot. My mother had a scheduled appointment because she is a teacher, but had been unsuccessful in getting appointments for my grandparents. Fortunately Facebook has its positives, and late one Saturday night, she saw that someone had posted openings for the next day. She was able to get appointments for my grandparents, aunt, and dad. They will all receive the second dose on March 5th. According to my mother, “We were lucky to get appointments. The registration process was tedious and definitely difficult for my parents and Aunt Judy to do on their own.” Despite some issues, hopefully this is the start of the end and we can return to normal life. Brianna Cummings '23 Recently Jeff Bezos has announced that he will be stepping down from CEO of Amazon and giving his seat to the company’s top cloud executive, Andy Jassy.
In a letter to the numerous people of Amazon, Jeff Bezos states, “In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.” Bezos said he would remain active in big Amazon ventures but will also have more time to concentrate on the Bezos Earth Fund, the Washington Post, and the Amazon Day 1 Fund, his Blue Origin spaceship company. Bezos has led Amazon since its start as an online bookshop. He left his job at D. E. Shaw, and founded Amazon in his garage on July 5, 1994, after writing its business plan on a cross-country drive from New York City to Seattle. The firm now employs 1.3 million people globally and has its hand in everything from package delivery and streaming video to cloud services and advertising. He's gained a fortune of $196.2bn, according to Forbes' list of billionaires., making him the world's richest man. Angelic Molos '21 Searching for scholarships is a great thing to do when looking at colleges, and especially while you are waiting to hear back from the ones you applied to already. As someone who has applied to over 30 scholarships now, I have picked up many essential tips and tricks along the way.
My first tip would be to apply locally! It seems like such an obvious tip, but many people do not understand how quickly these smaller scholarships can pile up. Most scholarships that you can find locally range from $100-1,000. Do not be discouraged by the smaller scholarships because your chances of winning are so much higher. Think of it as you are the big fish in a small pond rather than the little fish in a huge pond. You can easily google traits or important things to you and your neighborhood or city, and you can find tons of scholarships that you can apply to. For example, I am a vegetarian New Yorker, and I would search up “vegetarian/plant-based scholarships for high schoolers in Brooklyn, New York” and options will be there. If you do not want to google specific things, you could also use specific search engines that are made to help you find scholarships, which leads me to my next tip. My personal favorite search engine is Bold.org because of how simple it is to navigate, but a few other favorites of mine are Fastweb.com and Scholarships.com. While using these search engines for scholarships, chances are you will see common themes and questions for the essays. The three most prevalent questions that are asked in these essays are: “Who are you, and what have you gone through that has helped you become who you are?,” “Why have you chosen the major or track that you’re planning to pursue?” and “Is there anyone or anything that has completely changed your life?” My best recommendation would be to write a strong but straightforward essay for each of these questions and then adjust as needed for each prompt you encounter. You may not want to write these three essays, but I promise you it is the best thing you can do. College gets expensive really quickly, so why wouldn’t you try your hardest to alleviate some of the financial stress for you and your family? Think of it as a way of getting paid for your writing! You write essays for school WITHOUT PAY all the time! When you write these essays, you could win some money for your own work. So why not? The only person that is stopping you from these opportunities is yourself! You really can do it, I believe in you. Lastly, do not hesitate to ask for help! If any of you need assistance with anything, so many of the teachers, counselors, and I are here and willing to help you any time. |