By Isabella Wren '22 Who is Eric Adams?
Eric Adams is one of six children and was born in Brownsville NY. He lived in a lower class environment and there was no stability in his life. As a young African-American boy, he was introduced to police brutality when he was 15 years old. Adams was beaten by a group of police officers, which motivated him to be on the forefront of change in New York. In the 1980s, Eric served as a police officer. While still cracking down on the flaws within the system, he made sure that he contributed to perfecting the criminal justice system and even protested with civil rights activists. He climbed the ranks to captain and helped create the first computerized system for stopping crime on the streets. “This is a blemish on our entire city. Anytime our well-trained police officers can not de-escalate a situation between mother and child without looking like Border Patrol police snatching away babies and children, that says that we're not doing what we need to do correctly.” - Eric Adams Plans as Mayor Eric Adams is part of the Democratic party, and his main concern is public safety. In his campaign, he expressed that he wants to have police reforms and is against defunding them. He also plans on helping underprivileged communities and getting affordable housing for families. There are also budget cuts he wants to put in place, but he still wants to add 150 miles of bus lanes and 300 miles of unprotected bike lanes. The new mayor supports small businesses and the overall idea of being able to move up in social class. “We’re too bureaucratic, too expensive and too difficult to do business in,” - Eric Adams (Gotham Gazette). There are more plans to be in place by the mayor, of course, however since he was just elected recently, more information on his promises will be released as time continues. What we can expect is more Democratic agendas that support the message of the party.
0 Comments
Alara Brunell '24 I observed that politics and religion are two of the most prominent factors that promote an argument. What makes politics and religion such unique concepts that don't allow us to discuss in civilized manors?
When it comes to politics, people have such strong opinions that they are entitled to. It becomes challenging for them to listen and understand what the opposing side is saying. I believe it all boils down to being educated and being an intellect. Intellectual people know how to talk about politics without arguing. They express themselves, but they also listen to others. People raised with one type of ideology quickly start fighting/disliking those who disagree with them. We have a right to our opinion, but we should also be open-minded to discuss political views with those who disagree with us. We will still support who we still support and vote for whom we would like to vote for. It's not easy when we feel so passionate about our beliefs, but rather than arguing and even stop talking/judging, we can say we understand, but I disagree with you. We can agree to disagree without getting personal. It's comfortable not to talk about politics and religion at all with friends, family members. I believe one's beliefs about politics and religion can tell us a lot about who that person is and what their values are. For example, when Trump was our president, so many bad things happened in our country. We disconnected from each other, and people started to dislike others because they didn't look or sound like them. This beautiful and unique country is built upon diverse people in all respects. Observing and hearing hateful messages to all others who come from different places was not the America I know and love. If we become educated enough, we can accept other people's ideas on their political views and discuss them without arguing. We are all connected and one in whichever political party we support. Olivia Bodnar '23 On March 31, Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill for a new election law in his state. Led by Governor Kemp, Georgia’s state lawmakers wanted to change election laws after the controversy surrounding the Presidential election in November. Some parts of the new bill will go into effect on July 1.
Senate bill 202 outlines reforms to Georgia’s current rules. The new laws expand the time period for early voting in some but not all of the counties in Georgia. Early voting will be at least seventeen days long. Some sort of identification is a requirement for both in-person and mail-in voting. The forms of identification required are driver's license numbers, State ID numbers, or the last four numbers of their Social Security numbers. There will also be regulations on drop boxes: where they will be located and when people will have access to them. There will be bans on providing voters waiting in line food or drink. The new law will also try and reduce long lines at some polls. Counties with voters waiting more than an hour have to have more polling sites to accommodate voters. Another law takes the power to manage the election away from the Secretary of State and gives it to the state election board. Other important changes will make sure election results get reported quickly, and that hotlines will be available to voters to report complaints about any illegal activity. Runoffs will also be shortened by five weeks. These new voting laws are in response to some voters’ confusion after the Presidential election in November 2020. President Joe Biden won the state of Georgia by 11,779 voters over former President Donald Trump. These new laws have caused outrage among Democrats and voting rights groups. The biggest complaint is that they believe these new laws are racist because they unfairly target issues in African American communities. Boycotts have been started against the state of Georgia. Hollywood actors, like Will Smith, have pulled movie productions, and even Major League Baseball relocated the 2021 All Star game away from Georgia. These decisions directly affect the economy and people in the state of Georgia. Despite the controversy, these new laws will be in effect for the next Presidential election in 2024. Sophia Cain ‘23
Andrew Cuomo has been in the press a lot recently because there have been allegations coming up in the news from several different women, claiming that Andrew Cuomo sexually assaulted them. The first allegations arose in December 2020, when President Joe Biden was reportedly considering Cuomo for Attorney General. At the time, Cuomo was still widely regarded as a hero for how he managed New York’s pandemic response. Since then, seven more women have come forward with allegations of workplace sexual harassment or other misconduct. The allegations vary in severity and scale, with one accusation of groping made by an unidentified woman on March 10, potentially reaching the level of a crime according to Albany police. The first accuser was Lindsey Boylan and she came forward with her allegations on December 11th. Ms. Boylan is age 36, and she worked at the New York state economic development agency from 2015 to 2018. She is currently running for Manhattan borough president. Ms. Boylan was a former aide to Cuomo. She tweeted at Joe Biden writing, “If you make this man Attorney General, some women like me will be bringing the receipts. We do not need a sexual harasser and abuser as ‘the law,’ of the land.” Her allegation received little to no attention until February 24th, when she published an essay alleging that the governor made persistent sexual comments when she was his employee and kissed her without her consent. Since then, several other women have stepped forward. A few days after Ms. Boylan published her account, Charlotte Bennett, age 25, came forward with sexual harassment allegations of her own. Ms. Bennett worked as an assistant and policy adviser in the Cuomo administration until November 2020. She said at first she saw Cuomo as a mentor. The next woman to come forward was Anna Ruch, age 33. She claims that Cuomo made an unwanted advance towards her at a wedding in 2019. She says he clasped her face and asked if he could kiss her. Unlike most of the other women mentioned here, Ms. Ruch is not, and has never been employed by the governor’s office or the state of New York. Still, Ruch’s account and the photo that captured her discomfort was a turning point that prompted several state Democratic officials to call on Cuomo to resign. Two of New York's U.S. senators said in a joint statement about how they feel on the matter at hand. "Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York. Governor Cuomo should resign.” Karen Hinton, age 62, was the next to come forward. She worked for Cuomo when he was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton Administration, alleging that Cuomo gave her an unsolicited “intimate embrace” in a hotel room in 2000. “I pulled away. He brought me back. I pulled away again and I said, 'Look I need some sleep, I am going.’” This was all said in a TV interview she did. The next to come forward was Ana Liss, age 35. She claims Cuomo kissed her hand, touched her lower back, called her “sweetheart,” and asked whether she had a boyfriend while she was working for him between 2013 and 2015. Ms. Liss has stated that she initially saw this behavior as harmless flirtation, but gradually began to see it as inappropriate and patronizing. On March 10th, it was reported that a female aide, whose identity has not been made public, alleged that Cuomo “aggressively” groped her at the Executive Mansion in late 2020. The aide is a young woman who had been summoned to the governor’s private residence to assist him with a technical issue. They were alone when Cuomo allegedly “reached under her blouse and began to fondle her” according to the Times Union of Albany report. Two days later Jessica Bakeman, a political reporter who formerly covered the New York Capitol in Albany, alleged in New York Magazine that Cuomo was physically inappropriate with her on multiple occasions. “Keeping his grip on me as I practically squirmed to get away from him, the governor turned my body to face a different direction for yet another picture. He never let go of my hand,” she wrote. Cuomo allegedly responded to her discomfort by saying, “I’m sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable? I thought we were going steady.” On March 19th, new allegations of workplace harassment emerged from a current employee of the Cuomo administration. Alyssa McGrath, who works as an aide at the governor's office, told the New York Times about several inappropriate comments and interactions. She alleged that Cuomo referred to her and her co-worker as "mingle mamas," commented on her looks and marital status, and looked down her shirt to comment on a necklace she was wearing. McGrath is the first current aide to speak publicly about her allegations, and she also commented on the serious accusation made by an anonymous current aide that Cuomo groped her. She said that the aide, a co-worker, described the incident in detail to her after the Times Union report came out. Cuomo has repeatedly denied or downplayed these allegations, while apologizing for certain details. “At work sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny,” he said. “I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended. I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.” He has also said, “I never inappropriately touched anybody and I never propositioned anybody and I never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but these are allegations that New Yorkers deserve answers to.” He added, responding to those who have called for his resignation, "Politicians who don't know a single fact but yet form a conclusion and opinion are in my opinion reckless and dangerous." He has also been quoted as saying, "I did not do what is alleged, period," What's being done about it? Sixteen House Democrats in New York's delegation are calling for him to step down. The calls for Cuomo's resignation grow louder every day, and 121 members of the state Assembly and Senate have said publicly they believe Cuomo can no longer govern and should quit office now, according to a tally by the Associated Press. The count includes 65 Democrats and 56 Republicans. Brynn Nelsen 21'
After a controversial election, Joe Biden was finally elected to be the 46th president of the United States of America. Every president is known to make many promises to accomplish many goals in their first month of the presidency, and Joe Biden is no different from his predecessors. When entering his presidency, Biden made it clear that his two main goals were to curb the spread of COVID-19 and deliver economic aid to families in need. The administration’s primary goal is to have over 100 million Americans vaccinated in his first 100 days. While President Biden has kickstarted the vaccine rollouts, he has not kept up with the speed needed to reach his goal of 100 million Americans being vaccinated. Specialists from Kaiser Health News believe that by his 100-day mark, only 60 million Americans will be vaccinated, and they think that this has to do with the delay in getting them out. Biden recently, however, has now ordered over 200 million doses of the vaccine to push him toward his goal, which is a step in the right direction. In his first few days of office, Biden notably tried to re-do many of Trump’s policies. These include the Paris Climate Agreement, which was a massive shift in attitude towards climate change—rejoining this agreement allowed the United States to regain respect regarding trying to save the environment from other countries. Many Americans see him rejoining the Paris agreement as striving to stray away from the last administration’s decisions. Since Biden was elected to office, he has had a steady approval rating of about 53%. Most of these approval ratings fall within party lines. An expert from Newsweek reports, “90 percent of Democrats backed the president's efforts, while 53.6 percent of independents and only 24 percent of Republicans showed support.” While it is impressive that he has such high approval ratings, it is sad because it shows how divided our country truly is. Like our county’s current political climate, Fontbonne students have differing opinions on how the President's first month in office is going. When looking for ideas, I chose to go to the school’s seniors for quotes since they are the oldest, and therefore the closest to voting. Senior Kaylee Hermance offers her opinion on how Biden is doing by exclaiming, “I think he should have been focusing more on us as Americans, but instead he has been focusing on other things, like introducing a bill to give illegal immigrants citizenship, which is complicated currently, especially if people have families to support. I also think that he has started to make the first steps to the country being more equal and welcoming to all Americans. I also think he has begun to fulfill and make good on the promises that he made throughout his campaign.” While there are disagreements on how well President Biden is doing in his first month of the presidency, one thing is certain. Biden is making an effort to restore unity in the American people. The American people should strive to push party lines and look toward being unified as Americans in Biden's early months in office. Yingyan Feng '22 On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol, taking a stand for the U.S’s former president, Donald Trump. The congress was set to confirm that President-elect, Joe Biden, had won the election. However, the peaceful protest turned into a violent event because Donald Trump lost the popular and electoral college vote. Ironically, Trump supported his supporters to attend the rallies.
While these Trump advocators were trying to wait for the lawmakers’ responses, Trump made a speech for his roaring supporters. He encouraged his supporters to march to the capitol, falsely saying that he had won the election. His advoctors then rushed into the capitol, while pushing against many police officers.A woman, Ashli Babbitt, was later shot and died while a mob tried breaking into the building. Ashli Babbitt was also a Trump supporter, who was cheering through the crowds, until two men picked her up to the rim of a broken window. As she stuck her head through the frame, she was shot by a police officer in her shoulder. As the violence continued, troops from Maryland and D.C.’s National Guard were sent to help stop the violence. Finally, as the violence got under control, former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, denounced Donald Trump for promoting the mob. After eight p.m., hundreds of officers cleared the Trump flags left inside the building, and escorted lawmakers back to work. By late evening, about 52 people were arrested during the crisis. To end it off, social media has temporarily banned Donald Trump from posting any further media to continue the violence they had caused. Jenine Samara '22 At the conclusion of what was arguably the most tumultuous election year to date, Joe Biden was sworn in as the President of the United States on January 20, 2021. This was a momentous occasion that signified a turning point in American history, regardless of individual political association.
Upon entering office, Joe Biden issued over 22 executive orders in his first week of his presidency, and continues to reform many aspects of the country’s political, economic, and social matters. Following John F. Kennedy, Joe Biden now stands as the 2nd Catholic President of the United States. Regarded as a man of deep faith, Biden attributed much of his navigation through his personal hardships such as the deaths of his first wife, daughter, and son to his faith. Before being sworn into office, Biden, his family, senior members of Congress, and other highly ranked government officials congregated with masks at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle located in Washington D.C. As students attending a Catholic high school, having a president who also takes after that same faith is naturally amazing to witness. Understanding this, one might also consider the desire to have a similar feeling among those of different creeds. In the future, U.S. Presidents should continue to visit their respective places of worship as Joe Biden did. This pays a tribute of sorts to their own personal backgrounds and upbringings, which is an interesting image to portray to the people as it provides a more relatable persona for the person that seeks to lead them for the next four years. Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, there have been many examples of religious bias. Retweeting a chart that displays left leaning newscasters with Stars of David next to their names in order to denote their religion, labeling Afghanistan as a “terrorist haven”, and an expansive list that follows, can identify some of the religious discrimination present in our previous presidential term. Although Trump was not the first president to say such things, his remarks have certainly set a standard for the country that enabled this kind of dialogue to become acceptable. This not only enables discriminatory practices, but sows disharmony and a lack of unity among different groups. The rise of a new presidential term ideally signifies an approach towards positive change national unity. Taking this into consideration, would it not be interesting to see more religious inclusivity at the onset of the presidential term? If in the future, presidential-elects met with representatives from different major religions on their inauguration days, they might be able to demonstrate platforms of peace, lack of bias, and general inclusion among different religious groups and people. For instance, once Biden finished attending his inauguration mass, he could have had a short exchange (with COVID-19 guidelines in mind), with leaders or representatives chosen to serve as the face for their respective faith. Having all of these diverse religions gathered together as a country seeks to instill collective progression towards a better future, further reinforces that ideal. In the future, this might be a great way to counteract misconceptions that some might have about those that practice differently than them and allow people to perceive the possibility of a future where religion is no longer used as a divisive tactic, but a unifying method of expression. Olivia Bodnar '23 The election that took place on November 3, 2020 fits right in with the craziness of this past year. It was certainly not normal. Joe Biden was eventually declared the winner, but there are still many questions and President Trump is not stepping down quietly. He believes, as do many Trump supporters, that the election was not won fair and square.
On Friday, December 11th, the Supreme Court rejected another attempt to change the results of the election. The state of Texas wanted to have an order passed that would have erased the results of the election in four states. This decision was another hit to President Trump. While President Trump fights the results, President-elect Biden has been putting together a transition team. He is going ahead with his plan to become the 46th President of the United States. Besides the drama of the outcome of the election, there have been recent news stories on President-elect Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden could possibly be investigated for his business dealings. People still have mixed feelings about the outcome of the election and how it is still dragging on. One student said, “I am happy the election is over.” She went on to say, “This whole election is ridiculous. I wanted Trump to win and I don’t know what type of job Biden is going to do as president.” Another student said, “I think I’m relieved, because I was worried Trump was going to win and I’m not a fan of Trump.” Right now the Inauguration is still planned to take place on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. The Inauguration will look different from past ceremonies because of COVID restrictions. Since 1957, South Korea has had a law that all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 28 have to serve in the military for two years.
However, this year the law was reconsidered because of the Bangtang Bulletproof Boy Scouts, or BTS. BTS is a K-pop boy band that debuted back in 2013 that consists of seven members: Suga, V, J-Hope, Jin, RM, Jimin, and Jungkook. After Kim Seok-Jin’s (stage name Jin) 28th birthday, the South Korean national assembly decided to give him two more years to perform with BTS before he has to enlist in the military. Under the revised Military Service Act, "a pop culture artist who was recommended by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to have greatly enhanced the image of Korea both within the nation and throughout the world" is allowed to postpone service until the age of 30. However, all seven of the BTS members meet the requirements for this because they were awarded this medal back in 2018. “I am happy that my idol Jin gets to perform with BTS for another two years. I was honestly sad when I heard that he was turning 28 because I thought he was going to leave, but not anymore,” said one Fontbonne sophomore. Many people are not surprised that this law came to be because BTS is one of the most popular boy bands around the world. A few weeks ago BTS even became the first K-pop act to receive a Grammy nomination. As a fan of BTS, I am glad that this law was established because BTS is an amazing boy band and they love everyone that loves and supports them. Daisy Salas '23 Has AOC’s new merchandise line reached an all-time high for hypocrisy? Congresswoman Alexandria Occasio Cortez, more popularly known as AOC, is receiving backlash for her line of merchandise. Her line includes a variety of slogans that are widely accepted catchphrases used mostly by the Democratic party. One of these catchy slogans is “Tax the Rich,” which ironically can be purchased on a sweatshirt for a whopping $58.
AOC came under fire when online critics came for what many believe was her blatant hypocrisy. Many agreed that selling items with such slogans was completely tone deaf. Twitter user @MattsIdeaShop said, “AOC is selling $65 dollar sweatshirts that say ‘tax the rich’ that only rich ppl can afford. Should just say ‘Tax Me.’” The user later added on to the twitter thread saying, “When you’re aiming for socialism but you hit capitalism.” Many public figures have given their input on the matter. These include Ben Shapiro, a conservative commentator, and Stephen Punwasi, a data analyst and tech entrepreneur. Both have differing opinions. Shapiro tweeted “Only the rich can afford this idiotic sweatshirt.” Punwasi completely disagreed with Shapiro and many Republicans on the matter when he said, “Me, a former mass market apparel designer: Made in America. Union printed. Sounds about right. That's what it costs to pay everyone a decent wage along the way.” Though at first I had trouble agreeing solely with either side of the argument, I personally do understand and agree with AOC and her supporters. Yes, the average person will not be able to afford her line, which is pretty expensive since her products rage from $24 to $65. This can be seen as contradictory since she’s against big corporations/ businesses and how they maximize profit due to unethical reasons. The thing is, it does make sense that because her products are made in America, she needs to pay the workers fairly - unlike big businesses who don't do that. Unfortunately, in order to be ethical, products will have to be raised in price to make sure everyone is paid fairly. Although I understand what she’s doing is fair and ethical, and her supporters can choose to buy the products or not, it’s just the reality that many can’t afford a $58 or $65 sweatshirt. And I could understand how the slogan could rub someone the wrong way. It’s also important to mention that although she is not donating any of the proceeds to charities, all of the revenue is seen as a “donation” to her campaign. |