FEATURES MLK multimedia performance celebrates Reverend’s dream | PAGE 5 SPORTS Women’s basketball earn crucial victories | PAGE 12
The Etownian
www.etownian.com
Swim teams narrowly miss Florida shooting
Vol. 113. Issue 11
Thursday, january 26, 2017
Students attend Women’s March on Washington, protest Trump presidency
by Stephanie Miller News Editor
T
he Elizab ethtown C ollege men’s and women’s swim teams narrowly missed witnessing the recent shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday, Jan 6. Although one team member was kept at the airport in case of a second shooter after arriving later than the rest of the team, none of the swimmers or coaches was injured. The team was in on its way to Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, and was in the process of leaving the airport when the shooting took place. The shooting occurred in Terminal 2 of the airport, while the team members met to leave from Terminal 1. The team members flew to Fort Lauderdale individually and all met at the airport around 11:00 a.m. to get organized and leave for the hotel. According to head coach Mark Williams, the team has gone to train in Florida every winter break for the last six years and landed at the Fort Lauderdale airport for the last five. He said he did not expect the team to come this close to being part of a shooting. “I don’t usually dwell on events like that so I personally wouldn’t have thought something like this could happen while we were there,” Wilson said. “Still, with all the stuff that goes on nowadays I’m sure events like this are in the back of people’s minds.” Around 12:55 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, 26-year-old veteran Esteban Santiago pulled a handgun from his checked bag and opened fire at a baggage claim area in Terminal 2 of the airport. According to CNN, five people were killed and several others were wounded. The airport was put on lockdown, no planes were allowed to take off or land and many people in the airport were evacuated to the tarmac. All of this happened as the Etown swimmers pulled out of the airport’s parking lot. Wilson said that the students in the last van to leave saw several police officers and squad cars pull up to the terminal, but the students had no idea what was going on at the time. “The shooting started while we were pulling out,” Wilson said. “We were five minutes into our ride to Boca Raton when the kids’ cell phones started lighting up saying there’d been a shooting, but we still didn’t know where.” By the time the team arrived at the hotel, the shooting was already being covered on news stations. SEE SWIM PAGE 3
Photo courtesy of Cortland Jacoby
SEE FEATURES PAGE 7, CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 8
Donald Trump inaugurated as President by Emily Seiser Staff Writer
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riday, Jan. 20, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. The day’s festivities began at 8:30 a.m., before the actual ceremony. The Trumps attended a service at St. John’s Church. Afterwards, the Obamas officially welcomed the Trumps to the White House with a coffee and tea reception. Many not able sp e a kers gave remarks b efore t he inauguration, including Inaugural Committee Chairman Roy Blunt, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Reverend Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, Pastor Paula White-Cain and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. After Trump and Vice President Mike Pence took the Oaths of Office for both the President and Vice President, respectively, Trump gave his inaugural address. Trump’s address contained a spirit of nationalism. The speech was geared toward the working class, and Trump emphasized those who had been previously forgotten by the government. He criticized politicians who did not put the people first
and promised to give the country back to the people. CNBC called Trump’s address a “heroes and villains speech.” He portrayed a hope for the future, one where America would be “great again.” He also emphasized putting America first and taking jobs back into American hands, as well as protecting America’s border. Even though Trump spoke about putting the people of America first, the reporters at CNBC speculated that he may have a challenge uniting the country. After the inaugural speech, Rabbi Marvin Hier, the Reverend Franklin Graham and Bishop Wayne Jackson gave the benediction, and Jackie Evancho sang the national anthem. Trump then attended a luncheon with the members of Congress as the Obamas departed from Washington. A parade began at 3:00 p.m. Over 8,000 people and 82 groups were in the parade and over half of the groups in the parade were related to the military, including active duty members, veterans and college drill teams. There was also a variety of marching bands as well as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. These groups came f rom 2 3 d i f fe re nt states. SEE TRUMP PAGE 3
Pearl Harbor survivor warns students of undue war glorification by Kelly Bergh Editor-in-Chief
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Photo courtesy of Elizabethtown College
Lt. Jim Downing, 103, is the father of Elizabethtown College English Professor Dr. David C. Downing.
t the age of 103—75 years after surviving the bombing at Pearl Harbor—Lieutenant Jim Downing paid a visit to Elizabethtown College in hopes of instilling an appreciation of significance of that era in younger generations. Lt. Downing’s Jan. 19 talk at the College saw the Susquehanna Room packed with students, faculty members and locals alike. After a brief introduction by history professor Dr. David L. Kenley, Professor Director of the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking, Lt. Downing began to reflect on events of Dec. 7, 1941. The second-oldest Pearl Harbor survivor started his lecture by requesting two students come up next to him and hold his hands. As a means of lightening the grim mood before speaking of war, the lieutenant wore a rubber arm for one of the students to accidentally pull off. The girl laughed off her surprise and ended up staying to hold the microphone for the wheelchair-bound speaker throughout the lecture. Tricks and technical difficulties aside, Lt. Downing delivered a brief history of World War II, citing “greed for power and territory” as the reason for the second
World War. On the morning of the attacks, Lt. Downing was stationed on the U.S.S. West Virginia, a ship with a length over two football fields long that took hits from nine of the 40 torpedoes the Japanese ships sent into the Hawaiian harbor. The delivery of these facts was substantiated by a slideshow of pictures, but the lieutenant felt it more important to tap into the raw emotions of his audience to appeal to their visualizations of the detriments of war. “I find that people are more interested in how I feel than the historical facts,” he said of recounting his experiences at Pearl Harbor to audiences seeking to understand its human impact. He spent the majority of the lecture outlining the four primary emotions that he felt in reaction to working that long day in efforts to protect the men tasked with protecting the country as it entered World War II. Lt. Downing’s first reaction to the day was surprise. He learned of the attacks while at a breakfast with his new wife and their friends in Honolulu. At first he believed the noises he heard signaled British activity. Eventually, he learned over the radio that the Army and Navy Intelligence were advised they were under attack. The enemy—the Japanese—was identified a few minutes later. Lt. Downing recalls running to his car and driving to the harbor. SEE SURVIVOR PAGE 4