Freedom Forum Newsletter December 21st, 2020

December 21, 2020

Gen Z takes politics by storm How the younger generation interacts with society Angelina Triscari, Journalism Student Throughout history, younger generations have been overlooked, but I feel a change coming. Generation Z, or more commonly known as Gen Z, has a strong and independent spirit especially when it comes to politics. While other generations were easily undermined, Gen Z has superpowers that are keeping our voices in the spotlight, technology, and social media.

Most teenagers at least have an inkling of a fiery rebellion burning inside them. Not only does Gen Z have a reason to want change, but we also have a feasible way to convey our emotions, opinions, and plans for action.

Gen Z is estimated to spend an average of three hours a day on social media. In that time, there can be a lot of information that is soaked up whether it comes from Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat. Our opinions and

political agendas can be heavily affected by the media platforms we utilize.

Some people may watch Claudia Conway, daughter of former White House Advisor Kellyanne Conway, who expresses her anger towards the presidency of Donald Trump and the way the spread of Covid-19 was handled under his administration. However, others may tune in to conservative Ben Shapiro in his podcast “The Ben Shapiro Show.”

In recent years, social media has also been used to spread awareness about social injustices. The Black Lives Matter movement and feminism have become a large focus.

With social media, spreading information about acts of racially stemmed crimes, like the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, has caused the attention of society to completely shift.

Gen Z is the most diverse generation in American history.

Many have learned to accept others regardless of race, gender identity, and sexuality.

As a generation, we have almost subconsciously agreed that if we see someone that is oppressed or hurt we will stand up for them.

In the recent election, a new group of voters from ages 18-23 were eligible to vote.

The media and political scientists have pointed out these young people as a key group to watch.

This group of Gen Z voters is more politically engaged than the previous Millennials. In the 2016 election, only 1.7 million ballots were cast by people under the age of 30. By

This large divide just in Gen Z voters had an obvious impact on the election. The election’s outcome was extremely affected by these new voters.

As a nation, most people agree that what we need right now is unity. Hopefully, this increase in political activity will give us a push in the right direction.

Source: The Guardian

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December 21, 2020

The Last of Us Part II sweeps the Game Awards 2020’s most controversial game breaks game awards records AJ Minnich, Editor-in-Chief On December 10th Geoff Keighley hosted the 7th annual Game Awards which effectively serves as the Oscars for video games and is a massive celebration for gamers with tons of new trailers, announcements, and more but at the heart of the ceremony is the awards themselves. This year in particular was a hotly contested year with it being one of the most competitive races in the show’s history besides 2018.

This year there were 30 award categories for the game awards.

Among the games nominated, there were Last of Us Part II,

Ghost of Tsushima, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Hades. The main contest though was between The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima. Last of Us in particular is bar none the most divisive game in recent memory. The game was critically acclaimed with most critics calling it a masterpiece to behold but a very large chunk of the audience hated the game because of the risky narrative decisions which led to a massive review bombing on Metacritic on the day of release.

The Last of Us Part II was nominated for a total of nine awards and stunningly won 7 of them which broke the record for the most awards received for a single game in the history of the show. The previous holder of the title was Red Dead Redemption 2 which won 4 out of the 8 awards it was nominated for. The awards Last of Us part 2 received were best game direction, best narrative, best audio design, best performance (which went to Laura Bailey as Abby), innovation in accessibility, best action adventure game, and the

highly coveted game of the year.

Because of this, controversy has already erupted over the internet with many saying they are rigged or that the award was stolen from the other games which is to be expected considering the toxic debates that raged for months over the creative decisions this game made. Nevertheless, it is impressive that it won 7 of the 10 categories that it’s remotely applicable to including game of the year especially for how divisive the story of it is.

Drive your way through Christmas cheer Carly’s Critiques: Christmas decorations Carly Grozier, Newscast Producer There is one thing that everyone loves that has stayed consistent throughout the Covid-19 year, outdoor Christmas decorations and lights.

Decorating outside is seemingly the safest way to spread Christmas cheer, so people can view them from the comfort of their cars. Many people take their outdoor decorations to the next level, and this year is one for the books.

My friends and I were looking for something to do when we found a list of all the houses that go all out for Christmas in the area. We decided we would plug in the addresses and check a few out.

The first house we visited turned out to be the best out of the three we saw. The first thing that sticks out is the blowups are bigger than the house itself.

Every inch of the front and back yard contained colorful and bright decorations that could be seen from a mile away. There was a radio station that went along with the changing lights.

In addition to decorations, the homeowner had a free hot chocolate shop and candy canes set out among the decorations for everyone to enjoy.

All while spreading joy, he was staying safe and ensuring everyone’s health was not at risk as well. Along with wearing his mask, he had signs to ensure everyone was

wearing one, and he had hand sanitizer as well. Various stations for sanitation were set up throughout the display, and he sanitized before and after every customer came up to the booth.

The next house we drove to we ranked second on our list.

This house was different from the first but still had its perks.

Instead of mainly blow-ups, they used lights for their display. From strands of lights to a Christmas tree made up of lights, they had them all. Along with the first house they had a radio station to tune into as well.

The third and final house of the night was still pretty cool, but unfortunately one of the houses has to rank last. While the yard was filled with bright

lights, there was not anything that set them apart. The two houses prior had music to go along, and I think that would have upped the third house's display.

While this holiday season looks different, it is important that we all spread some extra cheer this year. I encourage everyone to go out and check out some lights because they will definitely be a good distraction from the craziness that we are facing currently.

Source- Karla Erdman