The Observer Issue 4

Page 1

Observer the

I N C R O S S WO R D I D E

FROM OPINIONS

Legalize Equal Rights

www.fordhamobserver.com

For more fearless females, turn to the centerfold on page 8.

March 15, 2018 VOLUME XXXIV, ISSUE 4

FSTV Returns to Media Circuit By CARMEN BORCA-CARRILLO Staff Writer

AIZA BHUIYAN Contributing Writer

Why should we the people of the United States be treated equally in the eye of the law? Is it because we are a citizens contributing to society? Is it simply because we are human? Why do we deserve equality? We are so privileged to enjoy the rights that we are granted, but we fail to recognize that they aren’t set in stone; in fact, they are not even established in the Constitution (unless you are a straight White cisgender male, of course). The notion of inalienable rights came to fruition in “Western” European world during the 18th century, but these privileges were not applicable to women. Women were expected to stay in their own territory/place. In the 20th century, women began fighting for their social and political rights, but, again, within limit. They were afforded the right to vote like men but that did not equate them to men in the eyes of the law and society—they still were regarded as second-class citizens when it came to job opportunities and salary negotiations, as they had other domestic “roles” to maintain. In 1923, the nephew of Susan B. Anthony brought to Congress the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), authored by Alice Paul. This amendment would essentially make systematic gender-oriented workplace discrimination illegal and ensure equal opportunity in job pursuance. But these ideas seemed too overwhelming at the time, so the amendment was kept aside. It was mentioned in congressional sessions every year after, but it was not until 1970 when Martha Griffiths finally brought the amendment back into both congressional and national conversation. The House and Senate both passed it, but the ERA fell just three states shy of ratification. Section 1 of the Equal Rights Amendment, formerly known as the Lucretia Mott Amendment, states that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” The Amendment would secure a woman’s status in the eyes of the law as an equal to her male counterpart, which could eventually transform into complete gender parity. Section 2 grants Congress the authority to create laws, based on the provisions of the

see AMENDMENT pg. 7

ments “downplay the horrors of Nazism.” On March 12, FSU held a protest to demand the administration “publicly denounce white supremacy on campus.” Professors Carey Kasten and Carl Fischer, who are teaching a course titled “Fascism’s Aesthetics in the Hispanic World” this semester, held a brief discussion on the image at the end of class in late February before photo widely circulated the internet. Fischer felt that they “needed to address it,” adding that the incident “really brings home what we’ve been talking about in class. It shows the urgency of going back to these moments in history, realizing that this isn’t a far away thing.” The Jewish Student Organization at Lincoln Center said in a statement to The Observer that the photo was “disturbing, anti-Semitic and frankly scary for the Jewish community.” In an interview with the Observer, a former executive board member of Rose Hill’s College Republicans club pictured in the photo made the case that “if you look into the history of the flag, you’ll see that it’s a joke, it’s not meant to be offensive.” He confirmed that he had posted the image and caption on reddit. The student, who originally gave a full interview with the Observer and then asked to have his name withheld from publication, added that the photo was not affiliated with the College Republicans. He and another student, a current e-board member of the

Fordham’s media circuit welcomed the return of Fordham Student Television (FSTV) this past semester, adding a broadcast medium to Fordham’s media circuit. FSTV joined a string of alternative media outlets across campus dedicated to bringing news produced by students to Fordham’s general population through multimedia platforms. Student-run media like The Rival, the paper and FSTV distinguish themselves from Fordham’s Observer and Ram in their use of non-traditional mediums and narrative perspectives. Their reports bring international and local news to Fordham students on entertaining platforms, such as the paper’s scroll-and-click website, and offer production experience specific to their publications. FSTV is a cross-campus media effort to give students the week’s news through a live video broadcast format. While many campus publications utilize multimedia to some degree, FSTV’s news packages will be Fordham’s only strictly-video source. “We have a fantastic radio station, and we have fantastic print publications, but we don’t have that TV aspect,” said Kelsey Micklas, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’18 and FSTV news editor, on the importance of a well-rounded media lineup. “That broadcasting aspect is so vital, especially in the digital age.” FSTV aims to begin releasing news packages mid-April, after FSTV writers and producers complete a series of workshops on script writing, reporting and filming taught by faculty trained in broadcast reporting. “Our department is all about theory and practice,” said Dr. Beth Knobel, faculty leader in the revival effort. “You can’t learn journalism without doing journalism.” As far as subject material, FSTV is currently organizing teams in entertainment, sports and news, along with a sketch comedy group and a dedicated tech team. News hopes to cover both local and international topics that keep Fordham at the center. Subjects include campus activities, neighborhood events in both Manhattan and the Bronx and international stories revolving around matters such as gun control. Ultimately, Knobel said, “it’s up to the students to find stories that they think will be of interest to the community.” FSTV, like other alternative media outlets, separates their publication from others by contributing a specialized medium

see THE FLAG pg. 3

see MEDIA pg. 4

JON BJORNSÖN/THE OBSERVER

“When you finally do have a woman that’s in a position that took a lot of work to get there, I think it’s pretty inspiring,” a student said of Assistant Professor of Economics Patricia Gomez-Gonzalez.

Kekistan Flag Photo Sparks Online War By ELIZA PUTNAM Staff Writer

A widely circulated photo of Fordham students brandishing a flag associated with white nationalism on a Rose Hill soccer field has generated a frenzy of discourse inside and outside the university. In the image, 10 Fordham students, most smiling, are seen holding what is known as a Kekistan flag on a soccer field with Keating Hall illuminated off in the distance. The students were part of a Fordham intramural soccer team and took the photograph after a game on April 3, 2017. A week later, one of the students posted the photo on Reddit and captioned it, “The Kekistani National Soccer Team made its International Debut Last Night.” David Neiwert, author of “Alt-America: the Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump,” explained that the kek flag is an edited version of a Nazi battle flag from 1930s Germany, saying “the design of the flag [is] a Nazi war flag with a kek symbol in the middle and painted green.” Some of the students in the photo have described the flag as a joke. On Sunday March 4, the Fordham Ram published an article on the photo, in which the students’ identities were kept anonymous, their faces blurred in the photo “due to threats of legal action.” When asked for comment, the Ram declined to specify what legal action they faced. When the Observer contacted the students in the image, many of them requested that their names and faces not be published, citing con-

cerns with future employment. One student’s parent wrote a letter to the Observer and a Fordham administrator saying they consulted with a lawyer and believed publishing the name and image of their child would be considered “defamatory, libelous and slanderous.” On March 5, Fordham Students United (FSU), a coalition of students originally formed in 2015 to oppose racism on campus, posted the same photo on Facebook, unblurred. The post, which stated “The Fordham Ram can’t post their faces, but we will,” described the photo as an “homage to the 1930s Nazi flag.” The post also included a kek flag and the Nazi flag side by side. One FSU student leader, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, shared that they had posted the photo “to create a space for accountability.” In less than 24 hours, the post garnered more than 1,000 reactions, 300 shares and almost 900 comments. Most of the comments trolled, mocked and criticized FSU’s post. Of 100 consecutive commenters, only two had a connection to Fordham on their public profile. Several commenters wrote hateful messages that employed anti-Semitic symbols, ableist slurs and white nationalist slogans, with one individual stating “i prefer the 1930s version to be honest.” Another commenter warned FSU, “Please please please do not overreact it is truly a meme to get a rouse out of you.” The FSU student said that the post had been shared with “alt right trolls” whose com-

OPINIONS

ARTS & CULTURE

FEATURES

The diversity problem in Silicon Valley is not Google’s fault

Six ways to support New York’s leading ladies this month.

The history of the holiday and New York’s Irish community.

PAGE 15

PAGE 20

PAGE 16

Stop the Sausage Fest Women’s Appreciation St. Patrick’s Day

THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM COLLEGE AT LINCOLN CENTER


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.