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OPINIONS

hockadayfourcast.org 22 Vulnerable populations should be next in line for vaccine

February 11 , 2021 21 23 Responding to the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol

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What are we teaching our children?

Stop electing politicians who normalize sexual assault

photo illustration by Kemper Lowry

Politicians are seen as role models for children, but they may be sending the wrong message to those with impressionable minds.

“I am so scared for my future” is a thought that crosses my mind at least five times a day. This concern does not stem from a place where I am concerned about my own choices, but the choices of our government and role models.

When you think about it, you can only control your future to a certain extent; the rest is left for public officials to decide. When so many of these supposed role models are committing reprehensible actions, such as sexual assault, the public tends to turn a blind eye. This leaves me to wonder, “How can we teach people sexual assault is wrong, if we elect leaders who don’t appear to think the same?”

Personally, I am unable to answer this question, which leads me to think about the deeper problems we have in our society: how so many young people can be swayed morally by political figures they look up to.

A growing number of our public officials have faced sexual assault allegations. This leads me to wonder, “Why are so many of girls taught to be cautious of sexual assault?” At a young age, my parents and teachers taught me never to let somebody take me to a secondary location, to scream loudly when somebody relentlessly approaches me, and where to hit so that hopefully, I could have time to get away and prevent what seems to be the inevitable. I have grown up knowing that I should never walk alone at night. This fact is emphasized to such a strong degree that I am weary of going out at night at all.

On the other hand, what are we teaching the boys? It seems much

“‘How can we teach people sexual assault is wrong, if we elect leaders who don’t appear to think the same?’” Personally, I am unable to answer this question, which leads me to think about the deeper problems we have in our society: how so many young people can be look up to.”

Lindsay Heusinger Guest Writer

more prudent that boys be taught the same precautions, as well as about rape and consent. However, the problem does not always lie with the moral standings of boys themselves, but the society by which they are surrounded.

The journal Violence and Gender states that, “Roughly a third of male college students do not know what actually constitutes rape.” All of this comes back down to my one question: How are we supposed to change awareness about this topic, when some of the same people determining education toward it, the ones creating the laws in relation to this, and serving as role models for children, are ones committing these acts themselves?

It may be easy for some to see these assault allegations as political propaganda or dismiss them under the belief that if this action is true, how could that person be in power? Despite political ideology, it can be hard to agree with these politicians from a moral standpoint. Donald J. Trump, former President of the United States, said on tape during an interview on NBC, “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything ... Grab them by the *****. You can do anything.”

This same person who holds at least 26 sexual misconduct allegations against him, according to Business Insider, has also asserted, “Nobody has more respect for women than I do. Nobody. Nobody has more respect.”

Here we can see the blurred lines on a significant role model for children and wonder how the first statement could truly be representative of respect for women. It is hard to be directly frustrated with younger boys when the person representing the whole of the United States is not encouraging any disapproval of sexual assault.

To take the conversation away from just one man onto the whole political field, in January of 2020, ABC News published an article after The Associated Press tallied at least 100 different law makers with sexual misconduct allegations directed toward them since 2017. In just three years, at least 100 politicians have been accused of committing these life-ruining actions towards women, but the actions toward them have been less than equal.

While some may think 100 sounds like a small number, I implore you to think about if these women impacted were your friends, parents, or even yourself. Think about how those 100 politicians could impact such a broad population of impressionable minds.

As I write this, I am not asking you to change your political opinions or alter your stance, I am simply coming from a moral standpoint. What can we expect from the future if these are our role models today?

Lindsay Heusinger

Guest Writer

Vulnerable should be next to get vaccine

COVID-19 shows disproportionate effects on racial, ethnic minorities

The math in this pandemic is simpler than you’d think. A quick comparison between numbers exposes some appalling facts: Black people, Latinx and Hispanic people, and Native Americans are being affected by COVID-19 at a disproportionately high rate in relation to their shares of population.

Undoubtedly, more white people have been affected than any other racial or ethnic group in terms of sheer numbers; however, they also occupy the largest share of population in America. People of color, on the other hand, are dying at percentages that exceed their share of population. These groups who have experienced health care access deserts, socioeconomic difficulties, and disproportionate vulnerability to the virus deserve vaccine priority.

America needs to act based on the virtue of justice, an idea supported by Aristotle’s belief in the benefits of living virtuously. The only way forward is to correct the racial inequity in our country that is killing people of color at an exponential rate.

Lower income racial and ethnic minorities are more vulnerable to the virus than others, and here’s why. In this country, your wealth determines your health, and income inequality “translates to poorer health outcomes,” the BBC reported in April 2020.

Due to economic disadvantages that limit healthcare access, Black people in America are at a higher risk for diabetes, heart disease, and illnesses that weaken the respiratory and immune systems, culminating in more severe COVID-19 symptoms. Housing, geographical, and occupational differences further contribute to vulnerability to COVID-19. Indigenous communities like the Navajo Nation live with uranium-contaminated water that prevents them from properly washing their hands, a habit that is crucial to COVID-19 prevention, National Public Radio reported.

Native communities tend to live in crowded homes of many generations far away from hospitals, according to Ed Yong, a science writer who covers COVID at The Atlantic magazine.

Employment conditions can heighten risk, as well. Farm workers in the United States often come from Latin America without legal documents, limiting their power to reject unsafe work conditions, BARBARA LOU Guest Writer

physically distance in the fields or obtain medical attention if needed. People of color have higher chances of being unemployed, prompting them to take jobs that require frequent contact with others, such as food delivery.

After administering the vaccine to health workers, each state should prioritize geographically dense areas of lower income, which will implicitly favor economically underprivileged racial and ethnic minorities. “We cannot get this pandemic under control if we do not address head-on the issues of inequity in our country,” said Dr. Marcella NunezSmith, an expert at Yale University. “There is no other way.” the long-lasting racial injustices that have reared their ugly heads during this pandemic. Only then, as Aristotle believed, can America reach its true state of prosperity and defeat its two most lethal epidemics — COVID-19 and racism.

Crowdfunding and consciousness

Why Crowdfunding for unconscious COVID-19 patients is ethical

The diagnosis of the day has returned. Your uncle, infected with COVID-19 just two months ago, is still alive but in dire straits: his lungs are beginning to fail, and he has fallen into a coma. Even worse, though your mom tried to hide the forms from you, you’ve overheard your parents worrying about the treatment costs, estimated by Kaiser Family Foundation to top $20,000.

You do have one idea to try and help. Just a few days ago, you saw a family on the news overcome with tears and thanking humanity for fulfilling their $25,000 GoFundMe in just two weeks—could you get the same results? Even though you’ve been too ashamed and terrified to tell even some of your closest friends about your family’s conditions, should you reveal your unconscious uncle’s private life to the internet in order to solicit charity from strangers?

Over 300,000 people just like you have made such a choice and begun COVID-19 fundraisers which can be searched for on GoFundMe, a popular crowdfunding website. But despite the portrayal of crowdfunding in popular media, it is no instantaneous success story. “Only about 10 percent of medical campaigns meet their assistant professor of nursing and health studies at the University of Washington in Bothell, said in an article in BMC Medical Ethics. To compete at all in a veritable sea of COVID-19 fundraisers, new starters are essentially required to spin sensational narratives, which usually means revealing large amounts of personal information, according to the article.

However, this level of information sharing raises concerns with privacy, an increasingly bigger issue in the age of the internet and a fundamental human right. Unauthorized privacy intrusions compromise one’s right to selfdetermination and can have COVID-19, revealing even just a patient’s name can lead to intense harassment and stigmatization against family and friends, Politico reports.

From a deontological standpoint, then, which weighs the morality of an action only on whether the action itself is right or wrong, it is unethical to disclose your unconscious uncle’s personal information even for a crowdfund. He cannot consent to the privacy invasion; regardless of what you intend the consequences to be, you would be violating his autonomy.

From a utilitarian perspective, however, starting such a crowdfund is ethical to the extent that it is done for the greater good — in this case so the uncle can continue to receive

“Medical bills are expensive, crowdfunding is volatile, and privacy is essential, but lives are precious.”

Angelina Wu Guest Writer

ANGELINA WU Guest Writer

medical care and the family can still have money to put food on the table. It is just essential to consider any after the fundraiser.

Medical bills are expensive, crowdfunding is volatile, and privacy is essential, but lives are precious. In the end, I believe it is ethical to begin a crowdfund for the unconscious patient even if you must invade their privacy to a certain extent. Crowdfunding, especially for unconscious COVID-19 patients, has numerous pitfalls and complications that are not immediately obvious, but it might just save your uncle’s life.

February 11, 2021 23

THEF Responding to the riot Moving ahead depends on education, awareness STAFF STANCE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ava Berger MANAGING EDITOR Kate Clark

WEB EDITOR Erin Parolisi

ASSISTANT WEB AND PHOTO EDITOR Elisa Carroll

COPY EDITOR Laine Betanzos

MAGAZINE EDITOR Kelsey Chen NEWS EDITOR Sasha Schwimmer

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Katherine Grace Estes

FEATURES EDITOR Charlotte Rogers ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR Olivia Garcia

ARTS & LIFE CO-EDITORS Maddie Stout and Hanna Zhang SPORTS CO-EDITORS Remy Finn and Lacy Green OPINIONS EDITOR Anna Gum

ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR Campbell Harris CASTOFF EDITOR Julia Donovan

PHOTO & GRAPHICS EDITOR Libby Hill SOCIAL MEDIA AND VIDEOS EDITOR Lea Whitley STAFF WRITERS Juliana Blazek, Jane Clark, Zoe Cote, Zoya Haq, Melody Hu, Rachel Jan, Caroline Petrikas

STAFF ARTISTS Kylee Hong, Louisa Benedict, Maddie Fisher, Nancy Dedman, Kemper Lowry FACULTY ADVISER Julia Copeland

EDITORIAL POLICY

Like many events that have happened in the past year, no one expected to see chaos on the steps of the United States Capitol building on Jan. 6, but plus oustanding arrest warrants and frightening images of destruction, fear has risen throughout America. How did this happen? What are the consequences? And, most importantly, what do we do now?

As a society, we must focus on political education throughout our whole country. This includes education surrounding the structure of our government, government systems, political parties, elections opinions certainly may vary, facts must be considered over speculation and emotions.

The goals of the rioters varied, but a common theme was #stopthesteal. This was the idea that former President Donald Trump did in fact win the 2020 election against current President Joe Biden but the vote was counted in Biden’s favor due to voter fraud or “lawmaker traitors.”

Sources such as Bloomberg Quicktake say the rioters were misinformed by the news sources they watched or false “facts” they read.

Studies by BBC and Associated Press found no evidence of more votes than voters, unexplained surges of Democratic votes, votes flipping from Trump to Biden, voting machines being owned by Democrats or thousands of dead citizens voting. Trump made all of these claims at one point or another over Twitter, but they have no standing, either being dismissed by a court of law or invalidated by in-depth studies. But it’s not surprising that a large group of Americans would take Trump’s word at face value.

A study by the Annenburg Public Policy center at the University of Pennsylvania shows that only 51 percent of Americans can name the three branches of government. Yes, this statistic has increased from 39 percent in the last 10 years, but the number still only represents half of the population. Half the people voting in our elections and expressing their political views could not name the legislative, executive and judicial branches.

In addition, in the 2018 Brown Center Report on American Education, which investigated public schools’ political education practices, researchers found an “alarmingly wide” gap in civic education. Weekly instructional time for civic education has decreased from 3 hours to 2.6 in the past 10 years. Why, as we endure increasing polarization and tense political times, is education about politics and government decreasing?

These two studies are enough to see the root of our problems: schools are not devoting enough time to educating students and in turn, half of the American population does not know critical facts about our government structure. It’s no wonder people cling to a man screaming falsehoods.

So how do we mend the problem? Younger generations need to be aware of the dangers of polarization and fake news. All schools need to emphasize the importance of discussion and teach each student the fundamentals of our government. No student should be lacking political education due simply to the school they go to. The number of hours of weekly instruction time for civic education should be at least four hours, and this is still less than one hour a day.

We cannot have domestic terrorists disrupting the transfer of power with every election. We need the next generation to be smarter. This means having the ability to identify fake news, collect all the facts on each candidate and know how to have nonviolent discussions with anyone with a

Upper School students need to hold themselves accountable. We have the privilege of an education that every child dreams of. We need to use the reading, listening and discussion skills we have to combat the

Protesters gather outside the U.S. Capitol.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Photo by Tyler Merbler

polarization we see all around us. We need to go out into the world looking

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Opinions will be clearly marked and/or will appear in the views section. Commentaries are the expressed opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect that of The Fourcast staff, its adviser or any other member of the Hockaday community. The Staff Stance on the views page reflects the position of The Fourcast staff, but not necessarily the position of the Hockaday administration or community.

The Fourcast staff determines the content of each issue and strives to work as independently as possible in producing the student newspaper. The newspaper is subject to prior review by Hockaday administration and some stories may be changed or omitted in accordance with the administration’s requirements. Letters to the editor and guest columns are welcome and should be addressed to the editor-in-chief. Only signed pieces will be published. Corrections and clarifications from previous issues will be found as designated in the news section. Any questions or concerns should be addressed to Editor-in-Chief Ava Berger at aberger21@ hockaday.org.

What do you think?

Sara Mangelsdorf ‘21 “I believe the key to ensuring a peaceful transition of power is to keep a nation from becoming too polarized. Divisive language, misinformation and violence are the reasons why peaceful transitions are threatened. In the future, we need to actively combat those things through clear, calm and empathetic dialogue that unites rather than divides.” Hannah Philip ‘22 “ People say that was an unprecedented event and we never could have seen it coming, but there were warning signs all along. This is just the culmination of a four-year-long path to destruction.”

Lola Isom ‘23 “The Capitol riots were a crazy test of democracy and an act of hypocrisy.

I think they will change the role of the presidency indefinitely, probably for the worse.”

February 11, 2021

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