99th year • Issue 28
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
THE INDEPENDENT
Big Event continues service / 5 »
COLLEGIAN
www.IndependentCollegian.com
Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919
INSIDE
conflict
leadership
Students question Israeli apartheid By Bryce Buyakie News Editor
Festival celebrates diversity in Toledo Community / 5 »
Clothesline project raises sexual assault awareness
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News / 4 »
“I’ve learned that I don’t need a man in my life to be happy. My son is a vibrant, happy, healthy twoyear-old, and I’m a year from...”
samantha gerlach ‘I am a rich man’ opinion / 3 »
Celebrating the golden pride of Africa community / 6 »
“I don’t need my hand to be held, but as a student, I would like to be reassured that the university has my back if I need help.”
vickie dugat Letter to the Editor opinion / 3 »
Is Toledo prepared for cyberattacks? News / 4 »
“The rustic, and even satanic, tones radiating from the center-stage harshly conflicted...”
evan sennett Thoughtful but unbalanced opinion / 3 »
Nearly 1,000 Palestinians were injured Friday as the protestors entered their third week along the Gaza-Israel border. Since the protest started on March 30, Israeli forces have killed 34 Palestinians. Josh Ruebner, a political analyst and author, discussed the state of IsraeliPalestinian poli-tics and the history of the nations in light of these protests as the keynote lecturer for Students for Justice in Palestine’s Israeli Apartheid Week. SJP, a student organization that advocates for Palestinian human rights, was one of many college organizations across the country that held the internationally recognized Apartheid Week to bring awareness to Israel’s discriminatory policies, said Liat Ben-Moshe, faculty adviser for SJP. The word “apartheid” is used to draw attention to these policies, she said. “It was a tactic used to counter South Africa’s discriminatory policies back in the day,” Ben-Moshe said. “This is not something Toledo related, but something internationally related.” Ruebner argued that “apartheid” is more than just a tactic – it’s the reality Palestinians face in Israel. Even though Palestinians are enfranchised, they have the third largest political party and had judicial representation in recent years, there are 55 laws in Israel that discriminate against Palestinians including lingually segregated school systems –
bryce buyakie/ IC
Toledo City Councilor at-large member Sandy Spang, College Democrats President Sydney Jones, Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez and former Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson (left to right) discussed their roles as female leaders in politics at the Political Science Students Association Panel April 11.
bryce buyakie / IC
Josh Ruebner, political analyst and author, asks the audience April 13 to support the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.
Hebrew and Arabic – that are not equally funded, he said. He also cited Israel’s continued demolition of villages that drive Palestinians out of their homes and replace them with Israeli residents and housing on the West Bank, such as the village of Susiya. “The Façade of Israeli democracy is crumbling,” Ruebner said, using the recent protests in Gaza and the increase in Jewish settlements in occupied territory as evidence. Not everyone shared Ruebner’s arguments though, with one audience member saying he ignored the shared histories of Israel’s neighboring countries – Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. “Apartheid is really a unique event to South Africa,” said Rachel Pointer, a third-year communication major, in an interview prior to the event. “Israel doesn’t have any of the same laws, and Arab citizens are treated equally.” Pointer said Palestinians can join the Anti-Defamation
League and have their rights guar-anteed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. SJP promoted the event on campus with signs and flyers posted around the Student Un-ion and on social media. Several individuals including Pointer commented on SJP’s Facebook post promoting Israeli Apartheid Week, saying the event coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day. “I want to believe it was unintentional, but IAW was scheduled in such a way that it also coincides with our Day of Remembrance for the Shoah,” Netaniel Chernyk wrote on Facebook. A number of comments were deleted and some Facebook users like Pointer were blocked from the organizations social media page, Pointer said. In response to the complaints SJP received about the event, they posted a statement on March 30 stating the purpose of the event and the unintentional timing of the event. See Conflict / 4»
Female leaders shaping Toledo’s politics
By Haris Ahmad Staff Reporter
Toledo’s female leaders in politics joined the Political Science Students Association for its Women in Politics Panel Discussion April 11. Among the panelists were former Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson, Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez, Toledo City Councilor at-large member Sandy Spang and Sydney Jones, fourth-year political science major, president of College Democrats and vice president of PSSA. Moderated by PSSA Head of Public Relations, Kayla Williams, the panelists started off the event discussing their inspiration behind pursuing a career in politics. “If you don’t get involved, someone is going to make decisions for you, and you will ultimately have to live with those decisions,” Lopez said. “Right from the beginning, I wanted to be someone who could make decisions, rather than hoping someone would make good decisions for me.” Spang highlighted how politics was not her first career choice, and how true passion can come later in life. “I think people reinvent themselves many times in life, and I think women especially reinvent themselves many times,” Spang said.
“Although I can say I was very involved in the community and was interested in politics, I was actually an art major in college.” Spang relayed the story of her and her husband managing a strip of properties in the Beverly neighborhood in Toledo. The success of her work led to her career in local government. “I bought a building right at the beginning of the recession, and now, that is a vibrant little strip in the Beverly neighborhood,” Spang said. “I am a problem-solver at heart, but the part I really like is the ability to connect people and make a difference.” The panelists also discussed the advice they would have given to themselves at the start of their respective careers. “My advice is to be braver and instead of sitting in the back of the room, sit in the front,” said Hicks-Hudson. “Be fearless, be relentless, but also be respectful,” Lopez said. “It’s not going to be as easy as it sounds. It’s hard to push change.” All panelists emphasized the need for hard work to make it in politics, but Spang also pointed out the importance of rest. “I had this sense that I always had to be in motion,” Spang said. “I wish I had been willing to let myself
take a gap.” Spang also stressed the importance of maintaining a core set of networks as one’s career progresses. “If you lose touch with people as time goes by, you will sometimes regret it,” Spang said. “As you grow and your sphere of influence increases, you need more people.” Jones wishes she could tell her freshman self to “unapologetically” be herself. “I feel like a lot of times as women, especially as a black woman, I have felt the need to dial myself back and keep some of my dreams to myself,” Jones said. “Now I’m at a place where I’ll speak up and stand up for myself.” The discussion then turned to what each panelist was proud of in their respective careers. Lopez was pleased with her continued efforts to “restore government faith in the community.” Hicks-Hudson mentioned her work towards the downtown Toledo renaissance of recent years and the handling of the 2014 water crisis as highlights of her time as mayor. The floor was then opened to questions, where both Lopez and Jones shared their aspirations to work in federal government.
See Leadership / 4 »
Riding horses to end human trafficking By Gabrielle Huff Staff Reporter
UT’s equestrian team held Horses for Humanity last Wednesday, donating all proceeds to the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition. The team brought four horses to campus and set up an area for students to ride them around the grassy field south of the Memorial Field House, next to the Student Union. Each rider was asked to make a donation of at least $3. “Everyone had smiles on their faces and loved it, for a lot of people, it was their first time riding a horse,” equestrian team Co-President Nicole Archer said. She added the team loved introducing students to riding horses, as it’s an everyday thing for them. This was the second time the team held the event. They first came up with the idea last semester when they wanted to raise money for hurricane victims in Texas, said Andrea Woo, equestrian team co-president. The event raised $402 last semester, and about $330 last Wednesday to support the Human Trafficking Coalition, Woo said. “Last semester after it went really well, we thought why not raise money for different causes every semester,” Woo said. “We decided to raise money for victims of human
trafficking because it is a huge issue in Toledo.” Archer also said that the International Justice Mission Chapter on campus was instrumental in linking the team with the Coalition. The team was also happy they could raise money for the cause during April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, she said. Founded in 2009, the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition’s mission is to, “Unite the community to combat human trafficking,” according to their website. Sandy Sieben, co-chair of the Coalition, is also a visiting assistant professor of social work at UT. “We collaborate with a lot of community partners, so we are always appreciative and welcoming to it,” Sieben said. “It was a nice surprise from the team.” Broken down into five different subcommittees, including education, programs and services, events and Marketing, grants and development, the Coalition does a large range of different things to combat human trafficking and educate the public. Services they provide include training local EMTs, frontline hospital workers, law enforcement and educators on human trafficking detection and protocol, Sieben said. They also provide grants for victims
Meagan O’Hara/ IC
UT equestrian team member leads a horse outside Field House during Horses for Humanity in an effort to raise funds for the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition April 11.
and those supporting victims. The Coalition hosts monthly meetings at the Kent Branch Library on the third Wednesday of the month from 9:15-11:00 a.m., which are open to the public. Both team co-presidents said they plan to continue the event each semester, picking a new cause to support each time. They are not yet sure what they will be fundraising for
next semester. Archer also said getting approval to do the event was much easier than she expected and, “The university was actually very supportive and thought it was a good idea so we really appreciated them.” For anyone who missed out on the event, there will be another chance to ride horses on campus next fall, supporting another worthy cause.