F.R.M.A. by Foundations of Journalism

F.R.M.A.

N EWS

FEB. 17, 2017

Get ready for a 3-hour funeral Prepare for the “Endgame” By: Foud ElKerdani

*NO SPOILERS* For the past 12 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had been considered the best cinematic movie universe that even rivals Star Wars. Since 2008’s “Iron Man” and up to 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War”, the MCU has been building up to the finale, “Avengers: Endgame”. As of right now, there are currently 22 films and each of those has been leading up to this movie. As Captain America says, “This is the fight of our lives”. However, as soon as the early reviews for Endgame came out, the movie was described as a serious, emotional movie that will leave the audience in tears. The plot of the movie is about the Avengers attempting to reverse Thanos’s goal of destroying half of all life in the universe while trying to keep the Avengers from collapsing and to fight Thanos one last time. I went to see Endgame and I can confirm that the movie is indeed serious and emotional enough to be considered as a three-hour funeral. The film has a completely opposite tone from its counterpart, Infinity War, which was light-hearted with some emotional scenes until the ending which was breathtaking and truly saddening. In Endgame, however, the film has few jokes and takes

itself very seriously. The characters are not at all like what they used to be: the main heroes are very emotional and depressed with the events post-Infinity War. Characters: Thor has always been my favorite MCU hero. If you thought that Thor was at his lowest point in Infinity War, Endgame is far worse. He’s more ‘emotional’ (so to say) and he serves an important role in the movie. Iron Man is more invested and determined than he ever was in any Marvel movie to get the mission of the hero’s done. Throughout this entire movie he is very important as he helps to keep the film going and he is the most important character in the movie. Captain America is very serious, and he doesn’t let his emotions get the better of him. He also tries to do what he can to help the mission. Both Hulk and Bruce Banner go through a major change in the movie, the change is widely considered to be the best change for the character as he was hardly in Infinity War. Black Widow is the has a more emotional and character driven role in this movie. In Endgame, she served a very important role that impacted the story.

N EWS

FEB. 17, 2017

Hawkeye becomes Ronin like he did in the comics (This isn’t a spoiler since it was shown in all the trailers.), however it was shortlived in Endgame as he reverted back being Hawkeye. Thanos in this movie is, once again, the best MCU villain to step into the light since Infinity War, and he has an even greater impact in the movie than in Infinity War. The other side characters have a greater role too. Captain Marvel was in the first act of the film, she wasn’t in the middle act but she comes back in the final act. Ant-man arguably has the strongest role in the movie, since without him the movie’s plot wouldn’t continue or progress. He is still the same funny and charming Ant-man as before in the previous movies and a bit less emotional. War-Machine also goes through a change in the movie. This change happens at the end of the movie with his suit. Other than that he is still a great character with a role to serve in this movie instead of being Iron Man’s best friend. Anyone like Nebula? If not then in Endgame she will be loved! Her role is significant and she never disappoints in Endgame. In short, every character feels more human and more emotional than they ever were. Every character serves a role to play. If any of the characters were taken out of the movie then the movie would be different. Sets ups & Paid offs: The previous movies have set up a lot of things such as Tony’s parents, Thor’s hammer determining who is worthy, Peggy Carter and Captain America’s relationship, Thanos and his daughters, and even characters that were missing such as Valkyrie or Wong, have been paid off in this movie. It is no secret that missing characters from the previous movies have returned in this movie since the promotional trailers for Endgame showed posters with the character’s faces. Endgame greatly referenced a lot things from the previous movies that (according to videos regarding the audience’s reaction to Endgame) will make you clap, cry, or scream in happiness in the theater. Reviews: Avengers Endgame has a 9 out of 10 on IMDB, a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes (as of this article’s date), and a 78% on Metacritic. Many videos on Youtube have the same reaction: “The best superhero movie of all time”, “Exceeds all expectations!”, “Not a single disappointment!” and “No one can hate or not like this movie”. This movie is considered to be the best Marvel movie and the best superhero movie of all time. Endgame certainly has a lot of serious and emotional moments than Marvel’s usual light-hearted funny moments. The future of the MCU: Endgame is considered to be the last movie of what is called “The Infinity Saga”. The reason for it is that Endgame and Infinity War were two movies that were built up since 2008’s “Iron Man”. The MCU will still continue after Endgame with films in the works like a “Black Widow solo movie, a Guardians of the Galaxy three movie, Black Panther two and Spider-Man: Far from Home”. Spider-Man: Far from home is confirmed to be the last movie of Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When Phase 4 starts, most if not all of those movies will no longer have the original cast of the Avengers such as Iron Man, Captain America or Thor. Thor however is an interesting case. According to Tessa Thompson, the actress who plays Valkyrie, “a fourth Thor movie was pitched”. Thor may even be in Guardians three since Endgame certainly hints at that. Also in the works are ideas for a Vision and Scarlet Witch tv series as well as a Loki spin-off show. Endgame may be the conclusion to the saga, but it will not end the MCU.

N EWS

MAY 28,2019

“Europe is Changing the Internet with Banning Memes and Freedom of Speech!” There is a point in life when an idea or a concept is invented and many people would say how ridiculous it is and doubt it would happen. Until now when one of those ridiculous ideas is becoming real. On March 26, 2019 Article 13 was passed by the Council of European Union, or the EU. Article 13 (now renamed 17) has one purpose, to stop youtubers from uploading copyrighted content. On paper that sounds good, but in reality if a youtuber uploads a video with at least one second of content that they do not own, like music, a picture, or editing funny scenes with funny audio, their videos would get privated against their will. Within the next two years, Article 13 will become a reality. Youtube has over three hundred hours of video content uploaded every minute. Article 13 forces Youtube to check over three hundred hours of content uploaded every minute. That is not

possible to do with human workers, so Youtube will be forced to adopt an upload filter or a computer A.I. to search all the video content. Youtube will scan the video for any copyrighted content, if there is a match then the video will get deleted against the youtuber’s will and the video would no longer show up on Youtube. There are so many famous youtubers on the internet such as 8-bitryan, Pewdiepie, DanTDM and Jacksepticeye that are based in the EU. Their videos would get deleted against their will. What is very interesting or rather odd is that the voters who choose to vote for Article 13 didn’t understand the repercussions of the article and so they had no idea what they were voting for. The writers of article 13, even they didn’t understand completely what they were writing. Because of this reason alone, voters didn’t

N EWS

MAY 28,,2 019

understand what they were voting for. This allowed the vote to still be in debate, the debate will end in two years as the EU will finally decide as to whether or not to pass this article. If it gets passed, then over hundreds or even millions of youtubers in the U.K. will have their videos with copyrighted content removed from Youtube. Believe it or not, this is an actual thing that is happening in the U.K. This might sound hard to believe, but keep in mind that Europe has already banned memes from their country. This violates freedom of speech o nline, and this will no doubt affect the politicians who were the ones that started this whole delema. While this law will be implemented, there is still some hope as this article is still in debate and many people know that this law will not work as no A.I. can tell the difference between a parody or a copyright video. The effect will be massive, as millions of youtube creators in the U.K. would have their channels terminated and even not have the ability to upload videos in

general. Some online petitions made in the U.K. were deleted by the EU because they see those petitions signed by human beings as bots or computer generated and not human invented. Hope: While this all seems like bad news there is still some hope, this article is still in the stages of being debated. The article will get implemented in two years, but there is still some time to change this and stop it from being a reality. If this becomes a thing, youtubers can just move to another country like the United States to still maintain their videos. There are some petitions to prevent this law and about five million are protesting on the streets to prevent this. People are taking a stand against. If this becomes a thing, then the people in the U.K. will lose their freedom of speech and will be constantly monitored by the EU.

N EWS

MAY 28,2019

# ME TOO BY:RENEE GOULD

#MeToo is a movement from social media in order to raise awareness of the widespread prevalence sexual violence and harassment, especially in the workplace. Although #MeToo is considered to be a fairly new movement, it actually started in 2006 by Tarana Burke. Burke founded the movement and began using the phrase ‘Me Too’ to raise awareness of sexual abuse and assault everywhere. The phrase ‘Me Too’ then developed into a broader movement in 2017, after the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations. And the hashtag was added as a way to unite women posting about sexual assault and abuse on social media. Though #MeToo focused largely on women’s stories, the hashtag is also used by many men to share their stories. As well, #MeToo has morphed to raise awareness against not just sexual violence and harassment, but also about flatout sexual assault, and #MeToo even encourages women to share stories of smaller, more minor times wherein they were simply made to feel uncomfortable. However, #MeToo quickly came under fire, and women were accused of posting fake stories, and many even suffered from sexual harassment and even death threats online. In fact, by looking at urban dictionaries definitions of #MeToo, there is a lot of talk about

N EWS

MAY 28, 2019

#ME TOO how women who use it are just doing it for attention, or as a way to drag down people who they’re jealous of. No more dinners with female colleagues. Don’t sit next to them on flights. Book hotel rooms on different floors. Avoid one-on-one meetings.

struggling to cope. “It’s creating a sense of walking on eggshells,” said David Bahnsen, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley who’s now an independent adviser overseeing more than $1.5 billion.

This is hardly a single-industry phenomenon, In fact, as a wealth adviser put it, just hirig a as men across the country check their woman these days is “an unknown risk.” What behavior at work, to protect themselves if she took something he said the wrong way? in the face of what they consider unreasonable political correctness -- or Across Wall Street, men are adopting to simply do the right thing. The upshot is controversial strategies for the #MeToo era forceful on Wall Street, where women are and, in the process, making life even harder for scarce in the upper ranks. The industry has women. also long nurtured a culture that keeps harassment complaints out of the courts Call it the Pence Effect, after U.S. Vice and public eye, and has so far avoided President Mike Pence, who has said he avoids a mega-scandal like the one that has dining alone with any woman other than his engulfed Harvey Weinstein. wife. In finance, the overarching impact can be, in essence, gender segregation. ‘Real Loss’ Interviews with more than 30 senior executives Now, more than a year into the #MeToo suggest many are spooked by #MeToo and movement -- with its devastating

revelations of harassment and abuse in Hollywood, Silicon Valley and beyond -- Wall Street risks becoming more of a boy’s club, rather than less of one. “Women are grasping for ideas on how to deal with it, because it is affecting our careers,” said Karen Elinski, president of the Financial Women’s Association and a senior vice president at Wells Fargo & Co. “It’s a real loss.” There’s a danger, too, for companies that fail to squash the isolating backlash and don’t take steps to have top managers be open about the issue and make it safe for everyone to discuss it, said Stephen Zweig, an employment attorney with FordHarrison. “If men avoid working or traveling with women alone, or stop mentoring women for fear of being accused of sexual harassment,” he said, “those men are going to back out of a sexual harassment complaint and right into a sex discrimination complaint.” Channeling Pence.

While the new personal codes for dealing with #MeToo have only just begun to ripple, the shift is already palpable, according to the people interviewed, who declined to be named. They work for hedge funds, law firms, banks, private equity firms and investment-management firms. For obvious reasons, few will talk openly about the issue. Privately, though, many of the men interviewed acknowledged they’re channeling Pence, saying how uneasy they are about being alone with female colleagues, particularly youthful or attractive ones, fearful of the rumor mill or of, as one put it, the potential liability. A manager in infrastructure investing said he won’t meet with female employees in rooms without windows anymore; he also keeps his distance in elevators. A late-40something in private equity said he has a new rule, established on the advice of his wife, an attorney: no business dinner with a woman 35 or younger.

N EWS

MAY 28, 2019

#ME TOO BY: RENEE GOULD

The changes can be subtle but insidious, with a woman, say, excluded from casual after-work drinks, leaving male colleagues to bond, or having what should be a private meeting with a boss with the door left wide open. ‘Not That Hard’ On Wall Street as elsewhere, reactions to #MeToo can smack of paranoia, particularly given the industry’s history of protecting its biggest revenue generators. “Some men have voiced concerns to me that a false accusation is what they fear,” said Zweig, the lawyer. “These men fear what they cannot control.” There are as many or more men who are responding in quite different ways. One, an investment adviser who manages about 100 employees, said he briefly reconsidered having one-on-one meetings with junior women. He thought about leaving his office door open, or inviting a third person into the room. Finally, he landed on the solution: “Just try not to be an asshole.” That’s pretty much the bottom line, said Ron Biscardi, chief executive officer of Context Capital Partners. “It’s really not that hard.” The Mentorship Imbalance The top jobs in finance are dominated by men. In January, as #MeToo was gathering momentum, Biscardi did away with the late-night, open-bar gathering he’d hosted for years in his penthouse suite during Context Capital’s annual conference at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. “Given the fact that women are in the minority at our events, we want to make sure that the environment is always welcoming and comfortable. We felt that eliminating the after-party was necessary to remain consistent with that goal.”

RiceBunnies Protest in China.

How the name ‘Rice Bunnies’ was formed for Chinese women participating in #MeToo.

N EWS

MAY 28, 2019

# ME TOO BY: RENEE GOULD

In this charged environment, the question is how the response to #MeToo might actually end up hurting women’s progress. Given the male dominance in Wall Street’s top jobs, one of the most pressing consequences for women is the loss of male mentors who can help them climb the ladder. “There aren’t enough women in senior position In this charged environment, the question is how the response to #MeToo might actually end up hurting women’s progress. Given the male dominance in Wall Street’s top jobs, one of the most pressing consequences for women is the loss of male mentors who can help them climb the ladder. “There aren’t enough women in senior positions to bring along the next generation all by themselves,” said Lisa Kaufman, chief executive officer of LaSalle Securities. “Advancement typically requires that someone at a senior level knows your work, gives you opportunities and is willing to champion you within the firm. It’s hard for a relationship like that to develop if the senior person is unwilling to spend oneon-one time with a more junior person.” Men have to step up, she said, and “not let fear be a barrier. “There aren’t enough women in senior positions to bring along the next generation all by themselves,” said Lisa Kaufman, chief executive officer of LaSalle Securities. “Advancement typically requires that someone at a senior level knows your work, gives you opportunities and is willing to champion you within the firm. It’s hard for a relationship like that to develop if the senior person is unwilling to spend oneon-one time with a more junior person.” Men have to step up, she said, and “not let fear be a barrier.

N EWS

FEB. 17, 2017

Behind ‘Dear Bully…’ uiashdaHIDSH By: Renee Gould

There’s a sort of stereotypical ‘hipster’ look to Katherine Hirsch ‘20. The large headphones around her neck, the layered checked clothes, the feathered shoulder-length blonde hair and glasses that she pushes up with the tip of her finger every few minutes. Even her poetry notebook has the vibe, bound in twine, the cover a dusty brown with a few black encouraging words scrawled across the front in a curling font. When you hear her poetry, you immediately feel the emotion as keenly as if it were your own. It’s easy to see the violent sadness that erupt through her body as words pour out of her lips. There is a certain painful beauty to watching her. The emotions, the pain, the hatred slice through any and all barriers you have, sparking tears and the words burrowing into your mind to be triggered randomly, sending yet another flood of emotions through you. Because of her writing and style of performance, I was surprised when I found out about Hirsch’s original hatred of poetry. “I hated poetry with a burning passion until this year, like I hated every single little thing about it. And I would do anything I could to get out of doing any poetry in school, until this year when I took creative writing, because I want to be an author. And it turns out Mr. Lindsay, only does poetry in that class. And so I absolutely despised it in the beginning. And I went a little overboard with this, which is like, I remember the first poem was a ten things about me poem, it was just a list poem. And I filled two pages of poetry with it, and everyone else had like, ten lines.” The thing that struck me when talking to Hirsch was simply the way she spoke, and her posture. Most of the time, she sat up straight, her posture clung me in on how she was feeling. How she leaned forward slightly as she talked about the series of books she wants to write, The Breaking Point and how when she talked about her past, there was a certain quiet strength in her set shoulders and a straight spine. The way she’d pause to push up her glasses whenever she was mulling over how to say what she wanted to say. The way that she spoke was calm and steady, full of slight pauses and her voice somehow both soothing and able to draw out reactions. Even in the midst of serious subjects, she’d often pause to crack a joke. She rarely spoke with the motions of her hands, but when she did, it was almost always as part of a joke, or if she was trying to accentuate a point. Hirsch finds that she gets most of her inspiration from when she was bullied. She evens brings up that a lot of her writing deals with “this kind of sociopathic mess,” and how she’ll have a “kind of violence, like they’re preying on the main character, or they’re preying on me. My inspiration comes from being scared. So anytime I write something that scares people, it’s because I’m terrified of it.” Dear Bully… By: Katherine Hirsch

Dear Bully… By: Katherine Hirsch Dear Bully, You’ve destroyed me. You’ve killed me. You will never understand what it’s like to want to bring harm to yourself Because it’s the only pain you can control. I remember the day I found out you had called me a monster. The world grew silent and the only thing I heard was the pain in my head. I dropped to my knees. My phone slipped through my fingers, clattered to the floor. I came down screaming ‘why’ and I sobbed For the first time in front of my parents. That was the day you shattered me. To the world, Stop pretending you care Because anytime I try to open up to anyone, All you do is stop and stare, At me like the freak I am. I am under no such impression, That my words will end all bullying related depression. No one can stop the innate nature of cruelty. Instead, my goal, Is to show the toll on the mind a victim takes when thrown to the wolves. My problem is that I am part of the broken army, Who have been stomped on and scarred by others, Forever forced to fight for their lives Yet the world treats me like I’m the disgusting oneNot the bullies who have caused me my damnation. Bullies don’t seem to comprehend the concept That as soon as the insult leaves their mouth, Each word of hate is seared into the skin of the victim until the day they die. The world needs to understand that people change when they’re hurt. Instead of treating wounded hearts like a contagious, diseased patientA pustule oozing mental illnessSee a broken soul as a lonely person crying for help and in need of a friend. Depression isn’t disgusting; And talking to someone with it, Certainly doesn’t give you cooties for not being ‘cool’. Don’t be afraid to befriend the wallflower sitting alone in the corner. Isolate the bully- not the victim. Who is the real monster, Me, who might end up taking my life, Or you, the one handing me the knife? Sincerely, A broken victim suffering in silence.

N EWS

FEB. 17, 2017

The Controversy On Abortion By: Ayah Osman

Abortion is a very controversial topic that has led to countless debates and arguments. It is a decision that many women are faced with and a subject many people feel they should be cautious about, therefore limiting the conversations that could have been. Countless states have restricted abortion- depriving women of their right to choose. many have been fighting to ban abortion. The Supreme Court handed down the decisions in the Roe vs. Wade and the Doe vs. Bolton case in 1973. Regulating and limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion. Not only in 42 states does it require a licensed physician but it also needs a second physician. In 19 states require an abortion to performed at a hospital after a specific point in the pregnancy. In 43 states they prohibit abortions but only make the exception to protect a woman’s life or health. in 20 of them, have laws in effect that prohibit “partial birth” abortion. In 16 states, they use their own funds to help pay for or the most medically necessary amounts. 33 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of state funds making exceptions for where it isn’t safe, or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. 42 states allow institutions to refuse to perform abortion, 16 of which limit refusal to private or religious institutions. Religion also plays a big role in where it stands with the idea of abortions, for instance, Catholicism and their churches oppose abortions seeing that it is considered taking a life. Whereas the Episcopal Church recognizes a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy, and only condones it in important cases, or physical/mental health is at risk. About 700 women die in the United States each year, and colored women are three times as more likely than white women to be affected, as alarming as that sounds, Georgia ranks as the worst state for maternal mortality in the country. And the Health Department of Georgia shows that 60% of the pregnancyrelated deaths could have been preventable, showing that a pregnant woman in Georgia has a higher chance of dying before or after they give birth than any mother in any other state, which is one of many reasons of why they may get abortions. Which is also why 18 other states mandate women to get counseling before getting an abortion giving them information, 27 states require a woman seeking an abortion to wait a specified period of time, usually 24 hours, between when she receives counseling and when the procedure is performed. And lastly, 37 states make it mandatory to have some type of parent involvement in a minors decision to have an abortion, and consent to the procedure. Many people are with it or against for many reasons, because of physical, mental, and emotional reasons, and could cause illnesses such as depression, chronic stress, and anxiety. Women shouldn’t have to rely on what a man thinks of to do with her own body, it should be up to her to decide whether to abort it or not.