OPINIONS

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

The MarqueTTe Tribune OpiNiONs

PAGE 10

Aimee Galaszewski, Executive Director Benjamin Wells, Managing Editor of The Marquette Tribune Skyler Chun, Managing Editor of The Marquette Journal

ediTorial board

Alexandra Garner, Executive Opinions Editor Hope Moses, Assistant Opinions Editor

Megan Woolard, News Executive John Leuzzi, Sports Executive Randi Haseman, A&E Executive Lelah Byron, Projects Editor Eleanor McCaughey, Copy Chief Grace Pionek, Design Chief Izzy Bonebrake, Executive Photo Editor Kate Hyland, Social Media Executive Andrew Amouzou, Station Manager of MUTV Reese Seberg, Station Manager of MURadio Alex Rivera Grant, Editor of Diversity and Inclusion

STAFF EDITORIAL

Slow MU seal redesign failing Native students

It has been over a year since the Native American Student Association called on Marquette University to improve its support of Native students on campus and change the Marquette seal. The seal has not yet been changed.

Marquette must take more swift steps to get the university seal changed, as it severely misrepresents the interactions between Father Marquette and the Native peoples on the land and may isolate Native members of the Marquette community.

The bottom half of the current seal has a cropped image from the 1869 painting by artist Wilhelm Alfred Lamphrect titled “Father Marquette and the Indians.” In the original painting, Father Marquette is conversing with a group of Native Americans who are guiding him on his journey. However, in the cropped image on the seal, Father Marquette appears to be the one guiding the Native American individual, as they are turned away from view. Additionally, part of the Marquette community has spoken out that this cropped image perpetuates colonialism, white supremacy and Native submissiveness. The Marquette seal has been contested among students and faculty since 2014, but a recent wide-reaching call to change the seal began July 2020 when a Marquette student started a petition to change the seal and October 2020 when Marquette’s Native American Student Association presented a list of demands to the university. In response to Native American Student Association’s demand to change the seal, Marquette announced it was forming a committee to redesign the seal March 2021. The next update on the seal was last August which said that the committee would “… continue its work this fall to ensure that the seal represents Marquette’s Catholic, Jesuit mission and acknowledges the influence of Indigenous peoples on our history. continuing its work on the seal’s design.” Bryan Rindfleisch, an associate professor of history and a member of the research team for the seal redesign, said a proposed redesign of the seal was shared at the Dec. 10 Board of Trustees meeting but was voted down. To Rindfleisch’s knowledge, the seal’s redevelopment is still going on. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of urgency on the university’s behalf to get the seal redesigned. The university seal not only harms people of Native communities but also harms people who are not part of Native communities. The university seal is everywhere — buildings, flags, paraphernalia, diplomas. By continuing to print and endorse this seal, Marquette is showcasing that it supports what the seal stands for. This is unacceptable. Changing the university seal is important because it is a tangible action the university can take to show it supports Native people on campus and in the surrounding communities. People of Native communities are telling the university that changing the seal is important to them, so making quicker efforts to change it is essential. As of the fall 2021 semester, there are only 13 undergraduate students, six graduate students and nine faculty and staff members who identify as Native American, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis. Native Americans are one of the least represented groups on campus. Representation matters. Especially with such a small population of Native Americans at Marquette. Improving representation can begin with something as simple as changing the seal. The university recently shared it had adopted a land and water acknowledgment to acknowledge that Marquette is on traditional and ancestral land of Native peoples and nations, including the Menominee, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Ho Chunk, Fox, Sauk and Mascouten people. This is a positive step toward creating a more inclusive environment for Native people as well as acknowledging the history of genocide and displacement Native Americans experienced during colonization. The same efforts should be made to change the seal. By acknowledging that the cropped image of Father Marquette and the Native American grossly misrepresents their interactions, and dedicating more time and resources to quicken the process of redesigning the seal, Marquette can follow through on its verbal commitments and words with tangible action. Native students have been calling on Marquette to change the university seal for years. Marquette has been aware of the issues. There is no excuse for the delay. Marquette needs to quicken the process and change the seal. Enough is enough.

Ghislaine Maxwell trial must create expansive accountability

Laura Niezgoda

In July 2019, Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender and former New York financier, was found dead in his jail cell. In December 2021, Ghislaine Maxwell, former romantic partner to Epstein, was found guilty of five out of six counts of sex trafficking charges. This is a tremendous victory for the victims of Epstein and Maxwell, as some justice has been served. However, this does not mean the case is fully resolved.

After Epstein and Maxwell’s meeting in 1992, the two allegedly began their abuse by recruiting young girls with promises of wealth, status or opportunities. These instances took place in many of Epstein’s properties, such as New York, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In Palm Beach, Epstein and Maxwell would recruit young, disadvantaged girls in the early 2000s, before authorities got involved in 2005. Almost all the individuals told the same story that Maxwell would greet the girls then bring them upstairs to Epstein, where the girls were then told to strip and massage Epstein.

One of the pieces of evidence shown at the Maxwell trial was Jeffrey Epstein’s “black book,” an address book containing numerous names of girls that Epstein “employed” as well as public figures Epstein and Maxwell associated themselves with. Court ruling determined that these names would not be publicized.

Differentiating between the victims and Epstein’s and Maxwell’s connections is a crucial part of Maxwell’s trial, as to not override the rules of justice and focus on the victims. Yet, this book and their elite connections must be investigated further by the FBI.

Since Jeffrey Epstein’s death, radicalized groups like QAnon have flocked to the internet to dream up conspiracy theories that America is run by a pedophilic corporate elite. While many of these theories can be dismissed, it is hard to ignore the influence and power that money brings.

In the era of #MeToo, an online movement that brought light to the harassment women experience, many of the victims of sexual exploitation point to the power that their alleged abuser had. In cases like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, their power allowed them to

say and do whatever they pleased because they had influence through their fame and wealth. This happens to be the case with Epstein and Maxwell as well. In 2009, Epstein was able to obtain special treatment, such as generous work release from jail, after he was convicted of perpetrating sex crimes, theorized due to his generous donations to the Palm Beach ...special treatment to “ those who have immense power and influence cannot continue.”

Police Department. This special treatment to those who have immense power and influence cannot continue. In many of the testimonies from the alleged victims in the 2020 Netflix documentary “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich,” it is noted that it was not just Epstein, but Maxwell and other famous figures such as Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz, who sexually abused young girls on various trips to Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, and party cities such as St. Tropez. In 2009, Epstein also was promised immunity for his “coconspirators.”

Children around the world suffering due to commercial sexual exploitation is not just a criminal issue. It is a societal one.

Sex trafficking is characterized by the FBI as a type of human trafficking where an individual is compelled by force, fraud or coercion to engage in commercial sex acts.

According to the Liberate Children Foundation, an organization driven to end child trafficking in the United States, children are four times more likely to be trafficked for sex than adults are. In Wisconsin, the average age to be trafficked is 11-13 years old.

Milwaukee is a growing hub of sex trafficking for its geographical location and the fact that it is embedded within our community, as many who are sex trafficked do not realize that they experiencing trafficking.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that experiencing childhood sexual abuse creates an adverse childhood experience, meaning that it will affect a child in long and short-term consequences, such as physical and mental trauma.

These instances of sex trafficking are rape and sexual assault. To prosecute rape, it must be brought to authorities and put through the justice system. Only 23% of sexual assaults are reported to the police and rape trials result in conviction 35% of the time.

The abuse has gone on for long enough and the rest of the case must be brought to light. With Maxwell’s sentencing date set for June 2022 and a burgeoning new case for accused Prince Andrew, it appears that justice has already begun.

However, there is a long road still to bring justice to the victims of child sex trafficking. Wealth and influence must not allow criminals to go undetected and unnoticed. Justice must be served equally.

The MarqueTTe Tribune

11 U.S. democracy still rattled one year after Jan. 6 insurrection

Grace Cady

Jan. 6, 2022 marked the one year anniversary of the insurrection that we saw take place at the United States Capitol following claims made by former President Donald Trump that the presidential election was stolen from him. This day symbolized a new level of political division so severe that people seemed to lose sight of the sanctity of human life.

Since that day, the foundation of our country’s democracy has significantly changed.

Preceding the insurrection, Trump spoke to his supporters and encouraged them to march on the Capitol as Congress certified the election results. Politicians and American citizens have widely debated whether or not Trump should be held responsible, considering he made statements such as, “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Despite this, Trump was acquitted of inciting the insurrection.

However, law does not necessarily equal ethics. From a moral standpoint, Trump undoubtedly holds responsibility for the Jan. 6 insurrection and those who have continued to embolden him and his actions are also responsible for perpetuating serious issues in this country. Trump’s rhetoric for months leading up to the insurrection undoubtedly contributed to the chaos.

During a White House briefing Sept. 23, 2020 Trump said this in response to being asked if he’d commit to a peaceful transfer of power: “We’re going to have to see what happens. You know, I’ve been complaining about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster. And the ballots are out of control. You know it. And you know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats.”

As a country, for the past year we have heard a lot of dishonesty and misinformation, motivated by the claims that President Joe Biden is not the true victor of the 2020 presidential election.

As a result of this conspiracy, many American citizens, politicians and members of the media such as Fox News and Newsmax have fought to push this agenda. The Jan. 6 insurrection is a clear display of that. People resorted to violence out of anger and hatred; but mostly due to the belief that they were patriots fighting against a tyrannical government because that’s what they were convinced of.

This day was no display of patriotism; it was an act of terrorism.

People attempted to overturn a free and fair presidential election which was verified several times and also saw the highest voter turnout to date. The most Americans ever to come out and vote in a presidential election should have been celebrated as a wonderful display of democracy but instead was tarnished. Some Americans claimed that a high voter turnout was suspicious; but increased voter turnout is not a sign of fraud.

Effects of the insurrection have now bled into the way Congress operates.

Congress has relapsed from divisive to dangerous because the effects of the insurrection have proved to be lasting in the way its members interact with one another. There is such immense trauma, hatred and disaccord between members that some people have come to feel threatened by one another. For example, metal detectors are at the Capitol building per the request of some Democratic Congress members and have been there since several days after the attack.

“This (Congress) is the worst I’ve ever seen,” Representative Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, said in an interview with The Washington Post this year. “We were threatened with people who carry guns and had to set up machines by which to detect whether or not we were armed. This is, it’s kind of scary.”

The most direct way to pay homage to this day is to say simply that it mattered. Jan. 6 was a heartbreaking day for the country and it took the lives of several people, but it affected the lives of every person in America. It was a result of misinformation spreading like a disease. It was the result of our president encouraging harmful and hateful actions. It should

Photo via Flickr

A vigil was held at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. Jan. 6 in remembrance of the insurrection one year ago. not soon be forgotten or diminished. When we look back a year ago to the events of Jan. 6, we see a lot of spite, hate and senselessness. Since then, we have still seen an abundance of these things and the cycle will continue unless there are people in power brave enough to put their foot down and do what is truly right. Politicians need to take accountability for their actions and continue to reprimand those responsible for the insurrection.

Grace Cady is a sophomore studying Journalism. She can be be reached at grace.cady@mar-

quette.edu

Safety discussions, plans should be more inclusive

Krisha Patel

While many discussions around safety focus on women, safety should be a top priority for everyone. Safety should be more inclusive, especially at Marquette University.

Robberies are a common crime that occur on Marquette’s campus. In the past semester, Marquette has reported many robberies, with as many as three in one week last October. Many of the perpetrators were armed, meaning that they were reported to carry weapons, and many of the victims were reported to be male students.

Men are more likely to be robbed or mugged at night than women because they are less likely to scream for help. Additionally, men also experience sexual assault. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 81% of women in the U.S. report being sexual assaulted, and 43% of men in the U.S. report being sexual assaulted. Moreover, nearly 25% of men report experiencing some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetimes.

For women, many incidences of lihood to be victims of crimes, drawing more attention to men’s safety is essential.

According to the Vera Institute of Injustice, young Black men are the most likely demographic to be robbed every year. Additionally, homicide is the leading cause of death for young Black men between the ages of 10 and 24. Men of color are also more likely that white men to experience hate crimes, according to

sexual assault happen when the vic- the Bureau of Justice Statistics. tim knows the attacker personally, The common cause is bias and with approximately 51% of women racial prejudices. Overall, people of reporting they were sexually assault- color have been easier targets and reed by an intimate partner and about ceive injustices regarding equal pay, 41% reporting they were sexually police misconduct or even verbal assaulted by an acquaintance. About and physical harassment. half of the men who reported being Men who are a part of the LGStereotypes in the U.S. “sexually assaulted also said they knew their attacker, but there were also instances that they didn’t know their attacker. About 15% of men reported being sexually assaulted BTQ+ community are four times more likely than non-LGBTQ+ to experience violent crime such as sexual assault as well as aggravated and simple assault. by a stranger. While the percentage of men who linked to male While the focus on the safety of women is necessary, as they are report experiencing sexual assault is often targets of sexual assault and significantly lower than women in general, it is still startling. It is less masculinity other violent crimes, a negative effect of this is that safety discussions known that men are more likely to be sexually assaulted by a stranger. ... may draw and concerns can sometimes exclude men. Men are victims of robA lack of attention to this may put bery and assault as well, and most of men in danger. Safety discussions often surround discussions of these incidences go unnoticed due to the perpetuation of unhealthy views women, but more efforts should be made to address crimes targeted at safety away and stereotypes of masculinity. Promotion of safety measures men. Stereotypes in the U.S. linked should be inclusive and specific, to male masculinity such as strength and independence may draw discusfrom men.” as men and women, and men and women identifying as people of sions of safety away from men, as color or LGBTQ+ specifically, exthey are seen to not need help. perience different risks and vulner-

This is just not true. abilities of being victims of crimes.

Especially for men of color and Marquette, the Marquette Univermen who are a part of the LGBTQ+ sity Police Department as well as community, who have a higher like- institutions and police departments across the U.S. should dedicate more resources to creating more inclusive and diverse safety measures and tips. Not everyone’s experience in the U.S. is the same, and that extends to potentially experiencing and experiencing crime.

Krisha Patel is a junior studying nursing and Spanish for the health professions. She can be reached at

krisha.patel@marquette.edu

Statement of Opinion Policy

The opinions expressed on the Opinions page reflect the opinions of the Opinions staff. The editorials do not represent the opinions of Marquette University nor its administrators, but those of the editorial board.

The Marquette Tribune prints guest submissions at its discretion. The Tribune strives to give all sides of an issue an equal voice over the course of a reasonable time period. An author’s contribution will not be published more than once in a four-week period. Submissions with obvious relevance to the Marquette community will be given priority consideration.

Full Opinions submissions should be limited to 500 words. Letters to the editor should be between 150 to 250 words. The Tribune reserves the right to edit submissions for length and content.

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