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OPINIONS
Tuesday, april 19, 2022
The MarqueTTe Tribune OpiniOns
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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 Nancy Flaherty, 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 Information, presence necessary to ‘be the difference’
Being an active member of the Marquette University community is important to creating a safer and more equitable environment for everyone. It’s important that students and the university take steps to stay engaged in what is happening near and far from campus.
Recently, Marquette University Student Government and the President’s Task Force on Community Safety hosted a Campus Safety Student Forum to share its seven action steps to address the recent increase in crime on campus and get student insight.
Although many students expressed concern for their safety on campus, there was low student attendance at the forum.
Showing up to events like this forum, where the university is calling on students to share their concerns, is important because a larger student presence showcases that students are actually concerned. Additionally, students should take every opportunity to use their voices.
Students who weren’t able to attend the forum should consider submitting questions and comments to the Task Force.
Being active in campus events is also important in political elections. In the MUSG spring elections, there was only a 30% student voter turnout, with 2,189 of 7,269 eligible voters ==casting votes.
While this year’s voter turnout was significantly higher than last year’s 24.3% rate, it is still low overall. Voting is a quintessential way for students, and people in general, to use their voices to bring attention to issues they care about. To have students who can represent the interest of the larger student body, more students should vote in the upcoming MUSG elections. This is especially important since MUSG is the only student-led organization on campus that directly works to bridge the gap between students and the administration.
The responsibility to be engaged is on students, but the university should also work to make sure students have the necessary information to access these events.
To be good global citizens students should consider attending more events about international issues.
The College of Arts & Sciences and the International Affairs Program hosted a two-day panel on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine March 22 and 23.
Both nights were highly attended, which is a great way to increase awareness. Going to events that are informative about the global community is essential if students want to be the difference.
There are a host of events that occur across campus every week that many may not know about and may not attend. For example, two events that didn’t receive much promotion were the TEDxMarquetteU hosted a “Flourish Conference” March 28 and the Metcalfe Chair lecture featuring Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American studies Davarian Baldwin March 31.
One issue that may prevent easy access to information about events is the current organization of campus events. Some events are shared through university news, the Events and Programming Calendar and the Calendar Events. Other events are only promoted through different colleges and departments.
Having too many places to try finding events can create confusion and prevent students from readily accessing event information. Not only does this jeopardize students’ ability to learn and broaden their knowledge of different topics, but it also hinders their ability to become more informed and engaged citizens.
In addition to increasing communication about campus events, the university should help promote more events hosted by student organizations. This will support student organizations as well as facilitate more opportunities for students to interact across groups.
Another way Marquette can help student organizations increase their event promotion is by revising its poster policy for student organizations. Currently, the Office of Engagement and Inclusion must approve all student organization publicity.
Some of the university policies for advertising and publicity put restrictions on the content, sizes and locations for where student organizations can put up posters.
As a private institution, Marquette can restrict student organizations’ ability to advertise events. But in keeping with its Jesuit values, the university should work to make avenues for student communication more accessible, so students can become more involved and connect with others.
Being an engaged citizen requires staying informed and being present at campus and community events. In order to do this, Marquette needs to help connect students with the information to access these events. Taking these steps now will not only help students be the difference during their time at Marquette but also when they leave.
Krisha Patel
Ten years ago, I would have seen smoke billowing out from the cars whizzing past me on the highway. But now, more people are driving electric cars.
In 2022, less than 1% of cars worldwide were electric. There were some projections that estimated half of all cars on the road going electric by 2050.
The large switch over to electric was largely motivated by people’s decision to address climate change, and decrease their carbon dioxide
Electric vehicles rise to majority use
emissions from driving gaspowered vehicles. Electric cars have changed our generation for the better by being a cheaper alternative, more environmentally friendly and having better performances such as speed.
By using petrol-powered vehicles, we were putting our lives at risk. Petrol-powered vehicles use a spark-plug engine to turn on. The potential dangers of that electrical shock and the flammability of the fuel meant that they were more likely to catch on fire than electric cars.
Another downside to petrolpowered vehicles was how much money people were spending on them. The average American spent nearly $1,800 on gas in 2021 and without electric cars, the number would’ve only gone up with increasing gas prices.
With electric cars, it was reported they saved about $1,000 of fuel on average, which may have been another contributing factor to the switch.
Additionally, gas has many negative health impacts and harms the environment. Gasoline is composed of 150 chemicals coming from crude oil. People are constantly exposed to gasoline when filling up their cars at a gas station. Breathing small amounts of gasoline can cause nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, confusion and breathing difficulties.
A typical passenger car can emit about 4.6 tons of carbon dioxide a year, which negatively contributes to climate change.
Electric gases emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutant, which in turn decreases the contributions to climate change.
Another alternative to using gas was using diesel. Diesel fuel lower maintenance issues than gasoline-powered cars. Electric cars are battery-run and there are less fluids, like engine oil, which normally requires regular anging.
Back in 2022, an electric car could go up to 300 miles before needing a charge, which was comparable to other vehicles.
Starting this transition has changed our world for the better, and it’s astounding we didn’t make the switch a long time ago. Many people were skeptical about the reliability and the cost, but electric cars have proved to be a long-term investment, as electric cars’ prices have decreased as the market has expanded.
is thicker than gasoline, meaning it evaporates slower and lasts longer. This is more efficient in big vehicles such as SUVs and trucks.
However, diesel fuel was more expensive than gas. Additionally, it was 13% times more likely to cause pollution than petrol-operated cars.
To protect ourselves and the environment all while making better financial choices, it was smarter to turn to electric cars.
Statistically, electric cars are safer to operate than gasolineoperated cars. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, electric cars had less automobile accidents than gas-run cars due to the fact that they weren’t as flammable. They were also less likely to be flipped over in an accident because they have a lower center of gravity.
Electric cars also have
Laura Niezgoda
As the models walk down the runway, the lights capture the shifting fabrics. The one strange thing that sets Paris Fashion Week 2032 apart from any other is the manufacturer of each design: the models themselves.
Each model has sewn her own clothes from patterns given to them by designers including, but not limited to Christain Dior and Chanel. This Fashion Week has been called upon by social media influencers to incorporate sustainable fashion into the major industry, after years of requests.
In 2022, fast fashion had an enormous impact on the global economy. The industry generated $203,300 million in revenue in 2020 and employed 300 million workers around the world. By 2027, it was estimated to increase to $252,440 million.
Take a garment from the runway in Paris Fashion Week
Grace Cady
I’m walking through a forest plush with greenery, animals roaming freely and trees as far as the eye can see. I’m writing from a world where we realize the impacts of deforestation. From a time when the forests are left alone and the tropics host all walks of animal and plant life.
Forests are vital to the Earth for a variety of reasons.
Over half of the world’s landbased plants and animals call forests home, and having plentiful forestry is vital to the survival and well-being of these plants and animals. Animals can either thrive off their environment or be neglected by it. For example, when birds are supplied with trees to fly back and forth fromthey are thriving. When trees are stripped from their habitats, they are being neglected.
Forests also have a big influence
Fast fashion going out of style
to an affordable trendy piece that may end up in a store like H&M or Forever 21 and the end product is fast fashion. This process not only negatively impacts consumer culture but also contributes to the growing problem of climate change.
The trend cycle of continuous demand for new, stylish clothing is to blame for fast fashion. Trends are certain garments that are popular that signal the change in design styles. The trend cycle then details the amount of time that a trend has stayed “trendy.”
The rise and the fall of a trendy garment has is detailed in the introduction, rise, acceptance, decline and obsolescence of a trend cycle.
Historically, the trend cycle lasted 20 years before the widespread usage of social media. In 2022, the fashion trend cycle had been repeating history with pieces from the 1990s and the Y2K circulating back.
However, due to the rise of social media, this trend cycle shrunk. With the constant exposure to current items, the desire for new items grew and turned the cycle into a “hypercycle.” The “hypercycle” then encouraged microtrends, which are specific items that quickly go in and out of style.
Microtrends encourage consumers to buy items they may not necessarily like, but purchase them because they are trendy. In these microtrends, the microtrend cycle lasted for three to five years, but now it only lasts a few months, even as fast as a few weeks.
The production had to keep up with the demands, so companies like Shein, Zara and ASOS rose in popularity. These companies release hundreds of new items per week to keep up with consumer demand for new products.
For SHEIN, the company brought the production of new items down to just ten days.
An investigation conducted by the United States Department of Labor found in Los Angeles that a dress that cost $24.90 did not fairly pay a worker the federal minimum wage of $7.25. If they had, the dress would have cost $30.43. This cost could be more if the factory i was paying $12 per hour minimum wage in Los Angeles.
The process is exploitative to workers who are expected to work at an inhumane rate and pollutes the environment, as the fast fashion industry makes up 10% of the global carbon emissions.
The quick production turnover leads to depletion of our natural resources like water. The introduction of microplastics into our environment and also releases harsh and toxic chemicals in the air, such as hydrogen chloride.
Even though social media caused the emergence of ultra fast fashion, it also brought to light alternative methods of consuming clothing.
The sustainable clothing movement called for ethical production of clothing, asking consumers to be more socially responsible.
The overproduction and overconsumption went out of style. Today, sustainability is a necessity in the fashion industry. Instead of jumping on micro trends, social influencers focus on curating their own style and focus on ethically consumed clothing from sustainable fashion brands or shopping second-hand.
Recently though, there has been attention on making one’s own clothing.
Instead of buying a new garment if there was a hole or other imperfection, it became popular for people to mend their own clothing. After more and more people began to mend
Graphic by Alexandra Garner
their own garments, there was a slow cultural shift as people became more interested in following sewing patterns to make clothes exactly how they want. Social influencers dictated the fashion sphere and led us to where we are today. Major fashion brands that orchestrate the global fashion sphere had the models sew their own clothing to support sustainability in the fashion industry. Sustainable fashion is not a trend, but it is a necessity within fashion now. Personal style can no longer be dictated by trends or cycles.
Instead, fashion must abide by ethics and the fair treatment of the Earth and its people. Laura Niezgoda is a sophomore studying communication studies and criminology and law studies.
She can be reached at
laura.niezgoda@marquette.edu
Walking through a greener world
on rain patterns. Rainforests specifically contribute to rainfall through transpiration when water moves through a plant and releases into the plant’s leaves, flowers and stems.
According to Global Forest Watch, in 2018, Wisconsin had natural forests extending over 42% of its land area – from 2001 to 2020 Wisconsin lost 5.6% of its tree cover.
Since trees absorb and store carbon dioxide, the process of deforestation causes a major release of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses into the air. As more trees were cut, our air becomes more polluted.
A study was conducted in 2019 by the Institute for Health Policy Studies which analyzed the impact of deforestationrelated fires and their impact on people’s health. During 2019 in the Amazon region, there were 2,195 hospitalizations due to respiratory illness as a result of the fires.
The health implications of air pollution and deforestationrelated fires were an alarming issue.
In 2022, damage and loss were responsible for 10% of all global warming. world where the greenhouse gas emissions are lower and the trees grow higher.
Deforestation’s effect on climate change is immense. Since we have made a continued effort to combat deforestation and create a more viable environment, life will continue to improve if we continue our effort against deforestation.
A 2020 analysis conducted by the Zoological Society of London found that more than half of the 100 most significant tropical timber and pulp companies did not make a commitment to protecting biodiversity – only 44% committed to no deforestation efforts by then. As of the year 2021, forests covered about 31% of the world’s land area, but were disappearing very quickly. Many major companies were to blame for not doing more to commit to climate protection.
Some of these companies include Cargill, IKEA, Starbucks and McDonald’s.
Back in 2021, Walmart was named one of the major companies responsible for deforestation according to Earth. org. The company had set zero deforestation goals for the year 2020 and also had no system to monitor the origin of forest-risk commodities such as pulp and paper. In 2021, Walmart said that deforestation efforts were “not an immediate business priority” for the company.
When companies as major as Walmart were making no conscious effort to assess their contribution to climate issues and deforestation, they were taking an immense toll on the environment. Luckily now, companies have been forced to see the error in their ways, and by federal mandate must create systems to assess their contribution to deforestation.
Now, companies are more aware of their contribution to deforestation. We hold companies responsible for their contributions to deforestation and implement legitimate change, we combat the climate issues that used to exist. Companies can produce, thrive and earn profit while still preserving the environment. By setting goals to source products and resources without committing deforestation, companies can contribute to a better climate.
In 2021, some world leaders made a promise to end deforestation by the year 2030. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke at a meeting of more than 100 world leaders committing to end deforestation and said, “We have to stop devastating the loss of our forests.”
Overall, because of the cutback on deforestation, we are living in a better world. A world where I can write to you from a plentiful forest. A
Grace Cady is a sophomore studying journalism. She can be be reached at grace.cady@mar-
quette.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.
Please e-mail submissions to: alexandra.garner@marquette.edu. If you are a current student, include the college in which you are enrolled and your year in school. If not, please note any affliations to Marquette or your current city of residence.
