Cultural appropriation

Accessibility is not optional

Abby Gorman Editorial Editor

Emerson Fuentes-Alabanza/Prowler

One of the many changes enacted in the first few weeks of the Biden administration was the addition of a sign language interpreter at daily press briefings. This change represents a significant shift from the past four years when interpreters were not regularly present at White House releases, including COVID-19 briefings, until a lawsuit from the National Association of the Deaf in September 2020.

Of course, this decision is a step in the right direction and is being praised as such. All people should have access to the resources needed to make any and all information and content accessible to them. But why is this a cause for celebration? Why is basic accessibility being considered an accomplishment in 2021? The interpreter situation at the White House is a microcosm of a much larger issue present in all facets of life; the idea that basic accessibility is an option, rather than the bare minimum. Instead of being essential, it is considered to be a “nice thing to have.”

The need for inclusion extends further than just essential information. Media platforms continue to fall short in offering disabled people the opportunity to consume entertainment-related content as well. Consider TikTok, one of the most popular social mediums at the moment. While some users go out of their way to use third-party apps or insert them manually with the text option, TikTok still fails to provide any in-app features for adding captions. For an entirely video-focused app, this missing asset renders it unusable to countless individuals who require closed captioning.

It is crucial that we continue to put pressure everywhere where accessibility is lacking; content will not change unless users show their dissatisfaction and force establishments to adapt. In the meantime, some measures can be taken to aid in accessibility on the individual level; regardless of your platform, it is essential that everyone plays their part in setting a precedent for how content needs to be presented. Making image descriptions for Instagram posts and tweets, captioning videos across platforms and making transcripts easily accessible for your content are some steps you can take to ensure it is accessible for all.

Above all, listen and adapt when disabled people deem content inaccessible. Nobody can speak better on this issue than those who actually depend on it. All non-disabled people are responsible for playing their part in making the world more usable to all. Amplify the voices of disabled people, and demonstrate legitimate allyship by advocating for change on the larger level.

Do not commercialize Valentine’s Day

McGlauthon Fleming IV Staff Writer

As Valentine’s Day approaches, many people are faced with immense pressure to organize a large celebration that meets societal standards of a Valentine’s Day date. The commercialization of Valentine’s Day stems from two factors: greed and the misunderstanding of the holiday by those involved, from the advertisers to the consumers. Advertisers, driven by the sole intent of profiting, want people to spend an excess of money on the same products every year, like chocolates, cards, jewelry and flowers, and they have more than succeeded.

These items have now become the essential Valentine’s Day products. Couples believe that those products are staples for the holiday and flock to the stores to stock up for their partners. However, the point of a holiday about love should not be centered around money. Buying things because you are with someone or not should not be as important as simply loving another person, regardless of who purchased what. Until more people realize this, this standard will remain and advertisers will keep drilling it into the norm until it becomes an expectation so deeply rooted that the holiday is barely about love anymore. Rather, it’s focused more on grand gestures and societal norms that have equated love and money.

If you are intent on spending money, why waste your money on items with artificially inflated prices when you could acquire something much more meaningful instead? The point of holidays are to have fun and to celebrate with those around you. Faux love and gestures that are made merely because you feel you are expected to are missing the point of the holiday and not a true celebration of love. Do not take this as saying that all people who celebrate Valentine’s Day Sera Mohammed/Prowler

with conventional gifts are subscribing to a herd mentality. Some people are doing all of these things because they sincerely want to. However, all of those who do not feel this way should have the option to choose how they would like to spend their Valentine’s Day.

North Dakota Pipeline threatens our society

Sarena Kabir News Editor

In the wake of the new administration, many indigenous leaders have regained hope and reignited a call for action: to shut down the North Dakota Access Pipeline after years of environmental damage and exponentially increasing cultural insensitivity.

Mere hours following his inauguration, President Biden decided to officially cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit, a project which would have built an oil pipeline running from Hardisty, Alberta all the way to Steel City, Nebraska, transferring roughly 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The shutdown of the Keystone XL pipeline permit gave hope to those who have been calling for the shutdown of the North Dakota Pipeline. The North Dakota pipeline is a 1,172 mile long underground oil pipeline that runs from Stanely, North Dakota to an oil farm in Patoka, Illinois that takes a harsh toll on the environment by invading Native American land and running over many rivers in their already limited territory.

If there were to be an oil spill, which is likely, then indigenous drinking water and surroundings would be contaminated, permanently damaging both the natural environment and directly causing harm to Native American individuals. Moreover, due to the amount of oil transported through this pipeline, many concerns have been raised in regards to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions the pipeline will create. This increase would have the potential to contaminate several bodies of water, cause wildlife fatalities and damage ecosystems.

While the concern that jobs would be lost if the pipeline were to be shut down has been raised, climate change is impending. These jobs should not come at the expense of indigenous peoples’ livelihoods. These unsustainable and disingenuous jobs provide neither secure nor ethical work, whereas moving to more sustainable energy sources creates more secure job availability.

The pipeline must be shut down in order to mitigate its exacerbation of climate change and to remain in accordance with the treaties our country agreed upon alongside Native Americans. Preserving our environment and our people will provide a healthier future for society.