PREP LIFE
4 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020
EDITOR: LAUREN DAY ‘20, GAEL LOOR ‘22, MILO PEPPER ‘20, ANNIE ROSKE ‘23
Social Media Reacts to the Recent U.S.-Iran Conflicts with Memes
KELLY McGARRY ‘21 Staff Writer
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he year 2020 was not off to a particularly bright start after President Donald Trump authorized a U.S. drone strike, which assassinated Iranian military general Qasem Soleimani on January 3rd. When any major event occurs, the internet is quick to talk about it through hashtags, videos, and most importantly memes. Social media apps like Twitter and Instagram were especially active in voicing their opinions on this highly debated issue. There was a widespread trend of making World War 3 memes after Soleimani’s assassination. While these memes were popular and well-liked by a large audience, others questioned the morality of making jokes about such serious issues. Soleimani’s death was globally discussed and stirred lots of controversy. Many were worried about the already rocky US-Iran relationship, and feared of any repercussions. Others viewed the as-
sassination as the only solution to prevent further conflict between the two nations. From the US hostage crisis which spanned from 1979-81, to the Iranian passenger plane that was shot down by the US military in 1988, US-Iran relations have always been on the edge. In fact, in 2018, the supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei banned direct conversations with the United States. From these recent string of events, President Trump claimed that the US government has 52 Iranian sites they would attack if Iran responded to Soleimani’s assassination. Senior Claire Alderman voiced her dissatisfaction with Trump’s decision as “The Dept. of Defense did their job by laying out all the options” and that “he also has no authority to be threatening harm on cultural sites in Iran.” Media Literacy teacher Mr. Danielson had been following up on the conflict recently and he believed that these conflicts are “so complex that it’s hard to even say a particular opinion.” Yet, he claimed that the situation should not be exacerbated by
violence as he is “definitely biased towards a non-military diplomacy as a primary form of avoiding conflict, especially those we already have an antagonistic relationship with.” The WW3 memes that were created through this conflict were especially common on social media apps such as Twitter and Instagram. These satirical jokes and images were popular with a large audience, but many did not take it lightheartedly. On one side of the spectrum, various social media users believed that the US-Iran conflict should not be laughed-off. A twitter user @Yousefslym on Twitter, angrily responded to a WW3 meme claiming that “people are making a joke out of something that will kill millions here in the Middle East.” These ‘counter-tweets’, while in the minority, were prevalent throughout Twitter, criticizing people who made memes about the situation. “I understand people trying to use humor to cope with anxiety and fear, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to be making light of this issue” said Alderman.
lation will not be so easily influenced by the propaganda, it only takes a certain amount of influence to sway a nation-wide vote or election. A widespread phenomenon that plagues modern day politics and is aided by social media is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when a reader, viewer, or listener is subject to new data and they either consciously or subconsciously choose to interpret it in a manner which supports a preconceived belief or notion they held. An account on Twitter can post a rumor about a political candidate, and confirmation bias will lead to thousands of retweets, causing it to spread like wildfire. Social media has also birthed another never before seen occurrence: widespread direct communication with political leaders and candidates. Donald Trump can be largely credited for the social media use seen in modern politics. He demonstrated a frequent use of Twitter during is run in the 2016 presidential campaign, gaining him popularity although his words sometimes brought controversy as well. Prior to social media the primary means of contacting a political leader would either be through email
or letter, for the ordinary citizen. Now, any political leader and candidate is provided with several methods of interacting with the people in a direct and succinct manner. Despite the corruption, lies, and manipulation that runs amuck in modern politics, this direct communication between political leaders, and the people over which they govern has the potential to create more personal connections in politics than were previously possible. Politicians’ use of social media should be examined from a distance, observed carefully with a skeptical eye in order to determine what is trustworthy, and what is not.
Greene attended, “I met a lot of girls who were a part of the DECA program and had really excelled in it. I wanted to start a DECA program at Prep, but it involves needing a business teacher and a window class period so after questions it fell through,” she said. However, “I wanted to still bring the characteristics of DECA to business club,” Greene added. Thus, for this year’s format, “we’re going to design a product, market it, and sell it to students” for the first semester and part of the second said Pehl. The club’s first product? Prep slides slippers. During the first semester, members were split into four different committees during meetings; marketing, finance, production, and management to bring this product to life. The senior executives facilitated and assigned the chairs of the committees tasks to complete within their committees. The club is running this through Mr. Kelly and plans on partnering with Panther Place to sell the slides. “It’s going to be cool to see our product on the feet of Prep students and to see it around campus and be like “yeah,
we’re responsible for that. Every member can think that, and that’s cool,” said Pehl. “There’s a lot that goes into it that you’d be surprised. We have to go through lots of red tape to get the product approved, then order it, contact distributors, and when and how we’re going to sell it and deliver it,” he added. Sales should begin in February 2020. “We’ve assigned a lot of marketing homework, so people are making posters, we’ll make a video hopefully, and send out some emails,” said Pehl. “We’re thinking of having the Boys’ Varsity basketball team sponsor us,” joked Tramountanas. “We’re going to sponsor them,” replied Pehl. “They’re going to have to wear business club patches on their uniforms.” For the rest of the school year, “we want to continue what we did in C3 and bring in speakers to talk about business,” said Pehl. “We’re looking into having seminars, have people come in and talk about writing a business email on LinkedIn, what a good handshake is like, what to say in a meeting and their business experience. Depending on how many people show interest,
In defense, many will agree that these memes were an example of using humor as a type of coping mechanism. Through these memes, humor is used to decrease stress and possibly prevent extensive hysteria and panic. “As a media literacy educator, I was fascinated because (the memes) were so swift and there were so many different memes” said Mr. Danielson. “Social media lets people vent; it makes them express their fears. Some were hilarious and creative, and I thought for the most part they were almost cathartic.” There continues to be tension between the United States and Iran. Yet this most recent conflict has not blown out of proportion as many have feared. Outside of the missile attacks on the US bases, both the world leaders of Iran and the US seem to have set the problem aside. “If we do in fact go to war with Iran,” said Alderman, “I won’t be surprised. But I’m really hopeful that we can find a peaceful solution.”
Social Media Takes Hold in Politics
WALID CRUZ-VANEGAS ‘20 Staff Writer
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olitics: A game of money, clout, persuasion and finesse. In the modern dynamic realm of modern politics, all of these key components are gained through communication. Communication between leaders and communication between citizens is vital for shifting momentum for candidates and proposals on every level of the political spectrum. Maintaining a powerful online presence is crucial to success as a political leader. The 2020 elections will bring a higher level of social media campaigning than previously demonstrated. The game is deeper than just the spreading of promise and hope on the surface. Delving deeper underground exposes the dark realities of how social media can be manipulated. 70% of American adults (18+) utilize Facebook. This means that the majority American can population can be subjected to propaganda. Furthermore, a staggering 72% of teens uses Instagram alone. Although the entirety of the popu-
Illustration by: Sofia Simon ‘20
Prep Business Club Puts New Format in Gear
TIA FLORES ‘21 Staff Writer
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very other Friday in room I103, Prep students gather as members of business club led by senior co-presidents Anastasia Greene, Manoli Tramountanas, Henry Pehl, and club moderator Assistant Principal for Student Life Mr. Kelly. There have been different iterations of business club in past years. Last school year, it was known as the career connections club, also known as CCC, or C3. In CCC, the club was split into two departments, with Tramountanas ’20 the head of the STEM department and Pehl ‘20 the head of the humanities department. These groups oversaw contacting and connecting with professionals who could come to meetings and speak about their respective fields. However, as Pehl and Tramountanas became executive members this school year and Greene was brought on board, they reflected on last year’s club experience and decided to add to the program’s method. “We decided that what business club was missing was actual experience,” says Tramountanas ’20. During a leadership summit that
we can move it into the theater, and it’ll be open to anyone.” “What I love about the club is the amount of ideas that can come together in one meeting, like when we were trying to choose the product and then trying to figure out ways to market it,” said Greene. “When all of the ideas come together and the work that the club and the chairs have done pays off.” The club itself has over 1/8 of the student body signed up. However, 4050 members come to meetings each time. “Sometimes people show up, sometimes they don’t. We like 100% participation every time,” said Tramountanas. However, “everyone has their own commitments to lunch. We understand, but it’s nice that people consistently come,” added Pehl. For students thinking about joining, “Everyone gets to do what they want to do. I thought business only appealed to certain groups of people, but business is for everybody and that’s what our club tries to embody,” said Tramountanas. “Join!” exclaimed Greene. “Everyone has a unique strength that they can bring to the club.”
