Netflix accused of rewriting history by casting biracial actress

we are missing pieces of her ancestry and therefore, no one knows exactly her skin tone or hair texture, leading to the creation of different theories about her identity.

Ashton stated “If the maternal side of her family were indigenous women, they were African; and this should be reflected in any contemporary representations of Cleopatra.”.

MARIAH FORSTER STAFF WRITER

Netflix released a trailer for its new series “Queen Cleopatra,” and let’s just say, people are not happy with director Tina Gharavil’s choice to cast a mixed-race Black woman, Adele James to portray Egypt’s last pharaoh who was allegedly of Macedonian Greek ancestry.

According to Bazaar, Egyptian Lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary is pushing to block Netflix from streaming in the country. Al-Semary states that Netflix is “promoting Afrocentric thinking…which includes slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian Identity”.

It is important to note that part of Cleopatra’s ancestry is unknown on her maternal side. We know from historians that Cleopatra was Greek, but

Egyptian art and archaeology professor Alexander Badway writes to Newsweek, “The mother of Cleopatra has been suggested to have been from the family of the priests of Memphis. If this were the case, then Cleopatra could have been at least 50% Egyptian in origin,” in addition to her Macedonian roots. With this in mind, the chances of Cleopatra passing for white in our modern eyes are slim.

Olivia Blades, fourth year psychology major, thinks it’s refreshing to see a person of color playing Cleopatra. “In Hollywood, we always see historical characters being portrayed as white… but not everyone looks white…I think it’s awesome they have someone of color playing Cleopatra.”

Nyree Johnson, fourth year sociology major also does not view the casting of Cleopatra as problematic. She states that the series is not trying to showcase Egyptian History, rather it’s telling a story.

In defense of Gharavil’s casting choice, Egyptologist Dr. Sally-Ann

Gharavil writes in Variety that she has been accused of blackwashing-opposite of whitewashing history. She defends her casting decision by reiterating the fact that Cleopatra’s heritage is still not entirely known. It is very possible that Cleopatra was not just Greek.

“What the historians can confirm is that it is more likely that Cleopatra looked like Adele [James] than Elizabeth Taylor ever did.” said Gharavil.

Dajia Temple, fourth year theater arts major said, “because there is a possibility that she could have been half African and Greek, it would make sense for someone who is half Black and white if the facts were leaning in that direction.”

Temple continues to suggest that casting an actress who was specifically half Greek and half African or Arab would have been more accurate.

Gharavil wrote in Variety, “Why shouldn’t Cleopatra be a melanated sister? And why do some people need Cleopatra to be white? Her proximity to whiteness seems to give her value, and for some Egyptians it seems to really matter.”

Temple agrees that colorism may be behind the outcry over the casting of Adele James as Cleopatra. She states, “We see it happening with ‘The Little Mermaid’ right now.”

Blades also compared what’s happening with Cleopatra to the controversy with Disney’s live action ‘The Little Mermaid.’ Public outcry followed Disney’s casting of a Black actress to play Ariel.

“In a way, it’s kind of anti-blackness,” says Blades. “If the actresses playing Cleopatra were Black but with lighter skin, I don’t think there would be an issue.”

Johnson feels differently stating that the controversy around the casting of Cleopatra points to the protection of white supremacy rather than anti-blackness. She uses the example of historical textbooks in K-12. “There is such an erasure of people of color throughout them.”

Despite the different justification and opposition for the casting of Cleopatra, the issue is much deeper than the Netflix series itself. Rather, it suggests an internalized colorism that has affected the world since colonization.

Metal detectors will not keep students safe from gun violence

best practice that allows school management to be confident that it has done all it can to discharge its duty. Installing metal detectors gives students and staff a measure of psychological assurance that the school is safe because every person has to be cleared through the entrance.” they think the idea is costly and only a temporary solution. With that being said, there have been mentions that the use of them could be an invasion of privacy.

STAFF WRITER KATHLEEN MOOTZ

Should metal detectors be placed in schools for safety? There has been an ongoing conversation to include metal detectors in schools and universities, the idea is to prevent people with knives and guns from entering campuses. Using metal detectors at the main entrances of schools generally serves to reduce the risk of students, staff or any other visitor entering the premises with a gun, knife, bomb or dangerous metal object.

According to Hanover Research, “installing metal detectors is a form of

They are a good asset to have when ensuring peoples security a detector is an important piece of equipment to have in protecting people, it helps prevent theft, threats and attacks. There are a certain number of schools that have metal detectors in place already.

When asked her thoughts on if metal detectors would make students feel safe, Alyssa Ernst a second year early childhood studies major said, “I understand it and making students feel safe, I know without it students do not feel safe” Ernest continued “ But if they are walking into school everyday with a metal detector would that actually make them feel anymore safer?”

There are people who are opposed to having metal detectors in schools, as

Others are calling for a ban on automatic weapons, because why go through the trouble of making schools safer when you can ban the weapons doing the harm? On top of that it is believed that putting metal detectors in schools would make it seem more like a prison rather than a place for education. In addition, there has been insufficient evidence that metal detectors actually prevent violence in schools.

“If the laws were put in place to protect students we wouldn’t need metal detectors,” said Paloma Felix a third year theater technology major. Felix also mentioned how she thought putting metal detectors in school should be a last resort option. “It is a little ridiculous to have metal detectors in schools, when there should be laws against automatic weapons,” said Felix.

Dr. Amy Klinger, director of pro - grams for the Educators School Safety Network, a non profit organization that helps schools with safety issues found metal detectors may hurt students idea of safety, “The issue is really when you try to come up with a quick- one size fits all solution for a really complex, multifaceted problem it just does not work.”

Linnea Strathdee, a second year psychology major said, “Metal detectors would make schools a little bit safer because you would have to put in effort to bypass them.” Strathdee continued, “At the same time I feel like people could find ways to get around that, so it would kind of help but it would only be a temporary solution.”

Having metal detectors at every school is not a practical solution. Most schools have more than one entry way and will be unable to check every student or staff member on school grounds. These preventative measures are just a bandaid slapped on a gunshot wound. More is needed to keep students at all schools safe.