November 18, 2021 | Volume 125 Issue 12
Variety Page 5
Staying Sane this Winter
Opinion Page 6
How to Ruin Thanksgiving
Vigilante justice in America Abigail Faulkner Staff Writer
The cases
On Aug. 25, 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse found himself in Kenosha, Wash. amidst a chaotic protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake. By Aug. 26, he would turn himself in for the shootings in his hometown of Antioch, Ill. Because that night, while in Kenosha, Kyle killed two people and
injured a third. He stands accused of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and finally, a now thrown out count of illegal possession of a dangerous weapon by persons under 18. Did he do it? Is he guilty of murder? I would advise you to watch the videos and
Astrofest: What is Travis Scott’s next move? After a horrifying event, the celebrity must do right Grant Ayers
Variety Editor Unless someone’s been living under a rock for the past week, everyone has been made aware of the horrifying and appalling details and stories that broke soon after the end of night one at Travis Scott’s Houston-based 2021 “Astroworld Festival”. Scott’s Astroworld Festival began in 2018, with nothing but praise for the rapper’s intuitiveness, creativity and effort to begin his own festival. The grand
event was labeled as Astroworld Festival to coincide with Scott’s 2018 release, aptly titled “Astroworld”, which is also a reference to a former Six Flags theme park in Houston, Texas that he attended as a child, and has since been shut down. The festival received critical and commercial acclaim since its beginning, with the lineups and anticipation getting increasingly bigger each year. Entering its third year (2020’s Astroworld Festival was canceled
decide for yourself. Instead, I want to ask a different kind of question: Why was Kyle at a protest, armed with a deadly weapon, across state lines at 17 years-old? In his testimony, he claims that he was protecting a used car dealership and had brought medical supplies to provide aid. That answer doesn’t truly satisfy the question I asked. Why did Kyle feel he should go? due to the pandemic), tickets sold out before the full lineup was even announced. Anticipation for the event aside, audiences knew that the rapper’s performances didn’t come without their antics before the tragedy that was this year’s event. One of the primary reasons that Scott began his festival is due to him being caught up with the law after a wild set at Chicago’s Lollapalooza. The performance led to violent outbursts within the crowd and Scott being formally charged with “inciting a riot” in 2015. It’s worth noting that Scott’s set lasted approximately five minutes. This year’s Astroworld Festival was no different, aside from the carelessness of what was going on within the crowd. The night included chants
Staff Writer
The duties of the police are to protect and serve, but for decades their ability to follow these duties has been questioned by citizens. The police are supposed to serve citizens, but many citizens feel they are instead, being victimized. In an interview with the Harvard Gazette, Rajiv Sethi, a professor of economics at Barnard College, Columbia University, and an external professor at Santa Fe Institute, shared his thoughts on the disparities of individual areas. “In the country as a whole, you’re about two to three times more likely to face deadly force if you’re Black than if you are white” said Sethi. “But if you look at individual cities separately, disparities in exposure are much
higher.” Police departments around the country go through completely different training experiences, which may be a cause for spikes in certain areas. Another assistant professor interviewed by the Gazette shared his support for the recent protests regarding lowering funds for police departments. He believes that funneling more money into departments is not a fix but rather a shortterm solution, and instead encourages the formation of more community services that will help prevent
crime and lessen the need for police. “That was their solution to the building’s lack of air conditioning,” said Brandon Terry, a Harvard Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies and Social Studies. “Just grab an ice cube.” According to Mapping Police Violence, Black people have been 25% of those killed by police in 2021, with the U.S. population being 13%. In North Dakota, according to the Police Scorecard, the police have scored 62%.
NFL Playoff Predictions
How Kyle Rittenhouse’s crimes and Ahmaud Arbery murder are going to shape our country
Let’s turn our attention to Ahmaud Arbery. On Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, at 1 p.m., Arbery was shot three times and died from his injuries while on a jog. The defendants Gregory McMichael, 65; his 35-year-old son, Travis McMichael; and their neighbor, William Bryan, 52, suspected Arbury to be a perpetrator of some burglaries in the area. In a video later of “Stop the show!”, intense crowd-pushing, hundreds of injuries and nine, tragic deaths to date. Overall, the 2021 performance was marked by chaos, panic and devastation only halfway through the scheduled performances. The first night’s chaos led to the cancellation of Astroworld Festival’s second night, as well as Travis Scott pulling out of the following week’s Las Vegas festival, “Day N Vegas.” Many are skeptical that Travis voluntarily withdrew himself from the festival, instead choosing to believe that he was forced away by the festival and its promoters, but they allowed him to save face by making it look as if it was his conscious choice to do the right thing. Continued on Page 5
Public safety may be the new police Courtney Entzi
Sports Page 8
These scores are based on police spending, use of force and officer accountability, with higher scores being the best within these parameters. The lowest score was given in racial disparities amongst drug-related arrests, where N.D. scored an 18%. The site also compares individual towns in which Fargo is the highest scoring at 62%, and a majority of towns scoring 50% or lower. The site uses local, state and federal databases to calculate these percentages. Continued on Page 2
Fibonacci Blue | Flickr | Photo Courtesy
released to the public, you can see McMichaels and Bryan “square in” a jogging Arbery who was promptly shot after passing their car, resulting in his death. In the video, you can hear two shots fired. No one was arrested for the murder until May 7 after the video became public that same month. The similarities in the cases Despite their many
intricacies, these two cases have one glaring similarity, the vigilante nature of their cases. Arbery was murdered over a crime he has not been proven guilty of. For him, it was not innocent until proven guilty; in the eyes of the McMichaels, it was guilty until proven innocent.
Continued on Page 7
| Photo Courtesy
Bison dominate Penguins as FCS Playoffs loom
The Herd enter the regular season finale with hopes of securing home field in the playoffs
Ian Longtin
Sports Editor The Bison took care of business against Youngstown State, defeating the conference rival Penguins 49-17. NDSU had their best game of the season on the ground running the ball for a staggering 454 yards. Sophomore TK Marshal had just three rushes for *checks notes* 146 yards which led both teams. Joining in on the running palooza was SMU transfer TaMerik Williams who ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns himself. Starting quarterback Cam Miller also quietly had a very good game in his own right. Although he threw just 14 passes, Miller was extremely efficient throwing for 169 yards and a pair of scores. The win helped the
Bison secure at worst a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title, while a win against South Dakota next week will give the Bison the title outright. However, something much larger than a conference championship may be at stake in next week’s regular season finale. If the Bison win against the Coyotes next week, and it’s a big if as USD is 7-3 and the 16th ranked team in the country, the Bison will move to 10-1 and will be very much in play for a top-two seed in the upcoming playoffs. While undefeated and defending national champion, Sam Houston State all but has the number one seed sewn up, the number two overall seed is just as beneficial. Continued on Page 9