THE HILL NEWS e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 9 1 1 at s t . l aw r e n c e u n i v e r s i t y
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015
VOLUME CV, ISSUE 10
SLU Reacts to Attacks on Paris By FANTA CONDE GUEST WRITER
O
n the night of Friday, November 13, a series of blasts and gunfire shook the streets of Paris. Nearly 130 Parisian residents and tourists were massacred, according to CNN. International terrorist group ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for the attack. Only hours before on Friday evening, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook the western coast of Japan. While no deaths were reported, the island of Ryukyu reportedly suffered damages. The following day, at approximately 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, two alleged ISIS suicide bombers struck Beirut, Lebanon. The death toll reached 43, with 239 additional Lebanese wounded. Instagram users worldwide quickly took to social media, utilizing solidarity hashtags such as #PrayforParis (see above graphic). As the news of Paris spread, online support to other devastated regions seemed to wane, resulting in a backlash targeted at western media outlets. Read more coverage on Paris, Beirut, Baghdad, and Syria on Pages 4, 5, and 9. The above data was compiled at press time, 2:00 a.m. on November 19 and is not adjusted for regional online language use.
Terrorist attacks in Paris reminded the Laurentian community that while traveling abroad we should be aware of our surrounding and of the constant risk, says Associate Dean of International and Intercultural Studies Karl Schonberg. Yet he reminds that St. Lawrence has a fantastic tradition of study abroad in the French city Rouen, just 80 miles northwest from Paris, which is actually one of our oldest study abroad programs. “We have had generations of student going there to learn a lot about the French culture and the global Francophone world. I don’t think violence is the reason to stop doing that,” says Schonberg. At the same time, Schonberg points out that we have to take the current threat seriously. “You have to think realistically about what the risks are, and we tell students that during our orientation process. We talk to CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Hashtag for Paris: Social Media in the Wake of Massacre By BOBBY BAIRD STAFF WRITER Social media played a pivotal role transmitting information during and after the coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris. Concerned family, friends, and relatives turned to Facebook and Twitter to check in on the wellbeing of their loved ones. The web is now flooded with images of the attacks, and shows of support for France. “When I logged into Facebook I found my message box full with people wanting to check in on me, even people who I hadn’t talked to since high school,” says James Chily, a St. Lawrence exchange student in the France program. James used social media to check in on his host brother who was working in Paris during the attacks. “It was a huge relief to find out he was safe. He was just baking a cake with his girl-
Contents: Opinions pg. 2 News pg. 4 Features pg. 6 A&E pg. 8 Sports pg. 11
friend,” says Chily. Assistant Professor Eloise Brezault currently directs the France program in Rouen, 80 miles northwest of Paris. When she woke up to the news of the attacks, she immediately sent texts, and Facebook messages to all of the students in the program. “It was very helpful to immediately see that everyone involved in the program was safe,” says Brezault. Social media provided a sigh of relief to those who were worried about the whereabouts of friends and family in the city. Facebook released ‘Safety Check’, a feature which allowed people to identify themselves and others as safe. Twitter released the hashtag #PorteOuverte to identify safe havens for people fleeing the attacks to go and rest. “It was a useful tool, but I wish it had been made available to other
crises around the world. Where was safety check during the earthquakes in Japan? Or during the attacks in Lebanon?” says Amy Feiereisel ‘15, a St. Lawrence graduate and a former The Hill News editor living in Paris. Feiereisel agrees that the Facebook features were useful, but felt that people around the world who face terror on a daily basis are marginalized because of a lack of access to this technology. Facebook helped people check whether their loved ones were safe, and Twitter helped people in shock find safe havens in a sea of chaos. The content of these websites has changed since the attacks. Anyone scrolling through their newsfeed will find photos or armed police patrolling the streets, videos of the attacks, and text from people expressing both sadness and rage. “The images, and videos are overwhelming for many of those
who experienced the attacks, it’s hard to find a thoughtful analysis of what actually happened,” added Brezault. She had been relying more on sources like The New York Times and Le Monde for a better interpretation of what really happened in Paris. “It’s hard to avoid the sting of what happened when you’re constantly being bombarded. It’s so much more horrifying that I ever could’ve imagined,” noted Hannah Gauthier, a St. Lawrence student in France. Gauthier also spoke of the controversy surrounding Facebook profile picture filters, allowing people to superpose a French national flag over their profile photos in the sign of sympathy. She points out that only showing one flag marginalizes people effected in other countries. Gauthier noted that it is important to support not only people of
I S S U E S N EA K P EA K Page 1: Social media look at the Paris attacks last Friday.
Page 6: Tampons will no longer
Page 8: A gentleman’s take on The Bachelorette.
Page 2: Advertising creates a fake image of women.
Page 7: The story behind the martyr St. Lawrence.
Page 11: Football is preparing
be in SLU bathrooms.
to make a run in the playoffs.
Paris, but also the Muslim community that will face potential backlash from these attacks. Hate is already spreading across the web, including an image of an atomic explosion with text claiming: “Japan has been at peace with the U.S. since August 9th, 1945. It’s time we made peace with the Muslim world.” It is hard to even put into words how out of touch this sick fear-mongering mentality is. All hope is not lost, the web offers a forum where an educated conversation can be held about religious prejudice. “This conversation is happening on social media, and it’s going to help us realize the majority of Muslims are not extremists,” says Chily. Social media is already lighting up with the hashtag #NotInMyName which is being used by Muslim people who are condemning the Paris terrorist attacks. Read Online: http://www.the hillnews.org Tweet At Us: @hillnews Or Facebook! facebook.com/ the-hill-news