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Editorial

Internment Camps in China are Commiting Atrocities

The Chinese prison camps that are detaining thousands of Uyghurs, Kazaks, Kyrgyz, and other ethnic Muslim groups are unethical and dehumanizing.

It started back in 2017 with the Chinese government insisting that all Uyghurs be put into what they call a “re-education camp.” However other countries quickly caught on to what was really happening and have called out the Chinese government.

The Chinese government claims that they are imprisoning these people for protection against terrorism, but if the world has learned anything from history, it is that putting ethnic and religious minorities in prison camps is legally and morally wrong in more ways than one.

The camps are officially called “Vocational Education and Training Centers.” The Chinese government is labeling these camps as “Re-education camps” and its aim is to “re-educate” the ethnic Muslims of official Chinese customs, like speaking and writing Mandarin. By: Madison Farnsworth Opinion Editor

In reality the camps are only trying to erase the millennia of culture that the ethnic Muslims have and replace it with what is seen as the acceptable culture, the Chinese culture.

The prison camps should be seen as major red flags rose from the Chinese government. If this is how they end up treating people whose own separate culture is different than the traditional Chinese culture then that obviously says something about how China regards basic human rights.

This should be taken as a major human rights violation on China’s part. It is unjust cruelty against the ethnic Muslim groups these camps are affecting. They do not deserve this kind of treatment for just living their own lives and being who they are.

According to BBC news, startling documents were recently leaked which expose the immoral treatment of minority groups housed in the Chinese prison camps. Quotes from the document make the camps sound like an Orwellian nightmare come true:

‘Increase discipline and punishment of behavioral violations… Never allow escapes…. [Ensure] full video surveillance of dormitories and classrooms free of blind spots’.

The Chinese government passed this off as fake news, but even more evidence points toward the emotional torture that takes place at these camps. Aibota Serik, a Chinese Kazakh, reported to BBC that her father was taken away to these camps without a trial and she is yet to hear back from him.

Innocent families are being torn apart because of these camps. Parents are getting split from their children. Spouses and siblings are getting separated from each other. It is a tragic mess that is ruining the lives of families.

So far 23 governments have condemned the Chinese government and urged for the closing of the camps. On the other side, 54 governments have supported the Chinese Government and commended the government for their “protection” of human rights.

It does seem strange that the majority of the governments that support the camps in China come from vastly Muslim centered countries. It would be assumed that these governments would be against China’s ruling; however that is not the case. What the United States government has done so far in order to put a stop to China’s ways is several different senators addressing the issue to the American people by making various statements for the past two years.

Another thing that the government has done was pass two separate acts; the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act in 2018 and the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act in 2019.

It does feel as if there is nothing much the other world governments can do in order for the Chinese government to put a stop to the camps; however being informed about the camps in the first place is the right step to take.

It is comforting to hear that other world governments are stepping up when it comes to dealing with the prison camps. However the Chinese government is a global powerhouse and it might end up taking more effort from the other governments in the long run in order for the camps to be shut down and stop existing altogether in the future.

Editorials reflect the opinions of the entire editing staff of The Current.

The Unnecessary Panic Revolving Around Novel Coronavirus

By: Dee Senaga Layout Designer

Since our Editorial about the virus, the panic around both the nation, and the world, has only gotten worse.

As of writing this, the death toll from COVID-19 sits at 3800 globally, 28 in the United States, and all but 5 of those being from Washington State. Surely, we as a state should be the most concerned in the US about this viral infection. Think about it this way though; 28 people is smaller than the average elementary school class. 28 people is a number you expect to come to a meeting in an office. And these 28 people are all elderly, health condition having individuals. 28, in a state whose population sits at 7.5 million. That’s 0.00029333333333333% of our population as a state.

Compare those numbers with the death toll of the current Influenza season. Nationwide, Influenza has caused 20,000 deaths, 74 of those in Washington State. Why are we not experiencing a similar outcry to our fear of COVID-19?

The difference is that this number is completely normal. In fact, in Washington, this number is lower than usual.

It remains, however, that Influenza is actively more dangerous than COVID-19, but is not receiving even remotely the same concern.

A concern that has absolutely devastated grocery store shelves across the globe; the mass hysteria around COVID-19 is out of control. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, gloves, and face masks are all in high demand and limited supply.

Online suppliers such as Amazon are running out of the alcohol wipes that those who need to do self-administered injections require for their health and safety. Toilet paper has become an item to fight over in the aisle.

Urgent care centers, Emergency Rooms, and hospitals alike are all having their stock raided by those who fear for their health.

The problem here is not that people are buying these items for their safety, but rather, that they are hoarding it to the extent that those who are not fast enough, or wealthy enough, cannot have any access to them. Secondarily, this hysteria is often grounded in racist undertones, whether the purveyors know it or not.

Since the first reports of this outbreak, Asian-Americans (not just Chinese-Americans) have been under scrutiny and feared for their potential relation to COVID-19. Asian-run businesses have lost massive amounts of money across the nation, from restaurants to medicinal stores, even non-food related businesses.

Asian celebrations have been cancelled, people on the streets been avoided or given dirty looks, and their food insulted.

Not only is it unfair to blame citizens who haven’t even been near China as a country in the past year at least, it’s unfair to blame and be scared of any Asian person for an illness that, apart from not being their fault, is not even inherent to them as Asian people.

If anyone is to blame for this illness, it would have to fall down to the Chinese government and their current laws on meat production. For a quick history lesson, in 1959 the Great Chinese Famine was caused by food production being kept solely as a government based practice. To fix it, the Chinese government started allowing private farming, which was a huge success for the population.

Amongst the private farming, exotic animals were starting to be farmed as well, and the government protected this and turned the other way to practices.

To be clear, it is not the majority of citizens that eat these exotics either. It often falls down to those rich enough to buy.

These animals, along with every other livestock, get brought to wet markets or markets where live animals are butchered on site for maximum freshness.

The cages are often stacked in a way that forces animals on the bottom to live in the waste of the ones above, which spreads disease between animals, and inevitably, to humans beings.

Novel coronavirus is a zoonotic, or from animal, disease. This is the process that it gets transferred to humans, and despite the outcry, it remains on a small scale.

The citizens of China, and the various Asian people around the world, are not to blame, and should not be feared by any definition of the word whatsoever. This article is soley intended to inform readers about the current data and information surrounding the Novel coronavirus .

It is not to say that we should not continue to keep ourselves safe by maintaining good hygiene, but rather, that the public feelings and actions relating to the virus are not backed by the data.

Keep yourself safe and healthy , but additionally, let those around you do the same by letting them have the same supplies that are being hoarded.

We all need to cooperate as a species in order to fight against the virus, which has the capability to cause a global pandemic.

thecurrent sports

Gator Track & Field Team Ready with New Coach

The Green River Women’s Track & Field team stands ready to compete in the 2020 NWAC season alongside the new Coach, Derek Slaughter. The Green River Gators Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Team look forward to starting the season off strong and creating a new culture of success in the program behind the leadership of the new head coach, Derek Slaughter. “This year is different because this is my first year as head coach. In year’s past, the track team wasn’t always the first priority in some people’s minds. Between myself and our amazing athletics department, we are trying to change that,” said Slaughter. “We want to see a culture change and push for all of our athletes to succeed on the track, in the weight room, and in the classroom.”

Slaughter, a USATF certified coach, who has a background in strength and conditioning, isn’t new to Green River College. During his previous three years at the school, he has worked as a member of the Track and Field Program specifically with athletes who throw the discus and the javelin. However, as he begins his first year at the helm of the program, he hopes his desire for a winning culture will transfer to everyone in the program, especially for the athletes.

Slaughter feels confident in his athletes’ abilities this season and is excited for their opportunity to compete. “We’re looking to score points at our championships and get By: Jase Wanlass Staff Writer athletes on the podium. They’ve been putting in a lot of hard work through the off-season and at the very beginning of the season, and I’m excited to see how they do at their first meet.” The program will take to the field for its first competition on Saturday, March 14th, at Pacific Lutheran University.

The program consists of 30 athletes in total, between the Women’s and men’s teams. Slaughter hopes that if the team can perform the way he believes it can, that number will undoubtedly grow, creating more opportunities for success. Among the current athletes are two sophomore standouts, Darian Hollis and Hailey Suit. Both are expected to do well during the upcoming 2019-20 season. As for individual talents in our team Slaughter sees a lot of potential in some categories “Darian Hollis has been a force. He initially just came out for long jump but has Green River College quickly added the triple jump to his repertoire and is easily one of our fastest and most athletic athletes. I see him making a push for the podium in both of his jumping events,” said Slaughter. “On the women’s side, Hailey Suit is our most accomplished athlete.” The suit is the reigning 100-meter champion at Green River College. She also is the current record holder from last year and hopes to repeat her performance this year. “She’s also been a very hot commodity among four-year programs,” Slaughter said.

Not only are these talented upperclassmen expected to make some noise during this season, but newcomers to the Green River College Track and Field Team like Meleana Mose and Dasani Robinson are already causing waves in their areas of discus and the javelin. According to Slaughter, both new athletes are expected to make a push and become major contenders by the end of the current season. “If they keep getting stronger and figure a few things out, they will be hard to beat,” Slaughter said.

A current line-up of talented new and returning athletes, the hopes of growing the program, a new culture of success on and off the field, and an experienced and enthusiastic new head coach, are giving the Gators Track and Field Program fresh new hope for its 2020 season. A full track and Field Schedule is available online at GRC’s website.

Green River College The Green River Men’s Track & Field team poses together for the start of the 2020 NWAC season with Coach Derek Slaughter.

thecurrent sports

Meet Ariel Otton, Green River’s Brightest Thrower

Ariel Otton

Ariel Otton competing in the women’s shotput category at Peyton Scoring Meet, March 15, 2019.

By: Mustafe Abdulahi Staff Writer

A person needs only to spend a few moments with sophomore thrower Ariel Otton and her contagiously radiant smile as well as a happy demeanor to find themselves grinning.

In fact, this perennially cheerful aspect of her personality is just one contributing factor to be the recipient of the Captain’s Award at last year’s Track & Field’s year-end banquet. Her first venture into track and field was in her sophomore year during high school. “One of my teachers was a track and field coach and he encouraged me to come to try out and see if I liked it,” Otton said. But she explained that her first year was really rough for her as “I didn’t have any form whatsoever and could not throw at all. But there was something about it that I just could not let go and I just kept on improving and improving so I could pursue it at the collegiate level,” Otton said Otton is originally from Coachella Valley, CA. So, what made her decide to come to a college in Washington, specifically Green River? “I didn’t really apply to any Cal States or UC schools because you needed to take the SATs and I wasn’t able to,” Otton said. She later decided to research schools in Washington State that offered track and field programs as she had family here and found Green River College. “I found this school and reached out to the coaches and the rest was history,” Otton explained.

Otton is also the Vice President of the Student-Athlete Committee Leadership Group. She decided to run for the position when she saw it available. “Every month we have a meeting and it was put up on the door and it just seemed like a great opportunity to get involved on campus”, Otton said. Otton had to write a speech and present in front of the Student-Athlete Committee members to win the position.

As of right now, her goal is to complete an AA degree in business and wants to get noticed by four-year colleges “because it’s my sophomore year, I want to get noticed other colleges so I could transfer and continue to be competing at a collegiate level,” Otton said. She also explained that it is her will to hit new personal records for the upcoming track and field season and place at the NWACS (Northwest Athletic Conference). Coach Derek Slaughter, who is the Head Track and Field Coach at GRC, talked about how Otton is on and off the field. “Ariel is the best kind of athlete a coach could hope to have. She is committed to the program, she listens extremely well, she is supportive of her teammates, and I don’t think I’ve hardly ever heard her complain,” Slaughter said.

As for her level of commitment during practice when they are preparing “She’s usually pretty calm and collected during practice... getting to meets there are always some nerves. She’s not one to get too much into her head. She goes out and tries to perform to the best of her ability that day. Sometimes she has a good day and sometimes she doesn’t. It’s all about keeping her (as well as her peers) in a positive mindset. Find the little wins even in failure,” Slaughter said.

Slaughter added how much the team is going to miss her next year when she transfers. “We’re both California kids and I’m going to be sad to lose her after this year since she is a sophomore. But one thing I can say for sure is that wherever she goes next they will be getting a smart, dedicated, high character teammate,” Slaughter said.

At the 2019 Saint Martin’s Jay Hammer Open, she hit a personal record of 31.90 yards in the discus throw and hit a personal record of 9.71 yards in shotput. “Last season was really tough for me,” Otton said. “It was my first time throwing the hammer and that was really different for me because they don’t have it in high school. So I didn’t do well early in the season last year because of it. But it was a learning experience. My first year, in general, was really tough because as a freshman, you’re coming into a higher level and that means you have higher standards,” Otton said.

Otton also does a pre-ritual before every hammer throw. “When I step into the ring, I have to always start on my left side and just take a deep breath and move to my right side and then back over again. For Discus throws, I like to take a second to just release it right out of my hands just so I can get the feeling of it leaving my hands,” Otton said. “One of my teachers was a track and field coach and he encouraged me to come to try out and see if I liked it,”

-Ariel Otton

Green River College | The Current

Ariel Otton (top row on the far left) has been a bright student-athlete during her time at GRC.