February 27, 2020 edition of The Lorian

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LENT LIVING

MBB FALLS

Get ideas for what you can give up for lent

Read about men’s basketball’s end to their season

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February 27, 2020 — Vol. 98, Issue 9

The history of Black New column: History Month From 3,745 by PATRICIA PATNODE staff writer

African American Histor y Month, or Black History Month, originated in 1926 and was originally called “Negro History Week,” started by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who is often called “the father of black histor y.” The s econd week of February was chosen because President A b r a h a m L i n c o l n’s birthday is on the 12th an d Fre d e r i c k Douglass’s birth is on the 14th. Wo m e n h a d just gained the right to vote a few years earlier t han 1 9 2 6 , but Black-Americans r e m a i n e d unconstitutionally segregated. Some of the most influential curators of the civil rights movement knew that segregation was philosophically and morally unsound and had faith that if given the correct information, people would choose fairness over racism and discrimination. They were fighting for the soul of the nation and the weapon of choice was

education. In the 1920’s, T h e As s o c i at i on f or the Study of Negro Life and History negotiated with public school administrations in certain states to incorporate the history week into their curriculum. Black History Week was implemented annua l ly and caus e d a mot iv at i on a l w ave in black communities around their rich, historical legacy. Black History clubs for teens

and young people formed out of chu rch e s an d schools. In 1970, Black History Month was first celebrated. Five years later Black History Month was widely celebrated across the nation. There has been some push back against the idea of Black Histor y Month. Some feel that designating a month for

President Trump’s recent pardons elicit mixed responses from American public. by CONOR J. KELLY staff writer

At 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, the former Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, arrived home in Chicago for the first time since he was convicted of trying to sell then-President-Elect Barrack Obama’s senate seat, among other charges reported by The Chicago Tribune. With his fourteen-year sentence commuted by President Trump, Blagojevich reveled in his newfound freedom, referring to his conviction as a “witch hunt,” echoing rhetoric the President himself has used. Though the former governor’s family

Black History “otherizies” Black-Americans and gives the nation an excuse to ignore the history the rest of the year. Actor and activist, Morgan Freeman, has expressed in many interviews that Black History Month is unnecessary and should be phased out. This type of criticism of Black History Month is similar to the criticism of Valentine’s Day. People a s k , “ w hy d on’t y o u treat your partner as if everyday is Valentine’s Day?” The sentiment is that you should be equally as kind to people everyday of the year. This is functionally the same as Freeman’s point that Black History s h ou l d b e t au g ht everyday. Va l e n t i n e’s D a y critics are somewhat right, that love shouldn’t be reserved for one day of the year. Freeman also makes a compelling point that Black Histor y in America and “American History,” are identical terms, not separate. continued on Page 2

miles away

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Previous executives of The Lorian, juniors Kelsey Lansing and Rose Gottschalk, are currently studying abroad in Ireland. Throughout this semester, they will be sharing their journey to give people back home a sneak peek into what it’s like to go to school in a different country.

Radio revival

by DANIEL CHARLAND staff writer

In the past year KLCR, the Loras campus radio station, has been picking itself up after a period of dormancy thanks to recent student recruits. For some students, working with radio broadcasting as a host or DJ is something they were looking forwards to when coming to Loras, but were disappointed to find it unavailable when they got here. One student in particular, senior Xavier Sanchez, decided to do something about it. “I guess it died the year before I got here,” said Sanchez. “I met with the professor of Media Studies, Paul Kohl, and he said to figure out if there was any interest and people who wanted to do it, so I went around. It took a long time to get it up. We had hoped sophomore year (Fall 2017), but it didn’t work out. All of 2018, I had hoped, but it never happened. Last February, we finally got it to work.”

Since the re-launch of KLCR, a variety of shows have made their way onto the station, ranging from news to classic rock, sports, and Latin music. Currently, there are around five different shows airing, with music in between to make sure that there’s always something to listen to whenever people go to the website during the school year. Sanchez says that they are looking for more people to come in and contribute to the radio shows, especially since many of the current students are seniors who are in need of successors for when they graduate. “I know there’s interest,” said Sanchez. “It’s just difficult to get people to join clubs in college because they’re worried about maintaining a balance of everything they want to do. Our big thing is that we can work around you. You give me the time that works best. The hope is an hour a week and a lot of people have been able to do that.” One of the newest additions to KLCR’s team is senior Amber Hamm and her new Christian radio show. She was introduced to the station through her friend and fellow senior, Audrey Peterson. continued on Page 2

Trump’s Presidential Pardons

and acquaintances celebrated the move, the move was less popular among the Illinois political body. Governor Pritzker criticized the decision, lamenting the potential message this sends to others in politics, especially in a state well-known for its corruption. “President Trump has abused his pardon power in inexplicable ways to reward his friends and condone corruption, and I deeply believe this pardon sends the wrong message at the wrong time,” he said. Republicans, such as Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, also criticized the move and defended Bl agoj e v i ch’s i mp e a ch m e nt an d conviction, calling it “appropriate.” Though the former governor was one of the more explosive beneficiaries of the President’s intervention, he was not the only one to find their legal woes undone. Michael Milken, the former financier who was convicted and sentenced to ten years in jail for securities fraud in the 1990s, was also pardoned and released from prison after years of trying to get a pardon. Other recipients of a presidential pardon were former New York City police commissioner Bernard B. Kerik and Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., a previous owner of the San Francisco 49ers, as reported by The New York

Times. While Democrats and some Republicans criticized the pardons made by Trump, pardons are not a new object of controversy. In an interview with Dr. Christopher Budzisz, a Loras politics professor, he pointed out that the presidential pardon has been controversial since it was first introduced to the Constitution. “The power to pardon has been political controversial from the very beginning, mostly because the President has wide discretion as to who to pardon and why, including the power to commute sentences,” said Budzisz. When asked for further examples, Budzisz pointed to President Ford’s pardon of former President Richard Nixon, which stopped any further investigations into Nixon’s affairs with regards to Watergate. Another issue that Budzisz brought up was the possibility of misuse of the pardon power, something Pritzker’s statement seems to echo. “It has been a common concern, when people look at the power to pardon, that a President will simply act to help their friends, people that are on their side. That has been a long-running concern,” he said. He would go onto note that Presidents

have generally avoided controversial pardons during their administration, leaving those for the end of their Presidency, such as President Clinton’s pardons of some campaign donors. Overall, it would seem that the concerns and rhetoric regarding the power to pardon are not new, nor would anyone expect them to be. What is new, however, is how Trump handled this power. As The New York Times and Budzisz both noted, the President seemingly operated outside the typical vetting process for pardon appeals as practiced by the DOJ. Traditionally, the DOJ has taken appeals for a pardon from various applicants in the justice system, checking to see if any wrongdoing was carried out by the justice system. While no part of the Constitution provides a clear guideline for pardons, the President has seemingly changed an additional norm in the process. Whatever the case may be, readers can be confident that these pardons will provoke discussion for a long time.

Corrections

Last edition, “A Call to caucus” was published with the wrong author. The original author is Conor J. Kelly


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