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SHIELD T h u r s d a y, S e p t e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 | U s i s h i e l d . c o m | v o l . 4 7 i s s u e 7
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I want to make America great again. We are a nation that is seriously troubled.
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I intend to be a leader of our country that people can count on both here at home and around the world.
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PhotoS by GAGE SKIDMORE | FLICKR
The first presidential debate took place Monday evening at Hofstra University between presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Students and faculty were invited to watch the debate as part of a university hosted watch party.
University hosts debate watch party by RILEY GUERZINI news@usishield.com @Guerzwinski
University students and faculty gathered Monday night in Carter Hall to watch the presidential debate and engage in a civil discussion. Before the debate began, faculty members including Associate Professor of Social Work Wendy Turner-Frey and Associate Professor of Political Science Matthew Hanka spoke on the importance of civility in debates between people who disagree. They said emotions run high in these confrontations and opposing sides take issue with differing political views. “When we have strong emotions like that, it’s
difficult for us to think logically,” Turner-Frey said. She explained how such “strong emotions” result in debaters identifying logical errors and using them to sway others’ opinions. This, she said, is known as a fallacy. Fallacies, such as ad hominem, strawman and appeal to fear all distract from the subject and can lead to uncivil and unconstructive debates. Ad hominem relies on an argument based on an individual and not their position. Strawman is the exaggeration or fabrication of someone’s argument and appeal to fear is the attempt to create fear or prejudice toward one side. When it came to the debate itself, several students found it to be more about insulting and less about policy.
“As a Trump supporter, I don’t agree with the way that Trump handles himself and speaks,” said junior accounting major Kyle LaFaive, sporting his “Make America Great Again” hat. “I am more with him for his policies and his opinions on things.” LaFaive said his criticalness toward how Trump presented himself stems from what he learned about the fallacies. “I think that Trump hasn’t really changed, especially in the debate manner,” he said. “A lot of people like him for speaking his mind and saying ‘inappropriate things’ that other people just wouldn’t feel comfortable saying.” He said both candidates utilized many of the fallacies and lacked the civility he was hoping they would apply.
DEBATE, PAGE 3
‘Diversity isn’t a weakness’ Takei speaks to community as part of Diversity Series
Gender neutral bathroom discussion underway by riley guerzini news@usishield.com @Guerzwinski
PhotoS by GAGE SKIDMORE | FLICKR
George Takei gives the Vulcan salute to a crowd at ComiCon. Takei was the most recent speaker in the Evansville Diversity Lecture Series.
by Sarah Loesch editor@usishield.com @seloesch
George Takei may have stepped onto the Victory Theatre stage with the Vulcan salute held high,
but his speech touched on much more than his years as Lt. Sulu on Star Trek. Takei used his time as a speaker with the Evansville Diversity Lecture Series Tuesday evening to discuss his childhood spent
in a Japanese internment camp, his decision to officially come out as gay and his social activism. Takei said that after the bombing of Pearl Harbor there was an instant change with how Japanese-Ameri-
cans were perceived. “Overnight we were looked at with suspicion... and outright hatred,” Takei said, “simply because we looked like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor.
The transgender bathroom accessibility discussion reached the Student Government Association meeting Thursday, with ideas to eliminate gender specific restrooms. SGA invited economics professor Perry Burnett to speak about his proposal to remodel all bathrooms on campus in an attempt to eliminate gender specifications, while also enabling them to maintain their privacy. Burnett’s plan includes implementing full, private stalls along the bathroom, which people of any gender may use, and they can then wash their hands at a public sink “It was frustrating for me to watch society fail to do this (identify problems and offer solutions) properly,” he said. “They continue to mix together two separate issues: gender and privacy.” Burnett said the bathroom
issue has nothing to do with gender, but it is privacy that is the issue. He said society continues to mix these two problems and the level of privacy we have now is not appropriate. He also cited bathroom legislation like the North Carolina bathroom bill, House Bill 2, saying it doesn’t address the issue. “We need individual privacy not group privacy,” he said. “The current solutions don’t understand this and must resort to excluding people from some defined group.” SGA members understood that policies need to be changed. “Adjustments are necessary and I think that a lot of times people are uncomfortable with change,” said College of Business representative Bradley Flittner. While Flittner agrees with Burnett’s proposal, he thinks a trial run with a third bathroom would ease people into the idea of gender neutral bathrooms.
takei, PAGE 3
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A guide to usi athletics
sga, PAGE 3