Hurricane season has begun in the United States and the season’s largest hurricane so far, Hurricane Ian has done damage in areas from South Florida to South Carolina that started earlier this week and continued into Saturday, Oct.1, 2022.
Although most damage was done in Florida and areas across the East Coast, events were canceled across the greater Lynchburg area including Get Downtown, and events like Dell Beach hosted by the University of Lynchburg, due to heavy rains and high winds.
Sophomore Madison Claudy was impacted in a much more personal way by the Hurricane because her family recently moved to Fort Myers, Fla., one of the areas that has been the most affected.
“I barely had any communication with my family because the cell towers were down,” says Claudy.
Although the family is safe and healthy they are currently without water or power, and the high winds ripped off parts of the roof and carried away the back porch of their home.
Claudy says, “I felt horrible and I was stressed during all of my classes because I didn’t know if they were okay or not.”
In an initial draft written by Justice Samuel Alito which was prematurely leaked to the media, stated that the supreme court had decided to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The previous decision determined that it was unconstitutional to deny women access to abortion. Based on an interpretation of the 14th amendment that saw abortion as something women had an access to under the ground of privacy. The decision was somewhat changed in the 1992 Planned Parenthood vs. Casey decision, which granted states more power to restrict abortion.
Alito wrote that the Roe v. Wade decision was “egregiously wrong from the start.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the peoples elected represenatives.”
As expected, right wing insurgent Marine Le Pen was defeated by the incumbent President of France Macron.
Macron was a victim of extremely unpopular approval and the yellow vest protests last year, so despite his victory it is unlikely that he will have any easier time governing.
Le Pen gained eight points on Macron since the last election, and while no polling suggesting that Le Pen would win this election it was universally agreed that Le Pen has received a larger amount of the vote than thought possible less than a decade ago.
Despite this, Macron defeated Le Pen by a margin of more than ten points, 41% of the vote going to Le Pen and 58% going to Macron.
Le Pen as a candidate was seen as being more supportive of Russia, so it is likely that Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine negatively affected Le Pen’s performance in the election, as increased support for NATO and the European Union have resulted from the Russian threat.
Photo of the Brooklyn Subway shooting in Brooklyn, NY on Tue. April 12, 2022. Photo retrieved from Aljazeera.com
Hunter Epperson ~ Copy Desk Chief
On Tuesday, April 12, CNN and The New York Times announced 16 people were injured and 10 people shot after a shooting in a Brooklyn subway car.
According to Mayor Eric Adam in the New York Times, “a man in a worker’s vest put on a gas mask, opened a canister that filled a subway car with smoke, and then opened fire, the police said; surveillance cameras that could have captured the shooting were not working.”
NBC News noted that authorities confirmed that the shooting occurred during rush hour on Tuesday morning in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, and the suspect is still on the loose.
Lynchburg professors discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Image retrieved from campus-wide correspondence from dawson.s@lynchburg.edu.
Dr. Ghislaine Lewis ~ Newspaper Advisor
University of Lynchburg professors convened a panel on Tuesday in the Ballroom to discuss the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Ukraine.
The professors helped to give both historical and cultural context to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Philosophy Professor Nick Frank stated, “The purpose to go into Ukraine to protect people under threat of bullying and genocide. Separatists control Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin has created much opposition to his policies, united most United Nations countries behind him. Russia was removed from Paralympics and others. Russian reasons for waging war are not just, because only wars which serve to defend oneself are just. Russian soldiers may kill Ukrainian civilians, the DDE can justify some civilian deaths although that is controversial. Aiding Ukraine is justified, but we must ask whether we are undermining Ukrainian self-determination, are we escalating the conflict, are we harming Russian civilians, and when would war be justified? This war is more complicated than a good guy or bad guy narrative, extensive and complicated ethnic conflict is being played out in this war.”
On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded the nation of Ukraine, a smaller nation on its southeastern border with Europe. Almost three weeks ago this invasion started; however, Russia has yet to seize the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.
Several Ukrainian cities have been the sites of vicious fighting between the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces; however, only one major Ukrainian, Kherson, has fallen to advancing Russian forces. The city of Mariupol, a Ukrainian city between Russia and Crimea, is currently surrounded and under siege by Russian forces, but so far it has been held for a few days more than expected.
Russia and Ukraine have entered several rounds of negotiations to end the war, and Russia’s goals are clearly stated: the recognition of the Russian control over Crimea and the breakaway republics in the Donbass, Luhansk and Donetsk. Though several cease fires have been made and broken, the war continues because Ukraine is unwilling to compromise its territorial integrity, something the West is also likely supportive of.
There have been multiple Russian incursions into Ukrainian territory in the past few weeks, over disputes over territory and the membership of Ukraine in NATO.
On Sunday, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of wanting to cause a war, and both called for escalated attempts for a diplomatic solution to current disputes.
Belarus, under dictator Lukashenko, has publicly supported Russia and has even claimed they will support Russia in a war with Ukraine.
Belarus and Russia have been close allies since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Belarus has recently become more integrated with Russia militarily and economically, the two countries have likely jointly prepared for a conflict in the region.
A chaotic crowd surge at the Houston music festival on Friday resulted in approximately 300 fans being injured, as well as 10 who died ranging in age from 9 to 27 years old.
Astroworld is a sold-out, two-day event hosted by rapper Travis Scott.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is led away in handcuffs after a jury found him guilty of all charges in his trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 20, 2021 in a still image from video. Pool via REUTERS
Gannon Vitelli ~ Breaking News Reporter
Last week, the jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of all three counts that he faced over the death of George Floyd.
The University of Lynchburg notified students and faculty prior to the decision that they would have support systems in place following the results of the trial.
Dr. Alison Morrison-Shetlar, the president of the University, emailed members of the Lynchburg community on Monday, April 19, she said, “I want you to know that I am equally cognizant of how the outcome may impact our students, faculty, and staff here on campus and our extended community of alumni, friends, and neighbors.”
Since COVID struck in March 2020, many Americans have been forced to find other forms of income due to losing their jobs because of the pandemic. As a result, some individuals resorted to alternative work such as creating an OnlyFans page to make a source of income.
Dr. Nichole Sanders is a history professor at the University of Lynchburg, specializing in women’s history. She says that this is not the first time in history women have done alternative work.
She explained that one example of women doing alternative work can be seen during World War II, when women were helping with the war cause.
In light of Alex Trebeck’s death there has been a national conversation on pancreatic cancer. According to the National Institutes of Health, roughly 47,000 deaths this year have been due to pancreatic cancer, and there have been roughly 58,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer confirmed this year.
Pancreatic cancer is caused by the formation of malignant cells (cancer cells) in the tissues of the pancreas.
Presiden-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris
By Grace Cavannaugh, Jessica Head & Dr. Ghislaine Lewis
After a contentious election season, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was declared the winner of the 2020 contest on Nov. 7.
The winner was first announced by CNN as they projected that Biden had won Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes to put him over the 270 threshold with 273 votes.
According to the Associated Press, Biden currently has 290 electoral votes after winning Nevada and Arizona. Biden is also projected to win Georgia. President Donald J. Trump has secured 214 electoral votes including wins in Texas and Florida and is projected to win North Carolina.
The Associated Press has also reported that Biden won the popular vote with 75,405,598 votes to Trump’s 70,905,496.
The Biden team also included the historic election of the first female, person of color as vice president in Kamala Harris.
After four days of waiting on the projections, students at the University of Lynchburg are relieved that there has finally been an outcome.
Junior Michael Affo-Ashong said, “The election has been so consuming and distracting this past week, that was definitely a great thing to wake up to on Saturday,
While, senior Julia Melone said, “I’m thankful we didn’t and still aren’t folding to peer pressure and we’re staying true to democracy to have their vote heard. We ought to expect that bare minimum from our government.”
At publication time, President Donald Trump had not yet conceded.
Senior Amanda Linehan said, “I feel a sense of relief but a bi of reservation. I am unsure how Trump will react and how his supporters will respond. He has already tried to make this an illegitimate election and that can be dangerous. It’s also our duty to keep the Biden administration accountable and continue to fight for social justice and individual rights.”
President-Elect Biden will official become president on Jan. 20, 2021
By Grace Cavanaugh, Cassandra Mathews and Dr. Ghislaine Lewis
As the United States grapples with a global pandemic and rising social tensions Tuesday, Nov. 2 marks the end of what has been a contentious electoral season.
At the University of Lynchburg , the Center for Community Engagement along with faculty, staff and students across the campus have been engaged in encouraging the community to participate in the electoral process.
Director of Community Engagement and Bonner Leaders Cindy Ferguson said she hoped students will be able to see that they have a voice and be able to learn to listen to all sides of the issues as they have constructive, civil, respectful conversations with others.
Ferguson noted, “My motto is that ‘it takes all kinds of people to reach all kinds of people,’ and we are always better when we work together to meet the needs of our communities, states and nation.”
Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, Dr. Robert Canida said, “Students who exercise their right to vote, should feel a sense of fulfilling a civic duty. My hope is that they realize that their vote counts, but equally important, that they have participated in such an important process whereby they can hold leaders accountable.”
Many students at Lynchburg at Lynchburg are ambivalent about this year’s elections but are still committed to exercising their right to vote.
Junior Niraly Patel said, “I’m sad and empowered at the same time. I wish our political system allowed for more competent candidates to have a chance, but money and connections are inextricably tied to success in the presidential race. I am empowered because it will be my first time exercising my right to voet and although the choices aren’t ideal, I will be able to vouch for myself and minority groups around the nation.”
While Amanda Linehan said she was not particularly excited but understood it was part of her civic duty.
Other students like senior Julia Melone said, “I’m glad I get to vote because so many Americans are being denied that right but I’m definitely dreading the election itself.
Ferguson cautioned students, she said, “Don’t listen to anyone that says that you are too young or know the issues well enough to vote. You have a voice, be empowered to use it.It is important not only to vote but to be an informed voter. Know the issues that are important to you and the candidates’ stands on those issues.There are many people who have fought for your right to vote and your responsibility as an American citizen should not be taken lightly.”
Despite the national concerns around free, fair and safe elections, Dr. Canida noted, “What a wonderful feeling it is to have your voice heard, especially by casting your vote. College age students will be this Nation’s future leaders! Their action to vote will drive the future of the United States.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, taking more than 48,000 people’s lives in 2018.” Additionally, according to the CDC, “roughly 10.7 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.3 million American adults made a plan to commit suicide, and 1.4 million attempted to commit suicde.”
On the same hand, suicide does not just impact someone of a speicific age, race, gender/sex, or ethnicity. In fact, “suicide is the seocnd leading cause of death of people between the ages of 10 to 34 years old, fourth leading cause od death for individuals between 35 to 54 years old, and eighth leading cause of death among people 55 to 64,” states the CDC. Lastly, “non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White populations are at the greatest risk for suicide, and individuals in the fields of miltiary, construction, the arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media fields are also at the greatest risk for committing suicide,” according to the CDC. But why should we, Americans, be concerned about the suicide pandemic in the United States?
