Culture

KYLIE’S ROOM | Strange Fruit: The Media’s Double Standard When It Comes to Black Women

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As I get older and wiser (all 21 years and six months), I’ve come to realize that although I am an American, America (or my country) was not made for me. This land of the free was made on the backs of my ancestors who did not enjoy such freedoms. Having grown up in mostly white environments and choosing to attend a predominantly white university, I’ve become accustomed to being the only black girl in the room. My norm is either being singled out as the point person to explain race or feeling that people don’t want to speak about race around me. My norm is being put in awkward or uncomfortable situations where people might comment on my complexion, make intrusive inquiries about how I choose to wear my hair, or objectify the bodies of those who look like me.  Even more so, I’ve become painfully aware of how society arbitrarily picks and chooses when to uplift black women, put them down, profit off of them, then push them aside.

Politics

ARRAY | The Soft Power of the CIA

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On March 7th the CIA made headlines across the nation when Wikileaks released 8,761 sensitive documents and several hundred million lines of code from the CIA’s cybersecurity division. Many of these leaked documents were fairly mundane viruses and malware, the type you might get from torrenting media, but a few were much more impactful. It turns out the CIA has been able to break into nearly every major tech firm’s phones, applications and operating systems, and can turn these smart devices into bugs and recording technology by accessing their microphones. Wikileaks also revealed a CIA program that copies the “fingerprints” of other hacking groups, raising questions over the investigations surrounding Russian influence in the elections. Outside the international community though, there has been relatively little hubbub about the leak.

Politics

OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM | Trump’s War with the Media

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Last week, Donald Trump did something that broke decades of history and infuriated much of the media. It was also one of the least surprising decisions of his presidency. When Trump prevented several media outlets from attending a private White House briefing with Sean Spicer, he simply followed through on a campaign promise. After all, Trump engages in a self-declared “running war” with the media. In order to win his war, he seeks to limit the effectiveness of certain publications in covering him by cutting off their access and delegitimizing their sources.

Politics

OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM | TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR

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The last two weeks have been rough. They have been really really rough. Trump has imposed the travel began, ordered the construction of the wall, appointed a Secretary of Education who favors “for-profit” charter schools, cozied up to Russia and signed more “law and order” executive actions. The list could keep going. I actually think the press has not done too terrible of a job covering these stories.

Politics

NOBODY’S OPINIONS | Things Kellyanne Conway Will Say in the Next 4 Years

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“No, Donald Trump’s pledge of allegiance to Putin does not disqualify him from being President, and the fact that you would even suggest that, Anderson, is just another example of this media bias that we see all the time now.”

“I think Justin Bieber is the best alternative rock musician, period.”

“No one really cares about Trump’s Muslim registry besides the press, so we’re just going to go ahead and do it.” “Mr. Trump has nominated me today to be his new Secretary of Propaganda. Despite vocal opposition from Marco Rubio, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, we’re pretty sure they’re all going to vote for it anyway.” “General Mattis, execute Executive Order 66.”

“Apple pie is one of the most overrated pies in America. Frankly, it is undeserving of an Oscar and the fact that it is even being considered for one reflects such massive media bias.

Politics

KRAVITZ’S KORNER | The Uncomfortable Truth About AJ+

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In just over a year since its founding in September 2014, AJ+ has exploded onto the scene to become the second largest news video producer on Facebook. In October 2015, AJ+ amassed over 1 billion views across its platforms. It’s safe to say that AJ+ has risen to social media preeminence. Owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, a Qatari-based multinational multimedia conglomerate, AJ+ produces digital media news coverage from around the around about social justice issues. It is a self-described “global news community for the connected generation. We highlight human struggles and achievements, empower impassioned voices and challenge the status quo.

Politics

MOSKOWITZ | Measuring our Country’s Future

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Sometimes, they are just hard to avoid. They spring up, almost daily, prognosticating the future and therefore predicting what our country may look like in the  years to come. You can watch them climb up and fall with the change in days, months and years. Sometimes they can seem overpowering, as if their subtle shifts really matter. But that can be the issue, because in the end, how much should we really care?

Politics

MCEVOY MINUTE | After a week full of scandal, could Trump still win?

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If after this weekend you were left wondering what the state of our political system has come to, you are not alone. After a video was released of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, claiming that he had the right to sexually assault women because he was a celebrity, the Republican Party started falling to pieces. On top of that, Trump tried to brush off his comments as ‘locker room’ talk, failing to  recognize that it is this very ‘boys will be boys’ attitude that perpetuates rape culture and teaches young boys to treat women as sexual objects. Then, during Monday night’s debate, we witnessed one of the most vitriolic displays between two presidential candidates in modern memory, in which Trump and Clinton refused to start off by shaking hands. Social media sites were rife with people voicing their opinions and expressing how appalled they are with this current election cycle.

Politics

OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM | We Need to Look at Prisons

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There are some places where the eyes of the press rarely go. Maybe it is because they do not care. Maybe it is because they cannot. Yet this lack of a gaze has left a large blind spot in coverage, which may allow some truly terrible things to continue to happen. The United States has more people in prison than any country in the world.