I see, but do I perceive?

Category: Uncategorized (Page 2 of 4)

Anna Uehling: Animal Lover Extraordinaire 2

Looking at the outside of the Morningside Garretson House, you may think Anna Uehling and her four roommates are the only occupants. However, her own room is home to more aquatic animals than people in the house.

Seven beta fish and two goldfish swim happily in Uehling’s room. “My desk is literally covered in fish,” Uehling said with a laugh. The nine fishy friends that make their residence on Uehling’s desk are only the beginning of Uehling’s animal love.

Uehling described herself as “cat crazy.” Her 24-pound Maine coon cat is round, fluffy, and walkable. Uehling has a leash for her cat and has the arm muscles to pick him up too.

However, she has taken care of other cats before. Over the summer, she was fostering cats out of her love for the animal and her wish to find them good homes.

Not only does Uehling express her love for cats through her actions, but on her body as well. She has two cat tattoos. One is of her current cat and the other is of her first cat who passed away.

Uehling is very dedicated to her love of animals and brings that to her life at Morningside. It’s a love she is not ashamed of through her permanent ink and happy expressions.

Article 3 draft

As November swiftly passes, many students may be counting the days to Thanksgiving break. However, Thanksgiving marks not only the closing semester, but also the end of the “red zone”: when risk of sexual assault on a college campus is the highest. 

According to USAtoday, half of college sexual assaults take place between the beginning of the school year to November.

College women from age to 18 to 24 are three times more like to experience sexual violence.

So, as November begins, do the women on Morningside College’s campus feel safe?

(ADD A HUMAN SOURCE YOU BUFFOON)

A little goes a long way when it comes to respecting another person’s identity.

Using someone’s correct pronouns is a simple way to show respect. Yet, when it comes to the acceptance of singular “they”, people tend to express doubt.

Often, gripes about the use of they/them pronouns are rooted in grammar. However, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, one definition of “they” is, “Used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.”

Another misconception about they/them pronouns is that they are a new trend.

They/them pronouns can’t be dismissed with a simple “kids these days.” According to the Guardian, the oldest use of singular “they” appears in 1375.

Above all, the most important thing is respect. Psychologist Brenda Crawford said, “It is an easy way to show respect to an individual by using their chosen name [and] their chosen pronouns. It takes hardly an effort to do that.”

So, if you find yourself questioning someone’s identity, ask yourself: Are your feelings of being “correct” more important than respect?

Today’s Science Snippet finds maze running lab rats may have some crabby competition. Researchers in Swansea, Wales have been testing shore crab’s ability to navigate mazes.

According to an article in the New York Times, shore crabs can learn how to finish mazes and remember the route without any assistance from the researchers.

The study, published in Biology Letters, found the crabs can remember the maze for about two weeks.

Researchers hope to use this discovery to see how the environment impacts crab behavior by building mazes in water that mimic future ocean conditions.

(ADD A HUMAN SOURCE YOU BUFFOON)

The maze running crabs were returned to the ocean after the study.

Acid attack

https://abcnews.go.com/US/milwaukee-man-charged-hate-crime-racist-acid-attack/story?id=66802152&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_card_image

Karma Allen describes the attack on a Hispanic man with battery acid. The incident, which happened on Friday involved Clifton Blackwell, a 61-year-old Milwaukee man charged with a hate crime on Wednesday, and 42-year-old Mahud Villalaz. According to Villalz, Blackwell threw the acid at his face after confronting him about his status as a citizen. Villalaz told Blackwell he was a US citizen before telling Blackwell how most people came from somewhere else. Villalaz had begun to walk away when he was splashed with the liquid. Available surveillance footage of the encounter shows Blackwell splashing Villalaz with the acid. Blackwell was also charged with first degree reckless injury and use of a dangerous weapon. He could face 25 years in prison.

The author does a good job of staying objective. Allen creates a good inverted pyramid, opening with the charges that they mentioned in the title before moving to the story of how the attack went down. The lead tells that Blackwell is a Milwaukee man but that seems like useless information. Since they don’t list where the attack took place, knowing where the attacker is from doesn’t seem relevant. The placement of the pictures is a little off kilter as well. Blackwell’s mugshot is under the description of Villalaz’s recount of the attack. I feel like it would flow better if it was underneath the paragraph before, which is about Blackwell. I wish the author would have provide a small warning about the picture of Villalaz. The picture is not terribly graphic, but it could be triggering to anyone who has experienced anything similar.

Couple Shooting

One woman is in the hospital only hours after her own wedding.

Laurette Kenny Brunson was shot by her was husband, Richard Brunson, yesterday. The couple was married only 3 hours before the shooting occurred.

According to police spokesperson Sergeant Mann: “The shooting occurred at 5 p.m. It happened because she threw a plate of wedding reception macaroni salad at him.”

Richard and Laurette Brunson had lived together for four to five months. The bride had three children in the house at the time of the incident.

Walter Corse, a neighbor, said “I heard the sound of the shot. And then the son came out yelling ‘she’s been shot and can’t breathe.’”

Laurette Brunson is now recovering at St. Luke’s Hospital. Richard Brunson’s whereabouts are still unknown. If you or anyone you know has any information, contact the Sioux City Police department.

Tackle football ban tackled in New York as brain injury research grows

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/evidence-brain-injuries-mounts-ny-considers-ban-youth/story?id=66635225&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_sq_hed

New York is considering a ban on tackle football for children 12 and younger. The article by Erin Shumaker summarizes how New York may implement a law based on legislation from 2017. Bronx Assemblyman Michael Benedetto did not gain much support when he first introduced the legislation. Now, two years later, the growing awareness and research into concussions has given the bill more support. A hearing on tackle football was held on Tuesday. There was testimony from several doctors, coaches, researchers and ex-football players. Shumaker moves to the research behind the idea for the ban. The National Football League doubts the research saying there are many questions about head trauma.

The article is framed around the research about grown football players. The article is short, which makes it get to the research quick. There is nice separation between the legislation paragraphs and the research with a picture. Despite the title suggesting more about youth football, Shumaker does not seem to be writing for parents whose children may be affected. All of the brain injury research is about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is only identified after death. I believe it would have been stronger to frame it around how a child’s development may be impacted by head trauma. Perhaps mentioning research from both would make the article live up to the title it’s been given.

Science Story

Move over lab rats, mazes are now a crab lab.

According to a paper in Biology Letters, shore crabs can learn how to finish mazes and remember the route.

The study found the crabs can remember the maze for about two weeks. Scientists hope to use this discovery to see how the environment impacts crab behavior.

By building a maze that mimics future ocean conditions, researchers can see how the crabs are affected.

Media Comparison

https://abcnews.go.com/US/thousands-california-brace-planned-blackout-high-winds-persist/story?id=66470492&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed

The organization of the video frames the power outages as more human interest. It focuses on individual business owners and how they are preparing for the outages. The article below is more about impact. It talks about how many people are being affected and how the outages started. The two different frames give the two different content. There is no background at all in the video. It states the outages are for “safety” but doesn’t go any deeper than that. While the sources for the video are the two business owners, the article has quotes from the Pacific Gas and Electric, the one’s behind the outages. The video mostly just showed people, while the article has images of the blackout. I find the pictures of the blackout much more engaging and more informative. The video just felt like it was filler. Also, both sources lack any input from those extremely impacted, like hospital patients. It’s like a veil of normalcy.

Article #2 Final: They/them pronouns 2: Talking about English this time.

Using they/them as singular pronouns is not a new phenomenon. However, as the discussion on pronouns becomes more normalized, people question the need for a gender-neutral pronouns.

He/His. She/Her. These pronouns are used every day. However, as people who identify outside of the gender binary are recognized, the use of they/them has been scrutinized. Some may call this additional pronoun “confusing” or “grammatically incorrect,” but is that really the case?

They/them pronouns are not a new social fad. Singular “they” is seen in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which solidifies its status as grammatical correct. According to Ian Sample of the Guardian, the use of “they” as a singular pronoun appears as far back as 1375.

Using they/them pronouns is a way of respecting others. The pronouns are needed for people who identify outside the gender binary or who are uncomfortable using he/him or she/her.

According to Dr. Valerie Hennings, the effort put in by using they/them pronouns is a way of accurately, and respectfully, communicating. They are essential to communication.

Dr. Hennings is an associate professor at Morningside College. She teaches the Gender studies course and is the faculty advisor of the student group Gender Undone. Dr. Hennings has a background in political science and women/gender studies.

“There has been this push to have the singular they accepted because we’ve had this binary.” said Dr. Hennings, “This inaccurate binary.”

She called the binary “hierarchal.” She explained it sets the man as the default, which is a problem for those who are not male. They/them pronouns, however, break away from that binary. “What’s important,” said Hennings, “is trying to be respectful of using the pronouns an individual requests.”

Pop star Sam Smith announced their pronouns are they/them in September. With a well-known star using they/them pronouns, Tampa Bay Times writer Ashley Dye expected educational discussions on gender. What they got instead was an Associated Press article mis gendering Smith for its entirety.

The AP stylebook, the “bible” on editing in journalism, had updated to all the use of they/them in 2017, yet the article had blatantly ignored it. Dye saw the article as disrespecting non-binary identities.  

Psychologist Brenda Crawford said, “Respecting gender identity pronouns was something that was taught to [psychologists] back in the 90s.” Gender identity and pronouns has been a part of counseling psychology for 25 years, she continued.

Crawford said using an individual’s chosen name and pronouns is a simple change, as opposed to large social change. The language used to address someone is an easy was to show respect.

Why, then, are people resistant to this needed, respectful way of communicating? Crawford said it is a matter of adjusting to change. The use of singular they/them falls outside of some comfort zones. Also, there are beliefs about gender that add to the resistance.

One example of such resistance is illustrated in the opinion piece by Madeline Fry of the Washington Examiner.  “Using the pronoun that corresponds to someone’s biological sex is not something-phobic or a form of hate speech. Not every request for accommodation is reasonable,” said Fry.

However, all it takes is a little practice and effort, according to Crawford. Is such a request really unreasonable? Crawford said no. Remembering they/them pronouns just takes conscious effort, like learning kid’s names in a class.

Using they/them pronouns are a step in the right direction for gender equality, said Melanie Enloe.

Melanie Enloe is a senior psychology major at Morningside College. She is the president of Gender Undone, a student group on campus that focuses on issues that impact men, women, and member of the LGBTQ community.

“The situation often decides what gender is given to an unspecified person,” said Enloe, “If you’re talking about a CEO, he is used because it’s a male-dominated profession.”

Using the gender-neutral pronouns is one way to reduce male dominance, Enloe explained.

Recognizing the need for they/them pronouns is the first step to understanding their benefit to communication, respect, and equality.

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2019/09/16/aps-transphobic-sam-smith-story-exposes-journalisms-failings-ashley-dye/

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/05/he-she-or-gender-neutral-pronouns-reduce-biases-study

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/sam-smith-the-dictionary-and-the-battle-for-pronouns

Greta Thunberg Speech Story

“How dare you.”: Greta Thunberg shares an urgent message at the UN Climate Summit.

Swedish Climate activist Greta Thunberg’s emotional testimony about the state of climate change today sends an urgent message to the world’s leaders: “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

16-year-old Thunberg’s testimony did not hesitate to mention uncomfortable statistics. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the greatest chance of staying below 1.5 degrees Celsius is 67%, Thunberg states.

“There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable.” Said Thunberg, “ And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.”

Thunberg’s final message is a warning. “We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.”

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