The news article “Fox News Christmas Tree Is Set on Fire in Manhattan”, written by Mike Ives and published by the New York Times, reports on a alleged arson in Manhattan.
According to the article, the 50 foot tall tree was extinguished and a man was arrested for setting it on fire right after. 49 year old Craig Tamanaha was observed by security and other witnesses commit the crime. The motive of the arson is not clear and is speculated by the article to be a result of drug abuse. The article writes about Tamanaha’s previous arrests for drug abuse and also mentions that he is homeless. Given that the Christmas tree is a symbol for tradition and christian ceremonies, one could have also assumed that this was an act of terror. Further because the article mentions other arsons of Christmas trees such as the one at the Washington Square or the Jack London Square last Monday. Moreover, the article also unsuccessfully tried to get a statement from the lighting company about whether or not the fire could have been the result of a defect light.
The article finishes with quotes on how important the tradition is to spread the Christmas spirit and that the tree will be replaced immediately. This gives hope to the reader and a sense of ‘this is not going to get us down’ to finish off the story.
Okan Golge’s “charisma” makes him an important player on and off the field, according to Tom Maxon, the soccer head coach. “It is never quiet when Okan is around” is what Tobi Sadler, a classmate, says about the Morningside soccer player.
Golge is German, however, his roots are back in Turkey. Golge is the product of a very common migration phenomenon in Germany. After the Second World War, Turkish citizens migrated to Germany because they were in the need of workers. In 1961, 825,000 people were recruited from companies under the working agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and Turkey. Those people did not plan to stay but never left, in fact, their families migrated too and started a new life in Germany. The following generations now start to become German citizens and contribute to the multi-cultural German population.
Roughly 1.5 million Turkish citizens live in Germany, states a statistic from 2019. However a statistic from 2018 states that 3 million people in Germany have a migrational background from Turkey. Therefore almost 1.5 million people are just like Okan Golge, who are Germans on paper but with non typical German names.
A fun fact is that Golge’s last name means shadow in Turkish.
Okan also has a “high temper”, which is “typical” for the Turkish, is what Coach Maxon said about Golge. Coach Maxon has some sort of experience with the German-Turkish. Not only did he grow up in Germany during the time of the migration in the 1960s, next to Murat Turan and Okan Golge, Musa Aktuerk is his third German-Turkish payer in the past 4 years.
Work and a brighter future was the motivation for the Turkish to migrate to Germany in the 1960s. However, the German-Turkish relationship began back in the 11th century. The first alliance was established between the Holy Roman Empire and the Sultanate of Rum. The first military alliance between the Germans and Turkish, called the Germany-Ottoman alliance, was formed right before World War I in 1914. The Ottoman Empire at the time was at its downfall after the Balkan and Italo-Turkish Wars. A non aggression pact in World War II, the Treaty of Friendship, between the two countries was signed in 1941.
When looking at the German soccer national team, one may find an example of how diverse the German population really is. Players such as Mesut Oezil or Ilkay Guendogan share the same background like Golge and exemplify the ideal integration into our community.
“It is hard to imagine a world without them being around, if not for the Turkish people, we wouldn’t have the famous German-Turkish dish ‘Doener'” explains Noah Aniser, a student at Morningside.
The article “Michigan school shooting suspect’s parents charged, missing ahead of court appearance” by Emily Shapiro and published by ABC News tackles the school shooting in Michigan last Monday.
The depiction of the events consists of paraphrases and direct quotes from the attorney and the Oakland County Sheriff. According to them, the parents of the shooter are being charged and are being looked for. The tone of the article is also very dramatic through the use of adjectives such as “alarming” and “violent”.
The article gives evidence for the assumption that the parents of the shooter did have responsibility for the tragedy. The article finishes off with a list of charges the shooter is facing and his not-guilty plea. It also leaves the reader curious about what is going to happen next. A quote towards gun owners underlines the motive for the prosecution of the parents and how gun owners should be more aware of their responsibility, to prevent incidents like these.
