White Face, Black Face
Ivory Maye 2/15
     If you haven’t had the chance to see a real-life person doing “White Face,” here’s a picture of the notorious (but talented) Azealia Banks mocking white culture via twitter. Yes, this may look very racist to some of you, and yes, many white tears may have been shed over this utter tragedy. And like the boy who cried wolf, many people are crying “Racist!” at Banks.
     She was actually getting ready to shoot a video for her song “Ice Princess.” And ice princesses aside, Banks technically can’t be racist, because as the movie “Dear White People” brilliantly explains, “Racism describes a systematic advantage based on race.” And as a black woman in the United States, Azealia Banks doesn’t benefit from such a system. So get a box of tissues and wipe your tears away, because, lo and behold, putting on “white face” is not a racist act, because it has no historical context, nor is it institutionalized. But, if you want to see something that’s actually racist, see below for a picture of something with a huge dose of historical meaning. 
     Below is a picture of what was called blackface. “Blackface” is a term that was coined to describe the stage makeup that white actors put on in order to mock what was deemed as African American facial features. Groups such as the Harmoneons Carolina Minstrels would perform in minstrel shows. Shows like these were given names such as “The Genuine N***er Show” and were put on for the sole purpose of mocking the speech, dance, and mannerisms of slaves in the south and ex-slaves from the north--for the entertainment of white audiences around the globe. Here is an example of one of these minstrel shows: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_swtbIi2F0) As offensive and hurtful as this video was for me to watch, it is of the utmost importance to know about. We need to be aware of the dark parts that exist within American history, because change can’t happen, and we can’t move forward as a country, without recollecting things from our past so that we learn from them.

Can we trust airline companies? 
Janardhan Sutram 1/15
     After days of searching for the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, Indonesian officials confirm that they have found the tail of the airline which can help them find answers to the questions of millions of people around the world. The tail contains, possibly, the most crucial element, the black box. A flight recorder (or an aircraft’s black box) is a recording device that is placed in the aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of an aviation accident or incident. If the claims of the authorities are true, then we are heading towards finding some answers as to what really caused the plane to disappear from the air traffic control’s radar and crash into the Java Sea.
     Plane crashes have been a bit more frequent in the past few years. Last year’s incident in which Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to Beijing Capital International Airport in China disappeared in mid air. During a Press Conference on 28th August, 2014, Warren Truss, leader of the National Party of Australia stated, “The high resolution search of the priority area on the seafloor is expected to take about 12 months to complete.” They have yet to discover the remains of Flight 370 and possibly find the reason for the disaster.
     Can we trust the airline industry? Not really. But, I guess sometimes life is about taking risks in order to get where you want to go. Think of it this way: even though many of us know the risks of taking an airplane--that if something goes wrong we might die in midair and possibly have no piece of evidence of our death--we still tend to do it.
     So, should we trust the airline companies? After all, they cannot guarantee us that our journey will be a safe one, although, they do wish us to have a comfortable flight. But, in all seriousness, Is it time to question the core concepts of aerodynamics, that is, the safety of flying in a plane? Emirates Airlines is looking for someone to build a triple decker plane that seats 800 passengers. The number of air disasters in the news lately should prompt us to put more attention on safety than comfort when challenging the laws of gravity. 

New Haveners March in Support of Ferguson
Photos by Najeem Abubakar 11/14

Thoughts about Ferguson
Jalissa Rivera 11/14
     The Ferguson outbreak and riot is historical but depressing. We sit in history class being taught what horrible things that white men have done to not only African Americans but Native Americas, Japanese, Mexicans and even their own people and how we've “come a long way,” but we’re still fighting racism. We’re all crying for justice and to be equal, but the system is corrupt and our cries for help and change are ignored because the higher power (rich white people) don’t care because they’re sitting on our money, living a good, luxurious life while we struggle to make ends meet and just try to survive a day without being accused or murdered because of the color of our skin. 
     I feel as if I’m being hypocrite because I see all these people crying about not having justice or freedom from racism and I tell them “welcome to modern America, still stuck in its old ways,” but I agree with them. It’s like no one cares about the minority. I am a member of the minority; I’m a “Latina girl” and I feel where they’re coming from. I have felt the depressing and cold-hearted feeling of being discriminated against and I know people who have been affected by the unjust actions of police officers. But if we want things to have a better outcome we all need to stop the ignorance and hate towards one another. Not every white person is a racist, not every black male is a criminal, and not all cops are abusing their power. We always seem to focus on the negative and wait till something bad happens to complain and take action. It’s like we see the damage that keeps being done and repeated, but we wait till it all falls apart to take action and care. 

Marine Band Concert Review
Rachel Barclay 10/14
      On October 14th, my family and I went to see the annual Parris Island Marine Band concert at the Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport. Due to the government shutdown last year, military funds were limited and operations like the band got the short end of the stick and couldn’t come to Bridgeport. The band usually comes for Columbus Day festivities. Although I like not having school, I don’t believe there should be a holiday glorifying Christopher Columbus’s actions, so I did not watch the band at the parade.
      My mother, Staff Sargeant (SSG) Juliet Taylor, took part in presenting the colors (flag holder) in the concert. Also in the audience was the only Connecticut survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack. Considering that the Pearl Harbor Association has ended because most of its members have passed on, having him there was a great honor. The concert was filled with great American music like “America The Beautiful” and “I’ll Fly Away” performed by the “Party Band”, a few horn and drum musicians with a lot of energy. Visit www.mcrdpi.marines.mil/Units/ParrisIslandMarineBand for more information.

Size is (Actually) Not a Number 
Angela Roman (10/14)
     The Huffington Post ran a story recently that included 14 women's stories of size prejudice. 
     "Teachers laughed while I executed my routine." Serine, 20 years old, says in the article. "There was this instance when I was very eager to join the cheering squad of my school back in high school. But since petite bodies became a requirement, teachers (who acted as judges) saw me on audition day and laughed while I executed my routine. Nothing's wrong with being fat. What's wrong is the way [some people] judge someone based on appearances."
     As Ellen Degeneres said on a recent show, "Beauty isn't between a size zero and a size eight. It is not a number at all. It is not physical."
     There is a spectrum of sizes. When you're overweight, people are more careful around you. They avoid talking about size, shape, weight, appearance, etc. They are cautious. They want to make sure you're never offended.      When you're underweight, you're treated the opposite way. People seem to be very comfortable talking about your weight because you're thin and that must mean you're confident in your body. WRONG. Just because someone is thin does not mean they are confident and just because someone is overweight does not mean they are insecure.
     What has this world come to? Why must girls be judged on size? There is nothing wrong with a girl that is a bit bigger than a size 8. Every girl is beautiful in her own way, even if she has a bit more weight on her. It does not mean anything; it just means she has a lot more beauty to show.

Ebola outbreak in the United States
Trequan Mills (10/14)
     According to The New York Times, reports have been made about people exposed to Ebola in Atlanta, Omaha, and Dallas. Fox news also reported that Thomas Eric Duncan passed away due to the Ebola virus and now a healthcare worker who treated him has come down with Ebola too. 
     What will happen next with Ebola? Hospitals all over the U.S. are gearing up for possible cases of Ebola spreading. Also, airports are starting to screen their flight attendants in order to decrease the amount of Ebola outbreaks. Many Americans have relatives in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. We don’t know the exact amount of Ebola cases brewing in America because some people might not want to speak out about it and try to get help. So many American doctors are trying to help the outbreak, but a few are also contracting the disease themselves at the same time. How can healthcare workers try their best to prevent the spread of Ebola without having to worry about bringing the disease home to their families? 
    Fox news also stated that the CDC recently discussed how they must rethink how they will address Ebola infection control. The U.S. government and many other countries are still focusing on helping with the Ebola cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, building clinics that are meant to help isolate patients, but should they start being more concerned with Ebola reaching the United States? The CDC still hasn’t figured out a proper vaccine for Ebola and as the days go by, reports of people getting Ebola in the U.S. are slowly increasing. 

Chanel Presents Faux-Feminist Protest at Paris Fashion Week
By Bobbie Richards (10/7/14)

     For all prestigious high fashion houses, Paris Fashion Week (or any fashion week in any of the five fashion capitals of the world--New York, London, Milan, and Berlin) is pure, unadulterated chaos. This is no surprise. Evidently, Karl Lagerfeld, head designer and creative director of high fashion label Chanel, had something planned for its spring/summer runway finale that would only contribute to the turmoil of Fashion Week. This was a staged ‘feminist’ protest, featuring all of the models from the show adorning the funky, monochromatic pieces from Chanel’s ready-to-wear collection, along with protest signs reading pro-feminist slogans such as “Ladies First,” “History is Her Story,” and “Women’s Rights Are More Than Alright!” Simple, undisputed feminist sayings, doesn’t it seem? Of course--but among these virtuous signs were some that were just outright laughable, like “Make Fashion, Not War,” “We Can Match The Machos” and “Boys Should Get Pregnant Too.” That last one sweeps them all, if you ask me.
     This staged protest has generated a bit of debate between Chanel/Karl Lagerfeld supporters and raging internet feminists. Many believe that this presentation is not genuine at all. Karl Lagerfeld has been known to make crude remarks regarding various people and ideas--and then has been quoted as saying, “Everything I say is a joke.” We mustn’t recall the time Lagerfeld labeled the singer Adele “a little too fat,” and the other time he said that “no one wants to see curvy women on the runway.”
     The faux-protest included top-models Cara Delevingne and Gisele Bündchen leading the others down a runway constructed to resemble a city street, laced with potholes and puddles. This intensified the street-feel of the show, combining the public protest and the contemporariness of the ready-to wear collection. Following Delevingne and Bündchen were other notable models and personalities, including Kendall Jenner, Joan Smalls, Edie Campbell, and Georgia May Jagger.
     Fashion hasn’t been thought of as an industry that empowers women through feminism and gender equality, but instead as an industry that can be degrading to those that don’t meet the standards set forth by designers, directors, and any sort of media executive concerning body image.
     Can all of this be changing? Do you think this event is a step forward in recognizing the issues with gender equality, or do you think this is a dubious attempt made by Lagerfeld and Chanel to reshape their conservative image into that of a liberal one?

To view the collection
http://www.style.com/fashion-shows/spring-2015-ready-to-wear/chanel/
To view photos of the protest
http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/22002/1/karl-lagerfeld-stages-a-feminist-revolution-at-chanel-ss15

An Overview of the State of Affairs with ISIS
By Diamante Maldonado 

Some words you should know when discussing Isis:
Jihad: A noun meaning struggle or resistance; a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty; a crusade for a principle or belief
Caliph: The chief Muslim, civil and religious ruler
     ISIS is a group of radicals who take the religious duty of Jihad to the extreme and want a caliph to rule over the Islamic state. The terrorist organization of Isis has beheaded three westerners already. The latest beheading was British aid worker Daniel Cawthorne Haines.  The reason we believe that Isis is doing these things is because it wants to gain a large amount of territory in Iraq and Syria and wants to be acknowledged as an Islamic state. The United States is spearheading the formation of a coalition of various nations to help deal with the terrorist threat. Right now, the United States seems to be the only one in this coalition conducting airstrikes. But there is not to be much more of a combative response in terms of American troops taking a combative role on the ground. President Obama has conveyed to the public that this is not meant to be another long war in the Middle East.
     ISIS is also believed to be holding several Turkish citizens hostage as a warning to Turkey to not join this coalition. This is a strategic move, as Turkey shares a lengthy border with Syria. The other two beheadings carried out by ISIS were that of Steven Sotloff and James Foley--the latter of the two is believed to have occurred first, but the authenticity of these acts is still being examined. During the beheading, ISIS wanted to send the message that as long as airstrikes continue in Iraq, more Americans will be killed. 
     A peculiar Iranian viewpoint, as reported in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/world/middleeast/isis-many-in-iran-believe-is-an-american-invention), has also surfaced in the Middle East, which is that some people believe ISIS is an American-produced terrorist group that was created to halt any kind of progress in the Middle East, so that it does not become a world superpower because they are well aware if its potential as an energy-rich area. The American beheadings that have been occurring are a result of America’s loss of control.