Michelle Obama to release second book

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Amanda Torres

By AMANDA TORRES

“Becoming,” a memoir by former first lady Michelle Obama will be released on Nov. 13. After much anticipation, the announcement was made on Feb. 25 by Penguin Random House. “Becoming” will be published by Crown, an imprint at Penguin Random House. Crown obtained the rights to publish the memoir worldwide.

According to The New York Times, Crown said that the memoir will touch on topics like Obama’s experience in the White House, as a mother of two, on her campaign on public health and more.

CNN reported that Penguin Random House said that the Obama’s memoir is “an unusually intimate reckoning from a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations — and whose story inspires us to do the same.”

Courtesy of Michelle Obama via Twitter.

Obama said via her Twitter account that the memoir was a “deeply personal experience” to her.

According to the The New York Times, “Becoming” will be published in 24 languages.

Read by Obama herself, audio versions will also be published. The former first lady will donate a million copies of the memoir to First Book, a nonprofit based in Washington. First Book helps children get access to books and educational resources in the U.S. and Canada.

CNN also included that Penguin Random House said that the memoir will sell for $32.50 in the U.S. When the release day comes around, Obama will promote Becoming through an international tour.

This will be Obama’s second book. “American Grown” was published in 2012. The book encourages healthy living and talks about the White House Kitchen Garden.

NBA All Star format shakes up game

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Jabari Wilbon

By JABARI WILBON

The National Basketball Association had its annual All Star weekend and All Star game this past weekend. Instead of having a traditional East vs. West match up, the commissioner decided to change the format of the game. The two players who received the most fan votes, Steph Curry and LeBron James, drafted their teams from the pool of NBA All Stars and created their teams with both Western Conference and Eastern Conference players.

The All Star game had been receiving criticism over the past few years because of lack of competitiveness and lack of intensity from the players, so a change needed to be made. However, as soon as the format was announced back in the winter of 2017, CBS Sports stated in an article.

CBS Sports was reporting on the format change and criticizing it. CBS talked about how the game had always been West vs. East and they shouldn’t change the tradition. CBS also argued how it didn’t even think changing the format in this way would help the players compete harder.

After the game this past Sunday, the league and reporters thought the game was a success. Not only was the game competitive, but it was also close and came down to the final possession.

CBS Sports published a second article almost immediately after the game stating how the new format worked and how it could keep getting better over the next few years. The article went into heavy detail about why the format worked and the reporter did well on explaining the pros and the cons of the format to the reader.

Sports Illustrated also put out an article on Monday morning talking about how the new All Star game was good for the sport overall and how the NBA players’ symbolic value is what’s important to the fans. So, the players needed to play hard in order to show the fans that they do care about their voices and their opinions.

A reporter named Ben Golliver tweeted a graph showing that the 2018 All Star game was the lowest scoring since 2013 and the closest margin since 2012, which means there was a lot more defense being played the players really cared about winning.

Overall, reporters did a good job analyzing and reporting this game especially after all the anticipation and expectations from this new format.

Parkland continues to dominate news

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Patricia Santana

By PATRICIA SANTANA

More than a week later, the mass shooting that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Senior High in Parkland, Fla., continues to be the biggest talking point for most news organizations.

A quick visit to CNN or The New York Time’s websites will reflect this, as the stories closest to the top of the page and in the biggest fonts are related to Parkland. Even stories about the Winter Olympics or new developments from the Mueller probe into the Russia investigation, stories that at any other point in time would eat up most of the space on the homepage of any news organization, have not been garnering the same attention as any of the stories related to the Parkland shooting.

This is a typical occurrence with mass shootings. Tragedies such as these come as shocks to the community and to the country as a whole and we find ourselves unable to turn away our attention from the aftermath. Writing and profiles of victims and survivors become a means of paying respect to them.

Another aspect of mass shootings that keeps them in the news is the political debate over gun control and mental health that always follows. Some recent examples of this are the stories on the chief of the NRA attacking Democrats about their gun control stance and Trump’s suggestion that we let teachers be armed and incentivize them to carry guns with a bonus. Many marches and demonstrations have happened, and more are being planned, each one garnering coverage.

Details continue to emerge about the shooting, consistently reigniting interest in the story and leading to more stories. For example, a recent look at the police response found that an armed school resource deputy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School never went into the building where the killer was, drawing intense criticism. The deputy has since been suspended following an internal investigation.

Team USA Hockey wins against Canada

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Amanda Torres

By AMANDA TORRES

For the first time in 20 years, Team USA Hockey has won gold. Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, a hockey player on Team USA, scored the goal that won the game. It was a 3-2 victory against the Canadian hockey team, who had been undefeated for four years.

If you did not watch the game, reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald described the game and Lamoureux-Davidson’s move that lead to the goal in a way that was easy to picture and understand.

According to The New York Times, there were only seven minutes left to play when, Lamoureux-Davidson sister, Monique Lamoureux-Davidson, scored the goal that they needed to match Canada’s score. The game went into overtime and Team USA knew it had a chance to win.

Since overtime in a hockey game lasts five minutes, a shootout began when the score remained tied. This meant that there would be one member from each team attempting to make penalty shots against their opposing goaltender. Because there continued to be no change in the score, the game went into sudden death. The game would end as soon as a team got ahead of the other.

The Miami Herald described that Lamoureux-Davidson’s teammates were eagerly watching her play on the hockey’s biggest stage. As they watched, Lamoureux-Davidson made the anticipated move that they were hoping she would do: the triple maneuver. And she did, scoring against Canada’s goaltender, Shanon Szabados.

Lamoureux-Davidson practiced the intricate move many times. She admitted that she failed many of those attempts, but remained persistent to get it right. According to The Washington Post, Lamoureux-Davidson’s said that the triple maneuver consisted of, “a forehand fake, a backhand fake and then a quick transition back to the forehand to shoot the puck, all while selling each herky-jerky con with deft skating.”

Maddie Rooney, the U.S. goaltender, then made a save against Meghan Agosta of the Canada team, which gave the Americans the game.

Team USA hockey team members threw their gloves in the air and piled on top of Rooney. After 20 years, gold was finally theirs.

Vigil at UM honors Parkland victims

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Andrea Illan

By ANDREA ILLAN

After the shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) that took place on Feb. 14, the University of Miami organized a candle light vigil on Feb. 20 to honor the 17 victims.

This took place at the Rock Plaza at the Coral Gables campus and according to The Miami Hurricane, “hundreds” attended the event.

During the ceremony, UM students and faculty gathered to listen to different student speakers speak on the matter. Additionally, attendees were encouraged to write letters to the school and the families affected as well as sign a banner that will be sent to the High School on UM’s behalf.

The Miami Hurricane’s coverage of the event focuses on UM’s strong connection to the Parkland tragedy. Not only is MSD geographically close to Coral Gables, but many UM students attended the high school. Some of these students, who also lost family members last Wednesday, spoke out during the vigil.

The article highlights the words by sophomore Ally Rosenberg, who lost her cousin, Alex Schachter at the shooting. Rosenberg spoke to the attendees about the hardships this has created for her family, but also used her platform to advocate change in gun control laws.

The article also makes note of UM senior Matthew Labkovski, who also lost his cousin, Meadow Pollack. It also mentions the loss of UM’s own alumnus, Scott Beigel, who was a teacher at MSD.

Additionally, the article mentions that 128 MSD students have attended UM since 2006 and that the school has 27 currently pursuing their education.

By taking this focus, The Miami Hurricane not only reports on this vigil but also demonstrates the toll that this tragedy has taken on this campus. This coverage shows that events like the ones at MSD can happen to anyone in this country and further demonstrates the importance of policy change when it comes to firearms.

The article can be found here: http://www.themiamihurricane.com/2018/02/21/please-let-your-voice-be-heard-a-call-for-change-as-hundreds-gather-for-campus-vigil/

U.S. women earn hockey gold

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Sophia Constantino

By SOPHIA CONSTANTINO

On Feb. 21, the U.S. women’s hockey team won its first Olympic Gold Medal over Canada since its first victory in 1998. The game lasted through regulation playing time, overtime and an extended shootout to finish in a 3-2 win for the United States. The truly inspiring victory has drawn news media attention to one of the most underrated rivalries in recent sporting history.

As the two undisputed most successful women’s hockey teams, the United States and Canadian women’s teams have been battling it out in the Olympics for the past 20 years, since the sport was first included in the Olympics in 1998 in the Nagano games. After its first Olympic victory in 1998, the U.S. women’s team has been silver to the Canadian’s gold in all four of the following Olympic games.

The rivalry deepens considering the IIHF Women’s World Championship outcomes since its introduction in 1990; Canada dominated all but one championship for the first 10 years until the U.S. took the title in 2005. The U.S. has held the championship since 2008, except in 2012.

The U.S. women’s team has been growing in news media relevance since its introduction to the Olympics, but the team earned national attention nearly a year ago after boycotting the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in pursuit of equal pay.

When USA Hockey threatened to bring on replacements, the Women’s national team convinced high school and college level potentials to boycott as well. Fellow athletes, including the Women’s national soccer team and players’ associations for the NHL, NBA, NHL, MLB and WNBA, supported the boycott through social media. The team was successful in negotiations with USA Hockey just three days before the 2017 IIHF games, which it went on to win for the seventh time in eight years.

Last night’s victory, which happened on the 38^th anniversary of the historic “Miracle on Ice” upset of the U.S. men’s national team victory over the former Soviet Union in 1980, has brought the women’s national hockey team into the news media spotlight it deserves after years of exceptional competition and a groundbreaking stand for equality.

Flu kills at least 120 in Hong Kong

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Natalie Noisom

By NATALIE NOISOM

This year’s flu has spread worldwide in a matter of a few weeks, leading to the death of children and elders.The common strain among the others this year is H3N2 also known as the “Australian flu.”

Currently, the flu has struck Hong Kong in January and has killed more than 120 people according to public broadcaster RTHK. In order to keep the flu from spreading, Hong Kong has ordered school children to wear face masks.

The city has also ordered some schools to close early for the Lunar New Year and to also help keep the flu quarantine.

According to the World Health Organization, they estimate that “each year around 290,000 to 650,000 people die worldwide as a result of influenza.” With numbers being so high, the Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection believes schools are easier sights to spread influenza strains because many toddlers and children may be too young to take care of their personal hygiene.

Hong Kong closed all kindergartens and primary schools 8 days ahead of the New Year holiday to contain the spread. According to HKU researchers, they announced in their latest study that this particular influenza virus was “more transmittable”.

GlaxoSmithKline, a company that supplies the city with batches of flu vaccines said more than 20,000 doses of vaccine from Germany had arrived in Hong Kong the second week of February. The firm released a statement saying the vaccines “will be allocated equally among the public and private clinics as soon as possible.” All this is a part of the process of keeping the flu from killing more people and spreading.

Copycat death threats: Fault of media?

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Grace Smith

By GRACE SMITH

Just a few days following the devastating school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., police have foiled many copycat threats toward schools and their students.

Many of the charges have simply been for written threats to kill, but the message forms have ranged from pictures on Snapchat with guns declaring dates they would attack to a physical written note threatening teachers. The police have arrested and defused these threats, but a majority of the threats made were termed as jokes or seen as “funny” by their perpetrators.

This perception of the national tragedy by high school and middle school students could reflect a much larger issue when it comes to media coverage of major shooting incidents.

A screenshot of the Rolling Stone’s Facebook page following the publishing of their Boston Bomber cover.

The news media came under scrutiny for their treatment of national disasters largely due to The Rolling Stone‘s coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing incident on April 13, 2013.

They chose to put the Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s face on the cover of their magazine and caused national outrage for glamorizing and popularizing Tsarnaev rather than respecting and focusing on the victims and the city’s recovery. It was somewhat comparative to young woman who send love letters to serial killers such as Ted Bundy or Jeffery Dahmer.

When it comes to national tragedies, the media has a responsibility to inform as regularly and as accurately as possible. But many people have urged networks and publications to not repeatedly print the accused’s face and name since the popularity and recognition is often what the perpetrators aim for when they do what they do.

Whether these kids wanted to scare their friends or see how their school’s react, a large amount of mass shootings are often inspired by the national attention previous disasters like Columbine or Sandy Hook receive.

The killers are instantly picked apart and their interests, friends, family, and possible motivations are published everywhere and they dominate the news. The Las Vegas shooter was a noted narcissist- what better way to satisfy the need for attention then to be discussed in the news for weeks?

New York Times writer Zeynep Tufekci questions news media treatment of Las Vegas shooting.

This is also fault to the new age of 24-hour news cycle. With networks dedicated to instant, braking news updates every hour of the day, these incidents are rehashed over and over.

No Notoriety, a group that focuses on media coverage of mass killings asks the media to “limit” the name and images of a shooter except for instances where the suspect is at large. Let’s focus on the event, the victims and the heroes, and not make the killer a household name.

LeBron will not ‘shut up and dribble’

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Justin Sobelman

By JUSTIN SOBELMAN

LeBron James won NBA All-Star Weekend, in more ways than one. In the first year of the new All-Star game format, in which the top two vote-getters were selected as team captains, LeBron’s squad toppled Stephen Curry’s bunch in one of the most watchable and competitive midseason showcases of the past 15 years. James earned MVP honors for his efforts.

The biggest story involving James came not from the game, but from a Fox News segment aired on Friday morning before the contest. Host Laura Ingraham shredded James and fellow NBA superstar Kevin Durant for voicing their negative opinions of President Trump in a recent ESPN interview. It’s not the first time James has come out against Trump and he has gone as far to make a speech at a Hillary Clinton rally in Ohio during her 2016 election campaign.

Ingraham’s main position was that James needed to “Shut up and dribble.” She also labeled the two stars’ comments as “barely intelligible” and “ungrammatical,” which is ridiculous and inaccurate, considering James and Durant are some of the most-well spoken and intelligent athletes in sports.

James handled Ingraham in the same way he handles opponents on the court: by (metaphorically) dunking all over her.

During All-Star media day, James naturally was asked to comment on the segment and he responded as he tends to do with most things: taking the high road, with a little bit of James’ trademark passive aggressiveness thrown in.

James talked at length about how he felt it was his duty to be a role model for young kids in the same position he was once in.

“We will definitely not shut up and dribble…. I mean too much to society, too much to the youth, too much to so many kids who feel like they don’t have a way out,” said James.

He later posted a picture on Instagram with the words “I am more than an athlete.”

It may sound like cockiness, but he’s absolutely right. Many kids look to professional athletes as role models and there may not be a better one than James. The man came from a poverty-stricken, single-parent household in Akron, Ohio. He was a household name before he turned 17, landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school junior. He was anointed as one of the greats before he could even drive. How many people would crumble under that kind of pressure?

Instead, James became one of the three greatest ever to play basketball and transformed into a shrewd businessman with holding in a wide variety of industries, from restaurants to multimedia platforms. He donates millions of dollars to social causes, and is a vocal leader of the fight to end racial injustice. If the man wants to give his opinion on politics, his voice certainly has more weight than some ignorant news anchor.

Of course, James is the clear winner in this, with most of the news media throwing hate on Ingraham and this story blowing up to give Lebron’s fight against racial injustice more awareness. Much of the coverage of this story entailed tearing down Ingraham. For example, NFL player Chris Long tweeted many photos of athletes who were guests on Fox News, and none of them were told to stay out of politics. However, James was able to concede this to Ingraham:

“I had no idea who she was until now, so I guess she won in that case,” James said.

Could gun violence be curbed by banks?

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Allie Simon

By ALLIE SIMON

In a New York Times Dealbook article in the Business & Policy section by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Sorkin suggested that banks such as JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America should ban the purchase of certain firearms using their credit cards companies in order to curtail gun violence in America.

Sorkin effectively discussed the position that many CEOs and high level executives of banks feel that they should take towards moral and social issues. He claims that they feel a “sense of moral responsibility … to confront social challenges when Washington won’t.”

Truthfully, following the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people on Valentine’s Day, the sales of assault weapons has not yet been limited by lawmakers in Washington, but according to Sorkin there is a “real opportunity for the business community to fill the void and prove that all the talk about moral responsibility isn’t hollow”.

An AR-15: the automatic assault weapon responsible for the most amount of deadly shootings in America

Sorkin suggests that these credit card processing banks should add restrictions in their Terms of Service in which they start by restricting the purchase of assault rifles and bump stocks, the mechanism that makes rifles fire faster.

There is even a precedent for banning the usage of credit cards for certain purchases, so the banks would not be doing something extremely outlandish. In the past month, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America have set restrictions to ban the usage of their credit cards to purchase Bitcoin – a completely legal worldwide payment system.

Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase said that he and his bank “have a moral obligation but also a deeply vested interest [in helping] solve pressing societal issues,” according to Sorkin.

Sorkin’s quoting of high level executives reveals their deeper interest behind solving issues like gun violence, which Sorkin believes could be easily curtailed by simply restricting what could be purchased on bank-issued credit cards.

Most people will not pay for an assault weapon in cash or they will have a harder time figuring out how to pay for it or why they should pay for it when their bank condemns it.

Sorkin includes an important detail in his editorial to show a problem in restricting gun control in this country. He writes that, after 72 hours of phone calls to high level people, nobody wanted to discuss his idea on the record or even at all.

Nobody wants to talk about a world where the purchase of assault weapons would be untraceable – only in cash. But, an America where assault rifles could not be purchased using credit cards would make purchasing them more difficult and would raise national recognition of the level of danger of these guns. According to Sorkin, it would be a great start for a country that has had more than 18 school shootings in just one month.

Fergie bashed for national anthem effort

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Katherine Ceravolo

By KATHERINE CERAVOLO

Fergie’s performance at the NBA All-Star game has received so much negativity and has been described as “cringe worthy, laughable, and my friends drunk mom acting sexy.” Roseanne Barr also mocked her saying her own rendition of the song in her 1990 performance was “low key better.” The singer took the responsibility into her own hands by sincerely apologizing for her artistic risks and explained she tried her best.

Even the NBA players were unable to contain themselves, as it was evident during the performance. Players including Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Matt Dollinger, were ones who proved their problems with the performance, as they laughed and made faces throughout. Fergie has always been known to put her own kick into her music, making her stand out as an individualistic artist who has proven to sing from her own soul. Apparently, this was not good enough for everyone.

Every report of this performance has been nothing but disgraceful and hurtful towards Fergie. She has been respected as not only a performer but also a person. She is real, successful, and different. Singers are ridiculed for being too bland and for being too “risky?” The backlash of her performance can be understandable to a certain point, but the coverage of the situation is unnecessary.

Albeit it is the national anthem, but if the NBA is all about respect, how is it that the players are allowed to laugh during the performance of this “sacred” anthem? The players are free to laugh, talk, and ridicule the performance and performer of the national anthem? Reports need to also focus on the mutual respect between the performer and the players. What needs to be done is for whatever incident occurs, it needs to be taken seriously and in a fair manner. For players to be tweeting and mocking Fergie as she apologizes for the incident, just seems like the system is rigged and the players are bullies.

It is 2018, crazier things have happened. Having such a well-liked and respected woman perform the national anthem, should be the automatic point made to not ridicule her. However, if there are going to be rude comments given, they should come from both sides.

Houses of worship gain access to aid

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Kate Johnson

By KATE JOHNSON

President Trump signed into law that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) now must provide houses of worship with equal access to disaster relief funds. According to FEMA, the policy is effective for all disasters declared on or after Aug. 23, 2017.

Prior to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, FEMA did not allocate aid relief to houses of worship. However, after Harvey and Irma, three Texas churches and two Florida synagogues filed lawsuits against the government for not providing the same relief funding as secular nonprofit organizations received.

One of these cases made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. FEMA was asked to explain why houses of worship were left out of disaster relief and the agency responded with a new policy protecting these places.

“Private nonprofit houses of worship are now eligible for disaster assistance as community centers, without regard to their secular or religious nature,” according to FEMA.

Becket, a nonprofit law firm aimed at protecting religious freedom, represented the three churches and two synagogues.

“Congress has delivered a big victory for houses of worship everywhere …. It was always strange to tell houses of worship that there is no room at the inn, when they are the first to help in time of need,” said Diana Verm, legal counsel at Becket.

Becket emphasized that houses of worship were some of the first groups to reach out to disaster victims following Harvey and Irma and they consistently reach out to those in need.

The announcement of new law is a major win for faith groups. The news was celebrated across many faith-based organizations and networks such as CBN, the Times of Israel, and the Orthodox Union.

“We thank the Trump administration for righting this longtime wrong and treating disaster-damaged churches, synagogues and other houses of worship fairly — on the same terms as other nonprofits such as museums, community centers and libraries stricken by natural disaster,” said Nathan Diament, executive director for public policy at the Orthodox Union.

ABC News covered the announcement by telling the story of Pastor Charles Stocker, whose Hi-Way Tabernacle Church was almost destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.

Stoker’s attorney, Daniel Bloomberg told ABC, Churches are “hubs for the community,” which is still recovering from the hurricane. “Denying help to them, to these churches, denies help to the community.”

“By finally following the Constitution, FEMA is getting rid of second-class status for churches,” Bloomberg stated. “We will watch carefully to make sure that FEMA’s new policy is implemented.”

The Washington Post gave the story a different angle. It covered the history of houses of worship fighting to receive disaster relief funds since the early 2000s.

The Washington Post also covered both sides of opinions about the announcement.

This announcement may be a big win for faith groups and religious conservatives, but some secular forces see federal disaster relief being allocated to houses of worship as a threat to separation of church and state.

The Washington Post wrote in their article that Dena Sher, assistant legislative director for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said until this week the FEMA guidelines treated religious and nonreligious nonprofits equally, and determined eligibility based on what activities take place.

“Now this gives houses of worship special treatment,” she said.

“It’s troubling. We know communities need support as they rebuild and we can’t ignore fundamental principles of religious freedom. But the constitutional principle at stake says each of us gets to decide how and if to support any religion. That’s the promise the constitution makes and we should hold to it in good times and bad.”

VW sales booming within a month

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Natalie Noisom

By NATALIE NOISOM

Volkswagen cars were first manufactured in the late 1930s … the two-door, five-passenger, rear-engine economy car made its way onto the streets of Germany. Now China, the automaker’s largest market, plays as its biggest contributor to sales.

Volkswagen Group said Friday that it has set a new sales record for January, a record of more than 890,000 cars sold within a month. According to posted sales, China bought more than four million cars in 2017.

However, the company suffered multiple negative headlines in late January when it was accused of using animals such as monkeys to test out their cars. Many campaigns in the world are focused based on the freedom and protection of monkeys alone such as save the primates.

Matthia Mueller, CEO of Volkswagen, released a statement confirming that VW paid to have monkeys tested in 2014 forcing them to inhale fumes from a diesel Beetle.

However, since the release of the animal testing statement, the German government and CEO of Volkswagen stated they would conduct an internal investigation and turn away from animal testing.

Ever since, they have vowed to increase new electric and hybrid vehicle models between now and 2021. A hybrid car “uses a combination of an internal combustion engine and a battery electric drive system to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions.”

Volkswagen brand sold more than 30,000 Tiguan SUVs this passed January through China alone. The sales chief of Volkswagen, Fred Kappler, said in a statement, “There was significant growth in all regions,” which was great news since the company did lose over $30 billion due to the diesel emissions animal testing scandal.

After a heavy cost in sales due to animal testing, Volkswagen and its partners hope to electrify all 300 of its model and become more eco-friendly by 2030.

The school shooting epidemic

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Drew Cohen

By DREW COHEN

When the Sandy Hook Massacre occurred, I froze in disbelief. It was one of those moments where “you remember exactly where you were.” I was 13 years old at the time and in eighth grade and, boy, was I scared to go back to school the next day. I kept on asking myself, is school safe?

My answer every time was yes, because I grew up in a affluent town with good people, crime was extremely low. I kept on obsessing about the massacre and thinking of all those young kids in that small, thought-to-be safe town, and started to realize that maybe no school is safe. I thought that after Sandy Hook, something of this magnitude would never happen at a school ever again.

Just two days ago, a 19-year-old gunman with mental health issues took his loaded AR-15 style rifle and shot more than 30 people, killing 17 of them. Families were shattered, people were left lying on the classroom floor in cold blood, and America now reels from another school shooting. This shooting wasn’t like any other shooting and it hit close to home for me.

This one was different because it seemed so preventable. The school was an excellent, “A” grade school. The community was dubbed “the safest city in Florida.” How could something at this magnitude happen again, in a community of this type? In all honesty, I don’t have any answers to this question because, clearly, a shooting like this can happen anywhere. A mass shooting could occur on the bustling Las Vegas Strip, in the wooded hills of Connecticut, or in the densely populated suburbs of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

What can we the public do about this? How can we make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again? Will more people continue to support the NRA and Second Amendment rights?

These are the questions that have been running through millions of American minds this past week and action needs to be taken. Nothing has effectively been done to prevent school shootings and it has become an epidemic. Rallies need to be held, celebrities need to speak out, and Congress needs to agree on rules.

This is no longer a Republican versus Democrat issue, rather, it’s a humanity issue. It’s time Americans band together for mankind and human safety.

Nikolas Cruz: What we now know

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Kristian Del Rosario

By KRISTIAN DEL ROSARIO

On Feb. 14, 2018, a mass shooting took place in Parkland, Fla., at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

A 19-year-old by the name of Nikolas Cruz was accused, after bringing a rifle to school, of killing 17 people and injuring even more. After students and neighbors traded stories of their experiences with him, the puzzle pieces came together.

Cruz had recently been expelled and the stories about him fell within the bands of typical teenage mischief making. He was taken into custody shortly after the massacre and was accused of 17 counts of premeditated murder.

The authorities released the names of all the victims on Thursday. These individuals were teachers and students, the kinds of people who bring a school to life.

The mother of one of these victims said she had a message for President Trump.

“President Trump, we need action, we need change, get these guns out of the hands of these young kids and get these guns off the streets,” said Alyssa Alhadeff.

The president who generally opposes new gun restrictions ahs focused on mental illness during mass shootings and did so again on Thursday on his Twitter account.

“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again,” Trump said.

Cruz had no criminal history before the shootings according to the state law enforcement records but his childhood was certainly troubled.

His father passed away in 2004 while his mother recently passed away in November.

“He had emotional problems and I believe he was diagnosed with autism. He had trouble controlling his temper. He broke things. He would do that sometimes at our house when he lost his temper. But he was always very apologetic afterwards,” stated Paul Gold, Cruz’s neighbor.

In the end, all of this is no excuse for what he has done and the city of Parkland is now trying to heal.

This story included lots of detail in order for the reader to get more of an idea as to why something like this happened. It was covered in a very raw and honest manner not sugar coding. Overall, I think it was very well reported.

Charles Barkley admits to playing drunk

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Brennan Prusak

By BRENNAN PRUSAK

In a recent interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” former NBA all-star and current TV personality Charles Barkley admitted that he once played a game while drunk when he was the member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

The segment was full of laughs and was brushed off as a laughing matter. So, why are other athletes’ careers ruined due to the same actions, but the news media covers Charles Barkley’s story like it’s a joke?

The most recent instance of an athlete derailing his or her career due to substance abuse would be that of Josh Gordon. Gordon was a very talented receiver for the Cleveland Browns and burst onto the NFL scene in 2013 where he led the league in receiving yards in only his second year.

Unfortunately, Gordon had been struggling with addiction and found himself out of the league by 2015 due to their substance policy. Gordon was crucified by the news media, who dug to uncover all they could about his early life. Gordon decided to beat the press and tell all himself, sharing how his abuse went as far back as getting drunk before games in high school to simply see if he could outperform others even while intoxicated.

Luckily, Gordon has since attended rehab and been reinstated by the NFL, but it’s interesting that he was put under a microscope when he slipped up, but jolly Charles Barkley was able to laugh it off. It wasn’t even as if he simply got a little buzzed before the game, as he directly stated “I was blasted … I’m not gonna lie.”

I understand that Gordon had a serious problem, but it doesn’t mean that the same acts on a less serious scale shouldn’t be ridiculed. Barkley continued to mention that he had been drunk, or at least hungover, for games on numerous instances, so it seems unfair that he was met with laughter and not scrutiny. It seems like the news media start to play favorites when covering athletes and it is starting to come off as unprofessional.

Mass shootings lead to difficult choices

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Patricia Santana

By PATRICIA SANTANA

On Feb. 14, a gunman entered Broward County’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and started shooting. There were 17 fatalities, making it one of the top 10 deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

The gunman, identified as 19-year-old expelled student Nikolas Cruz, used an AR-15, the weapon of choice for many mass shooters. His motives are still unknown. He confessed in court to the shooting.

Much of the early information around this shooting came from social media posts by students trapped inside the school. Students barricaded in classrooms would tweet out safety updates or videos of the chaos. This ability to get live updates from inside a situation was unthinkable just a few years ago and allows for reporters and the rest of the outside world to have more information sooner.

However, there are many possible problems over reporting from these social media posts.

One possible problem is in regards to fact-checking. Much of what a student tweets could potentially be based off of incorrect assumptions or limited knowledge of the situation. In a situation such as this shooting, a news reporter needs to take extra care to not cause panic by disseminating false information, especially since social media allows for that false information to make its way back to other students in the same situation.

There is also the question of whether news media coverage is over-exposing people to violence.

Since the Parkland shooting, many people have questioned how necessary it is to see every dead body and puddle of blood. Some worry that it’s a violation of privacy and an act of disrespect to victims and their families. Many psychologists raise concerns that over-exposure to graphic images could worsen cases of acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. There is also concern over people becoming desensitized to horrific violence.

However journalists decide to handle the inclusion of social media posts and graphic images in their reporting of mass shootings, I feel that the most important thing is to balance the need for truth and facts with respect for the tragedy.

Miami men fall to No. 1 Virginia

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Jabari Wilbon

By JABARI WILBON

Miami’s men’s basketball season has had an up and down year, especially in ACC play.

Without sophomore Bruce Brown, things have gotten even harder for them as they have started to use players off the bench in more minutes than they usually play. After coming off a surprising road loss to Boston College, the Canes were set to play Virginia, who had just risen to become the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

Miami has had several home wins against top five teams in the past few years, so the anticipation from the fans for this game was high. However, when the game started, UVA proved why it was No. 1. Virginia led the entire game and held Miami to a season-low 50 points with its well-renowned defense.

The news media on campus did a great job of covering this game. The @CanesHoops account tweeted regularly during the game, keeping the fans who were unable to watch or attend completely updated throughout the game. It tweeted every two to four minutes and kept the score updated as well.

The game took place at 9 p.m. on Feb. 13 and The Miami Hurricane posted an article at 12:15 a.m. on Feb. 14 with analysis of the game, quotes and stats. The campus newspaper did an excellent job putting together a top-notch story in such a short amount of time for people to read the next morning.

Highlights of the game were posted to YouTube the following morning on the ACC Digital Network for a quick recap of how the game turned out. Also, pictures were taken by Hunter Crenian were uploaded with the story on the website of The Miami Hurricane.

The game was nationally televised on ESPN because it was such a big ACC match-up. It was a big game because it was a good platform for the seedings in the March Madness tournament at the end of the year. The game was highly interesting to fans all around the world.

With all of that being said, the news media did a good job covering the game and getting out information and stats to the public as soon as possible, especially The Miami Hurricane, which was able to put up a story within a short period of time.

DIGITAL NEWS REPORTING

Journalism and Media Management Department, School of Communication, University of Miami