Superfoods can boost your mood

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Chantal Alba

By CHANTAL ALBA

As the semester progresses, the more you feel like you’re falling into a pit of stress, homework, and no sleep.

And how do we feel when we’re stressed, have too much homework, and not enough sleep? We feel like crap. I don’t know about you guys, but I have a problem with stress eating, so I looked up natural ways to boost your mood besides exercise and “superfoods” came up.

Turns out, that food plays a crucial role not only in our physical health but our mental health too. So it’s best to keep in mind, that yeah it’s easy to go to the nearest fast food restaurant and indulge on the fatty “goodness,” but going that extra mile to get something healthy will leave your body healthy and you feeling happy.

Here are my three favorites:

1. Yogurt
Research shows that yogurt can increase the levels of serotonin that your body produces. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that helps boost your mood and fight off bouts of depression. Interesting enough, serotonin is actually found in the gut area and yogurt helps improve gut health by reducing inflammation in the body.

2. Green Tea
Green tea contains a compound called theanine, which is an amino acid that helps relax muscles and reduce stress. The catechin polyphenols in the tea also help monitor inflammation levels in the entire body. My favorite thing about green tea is how it naturally increases your metabolism and your energy in a natural and safe way.

3. Dark Chocolate
If you enjoy dark chocolate, in small doses, it can act as a mood booster and at the same improving your brain’s cognition by increasing the blood flow with flavonols which are found in dark cocoa. This treat also decreases the stress hormone, cortisol, and helps cut down pro-inflammatory markers. Now how much dark chocolate is the right amount to do all of this? 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate 70 percent or higher is the recommended daily amount.

London protests travel ban at film

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Veronica Spagna

By VERONICA SPAGNA

London decides to show the world that, as a city, it does not just tolerates diversity, it celebrates it.

In Central London last Sunday, on the night of the Oscars, thousands of people attended the screening of the award-winning movie “The Salesman” to show support to its Iranian director, Asghar Farhadi. Farhadi had announced that he would boycott the ceremony in response to Donald Trump’s travel ban.

We should all be at least a little familiar with Donald Trump’s travel ban, which was announced in January. The president signed an executive order temporarily banning the entry of citizens and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Tahardi.

In response to this travel ban, the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi told The New York Times in January that he would not attend the Oscars even if granted exception to enter the country, and stayed true to his words.

Asghar Farhardi’s movie, “The Salesman,” was nominated for best Foreign-Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards and won the Oscar hours after the screening in London.

To show unity and support for Asghar Fahardi, some well known actors and producers organized a premiere of the movie and collaborated with Sadie Khan, the mayor of London to premiere the nominated film for free in Trafalgar Square, one of London’s most important destinations.

This event was a peaceful protest, that showed that London did not agree with what Donald Trump believed in, how the focus should be on welcoming people and not banning them. I think it is beautiful how people are uniting together to share the message of acceptance, and not in violent protests or holding signs criticizing whats wrong.

Around 10,000 people showed up at the premiere of the “The Salesman,” which was occurring a few hours before the Oscars.

The Iranian director was not present at the screening, but spoke to the crowd through a recorded video of him. In the video, he apologized for not being there and said he was there in spirit. He additionally made a speech about how we are all citizens of the world and that we need to stay united.

Fahardi was not present at the Oscars, so he sent two Iranian-Americans to claim his award. Anousheh Ansari, the first female Iranian to go into space, claimed the award for Fahardi and read a speech written by him. Fahardi criticized the travel ban and called it inhumane. He apologized for not being at the ceremony, but how it was out of respect for the people of his country.

In his speech he also stated that “Dividing the world into the “us “ and “our enemies” categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war.” Which I think is a very eye opening statement and was quoted on numerous articles on the event.

Many Journalists covered this event, highlighting and focusing on the speeches given by at the screening and the Oscars. The focus of these peaceful and powerful words puts into good light the event. Although I do feel like journalists should also focus on covering the reactions of Americans, focus on covering on how America has reacted to this peaceful and powerful protest.

I think that the extent to which London and its citizens have gone to prove a point is very inspirational. By being united together in fighting for their rights and the rights of people in other countries is quite admirable.

This protest gave a stronger message in the simplicity of attending a movie screening than in protests that could lead to disturbance with the use of negativity. I think the world is slowly progressing to stronger unification by the day and protests like these show the importance of respect in humanity.

Love your curves? What curves?

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Alison Goebel

By ALISON GOEBEL

The very popular store, Zara, has been criticized for skinny models being the centerpiece of its new “Curves” campaign.

Zara’s message seemed harmless, urging women to “love your curves,” but the body-positive message was featured by very slender models.

There was nothing wrong with how they looked or anything against the model’s bodies, but it was the fact that the campaign was to love your curves and these women had little to none of the sort.

Zara has stores all over the world and describes itself as one of the largest international fashion companies.

It’s ironic that this story is so big because I was online shopping on Zara exactly 12 hours ago and I remember thinking that all of the models didn’t really have any curves and were extremely skinny, just a mental note to myself.

The fact that the Zara campaign was to “love your curves,” but none of the models had any was a little bothersome and, for me personally, it rubbed me the wrong way as well as millions of other people across the globe.

This article was spread over pretty much every large news organization you can think of, and it should be.

The news organizations did a very good job covering this because Zara is a huge brand and their message didn’t resonate well with a lot of people, so I believe it was crucial for them to cover a story like this.

Another reason why I think a lot of news organizations covered this story was because of body image and the new “curvy” trend.

Writing about something like this gives them attention and pulls in readers because of the delicate topic of what exactly is beautiful and should we be advertising women that are 110 pounds and an unhealthy-skinny?

This is a very big deal in not only the fashion and modeling world, but in the world as a whole.

Society really does a grand job at painting a picture of what you should look like, that being most of the time you’re not skinny enough, you don’t have a thigh gap, you can’t see your ribs, and heaven forbid you have a teeny bit of fat under your belly button.

Companies and advertisers throw in your face of what ‘beautiful’ is or what your body should look like, and guess what, we all fall for it.

We are going through a massive shift in society right now where curvy is the new beautiful and slowly getting away from the stick thin look.

Zara attempted to go with the new trend of curvy is sexy, but this new campaign did more bad than good.

Media compare Russia issue, Watergate

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Amanda Prats

By AMANDA PRATS

Unable to resist the allure of a catchy nickname, the writer of a CNN opinion piece wasted no time in dubbing the latest White House controversy “Russiagate.”

Much of the news media have been quick to draw comparisons between the investigation regarding the apparent communications between the Trump campaign and Russian officials and the Watergate scandal.

The opinion piece run by CNN argued that it’s time for “a Watergate-style select committee” to investigate the issue. Vox published an interview with President George W. Bush’s ethics lawyer, who told Vox that, “the facts now in this investigation are much worse than the facts in the early stages of Watergate.” The Fix, a politics blog for The Washington Post, wrote that “Nixon’s former attorney sees ‘echoes of Watergate’ in President Trump’s first month.”

In The Fix’s article, the writer shares that attorney John Dean, who sat before the Senate Watergate Committee, feels an air of familiarity between the current administration and Watergate. In the article, reporter Cleve R. Wootson Jr. writes, “Dean said in an interview aired Friday that President Trump’s first month in office — with its anti-media tirades and efforts to use intelligence agencies for political purposes — has “echoes of Watergate.”

Following the chronology of Nixon’s presidency, The Washington Post piece ended by acknowledging the concern of Trump’s presidency mirroring the ending of Nixon’s, questioning the possibility of impeachment.

The suggestion raised by the question itself could be seen as further evidence of the news media’s rocky relationship with the president; some may argue it was just evidence of wishful thinking.

Canes outfielder fights off a curveball

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Josh White

By JOSH WHITE

To many Hurricanes fans, opening weekend was just a normal start to the baseball season with hopes of reaching the College World Series come June. However, for University of Miami junior outfielder Michael Burns, this year means so much more.

For Burns, playing on the fresh-cut grass and the smooth, orange clay paving the 90-foot base paths at Mark Light Field seemed improbable just one year ago.

During his sophomore season at Cisco College, a junior school in Texas, Burns developed a “bump” on his left leg. Burns didn’t think it was anything serious and kept playing, hitting .363 in 30 games. A visit from his parents would change the course of his season and life.

Miami outfielder Michael Burns.

Last March, Burns was out to dinner with his parents along with fellow Cisco transfer and best friend Jeb Bargfeldt.

Bargfeldt brought up the bump on Burns’ leg to his mom. Anita Burns’ instincts told her something was wrong and the next morning, she took her son to the hospital.

Burns underwent surgery to remove the abnormality in his leg. At first glance, doctors were unsure what it was, but ultimately, they diagnosed the bump as myxoid liposarcoma – a rare form of cancer.

Following the procedure, Burns underwent 37 radiation treatments running through July 2016 and now has a 17-inch titanium rod running down his left femur.

While the odds seemed almost insurmountable at one point, Burns overcame the disease with a hard-fought battle. He credits his friends and family for helping him through the difficult time.

“The people in my life – I try to surround myself with the best people I can,” said the Littleton, Colorado, native. “That’s why I came here. I feel like I’m surrounded by people who keep me going. The people in my life kept me going.”

Burns, who committed to UM before the procedure, feels right at home in this Hurricanes lineup.

“I’m 5-foot-9 and a buck-80,” Burns said. “I try running it out of the yard, but I don’t think a lot of them are leaving, so that’s kind of my game. That’s exciting that there are eight other guys that play the same game as me.”

Burns started in right field for Miami opening weekend and picked up his first hit as a Cane against Rutgers on Saturday night. He finished with a two-hit, three-RBI game as the Hurricanes won 8-4. The victory was nice, but to Burns, just playing baseball again was more than enough.

“It’s like a dream,” Burns said. “I’m floating on a cloud at The Light.”

Burns is also enjoying the experience of playing in Miami’s historic home turf.

“The Mark Light magic,” Burns said. “At Cisco, there weren’t a lot of people. It’s exciting to see how the fans are about this team.”

Burns and the Hurricanes will host Dartmouth this weekend as they look to extend their winning streak.

With splits, players are not scapegoats

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Luis Gonzalez

By LUIS GONZALEZ

Divorces are rough.

Choosing which parent’s home you want to wake up in on Christmas morning. Award ceremonies turn into awkward moments of diffusing subliminal jealousy. And there are step parents.

The same goes for sports.

When Kevin Durant left for the Golden State Warriors, for many his career became plagued with villainy. Taking the coward’s way out in pursuit of a ring by joining the team fresh off record-setting greatness.

Between the funny memes, burning jerseys and a slew of expletives come from homes across the country, it is easy to be influenced to place the blame on the individual rather than the institution.

The fans love for a player creating their fondest sports memory grows a unique relationship.

The marriage to a player’s impact and that they will retire in favorable colors.

However, the common fan’s input often permeates into the news media too often.

“Don’t give a damn what anyone says: weak move by KD. You go to GSW, the team who beat you, when you’re already on a title contender? Please!,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith wrote on Twitter.

It is understandable to have a personal opinion and a professional opinion, but turning to a morning of SportsCenter with Smith, the reaction even extended beyond talent.

“Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have broken up,” Bleacher Report announced when the move became public.

Athletes work on a contract basis. As soon as the contract is up, it is either time to renegotiate or move. Nothing owed, nothing borrowed.

At any given moment, a team could end their relationship with a player faster than it takes to walk up the stage during the draft. It is a business.

The Thunder could not put the pieces around Durant to succeed at a championship level. But the blame towards the front office for not doing a well enough job in negotiations or on the transaction reports is scarcely placed.

The whole thought of leaving a legacy is a legitimate argument, it is why we love sports. Growing with a player from their rookie year, to a championship is the draw to the industry, and the quickest way to sell tickets.

But when someone wants to take a different direction at the end of the tenure, they may disagree with their decision but continue to cover fairly.

If you think sports team act beyond a business, the New York Jets just released the cornerstones of their team — Center Nick Mangold, Cornerback Darelle Revis, Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall, respectively — in less than a week.

CNN, Fox offer different views of speech

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Erykah Davenport

By ERYKAH DAVENPORT

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump indicated his interest in seeking to help pass an immigration reform bill.

In CNN’s coverage, this new source referred to it as his “great immigration fake-out” in an article titled “Trump cruel bait-and-switch on immigration.” CNN also reported that another one of Trump’s interests were to propose and potentially pass a bill that could grant legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants. This would allow for those individuals to gain the opportunity to become legal citizens of the country of their desire.

CNN’s outlook on Trump’s address was seemingly more focused on the shortcomings of anything that was discussed. While emphasizing such limitations, this was said: “While Trump stopped short of endorsing a path to citizenship for the undocumented, this was nonetheless a startling break with his past hard-line stance on immigration.

A senior administration official also told journalists that Trump would be open to legalization for undocumented immigrants who have not committed serious or violent crimes.” This statement portrays the idea that Trump is only willing to consider being open to legalization if the person is accompanied by a clean slate.

Fox News’ approach on his address was more pro-Trump. Some of the political language used in the article titled “Mr. Trump’s very expensive address” delineates Trump as a more conservative president.

The article stated that “compared to his campaign filled with “Trumpisms,” this address was the more positive and optimistic, telling of his new nationalism. He added grace notes about minority groups, shied away from taunting or tormenting his rivals, and summoned his countrymen to the project of restoring, what else, American greatness.

Fox News tends to support the brighter side of things and hardly ever, if ever, mentions the downfalls associated with President Trump’s address.

Rihanna honored with Harvard award

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Shellie Frai

By SHELLIE FRAI

Grammy award-winning singer Rihanna is no longer just recognized for her influence in the music and fashion industries but also for her impactful involvement in a number of charitable causes.

On Tuesday, Rihanna accepted the Harvard Foundation’s prestigious 2017 Humanitarian of the Year Award. It is an honor that was given to gender-right activist Malala Yousafzai and workers-right activist Dolores Huerta in years past.

For most of Rihanna’s career she has worked to better the lives of children, the poverty-stricken and the sick.

When she was just 18 she founded the BELIEVE Foundation, a charity to help critically ill children.

Six years later, she founded the Clara Lionel Foundation, after her grandmother passed away from cancer, where she was able to build a state-of-the-art oncology center in her hometown of Barbados.

As a pop star and fashion icon she has used her influence to become a global advocate for access to healthcare, women empowerment and education.

She has served as an ambassador to the UNICEF Tap Project, which raises money for clean drinking water, as well as being involved in the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project, which helps children get an education in more than 60 developing countries.

When she accepted her award, Rihanna gave an inspiring speech that was followed by a standing ovation from the crowd, which included dean of Harvard College, Rakesh Khurana.

She explained how she use to watch television commercials that asked to donate 25 cents to save the life of a child that was suffering. She would wonder how many quarters could save all the kids in Africa.

“People make it seem way too hard, man. The truth is, and what that little girl watching those commercials didn’t know, is that you don’t have to be rich to be a humanitarian. You don’t have to be rich to help somebody. You don’t gotta be famous,” said Rihanna accepting her award.

While, Rihanna’s philanthropic endeavors include a global scholarship program and bringing education to developing countries, Rihanna herself has never attended college.

In her speech, she acknowledged her regret for never going to college and her wish to be able to go.

“I mean I wish I was [college educated], especially today. I might come back. So, I made it to Harvard. Never thought I’d be able to say that in my life, but it feels good.”

Oscar’s Hollywood-sized mistake

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Chelsea Lovell

By CHELSEA LOVELL

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the presenters for the final award of the biggest night in Hollywood, were incorrectly given the Best Actress Award envelope. Beatty got confused after he saw Emma Stone’s name and the name of her film, “La La Land.” He handed the envelope to Dunaway who then announced the musical as the Best Picture winner.

The cast of “La La Land” took the stage and even began giving their speeches, however, the group stopped midway through when those on stage began to realize there had been a mistake.

Jordan Horowitz, producer of “La La Land,” shocked the audience of the Dolby Theatre when he announced “There’s a mistake. ‘Moonlight,’ you guys won Best Picture. This is not a joke, come up here.” The producer added, “Moonlight has won Best Picture.”

Beatty went to the microphone to explain what happened. He said “I want to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, ‘La La Land.’ That’s why I took such a long look at Faye and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

“Moonlight” beat out “La La Land,” “Hidden Figures,” “Manchester by the Sea,” “Arrival,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Lion,” and “Fences.”

This incident was easily the highlight of the night. The video went viral on Twitter and Facebook. Every news station headlined the Oscar’s using the big mistake as their attention grabber and the story led most news coverage throughout Monday.

Perry performs eye-opening awards act

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Veronica Spagna

By VERONICA SPAGNA

The 2017 Brit awards took place last Wednesday in London and are Britain’s annual pop industry music awards, in other words, the British version of the Grammy’s. This year’s ceremony took an unexpected turn, as when it was time for the American singer Katy Perry to perform, the viewers were presented with a politically charged performance.

Katy Perry, a popular figure in the international world of pop music, performed her new single “Chained to The Rhythm” live at the Brit awards alongside Skip Marley, Bob Marley’s grandson.

The performance raised awareness on the importance of encouraging unity and stopping the hate. It had a lot to visually intake as it involved a lot of subtextual symbolism.

It is important for me to point out that even though the visual aspect of the performance already sent a powerful message, the lyrics really helped highlight and intensify the idea.

The performance started with rows of lit-up miniature houses held by backup dancers, seemingly portraying a pop-up neighborhood. Katy Perry wore a pinstripe pantsuit, she started walking among the houses singing, as the backup dancers dressed like homes moved around her.

As the performance continued, a dancing Skelton figure dressed in a black suit with a red tie entered on one side of the stage, simultaneously another dancing skeleton figure dressed in a red blazer and skirt entered on another side of the stage.

These two figures were quickly noticed to be representations of Donald Trump and Theresa May, the prime minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the conservative party. The two skeletons danced around the houses on stage and met in the front center of the platform. Skip Marley then came out to rap his verse.

The verse rapped by Marley in “Chained to the Rhythm” clearly refers to the lies and chaos brought by the political situation in the United States and invites the listeners to take a stand, referring to the people as lions. Donald Trump has attacked a variation of minorities and groups, threatening to build walls and making unacceptable generalizations leading to hate speech and intangible segregation of the people.

Skip Marley rapped:

It is my desire, Break down the walls to connect, inspire”
Ay, up in your high place, liars
Time is ticking for the empire
The truth they feed is feeble
As so many times before
They greed over the people
They stumbling and fumbling and we’re about to riot
They woke up, they woke up the lions

Towards the end of the performance the skeletons held hands, the act ended with the two singers holding hands together and pumping a fist in the air symbolizing taking a stand together and fighting back with nonviolence and unity.

I do believe that the lyrics do make the overall message incorporated in the performance stronger. Katy Perry clearly shared her concern to the people on how this situation cannot be ignored, but people are distracted by other things and if something isn’t done there will be consequences. This was the first verse:

Are we crazy?
Living our lives through a lens
Trapped in our white-picket fence
Like ornaments
So comfortable, we live in a bubble, a bubble
So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, the trouble

Lately Katy Perry has been saying that she intends to make her pop music “purposeful.” Perry had never really made any political statements before the 2017 Grammy Awards, she has always been a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton and actively campaigned for her when she was running for office.

If you didn’t watch the 2017 Grammy Awards, Katy Perry performed the same song with Skip Marley, also sending a message through symbolism and collaborating with the online No Hate Speech movement. The No Hate Speech movement is youth campaign for human rights online to reduce the acceptance levels of hate speech and to raise awareness on the impacts that hate speech has on society.

At the Grammy’s, she was striding around a home surrounded by picket fences on stage, wearing an armband with the word “Persist.” Ending the set with an image of the U.S. constitution projected on the screen and shouting “no hate.” Perry’s shouting of “no hate” is associated with the online No Hate Speech movement.

There were individuals who responded to these performances with aggravation, as they were a little irritated that politics was involved in this sort of scene at the Brit Awards. But personally, I think that people are not going deep enough in understanding the message behind the performance.

Some assumed Katy Perry was just trying to make Donald Trump and Teresa May scary or just intentionally mocking them.

The irritation of certain individuals to this politically charged performance highlights what Katy Perry and Skip Marley were trying to communicate, that we cannot live in a bubble and ignore what is happening around us.

The articles covering this performance were more focused on covering the act as a parody. At some point in the performances one of the backup dancers dressed as a house fell off stage. The news media refer to this dancer as Perry’s “New Left Shark,” because during her Super Bowl performance last year, one of her dancers wearing a shark costume forgot the moves and since then the dancer has become known as the “Left Shark.”

There were many articles that focused on how funny the backup dancer that fell off stage was and not enough coverage on Katy Perry’s association with the No Hate Speech movement.

Numerous news article titles referred to Katy Perry’s performance as funny and entertaining. Journalists focused on covering how Perry made fun of Donald Trump by making his skeleton figure dance on stage. I think that this type of media coverage is distracting from the actual message of the performance and that more attention should be given to its purpose.

I admire Katy Perry for taking a risk in performing her single “Chained to The Rhythm,” her intentions are good and eye opening. Although a big part of the news media portrayed the act as a parody and focused on its political orientation, it is beautiful to see how the performance went beyond politics and entertainment, encouraging unity and respect.

Will blockbuster NBA trade pan out?

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Josh White

By JOSH WHITE

It is almost a forgone conclusion that the Cavaliers and Warriors are going to meet in the NBA Finals come June. However, other teams are still trying to upend the previous two NBA champions.

Most notably, all-star center DeMarcus Cousins was traded to the Pelicans to pair up with Anthony Davis, giving New Orleans the best front court in all of basketball. However, the Pelicans sent an overhaul of average players including Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway, Tyreke Evans, a top-three protected 2017 first-round pick and a 2017 second-round pick.

While many analysts and news media members expect the now powerhouse of Cousins and Davis to lead the Pelicans to the playoffs, the trade could be a waste. New Orleans sits three and a half games out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference, but even if it lands that last spot, that sets them up with a date with the Golden State Warriors in the first round. Good luck playing a team that had the best regular season in history one year ago.

What’s even worst of all, will a team with a selfish Cousins jell together?

In night one, clearly not. The Pelicans got annihilated by the Rockets, 129-99, and the first appearance of Cousins in a Pelicans’ uniform was spoiled.

But look at history. Most blockbuster trades take some time for adjustment.

When the Knicks paired superstars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, most news media members felt that New York was going to have a championship caliber team. Wrong.

The Knicks struggled because the two all-stars butted heads and couldn’t figure out how to be the No. 2 scoring option on a team. Additionally, there was no supporting cast. The Knicks lacked talent because they gave it all up for Anthony, similarly to the Cousins’ trade, and soon found out that basketball is a five-person game, not just two.

Expect the Pelicans to struggle. Yes, New Orleans now has the best two front court players in the NBA, but they don’t have any other above average role players. There’s 10 others seats that can fill the bench next to Coach Alvin Gentry and that is something that is going to show.

So while the news media think that Cousins and Davis could be a team that might contend, think again given the top dogs like the Warriors, Spurs and Clippers.

Time to sit back and relax until Golden State and Cleveland meet in the NBA Finals.

Comments spark WNBA controversy

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Erykah Davenport

By ERYKAH DAVENPORT

“Me being heterosexual and straight, and being vocal in my identity as a straight woman, was huge,” Wiggins said in the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I would say 98 percent of the women in the WNBA are gay women. It was a conformist type of place. There was a whole different set of rules they [the other players] could apply.”

This statement was made by a former WNBA star, Candice Wiggins. News sources said that she said the lesbian culture broke her spirit. Wiggins told the Union-Tribune that the WNBA had a “very, very harmful” culture and that she was bullied throughout her WNBA career from 2008 to 2015. Wiggins allegedly was mistreated because she was straight.

This controversial stand made by Wiggins about the LGBT community was covered by Bleacher Report, ESPN, Pioneer Press, Sports Illustrated and the New York Post. Immediately after her comments were released to the news media, other reliable outlets shared the news as well.

Wiggins branded the WNBA culture as “toxic.” Many people, not only players and coaches were stunned, but fans as well. Maintaining a certain image for the WNBA is vital and from a media standpoint, Wiggins degraded it.

Even the WNBA president wanted her voice to be heard. In response to Wiggins’ remark, Lisa Borders released a statement about her experience in the league.

“When I first read the comments from retired WNBA player Candice Wiggins, I was stunned and disappointed,” Borders said. “In my time with the league and my capacity as a fan before that, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a group of highly competitive women who are driven to succeed at the highest level on the court and constantly striving to help create opportunity for all members of their communities.”

Wiggins received so much attention and publicity from the media that she was asked to do a follow-up story. In the Union-Tribune, Wiggins said she used the figure of 98 percent to be “illustrative.” “It was my way to illustrate the isolation that I felt personally,” Wiggins said. “I felt like the 2 percent versus the 98 percent. It felt that way to me. And it’s not just the players. It was the coaches. It was the leaders.”

Protecting Kenya’s orphaned elephants

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Alison Goebel

By ALISON GOEBEL

Elephants are very fragile creatures but they are also very strong creatures, especially baby elephants.

These baby elephants are one of the slowest animals to grow up. Not only are they born nearly blind, but it also takes 12 to 13 years for them to mature. Until this point, the calf needs its mother.

In Kenya, poaching is a problem, so the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, one of the centers that rescues orphaned elephants in Kenya, works to protect these animals.

They now have saved hundreds of baby elephants and offer veterinary accommodations and educate local communities about elephants and taking care of them.

The ultimate goal is to create a new family and a new home for these elephants who have lost their own.

I thought that it was very interesting that CNN produced a story on this. I for one, absolutely love elephants. I’m obsessed with them so writing about it feels right.

With everything that is going on in the world that is newsworthy, CNN decided to prepare this story, and to be honest, I’m glad that they did but I’m not really sure why.

I looked to see if other news organizations were writing about the same things like they usually are, and there was nothing about protecting young elephants that came up.

I searched Google, looked at other news websites and found nothing. I found this to be a little odd.

Another thing that I would like to point out is that we are in the middle of a HUGE elephant marketing trend. At any store, you will find elephant apparel. Ivory Ella, a website that sells apparel but donates a portion of it to help save the elephants, is also another trend within itself.

Could it be that CNN may have covered this story to pull in new readers knowing this? If so, why are other news stations not doing the same?

Either way, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world. Things like this should get news attention and media coverage because it matters.

They deserve it.

Six legends sign to retire as Dolphins

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Luis Gonzalez

By LUIS GONZALEZ

The Miami Dolphins signed some hall of fame talent to their roster this week, but only for one day.

Dolphins legends quarterback Bob Griese, quarterback Dan Marino, defensive back Sam Madison, offensive lineman Larry Little, defensive lineman/linebacker Kim Bokamper and wide receiver Nat Moore each signed one-day contracts to officially retire in the aqua and orange.

But the event quickly seemed questionable to some.

The team announced the event just several hours before the 3 p.m., social media streams (hosted by the Dolphins) went live.

News media attended the event, but the light questions asked at the ceremony was mostly answered with stories of the glory days and jokes.

The Dolphins inevitably must face the pressure of their pending free agents WR Kenny Stills, DL Alan Branch and Tight End Dion Sims ready to hit the market.

Some in the news media, including Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins and Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero, immediately recognized the connection with the ceremonial event and the public relations stunt. The Dolphins pulled the move to boost the feeling that their organization cares about their players and is a place to stay for the long haul.

Perkins brought up an interesting point about the event. All of the players, except for Little, are all currently on the team’s payroll for their varied positions in the organization.

With the exception of Madison, all of the players that were signed wore aqua and orange during their last time in pads.

Was the ceremony necessary? Sort of. Back when the players retired, there were no farewell such as the Derek Jeter or Kobe Bryant tours, they just went on their way to playing golf. It was a nice gesture by the team to honor some of their best, but if it could help boost the morale of the organization before free agency, it is a win/win for them.

Trump rescinding transgender policy

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Chantal Alba

By CHANTAL ALBA

If you haven’t heard, President Trump’s administration announced on Wednesday that it would be rescinding a portion of Title IX, which was issued by the Obama Administration last May, to protect transgender students against discrimination.

According to the Trump Administration, the reason for the rescission was because the Obama-era protection did provide “extensive legal consent” with its positioning in Title IX.

A statement made by the White House said that “As President Trump has clearly stated, he believes policy regarding transgender bathrooms should be decided at the state level, the joint decision made today by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education returning power to the states paves the way for an open and inclusive process to take place at the local level with input from parents, students, teachers and administrators.”

However the Department of Education’s Secretary, Betsy DeVos, did not agree with the decision. DeVos was reportedly “pushed” by both of the departments to signing off on rescinding the policy because they had already decided to move forward.

However, she made a statement agreeing that protecting all students, no matter what gender they identify with or sexuality is a key priority for every school in America, but best solved at the state and local levels.

This is a very easy subject to have mixed views on, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but at the same time everyone is entitled to equal respect and a country that is going fight to keep them safe no matter how they choose to live their lives.

As we plunge further into “Trump’s America,” we need to remember that it is important that we continue to fight the good fight in the most peaceful way possible. What has happened in the past few weeks has set the tone for what will be going on for the next four years, but it is no reason to get discouraged about all the progress we have already made. It’s just time for us to become stronger and stick together like never before to protect those who are not being protected by the system as they should be protected.

Miami-Dade continues to be costly

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Courtney Adelman

By COURTNEY ADELMAN

Miami remains one of the top 10 most expensive cities in which to live.

Miami-Dade County ranked ninth in the country for the most expensive rents with an average of $1,800 for a one bedroom and $2,500 for a two bedroom, according to the latest Zumper National Rent Report for February, which is a monthly analysis that looks at more than 1 million currently active listings across the county’s top 100 markets.

It is about twice as expensive to rent an apartment in a place like San Antonio or in cities in South Carolina.

It is three times more expensive than staying in Oklahoma in a one bedroom apartment In Oklahoma City or Cleveland.

According to The Miami Herald, “Rents in the county range from as high as $5,100 on average in millionaire-thick Fisher Island to $700 in Brownsville, which is still higher than a third of the average rents in the country’s top 100 markets. ”

Rent will continue to be an upward trend. So think wisely on where to love. The amazing beaches, clubs, and food might just be worth it to live at such a high price.

Make NBA basketball fun again

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Jihad Shatara

By JIHAD SHATARA

Imagine Magic Johnson flying across the country to Boston and teaming up with Larry Bird to create a tandem that no one would be able to stop.

Imagine Michael Jordan, the one that they say is the greatest player of all time, leaving in free agency to join the team he could not beat in the playoffs in the Detroit Pistons.

Super teams in this new NBA are killing the sport. So many fans of the game have refused to watch this season until the inevitable Cavs-Warriors finals happens. Teams like the early 2000s Detroit Pistons or 2008 Boston Celtics were perfectly constructed with the right element of trades, drafting and free agent signings. Never did Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett choose to be traded to Boston nor did they lose to Boston in the playoffs the year before.

For those that argue about Lebron James leaving for the Miami Heat, he never lost to the Heat and took a sizeable pay cut to win.

Now, we look at the team that is the Golden State Warriors. Kevin Durant took a near max deal to join with the already favorite to win the Western Conference to form a super team. And next season, he will take a max along with Steph Curry.

Lebron left Miami to go to a team who already had a young super star and traded for another superstar big man.

Basketball is no longer fun to follow due to these super teams. I cannot watch a sport knowing my team will not even win in the playoffs because The Finals have been set for three straight seasons now.

I challenge Commissioner Adam Silver to make NBA basketball fun again. Spread out the talent so that we the fans who pay our hard earned money can feel the rush and excitement once again.

DIGITAL NEWS REPORTING

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