The Waltonian

Students on Eastern’s campus pride themselves on being aware of the outside world and the ever-present ethical issues that arise. For the Student Government Association, it is their job to be involved in constructing new ideas and policies that will help voice the concerns of the entire student body to the faculty and staff. Each year, the Student Government Association, commonly referred to as SGA, researches and writes proposals regarding issues that students within the community feel the administration needs to hear about. Depending on the level of difficulty of such a proposal, there must be at least one submitted per semester, two per full year. If all SGA members vote and agree on a proposal, it will be forwarded to Bettie Ann Brigham, who will take it to the appropriate department for further discussion.

Sophomore representatives (pictured above) are hopeful that this proposal will start a conversation about being ethically aware of our everyday choices among the community at Eastern. — [/media-credit] Sophomore class representatives (pictured above) are hopeful that this proposal will start a conversation about being ethically aware of our everyday choices among the community at Eastern.

Sophomore class president, Blake Plimpton, stated that this year she has been emphasizing to her senate members that SGA is here to serve the student body’s and faculty’s needs, and therefore was very excited to submit a new proposal this past March.

Currently, the Jammin’ Java and the Breezeway both sell Sabra hummus, which is owned by the Strauss Group. This parent company currently provides material and financial aid to the Israeli military, which is allegedly brutal and in violation of human rights, especially in regards to Palestinian detainees. If Eastern were to withdraw its financial support from Sabra’s parent company through the purchase of its hummus, it would consequently stop aiding the Israeli military in this way. Additionally, Eastern would be setting an example to the community about its social action and awareness, and perhaps push the entire campus to begin carefully investigating other aspects of everyday life.

The proposal set forth by the sophomore class senate asks that Eastern University be more socially and ethically conscious in selecting what products they promote and sell on campus. The proposal states, “Enacting one socially-conscious movement with a fairly easy alternative could kick start many more to come.” In place of selling Sabra hummus, the senate offers alternate solutions such as replacing it with a Sodexo-made hummus, or researching other companies to purchase a comparable product from. Plimpton stated, “As college students, our purchasing power matters and by putting our money in this specific company, Eastern is making a political statement. While purchasing this specific product cannot highhandedly prevent or support the Israeli military, at least it takes Eastern’s support out of the mix.”

Other universities such as DePaul University and Princeton University have also begun petitioning against the sale and distribution of Sabra hummus on their home campuses, and the proposal suggests that Eastern could join in the collegiate and worldwide conversation. Seeing as Eastern already produces its own forms of hummus available in the Dining Commons, it appears to students that an easy solution can come to fruition in good time. Sophomore class secretary Patience Ackerman stated, “This proposal may seem like just one small, seemingly insignificant motion, considering how many unethical companies there are, especially in the food industry. But change has to start somewhere, and this is simply a first step to get the conversation showing and minds churning.” As Eastern begins to move towards a decision regarding the situation, it has produced a time for the community to dialogue and consider the everyday implications that “Waking ^ the World” can truly call for.

SGA is constantly looking for feedback and new ideas, and we would love to hear your ideas and make your voice heard. If you have any other ideas or thoughts on this proposal, other proposals that have been made or any future ideas please contact your SGA senate member or your Executive Board. Our Office is always open (towards the back of the Commuter lounge).

Tsarnaev Found Guilty on all Thirty Counts

In 2013, the East Coast, as well as the rest of the US, was shaken by the Boston Marathon bombing. On April 8, 2015, the jury deliberated for over 11 hours, and finally gave their verdict: alleged surviving bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnev was declared guilty of all 30 counts, 17 of which fall under the death penalty. He is responsible for the death of four individuals, as well as using a weapon of mass destruction, and bombing in a public place. His trial for his sentencing has not been set yet, but survivors of the attack are relieved that he has been found guilty, as this allows them to mentally step forward in their lives.

Latest Officer Shooting Caught on Video

Many individuals formed a protest outside of City Hall on April 8, 2015, in South Carolina. These protestors held signs declaring “Black Lives Matter” and “All Lives Matter,” making a statement regarding the most recent police shooting. North Charleston Officer Michael Slager was charged with the murder of Walter Scott, after a video surfaced revealing the truth behind the tragic event. The video shows the officer dropping what appears to be a stun gun in order to grab his sidearm pistol, while Scott is turning to run from the police officer. Slager fired eight shots at the retreating African-American civilian, which made Scott fall to the ground. The officer cuffed the fallen civilian, and later checks his pulse. The officer has been fired, and is now on trial for his actions. This incident has led to a city-wide grant that allows all officers in the district to have body cameras to prevent future tragedies.

IKEA to Bejing Shoppers

Please Stop Napping on Furniture: It has been reported that the Swedish company, IKEA, has recently had to crack down on shoppers who come by their Bejing location to take a nap on the furniture. IKEA released a statement last summer, indicating that napping throughout the store was a very common thing and the company was originally okay with it. The company has now retracted their previous statement and created a new store policy preventing the phenomenon from reoccurring, in order to allow paying customers the chance to try out the products without the hindrance of disturbing someone’s nap. This is not the only rule IKEA has had to implement this year; recently it has put a stop to the over 32,000 people who wanted to play hide-and-seek in its European stores.

Sources: CNN, USA Today, NBC News

Each year, universities reevaluate their budgets and past expenses, and appropriately adjust their tuition prices in order to meet the needs of the community. As in years past, the Board of Trustees at Eastern University has approved a moderate tuition increase for the upcoming school year. These expenses are as follows; an increase in overall tuition of $1,040 in addition to room charges increasing by $132 and boarding charges at $116 per year. This increase totals to $1,288 per year, or $644 per semester. Plans have been said to put these additional charges towards a targeted increase in student funding, in addition to improving the Office of Talent and Career Development. President Duffett noted at the end of his announcement that these fees still keep the university at a lower price mark than competing universities, and administration will continue to make a concerted effort to make Eastern University an affordable place to study.

Bryan Stevenson, Eastern alum of the class of 1981, has recently been receiving national attention in regards to his work against the injustice within the legal system. Racial bias, false convictions, unreliable eyewitness testimonies, and botched executions are just a few of the issues that plague the American Justice system within the 21st century.

Bryan Stevenson (alum '81), founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, was called "America's young Nelson Mandela" by the New York Times. — [/media-credit] Bryan Stevenson (alum ’81), founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, was called “America’s young Nelson Mandela” by the New York Times.

Born and raised in a poor neighborhood in Delaware, the Brown v. Board of Education decision for formal desegregation in 1954 did not reach Stevenson’s neighborhood immediately. Therefore Stevenson spent his first year of schooling in a “colored” school. However, even when laws changed to support equality among all races, there was always an ingrained racism within their community, and it was not something that could be avoided. When the decision came around to pick a college to attend, Stevenson followed in his older brother’s footsteps and attended Eastern University, majoring in political science and philosophy, while also directing the campus gospel choir. After his graduation from Eastern, he set off to Harvard Law School, where he initially felt detached and distant from the subject he was studying, as well as from his more privileged classmates.

In January of 1983, Stevenson traveled to Atlanta for a month-long internship where he worked with an organization that advocated for the human rights of those who have the death penalty. From that experience, he began to see the depth of injustices occurring for those who were unable to afford appropriate legal representation.

In October of this year, New York Times recognized Stevenson’s memoir, “Just Mercy”, as a work that focuses on the personal story of an activist lawyer fighting desperately against injustice, and the clients and people that he encounters along the way. He writes of his first case, with Mr. Walter McMillian, who was falsely accused of murdering a white woman despite eyewitness evidence proving otherwise. After hard work and perseverance, McMillian was released in 1993, providing a foundational case for Stevenson, both professionally as well as personally.

Since then, he has aided in freeing many people from excessive punishment, and has even argued five times in front of the Supreme Court. “Just Mercy” has been nominated for the prestigious Kirkus Prize, and New York Times has called Stevenson “America’s Young Nelson Mandela”. As founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative he believes that “The opposite of poverty is not wealth. In too many places the opposite of poverty is justice.”

Sources: New York Times, Eastern.edu, NYU Law Magazine

[/media-credit] Mayor Nutter signs the new legislation to decriminalize marijuana in Philadelphia.

On October 1, 2014, Mayor Nutter signed a new piece of legislation to decriminalize marijuana within the Philadelphia area. From October 20 on, this new law will fine people around twenty-five dollars if thirty grams of marijuana or less are found on them. This eliminates arrests and charging individuals with small amounts in their possession, due to it now being downgraded to a civil offense. This does not legalize marijuana within Pennsylvania; if an individual is found with more than thirty grams on their person, is charged with a DUI, or fails to show ID when confronted, they will still be charged with a criminal offense.

Philadelphia seeks to educate its residents about this new law and the process behind deciding to put it into action over the coming months. The mayor, who was once against this law when it was originally proposed in May of this year, attributed his change of heart to the fact that too many Philadelphians were being punished for small amounts of pot. Originally it was a two-hundred dollar fine, in addition to a required drug course and an arrest record. However, some argue that this change came about after studies showed the racially disparate arrest rates within Philadelphia.

Nutter also signed an order to help ex-convicts be provided with the appropriate services to eventually have their records expunged. On the morning that the law went into effect, pot-advocate Mike Whiter lit up right outside of City Hall conveniently next to an officer. After receiving his citation (the first written in Philadelphia), he explained to reporters that he continues to fight for legalization of medical marijuana, and has even started the Pennsylvania Veterans for Medical Marijuana foundation. As a retired veteran, he suffers from severe PTSD, and for years was prescribed harmful drugs that altered his personality and seemed to do more harm than good. Once he began using marijuana as a means of medication, he found the results to be very satisfying. He told reporters, “we still can’t get our medicine legally. I can go out and smoke and get a $100 fine. I won’t get put in cuffs, but I’m still not going to have legal access to my medicine.”

Back in September, The Pennsylvania Senate passed a revised bill, known as the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act. However, even if this legislation were to pass in the future, it would still limit the ways in which medical marijuana could be administered to patients. Both vaporizing and smoking cannabis would be prohibited, and the list of conditions and exceptions for this bill are extremely constrained and do not include individuals with severe or debilitating pain. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett does not support the use of medical marijuana, despite polls showing that many residents do in fact support its use. Also, the state of Pennsylvania is nearly surrounded by states who support the medical marijuana bill, and with the upcoming elections for governor fast approaching, it is impossible to predict the outcome in this fight for legalization.

Sources: Huffington Post, MPP.org, Phillymag.com

Yes, for four years you as an undergraduate student get the right to milk the “poor college student” excuse for all it is worth. It comes in handy for explaining to your mother why you’ve had Ramen four times in the past three days, or why you shouldn’t have to pay for that parking ticket you got. And how many times have you had to tell friends you couldn’t get out of bed that one weekend and be social in any capacity because you were broke as a joke? Well, fear not, because this guide will show you four fail-safe ways to get cheap or free entertainment without invoking the “poor college student” excuse.

1. Usher for a show and get in for free: This one requires a tiny amount of work, but nothing good is ever completely free. As an usher, you not only get the free show, but also a look into the behind-the-scenes of the establishment that you are volunteering for. And depending on how long the show is running for, you might have the entire thing memorized before you know it!

2. Find free or cheap venues: Not every concert you decide to go to must cost you all of your rent money. There are perfectly good venues throughout the Philadelphia area that provide great entertainment for a fraction of the cost! Take, for instance, the World Cafe Live. Most upstairs concerts run for around $10 general admission and offer a variety of genres and musical guests throughout the year. Step outside of your comfort zone and see what else there is for your ears to enjoy besides Katy Perry’s latest hit.

3. Score free tickets: For those of you who just would die if you couldn’t see “Today’s Hits” performed live, you’re going to have to stay glued to the radio in an attempt to win free passes to that one sold out concert everyone is going to. While your cellphone bill might escalate as you push the redial button time and time again, there is a one in a million chance you will be caller ninety-six, and yes, you will get to shake hands with the band immediately after your free show. Best of luck.

4. Make use of your student discount: Check out websites such as studentrush.org to see what discounts are open to you purely because of your “poor college student” status. Offering great deals on Broadway Theater productions (both on and off), museums, dance company performances and a variety of other entertainment options, websites often offer great deals that are worth the search!

It might require a small portion of work, but entertainment is attainable for you in the near future! All it takes is a little determination and knowing the right places to look. Step up, get outside of your comfort zone and start seeing what options there are out there for you. Having a good time and making memories does not have to cost a ridiculous amount of money. Make use of the opportunities around you, because before you know it you will have graduated and these opportunities will not be around forever.

[twocol_one]Death By Tech
Samantha Rosenfeld

We’ve all been there: scrolling through our social media newsfeeds, minding our own business, when all of the sudden we see that one post that stops us dead in our tracks. Generally, the post will consist of some religious statement that the administrator obviously believes can hold its own against the mass amounts of critics that swarm around such bait. Rather than appreciate the statement from its origin, a fight inevitably breaks out, with the topic changing every few minutes as the debaters grow more heated from behind their technological screens, miles apart. In the end, all are forced to lay their technological swords down and move on to their individual lives. And I then ask myself, what was really accomplished?

A researcher by the name of Allen Downey proposes that there is a direct correlation between the rise of internet usage and the American decline in religious affiliation, reinforcing the age old idea that knowledge debunks religion, and this new wave of technology is essentially another “enlightenment” period. While this is a possibility, I believe the internet has killed religion because it has abolished the necessity for conversation, in which we listen and speak with an open mind. When we are able to make claims without the need to support them in person, we are far less vulnerable and therefore more apt to take risks. While we may innocently believe there is still freedom of speech on the web, the amount of backlash we receive has discouraged more than a few from defending their faith. And somehow the opposition far outranks the supporters of faith in nearly every debate, leaving outside observers with a crystal clear view of who “wins” a usually pointless argument that comes to no resolution.

Essentially, I believe the internet has allowed for shallow communication between the body of Christ and those outside of the church, which in turn has stunted the growth of both. This technological age has the potential to be a positive partnership with the church, but it appears that it has been the complete opposite. While it is easy to sit back and watch one of the all-too-familiar social media wars begin, how often is a person who claims to follow Christ in the physical world going to interact with the technological world while intelligently defending what they believe to be true? Unfortunately, I am not convinced that it will happen often enough to change the technological pattern that has already begun.
[/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]Dead Already
Kit Apostolcaus

One might claim that the internet is killing religion because the internet is largely characterized by click-baiting, advertising algorithms, and all sorts of superficiality. But is this the internet? Or is it us? We should not try to place the blame for religion’s death on a certain medium of communication—or else we could just as easily ask questions like “are books killing religion?” or “are Greek manuscripts killing religion?” While we could certainly entertain such questions, I think many of us might think that they’re a waste of time or, at the very least, that they don’t probe deep enough.

Granted, the internet is the type of medium through which it doesn’t (seem to) cost money to post something or be taken (somewhat) seriously, whereas “papyrus wasn’t cheap” in ancient times. But this doesn’t mean that what we post on the internet is worthless. What a capitalistic thing to argue, that our words are worth more or less depending on the worth of the things they are published on.

Maybe our words are fundamentally worthless—even Paul’s and Jesus’ and Nietzsche’s and Aquinas’. Or maybe our words are worth as much love and meaning we grant them with. Either way, to say that the internet is killing religion is a misattribution. We’re the ones killing religion, and we’ve already killed God—As Nietzsche writes, “How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”

It is not the internet—whether Facebook, Myspace, or various blogging sites—that is killing religion, but our reluctance to abandon modernity and its oppressive institutions. We killed religion and God when we used gay people as kindling in the Medieval Age, when we continually partake in the systematic repression and covert extermination of transpeople, people of color, and every other sort of minority. Shakespeare gets it right in The Tempest: “Hell is empty/And all the devils are here.”

Might there be a resurrection though? God only knows. The internet could be an honest medium, but not without risk, especially for those this dead religion insists on killing. Religion may be liberated, but only when God herself is liberated—from within the oppressed and beaten, the harrassed and assaulted. And, after all, we all know that the NSA needs plenty of encouraging Bible verses.
[/twocol_one_last]