Op/Ed

Matthew Milligan

Staff Writer

With a community as diverse and accepting as this school, people may be curious as to why this community needs a Queer Straight Alliance.

As a member of the QSA, I have some insight into why having a QSA is not only important but essential to the SLA community.

First off,  greatest challenges that queer people face is the ignorance of society. As a whole, America doesn’t spend a lot of time talking about LGBTQ+ people and if people do, it’s usually only in vague references to gay acquaintances or in terms of religion and civil rights.

So, while SLA may be accepting welcoming of queer people, as a community it is harder for people to understand what being queer is like.

A Queer Straight Alliance allows LGBTQ+ students to create a familial bond with fellow members of the queer community. This gives them the chance to bond over similar experiences and to seek and give advice to each other.

It is crucial for these kids to be able to do this since LGBTQ+ topics are not typically talked about by most adults or schools. For example, it is common for schools to only talk about heterosexual relationships in health education courses. At SLA, Health Teacher Pia Martin talks about safe sex between homosexual people and informs students about aids, which is something that not a lot of middle school health classes do.

It’s also a matter of physical well-being. Many queer kids initially have little or no knowledge about things such as sexual health or resources for LGBTQ+ people such as support or advocacy groups. When it comes to LGBTQ+ education, many kids are left with no other choice than to teach themselves. In the SLA’s QSA, we are lucky to have not only a larger number of queer adolescents, but also a queer teacher who is able to provide insight to younger and less educated members.

Along with aiding in the education of queer youth, the QSA helps students who are struggling to find their identity. At QSA there’s have a saying along the lines of, “What happens in QSA stays in QSA,” meaning that students can be “out of the closet” (as in openly queer)  at QSA but not yet “out” to anyone else. This gives students the chance to explore who they are without fear of judgment from anyone else.

People may think that the QSA is just about its queer members, but it’s not. After all, it is called the Queer Straight Alliance for a reason. The SLA QSA wants to not only assist its LGBTQ+ members, but it wants to assist the heterosexual community at SLA as well by being welcoming and informative.

While I mentioned previously that the QSA allows members to socialize with fellow queer students, it is not the goal of the QSA to cut these students off from the larger population of SLA. Queer people want queerness to be normalized so that they do not always have to think of themselves as a completely separate community.

So if you want to be a true ally, consider joining QSA! The QSA’s goal is to have more people at SLA with an awareness of queerness so that they can become more educated and considerate people overall. The more informed and respectful we are as students about the diversity of our community, the better SLA will be.

Brendan Hall

Staff Writer

On November 28, 2017, it was announced that Lil Uzi Vert had been nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. He was nominated alongside of other notable singers, SZA and Khalid. However when further evaluating the nominees they come nowhere near Lil Uzi’s influence in Hip-Hop and music in general.

Lil Uzi Vert has been a major influencer in the up-and-coming rap scene since late 2015. But what makes Uzi such a force to be reckoned with?

One thing that sets the Philadelphia artists apart from his competition is his wide range of influences. The multiple time platinum selling artist draws inspiration from controversial rock stars Marilyn Manson and G.G. Allin. However, he also is influenced by modern Hip-Hop acts such as Young Thug, A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, and Chief Keef. This eccentric blend of styles has molded Uzi into a self-proclaimed “rock star”.

Uzi has pushed away from being boxed into one genre, a  decision that rocked the world of new school rap music. In an interview with Hot 97 in February of 2016, he stated that he didn’t want to be labeled as a rapper. In June of that same year one of his peers, Lil Yachty, also stated that he wanted to not be labeled as a rapper.

Uzi’s ability to ditch the title of being a rapper paved the way for artists in Hip-Hop to escape the pressures of having to a “lyrical rapper”. Uzi created a new lane for artists to express their creative abilities without being labeled as a phony.

While Lil Uzi has revolutionized the Hip Hop genre he also has received a fair amount of criticism from the older generation. He has been accused of not respecting older Hip-Hop due to the fact he refused to freestyle over old-school instrumentals. Other fans and critics questioned his lyric because they were very straightforward and repetitive. Lil Uzi Vert became labeled a “mumble rapper”, a term which is dismissive of his lyrical abilities,

Despite the dismay of his doubters the 23-year-old crafted one of the most groundbreaking songs of 2017. “XO Tour Llif3” pushes the boundaries of the Trap Music, based on its subject matter.

Trap music has been infamous for a repetitive set of subject matters involving rapper cliches that include: being rich, being tough, dealing drugs and objectifying women. However,  “XO Tour Llif3” is a song where Uzi is opening up to the downsides of abusing opioids, his love life, and his mental health. The refrain of, “ don’t really care if you cry, On the real you should’ve never lied, Should’ve saw the way she looked me in my eyes, She said baby I am not afraid to, die Push me to the edge, All my friends are dead, Push me to the edge,” is something that was unheard of in the trap genre a decade ago. This song was so groundbreaking in part because it’s  unlikely that his peers could create a song with this subject matter and come across as being sincere.  

Despite Uzi only receiving a mainstream audience three years ago his style already starting to be mimicked by others. An example of this is one of Hip Hop’s new rising stars, 18-year-old rapper Trippie Redd.

There are some obvious similarities between the two but the two most distinct is that they harmonize over beats with the same vocal inflection and they have similar subject matter in their songs. Similar to Uzi Trippie Redd also displays themes of heartbreak in his music. On Trippie Redd’s breakout hit, “Love Scars”, he sings

“You used to say you in love I used to say that shit back Taking that shit from the heart Now look where the fuck are we at Girl you got me, just going out bad Love scars, you got me real sad”.

This is comparable to the heartbreak detailed on XO Tour Llif3. They both compare themselves to rock stars; Uzi compares himself to Marilyn Manson while Trippie compares his vocal inflection to Gene Simmons of Kiss. There are also unreleased snippets of Trippie Redd songs where he sings about his suicidal thoughts the same way Uzi did on XO Tour Llif3. (“Might go M.I.A. might just go blow my brains I’ll be Kurt Cobain”). However, what is the most telling testimony towards Uzi’s influence is “Can You rap like me” by Trippie Redd. In this song Trippie Redd spits his best battle rap bars over a jazzy hip hop instrumental, proving he has lyrical skill. However, he has no other songs that sound like that lyrical track. Trippie Redd decided to instead focus on making melodic trap influenced music that is comparable to Uzi. Lil Uzi’s influence is so massive that it led to Trippie abandoning his lyrical talents in pursuit of imitating Lil Uzi Vert’s sound.  

Sarah Berg

Staff Writer

Net neutrality is the idea that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should provide access to all content and not favor or block any websites. Regulations put forth by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allow for net neutrality to exist.  Basic internet regulations have been in place since 2005, but in 2015, under the Obama administration, they were strengthened, when the internet was put under Title II regulations. These regulations prevent (ISPs) from tampering with speeds and charging for better speeds and access to different sites. As savetheinternet.com put it, net neutrality “preserves our right to communicate freely online.”

 

Pai’s Plan

In April of this year, FCC Chairman and Republican Ajit Pai announced his plan to reverse the classification of internet providers under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. This act classifies common carriers under its Title II. Internet service was put under Title II in 2015, and this classification allowed the FCC the legal right to enforce net neutrality rules.

Pai is a former lawyer for Verizon who was appointed the position of chairman by President Trump in January. He argues that ISPs need better profits because investments in the industry have gone down since 2015. He has been vocal since the new rules were voted on then, saying that the government was meddling with the internet although he believed “the internet is not broken. There is no problem to solve”.

Despite many calls for them to push the vote back, and a majority of comments on the FCC’s website supporting net neutrality, on December 14th, the FCC voted 3-2 in favor of Pai’s proposal. The vote was predictably along party lines, with Pai and other Republicans voting it in.

 

What is at risk?

Without net neutrality, ISPs will be able to slow down and speed up connections to different websites and services, playing a large role in determining which ones succeed. They will be able to block access to content they do not agree with, whether it be political or competitive products or services.

Groups who depend on the internet to organize and communicate will be in jeopardy without net neutrality, along with small businesses. Companies will have to pay for a place in the “fast lane”. This will give large, successful businesses an advantage over smaller ones, who may struggle to pay the fee. These businesses will then have a much harder time advertising and hosting their markets.

Companies that are against the FCC’s new proposal are either small businesses who rely on the internet, or social medias and online services. Some companies who have spoken out against Pai’s plan include Discord, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, Etsy, AirBnb, Netflix, Google, and Amazon — basically every big commerce or social media site.

 

What now?

All over social medias and in real life, I have seen people freaking out about the vote. Misinformation is spreading, with people saying that you will now have to pay $2 for every Google search, or $10 for monthly access to Instagram. This is not the case. What we are more likely to see are increased prices for fast lines, if anything.

Congress still has the ability to overrule the FCC’s vote, by passing a resolution of disapproval. As well as this, many democrats are calling for a bill to counter the FCC’s decision, and some attorney generals are planning to take legal action to prevent the changes from occuring.

Even if the FCC’s decision passes, you may not actually see major changes to the internet. Some companies, including AT&T and Comcast, have said that the online experience will not change.

In short, we will have to wait to see what is going to happen to net neutrality. You can visit https://www.battleforthenet.com/ to send a message to Congress telling them to overturn the FCC’s vote. You can also text RESIST to 50409, and the Resistbot will help you contact your representatives.

Mekhi Granby

Staff Writer

A few weeks ago, the hashtag #JusticeForJazzy went trending on my Twitter timeline. When I looked into it, I discovered it referred to Chennel “Jazzy” Rowe, a freshman at the University of Hartford who was going public about her experience with her former roommate Brianna Rae Brochu.

In case you haven’t heard the story, Rowe was terrorized by Brochu in many inhumane ways. Secretly sabotaging everyday utilities of hers and more in hopes to drive Rowe away as a roommate.

There’s proof of the terror. Brochu posted some choice words about her now-former roommate on Instagram: “Finally did it yo girl got rid of her roommate!! After 1 ½ month of spitting in her coconut oil, putting moldy clam dip in her lotions, rubbing used tampons on her backpack, putting her toothbrush places where the sun doesn’t shine, and so much more I can finally say goodbye Jamaican Barbie.”

Brochu has been arrested and charged with criminal mischief, breach of peace, hate crime, and intimidation based on bigotry or bias.

Behavior like this is hard for me to imagine. At SLA, we’re taught to treat each other like family when we’re here, but in the real world that isn’t the case.

What’s worse is that this incident between the two women is racially motivated. Rowe is African American and Brochu is Caucasian. This incident upsets regardless of race but being African American, the racial slur “Jamaican Barbie” just disappoints me. Yeah, Brochu has been arrested but Rowe will forever remember and be impacted by this experience.

The real justice in this situation would be the elimination of discrimination. You can’t tell people what to think or how to view others but I think a speech with incoming freshmen each year emphasizing the importance of acceptance and reality of discrimination in today’s reality. I’ll never understand how people can hate/dislike others because the color of their skin, cultural background, nor sexuality.

I’m currently a senior — and applying to colleges. Living with a stranger is as weird to me as it sounds. My roommate and I don’t have to be the best of friends but being that we have to live together I’d like us to be on good terms and get along.

This horror story got me thinking: what kind of background would my roommate have? Some schools I’ve applied to include: Temple University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Delaware State University. According to collegefactual.com, Temple’s overall diversity rank is 203 out of 2,475. Here’s the racial breakdown:

This is interesting because a single race takes up more than half the population of undergraduate students at Temple University. As an African-American, this makes me feel even more like a minority.

When it comes to having roommates I wish there was some sort of questionnaire process that matches people together based on their personality. A simple google form with a set of traits listed as a multiple choice question saying “pick three traits you would like to see in your roommate,” and another question with the same set of traits saying “pick three traits that you possess.”

Have a person (or people, depending on the size of the school) go through the answers and create a google spreadsheet where the pairs of roommates will be chosen and listed based upon the responses.

Now, I’m not saying that this will eliminate the possibilities of having a “bad roommate” but it could potentially decrease the odds of something like this happening.

To prevent things like these, having appropriate consequences for specific behaviors could help. As for schools ending truly bad behavior among their students, no solution comes to mind that isn’t already common knowledge.