When I heard that Friendly Hall was another building on campus that was named after a Ku Klux Klan member who donated to the school in the 19th century, I thought, well, that’s ironic and unnecessary.
– Last week, the Black Women of Achievement group, and other UO student organizations, put together a demonstration to show UO’s solidarity with the University of Missouri, in addition to other college campuses across the U.S. Schools stood in support of the #BlackLivesMatter cause, and in general, for marginalized people within American colleges. Efforts were aimed to shed light on concerns of campus safety, academic diversity and advancement and the educations of students of color. The events began with a speech by Harvard professor and racial justice advocate, Charles Ogletree, which was followed by around 500 students marching from the Ford Alumni Center to Johnson Hall. Outside of Johnson Hall was where individual testimonies were given by people who have experienced and witnessed discrimination before. There was a moment of silence as well for all the Black lives that have been lost as a direct result of racism. And boy, was it chilling. I was there this portion of the rally, which made me proud to see my peers stand up for something so significant.
– Also on Thursday, international tragedy hit when Islamic State bombs struck Lebanon’s capital of Beirut, killing 43 individuals. One day following, the world saw a Friday the 13th like no other. In Baghdad, Iraq, a funeral ceremony was the target of another IS bomb. Aimed at the Iraqi Shiites who attended the funeral. The bomb took 19 lives. And the disaster that flooded our TVs and social media feeds over the weekend was the six-scene attack in Paris, France. A total of 132 people were killed and over 350 were left injured. The Islamic State took responsibility of these City of Light events as well.
– Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat were full of controversy, more than usual, because of the catastrophes that took place around the world. There were people who showed their sadness, support and solidarity with the Paris victims by adding a filter of the French flag to their profile pictures. Others posted old vacation pictures from the touristic city with captions of grief. There was also a common symbol of recognition that circulated my news feeds, which was of a peace sign with the Eiffel Tower as the center.
Then, there were others, like myself, online who were angered and disappointed by the Internet public who only erupted because of what happened in Paris. People from various backgrounds, not just Arabs and Muslims, asked the world why is it that mainstream media and the general public don’t care when tragedy hits a non-European country, like Lebanon or Iraq. Back in April, a Kenyan university experienced a massacre of 147 people at the hands of Somali militants, but did we hear about that? People having “selective grief” and a limited definition of “humanity” angered so many that articles and poems on this crookedness went viral.
– Our academic week 7 was a heavy one with so many powerful and tragic events all happening at the same time, both locally and internationally. To make all your hearts feel a little lighter and happier, our boy, Marcus Mariota, was awarded AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Tennessee Titans versus New Orleans Saints game. Super Mariota’s Titans were victorious with a 34-28 overtime win. Congratulations for the your victory, Titans, and for the fact that your games are actually being watched this season.
– More good sports things happened: the Ducks had a big win on Saturday night against no. 7 Stanford. It was an action-packed game and a nail-biter to the end. Our 38-36 win resulted in our getting a little number by our name – we are finally a ranked team again at no. 23 in the AP polls. Among all the game excitement, I couldn’t help but wonder why exactly is Stanford’s mascot a tree? After doing some research, it isn’t. They are the Stanford Cardinals – where “Cardinal” is their team name, which refers to the red school color. The Stanford Tree, however, is a member of the university’s marching band, and has become the unofficial mascot since a movement in the ‘70s that got rid of the old school mascot: the Indians. Good on you, Native American students and staff, who said “no” to cultural appropriation. Come on, Washington Redskins – I think it’s well past your time to change it up.
Weekly Pond(er)
Negina Pirzad
November 15, 2015
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