The Colorado State Rams volleyball team knocked the University of Wyoming Cowgirls off their saddles last night for the annual Border War match.  CSU entered this year’s Border War with a two-game winning streak at stake. After a dominant performance, the Rams left Moby Arena extending those streaks, adding their third sweep in a row […]

Tick.

Tock.

After reading my headline and first two lines, my column’s central theme is probably a bit unclear. Am I talking about our pertinent climate emergency? Am I talking about our urgent public health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic? Am I talking about the self-inflicted-but-serious debt ceiling crisis? Am I talking about the GOP states moving to further gerrymander their district lines? Am I talking about the growing gap between the ultra-wealthy and everybody else, which puts our democracy further at risk? Am I talking about the hollowing of the middle class? Am I talking about rising levels of drug overdoses, suicides, depression and more?

It would be plenty reasonable to think I’m talking about any of these crises. The clock is ticking on all of these issues, plus more that I haven’t even mentioned. Isn’t that a problem?

In short, I’m talking about all of these crises. They’re all urgent. If something isn’t done about them in the next few weeks and months, especially in the Democrats’ reconciliation package, they very possibly won’t get done this decade. Don’t believe me? Look back at history, especially since the election of Barack Obama in 2008, and the downward spiral that was his time in office.

In late 2007-2008, the Great Recession hit. People began losing their jobs. George W. Bush’s approval rating tanked. Though John McCain, not Bush, was on the ballot in 2008, it seemed that the GOP would have a tough time winning. Then came Obama. A young, good looking, Black, seemingly progressive junior senator from Illinois, Obama was elected to the White House, and along with him came a large Democratic majority in the House and 59 (temporarily 60) Democrats in the Senate.

Though the Democrats passed a watered-down healthcare reform bill (the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare), the House majority was lost in the 2010 midterms, and little more was accomplished in Obama’s eight years in office. The same could be said for Trump’s presidency; the Tax Cut and Jobs Act was passed in 2017, Republicans lost control of the House in the 2018 midterms, and outside of tweeting endlessly, little was done in the latter two years of his presidency. This time around could easily be the same; many predict that Republicans will gain control of either the Senate or House during the 2022 midterm elections.

I don’t think that people realize how short the Democrats are on time. First, the debt ceiling needs to be raised (or, even better, abolished) soon, as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the U.S. would begin defaulting sometime in October or November of this year. Second, as we move into the new year, politicians up for re-election (nearly all in the House and about one-third of the Senate) will be more focused on campaigning than on governing, meaning little will get done until January 2023.

The obvious concern with waiting too long and getting nothing done now is that Democrats likely won’t have control of both houses of Congress in January 2023. That’s why the next month in Washington is so important.

As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has said time and again, this legislation could be the most consequential legislation for working people since FDR’s New Deal. I agree. While the $550B bipartisan infrastructure bill would be great, the $3.5T “human infrastructure” bill would make Joe Biden the best president of my lifetime if passed as is. This bill has provisions for paid family/medical leave, climate change, child care, universal preschool, free community college, lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60, extending the child tax credit and more. If you ask me what should be left out, the answer is nothing.

Plenty of polling agrees with me, too. So whenever I hear journalists refer to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), or other Democrats in opposition to the $3.5T bill as “moderates” or “centrists,” I cringe. A Democrat being opposed to the large majority of the country and their president’s opinion is not a “centrist” position, just as opposing climate change legislation, an expansion to the child tax credit, and three and four-year-olds going to public school doesn’t make you a “moderate.” The positions held by these corrupt politicians are right-leaning at best, radical and destructive to our society’s future at worst.

I applaud the progressives in Congress, including our hometown representative Ilhan Omar, for maintaining that they will vote no on the $550B bill until the $3.5T bill has been passed. I hope they keep their feet dug in. The second progressives balk and vote yes unconditionally on the $550B bill is the second that any hope at passing the $3.5T bill ends.

So, congressional Democrats: get moving. Progressives: don’t back down. Push the conservative Democrats to get this done. Because families are waiting. Because the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election are on the line. Because we need to meet this moment.

Because that clock is still ticking.

(Pixabay/Bessi)

Falling in love in movies is drastically different from real life. While in scripted movies we generally know things will end up OK, pre-written plots don’t exist in real life. Instead, it’s a jumbled-up disarray of emotions that you don’t quite know how to comprehend. 

I’m in love with someone who barely knows I exist. It happened just like it does in poorly produced and weirdly addictive rom-coms. The main character meets their future love interest and they spend the rest of the movie chasing blindly after someone until they usually win them over. Of course, if you’ve ever watched The Proposal, To All the Boys I’ve Loved (and all its sequels) or Love, Simon, it’s all about happy endings and Noah Centineo, apparently. Influenced by Hollywood cinema, our society creates unrealistic expectations of love and encourages us to believe in the so-called idealism of mutual, passionate love that lasts forever. 

Plot twist: it’s all a lie. True love is a money-making scam that masks that cold-hearted truth that none of us want to admit — people leave. Even the ones you thought would stay in your life forever will leave, and you’re left with a gut-wrenching experience that derives most of its pain from the naïve build-up of fantasies and illusions of this mystical thing called love. Of course, the sheer loss of losing someone you love, regardless of Hollywood’s role, is an agonizing experience on its own.

So, what exactly does love mean? How do you know you’re in love? For many of us, our childhood was built on Disney princesses. We dreamt of knights in shining armor, dancing in the rain and promises of forever and always until we fall for someone and realize that in life, unrequited love is unfortunately far more common and far more real. 

In reality, people cheat and people survive in unhappy relationships sometimes out of necessity. The list of reasons why people stay in spite of everything could go on and on. To think otherwise is to fall in the trap of Western myths of happily ever after. Research suggests that at its highest estimates, 75% of men and 68% of women admitted to cheating on their partners, but only 5% people believe that their significant other has cheated or will cheat on them. We hold people to ridiculously high expectations that we cannot even meet ourselves. 

Further, people willingly stay in unhealthy relationships, repeatedly excusing the other person and claiming that there still exists some form of love. Commonly, the more people believed that their partner wanted to stay, the more hesitant they would be to break it off. Certainly, there are a number of factors that can come into play, such as low self-esteem or the fear of being alone. The root of all these problems lies in believing that love and our desire for a constant, secure relationship are tied together.

While the screenwriters and directors who produce award-winning romance movies are undeniably talented, they write for box offices and the audience. Hollywood capitalizes on our low self-esteem to advance its own agenda. Unfortunately, this is why romantic movie storylines are all the more enticing, sucking us into a vortex of clichés. We start to believe in love at first sight and how love can conquer all. But real people do not act in accordance with your elaborate dream sequences. They are flawed, fearful and unwilling to be vulnerable the way they are in movies. Vulnerability is difficult, even the word itself implies that a person has to be willingly to be physically and emotionally wounded. The skip of a heartbeat or nervous fidgeting that accompanies an honest conversation are things we actively try to avoid. Love is more than pure bliss; sometimes it comes at the price of irreparable familial relationships or uncomfortable discussions of compromise and sacrifice. 

On the other hand, the most stable, most seemingly perfect relationships can be ruined in the same way: the tingling hairs on your spine or cliché butterflies in your stomach don’t last forever. Many consistent relationships might end because there is no more spark, no more inexplicable thing that attracted you to your partner in the first place. Sometimes, we stay because we understand prosaic love, but it clashes with our Hollywood-induced definitions of mythical love, often leaving us perpetually unhappy and always yearning for more. 

Romance movies are entertaining, allowing us to temporarily escape the woes of our nonexistent love life into something magical. All these movies instill unrealistic infatuation in its audience while padding the pockets of movie producers and directors. Admittedly, after watching The Proposal more than five times now, I know it sets me up perfectly for a future of disappointment and a disillusioned understanding of love. The truth is, no one will stop you in the middle of a public space, admit they made a mistake and then declare their undying love. Love isn’t hopeless, but tortured. 

If you’ve somehow won the lotto of life and found who you will be together for forever, I congratulate you and wish you all the best. But if you’re like me, desperately trying to get over someone, maybe knowing that so many people have experienced or will experience the same thing will make you feel a little better. 

Sophia Ling (24C) is from Carmel, Indiana.

The post True love is a delusionary scam appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

Content Warning: This article discusses issues and experiences related to sexual assault.

On Sept. 15, four U.S. Olympic athletes testified to the Senate about the FBI’s mishandling of sexual abuse claims against former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar.

The Senate hearing revealed how FBI agents ignored sexual abuse reports and falsely reported statements from victims, allowing a pedophile to continue to victimize young women and girls for an additional year after those initial reports.

The athletes also testified about how agents minimized their trauma when they tried to make reports. This clearly illuminates that our law enforcement doesn’t know how to talk to sexual assault survivors. Law enforcement needs to undergo survivor-focused training on how to talk with sexual violence survivors to avoid retraumatizing them.

Retraumatization

In an interview with Sonya Martinez-Ortiz, the executive director of Utah’s Rape Recovery Center, she explained that survivors need to be believed and validated when they open up for the healing process to work. She stressed the importance of giving survivors as much power and control as possible because “when they were assaulted, power and control was taken from them.” Sexual assault thrives on silencing, minimizing and depowering victims, and investigators should be more aware of that.

The FBI’s handling of the case against Nassar went against every suggestion Martinez-Ortiz gave for helping sexual violence victims recover. At every turn, the agents took power away and minimized the women who made reports.

When gymnast McKayla Maroney chose to report her abuser, FBI agents took her power and silenced her by failing to report the allegations for over a year. Aly Raisman recalled during the Senate hearing how FBI agents made her feel as if her “abuse didn’t count and it wasn’t a big deal,” after years of therapy to help her understand that her abuse mattered.

They minimized the significance of the abuse by using statements such as “Is that all?” as Maroney broke down in tears about what happened. The way the FBI spoke to Nassar’s victims clearly demonstrates retraumatization.

Two of every three sexual assaults are never reported. When retraumatization happens, survivors become less likely to report what happened or regret reporting it. However, Martinez-Ortiz explained “those who do engage in reporting … have access to advocacy and resources,” and this can reduce negative health outcomes such as PTSD.

A System-Wide Problem

While the Senate hearing unveiled serious problems within the FBI, revictimization by law enforcement happens at every level. Women in at least seven cities across the United States have had to sue law enforcement to get their sexual assault cases investigated.

A U.S. Department of Justice review of Baltimore police found that officers would ask sexual assault survivors questions such as “Why are you messing that guy’s life up?” or insinuating that victims of rape weren’t real victims.

Here at the University of Utah, campus police have a long and well-documented history of poor treatment of sexual assault victims. According to allegations from former female officers, campus police have “adjusted” rape and dating violence reports to downplay the severity of what happened, directly told victims they didn’t believe them and asked questions that placed blame on rape victims.

Law enforcement at every level can retraumatize survivors. The Senate hearing demonstrated that law enforcement officers do not know how to talk to sexual violence survivors. They don’t know how to take victims seriously, which causes real harm. It means that less survivors report their assault and, as a result, have worse health outcomes. We should expect better from our law enforcement. We need to demand that they protect and serve the people who come to them.

Survivor-Focused Training

The most vital step to stop retraumatization by law enforcement is providing better training on how to speak with survivors. Martinez-Ortiz explained that training needs to be “trauma-informed and survivor-focused.”

Luckily, this type of training already exists. Former West Valley policeman Justin Boardman and Utah prosecutor Donna Kelly have developed a Trauma-Informed Victim Interview Protocol. The protocol would give officers the training they need to get answers while also avoiding questions that victim-blame, minimize their experience and depower them.  The problem lies in the fact that Utah, other states, and the FBI haven’t implemented these trainings.

College-aged students are much more likely to experience sexual violence than non-students of the same age. The U needs to implement trauma-informed, survivor-focused training to protect students.

Research suggests that in Utah one in six women and one in 25 men experience rape or attempted rape during their lifetime. Rape is the only violent crime that is higher than the national average in our state. Our state legislators need to defend victims of sexual violence to start changing that. They need to ensure that our police officers know how to talk to survivors by implementing better training and protocols.

Law enforcement has continually let down and retraumatized survivors of sexual violence, but there is a way forward. The hard work to create better training and protocols has already been done. Now we just need to demand better from our police at the state and national level and implement training that will help them to protect find justice for survivors.

k.cushman@dailtyutahchronicle.com

@kcellenc

Author’s Note: If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, there are resources available. Please call
National Sexual Assault Hotline 800-656-4673 or visit https://www.rainn.org/ to chat with someone.

The post Cushman: Start Teaching Law Enforcement How to Talk to Sexual Violence Survivors appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

UC Berkeley archives websites at risk of erasure by Taliban

Anthony Angel Pérez/Staff

UC Berkeley Library is archiving websites that might be removed under Taliban control due to criticism of its ideology.

The UC Berkeley Library began a project Aug. 15 to archive websites at risk of erasure under Taliban rule.

Librarian for East European Central Asian studies collections Liladhar Pendse initiated the project when the Taliban first breached the presidential palace in Kabul, according to Pendse and campus South Asia curator and cataloger Adnan Malik.

“The arrival of the Taliban in Kabul suggested that these websites might get taken down, and the artists, journalists and social activists that were based in Afghanistan and their tweets might disappear from public view or even get sanctioned,” Pendse said in an email. “Our goal was not to prevent the impossible, but to selectively crawl and preserve the websites that could be potentially taken down.”

Pendse enlisted the help of campus colleagues, including South and Southeast Asian Studies professor Munis Faruqui and Shahwali Ahmadi, campus professor of Near Eastern Studies. Professors from other universities, such as Stanford University and James Madison University, also helped initiate the project.

According to Pendse and Malik, the project leaders set out to preserve certain parts of the Afghan internet using established web-archiving techniques. They were concerned that important pieces of cultural information and social documentation would be permanently lost if deleted by the Taliban.

To cover the costs of archiving websites, Malik and Tang Center for Silk Road Studies Director Sanjyot Mehendale offered their financial support if needed to continue the project in the future.

Pendse and Malik noted the Taliban may disprove of websites for a variety of complex reasons, and that members of the project team are focused on identifying websites in danger of erasure.

Campus doctoral fellow in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures Ahmad Rashid Salim added that the Taliban aims to delete sources tied to criticism of their ideology.

“They are an ideological religious movement that wishes to remake both traditional and modern Afghan society in their own image,” Malik said in an email. “We have already seen that certain websites have changed, and there have been replacements of chancellors at several educational institutions.”

Pendse and Malik added that some of the archived websites have been made private to protect identities from Taliban retaliation. As of press time, the library has archived 83 websites.

Salim noted that prior to Taliban control, Afghanistan enjoyed a free press. He said in an email that now many media outlets are shut down and individuals have been deleting their social media accounts due to reports of the Taliban locating users who criticized their rule.

“These sources and manuscripts, many of them among the rarest in the world, offer insight into various fields,” Salim said in an email. “Their preservation is of utmost importance not only for the preservation of Afghan national heritage but intellectual production that benefits scholars, researchers, and others throughout the world and for years to come.”

Contact Emma Taila at etaila@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter at @emmataila.

The Daily Californian

Creator Mike Flanagan returns to Netflix with his passion project.

Mohammadjavad Eslamian is in the middle of the process to patent this invention with the University of Houston. | Courtesy of Mohammadjavad Eslamian

A team of UH researchers has made a major scientific breakthrough with the development of a new device called an electrochemical actuator.

These devices, which transform electrical energy into mechanical energy, have the potential to be useful in a variety of projects, according to the author of the original paper that detailed the team’s discoveries, Mohammadjavad Eslamian.

“Electrochemical actuators have numerous potential applications such as soft robotics, artificial muscles and bioelectronics,” Eslamian said. 

These particular actuators are notable since the research team was able to vastly improve the speed at which they operate, something that hampered the effectiveness of previous actuators.

“Our proposed actuator provides impressive actuation performances including low power consumption per strain percentage, fast response, and prolonged actuation stability,” Eslamian said. 

This increased speed and efficiency is accomplished via the utilization of microactuators which allow for the development of implantable neural microbes. 

“These movable microbes may potentially enhance neural signal recordings that are adversely affected either by damaged tissue or neuron displacement,” Eslamian said.

This could potentially allow for some revolutionary changes in how our body can utilize implanted technology, but they aren’t completely without risk.

Since inserting microbes into live brain tissue is challenging, the actuators are set to be put through a rigorous testing process. 

“There are some precautions required to be considered prior to implantation of microbes into the brain tissue,” Eslamian said. “In fact, applications for neural electrodes are not standardized; therefore the insertion method, the device stiffness, and geometry should be adjusted as needed.”

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“UH researcher innovates a new electrochemical actuator” was originally posted on The Cougar

Diego De Jesus

Computer Science professors and students alike now attend classes in the recently completed Carole and Marcus Weinstein Computer Sciences Center for the 2021 fall semester and beyond. 

It’s an upgrade for the Computer Science Department, who went from conducting classes in the Berry Sciences building to having its own building near the Becker Business Building and the Intramural Field. 

Due to the increased number of Computer Science majors at Florida Southern, the program was spread out throughout different buildings on campus for social distancing purposes last year. The number of Computer Science majors at FSC has nearly tripled since 2016, according to the Department Chair of Computer Science, Dr. Christian Roberson. 

Roberson’s research focus is artificial intelligence, specifically in AI application in solving games and AI players for games. 

“We are really excited for the new space. It will give us room to continue to grow the program and have the space to provide students with more hands-on learning opportunities and chances to get involved in undergraduate research,” Dr. Roberson stated. “The building process has taken several years, but the bulk of the actual construction has taken place over the last 12 months. Construction is complete but they are still making various small adjustments to the building.” 

The new building includes new fashioned high-tech classrooms close to the faculty offices, including an AI or Robotics research lab, a cyber range, an auditorium, a maker space and conference rooms. There’s one lounge area where the Computer Science Clubs get together to play board games. All of this is lined with white LED lights throughout the building. 

Anselmis Columna gave his input being a junior Computer Science major as well as his perspective on the building’s recent construction.

“It’s a fantastic addition. It was highly necessary since the growth of the department. We would’ve had troubled housing classes since the growing number of new majors,” Columna said. “It’s a hundred percent a fantastic addition. Especially since Dr. Lewis was only hired a year ago, that’s more proof of my major’s expansion. As well as different labs with different concentrations. It was definitely necessary.”

In the midst of all of this expansion and growth for the Computer Science Department, it also received a $250,000 grant by SunTrust, now known as the Truist Foundation, to further the cybersecurity concentration and train students in new innovative ways to provide better services in cybersecurity globally. 

Roberson commented on the past, current, and future uses of the grant toward the Computer Science Department. 

“Part of the grant was for the development of cybersecurity technology in the new building, including a cyber range for students to use to develop their skills,” Roberson discussed. “Another part of the funding was to support initiatives for cybersecurity including equipment for labs and research, student travel for cybersecurity conferences and events, and other student needs for cybersecurity.” 

The grant’s goal is to expand the cybersecurity concentration which “touched on all sorts of areas in Computer Science.” Specifically computer equipment like Arduinos and Raspberry Pis have been purchased for cybersecurity courses. 

To bring more individuals experienced in the field, the grant will also pay for summoned speakers to share their knowledge on cybersecurity along with supporting events such as “capture the flag competitions” and “cybersecurity conferences.” 

The new building is home to an increasingly popular pretzel stand called Fresh Twist from Pretzelmaker, where customers can order an assortment of pretzel products and watch trained employees knead the dough behind a glass panel. 

On its opening day, Sept. 7, Fresh Twist had a line spiraling past three full rows of line dividers with students waiting to order. 

Columna commented on his first time eating from Pretzelmaker. 

“I had the eight piece mini dogs once. My friend actually ordered another eight piece mini-dogs but he had class, he said I could have them so I got sixteen. They were good. I’m a really big bread dude,” Columna said. “It was a long wait but it’s a new store and they have to figure stuff out.” 

The post New computer science building gives students new opportunities appeared first on The Southern Newspaper.

The Eagles said goodbye to head coach Chad Lunsford Monday after a poor start to the season, and now with an interim named, the search is on for a new head coach.

The last time the Eagles were without a head coach, Lunsford emerged as the top candidate following his 2-4 record as the interim; however, after a regime that saw a gradual decrease in success, the program may look outside of Statesboro for a replacement.

It is never too early to look around the country for candidates, so here are three of The George-Anne’s picks for head coach.

Dell McGee, Georgia running backs coach: McGee was the Eagles’ running backs coach during the 2014 and 2015 seasons and served as the interim head coach following Willie Fritz’ departure for Tulane. As the interim, McGee led the Eagles to their first FBS bowl win and as a high level recruiter with previous knowledge of the program, his transition would presumably happen pretty smoothly.

Ivin Jasper, Navy quarterbacks coach: Jasper served as the quarterbacks and fullbacks coach for GS from 1999-2001 and helped the Eagles win two FCS national championships. Jasper knows the expectations of Eagle fans and has proven to be extremely successful at all of his previous stops.

Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State head coach: If the Eagles look towards someone with head coaching experience, Bohannon may be the best candidate available. A former wide receiver and defensive backs coach at Georgia Southern, Bohannon has become an extremely successful head coach at Kennesaw State. Under Bohannon, the Owls have made three FCS Playoffs and finished within the top-20 in four straight seasons.

Three more unrealistic, but intriguing picks: Kendal Briles, Arkansas offensive coordinator; Rhett Lashlee, Miami offensive coordinator; Tommy Rees, Notre Dame offensive coordinator

The post Three potential candidates to replace Chad Lunsford appeared first on The George-Anne Media Group.

Student Government Association (SGA) adopted an amendment in favor of adding new members to their Finance and Vacancy Committee. 

These amendments were adopted on Wednesday, August 25 during their weekly meeting in the Sunflower Ballroom of the Overman Student Center. 

Chief of Operations Sydney Martinez is the head of the finance committee for the Student Government Association. The finance committee oversees the allocations process, and reviews and approves club, organization, department, and committee finance requests. Martinez did not have enough people on that committee yet to move forward with the allocations process. To solve this problem, SGA adopted an amendment to add members to the committee. 

The vacancy committee also had this problem with need for additional members. The vacancy committee oversees applications for new senators, and interviews applicants. The process for filling vacanies on this committee was the same as the finance committee

The allocations process is experienced by campus organizations at Pittsburg State University. The process will be coming up later this semester. Similar to a reimbursement process, the finance committee will first look at their allocations handbook, which will be passed and sent out to all of the student organizations so that they can also apply for those allocations. Those organizations will fill out paperwork that asks for funding from SGA. The organization will then be scored, and an amount of money will then be transferred into their on-campus account. 

Students with concerns that they would like to voice to Student Government Association should stop by their office (111 Overman Student Center) or by phone (620-235-4810). Concerns can also be submitted online under their tab on Pitt State’s website (pittstate.edu).