Juana Garcia/ The Cougar

While being vegan can be beneficial for those who love animals, vegans still support a corrupt immoral industry. 

Veganism is often advertised as a way to eat your food and live life more guilt free. This makes sense as not consuming animal products keeps you from supporting factory farming, an industry that heavily exploits and harms animals.

It’s understandable to not want to support such an industry, but some people think that veganism is inherently more moral. However, all food production is complicated and far from moral. So any form of eating has blood on its hand, including eating vegan. 

Many people are aware that animal agriculture can hurt the habitats of animals as much wildlife has to be cleared for grazing space. But many people don’t realize that crop farming can cause issues for animals too.

Avocado farmers have to deal with gophers a lot. Gophers can tunnel to and eat roots so they can be harmful to avocado production, a food featured in many vegan dishes. Farmers will often set traps to get rid of gophers. Some farmers may set up wire to keep gophers from getting to their plants which can keep them from their natural habitat. 

To farm you need to clear a lot of land which damages the natural habitat of many species. You often have to keep clearing land because soil loses its fertility due to erosion, water logging, and pollution. So farmers will have to keep clearing land to grow their crops. It’s clear that even non animal agriculture can be and often is harmful to animals.

However, plant agriculture isn’t just harmful to animals but to its workers too. Workers are often paid low wages to work in harsh and dangerous environments. The median income is only $28,900 a year. A large percentage of agriculture workers are undocumented, which allows their employers to exploit them even more. 

The work involves being bent over for long periods of time which can lead to injuries. They often have to work in extreme heat without good shade or water. Workers are often paid per piece which discourages them from taking breaks which can lead to over exhaustion and heat stroke. These are just a few examples of the harm the agriculture industry does to its workers.

It’s clear that even eating vegan foods like fruits and vegetables still is not harm free. Veganism is great for those who don’t want to eat animal products or support factory animal farming. However, it’s not necessarily a moral high ground. You still are forced to support industries that do harm to both people and animals. 

Anna Baker is an English senior who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Eating vegan isn’t necessarily guilt free” was originally posted on The Cougar

Salvatore Ambrosino

Following the country’s largest protests in decades, Cuban-Americans in Florida have assembled this week to call down the reigning political party in Cuba—many of them deeming it a brutal dictatorship. 

Outside of Lakeland’s Buena Block Party on July 17 the “#SOSCuba” protest song “Patria Y Vida” played, and the saying was written on the largest poster board carried around by the demonstrators in Munn Park. It translates: “Homeland and Life,” an optimistic twist on the ruling Communist Party of Cuba’s infamous decades-old motto “Homeland or Death.” 

Two of the protest’s organizers, Maruchy Alfonso and Arelis Vera say Lakeland’s Cuban population has been spurred into solidarity by their homeland’s fight for freedom, and they have begun hosting daily meetings within their community on the state of governance in Cuba.

In the past months, Cubans have faced a searing economic decline, leading to shortages in food and medical supplies as basic as penicillin and aspirin. Many of these hardships were rarely faced since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. The hunger-fueled anti-government protests in Cuba, exacerbated by police violence and a deadly coronavirus outbreak, have been the strongest challenge to the 60-year-old regime in decades, leading many Cuban-Americans to join protests in the United States. The dissent has been especially vocal in Florida, where in Tampa and Miami the largest assemblies in support of the Cuban resistance have taken place.

Alfonso had a microphone and a cord ran through her hand to a small speaker on the ground, many stood wrapping themselves in La Bandera de Cuba, listening to her as she objected to the Cuban government’s recent aggression towards its detractors. Her demands were clear.

“I want support,” Alfonso said. “I want President Biden to put his eyes on Cuba. We are the Cuban-American people.”

In light of kidnappings alleged by families under Cuban President Díaz-Canel’s administration, the anger from international protests rage on.

“People go missing for thinking differently,” one protestor said, who wished only to be known as Joel. “Something extremely odd is happening in our country.” 

Cuban law has placed de facto limits on speech, assembly and expression. Vera, who fled from the island eight years ago, predicts the Cuban government will not loosen its perceivably tight grip on citizens protesting to regain rights progressively lost since an armed revolt resulted in Fidel Castro taking power as Prime Minister in 1959.

“Military intervention. The Cuban government is not answering the requests of the people, they aren’t going to do anything, what we are asking for is an intervention,” Vera said. “There are mothers there who don’t know where their sons are.”

“There’s no way you can work and live with your salary,” Vera said. Rice, a bottle of oil, and a few eggs for the month, Vera recalled the short list of items from an old shopping list she had while in Cuba—what she could afford with her monthly salary. While some people in Cuba have recently rallied in support of the government, she says those are the people who have something to lose or are higher-up in the  Cuban labor hierarchy. The ones protesting, Vera said, have nothing. 

“They are sick. They do not have food. They are dying in their homes,” Vera said. “We were not brave enough to do what they are doing now.” 

After pressure from the United States, Cuban cabinet ministers announced measures meant to alleviate the economic fallout of the country. This would include permits for travelers to import food and medicine and also allow people to use their ration books to obtain food outside of their hometown. 

“Positive measures, but they are insufficient,” Cuban economist Omar Everleny Pérez said to the Associated Press.

Many of Cuba’s recent hardships have been blamed by many on America’s Cold War Era embargo on the island amongst many sanctions, recognized by the U.N. as an economic blockade that has yet to see its end. Many like Vera who call it an “internal blockade” instead cite the regime’s hesitance to accept aid from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 

Native Cuban author and professor Dr. Jose Manuel Garcia said there is evidence to substantiate the detractors’ claims and cannot say for certain that the embargo alone is the cause of Cuba’s economic distress. 

President Biden and Gov. Ron DeSantis have both expressed support for the protestors in Cuba, DeSantis pressing Biden on an agenda to help provide internet to Cuba after it had been cut by the government, hindering communications from the island.

While his opinion on intervention is conflicted, Garcia noted that the main goal of the United States at this point should be to protect communications on the island.

The post Cuban-Americans protest outside Lakeland’s Buena Block Party appeared first on The Southern Newspaper.

Local multidisciplinary artist from Minneapolis, FPA, aka Frances Priya, is this year’s featured artist for the Walker Art Center’s “Sound for Silents” event. Now in its fifth year, the program commissions artists to create new original scores for several selected silent films.

Drawing on three works from the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection, FPA will perform her newly composed scores at a live screening of the films on the Walker hillside. Set for August 19, FPA will perform her scores for “Sound for Silents” alongside Patrick Horigan (keys, guitar), Madison Hallman (vox), Jon Lindquist (percussion) and DeCarlo Jackson (trumpet, bass).

The short films that will be shown will be “Jefferson Circus Songs” by Suzan Pitt, “Bowling Alley” by Shu Lea Cheang and “Horizontal Boundaries” by Pat O’Neill.

From her unique flow and delivery to her dreamy lo-fi production, FPA’s sound is entirely her own. Her self-produced 2019 debut album, “Yang Chen,” offers a lush, laid back listening experience over the project’s eight tracks. Her second album, “Princess Wiko” is set to release in the fall of 2021.

FPA spoke with A&E about her process creating music for Walker’s selected films.

Where do you start when taking on a project like this?

I started with chords and chord structures to develop the kind of mood for each video and each scene in each video. I think harmony is really important to establish the mood, and I think that that’s one thing I probably go to first and then everything else is secondary.

How does creating music for a project like this differ from the approach you took to making your album?

I think my own album is very much my own, top to bottom, and I feel like this is more of a collaborative thing. I feel like I’m adding another element to something that’s already created so it doesn’t feel like I can just do whatever I want. I can do what just like the universe is already here but I can’t just create a whole new world.

Which of the films did you find most inspiring to score as the composer?

I guess “Horizontal Boundaries” or “Jefferson Circus.” It’s probably a tie between them. The “Horizontal Boundaries” I love just because it’s really beautiful, a lot of just landscape images and things like that are really nice to look at.

As a Minneapolis local, what is it like to partner with a citywide staple such as the Walker?

I’m grateful for the experience. It’s always nice to do something like this. I think for me, whether it’s the Walker or anything else, it’s just cool to be able to compose to films, especially ones that are super interesting, dynamic and beautiful.

What type of experience are you hoping to create for audience members?

I just hope that they feel something, I think that’s the goal of this. Yes, to be entertained of course, but I want them to feel as many things as possible in 50 minutes.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length

Fire alarms in Student Center South sounded at around 8:45 a.m. due to smoke accumulating in the McDonald’s kitchen.

A McDonald’s employee was cleaning the grill, but the vent hood wasn’t working to clear the smoke was the trigger to the alarm, according to media relations director Chris Stipes.

The fire alarm was triggered, halting activities in the student center and the Houston Fire Department responded at 8:55 a.m.

There were no injuries, operations resumed at 9:10 a.m.

news@thedailycougar.com

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“Smoke triggers fire alarm in Student Center South” was originally posted on The Cougar

Berkeley school district announces proposed settlement in discrimination case

Andrew Huang/Staff

Former and current Berkeley Unified School District students brought a case against the district in 2017 for its alleged discrimination against students with reading disabilities, to which the school district announced a proposed settlement Friday.

The Berkeley Unified School District announced a proposed settlement Friday in a class action case on alleged discrimination against students with reading disabilities.

The case, brought by four former and current BUSD students May 2, 2017, in the federal court for the Northern District of California, includes claims that the district did not provide students a “Free Appropriate Public Education,” according to a district press release.

In response, BUSD denied that the plaintiffs had any factual or legal basis for their claims in the case, called Student A. et al. v. Berkeley Unified School District.

“The Action has been actively litigated. The students and BUSD (‘the Parties’) have also participated in extensive settlement negotiations,” the press release reads. “The Parties have entered into the Settlement to avoid the burden, expense, and uncertainties of continued litigation.”

Under the terms of the settlement, the district will work with consultants to develop and implement a “Literacy Improvement Plan” that will be put in place over three to five years.

As part of the plan, BUSD will review its core reading program, promote early and successful reading and provide increased supplementary aids and services to students. In addition, the district will review and monitor progress of new programs and encourage “targeted professional development” for teachers and staff.

“BUSD will retain an impartial outside Monitor to provide a Monitoring Plan to the School Board and Implementation Team, receive progress reports on compliance from BUSD, and submit semi-annual progress reports to the School Board and Implementation Team,” the press release reads.

The settlement will stay in effect for three years following its effective date but is subject to change if there are any objections to the settlement and appeals. According to the press release, the court has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 4 to determine whether the proposed settlement should be approved.

Check back for updates.

Aditya Katewa is the executive news editor. Contact him at akatewa@dailycal.org, and follow him on Twitter at @adkatewa1.

The Daily Californian

The United States Senate has a problem. Over the years, the Senate has passed fewer and fewer bills and with the current trajectory, it looks the downward trend will continue. Some people say the filibuster is the deep, underlying problem with the Senate’s inefficiencies. Since individual senators are able to debate endlessly until a 60-vote cloture is reached, many bills are struck down before they even reach a vote.

Opponents of the filibuster want the debate to end with a simple majority vote. Although the logic seems sound, these opponents overlook the wide spectrum of ideologies within each party. We should not assume party unity. Abolishing the filibuster will not increase Senate efficiency, and we must look to different long-term and short-term solutions to fix the U.S. Senate.

It is widely believed that abolishing the filibuster would solve the Senate’s gridlock problems. By reducing the 60-vote requirement to a bare majority, the party in control would pass whatever bills they favor. But this isn’t the case for most bills.

James Curry, a political science professor at the University of Utah, said, eliminating the filibuster would “lay bare just how divided each party actually is.” The majority parties know they need 60 cloture votes, so for a bill that they know won’t pass cloture, majority senators are perfectly willing to vote for cloture and blame the minority party when it doesn’t pass.

Without cloture, individual senators in the majority party would have much more responsibility. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin from West Virginia must be moderate to keep his seat, and therefore couldn’t sign onto a partisan bill. For this reason, not much more legislation would be passed.

As partisanship continues to increase, so do the problems. If parties become internally unified, bills would pass with a slim majority. We would see the back and forth of heavily divided bills as party control shifts. Currently, this happens in the executive branch, as the signing of executive orders allows presidents to flip-flop legislation. But there’s a limit to what can be an executive order. An internally unified Senate majority without a filibuster removes that limit. The danger wouldn’t occur in the interim, but the long-term effects could spell out major political instability.

The most obvious fix to the Senate’s gridlock problem is to seek bipartisanship. Where abolishing the filibuster encourages parties to look inward towards their own problems, the current structure encourages parties to seek allies across the aisle.

Since the adoption of the 60-vote cloture rule in 1975, there have been only two Senates in which the majority party could surpass that threshold by itself. Every other majority had fewer than 60 votes, and some sort of bipartisanship was required to push through legislation. However, this didn’t stop major legislation from being passed. Everything from crime bills, tax cuts and even the Patriot Act required bipartisan support.

The issue is not the process itself, but the increasing partisanship we see in the Senate. To say we need to fix political polarization is obvious, yet admittedly idealistic. Partisanship is not easily reversible, and the U.S. Senate surely won’t be fixed overnight. But that doesn’t make it any less important. Setting a long-term goal of increasing bipartisanship will greatly increase the Senate’s efficiency, far more than abolishing the filibuster ever could.

Since bipartisanship is such a long-term issue, any short-term fix to make sensible policies quickly passable would be beneficial. One of these fixes could be the abolition of the waiting period for cloture. Per current Senate rules, once a cloture motion has been filed, the Senate must wait two calendar days to vote on it. Professor Curry said this is a “relatively long process.” He also noted that this rule allows individual senators to prolong the process even if the cloture motion has 60 votes. There’s no benefit to the rule. All it does is prolong the process for a bill that will likely pass anyways.

By taking away this mandated time period, senators won’t have the power to prolong an inevitable bill passage. This change would partially fix the slowness of the Senate, all while keeping the current procedures in place. This is a small fix. There are no short-term changes that will fix the Senate completely. But it will do its part in optimizing a flawed body.

Truthfully, there’s no easy fix to the Senate’s efficiency problems. While abolishing the filibuster may sound like the way to get senators working again, it actually presents a major long-term issue for the American government. The problem with the Senate is mostly not one of procedural flaws, but rather personnel incompetence. If senators are unwilling to work with each other, we will continue to make no progress.

Minor structural changes to Senate procedure could speed up the process to a point, but in the long run, the Senate and U.S. have three choices: They could continue down this road of inefficient policymaking, they could abolish the filibuster and send us down an even more partisan path, or they could start on the path of healing and bipartisanship. I choose the third because after all, we are — or at least we’re supposed to be — the United States of America.

jackson.brown@dailyutahchronicle.com

@JacksonsTakes

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The post Brown: Abolishing the Filibuster Won’t Fix the Senate appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Pillsbury Hall once again has new residents as the nearly two year renovation of the second-oldest standing building on the University of Minnesota campus comes to a close.

Constructed in 1889, the building has been closed for renovations since late 2018 and began welcoming in members of the University’s English department on July 6.

“I am looking forward to us having our own space where we can build that sense of community more, as well as having nice spaces for us to meet and hangout,” said Ethan Voss, an incoming fourth-year English major and the president of the Fellowship of Undergraduate Students in English at the University. “Just having all of us in one centralized location, I think, will be really beneficial.”

In addition to the English department, Pillsbury Hall will be home to the creative writing program and the new Liberal Arts Engagement Hub.

The Liberal Arts Engagement Hub will be located on the ground level of the building and is a space where “members of the University will become the students of the public, educated by and partnering with external community members around critical topics of shared interest,” making it unique to the University and rare among national universities, according to the building’s official renovation website.

Dr. Andrew Elfenbein is a professor and chair of the English department. Elfenbein said he is most looking forward to working in a building with a functional heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

The English department currently shares Lind Hall — a building without a central air conditioning system — with the College of Science and Engineering.

Dr. Joe Moses, a senior lecturer in the Department of Writing Studies, spent time in Lind Hall as a graduate student. He said that many teachers had air conditioning units installed in classrooms and offices, but that posed more dilemmas.

“It was often hard and then eventually they put in air conditioners, but they were so loud that you had to sort of shout over them. So that was a little bit tough,” Moses said. “For a while there was a lot of lawnkeeping and landscaping going on. So you would leave the windows open to keep cool, but then there would be a lawn mower going.”

Voss said that leaving the windows open to keep classrooms cool would sometimes allow flying visitors into the spaces.

“The main thing I hated about [Lind Hall] was the horrible bees problem. The bees lived in the vines on the side of the building, and since there was no air conditioning in the building, people would open the windows and be forced to dodge wasps while trying to learn, which is terrifying,” Voss said.

The renovation of Pillsbury Hall was made possible in part by a bill passed in the Minnesota Legislature and signed by former Gov. Mark Dayton in 2018.

The capital projects bill allocated $24 million to the University to complete the renovation, and the College of Liberal Arts and donations provided the remaining $12 million.

Securing the money was crucial for the renovation because the longer a building sits vacant, the worse its systems and condition becomes, Elfenbein told the Minnesota Daily in early 2017.

The chair and directors of both the English department and creative writing program were involved in the renovation design for the building, Elfenbein added.

“Other faculty and graduate students were also consulted about specific furniture and design issues,” Elfenbein said. “The University offered a furniture fair at which all who were interested could try out different options for furniture.”

The building’s attic has been converted from a storage space to one that will be used for classes and events, including creative performances.

“I think it is going to be great for English and I think that it is particularly great for the creative writing program,” said Kim Todd, a professor in the English department. “We have all of these wonderful invited speakers and visiting writers, and I think it is going to be great to have them in one building with us. It is really going to help create a sense of community.”

Voss said he is looking forward to having the department in one easily accessible location where students and faculty can “bounce ideas off one another and work constructively.”

“I think a vibrant new addition will really improve the work that we are doing,” Voss said. “It will give us that chance to focus on what it is to study English.”

James Schaak contributed to this report.

Coronavirus cases rose significantly on USC’s campus and in Los Angeles County last week, clouding University plans for this upcoming fall semester, Chief Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman said in a student media briefing Wednesday. 

With less than a month until USC Welcome Week, the extent of in person classes, mask mandates and on-campus events remains uncertain, Van Orman said, and she expects the University to issue further guidance in early August.  

Following L.A. County guidance, USC reinstituted its mask mandate July 15 after lifting it on June 29. The rise of the more contagious Delta variant, — which has caused cases to increase — and “relatively low vaccination rates,” has significantly worsened the pandemic in L.A. County and across the country, Van Orman said.

L.A. County reported 2,551 cases on Wednesday, the highest number since March. There were 585 hospitalizations, compared to 213 June 21, according to an L.A. County press release.

“This is not where I would have thought we would have been two weeks ago,” Van Orman said. “But I would say that the situation within L.A. County has really deteriorated quickly.” 

Van Orman “anticipate[s]” that students will be required to wear masks indoors in the fall, regardless of vaccination status, including in residence halls, classes and “any kind of crowded setting.”

While Van Orman said she does not believe it is likely that USC will need to go fully remote, there is a possibility that parts of a school or a certain class could shut down due to coronavirus cases or exposure. For example, if there were positive cases in a dance program and other students were exposed, it could be shut down for two weeks.

Following the recent rise in coronavirus cases, USC will no longer permit students to submit a vaccine declination form and will only allow students with religious or medical exemptions to refuse the vaccine. 

Before the increase, students would have been allowed to submit a declination form to the University regardless of medical or religious reasons until the vaccines were fully approved by the FDA, rather than the current emergency use authorization. 

Eighty to ninety percent of people who tested positive for the coronavirus on campus were vaccinated, Van Orman said, although the vast majority of the testing sample already contained vaccinated individuals, including nearly 90% of faculty and staff.

There were three new employee cases from July 11 to July 17, an increase from 1 the previous week. The employee positivity rate rose to .57%, an increase from .24% the week prior and the highest it has been since January 2021. 

The majority of vaccinated students who tested positive were symptomatic and believed they had a cold, Van Orman said. 

There were 39 new student cases, 31 students in isolation and six in quarantine from July 11 to July 17 compared to 19 cases the week before. The positivity rate was 4%, the highest it has been on campus since August 2020, although the sample size is significantly smaller than it was during the spring or fall semesters because many students are not currently on campus.

Van Orman stressed the importance of getting tested for coronavirus even if you are fully vaccinated, a change in University guidelines as a result of the increase in breakthrough cases. 

“One of the really key messages we’re getting out is that even if you’re fully vaccinated, if you develop cold-like symptoms, you need to immediately isolate and get tested,” she said. 

Van Orman said that the University plans on working with faculty to ensure that students will stay home and isolate themselves rather than attend class if they develop cold-like symptoms. 

Despite the increase in breakthrough infections, the vaccines are still “incredibly effective” at preventing serious illness such as hospitalizations and death, Van Orman said. As USC students and L.A. County residents continue to receive vaccinations, the risk of community spread, deaths and breakthrough cases will decrease, making a return to normal in the fall more likely, Van Orman said.

“The more we can be cautious for [the next] two weeks, the better our chances are to be in a better place,” Van Orman said. “As a community, if we could stay home, wear your mask, get your vaccines, stay home if you’re sick — that will make a difference.”

The post Coronavirus cases increase, masks “anticipated” for fall semester appeared first on Daily Trojan.