Daily Archives: May 6, 2022

News

Students react to potential changes to Twitter

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Across several mainstream media outlets it is reported that Elon Musk has purchased popular social media app, Twitter. Twitter is a social media platform designed in a way that allows users to post, like, and share short public messages called “Tweets.”

As many are aware, Musk is currently the wealthiest man on the planet with an estimated net worth of 219 billion dollars.

It can be anticipated that Musk, a self-proclaimed defender of free speech, will be making changes to Twitter’s user policies.
Local students react to this development.

A North Shore Community College student who wished to remain anonymous is welcoming the change. “I have always been a fan of Elon Musk. I don’t mean politically, but more what he’s done in technology. I think it will be interesting to see what he does with Twitter.”

When asked about his opinion on the possibility of censorship policies being changed, the source replied “I’m not too worried about it, but I do hope some policies will remain in place if it’s a matter of safety of course. I don’t really use Twitter so it doesn’t personally affect me.”

According to NPR, social media experts worry that if Musk relaxes restrictions, Twitter will be vulnerable to those who post misinformation, harass others, and pose threats to public safety, according to NPR. .
Elizabeth Callahan and Brandon McRae, both students at Southern New Hampshire University, share similar concerns.

“I think censorship policies that are put in place to protec people from predatory articles containing misinformation are important. Also, posts that are verbally abusive in nature should be censored as well. I hope that these policies don’t change. If they do, I think many people will leave the platform,” said Callahan.

McRae states “I’m all for freedom of speech and I think Musk is coming from a good place, but I also believe that if hate speech and other things like that are tolerated onTwitter then it will become a completely different social media site.”

When McRae is asked if he’ll continue to use Twitter he responded “I don’t use it frequently as is, but I would probably not use Twitter if it became a place where expressing bigotry was acceptable.

When discussing topics such as freedom of speech, fake news, and keeping citizens safe in a time where technological advancements have made harassment more common, it is important to carefully consider how these issues arise and what their relationship to social media is.

Controlling a universally used social media platform requires a strong sense of responsibility to the public.

News

Elon Musk captures the blue bird

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It’s not over until the blue bird sings, but it looks like Elon Musk is ready to give the app a new song.

Twitter’s board has accepted Elon Musk’s 44 billion dollar offer to buy the social media giant.

The purchase brings an end to negotiations and talks that started on April 4 when Musk announced he had become the tech company’s biggest shareholder.

Twitter’s board met on Monday ahead of the announcement, to discuss Musk’s proposal after shareholders warmed to the idea of a takeover.

Initially met with resistance from some of the company’s largest stakeholders, Reuters reported earlier that Musk swayed investors who previously opposed the acquisition with his proposal on Monday.

Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair, said in a statement on Monday, “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

The New York Post reported that at $44 billion, Musk is paying more than 175 times as much for Twitter as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos paid for the Washington Post in 2013.

Musk who is the CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer and clean energy company Tesla said he plans to make Twitter private and restore the platform’s adherence to free speech.

In a statement posted to his Twitter account a few moments after the acquisition Musk wrote “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,”.

However not everyone is thrilled about the SpaceX CEO acquiring Twitter. Some are concerned that his purchase signals the presage of the end of the tech company’s attempts to police hate-speech, trolling and doxing that has long infested the service.

“Elon Musk is the same man who came at Bernie Sanders by calling him old and saying he forgot Bernie was alive, because Bernie was fighting for the rich to be taxed. We’re just going to get a bunch of elitists spewing their hateful rhetoric. I can already see Trump getting his new handle ready,” said Shaiana Nunez

Other users like Cesar Batista say Musk’s purchase of the social media company won’t stop him from using the service. “I go on twitter for entertainment, anything else I tune out. So, whomever owns it, whether it’s public or private has no effect on me,” Batista said.

Twitter the company that launched a million tweets in 2006 with its singular blue bird logo now might have a new song to sing with Mr. Musk at the helm. What’s left to see is if users will want to keep on singing in 280 characters or less.

Editorial

Gun violence in America

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I believe in our Second Amendment Rights to bear arms, but I do not think that regular citizens should be able to acquire automatic or semiautomatic assault rifles. There has been 119 mass shootings so far this year and we are only into April. That is almost one a day, according to Newsweek.

Last weekend alone, 53 people were injured or killed in mass shootings across the country. The deadliest weekend yet was two weeks ago, when eight people were killed and more than 60 were hurt in mass shootings across nine st ates, according to The Washington Post.

April alone has had twelve mass shootings, killing 15 people and 56 have been injured and it is only the 5 th of April. March had 53 mass shootings and February had 40, according to Gun Violence Archive.

Some Republican lawmakers do not believe guns are the problem. For example, Congresswomen Lauren Boebert and Majorie Taylor Greene think people are the problem.

In a Christmas card Boebert proudly had her four young boys brandishing military-style semi-automatic assault rifles (AR-15s) in front of their Christmas tree, she shared in a Tweet, right after a deadly school shooting in Michigan.

Boebert is the owner of her gun-themed restaurant “Shooters Grill.” She has her waitstaff armed with guns and encourages all patrons to wear their guns proudly. She also had a hissy fit about not being able to bring her gun into the Capital and onto the House floor, according to the Washington Post. She shared a video on Twitter of her toting a Glock around Washington, D.C.

U.S. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, went as low as to harass David Hogg, a high school shooting survivor in Parkland, Florida, about his stance on gun control, according to News Week

Greene taunted the 21-year-old while he was walking from a conference because he advocates for more stringent gun control measures, according to Newweek. Hogg believes “people should be required to have a license to purchase a gun-drawing a comparison to people needing a license to drive a car, hunt, or cut hair,’” according to Newsweek.

Greene has been getting backlash for calling on Hogg to be “more masculine” and to “try hanging out with actual deer hunters” during several tweet exchanges, after Hoggmade the comment about needing a licens, according to Newsweek.

Hogg asked Congresswoman Greene how his “classmates’ rights including the Second Amendment were not infringed upon when they were killed in their classrooms,” according to Newsweek.

In a campaign ad, Greene is seen proudly shooting several kinds of automatic and semi-automatic guns. She makes it seem like the Democrats are out to take Americans guns. She does not seem to be able to conceptualize the thought of more diligent gun laws, which is what Hogg has been advocating for.

Greene and Boebert should start doing their jobs for their constituents, instead of harassing young victims on the street. It’s baffling how these two grown Congresswoman can’t see the difference between taking away Americans gun and having more extensive gun control and more rigorous background checks.

Opinion

Would the real pedophiles please stand up? The irony of Republicans calling Democrats pro-pedophilia

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During the Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sen. Josh Hawley accused Jackson of being soft on child pornography offenders. Court records show that Jackson did impose lighter sentences than federal guidelines suggested but also in line with sentences other judges have imposed for the same crime.

Hawley’s insinuation neglects critical context, including the fact that the senator himself has voted to confirm at least three federal judges who also engaged in the same practice, according to ABC News.
Republicans like Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene are loosely and repeatedly making assertions that Democrats are pro-pedophilia. Let’s look at some Republicans who have a shady past when it comes to being pro-pedophilia.

Let’s start off with former President Donald J Trump. At a 1997 Miss Teen USA Pageant, Donald Trump reportedly barged into the girls dressing room while girls as young as 15 were changing. Trump told the teens “Don’t worry Ladies, I’ve seen it all before,” according to CNN.

Trump’s campaign denied the accusations, but CNN unearthed a 2005 Howard Stern interview where Trump bragged about walking into the backstage dressing rooms at the pageants, according to CNN.

During the 2018 U.S. Senate race, Alabama Republican candidate Roy Moore was accused of preying on girls as young as 14. Six women accused Moore of pursuing sexual relationships with him when they were teenagers as young as 14 when he was an assistant district attorney in his 30s, according to The New York Times.

The newspaper reported that Moore’s habits of trying to pick up high school girls was so notorious that it got him banned from a local mall.

Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who was accused of covering up sexual misconduct while he was the wrestling coach at Ohio State University, according to CNN. Team Doctor Richard Strauss was accused of sexually abusing 177 male student athletes on the team.

Numerous former wrestlers told reporters that Jordan was personally aware of the abuse that happened during the early 1990’s but chose to turn a blind eye, CNN said. One victim has said that Jordan called him crying and begged to not let the story go public. Twenty-two coaches confirmed to an investigative team that they were aware of rumors/complaints about Strauss, dating back to the late 1970s. Strauss ended up committing suicide in 2005. Jordan denies any knowledge of the abuse, according to CNN.

Former GOP staffer and Republican National Committee aide, Ruben Verastigua, admitted to being part of a ring that traded child pornography that involved babies, according to Politico. He was sentenced to more than 12-and-a-half years in prison, according to Politico.

Former Republican U.S..Rep. Dennis Hastert, the longest ever serving Republican Speaker of the House, pleaded guilty of withdrawing $952,000 to use as hush money to hide the fact that he sexually abused teenage wrestlers that he coached from 1965 until 1981, according to The New York Times.

Republican Congressmen David Dreier, Porter Gross, John Doolittle, Thomas Ewing and former Republican House Majority Whip Tom Delay all wrote letters to the judge on Hastert’s case to “give him leniency where you can,” The New York Times. Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison and two years’ supervised probation. Judge Durkin said, “that to have to use the words ‘serial molester’ and Speaker of the House’ in the same sentence makes me sick” according to The New York Times.

Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz is currently the subject of a sex-trafficking investigation which is looking into whether Gaetz had sex with an underage 17-year-old girl and transported her over state lines for the purposes of sexual activities, among other allegations, according The Washington Post.

In 2017 Gaetz was the only member of Congress to vote against a law boosting the governments human trafficking investigating powers saying he was sent to congress to reduce the reach of government, according to The Washington Post

Tennessee Republican State Rep. David Byrd had been accused of sexual misconduct by three women who were underage at the time, according to The Washington Post. Christi Rice alleged that Byrd abused her over the course of her sophomore year of high school while he was her basketball coach.

Rice said that “he talked about it, he wanted to see me naked, he told me he spent more hours with me in a day that he did of his wife, that when he had sex with her he was thinking of me,” according to The Washington Post.

Republican talking head Tucker Carlson defended Warren Jess, the fundamentalist cult leader who is currently in prison for child rape. Carlson said that Jess was in prison for his “weird and unpopular beliefs,” like the forced marriage of underage girls.

Jess was convicted on two counts of felony child sexual assault. Carlson said the conviction “was unjustified,” according to Buzzfeed.

Former Republican Speaker of the House in Puerto Rico, Edison Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughters when they were between the ages of 9 and 17, according to the Guardian.

Former Republican Waterbury, Conn., Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year-old girls, according to the New Haven Register.

Former Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortage was sentenced to three years’ probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year-old girl, according to The Guardian.

Former Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl, according to The New York Times.

Former Republican U.S. Sen. Strom Thurman had sex with a 15-year-old which produced a child, according to The New York Times.

There are more than 300 accusations or convictions that could still be written about.

If conservatives are going to smear Democrats as “groomer” and “pro-pedophilia” and pose as the nation’s protector of children, it’s certainly fair to bring up this history in retort.

It is also entirely valid to note how weak the GOP’s response has been to recent scandals in its own rank and file.

News, Slider

Observer wins gold medal

 
Man and woman standing next to eachother holding print copies of the NECC Observer with awards plaques in the background.
Current Editor-in-Chief/Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez of Lawrence and former Editor-in-Chief Isae Grullon of Lawrence in the Observer newsroom in Room 318 Spurk on the Haverhill campus on April 20. Some of the multiple awards the Observer has won over the years are on the wall behind them. | NECC Observer

The NECC Observer was awarded a gold medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for work published during the 2020-2021 school year.

During this time the student newspaper did not have a print edition because of the pandemic and stories were posted solely to the website: https://observer.necc.mass.edu/

The judges wrote that the Observer should be proud of what the staff accomplished under such difficult circumstances during the pandemic.

The Observer was also awarded a gold medal for its work during the 2019-2020 school year, when it was also all online. The newspaper had the additional distinction of All Columbia Honors for receiving an exceptionally high judging score that year.

The NECC Observer is a consistently award-winning student newspaper, but the award feels particularly impactful during the pandemic.

Faculty adviser Mary Jo Shafer says she is proud of all the students who contributed to the Observer, especially former Editor-in-Chief Isae Grullon. Grullon is now pursuing her bachelor’s degree at UMass Boston.
Founded in 1925, the CSPA unites student editors and faculty advisers working with them to produce student newspapers, magazines, yearbooks and online media. CSPA is owned by Columbia University and operated as a program affiliated with its Graduate School of Journalism.

The NECC Observer is an award-winning newspaper published by NECC journalism students.

The NECC Observer staff works to inform the college community, including students, faculty, and staff. The Observer also serves as a public forum for the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses and accepts letters and guest columns from the college community.

The NECC Observer is funded by the college’s Academic Affairs division, and the newspaper staff receives its training in the college’s Journalism/Communication Program. Journalism/Communications Program Coordinator Mary Jo Shafer, an adjunct instructor, serves as faculty adviser to the newspaper.
To learn more about NECC’s Journalism/Communications program visit the website or reach out to admissions@necc.mass.edu, 978 556-3700.

 

News, Slider

Students share advice on how to manage school/work balance

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According to the American Association of University Professors, a recent study revealed that 43% of full-time undergraduate students were also employed while enrolled in classes and 81% of part-time undergraduate students were employed while enrolled in classes.
It is common for college students to struggle when it comes to juggling time spent on assignments and their obligation to their jobs, according to AAUP.
Local students talk about what works for them in terms of mastering that balance and achieving success in this predicament.
College student Evan Hartman, of Lynn. shares his approach to making this dynamic work. “I have had to cut down on the days I work and have a flexible schedule. I do the work on my days off.”
When asked if his
pursuit of education was something that he shared with his employer, Hartman responded “my employer does not know that I’m currently working on education. You only really want to let your employer know if it benefits them. Because I’m studying something different it would not benefit them and also signals that I’m planning on leaving. Every employer needs to think you are playing for their team.”
Another local college student, Rachel Myers, of Lowell, shares this sentiment.
“I rely on my job for income, but for the most part I keep my educational goals private. I am not sure that my job would be accommodating if I needed time off to study. My job expects me to make work the number one priority.”
Myers recommends students work jobs with flexible schedules in order to maneuver both responsibilities.
“It’s good to have a job that already has a flexible schedule and coworkers who are open to switching shifts if something comes up with school or you just need extra time to study. My advice to new students would be to make sure that their job isn’t too demanding.”
Alexis Fields, a student from Springfield, shares how she copes with the stressors associated with an overloaded schedule.
“I try to make time for myself when I can. I write lists and make goals so I finish assignments on time. I also try to create a lighter schedule for myself around finals if possible.”
In a perfect world, students would be able to participate in their education free from any other distraction or commitment, but the reality is that most of us cannot.
Life has other demands that we must meet.
Hartman shares that it can be difficult, but nevertheless he has advice for prospective college students who plan to work while they take courses:
“I would say don’t take a whole pile of courses in the beginning.
“Ease into it. Education is a journey not a destination. Do what works for you.”