News & Politics
"In a subtle way, you can shake the world."
― Mohandas Ghandi
― Mohandas Ghandi
Trophy Ban Decision Haltedby Jocelyn Sung '19 In recent news, Zimbabwe has been celebrating over the resignation of their former president, Robert Mugabe. Citizens have been jubilant as Mugabe refused to step down from office for 37 years, however, a new problem soon arose: America’s import of elephant trophies from their country. Barack Obama, President Trump’s predecessor, first initiated a ban on these items in 2014. However, according to Darryl Fears from The Washington Post, the Trump administration “announced it would reverse a ban on trophy imports from Zimbabwe” in November. Two days later, Trump tweeted that he will be halting the decision as he reviews the pros and cons of his decision. What changed his mind? As stated through his Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, Trump met with Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke to “review all conservation facts.” Zinke, reported to be both a hunter and trophy collector by The Washington Post, later issued a statement saying that he agreed with Trump when he called elephant hunting a “horror show.” As of now, it seems that the elephants are safe, much to the relief of conservationists and to the anger of hunters. Only the future can tell what’s next for these endangered animals.
Jailed at 16 Years Oldby Christina Maldonado '19 Cyntoia Brown is not living a life that we, as society, consider a normal teenage life. For starters, most teenagers have not been through what Brown has been through. Cyntoia Brown was a victim of sex trafficking at the age of sixteen. Ms. Brown ran away to Tennessee when she was sixteen years old. Brown had to live with a pimp who referred to himself as “Kut Throat.” On August 6th, 2014 a forty-three year old man named Johnny Mitchell Allen picked up sixteen year old Brown in his truck and drove her to his home. Brown told the police that when they got into bed he reached underneath his bed, and she thought Allen was reaching for a gun. According to court documents, her next reaction was to get a handgun from her purse and pull the trigger to shoot him. Before Brown left Allen’s house she took two guns and money. The jury rejected Ms.Brown’s claim of self defense. Brown was charged with aggravated robbery and first degree murder. Brown killed the man who had her hired out as a prostitute. Cyntoia Brown was charged with murder, but she was convicted as an adult, instead of a minor. Today, Brown is twenty-nine years old and imprisoned in the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville. Charlie Bone is the lawyer who took on Brown’s case seven years ago. At the age of sixty-seven, Cyntoia Brown may be eligible for parole. Jeff Burks prosecuted Ms. Brown and told Fox 17, “ She was not ‘trafficked’ nor was she a ‘sex slave.’ It’s not fair to the victim and his family that the other side of this case is so seldom heard.” Bone refers to Brown as kind, intelligent, and extremely remorseful. There are laws that can protect us, and laws that will break us. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/us/cyntoia-brown-sex-trafficking.html
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