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The BluePrint i* 4 Nov/Dec 2013 SpelmanPaper@gmail.com DOMESTIC & International News Halloween Used as Excuse for Insensitivity By: Dedra Mitchell C2014 * Haiyan, Strongest Typhoon to Touch Land in History By: Raquel Rainey C2014 Halloween 2013 has undoubtedly been one that will be hard to forget. While many regard this holiday as an opportunity to take on a foreign persona for twenty-four hours, this year Halloween attire was exceptionally disturbing. Celebrity Julianne Hough thought it would be great to dress as one of her favorite characters, Crazy Eyes, from the new hit Netflix series “Orange is the New Black.” Along with her orange prison suit and Bantu knotted hair, Hough believed that a touch of blackface would be an exceptional finish to her costume. On the heels of the acquittal of George Zimmerman, several individuals chose to dress as Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. In this particular photo that has been circulating on the web, an unidentified man also donned blackface with faux blood splattered on the front of his hoodie. Meanwhile, another unidentified man costumed as Zimmerman holds two fingers mimicking a gun to the head of the costume version of Martin. Alicia Ann Lynch wore one of the most outrageous costumes of the year. Lynch chose to dress as a Boston Bombing victim. In the photo, Lynch smiles for the camera in her jogging attire with imitation blood dabbed on her forehead and sporadically on her legs. Each of these disturbing costumes has ignited much backlash, including Lynch, who has suffered a considerable amount of adverse reactions, including death threats. At the University of Michigan, fraternity Theta Xi sent out an email blast to the entire student body advertising a party entitled “Hood Ratchet Thursday”. The event invitation included several racial and gender biased facets, including “bad b—-s, white girls, basketball players, thugs, gangsters, and the notion of “goin’ back to ‘da hood again”. Students immediately reacted to the crude invitation. One particular organization, the Black Student Union (BSU), was fervent in seeing that a conversation was held between them and the Theta Xi members, Eric Quang and Alan Wu. In an interview with juniors Robert Greenfield, the BSU Treasurer, and Geralyn Gaines, the BSU Secretary, the conversation did not seem to yield desired results. Gaines stated that upon seeing the invitation she was thoroughly disgusted. “They took the lowest of the low to represent black and hip-hop culture. We shouldn’t want that representation of us”. Greenfield said, “The main reason that it was offensive was that it was a misappropriation of culture. They generally didn’t understand what they did wrong.” Both Gaines and Greenfield also stated that in their meeting with Quang and Wu, it was a never-ending cyclical argument. “I don’t think it’s a lack of understanding,” said Greenfield. “They don’t want to understand.” The fraternity has not received repercussions for their actions. Rather, they will simply be participating in a few sensitivity classes. “We let a lot blow over,” said Gaines. “I want people to know about this. I want them to be upset and do something about this.” It is imperative for people to be knowledgeable about these incidents. So next year feel free to be as creative as possible with Halloween costumes and themed parties, but don’t degrade someone’s race, gender, or pain while doing so. Geralyn Gaines Rochester Hills, Ml Junior Sociology Major, Afro- American and African Studies Secretary Email :gngaines@umich.edu Robert Greenfield Atlanta, Georgia Junior CS/IOE Engineering Treasurer Email :rogreen@ umich.edu Since Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines last month, citizens and government officials are struggling to rebuild. Recorded as the most powerful tropical cyclone in world’s history to ever make landfall, Typhoon Haiyan surged through the Philippines at a staggering 195 mph with gusts reaching 235 mph. With the height of the storm nearly 17 feet, the city of Tacloban received the worst of the flooding. Over 490,000 homes were destroyed. According to CNN and NBC, of the people affected; 3,976 are deceased (two were American citizens), 1,598 are missing, 12,501 were injured, 3 million have been displaced, and 2.5 million are in need of food assistance. While many citizens are looming over the lost of their homes and how to start over, some are still grieving the loss of family and friends. Marilyn Arroza, a native of St. Catharine’s, Ontario, lost 14 family members including her mother. Arroza spoke with her mother, Linda Collera, a day before the storm hit urging her to seek higher ground at an evacuation shelter. She refused in order to provide space for children. After the storm, Collera’s body was found over 30 miles away from her village. Arroza plans to visit the Philippines in the coming weeks to provide supplies to anyone in need. As far as assistance, the United Nations appealed for 300 million dollars to provide supplies and services. The World Bank is finalizing 500 million dollars to support reconstruction. The United States donated more than 20 million dollars. Even American rock group Journey donated $350,000 towards relief efforts. Since November 15, the U.S. Navy has provided over 400,000 gallons of freshwater for displaced citizens. Cebu City, the second largest area in the Philippines, sent a barge with 2,000 metric tons of relief supplies, generators and vehicles to the victims. The effort towards restoring the country’s infrastructure is slowly underway. Donations can be made to Hope Worldwide-Philippines, Doctors Without Borders-USA, American Red Cross, Global Impact, Oxfam America and the Salvation Army. Obamacare and the Cost of America’s “Affordable” Health Care By: Karys Belger C2016 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it’s more commonly, is arguably one of the most controversial pieces of legislation of the current presidential administration. While originally a well- intentioned attempt on the president’s part to provide affordable healthcare to millions of low-income American citizens, Obamacare has inadvertently done more harm than good. Recently, The Affordable Care Act has grabbed headlines because of the public’s inability to register for health insurance; additionally many Americans have lost their current health care policies because they did not meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act. As a result, Obama has issued a public apology to all those who have lost their insurance as a result of the minimal care standard that the Affordable Care Act enforces. The Affordable Care Act also has provisions that prevent insurance companies from refusing those with preexisting conditions, federal subsidies for low-income families, and individuals whose income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. There are also tax penalties for businesses with 50 or more employees who do not offer insurance to those who work for the company full time. Prior to its most recent setback, Obamacare came under fire due to false allegations claimed by former Vice- Presidential candidate Sarah Palin that there would be “death panels” that would determine eligible sick and elderly persons. These allegations managed to increase conservative resentment towards the bill. So much so they played a rather important role in the government shutdown in October, when the Republican-majority House of Representatives refused to approve funding for the bill. The recent failures have fueled conservative agendas to completely nullify Obamacare altogether. While this is unlikely, the president has announced that some provisions are being made to the bill in order to correct what went wrong in the previous stages. In the meantime, millions of Americans are still wondering whether or not they will receive insurance or keep the coverage they have. November Marked Native American Heritage Month By: Dedra Mitchell C'2014 The history of this nation is rooted in immigration. From the many immigrants who voluntarily came here searching for new opportunities, to the involuntary immigration of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, it is safe to say that many in America are not actually from America. However, Native Americans share a completely different relationship with this country. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans were the indigenous occupants of this nation. Though November is the month that honors Native Americans, The National Museum of the American Indian, located in Washington DC and New York City, has several ongoing exhibitions in honor of Native Americans which include: “Before and after the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes Now-June 15, 2014: New York, NY Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identities Ongoing: Washington DC Circle of Dance Now -October 8, 2017: New York, NY Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World Ongoing: Washington DC Indivisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas Ongoing: Traveling Exhibition For more information about National Native American Month, The National Museum of the American Indian and current exhibitions visit nmai.si.edu.