Cartoon: Human rights are non-negotiable, Mr. President

Cartoon: Raining cats and coursework

Cartoon: Last few weeks of the semester 

Video: Progressive Student Union protests immigration policy

Cartoon: Lucky to have had a grandma like you

Elections and expirations: how old is too old to hold office?

As the presidential race comes closer and closer, we are getting increasingly concerned about the age and mental competency of the candidates proposed on the ballot.

This year, it is forecasted that 81 year old Joe Biden will be the Democratic elect and 77 year old Donald Trump will be the Republican president-elect. Biden is the oldest elected president in U.S. history, breaking the previous record set by Trump during the 2016 election. This means that both Biden and Trump are currently on track to break the record for the third consecutive election. Frankly, we’re sick of this. We don’t think records for the oldest politician are the ones that need to be broken.

Both leading presidential candidates are multiple years beyond the life expectancy of the average American male. Obviously speculation about the chances of a U.S. president possibly passing away in office due to old age exists, but more importantly the cognitive ability of former President Trump and President Biden absolutely must be called into question.

To read more of the Lanthorn Staff’s editorial, click here.

“So magnetic it’s almost obnoxious”- ranking Taylor Swift’s 1989 (TV) Vault tracks

On Oct. 27, Taylor Swift released her fourth album rerecording– “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” Originally released in 2014, the new release allowed Swift to own the legal rights to the album, which sold over a million copies almost a decade ago.

According to Forbes, Swift “vowed to regain control of her music after Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings controversially acquired her back catalog in 2019 and later sold it to a private equity firm.”

Swift described the selling of her masters as a “worst-case scenario” in a post on her official Tumblr account from 2019.

Since losing control of her first six albums in 2019, Swift has re-recorded and released her “Taylor’s Version” albums: “Red (Taylor’s Version),” “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and the newest, highly anticipated “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”

To read more of the Lanthorn Staff’s editorial, click here.

The possible death of Sports Illustrated is a sign of a bigger issues in journalism

The news of enormous layoffs at popular American sports magazine Sports Illustrated jumped out of nowhere for us. It was a shocking development for fans of the historic magazine, and yet another traumatic blow to an industry being torn apart at its seams.

Talk of the mass layoffs came after the news that The Arena Group, the publisher of Sports Illustrated, failed to pay “its licensing fees to the magazine’s parent company,” reported NPR.

It is the second time in recent years that major layoffs have hit Sports Illustrated. Back in 2019, S.I. laid off 30 percent of their staff when media conglomerate Meredith Corporation sold the company to Authentic Brands Group.

The term “media conglomerate” is one that makes news media employees shudder. Now, something that once seemed to hurt small newspapers has begun to destroy legacy news media.

To read more of the Lanthorn Staff’s editorial, click here.

Out of touch and out of our pockets: CAB’s spring concert disappointment

With the upcoming Grand Valley State University Spring Concert on April 6, we are underwhelmed by the lineup of artists set to perform. Given previous concerts featured relevant and big-name artists like T-Pain, Yung Gravy, All-Time Low and Bo Burnham, this year’s lineup feels like a substantial step down in terms of quality and anticipation.

Headlined by former American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina, GVSU’s Campus Activities Board (CAB) is taking a decidedly pop-country approach to this year’s concert. Joined by Julia Cole and the already famous yodeling Walmart kid, Mason Ramsey, Alaina will have big shoes to fill following last spring’s concert.

We don’t deny that Ramsey is talented, but his appearance as an opener seems more like a gimmick due to his past as a meme, rather than a thought-out choice on CAB’s part. At the same time, Alaina is arguably a less interesting choice. None of us on the Lanthorn Editorial Board actually knew of her prior to the spring concert announcement, and many other students vocalized their disappointment on CAB’s initial Instagram post.

To read more of the Lanthorn Staff’s editorial, click here.

Columns

Domestic violence is not funny, Matt Rife

“Comedian” Matt Rife is rightfully under fire for clips in his new Netflix stand-up “Natural Selection” surrounding domestic violence.

For context, Rife said he entered a restaurant and the hostess had a black eye. He said he knew where the black eye came from, insinuating that someone purposely had given that to her. He then went on to make a joke about how he didn’t want someone with a black eye representing the restaurant, and she needed to go back to the kitchen so no one saw her. If that wasn’t already offensive and insensitive enough, Rife then continued on and made a joke saying if she knew how to cook in the kitchen maybe she wouldn’t have gotten the black eye in the first place.

Many people did not find this “joke” funny, so Rife quickly received backlash from viewers. After being under fire, he posted a public “apology” on his Instagram story stating, “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told — here’s a link to my official apology,” which included a link to a medical site that sells helmets for persons with disabilities. Not only is Rife poking fun at domestic violence victims, but he is also blatantly making fun of people with persons with disabilities. Instead of doing the right thing by apologizing and taking accountability for his actions, Rife created a bigger problem.

To read more of Maddie Zimmerman’s column, click here.

Grand Rapids’ top 5 greatest bars

As a Grand Valley State University senior who turned 21 going into this school year, I now consider myself a connoisseur of the downtown Grand Rapids bar scene. I journeyed from my Allendale apartment by bus or Uber, and stood in the entry lines in the cold and rain, to concoct this list of five of the best places to go out.

To read more of Elizabeth Schanz’s column, click here.

OSU’s dance team took home the trophy, but at what cost?

The last few years, I have noticed the Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals become increasingly popular because of the competition’s increased visibility on social media with many routines posted on YouTube and TikTok. The world of dance teams and competitions are not new to me, as I competed in UDA Nationals all four years of high school. However, the attention and popularity that the 2024 UDA College Nationals have gained among college students is undeniable.

During UDA Nationals, which took place the weekend of Jan. 12-14, Ohio State University’s (OSU) dance team competed their Division 1A Jazz routine to “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. The routine, which placed first overall in the category and division, was powerful and emotional. The work that goes into learning, perfecting and performing a competitive dance routine is nothing short of incredible and OSU’s dance team always shows up and shows out. However, the work of the team in my eyes is overshadow by the unfortunate truth that OSU’s jazz routine was choreographed by Travis Wall, a choreographer known for sexually harassing multiple dancers and peers, including minors.

To read more of Chloe Schram’s column, click here.

New NFL rules may change football’s dynamics

Many changes have been brought to the NFL’s games this offseason. Owners of the NFL voted to pass two game changing rules that will be in effect starting in the 2024 season. The first rule change was to adopt a low-impact kickoff– previously used in the XFL. In addition, hip-drop tackles were banned and would result in a penalty if used.

I look forward to the new kickoff rule being implemented next season. The ball will still be kicked from 35-yard line with the new regulation. Every player on the kicking team, other than the kicker themselves, will now line up with at least one foot on the returning team’s 40-yard line. During this new kickoff, no players can move until the ball is fielded by a returner.

To read more of Sam Nowotnik’s column, click here.

I was a freshman in 2020, the peak COVID-19 pandemic, and to be frank, it was horrible. No one was left in the dorms, various dining halls were shut down throughout the year including Fusion in the lower level of Kirkhof Center and classes were all online– minus my 8 a.m. bio lab (of course). I felt as if I had been robbed of my entire freshman experience, as most students felt during the height of the pandemic. It was nothing but isolating my freshman year, and what was especially isolating the dining hall food options were. 

On a good day, there were only a handful of places to eat from my freshman year. The closest dining hall to my dorm was Kleiner Commons, the most commonly visited place for freshmen to eat. During my entire freshman year, only the lower level of Fresh was open, and the only places I remember that were open on weekends were the rice bowl place in Fresh’s lower level, which no longer exists, The Grill and a couple of other options with limited hours. If you had wanted to eat on campus past 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday, good luck. You’d better have had a supply of macaroni and cheese cups and a microwave in your dorm. 

Additionally, there have been other issues with campus dining. For instance, five campus dining venues were closed in the fall 2021 semester due to a lack of staffing.

While there are more dining locations open compared to what I remember in 2020, people still have many different issues with Laker Food Co.’s dining options.

Currently, GVSU is planning to put a Chick-fil-A in Kirkhof Center (after I graduate, of course), but the plan is currently halted. Either Chick-fil-A will become a dining option at GVSU or a new food venue will take over the location that previously held Subway. Is this one option enough? You would think that by paying tens of thousands of dollars in tuition, there would be plenty of dining variety.

What about students with celiac disease? What about students with peanut allergies? What about lactose-intolerant students?

Although there is currently an allergen-friendly dining option in Kleiner called “True Balance,” I’m sure students tire of only having one food option on campus. If you’re vegetarian, kiss your dining plan goodbye.

My roommate freshman year had very severe celiac disease. I remember that during the first week of classes, I would spend 30 minutes with her at every meal in the dining hall, trying to find something other than salad that she could eat. It was hard for me to watch as she settled for salad, and she even ended up lowering her dining plan, opting to buy her own food due to the lack of options.

It is also laughable what the college expects people with allergies to eat. Even more, I can’t imagine being vegan at GVSU.

If you did eat meat, the meat at GVSU’s dining halls was so bad my freshman year that there was a popular meme about how raw the school’s chicken was. I remember posts on social media and freshmen leaving Kleiner don’t seem happy with the food on GVSU’s campus. Another time that year, my friend sent me a video, and the entire inside of his chicken sandwich was pink. Completely raw. In my freshman year, I’d bet many students were quickly converted to being vegetarian because of the all too often uncooked meat. 

GVSU has a long way to go in terms of improving dining halls and food options for students. My hope is that in the near future there will be more dining locations. The GVSU 2023 Housing and Residence Life Master Plan highlights potential renovations to dining options including the Blue Connection. I hope this will increase the options that are offered, especially for those with food allergies, intolerances and dietary restrictions.

This upcoming NFL draft that will take place from April 25 to 27 has given teams the opportunity to set their franchise up for success in the years to come. With the potential for key NFL players’ movement, the NFL is shaping up to be a new league– something I am really looking forward to. Seeing teams who used to be at the bottom rise in standings is refreshing and makes the league more interesting. It’s refreshing to see teams other than the same top five make it to the Super Bowl.

The draft this year has many talented players who are claimed to be “generational talents.” Notable players in the draft include quarterback Caleb Williams, quarterback Jayden Daniels, wide receiver Marvin Harrison JR and offensive tackle Joe Alt. Players like Marvin Harrison JR and Joe Alt have been involved with football their whole lives, having watched their fathers play and succeed in the NFL.

The draft also has a lot of good offensive players. With such a competitive draft class, many players that were predicted to be picked higher or go first in their position could fall back a few picks.

The Chicago Bears have found themselves in an excellent position after trading their first-round pick last season. The Bears will now have the number one overall pick and pick number nine. With two picks in the top 10 and recently adding veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen, the Bears have set themselves up for a great season. The Bears will more than likely draft Caleb Williams, meaning he will be walking into one of the best positions any rookie QB has ever walked into before.

The Arizona Cardinals, who have also been at the bottom of standings in recent years, are walking into this year’s draft with 11 picks to work with and the number four overall pick. With the amount of picks they have, the Cardinals can create a great core or even trade picks for players. The team has a chance to get out of the low-ranking position they have been in for years with either route they take.

Apart from the draft, many key players who have been with teams for years are making big moves, including Saquon Barkley from the Giants to the Eagles, Kirk Cousins from the Vikings to the Falcons, and Henry from the Titans to the Ravens. While new trades and signings are happening every day, these are guys I never expected to end up switching teams. The change will be good for teams and fans, as they get to watch games that are new and entertaining.

Seeing teams rebuild and turn their franchises around is what keeps NFL games from being repetitive. The transformation in teams from being on the bottom to actually being playoff contenders is so fun to watch. At the same time, new rivalries will be made and new favorites created. I think this year will break a pattern in football that we have seen for multiple seasons, leading to new teams creating their dynasties.

In New York City from March 25-27, there was a man (or multiple men) randomly punching women in the face with no rhyme or reason. There has been a pattern: the people getting punched are women, mostly white and 20 to 35 years old. These instances gained widespread recognition when many of the women posted on TikTok leading to discourse on the app and off. 

All of the headlines are focused on women getting punched, assaulted and having concussions, but where are the headlines that attribute this violence to being committed by men? Headlines should reflect the truth and show that these actions are not random, but heinous crimes committed by men. It is never a woman’s fault if she is walking to her destination and is violently attacked by a man.

Mikayla Toninato, a student at Parsons School of Design, was badly injured from being punched. Her jaw was broken on both sides and she lost three teeth. She was just walking home from school.

Another woman who was punched, Olivia Brand, shared a similar story on TikTok.

“I literally just got punched by some man on the sidewalk. He goes, ‘Sorry,’ and then punches me in the head,” said Brand.

A TikTok influencer, known by the name Halley Kate, posted a video after being attacked. She said the attacked caused her to fall to the ground and blackout.

A man, Skiboky Stora, 40, has been arrested in Kate’s attack, but NYC police are unsure at this time if he is tied to all instances of violent punching that have been reported. The same man was previously arrested in December for two other alleged assaults. Kate’s attack will be his third arrest in the past six months. 

The justice system is failing women by letting these violent individuals back onto the streets, resulting in the same crimes being committed against women. This type of violence is unacceptable and can never be justified in any instance. This goes to show that a woman can be doing something as simple as getting coffee in broad daylight and wake up on the ground with a welt on their head the size of a goose egg. 

This begs the question, why aren’t more people stepping in to help these women, and other survivors of assault. If you have a gut feeling that something isn’t right, do something. If you see a woman being followed by a man and you can make her feel safer in any way, step in. It is the bare minimum in making the world a safer place for women. 

Sometimes making a woman feel safer is as simple as not walking too closely behind her. Sometimes it looks like walking a woman out to her car if you notice someone following her. In more serious situations, you should alert security if you see something that needs to be further looked into. By doing these simple things, you could save someone’s life. 

No one, especially vulnerable women walking down a populated street, deserves to fear for their lives at any time. 

I look forward to the new kickoff rule being implemented next season. The ball will still be kicked from 35-yard line with the new regulation. Every player on the kicking team, other than the kicker themselves, will now line up with at least one foot on the returning team’s 40-yard line. During this new kickoff, no players can move until the ball is fielded by a returner. 

This rule change has been needed, as the lack of attempted kickoff returns over the past few years have been very low. This will bring excitement back to kickoffs. It will introduce a safer, low-impact approach, since kickoffs have been the most dangerous plays with high speed collisions. Safety aside, it will also be refreshing to see more kickoffs that do not result in a touchback. There will be newfound importance placed on having a great kick returner and being able to effectively stop a return. 

On the other hand, the ban of the hip-drop tackle may cause more harm than good to the NFL. A hip-drop tackle “occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto the ball carrier’s legs during the tackle.”

According to the NFL, the hip-drop tackle results in a lower risk to player health and safety. I am really glad to see player safety being a main priority and the reason behind the rule changes. I just hope this reduces injuries significantly. However, there is high risk associated with rule change. Players will be trying to find new ways to tackle, which might cause different injuries to take place during games. 

Since the rule was officially passed, many current and former NFL players have taken their thoughts to social media. JJ Watt, former three-tie NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and other defensive players expressed frustrations over making it harder to tackle opponents. Many people joked that the game was turning into flag or “two hand touch” football.

“Just fast forward to the belts with flags on them,” Watt said on X.

Miami Dolphins Safety Jevon Holland also voiced his opinions about the new rule, posting on X, “Breaking news: Tackling Banned.”

The hip-drop tackle change could cause many issues and change the way the game has been played for years. The NFL has been criticized by fans for the amount of penalties called in game-defining situations. With this new rule, picking out a hip-drop tackle during a high speed play will be hard and may lead to false penalties.

It seems like NFL football is turning more into an offensive game, with an uneven playing field for defenses. Many recent rule changes have all been catered towards defense, which makes it harder to play and not cause penalties. It is no longer an even playing field on both sides, considering all of the restrictions defensive players have.

With this being said, I expect to see more missed tackles, defensive penalties and higher scoring games. All things considered, I eagerly look forward to seeing how these regulations are enacted in the 2024 season and the impacts the changes will have on the sport as a whole. 

I think it is important for celebrities to speak up about issues going on in the world, but I sometimes find that people will heckle celebrities to get more than just an answer. While I agree that celebrities should voice their opinions and spread awareness to different issues, I think that pushing for more just brings out inauthenticity and fake sympathy. Not that the sympathy from celebrities really ever changes anything, but regardless, sometimes less is more.

Holding public figures and famous people accountable for their actions and own beliefs is also important, and it is difficult to accept that some celebrities are not going to have the opinions we want them to. We can hold singers on a pedestal and preach the lyrics of their music, but at the end of the day, they are still people with different thoughts about each little issue we come in contact with. Grounding yourself and becoming aware that famous people are just people and we might not like their opinions can help push celebrities off of the throne in one’s mind. 

I often find myself wishing I knew the opinions of certain famous figures, especially in pop-culture. I realize that I do know many of the general standpoints of my favorite music artists especially, which is part of the reason I like them and find some sort of relatability to them. For me, knowing the views of certain public figures may lead me to respect them more. 

Some people feel that politics need to be kept out of pop-culture and music. While I understand the idea that “not everything is political,” as many people say, I also believe that someone’s views can share the respect they have for others. Of course, a celebrity can say they support the LGBTQ community but still treat the people they work with poorly. Politics can be important to know, but they do not determine everything about a person, especially when they are famous and we don’t really know what they believe behind closed doors.

It is impossible to know how celebrities actually are when the camera is not on, so it’s important to understand that one celebrity should not be everything to a person. It is fun to have a famous person to follow, watch on TV, and follow their music closely if it’s of your liking, but it’s important to recognize that they can never be a perfect example of anything; they are just random people who happen to have become famous.

In regard to holding celebrities accountable, I definitely feel that there are certain things that can not be ignored. Whether that is donating money or providing some kind of help to people in need, or even just spreading awareness about humanitarian issues, famous people have such large followings that their platforms should be used for good. In today’s day and age, there are so many ways we can spread information, whether that is through news channels, social media, newspapers, books and more. Even so, some people choose to ignore or push aside the issues going on in the world. This is when I feel celebrities should speak up. It does not have to be constant or artificial, but I think they should speak up.

If a celebrity is actively contributing to something negative, they need to hold themselves accountable and get educated. On the other hand, once a celebrity voices their opinion, the public must learn to accept it. We can choose to turn away from that person and decide we don’t like them anymore, but sometimes these famous people are not going to be who we want. 

We should be doing our own research, not expecting random celebrities to provide us information and awareness about different issues. 

Of course it is fun to have someone in pop-culture to look up to, but the reality is that they are still people with opinions that might not fit what many people may want.

When it comes to people’s careers and jobs, the stakes are higher and AI’s involvement raises concerns and distrust among many people. People are more likely to oppose than favor AI’s involvement in reviewing job applications– and for final hiring decisions. Adults decisively want human judgment, according to the Pew Research Center.

On the contrary, I favor the use of AI in the application process because of the benefits it has to offer. I also think its use in hiring won’t be going away anytime soon. 

There are a few things that make AI extremely different from a human reviewing resumes and pushing applicants through the next round of the hiring process. One of the main benefits of AI is fairness. AI is better at treating all applicants the same and avoiding the human bias that could play a role in the process. Regardless of age, race and gender, applicants can feel assured their review is only based on their work and skills they have. Consistency in the way assessments are made day by day creates balance in the hiring process.

Bias and consistency are, and have been, issues with the human reviewing process. Pew Research Center came to the same conclusion. AI has benefits regarding bias. 47% of people say AI would do a better job than humans at treating all applicants the same way– about three times the share of those who say it would do worse (15%). The idea of eliminating bias is a huge component for me, as human bias could be the difference between a new career and getting denied a chance at an interview. No one deserves to get denied a chance at an interview because of bias.

AI is also a beneficial tool when there are hundreds of applications for a single job. I am in the middle of a job search, and almost all of the jobs I apply for have hundreds of applicants for the same role. When this happens, the time each resume is analyzed and reviewed is shortened. Your resume might get a five to 10-second glance before getting set aside. It doesn’t allow for your resume to be viewed to its full potential. I don’t think a couple of seconds’ look at a resume is enough to decide if someone is a good job candidate. Using AI would allow for each word to be scanned and understood to see if your resume should be pushed through to the next round. 

There are also instances where many resumes don’t even get looked at. Working to fix up your resume and submit a cover letter is time-consuming. Knowing that traditionally, it might never get seen is a major concern, but AI can quickly look through resumes, ensuring that doesn’t happen.

Considering these major benefits, I favor the use of AI for reviewing resumes in the initial round of hiring. However, there are still concerns with artificial intelligence such as its impersonality and lack of human judgement. While I think there is always room for improvement, such as refining key words that are scanned, the benefits artificial intelligence can provide right now are crucial changes that have been needed in the recruitment process for a long time.

The athletic activity is taking the stage away from boxers who have trained their whole lives and are far more talented. It shows that just because someone has more talent and skill doesn’t mean they have fans who are willing to watch every fight. Audiences complain about not getting a quality fight out of influencers, but are passing up the opportunity to watch trained professionals with over 15 years of experience.

Many professional boxers spend their lives learning how to fight and in turn, are compensated with just enough to pay their trainers, gym costs and other fees, in addition to living expenses. Influencer boxing includes large payouts for the athletes, just for showing up. Even if they lose the fight in the first round, they are still walking away with millions. Seeing influencers with minimal training get paid much more than what a pro boxer gets paid is infuriating to many in the sport and fans alike.

This has brought about ethical questions regarding influencer boxing and ruined the legitimacy of several fights. With that much money on the table for influencers to fight each other or professionals, many believe the fights are staged. It doesn’t come as a surprise to me, since most publicity stunts leading up to a fight are all for show and to get a larger audience such as the Paul and KSI matchup in 2019. Now, more than ever, people are questioning the authenticity of boxing, which shows that the sport’s recent negativity has been derived from influencer boxing. 

Many of the fights are matched up based on what will get the most views, not size or skill. YouTuber Jake Paul is notorious for boxing retired fighters or people he knows he will win against. On July 20, Paul is scheduled to fight former professional boxer Mike Tyson, who is 57 years old. Personally, this is something that I never thought I would see.

Safety is also of concern because boxing can be very dangerous, especially if one or both fighters aren’t properly trained. During influencer fights, I have seen countless punches to the back of the head or punches while the athlete is down. These are both very illegal moves that can cause serious injury. When fighters don’t have proper training, the sport becomes all the more dangerous.

Whether it be safety concerns, questioning the fights’ legitimacy, or opportunities being taken away from other boxers, it is becoming more prevalent to see influencer boxing as an issue by boxing fans. These fights are focused on publicity and money, and while they bring a spark of media attention to the sport, influencer fights take away from the actual art of boxing.