.

May 2016

Minimum Wage Raised In New York and California

The economic implications remain in question
By: Kathryn Nicolai
On Monday, April 4, both California
Governor Jerry Brown and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed similar legislation to gradually increase each states minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next several years. Under Californias plan, its minimum wage, currently one of the highest in
the nation at $10 an hour, will rise to $10.50
in 2017, $11 in 2018 and a dollar each year
through 2022. State workers in New York
City will earn $15 an hour by the end of 2018
while state workers outside of the city will see
wages rise to $15 by the end of 2021. Both
states have incorporated provisions to suspend the wage hikes if economic conditions
worsen.
The economic implication of a minimum wage is an extremely controversial topic among politicians and economists. The
minimum wage increases are unique to California and New York for essential reasons. A
dollar in California or New York does not go
as far as it would in other states. Prices in
these two particular states are amongst the
highest in the nation. In Mississippi, where
prices are the lowest in the nation, a worker
would have to earn about $11.60 per hour to
have the same purchasing power as a $15
hourly worker in California. In other words,
at those levels, both workers can buy virtually the same goods and services (The Washington Post). Additionally, cities of lower income in California such as Bakersfield and
Fresno, are likely to notice larger economic
effects due to the new wage legislation than
high-wage cities such as San Francisco and
San Jose. Bakersfield, Fresno, and other cities with similar low-wage earnings are going

to have a majority of their

residents wages impacted,
rather than cities with
wage earnings comparable
to San Francisco where the
majority of wages are already above $15 an hour.
In New York, about 6.5
percent of the states permanent and seasonal work
force would see an increase in pay, according to
the governors office, with
the vast majority of those
living upstate or outside the
city (The New York
Times). Those in favor of
the new minimum wage
share the belief that consumers will spend more
money after wage hikes and in turn cause a
positive impact on the economy.
In addition to raising the minimum
wage, the legislation will include a new 12
week paid family leave program. This program will allow up to 12 weeks of paid time
off from working to care for a new child
(including foster or adopted children) or any
family member with a grave illness. With it,
New York becomes the fifth state to mandate
paid family leave in the nation. The duration of the leave, while still far from the 40
weeks guaranteed in the U.K. or even the 16
weeks provided in Bangladesh, doubles the 6
weeks allotted in California and New Jersey,
and triples the 4 weeks of paid leave offered
by Rhode Island (New York Magazine).
However, the changes will occur over time.
Starting in 2018, employees will be allotted
up to 8 weeks of leave a year, 10 weeks in

2019 and 2020, and finally 12 weeks starting

in 2021.
The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour or about $15,000 annually.
Bernie Sanders has long been a supporter of
increasing the federal minimum wage to $15
an hour and used the actions of California
and New York to promote his stance. On the
other hand, Hillary Clinton supports a $12
federal minimum wage nationally, allowing
local governments to go higher. She explained, [...] I support a $12.00 national federal minimum wage. That is what the Democrats in the Senate have put forward as a
proposal. But I do believe that is a minimum.
And places like Seattle, like Los Angeles, like
New York City, they can go higher. Despite
New York and Californias actions numerous
states and the federal minimum wage remains a controversial topic.

Death with Dignity

Allowing terminally ill patients more autonomy through assisted suicide
By: Ashlin Leen
Assisted suicide is the act of a doctor
intentionally providing a terminally ill person
with the means to commit suicide by counselling him or her about lethal doses of drugs
and prescribing or supplying lethal doses of
such drugs. It is becoming more common for
people who have terminal or painful diseases
to participate in assisted suicide. Some find
comfort in having control over their own
death, some do not want their loved ones to
see them suffer and some want to avoid suffering altogether. As of 2016, there are only 5
states that allow assisted suicide. In every
other state, it is illegal to help anyone commit
suicide or withhold the knowledge that a person plans to kill himself. However, the act of
assisted suicide for medical reasons continues

to be a hotly debated topic.

Some argue that terminally ill patients
can get better or live much longer than expected by medical experts so to offer them
assisted suicide would take away the possibility of a miracle recovery. It is also possible
for a medical mistake to be made such as a
misdiagnosis that could lead to someone unnecessarily taking his life through assisted
suicide. The Journal of the American Medical Association Vol 284, No 4, reports that
medical errors may be the third leading
cause of death in the United States at 225,000
deaths per year. Half are medical mistakes,
including 2,000 deaths/year from unnecessary surgery. People also fear that allowing
assisted suicide would normalize suicide and
encourage more and more people to consider
taking their lives rather than fighting their

disease and even take away the incentive to

find a cure. The teen suicide rate increased
since assisted suicide was legalized in Washington and Oregon. Many people simply do
not believe it is necessary and will do more
harm than good to society and the loved ones
of the terminally ill.
Although many people disagree with
the practice of assisted suicide, there is also
an overwhelming amount of support for it to
be legalized throughout the United States.
Many people see assisted suicide as a right
for the terminally ill to control their own
death and avoid the suffering and embarrassment that their disease might bring. These
patients wish to spare their families from
having to watch them suffer with no way to
help. Although a loved one dying through assisted suicide will still be difficult for the famContinued on Page 8

PANTHER FEATURES
Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents
And how they help protect our community
Robert Elmen is an FBI Special Agent who
follows and investigates terrorists and other
potentially dangerous people who could be a
threat to the country. To get a better understanding of what the FBI does, Pleasantville
Posts Callie Sullivan questioned him about
his experiences with the Joint Terrorism Task
Force.
By: Callie Sullivan

tion, AQAP and obstruction of Justice. On

April 20, 2015, Ali Zea was sentenced to 25
years in prison where he currently remains.
This case involved many components of the
FBI and our partners including the federal
prosecutors at the United States Attorneys
Office, the British government, surveillance
specialists, intelligence analysts, the New
York City Police Department, and specialty
groups within the FBI.

1. What is your official job title?

4. How long is training for FBI agents?
Im an FBI Special Agent working on the
FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force
Back in 1998 when I went through the FBI
Academy in Quantico, Virginia, new agent
training was 18 weeks. Today, new agent
2. What does a normal workday look like for training lasts approximately 20 weeks and
you?
incorporates the following four major areas
of study:
There is no normal day on the FBI's Joint Academics - covering all aspects of crime
Terrorism Task Force which is what makes
and law enforcement, e.g., white-collar
the job so exciting. Were responsible for recrime, organized crime, drug investigasponding to and investigating terrorist
tions, law (76 hours in law alone), forensic
threats in the United States. An agent can
science, ethics (5 hours), behavioral scihave their day planned out at 8am and by
ence, computer skills, interviewing skills
9am the phone can ring with a new threat
etc.
that requires an immediate response. Some Firearms (113 hours) New agents at
days Im in the office writing reports, other
Quantico fire approximately 5,000 rounds
days Im interviewing suspects and debriefduring their 20 weeks of training.
ing informants, and still other days, I travel Physical training and defensive tactics (73
around the world to meet with U.S. governhours)
ment agencies and our foreign counterparts Practical exercises (198 hours)- Periodito share information and develop strategies
cally students have to show how much
for stopping terrorist attacks.
they've learned by participating in multidisciplinary practical exercises staged in
the mock city, Hogan's Alley.
3. What is a case you are most proud of investigating in your career?
5. How long would you say you spend actively
The case I am currently working on is proba- working out in the field and how long behind
bly the one I am most proud of but since it's the desk?
still classified we can't get into any details so
I'll give you my first runner up. From ap- There is no perfect answer to this because
proximately January 2012 to October 2014, I every investigation takes on a life of its own.
was one of two agents investigating a Long From my experience, during the early stage
Island man named Marcos Alonzo Zea, also of an investigation a lot of time is spent out
known as "Ali Zea" who planned and at- on the street conducting witness interviews,
tempted to join al-Qaeda in the Arabian Pen- surveillance, and meeting with sources. As an
insula (AQAP) and travel overseas in order investigation matures the time "behind a
to wage violent jihad. Ali Zeas attempt to desk" may increase as your investigative
join AQAP took him from John F. Kennedy techniques become more sophisticated such
Airport (JFK) in New York to London en- as electronic surveillance which really isnt
route to Yemen, however Ali Zea was accomplished from behind a desk.
stopped by British authorities in London and
returned to the United States. Upon Ali Zea's
return to the United States, he was inter- 6. What previous experience is required to beviewed by investigators and closely moni- come an agent?
tored. Despite being returned to the United
States by British authorities and being inter- The FBI has traditionally sought out those
viewed by investigators, Ali Zea continued to with law enforcement, law and accounting
plot by encouraging and supporting his co- backgrounds. Recently, the FBI has placed a
conspirator who was also planning to travel new emphasis on considering prospects with
and fight jihad. After learning that he was professional or extensive educational experiunder investigation, Ali Zea destroyed elec- ence in intelligence, languages, computers
tronic media on his computer in order to ob- and the sciences. Every new agent is required
struct the investigation. The FBI's Computer to have 3 years work experience. From my
Analysis Response Team (CART) was able to own personal experience, my academy class
conduct a forensic examination which re- had everything from prior military and law
vealed an assortment of violent Islamic ex- enforcement personnel to a social worker and
tremist materials. On September 9, 2014, Ali former high school teacher.
Zea pled guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organiza-

7. What do you think made you qualified for

the job?
A lot goes into being qualified for the job as
an FBI Special Agent. I would say that being
drug free and a good member of society are
two very important characteristics that help
people to become FBI agents so be mindful of
everything you do in high school and especially the stuff you do after your 18th birthday. There is no room for drug dealers or users in the FBI, especially when we are tasked
with investigating crimes against the United
States of America. On top of that, on a more
personal level, having accepted leadership
roles throughout high school, college, and the
United States Army, I had unique experiences that I was able to articulate during the FBI
application process and helped supply the
foundation for a career as an FBI agent.
8. How long have you been with the Bureau?
I have been with the Bureau for 17 years.
Mandatory retirement for all FBI agents is
the last day of the month of your 57th birthday. All new agents must enter the academy
prior to their 37th birthday. 37 to 57 gives
agents the 20 years that they will need for retirement that is why the cutoff to become an
agent is 37 years of age.
9. Is there any other information that you
think people will be interested in hearing
about?
There are approximately 12,000 FBI agents
across the United States who are broken up
into 56 different field offices, each which contain multiple satellite offices called Resident
Agencies (RA's). The FBI's New York Office
is located at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan
and has the following 5 RA's: White Plains,
Brooklyn-Queens, Long Island, JFK, and
Hudson Valley. The New York Field Office is
the largest field office in the FBI and contains
approximately 10% of the agent population,
approximately 1,200 agents and investigates
some of the best cases in the Bureau...that is
why the FBI New York Office is referred to
as the Flagship Office of the FBI.

PANTHER FEATURES
Too Thin to Model
What France is doing to ensure the health of those in the modelling industry
By: Emma Murphy
In December 2015, the French government passed a law requiring that models
working in the country must provide a doctors certificate confirming that they have a
Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18 or above. Italy,
Israel, and Spain have already passed similar
legislation in an attempt to prevent the use of
excessively thin models. With this law in action, agencies and brands who hire underweight models could face charges of up to six
months in prison or a 75,000 Euro fine
($85,477.50). Many modeling agencies in
France are not happy with this law and believe that there are better ways to legislate
such as regulating sample sizes as an industry standard. Ms. Neumeister, Health Teacher at Pleasantville High School said, I understand the safety and the health of individuals and the pressure that companies have on
them to hire very thin models, but Im not
sure if there should be a lawI think yes we
should definitely have guidelines.
Oliviero Toscani, the Italian photographer behind Nolitas controversial antianorexia campaign expressed his concerns
about the ability to enforce the law questioning, How will it work? You can always say:
She was 10 pounds more when she was
booked. The campaign featured model and
actress Isabelle Caro who at the time of the
shoot was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 60
pounds. She had battled anorexia since age
13 and died in 2010 at 28 years old. According to The New York Times, the exact cause

of her death is not known but anorexia was

decidedly a factor.
In 2006, the Italian Fashion Chamber
passed an ethical code of self regulation
which is a set of guidelines that discourages
companies from hiring models younger than
16 or that have a BMI lower than 18. These
guidelines were an immediate success as Italian companies adhered to them even though,
unlike the French law, there are no legal
ramifications.
According to the bill, people with the
condition anorexia nervosa in France number between 30,000 and 40,000, and the average BMI for a women in the country is 23.2,
the lowest average of any country in Western
Europe. Earlier drafts of the bill simply required that models looking to work in France
provide a medical certificate proving that
their BMI was at least 18. However, this was
criticized by some who argued that BMI is
not always the most accurate indicator of
whether or not someone is a healthy weight.
In response to these complaints, the French
government amended the bill making it so
that a health professional must judge whether a model is of a healthy weight, taking into
account age, gender, weight, and body shape.
Critics of the law argue that it will be
ineffective because photos can still be retouched. To combat this, any photos that
have been altered must be labeled
retouched photograph or companies could
face a fine of 35,700 euros ($40,687.29). Trey
Laird, CEO and chief creative officer of
Laird+Partners argues, Its ridiculous If

Isabelle Caro, French model featured in Nolitas 2007

anti-anorexia campaign.
Courtesy of ERNESTO RUSCIO/GETTY

youre going to have Julia Roberts on the

cover of a magazine and you take out some
wrinkles or change the color of her dress to
match with the logodo you need to put a
big warning on it like a pack of cigarettes? At
some point, enough is enough. There are bigger issues for governments to worry about.

Endangered Species
And why we should protect them
By: Kaylei Raefski
Endangered species are animals at
risk of extinction. They can be threatened by
several factors including disease, hunting,
climate change, and loss of habitat. Species
of animals that are classified as endangered
often have either a very small population or
a declining size, meaning they are almost extinct. The rate of extinction for some undiscovered species is much greater than their
rate of birth which means that some animals
may actually become extinct before even being discovered.
The rate at which some species are
disappearing is increasing each year. According to the World Wildlife Fund, of the
total 100,000,000 species on earth, 0.1% go
extinct each year. There is only one species to
blame for this issueours. This phenomenon
is referred to as the 6th extinction crisis, unlike the other five known mass extinction
events in geological history, this is the only
one in which one species is almost fully responsible.
In order to protect and save endangered species, there are several things that
can be done. By recycling and buying sustainable products, one can help keep the animals safe. Also, protecting their habitats is a
big part of keeping these organisms in our

environment. Entire
communities of animals can be saved by
keeping their habitats
clean and protected.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Red List is the
worlds most comprehensive global approach to the conservation status of biological species. On the list, there are 41,415
different species and 16,306 are endangered
species threatened with extinction.
With numerous species becoming endangered, human life can be impacted as
well. The food chain, a hierarchical series of
organisms dependent on each other for food,
is severely impacted by extinctions. If a species such as plankton were to go entirely extinct, larger creatures like fish would be impacted because they consume plankton as
their major food source. Extinction could also result in overpopulation. For example, if
coyotes were to go extinct, there would be
less predators of deer, which would eventually lead to an increase in the amount of deer
in an area. Harvard biologist Edward O.
Wilson estimates that half of the current en-

Kitch Bain/Shutterstock

dangered species will be extinct by the year

2100.
The medical field would also be affected by extinction. There are many medicines that are derived from plants and with
the insect population slowly decreasing,
plants struggle to reproduce because they
count on insects for pollination. In the future, many insects might not have a food
source as a result. This could be described as
a domino effect.
The rate of extinction is rapidly increasing, and many species of animals are
disappearing from existence completely. The
solution to this is being more aware of our
environment and protecting the habitats of
all.

PANTHER FEATURES
Tiny Houses
The Latest Big Trend in Real Estate
By: Melissa Jacobs
A new lifestyle is becoming popular
among the many homeowners facing difficulties with the responsibility of housing expenses. In a report done by Pew Charitable
Trusts, it was found that 8 in 10 Americans
are in debt in some fashion, most often because of a mortgage, according to CNBC.
The tiny house movement as many are calling it, has people limiting their living spaces
and saving money on maintenance, mortgage,
and other payments that come with a full size
home.
There are many television shows that
are publicizing the movement, including Tiny
House Nation on FYI, and Tiny House Builders on HGTV. Tiny houses can range from
about 200 to 600 square feet, and usually cost
from $20,000 - $60,000 to purchase. The custom building of tiny homes has also become
popular, which can range in price, depending
on materials. There are several ways people
can save money purchasing or building their
own tiny house: using recycled materials,
purchasing a used space (a trailer/shed), and
using self and volunteered labor. Many tiny
houses are converted trailers, so mobility is
commonly favored among builders and buyers.
Building a tiny house can be an enjoyable project for all ages: Cathryn Puglia, a
sophomore at Pleasantville High School,
plans to build a tiny house with her father.
When asked about the growing trend, she
said she believes that tiny houses are becoming popular among many people because of
the idea of living off the grid or living
[without the] debts that a full sized house

Boneyard Studios created a unique tiny house village from an old overgrown lot in Washington, D.C.
(Courtesy of Inhabitat )

comes with. She purchased an old camping

trailer for just over $300 and said that the
project will cost about $6,000. Cathryn says
that living in such a small space is very advantageous, and that it will force her to
really think about what I need and whats
just junk that takes up space. She is excited
to live in her own space and learn some fun
new building techniques. I decided on
[building] a tiny house because it seemed
cool. Also, its fun learning all the new skills
that come with building my own tiny house,
such as welding.
Tiny houses are also ideal for many
homeowners due to their environmentalfriendly nature; the smaller the house, the
smaller the carbon footprint. The size of the
house reduces heating and cooling costs, they
can be completely powered by solar panels at

a fraction of the cost to power a traditional

home with solar energy, and there are even
incinerating toilets that help reduce water
consumption (PlanetForward.org). There
are many companies, like Boneyard Studios,
challenging the status quo with their tiny
houses. Boneyard Studios has created a
showcase of four tiny houses in an old lot in
Washington, D.C., with a mission to
demonstrate creative urban infill, promote
the benefits of tiny houses, support other tiny
house builders, and model what a tiny house
community could look like. These companies have shown that living small could be the
solution to the environmental impact and
stressful expenses that thousands of people
face with full-size homes.

Apples 40th Anniversary

By: Hiroshi Yumoto

people in the world have an Apple product.

Some of the main products by Apple include
It has been 40 years since Apple was Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Some new prodestablished by Steve Jobs in 1976 in Califor- ucts were released on March 21, 2016. They
nia. The world that we live in today has been are iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7. The iPhone
greatly influenced by Apples products. Ac- SE is not Apple's least expensive iPhone ever,
cording to Apples announcement last year, but it's a relatively inexpensive smartphone.
there are more than one billion active Apple The screen size is the same as the 5S, 4inch
devices now. This means that one out of seven on the diagonal with the same quality colors
and brightness.
For Apples 40th
anniversary, a flag was
raised at their headquarters in California. The
flag includes an illustration of a pirate drawn by
Susan Kare, a member
of the Lisa (a computer model) development
team. This was done because Steve Jobs once
said, Its better to be a
pirate than join the navy. The Lisa computer had great performance, but did not succeed because the computer ran slowly and
was too expensive. Steve
Apple flies pirate flag to commemorate 40th anniversary (Courtesy of Power- Jobs was in charge of
page.org)

Lisas development, but was removed. Afterwards he tried to make an ideal computer
that many people would enjoy using, so he
was put in charge of Macintoshs development with Susan Kare. Its development was
extremely difficult and the team of over
eighty workers worked more than 80 hours a
week. Much of the success of the Macintosh
was thanks to the development teams painstaking work.
The Macintosh wasnt the only successful product from Apple. In fact, the most
popular Apple product is the iPhone. The
first iPhone was released on June 29, 2007.
Since then, 13 different kinds of iPhones have
been released and have gained support from
many people across world. One of the biggest reasons that iPhone has been a massively
successful product for Apple is design. The
physical design of the iPhone differs significantly from other smartphones such as Android. The iPhone SE, which was released on
March 21, 2016, gained support especially
from women because it was a good size for
people who have small hands. Another reason the iPhone is so popular is that the software is always up-to-date. An iPhone user
will always get the newest version of iOS,
which is the mobile operating system that
runs on Apples mobile devices.

OPINION
New Religious Freedom Bills and Our
Countrys Stance on Gender Equality
By: Isabelle Graj
A controversial debate has been advancing in states such as Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, and
Arizona regarding the issue of the LGBT
(lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender) community and religious freedom. Many of
these states have considered or passed bills
that allow religious and private organizations to deny services to LGBT persons. Although the bills in each state differ, the overlapping theme is: if you are a person with a
strong religious or moral conviction that
marriage is strictly between a man and a
woman and an individual's biological sex is
determined by anatomy and genetics at the
time of birth, then you have the right to deny services to someone who does not adhere
to your beliefs. While most of the country
sees this as discrimination, the supporters of
these laws believe they are protecting an individuals freedoms by preventing people
from being forced to work with or having to
accommodate to people they are uncomfortable with from a religious or moral perspective.

In Mississippi, legislators passed a

Religious Freedom Bill. As stated in the
second section of the bill, for this law to apply to someone, that individual must sincerely believe one or all of the following:
marriage is the union of a man and woman,
legal sexual relations can only occur between a man and a woman, and sex is determined at birth. If you follow these moral or
religious certitudes and you work for a religious organization that provides marriage,
adoption, foster care, or housing, you may
deny those services to anyone who goes
against those previously stated beliefs. That
means allowing the exclusion of members of
the LGBT community. If an individual follows these moral or religious certitudes and

they work for a private organization, they

can deny counseling, fertility services, gender-transition-related medical care, and
wedding-related business services. They
may also establish sex-specific dress codes
or sex-segregated bathrooms in their place
of work.

aspects of life. Although United States citizens are living in a much more progressive
and accepting time where womens roles in
society are almost unrestricted, gender
equality, however you define it, is an assumed, discretionary standard. The progression of LGBT individuals rights has
improved in some states but still, clearly,
needs more support. Without a unified
foundation of rights for all genders stated in
our constitution, it allows each state to interpret gender equality to whatever degree they feel is right. To states with a large
population of religiously driven citizens that
believe any sexuality other than heterosexuality is wrong, gender equality may only
refer to women and men (if even that);
therefore these states can establish
religious freedom laws that restricts citizens who do not identify as specifically a
man or women, or do not engage in tradiAdditionally, Georgia has passed
their Free Exercise Protection Act, however, Governor Nathan Deal was firmly
against the law and sent it back to lawmakers for readjustments. Gov. Nat Deal paraphrased a passage from the Gospel of John
and said [...]we have a belief in forgiveness
and that we do not have to discriminate unduly against anyone on the basis of our own
religious beliefs. We are not jeopardized, in
my opinion, by those who believe differently
from us. We are not, in my opinion, put in
jeopardy by virtue of those who might hold
different beliefs or who may not even agree
with what our Supreme Court said the law
of the land is on the issue of same-sex marriage. I do not feel threatened by the fact
that people who might choose same-sex
marriages pursue that route. Even after
stating his rational perspective, legislators
happily passed the revised version of the
bill.
Seeing that this law, in my opinion, is
an act of discrimination against the LGBT
community, I researched laws and written
amendments in our constitution that could
somehow defend the LGBT community.
Through this process I found nothing in our
constitution establishing gender outside of
equal job opportunities in federal occupations. In 1923, the Equal Rights amendment
was presented to Congress which would
have given women equality, but it was never
passed. There is however the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which states in employment
section VII, that employers cannot discriminate against an employee based on their
race, color, national origin, religion, or sex.
The Department of Justice sent a letter to
North Carolina stating that their bathroom
bill violates the Civil Rights Act. North Carolina believes the Department of Justice is
rewriting the acts laws to help confirm
their political position. The media has covered the bathroom bill in North Carolina a
great deal, with less attention on the religious freedom bills which discriminate
against the LGBT community in many more
aspects.
As of today, there is still no amendment to the United States Constitution that
officially sets gender equality in place for all

tionally accepted relationships.

Laws restricting the LGBT community from parts of society demonstrate homophobia. Someone having a strong notion
that homosexuality is wrong or a sin
has nothing to do with private business
practice, housing, or any service to the public. Not allowing a person services from
your business based on their sexual orientation because it does not coincide with your
religion is not the way American people are
meant get along. America is a free country
in which everyone has religious freedom.
Therefore, everyone has the right to believe
what they want, practice any religion, and
follow whatever lifestyle they please. These
laws supposedly protect your first amendment rights by not requiring business own-

ers to do work with someone that violates

their religion. In reality, these laws just allow people to separate themselves based on
belief. Socially, this is done every day: one
person goes to the temple, another goes to
the church, and another stays at home and
watches TV. These three people may not be
socially connected in any way, but live in the
same free country and should be able to
work together peacefully.

PANTHER FEATURES
SeaWorld is the Real Killer

Photo by Oliver Gratton

By: Ashlin Leen

SeaWorld is a well-known familyfriendly theme park that has been open since
1964. The park features many species of marine animals but is most famous for its killer
whale show. Millions of people attend this
show every year without realizing they are
supporting the inhumane exploitation of
these animals. These whales are highly intelligent, not typically aggressive towards humans, and have the ability to feel emotions;
however, the abuse and cruel treatment they
experience as captive animals can drive them
to insanity and acts of extreme violence.
Being in captivity is psychologically
and physically traumatizing for these captive
orcas. They are taken from the wild, separated from their families, and put into pools
with other orcas that they are unfamiliar
with. In the wild, orcas travel with tight knit
pods of family members that stay together
for life and are very protective of each other.
Within their pods, they rarely make any attempts to physically harm other whales. Each
pod is different and even has different dialects that they use to communicate with orcas
in their family unit. SeaWorld makes no effort to keep pods of whales together and will
commonly take a newborn orca away from
its mother, whereas in the wild, a mother will
remain with her calf for life. Also, when these
whales are forced to be in such close quarters
with other unfamiliar whales, they become
threatened and anxious. These feelings can
build up and eventually lead to acts of aggression during which the orcas have no way
to escape. These fights end in injuries to the
whales such as raking (ripping whale skin
with teeth), blood loss, and even death. On
August 22, 1989, The New York Times released an article discussing a tragic event that
ended in the death of one of SeaWorld's orca
whales, Kandu, which stated that several
thousand spectators at Sea World watched
Kandu, a 14-year-old female, bleed to death
in the show soon after she collided with another female whale, a 25-year-old named
Corky, in an apparent act of aggression.
Both whales had been in an altercation ever
since they had first been placed in a tank together, but no one made an effort to separate
them. Unfortunately, this fight caused a fracture to Kandu's upper jaw which led to fatal

hemorrhaging into the nasal passages. Benjamin D. Deeble, an ocean ecology campaigner
for the environmental group Greenpeace
said, They do not kill each other in the wild
and have never done so in captivity. Kandu's
death is therefore an indication that something is wrong at SeaWorld. SeaWorlds
disregard of the natural lifestyle of this species led directly to aggression by orcas towards other orcas in their tanks. Consequently, living in an environment of constant
physical danger is also extremely damaging
to the orcas mental health.
Even without the aggression from other orcas, the living conditions of an orca in
captivity are anything but healthy. Their
tanks are not nearly big enough for these active animals who are accustomed to swimming up to 100 miles a day in a large and vast
ocean. As a result, these whales cannot exercise the amount that they need to be healthy.
Due to this, as well as stress and an unnatural
diet of thawed dead fish, all captive adult
male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins. SeaWorld claims that this condition is common
but in reality it only occurs in 1 percent of
male orcas in the wild and is a sign of an injury or sickness. Most of the trainers who are
responsible for the orcas have no background
education in marine wildlife and do not have
the knowledge or skills needed to care for the
orcas correctly. This insufficient care is made
obvious when comparing their life expectancies in both captivity and the wild. Orcas in
the wild have an estimated lifespan of 60 to
70 years for males and 80 to over 100 for females, but average age of death for orcas who

have died at SeaWorld is only 13 years old.

The physical health of orcas alone should be
enough to force SeaWorld to end the captivity of these animals.
Along with the physical effects of captivity, orcas also have to endure the damaging psychological effects that have caused
them to become increasingly aggressive not
only towards other whales but also humans.
Orcas are indeed predators, but are also
known to be gentle towards humans and have
never harmed a human being in the wild. For
this reason, SeaWorld is able to have trainers
in the water interacting with these animals.
However, there are records of orcas showing
aggression towards humans when in captivity
and some of these attacks have even resulted
in death. The most well-known case of orca
aggression began in 1983, when a whale
named Tilikum was captured and taken away
from his mother and the rest of his pod at the
age of two. He was then shipped to Sealand of
the Pacific where he was kept in a small tank,
had food withheld from him as a part of his
training, and endured many attacks from two
dominant female orcas that lived in his tank.
He was forced to perform every hour, eight
times a day, seven days a week. The constant
stress and exhaustion even caused him to develop stomach ulcers. When the park closed
each day, the three orcas were crammed into
a tiny round metal-sided module for more
than 14 hours each night. All the whales
could do was float in their small metal prisons until the park reopened the next morning. Tilikum would always emerge from his
confinement with rake marks covering his
body and usually bleeding. On February 21,
1991, Sealand trainer Keltie Byrne slipped
and fell into the orca tank, but before she
could pull herself out, she was pulled to the
bottom of the pool by Tilikum and drowned
as visitors of Sealand watched. The abuse
Tilikum experienced at Sealand from both
the staff and the orcas caused him stress,
frustration, and insanity that eventually led
him to act out in anger. Even after this awful
event, the SeaWorld Corporation ignored the
fact that this practice of keeping orcas captive is cruel and led to the death of a 20 year
old woman and the closing of Sealand of the
Pacific. Even though it seemed obvious that
Tilikum was mentally unstable due to his
treatment in captivity, Sealand quickly sold
him to SeaWorld where they planned to use
him in shows and for breeding.

PANTHER FEATURES
SeaWorld is the Real Killer
(continued)
At SeaWorld, Tilikum was still in a
tank that was too small, forced to perform
every day, and attacked by other orcas. He
continued to be exploited and mistreated, so
looking back, it is not a surprise that Tilikum
killed again. His second victim was Daniel
Dukes, a man who trespassed into the orca
tank with Tilikum and was found the next
morning dismembered and being paraded on
Tilikum's back. The most recent victim of
Tilikum occurred in 2010, an experienced
head trainer named Dawn Brancheau was in
the water with Tilikum practicing some basic
routines when the whale grabbed onto her
and dragged her down into the water. She
was drowned and suffered from head trauma, a severed spinal cord, broken jaw, and
many other injuries. SeaWorld tried to deny
that the whales were aggressive towards
trainers and claimed that Dawn Brancheau
should not have been wearing a ponytail
which the whale innocently grabbed onto as
it was new to his environment. Witnesses
contradicted this by claiming that Tilikum
had Dawn Brancheaus arm not her ponytail.
Also, it is very common for trainers to have
their hair in ponytails while working with the
whales. Therefore, there was little indication
that this was not an act of aggression. There
have been many cases of orcas that committed acts of aggression towards their trainers,
but it is a reaction to the unnatural environ-

ment and unrelenting mistreatment which

they experience every day in captivity. A former SeaWorld trainer John Hargrove stated,
Unfortunately, after all the years of experience that I had, I saw the psychological and
physical trauma that results from captivity.
A massive corporate entity is exploiting the
hell out of the whales and the trainers. Orcas are wild animals, they are not meant to
live in tanks, fed frozen fish, or circle around
an arena while someone stands on their
backs. Being forced to live this way has had
devastating effects on these animals.
In 2013 the documentary Blackfish
was released showing the physical and psychological effects that captivity has on orcas
and SeaWorld has been struggling financially
ever since with declining attendance, lower
admission prices, and falling share prices.
According to a survey from 2014, half of
American adults oppose the practice of keeping orcas in captivity, a rise of 11% since
2012. In an effort to change the public's
view in their favor and combat their financial
troubles, SeaWorld has recently made an announcement that in some of their parks, not
all, they are replacing their Shamu Shows
with a more informative experience in a
more authentic and natural setting that will
inspire people to support orca conservation.
However they have not shown exactly how
they plan to create this natural experience

Cell Phone Radiation

And how it affects us
By: Callie Sullivan
Cell phones are a normal part of everyday life for billions of people. The number
of users in the United States has increased
from 110 million in 2000 to 327.5 million in
2014. There are estimated to be about 5 billion users globally. Over time, the amount
and duration of phone calls have increased
drastically. Additionally, the amount of cell
phone use for other purposes has increased
in general.
With the significant increase in overall use, there are many concerns about the
radiation that cell phones give off, such as
emitting radiofrequency energy, or radio
waves, from their antennas. Radiofrequency
energy is a type of electromagnetic radiation
that can be categorized as either ionizing or
nonionizing, and is determined by its frequency. For example, ionizing radiation is
high frequency (therefore high pressure),
while non-ionizing radiation is the opposite.
According to the National Cancer Institute,
cell phones contain non-ionizing radiation.
The human body absorbs this energy, but it
is thought that only ionizing radiation can
cause cancer. However, there is a chance
that this theory can be disproven.
A common question about cell phone
radiation is whether or not children have a
higher risk of developing cancer than adults.
Since their nervous systems are still developing, they are more vulnerable to cancer-

causing
factors.
Children also have
the potential of accumulating more
years of exposure
to cell phones than
adults.
Many
organizations such as
the American Cancer Society (ACS),
the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and
the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) have conducted
studies to see if there could be some cancer
risk associated with radiofrequency energy,
but the evidence is never strong enough for
them to investigate further.
Several studies are under way to further scientists understanding of long-term
cell phone use and the health effects associated with it. In 2010, a study known as COSMOS (or cohort study of mobile phone use
and health) enrolled about 290,000 cell
phone users 18 and older and will follow
them for 20 to 30 years. Participants in the
study were asked to complete a questionnaire about their health, lifestyle, and cell
phone use. Although studies such as COSMOS seem like the perfect way to get a better understanding of the problem, there are

for visitors and many animal conservationist

are not impressed with this minor change
that will not significantly, if at all, improve
the lives of these animals. PETAs Director of
Laboratory Investigations, Justin Goodman,
also says, Changing the tanks or the style of
show is not going to meaningfully relieve the
animals of suffering. In addition, SeaWorld
has also faced a lot pressure from the law to
end the captivity of whales. U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff very recently introduced
federal legislation that would prohibit the
breeding of captive orcas, end the capture of
wild orcas, and stop the import and export of
the animals. The corporation was recently
forced by congress to stop the unnatural and
forced breeding of orcas in captivity, but SeaWorld continues to fight this decision as it
will make it harder for them to obtain new
orcas.
Although this announcement will
hopefully improve the lives of captive orcas,
the animals will still be in captivity, living in
small tanks, susceptible to violence, and suffering from irreversible physiological damage which is in no way natural for these animals. Their recent announcement is a step in
the right direction but animal activists and
legislation continue to push SeaWorld to end
their practice of keeping these animals captive and release the orcas into the wild where
they belong.

www.globalrisksinsight.com

many other variables that can cause inaccuracies in the study. For example, it is impossible to know if the individual places any
calls using a different cell phone, and it is
also not clear whether multiple users of a
phone are represented on a single phone
company account. Another study is in progress by the National Institutes of Health,
which involves the study of exposure to radiofrequency energy in rodents.
In past years, hundreds of research
studies have investigated the relationship between cell phone use and health problems.
Some have suggested that long-term use may
be linked with certain types of brain cancer,
but more in-depth studies should help gather
all the information needed.

SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Wage Discrimination
U.S. Womens soccer team files complaints against U.S. Soccer Federation
By: Emma Murphy
On March 30th, 2016, five members of
the U.S. Womens National Soccer Team filed
a federal complaint against the U.S. Soccer
Federation (USSF) to the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission in regard to wage
discrimination. The complaint was filed by co
-captains Carli Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn,
forward Alex Morgan, midfielder Megan
Rapinoe, and goalkeeper Hope Solo on behalf
of the entire team. They claim to earn as little
as 40 percent of what players on the mens
national team earn even though they won the
World Cup last year.
U.S. Soccer officials have argued that
the mens national team grosses about double
the revenue that the womens team does.
However, in their complaint, the five players
cited recent U.S. Soccer financial reports as
proof that they have become the federation's
main source of income. In 2017, for example,
the profits earned by the womens team are
expected to increase by $5.2 million while the
men are projected to earn $1 million less than
they earned this year.
In regards to the complaint, goalkeeper Hope Solo said, The numbers speak for
themselves, [w]e are the best in the world,
have three World Cup championships, four
Olympic championships. [The mens players]
get paid more to just show up than we get
paid to win major championships. Admittedly, the pay structures for the teams are set
up differently: the women receive a base salary of $72,000 a year regardless of the number
of games played while the men are paid a
minimum of $5,000 per game played and
then receive a bonus for winning. While the
income security that the womens team en-

joys seems reasonable, it is actually the

source of the financial inequality. Both
the mens and womens teams are required to play 20 exhibition games every
year. The yearly pay for a player on the
mens team if they lose all 20 games is
$100,000 while a member of the womens team receives a total of $98,000 for
winning all of their games. According to
the complaint, due to the skewed pay
Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
structure for advancement through the
USWNT celebrates after defeating Canada 2-0 in the CONCACAF
rounds of the World Cup, the womens
Womens Olympic Qualifying Championship final.
team earned $2 million for winning the
Courtesy of Scott Halleran/Getty Images
World Cup in 2015 while the mens team
made $9 million without advancing past the up out of the ground, and the turf itself was
round of 16 in 2014.
both low-grade and aging. This was a playing
Its not just money that the womens surface that looked like it hadnt been reteam is worried about, the players also re- placed in years.
quested treatment equal to the men in reSimilarly, when the womens team
gards to playing surfaces. The women are travels for away games they dont receive acfrequently asked to play on turf fields (they commodations equal to what the men are givplayed 8 of their 10 games on turf in last en. While traveling for games, players receive
years World Cup) while the men rarely do daily allowances to cover living expenses. The
the same. In fact, TIME magazine reported per diem allowance for a womens player
that, when the mens national team does during a domestic game is $50 and $60 when
schedule a game at a stadium that has turf, traveling abroad. The mens players, howevthe maintenance crew lays down sod before er, receive $62.50 each for domestic games
the game, regardless of the cost while the and $75 when playing internationally.
same is not offered to the women. Members
Tim Howard, goalie for the mens naof the womens team are concerned about tional team, told Sportscenter, We support
playing on artificial grass fields because of the fact that the women should fight for their
the dangers involved. In fact, the womens rights and fight for what they think is just
team even had to cancel one of the games on compensation. We, on the men's side, have
their World Cup Victory Tour because of the been fighting that battle for a long, long time,
potentially dangerous field conditions at Alo- we certainly know what it feels like. We felt
ha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii. Players from underpaid for a long time. We had to negotithe national team said, in an article on The ate our way to a settlement. Support like
Players Tribune, There were sharp rocks this may encourage the USSF and the USingrained all over the field. They were every- WNT to come to an agreement.
where. The artificial turf was actually pulling

Death with Dignity

Continued from Page 1

ilies, it may be easier than watching them

suffer. When they are not given the choice
to die legally they may still commit suicide,
but they also risk getting their families in
legal trouble. Furthermore, supporters argue that the legalization of assisted suicide
will not impact a doctors motivation and
ability to heal people or find cures for terminal illnesses. Even if a doctor participates
in assisted suicide his first priority is always
getting his patient back to health.
Even though assisted suicide is illegal
in many states, patients do have option of
enacting a do not resuscitate order which
will not allow a caregiver to perform CPR
or administer an electric shock should the
patient stop breathing or suffer a cardiac
arrest. Patients who are not believed to be
able to improve from the treatment they are
receiving in the hospital are given this option because resuscitation is extremely hard
on the patient's body. Every time a patient
is resuscitated they are weaker, may have
had their ribs broken, or only be partially
resuscitated in which their body can be supported on machines but they are brain dead.
For these reasons, it is common for terminally ill patients to choose to be DNR. People with diseases like terminal cancer also

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Tyler J. Ossowski

Digital Content Editor

Sean Cotter-Lem

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Melissa Jacobs

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have the right deny medical treatment because they do not feel the painful treatment
is worth it. They instead spend their remaining time doing the things they love with
the people they love. If a patient is given the
ability to control his or her death in these
ways, why shouldnt one also be given the
option of assisted suicide.
Terminally ill patients feel that physician assisted suicide will allow them to
control their death and give them the opportunity to die with dignity. California has recently passed legislation making it the fifth
state to legalize physician assisted suicide
starting June 9th.

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