In Memoriam of William Guppy—
Seattle University student William Guppy passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 26 from complications related to an illness. Guppy was a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and a University Honors student. His father is a Seattle U alumnus and his grandfather served Seattle U as Academic Vice President a few decades ago. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in West Seattle and all are welcome to attend. There are also plans to commemorate his life with a remembrance on campus that will be open to all students, faculty and staff. The Spectator staff sends our deepest condolences to Guppy’s friends
and family.
Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz Win Iowa Caucuses—
Iowans voted in the state’s Republican and Democratic presidential caucuses on Monday, Feb. 1. Sen. Ted Cruz was declared the winner in the Republican Party, with 27.6 percent of the vote. In second place was Donald Trump with 24.3 percent, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio with 23.1 percent. Results on the Democratic side were tighter. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won with 49.9 percent of the vote, nearly tying with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who received 49.6 percent. Former governor Martin O’Malley dropped out of the race after receiving only 0.6 percent of the vote in the Democratic caucus. The next presidential primaries will be held on Feb. 9 in New Hampshire.
Flint Water Crisis Continues—
The water crisis in Flint, Mich., continues. The FBI is now investigating the contamination of the drinking water, which has poisoned a number of the city’s residents. To track chances of illness, the city has created a database of over 8,000 children under 6 years old who may have been exposed to lead. Children are the most vulnerable to water contaminants, as it could lead to irreversible damage to their still-developing brains and nervous systems. Residents and advocates continue to protest against the government’s failure to protect Flint’s children. A number of celebrities have shown support; rappers Diddy, Eminem and Wiz Khalifa donated 5,000 cases of water to the residents of Flint with help from Mark Wahlberg. Rapper The Game has also pledged to donate all proceeds from his latest album to the city of Flint.
King County Has Annual One Night Count—
On Friday, Jan. 29, King County held the 36th annual One Night Count to assess the number of homeless people currently on the streets. The One Night Count Coalition, including staff from the Seattle University Project on Family and Homelessness, organized over 1,000 volunteers. Volunteers were spread all over the county to count the number of men, women and children who were sleeping outdoors without adequate shelter between the hours of 2 and 5 a.m. The final count was 4,505 homeless people—a 19 percent increase from last year’s count of 3,772. This rise in homelessness is directly correlated to the spike in evictions in and around King County. The results from this count will be used as valuable data for politicians and advocates against homelessness to receive more funding from the state to combat the issue.
President Obama Addresses Gender Wage Gap—
At a press conference on Friday, Jan. 29, President Obama argued that more needs to be done to get more women into high-paying jobs. He addressed the issue that a U.S. woman worker still makes 79 cents to a man’s dollar, and that workers who are not white often make even less. Obama announced that his administration will require companies to report to the federal government what they pay employees by race, gender and ethnicity. This data will be collected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the government will use it to identify companies that are paying unfair wages. The first reports are expected to be released by the end of 2017. The President has also called on Congress to pass legislation that gives women more resources to fight wage inequality.
“The Birth Of a Nation” Wins Best Picture at Sundance—
“The Birth Of a Nation” was awarded U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 30. The movie—written, produced, directed and starring Nate Parker (“Beyond the Lights,” “Red Tails”)—tells the story of the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in 1831. Fox Searchlight bought world rights to the film for a record $17.5 million after a fierce bidding war with several other companies, including Netflix. Parker described “The Birth Of a Nation” as a passion project with hopes to ignite a process of healing for all viewers.
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