Newsroom roundup

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Co-authored by: oliveeoyl, Hippybear13, pleasaogsoccer12

LOCAL

Movements are being made towards a more accessible back-to-school shopping experience for those with sensory processing disorders. Released by WHSV3 in Harrisonburg, VA this past July of 2023, Walmart implemented ‘sensory friendly’ shopping hours across different store locations. This was evident in the Harrisonburg community, with stores displaying signs that denoted these hours to be 8am-10am every Saturday. However, these hours ended earlier this September with the passage of the Labor Day holiday. These accessibility improvements included the dimming of store lights and turning off of televisions to reduce excessive stimuli during the shopping experience. Occupational therapist and Clinical supervisor at JMU, Ashley Riha, shared her experience that may apply to others:

“We function best when we have enough stimulation, but not too much where we either shut down or become hyperactive.”

The brevity of these measures raises the question: why are these measures only implemented for a certain season or shopping habit within the entire calendar year?

NATIONAL

The US Women’s soccer team in the last two decades have overall been more profitable and successful in many categories than the US Men’s team. When they realized the unfair treatment and pay they were receiving in comparison to the men’s team, 5 all-star players decided to step up. Both teams were producing the same efforts, but the Women’s team was more successful in games and created higher revenue with the amount of people in the stands. After a 6-year long battle, both teams are finally getting well-earned equal pay.

GLOBAL 1

Following the South Sudan civil war, around 200,000 South Sudan refugees have settled outside the Ugandan town of Yumbe, called Bidi Bidi. This volume of people makes it one of the largest refugee camps in the world. What was supposed to be a temporary refugee camp has now become a permanent one, which will be developing a performing and arts center. With the majority of refugees being under the age of 18, this center will be an amazing addition that will support young people in expressing themselves and will bring the community together. The Bidi Bidi Music & Arts Centre was conceived by the developer To.org, an organization that works with vulnerable communities and displaced people to improve their quality of life. The center is currently being constructed and designed by the architecture firm Hassell and LocalWorks, a design studio based in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

GLOBAL 2

On Thursday, September 21st, the expansion of political opportunities for women took center stage in India. Legislation was passed that would reserve ⅓ of all seats in the lower parliamentary house for women. India’s parliamentary government is separated into the upper and lower houses, with the upper named the Lok Sabha and the latter named the Rajya Sabha. Following this approval from lawmakers, 14 out of 28 of India’s state legislatures must approve it before it becomes law, which is considered very likely to occur. Concerns of the timeline for implementation arose, as this law would not come into effect until the following year’s national elections. Women make up about half of the 980 million registered voters in the country and are long overdue an opportunity to make their voice heard. With this positive, but delayed, change for women in politics, some male lawmakers felt that their roles were being encroached on. In response to this, the government plans to expand seats through a process called “delimitation”, which is based on the redistribution of seats according to the population recorded by the future censuses. Although it is a positive thing to have more women in government, the action of having to reserve them makes it appear as if we are taking one step forward, and two steps back. Will they receive the same opportunity to have their voice heard once in office? Or will they be pushed to the side because the patriarchy insinuates that they simply “get in the way”? 

“I want to ask, in the past 13 years, women have waited patiently for this bill…But now, our women have been asked to wait for some more years. How many years?”

-Former head of the Indian National Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi