Newsroom

For Monday’s class Sundays&Dior and jarjarbinks2319 shared several news topics highlighting on-campus events, drug use, natural disasters, rape, and connections to the book Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall.

Local News: JMU RFL Bake Sale For Childhood Cancer Awareness
For our local news story, we wanted to highlight JMU’s Relay For Life Organization. If you haven’t heard of Relay For Life the organization is a year-long fundraiser for The American Cancer Society. The organization hosted a bake sale the following day after our newsroom (Tuesday, September 24th, from 11 am-3 pm, Warner Commons) in support of childhood cancer awareness month and The American Cancer Society’s Gold Together Initiative.

This information was provided via the Outreach Director of JMU Relay For Life. Gold Together Link

National: NPR Exclusive: US Overdose Death Rates Drop
National surveys compiled by the CDC are already showing an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6%. The national decline is now estimated to be at least 15%, meaning as many as 20,000 fewer fatalities per year, but 100,000 people are still dying due to overdoses per year. The street drugs are more toxic than ever, and a lot of those who use them say they’re just being safer about it now. Many people who use do so with friends nearby who would provide aid in the case of a potential overdose and many carry naloxone (Narcan). While the decline being seen is outstanding, we need to be cautiously optimistic and continue to put forth effort to further lower the drug death rates.

Global: Inmates Escape as Nigerian Prison Wall Collapses in Floods
Floods across Africa have displaced many people from their homes and eliminated access to essential resources. Due to the floods a prison wall collapsed and while officials were transporting inmates to a “safe and secure facility,” 281 escaped. Officials have only been able to recapture 7 since the escape. The public has received information about the escapee’s identities but there has not been much updated since.

Global: Frenchman Drugs and Rapes His Wife
A recent court case has caused outrage in France, as it has been released that a 71-year-old Frenchman, Dominique Pelicot, has been accused of drugging and raping his then-wife Gisèle and recruiting 50 other men online to come to their home and rape her while she was unconscious. He told the court that the 50 others “all knew” they were being invited to sexually assault her. He stated that “I am a rapist, like the other in this room,” referring to the other men on trial. Pelicot administered anti-anxiety medication to Gisèle over 9 years, from 2011 to 2020. However, he stated that “[Gisèle] did not deserve this”, asked for forgiveness, and that he hopes to win back his former partner, who filed for divorce after finding out about the abuse. Pelicot has had medical issues that caused him to delay the hearings because of his absence to appear in court. Gisèle has requested that the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, causing protests in France with a demand to end rape and in support of Gisèle.

Discussion
The global news stories sparked a strong discussion relating to last week’s facilitation of Mikki Kendalls Hood Feminism. The class spoke about the severity of the floods in Nigeria and how this will affect essential resources, such as food security. We also discussed the Frenchman’s wife’s story making connections to #fasttailedgirlsandfreedom discussing rape culture in today’s world and how it is important to show support for our victims.