On Monday 4/21, tyrannosaurus_flex and Steelersfan shared local, national, and intergalactic news stories to the class; including JMU graduation, the 2025 WNBA Draft, and the all-female Blue Origin space flight.
All eyes were pointed to the sky on April 14th as Jeff Bezos’s private aerospace company, Blue Origin, completed its 11th human space flight. This flight was unique because it was composed of all female crew members, including pop-star Katy Perry, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, broadcast journalist Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, who is an author and journalist engaged to Jeff Bezos.
While it was proposed as a way to showcase women in STEM fields, the mission is receiving a lot of public backlash. Many are criticizing the mission for its large price tag, environmental impact, and for simply being tone deaf.
Crewmate Gayle King has responded to the backlash, arguing that every mission to space is meaningful. “I wish people would do more due diligence. And then my question is, have y’all been to space? Go to space or go to Blue Origin and see what they do and then come back and say, ‘This is a terrible thing,'” King says in a post-flight interview with CBS extras, linked below.
This isn’t the first time Blue Origin has sent a celebrity to space. In 2022 Star Trek star William Shatner embarked on a Blue Origin flight, which he said “was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered“.
In sports news, the WNBA draft also took place Monday, April 14th. UCONN Basketball star Paige Bueckers (23) was the number one draft pick this year, joining the Dallas Wings. The SEC had 10 players drafted, 7 from the Big Ten, 6 from the ACC, 5 from the Big Twelve, and 5 international players.
Notably not drafted this year was 7th-year senior Sedona Price, despite her delivering TCU’s best season in program history. Sportswriter Michael Voepel told ESPN “Prince’s age (she turns 25 just before this season starts), lengthy time in college (she first enrolled in 2018) and injury history are concerns. But WNBA teams’ biggest issue regarding Prince are allegations of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, which Prince has denied and for which she has not been charged.”
JMU students are preparing to graduate this spring. Students are beginning to participate in yearly traditions: Graduation photos, campus crawl, white dresses, graduation parties, etc. JMU has urged students not to take bricks directly from the quad. Harrisonburg will be extremely crowded, and many families have had to reserve hotel rooms in neighboring cities. There are 39 hotels in and around Harrisonburg, but many are smaller, and thus Harrisonburg does not have enough rooms to accommodate the large number of people visiting for graduation. Surrounding schools like UVA and Virginia Tech will hold graduation on the same weekend. Closer schools like EMU and Bridgewater are holding graduation a week prior. While it is a joyful event, many students are stressed about the large gatherings and logistics of the weekend. JMU’s commencement ceremonies used to take place on the quad but were moved to the basketball stadium following its completion in 2021. Students and faculty have varying opinions on the move, with some arguing that it is more practical and others believing it breaks tradition. Graduation will take place May 15th- 17th. Many have qualms about their graduation time. While different times allow for a larger number of students to have quicker ceremonies, it can prevent friends from celebrating the occasion together.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 