Language is gendered. Women are not seen as capable of violence. Freedom can be literal and metaphorical. These are just a few of the topics our cohort discussed in this week’s Newsroom. This week’s newsroom was full of insightful ideas and engaging topics. We began with local news.
Local
This very Saturday, September 26, 2026 First Step is hosting a Glamp Out fundraiser to support their mission. First Step is the only local response to domestic and dating violence in the Harrisonburg, VA community, located in the downtown area. This topic brought forth great conversations. We spoke about how even language can be violent towards women. When a man says he “hit that” or “cracked that” about a sexual situation it is inherently vicious and forceful, keeping language about women oppressive and submissive; in other words: it normalizes violence towards women. When prompted on ways in which domestic and dating violence could be prevented, education was mentioned. Teaching all people, when they’re young, what a healthy and safe relationship looks like. A great resource that was mentioned is onelove, a foundation that works to end relationship abuse.
National
For national news, we discussed the Lindsay Clancy case. Lindsay Clancy has recently been on trial for the murder of her three young children. She pleaded insanity due to her postpartum psychosis. The debate on if she should be held accountable, and if so to what degree, or if she shouldn’t is all over the internet. But that isn’t what we discussed. Instead, we focused on what this case reveals about our society and what is expected of mothers. There is often prenatal care full of doctor appointments while a woman is pregnant, but really those appointments are for the baby. Then afterwards, there is no focus on the woman’s health; just check-ups on the baby every once in a while. We also asked the questions: are women taught how to be mothers? Are women taught how to take care of themselves after giving birth to another life?
Global
Sophie Huang Xueqin, a Chinese activist, has been recently released from her unconstitutional five year stint in prison because she was “inciting subversion of state power”. But really, she was speaking out for the Chinese #MeToo movement, trying to advocate for herself and other women. China is a country where women technically have the same rights as men, but are women really free if they cannot speak their truths? This was brought up in our Newsroom discussion. Are all women free when some remain in situations such as these, or don’t even have the right to vote (Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Vatican City still do not allow women to vote)? We discussed the idea of global feminism and how we can, in some ways, relate to the struggle of patriarchy that women in other countries, like China, face. However, being a women from the United States, we recognize the rights we have and that other women are still fighting for.
