Hadid's controversial impression of Melania Trump was aimed at the wrong target

Jen Abele

Staff Writer

Gigi Hadid is a supermodel who co hosted with Jay Pharoah from SNL during the American Music Awards on Nov. 20. Gigi Hadid wanted to show the AMAs that she is also capable of impressions. Gigi’s Melania Trump impression was immediately blasted by social media. Gigi stated. “I love my husband, President Barack Obama,” laughter erupts. “And our children, Sasha and Malia.”  

 Gigi Hadid took to Twitter on Nov. 21 after all the backlash against the controversial monologue defending her performance:“I was honored to host the AMA’s last night and to work with some of the most respected writers in the business. I removed or changed anything in the script that I felt took the joke too far, and whether or not you choose to see it, what remained was done in good humor and with no bad intent. I apologize to anyone I may have offended and have only the best wishes for our country.”

 Gigi Hadid’s controversial impression was about Melania Trump’s plagiarism due to a Trump employee while giving “her” speech at the Republican National Convention on July 18.  Viewers felt the impression was a personal attack on Melania Trump.Why did Gigi continue to keep the controversial skit if she already ‘edited or changed any jokes that went too far’? It’s normal to make fun of Donald Trump when he creates contradicting controversial statements, and it’s expected. Melania made a mistake. Leave her alone!

 Instead of digging into Melania Trump’s RNC speech and what a laugh it was. Think about how embarrassed she must have felt when her speech  used dialogue from Michelle Obama when her husband is running for the Republican Party. Meredith Mclver, a Trump employee staff writer, came forward that she did plagiarize Michelle Obama’s Speech from 2008. Meredith asked Melania to recite passages of Michelle’s speech through a phone call because she mentioned Michelle Obama as a first lady she admires. Meredith then copied down passages that Melania liked, and put them into the speech. Meredith didn’t compare Melania’s speech with Michelle Obama’s later on. In a twisted form of events, Meredith asked to resign, but her request was rejected. Donald Trump explained that everyone makes mistakes and claimed that Meredith would grow from this experience.  

 Gigi shouldn’t have dug her claws into Melania Trump after such a polarizing election. The AMAs are about talented celebrities getting all dolled up to watch as their dreams come true. Creating a controversial impression only added fuel to the fire. Instead of throwing Melania Trump under the bus, take a jab at the Trump employee. Meredith Mclver remains in Trump’s organization. Don’t create comical impressions about Melania’s RNC speech. Instead, criticize Donald Trump for keeping Meredith Mclver on his staff after she made Melania Trump look like a laughing stock. Donald Trump did not support his wife, but Melania continues to show her thick skin. Donald Trump continues to criticize Alec Baldwin’s impression of Mr. Trump, Trump continues to criticize news reporters while he chose retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn for national security advisor whose son retweeted a fake news article, and Trump continues to criticize everyone on Twitter at 3 o’clock in the morning.  

 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halts construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline

Lexi Anderson

Editor-in-Chief

Ever since the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline began in the spring, the Native Americans occupying the land, along with non-indigenous people from around the world, have protested the destruction of sacred native land and the contamination of their water supply from the Missouri river. These strictly peaceful and nonviolent protests, initially started by the Standing Rock tribe and their creation of the spiritual Sacred Stone camp, have been met with extreme, often inhumane police force, including tear gassing, rubber bullets, being sprayed with water, untrained attack dogs, and more. The Native American people, who have already dealt with a long and dark history of being massacred and having their land stripped from them, are now at risk of having a sacred area and a crucial water supply taken right out from under them.

 The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), an Energy Transfer Partners project, is meant to carry crude oil from the Bakken oil field of North Dakota to a refinery in Patoka, Illinois. One of the main problems that tribal leaders have had is that they believe the decision to create the pipeline was made without consulting the tribal government, and that a full assessment of the effects of the pipeline was not carried out.

 The protestors, or water protectors, urging the construction of the DAPL to end, are located in the Standing Rock camps, which are all within one hour of Bismarck, North Dakota. People have gathered from all corners of the world, including people of the last native tribes in England, to stand with Standing Rock. The protesters have emphasized their desire to remain peaceful, carrying out prayer circles and creating camps throughout Bismarck. However, the response to the protests have been not nearly as kind.

 The Morton County Police Department, as well as other law enforcement agencies in the area, have created a highly militarized force against protesters and their attempt to halt construction. Although protesters have not been violent whatsoever, they have been met with excessive, and in some cases, questionably inhumane acts of force in an attempt to dislodge the protesters and their efforts to keep their sacred land and clean water.

 Police claim to be using “non-lethal weapons” to control the protesters. Law enforcement brought in a water cannon and sprayed protesters on the Backwater Bridge during periods of below-freezing temperatures. Others were hit with rubber bullets and tear gas. On Sept. 3, police used attack dogs and pepper spray against protesters, leaving many injured. One particularly intense use of force came from a man driving through a prayer ceremony close to the entrance to a construction site, who pulled out a handgun and fired shots into the air, and ran over protester Vana Dee Worthy’s feet and slashed open her hand, requiring her to receive stitches.

 According to police, many protesters—over 100—have been arrested on a number of  charges, including conspiracy to endanger by fire or explosion and engaging in a public riot. An arrest that has managed to hit the news was the arrest of prominent actress, Shailene Woodley, who was arrested on Oct. 10 on Indigenous People’s Day. She has been very outspoken about the pipeline and has condemned people for only talking about it because her face graced the news. She has brought to attention the important problem which is America’s ignorance of reality. While people across the nation eagerly take pieces of Native American culture and use them to decorate their body at music festivals, use them as Halloween costumes, wear them down fashion runways, and bring them into their homes and lives, they are ignorant of the atrocities laced in Native American history, and, unfortunately, the present as well. The fight to keep sacred native land and culture alive, the culture that so many seem to love without knowing its roots, has never stopped. These people will never cease in their battle against the stripping of their native roots and destruction of vital resources, resources that all humans need, Native American or not.

 UPDATE: On Dec. 4, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted the construction of the pipeline under President Obama’s administration. This is a huge victory, however protesters have remained on the scene because this ceasing of the pipeline can easily be changed under President-elect Trump’s new administration as he makes his way into office. Trump has direct links to and holds stock in Energy Transfer Partners, the builders of the pipeline, so it is easy to believe that he will not be in favor of the stoppage of the pipeline project. For many, especially the native people at Standing Rock, this isn’t the end of the fight. Although this is good news for now, the future remains greatly uncertain.

What to do on a snow day

Kelly Hyland and Taylor Selbst

Staff Writers

It’s beginning to look a lot like winter, and you know that means… waiting for a phone call from Dr. Yanni about a snow day. Before the school stops making lunches and closes its doors, you should plan out your snow days, and fill them with fun activities with family and friends. There are many things you could do on your snow day this winter that are snow much fun!

 Even though you are in high school, it is still necessary to play in the snow. There is no better feeling than building a snowman, making a snow angel, or getting friends together for an epic snowball fight! If you aren’t the type of person who likes to go outdoors, you can always cuddle up with some close friends or your beau to watch movies and drink hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. We suggest the movies Mean Girls, Frozen, or Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

 Another fun activity to do during a snow day is eating every single piece of food in your kitchen. Your parents have  probably stocked up on more than just bread and water, so treat yourself to your favorite foods while they’re still there. Cozy up to a warm fire and make some s'mores.

 Lastly, take advantage of having the day off of school, get caught up on homework, and get ahead on upcoming work. SNOW DAYS ARE THE BEST DAYS, SO SLED YOUR WAY TO A GOOD TIME.

Editorial: Response to the complaint about 'Hate Crimes' article

From the Editorial Board of The Lion's Tale

At the last New Hope-Solebury school board meeting, which took place on Dec. 5, the Lion’s Tale received a direct complaint regarding an article posted in the third issue of the Lion’s Tale, titled “Rise in hate crimes across America post-Trump election.”

 The person who stated their complaint believed that this article did not do a fair job at showing both sides of the story, and called to attention the sources left at the end of the article, which were placed there to enforce the credibility of the hate crime accounts covered in the article.

 We at the Lion’s Tale politely disagree with this accusation. This piece is primarily a hard news piece, calling attention to the unquestionable rise in hate crimes that have occurred since the election. The list of sources were all news pieces from CNN, USA Today, NYTimes, NBC, Time Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. None of these news agencies are strictly left-wing, and are all highly reputable. The writers of the article made a point to only get their information from these neutral sources, which is specifically why they did not look at Fox News, nor MSNBC, two explicitly right-wing and left-wing news platforms. What was addressed in the article was as neutral and unbiased as possible, and reported purely fact.

 Here at the Lion’s Tale, we all work extremely hard on our newspaper, analyze and triple-check all articles, and on top of that have each issue approved by the school administration. In journalism class, we take anywhere from 10 minutes to the entire class period reviewing news from all viewpoints, and are instructed that, if writing a news piece, to remain unbiased and to get information from sources that don’t lean primarily in any direction.

   In addition, we post our articles in an online edition of the newspaper, accessible to all, via the New Hope-Solebury High School website. This online format gives readers the chance to comment on the articles, of which all comments are made public. We gladly invite all of our readers to comment as they see fit, and even share more information with us. We feel that it is important to see stories from all angles in order to write unbiased pieces.

  It is in no way our intention to make any person feel uncomfortable or offended by our writing pieces. While we respectfully disagree in the case of this specific article, it has certainly been an important reminder to all of our staff writers, editors, and advisors to exercise care when presenting news pieces. We thank the given member of the community for their avid readership of our newspaper and their various other comments and inquiries that have helped to make our online edition interactive.

The New Hope-Solebury Lion’s Tale Editorial Board is made up of Lexi Anderson, Bailey Hendricks,

Jelly’s Corner (November Edition)

Dear Jelly,
I have hallway duty. Students are often sitting in hallways without passes. Some of them do not even check in with the library. how can we stop these shenanigans?
-Distressed Hall Monitor

Dear Distressed Hall Monitor,

Thank you for the question!
  Here at Jelly’s Corner we are anti-hall pass as we believe they are dehumanizing, bad for the environment, and detrimental to the health and well-being of the student body.
  I am about to go off to college, but I still need a pass to use the bathroom? Something doesn’t add up, and we aren’t talking about O’Hara trying to do math in his head!
  Hall passes send the message that us students aren’t trusted, and that is very disheartening.
  Here at Jelly’s Corner we believe that students will only have confidence in themselves if the staff trusts us to go to the bathroom without a pass.  

Trust,
Jelly

Ask Jelly:
If you have any questions about life, school or anything you want! Please send them to jellyscorner.lionstale@gmail.com and we will answer them in the next issue of the Lion’s Tale.

Trump’s appeal defies expectations

Danny Doherty
Features Editor

On January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump will become the 45th President of the United States.
A man who called an entire country’s people rapists, murderers, and criminals. A man who has been accused of more than ten accounts of sexual misconduct. A man who has filed bankruptcy four times. A man who has lost nearly a billion dollars in the course of one year. A man who openly bragged about cheating on his wife and grabbing women by their genitals. A man who called for a ban of an entire religion in the land of the free. A man who mocked an autistic reporter. A man who called to build a wall across our southern border, drawing comparisons to a Cold War Germany. A man who has been endorsed by the KKK and failed to denounce their support. A man who never has held political office or served in our military. A man who refused to allow African-Americans into his apartment complexes in the early 1970s.
  This man beat out former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
  A woman who has spent her life dedicated to bettering the people around her. A woman who played a major role as secretary of state in the Navy Seal operation that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden. A woman who stood by her husband when he faced the most intense scrutiny of any president in recent memory. A woman who has endorsed and signed off on numerous bills bettering women’s
See Trump’s Appeal on page 3
Trump’s appeal
Continued from page 2
and children’s rights. A woman whose foundation has raised millions of dollars helping the poor around the world and dedicated its time to raising awareness for issues. A woman who gave others hope in an election where a country was divided, by becoming the first woman to be nominated by a major party for president.
  This article has just listed all the positives about one of the most distrusted politicians in the history of the United States. It has also laid out all of the negatives of the billionaire with the most recognizable individual brand of the past 40 years. In any case, it is telling about what direction the country is going in. Not that the country is insanely racist and going to hell, but that people are fed up with the status quo and don’t like the way government is running. Whatever your view is on the outcome of this election, if there is one takeaway, it is this: People are done with politicians. Brexit showed it and now the US election has showed it. Countries in Western Europe are showing it too--just look at all the opposition to the recent EU-Canada trade deal.

While the World Watches Syria, Who’s Watching Yemen?

Jack McKenna

Staff Writer

If the evening news shows aren’t leading with the most recent U.S. Presidential election insults between the candidates, the news focuses on events in Syria.

 According to U.N. High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), more than 8.7 million Syrians, or roughly 40% of the population, will be displaced by the end of the year due to the ongoing civil war that began in 2011. However, in that same year, uprisings also began in Yemen and the UNHCR estimates that 80% of the 23.3 million people in the area need humanitarian protection.

 International alliances among countries might explain why the West has paid virtually no attention to the Yemeni crisis. Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad has close ties to Russia, the U.S.’s major adversary on the world stage. The U.S. news media has covered the atrocities in Syria extensively because it reflects poorly on Vladimir Putin and Russia. Whereas the main player behind the food shortages in Yemen is Saudi Arabia, America’s strongest ally in the region. News coverage has been limited of the horrible suffering that is ongoing in Yemen, perhaps because the U.S. doesn’t want to highlight the Saudi failure to put down the rebels and help protect civilians.

 In many ways, the crisis in Yemen has become a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the U.S. certainly wants to avoid any entanglements on either side of that dispute. If the U.S. is going to be involved Middle East politics at all, its politicians and its news media should not ignore more than 21 million starving Yemenis.