The newest trailer for “Zoolander 2” follows the main characters, Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and his fellow model buddy Hansel (Owen Wilson), from the 2001 original as they deal with their inevitable replacement by newer, fresher-faced models. But one of those new faces is sparking quite the controversy: an eyebrow-less Benedict Cumberbatch as a gender-flexible androgynous model named All that Stiller and Wilson find confusing. In the trailer, Stiller asks Cumberbatch if the character is a male or female model, and Wilson follows up by asking, “do you have a hot dog or a bun?“

LGBTQ groups, trans advocates, and many onlookers are not pleased. Los Angeles Magazine called the trailer “sexist and transphobic” and called out the movie for using women and trans individuals as punchlines. Sarah Rose, an LGBTQ activist, created an online petition calling for a boycott of the movie for “its offensive representation of non-binary individuals!” The petition refers to Cumberbatch’s character as an “over-the top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals. This is the modern equivalent of using blackface to represent a minority.” Rose also argues that “by hiring a cis actor to play a non-binary individual in a clearly negative way, the film endorses harmful and dangerous perceptions of the queer community at large.” As of now, the petition has almost 10,000 signatures. The Zoolander team has made no official response to the criticism.

Overall, 2015 has been such a pivotal year for androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals. Between influential public figures sharing their own personal histories of struggle with gender identification, and the subsequent media coverage of many different peoples’ stories, there has been a significant growth in knowledge and awareness of gender identification. We have begun the groundwork to a change in the ways in which we view gender and identification altogether. Is “Zoolander 2’s” proposed depiction of Cumberbatch’s character a mockery of this movement, or a testament to society’s increased comfort level with these issues that we are able to satirize them? Although progress has been made, the LGBTQ community still faces violence, stigma, and misunderstanding. This social movement toward better understandings of gender fluidity and identification is still in its infancy, and “Zoolander 2’s” lack of sensitivity may ultimately hinder this progress.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post LGBTQ Groups Are Not Happy with the New “Zoolander 2” Trailer appeared first on Law Street.

Rene Hoover, whose son Alex suffers from a terminal heart condition, refuses to allow her son to return to school in fear that school officials will not allow him to die naturally. She’s now locked in a battle with the school over how to proceed and best care for her son.

Fourteen-year-old Alex Hoover is autistic and suffers from aortic mitral valve stenosis, which occurs when the aortic valve narrows and restricts blood flow. Hoover has endured years of hospitalizations, four catheterization procedures, and continues to receive hospice care twice a week for his condition. Alex’s mother told the Decatur Daily that she does not want to put her son through another procedure. Although doctors may be able to help prolong Alex’s life if he were to go into cardiac arrest and be revived, his mother believes that his quality of life would be greatly diminished.

Rene explained:

That would be the rest of his life, surgeries and treatments. As a kid with autism, it is very hard on him mentally and physically because he doesn’t understand. Just typical doctors’ appointments are extremely hard on him. For my son, I choose quality, peace and happiness over that.

Alex’s autism has hindered his ability to speak, and because of that his mother obtained an advance directive to guarantee that medical professionals “do not resuscitate” if Alex were to go into cardiac arrest.

But the problem is that Limestone County school board officials have refused to honor the advance directive. Do not resuscitate orders only apply to individuals 19 or older in the state of Alabama. With the lack of a state of federal policy on how schools should handle a situation like the Hoover’s, the school administration has decided to follow standard medical procedure. Rene Hoover requested that she attend classes with Alex for a few hours each week to ensure that she can make medical decisions for him, but the school declined based on a policy about how much time parents can spend on campus. Rene said in response:

My child has a right to be there just like any other child in that school … For him to not be able to go to school and finish out the last days that he has, it breaks my heart.

From a policy standpoint, the school administration is put in a tough position here. However, the administration could be doing more to protect Alex and his mother’s wishes for him as members of the school community. Obviously the nature of Alex’s situation is unique and devastating, and there is no question that he deserves to spend the remainder of his life happy with his friends in school. The school has an opportunity here to set the standard for how schools around the country respond to the unique needs of students (and their families) with illnesses.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Alabama Mom Battles School Over Treatment of Terminally Ill Son appeared first on Law Street.

In July, President Obama became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison when he traveled to the El Reno Correctional Facility in Oklahoma. While there, he addressed the inmates, discussing the importance of rehabilitation and job-training to ensure their success after serving time behind bars. Now, the President is taking action to help former prisoners reenter society, a key part in his push to “overhaul the criminal justice system.”

Yesterday, President Obama laid out initiatives to help ex-inmates get jobs, housing and education, while also providing $8 million in federal education grants to fund communities establishing reentry programs. The President also has plans to visit Integrity House, a substance abuse treatment center in Washington, D.C., to meet with convicted drug offenders and discuss ways to get their lives back on track. According to an official statement from the White House:

President Obama will continue to promote these goals by highlighting the reentry process of formerly-incarcerated individuals and announce new actions aimed at helping Americans who’ve paid their debt to society rehabilitate and reintegrate back into their communities.

The difficulties that ex-inmates face reintegrating into society are so often overlooked for a variety of reasons. While in prison, inmates are ripped away from society, which not only impacts their own self-perception and worth, but the rest of society’s perception of them. They become a separate entity; an enigmatic group of deplorable beings who are so different from “us.” This mentality leads to indifference toward the fundamental human rights and needs that ex-inmates need just like everyone else: protection, security, stability, and other basic elements of human life.

President Obama is paving the way for us to change the way we view ex-inmates, and truly give them a chance to rehabilitate and move on with their lives. Countless studies and articles have been published around the world on this issue, arguing that stronger programs and systems of reintegration and rehabilitation will lessen recidivism rates in crime. The execution of President Obama’s plan to better help ex-inmates reintegrate into society may be the beginning of a change in crime culture in the United States, and in the world.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post President Obama Unveils Plan to Help Prisoners Reintegrate into Society appeared first on Law Street.

Earlier this month the CNN/Multichoice Africa Journalists Awards were held in Nairobi, Kenya, featuring special guest Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. Although his arrival was not so punctual, he made up for his tardiness by giving a “very frank” opening remark about how news in Africa is being reported by both local and international media.

Reporter for The Nation Nigeria, Lekan Otufodunrin, attended the event and commented on the African leader’s candor. “Expectedly, he lamented the emphasis on negative reports with not much attention being paid to some positive developments on the continent,” Otufodunrin recounted. Otufodunrin also discussed the obligation that African media forums have to share negative stories in addition to positive stories, to ensure that African leaders work hard to make a better standard of living for African citizens.

However, as Kenyatta noted, this multi-faceted obligation is not similarly shared by international media outlets, which consistently depict Africa as a dark hole, composed of corrupt leaders, violence, and general dysfunction. For example, this recent article by the Associated Press discusses the need for more food in southern Africa, reporting significant droughts and subsequent severe poverty. This article supports the idea that Africa is so dysfunctional that not only can it not support its people, but it can’t even address the issue at all. However, in contrast, Kenyatta pointed out that “child mortality rates fell by an average of forty percent in Africa in the period under review,” a fact that didn’t receive the same type of international recognition. By only consistently reporting on negative events, many international media outlets fail to highlight not only the growth that is happening in this part of the world, but the natural beauty and culture that is already established within the many different African nations.

“Why exaggerate African failure? Why ignore African success?” Kenyatta questioned. His questions are beyond valid. Why are stories of African growth and success so far and few between in international media? International media forums create a skewed perception of Africa to members of their audiences, which creates a domino effect perpetuating racism and violence rooted in ignorance.

International media also fails to differentiate the different countries in Africa, sometimes making it seem like Africa is just one country. For example, CNN recently published an article entitled “Mall the Merrier: Africa’s Growing Appetite for Shopping,” in which a cultural shift in capitalism in Africa is assumed to be the same in all African countries.  This dynamic established by international media takes away from what makes Africa such an incredible addition to the global community. Each African country has its own distinct culture and people, making the continent incredibly diverse. A change in the international media’s depiction of Africa is going to have to start on a national level, within African media forums. Once those media forums begin celebrating the success and growth within their country, it will influence a different depiction of Africa on an international level.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Reporting in Africa: President Uhuru Kenyatta Explains How We Can All Do Better appeared first on Law Street.

Last week, Houston-area mother Roni Dean Burren vented her frustration on Facebook over the wording of a passage in her son’s “World Geography” textbook. The book called African slaves in the United States “workers” and “immigrants.” Dean-Burren’s post and corresponding video have since attracted an immense amount of feedback, drawing millions of eyes on Facebook. McGraw-Hill has now responded to this outcry, concluding that the wording does not live up to the publisher’s standards.

Initially, McGraw-Hill released a statement saying that it intends to change the online version of the book immediately. Dean-Burren combatted this, arguing that most schools don’t use online versions, and the current print version if not changed will remain in libraries and classrooms for the next eight to 10 years. McGraw-Hill then issued a statement saying that it will in fact be changing the wording in the book’s next printing. The company is also offering supplements to be inserted in the current books.

There are so many issues with this wrongly worded passage. The classification of slaves as “immigrants” and “workers” not only completely diminishes the horrific nature of the malicious institution, but it incorrectly depicts the relationship between African slaves and the Europeans that had already settled in America–the very relationship that has resulted in the skewed perceptions and discrimination that African-Americans continue to struggle with today. The passage also goes into detail about the arrival of other Europeans who come to work as indentured servants “for little or no pay,” while there is very little mentioned about Africans’ status as slaves. Dean-Burren called this characterization of slavery within the passage as “erasure.” African slaves that “migrated,” as the textbook described, during the Atlantic slave trade between the 14th and 17th century, were not “workers.” They were brutally kidnapped and taken from their homes against their will, treated like animals and torn apart from their families, and brought to a foreign land as less than human. The were then physically and mentally abused and forced to do manual and degrading labor. The United States was built on the swollen and whipped backs of these slaves. To incorrectly communicate that in a textbook is a great disrespect to these slaves and the generations that have followed them.

The significance of this issue goes beyond honoring the lives of these slaves, and the generations that have followed them. Students needs to know what the world has been through in order to make informed decisions later in life. They need to know that we once lived in a world where being a person of color, or a different religion, or even being a woman, meant that you were less of a person. McGraw-Hill should be doing more to remedy this issue within this passage of its textbook–the ramifications could be a lot worse than it thinks.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post McGraw-Hill to Edit Textbook that Refers to Slaves as “Workers” appeared first on Law Street.

Winona, Minnesota native Thomas R. Page was charged last Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in St. Paul with illicit sexual conduct while overseas. For the past 25 years, Page has been a teacher in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan and Togo. Homeland security started investigating Page in June 2012 in Togo, and discovered that he had assaulted young men while teaching in these countries.

According to the charging document, Page admitted to sexually assaulting two boys while in Cameroon during a 2012 interview with U.S. investigators. In the report, Page described knowing children from the beach and some would visit his house, often staying overnight. He added that he would swim with the children and have them sit on his lap. He also mentioned that he gave the children money, buying them food and paying for school as well. When authorities questioned Page about charges against him in Cameroon, he admitted to having oral sex with two boys and giving money to the boys’ family.

Often cases of sexual assault involving Americans abroad are talked about in the context of a consistent stereotype: a do-gooder or academic Western woman goes to a developing country and is tragically targeted and taken advantage of by a resident of that country, like the case of the American raped in India in 2013. While cases like these are a reality and deserve mass media coverage to spark important conversations, there are many other rape and sexual assault cases that occur abroad that are of equal importance in which the Western party is not the victim. Cases like Page’s are rarely covered in the media, although it is a significant issue in developing countries. Just a couple years ago, an American teacher was arrested in Japan, admitting to similar inappropriate relationships as Page. The nature of the relationship between Western volunteer teachers and their pupils can cause inappropriate situations like this to happen. The pupils often idolize their teachers and are mesmerized by their appearance, knowledge and kindness. Because of this dynamic and the lack of conversations in certain parts of the world about sexual assault in schools, it becomes easy for some predators to find victims.

Protection and education are the keys to remedying issues of sexual assault of children by these volunteer teachers. Educational philanthropic programs that send people abroad need to do just as extensive background checks and interview processes as they would for those applying to be teachers within this country. On the other end, rural schools abroad should be hesitant in accepting foreign teachers, and communicate to children what sexual assault is and means. Necessary action should be taken on both sides of this issue to protect children in developing countries around the world–Page’s case is just one of many.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Minnesota Native Charged with Committing Sexual Abuse While Overseas appeared first on Law Street.

Last week in Kansas City, Missouri Tyrone C. Brown went into a community auditorium expecting to hear a presentation from law enforcement officials to help end violence in his community. Instead, to his surprise, he watched a slide show of mug shots of people the police were cracking down on. Brown then saw a familiar face pop up on the screen–his own–linking him to a criminal group that had been implicated in a homicide. Brown, who relayed this story to the New York Times, described feeling “disturbed,” acknowledging that he has been involved in crime but has never been involved in a killing. But Brown’s reaction to this accusation is just what the authorities desired. Brown’s situation is an example of an experiment taking place in police departments around the country, in which authorities have started to use complex computer algorithms to try and pinpoint people most likely to be involved in violent crimes in the future. Unfortunately, this tool might end up being more harmful than helpful.

This strategy combines aspects of both traditional policing, like paying attention to “hot spot” areas or communities or close monitoring of parolees, and more technological data like social media activity and drug use statistics. The program applied to Brown’s case is referred to as the Kansas City No Violence Alliance, assuring Brown and others that “the next time they, or anyone in their crews, commit a violent act, the police will come after everyone in the group for whatever offense they can make stick, no matter how petty.”

Although the goal of this program, and similar programs, is to do everything possible to prevent crimes from happening and may be benevolent, this is not the way to achieve that goal. This program only perpetuates the enormity of our racial profiling problem. The nature of these programs are essentially spitting in the face of the Black Lives Matter movement and other related groups. These programs say they are using a “complex computer algorithms” to try and predict crime, meaning authorities will be relying on the very skewed and racist demographics of those who are charged with crime. The nature of these programs could forever put a halt to building more positive relationships between the police and those who are too often targeted and subsequently charged with crimes–people of color.

How can reform of the system and those involved in crime be possible when programs like Kansas City No Violence Alliance are spreading across the nation? This vicious cycle will only continue with police “pinpointing” individuals who live in poorer areas or who are people of color. Over the last few years, in the midst of infuriating tragedies like the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, there has been important outcry and work toward reforming flawed institutions. Sadly, programs like the one implemented in Kansas City and across the country are working against this positive progression. There is a way to both combat crime and to stop racial profiling, and these programs are not the answer. 

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post To Serve and Protect? New Police Program May Perpetuate Racial Profiling appeared first on Law Street.

Earlier this week, “Empire” star Terrance Howard confessed that he hit his first ex-wife, describing that he “lost his mind” and “slapped her in front of the kids.” This confession isn’t exactly coming out of left field. Over the last couple of years in his various marriages, Howard has been accused of slapping, punching, and strangling his partners, living up the dark nature of his character on “Empire,” Lucious Lyon. Howard attempted to justify his deplorable, violent behavior with his first wife Lori McCommas by saying that she was talking to him “real strong.” With his second wife, Michelle Ghent, Howard claims that she tried to “mace him” and that he didn’t mean to hurt her, he was just trying to get her away. Howard’s relationship with his most recent wife, Mira Pak, appeared to be healthy and strong, until she mysteriously filed for divorce earlier this year.

Although Howard’s relationships have all been multi-cultural, this situation still brings up important issues of black love and the relationship between black men and women. The media’s coverage of black celebrity figures’ violence against women opens up different conversations about dynamics within relationships, but black relationships are the least discussed.

But they shouldn’t be. Black women have notoriously been at the forefront of movements standing up for issues that plague black men. Black women have historically fiercely defended the rights and desires of black men. During the civil rights movement it was women–wives, daughters, sisters, cousins, mothers, and grandmothers–who stood up for not only their own issues but those of their brothers, friends, fathers, and husbands. During the 1992 Rodney King riots, we saw black women weeping for black men, and accepting the harsh reality that the police were their enemy. Even now with the Black Lives Matter movement, we see black women leading the charge to remedy this social issue that directly attacks black men. Black women have taken on the social issues that have plagued black men for the last couple of decades.

However, this support is not reciprocated. Hardly ever do you see black men standing up for issues regarding and experienced by black women. Black men often do not speak up for issues of beauty, professional advancement, abuse, assault, and general vulnerabilities that are unique to the black female community.

Thankfully, we are starting to see a shift in a lack of misrepresentation of black women in the media. Viola Davis, star of the thrilling ABC television series “How to Get Away with Murder,” just won an Emmy for her incredible portrayal of her character, Annalise Keating, giving a spectacular speech on the difficulties and lack of opportunities black women face. Taraji P. Henson, Kerry Washington, and Megan Good are also changing the game, proving that black women are leading women too. This positive representation directly affects black relationships and love. The more it is widely understood that black women are real, strong people who are overcoming yet still dealing with issues that are a part of their identity, the quality of these relationships and communication within them will be transformed. The media plays such a pivotal role in this transformation, and it is so exciting seeing the growth of positive representation of black women in television and film, regardless of the actions of some of Hollywood’s leading men like Terrence Howard.

Hopefully this growth will motivate black men to act proactively in supporting the advance of black women in society. It is going to take more than black women speaking up to start to change the nature of not only black relationships, but society in general. Silence and inaction is the equivalent of destruction. Support can only lead to success for all.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Terrence Howard Reveals Domestic Violence: Do Black Men Support Black Women? appeared first on Law Street.

September 1 was just another day for most people around the world. For some students, it was the beginning of a new academic year. For others, it was just another Tuesday. In Japan, however, it marked a terrifying spike in suicides among young people. Seventeen-year-old Nanae Munemasa , who has struggled with bullying and resulting suicidal thoughts, credits this mysterious tragedy to the end of a jubilating summer break and a return to a school environment in which many students are emotionally and physically bullied.

In her interview with CNN, Munemasa revealed that this toxic academic environment resulted in her leaving school for almost a year, a decision that was supported by her mother, Mina. In her opinion, Japanese cultural “collective thought ” is prominent in schools, where students are encouraged to think and function in a unified manner. This dynamic results in the destruction of individualism, and promotes the ostracism of those who dare to march to the beat of their own drum.

Is this idea of “collective thought” detrimental to students? Although this cultural norm is found more dominantly in Eastern cultures, many aspects of Western educational systems include activities that embody and encourage an emphasis of the collective over the individual, like school sport teams, for example. As a member of a sports team, you are encouraged to replace your own individual needs with those of the collective team. You are encouraged and motivated by this sense of a team unit, a unit much bigger (and less important) than yourself. This concept is taken extremely seriously, especially within the United States where sports provide a chance to go to college for many American students. Other teams outside of sports and even group projects teach a similar mindset.

This isn’t the first noted case of “suicide clusters” in schools, nor is it unique to Japan. Over the last couple of years similar cases have popped up around the United States as well. In 2009, Palo Alto was hit with an unexpected curve ball when four teens jumped on the track of an oncoming train. Three years later a similar case was reported in Lake Forest, Illinois, catalyzed by the suicide of high school freshman Will Laskero-Teskoski. In both cases, psychologists and experts on teen suicides attribute this tragedy to teens looking at those who have successfully taken their own life and think that they can do it as well. They are inspired and influenced by others dealing with similar issues mostly caused by emotional and physical bullying.

Does this mean we are on our way to having a similar issue as Japan? How can educators preach the importance of working with others, while protecting the importance of the individual? The September 1 student suicides in Japan suggest a need for innovation in how to education future generations worldwide.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Suicide Clusters: Collectivism vs. Individualism in Education appeared first on Law Street.