Devastation from Climate Change Leads to Protest
Protesters demanding action to combat climate change (Photo Credit: Zarin Siddiqua)
By Zarin Siddiqua
“Climate change won’t discriminate against religion, politics, race, or age,” said Danysha Reyes, a junior English and philosophy major at Lehman, who joined the New York global climate strike with other CUNY students and local residents on Sept. 20, 2019. She was one of about 7.6 million people from 150 countries who joined the biggest climate mobilization in history, initiated by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist. “If we don’t take care of the earth now, everyone will be directly affected,” Reyes explained.
Lehman students are not only at the front lines of climate activism, but they are also among those most directly impacted by the growing threat of climate change.
Jennifer Monique, a Lehman senior English major, described how her family in Puerto Rico was affected during Hurricane Maria. “I have a sister who has two children, her husband, and her ailing mother, who had no access to clean water. We were unable to get in contact with my uncle, unaware of what happened to him.” Monique added: “I think global warming is definitely real. I think that we should take some sort of action toward helping our planet survive.”
Meanwhile, storm intensity and damages continue to increase. The cost of the devastation from Hurricane Dorian totaled more than $40 billion, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Lorenzo, a powerful storm that reached category 5 overnight, was registered as the strongest recorded hurricane in the north and east Atlantic basin and is listed among the rare and most intense category of storms, CNN reported.
According to the Washington Post, more storms like Lorenzo will continue to form. Already, 15 storms, including about eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes are predicted to hit coastal and inland communities, according to a 2019 hurricane season forecast of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center.
Lehman students also expressed concern about other natural disasters tied to global warming, including increased fires in California and animal extinction.
These fears are heightened in light of President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the United Nations’ Paris Climate Agreement, an international effort to combat climate change. Trump is among the administrative officials who don’t see climate change as an immediate crisis, according to ABC News.
Protesters demanding action to combat climate change. (Photo Credit: Zarin Siddiqua)
Commenting on the need to address the global crisis, Lehman junior accounting major, Miguel Batista said, “Instead of having wars, and discriminating against each other, we should be working together to save the only planet that we live in.”
“My grandma’s house was destroyed when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. All of our sentimental things went along with it, and it was really hard for them. We weren’t able to contact them for months, and we didn’t know if anyone was alive or dead,” said Marissa Morales, a Lehman senior English major. “I very much believe that this is because of global warming and we need to do something to stop more natural disasters from happening.”
To take concrete steps in that direction, Lehman initiated a Puerto Rico service trip to rebuild homes and provide help for the Puerto Rican community after Hurricane Maria damaged much of it in 2017. Under the program called Leadership Involve for Everyone (L.I.F.E), Lehmanites travel the country during spring breaks, in collaboration with CUNY Service Corps Puerto Rico, who served during the summer.
“We created a garden, so people have access to food if there is another storm,” said Lehman senior theater major, Quameisha Moreno, who was one of the participants. “We only help when the damage happens, but what about after? Why should we wait for something to happen? Why not prevent the world from the damage?”
Reyes also affirmed her commitment to activism for change. “We have to realize that global warming is about the world, not just one country. People sense the urgency when millions stand united, despite skin color and ideologies in a country so politically-charged,” she said. The climate protest “was an amazing and empowering experience to stand up for this world and the people in it; I hope to do it again.”
Growing Number of Lehman Students Win Prestigious Awards
A staff member of the Office of prestigious awards talking to students about the Jeannette K. Watson fellowship (Photo Credit: Mayte Peña)
By Beauty Kolade
“It felt so great to know I won, and I didn’t have to pay to study abroad,” said Bolanle Olatunji, a 22-year-old health services administration senior at Lehman who won both a Gilman and a Chancellor Global scholar- ship in the spring of 2019.
Olatunji is one of more than 50 Lehman students who were granted major awards for the 2018-2019 academic year, including Fulbright fellowships, National Science Foundation awards, Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) fellowships, National Institute of Health Summer Internships, National Institute of Health Summer Internships, Jeannette K. Watson Fellowships and Chancellor’s Global Scholarships. In the last year, the numbers have continued to grow.
“For the 2017-2018 academic year, we had $750,000 in awards given; for the 2018-2019 academic year, we had $2.3 million,” Lehman’s Office of Prestigious Awards (OPA) Director Alice Michelle Augustine told the Meridian.
“Awards I have seen Lehman students win the past few years are definitely Jeannette K. Watson fellowships, NSF, REU and a giant increase in Fulbright’s awardees,” said Augustine, who herself won a Jeannette K. Watson fellowship as a Lehman student. Augustine was recognized at Lehman’s convocation ceremony on Sept. 18 for her contribution towards students’ success and outstanding performance at Lehman.
Vladyslav Bodnar working at a radiochemistry lab at Brookhaven National Laborator (Photo Credit: Beauty Kolade)
Lehman students and alumni agreed that more students are participating in the awards process.
“We have seen a major increase in students not only applying for awards but winning them,” said Hillary Frank, an OPA staff member, Lehman graduate and Jeannette K. Watson award recipient. She attributed this partly to outreach, “Through in-classroom presentations and events, such as the Prestigious Awards day, we encourage students to come and see the awards.”
Student winners praised the opportunities the awards provide for them.
“This was an advancement towards my career goal; I want to travel to different countries working with a Master’s in public health,” said Olatunji, who used both her scholarships to embark on a study trip to Spain in the summer of 2019.
Vladyslav Bodnar, a 21-year-old chemistry senior who won an REU award in the spring of 2019 funded by the U.S. Department of Energy said, “It was very nice to win this award, it made me feel worthy and motivated to pursue my chemistry career.”
Bodnar aspires to be a radiochemist and had the privilege to work with great scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory for 11 weeks in the summer of 2019. He explained that his project “was focused on evaluating two resins based on hydroxamate functionality, to conveniently diagnose cancer through radionuclide generator.”
A Jeannette K. Watson Fellow winner, Rene Clever, worked on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and helped with the development of two courses at IBM during the summer of 2019. The 20-year-old computer science major and business management minor won her three-year fellowship in the spring of 2019. She credits “a boot camp hosted by the [OPA],” with helping her access the award process.
As an NSF awardee, Rawan Aldasooky worked at Columbia University during the summer of 2019, where she worked on the fabrication of glycan microarrays, a technology that would allow for the rapid analysis of glycan mediated biological processes. The 20-year-old senior chemistry major won her award in the spring of 2019 and said it helped clarify her future career path. “I was contemplating if I would pursue an MD-Ph.D. degree,” she said, “but my summer experience helped me realize that I do not want to pursue a Ph.D. degree in the future.”
“La Casa de Papel” is Netflix’s Most-Watched Spanish TV Series
Fans of “La Casa de Papel” dress up as characters at New York Comic Con 2019 (Photo Credit: Mayte Peña)
By Mayte Peña
“It has intrigue, action, love... What else do we need?” said Lehman’s 22-year-old junior psychology major, Jaden Reyes of the Spanish crimedrama “La Casa de Papel” (Money Heist). Reyes hailed it as “one of the best television productions I’ve ever seen.”
Reyes is not alone in her enthusiasm. Two months after its third premiere, it remains one of the most-watched foreign language-streamed Netflix originals; its watch rate of 34,355,956 household account views was reached within just the first week of the season on July 19, 2019.
The series’ third installment also reached non-Spanish speaking countries like France, Italy, Portugal, and even India, according to entertainment news source Variety.
Spanish television producer, writer, series creator, scriptwriter and film director, Alex Pina originally planned to launch the series on Spanish television network Antena 3. Netflix was granted global streaming rights and decided to divide the original 15 episodes into 22 shorter episodes across two seasons, released worldwide on Dec. 20, 2017, and April 6, 2018, respectively.
These seasons introduced the audience to the famous criminals who execute the biggest robbery in the history of Spain. After months of preparation, they steal €2.4 billion and Stam Factory, while wearing red jumpsuits and masks like those of Spanish painter, Salvador Dali, an outf it that becomes a symbol of resistance later in the series.
The iconic criminals protect their identities by using the names of famous cities that they would like to visit, such as Tokyo, Nairobi, Berlin, and Rio. Mastermind, Sergio Marquina (Alvaro Morte), known as El Professor is the only exception in the group.
(Photo curtesy of La Casa of Papel’s Instagram)
“I admire the character of the Professor,” said Reyes. “He is not just the mastermind behind the robbery who’s ensuring nobody sabotages the plan, but he also cares for the band members.” Other Lehman students said that they loved the production’s plot intrigues.
“The show is really great and completely different from anything I have seen on TV,” said 21-year-old senior journalism major, Lili Stevens. “‘Money Heist’ gives a message to society: [it] is important for everyone to stick together, otherwise things may not go as planned.”
This is evident after the first robbery when all the characters’ vacations are interrupted once Rio is captured by police officials. Another organized robbery is held to negotiate 13 Rio’s freedom. The series’ ending could form a bridge to a possible part four, rumored to air at the end of 2019, according to The Digital Weekly.
“The direction, actors and plot are all part of an incredible production that keeps us wanting more with no disappointments. I like Tokyo and Nairobi. Both characters have terrific, compelling and powerful backstories,” said senior journalism major, Paola Pontier, 24. “I believe that the resistance movement serves to encourage people to fight back [against] the system.”