The Argus 2019 Year in Review — The Midwood Argus

What will we remember about last year? Journalism students discuss the good, the bad, the serious, the trivial, the deservingly hyped, and the overrated.

Notre Dame Catches Fire

By NICOLE RABKIN-BEKKER

Paris’s iconic Notre-Dame cathedral caught fire on April 15. The 80-year-old church’s roof burned down, its landmark spire fell, and three emergency workers were injured during the 15 hour blaze. President Emmanuel Macron responded to the damage and the horrified French citizens, stating that the city will “rebuild this cathedral together.”

Building the cathedral was a centuries-long operation that began in 1163, and the project is still technically unfinished. Several notable architects such as Pierre de Montreuil and Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus worked on the cathedral over the years. The French gothic-style edifice is known for its flying buttresses and gargoyles, and it is the most-visited attraction in Paris, topping the Eiffel Tower.

Clearly, this building means a lot, from housing holy artifacts to standing as a beautiful symbol designated in the center of the city. People were horrified watching the fire; the damage done could take decades to rebuild. However, we have hope for this elegant but sturdy cathedral. First of all, this is not the first time it has suffered some extensive damage. It was destroyed during the French Revolution, with its statues broken and its bells melted into weapons. Yet it managed to rebuild itself, and it can do this again. French families have already donated hundreds of millions of euros to its repair. However, they have been met with some skepticism. People have protested over the designation of so much money to an arguably “unworthy” cause. Although there are other places in need of these generous donations, it is important to preserve this iconic symbol of French history and pride.

Notre Dame de Paris. Photo Credit: LeLaisserPasserA38

The First All-Female Spacewalk

By DARLENE LLANGARI

The first all-female spacewalk took place on October 18, lasting seven hours and 17 minutes. The astronauts were Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. There was a live video during the spacewalk which showed Koch and Meir in their bulky white gear outside of a space station replacing a power controller. American officials celebrated the spacewalk as a historical achievement. The spacewalk was supposed to take place in March, but it had to be postponed because NASA didn’t have two “appropriate” spacesuits.

This is a memorable achievement because it opened the door to many more opportunities for women. It showed that women are just as capable as men, even though it took time to get there. Women weren’t able to join the NASA program until 1978. Women have for long been seen as the inferior gender, but things are changing for the better, and it’s starting to show in achievements like this.

This spacewalk can encourage many young girls to pursue their dreams. They can do whatever they set their mind to, because if they are able to be in space, almost anything is achievable. The spacewalk also showed many girls that women are just as strong, smart, and capable as men.

Team Trees Raises $20 Million to Fight Deforestation

By DARNAILIA HOLMES and SARAH CHESSER

Team Trees is a collaborative fundraiser started by popular YouTubers Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) and Mark Rober in 2019. After the YouTubers both reached 20 million subscribers, they set a goal of planting 20 million trees before 2020. Rober started an online donation center setting the price of one dollar per tree. Along with Mr. Beast’s 20 million subscribers, the fundraiser gained popular traction among several influencers, like PewDiePie (69,420 trees) and Elon Musk (one million trees). The campaign hit its goal in less than two months. “We did it! But that doesn’t mean we’re done” is displayed on the official Team Trees website.

This was an important moment because, while many YouTubers work solely for profit, Mr. Beast used his influence to give back to the community. YouTuber Jake Paul, for example, who has 16 million young followers, seems to only care about how many kids visit his online shop. In this case, it’s Lambourginis, mansions, and the “freshest kicks” that kids yearn for. Kids need guidance to set aside materialistic ideals and show that they could easily change the world for the better, even by donating a single dollar, as Team Trees has done. Seeing someone use their power to take action rather than just talking about what should be done is a relief. Today’s generation of YouTubers could make change in the world if they followed Donaldson’s actions.

Game of Thrones Comes to an End

By HONGBIN PAN and JINNAN LI

2019 was the year that the long-running and hugely popular TV series Game of Thrones finally came to a conclusion with its eighth and final season. Set in the fantasy world of Westeros, Game of Thrones is a show filled with violence, suspense, plot twists, and an overall great story. The show had a record high viewership of around 19.3 million for its final episode, but compared to its previous seasons, which got 90 and above rating on Rotten Tomatoes, season eight received a 59% critic rating and an even worse 31% audience rating.

[Spoiler alert!] Many fans were unsatisfied with the show’s conclusion. George R.R. Martin still has two unreleased books in the series, so it was up to the writers to end the show without source material. With multiple seasons of character development and the build-up of the Night King, many felt the writers didn’t do the story justice. The Night King was the physical embodiment of death and was slowing building an Army of the Dead, resurrecting corpses and heading towards the wall in order to conquer Westeros. But all of this build-up ultimately resulted in an anti-climatic, chaotic battle with few meaningful casualties.

Another disappointment was Jon Snow’s lack of a role in the season. Snow has been one of the main characters and a fan favorite since the first season. While many other characters were fighting the Army of the Dead, Jon was not doing much at all. The build-up from the previous season about his surprising backstory also didn’t matter. It had been revealed that he was the direct descendant of a Targaryen king. However, this fact was barely mentioned at all during the last season. Overall, the final season’s writing felt lazy, and this ending was beneath what the series deserved.

Game of Thrones’ Night King. Photo Credit: HBO — Game of Thrones’ Night King. *Photo Credit: HBO*

The First Picture of a Black Hole

By ZILOLA ASHURBOYEVA and ELINA WANG

Thanks to the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), using eight radio telescopes around the world, the first image of a black hole was captured on April 10, 2019 at the center of M87, a galaxy 54 million light-years away. The image illustrates a blurry circle of orange light (hot gas emissions) among complete darkness. The idea of a black hole had existed for more than a century, but no one truly knew its appearance.

This was an exciting moment to many that opened up new possibilities such as learning how black holes shape their host galaxy. Researchers can further investigate this image and observe its behavior. Soon, clearer images of black holes might be taken, and the EHT will be taking pictures of hundreds of other fascinating black holes. Maybe in the future, as science progresses more, researchers could build a telescope for the general public to see the black hole. The curiosity about the universe still goes on. Over the next decade, “we want to make a movie in real time of things orbiting around the black hole,” said EHT director Sheperd Doeleman.

The black hole of M87. Photo Credit: NASA — The black hole of M87. *Photo Credit:* *NASA*

The Death of Nipsey Hussle

By SABINA NORKHUJAEVA

Grammy-nominated rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom in 1985, was gunned down in Los Angeles March 31 at the age of 33. Hussle was an entrepreneur and an activist who was very much involved in community work. He was dedicated to making it out of the “struggle” and hoped to direct youths and the black community towards success.

His sudden death led to an online outpouring of grief and love from the music industry, including Meek Mill, Drake, John Legend, and more. He was mourned not only because of his promising music career but also because of the impact he had on people. He partnered with big companies such as Puma to renovate local schools, playgrounds, and basketball courts. Hussle was reportedly planning to attend an anti-gang violence meeting the day after the tragedy.

By 2018, he had also co-founded a science and technology-focused center for underprivileged youth in his neighborhood. His efforts didn’t go unnoticed; even former president Barack Obama sent a letter sharing his condolences. With everything that he accomplished, and the way he projected his empowerment onto his community and the world, Nipsey Hussle left a legacy.

Alabama’s Abortion Ban

By ASHLEY YE

Alabama’s Human Life Protect Act, signed on May 15, banned all abortions in the state at any stage of a pregnancy. The law only provides exceptions where the fetus has a lethal anomaly. In addition, doctors who perform an abortion in the state will be guilty of a felony and sentenced to jail. However, the U.S District Court blocked the law from going into effect, and it may appear before the Supreme Court this year.

The Alabama abortion ban violates the rights and privacy of women as well as their dignified choice. These reproductive decisions should be made by the individual, not by politicians. States like Alabama, which has a high infant mortality rate, shouldn’t pass a law to force people to remain pregnant against their will, but address the issue in ethical ways. Even public opinion opposes these laws. Data from the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Survey showed that no state had 25 percent of its population supporting a complete ban of abortion, including Alabama, where only one in five people support full abortion bans.

A pro-choice march in Minnesota. Photo Credit: Flickr — A pro-choice march in Minnesota. *Photo Credit: Flickr*

Popeyes’ Chicken Sandwich

By JESSICA ABRAJAN and AYAH HASSAN

The famous Popeyes chicken sandwich made its breakthrough on August 19, 2019. Nationwide, lines reached stretched out the door, to the end of the block, and sometimes even farther. Other fast-food chains took to Twitter to defend their own chicken sandwiches in what was called the “Sandwich War of 2019.” Wendy’s, being the pettiest, posted, “Y’all out here fighting about which of these fools has the second-best chicken sandwich.”

For just another chicken sandwich, Popeyes’ offering was most definitely overhyped and even took an actual deadly turn. A 28-year-old man was stabbed to death outside of a Popeyes in Maryland after allegedly cutting the line to get the sandwich just days after its release. It is insane to think that two men could get into such an intense encounter over a sandwich.

The sandwich itself is not bad. In fact, if we are being honest, it is pretty good, and probably worth a second try (and maybe more). The chicken is amazingly crispy, but it definitely did not deserve the hype it got. There are many other sandwiches from other restaurants that can compete.