Author Spotlight
Susannah Mitchell
Staff Picks is the Harbinger Online’s newest feature. Here, our online editors will share what we’ve discovered online this week that’s made an impression or inspired us.
Co-Editor-in-Chief
I don’t hesitate in calling Urban Outfitters my favorite place to shop, no matter how out-of-my-price-range everything is. But it’s hard to love them when they’re constantly selling controversial items, including this tapestry that’s pretty reminiscent of Nazi concentration camp uniforms. This isn’t the first time they’ve sold Holocaust-inspired items, and it’s as ridiculous as it is infuriating.
Co-Editor-in-Chief
This is a fascinating look inside the mind of Al Sharpton, a former civil rights leader. Not only is this a lovely piece of multimedia, it also takes a look at a typically private leader. In the light of recurring racial strife throughout the country, this feature asks the big questions of someone who lived through the civil rights era, and it humanizes a man who has become a political fixture.
Eastipedia Editor
There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding Brian Williams’ lie at his “NBC Nightly News” gig. With his suspension of 6 months without pay, this leaves the program’s ratings plummeting. The backlash has not only been surrounding him, and even his hometown station has been asking viewers their opinion on the revelation.
Online Opinions Editor
Jon Krakauer, author of “Into the Wild,” “Into Thin Air” and “Three Cups of Deceit” is coming out with a new book on April 21: “Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town.” He takes on the controversial and current issue of sexual assault on college campuses (specifically the University of Montana) and the justice system. “I was angry with myself for being so uninformed…about non-stranger rape in general,” Krakauer said in a statement from his publisher. “I responded by doing a lot of reading, and seeking out rape survivors who were willing to share their stories. The more I listened to these women, the more disturbed I became.”
Online Sports Co-Editor
Central High School teaches Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s most impoverished teenagers, has a student population that is 99 percent African-American and maintains a legacy of football prowess. Sportscenter goes inside this school to see how a recent split isolated a low-income population and to examine football’s role in the lives of students in poverty. The full feature airs Sunday.
Homegrown Editor
With Laverne Cox’s role in the hit series “Orange is the New Black,” there has been a rise not only in transgender awareness in the TV and movie industries, but also a better acceptance of those who are actors. It has recently been announced that Laverne Cox will be “the first regular trans character on a primetime CBS show” as a lawyer in CBS’s new show, “Doubt.” This is another step for the LGBT+/MOGAI community, in that having a primetime spot and casting more trans actors may possibly give them the normalcy they deserve.
Online A&E Editor
This list gives an inside look into fashion week. It’s super cool, and has 25 slides with run downs of different info, from shows to designs, with cool pics as well.
Online News Editor
Get ready for the greatest show on earth to come back on air; that’s right, “The Blacklist” is back. If you’re a fan of action, espionage or anything with criminals then you’ll be stuck on it from the start. Check out season one on Netflix, watch the first half of season two on Hulu and then get ready for a killer end to the second season.
Online Head Copy Editor
The much-anticipated movie adaptation of the best-selling book “50 Shades of Grey” is released this Saturday. However, while hordes of people prepare themselves for the Valentine’s Day showing, many others are pointing out the similarities between the story of Ana and Christian and that of victims of abusive relationships. You only have to Google “50 shades abuse” to see hundreds of criticisms of the book and movie, as well as testimonies from domestic abuse survivors. For me, it was these remade movie posters that really opened my eyes to the book’s supposed “romance,” revealing some of Christian Grey’s most manipulative, coercive and aggressive tendencies. If you, or someone you know, is a victim of domestic violence, or you just want to learn more about this issue, visit thehotline.org
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