Bio Dept Invites Speaker Tied to Jeffrey Epstein
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VOL. 27 ISSUE 5 THE KNIGHT NEWS OCT 14, 2020 BIO DEPT INVITES SPEAKER TIED TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN QC Biology Dept Colloquium SEE PAGE 3 Outrage stirs amongst the QC community over Robert Trivers’ connection to Jeffrey Epstein Photo by 123rf.com QC LIBRARY HOSTS BLM PANELS CAREER CENTER GOES VIRTUAL LIVE ACTION MULAN DEBUTS SEE PAGE 4 SEE PAGE 4 SEE PAGE 12 Queens Memory project hosts series of The Knight News sits down with Director Disney’s Mulan revived on Disney+ panels about diversity at QC Zavi Gunn to talk transition to virtual life. streaming service theknightnewsqc the knight news theknightnews.com 2 OP-ED OP-ED: The unfortunate A message from the Editor in Chief: Dear Readers, reality of an online October’s finally here, just a few more months until the conclusion of the fall semes- ter. Like many Americans, I was deeply sad- college education dened by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg fought tirelessly for Daniel Lubofsky Asynchronous classes have been women’s rights, gender equality and on behalf Managing Editor an invaluable workaround to the varying of the LGBT community. Justice Ginsburg schedules of QC students, but those lectures showed the American public that it is possible Whether it be from dining room also require time and energy students to be friends with someone who does not agree tables turned work desks or the comfort have become responsible to find on their with you, as her friendship with the late Justice of one’s own bed, students in own. Rather than having a set schedule Antonin Scalia was proof. As the second wom- Anthropology 238 made sure to log into anchoring their day-to-day actions, students an to serve on the bench, Ginsburg set the bar their twice-a-week Zoom session at 1:40 must keep pace or fall behind while high, looming as a powerful figure to ensure PM. It was another hour and 15 minutes maintaining habits that ensure they never get that the court defined liberty for the American spent trying to avoid the temptation buried too deep under their respective public in the fairest of ways. other avenues of the internet bring, all workloads. The Knight News, October 2020 theknightnews.com 14, whilst zeroing in on the voice emanating “The readings are already Ginsburg opened many doors for women from one of the 20-something virtual homework,” an anonymous student said. across America, to get closer to breaking the boxes. “But I have to watch powerpoints and do glass ceiling. However, Justice Ginsburg did not The professor, who left readings. I have to watch lecture videos open all these doors for women, just so we can Queens, NY for Pennsylvania during and do the readings. There’s a lot more allow the leadership in America to slam them the pandemic, was in the middle of his work.” shut. Please, do your civic duty as Americans lecture until he no longer was. He Unfortunately, professors don’t have a and vote for leaders who can work to repair couldn’t be, not after a bear handbook to afford themselves guidance. Pages the nation. wandering into his backyard caught his are being filled with newfound procedures attention. by the day. Some have even actively On an unrelated note, please join me in The professor let out a taken it upon themselves to make the lives welcoming Johnny Sullivan to the editing staff. genuine “Oh f*ck”, leading his of their students easier with open-note Johnny is a junior theater major, who’s been ac- students to tune out of the lecture and tests and fewer requirements to earn a tively involved with The Knight News this year. look at him with intrigue. The reasonable grade. He’s been an enthusiastic face at the paper, and professor turned his camera and, sure “I’m basically deciding everyone gets has thoroughly demonstrated his willingness enough, a bear could be made out an A if they just do everything in good to serve. His competency in writing journal- through the low-resolution lens faith,” Media Studies Professor Douglas ism articles also makes him qualified for this strolling across his back lawn. Rushkoff said of his students. “I gotta bend new role. If you sign up for an article for our “That’s something that’s only over backward because I don’t know what coming issue, there’s a likelihood of working gonna happen on Zoom,” one of the people’s situation is.” with Johnny as he begins his new role as editor! attendees claimed after class. There’s long been an inherent give Queens College students are and take to the traditional in-person Sincerely, no strangers to online learning during college experience. Students burn themselves Sidd Malviya the fall semester. They made the out trying to bump up their grade point Editor in Chief, The Knight News transition into Zoom meetings and average, but walk away with added life [email protected] Blackboard Collaborate Ultra sessions experience that lays a foundation for their once COVID-19 reached the United future selves. Memories are created. Voices are States last spring. shaped. Perspectives change. Back in March, April and Without the “take”, students are H NIG T N K E May, the coronavirus was viewed as finding it much more difficult to invest in E W H S no more than an unexpected challenge the “give”. Some students have yet to T QC would do anything to put in the hand in any assignments or muster the rearview mirror. The goal for most, if sliver of enthusiasm needed to click on just Q U E E G not all classes, became to successfully one of their Zoom links. Poor grades and a E E NS LL end with as little duress as possible. lower GPA are no longer able motivators. CO Now, the effects of a global Not when the pandemic has life tugging at Queens College Student Union LL35 pandemic on QC have settled into an them harder than ever before. SIDDHARTH MALVIYA GISELLE IBANEZ Editor-in-Chief unsettling permanence. Technical “(College) is a community of Online Editor difficulties cut into lecture time and humans gathered together in the pursuit of VERONICA KORDMANY Executive Editor KASIA LIPA bears interrupt the class. The college knowledge and intelligence and a society and a Social Media Editor experience has become a mindless community of learning,” Professor Rushkoff DANIEL LUBOFSKY cycle of near-identical assignments to explained. “You couldn’t help but (have) your Managing Editor GLORIA STOYANOVA Designer submit on a weekly basis, many of conversations and interactions informed by ETAN OHEVSHALOM, which include hoards of readings the stuff you were learning. The online VANESSA MANGRU, VICTORIA YOUNG, teachers assign in an attempt to close thing makes it much more like college is this KAYLEE OWENS, ARWA ALI, CHLOE SWEENEY, the comprehension gap online learning stuff that you’re learning in order to get a FRANK TALAMO, SERENE KLAPPER, can create. degree in order to get a job. That’s not JASMINE DELOATCH, SAMANTHA GALVEZ-MONTIEL really what it’s about.” EMERSON HILLER, That might not be what college Editors was about, but that’s what it’s become. And DOV HERSCHBERG, JASON TOUGAW SAMUEL MINTZER Advisor just like every other issue causing stress in Copy Editors 2020, it’s on us to find ways to make it bearable until we no longer have to. The Knight News is always looking for new members! Join our team by reaching out to: [email protected] or DM us @theknightnewsqc on Instagram. 3 Biologist with ties to Epstein invited to guest lecture The Knight News, October 2020 theknightnews.com 14, at QC Bio dept Siddharth Malviya who has brought dishonor to the fami- inviting Trivers to speak. “I will be per- and Natural Sciences responded to Lahti Editor In Chief ly. Trivers’ lectures are centered around fectly frank that I am very uncomfortable in a later message to the biology commu- the benefit of inbreeding (i.e incest), as with David Lahti’s judgment and others nity. “While we of course welcome the Outrage spread throughout the biol- it makes it less likely for individuals to in this matter with his selection to host free exchange of ideas, I would assume ogy community at Queens College (QC) be killed. Trivers has proclaimed this in this speaker. It took me about an hour of that we are unlikely ever to host anoth- as people had come to learn that Robert regards to middle eastern ethnic groups, googling to discover these links after read- er seminar quite like this one -- a talk Trivers was set to be a guest lecture at which involve fathers imposing arranged ing the title of the talk. No one decided which I found to be not only stunningly the weekly colloquium. For those who marriages on their daughters. In the sce- to look up the research for this talk title? I offensive but also almost entirely devoid don’t know, Trivers is an evolutionary narios that Trivers describes, fathers are cannot imagine the reasoning behind in- of scientific content,” said Weinstein. biologist with ties to Jeffrey Epstein, an imposing arranged marriages between viting him to speak. There was no possible Weinstein spoke to The Knight American financier, and convicted sex his daughter and a related cousin. Es- way this talk was going to play out well.” News in regards to preventative mea- offender, in addition to human trafficking. sentially, Trivers’ lectures are centered Lahti defended his choice of guest sures being taken to repeat the instance Trivers was invited by David Lahti, around archaic stereotypes of middle prior to Kosinski’s message to the biology of inviting such a controversial guest.