Saint Patrick’s Day By Ghost Dear Ombudsman staff and students, Welcome to the history and meaning of St. Patrick’s Day! St. Patrick’s Day is a global celebration of Irish culture on the 17th of March. You may be wondering, who is St. Patrick? Well to answer the question you probably didn’t ask, he was one of Ireland’s saints who spread Christianity in Ireland in the fifth century. Unknown to many Patrick wasn’t his real name and he wasn’t of Irish blood either. His true name was Maewyn Succat and he was, in fact, British. He was born to Roman parents in Scotland -or Wales- in the late fourth century. When young Patrick was at the ripe age of 16, he was kidnapped by raiders in northern Britain. Pirates sailed high across the Irish Sea where he was sold to slavery. That’s right people-- Irish were also slaves to many. He was forced to work with animals for 6 years in slavery before he escaped and returned to his family. And as the Irish legend states, St. Patrick used a shamrock as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity when he was first introducing Christianity to Ireland. Which felt weird writing because I am anything but holy. Now you may also be wondering why we celebrate it as Americans. Well, a good portion of Americans are in fact, Christian. So why wouldn’t we celebrate a saint who spread the religion? The first ever recorded St. Patrick’s Day parade wasn’t held in Ireland, but in New York City in 1762, due to the dramatic increase in Irish immigrants. And during the 19th century the March 17th celebration became widespread. Diving deeper into the history of St. Patrick’s Day, wearing green. Why do you have to wear green on March 17th? Simple really-- to hide from the leprechauns of course! On a more serious note, Irish-American history states that wearing green supposedly helped hide you from leprechauns. And as part of the St. Patrick’s Day tradition, people would pinch anyone who wasn’t wearing green as a reminder of the leprechauns lurking around. Which is completely understandable. When you think of a leprechaun you think of those cute adorable green little people. But here is the definition of a true leprechaun:” A leprechaun (Irish: leipreachán/luchorpán) is a type of fairy of the Aos Sí in Irish folklore. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. ... Leprechaun-like creatures rarely appear in Irish mythology and only became prominent in later folklore.” And there you have it, the history and meaning of St. Patrick’s Day! Don’t forget to wear green people! You don’t want little leprechauns to nibble at your toes now do ya? History of Corned Beef By Kacey Brode Corned beef and cabbage is the tradition for St. Patrick’s Day which was started in Ireland. The national dish of Ireland is pork. They usually boil bacon and it is mentioned how beef isn’t the national dish of Ireland. They were supposed to boil bacon for this holiday, but because the Irish immigrants were too poor to purchase it, that resulted in the cheapest meat, which was beef brisket. The dish actually originated from the British but the Irish had adopted it later on. The Irish would only sacrifice their cows if they couldn’t milk or couldn’t work. Now, the name of this dish is corned beef, but there is no corn in this dish. The word “corn” is used to reference the salt that is the size of a piece of corn which is used to brine the meat. The first salted beef wasn’t used with salt at all, but with something called salt ash which is basically burned seaweed. Later throughout the years, new recipes and cooking methods were developed and they added more things to the dish. Potatoes, cabbage, and sweet carrots were added and there are many other foods that could be added. The corned beef recipe is different throughout the world and it is used in many other ways than just an Irish dish eaten on St. Patrick’s Day. Domestic Violence By Aidan Ochoa Domestic violence does not discriminate. Anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender can be a victim – or perpetrator – of domestic violence. It can happen to people who are married, living together or who are dating. It affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels. WARNING: ARTICLE CONTAINS SENSITIVE MATERIAL AND SIMULATION, BE CAUTIOUS WHILE READING, SEEK HELP IF NEEDED. As young adults, we all begin to date, we will all eventually start a relationship with a special someone, but not all of us will have the same experience. They may all start out the same: sweet dates, nice gifts, stargazing and meaningful talks, it's all very sweet in the beginning. Without even realizing it, you start dressing differently, doing your hair differently, acting different because your partner has told you what you were before, was wrong. You want to satisfy your partner, who cares if you don't wear a skirt or tie your hair up for them, but in reality you need their approval. This is the first sign of abuse. Domestic violence is not restricted to one type of abuse. It can range from anything from fear caused by your partner from their actions or words, preventing or forcing you to do things: restricting your interaction with friends and family, becoming extremely jealous, verbally put you down or threatening you, or your family. These are just a few examples. Some red flags are clearer than others, “when you look at someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags.” Being able to recognize the signs sooner can help you leave before things worsen. Within a relationship like this, in the beginning, it seems too good to true, you feel like you’ve met the one. They’re accepting, give you all their attention and you feel loved. You may not realize it but over a little bit of time, they become annoyed/angry when all your attention isn’t on them and they may “punish” you with the silent treatment. You become used to this new routine, you begin to drop anything for your partner, to text, call or see them. Slowly, you begin to feel isolated from your friends and family, and when you want to see them, your partner complains about spending time with them, despite how much you’ve put in. You spend time with them before/during/after school, all weekend, whenever; when they want you, you go. Why? ‘They’re your partner, why wouldn’t you dedicate your time to them?’ You’re allowed to have me time, you’re allowed to be with friends or at a family event without worrying about your partner. This is when you start to normalize your abuse or try to justify it, but you are not obligated to talk to them or hang out every single day, all day. You begin spending time with their family, going to events, meeting everyone, feeling like you belong. Sometimes your abuser will try to manipulate you into thinking your own family has abandoned you, and your friends no longer like you, so you feel like they’re all you have. This is considered conditioning and once an abuser has you at this state, they will start pushing their abuse. Their temper becomes shorter and outbursts become worse, when you ask for attention they become angry and ignore you. They may drop hints or tell you directly what you can or can’t do, for example, they may tell you, “I think you look beautiful with makeup”, so you start wearing makeup regularly to get their approval. Optional things are no longer optional, like daily visits becomes a requirement, and they’ll “punish” you, anyway they can mentally abuse you. With a silent treatment, holding grudges, they may destroy your property or just yell, belittling you and making it your fault. When they don’t get what they want, they may cry and get pity from you, making you feel like you need to make them happy. At some point, you start to feel like you’re not good enough and you’re the one messing things up, you want to apologize for anything that angers them and you start to believe the things they tell you. They will take their own failures, bad days, and make them your fault or take it out on you, starting fights and arguments. At this point you’re so isolated and believe everyone has abandoned you; you feel like you need your partner, their approval and affection, without them, you feel like you have nothing, your life will be empty and you’ll be alone. It all goes downhill from here, their playful pushes, pokes and shoulder taps become more aggressive but they try to downplay what they’ve done, saying “I didn’t hit you THAT hard, you’re overreacting.” The hits get harder, but you still believe it’s your fault, ‘If I hadn’t worn that hat, he wouldn’t have done this, he’s a good person, he loves me’, but none of that is true. They’ll stop apologizing for hitting you and instead say you deserve it, once again, belittling you and making it your fault. You may be a person who wants to wait to be intimate, and your partner will be okay with that, in the beginning.