Victims of disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor speak out

#MeToo and #TimesUp have spread like wildfire on social media lately. Now, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University are dealing with the fallout. Disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, who has already pleaded guilty to child pornography charges, is now accused by over 100 victims of sexual misconduct and assault. Under the disguise of medical treatment, Nassar would do things to his victims that are beyond horrific.

USA gymnasts Aly Raisman, Mikayla Maroney, and Simone Biles have all come forward with stories of what Nassar did to them. As the chief doctor for USA Gymnastics, Nassar would supposedly treat the athletes with medical care. This is where things get horrific. Nassar would use a technique called grooming to slowly gain the trust of the female athletes before assaulting them. All three are slated to make victim impact statements during the sentencing phase of the trial, which is expected to wrap up later this week.

It does not stop with USA Gymnastics. Several Michigan State female athletes have also accused Nassar of sexual assault. One victim told Nassar that “Little girls do not stay little forever. They eventually grow into strong women who will come back to haunt you.”

Female athletes as young as six years old became victims. Nassar has shown little to no remorse during his sentencing. He is often seen covering his face with his hands as victim after victim speaks out about what they endured. Tragically, not all victims are alive today. One of the victims committed suicide at the age of 23 after being abused by Nassar at the age of 12. The mother read a statement detailing the horrors her daughter endured during treatment.

Both Michigan State and USA Gymnastics continue to deny any wrongdoing by Nassar. In the wake of the scandal, many board members of USA Gymnastics have resigned or have been terminated. In a statement, USA Gymnastics says that it is committed to athlete safety and security.

Today, many of Nassar’s victims are battling a range of mental illnesses. These range from crippling anxiety to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to loss of trust with medical professionals. What those victims went through should not have happened in the first place. Even after telling their parents about the abuse, many were blamed for not doing much about it.

Hopefully, Nassar will be sent away for the rest of his life and never be allowed to walk free again. Justice will never fully come to these victims. They are forever changed and scarred by what Nassar did.

Houston protests GOP debate at UH

On Feb. 26, the University of Houston held a Republican Party presidential debate at the Moores  Opera House. Beginning at 7:30pm, insults and accusations ran rampant. Senators Marco Rubio  and Ted Cruz double-teamed front-runner Donald Trump, criticizing his bankrupt businesses and  illegal hiring practices. Trump responded by ragging on Rubio’s unpopularity among his fellow  GOP senators and accusing Cruz of borrowing money from Goldman Sachs. Gov. John Kasich  urged America’s kids to “shoot for the stars,” and Dr. Ben Carson fielded the question of  appointing Supreme Court justices by saying that he would look “at the fruit salad of their life.” 

Inside was a political free-for-all. 

Outside were nearly all of UH’s students – and all of Houston’s media. That includes  Dateline Downtown. When two Dateline reporters arrived at the locale to cover the event,  they were told by security that they needed tickets to enter. Strange. The UH.edu website  said, “The University of Houston does not have debate tickets available. All tickets are  managed by the Republican National Committee.” 

We were sent to the nearby tents, where we were told we could be granted media credentials.  When we reached them at around 7:05pm (after being stopped by police), We were told that the  only media outlets allowed in the Moores theater were CNN and Telemundo. This was  confirmed by KTRK anchor Ilona Carson, who wrote on Twitter, “None of us got to go inside  Moores for the debate itself.” Regarding the presence of media, she revealed that “everyone  besides CNN and Telemundo were in the spin room in [the] Athletic Facility.” That would be the  UH Athletics-Alumni Center, 0.2 miles from the debate site itself. Also, “you had to get  credentials weeks early. We couldn’t get our whole team credentialed – they were limited.” 

Seats for students seeking to watch the debate were also limited. According to the Houston  Chronicle, UH received tickets for just 25 of the 800 seats in the theater, per their agreement  with CNN. Of those, 14 went to the UH regents, President Renu Khator and “special guests,” a  UH spokeswoman said. The remaining 11 went to the students, faculty and staff via a lottery.  The result, according to the Chronicle, ff was that six students were seated for the debate. UH  student Connor Hendricks said that attempting to 

locate tickets was “incredibly difficult,” but added that he felt honored to have UH be the host  for the event. 

Below are quotes that Dateline reporters got at UH the night of the GOP debate, from people  gathered outside. 

Liam Wright (Students for a Democratic Society) -“We want to invite everyone to a post debate  forum where we can debate on current issues. It will be on March 8 at 5pm in the class Social  Work 101.

Liam Wright- “Students here did not like that they were not allowed to attend the  debate.” 

Liam Wright-“We feel it is not a representation of democracy.”

Alex (UH Student) -Trump is a monster -It’s amusing that a reality star is running for president 

Sydney (UH Student) -“As the manager of the campus opera house, the closure of campus has left  me unable to work the last three days.” 

Shauna (Protestor) -“I am a Muskoke Creek Native American. Donald Trump, who is an  immigrant himself, wants to deport those same people.” 

Alissa Carrie (UH Student) -“Having the debate on campus is a good thing. It brings our  university to the national spotlight.” 

Ivonne Ruiz (UH Student) -“Closure of campus has made the last few days very unproductive as  it has interrupted campus life.” 

Amy Schully (Fight for 15 Black Lives Matter Movement) -“We want to raise minimum  wage to $15/hr. We want to be able to form unions, $7.25 is not doable as a minimum  wage today.”

Snow and Ice shut down Houston

Old Man Winter paid the South a surprise visit during the days following MLK Day. In a region not used to winter weather, the snow and ice caught many people off guard. Texas Department of Transportation crews worked feverishly to fill trucks with sand and salt ahead of the winter storm.

Bridges and overpasses were treated with de-icing and anti-icing solution. Both Bush Intercontinental and Hobby Airport prepared their de-icing trucks. While some people did choose to venture out, most of Houston remained shut down.

This is not the first-time winter weather has hit the region. In March 2014, a winter storm also threatened the city. Luckily, only the northern outskirts bore the brunt of that storm. It seems that Houston does not take winter storm warnings lightly. City officials constantly monitor weather patterns and send out alerts if conditions are expected to deteriorate.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County, or METRO suspended service starting on January 16. By the next day, only METRORail was in service and bus routes remained suspended until 2 pm. This was done out of caution since some bus routes were still not clear of ice on the roads.

The weather was not the only thing people dealt with. Much of the city got a tenth of an inch of ice and even saw snow. While this may not seem like a big deal, ice on the roads poses many problems. The most dangerous is black ice, which is almost impossible to see. Temperatures also plunged into the teens and twenties in many parts of the city. This type of hard freeze is enough to burst water pipes and kill sensitive plants.

With winter still in full swing, many people in Houston are hoping this will be the last winter storm for a while. Despite the cold and snow, people seemed to enjoy the taste of winter while it lasted.

While conditions have improved, there are still spots that have ice on the roads. This will mostly be limited to very high overpasses and freeway connector ramps. If you see ice and snow, take it slow. It’s not worth risking your life.

O'Kane Gallery to feature works by Leamon Green

Steamroller prints, hand drawings, hand paintings, and rough drafts highlight the Leamon Green exhibition entitled “Look At Them Now.” The exhibit opened September 1 and runs until October 13.

           

Steamroller prints involve the artist carving the image into a piece of wood, pouring ink into the carving, and then driving over it with a massive roller. The weight of the drum literally lifts the image onto the canvas paper. There are currently four of these on display. Weight of the World, Scales, Recovery, and Wandering Eyes are the highlight of the exhibit. The rest of the exhibit is all hand paintings or drawings. Some of the works are accompanied by rough sketches.

Speaking with Mark Cervankea, I found out a lot about what goes into making a steamroller print.

“We wanted to use the four steamroller prints as the centerpiece of the exhibit since they are larger,” Cervenkea said in an interview. The entire exhibit is focused around the four steamroller prints. “The areas that are white are where the wood was carved out to make the piece. This gives a unique relationship and reference to the subject,” Cervenkea stated. There are very few places that do steamroller prints since the pieces tend to be quite large.

“The idea of this exhibit was to build around the steamroller prints since they have a bold and expressive look to them. It’s a completely different form of artwork.”

Mark Cervenkea and Leamon Green have known each other for a while. Green’s work has also been featured in other shows.

“There was no specific work that we wanted for this exhibit. All we wanted was to build around the steamroller prints,” Cervanka said.

Steamroller printing is known for its relief style. Ink is poured into a carving and the canvas is placed over the carving. A heavy metal drum or steamroller then presses the canvas into the carving. This differs from etching in which a copper plate is carved out, ink applied, and then dipped into an acid bath. The acid eats away at the high areas, leaving the low areas as the artwork.

An advantage to steamroller printing is that it allows an artist to print large-scale while keeping the price affordable.

Leamon Green is a local artist and also is the head of the Performing and Visual Arts Department at Texas Southern University. Green is also considered to be one of the best draft artists around.

Green has been doing steamroller prints for five years with Houston Print Matters. “I always wanted an exhibit at UH-Downtown. Mark and I went through some ideas together and decided on the pieces that would be put on display,” Green said.

Steamroller prints require a group effort and donated paper. “Most of the time, it takes an entire day to make a few prints. It also requires organization,” Green said in an interview.

“I have been doing art for as long as I can remember. My parents were very supportive and I decided to major in art during college,” Green said.  

Green wanted to use the steamroller prints as the centerpiece and build around them. After talking to Mark and discussing the pieces to be used, the two of them decided to use the large prints and build around them.

“I wanted to build off the content of the steamroller sketches since they have a bold and expressive look to them,” Green said. “It really is a different animal.”

Since very few places do steamroller prints, it can be hard to find a venue. Luckily, Saint Arnold’s Brewery let Green use their parking lot to create the prints.

Steamroller prints are carved onto large pieces of wood and then printing ink is poured into the carving. Wherever there is a white space, that represents the actual carving. “It’s a very unusual way to create a relief print.”

School's out, but starvation is not

For the majority of us, we never need to worry about having enough to eat. But for many low-income families, food insecurity and starvation are summer problems. With school out, the free and reduced lunch program also ends. This puts many at risk of starvation.

           

According to CNBC, summer puts a strain on food pantries and food banks as they struggle to provide meals to families. Kevin Concannon with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that the time of year that a child is likely to go hungry is during the summer months. This is because school is out.

           

You’re probably wondering how I know so much. I volunteer at Catholic Charities in their Guadalupe Basic Needs Center. Summer is always a strain since more families rely on food assistance than any other time of the year. This means that food banks and food pantries are strained to fill the gap for those who normally rely on other services and federally funded food programs.

           

According to Feeding America, Texas is home to six of the 10 counties in the country with the highest rate of childhood food insecurity in 2011. Almost 2 million children or 27.6 percent lived in a food insecure household.

           

Food insecurity means that a household struggles to provide enough food for everyone in the family due to a lack of resources, according to CNBC.

It’s not just Texas. The situation is reflected on a national level too. About 21.4 million children receive free or reduced-cost lunches during the school year, according to the USDA. The neediest kids receive breakfast, snacks, dinner, and even backpacks of weekend food through school or after-school programs.

           

But last summer, only about 3 million kids were fed through the summer program, which provides meals to kids via school and community programs, Concannon said.

           

Kids usually have trouble getting to feeding sites when school buses aren’t running and parents are not always aware of the programs. When kids don’t have regular, nutritious meals, they learn slower and have more behavioral problems, experts say. They also start to develop unhealthy habits including binge-eating that can put them at risk for diabetes and obesity. Hungry kids may also resort to desperate measures such as intentionally failing a class so they can go to summer school and be assured of a meal.

           

According to CNN, a record 21.7 million U.S. students get free or low-cost lunches during school. But fewer than 4 million or just 18% of those in the student lunch program are fed through the USDA’s summer food program. While it’s a record, many say that the government can do more.

           

One of the biggest hurdles for summer meals is that it be served in an approved location and consumed on-site. This is to make sure that the children are the ones receiving the meals. But poverty and violence in an area can deter kids from wanting to go and receive the free meal.

           

Audrey Rowe, a USDA administrator, said that the department is working with lawmakers to increase flexibility around the summer meals program. It is also trying to expand the number of sites to include health centers and children’s hospitals.

Finger pointing continues in water contamination

It's something that no one wants to deal with. For people in North St. Louis County, Missouri, the water has been contaminated with radioactive waste. Many people have already died of cancer and it's only going to grow. 

Using social media, over 2700 cases of cancer, tumors, and auto-immune diseases have been documented. And that's just in one neighborhood. 

A spokesperson with the Army Corps of Engineers said that the cleanup is a slow and tedious process. "Things have to be moved at the slow pace in order to protect the environment." 

Doctor Fasil Khan, who is the director of the county health department said that sometimes disasters unfold slowly and the real extent of the damage is only realized once you start counting the people around you. 

Ever since 1973, very little has been done to clean up the mess. The worst part is that 50,000 tons of highly radiotoxic and uncovered waste from the Manhattan Project sits in the West Lake landfill located in North St. Louis, Missouri. The Post-Dispatch also reports that radioactive material from Mallinckdrodt's downtown project could be there as well. Residents are furious that little has been done to clean up the waste. 

Clusters of cancer as well as elevated levels of sickness and death have been recorded. This includes an ongoing health survey in which 45 cases of appendix cancer show up. While rare, it's 1,075% higher than the national average. 

What's worse is that an underground fire from an adjacent landfill is making its way toward the radioactive waste. The fire has apparently burned for years with no attempt at putting it out. No other radioactive site in the country is like this. 

Further compounding the problem is a series of private corporations that swirl around the ownership of the landfill and the material dumped there. These entities have repeatedly shown a priority to mitigate corporate liability at the community's expense. 

Phoenix-based waste hauler, Republic Services, which currently owns the landfill, tried to block court-ordered monitoring data from being provided. But Attorney General Chris Foster fought back and won. 

About three weeks ago, the Department of Natural Resources released a letter indicating the fire was moving closer to areas with high levels of radioactive contaminants. 

This would only make the problem worse unless something is done. 

Record rainfall shuts down Houston

In a city that is used to being hit with rain, the last few weeks saw record rainfall. By Tuesday, Houston had shut down. 

The rain started around May 5 and has not let up. The already saturated ground can't handle anymore water. 

Even the city's intricate system of bayous and gullies couldn't handle the runoff. This led to many of them breaching their banks and flood many residents, who had little time to prepare. 

Fans at the Houston Rockets game on Memorial Day were told to stay in Toyota Center until the rain let up. However, a few defied orders and ventured out into the rain, only to find their vehicles were submerged. 

Even the city's bus system and light rail was suspended until further notice. This is because most of downtown and many freeways were under water. However, by mid afternoon, some buses and the light rail lines were back in service. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has already declared parts of Texas as disaster areas. Houston is included in that list. 

So far, there are seven confirmed fatalities and many more missing. Fire crews and police are telling people not to venture out until the waters recede.  

The floods turned deadly for Houston firefighters after a rescue boat carrying an elderly couple, their daughter, and another rescued victim capsized. The daughter and the two firemen performing the rescue were fished out of the raging waters. Sadly, the elderly couple and the other flood victim were among the seven fatalities so far. 

With more rain in the forecast, the already saturated ground cannot handle any more runoff. Hopefully, this week brings the last of the rain for a while.