NOCTILUCA March 2017

OPINIONS Appleton, Wisconsin March 2017 Volume XXII

Issue V Page 3

Noctiluca Editorial

Global suffering must cease regardless of nationalism

As the latest issue of the Noctiluca is being distributed to our subscribers throughout the school, you may notice that there seem to be fewer copies floating around than usual. In the past, there was no need to pay for a paper subscription; you could always just pick up an extra copy from the library, grab one from a blue newspa- per box around school, or just find one sitting at nearly any empty table. However, for the last couple editions of the paper, this has become less and less the case. Throughout the year, the Noc- tiluca has scaled back its pro- duction quantity, pushing the printed number all the way How fortunate the American people are, for we are afforded rights under theAmerican Con- stitution that provide this coun- try with the means to strive for progression – morally, leg- islatively and economically. Through ideologies focused around liberty and equality, Americans have aspired to so- lidify and maintain well-es- tablished living conditions for themselves and their neighbors. And from this thought pattern, individuals tend to develop humanitarian natures, because America does not represent or provide for one individual only. But Americans cannot lose sight of human populations dispersed across the globe. Recently, the United Nations declared that the world is cur- rently facing its greatest global humanitarian crisis since 1945. We cannot ignore the extreme suffering endured elsewhere in the world; we must find the means to support these coun- tries, since they do not have the necessary resources for surviv- al, funding is scarce and hun- dreds of individuals are dying. Currently, the UN is work- ing to resolve Level 3 emer- gencies within Iraq, Syria and Yemen while people within Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen are experiencing extreme famines. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency and the United Nations By Kate Bennett Support independent news for coverage The world faces humanitarian crises

State of the Humanitarian Crisis in Three Nations

Noctiluca provides, would you take the next necessary step to show your support? Even though the Noctiluca receives some of its funding from adver- tisements, a large and impor- tant part of our budget comes from you, our faithful readers. Now more than ever, we need reliable and verified informa- tion, not just in our world as a whole, but within the walls of our own school. For only $1 an issue you can become a Nocti- luca subscriber and take a stand in support of journalistic integ- rity. If you believe the truth still has an important place in our community, show the public by becoming a subscriber of the Noctiluca today. Currently, a local project led by North high students, carried out through the Days for Girls program, is working to send feminine products to women overseas. Other local projects related to the health of other individuals in these countries could be initiated as well. We can continue to op- pose President Trump’s travel ban through local and national protesting and lobbying. Ulti- mately, we must strive to assist those who do not have access to humanitarian necessities. We cannot let innocent lives suffer from civil wars, terrorist at- tacks and famines. As Stephen O’Brien declared to NPR, “All four countries have one thing in common—conflict. This means that we, you, have the possibility to prevent and end further suffering.” We need your support! To become a subscriber, send an email to northnoct@gmail.com. from crossing their borders as well. Similar sentiments were expressed as rationale for sup- porting Brexit late last year. If countries are not willing to assist suffering refugees and global nationalist sentiments are chastising the monetary support of global funding, how will the United Nations effec- tively provide humanitarian as- sistance to these displaced and food insecure individuals? As Americans who believe in the welfare of individuals, we must take action to support United Nations and similar or- ganizations—organizations as- piring to alleviate the tragedies endured.

Syria, Iraq and Yemen have Level 3 emergencies that must be addressed. Information provided by the United Nations OCHA. Infographic by Kate Bennett

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a Level 3 emergency is considered a high level priority statement that serves as a practical re- sponse mechanism, which is reserved for “severe, large- scale humanitarian crises.” The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, states that, within Syria alone, there are 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, 5 million people who have fled the country and 6.3 million people internally displaced by violence. These statistics were published this January. Cur- rently, the Syrian population, as of March, is about 19 mil- lion; the previous statistics add to about 25 million people in total. Since all of these num- bers have been produced by the United Nations, it can be concluded that about 6 mil- lion people have either fled the

country or died from internal violence in the duration of only two months. That would com- pare to removing every Ameri- can who resided in Maine, New Hampshire and Connecti- cut from the United States, in only two months. And Syria is only one of the three countries where Level 3 emergencies are being addressed by the United Nations. As a result of these catastrophes and resembling catastrophes in other countries, the UN has approximated that $22.6 billion is required in or- der to provide humanitarian aid to suffering populations and mediate/relieve the global hu- manitarian crisis. Raising funds of this magni- tude will be a feat difficult to accomplish. Nationalist senti- ments around the world are not increasing the probabil- ity that this proposed monetary amount will be met. First world

that we just don’t have enough subscriber support to help pay for the paper to be printed. In a time where journalists and the media are under attack from many sides, it becomes increasingly more important to support the local reporting that we count on to keep us in- formed. As the world becomes more clouded with the waves of fake news and misinforma- tion that constantly wash over all of us, the importance of genuine news and reliable in- formation serves as a way to combat ignorance. The light emitted by real journalism is the best method we have to cut through the murky misinfor- mation that others, with the in- tention to mislead, might throw out into the world. If you recognize the impor- tance of independent news cov- erage in the world that we live in and value the service that the countries are closing their bor- ders, providing no sanctuary for suffering refugees—refu- gees who have fled radical ter- rorists, civil wars, genocides, impending famines, authorita- tive governments and more. Currently, America is solely focused around reconstructing its own infrastructure, which is a commendable aspiration. Si- multaneously, President Trump is promoting an idea that we should only invest in America, that closing our borders to refu- gees from other countries and refraining from investments in foreign programs (like the United Nation’s efforts to re- duce the humanitarian tragedies across the globe) will allow America to become prosperous “again.” But is a prosperous society equivalent to a progres- sive society? Unfortunately, some European countries and Cuba are prohibiting refugees

Democratic reporting is reliant on reader subscriptions and support

These are the remaining copies of the Spring 2016 issue (top stacks) and the February 2017 issue. The bottom stack contains only seven copies of the February 2017 issue. Photo illustration by Maeve Salm.

down from 900 copies during the 2014-2015 school year to 700 copies in the 2015-2016 school year, and now to 500 copies for the issue you are cur- rently reading. Though this de-

cline can be attributed to many different factors – such as the attack on journalism within our society or the fall of print media in the age of technology – the most prominent reason is