What Else Is News?
Four stories you might have missed.
From the ongoing war-torn misery in cities around Ukraine to the bizarre slap heard ‘round the world, the news continues to both horrify and engage us. Here are four other recent stories you might have missed:
Hands Across Israel. “What we are doing here is making history,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said as he stood with foreign ministers from Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates in Israel last week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended the event. The “historic summit,” as it was billed, is part of the Abraham Accords, the deals establishing ties between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors. Brokered by the Trump Administration in 2020, the Abraham Accords seeks to strengthen the Middle East amid ongoing rifts between Israel and Palestine.
Hand Over the Dough. An Ohio appeals court refused to overturn a judge’s earlier ruling that Oberlin College pay $30 million to a local bakery which claimed the college had conspired to ruin its business following a shoplifting incident. In late 2016, three black Oberlin students were stopped by the son of the owner of Gibson’s Bakery after one of the students was caught stealing wine. That led to Oberlin students and then-Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo protesting outside of the bakery, accusing the Gibson family of longstanding racism. The students who were charged pled guilty to misdemeanors; in their statements to the court, they said the actions taken by the bakery that day weren’t racially motivated. Gibson’s Bakery has been a staple in Oberlin since the late 1800s.
Depressing Statistics. It’s always been rough managing the ups and downs of the teenage years. Since COVID-19, it’s gotten even tougher. A 2021 survey by the CDC to gather insights on pandemic-related mental health issues revealed some disturbing statistics.
Of the 7,705 high school students who were included in the survey:
More than 37% reported experiencing stress, anxiety or depression since the beginning of the pandemic.
44% said they felt “so persistently sad and hopeless that they were unable to engage in their regular activities.”
55% said they received emotional abuse by a parent or other adult during the pandemic.
Only 47% reported feeling close to people at school during the pandemic.
Although it is believed that the mental health of teenagers was in decline prior to COVID-19, it’s clear that the pandemic intensified the situation. The good to come out of this could be the greater attention that is being paid to mental health issues, particularly in teens, which is leading to new and helpful resources.
Maize and Blue, and Kap, Too.
Colin Kaepernick played college football for the University of Nevada, so what was he doing at the spring football game for the University of Michigan over the weekend? Kap, who has been out of the NFL for a few years now, was an honorary captain for the game. He was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers when Jim Harbaugh coached the team. Harbaugh, of course, is the current head football coach at the University of Michigan.
Apparently, Kap wasn’t just supporting his former coach’s college football team, but he was also getting some exposure for himself. During the spring game festivities, he was able to show off his throwing skills to NFL scouts. No word yet on whether any teams expressed interest based on Kap’s performance in Ann Arbor.