By Jocelyn Tolpin ’17 and Charles Pan ’18, Commentary Editors

1. January 2015: Je suis Charlie; November 2015: Je suis Paris

So needless to say, 2015 started out rough. Two Al-Qaeda members, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi murdered 11 people in the Charlie Hebdo offices and injured 11 others. Je suis Charlie (meaning: I am Charlie) is a slogan that was widely adapted throughout Paris after the deaths of these 11 writers for the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper. This slogan was adapted in order to fight for solidarity for the writers at Charlie Hebdo and to advocate for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. However, a counter slogan was created: Je ne suis pas Charlie (meaning: I am not Charlie) and used by those who labeled the magazine as racist and hate speech, including the NY Times, which called them “martyrs on behalf of freedom of expression”. Personally, I think that this attack was absolutely and completely unprovoked and there is no justification for homicide. I agree that freedom of speech and freedom of the press can be difficult to maintain, but I think their important as basic rights because if people can’t truly express themselves, then have we really progressed? I understand that a lot of speech can be offensive, but it is definitely not justification for murder.

It’s ironic and very upsetting that 2015 started terribly for Paris and ended much worse. The November Paris attacks of November, 2015 resulted in the deaths of 130 innocents, and the injuries of anywhere between 352 and 368. The attack initiated with three suicide-bombings, followed by further suicide bombings and mass shootings at cafes.The terrorists responsible? ISIS.

2. February 2015: The Dress

On a lighter note, “the dress” took the social media by storm when it sparked debates whether it was #whiteandgold or #blueandblack. The Washington Post described it as “[the] drama that divided the planet” and attracted the attention not just many high-profile celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Anna Kendrick but also various politicians, government officials, and clothing companies. The reason for the large divide in opinions were a result of the process of human perception of color and chromatic adaptation. A scientific study found that 57% saw the dress blue and black, 30% saw the dress white and gold, 10% blue and brown, and 10% could switch between the colors. Still, the dress showed that the American people can disagree on just about anything (from politicians to colors of dresses) and also that we constantly look for things that not only grab our attention but also would be a good opportunity for a debate, even if it is really just #whiteand gold or #blueandblack.

3. June 2015: Love Wins

June 26, 2015 will forever be an iconic day in American history as the LGBTQ community finally won the right to sign a simple contract and be a legally united couple anywhere in the US. Now, I don’t understand why this case took so long to finally be legalized? In the end, marriage is a contract so what is with the discrimination against who can or can’t have access to this. And personally, I thought it was kind of annoying that this whole case had to blow up like it did; how was this case any different from interracial marriage? Personally, I think that restricting one’s liberties, solely based on their preferences, is completely backwards. The phrase: Love Wins began trending once the Supreme Court declared that no people, regardless of sexuality, will be denied the ability to marry. And I think that in this case, Love did Win, because the Supreme Court recognized that in the end, they cannot keep people from loving each other, and they decided to give them the ability to express it.

4. July 2015: Cecil the Lion

Animal rights are becoming a more prominent political issue over the years. This past summer, a big game hunter traveled to Zimbabwe, injured, hunted, and killed Cecil the Lion. This lion, which was not only a member of an endangered species, but was being studied by professors at Oxford as part of a larger study, and resided in a national park where it was one of the main attractions. This murder of an innocent animal sparked outrage amongst animal conservationists and politicians, who started questioning the ethics of big game hunting and started proposing bills to make hunting and hunting trophies illegal. I thought that this reaction was entirely justified and made a lot of sense. This lion, in addition to being a huge attraction and being endangered, was pointlessly executed for the satisfaction of some man who apparently enjoys hunting and killing…? But the reaction that I didn’t think was appropriate was the civilian response against this (sick) dentist. He became the subject of a lot of hate messages and mail and his home was vandalized. I obviously think that he was entirely in the wrong to kill this lion and it’s ridiculous that he went through so much trouble to do so, but it’s also so difficult to be the subject of so much harassment, and I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. I think that the best way to punish someone like this is not to verbally assault him, but to take away that which he loves so much: hunting, and to outlaw it completely.

5. Summer 2015: 2016 Presidential Campaigns Begins

For certain one of the biggest stories of the 2015 was the beginning of the 2016 Presidential race, and it goes without saying, the meteoric rise of Donald Trump. Trump experienced a meteoric rise in polls ever since July of 2015 and has showed no sign of stopping. This is truly remarkable especially considering Trump’s outrageously offensive day to day comments about women, Muslims, and etc. Come on people…this guy is a joke! He builds hotels and reality TV shows, not jobs for the American people! He’s made a lot of his money through inheritance and being a celebrity, not through his actual knowledge of the business world! He has no experience in foreign policy, he has no political background, he’s impulsive and sexist, and he’s just playing to your emotions…you think that someone who just says Make America Great Again over and over would actually make America great again without telling us how? Please. If anything he’ll Make America Overweight Again.

6. December 2015: All About Climate Change

2015 was a record breaking year in terms of Climate and the Climate Change movements. Not only was 2015 was the warmest year on record and July was the hottest month on record, but 2016 could be on track to be even more extreme. The extreme weather was mostly to blame on El Nino, a complex arrangement of weather conditions in the Pacific, as well as climate change itself. However, the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Paris from November 30th to December 12th, where a new record-breaking deal to limit the temperature increase to merely 1.5 degrees Celsius (meaning that zero emissions would have to occur sometime between 2030 and 2050) as well as to reach zero net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions for the second half of the 21st century. The People’s Climate March took place around the world (though largely based in New York City) on September 21st, with over 300,000 people worldwide participating to advocate global action against climate change, specifically directed towards the U.N. Climate Summit of World Leaders that would take place two days later. The debate and movements for climate change still remains today as a reminder of the conflict of public interests in America and around the globe as well as the debate over the future of our country and the world.