An anonymous Instagram account @wecandubetter was created Jan. 12, 2020 and showcased 50 stories about gender-based violence on the University of Denver’s campus. The account’s biography reads “stop gender violence at DU… share your story”; with a link below where survivors can share their story of assault and violence on the University of Denver’s campus.
Anna Larson DU Junior on the @wecandubetter instagram account
Since its start, the Instagram account has not only caught the attention of DU students but The Denver Post as well. The account over the last month has gained 2,000 followers and has caught the attention of not only students but the university’s administration as well as the Denver Post.
An anonymous Instagram account @wecandubetter was created Jan. 12, 2020 and showcased 50 stories about gender-based violence on the University of Denver’s campus. The account’s biography reads “stop gender violence at DU… share your story”; with a link below where survivors can share their story of assault and violence on the University of Denver’s campus.
Since its start, the Instagram account has not only caught the attention of DU students but The Denver Post as well. The account over the last month has gained 2,000 followers and has caught the attention of not only students but the university’s administration as well as the Denver Post.
University of Denver student Ally Latham commented on the account:
“It seems like the account is glorifying sexual assault. I feel this form of social broadcasting is all about the shock factor. I don’t think people really care about the victims’ experiences. I just don’t feel this is the right way to go about [solving] a problem,” said Latham.
Lis Govern another DU student had a similar critique about the Instagram page.
“I think that the @wecandubetter Instagram page has a lot of issues. The account is apparently run by students and they don’t have like a confidentiality agreement with the school, which is a huge problem. I think that the school needs to get involved with this page. If it’s still going to be up, I think that it should be run by someone that’s a qualified professional,” said Govern.
The account was created in an effort to get the attention of the University of Denver administration for more available support for survivors of sexual assault at the university. Following the social media movement, the anonymous group sent an email of demands to the university asking for campus safety officers to be trained in trauma response, asking for more female officers of color as well as the removal of those guilty of gender-based offenses from the university. Other requests were for the blue light system to be fixed and for more lighting on campus.
“I know that the Instagram account has stirred up a lot of talk on the DU campus and has caused drama amongst the students and faculty. I think that it’s a great way to get a conversation about assault started and it’s amazing for survivors. Gender-based violence is a prevalent issue at college campuses around the world but here at DU, it seems to be a bigger and growing issue. There needs to be a serious change in the way that our school and society handle sexual assault; far too common I hear more and more of people becoming victims of assault.” stated DU senior Blake Moncur
The group organized a silent protest on Carnegie Green outside of the library on January 28, 2020, to raise awareness of gender-based violence on campus. The protest attracted students and faculty as well as local news outlets covering the event. The University of Denver has responded to the list of demands from the group but no action has been taken as of now. It’s unsure what the university will do next but they will have to respond if these concerns on campus persist.
Katherine Kieley renews her lease for the 2020 year. [Photo by Anna DiFrancesco]
The University Of Denver off-campus housing cost has been seeing an increase as rent rates have risen over the past five years, but students have no choice but to pay these expensive monthly rates, as the desire to live in close proximity to campus outweighs the cost of rent.
In the past, Denver housing has seen a .1% increase in cost. However, this past year the cost of rent has increased by 2.5%. Average housing cost for a two bedroom apartment in the Denver area is approximately $1,340. At the University of Denver, most students live in either a house or an apartment off campus.
Lingering snow and ice on the roads of Denver is an issue all residents are forced to deal with when a storm comes. It has become commonplace to walk down an iced over sidewalk, or to drive down an unplowed side road of Denver despite a message from Denver Public Works stating they would be working to deploy more snow and ice crews to residential areas in the future.
A slippery front walk near campus [Photo by Zack Mykytiuk]
Students at the University of Denver know these winter conditions too well, with them often effecting day to day activities when inclement weather strikes.
“I have fallen multiple times while walking to class and have come quite close to injuring myself because of ice on the ground” said Hudson Cramer, a third-year finance major at the University of Denver, “I really think the city or the school should be doing more to make it safer for everyone”.
A group of clearly marked waste disposal cans located in Denver’s Center Park. [Photo by Molly Murphy]
Denver has a recycling problem, as it has been reported that Denver residents recycle 14 percent less of their overall waste than the national average.
President Donald Trump and his legal team are set to present their defense in the impeachment trial after the Democratic House managers laid out their case last week charging the president with obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.
Being only the third president in US history to be impeached, Trump faces the next stage of the process that could potentially see him removed from office. It is centered around whether or not the accusations that Trump pressured Ukraine to dig up information on one of his main Democratic challengers for the presidency in 2020.
Keeping an article of clothing in your closet for nine months longer reduces its carbon footprint by 30%. [Photo by Kiera O’Neill]
Fast fashion has a secured a center-stage spot as a major contributor to climate change— according to an article published in The Guardian in 2018, the fashion industry as a whole contributes more to climate change than the aeronautical and shipping industries combined, and much of this is thanks to fast fashion.
Fast fashion as defined by Phillip Picardi, the Chief Content Officer of Teen Vogue, is a series of chain retailers who look at what high fashion is putting on the runway and recreate those styles extremely quickly and cheaply, putting them into a “see-now, buy-now” environment. The biggest examples of these chain retailers are ZARA, FashionNova, H&M, and Topshop. And they are successful. Fast fashion is the only segment of the fashion industry that has grown in the last 15 years.
DU student, Alex Rickett, scrolls through Facebook [Photo by Natalie Schiller]
Clearview AI, new facial recognition technology being adopted by law enforcement, scrapes photos and information from social media for use in their database – and is stirring up controversy across the US and on the University of Denver campus.
In an era of shared information, security is called into question with each tap of the finger. For law enforcement implementing Clearview AI, the very technology which could contribute to public security is encroaching on it in equal doses. Continue reading →
Katherine Kieley renews her lease for the 2020 year. [Photo by Anna DiFrancesco]
The University Of Denver off campus housing cost has been seeing an increase as rent rates have risen over the past five years, but students have no choice but to pay these expensive monthly rates, as the desire to live in close proximity to campus outweighs the cost of rent.
In the past, Denver housing has seen a .1% increase in cost. However, this past year the cost of rent has increased by 2.5%. Average housing cost for a two bedroom apartment in the Denver area is approximately $1,340. At the University of Denver, most students live in either a house or an apartment off campus.
Student reading through the latest trending Instagram @wecanDUbetter [Photo by Haley Paez]
The pristine golden tower atop University of Denver’s own Ritchie Center was featured in the documentary the Hunting Ground which set the precedent for the discussion of sexual assaults on college campuses. The discussion began before the 2015 release of this movie and five years later, the concern is still high.
Just over a month in the making, the Instagram account @wecandubetter, has just under 3,000 followers on a campus of 5,000 students and has created almost 100 posts, brings awareness about the prevalence of gender violence on the University of Denver’s campus.
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The MFJS Reporter -- Winter 2020 M-W 