The Reporter

THE EPORTER Vol. CXXIII Issue 15 Stetso n Style Check out our new section featuring on- campus style, fashion tips, tricks and more. Debuting on Page 5 Stetson University | DeLand, Fla. Campus fashion this week — Get through miderms looking effortlessly cute through thrift stores? Get thrifty fashion online in places you may not expect Sparks fly at Philosophy Club's Flint Water Crisis talk Jason Cruz StaffWriter Dr. Joseph Treaster, visiting Stetson from the University of Miami, held court mrer & -contentious debate he often exacerbated regarding the underlying causes of Flint, Michigan's current overwhelming water crisis during the latest Philosophy Club meeting last Thursday. The City of Flint made national headlines when news broke that its water supply contained enormous quantities of lead, a material which acts as a slow-working poison on humans. Flint's residents (many in minority groups) were not alerted to the problem for months after it became evident to state officials, including the white Republican governor Rick Snyder who made the decision to change Flint's water supply from the Detroit ed. The water, flowing into Flint's homes and being consumed by children, had turned a murky brown and stunk. President Obama has declared Flint to be in a state of emergency, pushing federal funding towards repairing the water lines and caring for the sick. At the same time, citizens of Flint and other members of society want to know how such a travesty could occur and how those involved will be held responsible. Such was the stated goal of Treaster's discussion, labeled "Environmental Racism." Treaster himself, however, quickly announced his intention to look past any race factors and began bouncing around the crowded Rinker Environmental Learning Center to discover what students thought played a role. "I've been getting educated all my life," Treaster said, and he hoped to encourage the audience members to see every side to an issue; Unfortunately, Treaster seemed to miss out on learning moments throughout the fiery discussion. While a black female student stated her belief that racism was the major factor in the state's allowance of a population to be poisoned, Treaster interrupted her to state that many poor cities in America face similar challenges. When a white male student argued that classist attitudes did more damage than racist ones, the same black woman pointed out that black Americans are disproportionately poor. At this point Treaster mentioned the rural poor whites of the Appalachian and Midwestern regions before actually finding the New See Crisis, Page 3 1 1 ifi S ;-, WSjM0B %&©SS^:S?; ■w #tf T Dining Services shows support, helps cater event Kait Forsythe Style Editor y Stetson gets more progressive: On Friday, February 19, a group of students hosted a free vegan ™ I lunch for the student body. Vegans, vegetarians, and all interested in a plant-based diet were welcome to attend. The event was originally scheduled to be in the Garden Room next to the Stetson Commons, however, Stetson Dining Services pulled some strings and secured the President's Dining Room upstairs in the CUB. The lunch was impressive: It included multiple salads including quinoa salad, steamed vegetables with tofu, coconut orange tofu stir fry, tomato soup, and vegan pumpkin sponge cakes. Nearly every student asked about the caterer and were surprised to find out it was the Commons. This herbivore luncheon was the first effort of an up-and-coming vegan club on campus. The club would be a low-maintenance, once-a-month opportunity to get together and eat. jdtijE^ The interest in a plant-based diet has gained momentum in the past 5 to 10 years. Organiza- _ tions like the United Nations and the World Health Organization support this lifestyle urgini people to put down the chicken McNuggets and jelly beans4|as they contain gelatin., or boiled animal fat) and grab an organic apple or black beanrburger,'! -A- I' Vegan, Page 7 1 m — mm *—■ T HHHHHHM mammmm