News
Celebrating Holi at Meredith College
Jenny Gerardo, staff writer
Meredith College’s Interfaith Council
sponsored it’s veiy own Holi Festival on Mon
day, March 17. All around the world, people
welcomed spring by celebrating Holi, an an
nual Hindu festival that has mythological,
cultural, and social significance marking the
coming of spring.
Rain and ice did not stop students
from coming together and learning about Hin
du culture. Karishma Patel, a Hindu student
at Meredith, kicked off the festival by explain
ing what Holi is. Then students said good bye
to winter by filling the air the air with green,
blue, red, orange, and yellow powders as Indi
an music played in the background. Students
not only got to participate in a traditional
Hindu Festival they also enjoyed traditional
Indian cuisine from Kabob and Curry a new
Indian restaurant on Hillsborough Street.
The Interfaith Council held a meeting
to help students learn more about Hinduism.
They also brought in a local author to discuss
Hinduism from the perspective of an inter
faith Christian-Hindu marriage. The series of
Hindu focused events ended with the celebrat
ing of Holi.
Holi is a fun holiday that helps bring
people together and helps strengthen a com
munity’s bond. If you missed out on these local
festivities, you still have an opportunity to par
ticipate in UNC Chapel Hill’s Festival of Color.
via Jenny Gerardo, staff writer
Turbulence and Violence Ensues in Crimea
Fantasia Evans, staff writer
On March 21, Russian Presi
dent Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea,
stirring international controversy. CNN
explained that from the vantage point
of both the United States and the Euro
pean Union, the actions taken by Russia
for allowing Crimea to join the Russian
Federation was a direct violation of in
ternational law. By March 18, Putin had
signed a treaty that welcomed Crimea as
a part of the Russian Federation. This an
nexation was not received well by Crime
ans and Russians, as the legality of the
matter was also questioned by citizens
and observers abroad. According to BBC,
prior to the March 21 annexation, 97% of
Crimeans reportedly backed a union with
Russia.
The crisis itself though has been
brewing since November 2013. A series of
tumultuous events have followed this oc
currence, including violent protests and
the removal of the now former Ukrainian
President, Viktor Yanukovych. The an
nexation of Crimea has only exacerbated
the uncertainty and violence within Eu
rope. The issue of territoriality comes to
the forefront, as Crimea had been a part
of the Ukraine since the 1950s.
The United States and the Eu
ropean Union have issued sanctions de
signed to freeze assets and affect a num
ber of Russian and Ukrainian officials
with close ties to Putin. And despite the
acquisition of an entire country, Russia
now faces economic issues larger than
the sanctions made clear by President
Obama, which may have adverse ef
fects upon Russia’s foreign trade system.
Leading up to the crisis, Russia’s already
weak economy was further damaged by
foreign investors with the removal of
money from Russian banks and Corpora^
tions. The economic sanctions resulted
in two prominent credit card companies,
Visa and MasterCard, to no longer service
two Russian banks, and even dropped the
value of the Russian stock market.
According to CNN, Ukrainian in
terim President Oleksander Turchynov
recently ordered that the armed forces
residing in Crimea be removed immedi
ately. This breaking of protectorate sta
tus in Crimea signals not only the divide
from Crimea, but also the disruption of a
nation in need of political resolution.
via rt.com
Washington Mudslide
Increases outside Assistance
Marlena Brown, news editor
The recent mudslide in Wash
ington has caused alarm amongst
citizens. Because of the severity of the
mudslide, outside help has been rein
forced to help clean up the damage. Ac
cording to NPR, the National Guard has
been recruited to help search for any
possible survivors of the incident.
The statistics for the rural inci
dent have been reported as 14 dead and
multiple people missing. The National
Guard is continuing their search for 176
potentially missing persons. President
Obama recently gave commentary on
the situation, stating that “We hope for
the best, but we recognize this is a tough
situation.”
Flight MH370 Investigation
Concluded
Richardson Found Guilty
on All Counts
Alyssa Mathewson, staff writer
Najib Razak, the Prime Min
ister of Malaysia, announced on Mon
day that according to the calculations
of international experts, Flight MH370
crashed into the Indian Ocean, reports
BBC News. It is believed all the pas
sengers are dead. Malaysian Airlines’s
Flight MH370 to Beijing, China took
off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on
March 8. Less than an hour later, Ma
laysian air traffic control lost contact
with the plane.
According to BBC News, the
last contact was via military radar that
plotted the plane away from its in
tended course. Since March 8, authori
ties from all over the world have been
searching for the plane, and after re
viewing recent satellite data, came to
the conclusion that it had crashed into
the Indian Ocean.
Kelly Wallace, staff writer
On March 25, Jonathan Doug
las Richardson was found guilty of
all charges relating to the sexual and
physical abuse and the murder of
Teghan Skiba that occurred in July,
2010. Skiba was Richardson’s former
girlfriend’s four-year-old daughter.
According to WRAL, Richardson was
convicted of murder, kidnapping, and
sexual offense, all in the first degree, as
well as felony child abuse. Prosecutors
said that Richardson repeatedly satis
fied his “sadistic desires” by torment
ing, torturing and terrorizing the girl
for 10 days in a shed behind his grand
parents’ home.
Skiba later died three days af
ter admission to UNC Hospital in Cha
pel Hill from blunt force trauma to the
head. The jury will now decide if Rich
ardson should receive the death pen
alty, which will occur on March 26.