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In Touch

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Articles, Feature

Going the Extra Mile to Keep A Friendship

Originally published in the Harbinger

As the school year comes to a close, a great fear approaches for seniors: separating from friends. It may feel like graduation will hold the last memories of hugs, conversations, and friendship; however, this doesn’t have to be the case. If both parties put in effort to keep the treasured bond, distance will no longer be a determining factor within the friendship.

Social media is becoming an integral part of the lives for many, and friendships can both be initiated and maintained through it. You can send snaps to your best friend and vice versa, showing how one another’s day is going or laughing at memes sent through the DMs of Instagram.

“We have a streak on snapchat and send each other posts on Instagram and Twitter,” said Alexandra Roberdeo, a MLEC alumnus and freshmen at Hamilton College, about her ongoing friendship with Daylin Delgado, a MLEC alumnus and freshman at Amherst College.

When you’re miles apart from each other with different schedules, talking to your best friend everyday is nearly impossible. But catching up once a week or every other week ensures that you keep in touch.

“We don’t call often but we’ve also never been the type to call all the time. We do update each other or ask each other questions like once a week,” said Daylin.

If you and your best friend are in different states, or even just different schools, there is always something new to talk about, ranging from teachers to mini adventures to relationships.

In trying to keep your bond, it is important to take advantage of every opportunity and never hesitate taking the time to tell your best friend about all the mishaps and exciting things that happened throughout the week.

And although busy schedules and distance may make it difficult to see each other often, try and make room for a visit or two. Perhaps this can be done spontaneously, on a weekend when you both are free or for special occasions such as birthdays.

“It’s not like the distance can get in the way. Last semester, I felt myself missing home a lot, so I took a train to Massachusetts and surprised Daylin,” said Alexandra.

It is also important to understand that while some friendships work out after high school, some simply don’t. It happens. However, it doesn’t hurt to try, especially if your friend holds great significance to you.

“Don’t worry about it. If it’s meant to last, it will. You can’t force something to work, but you should definitely work for it if it’s important to you,” said Daylin.

As the final days of high school approach, remember that with some effort, surprise visits, snap sending, and meme sharing, the bond you share with your best friend doesn’t have to end.

Friendships

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Articles, Feature

It Takes Two: Signs the Friendship Just Isn’t Working

Genuine friendships are golden. There’s nothing like spending quality time with someone you can share laughs with, someone you can converse with, someone you can connect with. But for some friendships, there comes a time in which the relationship is no longer genuine, no longer cherished, or no longer functioning. There are signs, and it’s important that you notice them.

A friendship can evolve overtime, or it can disintegrate. Sometimes, the one thing keeping the bond intact is the shared class, or mutual friend, and when that goes away, so does everything you have to talk about. Losing what you have in common with someone may be the beginning of the end.  

When it becomes increasingly difficult to hold a conversation that goes beyond “hi” and “how are you?” there’s a possibility that the relationship you have with a friend isn’t working anymore. Two people don’t have to speak to each other everyday to remain friends, but when the conversations you do have never have any depth, red flags are raised.   

“You know it’s over when there’s a struggle to even talk to the person and you don’t feel the same bond,” said Abigaelle Barreauny, a student at MLEC.

Sometimes the ending of a friendship occurs because one party isn’t doing their part. Maintaining a relationship is a two way street, and maintaining said friendship won’t work if one person is carrying it. Both sides are suppose benefit from the friendship, not one.

“If you become the person always reaching out, or inviting them somewhere, you’ll eventually feel like you’re bothering them. If they’re always busy or never have time, but everything else says otherwise, the friendship becomes one sided. Having a one-sided friendship is a lot of work.”  

In friendships, it may come to a point where one person outgrows the other. As you try to change for the better, and mature, it is possible that those around you won’t. The person you once called your friend can become the person inhibiting your growth, and does not result in a good, functioning friendship.  

“When someone grows or changes, they can begin to feel as though they don’t fit in or “click” with some people,” said Mariana Plata, a psychologist and mental health writer.

Friends come and go. It happens for different reasons. The only things we can truly do is enjoy the friendships while it lasts, and learn from the experiences.

Hate Groups

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Articles, News

Hate Groups Are On The Rise: But Why?

Originally Published on the Harbinger

 

From the very founding of the United States, there has been racism, prejudice and hate present. Even after laws were put into place to avoid discrimination and give every race and gender equal opportunity, there is one thing still evidently present: hate. As of 2018 there have been 1020 hate groups reported and, though the times have changed, different factors have contributed to the increase of hate groups. 

“There is a 30% jump in hate groups that coincides with [Trump] running for office and winning the presidency… Trump plays on fears of  immigrants to build up his base,” said Heidi Beirich, the director of the Intelligence Report, which is published quarterly by the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

Trump has made many allegations towards immigrants, calling them “rapists, criminals,” and so forth. And as a result, many have become fearful of and hateful towards immigrants, believing that they make no contributions the country, and live a life of fear. 

Just as there are people afraid of immigrants, some hate groups and white supremacists are afraid of the increasing diversity occurring in the U.S. These white supremacists believe that, because they are superior, other races shouldn’t be present and that there is no need for diversity.  

“We are now very close, maybe 20 years away from whites being a minority in the United States. And that change freaks some people out, people who are uncomfortable with cultural change and increased diversity and multiculturalism,” said Beirich. 

The response to this fear is an increasing amount of hate towards minorities, the government, and others. Throughout most of the 50 states, there are different clans, from anti-LGBT groups to neo-confederates to the racist skinheads. And since these groups are acting out of hate and anger, violence is often followed. 

“They want to kill minorities, or Jews, or whatever the case may be because they believe that white people should run this country and they’ve decided that the only way to achieve that is through weapons of war,” added Beirich. 

Another factor contributing to the rise of hate groups is social media. With social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram many of these hate groups now have the means to spread propaganda, recruit members, and organize rallies. Unlike people decades ago, users now have the ability to see all that hate groups have to say with as little as a click or a scroll. 

In Florida, there have been 75 active hate groups reported, the third highest in the United States. Not only is Florida home to a great amount of people—over twenty million—there is also divisiveness in the state, which is especially seen during the election.  

“States like California, Florida, and New York that have large populations are often at the top of the list for hate groups… California and New York, when you look at the number of hate groups per capita is actually much lower than Florida… That reflects partly that Florida, although the southern part of the state is very cosmopolitan and very multicultural, the panhandle and the northern area are more like their cousins in the deep south,” said Beirich.  

Seeing as how many social media platforms that are trying to perfect algorithms which will prevent hate groups from continuing to gain momentum and diversity in the U.S. are also increasing, it is projected that the amount of active hate groups will also continue to rise. The hate that resided in America before the 1960s is still here today, and for the time being, will continue to be evident in clans throughout the country.

 

 

Photo taken by AFP