Beyond the Bricks

Diversity in the Rochester Police Department

The new graduates from the Rochester police academy are more diverse than ever, Mayor Lovely Warren said in her official press release.

According to WHEC, out of the 25 newly graduated recruits, 52 percent were either women or minorities. Since 2014, 64 percent of the 76 recruits have been minorities or women as well.

“Since my days on City Council, I have worked to ensure the Rochester Police Department reflects the population it is sworn to protect and I am proud to see another class of recruits bring us closer to that goal,” Mayor Warren said.

Warren's administrations celebrate the graduating class as a step forward for diversity and lessening of racial tensions between police and the Rochester community.

UC Berkeley blocks alt-right speaker

UC Berkeley was on lockdown last Wednesday amid violent protests over a controversial right-wing speaker. Editor for Breitbart news and alt-right provocateur, Milo Yiannopoulos, was scheduled to address a Republican audience in continuation of his anti-political correctness tour, “Dangerous F*****s.”

According to CNBC, protesters sporting black and hooded sweatshirts lit fireworks and threw Molotov cocktails at officers. Yiannopoulos was evacuated from campus, canceling the event.

Many have applauded the protesters for successfully shutting down the spread of “hate speech”. While Yiannopoulos and other critics are calling the event an attack on free speech by the violent left-wing. President Donald Trump even tweeted in response: “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view — NO FEDERAL FUNDS?”

The Los Angeles Times proposes that despite Yiannopoulos' offensive rhetoric — referring to feminism as a “cancer” — freedom of speech does protect all speech, even if consider untruthful or hateful. Nevertheless, debate still circulates what the Constitution defends more: freedom of speech or the right to protest speeches?

“Bowling Green Massacre” Fumble

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the President, made a major blunder during news segment. However, her latest controversy may even supersede her previous “alternative facts” media storm.

During a live interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Conway was defending President Trump’s travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries. Conway justified the immigration ban by citing the “Green Bowl Massacre,” one the media failed to cover. Probably because no such massacre ever occurred.

According to the Washington Post, two Iraqi males, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan, were arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky in relation to terrorism — but not for a massacre. The two men were charged with providing weapons and money to Iraq. They pleaded guilty and did admit to aiding in attacks on Iraqi soil but no lives were lost in Bowling Green.

As expected, the internet trolls were relentless. The ACLU began a “Bowling Green Massacre Victims Fund,” which just redirected to the their own donation page. “The Bowling Green Massacre” even trended on Twitter where people shared stories of where they been “when the Bowling Green Massacre didn’t happen.” Conway later admitted her error but the #NeverForget #bowlinggreen won’t be forgotten anytime soon.