Frank Balun, who was a resident of Hillside, NJ, was an aerial gunner in World War II. He actually survived his plane getting shot down in battle. He has received multiple metals for his service and is a war hero. However, if you googled his name the first thing that would come up would be “the Rat Slayer.” The decorated World War II veteran will go down in history as the infamous “Rat Slayer.”
Recently you may have heard of a case being brought back into the spotlight by Andrew Ruvuolo’s documentary, that accounts an event dating back to August 1994 “The Rat Slayer of Hillside”.
Rioting, looting and violence are not the means by which to unify a community. Every time I hear about Ferguson, MO, I get flashbacks to eerily similar occurrences. First it’s spring time 1992 in Los Angeles. Next it’s winter 2012 in Sanford, Florida. Then later that year it’s Anaheim, California. In all four of these cases there are intrinsic relationships: Rodney King (L.A), Trayvon Martin (Florida), Manuel Diaz (Anaheim) and Michael Brown (Ferguson) were all members of minority communities.
Trust—it goes without saying that populous cities like Cincinnati, where the death of Timothy Thomas incited public outrage in 2001, or in Ferguson, where teenager Michael Brown was shot in an altercation with an officer. Trust has been replaced with fear in these very troubled cities. People fear officers who take to the streets with little oversight. Driven by aggressive policies of leaders trying to deal with high crime rates, police fear the people they have sworn to protect. As Paul Butler of the New York Times put it, they have become “armed agents who feel unaccountable to citizens.” Left behind are citizens who would rather ignore the stench of marijuana on their own corners, and never dial 911 for fear of harassment. Left behind are a majority of good cops who are looked upon as the enemy in places where they are needed the most.
My journey at The Outlook started with Casey Wolfe (whom you’ll meet later) and I deciding to go to the Involvement Fair. I was a sophomore and she was a freshman, both of us looking to get involved. I ended up talking to Dr. Patten who introduced me to Sandra and I never looked back.
Goodbye is such a bittersweet concept, especially when put in the terms of a graduation. On one hand, you are excited about the next step in life, for whatever that may be, a great unknown that you have never experienced before. Yet on the other hand you are leaving a place that has become a home to you over the years, and with the family like ties that have been formed with friends with that home. Suddenly you begin to see everything as if it is the first time, the cafeteria food suddenly tastes slightly better, the squirrels much cuter and the landscape even appears slightly greener.
Dr. Kenneth Mitchell is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Monmouth University. Having completed a PhD in Politics at Oxford University, his extensive knowledge on Latin American Politics is evident through his instruction of PS 275 Latin American Politics and PS 398 Argentine Politics.
A California congresswoman has announced plans to introduce federal legislation to toughen laws against what she called an epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses.
A poll from the Monmouth University Polling Institute found that 45 percent of New Jerseyans support the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while 49 percent oppose it. After compiling the data of 803 respondents between March 30 and April 1, the poll detailed the Garden State’s response to essential questions dealing with the efficacy of both governmental figures, as well as the ACA itself
As some of you may know (or may not know) the Supreme Court is hearing a case that could potentially give corporations the right to refuse some, or even all contraceptive services, on the basis that it is against their religious rights. When the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) went into effect, health insurance companies were required to cover all forms of birth control. As per the law, religious non-profits were exempted from having to provide birth control through their offered health care plans. The Hobby Lobby, a for profit organization, brought the case to court because the CEOs are conservative Christians, and they object to IUDs and the morning after pill, saying that they are forms of abortion because they prevent life from forming, according to NPR. The Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision in June.