Welcome to Optimize, a weekly update to keep you informed on what has happened during the week. Here are five national/international stories (and one local one) that you should know:
School shooting in Florida
On Wednesday, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School lost 17 students and staff members in a tragic shooting. The suspect, a former student at the high school who had been expelled, confessed shortly after. He had legally purchased an automatic rifle that was used in the shooting.
Winter Olympics
Americans fell behind a bit in the Olympics medal count this week. Mikaela Shiffrin finished fourth in the slalom and Nathan Chen will not be on the podium in figure skating. American hockey players also lost.
Lunar New Year racist sketch
On a televised Lunar New Year show in China supposedly celebrating ties between Asian and African culture, an actress was shown in blackface with other offensive accessories.
Black Panther hits theaters with a bang
Black Panther, Marvel’s latest film, came out on Friday and has received attention as one of the first blockbuster movies featuring a primarily African American cast.
South Africa’s President resigns
Jacob Zuma resigned from his position as the President of South Africa after the African National Congress Party (ANC) was set to have a no-confidence vote on him.
Local Bonus: There has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the purchase of a $225,000 armored vehicle for the Bloomington Police Force. Mayor John Hamilton’s third annual address came to a crashing halt when protesters led by Vauhxx Booker, an organizer for Black Lives Matter Bloomington, interrupted Hamilton’s speech to share their opinions. They argued that “purchasing the armored truck was militarizing the local police department” and that the mayor was “excluding parts of the community from the conversation.”
