We recap the aftermath of the controversial "Health, Wealth and Happiness" panel hosted by Barrett, the Honnors College. Plus, four ASU Tillman Scholars are honored at the Super Bowl, and ASU implemented programs to address underrepresentation of Black people in STEM.
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Naomi Dubovis
Hi there. This is Naomi Dubovis.
Audrey Sadlier
And I'm Audrey Sadlier.
Naomi Dubovis
You're listening to State Press Play. This week we're recapping our first co-bylined story. Reporters Alysa Horton and Phineas Hogan are walking us through the aftermath of a Barrett event with some controversial speakers. Plus four ASU students got to stand on the field during the Super Bowl coin toss. Then we run down ASU efforts to address under representation of Black people in STEM.
Audrey Sadlier
We've got all this and more for you this week. Tune in for the ASU community's top stories every Wednesday, right here right now.
Naomi Dubovis
Last week, we covered how some honors faculty called for Barrett the Honors College to condemn an event called health, wealth and happiness at ASU. Well, as it turned out, a lot has happened since. Politics reporters Alyssa Horton and Phineas Hogan are here with us today to help us unpack what happened. Thanks for being here.
Alysa Horton
Thank you.
Phineas Hogan
Of course, happy to be here.
Naomi Dubovis
So did either of you attend the seminar or the teach-in session? And what was it like?
Phineas Hogan
So prior to the event, there were Barrett faculty who organized a teaching event to kind of explain their experiences with hate messages that they received following the article that was put out last week and the Gateway Pundit article that published all of their names and the contact information. So they invited a lot of Barrett students to come in and hear their experiences and relate to them and come together to condemn the event. So I attended that. And then following that there was a protest outside of the event as the event was going on. So I was outside of there when that was happening. And then my colleague Alyssa was actually inside that the event.
Naomi Dubovis
Inside the seminar, there were plenty of students, but the majority of the audience was definitely made up of community members, specifically, older people. There were some kids there, and a couple from other colleges, but the majority of people that were not ASU students, they weren't community members.
Audrey Sadlier
So were there any references at the actual event? Were there any references to the like, backlash that was received prior to this event happening? Did the speakers bring that up at all, you know?
Alysa Horton
Yeah, Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager both touched on the Barrett faculty who signed the letter against this condemning the event. It was definitely very tense. During those moments, the people who attended the event were very, for Kirk and Prager calling out the people who stood against it. Kirk specifically, came out with a lot of focus on the fact that they are not cheap, was like a direct quote. And yeah, he was very passionate about the fact that this was a form of free speech and using their First Amendment rights. So both them hit on that and tried to show that they were there. Despite any of the backlash, the university chose to keep the event going.
Naomi Dubovis
The letter, it called for Barrett to disassociate from the event. And that's different from boycotting it or trying to cancel it, right. So if it's not those two things, what exactly does that mean?
Phineas Hogan
This event is sponsored by Barrett, the Honors College, the T.W. Lewis Center is... acts as a function of the Honors College, and the event was organized without the input from students or professor or any member of Barrett from the information that we received. In a lot of the professor's they didn't agree with them being allowed on campus under the name of Barrett because of their stances on a lot of controversial topics. And the various professors didn't want that message and those messages to be associated with the college. This would be a completely different story. If it were a student run organization. If it were a club inviting these characters in, I'm sure there will be protests or be backlash, but it wouldn't have escalated to the point that it did because of the Honors College sponsorship and how it was associated with the name of it. So that's what they meant by disassociate, they don't want the the event canceled. They just wanted, they just wanted the name Barrett taken out of it.
Alysa Horton
Tom Lewis, the founder and CEO of TW Lewis company, and the Lewis Center, highly praised Dennis Prager, specifically, I mean, he called him "the American Socrates" in his opening, which is a big call, and it does represent the school when someone is speaking from at the school.
Naomi Dubovis
So it seemed like it was it felt like the Honors College was endorsing these speakers, and the professor's didn't want the college to do that on their behalf.
Phineas Hogan
Correct. And there were there were professors who want in the event cancelled, but that was not the meaning of the petition. And that was a point that I that was really emphasized by the professors that I that I talked to because this Dance that people in opposition of the petition was like, they, these professors are trying to suppress free free speech. They don't want these these viewpoints on on our campus. And that's just not the case of what they were intended to do. And that that was a reason that a lot of them got attacked. And I feel like that point was misrepresented by some of the other other articles that were made by the Gateway Pundit. This specifically, like saying that professors one of the event cancelled, which is untrue, although they're most of the faculty did sign condemning the event, there were three professors who spoke out and said this was a First Amendment issue, and they do University still should put on the event. So it's important to bring up that even though most of the faculty was against it, there were people who were fighting to put this on. And there were people who were part of Barrett who believed that this was a matter of the First Amendment and letting free speech come to campus, And the Barrett faculty released a statement they're handing out a statement at the event, while they are protesting. In the statement, it said, "We believe strongly in freedom of speech and believe we have every right to weigh in and what kind of public events, our own college sponsors." So not only are they pro First Amendment, are they pro freedom of speech, they were exercising their right of freedom of speech by partitioning the event. So they were acting in and of their rights.
Naomi Dubovis
So the article said that conflict surrounding the event escalated online. So what has happened on the internet since the talk?
Phineas Hogan
So following the first article that was released, Prager, you saw the story on Twitter. And they retweeted it, and following this, there was a lot of outrage on Twitter from both sides. A lot of the professor's Barrett professors were very active on Twitter, Alex Young, was a big one who was very vocal in his in his condemning and experience, a condemning the event of the professor's received some hate tweets. And on top of that, the majority of it was like these professionals being targeted by people online by being a part of this petition. So that that was kind of the bulk of it. But there was definitely an ongoing conversation on Twitter, I think. I'm just like in my class, you know, so this was like a big story that affected a lot of people both within ASU and in the communities surrounding Praeger, you and turning point and the other people who support the characters invited.
Naomi Dubovis
So what was it like going to those events that you witnessed?
Phineas Hogan
For me, the teaching event was very powerful, I had developed a relationship with some of the teachers who presented that at the event just because of my reporting the week prior, and to hear their experiences, but the hate they received, it was very shocking to me, they provided evidence and examples of the messages that they received from people condemning them for condemning the event and exercising free speech. And it was a lot of really nasty stuff. And they shared some really personal stories of why it's so important for them to support students who may have or from marginalized group who may have felt attacked or put in danger in any way by these characters being invited. I thought overall, the event was very powerful, as you can tell, that was very emotionally driven for a lot of people.
Alysa Horton
Going inside the seminar, as a reporter, there's a level of tension, especially when you know, an event has had so much pushback. And there's been a lot of media attention with Phineas this article. So trying to show up, it's definitely making sure that you're professional and making sure that you don't let emotions get ahead of you that day. So other than that, it's a lot of knowing your surroundings and making sure that everything's safe inside and that you're there to cover the event and what the people are there to see.
Audrey Sadlier
Final thing from us is that you're our first reporter duo on the podcast. So what was it like working together on the story?
Alysa Horton
We definitely went the divide and conquer route vinius attended other events, and he wrote the first article that caused quite a bit of backlash, and then I came in to help cover the actual event. It definitely helps having a second reporter on I think, when it's such a big event, and there's so many different things happening all at once, it kind of helps to have that support.
Phineas Hogan
And I feel like the process was a little bit streamlined because we spent a lot of time preparing and like kind of getting on the same page. So personally, it's hard for me to work on group projects, because I'm a very opinionated and stubborn person. But you know, we both made an effort to kind of get on the same page on the angles and what we were trying to achieve and what what what story we were trying to tell. So I felt like that was a very good part and an important part of the process of working with another reporter on a story.
Alysa Horton
We're both very passionate about what we write about. So it was really about coming together before the event really started talking about things that were important to us to get into the article and kind of working from there.
Naomi Dubovis
Yes, lots of questions raised here about the First Amendment free speech and a lot of other are complicated and very controversial topics. So that was Alyssa Horton and Phineas Hogan from our politics desk. Again. Thanks for being here with us today.
Phineas Hogan
Thank you for having us.
Naomi Dubovis
And where can people find you online?
Phineas Hogan
You can find me at Phineas Hogan on Twitter.
Alysa Horton
You can find me at Alysa underscore Horton on Twitter.
Naomi Dubovis
Thank you. For more on this story, check out the article at state press.com And our Twitter at State Press.
Audrey Sadlier
Keep listening to find out more about ASU students honored at the Super Bowl and ASU's newest clubs and events for Black students and STEM.
Naomi Dubovis
The Super Bowl coin toss featured some special guests on the field this year. The coin toss was hosted by the Pat Tillman Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational funding for military members, veterans and their spouses. The foundation is best known for their Pat Tillman scholarship with the coin toss was hosted by the Pat Tillman Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational funding for military members, veterans and their spouses. The foundation is best known for its Pat Tillman Scholarship, which helps pay for educational expenses connects recipients to a global community and provides them with career development opportunities. Through the foundation's partnership with the NFL for Tillman Scholars were named honorary captains of Super Bowl 57 and got to stand in the field during the coin toss out of 800 scholars the four chosen word Dave Prakash, Hyejung Park, Robert ham and Fabersha Flint, big congrats to all of them. For more on this story, check out the article at statepress.com
Audrey Sadlier
A group of ASU faculty is working together to support black students breaking into STEM fields. Multicultural Communities of Excellence hosted a panel of black women and engineering faculty on February 8, three of the speakers are leadership members at Black women in STEM, a new club at ASU devoted to uplifting Black women and creating a safe space for them on their paths to STEM careers. Assistant Professor Brooke Coley at the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering also studies racial equity, and was one of the panelists at the event. "We don't have the opportunity for all to advance equally independent of our social position," Coley said about the concept of meritocracy." For those that are underrepresented, hyper visible invisible. If you don't speak out, you might not make it." Coley said she wants to be a part of a culture "where the expectation is to speak out." To her, "That's justice." Vernon Morris, the Director of the School of mathematical and natural sciences of ASU also spoke at the panel to Morris having a core people who are critical with you and have your experience are critical to your success. faculty aren't the only ones working to support black students in STEM, the Black African Coalition, Black Women in STEM and the National Society of Black Engineers will host the Black Professional Conference at ASU on February 19. For more on the story, and other opportunities for Black students in STEM at ASU. Check out the article by Sophia Ramirez at state press.com.
Sam Ellefson
Hey there, it's Sam, the editor of State Press magazine. I just wanted to let y'all know we're having a release party for our most recent mag, The Culture Issue on Thursday, February 16. At the James Terrell heir apparent structure on campus from 5pm to 6:30pm. The structure is in some red dirt at 797 East Tyler Street in Tempe. See you all there.
Audrey Sadlier
As we near the end, here are our favorite stories from this last week.
Naomi Dubovis
The narrow headed garter snake, a species native to central and eastern Arizona has been endangered for almost a decade. But thanks to the Phoenix Zoo, there's hope for our reptilian friends. The Phoenix Zoo started breeding and conserving narrow headed garter snakes in 2007. And the hard work is paying off. Phoenix zoos, Director of conservation and science, Tara Harris, said that some of the biggest threats to the snakes are invasive species like bullfrogs and crawfish luckily, according to Harris 40 snakes were born in 2022. The most the zoo has seen within a year. Harris said that the zoo made an area that mimics the snakes habitat to help them breed. Juveniles live in a tank with a heat lamp, also known as the snake lab. The tank is a snakes paradise decked out with a pool fish and even a comfy place to slither around. Mason Ryan with Arizona Game and Fish said that snakes are released to healer counties Canyon Creek when the time is right to read more about the snakes give Sara Min Heller's article or read on copper courier.com.
Audrey Sadlier
If you've ever taken a bus or light rail downtown and lost your ticket, the valley metro app has added a mobile Pay option as of February 1. Valley Metro released its app a few years ago, but you could only track the status of your next ride with the app. Now user Just have the option to buy digital fare passes to valley metro routes, which include both one ride fares and one day local passes. This comes as the next step and valley metros fair technology modernization project, which is their way of updating the transit systems tech. I know this will come in handy for me because anytime I've used the ticket stands, they've been slow and broken. So if you've ever been caught ticketless on the light rail, consider paying with your phone next time. For more on the story, check out the article by Grey Gartin and Shri Swaminathan at state press.com.
Naomi Dubovis
Thanks for listening to this episode of state press play, but don't pause this just yet.
Audrey Sadlier
Follow the State Press on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Naomi Dubovis
Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at State Press.
Audrey Sadlier
To learn more about the stories we've talked about today. Check out the articles online. You can find all of these stories and more at state press.com.
Naomi Dubovis
Thank you to our guests, Phineas Hogan and Alyssa Horton for being here with us this week.
Audrey Sadlier
This show was edited and produced by the State Press podcast desk.
Naomi Dubovis
Thank you to our editor, Sonya Sheptunov, and to our managing team Andrew Onodera and Reece Andrews. Our music is courtesy of Epidemic Sound.
I'm your host, Naomi Dubovis.
Audrey Sadlier
And I'm Audrey Sadlier.
Naomi Dubovis
You've been listening to State Press Play. till next week.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Sonya Sheptunov is a podcast producer at The State Press. They take an interest in data, counterculture, and all things nerdy. In their free time you can find them drinking too much coffee or attempting to crochet.
