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Ava Peguese:
Welcome back to the podcast. State Press' second magazine is here with the horror issue. You can pick up a copy at newsstands around campus or check it out online.
Connor Greenwall:
We interviewed three reporters on their impactful articles with the horror issue.
Ava Peguese:
I’m Ava Peguese.
Connor Greenwall:
I’m Connor Greenwall, and this is State Press Play.
Connor Greenwall:
I'm here with Bella Mazzilli. Bella is a magazine reporter in her sophomore year, studying Journalism and Mass Communication. She is here to talk about her new article into the mystic, an exploration into magic and spirituality at ASU and beyond. Bella, what inspired you to write about the spirituality of Halloween?
Bella Mazzilli:
So I've actually been a cynic about mysticism and the spirituality of Halloween for my entire life. So when I had the opportunity to kind of dive into the mystic as the title says, It was a chance for me to challenge my own beliefs and what I had previously thought about certain communities.
Connor Greenwall:
What about spirituality stood out most to you.
Bella Mazzilli:
The people are unique. You know, I talked to a woman who gave me the intimate details of her divorce from her husband. And you know, the people will give you their unabashed opinions on how they think the world works. I might not agree with them, but I was kind of appreciative of how honest and how much candor they had.
Connor Greenwall:
Why do you think spirituality is not taken as seriously as other religions?
Bella Mazzilli:
I think because people don't understand that for the people that practice spirituality, it is a religion. Organized religion is something that is very much respected, at least in American culture, and I think because spirituality has its roots in non-American culture, it can be seen as something more of a hobby or a non religious practice. I guess you could say.
To hear more from Bella, please tune in to State Press Play.
Ava Peguese:
Hi everyone! Today I’m joined by Evan Silverberg, one of our magazine reporters here at the State Press. In the latest Horror issue of the state press magazine, Evan took on and wrote about a modern horror story: the corruption of the phoenix police department. I can only imagine how difficult it was to read about people’s nightmares coming to life. With this being such a tough topic to discuss, what inspired you to write this moving piece?
Evan Silverberg:
Well, in June, of course, the DOJ, the Department of Justice, released its study on the Phoenix Police Department, declaring the department one of, if not the most violent police departments in the country, and there are a lot of factors that contribute to that, and there are a lot of different ways in which police can be violent, particularly Phoenix police. But while there were some cover, while there was some coverage of the sort of like Cliff Notes, very basic summaries of what was in the document. There was almost no coverage that I saw in the press of the specific accounts, the specific stories of specific instances of excessive police force that were described in the document in, I think, really gruesome detail. And I just thought it would be necessary and interesting to kind of, you know, share the specifics, the real the real dirty and real terrifying parts of that document that maybe people hadn't read before, because I think it offers a really unique perspective on to what's going on in our local police departments,
Ava Peguese:
Piggybacking on to that, what was your initial reaction to reading the Department of Justice’s tell-all report on the Phoenix PD?
Evan Silverberg:
It was a lot. I mean, it's a what 126 page document with over, over 100 different accounts of excessive police force, and it's just a lot, you know, it's loaded with a lot of information. And there's so many different ways in which Phoenix police overstep their authority, overstep their power. And it was, it was a lot, you know, it's definitely a really emotional read, even with the document, you know, I guess trying to be emotionless. It's definitely hard to hear a lot about those, to hear about a lot of those accounts, and it's just, you know, while I think it was kind of overwhelming, I thought it was extremely interesting, and I thought it was necessary that other people hear what I read.
Ava Peguese:
Can you elaborate on the “force-first” approach used by the Phoenix PD, and how it differs from actual effective de-escalation techniques?
Evan Silverberg:
Yeah. Okay, so the DOJ report says or claims that one of the main issues in Phoenix Police Department that leads to the department becoming one of the most violent in the country is this way of teaching their officers this like you said, they refer to it as force first practices, where, essentially, violence is not like a last case scenario. Rather, it's basically just the quickest and easiest way to de escalate any situation for Phoenix police officers. And that's not how it should be. Violence should be, you know, the last case scenario, if you really, you know, if you need to be violent to protect people or to uphold the law, it should be something that needs to be resorted to. But rather, trainings for the Phoenix Police Department have taught them that you need to de escalate the situation as quickly and as easily as possible, and they teach. The quickest and easiest way to do it is violence.
To hear more from Evan, please tune in to State Press Play.
Connor Greenwall:
I'm here with Jude Banihani. Jude is a third year finance major and a magazine reporter for the State Press. She is here today to talk about her article the anonymity of the dark web. Jude, to start out, What inspired you to write this article?
Jude Banihani:
My inspiration was my fascination and interest in tech, so I'm really looking to work in tech, and I've done a lot of research on different technologies that are out there and how they're used. And the dark web is more commonly used than you would think, especially when it comes to like higher level tech that governments use.
Connor Greenwall:
What do you think people should know about the dark web?
Jude Banihani:
I think people should know that it's not a conspiracy theory. I think it's kind of been seen as like a conspiracy theory or a joke online, but there really is so much to it, and there's so much just engineering and science that has gone into it, and it can be such a powerful tool for both good and bad. So I think it's important that people understand that this is a real thing, and it can actually have impact on, you know, maybe not your personal life, but on society around you.
Connor Greenwall:
I don't know if you've noticed this, but I've noticed over the last few years, or maybe even longer, that there seems to be less of an emphasis on Internet safety. What do you think about that?
Jude Banihani:
Yeah, I think there has been less of an emphasis on Internet safety. And you know, when I think, when we were in primary school and middle school, it was always taught to us, you know, never put your full name on the internet, never post a picture of your house on the internet. And now people post every detail of their lives on the internet, and it's really not safe. It's not even safe to show your address on a post box, or your driver's license, or, I'm sorry, your license plate number on the internet. And so I think Internet safety has to be brought back. It needs to be taught in schools, and it actually needs to be taught to adults as well.
To hear more from Jude, please tune in to State Press Play.
Ava Peguese:
And that’s all for this week’s State Press Play. I’m Ava Peguese.
Connor Greenwall:
And I’m Connor Greenwall. State Press Play is produced by our podcast desk editor, Kylie Saba. Our original music is by Ellie Willard and Jake LaRoux.
Ava Peguese:
Special thanks to our managing team, Morgan Kubasko and Matthew Marengo.
Connor Greenwall:
You can check out all these stories and more on statepress.com. See you next week
