September 2017

School News: Blackhawks entered the 2017-2018 school year with LQHS’ new principal, Dr. Rudy Wilson. Students and staff wished former principal Dr. Cook farewell as she transferred to Desert Sands Unified School District as the director of personnel for leadership development. On Sept. 12, Blackhawks welcomed Dr. Wilson to the nest. As a local to the Coachella Valley, Dr. Wilson has worked in the educational field for 28 years. He expressed his desire to help students be prepared for their futures.

Local News: On Sept. 10, Priscilla Limon, a Cathedral City woman, died from injuries after being hit by a car in Palm Springs. Palm Springs police closed the road between Morongo Road and Avenida Olancha. This incident made Limon the third pedestrian killed after being hit by a car on this stretch. Palm Springs officials announced that a $2 million grant would go towards safety improvements between Mesquite Avenue and Camino Real. Assistant City Manager Marcus Fuller stated that work for crosswalks, lighting, and signals may begin in late 2018.

National News: The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was an American immigration policy that allowed immigrants who entered illegally in the country as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit. The DACA policy was established by the Obama administration in June 2012 and was rescinded by the Trump administration in Sept. 2017. As of this year, approximately 800,000 Dreamers were enrolled in the program. Trump had called this an “amnesty-first approach” and tried to push Congress to pass a replacement before phasing out its protections in six months. However, full implementation of the rescission was delayed six months for Congress to decide on how to deal with the population that was under this policy.

International News: Thousands of Rohingya Muslims were forced to leave their homes in Myanmar, causing the Rohingya refugee crisis. The Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minority groups in the world with more than a million living in Myanmar at the beginning of 2017. Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country and its government denied the Rohingya citizenship, claiming them to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Tensions have been building since 2012, as the Rohingya faced discrimination and were later placed in displacement camps due to riots caused by the Buddhist population. The United Nations (UN) has described this situation to be “the world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis.” There has been widespread murder, rape, and burning down of villages, leading to the Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. As the number of refugees continues to grow, the UN Migration Agency appealed for 120 million U.S. dollars to support over 500,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.