Student Union
- By Sahar Majid
Miss District of Columbia 2019 Shares Her #MeToo Message
VOA Student Union's Sahar Majid interviewed 2019 Miss District of Columbia Katelynne Cox, who talked about issues including her pageant journey and advocacy organization.
Katelynne Cox was chosen as the 2019 Miss District of Columbia last month.
Cox, a native of Washington state, is the manager of fundraising and events at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Washington, D.C.
In the pageant, Cox was able to speak to her advocacy for the #MeToo movement.
Through the organization Silence Is Not Compliance, which Cox founded in 2016, she is providing rehabilitation resources to survivors of sexual assault and educating kids on how to prevent sexual violence.
Cox is a rape survivor, and works to inspire other women who have gone through similar trauma and have not been able to speak up.
“I am a survivor of sexual assault and was raped in college, and I wanted to turn my terrible experience into a way that could help others,” she said.
As she established Silence Is Not Compliance, Cox began lobbying for the victims for sexual assault before the U.S. Congress.
“I would argue right now, in our current policies, that victims are treated as tools for prosecution rather than victims deserving a rescue and that's what I want to change,” she said.
Before moving to Washington, D.C., Cox attended the University of Missouri where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She also has two graduate certificates in nonprofit and public management from the school.
Cox said she became involved with the Miss District of Columbia organization for several reasons. The Miss DC pageant, which is part of the Miss America program, offers over $25,000 in scholarships each year to contestants. The winner receives a $10,000 scholarship and there are a variety of other awards available for academics.
Cox said the scholarship was one of the reasons she got involved with the organization.
Every year, the Miss District of Columbia Scholarship Organization recognizes high-achieving women between the ages of 18 and 25 who have been living or working in Washington, D.C., for at least six months preceding the date of the pageant. The program’s website says that a contestant who is not a district resident can obtain a waiver by showing her education or employment status in the District of Columbia. There is no entry fee to compete. This year's event was held June 23.
The Miss DC organization has a partnership with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals – a Utah-based nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's health care.
“This organization is near and dear to my heart,” Cox said, adding it gave her another reason to become involved with the Miss DC organization. Cox has been working with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals since she was a child.
In addition, the Miss DC organization provides contestants with an opportunity to pick a social impact initiative with which to become involved. “It was an amazing experience to promote my organization, Silence Is Not Compliance, as Miss DC,” Cox said.
This year, the Miss District of Columbia Pageant eliminated the swimsuit segment. It was a decision by the Miss America organization to replace it with onstage interviews of contestants.
Cox is grateful for the decision because it gave her an opportunity to talk about the #MeToo movement on stage and her experience as a survivor to connect with other survivors.
She highlighted her singing abilities for the talent portion.
“Well, my mom likes to say that I started singing before I could even talk,” she said, while telling the story of her musical journey.
Cox has worked with Red Hammer Records, a label based in Portland, Oregon, and released three albums during her teen years. She also had an opportunity to tour nationwide for her musical shows.
Cox believes scholarship programs, such as Miss America or Miss DC, provide young women with a platform to talk about social issues that need to be addressed.
“I think that inherently there is a problem with the thought that being involved in pageants is somehow sexually objectifying someone. I would argue that if you say that pageants are sexually objectifying me, then you are sexually objectifying me, not the pageant itself,” Cox said.
Cox is now gearing up for the 2020 Miss America contest, to be held on September 8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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Nine charged in police breakup of pro-Palestinian camp at US university
Authorities have filed charges against nine people who are accused of trespassing or resisting police during the May breakup of a pro-Palestinian camp at the University of Michigan.
"The First Amendment does not provide a cover for illegal activity," Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday, a day after charges were filed in Washtenaw County.
The camp on the Diag, known for decades as a site for campus protests, was cleared by police on May 21 after a month. Video posted online showed police using what appeared to be an irritant to spray people, who were forced to retreat.
The university said the camp had become a threat to safety, with overloaded power sources and open flames.
Nessel said two people were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor, and seven more people were charged with trespassing as well as resisting police, a felony.
Protesters have demanded that the school's endowment stop investing in companies with ties to Israel. But the university insists it has no direct investments and less than $15 million placed with funds that might include companies in Israel. That's less than 0.1% of the total endowment.
U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Detroit Democrat who supports the protesters, said the charges were "frivolous" and a "shameful attack" on the rights of students.
Separately, Nessel said state prosecutors charged two people for alleged acts during a counterdemonstration on April 25, a few days after the camp was created.
Nessel said authorities still were investigating spring protests at the homes of elected members of the university's governing board.
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International students share diverse views on 2024 US elections
International students in the United States are observing the 2024 presidential election with a mix of curiosity and concern, highlighting the global interest of American politics in the rest of the world.
When speaking with some current and former international students who have witnessed several U.S. presidential election campaigns, they were drawn to the openness of discussions and the amount of information available about the process.
They appreciate the high level of engagement and transparency in the electoral process, which stands in stark contrast to the more restricted political environments in their home countries. Their diverse feedback highlights the global interest in and impact of American politics.
Musbah Shaheen, a native of Syria, arrived in the U.S. in 2014 for undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt University. Now an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Shaheen said he initially found the political landscape confusing.
“The first U.S. election I experienced was in 2016. At the time, I didn’t even realize I was experiencing an election in the same way I did in 2020,” he said. “My interaction with the political system in the [United] States has been an eye-opening experience.”
In Syria, political discussions were often avoided, he said, adding that, “Politics was taboo. Family gatherings involved hushed conversations with windows closed and voices lowered.”
This contrasted sharply with the open political discourse he encountered in the U.S.
“In the United States, people sometimes feel like their voice doesn’t matter, but I have experienced actual fear of vocalizing what I believed. This country does feel like there is room for conversation and debate in a way that I didn’t really get when I was in Syria,” Shaheen said.
Now a faculty member, Shaheen emphasizes guiding students through ideological differences.
“I want my students to understand not just the policies but the ideologies behind them,” he said. “What does it mean to be conservative or liberal? What are the foundational beliefs of these ideologies?”
Shaheen emphasized the need to create both physical and emotional spaces where students can freely discuss topics like U.S. politics. Moreover, Shaheen calls for increased intellectual engagement.
“We need to encourage all students, international and domestic, to reflect on their beliefs and engage in meaningful conversations. We don’t want siloed resources for our students; we want them to engage with a variety of ideas,” he explained.
Rohan Naval, from Bengaluru, India, and a political science student at American University in Washington, offers a different perspective.
Naval, who has been studying in the U.S. for a year, mentioned being impressed by the extensive media coverage of U.S. elections.
“From a student’s perspective, I like the way U.S. elections are conducted. There’s a lot of media coverage, and efforts to get voters registered and informed are commendable,” he said.
Naval expressed surprise at the unpredictability of the current U.S. campaign.
“Everything we’ve seen over the last two months has been very surprising, like the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. It’s hard to predict what will happen next,” he said.
He was particularly surprised by President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race after participating in just one debate.
Naval, who grew up in India, compared U.S. and Indian elections, noting the convenience of mail-in ballots in the U.S. and the transparency in the counting process.
“In India, voters often have to travel long distances to cast their ballots, whereas in the U.S., the process is more accessible,” he said.
Victoria Charalampidi, a recent graduate from the American College of Greece where she majored in communication with a minor in international affairs, had studied in the U.S. in 2022 at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland.
“When I arrived, Joe Biden was president. I viewed his presidency as a shift away from Trump’s administration,” she said.
She noted that Trump’s economic policies had some positive effects, but she thought his approach to politics was often more divisive compared to Biden's approach during his candidacy.
Charalampidi said she found the complexity of governing a diverse nation intriguing.
She said she is disappointed with the current political campaigns in the U.S., which she said seems more polarized.
“The focus on military engagements and the rollback of policies like abortion rights show a country struggling to move forward while clinging to old values,” Charalampidi said.
She also says the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, represents progress as a woman of color is competing for high office.
As international students navigate the complexities of U.S. elections, their insights offer a valuable perspective on the global impact of American politics.
