Author: Student Merrimack

BY AMANDA ALCOX

On February 11th, 2022, Ozark and Grey’s Anatomy fans all over the globe had the treat to binge-watch Inventing Anna on Netflix. This limited series starred Ozark’s three-time Emmy Award winner, Julia Garner, as Anna “Delvey” Sorokin (a fraudster who posed as a wealthy German heiress), and was produced by Grey’s Anatomy’s Shonda Rhimes. During its second week, the series drew in 3.3 billion minutes watched by viewers. 

But here’s the thing… Unlike Marty Byrde laundering money and Izzie Stevens cutting Denny Duquette’s LVAD wire, Anna Sorokin’s grand larceny and theft crimes against banks and New York City’s wealthy elites were non-fiction. Real crimes. Real victims. In 2019, Sorokin was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison.

So, how can audiences enjoy this limited series without feeling guilt that their views might directly pay an economic con artist such as Anna Sorokin? Well, look no further than the Son of Sam laws. 

The Son of Sam laws were passed when serial killer, David Berkowitz, achieved celebrity criminal status and was offered a large sum of money to sell his story. In 1977, the New York State Assembly took action to pass this law so that convicted felons cannot profit from their crimes. They will receive no money for selling their crime stories for books, movies, television shows, etc. Instead, earned money will go right back to the victims. Critics argue that the Son of Sam laws restrict one’s right to freedom of speech. However, more than 40 states and the Federal Government have passed similar legislation.

Emma Tucker from the Wall Street Journal writes that New York invoked this rarely used law for Anna Sorokin’s case. Where’s Sorokin’s Netflix money you might ask? It was sent to an escrow account held by her lawyer and monitored by New York’s Office of Victim Services (OVS). The OVS froze $140,000 from Netflix to pay back two victimized banks – City National Bank N.A. ($100,000) and Citibank N.A. ($40,000).

Even with the Son of Sam laws, there’s no question that the attention from Netflix fueled Sorokin’s platform. Interestingly enough, Forbes reports that Sorokin cannot post on social media – either directly or by a third party – due to her house arrest conditions. Despite this fact, Sorokin has found a way to share her side of the story and ease back into the entrepreneur lifestyle. 

Exclusive interview on Call Her Daddy. Check. Selling artwork. Check. Exploring reality TV ventures. Check. 

Selling crime stories to major TV and streaming networks can pose a number of red flags. For one, there may be concerns that the material in the series could re-traumatize the victims – or victims of similar crimes. One of Sorokin’s financial victims was her friend, Rachel Williams. On a trip to Morocco together, Rachel used her credit card as a temporary hold while Sorokin tried to clear up an issue on her credit card. The issue was simple. Sorokin had no money. Rachel was left with the $62,000 hotel bill.

10 News in Knoxville (Rachel’s hometown) reported that Rachel was traumatized by this experience. They also shared that Rachel did not approve of how she was portrayed in the series. In addition, Rachel said, “It’s very irresponsible for Netflix to be telling it in this way, celebrating somebody who is so callous, and their willingness to take advantage of people around them to manipulate them for their own greedy goals.”

And two, there’s the possibility that spotlighting stories like Anna Sorokin could glorify and glamorize her and her actions. Furthermore, take a look at the following crime documentary series and their Hollywood sweetheart stars: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile. Zac Efron as Ted Bundy. My Friend Dahmer. Ross Lynch as Jeffrey Dahmer. The Dropout. Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes. The risk of glorification increases when viewers struggle to separate the beloved actor’s performance from the crimes that were ultimately committed.

On the other hand, it’s possible that convicted felons with a Netflix platform may want to give themselves a redemption arc and – no pun intended – reinvent themselves. Sorokin spoke to Savannah Sellers in an exclusive NBC News interview and said, “Hopefully, I’ll be given a chance to like focus all my energy into something legal. I’d love to be given an opportunity for people not to just dismiss me as like a quote-unquote scammer and just see what I’m going to do next.”

We’ll see what comes next for Anna Sorokin. But in the meantime… Grab your remote. Get comfortable with a cozy blanket. And enjoy the critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated performance by Julia Garner. Thanks to the Son of Sam laws, you can be assured that Sorokin’s Netflix money will be going into the pockets of the rightful owners.

Written by Ray Lewis, June 5, 2023

Monday night football – an American tradition. This January 3^rd game features the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. With 5:58 left on the clock in the first quarter, the world stands still. Damar Hamlin, safety for the Buffalo Bills, collapses mid-game. The fan filled stadium silenced. The anxiety is palpable. Viewers at home, mortified by the scene. A game we love turned into life, or death, before our very own eyes. A star athlete became human again. Thanks to first responders, Damar is revived and taken off the field. His heart stopped, on the field, on live television. While these events were shocking, this is not where the controversy stands. Skip Bayless, a well-known sports broadcaster, tweeted during these events.

The world wondered if this 24-year-old, Hamlin, would live. A prominent sports media figure worried about the game being finished. Skip Bayless simply illustrates the issue with modern sports media – athletes are no longer seen as human. Agape is an ethics principle built on the unselfish love of others. When the game stops, do we care more about the final score than person impacted. When did we forget they are human? Does scoring the winning touchdown matter more than a beating heart? The insensitivity of this post demonstrates that we have dehumanized athletes.

Bayless was not the only person that received criticism for his response. According to a tweet from writer and producer, David Shuster, the NFL did make the decision to postpone the game. It was determined by the players refusal to retake the field. What does this say about the National Football League? Player safety has taken a backseat to their pocketbooks. So how does the most popular sport in America get here you ask? Fantasy football has largely attributed this.

Modern sports revolved around fantasy sports leagues. Fantasy football has been a major shift to the way modern athletics are viewed. Fans now have more at stake. We feel connected to these athletes at greater depths, but have we lost touch of the fact that they are human. When an athlete is injured, how does it impact us? It is estimated that Fantasy Football is a 70 billion dollar market. This largely attributes athletes being seen as a stat line instead of a living, breathing being. I’ve seen it time and again: An injury to a player evokes moans and sometimes profanity in the moment. But it is not out of concern for the athlete on the field. It is because the player — often a quarterback, a running back or a receiver — is central to someone’s fantasy team, Rhoden reports in his New York Times article in 2015.

People invest a lot in professional sports teams. Whether it is betting, purchasing tickets and merchandise, or playing fantasy sports leagues, sports are a lifestyle. Fans feel like they are part of something. They invest their identities in these athletes’ performances. The same goes for athletes. Many spend their whole lives working for an opportunity to make it pro. Athletes often enter the professional ranks at a young age. They risk they physical beings to entertain us daily. But when an athlete faces a career ending injury, we care more about the game being played than their safety?

If you’re a sports fan, ask yourself these questions. When is the last time you have learned something about your favorite athlete’s life? Do you know anything about your athlete outside of their stats? How many points did they score? Whether they will be traded? Media loves athletes when they perform. After a big game, they are paramount. Poor performance = headline news. Seldom do you hear about their real lives. This devalues their humanness.

Next time you see an athlete getting injured, I want you ask yourself this. Would you want the game to keep going if that was your son or daughter? What about your best friend? If they were laying on that field fighting for their lives, would you be waiting for the next whistle? It is important for media to remember – it’s okay to reschedule. We can wait to report or post on social media. Fans and media should remember that athletes are people. When you put on their jersey, brag on their career performances or boast about last nights win; remember that is a person – just like you – on the other side of the tv. Sports media – it’s time we start making athletes human again.

By: Hannah Goodwin

Social media can be a scary place for children and families. Because of this, many parents are now recognizing the risks that come with fame from TikTok.

“Sharenting” is a term that was created to describe parents who regularly share their children on social media platforms. Sharenting is a term that can be seen as a negative thing in today’s world. Children today are “born into” social media and do not get to choose what parts of their lives are shared with the world.

Another thing to consider before posting your child on social media is “digital kid-napping”. This is when people on the internet take photos of children that parents have posted. This allows for a person to take the pictures and give the child a new name and identity online. The child then becomes a whole new person and personality because they were posed on the internet, innocently, by their parent. This can clearly lead to many issues as the child grows up and if they are not aware of this online form of “kid-napping”.

Viral mother daughter duo, Laura and Lena, are a prime example of this in today’s world. Their account started out as a silly little place where mom, Laura, could share the funny daily things that Lena would say. These videos were short and sweet, but people on the internet fell in love with this little girl who could put a smile on anyone’s face.

Laura and Lena’s platform began to explode from a video on mothers day in 2021. This video showed little Lena or “Wena”, as she would refer to herself, giving mom a bunch of flowers as a morning surprise. From then on out, they continued to share their life stories and expose their daughter to the internet regularly.

After about two full years of creating content with her daughter and new son, Sam, Laura made the tough decision to take her children off the platform all together. In March of 2023 they posted a goodbye video to share how thankful they were for the amazing community that they were able to create.

Here is a video of Laura explaining their exit in more detail:

Laura and Lena are just one example of removing children from social media. Mada Graviet is another mom who used to regularly post her son, Rez, online. 

As Rez has gotten older he is now able to express his feelings. Mada has spoken publicly about how if he is asking not to be recorded, then she will not take videos of him. As a mom, listening and respecting children should be your first priority. These children did not sign up for the viral sensations that they have become and the parents are slowly coming to this realization.

Not only are some children asking to not be recorded, but there are other issues that should be considered when it comes to safety. The internet can be a scary place, especially for children.

Posting young kids online for the world to see brings up both moral and ethical issues. The world we live in has a lot of bad things going on. Posting where your child goes everyday, what activities they are involved in, and so many other personal aspects of a child’s life can lead to dangerous outcomes. 

Wren Eleanor is an example of this. Wren Eleanor is a three year old girl who was posted on TikTok by her parents. Suddenly, on videos where she is eating a hot dog or wearing certain clothes there are hundreds of “saves”. “Saving” means that you can easily go back and watch this video as many times as you want. This sparked concern for her mother and she had to make the tough choice to remove her from the platform. Ethically and morally, her mom made a choice that was in her daughters best interest. Not what was best for fame or publicity. What once started out as an innocent place for her mom to share videos with family, sadly turned out to be a place that is dangerous for her daughter.

You never know who is watching or what that person’s ultimate goal is from watching young children online. Many people, like myself, love watching these families for entertainment and a good laugh. Sadly, many people watch for the wrong reasons. 

I applaud all the families who are taking time away from TikTok to prioritize their children in safe ways.

Peonies are beautiful long-living perennial plants with blooms that are unmatched. Some of these lively flowers have been known to thrive for at least 100 years! Peonies can be enjoyed from spring to summer, and brighten up any garden with their full petals and vibrant colors. They are also perfectly suited for flower arrangements, with their gorgeous presentation in vases. (Brighterblooms.com)

Seed Starting Advice: Peonies are best planted in the fall, specifically late September and October. They are usually sold as bare-root tubers with 3 to 5 bulbs. To plant be sure to dig a generous-sized hole, at about 2 feet deep and 2 feet across in well drained soil. The spot must be sunny as they flourish with 6-8 hours of sunlight each day. The root should be placed with the eyes facing upwards, on top of a mound of soil in the hole. Be sure to place the roots just two inches below the soil surface. Then backfill the hole, tap the soil gently, and water thoroughly at the time of planting. (Farmers Almanac)

Growing Advice: It is best to space peonies about 3-4 feet apart to promote good air circulation between plants. This is crucial because stagnant air build up may occur and can lead to disease. Peonies may also be prone to structural weakness due to their gigantic blossoms. To address this consider three-legged metal peony rings or wire tomato cages to support the stems.

Harvesting Advice: Peonies make beautiful cut flowers, lasting over a week within a base. Be sure to use a sharp pair of pruners, and gently cut the flowers at an angle. For best results, cut the long stem in the morning when buds are fairly tight. Remove the leaves from the portion of the stem, and then place them in the vase with lukewarm water. (Farmers Almanac)

Arrangements: Due to peonies having a round shape, they pair beautifully with spike bloomers. Flowers like foxglove, lupine, delphinium, and clustered bellflower.

Written by Claudia Mirshak

Have you ever thought about planting flowers? Roses? Dandelions? Sunflowers? What about Cosmos? These beautiful flowers are one of a kind. Cosmos truly are one of the most underrated flowers. Did you know these flowers represent peace and love? Lets learn some more about cosmos!

What soil should I use when planting Cosmos?

When planting cosmos, one should use soil that is not too rich and not too thin. This can be classified as Well- draining soil. Cosmos grow best in neutral to alkaline soils, this soil has a pH of 7.0-7.5. (Source: Almanac)

When do I plant Cosmos?

Cosmos grow in warm dry weather. Oftentimes Cosmos are found in a drought-like environment. Cosmos should be direct sow seeds, meaning, they should be planted directly in the garden, as opposed to buying them in small plants and storing them inside. Cosmos can be planted in any garden bed, planting them no more than 1/4- inch deep. (Source: Almanac) Cosmos should be planted in a place that has full access to the sun.

How much water should I give my Cosmo?

Watering your Cosmo once a week is the ideal amount of water the flower should be receiving. Overall cosmos should receive about two gallons of water per week.

Growing advice:

When planting make sure to keep each seedling 12-18 inches apart from another. This prevents each flower from “running into one another”. Cosmos can grow up to 60 inches tall, so it is important to take this into consideration so each flower grows beautifully. If you opt to grow your Cosmo in a pot, ensure to purchase a pot that has bottom draining holes. (Source: The spruce) Unfortunately  it has been shown that grasshoppers, aphids, thrips, and lygus plant bugs can infect cosmo plants. These insects will eat at cosmos for a nice lunch! To prevent this from happening one can wipe or spray the leaves with a solution of water and a couple drops of dish soap. This should be reapplied every 2-3 days for 2 weeks.

Harvesting advice:

When harvesting, one can cut the flowers off anytime after blooming. It is best to pick some off right when the petals have opened. After cutting the flowers once they’re done blooming, they will last over a week in water. To store them strip the lower leaves and put them in a vase (Source: Almanac).

Written By: Beth Rizzuto

Overview: Corn is a vegetable that comes in many colors but primarily yellow and white. Corn is usually classified based on the shape of the kernel of the corn as well as the texture. There are four main types of corn according to the Almanac such as sugary sweet corn, sugar enhanced corn, shrunken corn and synergistic corn.

Seed Starting: It is not recommended to start growing corn seeds inside. It should be planted outside in warm weather and the soil temperature matters depending on what type of corn you are trying to grow. If attempting to grow in colder temperatures, place plastic over the soil and plant the seeds through holes in the plastic.

Sow seeds about 1½ to 2 inches deep and 2 to 4 inches apart in short, side-by-side rows to form a block, rather than one long row.

For decent pollination, we recommend a modest block of, say, 10 to 50 plants.

You may choose to fertilize at planting time with a 10-10-10 fertilizer; corn is meant to grow rapidly. If you are confident that the soil is adequate, this step can be skipped.

Water well at planting time.

(Source: https://www.almanac.com/plant/corn)

Growing Advice: Since corn takes a long time to grow it is recommended that you plant early and then plant farther along into the season to make sure that it grows. Early season corn will grow faster than late season corn which might take the whole season to grow. 

Harvesting: Corn is usually harvested best 2-3 weeks before the first fall frost. To lengthen the season of growing corn it is suggested after the first few weeks of planting that you plant another round of seeds. Corn takes around 80-100 days to grow according to the University of Vermont’s Zone 5-6 Planting Schedule.  (Source: https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Extension-Master-Gardener/Zones5plantsch.pdf)

Recipe for Summer Corn Salad

Ingredients

• 2 bell peppers, 1 red and 1 green, cored
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 4 large ears corn, cooked
• 2 cups small red new potatoes, cooked
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
• 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon tarragon or white vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut peppers into thin strips; then, in a medium-sized skillet, saute over high heat in 2 tablespoons of the oil until peppers are browned in spots. Set aside. Cut corn from the cob and dice potatoes fairly small. Mix remaining 1/3 cup of oil with onion, herbs, mustard, soy sauce, and vinegar. Stir in the peppers, then add the remaining vegetables and season to taste. Stir well and chill in a tightly covered 2-quart bowl for at least 2 hours, so flavors have a chance to blend. This salad will keep well in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days.

Written by Jacob Hyjek