Students: Channel One, Channel One, Channel One. We are Mr. Garcia's civics class from Imperial, California, and Channel One News starts right now. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
Azia: Thanks to the students from Imperial High School for that awesome start to the show. I am Azia Celestino with a look at headlines. And first up, two dozen tornadoes left a trail of devastation across Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa this week, flattening homes and killing at least two people.
This is the twister that destroyed Garvin County, Oklahoma, on Monday. Violent, high-speed winds ripped away everything in their path, including trees and electric poles. Forecasters declared a "tornado emergency" for everyone in the path of the tornado. One woman was killed when a tree fell on her home. Nearby neighbors ran for safety.
Lisa Buckner: I ran back to the cellar, locked down and started praying.
Azia: Her house was one of several torn to pieces.
Next up, there is a new mayor on the job this week in London, England, and he is making headlines about his religion and also some banter with Donald Trump.
Mayor Sadiq Khan: My name is Sadiq Khan, and I am the mayor of London.
Azia: Sadiq Khan was officially sworn in as mayor over the weekend, the first mayor of London — and any capital city in the Western world — who is Muslim.
Khan: I am so proud that London has today chosen hope over fear and unity over division.
Azia: His election is important because it comes at a time of strong anti-Muslim feelings throughout Europe and the U.S. Even Donald Trump, who famously pushed for a ban on Muslims coming into America, said Khan would be welcome to visit the U.S. But Khan wasn't into it, saying that Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. actually plays right into what terror groups want.
Now it is time to hear from you. Last week we told you about Malia Obama's decision to take a gap year after graduating high school before heading to Harvard.
We asked you, “Would you be interested in taking a gap year after high school?”
Sixty-seven percent of you said yes, but 33 percent of you said, “No, not interested.”
Let's check out some of your comments.
Jojo was on Team Yes, saying, "I would love to take a gap year, not only to chill out but to better my culinary skills."
Cael said, “Yes, because it would give me a brain break to get ready for the rest of my life. I would go to Europe and see different cultures."
But Cassie wrote in, "I would not take a gap year because some jobs, like if you wanted to be a doctor, would be another year until you graduate." Thanks for weighing in. We love hearing from you guys.
All right, coming up: one college cracking down on exclusive social clubs.
Azia: All right, it is one of the most recognized universities in the U.S. — Harvard. And now it is going after its on-campus social clubs that only allow members of one sex.
Arielle: Yeah, Azia. The new move means that students in these clubs can't get certain scholarships or run programs like the football team or marching band. And while many say these rules are to stop all-male groups that are known for secrecy, these rules are now hitting the female clubs.
Caroline Tervo: Female spaces are crucial sources of empowerment.
Arielle: More than 400 women protested against Harvard University's policy on all-male or all-female clubs.
Tervo: They feel like their voices haven't really been heard in the decision that the university made on Friday. I think that there is something to be said for single-sex organizations.
Arielle: Harvard's undergraduate dean is targeting what the college calls "discriminatory membership policies." Starting in 2017, members of "unrecognized single-gender social organizations...will not be eligible to hold leadership positions in recognized student organizations or athletic teams" and "will not...receive...endorsement letters...for fellowships" from the college.
Harvard officially broke ties with its Final Clubs in 1984 after all of the groups refused to admit women. Final Clubs are traditionally all-male social organizations that can't be regulated the same way schools regulate fraternities.
Harvard’s class of 2018 Caroline Tervo says her membership in a women's-only social club has been crucial to her development.
Tervo: It really breaks my heart that that opportunity would not be available to women that are going to be here in two years.
Arielle: Last fall, two all-male Final Clubs opened their doors to women.
Brianna: There's not a real social benefit for everyone when certain people are able to enter these spaces and other people are left outside.
Arielle: And one of the driving forces to close down these all-male social clubs is that Harvard says they promote sexual violence against women on campus.
Azia: Thanks, Arielle. Okay, after the break, we are taking the road less traveled.
Azia: Seeing the world can seem pretty expensive and even intimidating, just a few of the reasons why young black Americans are less likely to travel outside of the country than their white counterparts. But one young person is trying to change that, hoping that her love of travel will inspire others. Demetrius Pipkin has more.
Demetrius: It is a great, global migration — young black travelers jet-setting to exotic destinations around the world, places like India, Antarctica and Russia, and the website Travel Noire is creating a space to share those experiences.
Zim Ugochukwu: Travel changes you, and once you step foot outside of the U.S. or step foot outside of your country once, you'll never be the same.
Demetrius: Zim Ugochukwu is the founder and CEO of Travel Noire. She says she came up with the idea for the site while she was living abroad in India after college.
Why is there a need for something like Travel Noire?
Ugochukwu: I thought about the magazine articles, and I thought about the magazine covers and the billboards as it related to travel, and I never saw anybody who looked like me, anybody who had hair like mine, anybody who had a skin complexion like I did, so I thought it would be a really awesome idea to start something where I could see people who looked like me in different destinations all over the world.
Demetrius: So she created Travel Noire to show travelers how to fly to destinations abroad without breaking the bank. African-Americans spend almost $50 billion a year on domestic travel, but Zim says that money is usually spent on the same vacation spots every year.
Ugochukwu: For the African-American community especially, there has been this sort of stereotype that we only go to the Caribbean islands or Miami, Vegas and Atlanta, and that is the sort of scope of our existence. It doesn't, you know, stretch or transcend that.
Demetrius: And it is not just vacationers; only 5 percent of all college students that study abroad are African-American.
Why do you think that is, that black people don't traditionally travel?
Ugochukwu: A lot of it is fear, fear of the unknown. For some of my other friends, if they said, 'Hey Mom, I'm going to Thailand,” it's like, “You’re gonna get kidnapped, you’re gonna be like — somebody’s gonna, like, you know, murder you,” or like, whatever the case may be, my friends’ parents never saw people who looked like them traveling to these places, and they don’t have a point of reference.
They are like, “Oh, like, white people do that,” or “Oh, like, that's not something that you should be doing. Oh, you are skydiving or bungee jumping” — like that. That isn’t acceptable; that’s not something “black.”
Demetrius: The company uses Instagram to reach a wider audience. Vacationers post photos with the #TravelNoire. In addition to photos from every corner of the globe, visitors on the website can find articles and videos on everything from how to pack properly to racking up air miles. And Zim says that traveling while black can also create its own unique challenges.
Ugochukwu: I've had people touch my hair, people rubbing my skin, trying to figure out why it’s — like, where is the white meat, like, where is that?
Demetrius: Her site also has a subscription service that gives travelers access to glitch fare notifications, errors in airline computer systems that can produce low ticket fares.
Ugochukwu: What Travel Noire is offering is the difference between, you know, one vacation and seven vacations a year. We're teaching people about how to permanently integrate travel into their own lives.
Woman: I actually just recently booked another experience for Bali, which I’m really excited about.
Demetrius: The website also hosts live question-and-answer sessions with Zim and other travelers about their experiences.
Man: See, I just really feel like I met a lot of new friends who are really invested in the same things that I am invested in, and it just, it really excites me to see them again and really just make sure that I keep in touch.
Demetrius: And Zim says that no matter your age, don't let it stop you from seeing the world.
Ugochukwu: When you travel, things happen. You'll, you know, miss your flight, your taxi will break down, you won't be able to speak to your, you know, neighbor, or you won’t be able to get the bargain that you wanted, but these are all the things that shape your experiences in ways that you can't learn in a textbook, you can't learn in school. And so I always tell people that if they get the chance to travel, just, you know, take it.
Demetrius: Demetrius Pipkin, Channel One News.
Azia: And if you have the travel bug, make sure to check out our world geography map to see all of the countries that Channel One has been to. That is at ChannelOne.com.
All right, guys, that is all for now, but have a great day, and we will see you right back here tomorrow.
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