Ouachita students had already wrapped up finals and headed home for winter break before the first day of winter, December 23. December ended quickly, save for a roaring box office performance by the newest installment of the “Star Wars” franchise, “Rogue One.” The film amassed $1.056 billion in the box office, bringing much excitement to the theater during the first days of winter. Tragically, 11 days after the film released, Carrie Fisher, you may know her as Princess Leia, passed away on December 27. The actress who had inspired hope in so many, brought life and joy to the big screen, leaving behind a legacy that will last for centuries. Fisher’s mother passed away just a day later on December 28, bringing a heartbreaking close to the beginning of winter and the end of 2016.
Ouachita students returned two weeks into January, well rested and ready to take on the new semester. The spring 2017 semester began with the highly anticipated “syllabus week,” which was accompanied by Rush week, for students interested in joining the many social clubs on Ouachita’s campus. On January 20, just days after the beginning of the new semester, the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, was inaugurated in Washington D.C. A week later, on January 27, Trump issued a 90-day travel ban on citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya. The travel ban also indefinitely prevented Syrian refugees from entering the country. Protest and outrage plagued the country and the internet.
February brought a needed break to politics and everyday life alike. The 89th Academy Awards took place on February 26, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the Awards went smoothly until the presentation of the award for Best Picture was presented to the wrong film. Announcer Warren Beatty opened an envelope that contained the name Emma Stone, and declared that the film “La La Land” won the award. It wasn’t until after the cast and crew had taken to the stage that there were whispers of the wrong film being chosen. After an embarrassing flub, the cast and crew of the film “Moonlight” were called to the stage to accept the award for Best Picture. A similar situation had taken place when comedian Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner at the Miss Universe contest in 2015. Harvey even tweeted, “Call me Warren Beatty. I can help get you through this! #Oscars.” Simple errors like these have extreme consequences, especially due to the live broadcasting of each event. Beatty publically apologized, and there didn’t seem to be any bad blood between the crews of both films.
March brought a resurgence of politics into play, mainly through Trump’s accusations of the Obama administration wiretapping Trump’s phones, on March 5. The next day, March 6, Trump issued his second travel ban on immigrants from six predominantly Muslim countries. After extreme backlash from his first attempt at a travel ban, Trump and his administration worked to revise the ban so that it wouldn’t affect current residents and visa holders. It also reversed the indefinite ban on Syrian refugees and replaced it with a review and renewal 120-day freeze. On March 9, the United States military sent 400 troops to Syria, the first to be deployed in the war-torn country.
Disney delivered an uppercut to the box office, releasing a live-action “Beauty and the Beast,” starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, on March 17. To this day, the film has made $1.01 billion in the box office.
by Will Blase, Staff writer
