Over the summer, many of our Raptors traveled abroad, and got to witness many exciting events and sights all across the country. However, there was so much that happened here at home! From radioactive wasps to buildings on top of bodies, there was a lot to report in the Charleston news this past summer.
Kicking it off with a bang, back in early July workers down in a Savannah nuclear facility discovered a wasp’s nest coated with radioactive material. The nest was considered a “legacy radioactive contamination.” The site used to be a nuclear material production and nuclear weapons component site in the 1950s, before being cleaned up and refurbished. Four radioactive wasps had been found near the Savannah River on July 3, according to the New York Times issue by Emily Anthes published in August about the subject. She continues to describe how the wasps were then taken away and marked as radioactive waste, but the environmental problems that this could cause may be of concern. According to Anthes, in 2017 bird droppings were also found with radioactive contamination. The real problem isn’t the wasps, it’s the fact that the area could still be contaminated with radioactive material. The question we all have is if this poses any challenges to human life in the surrounding area. Student opinions about the subject matter here at AMHS have also been reported.
We interviewed several students on their thoughts regarding radioactive wasps to gather some thoughts, and the idea of radioactive contamination not just with wasps, but with students as well.
Many of our students have commented on this development, with different opinions ranging from apathy to concern. For instance, Jack Tierney (12) states that “[radioactive wasps] are chill” while Sam Galloway and Jill Gunn have both expressed fears over these animals. “Very dangerous,” says Galloway, while Gunn states “I have a deep seated deathly fear of radioactive wasps.” Students such as Reed Clendaniel (12) and Sam Galloway (12) have also expressed opinions of fear about these wasps, while Max Tippey (12) states “I hope I get stung so I can be like Spider-Man.”
On top of radioactive wasps, there has been a recent shrimp controversy surrounding allegations that said restaurants were using shrimp that was not local, although the restaurants claimed it was. According to Live Five News, the group released a list of 25 restaurant businesses named in the amended federal lawsuit, some of them which include Page’s Okra Grill, Tavern and Table, and more. We know and have been to some of these restaurants myself, and it is surprising to think that the shrimp they claimed to be local might have not actually been. It affects the local shrimpers who work hard everyday yet cannot compete with the cheaper prices from people who import shrimp to them. Local shrimpers spend hours everyday catching shrimp for the local community and restaurants. A number of restaurants have responded to the claims in different ways, from denying it, admitting they do but either claiming they never specifically stated that their shrimp were local, or saying that they do get shrimp from other places yet it doesn’t affect their restaurants’ hospitality. Many of our Raptors work in these restaurants, and have commented on how the scandal has affected them.
“I was kind of surprised. Because it’s not something that we deserve. We were on the list for a week until we got out because we weren’t supposed to be in there.” – says Jack Childers (12) who worked at Mount Pleasant Seafood over the summer.
“Shrimp is a staple dish of Shem Creek. People go to Shem Creek to eat seafood. I don’t condone unethical shrimping practices.” says Makena Turner (12).
Finally, the College of Charleston is trying to build new dormitories on top of a burial ground. According to an article by Cameron Limes for ABC 4 News, “[t]he site, which contains the remains of approximately 4,000 Africans who died during the transatlantic journey or from enslavement, is the proposed location for the “Coming Street Commons Housing” project.” A number of community members have disapproved and spoken against this initiative, believing it does not respect the deceased and that is not something that they can be proud of. This has occurred before at Anson Street, in downtown Charleston, where they have now made a memorial/reburial for thirty-six deceased. However, community members believe the College of Charleston should avoid building on top of all these deceased, especially due to the large number of people buried there would take much longer and require a much bigger area.
Overall, a lot of crazy events have occurred over the summer. And we encourage our Raptors to stay up to date on these developments.
