Photo Essay

The debate on Net Neutrality

During the 2016 Presidential Election, there were many topics that were subject to heavy debate. One of those issues that was debated (but not as prominent as other issues) was the ongoing issue of Net Neutrality. Many people are unaware though what exactly Net Neutrality is.

So what's the big issue?

Net Neutrality is defined as: "the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites." per Google.
What does this mean? It means basically Net Neutrality is the right that all internet providers/sources will treat all it's data the same. It does not give the providers the right to discriminate which websites will get a faster speed or which websites will run slower. Everyone runs the same.

Ars technica

Is it really a big deal if we lose Net Neutrality?

I think it is. For every website to be equal is important. The web is a space that everyone deserves to access and I would not like if one website did not get the same treatment as another, even if another website is more popular. Some websites will not have the opportunity to grow as much if net neutrality was no longer. Providers might even charge more money in order to give more data to another website, which is not right.

What do our politicians think about this? They are the ones who will decide, anyway. 

The Democrats are for Net Neutrality, with 2016 Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton supporting it, afraid that without it, we would have stagnant competition and fights between internet service providers. Republicans, on the other hand. are mostly against it. Their candidate, Donald Trump, is against it. His reasoning? "It will target conservative media." With another candidate, Ted Cruz, calling Net Neutrality "The internet's Obamacare"

So that sums up Net Neutrality. What is your opinion on it? Leave it in the comments!

Why Iona?

There's many colleges I could have chosen for my studies. Why did I choose Iona?

Iona wasn't a backup school for me, nor a top school. Iona was not even considered by me until they had come to my school and my guidance counselor made me meet with them for an instant decision application. Having now spent 2 full years at Iona College, including one semester abroad, I am very happy my guidance counselor pushed me for that Iona instant decision application. Iona was the only local school I ended up applying to. I had all intentions on leaving New York, even the northeast, and possibly even the country, to go to college.

Iona became my home for a several reasons:

• Proximity to New York City
• Small class sizes 
• I received a scholarship
• I could live at home and study
• Great athletics program and communications department
• Unique Study Abroad opportunities

A snowy day on campus. photo by me

Funny enough, I ended up realizing Iona had everything I wanted in a college. With the small class sizes, I knew that I could be a person, not a number, and make an impact in the classroom, which I wouldn't at a big school where there would be hundreds in a class. I also wanted a school that was near a big city. Some of my other top choices were LaSalle in Philly, Merrimack near Boston, and University of Tampa. I knew, since I wanted to study communications I needed to be near a big city, and there is no better place than New York City for Mass Comm. Iona also offered me the ability to live at home and go to school. While it is a 45 minute drive, commuting to Iona has allowed me to save on room & board which is another heft cost, no matter the school I would choose.
I also wanted a school with a good Division 1 program in a sport, because if you know me you know how much i love my sports teams. Iona has proven to me in my two years that's what they have, with the men's basketball team making the national tournament, in both years I've been here. Another big point for me was study abroad programs. Coming into college I knew I wanted to study abroad. While Iona doesn't have as many programs as other schools did, they have the Passport Western Europe (PWE) program, which allowed me to study in Dublin, Barcelona, and Rome for 5 weeks each last fall semester. That semester abroad was truly one of the greatest times of my life, and I recommend study abroad to anyone that has the opportunity.
Iona College was truly a blessing to me that came out of nowhere. If you are considering Iona, or didn't previously but enjoy the reasons I've mentioned in this post, look into Iona College! Never would I have pictured myself at Iona because I did not look into it at first, but now I am so happy I am a Gael and wouldn't change it for anything else.
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NYCFC's David Villa gets one last chance for Spain

It had been 3 years since David Villa had last stepped on the pitch for the Spanish National Team. That last time he saw the pitch for his country was in the 2014 World Cup, a 3-0 win against Australia in which he scored the opening goal, his 59th for Spain, the most ever for his country. It's even rare that a 35 year old would be playing for a national team, let alone a world super power. But when Villa was subbed on for Isco in the 87th minute last Saturday, he broke his 3 year absence. The Bernabeu broke into chants of "David Villa" before he even came on.

David Villa came in for Spain in the 87th minute of their win vs Italy. Photo:FourFourTwo

When David Villa left Atletico Madrid in 2014 for the MLS, no one in Spain thought they'd ever seen him again. The former star was moving to a new club, New York City FC, who play at Yankee Stadium, which, if you couldn't tell, is not a soccer stadium. But 3 years later, David Villa is producing numbers no one thought he could put up. That is, no one but Villa.
In the 2 1/2 years Villa has been in NYC, he's scored 60 goals for the team in 90 appearances. He was the league's MVP in 2016, and with 19 goals with 9 matches left, he has a chance to beat the MLS single season record of 27, and is looking like the favorite to repeat as MVP. David Villa plays with his heart out, and while he is, by trade, a forward, he plays whatever the team asks of him. When NYCFC played the Chicago Fire back in July, NYCFC midfielder Yangel Herrera recieved a red card in the 11th minute. With one less man on the field for the remaining 79 minutes of the match, Villa played one of his best games of his career. Villa scored a goal, and covered most of the field during the match, even dropping back on defense and making a few tackles. NYCFC won that game 2-1, against, at the time, the second best team in MLS. New York City now holds that distinction, now only behind Toronto FC on points.
David Villa played those last few minutes of Spain's match vs Italy with his heart on his chest, proving to the crows the old man still has it. While Villa did get injured in training after the match preparing for Spain's World Cup Qualifier at Lichtenstein, don't expect that to be Villa's last cal up for Spain. If he stays in this form at New York City, which, is very much possible, you can expect to see David Villa as a super sub for Spain at the World Cup in Russia next season.