Jakob Weizman's E-Resume

Colombians react to the peace deal between government and FARC (Straight News Story) :

For 52 years, an ongoing war between a rebel guerrilla group called the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) and the National Army of Colombia has left over 250,000 people dead, and over six million people internally displaced. 

“I was really hoping it would come to an end with this deal,” said Maria Jose Meija, a student at Universidad de Los Andes in the capital of Colombia, Bogota. “I have seen my people suffer for too long, and this was the closest we have ever come to obtaining peace.” 

On September 27th, the Colombian government, led by President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC, led by Timoleon Jimenez, signed the peace deal after four years of peace talks in Havana, Cuba.

The deal also consisted of the FARC relaunching their campaign as a political party, promoting their communist views in a political way rather than the acts of terror they have been committing for the past 52 years to promote their political agenda. 

The deal had to be ratified by the Colombian people in a nationwide vote, called a referendum. 

Both sides have also agreed to a permanent ceasefire regardless of the outcome of the 

referendum. 

“The entire country was nervous of the outcome,” said Marta Lucia Bocanegra, a Spanish teacher living in Bogota. “It was the only thing that anyone could talk about for weeks all across the country.”

On October 2nd, the nation went to vote on the referendum, with the outcome being very unclear because the country was divided by the issue. 

“I voted against it,” said photographer Erika Diettes. “Voting for the peace deal would be similar to letting the guerillas get away with murder.”

The peace deal also allowed rebels to become members of parliament without spending any time in jail, which upseted many people. 

“I voted yes, I was tired of the bloodshed in my country,”  said bar owner Oscar Diaz Del Castillo . “It is very hard to achieve peace in any conflict in the our world’s history, so it is important to maintain peace when we have the chance, like in this vote.”

50.2% of the population voted no to the peace agreement, thus rejecting the deal and leaving an entire nation in disbelief, with the ongoing question of when the conflict will ever come to an end. 

One woman from Medellin, one of the largest cities in Colombia, told Caracol, a prominent news organization in the country, about her disappointment in the result of the referendum. 

"I never thought I could be this sad. I haven't got any victims in my family, nor any siblings who've joined the guerrilla,” said the woman. “But I think of my country, of the young people and my heart breaks into a thousand pieces."

Leader of the FARC, Timoleon Jimenez, also expressed disappointment in the rejection of the deal in a BBC interview. 

“I blame the destructive power of those who sow hatred and revenge that have influenced the Colombian people’s opinion,” said Jimenez 

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe fueled the fire of rejection towards the deal, launching a campaign for saying no towards the deal. 

Uribe’s campaign believed  the rebels that were guilty of their crimes should serve time in jail, and compensate the victims of the violence.

Uribe proclaimed that he wanted “political pluralism which can't be perceived as a reward for crimes committed, social justice without risk to honest enterprise.”

Another reason why the deal was rejected by the majority of the people was because they 

did not truly believe that the FARC would commit to the peace and the ceasefire, since they have violated it in the past.

Following the rejection of the referendum, Santos promised the people that the ceasefire would continue, and peace talks in Cuba would be occurring once again in order to decide what the next course of action should be between the government negotiators and the FARC.

“I won’t give up,” commented President Santos. “The FARC reiterates its disposition to use only words as a weapon to build towards the future.”

“Count on us, peace will triumph,” added Santos. 

*all interviews in this article were done over phone interviews

WORD COUNT: 684

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37537252

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/world/colombia-peace-deal-defeat.html?_r=0

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37477202

RIT Men's Soccer faces crosstown rival University of Rochester (Speech/meeting cover assignment):

As the rain poured on the soccer players during the Hillside Community Shield at Fauver Stadium, the Tigers and the Yellowjackets fought on to ensure a win for their side until the weather forced a delay in the game. 

The event is a charity match between the two Rochester teams to benefit the Hillside Family of Agencies. This organization provides health, education and human services for poverty stricken families and their children.

“It was really unfortunate that the weather had to ruin our game,” said First year right midfielder Dante DeSisti. “ I feel like we would have had a better outcome on the game if there hadn’t been any complications with the weather.”

The rain began to start drizzling before the game started, and halfway through the first half, it began to start pouring. 

“It was really difficult to keep watching the game,” said first year Ryan Waryam, who was a spectator at the match. “I even had an umbrella, and that didn’t fully protect me from the rain.”

Lightning began to strike during the end of the first half, and delayed the game for nearly an hour.  

“It was really tiring to wait through the delays during the game, but I wanted to support my school no matter what as they played their crosstown rivals,” said first year Henry Amsterburg. 

The spectators in attendance for the game was about 100 people. However, people began to start leaving as the weather progressively worsened. 

“I came out to see my cousin Dante play in the game,” said Greece Athena high school senior Kendall Miller. “Unfortunately I forgot to bring an umbrella and the weather just kept taking a turn for the worse, so I had to head back home for shelter.”

RIT’s goalie second year  Peter Cinibulk was superb in goal for the Tigers, racking in seven saves during the match. 

Strikers Anthony Defeo and Gene Sicoli, both second years, both continued to utilize the open space in the Yellowjacket’s defense, creating chance for the Tigers. 

At the end of 90 minutes between the two teams, the match was forced into overtime due to 0-0 score. 

In overtime, the Yellowjackets were given a penalty kick because the Tigers were called for a foul in their own penalty area. Bryce Ikeda stepped up to take the kick, and scored to end the long-lasting game between the two rivals with a win for the University of Rochester. 

The referee was given backlash and criticism for calling the foul, with RIT’s coaches exclaiming to the ref that it was not a foul. 

According to players on the team, one of the coaches told the referee “that he better get back into his car before anything happens,” clearly threatening the referee for his poor call that cost the Tigers the game. 

“It was a well fought game between both sides,” said first year defender Ben Frenett. “I’m happy with the way we played, but I am disappointed in the outcome due to the referee’s call at the end.”

WORD COUNT: 503