With this being our last issue before 2014, it makes sense to reflect a little before moving forward. This year, like any year, changed the world and added its unique stamp on history — politically, socially, and culturally. Here are some of the moments and movements that shaped the last 365 days (give or take a month).
In entertainment:
Just this week, 40-year-old • Fast and the Furious star Paul Walker died, tragically and ironically, in a car crash. Cory Monteith, the 31-year-old star of TV’s Glee, died of a drug overdose in July. Other notable deaths in the entertainment industry this year included singer-songwriter and Velvet Underground founder Lou Reed, espionage-fiction writer Tom Clancy, Sopranos star James Gandolfini, and famous film critic Roger Ebert.
As of publication, • Iron Man 3 was the year’s highest grossing film, while Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience and Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2 were notably successful albums. Grand Theft Auto V was the top video game, and had the biggest debut of any entertainment release in history.
Gravity• and 12 Years a Slave are currently the frontrunners for Best Picture at next year’s Oscars. The former was a giant leap for mankind in terms of technical innovation; the latter is one of the most brutal accounts of history to come from Hollywood — this decade’s Schindler’s List.
Breaking Bad • had record ratings for a cable series in its final episodes, and furthermore, cemented its legacy as what some are calling the best television show of all time.
Miley Cyrus and Amanda • Bynes: two famous female tweens grew into raunchy, notorious adults… seemingly in months. Cyrus has found success and new fandom thanks to her racy persona, but Bynes has been deemed mentally unstable due to her self-destructive, concerning online presence.
Events:
The Chelyabinsk Meteor collided with Earth, causing major destruction and injuries in Russia. It was the largest object to enter the planet’s atmosphere in over 100 years.
The Boston Bombing: two explosives detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring 264. It was one of the most shocking acts of terrorism in the U.S. since 9/11.
Pope Benedict XVI resigned: the first pope to do so in 600 years. He was succeeded by Pope Francis of Argentina.
In April, an eight-story building collapsed in Bangladesh, killing 1,129 people. Over 2,500 more were injured.
November saw one of the worst natural disasters of the decade: Typhoon Haiyan, which killed 5,653 people in the Philippines and Vietnam.
Prince William and Kate Middleton had their first child together. Prince George, the “Royal Baby,” could hypothetically be king in the future, if the monarchy is kept.
George Zimmerman, who shot and killed an unarmed black man named Trayvon Martin in 2012, was acquitted of the charge, in the year’s most contentious court case.
At York:
Canadian filmmaker and York professor, was imprisoned in Egypt on August 16th, along with Dr. Tarek Loubani. The two-month arrest included a hunger strike. Greyson was finally freed on October 5th.
The subway extension, which is set to bring a stop on the TTC metro system all the way to York in 2015, continued this year. With heavier work underway, there were more bussing delays, and some total reshaping of the campus.
For no good reason but democracy, York’s students voted in favour of a new Student Centre, which will set our financially-challenged school back another few million dollars.
The Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) have played a major role in recent York University news: security has had alumni protestors leave the campus, a past student was banned for his involvement in a SAIA rally in March, and the group’s official status as a York club was revoked. All of this has contributed to York’s nationally recognized free-speech limitations.
York began construction on a new building for the Lassonde School of Engineering. The construction will cost $85 million, and is set to further diversify the career paths of York graduates. The building is currently aiming for completion in 2015. It will be a massive, artistically unique construction, near Curtis Lecture Hall.
In politics:
Rob Ford: Toronto’s incumbent mayor took his floundering reputation to new heights, after being caught on camera smoking crack cocaine. He later admitted to smoking crack. The story has made Ford the most talked about politician in the world, being the focus of international news (including CNN) and satire (Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show).
Ed Snowden, a computer expert and former CIA employee, divulged 200,000 classified documents to the world in what could be called a lazy remake of the Julian Assange story. Snowden’s revelations gave new perspective on the privacy-slaughtering measures taken for U.S. security.
Syria’s civil conflict continued to escalate into 2013, with the use of extremely controversial chemical warfare on the country’s own people.
In a move from Republicans to get cutbacks in Obamacare, the U.S.’s federal government shut down for a whopping two weeks in October. The move proved futile and fruitless, except that it cost the government billions of dollars.
Two of the most divisive politicians of the last century, former UK prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, and Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, died this year. The latter was still politically active at the time of his death.
Dustin Dyer
Features Editor
