Good News

In this informational article, Pooja Patel discusses a few good news pieces from around the world and moments of joy that will surely make you smile. Keep reading to learn more!

Good news

By Pooja Patel

Happy June! It is officially the last month of school! Welcome back to another month of good news brought to you one last time. It is a very bittersweet moment, as this year is coming to an end. This year has been full of so many memories, events, and ups and downs, but it is only right to end it on a positive note and jump into summer with enthusiasm and leave all of our stress behind. So, here are the last few pieces of good news from me to you for this school year, and I hope I manage to add a little bit of serotonin to your day. Keep on reading to learn about the new agreement for the national soccer teams of men and women, environment success, and huge breaking news for the graduating class at a college in East Texas!

Photo credit: NPR

The U.S men's and women's soccer teams will be paid equally!

The first piece of good news that I have for you is a huge moment for female athletes as, recently, the U.S. soccer federation announced that it has reached a deal to pay the men’s and women’s national teams equally. Per NPR, "the governing body and women’s team announced a settlement to resolve the long-standing pay dispute, with the federation agreeing to pay the two teams equally in the next union contract."

This is huge progress toward reducing the wage gap between men and women in the same profession. Not only that, but the federation has also agreed to give the women's team $22 million in back pay. This achievement is a huge moment for the United States Women’s National Team. One of the players, Beck Sauerbrunn, who is a player on the women’s team, said that "achieving equal pay was the result of gains players have made both on and off the field."

We hope that this agreement and its historic achievement in not only providing for equal pay but also in improving the training and playing environment for national teams will similarly serve as the foundation for the continued growth of women’s soccer both in the United States and abroad." Well said, Sauerbrunn! This agreement serves as a historic moment that has heavily changed the game. The support from the men's team has also been encouraging and Tim Ream, who is a defender on the U.S men's national team, showed his support by tweeting that it has "Been a long process for all sides but proud of everyone involved for reaching and achieving this. It now truly is "One Nation, One Team."

The fight for equal pay between men and women has been a long journey, and this moment is a huge step towards providing equal chance and treatment for women in fields that are doing and working equally hard but still not gaining equal pay. When the women’s team players started their goal to end the wage discrimination for them, they argued that "they had been paid less than their male counterparts for decades, even though they won world championships and Olympic gold medals" per The New York Times.

The women’s national teams have put in so much work and dedication towards their passion for soccer, and it is finally time that they get what they deserve for all their hard work. This prideful moment serves as an example to many girls around the world that they deserve nothing less than what is offered to men who work in the same job. It is past time to raise awareness about wage discrimination and to continue advocating for women's equality. The U.S women’s national team has made many people proud and this achievement of theirs’ is truly remarkable.

Photo Credit: Clean Up The Lake

Scuba divers remove 25,000 pounds of trash from Lake Tahoe!

The second piece of good news I have for you is that it was a huge success, not only for us but, more importantly, for our planet. In Lake Tahoe, a group of scuba divers managed to remove 25,000 pounds of trash that were littered throughout 72 miles of the lake's shoreline. Wow! That is a lot of trash and a lot of work from these scuba divers who took the time to make this earth a better place and cleaner. The local nonprofit organization behind this project is called Clean Up The Lake. The founder, Colin West, who is a resident of Lake Tahoe and an environmentalist, stated, "Ultimately, what we hope people remember is the length that one group of individuals was willing to go to in order to protect their home and their planet."

These people’s actions will be remembered and appreciated by many people, especially the residents in the area. According to Kron4, the dive team collected a total of 24,797 pieces of trash, weighing 25,281 pounds. This is so shocking but incredible. The trash collected included many unexpected items, including engagement rings, 1980s Nixon film cameras, lamp posts, "No littering" signs, and lost wallets, along with, of course, the typically expected litter like water bottles and pairs of sunglasses. This project took "81 days of physical labor to complete," per RGJ.

Per Lake Tahoe This Week, Lake Tahoe is a beautiful lake and is known as one of the purest water lakes in the world and is amongst the world's 20 oldest lakes. It is unfortunate that it was littered with so much trash. Often, the beauty of this planet is sacrificed by our actions. Sometimes it is easy to overlook the impact of littering in our daily lives. At the moment, it might seem like a small thing or not a big deal, but when about 25,000 pounds of trash is collected from only one lake, suddenly it is a big deal and an eye-opener to our doings.

It is extremely important to be mindful of our actions and how they are harming the earth that we live on. The three golden R's ("reduce, reuse, recycle") are an effective way to help clean up the earth that provides us with a home and restore its beauty. This organization and the team of scuba divers did an amazing job, and their work is admired by many, especially in the long run. They are appreciated and applauded for their dedication to making their home a cleaner and healthier place.

Photo Credit: Complex

anonymous donor paid off all student debt for a graduating class!

The last piece of good news that I have for you is such a huge deal for the graduating college students this year from Wiley College because, at their commencement ceremony, they were told that an anonymous donor had paid off all their student loans.

Over 100 students are graduating this year from Wiley College, a historically black college (HBCU) in East Texas. Per NBC, the college posted a video of the ceremony with the students being told "You are debt-free. You do not owe the college a penny." College can be very expensive and financially burdensome for so many students. This generous donation by an anonymous person has left a forever remembering impact on these students’ lives, who will be able to move on in their lives debt-free and ride through the financial stress put on them. The estimated total for the balances owed to the college by the graduating class was about $300,000. This amount was all paid off by the donor, and the students can now start their life after college worry-free of debt. Students will forever remember this selfless action by an anonymous donor!

Well, that's all I have for you Scroll readers for June. It has been an amazing time for the past few years writing for Scroll. This column has brought me so much happiness and I hope it brightened up your days. Being a senior is hard because leaving all of this behind can be very difficult, but I'm glad I got the chance to share my writing with you, and thank you for your support through my journey as a writer. I hope you have a great summer! This is me, officially signing off. Bye, guys!

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