Over 400 area college students graduate with associate's degrees

Last week, Parkland College announces its candidates for Spring 2026 graduation. Here is our list of area grads listed alphabetically by hometown.

Allerton
Donald Z. Ruwe

Bismarck
Andrew D. Stephens

Catlin
Alyssa J. Lange

Champaign
Ariana K. Hopkins
Adam Adham
Ethan J. Alvares
Nathalie H. Amisi
Shaersti R. Anderson
Patience L. Avorkliya
Samantha D. Baker
Kristen L. Ballew
Stretton T. Beal
Robin M. Betka
Jose L. Beuschlein
Justice J. Birdow
Keyana R. Bishop
Ornella S. Bofeno
Ashlee M. Brown
Sanya D. Butler
Raquel A. Butts
Desiree S. Capers-Meads
Ava E. Carder
Rebekah M. Carpenter
Kassandra L. Casco
Kiarra A. Caston
Katrina R. Catizone
Kulvir Jaydeep
Jacob S. Chittick
Cameron D. Cornell
Debra A. Cossie
Elizabeth B. Crompton
Brandon M. Cruz
James M. Davila
Destiny M. Davis
Desiree A. Devero
Jahniese M. Dorsey-Robinson
Kamari L.T. Dunklin
Jacob D. Dupre
Kassendra R. Dybas
Graham X. Dyson
Davis J. Early
Brennen K. Easter
Marissa E. Echols
Trevon Edwards
Johnathon M. Elam
Rowan E. Enstrom
Jacqueline Esquivel
Victor Fenandez Romero
Brandon M. Finke
Silas Fisher
Sierra S. Foltz
Julia Foster
Meimei Gao
Brian Garcia-Corona
Dewayne Giboney Jr
Javario S. Gill
Dominique A. Gillon
Leslie F. Godinez
Andrew M. Gonzalez
Jonathan S. Hahn
McKenzie L. Hamer
Curtis R. Harvey
Rommy A. Hassan
Nicholas R. Hasty
Clayton A. Hausmann
Kaia A. Helbling
Natalia P. Helvig
Brionna R. Henderson
Grant A. Herges
Marlen C. Hernandez
Denise Herrera
Tara J. Holycross
David A. Hubbard
India M. Huffman
Jami N. Isom
Aretha G. Johnson
Juyoung A. Jones
Shounok Kar
Mamie E. Kasombola Etshoko
Maya C.R. Keeble
Nathan S. Kereri
Kevine K. Ket
Willow I. Keys
Laura Kim
Sani Kimura
Nasja G. King-McDonald
Emily S. Kirkendoll
Emma J. Konstanty
Chelsea M. Kregel
Marc C. Levi Jr.
Braylen E. Lewis
Evan A. Li
Irvin H. Lugo Fuentes
Eric N. Madden
Kenadi E.M. Malone
Erica G. Markell
Jon'neya M. McClendon
Wilson D. McDaniel
Jamaria L. McDonald
Taryn K. Melvin
Brooke A. Mercer
Laszlo J.L. Meredith
Melissa Mez-Marquez
Katherine M. Miller
Jerry S. Minnieweather
Andrew Miranda
Elizabeth A. Moisson
Emily G. Moore
Jasmine L. Morris
Zion M. Moses
Berenice N. Ndombasi-Luzala
Kristy Nham
Roan V. O'Brien
Nathaniel G. O'Connor
Fatimah A. Odeh
Onyinyechi N. Okolo
Collins N. Osuji
Nassreen H. Ouzidane
Mahi A. Patel
Nisha A. Patel
Lawanda D. Peeples
Abriana R. Pelmore
Sailey N. Peterson
Ashley R. Phillips
Kylia E. Pierson
Jude N. Pisarczyk
Zaynab A. Rahman
Delaney R. Record
Riley A. Ries
Landon T. Robinson
Illiana A. Rosaliano
Elijah R. Ruggieri
Samantha I. Ruggieri
Josiah S. Rutledge
Jihwan Ryu
Burak Safaker
Lorie Rose P. Samalea
Estella M. Samii
Lauren O. Sanders
Bryan B. Sarol
Matthew D. Sellers Jr.
Joseph M. Settelmyer
Anya M. Shannon
Fedor Shemetov
Natasha B. Siwila
Michael I. Skaj
Clifton E. Smith
Kaleb A. Smith Sr.
Cameron P. Smucker
Naomi J. Stanton
Joshua R. Stephen
Adjo N. Tadjere
Madison E. Taylor
Haley N. Thierry
Elaysha L. Thomas
Paressa F. Thomas
Pierce M. Thompson
Jaden L. Tohill
Chancelvie K. Tshinganga
Richard A. Undresser IV
Alejandro Urias
Bryan A. Vaughn
Benjamin I. Vazquez
Akhila Vyas
Madison E. Walker
Elijah L. Walton
Michael D. West
Calvin E. Wetzel
Michelle L. Wilkerson
Candis Williams
Tahj C. Williams
Lera L. Wilson
Jayden A. Wilson
Amber N. Wilson
Elizabeth P. Wingo
Joshua S. Young
Thomas J. Zalabak
Chuyu L. Zhang

Fisher
Jenna H. Clemmons
Payton M. Darling
Sarah Hershberger
Kaylen E. Jones
Cole P. Lawrence
Drayton A. Lutz
Shelbee T. Owens
Alex C. Reynolds

Gifford
Esbeydi J. Garcia Lucatero
Rebekah G. Maxwell

Homer
Lara D. Copass
Amber R. Davis
Gwendolyn M. Happ
Kenneth E. Lindsey
Lillian T. Montgomery
Brenley A. Sands

Ivesdale
Andy W. Brennan

Mahomet
Noah A. Adams
Fae M. Allen
Brooke A. Arnett
Trevor G. Bailey
Stephanie M. Bair
Grace E. Bednar
Alec K. Bergman
Grayson T. Bickel
Quade D. Bristle
Isaac L. Burge
Madison K. Byrd
Olivia J. Dewitt
Alexa N. Dhom
Cohen T. Difilippo
Adam J. Dyer
Kalynn J. Edwards
Ellis Z. Evans
Teresa K. Foutch
Hannah L. Frank
Jessica L. Gehrt
Madelyn R. Graham
Kenadi L. Granadino
Julian A. Gustin-Saballos
Reese R. Harrell
Makenzie H. Haskett
Ava M. Henderson
Lloyd A. Hinton
Peighton O. Hunt
Tetiana Jockusch
Olivia G. Kinney
Ethan P. Krutsinger
Hailey E. Litteken
Michelle L. Little
Kent Markley
Audrey M. Marshall
Andrew A. Mitchem
Marina T. Moore
Leif O. Olson
Emma R. Schultz
Austin R. Shaffer
Nicholas S. Sheperd
Elias C. Simpson
Cade R. Starrick
Coehn B. Stenbergen
Aidan P. Talbott
Elena R. Tompkins
Meranda D. Tutor
Claudia K. Vicente
Ella G. Walk
Evan W. White

Mansfield
Bree N. Abbott
Connor R. Himes
Riley C. Pruitt

Ogden
Bridget M. Blackburn
Jayci M. Hayes
Nicholas D. Jackson
Emma S. McKinney
Zoey M. Sweet
Mitchell D. Wright

Penfield
Jarrod E. Gayheart
Lindsay M. Suits

Pesotum
Shaelynn N. Carrier
Faith L. Lampe
Keaton K. Roether
John M. Wanninger

Philo
Larry G. Bent Jr.
Kristina A. Bletscher
Brenlee G. Dalton
Bailey E. Grob
Elijah L. Langley
Jocelyn C. Lefaivre
Kyleigh J. Weller

Rantoul
Estevan Aguayo
Lanea D. Anglin
Tito A. Casco
Casey L. Cawvey
Freddyan J. Collazo
Rabekah F. Comeau
Brock A. Cross Sr.
Isabela Gaspar-Diego
Katelynn O. Graham
Elizabeth S. Handal
Abigail M. Harms
Sonya Hernandez
Keira F. Hutson
Kenneth L Jones Sr.
Jackson T. Kinsel
Evan M. Larson
Valentine D. Machorro Barrios
Shaiel R. Maldanado
Amarie M. Martin
Delell H. Mughrabi
Rose J. Paul
Lovenya C. Perry
Pascalinegrace N. Phongo
Ryan Rademaker
Heidy M. Rivera
Andrew M. Rokke
Lillie A. Seals
Aurelhia J. Segersbol
Jefferson F. Shuck
Cherie L. Sinclair
Lily G. Stalter
Jaime R. Stanley
Kasey L. Starkey
Nyquiah N. Walker

Rossville
Alyssa T. Matthews

Royal
Mya A. Bott
MacKenzie L. Loschen

St. Joseph
Abigail G. Dow Sr.
Sadie A. Ericksen
Hailey T. Gaines
Brayden C. Grimsey
Connor M. Hale
Robert M. Jeffries
Ethan M. Jeffries
Alexis A. Lackey
Hayden M. Lewis
Rowan C. Musselman
Addison E. Roesch
Gracyn L. Sjoken
Nicholas R. Skelton
Aescton M.S. Slowikowski
Lili A. Wentzloff
John R. Wright

Savoy
Francis E. Angelo
Edith Angelo
Emmalee W. Atkins
Emily J. Benson
Zoe L. Bryan
Katelin N. Clark
Jackson R. Cook
Eva K. Cottrell
Amanda G. Daugherty
Ethan R. Douglas
Colin T. Ginos
Kamryn J. Holmes
Mahillan Kalaimani
Corey Kelly
Selah D. King
Gavin N. Martin
Kailey E. May
Samara S. McArthur
Courtney S. Miller
Thiziri Mohammed
Diamond I. Rainey
Anne L. Schultz
Margaret A. Spafford
Tyler N. Tylka
Philip S. Wachter
Aidan T. Williams
Davi J.S. Yoo Sr.
Sage O. Young

Seymour
Jeremiah R. Black
Jama M. Craig
Cooper J. Jay
Marin K. Minick

Sidney
Emma D. Fish
Brookyln M. Haas

Thomasboro
Chase C. Drewes
Darian I. Figueroa
Kylie A. Parkins

Tolono
Luke A. Bronzenc
Elsa Burnside
Jayci R. McGraw
Jolie K. Meye
Gabriel R. Pound
Oliver M. Rawlings
McKayla R. Schendel
Sidnie I. Wade
Bailey K. Wayne
Ian R. White
Madysen A. York

Urbana
Dilichukwu C. Agu
Adrian I. Alcazar
Randy J. Alvarado
Ava D. Anderson
Fatiah F. Aroworade
Esther L. Asandjo
Yasir S. Badillo Acosta
Noah G. Baker
Juliano L. Baptiste
Celia G. Barkley
Yael S. Beretta
Amari E. Blackwell
Andrea P. Boley
Haney Claire P. Bombales
Chrysler O. Bonita
Montrell X. Brooks
Jessica D. Burgener
Julian I. Campos
Danning Chai
MacKenzie R. Collier
Bryce R. Collins
Joshua N. Cruz Hernandez
Marisol Diego-Juan
Gabrielle M. Ellis
Tarynn K. Enghausen
William J. Eubig
D'Chancy E. Fletcher
Lisette C. Gasser
Abigail R. Gillespey
Genevieve O. Grace
Skylar C. Hartley
Kyle A. Heckenmueller
Giovanni Hernandez Jr.
Aliya A. Jones
Dominique S. Jones
Daniel P. Kamberelis
Kaya Karabeyaz-Cowling
Ethan S. Kearns
Taehoon Kim
Eleanor R. Klein
Ashlyn D. Lane
Braulio T. Lemus Navarrete
John D. Lyons
Morgan M. Mackert
Nija J. McClain
Max J. McCracken
Bobbie R. McElroy
Shay P. McMillen
Trezorann D. Moore
Emilia H. Muckenhirn
Samantha L. Musasa
Madelyn M. Neville
Lucas M. Oldfield
Tresody L. Ondongo
Whitley S. Pearson
Christopher A. Pella
Giovanni Perez
Dragos I. Popa
Katherine P. Porter
John A. Powell
Channing S. Profit
Tajia R. Ragel
Brianah C. Ray
Gustavo J. Rodriguez
Lisbet Rojas
Megan E. Rucker
Mia D. Ruiz Almaraz
Alfredo Sanchez
Allan Savathphoune
Katherine L. Steininger
Megan N. Stumpf
Janelle J. Tardy
Zachary L. Tasker
Taliah R. Tate
Umberto Tucceri
Divina Tumba
Chioma P. Ugwu
Brianne E. Weiss
Jasmine B. Wilson

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Vienna Class of 2026 celebrates 17 students with Associate’s Degrees

Seventeen Vienna High School seniors have earned both their diplomas and associate’s degrees through an early college program. The Class of 2026 milestone highlights more than 3,000 college credit hours completed before graduation.

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VIENNA - A group of Vienna High School seniors is closing out their high school careers with an uncommon academic milestone, earning both diplomas and associate’s degrees before graduation.

Seventeen members of the Class of 2026 — Brynndolyn Schiller, Bryce Partridge, Destiny Graham, Heather Aldrich, Kristen Williams, Laney Slife, Briley Merchant, Cadence Hennesy, Iris Mount, Korina Mize, Nella Billingsley, Addeanna Steinmann, Nevaeh Nagy, Emily Beggs, Kylie Vaughn, Gabrielle Buretz, and Sydnie Kerley — have completed associate’s degrees through Shawnee Community College while still enrolled at Vienna High School.

In total, the class has accumulated more than 3,000 college credit hours through early college and dual credit opportunities. Students earned coursework through dual credit classes, online learning, and direct enrollment at partner institutions including Shawnee Community College, Southeastern Illinois College, John A. Logan College, and Southern Illinois University.

Superintendent Joshua Stafford said the program continues to expand academic and career opportunities for students while producing long-term outcomes that extend beyond high school.

Vienna High School’s early college initiative allows students to earn substantial college credit, pursue career pathways, and work toward Illinois State Board of Education College and Career Pathway Endorsements. District officials say the program is designed to give students a direct route into higher education and career fields.

Stafford noted that many graduates continue on to complete bachelor’s and even master’s degrees within a few years of finishing high school, with some returning to contribute professionally within their communities.

The milestone was recognized during a series of end-of-year events, including the Vienna High School Baccalaureate on May 13, the Shawnee Community College commencement on May 15, and Vienna High School graduation later that same evening.

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TAGS: Vienna High School dual enrollment program milestones, Class of 2026 associate degree graduates Illinois, Shawnee Community College early college partnership success, Vienna High School students college credit hours 3000+, Illinois high school dual credit early college achievements, Career pathway endorsement high school programs Illinois, Early college high school success stories Southern Illinois

Texture and patterns in interior design: How to transform any space

Explore how texture and pattern work together to create depth, movement, and balance in interior design, transforming ordinary rooms into dynamic living spaces.

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Rao Mubashir/PEXELS

Interior designers plan rooms by thinking about how people move through the space, where the main focus points are, and whether everything is the right size and proportion. They make rooms feel more interesting by combining different materials, textures, lighting, and colors instead of using just one style. They also look at walls and how a room is lived in to understand how the space works and to help guide how they will redesign it.

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by Casey Cartwright
Contributing Writer

When it comes to interior design, color often gets the most attention. However, what truly elevates a space from flat and predictable to dynamic and memorable is the thoughtful use of texture and pattern. Understanding how texture and pattern transform interior spaces can help homeowners and designers alike create rooms that feel full of character without overwhelming the eye.

Texture and pattern work together to influence how a room feels, how light interacts with surfaces, and how visual interest is distributed throughout a space. Whether subtle or bold, these elements are essential tools for creating environments that feel complete and intentional.

The Power of Texture in Interior Design

Texture refers to the surface quality of materials—how something feels or appears to feel. It can be tactile, like a soft wool rug or a rough stone wall, or visual, like a glossy tile that reflects light. Incorporating a mix of textures helps prevent a room from feeling one-dimensional.

For example, pairing smooth surfaces like glass or polished metal with softer materials such as fabric or wood creates contrast that adds depth. A leather sofa against a matte-painted wall, or a velvet chair placed on a natural fiber rug, immediately introduces variation that draws the eye.

Texture also affects how light behaves in a room. Rough textures tend to absorb light, creating a warmer, cozier feel, while smooth, reflective surfaces bounce light around, making spaces appear brighter and more open. By combining both, you can strike a balance between comfort and brightness.

How Pattern Adds Movement and Personality

While texture brings depth, pattern introduces movement and rhythm. Patterns can be bold and geometric, soft and organic, or somewhere in between. They guide the eye across a space and can be used to highlight specific areas or tie different design elements together.

Patterns are commonly introduced through textiles like rugs, curtains, and upholstery, but they can also be incorporated into wallpaper and flooring. A patterned rug can anchor a seating area, while subtle wallpaper can add interest without overpowering the room.

The key to using pattern effectively is balance. Mixing multiple patterns can create a rich, layered look, but it requires a thoughtful approach. Varying the scale of patterns helps prevent visual clutter.

Layering Texture and Pattern for Depth

The most compelling interiors often feature a careful layering of both texture and pattern. This layering creates a sense of depth that makes a room feel more inviting and lived-in.

Start with a neutral base, such as walls and larger furniture pieces, and build from there. Introduce texture through materials like wood, metal, and fabric, then add pattern through accessories. This approach allows you to experiment without committing to permanent changes.

For instance, a neutral sofa can be transformed with patterned cushions and a textured throw blanket. Similarly, a simple dining area can feel more dynamic with the addition of a patterned rug and textured lighting fixtures.

Using Texture and Pattern in Kitchens and Bathrooms

Kitchens and bathrooms are ideal spaces to experiment with texture and pattern because they naturally incorporate a variety of materials. Tile, in particular, offers endless opportunities for creativity.

Backsplashes are a perfect example of how pattern can enhance a functional area. A well-designed backsplash not only protects the wall but also serves as a focal point. Incorporating unique tile designs can elevate the overall aesthetic of the kitchen without requiring a full renovation.

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Charlotte May/PEXELS

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Designers often look to creative approaches like ways to incorporate cement tile backsplashes in your home when exploring how pattern can be introduced in a way that feels both stylish and cohesive. These types of design elements demonstrate how even small areas can have a significant visual impact.

In bathrooms, textured tiles or patterned floors can create a spa-like atmosphere. Mixing matte and glossy finishes or combining different tile shapes adds another layer of interest that enhances the overall design.

Creating Balance Without Overwhelm

While texture and pattern are powerful tools, they must be used thoughtfully to avoid overwhelming a space. Too many competing elements can make a room feel chaotic rather than cohesive.

One effective strategy is to establish a focal point. This could be a patterned accent wall, a textured piece of furniture, or a statement rug. Once the focal point is in place, the rest of the room can be designed to complement it rather than compete with it.

Color coordination also plays a crucial role. Keeping a consistent color palette helps unify different textures and patterns, ensuring that the space feels harmonious. Even bold patterns can feel balanced when they share common colors with other elements in the room.

The Role of Texture and Pattern in Different Design Styles

Different design styles use texture and pattern in unique ways. In minimalist interiors, texture often takes center stage, with subtle variations in materials adding interest without relying heavily on pattern. Think of a monochromatic room with layered fabrics and natural materials that create depth through simplicity.

In contrast, eclectic or bohemian styles embrace bold patterns and a wide range of textures. These spaces often feature a mix of colors and materials that come together to create a vibrant and personalized environment.

Traditional interiors may use classic patterns like stripes or florals, combined with rich textures such as wood and upholstery. Modern designs, on the other hand, often favor clean lines and geometric patterns paired with sleek materials.

Practical Tips for Incorporating Texture and Pattern

When introducing texture and pattern into your home, start small and build gradually. Accessories like pillows, rugs, and artwork are easy to swap out, making them ideal for experimenting with different looks.

Pay attention to contrast. Combining different textures creates visual interest. Similarly, mixing patterns of varying scales prevents the design from feeling monotonous.

Lighting is another important consideration. Proper lighting highlights textures and enhances patterns, bringing out the details that might otherwise go unnoticed. Natural light, in particular, can dramatically change how textures and patterns appear throughout the day.

Why These Elements Matter

At its core, interior design is about creating spaces that feel comfortable, functional, and visually appealing. Texture and pattern play a crucial role in achieving this balance. They add dimension, guide the eye, and create a sense of cohesion that ties a room together.

Revisiting how texture and pattern transform interior spaces, it becomes clear that these elements are not just decorative; they are foundational to effective design. By thoughtfully incorporating texture and pattern, you can create spaces that feel both dynamic and harmonious.

Bringing It All Together

Transforming an interior space doesn’t always require major renovations or expensive upgrades. Often, it’s the subtle interplay of texture and pattern that makes the biggest difference. From the softness of a fabric to the intricacy of a patterned tile, these elements work together to shape the overall experience of a room.

By understanding how to use texture and pattern effectively, you can create interiors that are not only visually engaging but also deeply personal. Whether you prefer a minimalist aesthetic or a more eclectic approach, the right combination of textures and patterns can bring your vision to life in a way that feels both intentional and effortless.

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Casey Cartwright is a passionate copyeditor highly motivated to provide compelling SEO content in the digital marketing space. Her expertise includes a vast range of industries from highly technical, consumer, and lifestyle-based, with an emphasis on attention to detail and readability.

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TAGS: interior design texture and pattern, home decor ideas, layering textures in design, pattern mixing tips, modern interior styling, room design techniques, visual balance in interiors

Viewpoint | Why wait until a funeral to reconnect with family and friends

It is unfortunate that unexpected family reunions come at the loss of a respected loved one. Mollette encourages readers to spend meaningful time with loved ones while they are still here to share stories and smiles.

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by Glenn Mollette
Guest Columnist

May is a busy month with Mother’s Day, graduations and Memorial Day weekend activities. Hopefully these occasions have presented or are presenting you with opportunities to connect with friends and family.

Glenn Mollette

Too often our connection time with people is at the funeral home. Back in the old days, social family gatherings were more popular. Families would gather to visit. Today, our communication with others is a social media post or a text message at best. The days of people driving a few hours to just visit with others may be over, for some.

People still see others at the funeral home. I have spoken at a few funerals over the years and the crowds are not as large as they used to be. However, people still drop by to express their condolences.

Often, you will find people socializing with each other at funeral home visitations. They will be huddled in different corners of the funeral home catching up with people they haven’t seen in a long time. Or, they are in the coffee room sharing jokes, enjoying food and having a good time. The grieving spouse or close family members are in the chapel grieving but throughout the funeral home, it’s family and friend reunion time.

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I think it is wonderful for people to gather, visit, laugh, eat and have a grand time.

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Several years ago, I spoke at the funeral of a dear man. He was in an open casket in the hallway of the church. No one seemed to pay any attention to him. He was dead. It wasn’t like he could engage with anyone. Yet, it seemed weird to me that while it was his funeral visitation, it did not seem to be about him. The occasion did lend itself to people gathering to visit, laugh and have a good time. The children weren’t laughing or visiting very much as they were obviously grieving.

I think it is wonderful for people to gather, visit, laugh, eat and have a grand time. This is good for us all, but why don’t we do it while we are alive? The dead person is not able to enjoy the fried chicken and banana pudding. Of course, the deceased is no longer present. If this is you, why not have the fried chicken and pudding while you are alive? We should try to have our family and friend gatherings while we are alive and can participate. You won’t know who is at your funeral nor will you care. It really won’t matter. Will those who gather, if they do gather, really be a comfort to the family that is left behind? Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t.

The point of all this is that dead noses smell no roses. They don’t savor the food or enjoy the laughter of those who are gathering. Thus, why don’t we try to visit and have a good time with each other while we are alive?

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About the author ~

Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.

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TAGS: importance of family gatherings, funeral home reflections, reconnecting with loved ones, Glenn Mollette opinion column, spending time with family

Viewpoint | The world keeps calling it a ceasefire while bombs still fall on Gaza

This opinion piece questions the legitimacy of calling the situation in Gaza a ceasefire while airstrikes and civilian deaths continue. The article argues that language surrounding the conflict has obscured the reality faced by families living under ongoing bombardment.

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by Yumna Zahid Ali
Guest Commentator

A ceasefire means the firing ceases.

That is not a sponsored conclusion or a political position. That is, in American English, British English, Australian English, Canadian English, Irish English, Nigerian English, and every other English spoken in every other corner of this earth, the literal definition of the word. So someone needs to explain, clearly and without the usual diplomatic fog, how Gaza is still being bombed while this so-called truce is in place.

Ceasefire? More like cease-for-an-hour. Because that is all it has ever amounted to: a pause in the coverage, not a pause in the coffins.

Say that again. A pause in the coverage, not a pause in the coffins.

And as that so-called pause is being celebrated, hospitals are being bombed while negotiators shake hands in air-conditioned rooms. Entire families are being wiped off the civil registry while spokespeople read prepared statements about their commitment to peace. Neighborhoods that had names, that had bakeries and schools and people who knew each other, are being reduced to grey powder while the international community expresses its deep and apparently bottomless concern. That concern has never once stopped a single airstrike. Not one. And yet they keep offering it, as if concern is a substitute for action, as if words spoken into a microphone have ever pulled anyone out of the concrete.

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When you call a bombing campaign a ceasefire, you are not just being inaccurate. You are providing cover.

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The dead in Gaza do not care about your press releases. They do not care about your ties or your flags or your solemn faces at the podium. They weep over one outcome and one outcome only: whether the bombs stop. THE BOMBS DID NOT STOP. So everything else, the agreements, the statements, the carefully worded communiqués, the handshakes in front of flags, all of it was a hoax. A spotlight-ready, well-funded, internationally-endorsed hoax. And you are not supposed to applaud a hoax that ends with children dying. You are supposed to ask why it keeps getting cheered on.

Honestly, this is not a ceasefire, and you need to stop letting them call it that. Because the moment you accept their language, you have already accepted their version of reality, and their version of reality is engineered precisely to make you feel like something is being done when nothing is being done. Words matter. When you call a bombing campaign a ceasefire, you are not just being inaccurate. You are providing cover. You are handing the people responsible a shield made out of language, and they will use it, and they have been using it, and people have been dying underneath it.

Look at the logic and follow it all the way to the end. If a ceasefire agreement exists and strikes are still happening, then one of two things must be true. Either the people responsible for enforcing it are completely powerless, or they are fully aware and have simply chosen not to stop it. There is no third option. There is no innocent explanation hiding somewhere in the fine print. Both possibilities are a catastrophic indictment of every government, every institution, and every leader who stood in front of a camera and told the world that this agreement meant something. Pick whichever one you believe. Both of them mean Gaza was abandoned willfully, with criminal awareness.

The people of Gaza are not living through a diplomatic complication. They are living through an active bombardment that is being conducted underneath the legal and moral cover of a ceasefire that was never real. A mother in Gaza tonight is not thinking about the negotiation timeline or the political complexities of the region. She is trying to keep her children alive through another round of airstrikes that are happening during an agreement the entire world signed off on and then apparently forgot about by morning.

At some point, this stops being a failure of the process and becomes a defended feature of it. Failures get corrected. Things that keep happening over and over again, in the same way, with the same outcomes and the same silence from the same powerful countries, are not failures anymore. They are decisions. Well-fed, well-protected, and well-compensated decisions made by people who will never pay the toll they trigger.

Gaza is not a negotiating paragraph in a treaty. The people there are not abstractions in a geopolitical equation. They are human beings who were told the bombs would stop and then had to watch the bombs not stop. And the very least the rest of the world can do, the absolute minimum, is refuse to call this a ceasefire when it so visibly, so grotesquely, so inarguably is not one. Because if we cannot even get the words right, we were never serious about getting anything else right either.

About the author ~

Yumna Zahid Ali is a writer and educator who spends her free time reading, analyzing literature, and exploring cultural and intellectual debates. When she’s not writing for global audiences, she enjoys reflecting on societal issues and using her voice to challenge inequities, especially those affecting women. She also loves diving into history, believing that remembering the past is an act of defiance and a way to hold power accountable.

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TAGS: Gaza ceasefire debate, ongoing bombings in Gaza, Middle East conflict opinion, international response to Gaza, humanitarian crisis commentary