Google makes controversial doodle

Ben Ruskin • February 13, 2014

People protested Vladimir Putin’s law regarding gay propaganda. There are seven professed representatives from the gay community taking part in the 2014 Sochi, Russia Olympic Games. People believe it is a human right to be an athlete. Photo courtesy: MCT Photo. — People protested Vladimir Putin’s law regarding gay propaganda. There are seven professed representatives from the gay community taking part in the 2014 Sochi, Russia Olympic Games. People believe it is a human right to be an athlete. Photo courtesy of MCT Photo.

Google is just a search engine to answer my questions right? Wrong. Google has now created a controversial doodle regarding the 2014 Olympic games being held in Russia.

On Feb. 7, Google released a temporary design for their search engine site that includes drawings of Olympic events encased in rainbow colors.

The rainbow colors are supposed to make a reference to the homosexuality laws Vladimir Putin has established in Russia.

“It is awful that Putin is punishing people for promoting what they truly believe in,” said David Greenberger, 9.

Story continues below advertisement

Underneath the doodle of the Olympic events it reads, “The practice of sport is a human right.” The quote comes directly from the Olympic charter for the Sochi games that are being held in Russia.

To view the controversial doodle click here.

“I do not think it is fair that people are prosecuted just because of their sexual orientation, its is just wrong,” said Tyler Miller, 10.

Russia recently instituted a law prohibiting gay propaganda; this made many people feel uncomfortable with Russia hosting the Olympics this winter in Sochi.

“Russia has such a large population, so I think the fact that Russia has put these laws in place is going to have an even bigger effect then it would if the laws were instituted in a smaller country,” said JiHo Choi, 9.

Vladimir Putin has let the Olympic athletes know that they are welcome in Sochi as long as they, “leave the kids alone.”

Acknowledged gay Olympians in Russia include:

Sanne van Kerkhof
Cheryl Maas
Barbara Jezersek
Anastasia Bucsis
Belle Brockoff
Daniela Irasschka-Stolz

About the Contributor

Ben Ruskin, Executive Editor-in-Chief

Hi! My name is Ben Ruskin and I’m a senior here at Sycamore High School. This is my fourth year on the staff. As a part of The Leaf, our national award-winning, student-run publication, I hold the position of Co-Executive Editor-in-Chief. My position includes overseeing the production of all four of our platforms: print newsmagazine, online magazine, website, and broadcast department. I enjoy writing under multiple genres and thus have written a multitude of articles including feature, opinion, news, and arts & entertainment. I also take great pride in designing pages (Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) and editing/shooting videos (Windows Movie Maker and iMovie). I look forward to another great year with the hard-working staff of The Leaf. More about myself: I find volunteering to be extremely rewarding: I work as a volunteer teacher’s assistant at my temple during religious school every Sunday. I am also involved in BBYO, a Jewish youth group outside of school, I have worked as a board member of my chapter for several terms. I am also involved in OGB-GO, a club I founded here at Sycamore High School. The club helps families in Sycamore are who need some sort of assistance financially. I am also involved in National Honors Society and Unified For Uganda as an avid member and volunteer. In addition to volunteering and extra-curricular, I really enjoy movies and television. My favorite TV shows are “Scrubs” and “The Walking Dead.” My favorite movies are “Good Will Hunting” and “Interstellar” I hope to eventually work in the realm of entertainment. A quote to live by: “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud” - Maya Angelou.