By Steven Stetson
Following Election Day, millions awoke to find Trump confirmed as President Elect. Trump made his speech early Wednesday morning, shortly after Hillary called to stand down, in wake of the final results. 2016 will go down in history, no doubt. Books will be written without question. Voter turnout made clear that 46.6% of Americans didn’t vote. Not only is that a record, but the dead gorilla Harmabe received more than 10,000 votes. Both candidates were heavily disliked by the people, and it shows. Corruption sums up Hillary for many, whereas arrogant, inexperienced, naïve, and racist were many of the people’s complaints of Trump. Left wing media prioritized news feed from the beginning; it was always Hillary that would win. It’s what people expected, she was supposed to win. If anything, this proves that the system isn’t as rigged as Trump said continuously. Regardless, more people than not were surprised at the final results. The results were a completely different outcome than what the news predicted it to be. This whole election should be a wakeup call to not only America, but to the world. What started as a joke to many is now a reality. We have here a business man, who knows little to nothing of politics, trumping over even the most experienced. Too often, people were quick to shut Trump down. Many news anchors even said he wouldn’t be president, yet the people spoke, the results are final. After giving thought into this election, I came to realize that the American people don’t like being told who to vote for. It was highly assumed that Hillary would win, and that the people “need” to vote Hillary if they weren’t “racist.” With that type of manipulation, many felt pressured into voting for Hillary, which in a sense, is being told who to vote for. By using emotions to terrorize those who didn’t quite make their mind, it was evident that too many people felt they were told there was only one right choice: Hillary. Media bias was a huge factor. For months, if not longer, the media reported Hillary as winning hands down. Trump on the other hand, was made a laughing stock in the media world. If more people voted, Hillary may have been president. It’s amazing this election, over two years of hearing about this, and now it’s finalized. Trump will be our Commander In Chief this January, best adapt, because that’s the harsh reality. By Logan Barragan
As the commotion of the election slowly begins to simmer down, the controversial construction of the North Dakota Pipeline becomes more prominent in national conversation. Everyone from A list celebrities, to politicians, to military veterans, to environmental rights activists, to normal civilians have an opinion regarding the North Dakota Pipeline. Earlier this year, actress Shailene Woodley was arrested in North Dakota under the charges of criminal trespassing and engaging in a riot. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and stressed that her protests were peaceful. Woodley has brought a lot of attention to this issue, considering her popularity and social media presence The goal of Energy Transfer Partners, a partnership that owns and operates one of the largest energy estates in the United States, is set to build a pipeline that stretches 1,200 miles, traveling from North Dakota to Illinois. In reference to the company’s website, the production will transport 570,000 barrels of oil, create 12,000 jobs, and it will be the safest method of transporting natural resources, according to the data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. With all of these positive statistics, it is a wonder why such a large group of people want the production of the pipeline to be re-directed. The issue is this: the design of the pipeline shows that it would have to go through the Missouri River. This is a primary water source for its surrounding residents, such as The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who have called this area home years before this whole plan could even be a fathomable idea. Since spring of 2016, hundreds have gathered in protest of the pipeline and have been persistent in their efforts to encourage a redirection of the pipeline. While Energy Transfer Partners insists that the pipeline will not affect the water, there is no guarantee that the oil will not somehow find its way into the river. Environmental Activist Doug Hayes insists that if the pipeline in the river were to slightly break, nobody would know until the water is contaminated. One small leak could ruin the purity of the water and inflict illness on the many people who use it. Nowthisnews.com asked President Barack Obama in a video interview on his opinion on the topic, and in summary, President Obama thinks that the land should stay sacred to tribes who initially inhabited it hundreds of years ago. But he also believes that there is a way to re-route the pipeline so the goal of transferring the oil can still be met. There was speculation that the Obama Administration had declared that the production of the pipeline would indeed be altered, however, according to CNN, Energy Transfer Partners has no intention of changing the production. Unfortunately, for Energy Transfer Partners, their construction will in fact have to be set back due to an oil spill of about 175,000 gallons that occurred early in the month of December. This is a very controversial issue that has caused consistent uproar throughout the nation. With the jobs it offers and the efficiency it provides, the pipeline has great potential. But the toll it could take on the natives may be the downfall of its development. The final decision of any further construction of the project will be an interesting one. But one thing is for certain, whatever the outcome may be, it is clear neither side will go down without a fight. By Devin Green
To many, even the name Castro elicits a powerful image in the mind. Some may think of a communist tyrant who took Cuba by force. Others picture a hero who freed Cuba and protected it from powerful outsiders. The split over Fidel Castro is so grand that one would think they were hearing of two completely different people. Whether or not they hate him or love him, no one can deny the impact he had on the world, and the impact of his death. For those who don’t know of him, Castro was the leader of the communist world in the west. After his attempt at winning the presidency through election was thwarted by U.S. backed Fulgencio Batista’s overthrow of the government, he created his own revolution. Along with revolutionary Che Guevara, he took power of Cuba. He allied himself with the communist U.S.S.R. and that’s when tensions with the U.S. began The U.S. and Communist nations have always had very tense relations and when Cuba a became communist country there were concerns. Relations hit rock bottom when the U.S.S.R. began storing nukes in Cuba, only 100 miles away from the U.S. This began the Cuban missile crisis, a 13 day standoff which threatened to begin World War III. The U.S government surrounded Cuba and attempted to force them to give up the weapons and for a while they refused. After negotiations, the U.S.S.R. made Cuba remove the weapons and the U.S. secretly promised to remove weapons from Turkey. One event that can rival the tension of the Cuban missile crisis was the Bay of Pigs invasion. The U.S., in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro, launched a full scale assault on Cuba. The government sent American-trained Cubans, who had fled Castro’s regime, into the nation with the goal of taking Cuba. Within a single day the invading force was crushed by the Cuban military and the invasion was torn apart. This was just one attempt to overthrow the new Cuban government. Today, Cuba is under the control of Fidel’s brother Raul Castro and Fidel has fallen. Fidel passed control to his brother long before his death but, his passing will still have great affects on the nation. Fidel Castro survived numerous assassination attempts by the U.S government but at the age of 95, time caught up to him. His death is even more significant when we consider the U.S.’s attempts to rebuild relations with the Cuban government. With Fidel Castro dead, the leadership of Cuba is in the hands of Raul Castro. It is up to him to reopen trade and travel with America as he pleases. A major political shake up in the U.S. coupled with the fall of Cuba’s former leader could even serve to close these negotiations entirely. The future is uncertain but, Fidel Castro’s legacy will be remembered by both his friends and enemies for years to come. By Garrett Athey
The Howard County Public School System has recently become interested in changing the school start times for the 2017-2018 school year. The topic has developed into more of a pressing idea lately since other counties in Maryland, such as Montgomery and Anne Arundel, have changed their school start times to later in the morning. Parents were given an opportunity to express their opinions on what time school should start next year for each level at the Board of Education meeting. The county has proposed that all middle and high schools will start no earlier 8:15 AM and elementary schools will start anywhere between 7:30 and 8:15 AM. They have also requested that the school day be six hours and forty-five minutes which increases the elementary school day by fifteen minutes. Model One has high school starting at 8:30 AM and ending at 3:15 PM, and Model Two has school starting at 9:15 AM and having the day end at 4:00 PM. Meetings are currently being conducted for parents and community members to meet with the board of education to further develop their ideas and possible schedules. The proposed schedules bring both positives and negatives to students’ lives and there have been mixed feelings to the proposition by Glenelg students. The positives of school starting later are students have more time in the morning freed up or have the opportunity to get more sleep. Junior Anushka Desai feels, “The time change would be great, students get more sleep which will help them in school.” Having more sleep gives students more energy so that they can participate in class and be physically ready to learn. Katie Landry, Junior, agrees that the time change would be beneficial because, “it would allow students to sleep in and be more productive in class because they would have more energy.” However, the time changes does not only benefit students, as there are some negatives that come about from school starting later. The downside to the time change is significant because school will end later in day, causing students and teachers to get home later and extracurriculars like sports to begin late in the afternoon. This poses possible complications for teachers as many of them have families that they need to take care of and will not see them until later into the day. Freshman Zack Devlin, feels that the proposed time change is, “Terrible because we will get home later in the day and will have less time for sports.” Having less time for sports is a big worry for students as they already get home in the evening after practice. Junior Austin Steckler feels the same way about the change in start times saying, “It’s pointless, we will have less time in the afternoons for homework and extracurriculars.” Homework is another big concern for students because teachers already assign a lot of homework and the new time change means less time to do the assignments. Only time will tell how serious Howard County is about changing the start times since the concept is so new and sudden. There is positives and negatives to both sides, but the change, if passed, will surely affect the lives of students in all levels of education in the county. |
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February 2024
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