By Cora Beyer
Political Editor This school year seems to be characterized by change. This can be seen from laptops for everyone to new teachers and classmates. Another exciting change that might be overlooked is the addition of new clubs, specifically the Politics Club. The Politics Club is a place that allows students to, not only discuss politics from all points of view, but extend their learning and come up with ways to improve the world around them. A small group of students feel that it is important for them to be involved in their community and found common ground as they developed this new club.
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By Rachel Lau
Senior Editor Donald J. Trump was sworn into office as the 45th president of the United States Jan. 20, 2017. “We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people,” President Trump said during his inaugural speech. “Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come.” In his speech his vowed to fight for the American citizens who were “forgotten.” He also said he would end “American carnage” and pledged to put America first. Rachel Lau
Senior Editor After months of name-calling, talk of building a wall, erased emails, unknown taxes, and “feeling the Bern,” President-elect Donald Trump will move into the White House. He will be sworn into office as commander in chief on Jan. 24, making him the 45th president of the United States. Trump has promised several things to the American people. According to a policy statement from Trump’s campaign website, he says he’s going to restore faith in the republic of those who have given up on it. He thinks that if faith is restored, the citizens who have felt alienated for years will step forward and believe in the system once again. Perhaps helping with that cause is Trump’s outsider status. He will be the first president to have never previously held elected office nor served in the military. By Molly Merson
News and Features Editor The 2016 presidential election was one of the most talked about elections in several decades. The amount of social media buzz involving this election raised many eyebrows and questions among the people. The internet traffic regarding the election could have swayed the opinions of voters at the polls. By Joel Zamora Staff Writer The state finally passed a budget for public schools that initiated a start for funding on March 26. Tom Wolf, the governor of Pennsylvania, decided to let the bill pass by the House and Senate, to be passed without his signature. This was an advancement in progress for the schools throughout the state. For Red Lion, this means about $2 million is received from the state. Originally, the state owed Red Lion $9.7 million. People residing in districts might ask public schools where the rest of the money is if the budget was already passed. “I was delighted that progress was being made,” Dr. Scott Deisley said, the superintendent of the Red Lion School District. “However, the budget being passed is only half the story.” As the election draws closer, presidential candidates are working tirelessly to earn delegates and electoral college votes.
By Rachel Lau Social Media Editor The 2016 presidential primary contest has been one of the most controversial races for presidency in decades. The Republican candidates need to get at least 1,237 delegates in total from their states. The Democratic candidates need to get 2,383 or more. Delegates are individuals who represent their states at national party conventions. These are very important because the candidate who receives a majority of his or her party’s delegates during the long process of the race wins the nomination. By Helen Zeidman Junior Editor-in-Chief Hostages have been taken. Insults have been thrown. Promises have been broken. The fate of Pennsylvania’s education system hangs in the air. The battle to approve the Pennsylvania State Budget for 2015 has evolved into a war, and the amount of casualties has been rising. Public schools are scrambling to find funding. The Pennsylvania School Board Association has filed a lawsuit against Governor Tom Wolf, claiming that the schools are not getting the financial support that is promised to them in the Pennsylvania state constitution. Public universities, such as Temple University and Penn State University, are lacking the funding that they are supposed to receive annually. “What it forced schools to do is to create austerity budgets, where you cut spending to the bone,” Principal Mark Shue said. “I know this year we have cut back spending.” During all of this chaos, Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania State Senate and House of Representatives are stuck in a deadlock over the provisions of the 2015-2016 state budget. Governor Tom Wolf has been using his power of the line item veto, which is a specific authority given to governors that allows them to reject certain parts of a bill, to turn down proposals from the Republican dominated legislature. Tom Wolf’s original budget contained policies consistent with Democratic ideals that were not initially approved of by the Republican majority of the State Legislature. The discrepancies between the Democrat governor and the largely Republican legislature have made the state budget difficult to pass. This led to the current predicament of Pennsylvania going over 200 days without a solid state budget. The priorities of Governor Wolf’s gubernatorial campaign are “schools that teach, jobs that pay, and government that works,” according to his website, Governor.pa.gov. One of the main changes in the original budget, which was proposed back in March of 2015, was an increase in education funding. This would include more funding for basic education, special education, early education, and secondary education. The increase in funding for schools could help keep taxes in the school district down. “Pretty much what happens in Red Lion is that we have an operating budget. What the state doesn’t cover, the tax payers will,” Principle Shue said. If the school district receives more funding from the state budget, then that money could be used to maintain the current tax rate and possibly prevent tax increases. While the rewards could be great, the delay of the state budget has caused obstacles for many schools in Pennsylvania, including tightening the budget for the Red Lion Area School District. Without an approved state budget, Pennsylvania school funding will not be the only casualty in the war to approve the budget. By Ashlee Galloway Staff Writer On Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, America will be preparing to elect a new President for the first time in eight years, following President Barack Obama’s two consecutive terms. Of the 25 candidates currently running for president, the top runners are as follows: Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders.“Bernie Sanders is the only one that seems like he has a level head on his shoulders,” senior Duncan Keller said, “I mean, you have Hillary Clinton, she changes her viewpoints just to gain followers. She’s trying to appeal to a lot of the teens now…” 12 students were asked to take an informal poll in which they were asked who they would vote for if given the chance. Overwhelmingly, the majority of students voted for Donald Trump over the other competitors. Whether it is his honest opinions, Hollywood status, or simply the fact that “he’s a businessman,” Trump is seemingly the most popular candidate amongst the Red Lion students. Though some students may not necessarily like Trump, they cannot help but to agree with his stand on several political issues. Junior Riley Perkowski weighed in on his stance on the Trump controversy, “I think Trump wouldn’t… he would not end the world. I think that he is not actually going to be in charge if he is in charge. I think he is going to be a figurehead…” Another student, junior Joe Churilla, said that he believes Trump is “obviously” the wrong choice for president, “I would totally say that Donald Trump must not be elected president.” Hillary Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton, seems to be very unpopular amongst the student body. “I’m not a fan of Hillary Clinton,” junior Emily Zeidman said. “I didn’t like her husband,” junior Domenick Eyler said. The majority of students polled said they disliked Clinton because they did not feel that her husband did an adequate job in the White House during his presidency. Junior Amanda Clarkson feels that Clinton is the best candidate because she “didn’t agree with most of the things the other people stand for.” Long term Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is currently a top runner in the election, standing high in the ranks alongside Trump and Clinton. Regarding Sanders, “I just think he’s a good candidate. I have a good feeling about this one, ” Churilla said. Jeb Bush, brother of former president George W. Bush, seems to be a reasonable candidate in the campaign, whom most students do not have a very strong opinion about. “I don’t know, the first Bush didn’t have such of a positive impact,” Perkowski said. Whether or not a student has a strong opinion about any of the current candidates, they are still encouraged to get out and vote in November 2016, as this election will have a big impact on their lives and the future of the country. By Taylor Bosley
Sports Editor Since 1926, February has been deemed “Black History Month.” It is the month where America looks back on the oppression but also the accomplishments of the African American race in America. It is viewed as time to mourn the wrong doings but also celebrate the people who worked to bring equality into America. Martin Luther King Jr. is a household name in America. Gregg Thibault, senior, thinks that there are too many people who only know of him when talking about black history. He believes there are many other influential figures who are looked over, ones like Thurgood Marshall, Dred Scott, Marcus Garvey and many more. Thurgood Marshall was the first African American justice in the Supreme Court System while also taking part in the famous Brown vs. Board Of Education. Dred Scott was an African American, who although lost, still fought for his freedom by attempting to sue for it. Marcus Garvey was involved in the Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism movement and also founded the Black Star Line. “They [students ] should pay more attention to them because most, if not all of them, paved the way for MLK and other black leaders that came after them,” Thibault said. Thibault also thinks that the countless men and women in African American history should be taught in the same light as other figures that are taught in school. While Thibault thinks the month is necessary to share the history since he says it is “overlooked”, he also sees a negative. “At the same time it’s a shame that a month has to be dedicated for people to acknowledge it,” Thibault said. Thibault also views the current racial unrest in the country as what should be a focal point of conversation right now. “Right now is a time of a lot of social unrest and there’s plenty of protests taking that are worth talking about that aren’t,” Thibault said. By Ian Adler Special Correspondent On Saturday, April 5, I had the honor of competing in the Second Annual “Constitutional Literacy Competition”. The CLC consisted of ten teams of four members each, and my team ended up placing second. We were asked questions that dealt with our government, the Constitution and current issues, and some of them were pretty difficult. Pennsylvania State Representative Stan Saylor even stopped by to offer a speech. “I think it was really nice of him,” Mr. Matthew Maris told me, one of the main organizers of the CLC. “He was supportive of it right away and I think it added an experience for everyone who was there.” Mr. Maris, Ms. Megan Axe and Mr. Garrett Bull all have big plans for future CLCs. “We’d like to get more people out,” Mr. Maris said. “We try to put more information out to the community because it’s not only about the kids but everyone learning about the Constitution.” “I’d like to see it expand to other schools in the county,” Mr. Maris also explained to me. “Personally, I think that it could actually turn into a nice competition and become a bigger and better event each year, especially with the involvement of other schools.” The team of sophomores Megan McGuire, and Olivia Tarman and juniors Anna Lorenzen and Sarah Bernhardt ended up winning, and they deserved it. “We kind of talked about different things that we know and then we decided on specific things to study” said Tarman, when asked how her team had prepared for the competition. “It was a good feeling, I was really happy when we won.” Keep your eyes open for the future CLC’s down the line, whether it’s just students here at Red Lion or other schools too, we can all learn a little bit more about the Constitution. |
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