Bison Threatened to be Killed at Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park is proposing to kill 1,000 bison because there isn’t enough room for bison to roam inside the boundaries of the park. An estimated 5,000 bison roamed Yellowstone National Park this summer according to Fox News.
Stephanie Adams with the National Parks Conservation Association told Fox News that killing these bison seems to be the only solution. Reducing the reproduction rate is the main goal for this plan. Most of the bison that would be killed are calves and females.
Sophomore Denny Rice went to Yellowstone last summer and saw hundreds of bison.
“It’s actually an incredibly humbling experience to see,” Rice said. “You can’t really appreciate it until you come face to face with [the bison].”
However, the tourists’ view on this doesn’t change the fact that there is not enough room for all 5,000 bison.
“If reducing the bison population within the park prevents overpopulation and potentially risking overburdening the park’s ecosystem, then culling the herd seems to be the solution [for] maintaining a balanced environment,” Rice said.
In addition to the reproduction rate, the park is worried that thousands of bison will migrate to southwestern Montana. At least 300 are anticipated to be hunted or used for scientific research.
Refugee Safe Act Passed
4.3 million Syrian refugees have registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since Oct. 2011, according to BBC. Of those 4.3 million, 2,370 have arrived in the U.S.
Syria has been in a civil war for the past four years and millions of refugees have escaped to find safety. Originally, most Syrians fled to neighboring countries, but recently they have been migrating to North America.
According to BBC news, Syrian refugees go through an extensive process to immigrate. First, they leave to find camps like those run by UNHCR. UNHCR’s camps work to relocate refugees.To get relocated to the U.S., they have to pass a personal screening that lasts up to two years.
According to The Huffington Post, the Safe Act passed Nov. 19 following the Paris attacks “aims to impose additional requirements on an already cumbersome refugee screening process, including certification that individual refugees don’t pose a threat.”
Sophomore Hazel Carson believes the recent Safe Act was passed in the House out of fear and xenophobia. She believes that the U.S. should be sympathetic and compassionate towards these refugees who have faced so much violence and unrest.
“I believe current efforts are sufficient to stop possible terrorists from entering,” Carson said. “I am also disgusted by recent Islamophobic remarks on allowing Christians rather than Muslims. It seems some politicians have forgotten the meaning of free religion.”
The Obama administration announced in a press release that it will allow an increase in refugees into the U.S. throughout the next year according to BBC News.
Tobacco Age Raised
Ordinances to change the minimum age for buying tobacco products and e-cigarettes were passed by the Kansas City, Mo. City Council and the Kansas City, Kan. Unified Government Board of Commission. People will now have to be 21 instead of 18 to buy these products as of Nov. 19. for the Kansas City, Mo. and Kansas City, Kan. area.
According to KCTV5 the KCMO City Council passed this in three ordinances, or decrees. The first, with a vote of 11-1 in favor, made the age 21 to buy these products. The second said that vapor products fall under the category of tobacco products and apply to the same law, with a 12-0 vote. With a vote of 11-1, the third decree prohibits the use of vapor products in enclosed public spaces.
Sophomore John Smith* uses e-cigarettes that contain low to zero nicotine.
“I believe it’s a little ridiculous that I’d have to be 21 to buy something so [harmless],” Smith said. “I think there needs to be more specific laws about zero nicotine products and why they are illegal.”
Studies have shown that people get addicted more easily when they start using tobacco products in their teenage years. Supporters of this law hope the change will reduce the number of teenagers using tobacco products.
“I am under-aged already, but [I] respect [the law] because I’ve seen many of my friends get addicted to cigarettes,” Smith said. “I think the law will help [keep] the youth from smoking and addiction.”
Photos of the Week
During the AP Physics 2 boat race, seniors Chloe Neighbor, Bryce Flora, Joe Levin, Michael Poskin and Logan Bennion try to keep their boat from tipping over after nearly the entire class gets in. The group had to create a boat that would float across the swimming pool and back.
Photo by Abby Blake
Freshmen to senior girls continually chant “La Toilette” in the fifth floor girls’ bathroom, while senior Sarah Allegri plays music with her speaker. “La Toilette” is a club made up of about 165 girls.
Photo by Morgan Browning
Senior Sam Engelken replicates a photo in his AP/IB Art during open work time after the class critique.
Photo by Haley Bell