Due to trip scheduling conflicts voiced by students, the WPA dance was rolled back from Feb. 15 to Feb. 1.
According to Student Body President Eva Hill, the original date for WPA was set in May 2019, but the original date overlapping with President’s Day weekend caused a number of students to present their complaints to school administration. StuCo voted on a proposal to switch the date to Feb. 1, which passed with a clear majority.
The new date overlaps with Super Bowl weekend, which several students will be traveling to attend.
“Some weekends there were church ski trips that we had to plan around,” Hill said. “[Feb.1] was the best option.”
After going back and forth between Feb. 1, Feb.15 and Jan. 18 at their meetings, StuCo saw Feb. 1 as a clear best choice, according to Hill. The date was the only option that didn’t conflict with a holiday or extended weekend during which students would be more likely to be traveling.
Freshman Charlotte Emley had to reevaluate her WPA plans after the switch since her date has plans to attend the Super Bowl, but would’ve been fine with the previous Feb. 15 date.
“[My date’s] grandpa made a promise to his dad that if the Chiefs ever made it to the Super Bowl he would take him, so his dad made the same promise to him,” Emley said.
Emley and many others are going to be left without a date because of the Superbowl, one of the many controversies over the date change. Despite the complications and controversy behind the switch, the dance is set to occur on Feb. 1 from 8 to 10 p.m. in the East cafeteria.
LOCAL NEWS
Secretary of State and former Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) decided against running for the open U.S. Senate spot for Kansas on Jan. 7 in a move that put Democrats slightly more at ease and secured placement for several Republican senatorial candidates.
Instead, Pompeo chose to remain in his position in the Trump administration’s state department. His decision to not run for Senate gives the Democratic party a more favorable chance in the upcoming Senate election, according to senior Ian Gould, an intern for Democratic candidate Barbara Bollier.
Gould believes Pompeo was the strongest candidate in the Republican Party for the seat in the Senate.
“[Pompeo] is one of Trump’s right hand men and is very big in the administration being Secretary of State, so he is massively popular as a Republican,” Gould said. “He would beat the Democrat by a large margin no matter who they were.”
Now that Pompeo is out of the race, the Republican party no longer has the same strong option to secure votes, according to junior Charlie Birt, an intern on Roger Marshall’s senatorial campaign for the race.
“It’s throwing an interesting dichotomy into the race between Roger Marshall and Kris Kobach,” Birt said. “Because I think those are going to be the two candidates [for the Republican Party] moving forward, and it is going to be an interesting primary battle between the two.”
Republican candidates Kobach and Marshall appeal to different types of Republican voters in Kansas that vary between the east and west parts of the state, making them the favorable candidates for the Republican party in the election, Birt said.
Along with local and presidential elections, the senatorial spot will be open for vote on Nov. 3.
NATIONAL NEWS
The 4th annual Women’s Rights March was held on Jan. 18 in Washington D.C.
In the frozen rain, protesters from across the country came together at the Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C., beginning their descent to the White House.
Compared to previous years, the march consisted of a much smaller crowd and focused on more descriptive ideas like climate change, reproductive rights and immigration.
“I’m here in support of women protesting against Trump’s actions, against his divisive rhetoric, against his attacks on women and trans people,” Protester Connor Czora said in an interview with NPR.
Along with this protest, which brought thousands to the capital, there were many smaller demonstrations in cities around the country like Chicago and Los Angeles.
Sophomore Bella Wolfe is very passionate about women’s rights and supports the march in D.C.
“I really think [the demonstrators] make a difference even if it doesn’t feel like its a direct difference that they are making,” Wolfe said. “It really does affect someone out there and empowers them.”
This march will be the last Women’s Rights March before the Presidential Election in November.
Entering her third and final year on Harbinger, Senior Grace Allen is a Photo Mentor and Social Media staffer and couldn’t be more excited to help new photographers on staff and learn more about photography. Outside of Harbinger, Grace is very involved at East with lacrosse, DECA, and Student Store. She also works and babysits during her free time as well as hanging out with friends and family. »
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