Author Spotlight
Lucy Hoffman
When Junior Venus Gutierrez moved to the U.S. from Venezuela at 5 years old, her mom gave her a script to memorize in case an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was to question her. Even after becoming a U.S. citizen less than a month ago, Gutierrez still has that script memorized.
Junior Arch Calibo, who just had his green-card renewed a couple weeks ago, remembers praying for his aunt’s safety after she had been detained by immigration officials when he was 5 years old.
These are the fears that many immigrant children face every day.
And on Feb. 7, a third grade boy at Briarwood Elementary lived these fears when he was taken from Briarwood into protective custody of the state at the end of the school day. According to Catalina Velarde, the lawyer representing the family of the boy, the PV police were notified by ICE after his mom was detained by ICE agents, and a PVPD officer drove the boy to the Department for Children and Families in Olathe.
Ah, Twitter. The place I go to watch old Vines and Chiefs highlights when I should be doing Stats homework; a place that’s full of memes and spats between rappers and overpaid athletes. But since the election of Donald Trump last November, Twitter has become a direct line into the mind of one of the most polarizing and powerful men in this century.
One year of tweets later, we are faced with record low approval ratings, a mixed bag of economic success and a divided nation that refuses to listen to one another. A year later, President Trump has delivered on some of his election promises: which is exactly why Americans should be concerned.
Behind the veil of the chaos and the headlines of this tumultuous first year, the Trump administration is quietly getting things done. While President Trump and his administration distract the American people, sensible gun laws are being removed and halted, environmental protections are being removed and people are being appointed who will change this nation’s regulatory landscape forever. As Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson put it, “I’m glad that Trump is drawing all the fire so I can get stuff done.â€
Students at Shawnee Mission East are planning to wear blue Tuesday in support of the students and families of the Rockhurst High School community, following the reported suicide of a student this afternoon. The suicide prevention awareness is being organized by sophomores Elise Baker, Adelaine Marrone and Gwenith Yeomans.
“Just like when the sexual assault happened at our school and other schools wore black to show support, we need to do the same to support Rockhurst to keep the sense of community and togetherness we have,” Baker said. “Wearing blue means you represent something much bigger than the Rockhurst freshman, but you represent preventing suicide as a whole.”
Baker, Marrone and Yeomans distributed their idea into group message of over 200 people, hoping that the news to wear blue would spread.
According the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. In Kansas, 16.21 suicides occur per 100,000 people.
Turning the Tide is here to raise awareness.
That although Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have passed, the homelessness and devastation caused will be present for years to come. That 10 hurricanes have occurred in the last 10 weeks, with over a month left of hurricane season. That in the past week, Hurricane Ophelia hit Ireland, prompting the country’s first ever severe weather alert.
For the people who lost their livelihoods. For the people who don’t know if their loved ones across the Atlantic are alive. For the future of our planet.
First, we recognize the tragedy that hit the Gulf Coast and East Coast. But we want to turn our attention beyond the continental United States. U.S. territories with U.S. citizens were affected too. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were hit — hard.
We’re here to turn attention beyond the U.S.
The Federal Communications Committee voted on Thursday to rollback Net Neutrality rules, and now educators, business owners and everyday internet users fear the open internet — and consumers’ ability to control what they view — will no longer exist.
They fear they might have to pay to use applications like Snapchat and Instagram. They fear their small businesses may have to pay more money just for people to view their content. Most of all, they fear the uncertainty of what the vote will mean.
“It’s going to be a shock to a lot of people that we’re going to start seeing our internet service providers dishing out plans for people to make payments,” senior Matthew Trecek said. “[What’s scary] is you don’t know what you’re going to come across. We’re not going to know until we encounter it. And until that day comes we’re going to have to live in fear for what the outcome might be.”
Net Neutrality is the principle that internet service providers (ISPs) must provide citizens with open networks. A set of rules adopted in 2015 reclassified internet service providers as “common carriers,” meaning that they must provide consumers with equal access to all websites, regardless of content. The rules kept ISPs from throttling information and giving prioritization to companies who paid premiums.
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