7 minute read
Selecting A Candidate
PREPARING FOR THE PRIMARIES
By Sam Chen Staff Reporter
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What is a primary election? A primary election is “a preliminary election to appoint delegates to a party conference or to select the candidates for a principal, especially presidential, election.” (Oxford) US Government teacher Nicholas Beckmann emphasizes the importance of voting in primary elections.
“I think everybody gets involved in the general election because it gets most immediate attention. But the primaries help you to determine who’s even going to make it... if it’s an open primary, anybody can can vote, but you get a chance to say out of a certain group of candidates that’s who you want representing the party,” Beckmann said.
Who votes?
29% of voters voted in the most recent set of presidential primary elections (Pew Research Center)
Biden Joe Biden was vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Obama, He previously served as Senator from Delaware. PHOTO: Review University of Delaware
Sanders Bernie Sanders has served as Senator from Vermont since 2007. He previously ran for the Democratic candidacy in 2016. PHOTO: Shelly Prevost Warren Elizabeth Warren has served as Senator from Massachusetts since 2013. Warren advocates for a wealth tax. PHOTO: Gage Skidmore Bloomberg Mike Bloomberg is a former mayor of New York City. He does not accept donations, instead funding his campaign using his own money. PHOTO: Mike Bloomberg
The Candidates
Key: (clockwise from top left) Biden - 27.2% Sanders - 23.5% Warren - 15.0% Bloomberg - 8.0% Buttigieg - 6 .7% Yang - 4.7% Klobuchar - 4.3% Steyer - 1.8% (information up to date as of the afternoon of Feb. 3)
27% of voters identify as Democrat, 27% as Republican, and 45% as independent (Gallup)
Buttigieg Pete Buttigieg was previously the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. If nominated, he would be the first openly gay candidate of a major political party. PHOTO: Gage Skidmore
Yang Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur. He advocates for a universal basic income, and speaks about the dangers of automation. PHOTO: Gage Skidmore Steyer Tom Steyer is an activist. His platform revolves around tackling environmental problems including climate change and tackling issues of inequality in politics. PHOTO: Gage Skidmore Klobuchar Amy Klobuchar has served as Senator from Minnesota since 2007. She runs on a moderate platform. PHOTO: Amy Klobuchar
Missouri’s primary elections will be held March 10 (sos.mo.gov)
10 Million Americans are affected by seasonal depression S e e i n g t h e c o l o r s S h e d d i n g l i g h t o n t h e s t i g m a s s u r r o u n d i n g s e a s o n a l d e p r e s s i o n
By Kierigan McEvoy Web Assignments Editor W aking up to clouds gathering overhead. The snow is starting to fall, the cold rushing up against the window pane, leaking into the room through cracks in the walls built up to withstand more than just a little winter storm.
Just like that, one small breeze from Father Winter himself has sent those walls cracking open. Without strength to mend the walls, pulling the covers tighter, sleeps retakes the body. On and on it goes, fitful awakenings, the sight of the ever present storm, and the draining atmosphere that calls to sleep once more to reprieve the cold, if only for a little while until the sun comes back again. For junior Sophia Spraggins, this storm affects her life frequently, making it difficult to get through the day.
Seasonal depression. It is an actual condition. It is a reality for a variety of people. It is difficult to get through. It is not grounds for teasing. It is not just a joke or a game to play. It is not something that can be beaten down with brute force. It is not something that you can get through alone. Guidance Counselor Wendy Ahearn has dealt with the storm of winter walking into her office on many occasions, each one just as real as the last.
Starting usually when the weather begins to get colder, and the days get shorter, seasonal depression has been nicknamed the winter blues. Seasonal depression is not explicitly confined to only winter months, for some it is summer and spring when they feel it start to kick in, but for English teacher Christina Young the cold is what brings around the blues.
“I feel like there’s not as much to really do when it’s cold and nasty outside, so most people are more like confined;
I guess it’s like more cabin fever,” Ms. Young explained. “Then everyone’s busy, so there’s less positive social interaction and that’s really what puts a damper on it.”
It takes a lot to reach out, to get help, to try to get better. Not everyone’s remedy is the same. For senior J.J. Grgurich, going to a counselor and therapist led him to find some ways to help improve his condition.
“I’ve tried going to a counselor and she recommended taking fish oil, and all
“Well the sky is finally open.
The rain and wind stopped
blowin’, but you’re stuck
out in the same old storm
again. You hold tight to your
umbrella, but darlin’ I’m just
trying to tell ya, that there’s
always been a rainbow
-”Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves hangin’ over your head.””
that kind of stuff that has a natural way to kind of help it, and I noticed that it helped,” Grgurich said.
For others, it is being around other people that helps to keep their seasonal depression in check.
“I’ve tried really hard to not sulk and be in the house … even if I’m going to go to a coffee shop or if I’m going to go to Target because Target makes everyone happy, I just do whatever I can to get out of the house and go to be around people,” Ms. Young said. “When you’re by yourself, that’s when you can get into thought spirals and you can get sadder and you know that you should never believe the stuff that you tell yourself when you’re alone and sad.” A big misconception that people with seasonal depression face is that it is something that should be kept to yourself, alone, under the covers, in bed. “It’s okay to talk about things and it’s okay to cry about them too,” Spraggins said. “Crying doesn’t make you weak, it never has. It makes you stronger to express your feelings, better than having them in because then you’ll explode.”
Seasonal depression can have a major impact on school when it comes to students and teachers alike. The storms going on inside their heads are just too much to carry around their day to day life.
“One of the big factors is attendance,” Mrs. Ahearn said. “So, it can be harder to get out of bed; it can be harder to feel motivated to come to school. So, attendance can be the best red flags for why this student comes to my attention.” It is the lack of energy that rains down causing a lack of motivation that leaves students drowning in their beds, not able to get up and face a normal school day.
“I noticed that I was tired a lot and that I never really had much energy to do anything, and whenever I did, it was like I was giving all my energy and I still couldn’t give 100 percent,” Grgurich said. The most important thing, according to Mrs. Ahearn, to remember about seasonal depression is there are ways to get help, and that storms do not last forever.
Sometimes the rain has really stopped, but unaware under our covers, only cold and wetness creep in. No light or sun penetrates the solitude of seasonal depression, except when stopping to peek out of the covers. Allowing the eyes to adjust, seeing the rainbow beginning to form, all along it was coming into view. The sky, still grey, is beginning to open up, the wind and cold subsiding, while the head becomes a little clearer, a little less cloudy and a little more full of color.
