Vol. 47 Issue 2
GRIFFIN RITES Winnetonka High School | Kansas City, Missouri
November 2, 2016
griffin
rites
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ISSUE 02 TABLE OF CONTENTS
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GETTING THE BIG PICTURE An overview of the 2016 presidential election
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THE CANDIDATES Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump’s stance on policies
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ELECTION: MILLENNIALS VS GEN X Millennials fight for their voice to be heard
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MEDIA AND MONEY Research shows media coverage is based on American interests and vice versa
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WHAT MATTERS TO STUDENTS Students talk about what impact policies will have on them
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WHAT IS ON THE ON THE BALLOT Taking a look into what is on the 2016 general election ballot
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WHERE MILLENNIALS VIEWS COME Millennials claim to get their views from the people around them
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STAFF Editor-in-Chief Copy Editor Photo Editor News Editor Features Editor A&E Editor
Rachel Adamson Alyssa Magrone Hayden Weathermen Kaitlyn Minet Katie Bullock Alyssa Magrone
Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Adviser
Clayre Barkema Asmaret Fissehaye Caroline Foster Shelby Hilburn Jessica Glaszczak Laura Williams
On the cover: painted portrait of Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican Party nominee Donald Trump by Alyssa Magrone.
The Griffin Rites staff strongly supports the First Amendment and opposes censorship. Freedom of expression and press are fundamental values in a democratic society. The mission of any institution committed to preparing productive citizens must include teaching students these values, both by example and lesson. We welcome letters to the editor and reserve the right to edit them for grammar and length, but we will not change ideas. Letters may attack policies but not people. They must be signed and submitted to F6 or mailed to Mrs. Laura Williams attention at 5815 NE 48th St., Kansas City, Mo. 64119. Advertising space is also available. Please e-mail laura.williams@nkcschools.org or call 816-321-6527 for information. Our organization is a member of the Journalism Educators of Metropolitan Kansas City, Journalism Educators Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.
Electoral College corrupts democracy The Electoral College is outdated and creates confusion for many Americans
| AlyssaMagrone
U
| copy & entertainment editor
sing the Electoral College process to elect the leader of the United States is a corrupt and unfair system that confuses, misrepresents and disenfranchises American voters. In theory, the Electoral College should be an effective way of electing a candidate but due to its complexity, it creates confused Americans. Essentially, the states choose electors to vote for the president so the citizens are not actually voting for president like they believe they are. The voting ballots enable this confusion because in most states, the ballot lists only the nominees and not the electors. And while the U.S. presidential election is in November, the electors do not meet to cast their vote until December. This decision to have electors cast their vote was created by the founders of the Constitution because they did not trust the average citizen to make an educated vote. However, times have changed. Back in the time of the Founding Fathers, the average citizen would not be able to make an educated vote because not everyone had accessibility to education and the spread of the news was not as profound as it is today. While the reliability of the news today is still up to question, there is still more coverage
of the presidential election than ever before. Now people are able to educate themselves through a variety of news sources such as online, print, social media and televised news. With all the resources available, citizens have an equal opportunity to be informed. While it is controversial as to whether or not everyone’s opinion or vote is validated, there are still ways to ensure citizens are at least accurately knowledgeable before casting their vote. One way the U.S. government can ensure voters are educated before casting their vote is to place a sign or infographic of each candidate’s views and policies. By doing so, there would be no reason to degrade citizens as stupid or unworthy of having a vote that counts and truly represents the country. If the citizens of the United States are as ignorant as people of authority claim, then it is the leaders of the country’s fault for the creation of an oblivious population. If this is true, then the country deserves nothing less than the president they choose. While some argue that the Electoral College is fair due to the strides in voting equality by the 19th Amendment and the elimination of literacy tests, it is ignorant to believe there is no room for improvement.
EDITORIAL | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY RACHEL ADAMSON
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2016 election: getting the
BIG PICTURE T
o understand how the presidential candidates got their nomination, one should refer to the timeline of events and see how the country narrowed it down. Between March of 2015 and January of 2016, all potential nominees announced their running starting with Republican Ted Cruz and ending with Libertarian Gary Johnson. Scott Walker was the first to drop in Sept. 2015 and Democrat Bernie Sanders was the last to drop in July 2016. Leaving Darrel Castle, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein and Donald Trump as the presidential candidates. On May 29, Johnson won the Libertarian
nomination and is running with William Weld as vice president. Castle joined the Constitution party on June 12 and is running with Scott Bradley. Stein received the Green Party nomination on June 22 and is running with Ajumu Baraka. On July 21, Trump accepted the Republican nomination and is running with Mike Pence. Lastly, Clinton accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on July 28 and is running with Tim Kaine. On Oct. 4 and 9, Kaine and Pence faced off in the Vice Presidential Debates. Clinton and Trump faced off in the Presidential Debates on Sept. 26, Oct. 9 and Oct. 19.
| graphics by RachelAdamson sources: information from NPR, photos courtesy candidates’ official websites
MARCH
APRIL
APRIL
JULY
Primaries in FL, IL, MO, NC and OH
Cruz and Sanders win WI primary
Clinton and Trump win NY primary
Trump accepts Republican Party nomination
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4
05
19
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NEWS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY RACHEL ADAMSON
JULY
28
Clinton accepts Democratic Party nomination
OCTOBER
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Third and final Presidential Debate
Scott Walker suspends campaign. Walker announced he was running for president on July 13, 2015. September 21, 2015
February 1, 2016
February 20, 2016 Jeb Bush suspends campaign. Bush announced he was running for president on June 15, 2015.
February 10, 2016
Carly Fiorina suspends campaign. Fiorina announced she was running for president on May 4, 2015.
Marco Rubio suspends campaign. Rubio announced he was running for president on April 13, 2015.
March 4, 2016
Ben Carson suspends campaign. Carson announced he was running for president May 3, 2015.
Bernie Sanders suspends campaign. Sanders announced he was running for president on April 30, 2015. July 12, 2016
February 3, 2016
Martin O’Malley suspends campaign. O’Malley announced he was running for president on May 30, 2015.
Chris Christie suspends campaign. Christie announced he was running for president on June 30, 2015.
February 20, 2016
Rand Paul suspends campaign. Paul announced he was running for president on April 7, 2015.
March 15, 2016
Ted Cruz suspends campaign. Cruz announced he was running for president on March 23, 2015.
May 4, 2016 John Kasich suspends campaign. Kasich announced he was running for president on July 21, 2015.
May 3, 2016
The top four presidential candidates: Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton announces she is running for president on April 12, 2015
Republican Party nominee Donald Trump announces he is running for president on June 16, 2015
Jill Stein
Green Party Gary Johnson nominee Jill Stein announces she is running for president on June 22, 2016
Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson announces she is running for president on May 29, 2016
NEWS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY RACHEL ADAMSON
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where the
CANDIDATES stand Hillary Clinton Abortion
Clinton plans to stand up for Planned Parenthood by allowing women access to reproductive care and ensure there is a way to receive safe and legal abortions. She believes the government should not interfere with women’s personal health decisions.
Criminal Justice Clinton’s view is that everyone should respect the law and in turn be respected by the law. She plans to put a stop to mass incarceration, increase substance abuse treatment and aim the police toward dangerous criminals.
Economy Clinton plans to create a workable economy for all citizens by increasing the minimum wage and cutting taxes for the middle-class and ensuring fair pay.
Education Clinton is pushing for every child to have access to quality education and create more fair and less testing for students. She supports teachers and plans to create more access to proper training and resources.
Environment Clinton plans to fight global warming by avoiding drilling in the Arctic and stop tax dollars from going to big oil and gas companies. Instead, she plans to aim investments toward clean energy sources.
Guns
Clinton plans to fight for gun reform and ensure guns are out of the hands of violent criminals including domestic abusers and criminals by enforcing stricter background checks.
Health Care Clinton plans to build off the Affordable Care Act and reduce its costs. Clinton also wants to stop drug companies from charging excessive prices on medications.
Immigration Clinton plans to give immigrants a path and equal opportunity to citizenship by reforming the system with the suspension of family detention and by aiding naturalization to more qualified people.
LGBT Clinton supports the LGBT community and plans to ensure these citizens continue to fully have equal rights, including same-sex marriage and transgender bathroom rights.
Nation Security Clinton plans to make America a safe place by maintaining a strong military and work with allies to overcome the nation’s rivals, including ISIS. Inside the country, she plans to eliminate guns in the hands of suspected terrorists.
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ECT | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY CLAYRE BARKEMA AND HAYDEN WEATHERMAN
By Clayre Barkema and Hayden Weatherman
T
he presidential election for 2016 is confusing for some American citizens. Republican Party nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton have been debating their policies and political views since the beginning. To make the election easier to understand, the below infographic has information synthesized from the candidates websites on the candidates’ policies.
| graphic by HaydenWeathermen
Abortion
Donald Trump
Trump plans to stop the public funding of abortions because he believes abortion denies protection of life. He believes rape, incest and life of the mother are the only exceptions.
Criminal Justice Trump plans to build a stronger law and order system to keep civilians safe from criminal activity and stop the discouragement toward the police force.
Economy
Trump plans to stop globalization and put America first to keep and increase jobs in the country. He plans to reform the tax code and trade policies to make it easier to grow and to make America the top country in business.
Education
Trump plans to make sure every child has access to educational opportunities and believes this can be done through state Education regulation.
Environment Trump plans to create equal access for clean drinking water and balance the protection of natural areas. He also plans to stop Obama’s EPA mandates and believes global warming is a fraud that costs too much money.
Guns
Trump plans to continue defending the Second Amendment for gun owners and stop gun violence by removing criminals from the street and increasing mental health programs to keep the presence of mentally ill people out of the community.
Health Care
Trump plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act and create a patient-centered health care system and provide the selling of insurance nation wide.
Immigration
Trump plans to prioritize the interests of Americans and enforce current immigration laws. He plans to build a border wall between America and Mexico, send criminal aliens back and accept only those who conform to America’s culture.
LGBT Trump opposes the Equality Act and has considered appointing judges to overturn same-sex marriage. He is against discrimination based on sexual orientation, but opposes transgender bathroom rights.
Nation Security Trump plans to keep America safe from serious threats by rebuilding the military and by preparing the government for the unpredictable cyberspace and challenges that may come. ETC | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY CLAYRE BARKEMA AND HAYDEN WEATHERMAN
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ELECT
Millennials
M
Millennials fight for th
By Kaitlyn Minet and Shelby Hilburn
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s generations develop throughout the years, judgments toward younger and older generations often occur. Generation X (ages 35-50) have been known to stereotype Millennials (18-34) and perceive them as too ignorant to vote due to lack of knowledge and experience. Huffman think otherwise and believe basing an opinion off a few Millennials or a stereotype does not accurately represent all. “Generalizations are generally not ever true,” Huffman said, “Obviously there are people who are informed and people who aren’t.”
Some Millennials feel that a Gen. X’s comments about their age group is no big deal since generations typically talk down on the younger ones. “I feel like it’s said about every generation by the older generation so it doesn’t matter,” senior Dakota Reuscher said. Some Gen. X agree with Millennials and think it is a case-by-case situation. “If a millennial uses their resources and pays attention, then they have just as much experience and knowledge as anyone else,” social studies teacher David Flynn said. Digital art teacher Kerri Cassity believes anyone who is not appropriately involved
with basic politics is part of the issue. “If any person, no matter their age, is casting votes based on feelings and advertisement campaigns rather than knowledge,” Cassity said, “Then I would voice concern.” Flynn agrees with Cassity and thinks often people have the bad habit of resorting to others’ opinions instead of developing their own. “People chat about things and have very strong opinions about things,” Flynn said. “But when you question them about why, they often can’t exactly explain it because they don’t have all the facts, just opinions.” Huffman feels it is vital to look up information
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A MILLENNIAL?
1 2 3 4 5 6
What is Donald Trump’s stance on abortion?
GEN
Who is Hillary Clinton’s running mate? Who said: “Climate change is real—no matter what climate deniers say. I’ve laid out bold national goals to address the threats it poses. As president, I’ll say no to drilling in the Arctic. I’ll stop the tax giveaways to big oil and gas companies. And I’ll make significant investments in clean energy. Our children’s health and future depend on it.”? True or False, Donald Trump said he wants to “help more eligible people become naturalized”? Does Hillary Clinton support gay marriage? Who is Trump’s running mate?
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Melissa Camarda 1. Pro-life 2. Tim Kaine 3. Clinton 4. True 5. Yes 6. Pence
CORRECT ANSWERS: 1. He is against abortion exc
NEWS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY SHELBY HILBURN AND KAITLYN MINET
IONS:
vs. Gen. X
X
heir voice to be heard instead of believing what the media reports. “I think a lot of people just hear things on the news and they do not necessarily know what the candidates actually believe in,” Huffman said, “It is important to do your own research.” Millennials like Reuscher find ways to use resources other than news and social media to be informed. “I know them [the opinions of the candidates on each issue] for the most part,” Reuscher said, “I stayed after for current events club and we watched the last debate in the library and it kind of helped me out.” Cassity thinks voting is a deserved right for
N. X
anyone of age and believes experience does not determine if a person is informed. “It is an American privilege to vote and that has nothing to do with ‘experience,’” Cassity said. “My 17-year-old daughter is probably more knowledgeable right now about the political arena than I am simply because she is more interested in learning and researching all areas of our government and I tend to get involved when it is closer to each election day.” Huffman believes people of all ages have varying levels of knowledge but should only vote if educated on the issues. “There are people who are informed and
VS
people who are not,” Huffman said. “I think everyone should vote and it is important to make your voice heard and if you are going to vote then you should be informed.”
MILLENNIALS
| photos by KaitlynMinet
Angela Andrews 1. He is against abortion 2. I don’t know 3. Hillary 4. False 5. Yes 6. Pence
James Palmer 1. He is pro-life 2. I don’t know 3. Hillary 4. False 5. Yeah 6. Pence
Randy Jackson 1. Pro-life 2. I don’t know this one 3. Definitely Clinton 4. True 5. I think so 6. I don’t know
cept for rape, incest and life of the mother. He opposes the use of the gov funds to pay for abortions 2. Tim Kaine 3. Hillary Clinton 4. False 5. Yes 6. Mike
FEATURE | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY SHELBY HILBURN AND KAITLYN MINET
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Media and Money
Research shows media coverage is based on American interests By Katie Bullock
N
ews coverage of the 2016 presidential election has been called biased but many believe American interests are what dictate news coverage. “News outlets tend to frame things in ways that will get people to watch,” journalism teacher Erica Burton said. “That’s a tactic they have to use in a world where there are so many [news] outlets.” Burton went on to say that the increased number of outlets leads to a subsequent increase in over-reporting, and the sentimentalization of many news stories. Media Research Center recently reported that ABC, CBS and NBC covered Republican Party nominee Donald Trump’s sexual harassment case for a combined four hours and thirteen minutes within a 24-hour period. During that same period, by the same news stations, new WikiLeaks regarding Democratic
Party nominee Hillary Clinton’s e-mails received only 36 minutes of coverage. This excessive coverage is not an isolated event. According to the New York Times, as of March 2016 Trump received nearly two billion dollars worth of free media coverage, through both social media and the free media, compared to Clinton’s estimated $746 million dollars of free coverage. Some believe excessive coverage could be the result of Trump’s rise in poll numbers earlier this year, because of a feedback loop that suggests a direct correlation between a candidate’s publicity and the number of votes they receive. The below graph, from the 2015 quarter four primary, shows conclusively that positive or negative coverage does not matter. Many believe it is the amount of coverage, not the content of that coverage, that determines a candidate’s success
Polls vs Media
in the polls. “All publicity is good publicity,” Burton said. “Your name being out there, hashtag, trending, it’s want you want. Good or bad it doesn’t matter. As long as you can keep your name in the media it’s a good thing.” Americans often help decide who keeps their name in the media every time they log into Facebook because news outlets use social media trends as a guide to decide what stories to cover, since trends are usually a good representation of what is interesting to Americans. According to the Media Insight Project, 66 percent of Millennials follow music, TV shows, or movies. However, only 43 percent regularly follow national politics. Covering trending events gets people to watch the news, which also leads to increased revenue from ad sales, giving news outlets more money.
Democratic Republican Media Mentions
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NEWS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY KATIE BULLOCK
“Every time a controversial tweet or video is posted by or about a candidate, it’s reported about, talked about, and analyzed on TV and radio,” North Kansas City School District’s director of media Susan Hiland said. “While goals of a TV station are to inform viewers and be a community partner, like other businesses it has to make money. Higher ratings mean more ad revenue.” Burton believes that the media piggyback off American interests, such as sports, to get more viewers. 49 percent of Millennials tune in regularly to sports such as baseball, football, and soccer according to the Media Insight Project. Now the same is true for presidential elections, as media outlets create coverage that views like a showdown between two teams, two parties, two people, in order to get viewers interested. “Campaigns are like sports,” Burton said. “This whole thing is really just a carnival because that’s what people like. It’s very polarized, red and blue, Republican vs. Democrat, guy vs. girl.” News media created
this political division by increasing their amount of negative coverage. Wesleyan Media Project found that between 2000 and 2012 the amount of negative ads in presidential elections increased by over 100 percent, while the number of positive ads dwindled by nearly 75 percent. According to Burton, the increase in negative ads is the result of American competitiveness. “It’s America; it’s about winning,” Burton said. “People respond more to negative [news coverage] because they’re competitive. It’s not about liking your own candidate. You want to hate the other candidate more.” Presidential candidates receive a lot of news coverage, but a large majority of that coverage focuses on scandalous, dramatic events and not on a candidate’s policy. “There needs to be a lot of reform in news media,” Burton said. “But in the world of cable network there’s really not much anyone can do. The media are just doing their job. They’re trying to make money, and scandal sells.”
American interests influence what the media covers, because the media want to appeal to their viewers so that more people tune into newscasts, and thus news outlets get more revenue from ad sales. However, American interests are also influenced by what the media covers. This creates a feedback loop that leads to over-coverage. | graphics by KatieBullock
American Interests
Media Mentions in the Last 7 Days
Media Mentions in the Last 30 Days
Media Mentions in the Last 90 Days
Media Mentions in 2015-2016
Last updated on Oct. 25 Information from GDELT Project
63% 37%
64% 36%
63% 37%
66% 34%
Trump
Clinton
Media Coverage
NEWS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY KATIE BULLOCK
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WHAT MATTERS TO
STUDENTS
By Griffin Rites staff
ABORTION “I am pro-choice because I believe if I was in the situation where I felt the need to go to that extreme of a measure I deserve the right to it. I should have the right to fix whatever I need to about my body because it’s mine,” senior Kamryn Cain said.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE “If we aren’t doing anything to try to bring them back [incarcerated citizens] and reinforce them into society, then they can’t come back because they lost their rights to vote. They don’t have a voice in the voting system, they don’t have a voice in the community, they can’t get back into the community so they will be a citizen but they don’t get any civic rights and that is what our tax dollars are paying for,” senior Lilian Juma said.
ECONOMY “Trump’s plan will keep businesses in America, and all of these businesses will be hiring American employees, and these employees will be paying taxes. The national debt will initially increase, but there will be more jobs in America and the government will be taking in more payroll taxes from these jobs, and they will eventually pay off the debt… I want to be a business owner when I grow up, and I do not want my business to pay more taxes,” senior Benjamin Giebler said.
EDUCATION “If I want to go to school or be a teacher, I believe that reducing the student debt will be a lot more helpful for when I actually start my job and have to pay everything off,” senior Baylee Gilliland said.
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FOCUS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY CAROLINE FOSTER
ENVIRONMENT “As much as that [everyone being able to have safe air and clean water] is truthfully needed, Trump has yet to support his claims. Climate change, it’s getting dangerous by the day if you look at it. There are more storms, tornadoes, earthquakes, houses and things get destroyed,” senior Amanda Bailey said.
GUN CONTROL “My dad being a police officer has made me appreciate [gun control laws] more, because I know what he’s seen out on the street with people who are really violent, and I’m glad that he has his gun on him.[Taking guns away] would be a catastrophe. It would make a [police officer’s] job more dangerous than it already is. If they took away guns, I would be really scared, for me and my dad,” sophomore Mattie Peter said.
HEALTH CARE “I don’t want to have insurance becoming a problem for my patients in the future. I don’t want to have to turn away patients due to them not having health insurance. As a doctor, it would be hard seeing a patient struggle, having to give up a life because of some kind of finance situation,” senior LanNhi Tran said.
IMMIGRATION “When I get older I am going to start paying taxes and some of that money is going towards these immigrants and not back to the government. I don’t think it’s fair that this money has to be taken from me and given to them,” sophomore Makayla Cambiano said.
LGBT “If he [Trump] were to oppose it [Supreme Court decision of legalizing gay marriage] obviously I’m sure there would be an uproar about that. If he did, I think a lot of people would take it really personally and they would probably get a bill started. I think a lot of people would be more adversely affected than most people think they would,” junior Bryton Koch said.
NATIONAL DEFENSE “I think that everyone agrees that we need to stay safe and that the borders need to be secure and everything. I’m not letting any of this stuff really effect me in my life. Of course I talk about all of this and I make fun of it because it’s fun to do, but personally I don’t let the issues that are going on in the world really affect me negatively,” junior Jerry Keeney said.
| graphics by CarolineFoster FOCUS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY CAROLINE FOSTER
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ADS | TONKANEWS.COM
BALLOT What will be on the November 8, 2016
By Rachel Adamson and Asmaret Fissehaye
O
n Nov. 8, Missourians will walk into a voting booth, the majority expecting to only vote for the president but they will also be given several other officials and policies to vote for. When voting for officials, voting districts are specific to state and district. For the sake of this story, Winnetonka’s address is being used which falls into District 17 for Missouri State Senate and District 5 for U.S. Representatives. The first item the appears on the ballot are the president and vice president who are Constitution Party nominee Darrel Castle, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, Green party nominee Jill Stein and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Up next on the ballot are Missouri State Officials. Running for United States Senator are Roy Blunt, Jonathan Dine, Jason Kander, Jonathan McFarland and Fred Ryman. Running for State Governor are Don Fitz, Eric Greitens, Chris Koster, Cisse W Spragins and Lester Turilli Jr. Running for Lieutenant Governor are Russ Carnahan, Steven Hedrick, Jennifer Leach, Mike Parson and Jake Wilburn. Running for Secretary of State are Jay Ashcroft, Chris Morrill and Robin Smith. Running for Treasurer of Missouri are Judy Baker, Carol Hexem, Sean O’Toole and Eric Schmitt. Running for Attorney General Josh Hawley and Teresa Hensley. Running for U.S. Representative are Emanuel Cleaver, Jacob Turk and Roy Welborn. Running for State Representative District 17 are Erik Buck, Mark Ellebracht and Mary Hill. After this are the Clay County officials. Running for Eastern Commissioner is Stacy Nieckerson and Luann Ridgeway. Running for Western Commissioner are Gene Owen and Pam Mason. Running for Sheriff are Benjamin Troupe and Paul
Vescovo. Running for County Assessor are Cathy Rinehart and Lisa Keefer. Ted Graves is running for Treasurer. Running for Public Administrator are Debbie Gwin and Sarah Mills. Next on the ballot is Missouri Supreme Court and the candidate is Richard Teitelman. After the Missouri Supreme Court is Missouri 7th Judicial Circuit Court. Running for Missouri 7th Judicial Circuit Court Division 1 Associate Judge is Louis Angles. Running for Missouri 7th Judicial Circuit Court Division 1 is Shane T. Alexander. Running for Missouri 7th Judicial Circuit Court Division 3 is K. Elizabeth Davis. After this will be Constitutional Amendments. “These would be Amendments to the Missouri Constitution. Do we want to add these to the constitution, yes or no,” social studies teacher Sarah Green said. The Constitutional Amendments that will be voted on are Amendments 1,2,3,4 and 6. “So then we also have statutory measures, we have propositions from the state, and then we have Clay County propositions,” Green said. “This means do we want to add this as a new law or do we want to add to a law?” The first statutory measure is Proposition A which proposes a higher tax on cigarettes with that tax money going exclusively to fund transportation infrastructure projects. The next question is called Proposition L which asks if there should be an eight cents tax per 100 dollars increase in order provide more money to renovate the Mid-Continent Public Libraries. Up next, there are three questions in the City of Kansas City Special Election section. The first and second question ask if vacant park properties should be removed or not. The third question asks about a Light Rail Sales Tax. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7p.m. on November 8.
NEWS | TONKANEWS.COM | PAGE BY RACHEL ADAMSON
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Where Millennials’ views come from
Millennials claim to get their views from the people around them By Katie Bullock and Jessica Glaszczak
A
s the election approaches, presidential campaigns are working tirelessly to reach voters before Nov. 8 when they cast their final vote. Campaigns are particularly focused towards the Millennial and Gen X generations because they are the largest chunk of the population eligible to vote, according to a July 2016 Pew Research study. Since these generation are the largest chunk of the population, ad campaigns target them more than any age group. Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton has spent approximately 534 million dollars according to the Center for Responsive Politics, while Republican Party nominee Donald Trump has spent nearly 386 million dollars. These numbers show that the presidential candidates believe ads have influence over voters but students like senior
Kiara Divine disagree. “I feel like it’s a waste of money and time,” Divine said. “We all know they’re both running. They don’t have to spend all this money on advertising, instead they can spend this money on the promises they’re making that probably won’t happen.”
“The people you surround yourself with definitely have a big impact on what your beliefs are.” - McKayla Jameson Although the candidates try to sway the voter population with ads, many Millennials, such as senior Susan Engstrom, believe that parents have the biggest impact on Millennial’s political beliefs. “Parents are the people who instill
values in you,” Engstrom said. “[I don’t agree with] the kinds of things that they believe in politics, but that’s just because my parents are very big with having your own opinion.” Senior McKayla Jameson believes that although students get most of those opinions from their family and friends, it is important to search out credible information to form your own opinion. “The people you surround yourself with definitely have a big impact on what your beliefs are, but you can also go outside those beliefs of what your family and friends think,” Jameson said. According to Engstrom, although Millennials may be influenced by friends, family and media, it is most important to find your own voice and have your own opinion. “Just because my parents think something, I don’t have to think it.” Engstrom said.
69%
of Millennials get their news daily
88%
of Millennials get news from Facebook
82%
of Millennials get most of their news from online sources
40%
of Millennials pay for at least one news source
| graphics by KatieBullock
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