Livewire Vol 11 Issue 1 November 2019

Volume 11, Issue 1 | November 2019

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Gun Laws Challenging Citizens Safety

Lopez an d Soto: Two Journ ies, One Destin ation

Apathy comsum ing young m in ds within pol itics

A look at America’s increasing problem of gun violence and the tragic history.

A feature of students who immigrated separately from Mexico and Puerto Rico.

An opinion piece about the importance of the youth’s involvement in politics.

Contents Volume 11, Issue 1 | November 2019

THE ISSUE AT HAND:

SCHOOL

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Choosing the Right Pathway

5

Issues of Vaping Among Teens SPORTS

AMERICA THROUGH OUR EYES In this issue, our staff takes a look at what we feel are the biggest problems and issues that divide America right now.

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Gun Laws Challenging Citizens Safety

6

Professional Sports Mindsets

7

Equality in Women’s Sports

17

Climate Change’s Epidemic

9

Record-Making Fall Sports

19

Mental Illness Relating to Violence

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Lopez and Soto: Two Journies, One Destination

COMMUNITY

11

Targeting Resource-Poor Healthcare Systems Rea d more at bel i vewire.com

OPINION

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Kneeling Disrespectfully to Stand Up

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Apathy Consuming Young Minds Within Politics

Letter from the editor:

O

ftentimes, it seems as if people can’t find themselves meeting on common ground with others who view things differently. Sure, it’s hard to put aside values and opinions and to try and think like someone else and it may be easier to only disagree and not say another word to that person. However, I firmly believe that having discussions with a diverse selection of people is essential, for young people especially, because questioning and challenging your own beliefs will only make them that much stronger. In regards to this, our staff wants to hear from you and your responses to our content, which is why the Livewire operates as a public forum.

In this magazine, with a staff of only 20 students, we discuss a variety of issues. Some are opinion, like the importance of youth involvement in politics and a piece on kneeling for the national anthem, but others are not. We discuss issues such as immigration, gun violence, how mental illness relates to violence, climate change and equality all within this issue. Even though we have not taken a stance on these issues as a staff, I want to be able to share your own opinions and thoughts about them for our other readers to view. The Livewire accepts letters to the editor, which all must abide by the requirements laid out in our staff manual, which you can ask me about anytime or visit our room in the College and Career Center, 606, for information. There are also more specifics on this on the very last page inside our magazine.

We came up with the theme “America Through Our Eyes,” over the summer during our staff bootcamp. We wanted to be able to tackle important issues, and be able to reflect on how we think we view things differently as student journalists and as the youth of America. We’ve taken these broad, controversial topics and broken them down to how they impact our community specifically. Like stated previously, if you have a strong opinion about any of the topics discussed in this magazine and want to share it, write a letter to the editor and we will take it into account.

Lastly, thank you for reading our magazine and supporting student journalism. We’re already creating and planning for the next magazine to come.

- Katie Huffman, editor-in-chief

Choosing the Right Pathway by makayla stone

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ullitt East offers numerous pathways that allow students to graduate as career-ready, rather than college-ready. Choosing the right pathway can be intimidating, and while only a few offer any certifications, all of them will help in furthering your career faster after high school.

Agriculture The agriculture pathway can prepare you for jobs such as a horticulturist, agronomist, landscaper, farmer and more. Classes include Principals of Agricultural Science and Technology, Agribusiness, Greenhouse Technology and Veterinary Science. The three classes can prepare you to keep up with lawn maintenance and plants, about basic care for various animals, and different employability skills. Students can get Bayer certified through this pathway. “I was very involved in agriculture education in high school and I like the opportunities for a handson experience that it gives students,” said agriculture teacher, Megan Terry-McConnell.

Family Consumer Science The family consumer science pathway can prepare you for jobs such as a chef, caterer, psychologist, marriage and family therapist, abuse/crisis counselor and more. Classes include ones such as Food and Nutrition, Early Lifespan, Consumer Economics and Culinary Arts.

Health Science Choosing health science as your pathway can prepare you to be a radiologist, physician assistant, doctor, pharmacy technician, veterinarian, etc. In order to complete the pathway, you will need to take courses such as Principles of Health Science and Emergency Procedures.

“I’ve always loved teaching and in nursing, we would teach our patients for a lot. I always said if I were to go back to school, I’d be a teacher. I was mainly looking for a change. My husband found the job and told me I should apply here and it was perfect because I get to teach what I love,” said allied health teacher, Laura Godbold.

Business and Marketing In this pathway, you can prepare yourself for careers as a retail manager, salesperson, sales representative and technical sales representative. In order to gain credit, you need to take classes such as Accounting and Finance Foundations, Digital Literacy, Personal Finance and Advanced Accounting. “Every industry every sector every career every job has a structure and financial analysis that involves business intelligence, typically at the higher up levels. But whether it’s for-profit or non-profit, a private company, there’s going to always be financial decisions involved and those decisions are going to be made around the board table, usually at the higher end of the company. Business classes help students get an understanding of the dayto-day perspectives that everyone’s faced with both with a micro and macro perspective,” said Daniel Rock, who teaches both accounting courses and financial services.

3 | SCHOOL

Information Technology By taking courses such as Game Design and Development Principles, Introduction to Digital Game Graphics and Advanced 3d Game Development, you can prepare yourself to make a living as a game designer or a game design analyst.

Law Enforcement Jobs such as a correctional officer, crime scene investigator, detective and a police officer can be achieved easier with this pathway. Courses include Introduction to Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, Health and Well-Being for Law Enforcement and Criminal Investigation. No certifications are available for this pathway, but students are required to take an exam at the end of the program to earn the credit. “I think it gives them an idea of what you would do in the law enforcement field and the expectations for how to get there, so if its something you really want it and gives you an idea of what is required. It can also shut the door of people who don’t think they could meet the standards of what they would be expected to or wouldn’t be good for this type of gives career,” said Carolyn Nunn, who teaches the classes related to law enforcement.

Media Arts Anything related to graphic design, such as an art director, graphic designer, sign maker, and more, are related to this pathway. By taking classes such as Introduction to Media Arts, Two-Dimensional Media Design and Advanced Production Design. The yearbook and magazine programs also fit in this pathway. You can help yourself by gaining employable skills, including being Adobe certified, something that many employers look for. “It’s so broad what we do that it’s hard to put a label on it. Essentially what we’ve committed to as a pathway is making sure we’ve covered the standards that lie beneath those classes. So you’ll see more graphic type design discussed throughout our class and really just more professional marketing strategies,” said Larry Steinmetz, who teaches all the classes for the pathway.

Education The education pathway has a total of three courses to take and can prepare you for a job as an administrator, counselor, curriculum specialist, school psychologist, professor, policy advisor, and more. Those courses are the Learning Community, the Learner-Centered Classroom, and the Professional Educator. “I decided to go into this pathway because I have always wanted to be a teacher and the first class was all about what being a teacher is. Not only on the surface but also to the core. I thought it would be a good experience,” said Summer Wheeler, a junior who will finish the pathway this year.

Engineering Woodworker, manufacturing manager, electronics assembler, industrial technician, interior designer and electronics engineer are some of the many careers that the engineering pathway covers. While most classes are specific to the different types of engineering, classes such as Engineering I, Engineering II and Electrical/Electronic Engineering carry across all of those required classes.

Graphics made by Katie Huffman.

4 | SCHOOL

Issues of Vaping Among Teens by montrell page

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uuls are the new cancer stick.

Everyone thought Juuls were safe, and then, just like cigarettes, the truth came out.

In the past couple of years, there has been an outbreak of the use of juuls and e-cigarettes. Juuls have straight nicotine in them, and so far there’s not enough research to know the long-term effects. Just how people didn’t know that cigs were bad in the beginning, the same thing has now happened with juuls.

In overall health terms, juuls are considered to be better because they do not contain harmful ingredients and chemicals that are in cigarettes. Cigarettes have over 7,000 poisonous chemical compounds such as ammonia, which is in the toilet cleaner, and arsenic, which is in rat poison.

There have been recurring problems with vaping and teens bring vapes to school. “We confiscated around 65 vapes last year. This year we have about 10 to 12,” said Principal Chris Mason, “Our staff continues to monitor bathrooms and we are in the process of getting vape detectors installed across all district middle and high schools.” According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), nearly 21 percent of high school students used e-cigs in 2018.

Recent studies show that vaping affects your brain and lungs. Research on the effects is still being conducted. Doctors are trying to push on informing them on the long term effects.

HIgh school are not the only ones dealing with this problem, but also the local middle schools have had a problem with kids juuling. Troy Wood, the principal at Eastside Middle School, said that last year they had three incidents with juuling and vaping in school.

“Last year we had several incidences where students owned a vape device in school. This year we have had only one incident of a student with a vape device. Our procedure is to educate students about the negative effects of using a vape device. This has been done primarily through mentoring and guidance counseling. We also educate teachers and staff about the different types of vape devices and their negative effects so they can have critical conversations with students. We have upgraded our supervision of bathrooms and other areas where vaping might occur. And, we follow the Bullitt County Code of Conduct when we discipline a student for using or having a vape device,” said Wood. Schools are trying to decrease the juuling epidemic within their students.

The extent of the consequences of vaping are not fully apparent, but recently there have been teens and young adults hospitalized for collapsed lungs.

Vaping and juuls can raise your heart rate, which can result in having a heart attack. Released by the Washington Post, one article said, “As of Sept. 17, officials counted at least 530 confirmed and probable cases of vaping-related illness reported by 38 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the CDC. At least nine people have died. While most of the victims have been young, all those who died were adults, according to authorities.”

Juuls first came out in 2017. Ever since they have been out, the percentage of high schoolers that vape has skyrocketed. About 20 cigarettes equal out to one Juul pod when it comes to nicotine.

There has been a problem lately with the FDA (Food and Drug Association) and Juuls because a Juul representative spoke at a presentation and told students that it was “much safer (juuls) than cigarettes,” and that juuls was “totally safe”. This raised concerns because there have been over 400 people who have gotten sick by vaping related illnesses.

The principal at Mt. Washington Middle School, Shawn Pickett, says that he hasn’t had to deal with too many incidents of students using vaping devices at school. “I believe with a consistent effort of education and teaching responsible behavior we can diminish the number of students using vape devices in our schools. Safety of our students is our number one concern at Mt. Washington Middle School,” said Pickett, “I would be very surprised to learn that this is something going on within our building regularly.

It isn’t happening within our classrooms, in the halls, cafeteria, etc. Our students have always been known to speak out when they see and hear things going on that are outside of our expectations. Even our restroom breaks are closely monitored, but if they are used, that would be the location. I wouldn’t argue that our students are using them, especially outside of the building. I would be surprised if they are sneaking them in the school and using them on school grounds. In the past two years, we’ve only confiscated about five vape devices.”

For more information on the dangers of juuling/vaping and how to quit go to: https:// teen.smokefree.gov/become-smokefree/ tools-for-quitting

The amount of nicotine in one Juul pod is equal to that of 20 cigarettes. Graphic by Katie Huffman.

5 | SCHOOL

Professional Sports Mindsets

by Tyler Mozingo

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thletes are drawing a line in the sand.

Professional athletes have found a new middle ground with their executives: demanding what they want until they get it.

Professional athletes have had positive impacts on the younger generation for a while now, but that is slowly turning to negative impacts.

Demanding contracts, and this and that, is the new thing in professional sports. This can be diminishing to young athletes with professional aspirations, and it’s starting to impact their mindsets.

The sports world has changed drastically. It used to be where players would sometimes take a paycut in the benefit of the team being able to sign more free agency players or keeping players around longer, but that has taken a full 360 turn in the past year. Players are now demanding contracts that the sports world has never seen before and players are following others footsteps which has caused chaos among sports.

In the NFL (National Football League), over the course of the last two years alone, numerous players have demanded and held out of football because they didn’t get a contract they wanted. Le’Veon Bell, previous star running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, held out for an entire season after not receiving a bigger contract in the offseason. The Steelers placed a franchise tag on Bell which would have resulted in making 14.5 million for the season; he refused and did not play a snap the entire year. “I want to play. I want to win games and the playoffs. But I’ve gotta take this stand. Knowing my worth and knowing I can tear a ligament or get surgery at any time, I knew I couldn’t play 16 games with 400 or more touches,” said Bell in an interview last year with ESPN. Bell became a free agent after not signing with the Steelers and still didn’t receive what he wanted, but the New York Jets offered him more money and he signed with them.

Melvin Gordon of the Los Angeles Chargers and Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys are following in the footsteps of Le’Veon Bell and are holding out of practices and have intentions of not playing during the season. They are demanding higher pay and will not support their teammates and organization if they don’t get what they are asking for. The Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, has made it clear he isn’t budging either. He recently made comments in an interview that said “Zeke who?,” showing that he is taking the next man up approach to this.

In a different sport, Bryce Harper, who plays in the MLB (Major League Baseball), demanded a bigger contract from the Washington Nationals or he was leaving the organization. The Nationals did not give him the contract he wanted, so he was going to hold out until another team offered him a contract of his liking, the Philadelphia Phillies.

High school athletes have aspirations of playing professionally in whatever sport they are playing and they look up to the top players in each sport. When a high school athlete sees one of the top players in their sport holding out because they didn’t get what they wanted, that could change their mindset on the player, the sport, the organization or how they feel about the holdouts. “It is weird to sit back and watch the world of sports change. I don’t think it affects 2014: Alex Rodriguez 275 Million me personally, but I can definitely see it affecting football players where it’s happening all the time in their sport,” said high school basketball player Hunter Brogan. While there haven’t been any holdouts in basketball, there has been demanded trades by players to go to another organization.

2015: Max Scherzer 210 Million

“What Anthony Davis did to the [New Orleans] Pelicans was not a good look because he left their team out to dry. If you want a trade, at least put everything you have in it for your team until you do get traded,” said Brogan. Davis picked what games he wanted to play and didn’t want to play in.

2016: Miguel Cabrera 248 Million

Year

...Being able to watch the change in these athletes minds is something that raises an eyebrow to a lot of high school athletes. It is something the sports world has never seen before and it is causing different opinions from different high school athletes that has caused a divide in the sports world.

2017: James Harden 230 Million

2018: Canelo Alvarez 365 Million

2019: Mike Trout 430 Million 0

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Worth of contract (in millions of dollars) 6 | SPORTS

400

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Data taken from Sports Illustrated.

Equality in Women’s Sports by abi huffman

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ociety continues to block the wage gap between women and men’s professional sports.

Women’s sports teams have become more successful in recent years, yet they are still getting less recognition compared to men who play the same sport.

Women’s professional sports, in general, receive less coverage than men’s. Two months ago the United States Women’s National Team became the first team in history to win four world cups. At a more local level, our girls’ soccer team can be compared to the national team in the means that neither has been recognized or appreciated for their effort and dedication over the past several years.

Although gender equality is a major issue faced by every single woman in the world, the sports industry is the area that suffers a majority of this problem. The media tends to represent female athletes as women first, and athletes second. The coverage of women in sports is often dominated by references to appearance, age or family life, whereas men are depicted as powerful, independent, dominating and valued as athletes.

There continues to be an imbalance in the vast variety of sports coverage of women compared to men. A Tucker Center, a research facility for women and girls in sports, documentary said, “Outside of major sporting events, statistics claim that 40 percent of all sports participants are women, yet women’s sports receive only about 4 percent of all sports media coverage.”

At the 2017 SINC conference in Washington D.C., longtime featured Washington Post columnist Cindy Boren noted that female athletes are leading the way in a number of stories affecting sports and society, as WNBA players were some of the first-movers in the Black Lives Matter protest in 2016. “Honestly, women athletes have been out front on equality, transgender and facility equality issues,” Boren said.

The topic that is a leading frustration for women athletes is the inequality of pay between genders. Cases of female athletes that have come to the media to fight for their rights have become more popular throughout the last few years. One recent case involving the USA women’s and men’s soccer teams brought up this seemingly endless discussion about equal payment in sports between genders.

getting paid more than the women’s team who has more wins.

At Bullitt East, it’s easy to notice that male-dominant sports are constantly talked about not only during the announcements but also in passing. Last year our girls soccer team won districts, regionals and made it all the way to semi-state which has never been done in school history by either team and yet they still didn’t receive any special congratulations by the school. “They invest so much money into football and baseball and what does soccer get? We had to cancel games last year because we don’t have a set of lights and that’s all we ask for. Is it too much to ask for them even to change the portapotty out since they refuse to get us a real bathroom,” said Senior Captain Tayler Mahoney. “We don’t really get much appreciation out here and we’ve accomplished more than a lot of people and a lot of teams at this school,” said Mahoney.

Inequality isn’t only about pay, but also the different treatment among men and women. In 2018, Serena Williams was penalized in the US Open Women’s final that cost her what would be her 24th Grand Slam singles title after a series of confrontations with Carlos Ramos, the match’s chair umpire, who issued three penalties against Williams in the second set. Ramos issued the first penalty after he witnessed coaching from Williams’ coach. Williams continued to argue with the umpire, accusing him of questioning her integrity and of punishing her more harshly than male players who swear and argue with officials on court. She was assessed a second violation after she slammed her racquet following her loss in the fifth game of the second set, which cost her a point. She said the treatment was unfair and argued that male players routinely behave in the same manner without facing penalties.

Male athletes generally aren’t judged on their looks, but the same doesn’t always apply to women. A successful female athlete who isn’t considered especially attractive will often struggle to achieve the notoriety of a better-looking opponent, even if that person isn’t as talented. At Wimbledon, where press conferences are held, in 2009, an official spokesperson for the famous tennis tournament publicly acknowledged that looks were a factor when scheduling televised matches between female players on Centre Court. The former boss of FIFA, soccer’s governing body, Sepp Blatter is well known for his vast remarks on a wide range of topics. Asked in 2004 what he would do to promote interest in women’s soccer, Blatter suggested viewership might be better if the women wore tighter shorts. “Female players are pretty,” Blatter said. “Let the women play in more feminine clothes, like they do in volleyball.”

After the men’s World Cup in 2014 and women’s World Cup in 2015, five players from the women’s team filed complaints targeting the U.S. Federation for wage discrimination. This season, the women’s team beat the Netherlands in the championship game to become the most successful team in history with four world cup wins, while the men’s team has yet to win once and suffered another early elimination in the world cup. Even with the men’s team loses, they are still

People are continually denying that female athletes are capable enough to perform at a high level to make a spectacle for their audience. It seems that equality between genders is inevitably going to be an issue in the sports industry for many years to come and it’s an issue many people will spend their whole lives fighting for but it takes more than a few people to strike a change.

Women’s 2019 World Cup championship team awarded $4 million

Men’s 2018 World Cup championship team awarded $38 million.

7 | SPORTS

Graphic by Katie Huffman.

8 | SPORTS

The volleyball team has had lots of success this year nearing the end of the season. They are a tight knit team and are 19-7 currently. “We have a good solid bonded team this year and that will help us throughout the rest of the season,” said Morgan Renneisen.

Photo by Montrell Page.

The football team has had a strong comeback season with the new coaching staff. The team is currently 4-2. “Our season is going pretty well. Not as well as we want it to be. Just be ready for us in the postseason,” said Aeron Adams. Photo by Emma Whitehouse.

The boys golf team is very happy with their performances this year. They have two players going to state, Aiden Robison and Thomas Bryan. “With me going to state I am wanting to prove to others that Bullitt East golf must be taken seriously,” said Aiden Robison. Photo submitted by Robison.

The current soccer team is the best team in school history. They are undefeated at 14-0-1 and look to prove themselves even further in the postseason.

“Our team is better than any other team in school history but we still have to close out the season strong and prove something,” said Noah Presley.

Photo by Mia Maguire.

The girls soccer team is having a very successful season and look to take it very far into the postseason.

They feel like they still have something to prove.“We are happy with where we are right now but we have unfinished business,” said Chloe Holt. Photo by Emma Whitehouse.

The cross country team has had a decent season so far. Nearing the postseason, the team hopes to earn some respect from other schools. “We are looking to make state as a team this year and prove ourselves to other schools we can co pete with them,” said Zachary Ballard. Photo submitted by Mia Maguire.

9 | SPORTS

The girls golf team has had much success this season. With a little amount of golfers, they have made the most out of the season as they can. “We had a great season as a whole and with Macie going to state, we are pretty happy with where we are right now,” said Abi Huffman. Photo submitted

by Macie Brown.

e

Record-Making Fall Sports

by Keel in Davis an d Hunter Mahoney

Girls Soccer

Football

The Lady Chargers won the 24th District Tournament for the third time and the 6th Region Tournament for the second time this year.

The past two years the ladies have lost in the semi-state game. They have an overall season record of 20-4-1. The team is ranked in the top 25 in the state. “I’m proud of us coming back even stronger than last year and winning the region again. We had a great run this season and a better record than seen before,” said junior Emma Wright.

With a new coaching staff, the football team has started out the season with a (4-1) record with big improvements this year. Going into the middle of the season looking to have their best season in years.

Also, with them joining a harder class in 6A they have stepped up big this year defying all the odds against them. “Our season is going pretty well and we are exceeding all expectations but not as well as we want it to be. Just be ready for us in the postseason,” said junior Aeron Adams.

Boys Soccer The boys had an almost perfect regular season with only one loss and two ties. Seniors Zak Perdew and Evan Wright, junior Xavier Glauber and freshman Colin Elder are just four players who have stood out this season. The team surpassed all expectations and one the regional championship for the first time in school history. “Our team is better than any other team in school history but we still have to close out the season strong and prove something,” said Noah Pressley.

Volleyball Coming to the home stretch of the season the volleyball team has posted a 14-7 record. With a large senior class, the team is looking to win the district title this year. Although it will be tough against top three Mercy. “We have a good solid bonded team this year and that will help us throughout the rest of the season,” said Morgan Renneisen.

Boys Golf The best match of the season for the team was Aug. 28 with top performer senior Aiden Robison, who has performed well all season.

Other top performers are Thomas Bryan, Kyle Schuler and Austin Hale. “With us going to state I am wanting to prove to others that Bullitt East golf must be taken seriously,” said Robison.

Cross Country Nearing the middle of the season, cross country has had their ups and downs as a team. The top performer for the boys has been sophomore Isaiah Malone, who has finished first out of all the Bullitt East boys in every meet so far. On the girls side of things, sophomore Mia Maguire and junior Emily Tinelli have been standout performers, finishing at the top of the girl runners on the team. The boys are currently ranked 83 in the state and the girls are ranked 40. They look to continue improving and build on their success as the season progresses. “We are looking to make state as a team this year and prove ourselves to other schools we can compete with them,” said junior Zachary Ballard.

Girls Golf The girls golf team have placed in one match and one tournament this season. Freshman Macie Brown has led the girls with 230 All State points and placed first in the Nelson County Lady Card Invitational and she placed 25 in the state. Abi Huffman and Alayna Wells have also competed in every tournament. With a lack of players, the team has not been able to place in most of their matches. “I think the season went well this year. There are some tournaments where I didn’t feel I did my best and there are some where I did really good, but I definitely learned a lot,” said Brown.

10 | SPORTS

Targeting Resource-Poor Healthcare Systems

by Kelsey BAker

A

doctor’s duty is to keep people safe and healthy, but havoc can break loose when tables turn.

With a lack of resources and malpractice, doctors are facing many complications when trying to keep patients healthy.

Many global and national health strategies are not sufficiently taking into consideration the issues of improving healthcare quality in low-resource settings, resulting in frequent outbreaks. When outbreaks occur due to faulty practices and inadequate resources, they are not discriminatory at all, take for example the recent HIV outbreak in Pakastani children.

As medicine progresses, doctors and medical specialists alike feel changes need to be made and this issue needs to be dealt with to help us prepare for a healthier future.

The parameters to ensuring patients receive high-quality care are often quite similar amongst various health systems.

However, the extent through which quality improvement interventions actually show any noticeable influence may be different in resource-poor settings.

“This problem is as old as time. The World Health Organization is in place to help serve these areas. They do a great job, but resources are limited. We need more physicians and healthcare workers to serve in these areas and more money to provide medical supplies, vaccines, and medications,” said Casey Lewis of Pediatrics of Bullitt County.

Many areas need to be addressed and simultaneously improved to progress in terms of medicine. Investments in strengthening broader health systems while being negligent to quality improvement is seen as a futile effort, alongside the vice versa. Due to the lack of strategy in larger improvement efforts, various outbreaks have ensued.

At times like these, many call for a renewed focus on quality improvement in health care systems by managers, health care providers, policy-makers and various people who have influence in medicine. These leaders are shifting their mindsets, working on all levels of health care systems in resource-poor regions and settings.

“While there is still more to be done, the advances made in the last 20 years are impressive. Many influential people commit to improving resources in underserved areas. In particular, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated millions are dollars to improve healthcare in these areas. Other top celebrity contributors to the Global Fund include Elton John, Lady Gaga, Bill Clinton, Bono, Ellen Degeneres,” said Lewis.

Larger government bodies are attempting to bring various elements together to hopefully stimulate debate, bring forth gaps in research, and further support policy-makers, health care providers, and representatives of both patients and communities working in this field.

Despite the shift of focus, outbreaks still occur and with no hesitation. For example, as early as April of 2019 an outbreak of HIV was discovered in the Sindh province, labeled unprecedented due to a large number of children infected.

“The HIV outbreak in Pakistan is a tragedy. The details are still unclear, but it does appear that at least one clinic was reusing needles in their patients. This situation is sad for many reasons. Not only are these children now infected with HIV, but they may also be infected with Hepatitis C which in my opinion is a more difficult disease to treat. I also worry that the people of that region will now have fear and distrust of healthcare providers and not seek treatment when needed,” said Lewis.

After the World Health Organization carried out a screening program, over 800 Pakastani children were tested positive.

The culprit, repackaging used needles and unsterilized environments. Although it seems far out of the realm of possibility, the methods are common amongst backstreet clinics all throughout the world.

In areas, much like Pakistan, doctors and medical specialists will turn to reusing contaminated resources and often times do not have the tools readily available to keep their clinics sterile. As a result, patients suffer the consequences. Many in these areas cannot comfortably afford to receive health care anywhere else. Alongside this, due to the scarcity of the clinics, they have in their general vicinity, many flock to the same clinic, which drastically increases the risk of outbreaks amongst large populations.

Graphic by Katie Huffman.

11 | COMMUNITY

Advertise with us.

The target of our campaign is to highlight the local businesses that our students, parents and faculty use around town. As a part of our community’s first approach to reporting, we want to be able to include the community as a whole within our publications. Advertising with us will expose your business to 1,500 students, and potentially an additional 3,000 parents.

As a self-funded publication, we would appreciate your business with us.

Contact our business editor for more information: abigale.huffman@stu.bullitt.kyschools.us

12 | COMMUNITY

Gun Laws Challenging Citizens Safety

by Ella Olds

A

merican citizens continue to remain unphased everytime they see a shooting being covered on the news.

Mass shootings have become a prominent issue all across America.

Along with that, school shootings have become a growing problem but that doesn’t mean people should be used to this horror. This fact raises the question if we should change gun laws in America.

While there were school shootings prior to the Columbine High School Massacre, this shooting is known to be the one that began the long list of horrific school massacres. The Columbine shooting took place on April 20, 1999, where 13 people were killed and over 20 others were wounded. Following the Columbine shooting is the Sandy Hook shooting that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Dec. 14, 2012. Twenty-seven people were killed that day and nearly 2,300 people have been killed and almost 8,400 have been wounded since then in school shootings. According to Vox News, “Since 2013, there has been only one full calendar week — the week of Jan. 5, 2014 — without a mass shooting.”

When school shootings happen they can be detrimental to the school and the community. After a school shooting happens, students and staff will all be in different stages of shock and will not be able to immediately come back to school, causing disruptions in schedule and lessons. Throughout the community, citizens will be invoked with fear, making it hard to focus while also mourning those who have passed.

This has been such a prevelant problem in the United States that Beto O’Rourke, a former United States Representative and 2020 presidential candidate, has begun using his twitter account to bring light to the issue. He has posted tweets with the number of people who have died from gun violence that day, just to show copious amounts of people that are dying from this issue.

As more mass shootings happen across the nation, it proposes the question of whether or not guns are the real issue. Opinions on the issue differ between whether or not guns are the issue or if the issue is within the person pulling the trigger. People who stand behind the fact that guns are the issue believe that there should be stricter gun laws in America. They believe this because of the already lax gun restrictions and because at certain places, such as gun shows, hardly any background checks are required to purchase a gun. Therefore, they believe that stricter gun laws would lead to a decrease in the

number of mass shootings. Others stay firm in the belief that “people kill people” and that guns are not the problem. Mental illness is seen as a contributor to mass shootings, causing people to believe that mentally unstable people are the real problem. Wish this mindset, they believe that people with a mental illness cannot distinguish right from wrong and that they will still find ways to get a gun, even if it’s illegal. People with this mindset believe that their second amendment right to bear arms should remain untouched, no matter how many people die from gun violence.

When asking the Bullitt East community through a poll conducted on the Livewire Instagram if they felt safe/protected at school, 67 percent replied yes and 33 percent replied no. For the majority of yes voters it was because of the police officer located in school and the doors staying locked. When looking at the no responses more than half of their reasoning was because of school shooters and how they are more prominent in today’s society. Junior, Mallory Roby says she feels as if our CCC doors are one of the biggest loopholes in and out of the school. “I think half the time the doors in the back of the CCC are open or unlocked which is a huge safety issue. I also have seen people open the doors from the inside and let people in which is another issue since there is no where to sign-in in the back of the school,” said Roby.

In the same poll, viewers of the Livewire Instagram were asked if they thought there should be stricter gun laws in America, 44 percent replied yes and 56 percent responded no. Senior Eric Couch believes that there shouldn’t be stricter gun laws in America. “Criminals don’t care about the law so restrictions only affect those who do.

People kill people, not guns,” said Couch. In agreement to him, other responses on the poll said mental health is the issue here and we shouldn’t take away our second amendment.

With the rise in mass shootings, Bullitt East has started to take precautions. One of these precautions being a change in our fire drill procedure. Several school shootings started because the shooter pulled the fire alarm, causing students and teachers to think there was an accidental emergency which causes the students fill the hallways at an attempt to evacuate, but instead of there being a fire in the building there’s someone with a gun. Now during drills students have to stay in our classes with the alarm ringing until our teachers gets an all clear text, then they proceed like they normally would.

Even people who aren’t direct victims of gun violence are affected by the fear the rise of mass shootings has caused.

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Amount of Guns per Country (2017) Russia

Italy 8,609,000

17,620,000 Mexico 16,809,000

Iraq 7,588,000

Saudi Arabia 5,468,000

China 49,735,000

Thailand 10,342,000

U.S.A.

Spain 3,464,000

Afghanistan 4,270,00

393,347,000

Brazil 17,570,000

Turkey 13,249,000

France 12,732,000

Pakistan 43,917,000 Nigeria 6,154,000 Iran 5,890,000

Germany 15,822,000

When totaled the amount of guns throughout the 16 countries is 239,179,000, excluding the United States. Although, there are 16 countries the amount of guns in them dosent even begin to encompass the magnitude of guns within the United States. Some believe that the amount of guns and lax gun laws in the United States correlates to the amount of mass shootings. Henceforth, why some strive for stricter laws.

Diagram made by Ella Olds and Molly Shannon. Data released by a Small Arms Survey, an independent study research project.

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America Since 2000 Data taken from the Gun Violence Archive

2000

2008

Center Township, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - 5 dead New York City, New York - 5 dead Wakefield, Massachusetts - 7 dead

Tinley Park, Illinois - 5 dead Kirkwood, Missouri - 7 dead DeKalb, Illinois - 6 dead Skagit County, Washington - 6 dead Covina, California - 10 dead

2002 Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. - 17 dead

2009 Samson, Alabama - 11 dead Carthage, North Carolina - 8 dead Binghamton, New York - 14 dead Fort Hood, Texas - 14 dead

2003 Meridian, Mississippi - 7 dead

2004 Fresno, California - 9 dead Meteor, Wisconsin - 6 dead Columbus, Ohio - 5 dead

2010 Appomattox, Virginia - 8 dead Manchester, Connecticut - 9 dead

2005

2011

Brookfield, Wisconsin - 8 dead Red lake, Minnesota - 10 dead

Tucson, Arizona - 6 dead Grand Rapids, Michigan - 8 dead Copley Township, Ohio - 8 dead Carson City, Nevada - 5 dead Seal Beach, California - 8 dead

2006 Goleta, California - 8 dead Lancaster County, Pennsylvania - 6 dead

2012

2007

Oakland, California - 7 dead Seattle, Washington - 6 dead, Oak Creek, Wisconsin - 7 dead Minneapolis, Minnesota - 7 dead

Salt Lake City, Utah - 6 dead Blacksburg, Virginia - 33 dead Crandon, Wisconsin - 7 dead Omaha, Nebraska - 9 dead Colorado Springs - 5 dead

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2013

2017

South Valley, New Mexico - 5 dead Riverside counties, California - 5 dead Santa Monica, California - 6 dead Hialeah, Florida - 7 dead Washington D.C. - 13 dead

Broward County, Florida - 5 dead Rothschild, Wisconsin - 5 dead Lincoln County, Mississippi - 8 dead Orlando, Florida - 6 dead Plano, Texas - 9 dead Las Vegas, Nevada - 59 dead Sutherland Springs, Texas - 27 dead Tehama County, California - 6 dead

2014 Isla Vista, California - 7 dead Spring, Texas- 6 dead Marysville, Washington- 5 dead Montgomery County, Pennsylvania- 6 dead

2018 Melcroft, Pennsylvania - 5 dead Parkland, Florida - 17 dead Yountville, California - 5 dead Santa Fe, Texas - 10 dead Scottsdale, Arizona - 7 dead Annapolis, Maryland - 5 dead Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - 11 dead Thousand Oaks, California - 13 dead

2015 Tyrone, Missouri - 8 dead Waco, Texas - 9 dead Charleston, South Carolina - 9 dead Chattanooga, Tennessee - 6 dead Harris County, Texas - 8 dead Roseburg, Oregon - 10 dead San Bernardino, California - 16 dead

2019 Sebring, Florida - 5 dead Livingston Parish, Louisiana - 5 dead Aurora, Illinois - 6 dead Virginia Beach, Virginia - 13 dead El Paso, Texas - 22 dead Dayton, Ohio - 10 dead Midland-Odessa, Texas - 8 dead

2016 Kalamazoo, Michigan - 6 dead Kansas City, Missouri - 5 dead Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania - 6 dead Pike County, Ohio - 8 dead Orlando, Florida - 50 dead Dallas, Texas - 6 dead Citronelle, Alabama - 6 dead Burlington, Washington -5 dead

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Climate Change’s Epidemic

by Molly Shannon

C

limate change and pollution go hand in hand and have been happening for decades, but now they are catching up to us by threatening the future of the planet.

Climate change is a change in global climate patterns over a prolonged period of time which can cause the permanent destruction of a variety of habitats. Last year the United Nations released a report stating there’s only 12 years to save our planet from reaching unlivable conditions but more recently in July, Common Dreams Incorporated stated that there’s only 18 months before the earth becomes permanently damaged from neglect. Because of climate change becoming more prevalent in the media, there has been a recent trend of having a more eco friendly lifestyle.

The world is getting warmer and to a certain degree it’s inevitable.

Whether the annual global temperature is increasing due to the unsustainable lives of humans or because of natural variability, the world is in danger either way. According to NASA, 18 of the 19 warmest years have occurred since 2001 with 2016 ranking as the warmest year to date. Although temperatures tends to fluctuate significantly depending on the location, time of day and season, global temperature is measured, by how much energy from the sun earth Photo by tw0bit, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

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receives and radiates back, which is something that when measured should have little change in.

Each year the annual global temperature increases between 1.1 and 1.6 degrees fahrenheit which may not seem like a huge deal, but when things are put into perspective, it is evident that two-thirds of the increase in temperature has occurred since 1975, which is partially a result of unsustainable lifestyles and capitalism. Natural contributors of this phenomenon include earth’s natural climate cycle. Although climate change is inevitable to an extent there can also be measures taken to help prevent it from destroying the earth within this century. While people tend to focus on the amount of plastic waste in the world, there are several things that contribute more to climate change and pollution that are overlooked.

Because of other issues going overlooked by the government and people all around the world, it has caused people who aren’t even a part of the government to take a stand and try to fight for a future that won’t be cut short because of climate change. Greta Thunberg is a 16 year old climate change activist who delivered a speech at the UN regarding the current state of the planet. “People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth.... You are failing us but the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you and if you choose to fail us, I say, we will never forgive you,” said Thunberg.

Recently people have switched to using reusable or biodegradable straws because plastic can harm the environment and wildlife. According to National Geographic, 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year but straws only make up 1/40 percent of plastic waste in the ocean therefore, although switching to more eco-friendly lifestyles will help to a degree, there are other steps that can be taken for a greater magnitude of change. For example, turning our attention to major corporations and capitalism rather than plastic could help the environment more so than anything else.

Only 100 of the thousands of major corporations are responsible for 71 percent of all industrial emissions since human-driven climate change was officially recognized according to the Guardian. On top of that, the Natural Resources Defense Council, stated that the top 15 U.S. food and beverage companies produce 630 million tons of greenhouse gases each year. The United States is the world’s biggest industrial and commercial power, making it follow China in the ranking of the most polluting countries. Industries that make major contributions to climate change and pollution include the meat industry and the fashion industry.

The poultry and meat industry is the largest segment of U.S. agriculture, also making it on track to become the world’s biggest polluter.

Livestock farming leaves vast carbon footprint, requires masses of water and land and hurts those suffering from poverty. The FAO recently estimated that livestock accounts for 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions while meat, dairy and eggs takes up almost 80 percent of agricultural land according to Global Agriculture Organization, this leads to the destruction of forests. Similar to the meat industry, the fishing industry is also contributing in large part to pollution. A survey given by scientists who are a part of the Ocean Cleanup organization found that at least 46 percent of plastic found in the ocean comes from fishing nets.

Junior, Caitlyn Irish has been vegan since her freshman year and has been advocating against the meat industry because of how cruel the animals are treated ever since. She first cut meat out of her diet after witnessing how horrific the conditions of the factory farms and coming to the realization that the meat industry is harming the planet through many ways. “People simply need to cut down on the consumption of animal products. Supply and demand is all it is, if people don’t buy the products there won’t be a reason to produce them. Giving up animal products is easy as once you realize what destruction and pain these products cause it becomes a simple choice of ‘Am I going to be a part of this or am I going to change?’,” said Irish.

Living more sustainably doesn’t only revolve around meat consumption and usage of plastic. Together, the fashion and footwear industries relaise 3,990 million metric tons of carbon dioxide as shown as shown in a report from Quantis in 2016. One of the reasons why the fashion industry has evidently become more closely related to climate change is fast fashion. Fast fashion is when a business or company quickly turn around new collections that are often sold for inexpensive prices to guarantee sales.

Science teacher Kenneth Hughes stated that because climate change is a problem with several different variables, there are only a certain number of things that people can do to combat climate change to a degree since nature will always win. “If you look at the amount of pollution that comes from residential areas it’s a fraction of the pollution and waste that is produced by corporations or industries and they may say one thing that sounds good to their potential customers but at the end of the day they’re going to do whatever they have to do to make as much money as possible,” said Hughes.

Capitalism has in large part contributed greatly to climate change. Every product has a byproduct, causing the ability to extract and consume an immense amount of natural resources to generate a correspondingly monstrous amount of waste in the form of garbage, pollution and other forms of environmental degradation. Since pollution and waste are a direct consequence of consumption there needs to be a limit on the amount of resources we use. This also implies that any solution capable of developing a solution to climate change will therefore require a global agreement to drastically restrain the production, consumption and removal of natural resources for our own benefit. As the capitalist system currently stands, it is not designed for nor capable of restricting its own tendency for unsustainable growth.

There are a number of things that can go into helping the rising problem of climate change. These things include supporting indigenous peoples rights, protesting capitalism and major corporations, begging the question on intersectionality when the topic of sustainability is brought up, cutting the amount of meat in your diet and not supporting fast fashion.

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Mental Illness Relating to Violence

by Mi a Magu ire

“Y

ou must be mental if you ...”

Most people would believe that it is the mentally ill that are committing crimes, but in reality, that’s not the case.

Sergeant Pamela Oberhausen has worked with Louisville Metro Police Department for 25 years. She has found that Americans with mental illness are largely blamed for crimes, but that’s not the truth.

Crisis Intervention Team training, what Oberhausen does, improves the way police help the mentally ill.

Sgt. Oberhausen is a Patrol Sergeant and the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) coordinator, which means she trains police officers throughout the state of Kentucky, on how to handle people who are mentally ill or in distress of any kind. Her qualifications and experience with the mentally ill have given her a unique ability to pass her knowledge on to other law enforcement officers. The program she runs teaches officers the most appropriate way to handle mentally ill citizens.

“Oh, this [Louisville] is my home. I was a beat officer for almost ten years and this has just always been my home,” said Oberhausen. She likes to do things and stay busy, which she certainly does as the area she works in has the highest concentration of mental illness in the state. However, Sgt. Oberhausen does not believe that mental illness is the driving factor in violent crime.

One in four people have a mental illness. According to the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Advisory Council, published in the Courier Journal, “Americans with mental illness commit four percent of your violent crimes. Ninety-six percent of your perpetrators do not have a mental illness”. This means that almost all violent crimes are committed by people who are well aware of what is going on. According to Sgt. Oberhausen people who are mentally ill are seven times more likely to be the victims of a violent crime. This includes rape or assault victims and they are much less likely to be believed. Sgt. Oberhausen said, “The media socializes everything . . . what it does is it stigmatizes people with mental illness when they are more likely to be the victim. . . If you are saying that all mentally ill people are violent, well all of those shootings that are done everywhere, should be by mentally ill people, and they’re not.”

As of Aug. 31, 2019, there have been 297 mass shootings in the United States this year. A mass shooting is defined by the FBI as a shooting where four or more people are shot. Ninety-six percent of your perpetrators do not have a mental illness, to most peoples disbelief. The only connection between the mentally ill and crime is when a person starts self-medicating. Sometimes a person’s medicine can have negative effects. Many times this makes the consumer stop taking their medication all together and switch to an alternative, illegal drug. This causes all of the things the medicine was trying to prevent, come back, but so much worse.T herefore, the four percent from the statistics above are most likely people who are taking the wrong medication, ensuing violence, and are not seeing a therapist.

Oberhausen noted that it is hard sometimes for police officers to

differentiate between a person who is mentally ill or who is on drugs, but because of CIT training, it becomes a bit easier. The biggest change from before and after CIT is the better understanding that police officers have for people with mental illness.

They know that a person isn’t just crazy, they also know when the person is doing drugs and needs assistance.

Two of the most common mental illnesses that are seen are Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder. Sgt. Oberhausen referred to a man who she frequently made calls for service for named Philip. Philip was known for standing outside an apartment complex and making threats, but he is incompetent. This means he is unable to think for himself and judge right from wrong. Prior to CIT, officers would not think twice about Philip being treated like a normal person. But after CIT, she and the officers she teaches have a better understanding about what is really happening. CIT also helps keep the officers safe. They don’t know what is going through people’s heads but because of their training, they know the best way to deal with each case. This includes giving space and listening to keywords that they react to. They also get a better understanding of how to talk to people with each type of case while giving more comfort to the person. “The second thing is that it makes officers safer . . . it gives the officers safety and it gives the person more comfort in know that ‘hey i’m not here to trick ya, I’m gonna start back here if I need to, I’m gonna start way across the room if I need to, but I’m gonna do that just so you know that I really do want to help you,” said Oberhausen.

There are facilities such as Center Stone that are there to help rehab people. Especially for the people who are in the west end of Louisville.

Other rehab facilitations include the healing place, bridge havan, NAOMI. “There’s resources out there but the thing is that our cycles, those are the people that are probably not going to be compliant with their medication,” Sgt. Oberhausen.

“They [the mentally ill] are people that shouldn’t be treated any differently because it’s the only illness or disease that you can literally treat someone like less of a human being and its okay. If you treated a person that was in a diabetic shock . . . and they started going crazy and you said ‘man, I’m tired of dealing with him, I mean I know he’s diabetic, but I’m just tired of dealing with him, I’m just going to lock him up for D.C.(Disorderly Conduct)’ Well, you’d be fired or in jail, or prison o both. If you denied someone medical attention, and you knew they needed medical attention, based on them having an ill-

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ness, then you would get in big time trouble for that. But you can do it to your mentally ill people all the time and it’s not fair. It’s not fair that they’re treated like less of a person. And society helps with that.

And the media helps with that.

They all help with that because they basically show/portray people to where you have mentally ill people who are afraid to even go and get help because of the stigma associated with just admitting that you’re mentally ill. That stigma alone keeps people from even going to get help because they don’t want to be portrayed as the mass shooter in Ohio. They are human beings, they should be treated like human beings, they should be treated like they have an illness. They have an illness in their brain and it’s not their fault. It’s even less of their fault then some of the other things that happen. The most important thing is that people who are mentally ill people are just people with another disease and should be treated with respect and should be helped, ” said Sgt. Oberhausen.

Go to www. belivewire.com to watch the full Oberhausen interview Graphic by Katie Huffman

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Lopez and Soto: Two Journies, One Destination

by Sophi a Blanton

Graphic by Katie Huffman

Story 1: Janie Lopez

J

anireth Lopez, known to many as Jani, is a documented immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico. Her mother came here when Lopez was 3-years-old. Lopez stayed in Mexico with her grandmother until her mother got Lopez’s visa. Lopez moved to America when she was 10-years-old, which means she lived without her mother for seven years. Her mother felt comfortable in Kentucky since she had been living here for a while, so she moved Lopez here. In addition to herself, Lopez has three younger siblings who are all in elementary school and who were all born in America.

When Lopez came over here, she didn’t know any English, not even hello. She felt like she didn’t belong here and no one really helped her

because no else spoke enough Spanish. It took her about two years to really start to comprehend English and about three years to fully understand the English language.

The last time Lopez went back to Mexico was over the summer because they missed Mexico and their family. Lopez feels it was a good experience for her siblings because it’s the first time they got to meet their grandparents and so many more family members. That was the first time she has been back to Mexico as a family since she first came to America.

Lopez says Mexico is way different than here because in Mexico

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there was a lot of violence, crime and just a lot of bad people. Mexico’s culture, language, people, etc. were way different in Mexico than in America. She feels that when she was in Mexico she did way better in school and participated in class more often. Lopez felt like she had no worries and she could focus more in and outside of school. When she came here it was different because she couldn’t go out anywhere, compared to Mexico where she could walk down the street and get to where she needed to be no problem. Here she found it more difficult because you have to get a car or get a ride to get to a lot of places and you can’t just walk down the street and get to wherever you want. Her mother brought her here to shield her from the violence that goes on in Mexico. Lopez said, “When you know people out there, you know they aren’t going to hurt you because they are like your people.” “I am actually glad to be here because there is better education, better environment. I can live better and think way better,” said Lopez

long time and that we need to pay them back,” said Lopez. She feels safe in America right now because she knows she is here legally and she is not doing anything wrong or bad that she should feel afraid of.

Lopez feels that all undocumented immigrants aren’t the same and not all of them are bad or criminals. Some of them are banned but not all undocumented immigrants should be banned because of a mistake someone else made. She feels that if an immigrant is undocumented that they should be given a chance to stay in our country and get a visa because most of the people that come from another country to America, come here for a better job and a better future for them and their family. “I would feel bad if they made me go back because I came here to be better, be a better person and you know grow up to be a good person and do good in life at least,” said Lopez.

Lopez is the kind of person to put her family first and make sure to protect them. It was really hard for her mom to get her here because of how long the process took and all the time and work her mom put into bringing her daughter here. Once Lopez’s mother got her own visa and passport she was able to get Jani’s.

Many people think that immigrants are bad but Lopez believes that it isn’t true because they are not all the same and each person and family is different and come here for different reasons. Lopez believes that Trump only sees the bad in people and in particular immigrants because all he hears are things about what’s going on why these people are coming to our country, but he doesn’t actually see what’s happening and understand why they are coming to America. She feels the news has an influence on people and if the news says something negative about or towards immigrants, the people watching the news will believe it. Lopez believes the news is going to try and convince people to think one way based on all the information they give or have.

If Lopez and her family were forced to go back, it would be a big big big change for her and her family because they are comfortable here and everything over in Mexico is way different now, which she saw when she went back to visit her grandparents in Mexico. If ICE were to take Lopez’s parents away from her, she would feel horrible, afraid and unhappy. “They (ICE) don’t have the right to take parents away from children because they are still kids, they have no idea what’s going on and they are just innocent kids,” said Lopez.

Lopez thinks parents should be reconnected with their parents instead of being kept apart because they have that right to be with their children. “If they don’t want me in their country, I mean the least they could do is treat us better, like humans and not animals,” said Lopez. If her mother was taken from her, she would take her siblings to live with someone they trusted, whether that be a family member or a friend. She would probably drop out of school and get a job to help support herself and her siblings. “I don’t like depending on other people because then they will say that they took care of us for a very 22 | THEME

Photos submitted by Janie Lopez.

Story 2: Diego Soto

D

iego Gonzalez Soto is a documented immigrant who was born in San Germán, Puerto Rico but lived in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico. His mother, father, sister and he moved to Kentucky in June of 2016 and they have been here ever since. Soto and his family came here by plane from Puerto Rico. He has other family members that live here as well including his aunts, uncles, cousins and even his grandfather.

Puerto Rico has a different quality of buildings and technology than America, but he says it is pretty much the same. “The school was not like this at all. The windows were open and you could feel the air and everything,” said Soto. Soto says they had to wear uniforms all the time (k-12 grade). The schools were mostly outdoors and they had outdoor spaces. English was easier for him to understand because he took English classes in Puerto Rico, but he didn’t focus on it too much. His parents don’t really know English as well as Soto and his sister do.

The process seemed to be rough because Soto’s parents had to work very hard and earn a lot of money to come here. Soto says he is very very glad they decided to come here to America and he is glad to be here. If he had the chance to go back to Puerto Rico, he would not do it because the politics, work and money aren’t well organized and sometimes hard to achieve. “The politicians are not doing the right things for the people to get the jobs and to reserve the money to everything like that,” said Soto. He believes this was the reason his parents brought him and his sister here. They had to work very hard and wanted a new school for a better education for their kids. The reason they chose Kentucky was that they already had some family that lived here and they live a few hours away.

He feels that undocumented immigrants are not doing the right thing because they are coming here without permission which he believes is the incorrect thing. Soto believes they are going about it the right way when it comes to undocumented immigrants but. He believes they are doing the right thing by sending undocumented immigrants back. “In my opinion, this is the first president that really focused on immigration and all that kind of stuff,” said Soto.

Soto says that Trump built the wall in an attempt to create division. “I think it’s really exaggerated; I think he is doing a really exaggerated job and he is talking too much,” said Soto.

He would feel very worried if he and his sister were to be separated from their parents because they are your parents and you would have to start thinking about where you are going to live and things like that. “I would feel really frustrated, I would think a lot about why. I would feel like I didn’t do the right thing and I would feel like I should have done something better,” said Soto.

He says he has felt little judgment here in America. He feels that Kentucky is more welcoming and less judgmental. He feels safe in America right now because he came into this county the right way but he is still worried for the people who are in a worse/different situation.

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Photos submitted by Diego Soto.

Immigration Today

E

very day, the government works on getting undocumented immigrants back to their home countries and out of ours. People have very opposing opinions on this because some believe the U.S.A should get rid of undocumented immigrants and others think they deserve the right to stay and live here.

Immigration policy and illegal immigration to the U.S. is something that the United States is well known for, in the fact of it being an issue. A lot of attention was generated by President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and his proposed reforms and remarks on this subject. Trump has said on many occasions that some undocumented immigrants are “criminals”. A 2015 report by the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute estimated that there were criminal records for around 820,000 unauthorized immigrants. However, increasing evidence suggests that immigration does not correlate with higher crime rates.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, Geneva Sands and Tami Luhby, reported, “The Trump administration released a regulation Monday (Aug. 12, 2019) that could dramatically cut the number of legal immigrants allowed to enter and stay in the US by making it easier to reject green card and visa applications.” The rule means that many applicants for green cards or visas could be turned down if they have low incomes or little schooling, and have used privileges such as most types of Medicare, food stamps or housing vouchers, as they would be considered more likely to need future government help.

ICE (the U.S. and Customs Enforcement) is a federal law enforcement agency that is in charge of immigration enforcement, plus some work in transnational crime.

According to Ronn Blitzer and John Roberts with Fox News, a total of 934 people were detained by ICE May 13, 2019, but only 35 of those people were arrested even though 2,000 were targeted. Tuesday, July 20, 2019, the Trump administration announced that in under two months, more than 900 people who lived in the country despite being ordered to leave were detained by ICE. Dianne Gallagher, Catherine E. Shoichet and Madeline Holcombe, with CNN, recorded that six cities in Mississippi accomplished record-setting operations on Aug. 7, 2019. At food processing plants, 680 undocumented immigrants were detained and more than 300 of them were released

by Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019.

“Let’s be clear. This is a nation founded by immigrants. Unless, you know, your history is of --- your ancestors being kidnapped and brought over on a slave ship, unless you are Native American, your people are immigrants,” said 2020 presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” said President Donald Trump. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

“I firmly oppose illegal immigration. I support measures to secure our national borders. I support a simplified legal status verificaion system that will allow an employer to know whether a prospective employee is in the United States legally and that will sanction employers who nevertheless hire people here illegally,” said Senator Mitt Romney.

“Donald Trump wants to divide us --- to put worker against worker, neighbor against neighbor,” said 2020 presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren. “We can be better than this. Americans know that immigrants helped weave the very fabric of our country in the past --- and they know that immigrants belong here today.”

Graphic created by Molly Shannon

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Kneeling Disrespectfully to Stand Up

by Morgan Harbolt

U

nited we stand, divided we kneel.

In August of 2016 athletes started taking a knee during the national anthem to make a point, now there are only a few still kneeling, but this simple act has turned into a new campaign.

The flag should have never been used in this protest. During the Women’s Soccer FIFA World Cup, Team USA player Megan Rapino, refused to put her hand over her heart during the national anthem. Colin Kaepernick continues his political activism.

I get why Kaepernick started this movement and is still carrying it on today. We have a problem in this country, some policemen are not fair and do not treat everyone equally. There is no doubt that there is cop brutality going on, specifically targeting certain groups of people. However, the flag is not treating citizens unfairly.

What Kaepernick is doing with his movement is good. He is fighting for his rights and the rights of any other African American person who has been treated unfairly due to their race. The world needs people like this to not be afraid to bring attention to such controversial topics.

On the flip side, the flag represents those who gave their lives so that we could have ours. The flag should not have ever been brought into this issue. The flag stands for the history America has gone through to get to where we are now. Whether you think America is in a good place or not, there is no doubt that those who gave their lives are worth respecting. The soldiers who have lost their lives and those currently in the military are women and men of all colors.

Rapinoe is co-captain of the Women’s USA Soccer Team and has not participated in the national anthem since 2016. Rapinoe caught the attention of World Cup fans by standing with her arms by her sides and lips not moving, while the rest of her teammates held their hands over their hearts and sang along to the National Anthem before their game against Chile. Rapinoe told USA Today, “I can understand if you think that I’m disrespecting the flag by kneeling, but it is because of my utmost respect for the flag and the promise it represents that I have chosen to demonstrate in this way,” she wrote.

“When I take a knee, I am facing the flag with my full body, staring straight into the heart of our country’s ultimate symbol of freedom — because I believe it is my responsibility, just as it is yours, to ensure that freedom is afforded to everyone in this country.” Rapinoe continued to protest throughout the rest of the teams journey in the World Cup. Kneeling during the national anthem was started by former NFL 49’ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016. Kaepernick said he was kneeling to raise awareness for police brutality and racism targeted at African Americans. After his contract was up in 2016 with the 49’ers, Kaepernick opted out of a new contract with the 49’ers. Kaepernick was expecting a bigger contract, but no other teams signed him. The reasoning behind that varies, but it is speculated that this could be because of his protest and the movement he started.

Even though Kaepernick’s actions cost him his career, he still stands by it and is not easing up. On his twitter, Kaepernick encouraged NFL players Albert Wilson, Miami Dolphins wide receiver, Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins wide receiver, and Eric Reid, Carolina Panthers safety, to keep kneeling for the anthem. They are currently the only ones still doing it in the NFL. Kaepernick has also started his own social justice movement called the “Know Your Rights Campaign.” His social media is full of celebrities supporting him and wearing his shirts with the slogan, “I Know My Rights,” on it. The Paper Magazine recently put out an issue with Kaepernick’s campaign in it. There are about nine different celebrities whose picture appears with a different right. For example, Reid appears in the magazine saying, “The Right to Be Courageous.” The rest of the rights are those like “You have the right to be Free, Healthy, Brilliant, Safe, Loved, etc.” All having a different celebrity representing one of the rights Kaepernick has chosen to be a part of his campaign in the magazine issue.

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In August 2019, the NFL announced a partnership with Roc Nation, which is the entertainment company owned by rapper Jay Z. In this deal Jay Z will be a part of choosing things like who performs at the Superbowl halftime show. This deal also includes a social justice partnership between him and the NFL. One thing people wandered is why Jay Z did not include Kaepernick in his deal, since Kaepernick is the one who started the movement. Jay Z said in an interview about the new deal that he thinks we’ve moved past kneeling and it’s time “to take action.”

Wilson told reporters at his locker, “Some of the ways that [Jay-Z] answered his questions, talking about, ‘We’re moving past kneeling,’ like he ever protested. He’s not an NFL player.” Jay Z’s words did not sit well with some people, because they don’t think he has a right to say it’s time to take action due to the fact that he has never dealt with the backlash of kneeling for the anthem.

Others see kneeling during the national anthem as disrespectful to the flag, and if you don’t stand with your hand over your heart and give full attention to the waving 50 stars and 13 stripes, then you are insulting veterans. According to the American Battlefield Trust website, which collects facts about all American wars, there were 1.2 million American soldiers who have died while serving during war time. Those soldiers are the people you are insulting. Whether that is how you meant it or not, some people still feel this way. Senior Eric Couch has family members in the military. Couch said, “The flag stands for freedom and what makes America, America. It reminds us of those who fight for it and those who fight against it. It personally reminds me of everything I’ve been able to do in life because of it. It also gives me motivation for my future as I will soon be serving. I will defend the flag and everyone who loves it and hates it because the flag is for freedom. Even if I don’t agree, I will defend their right to say what they want.” Couch will be going into the Navy as a nuclear power specialist after graduating.

On the other hand, some students think kneeling for the national anthem is appropriate for the message they’re trying to send. Junior Regan Burkett said, “The flag is a symbol for America and all the people who have fought for the freedom we have. Kaepernick is showing that not everyone has the same amount of freedom.” For Kaepernick it’s not about the soldiers who died, and not meaning any disrespect to them, but it’s about the cops who shot at African Americans because they were “thought to be armed.” It’s about Dec. 2, 2015 when a young man named Mario Woods was shot at 19 times in three seconds because he raised his arm while cops were surrounding him with guns aimed, while he was not armed. What happened to Woods is what Kaepernick’s inspiration was for his campaign. It’s about giving your attention to the flag and respecting it, but not laying your hand over your heart. It’s about all the times an African American person was mistreated by someone of higher power.

Social studies teacher Monty Edwards served in the Navy for eight years. Edwards said, “Although it is their constitutional right, per say, as a veteran, as someone who has a son who is a marine, has had many family members in the military and also many members of my family were police officers, I see it as a misplaced protest. The statistics don’t pan out what they’re protesting for, as far as what their purpose is. Also, police departments are local and state, not federal. So protesting the American flag doesn’t seem like it makes sense.”

I understand why people kneel to the National Anthem. They feel as if all other rights and freedoms they thought they had as an American have been taken away from them and their community. However, the flag is not the problem. The people in this country need to remember what gave them their rights in the first place. That is the men and women of all colors, whose lives were taken from them to defend all Americans, no matter your color. That is what the flag stands for and that is who the flag represents. It does not just represent the cops who mistreat their power. Also, there are a lot of policemen and women in the world and they are also people of all colors. No American should just base the police department off of the ones who have made some bad choices.

Overall, the flag is not the problem. And I think that what Kaepernick is doing with his campaign is a really good thing. It is his right, printed in the first amendment, the right to protest. In my opinion it is even needed. But kneeling in protest against the National Anthem is a misplaced protest.

American flag drawn by Molly Phelps. Figures drawn by Kaylon Hampton

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Apathy Consuming Young Minds Within Politics

by Molly Shannon

P

olitics do affect you and you can make a difference.

are still forming and branching out, getting involved in politics at a younger age gives you the opportunity to know your beliefs and not your parents, before you show up to the polls to vote.

The mentality of younger generations ranges from being very politically active or ignoring life changing issues and controversial topics, whether that’s because they think it doesn’t impact them or they can’t make a difference.

As more rallies and protests commence around the world it paints the picture that younger people are more involved in politics now than ever. There’s an ideology corrupting young minds over not voting or getting involved because they think that since they are younger nobody will listen. Getting involved isn’t only about marching, it can be as simple as voicing your opinions to others.

Younger generations either care immensely about politics or not at all.

Although the amount of people who have started to get involved politically has risen over the past couple of years, there are still people who stay in the dark because they think they can’t make a difference. The more younger people who do get involved the more people who pay attention and the more media coverage there is. Younger audiences getting involved shows that they care about their country and its future. Whenever younger people don’t get involved it gives the impression that nobody cares.

This can then lead to the government passing any bills they want that will heavily affect the younger generations future.

Special education teacher, Trevor Swearingen, is an activist for equality in all aspects, including racial equality, gender equality and sexual equality. He has been involved in politics since he was in high school and wishes he saw more politically active people in high school. “I would say at my last school I definitely saw more people being political because it was just them being themselves.At my last school there were different people on the spectrum of the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/auestioning, intersex and asexual) who were walking freely and that’s something that I thought was very amazing,” said Swearingen.

In a broader sense, over the years there has nationally been a decline in political participation, yet an incline in political mistrust. According to U.S. Census data, within the years of 1972 to 1995, the amount of 18 to 24 year olds who voted declined by nearly one third. No matter the reason for not voting, it has led people to believe that young Americans are apathetic and are not engaged in American politics. More recently, in the 2016 election, only 46.1 percent of people between the ages of 18-29 voted.

Having a say in government is a privilege that not many people acknowledge or take advantage of. The power relies within the people for change, yet no change will occur if the only people who are involved are members of older generations who have adapted to the same laws their entire lives.

“...We took a trip to Washington, D.C., the eighth grade trip, and Obama was in office and for me that was just a whole awakening that there was a biracial president,” said Swearingen.

On a poll conducted on the Livewire Instagram Aug. 15, 85 percent of people (including parents, staff and teachers) said that younger people should get involved because if it isn’t already directly affecting them then it will in the future. The other 15 percent who disagreed on the poll believed that there is a reason behind why people can’t vote when under the age of 18 and everything political should be left to the adults.

Junior Alex Provost has been politically active since the age of 13 and her drive for change grows with each protest that she participates in.

“I think younger generations should care the most. We are the ones molding the way our world will be when we’re grown. We are the ones who will have to deal with global epidemics like climate change.

Younger generations should get involved as soon as they can,” said Provost.

Younger people are often left out of important conversations for being considered too young and naive causing them to often told to leave things to adults but the problem with that is many adults don’t fully take the time to educate themselves on what is going on in the world and remain one sided. The minds and opinions of teenagers

“At one point racism and sexist ways was the ideology and people couldn’t vote back then, like women couldn’t vote back then and they had no say. So, if you take that into perspective to now: if all the women said ‘I cant vote so i’m not going to try,’ then women wouldn’t be able to vote today, same thing for African Americans.

It’s the principle behind it, if you voice an opinion or concern and have people supporting it and have a rally or movement behind it, it will matter. Everything is just a movement,” said Swearingen.

Majority of the graduating class this year will be eligible to vote in the 2020 election. To register to vote you must be at least 17 but turn 18 before the election in which you are voting for. According to a poll conducted on the Livewire Instagram on Sept. 6, only 19 out of 25 people said they planned on registering to vote and vote in the upcoming election. Voting is something that everyone should participate in because big decisions such as deciding those who are involved in the government affect not only the current condition of our country but also the condition that future generations will have to endure.

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Historical Youth Voter Turnout (Agres 18-29) In Presidential Elections Percentage of Youth Voter Turnout

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 1992

1996

2000

2004

2008

2012

2016

Presidential Election Years Graph created by Molly Shannon. Data taken from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

“I believe everyone has the right to choose to register to vote or not but I would highly encourage it because it keeps political discourse alive and allows for difference and discussion in the future. Our government was designed around difference and debates to come to a solution for the greater good, without voters of all walks of life then there is no longer any difference,” said senior Eric Couch.

Getting involved politically doesn’t have to be about protesting or voting, it could be as simple as posting on social media or expressing your opinions verbally. Taking a stand doesn’t have to be rallying, it could be as simple as wearing a political shirt. Simple things like that, can easily be used to voice your beliefs and what you’re passionate about, which is political in itself. “Being a person of color and being a minority, I feel like I have to share my voice. My ancestors couldn’t vote and they had to fight for their rights and I want to make sure that I am able to voice my opinion and get involved in politics. It’s more than just voting to me, its getting your rights,” said Swearingen.

Movements created by younger people are often in response to a traumatic event and these movements are not for fun, they are created to bring awareness to the harsh realities of the world and to help others be treated as equals. Movements such as this include the gay liberation movement, black lives matter, march for our lives and feminism, which all started in response to something tragic. Younger people have created or helped to create many movements and participated in major elections, proving that it is possible to get involved and make a difference.

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Adviser Editor-in-Chief Executive Editor Website Editor Creative Editor Magazine Editor Sports Editor Photography Editor Business Editor Social Media Editor Copy Editor Copy Editor Calendar Coordinator

Larry Steinmetz Katie Huffman Morgan Harbolt Lilly Whitley Molly Shannon Ella Olds Tyler Mozingo Emma Whitehouse Abi Huffman Rebecca Watts Keelin Davis Sophia Blanton Kelsey Baker

Staff Writers Morgan Renneisen Mia Maguire Brodie Curtsinger Hunter Mahoney T.C. Etherton Montrell Page Katey Goins Makayla Stone Dane Bunel

Livewire is a 32 page newsmagazine and accompanying website that is updated daily.

All content is generated by student journalists at Bullitt East High School in Mount Washington, Kentucky.

The Livewire operates as an open forum following the guidelines laid out by the Student Press Law Center which our staff presented to the Bullitt County Board of Education.

The staff appreciates your patronage and, as a public forum, encourages any feedback or submissions you care to offer. Letters to the editor must be typed and submitted via email, to Mr. Steinmetz’s mailbox or directly to room 606 within one week of the publication to which you are responding. Letters will not be censored, but must be deemed appropriate according to staff policies to be published. In order to be eligible to appear in the magazine, all letters must be signed and verifiable. Names may be withheld upon request, but must be submitted with the original letter.

The Livewire is printed by aPrintis Printing Company. Its website is hosted by Student Newspapers Online.

Bullitt East High School 11450 Highway 44 East, Mount Washington, Kentucky, 40047 (502) 869-6400

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