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THE BAGPIPE

ISSUE 1 SPECIAL EDITION

OCTOBER 2020 Cover Art by Elsa Pedrosa Noguera Trump Photo by Naom Galai Pence Photo by Matt Smith McConnell Photo by Christopher Halloran Biden Photo (on back) by Crush Rush Harris Photo by Maverick Photos Ocasio-Cortez Photo by Rachael Warriner

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TABLE OF CONTENTS - Meet the Candidates, Campaign Platforms Learn about Trump and Biden’s early lives and campaign platforms...p. 4 - Race for District 32 Meet two candidates running for U.S. House seat including Park Cities...p. 10

-Registration and Voting: Government Class Edition Two teachers help seniors register to vote during class...p. 21 - Kanye for President?

Hip-Hop legend has bumpy road trying to get on 2020 ballots...p. 22

- Controversy on Capitol Hill Supreme Court vacancy brings new wave of tension ahead of election...p. 12

- Call to Service Coronavirus concerns create need for minors on election day...p. 24

- Could Texas Go Blue?

Political figures weigh in on likelihood of Democrats winning local, state, federal positions...p. 14

- Seniors Share Eager seniors share opinions about voting in first presidential election...p. 25

- Problems at the Polls Lack of federal oversight causes drastic election changes...p. 18

- Generation Z Believes...

Youngest generation adapts unique voting preferences ...p. 26

- Campaigning Through COVID Coronavirus alters both campaign strategies...p. 20

- Opinions Section Trump is a Threat to Democracy, Black Lives Still Matter and Vice Free Vice Presidents ...p. 27 Design by Lauren Leyrer Flag Photo by of Samuel Branch on Unsplash

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

D

ue to the increased difficulty of producing print issues of the magazines during coronavirus, we decided to dedicate our resources at The Bagpipe to creating a special edition of the magazine to cover the presidential election.

Our goal with this magazine issue is to arm each and every student who reads it with the knowledge to make decisions for themselves. In a highly polarized world, during the most contentious election of our teenage lives, we encourage all students to make informed opinions, regardless of where that opinion falls politically.

Due to the divisive nature of this topic, The Bagpipe staff tried to prioritize objectivity and include different political views and stories. We aimed to be creative in our coverage when thinking about stories that strayed from the typical stories in the national spotlight. It’s not an easy task with just 32 pages and 22 staff members, and actually, we encourage everyone to check website where we are continuing to post election coverage.

Using resources from each candidate’s campaign efforts, we’ve placed the candidates’ promises to America at the front pages of the issue. We’ve covered national headlines to inform students of the context surrounding the election. We hope that by being aware of these issues, our readers can better comprehend the events surrounding this year’s election.

Our reporters also covered local politics and tried to capture student involvement in this election cycle. We included stories about our government classes and students

who will be working the polls.We talked to seniors who are voting for the first time.

And of course, we could not leave out Kanye’s Birthday Party. We hope you find these stories to be breaths of fresh air.

This issue also features a few opinion pieces written by some of The Bagpipe staff members. Each opinion piece reflects the personal opinion of the writer.While these opinions are not representative of our entire staff, we hope you are respectful in considering the perspectives each opinion writer shares. Part of the beauty of the American democratic system is our right to forming our own opinions and ideals, and we felt it would be a disservice to leave out an opinion section entirely.

Finally, if you do not know, oftentimes the editorial boards of national newspapers and magazines will endorse a particular candidate. After much discussion about how we would handle this, we decided The Bagpipe would not endorse a candidate.

Instead, we are endorsing the idea that each and every student uses this magazine as a stepping stone to do further research and come to his or her own conclusions.While we did not create this issue to promote a particular candidate or issue, we do want to promote political participation from our generation, and we hope that you all start developing positive habits now.

Why not start with respect and unity?

Sincerely, The Editors-in-Chief: Tyee Arey, Nick Drexler & Elsa Pedrosa Noguera

The Bagpipe Staff 2020 Editors-in-Chief Tyee Arey Nick Drexler Elsa Pedrosa Noguera News Editor and Business Manager Sarah Rogers Staff Editors Lucy Gomez Kimmie Johansen Jeneta Nwosu Sarah Small Social Media Manager Ava Perpall Issue 1 Designer Lauren Leyrer Reporters Alexis Jackson Zach King Zoie Carlile Reese Greenlee Katherine Harrell Elise Laharia Noah Lilly Isabella Navarro Parker Mitchell Elle Polychronis Catherine Stautz Lauren Surgent CONTENTS AND LETTERS

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MEET THE CANDIDATES Story by Alexis Jackson // Design by Nick Drexler // Graphics by Elsa Pedrosa Noguera

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ormer Vice President Joe Biden grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Biden credits his parents with instilling in him a good work ethic and perseverance.

During his teenage years, his family moved to Mayfield, Delaware. After finishing high school, Biden attended the University of Delaware, then went to Syracuse University Law School.

After graduating, Biden practiced at a local Delaware law firm and became an active member of the Democratic party. He later turned to politics after a short time spent working as a lawyer and was later elected into the U.S. Senate at the age of 29, becoming the fifth-youngest senator in the nation’s history. He held this position from 1973 to 2009.

In 2007, 20 years on initial attempt at presidential bid, Biden once again decided to run for the presidency. However, he failed to generate momentum in a field that was dominated by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Several months into the nomination process after Obama secured the Democratic nomination, Biden was selected as his running mate, later becoming the Vice President.

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resident Donald Trump grew up in Queens, New York. While growing, up his family’s wealth increased greatly due to a postwar real estate boom.

The Trumps sent their son to the New York Military Academy. He later went on to the University Of Pennsylvania where young Trump helped his father with his real estate business during his summers. He graduated from the Wharton School of Business.

After college, Trump took to the family business and helped grow it through ventures like The Trump Organization, Trump Tower, television franchises like “The Apprentice” and the Miss Universe pageant.

Trump has business deals with the Javits Center and the Grand Hyatt New York, as well as other real estate ventures in New York City, Florida and Los Angeles.

After a successful business and celebrity career,Trump turned to politics, promising at the time to “drain the swamp.” In 2016, he won the majority of electoral college votes, gaining his position as the current president.

presidential promises

for U.S.

House Race

CAMPAIGN PLATFORMS

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GUN CONTROL

- Stricter, background checks - Ban, regulate, and buy back assault weapons

- Invest 1.7 trillion into clean energy, research and innovation -Rejoin Paris Climate Agreement

CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION & HEALTH CARE

-Make public colleges and universities tuition-free for families who make below $125,000 - Protect and build on the Affordable Care Act by expanding its reach and increasing affordability

- Abolish Trump era tax cuts, and increase taxes for Americans who make over $400,000 - Institute a percent tax credit system to encourage the localization of manufacturing

ECONOMY

- Supports federally funded abortion and women’s rights to choose - Expand the reach of the government to address police misconduct - Protect LGBTQ+ community from discrimination and allow them to enlist in the military

SOCIAL ISSUES

- Provide a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants that live in the U.S. - Reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - Expand the legal immigration system and stop the separation of migrant families 6 BAGPIPE

IMMIGRATION

GUN CONTROL CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION & HEALTH CARE ECONOMY

SOCIAL ISSUES IMMIGRATION

- Opposes stronger gun control - Supports the second amendment

- Doesn’t believe climate change is an issue -Supports the development of marketable energy

- Create a private scholarship organization - Protect pre-existing conditions and prevent surprise hospital bills

- Authorize fair trade deals that protect workers and their jobs - Create 10 million new jobs in 10 months and cut taxes in order to boost the economy

- Opposes LGBTQ+ people from serving in the military - Opposes federally funded abortions and is pro-life - Increase funding for the police force and is against defunding the police - Prohibit companies from replacing U.S. workers with cheaper outsourced foreign labor - Block illegal immigrants from accessing tax-payer funded welfare programs - Require new immigrants to be financially stable CAMPAIGN PLATFORMS

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PRESIDENTIAL PROMISES A detailed look at each candidate’s platforms Story by Alexis Jackson

GUNS As president, Biden plans to enact strong gun control laws. Biden will push to require background checks for all firearm purchases. This will close some of the loopholes used to bypass background checks, like the sale of guns at gun shows and online purchases. Background checks will also become stricter and better funded under this plan. His platform also states he wants to ban the production and sale of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, buying back or registering those already owned.

CLIMATE CHANGE In August, Biden revealed to the world his new clean energy plan. This plan will supposedly ensure the U.S. achieves a 100 percent clean energy economy and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050. To do this, he promises to sign executive orders and demand Congress enact legislation to combat climate change.

Firstly, he’ll establish an enforcement mechanism that includes milestone targets no later than the end of his first term if he is elected. Second, he plans to invest 1.7 trillion in clean energy and climate research and innovation. Thirdly, he will incentivize the rapid deployment of clean energy innovation across the economy.

Biden also plans to take the fight abroad. He intends to recommit to the Paris Climate Agreement, which deals with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation. Biden promises to lead the world’s major countries to increase commitments to their climate targets, and that those commitments are kept. He described climate change as an existential threat and has called upon the Trump administration to take action.

EDUCATION Biden will invest in schools to eliminate the estimated $23 billion funding gap by tripling Title 1 schools, which serve children from low-income families.

“I don’t believe a child should have to get on a bus to attend a good school. There

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should be first-rate schools of quality in every neighborhood of this nation, especially in 2019 America,” said Biden to voters in 2019.

He also intends to double the number of psychologists, counselors, nurses and other health professionals at schools to protect the mental health of students.

To address the rising costs of college, he plans to ensure the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is fixed to actually help teachers who are teaching the next generation while worrying about their own student loans. Plus, for families with an income under $125,000, he will make public colleges and universities tuition-free.

HEALTH CARE As president, Biden will protect the Affordable Care Act and will build upon it. He would offer a chance to buy into a government-run health care plan, which is similar to Medicare. In addition to his government-run healthcare, he would like to increase tax credits that are now part of the Affordable Care Act in order to increase coverage for lower income families. He aims to expand the percentage of insured Americans to over 97.

ECONOMY Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan lays out his approach to help the economy postpandemic. His plan would help give funds to states, cities and the unemployed. In Biden’s plan for the economy, Biden processed a 10 percent tax credit used to encourage the localization of manufacturing, along with a 10 percent tax penalty for profits in some businesses like call centers that outsource to other countries but profit in the U.S. He has also urged U.S. CEOs to not use stock buybacks during the pandemic because of its already corrosive effect on the economy. This practice involves public companies using profits to buy more of their own stock to inflate its value, instead of paying their employees more. He has not stated whether he would implement protections against the practice if elected.

As for income, Biden supports raising the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour.

Biden would also abolish the tax cuts that President Trump made, raising taxes on Americans earning more than $400,000 a year to help fund a variety of programs.

SOCIAL ISSUES Over time, Biden has come to support some federal funding for abortion, especially in certain cases where a woman could not otherwise afford the protection.

He has a variety of plans to benefit different racial groups, religious blocs and marginalized communities, like his plan to make economic investments in Black communities and close education and health disparities.

Biden says he will protect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination by supporting the passage of the Equality Act, a bill that passed in the House of Representatives in 2019 but was not voted on in the Senate. He also seeks to reverse measures by the Trump administration he views as discriminatory, such as his ban on transgender people serving in the military.

Biden wants to expand the ability the federal government has to address police misconduct. He plans to eliminate mandatory minimums for non-violent crime. He also supports a $20 billion crime prevention grant program that will fight factors like illiteracy and child abuse.

IMMIGRATION Biden’s immigration plan would provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants. As president, he would reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program used to help undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Biden’s plan also would help expand the legal immigration system to reinstate former practices for asylum seekers and end the separation of migrant families. He personally pledged to stop any new construction on Trump’s wall if elected. He said he would not tear down what has been built.

GUNS According to Trump’s 2016 platform, “Lawful gun ownership enables Americans to exercise their God-given right of self defense for the safety of their homes, their loved ones, and their communities.”

Trump’s platform opposes gun control laws that would restrict magazine capacity or ban the sale of popular guns, as well as any efforts to deprive citizens of their constitutional right to bear arms without due process. The platform also opposes federal registration of law-abiding gun owners and registration of ammunition.

CLIMATE CHANGE President Trump and the Republican Party do not believe climate change is an important issue, if any issue at all. Trump went so far as to call climate change a hoax on Fox News in 2014. In the 2016 Republican Party Platform, climate change is described as “far from this nation’s most pressing national security issue.” Instead, Republicans opted to support development of all forms of energy marketable in a free economy. In 2017, Trump announced the U.S. would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and only reconsider the agreement if its terms were changed to be fair to the U.S. and its people.

EDUCATION During his first term in office, the Trump administration decreased federal spending on K-12 education. Trump also proposed to cut the education department’s budget by $8.5 million, though this did not gain traction with Congress. Trump announced he and the secretary of education Betsy Devos have been pushing for an “Education Freedom” plan. In this plan, corporations or individuals contribute to a private scholarship organization instead of paying taxes. This scholarship organization would help connect scholarships to students.

They could use it for private school, transportation, remedial programs or home school materials. The program’s advocates say it doesn’t spend any taxpayer dollars, but it would decrease tax revenue as payments to the program replace taxes.

HEALTH CARE In December of 2017, Trump signed

a law repealing the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act. Since his first run for the presidency, Trump promised he would repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a better plan that also protected those with preexisting conditions. He has not proposed an alternative plan other than abolishing the Affordable Care Act, which Congress attempted but failed to do in 2017.

Trump signed two executive orders in September regarding health care. One declared it U.S. policy that pre-existing conditions are protected under insurance, though he did not provide details for how this would be achieved. The other said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would work with Congress to prevent surprise hospital bills.

In his bullet point list for 2020 goals, Trump promised to cover all pre-existing conditions, cut prescription drug prices, end surprise billing and lower premiums.

ECONOMY When Trump was elected, he inherited an already strong economy from the Obama administration.Trump continued to grow it during his first term. Unemployment was hovering at a 50 year low.

Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, which lowered taxes for all, but people with incomes at the top 20 percent level made up more than 60 percent of savings. This act promised to grow the economy and pay for itself with the revenue it created. Neither happened, but business investment did increase.

However, coronavirus sent the economy to a record-breaking 32.9 percent annual rate drop in the GDP during the second quarter of 2020. In September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate to be 7.9 percent, with 12.6 million unemployed. Congress passed an economic relief bill for coronavirus in March, which Trump signed. During his campaign, Trump said he is the best candidate to restore the economy.

SOCIAL ISSUES Trump faced backlash for refusing to say systemic racism exists. He has also said he is pro-law-and-order and against defunding the police. He did sign an executive order

in June addressing police brutality, which created a database to track police officers with use-of-force complaints, incentivizes social workers working with police and banned choke hold unless the officer’s life is at risk. Trump is staunchly prolife and has banned government-funded clinics from performing abortions. He also banned transgender people from serving in the military and removed protective regulations made by the Obama administration.

IMMIGRATION Trump built an extensive immigration plan, centering around preventing illegal immigration. He said these migrants drain social services, take away job opportunities and bring crime into the U.S. However, available data shows unauthorized immigrants are underrepresented in the prison population and are less likely to commit crime than U.S. citizens. As president, he took steps to fulfill promises he pledged during his 2016 election. This pledge included reducing the amount of legal and illegal immigration. He also changed the rules of asylum, making it harder for people to claim it. He instituted a “zero-tolerance” policy, used to prosecute all suspected illegal border-crossers even if they crossed for the first time, with no exceptions for asylum-seekers. Before the Trump administration, illegal entry was not prosecuted very frequently. Under this policy, thousands of families along the U.S-Mexico border were separated. In September, his administration reduced the number of refugees they would admit to 15,000, a record low. He also attempted to repeal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, protecting those brought to America illegally as children.

The Supreme Court ruled against this, but his administration still announced it was no longer accepting applicants and only renewing those in the program for a year.

Trump championed building a wall he said would stop people from entering the U.S. illegally, all of which he said Mexico would fund. Mexico has not paid for it, and after his push for funding caused a government shutdown at the end of 2018, he declared a national emergency. The military has since funded several hundred miles.

CAMPAIGN PLATFORMS 9

The Race for Story by Reese Greenlee // Design

by Lauren Leyrer

District

32

Meet two candidates running for U.S. House seat including Park Cities

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wo candidates are campaigning to win TX-32, the U.S. House of Representatives congressional district that includes the Park Cities.

The Democratic leader in this race is the incumbent Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL player and a current civil rights attorney. Republican Genevieve Collins is a businesswoman and Southern Methodist University graduate who seeks to unseat him this November.

Allred worked as an assistant in the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama Administration. In 2018, he ran for his first public office position, beating Pete Sessions for the position he currently holds.

Allred took inspiration from those close to him to propel his career dreams.

“I spent my evenings, summers and school breaks at great YMCA camps and was helped by so many unsung heroes who went above and beyond the call of duty to give a kid who didn’t know his father a chance to chase his version of the American Dream,” he said.

He also said that support gave him the platform he needed to play in the NFL, to become a civil rights attorney, and to serve in Congress.

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Being a congressman has allowed Allred to see flaws in the government, and there are specific areas he wants to improve.

“The current spread of COVID-19 has highlighted how our system fails so many -- from young people preparing to go off to college and facing the rising cost of higher education, to access to affordable health care, to how inequities disproportionately affect communities of color,” he said.

“We need real leadership that focuses on uniting us as a nation, not dividing us.”

Although Allred is proud of the House for improving healthcare costs, he says in his next term, he hopes to pass legislation into law that will lower health care and prescription drug costs for all Americans.

The coronavirus caused many politicians,

as well as citizens, to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the healthcare system. As a result of this, Allred is adamant about passing a coronavirus relief bill.

“We must pass a COVID relief bill that has a national strategy to ramp up testing and contain this virus, as well as get North Texans, schools, local governments and small businesses the economic relief and help that they need,” he said.

Allred also feels passionate about alleviating the current social unrest.

“We need real leadership that focuses on uniting us as a nation, not dividing us. We should all remember that there is never a reason for violence,” he said.

He said he believes the federal government plays a crucial role in maintaining tranquility, and the federal government should always work to ensure justice is done, which includes guaranteeing the basic rights of individuals are not violated. Additionally, he believes all law enforcement must work to de escalate tensions with protestors.

As a result of the protests, a large debate has prospered about whether or not the police should be defunded.

“I do not support defunding the police,” Allred said. “But I do believe we need to make more investments in those areas to

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help disadvantaged communities and to acknowledge that many of the problems we ask our police officers to deal with would be better addressed by social workers and substance abuse counselors.”

Allred’s opponent, Collins, is a seventh generation Texan who dedicated the majority of her professional career to working in the business world and helping turn around low-performing school districts. This will be her first time running for public office.

According to Collins, she decided to run for office in order to bring common sense, business sense and a sense of urgency to Washington D.C. Collins stated her career gave her the skills needed to be a congresswoman.

“As a business woman I have created jobs, forecasted growth and actually balanced budgets,” she said. “I am a problem solver, and I want to bring that same mentality with me to Congress.”

Her grandmother, Calvert Collins, was the first woman to be elected to the Dallas City Council in 1957. She said her grandmother has taught her the value of hard work and how to lead with reason and grace. She remains her greatest inspiration.

Additionally, Collins feels a deep passion for education.

“I believe that every student deserves access to a high-quality education so they can be adequately prepared for a thriving future,” Collins said.

In regards to the pandemic, she feels the global pandemic effectively shed a light on the disparities in the education sector.

“Since the very start of the pandemic, students have required greater access to broadband and increased connectivity than ever before in order to combat the learning loss that has no doubt become standard across all districts navigating this new normal,” Collins said.

More specifically, she said unequal access to technology for students is what is preventing the achievement gap from closing. She said she will use her background in education and business to ensure every student has the ability to access a quality education regardless of their zip code.

Collins also said that she wishes Congress would do a better job of budgeting.

“Congress has failed for years to institute a consistent and logical method for managing our nation’s finances,” she said. “As a businesswoman, our

business would have closed years ago if I conducted business the way Congress crafts a budget. I will work to institute zero-based budgeting to get our spending under control, so future generations won’t be paying endless debts.”

In attention to social reform, Collins said she would like to see policing reforms such as use of force, consistency at all training

academies on racial bias and a federal registry of police officers in order to weed out the bad actors.

“I’m not running for office to join the DC status quo to kick problems down the road, I’m running to put Texas first and address the challenges facing our district,” Collins said.

Despite the candidates’ differences, both Allred and Collins touched on the threat of China to Americans.

“China represents the single biggest overall threat,” Allred said. “We must stand up to China, and protect American companies and workers. We must also hold China’s government accountable for their continued abuse of basic

h u m a n rights and civil rights. I have done so on the Foreign Affairs Committee and will continue that important work.”

Collins said she thinks China is an impending threat that continues to conduct cyber espionage.

Early voting began Oct. 13, and voters from Wylie to Richardson to Highland Park in the U.S. House Texas District 32 will continue to cast a vote for one of these candidates until Nov. 3.

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Controversy on Capitol Hill Story by Lucy Gomez // Design by Nick Drexler

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n Sept. 18, the world mourned the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and braced themselves for a whole new level of conflict surrounding her replacement.

As Nov. 3 approaches, Americans have braced themselves for a momentous election following the coronavirus pandemic and protests over racial injustice.

The recent death of Justice Ginsburg has created even more political turmoil. When news of Ginsburg’s death surfaced, Democrats and Republicans alike each made it very clear of how and when they preferred her seat to be filled.

Democrats advocated to wait until after the election was over to fill the seat, but President Trump pushed to confirm a replacement for Ginsburg before the election.

The opposing viewpoints created yet another issue for Congress as both parties unleashed a rush of fundraising.

“It’s been coming for years,” senior Danny Michel said. “Everyone knew that as soon as that seat was open, there was going to be so much controversy over it.”

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden criticized the president’s decision to nominate someone so quickly and appealed to Senate Republicans to stop him from making a decision that would drastically shift the balance of power on the Supreme Court before the election.

Supreme Court vacancy brings new wave of tension ahead of election

“To jam this nomination through the Senate is an exercise in raw political power,” Biden said in a speech in Philadelphia.

This is certainly not the first time this kind of problem has existed. A similar situation occurred during the 2016 election when President Barack Obama nominated chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Merrick Garland, to fill the seat left vacant by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death. Majority Leader

nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg. Barrett’s addition to the Supreme Court will shift its balance to the right, giving conservatives a 6-3 majority.

“She’s a conservative law professor that Republicans think will serve their interest well on the court,” said Southern Methodist University professor Cal Jillson. “Smart lady, but by no means the extraordinary genius that she is described as.”

Trump praised Barrett’s achievements and intellect, while Barrett herself paid homage to Ginsburg’s work and legacy.

“Justice Ginsburg began her career at a time when women were not welcome in the legal profession. But she not only broke glass ceilings- she smashed them,” Barrett told an audience in the White House’s Rose Garden.

Democrats argued the nomination could devastate the Affordable Care Act and diminish women’s reproductive rights, due to Barrett’s anti-abortion views.

Barrett would be the third anti-abortion justice nominated by Trump after Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. In the position of judge, Barrett heard two abortion-rights cases and voted to limit access in both cases.

“I think that if the Republicans were to strike down abortion, what that would mean is that it would return the initiative to the states and many states would either outlaw or make abortion very difficult,” Jillson said. “Even if the Supreme

“This is raw politics.

It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about what you can and cannot do.”

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Mitch McConnell argued it was important for the Senate to wait until a new president had been elected before filling the seat.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to hold a hearing with Garland, and Republican leaders agreed with McConnell that the new justice should be appointed by the winner of the election.

The majority of America thinks the same should have happened this time. In a poll conducted by Reuters and Ipsos between Sept. 19-20, 62 percent of Americans said the Supreme Court seat should be filled by the winner of the election.

However, on Sept. 26, it seemed Republicans had won when Trump

Following Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, President Trump’s nomination of a Conservative justice sparked dispute. Photo by Claire Anderson on Unsplash

Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade that would not mean abortion is unavailable in America. It just means that it becomes a state prerogative again.”

Aside from the ever-lasting disputes over Barrett’s nomination, President Trump’s remarks on Ginsburg’s dying wish also sparked contention. Just days before she died, Ginsburg told her granddaughter her final wish was that she would not be replaced until a new president was elected.

Trump later mocked and dismissed the wish claiming that it was a false quote made up by Pelosi and other Democratic leaders.

“I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and [Chuck] Schumer and Pelosi?” Trump told Fox News.

Ginsburg’s granddaughter, Clara Spera, later confirmed her late grandmother had, in fact, dictated the wish to her.

Despite this, on Oct. 15, Barrett was questioned for nearly 20 hours at her confirmation hearing by 22 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Barrett did not give many remarks concerning her

view on major political issues including health care, abortion rights, voting rights and gun rights. Instead, she discussed how she approaches the law as an originalist who feels that as a justice, it is her job to adhere to written laws as opposed to interpreting them or making policy from the bench.

Democrats were, for the most part, unsatisfied with Barrett’s responses and attempted to pressure her into answering questions about major legal issues.

Nonetheless, Barrett kept a calm and collected demeanor and would not let Democrats pin her down.

Judiciary Chairman Lindsay Graham praised Barrett and remarked that her confirmation was all but guaranteed.

“This is the first time in American history that we’ve nominated a woman who is unashamedly pro-life and embraces her faith without apology, and she is going to the court,” Graham said.

And on Oct. 22 the committee voted to approve the nomination.

With this shift in balance, the Democrats

strongest tool in taking back the White House and Congress is court packing.

The objective of court packing would be to add enough seats to the Supreme Court to overwhelm the Court’s current majority. Those seats would then be filled with judges who are in support of voting rights and are not likely to strike down progressive legislation.

Even if the Democrats win this year’s election, it remains unclear as to whether they will have enough votes to pack the court. Biden also mentioned that while he is not opposed to the idea, he isn’t advocating for it either. Court packing also brings substantial risks, the biggest being that Republicans could fight back by adding even more justices if they repossess authority of the elected branches.

Regardless, the contention following the Supreme Court nomination suggests this is an issue that will most likely remain prominent long after the election is over.

“This is raw politics,” Jillson said. “It’s not about right or wrong, it’s about what you can and cannot do.”

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Could Texas Go Blue?

Political figures weigh in on likelihood of Democrats winning local, state, federal positions o u t n u m b e re d Story and Design by Jeneta Nwosu in state

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yan Poppe, Deputy Communications Director for the Texas Democratic Party, believes 2020 is the year Democrats finally take Texas back.

The Texas Democratic Party is campaigning for Texas Democrats at the local, state and federal levels and for the Democratic Presidential nominee.

“In 2020, we are re turning Texas blue,” Poppe said.

Some are a little more skeptical.

“Democrats have a long road ahead of them,” Carolyn Barta, longtime political writer at the Dallas Morning News and a retired Southern Methodist University journalism professor, said. “They are way

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government.”

No Democratic presidential candidate has won Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

“Reagan was very, very strong in Texas in the 1980s, and a lot of people during that time switched over to the Republican party from the Democratic party,” Barta said.

In 1978, Republican and HPHS alumnus Bill Clements was elected governor and became the first Republican to hold the office in 104 years. From there, Barta said, Texas became more of a swing state.

Republicans swept all statewide offices and state Senate seats in 1998, and by 2002,

they took the majority in the Texas state House.

Since then, the Texas state government has been totally controlled

by Republicans.

But Poppe is optimistic.

“If you look at polling that’s been done we as a party have never been closer than we are right now to winning this state,” he said.

There are a lot of figures that Democrats have pointed to as signs for victory. More than 1.5 million voters have registered since the 2016 election. The Houston Chronicle reported that it more than two times the average for the last four presidential election cycles.

“They’re all new voters, but they’re

mostly new voters that lean Democrat,” Poppe said.

Texas demographics are also potentially in the Democrats’ favor. Statisticsfocused news website FiveThirtyEight’s Galen Druke, on their show “Confidence Interval,” pointed out that Texas is a majority-minority state largely due to its sizable Latino population.

However, its electorate is majority white.

Latinos only make up about a quarter of voters, and a third of them reliably vote for Republicans. Much of Texas Democratic strategy has relied on increasing Latino turnout, though Druke said this has had limited effectiveness in the past.

“We’ve always known that the shift in demographics would lean Democratic,” Poppe said.“We’ve seen it.We’ve studied it.

We just have to go out and get the votes.”

White college-educated voters in Texas have voted less for Republicans in recent years, though the majority of this group is still currently pro-Trump. In 2012, Mitt Romney won Texas by 16 points. In 2016, Donald Trump won Texas by nine points, and Senator Ted Cruz won by 2.5 points in 2018. Much of the movement there, Druke said, is from college educated white voters.

National polling shows Trump actively turned off many suburban voters.

“I think that the Trump tactics are beginning to wear thin with people,” Barta said, “The bullying, the lack of concern and courtesy for other people and the language that he uses.”

She said suburban women and mothers particularly, a demographic Trump is targeting, would be concerned about political divisions, and Biden’s message of unity could be effective with this group.

SUBURBAN TRENDS This national trend in suburbs seems to hold true in Texas. The Dallas Morning News said during the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats made gains in typically red suburban districts. In his ultimately unsuccessful Senate run, then congressman Beto O’Rourke won Tarrant

County and 46 percent of the vote in Collin County, both of which have been reliably Republican for years.

“You’re seeing Texas Democrats take back areas of the state that were Republican strongholds for a long time,” Poppe said.

Williamson County, where Poppe resides, was one of those areas.

“Locally, in 2018, Democrats flipped all of it. They were able to overturn the Republican majority at the city and county level, and in some cases, at the state House level,” Poppe said.

These changes are also happening closer to home.

“Beto carried our House district, which means the larger community is much more liberal than I think people knew,” said Kate Carté, a leader of the Park Cities Democratic Women’s Association Carté is one of the nine women on the PCDWA’s leadership team. She said she joined the group after Trump was elected in 2016, as did most other members.

“The group was just a few people — I think it was about five people, maybe 10 — before Trump was elected,” Carté said.

She said PCDWA was one of many Democratic organizations that sprang up after Trump was elected.

“This included a lot of former Republicans, and some people who still feel like at heart they are conservative and who wanted to help elect more progressive candidates,” Carté said.

Texas’s 32nd congressional district of the U.S. House of Representatives, which includes the Park Cities, is a mostly suburban district that had elected Republican Pete Sessions since 2002 until Democrat Colin Allred defeated Sessions in 2018.

Carté said she has seen Democrats are cautious in their optimism because Trump’s 2016 win was so shocking to them.

“The thing that strikes me is that Texas is the largest urban state that still votes red,” she said. “It’s kind of anomalous because the vast majority of Texans live in either cities or suburbs.”

We as a party have never been closer than we are right now to winning this state.

She said Texas looks electorally more like Ohio or Pennsylvania than Idaho or Wyoming. Ohio and Pennsylvania both went for Trump in 2016, but they’re viewed more as swing states than Idaho and Wyoming, and they are more diverse.

“I don’t think Texas is going to become blue anytime fast,” Carté said.“Our U.S. House District 32 where Colin Allred is the representative, he’s a very centrist Democrat. I think that’s appropriate.”

STATE HOUSE While Allred is battling Republican Genevieve Collins this year to keep his U.S. congressional seat, the stakes are particularly high in the race for the Texas State House of Representatives.

“Whoever is elected this year will have the opportunity to redistrict the state after the 2020 census is completed and sent to the legislature from DC,” Will Busby, the Dallas County Republican Party Communications director, said.

He said this means legislators will redraw districts and reallocate funds. Poppe said the last redistricting in 2011 might have drifted into unconstitutional territory.

“The maps that were drawn by the Republican legislature at the time were severely flawed,” Poppe said. “They did what was called cracking and packing. They would take a concentrated area of Black and Latino voters and take it apart by continued on next page FEATURES

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looping sections of it into a white-majority led district.”

He said this diluted the voices of Black and Latino voters in those districts, and that was something Democrats would try to prevent in 2021.

“We are 100 percent taking back the Texas House.All it takes is nine seats at this point. We’re shooting for 22,” Poppe said.

One of the big reasons for that, he said, is the enthusiasm for Democrats in Texas.

Democrats picked up 12 state House seats in 2018.

“Then you can also pivot to the huge snafus and problems that you’re still seeing among Texas House Republicans and their infighting,” Poppe said.

In particular, he points out a scandal that broke last year involving the Texas House speaker Dennis Bonnen, a Republican.

Bonnen and the second-ranking House Republican, Dustin Burrows, attempted to bribe the leader of right-wing advocacy group Empower Texans with press access to the House floor, so the group would target members of his own party that he disliked. Michael Quinn Sullivan, the leader of Empower Texans, recorded the entire conversation and released it October 2019.

The recording features Bonnen saying he told his own local officials, who are Republicans, he wanted to lead “the worst session in the history of the Legislature for cities and counties,” as well as disparaging and sometimes profane comments from Bonnen and Burrows about Republican and Democratic House members.

Bonnen chose to not seek reelection this year after bipartisan calls from House members for his resignation. Burrows resigned from his post as GOP caucus chair, but he is still running for reelection.

Poppe said the Republican party in the Texas House is weak, and he’s confident that voters see this.

“They see these are people that just don’t represent our interests,” Poppe said.

“It’s right there in the title of the lower chamber. It’s the House of Representatives.

These folks represent special interests.

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Texas State Senator Nathan Johnson speaks at a town hall organized by PCDWA. The Democratic senator spoke to constituents on Nov. 9, 2018, three days after he flipped Texas Senate District 16 blue by defeating Republican Don Huffines in Huffines’ 2018 bid for reelection. This marked the first time in decades that the district had been represented by a Democrat. Photo courtesy of Kate Carté

They represent business interests, but they don’t represent the people.”

Busby said, on the other hand, that Republicans have won and will continue to win in Texas because they represent the people better.

“Texans are very freedom-minded, very liberty-minded people. Even in the cities and out in the rural areas in the country, Texans want independence. They want freedom,” he said. “They want to be able to go out in their daily lives without high taxes, without burdensome regulations, and they want to be able to know that the government is there for their basic needs.”

These basic needs, Busby said, are things like roads, security, law enforcement and health facilities.

“But otherwise,Texans just really want to enjoy their second amendment rights and they want to enjoy less government, and that’s the Republican message,” Busby said.

“The Republican message has always been less government and more freedom.”

Though Busby thinks positions at all levels in the county are important, he said voters in Dallas County should pay attention to the state House races in particular.

“Republicans are working hard to keep the seats we have and to gain back a couple of seats from the Democrats, and I feel confident that that’s going to happen,” Busby said.

He emphasized the impact of the Texas legislature, saying they affect issues from property taxes to infrastructure and health care.

The state legislature also affects education.

“The state legislature obviously was good for Highland Park last cycle with House Bill 3. HB-3 was full finance reform regarding Robin Hood,” Busby said. “Representative Morgan Meyer was for that bill, and that bill was good for Highland Park. So the legislature has an impact on your day-today life.”

House Bill 3 gave schools more funding, which reduced the amount of money

to do the work of serving people in the district, and that’s what I will continue to do,” Meyer wrote in a statement sent to The Bagpipe.

wealthy school districts like HPISD use to subsidize poorer districts. This practice is called recapture, but it’s commonly referred to as “Robin Hood.”

This bill received bipartisan support, including Texas House District 108 Representative Morgan Meyer.

Meyer, a Republican, almost fell victim to the 2018 Democratic wave during his bid for reelection that year.

“Morgan Meyer won reelection in 2018 by just a couple hundred votes and it had to go to a recount,” Carté said.

This 200 vote margin is uncommon for Meyer, who won both his 2014 and 2016 elections by the thousands.

Meyer declined to comment on whether he thought Democrats would gain power in Texas, choosing instead to highlight issues like economic and pandemic recovery, and school funding.

“Voters want representatives who will look past the noise of national politics, power struggles and hyper-partisanship

TEXAS VALUES To Busby, it’s clear that Trump will win Texas this November, he said, pointing to boat parades and overpass rallies organized

by Texan Trump supporters.

“Everyday Texans [are] just coming out and showing their support for the President,” he said. “How do I think the electorate is feeling? I think the electorate is feeling like they’re going to reelect Trump for another four years and keep Texas red.”

So far, the data favors Busby’s prediction.

In FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, Trump is up 2.6 points as of Oct. 3, and their election forecast model gives Trump a 74 percent chance of winning.

When it comes to whether Democrats can gain ground in red communities in general, Busby is a little more ambiguous.

“I think anything is possible, and if I’ve learned anything after 12 years in politics, it’s that anything is possible,” Busby said.

“But what I will say is we are working night and day to talk to voters and make ground.”

Busby said the Dallas County Republican Party is reaching voters through volunteers knocking on doors and making phone calls, as well as through running digital ads.

“If Democrats want to gain ground, we are certainly bringing the fight to them, because we would like to keep our ground and we would like to stand upon our ground,” he said.

Barta does not believe that Texas is going blue overall.

“Texas is going to remain Republican. It’s just a conservative state,” Barta said.

But she does think Biden has a shot at winning the state this year, partly due to demographic changes and evaluation of the current President’s actions.

“More important is the growing dissatisfaction with President Trump,” Barta said. “I would say many traditional Republican voters and many swing voters who took a chance on Trump four years

ago are backing away from him.”

She said she believes that Republicans have gone too far right on social issues.

“I doubt the Republicans in the legislature and state government are going to become less conservative,” Barta said. “That’s why I think some went to Beto, and some of them that were traditional Republican voters are going to go to Biden.”

Barta believes most of the electorate in the state are moderates.

“When things go too far one way, either to the right or to the left, the average person is not going to like it,” she said.

Carté’s answer to the Blue Texas question is somewhere in the middle.

“I like the purple characteristic of Texas and I think that’s really what’s going to become more prominent,” Carté said.

She wants to see bipartisanship in Texas because she doesn’t think one-party rule works in any case.

“It would make me very excited to see Texas become a state where real two party governance at the state level means that better policies are enacted,” Carté said. “I really do think the best policies come from two parties working together and working for the common good.”

Carté thinks this is where Texas is headed.

“I’m actually really optimistic about politics in Texas,” she said.

“If I’ve learned anything after 12 years in politics, it’s that anything is possible.”

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PROBLEMS AT THE POLLS Lack of federal oversight causes drastic election changes

Story and design by Kimmie Johansen

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allas County has seen the second largest wave of polling location closures in the country since the Supreme Court ruled part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act to be unconstitutional in 2013.

The Voting Rights Act was enacted by congress to combat almost a hundred

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years of voter discrimination. Before it’s implementation, black voters were largely excluded from the election process through the use of literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation tactics and violence.

In 2103, Shelby County, Alabama, filed a suit in district court seeking a judgment that section 5 and section 4(b) of the

Voting Rights Act were unconstitutional, and a permanent end to their enforcement.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act required specific counties and states to submit any change to election procedures to a federal court. The change would be approved if “neither has the purpose nor will have the effect” to disenfranchise voters based on

race. This is called preclearance.

Section 4(b) defined these specific counties and states by their use of voting tests and voter turnout rates in the 1964 election.Texas was included in the states subject to review.

The question presented to the Supreme Court was whether Congress exceeded its power in renewing section 5 and section 4(b) back in 2006. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the 5-4 majority opinion deeming section 4 unconstitutional on the basis that it imposes constraints no longer relevant to the voting conditions in the states and districts in question.

Roberts began his opinion writing, “the Voting Rights Act of 1965 employed extraordinary measures to address an extraordinary problem.”

Later in the opinion, Roberts argues the Voting Rights Act is in sharp contrast with the 10th amendment, which reserves powers not granted to the federal government to the states because section 5 only has jurisdiction over some parts of the country.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a dissenting opinion, “throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a storm because you are not getting wet.”

Since the decision, states have closed polling places, shortened voting hours, imposed barriers to voter registration, implemented strict voter ID laws, purged registered voters from voter rolls and changed voting districts. It has become increasingly challenging to find discriminatory voting changes before their enactment post-Shelby v. Holder because places with a history of voter suppression are no longer required to notify federal officials of changes.

A report done by the Leadership Conference Education Fund found 1,688 polling location closures in places previously covered by section 5. Of those, 750 closures happened in Texas since 2012 despite an increase in voter turnout.

While Texas has typically held a historically low voter turnout rate in comparison to the rest of the country, the state saw an 18 percent increase from 2014 to 2018 in voter turnout for midterm elections, according to the United States Elections Project. As of 2018, Texas lacked up to 270 polling locations necessary, according to Texas Public Radio.

Zach Dolling, an attorney with the Civil Rights Project, analyzed hundreds of counties for election code violations. He found 33 counties with various violations consisting of not having a voting center in an area largely made up of people of color, improperly combining precincts, having more than 5,000 registered voters in a precinct and reducing polling places or voting centers below the legal amount.

“These 33 counties collectively have about 4 million registered voters in them.

So, in one sense, it affected all of those voters,” Dolling said to Texas Public Radio.

“Because for every missing polling place, that means more longer lines, more people at the remaining polling places.”

After sending demand letters to these counties, most pledged to make changes before the upcoming November election, while a few did not respond. Several of the counties did have the resources to commit to changes.

“It is the duty of the Office of the Secretary of State under the law, to be monitoring Texas counties for compliance with law. And it’s pretty clear from what we found that the Secretary of State has not been doing that,” Dolling said.

With a 41 percent latino and a 22 percent black population, Dallas County has seen 74 polling place closures since 2012. In the 2012 midterm elections, 60 percent of eligible voters voted.

Then, after the 2013 Shelby v. Holder decision, just 34 percent of eligible voters voted in the 2014 midterms.

Many of these polling sites have been closed in statewide efforts to create countywide voting centers. The closure of these polling locations has created long wait times for elections. According to the

Texas Tribune, voters in Dallas reported waiting over two hours with dozens of people still behind them to cast their Super Tuesday ballots.

An unknown number of Texans went to the wrong polling place and could not cast their ballot in the most recent presidential and midterm elections, according to the Texas Tribune.

At a community meeting to implement a countywide voting model, Dallas County elections administrator Toni Pippins-Poole said, “with vote centers, guess what, you’re never going to be in the wrong precinct. ... It’s going to be an increase in votes just because [voters] won’t be rejected.”

Countywide polling locations are presented as making voting easier, but many advocates are suspicious of the other implications of closing polling places.

“As we’ve found, these closures have a cascading effect, causing long lines at polling places, transportation hurdles, denials of language assistance and mass confusion about where eligible voters may cast their ballots,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference Education Fund, while presenting to the House Judiciary Committee. “For many people, these burdens make it harder and sometimes impossible to vote.”

Additionally, highly contested voter ID laws remain in place in Texas after a sevenyear litigation battle. These laws were contested on the basis that they purposely discriminate against black and Hispanic voters who are less likely to have a photo ID, according to the Texas Tribune.

Texas’ Republican leaders have often been accused of gerrymandering, the practice of reshaping the state house and U.S. congressional districts in a way that allows one group to remain in power by voting rights activists.

“Texas is the breeding ground for voter suppression,” voting rights lawyer Gerry Hebert said to the Caller Times. “We always have our eye on Texas because they’re ground zero.”

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CAMPAIGNING

THROUGH COVID Coronavirus alters both campaign strategies

Story by Zoie Carlile // Design by Jeneta Nwosu // Graphics by Elsa Pedrosa Noguera ith coronavirus establishing a made major changes in an attempt to standard of mask usage, social address coronavirus concerns. distancing, self-quarantine and maximum On May 7, Biden held his first virtual occupancy guidelines, the virus affected rally but with limited success. Numerous both candidates’ campaigns strategies, and technical issues and hiccups from Biden it brought controversy over mail-in voting. made him an easy target for Republicans In a typical campaign, candidates dedicate on social media. much of the year to holding events across On June 30, Biden announced that he the nation through measures such as stump would not be holding campaign rallies, thus speeches and rallies. However, the spring complying with health guidance during the lock downs, followed by social distancing, pandemic.This took place after his campaign altered these norms. attempted to h o l d Before the lock downs, Trump held six indoor rallies during the months of February and March. These include his rallies in New Hampshire, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina and North Carolina. On March 19, Trump began to cancel events.

During this time, former Vice President Joe Biden, along with Senator Bernie Sanders, canceled in Cleveland on March 10.

Once lock down faded away, and restrictions were lifted in many states, Trump continued to hold small, socially rallies, starting in late June in Tulsa, distanced events Oklahoma. Pictures of these rallies reveal open only to reporters, local officials and packed crowds, with some unmasked. local business leaders.

“Not only are there a lot of people at Biden resumed his in-person rallies in late these rallies, but they’re yelling,” Pediatric August, prioritizing social distancing. One Specialist Dr. Christopher Dreiling said. unique thing Biden has also done is drive“One sick person can have what’s called a in rallies.These look like what you’d expect super spreader that could just tear through as attendees park their cars around a stage the entire population there.” where Biden stands to speak.

According to data by Zach Nayer and ER physician Dr. Kristy Stucka explained Usnish Majumdar from Stat News, after the candidates could be trying to send a the President’s rallies, spikes in coronavirus certain “political message” with how they cases occurred in seven of the 14 cities address and react to the virus. and townships where the rallies were held.

“I believe that really this entire pandemic However, the two conceded that there’s situation is highly politicized in some ways,” no way to undeniably link a community Stucka said. outbreak to just the rally.

For example, though masks are essential On the other hand, the Biden campaign in most public situations, she said she has seen a masked Biden in situations that 20 BAGPIPE

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might not demand one. However, she agrees in-person rallies are not safe.

“Having large gatherings is probably not the right thing to be doing now,” she said.

Students have opinions on the matter.

“This is not like a partisan issue, and I think it’s stupid how people try to politicize the virus,” said senior Julia Testa, Co-President of the Young Progressives club.

Senior James McAnalley, co-president of the Young Republicans Club has a more positive view towards Trump’s decisions.

“In the eyes of the media, any decision President Trump made would be the wrong one,” he said.

Yet another thing that has been greatly influenced by coronavirus, is voting.

Expanding mail-in voting to all eligible voters has been introduced as an idea to combat coronavirus spread amid the pandemic especially for those who are most vulnerable to infection, but that has been met with opposition in many states.

Texas will be limiting mail-in voting to people over the age of 65-yearsold, people who have a “qualifying disability,” anyone who will not be in their county on election day and people confined to jail. Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton believes expanding mail-in voting outside of this will increase the risk of voter fraud.

Paxton also wants to make it clear fear of coronavirus is not a “qualifying” disability under Texas law.

Junior Jack Tatum, President of the Turning Point Club agrees with this stance.

“Just think about it logically, I mean how often it is that people can make fraudulent documents,” he said.

There is evidence showing that mail in ballots is not a large cause of fraud.

According to The Heritage Foundation, who maintains an online database of election fraud, reported that since 2000, there have been only 204 allegations of mail in voter fraud, and only 143 convictions that involved mail-in ballots.

Despite months of controversy over this, people still rushed to the polls for early voting in record numbers. Texas led the country in voter turnout with over 4 million ballots cast by Oct. 20. Now, each candidate is wrapping up their unique campaign season ahead of Nov. 3.

Registration and Voting: Government Class Edition Two teachers help seniors register to vote during class Story by Elle Polychronis // Design by Jeneta Nwosu // Photos by Nick Drexler

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tudents are always required to take a one-semester government course to graduate, but current seniors are getting to experience the class in a unique way this year with the upcoming election.

Social studies teachers Chad Coffey and William Caraway both teach these courses.The class helps educate students about the current government, how it works and how we contribute to it.

They both teach their students about current events and the process of voting and voter registration.

“I think the biggest way that we have changed what we’re doing is that we are doing a weekly recap of the political events,” Coffey said. “Mondays, for the most part, we’re looking back at what happened the previous week. We’re referencing the upcoming election almost every day in class.”

The 2020 election is uniquely significant because of the outbreak of coronavirus changing the political landscape months before the election. However, election years have always been special for the class.

“Election years are great for the U.S. government classes because we have a unit dedicated to campaigns and political parties every year,” Caraway said.

“We’ve basically got general elections every four years and mid-terms every two years,

so there’s always something going on.”

Caraway said the class was analyzing both presidential campaigns, including discussion on the presidential debates.

Both teachers encouraged their students to register to vote, even if

they weren’t 18 because students could vote in smaller elections throughout the year. The Government teachers will keep the registration cards until two months before the student turns 18 before mailing in the cards for them.

Registration for voting was publicly announced on the school announcements for weeks in September. Monday, Oct. 5 was the last day to register to vote for the election.

“As we get closer to the actual election date, we’ll unpack what you’ll need to bring, what to expect and go through the process,” Caraway said. “We’ll show them a sample ballot, get them prepared, make sure that they tell the polling location and identify where it is.”

Additionally, the class discusses current issues.

“We are talking about how the election won’t be announced until a few weeks later after all the voting is done because of the mail-in ballots,” Senior Lexi Perry said. “I think that I will do mail-in ballots because that’s just a lot easier, but I know both of my parents always go in person.”

The government teachers show students what an election means from an analysis standpoint and real-word examples, so students see the impact their vote can have.

“If you start voting at your first election, you are more likely to then be a lifelong voter,” Coffey said. “We are just really trying to stress to the students that they can make a difference, and saying to vote in every election you are eligible for.”

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KANYE FOR P Hip-Hop legend has bumpy road trying to get on 2020 ballots Story by Zach King // Design by Nick Drexler

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merican rapper and billionaire Kanye West announced the start of his presidential campaign on July 4, 2020, via Twitter.

The controversial hip-hop figurehead turned politician tweeted, “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States! #2020VISION.” Kanye previously made headlines regarding his political views in the past few years due to his friendship with Republican President Donald Trump. On Sept. 30, 2018, Kanye went on a politically influenced rant during the closing credits of Saturday Night Live on NBC. He’s also become famous for his sporadic actions on a public stage, one major example being when he took the microphone away from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video and Music Awards in the middle of her award acceptance speech.

Some have attributed Kanye’s decision to run for President to his bipolar disorder, something he openly addresses on his past four studio albums. He said he is not medicated for the disorder. However, his behavior on Twitter has sparked a conversation on his mental health.

Others speculated Kanye’s announcement to run for office as just another ploy to gain hype for his album “Donda,” however the album has yet to drop and Kanye has yet to halt his pursuit to appear on voters ballots Nov. 3.

On July 7, 2020, a spokesperson for the Federal Election Commission, or FEC,

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told Billboard that Kanye had not filed the required paperwork in time to make his bid official.

However, Kanye would complete his registration on July 16, his home address being his Cody, Wyoming home, and his affiliated party being named “The Birthday Party,” becoming eligible to apply to be on ballots in all 50 US states.

When asked why he named his independent political party “The Birthday Party” by a Forbes interviewer, the rapper replied, “Because when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday.” He nominated Michelle Tidball, a Christian preacher from Wyoming, as his running mate.

“WHEN WE WIN, IT’S EVERYBODY’S BIRTHDAY.” “It’s always tricky judging celebrities and people in the entertainment industry on what they really believe,” junior Jack Tatum said, President of the Highland Park branch of Turning Point USA. “We think it’s great that he wants to align more with views that are exotic to his kind of industry. He doesn’t have to think like everyone else.”

On July 19, Kanye held his first official campaign rally in South Carolina. During the rally, he discussed subjects such as guns, saying that “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”

He also made other controversial statements at the rally, like his comment about black history.

“Harriet Tubman actually never freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people,” he said.

The defining moment of the rally was

when Kanye broke into tears while admitting that he and his wife Kim Kardashian West considered having an abortion with the pregnancy that later became his daughter, North. He reportedly suggested that instead of offering Plan B, a morning-after contraceptive, mothers should be paid to keep their babies.

Due to his late registration, Kanye has had trouble getting on the ballots in many key battleground states such as Florida and Michigan. The day after his rally, it was reported that Kanye had missed the deadline to get on the South Carolina ballot, even though the rapper had time to submit his paperwork.

In states such as Illinois, Montana, Ohio and West Virginia, Kanye failed to turn in enough signatures required to be on the ballot. In Wisconsin, Kanye turned in his registration a mere 14 seconds after the 5 p.m. deadline. The registration was denied, and when he sued in response, a judge ruled that a deadline is a deadline, and Kanye was ineligible for appearing on a ballot.

Kanye successfully got on the ballot in at least 11 states, including the battleground states of Colorado, Minnesota, and more recently, Kentucky. However, it’s currently mathematically impossible for Kanye to win. Even if he wins the states he is on the ballot in, the electoral votes given to him are nowhere near the required 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

Kanye will be on the California voting ballot but not as a presidential candidate.

The American Independent Party listed Kanye as a running mate to independent presidential candidate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, and neither had much of a say in it. Kanye still encourages California voters to write him in, tweeting a picture of him signing his name at the bottom of a California ballot. The AIP picked Kanye due to his political views and his abundant celebrity connections.

R PRESIDENT? “I don’t think his presidential run was that legitimate,” Tatum said. “I think it was more of a publicity stunt than anything else, and I don’t think he can win any states.”

Another reaction to the Kanye announcement was the theory Kanye was running to take votes away from Democrat Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. Kanye has not publicly refuted these rumors.

One student criticized speculation he heard that Kanye could win over the black electorate, saying he found that incorrect.

“If you look at the demographics of his audience from the last six years, it’s made up of teenage white kids often from upper-class neighborhoods” senior Patrick Omundson said, a member of the HP Young Progressives Club. “Those are the people who stan him, who support him, who would vote for him. I think the core fanbase that people were talking about switching their votes from The College Dropout album days simply aren’t his core fanbase anymore.”

The emergence of Kanye and “The Birthday Party” continues the political and cultural shift towards a potential major third party. According to a Gallup Poll, only 40 percent of Americans believed the country needed a third major political party in 2003. However, that number jumped up to 57 percent in 2018. Common reasons listed are the lack of an adequate candidate presented by the two major parties in regards to presidential elections.

Still, many believe, especially in this election, voting for a third party is essentially throwing a vote away. Kanye may be trying to change that, but in 2020, it doesn’t look likely.

“In the Democratic Party, Bernie got 4 percent of the popular vote, and most Bernie supporters would support Jill Stein and The Green Party, but they didn’t support Jill Stein in 2016 because a vote for one of them would have just been a

vote for Trump,” sophomore Will Wirskye said. “Even if you supported Kanye, you still wouldn’t vote for him because your vote wouldn’t really mean anything.”

Kanye’s anti-abortion, evangelical views tend to side with the more conservative voters, and some have theorized if Kanye were to run for president again in 2024, he may do it through the Republican Party.

In 2019, after heavily delaying his awaited ninth studio album “Yandhi,” Kanye released “Jesus Is King,” where he expressed his newfound love for Christianity. This may help Kanye in convincing White Evangelicals, a large part of Donald Trump’s supporting base, to look at him as an alternative option.

“It really depends on what the Republican Party is going to look like in 2024,” Tatum said. “I don’t believe that the Republican Party will be very fond of Kanye while he’s running, and I don’t think most Republicans see him as a legitimate political candidate, but some people may have thought that about Donald Trump. It really depends on just how he performs during the debates, how he’s

campaigning and really how he performs in the political sphere.”

Kanye is not on the presidential ballot in Texas for 2020, but if he registers in time and correctly in 2024, whether he would garner enough influence in politics to be seen as a possible choice for the presidency by voters in Generation Z is the biggest question.

“Part of it really depends on his platforms because there’s both a lot of MAGA people as well as a lot of liberals living in Highland Park,” Omundson said. “Say he runs in three years. The thing with Kanye is the people that would vote for him who are my age will be sophomores and juniors in college, so even the kids who grew up with Kanye would have grown out of him.”

Kanye has had to overcome many obstacles to get to the point he is at right now in the election, and while he has been discussing other issues on Twitter, he still appears to be somewhat focused on making ballots in multiple states.

Kanye garnered 2 percent support from black voters in an August 12 Politico poll, but America will have to wait and see if he can make any more headlines on election day.

Photo courtesy of Paul Smith on Shutterstock.com FEATURES

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Call to Service

Coronavirus concerns create need for minors on election day Story by Katherine Harrell // Design and Grophics by Elsa Pedrosa Noguera

E

lection day is fast approaching, and it appears most states and American citizens are preparing for the big day.

However, the nation faces a problem. Over 58 percent of poll workers are over 60 according to National Public Radio. Senior citizens but, these are opting out this election cycle, as they are the most vulnerable age group to the coronavirus.

The solution Texas and 44 other states chose is to allow minors to work the polls and be involved in the election process.

Most states set the age minimum at 16, including Texas. Seniors Bianca Rodriguez and Mira Aravamuthan, decided to partake.

“Honestly I’m really excited just because I’m not old enough to vote, so I like that it’s a way to be involved in politics and get involved in the election without actually voting,” Rodriguez said.

In order to become student workers in Texas, a person must meet the age

requirement of 16 and be enrolled in school.

Students also have to be legal U.S. citizens and have consent from legal guardians.

Students heard about this opportunity through a multitude of ways, some including social media and by word of mouth.

“I heard through a group chat,” Aravamuthan said. “I looked into it a little bit and was like, you know what, I think I want to do this. I think this is a good way to help the election process and just see how it all works.”

The Election Administration and Voting Report for the 2018 general election showed 70 percent of the jurisdictions reported having a “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” time recruiting poll workers.

“One of the main reasons I’m doing it is because I know a lot of old people who usually do it can’t, just because of the risk of coronavirus,” Rodriguez said. “So I k n o w as a young person if I do get

coronavirus, I will probably still be ok.”

Katherine Bordon, an experienced poll worker, lives in Houston.

She has worked at the booths for the last seven years.

“I’m a geek,” Bordon said. “I’m one of those that think that elections

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are important. That’s what our democracy is founded on.You have to have someone to work the polls, and I enjoy doing it.”

She is aware of the risks. However, she is still willing to risk catching coronavirus for a chance to be involved in this year’s election.

“I worked the election in July, the primary runoff in Houston,” she said. “We used the masks and the face shields, and then they had the table guards. With all that and the hand sanitizer and the finger protectors for the voters, I felt ok. I was a little nervous at first, but once I got in and started doing it, everybody was pretty cooperative.”

Although Bordon is comfortable with working the polling stations, she knows other workers who have decided to play it safe and not come back this year.

“I know at least one person,” Bordon said.

“She’s an older lady. She’s at least in her 70s. I don’t know what her health history is, but I think she’s worried about her husband’s illnesses, so she decided to play it better safe than sorry and stay home.”

Working the polling stations is a new opportunity for teens who are not quite old enough to vote in elections.This may be something teenagers can continue to do after coronavirus is over.

As of now Rodriguez and Aravamuthan have not been told where and when they will be volunteering.

“I’m definitely going to do it again in the future just to be involved more in election day in general,” Rodriguez said.

Seniors Share

Eager seniors share opinions about voting in first presidential election Story by Catherine Stautz

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ome election day, senior Sophie Smythe will vote for the first time ever.

“I am excited because I’m legally an adult, and it will probably be my first thing to be like, I’m really an adult now, other than turning 18,” she said.

Smythe is not alone.Ahead of a contentious election, other seniors who have turned 18 will also cast their vote for the first time.And at just 14-years-old during the last election, the seniors who are now eligible to vote weren’t as invested in 2016 as they are now.

“I’ll be honest, I did not pay attention to any of the elections, like the last election,” Smythe said. “I didn’t pay attention to any of them or what Trump has been doing through his presidency.”

As a result, Smythe is not ready to publicly share who she is voting for yet because she said she is still educating herself.

“My goal right now is just to educate myself on them, so I know where I stand and who I want to vote for,” she said.

Smythe’s first step was to learn about each candidate’s policies and views.

“Trump, I disagree with some of his views on certain situations,” she said. “I dislike that he seems to be, again I am still doing all this research, but he seems like a hypocrite.”

Smythe had criticism of the opposing candidate too.

“Joe Biden at the same time is really senile, and he’s kind of a crazy old man,” she said.

Though she is currently unsure herself, Smythe does believe it is important for people to vote, and she said she thinks that people do not have the right to complain about the elected president if they did not participate in the election.

“It’s your duty to vote,” Smythe said.

“You get the privilege to vote and take the country’s future into your own hands.”

Senior Sophie Terraciano-Spence is eager to be a part of the country’s future. She wasted no time in sharing her political views.

“I will be voting for Biden because I think he is better for the American people, the economy and just everyone overall,” Terraciano-Spence said.

She said she likes Biden’s policies and what he stands for, including more police reforms and environmental regulations.

“As opposed to Trump who wants to take back regulations,” she said.

Though Terraciano-Spence feels strongly about supporting Biden, she said she developed these beliefs herself, rather than relying on just voting for whoever her parents support.

“My dad is republican, and my mom is more independent, but she is pretty left-leaning,” she said. “My political views are different because I do my own research and that sort of thing.”

Terraciano-Spence said she feels her vote is not just for her but the well being of others.

“I think other people should vote for Biden because to [be] an empathetic person, you have to consider the needs of other people not just yourself,” she said. “I am voting for Biden, so that I can support minorities, and I’m voting for Biden, so that I can support small businesses.”

She also thinks this election especially speaks out to the younger generations.

“Having the younger generation vote this year is super important because that’s a lot of Biden’s targeted audience this time,” Terraciano-Spence said. “Obviously one vote is kind of minimal, but if you look at the whole school, one vote could be like 500 people, so that could actually influence the election.”

While Terraciano-Spence feels the younger vote is geared in favor of Biden, there are seniors planning to vote to reelect President Trump. There were 12 seniors interviewed for this story who said they will vote Trump.

However, they all declined to have their name on record.

Junior Jack Tatum, president of the Turning Point Club, did speak out on how he believes his fellow club members will vote.

“I think the vast majority of our chapter will be voting for President Trump,” he said.

“If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen. Ultimately, it will all depend on what the American people will have to say on election day.”

SCOTS SAY

133 160 36 Who would you vote for?

VOTES FOR TRUMP VOTES FOR BIDEN

INDEPENDENT

Of the 329 students polled, 35 can legally vote.

22.8%

CORONAVIRUS

41.5%

SOCIAL ISSUES

What issue do you care most about?

7%

CLIMATE CHANGE

23.4%

ECONOMIC ISSUES

5.4%

HEALTH CARE

6.5%

TWITTER

21.9%

8.1%

PARENTS

INSTAGRAM

Where do 21.9% you primarily get political READING THE NEWS information?

12.1% TIK-TOK

29.6%

WATCHING THE NEWS

34.9%

40.3% NO

59.7% YES

Do you trust that this will be a fair election?

NO

65.1% YES

Do you have the same views as your parents?

FEATURES 25

Generation Z Believes...

Youngest generation adapts unique voting preferences Story by Isabella Navarro // Design by Elsa Pedrosa Noguera

Freshman Katie Polansky shares her views with a “Biden 2020” sign. She hand made her sign earlier that day to reflect her favorite candidate.

Photo by Isabella Navarro

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eneration Z witnessed a dramatic year, with a pandemic, protests for racial injustice, a recession and a controversial presidential campaign - all of which reportedly shaped this generation’s view of the world.

Gen Z, defined as people born between 1996 and 2012, now sees the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement as the two most impactful events of their life, according to global data intelligence company,The Morning Consult. And, with a percentage of Gen Z now eligible to vote, the generation can voice these opinions at the polls this year.

Since the primary elections, former Vice President Joe Biden increased his votes by 65 percent among voters in this category,

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according to The Morning Consult. Biden did this through his beliefs on social injustice, abortion, equal pay and educational issues, which appeals to the Gen Z base.

“I think you’re seeing the Democrats focus more on the younger g e n e r a t i o n ,” said Marco Lowe, a political science professor at Seattle University.

“They are typically a more progressive voting block. Having the president attempt to ban Tik Tok in America is not something I would do to catch young voters.”

In fact, Tik Tok played a large role in the upcoming election and in shaping Gen Z’s political views. Tik Tok user Colten Hess recently created “Tok the Vote,” a voting filter to urge young voters to vote for this year’s election on Tik Tok. “Platforms like Tik Tok are more accessible and have educated more of Gen Z to vote and learn more about the topics,” freshman Zoe McGee said. “You can base your voting off of opinions and other peoples experiences.”

Instagram also contributes to encouraging more Gen Z voters by having a small notification on the top of personal feeds encouraging everyone to vote.

“I’ll go on Instagram and see a reminder to vote and different political stuff from different campaigns that they’re trying

to get you to support,” freshman Reese Denison said.

Denison said she notices that her peers in Gen Z tend to have more liberal leaning opinions on social media.

“People post on social media, and when people see that, they might be tugged to the left, especially if it’s emotional,” she said.

The numbers support Denison’s observation, with 52 percent of Gen Z voters having favorable opinions about Biden for this election, according to statistics by reporter Eli Yokley.

Part of that has to do with the Black Lives Matter movement. Members of Gen Z shared their views on racial injustice by spreading posts and attending protests throughout the past few months. With protests sparking since June, of the eligible Gen Z voting block, 53 percent said the protests have made them more likely to vote for Biden, and only 13 percent said they’re more likely to vote for Trump, according to Morning Consult.

“Gen Z’s biggest imprint is making changes for the world,” Cali said. “Social justice has to be made if we want to all be free and equal because of desensitization to violence.”

McGee agreed.

“Gen Z is more progressive and accepting of different generations,” she said. “The older generations are more old fashioned.”

William H. Frey, Senior Fellow at Metropolitan Policy Program, stated that Gen Z equates to 50.7 percent of the nation’s population. While not all of Gen Z is eligible to vote in 2020, as this generation gets older, there’s a strong chance their shared beliefs will eventually alter American politics.

“I think Gen Z is the most educated generation in history,” Cali said. “And we should all agree about social issues, not government issues.”

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rump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he does not win the election.

During a press conference on, Sept. 23, a reporter asked if Trump would commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transfer of power after the election.

“We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said in response to the question. He then goes on to imply that if ballots aren’t thrown out and he doesn’t remain in office, he will encourage a fight over the transfer of power.

“Get rid of the ballots, and you will have a very peaceful transfer. There won’t be a transfer, frankly,” Trump said. “There will be a continuation.”

Trump is worried about voter fraud this election. He repeatedly claimed the large numbers of mail-in voting this year will result in election fraud.

The FBI Director, Christopher A. Wray, is of a differing opinion.

“We have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it’s by mail or otherwise,” Wray said.

While Trump can be worried about fraud, suggesting to get rid of the ballots is several steps too far. He is almost holding the people hostage. He is threatening the safety of the US by suggesting if our votes aren’t ignored, there will not be peace.

We need to emphasize how terrifying Trump’s statement is. Trump is threatening the basis of our democracy. This republic is founded on the idea that people vote on their leaders, and the decision of the

people is respected and accepted. If that doesn’t happen, if Trump tosses the ballots or refuses to hand over power, we would no longer be able to fool ourselves into thinking the U.S. is the “land of the free.”

However, this isn’t the first time Trump has said something strange like this. At a rally on Sept. 12, Trump talked about “negotiating” for a third term.

“We’re going to win four more years in the White House, and then after that we’ll negotiate . . . because we are probably entitled to another four after that.”

Serving more than two terms is illegal according to the 22nd Amendment, which was put in place after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt served three terms and died shortly into his fourth.

At this point, Trump isn’t even trying to

hide the fact he is comfortable breaking any boundary to remain in power.

It’s crazy the people of the U.S. actually have to fear a president will become a dictator. It’s like we are living in some dystopian society.

Trump also shares some scary similarities with famous fascist leaders such as Benito Mussolini. Encyclopedia Britannica says Mussolini’s speeches his facts were often wrong, and his attacks were frequently malicious and misdirected.

That sounds familiar to me.

There is no uncertainty about this. Trump is overstepping his rights as a president for the people. If we allow this to continue, the U.S. will no longer be a democracy.

His willingness to ignore term limits and discard votes is a clear indication that action must be taken.

The obvious solution to this is to not re-elect Trump. However, with Trump threatening to throw out ballots, can we even rely on a fair answer? Other parts of the government have to take action.

Local governments already are taking precautions to prevent fraud, but there have been some cases of election fraud in small local elections. It is the responsibility of the local government to take care of the ballots, and more measures should be taken. But besides threatening about ballots being tossed out, Trump has said and done multiple things that borders on illegal.

Our government system is one of checks and balances, so who is checking the executive branch and why have they gone on a vacation?

TRUMP IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY The harmful nature of Trump’s rhetoric on leaving office, an opinion Story by Elise Laharia // Design and Graphics by Elsa Pedrosa Noguera

OPINIONS

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Story by Ava Perpall y definition, BLM is a social movement emphasizing equality and advocating against police brutality and racially-motivated violence against black Americans.

Since the killing of George Floyd in May, the movement’s support has almost doubled, but with it’s growth in popularity, BLM became a magnet for ignorance and misinformation.People took this as an opportunity to deny, villainize and invalidate the movement with a plethora of racially motivated counter movements.

Imagine that. It is absolutely heartbreaking that the value of my life is an argument.

The statement that black people simply matter should never have been an argument in the first place. Black lives mattering is not a political statement.

Black lives mattering is not an opinion up for debate. Black lives mattering is a fact. To argue against it, promotes the racism it was created to fight.

“But...All Lives Matter.” First of all, Black Lives Matter never meant only black lives matter. It simply means that black likes matter too. The fact this statement alone is controversial, shows how necessary an uprising like BLM is.

Arguing “All Lives Matter” erases a long past of systematic racism in the U.S. It is almost as if people think racism went away after all races were able to live amongst each other. To not “see color” is to not see the hardships that come with being a POC in this country. This further perpetuates the trend of turning a blind eye to racism.

A central problem of this mindset is the denial of white privilege.

Because of systemic oppression, there are undeniable societal advantages that come with being white, so though you may not recognize it, there are certain things you will never have to worry about as a white person.

That being said, white privilege does not mean you had an easy life. It simply means it was not made difficult because of your race. Still, as a white person, you may face prejudice or stereotypes. That is awful, yes, but it just isn’t the same as racism.

Even here in Highland Park I was forced to grow up faster than my white counterparts. Not everyone is privileged

enough to have racism be no more than a topic learned about in school. Nobody should have to change the way they dress, speak or act at a young age to avoid their predestined stereotypes. But I did.

It took me years to feel comfortable wearing my hair in braids. Somehow at 9-years-old, I was already aware of what the world would think of me. When I first moved here, I tried so desperately to avoid the “loud, angry black girl” stereotype that seemed to be tattooed onto me. It pains me to look back at the videos I made as a kid. Not because of what was in them but because I felt the need to add that one filter that would make my skin just light enough to post.

Sadly, though, no Snapchat filter could protect me. It wouldn’t protect me from being called Harambe as I walked home from school. It wouldn’t protect me when my teacher referred to me as a “darkie” in front of the entire class. It wouldn’t help me from years of death threats and online harassment or constantly hearing the N-word despite being the only black person in a room. There’s no easy filter for my skin color when I try to enter the dating world or apply for my first job. And it for sure isn’t there to protect me from police brutality or systematic racism.

Racism isn’t just a man in a white suit screaming “I hate black people.” Dayto-day racism is much more covert and overlooked. “It was just dark humor.”

“It was in a song.” “Why do you make everything about race?” “If the roles were reversed…” When we give racism this textbook persona, we allow for racism to become normalized in our society.

And that’s when it takes an uglier, more aggressive tone.

Recently, a 17- year-old opened fire on protesters in Kenosha,Wisconsin.The teen, Kyle Rittenhouse, took it upon himself to “maintain order” because as he saw it, “no one else would.” Rittenhouse showed up to a BLM protest with an assault rifle strapped around his chest. In an interview, he spoke about how his job was to “protect” businesses. The raging Blue Lives Matter activist and self proclaimed vigilante, was caught on camera mercilessly firing rounds at the crowds. Of the three who were hit, two were shot to death.

This nauseating act was public for all to see and caught on film from multiple angles, and one of the clearest displays of overt racism is the outstanding number of people who rushed to his defense. Not only in the media but in our own community, people took to social media to express the idea that Rittenhouse was brave and a hero.

This is absolutely, undoubtedly repulsive.

Words can not express the feeling that came through my body as I read the reposts some of my peers made on this issue. Their endless efforts to praise him and claim it was “self defense” were absolutely unbelievable.

Not to mention the fact protesters screamed at police that he had just killed two people, but officers ignored him, and he walked away and went home right after.

Yet Tamir Rice, a 12-year old-black boy, was shot and killed on the spot for simply playing with a toy gun.

Let that sink in. A black child playing with a toy incites so much fear into a police man that his first instinct is to shoot and kill him. But Kyle Rittenhouse can waltz around with a giant AR-15, be embraced with refreshments and gratitude by the police, shoot at a crowd of people leaving two dead, and walk right off the scene like nothing happened.

And this is why the black community is exhausted. We are tired of begging you to open your eyes. We are tired of having to explain ourselves. We are tired of being gaslighted when we talk about racism. We are tired of changing the way we speak, dress and act to accommodate you.We are tired of rising above our stereotypes only to be called “white washed.” We are tired of being mimicked. We’re tired of “it’s just a word.” We’re tired of having to grow up twice as fast. We’re tired of being seen as a threat. We’re tired of becoming hashtags.

We’re tired of being demeaned and belittled. We’re tired of being “just politics.”

We’re tired of being murdered at the hands of those who swore to protect us. We’re tired of having to argue with the world that our lives matter.

The fact that the value of my life was ever in question says all that it needs to say.

If you notice any ignorance in your own views, I beg you to take a step back, start a clean slate and educate yourself.

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VICE FREE VICE Review: VP debate more presidential than presidential debate Story by Tyee Arey // Design and Graphics by Elsa Pedrosa Noguera fter the first 2020 presidential debate, the vice presidential debate was a breath of clean, but not fresh, air.

While there would be tension between the candidates and the moderator, the debate maintained a level of respect closer resembling the old status quo. The candidates both addressed each other respectfully, an aspect of presidential debates that used to be the norm.

Moderator Susan Page from USA Today asked about coronavirus, transparency regarding the health of the President, economic plans, climate change, China, America’s role in the world, abortion, healthcare, racism in the justice system and the President’s comments on a peaceful transfer of power.

Senator Kamala Harris, representing Democratic nominee Joe Biden, got the first question about coronavirus.

She began the debate with a cold depiction of the pandemic, the cases, the death toll and the closed businesses.The senator stated that the failure of the current administration forfeits Trump’s right to the presidency.

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President Pence began his response by giving his thanks for all the work put into setting up the debate, and he greeted senator Harris. He stated that from the very first day, Trump closed China, despite his opponents’ protests that it was xenophobic. Doing that bought invaluable time to reinvent testing, deliver supplies to hospitals and begin developing treatment.

He claims Operation Warp Speed expects to have working vaccines by the end of this year. Pence then accused the Biden plan of plagiarism, claiming Biden has done that before.

This first question provided all the information needed to determine what direction the debate would head. Senator Harris would do everything she could to point out failures of the Trump administration, while advertising her candidate as Trump’s opposite.

Vice President Pence would do everything he could to defend the President’s actions, even the

most controversial ones, while attacking Biden’s previous policies and actions (or lack thereof) in his time in the U.S. government. Much of the debate from this point followed a similar outcome.

While trying to begin the next segment, Moderator Page accidently called Senator Harris by her first name, which caused some awkward laughter and a quick apology. For me, it was one of several moments of the debate that set it apart from the previous one, and was a nice moment of respite.

The debate moved onto the topic of a coronavirus vaccine. When asked whether she would take a vaccine, Senator Kamala Harris said she would only do so if medical professionals approved of this, not if President Trump said so. Vice President Pence quickly pounced on the opportunity to turn that against her by asking Harris to “stop playing politics with people’s lives.”

While this was an incredibly effective debate tactic, it revealed the partisan nature of what should be a bipartisan issue. Medical experts are held to a higher standard than politicians, as they enter their profession under the hippocratic oath. It’s unthinkable that a vaccine would be effective, mass-produced and supported

by President Trump without the backing of trustworthy medical professionals.

H oweve r, Senator Harris’ words

CE PRESIDENTS were still in the best interests for the American people, as she only made it clear that she doesn’t trust a “Trump” vaccine, but a vaccine supported by experts.

This was our first glimpse at a series of meaningless partisan jabs that were only a reminder of how divided the nation has recently become.

Whether Trump or Biden is elected, they will be the oldest presidents in America’s history. When asked if they had spoken with their running mate about presidential disability, both candidates managed to completely dodge the question. Vice President Pence dedicated all of his time to attacking Senator Harris’ distrust in the Trump vaccine and Biden’s handling of the swine flu in 2009, while the senator gave a touching, but completely unrelated, background of the long road she’s traveled down to become Biden’s running mate.

It’s funny how the only time the opponents aren’t at each other’s necks is when they are both trying to avoid answering a question.

Pence answered the next question about whether voters deserve to know the health of the President. He again opened his response with words of thanks, this time for the support and prayers the President received due to his contraction of the coronavirus.

He even went so far as to thank Senator Harris and former Vice President Biden for their wishes for the President’s recovery.

However, it’s hard to commend Pence for his respectfulness when he refused to follow debate guidelines, going overtime practically every time it was his turn to speak. It was commonplace in the debate to hear Page say “thank you Vice President Pence” two to five times before he would wrap up.

It should also be noted that he interrupted Senator Harris halfway through one of her responses for almost 35 seconds, causing her to say, “if you don’t mind letting me finish, we can then have a conversation.”

Later on in the debate, while talking about the supreme court vacancy, Pence pulled out the question everyone knew was coming: “Are you and Joe Biden going to pack the court if judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed?”

While Senator Harris answered the question with a little more grace than Biden did, her response did little to deny the

possibility of Democrats packing the court.

The debate ended with a powerful question from Brecklynn Brown, an eighth grader from Utah.

“If our leaders can’t get along, how are citizens supposed to get along?” she asked.

Surprisingly, Pence was the one to give a bipartisan answer, claiming that at the end of the debate, we are all Americans, citing the unique friendship between the late supreme court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Anthony Scalia.

Senator Harris was the one who ended up using the question to give an endorsement to her running mate, missing a fantastic opportunity to bring the nation together despite political differences.

While the importance of this election is understandable to both parties, it was disappointing to see that disconnect.

Despite these grievances, the vice presidential debate was much more bearable to watch than the presidential one, ironically enough.

OPINIONS

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the Texa Commu s Democ nication ratic Par Democr ty, believ s Director for ats finally es 2020 ta The Texa is the ye s Democ ke Texas back. ar ratic Par Democr ty is cam ats at th p e a ig lo for the D n c emocrati al, state, and fed ing for Texas er c “In 2020 , we’re tu Presidential nom al levels and inee Joe rning Tex Some ar B as blue,” ea Poppe sa iden.

“Democ little more skepti id. rats have cal. a long ro Carolyn a Barta, lo ngtime p d ahead of them Morning ,” olitical w News an riter at th d a retire Universit e Dallas d Southe y journa rn Metho lism pro outnumb fess dis ered in s tate gove or, said. “They ar t No Dem e way rnment.” ocratic p residenti over sinc al e Jimmy Carter in candidate has wo “Reagan n Texas 1976. was very, ve and a lot of people ry strong in Texa s in the 1 to the R during th 980 epu at Barta said blican party from time switched o s, ver . the Dem In 1978, ocratic p Republic a rty,” an was elec ted gove and HPHS alumn rnor of T us Bill C Republic exas lements an there, Ba to hold the offic and became the e in 104 first rta said, T yea ex Republic ans swep as became more rs. From t all state of a swin Senate s wide offi g state. eats in 1 ces and 998, and majority the state by 2002 in the Te they too xas Hou Since the k the se. n, totally co the Texas state g o ntrolled

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