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Central High School Zone Newspaper
State of the Union brings new promises Shelby Yancey Staff Writer
President Barak Obama gave the annual State of the Union Address entitled “Winning the Future” back in January. Some students watched the address such as junior Samantha Stromyer, who said, “I thought it was good, a lot of good points about supporting our country and doing what’s best for the people.” Mark Johnson, senior, “watched the whole thing live.” He said that, “most of it was about education and job creation and how those two are created, a little bit of infrastructure…that part was particularly good. It was really uplifting if anything, it defiantly gave a good message.” The president introduced the speech with the statement: “It’s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation.” This year both parties sat mixed, as opposed to sitting on opposite sides of the room. Johnson said he thought it was amusing, and a good idea. He cited social studies teachers talking about how representatives used to “hang out,” and really cooperate outside of their jobs. Teacher Jeff Long told his US government class that older politicians would agree; one of the problems in modern politics is the lack of relation-
ships between politicians. The president future is ours to win. we can’t just stand Kennedy told us, gift. It is an achievethe American Dream about standing pat. It generation to sacrifice, meet the demands of a new it. Over the next 10 of all new jobs will education that goes beyond a
continued with, “The But to get there, still. As Robert ‘the future is not a ment.’ Sustaining has never been has required each and struggle, and age… Think about years, nearly half require
Volume 8 Issue 5 Page 3
high school education. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren’t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us –as citizens, and as parents –- are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.” Stromyer said, “Creating jobs, that’s what our country should be focusing on.” Johnson pointed out the President’s emphasis on “investing” in education, and later on freezing all spending, where as both cannot be simultaneously accomplished. Johnson quoted Fox News saying, “Beware of the word investment - it means more spending.” Senior Jonathan Dedman commented on a fear on government spending, especially when it comes to health care. “He’s talking about giving free health care. That’s just taking money out of taxpayers [budget]; it’s really not the government’s place to do something like that. It’s the right of the people to and work to get their own, not to pay for everyone else. The idea that the government shouldn’t control so much, it’s not their place to fix everything.” Although controversy existed between parties over the stances of the address, few could disagree with the closing statement: “The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice.” Photo courtesy of www.treehugger.com
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