how our senators voted

4

Issues

February 5, 2021

POLITICS

Surviving the siege

As the Capitol was attacked for hours by rioters Jan. 6, members of the community watched in shock online, desparate to see the scene unfold at the heart of our nation.

On Jan. 6, the first rioters broke into the Capitol.

It was 2:11 p.m., and Congress was meeting for a joint session in the chamber of the House of Representatives to tally the state election results and finalize the results of the Electoral College.

The rioters began gathering in front of the building an hour before, and in that hour, the world watched as the Capitol of the United States of America was breached.

Among those many spectators were students from around the community, like Henry Morgan, president of the Political Forum Club. Morgan checked various news outlets between classes and watched for new developments during his free periods, anxious to hear updates from the Capitol.

“This was during the week when we were doing online school, so I was in the middle of a free period on the couch with my mom,” Morgan said. “We were just watching and talking about it, and were like ‘This is horrifying.’”

Morgan was disgusted by the scene he saw — rioters crashing through police barricades and dueling police in riot gear at the steps of the Capitol. Just moments before, members of Congress debated whether or not they would certify Arizona’s vote in the presidential election.

“It’s terrible — but not surprising — considering some of the rhetoric from the past few years that has come from President Trump,” Morgan said. “When he said the election results weren’t legit, obviously they were furious about that.”

He also thinks that, while the scene at the Capitol was despicable, the aftermath has provided a path for unity. Moreover, the incident stimulated Congress’s working late into the night to finish the work they had begun that morning.

“For the nation, this settled things in a way,” Morgan said. “If you think about all the senators — Republican senators — who said before the riot that they were going to object to the election results, a lot of them withdrew their objections after the riots out of respect for what had happened.”

In the Political Forum’s meeting Jan. 13, Morgan led members in a discussion about the Capitol riots and the resulting aftermath, including Twitter and Facebook’s ban of President Trump’s accounts on their platforms.

“We talked specifically before about former-President Trump being banned from social media.” Morgan said. “We were debating whether or not it was a violation of the First Amendment. In my opinion, it’s really obviously not because these are private companies, and you agree to their terms and conditions before you use their private service.”

Originally, he had planned another topic for discussion, but ultimately decided to discuss social media as it seemed a more relevant topic for the student group.

“We mainly focused on whether or not it was a violation of the First Amendment,” Morgan said. “I originally wanted to talk about if he should be impeached, but I ended up changing my mind on that.”

Despite the debates, there was no full agreement made by the group.

“I really wish there was a resounding agreement,” Morgan said, “but I can’t say there was one. At this point I think we can all agree that President Biden is more civil. Maybe now that the Trump years are over, we can unite a bit more.”

STORY Jack Davis, Keshav Krishna ARTWORK Cooper Cole

CLIMBIMG THE WALL

Just outside the Capitol rioters were seen massing at the entrances to the building, scaling walls to avoid police in riot gear and carrying signs and flags, including a Trump 2020 flag.

A full election process

• Ballots are cast across the nation on Election Day • Election may be contested in the state or in court • The electoral college meets and cast their votes • The electoral college vote is then sent to Congress • Congress certifies or objects to the votes from each state and tallies a final vote

211

Republicans

2

Independents

48

Democrats

221

Democrats

3

vacancies

50

Republicans

By the numbers

23

Texas Respublicans in the House

13

Texas Democrats in the House

2

Texas senators

117TH CONGRESS After Georgia’s runoff elections Jan. 5, Democrats secured control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, with the help of the independent members and Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote.

Texas Senators’ VOTES

How did the Texas’ senators vote during the election confirmation Jan. 6?

Ted Cruz Senator (R)

Objected Virginia Electoral College Vote Objected Pennsylvania Electoral College Vote

Yes

John Cornyn Senator (R)

Objected Virginia Electoral College Vote Objected Pennsylvania Electoral College Vote

No by Keshav Krishna

Eighth-grader Akash Manickam claimed swift victory in the Middle School Spelling Bee, held during community time Jan. 20.

Manickam emerged as the winner after only one round, facing off against finalists seventh-grader Enzo Henry and sixthgrader Michael Chang. After classroom-level competitions, the finalists were determined in the preliminary bee held on Jan. 13.

“Everyone in that bee was very talented and very qualified,” Manickam said. “I knew that they all had studied hard. I was prepared for a long round, so I was relieved and extremely proud when I won.”

Manickam believes keeping his mind clear was critical to his performance.

“I was just telling myself that I should not stress out about it,” Manickam said. “I should stay calm because stressing out would have just put unnecessary pressure on myself.”

This mindset also shaped Manickam’s preparation for the contest.

“I didn’t prepare much,” Manickam said. “I didn’t go over the word list for hours on end because I knew that if I did that it would add unnecessary stress. I mainly went with my gut on a lot of the words.”

Humanities Department Chair Danielle Clayton organized this year’s spelling bee contest, which differed slightly from previous years due to COVID-19 safety precautions.

“Classroom spelling bees were conducted in a hybrid manner,” Clayton said. “The preliminary bee was held in the Graduate Hall, where each student had his own table and was sociallydistanced. The remote students were piped in via Teams.”

In addition to these changes, the competition also featured an acorn trophy, something Clayton hopes will become a new tradition.

“My son and I used to collect acorns,” Clayton said. “I like their symbolism of strength and potential.”

Manickam will compete digitally in the district spelling bee in a couple of weeks. Should he advance, he will compete in the regional competition in March. Clayton likes Manickam’s chances.

“Akash is a very intelligent young man,” Clayton said. “I am sure he will do well.”

Manickam hopes the same mindset and process that helped him win the school round will carry him through the district bee.

“I’m following the same routine from the Middle School bee,” Manickam said. “I pride myself on having high expectations, so I want to do well.”