Democracy in The High Country 2017

NOV.

2

2017

Nov., 2, 2017

THE TEAM Sydney Spann @spanooo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Olivia Wilkes @theappalachian ADVISER

EDITORIAL

BUSINESS

MULTIMEDIA

Victoria Haynes @victoriahayness MANAGING EDITOR

Q Russell @Q_M_Russell OPINION EDITOR

Jonathan Mauldin @MauldinJonathan GRADUATE ASSISTANT

Maleek Loyd @maleekstuff VISUAL MANAGING EDITOR

Halle Keighton @halle_keighton PHOTO EDITOR

Reilly Finnegan @reillyfinn CHIEF COPY EDITOR

Adrienne Fouts @adriennefouts A&E EDITOR

Bradley Workman @Brad_Workman BUSINESS MANAGER

Nora Smith @noraagracee GRAPHICS EDITOR

Jamie Patel @jptalksfooty VIDEO EDITOR

Tyler Hotz @TylerHotz15 IN-DEPTH EDITOR

Ben Sessoms @BenSessoms NEWS EDITOR

Braxton Coats @brxcoats22 WEB MANAGER

Jason Huber @_JasonHuber SPORTS EDITOR MARKETING DIRECTOR

T H E COV E R: Special illustrations depicting several stories within our political issue by graphics editor Nora Smith.

CRIME LOG CAMPUS OCT. 29

OCT. 27

6:13 p.m. | Underage Consumption of Alcohol Justice Hall Closed

2:35 a.m. | 24 Hour Hold Belk Library Complex N/A

OCT. 29 7:50 p.m. | Possession of Marijuana East Hall Closed

OCT. 28 2:17 a.m. | Drug Violations — Possessing/Concealing Lovill Hall Closed

OCT. 27 1 p.m. | Harassment Belk Library Complex Further Investigation

OCT. 27 4:43 p.m. | Lost Property Raley Parking Lot N/A

2

OCT. 27 1:27 a.m. | Medical Cone Hall Closed

OCT. 27 1:54 a.m. | Possessing/ Concealing Stolen Property Rivers Street N/A

OCT. 23 1:06 a.m. | Welfare Check Outside Justice Hall Closed

OCT. 23 4:44 p.m. | Welfare Check East Hall Closed

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 Ford crossover SUV 5 Fawning flattery 10 Void partner 14 Melt fish 15 Surrounding glows 16 Pennsylvania city subject to lakeeffect snow 17 Where to find 37-Across 20 Go hog-wild 21 Gardener’s transplant 22 Penn of “Harold & Kumar” films 23 U.N. workers’ gp.

24 Where to find 37-Across 33 Table spreads 34 Ostrich kin 35 “__ rule ... ” 36 Clutter-free 37 Road trip troubles ... and what can be found in 17-, 24-, 43- and 57Across 39 Piedmont bubbly 40 Nine-time NHL All-Star 41 Walk or run 42 Cathedral areas 43 Where to find 37-Across 47 Map line: Abbr.

48 Kendrick Lamar’s genre 49 Greek vowels 52 Send up 57 Where to find 37-Across 60 Popular jeans 61 “Once Upon a Time in China” star 62 Attitude 63 White-tailed seabird 64 Dutch painter of “The Drawing Lesson” 65 Poker buy-in DOWN 1 Abbr. in an abbreviated list 2 Con 3 Pest you might slap 4Bii h

5 South Pacific islander 6 Oaty breakfast mix 7 Obama Education secretary Duncan 8 Traitor 9 [Yawn] 10 Cell using a synapse 11 Bear in the sky 12 Willingly 13 For fear that 18 Tips for dealers 19 Checks figures intently?

23 Post-op sites 24 Dismissive words 25 Last Olds off the line 26 Furnish with more weapons 27 One of four in Mississippi 28 Under, poetically 29 Clock-setting std.

30 Italian Renaissance poet 31 Aromatic compound 32 Jack up 37 Ramadan ritual 38 Fleur-de-__

By Peg Slay

39 Germane 41 Grate together, as teeth 42 Mold that’s cold 44 Slide by 45 Big name in databases 46 Has leftovers, say 49 Daysail destination 50 Terminer’s partner, in law

51 Feds under Ness 52 Place to build 53 Parks whose famous bus is in the Henry Ford Museum 54 Shah’s former land 55 Fragrant peel 56 Cato’s “to be” 58 a.m. beverages 59 Fishing aid

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

xwordeditor@aol.com

11/02/17

PHOTO E S S AY

voter turnout

ASU students gather on Sanford Mall to celebrate the campus voting site on Oct. 26. After a difficult battle in the courts, Appalachian students secured the right to vote in this year’s municipal elections on campus Oct. 25.

Mickey Hutchings│

T

hanks to the hard work of community leaders, political figures and student activists, Appalachian students will have an early voting site in the Plemmons Student Union

for this year’s municipal election in Boone. After a difficult battle in the N.C. court system, App students got word of the status of their voting site last Wednesday evening. In response, the Watauga County Democratic Party and Ap-

Lee Franklin, member of App’s College Democrats, speaking at the on-campus voting site celebration last Thursday on Sanford Mall. Franklin thanked the several community members who helped secure Appalachian student’s ability to vote on-campus in the municipal election.

palachian State’s College Democrats organized phone banks to spread the word and held a rally on Sanford Mall the following day in celebration. At the rally, several prominent supporters for the voting site spoke, such as Pam

ASU students, community leaders and town council candidates mingling on Sanford Mall Oct. 26 during the celebration of the on-campus voting site.

Members of the Watuaga County Democratic Party making calls to Boone residents to encourage them to vote early last Wednesday night at their downtown headquarters. Phonebanking was the primary get-out-the-vote intiative utilized by the Democratic party during this election.

Mickey Hutchings

@TheAppalachian│Staff @ Photographer

Williamson of Pam’s Picks, Lee Franklin of the College Democrats and Student Body President Anderson Clayton. Clayton gave a moving speech about the importance of student voices in local elections, especially in Boone.

The population of Boone is approximately 18,000 people. The student body, over 19,000, outnumbers the population of Boone for about 75 percent of the year.

Several members of the Watauga County Democratic Party phonebanking and making posters last Wednesday night at their headquarters located on King Street. The party has been making strides to enourage Boone citizens to vote in the municipal election through their nightly phonebanks.

App State student and member of the Watuaga County Democratic Party, Amanda Lago, making a sign to celebrate the securing of an on-campus voting site for Appalachian students at the party’s headquarters last Wednesday night.

App State’s Student Body President, Anderson Clayton, speaking at the on-campus voting site celebration on Sanford Mall last Thursday. Clayton emphasized the importance of student’s input in local elections.

3

NEWS

Early voting in the student union began on Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Ballroom and remains an available voting location until Nov. 3.

EARLY VOTING SITE REMAINS ON CAMPUS Christina Beals│

W

ith no more than a week before municipal voting sites open their doors on Nov. 2, the North Carolina Court of Appeals officially ordered on Oct. 25 for Appalachian State to be able to designate an early voting site on campus.

According to the Watauga Democrat, the battle for on-campus early voting was picked up Oct. 19. N.C. Court of Appeals clerk Daniel M. Horne Jr. signed a court order meant to prevent an Oct. 16 order, created by Wake County Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley II,

allowing Appalachian State to place an early voting site at the Plemmons Student Union.

The prevention motion was originally filed by Watauga County Board of Elections Chairman Bill Aceto. It concerned the case brought forward by fellow member Stella Anderson, which proposed that Appalachian would have an early voting site in addition to the original courthouse site.

According to High Country Press, the quest for early voting for Appalachian State’s campus started in September when Anderson and Republican Nancy Owen voted for a one-stop voting site on campus, but fellow

@christinalala_│Intern @ News Reporter

Board of Elections member Bill Aceto did not vote in favor.

The decision to the proposition was not unanimous, and was brought to the State Board of Elections.

“Since the State Board is currently vacant, I petitioned the Wake County Superior Court for adoption of the plan for a campus early voting site,” Anderson said.

The board was recreated through Gov. Cooper’s lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the recent law.

According to Anderson, the petition was granted by Wake County Judge Graham Shirley II which was then appealed by

Bill Aceto to the N.C. Board of Appeals.

Thus, Aceto’s appeal for a temporary hold on on-campus early voting was put in place until a three-judge Court of Appeals panel could discuss the legalities.

“Granting the temporary stay until the matter can be further considered and a permanent stay granted or denied is, I understand, the usual practice,” Anderson said.

In a turn of events, however, the N.C. Court of Appeals released an official order on Oct. 25 which stated that Aceto’s hold for on-campus early voting has been denied in time for the

municipal early voting.

“The [voter] turnout so far at the courthouse has been very low. I would expect that the overall participation in the town of Boone elections will increase with a campus site,” Anderson said. “In fact, the town of Boone requested a campus early voting site for that very reason: to increase voter participation in the town of Boone elections.”

On-campus early municipal voting began Oct. 26 in the Blue Ridge Ballroom of the Plemmons Student Union from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and went on until Oct. 27. The last day for early voting is Friday.

SGA HOSTS MUNICIPAL ELECTION FORUM Jackie Park│

A

ppalachian State’s Student Government Association hosted a forum for the candidates for Boone mayor and Boone Town Council on Oct. 17.

During the forum, the seven participants were each allowed to make an opening statement. Each candidate was then asked five identical questions followed by three yes-or-no questions and were all allowed to make a closing statement. Nick Williams, the director of external affairs for the Student Government Association, acted as moderator.

4

Rennie Brantz, current mayor of Boone, is running unopposed. For Boone Town Council, there are six candidates running for three seats.

Each candidate was asked about a number of issues, ranging from thoughts on police reform to their feelings on the no-skateboarding ordinance and if whether they believed this was a good or bad idea.

The town council candidates at the forum were Charlotte Mizelle, Sam Furgiuele, Connie Ulmer, Jeannine Collins, Quint David and Marshall Ashcraft.

@jackiempark│News Reporter

All of them said that they endorsed sustainability and protecting our mountains, that more housing should be provided from the university and that there should be a compromise reached within the skateboard restrictions in town.

When talking about the possibility of Boone becoming a sanctuary city, all but Collins and Brantz responded “yes” with Ashcraft siding with both yes and no.

Additionally, when asked about public/private partnerships in order to create more housing and parking, Collins said that this is the answer to

our housing problem, but the key is finding the right partner. David, Ashcraft, Brantz and Mizelle all agreed that this is the way to go but to tread with caution. However, Furgiuele and Ulmer disagreed by saying that they were suspicious of privatization and the money involved. All agreed that there needs to be a solution to the ever-growing problem of housing on campus.

This forum was put on by the Student Government Association in order to allow candidates a space to discuss a variety of issues that affect students and res-

idents in the town of Boone, according to the forum’s Facebook event page.

“By attending this forum, I definitely was able to make a better decision on three candidates who I want to vote to represent the town of Boone in town council,” Anastasia Swanson-boyd, a sophomore political science major and SGA senator, said. “Before attending the event I only knew basic facts about the candidates, whereas now I can make a constructive decision on who I believe best to occupy those positions.”

File Photo

NEWS

MOVING MONEY: WHO SUPPORTED WHO Moss Brennan│

Virginia Foxx (R-5th Congressional District) Foxx has won all eight of her elections raising $4,938,496 in campaign contributions. Her top five contributors are American Bakers Association ($39,000); AT&T Inc. ($35,000); UPS ($34,000); Branch Banking and Trust ($29,329) and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors ($27,500).

Thom Tillis (R-NC) Tillis has run in five races for public office and won all of them raising $12,360,919 in campaign contributions.

He has donated a total of $307,451 to his campaign over the years. His top five contributors are the Thom Tillis Campaign Committee ($163,540); National Republican Senatorial Committee ($45,400); Bank of America ($27,500); Friends for an American Majority ($25,360) and Duke Energy ($24,500).

Richard Burr (R-NC) Burr has run for office twice winning both elections and raising a total of $25,466,953 in campaign contributions. His top contributors are Richard Burr Campaign Committee ($1,385,994); Burr N.C. Victory Fund ($179,792); Americans United for Freedom ($137,507); National Republican Senatorial Committee ($89,400) and Burr Toomey Victory Fund ($79,943).

Gov. Roy Cooper (D) Cooper has run for office seven times and won all seven raising a total of $31,315,179 in campaign contributions. His top five contributors are the North Carolina Democratic Party ($5,166,967); North Carolina Advocates for Justice ($36,718); Mack Braswell Pearsall ($35,534); Jerry L. Woodsworth ($32,650) and Bank of America ($30,100).

Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest (R) Forest has run for office two times winning both elections and raising a total of $3,016,135 in campaign contributions. His top five contributors are the North Carolina Republican Party ($96,561); Hal Weatherman ($33,343); Daniel James Forest ($31,690); Alexandra L. Henson ($24,100) and David Longo ($22,200).

Deanna Ballard (R-45th District) State Senator Ballard has run for office once winning the election and raising $95,237 in campaign contributions. Her top five contributors are North Carolina Republican Senate Caucus ($20,655); Alexandra L. Henson ($5,100); Thomas P. Lutz ($5,100); SARAHPAC ($5,000) and Melvin Graham ($5,000).

Jonathan Jordan (R) N.C. House of Representatives Jordan has run for office four times winning all four elections and raising a total of $941,674 in campaign contributions. His top five contributors are the North Carolina Republican Party ($427,062); North Carolina Association of Realtors ($21,600); Timothy Keith “Tim” Moore Campaign for Committee ($16,800); Watauga County Republican Central Committee of North Carolina ($16,500) and Stam for House ($16,000).

@mosbren│Opinion Writer

to the Obama campaign in 2012, and $200 to Walter H. Dalton when he ran for governor and lost.

Loretta Clawson Clawson has given $1,080 to nine different filers since 1996. She gave $25 to Dennis A. Wicker in 1996 when he ran for lieutenant governor and won. In 2000 she gave Elaine F. Marshall $200 when she ran for secretary of state and won. Clawson gave $25 to Beverly Perdue when she ran for lieutenant governor and won in 2004. In 2008, 2010 and 2012, Clawson gave a total of $325 to Cullie Tarleton when Tarleton ran for House District 93. Tarleton won in 2008 but lost in 2010 and 2012. Clawson gave Steve Goss $100 when he ran for Senate District 45 in 2010 and lost. She gave $30 to Linda McGee when she ran for the appellate court seat in 2012 and won. In 2012 she gave $25 to Roy James Carter when he ran for Senate District 45 and lost. She also gave $125

to Walter H. Dalton in 2012 when he ran for governor and lost. In 2014, Clawson gave $100 to both Percilla Counts, House District 93, and Eugene James Sponenberg, Senate District 45. They both lost their elections. In 2016, she gave $25 to Roy Cooper when he ran for governor and won.

Charlotte Mizelle Mizelle has given a total of $250 to two different filers since 2012. She gave $100 to Elaine F. Marshall when she ran for secretary of state and won in 2012.

She also gave Janice Murray Mills $150 when she ran for House District 25 and lost in 2012.

L.D. Hagaman, sheriff Hagaman has given a total of $200 to two different filers since 2012. He gave $100 to Samuel James Ervin IV when he ran for an open seat in the supreme court and won in 2014. Hagaman also gave $100 to Walter H. Dalton in 2012 when he ran for gover-

nor and lost.

Board of Elections: Bill Aceto, chairman Aceto has given a total of $975 to six different filers. He has given a total $325 to Pat McCrory when he ran for governor in 2012 as well as 2016. In 2016, Aceto gave $100 to Jonathan Christian Jordan when he ran for House District 93, $100 to Philip Edward Berger Sr., $100 to Deanna Marie Ballard and $250 to Eldon Sharpe Newton III. McCrory and Newton were the only two candidates that he donated to who lost in 2016.

Stella Anderson, member Anderson has given a total of $450 to one filer. She gave $250 to Sue Counts in 2014 and then $200 in 2016.

Counts lost both elections for House District 93.

Information could not be found on Quint David, a candidate for town council, or Nancy Owens, secretary.

Mayor: Rennie Brantz Brantz has given a total of $925 to four different filers since 2010. He gave $150 in 2010 and $150 in 2012 to Cullie Tarleton. Tarleton lost both elections for house district 93. Brantz gave $25 to Roy James Carter in 2012 when Carter ran for Senate District 45 and lost. He gave $100 to Percilla Counts in 2014 when Counts ran for House District 93 and lost.

Brantz gave $500 to Joshua H. Stein in 2016 when he ran for attorney general and won.

Town Council: Jeannine Collins Collins has given a total of $2,100 to three different filers since 2008. She gave a total of $1,000 to Marc Basnight who ran in 2008 for Senate District 001 and gave $200 when he ran for the same position in 2010. Basnight won both elections.

Collins gave $500 to Walter H. Dalton in 2008 where he won the lieutenant governor position and gave him $250 in 2012 where he ran for governor and lost. She gave Percilla Counts $150 when she ran for House District 93 in 2016.

Lynne Mason Mason has given $450 to three different filers since 2008. She gave $200 to Beverly Perdue in 2008 when Perdue ran for governor and won. Mason also gave $50

5

NEWS

Ray Russell speaking to a small audience of supporters. Russell annouced his candidacy for the 93rd district of the N.C. House on Oct. 10 at Lost Province.

RAY OF RAY’S WEATHER CENTER FORMS POLITICAL PLATFORM O Jackie Park│

n Oct. 10, Appalachian State’s own Ray Russell, a professor of computer science and founder of raysweather.com, announced his candidacy to represent N.C. House District 93.

Russell has seen many careers, first as a minister in a poverty-stricken county in Mississippi, then working with NASA designing commercial cockpits and now as a professor and weatherman.

Because of his experiences, Russell said he believes he has created a name for himself and could do well in representing both Ashe and Watauga counties.

“I’ve lived here for 26 years,

6

but in many ways, I’ve been the face of this region for 17 years,” Russell said. “[Ray’s Weather] has put me in a fairly unique position. I have spoken over the last 17 years in almost every school across [Watauga and Ashe] counties. I have met people at festivals and talks, at schools and civic organizations related to Ray’s Weather.”

One of Russell’s primary concerns is human decency.

“In modern history, the level of trying to scapegoat groups, trying to disenfranchise people, trying to slice and dice the electorate and the nature of the conversation has become so ugly, so rude and so disjoint from real issues,” Russell said. “In many cases, people have been so ugly

@jackiempark│News Reporter

in their campaigns that it puts them in a position where they cannot effectively lead as elected officials. Twenty years ago, there were issues, but they didn’t cross the line to the point that they couldn’t pivot and make a legitimate case of leading and uniting people.”

Russell said that his other goals include education reform, economic development and justice and respect for all people.

Within education reform, Russell said that early childhood education is fundamental to the rest of students’ careers and that funding has been cut far too much for teachers and their assistants and that college tuition should be cut, but with a plan.

In economic development,

Russell said that he aims to stimulate job growth, limit job displacement and reduce the level of debt of college students, hoping to bring a sort of educational triangle to Western North Carolina, mirroring the Research Triangle of Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham.

In regards to justice and respect for all people, Russell said that both House Bill 2 and gerrymandering have hindered our ability to create unity within North Carolina.

Regardless of the disruption of solidarity in North Carolina, Russell said that at the core, its citizens are good.

“The heart of North Carolina is ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’” Russell said. “In the com-

ing campaign and eventually in the North Carolina House of Representatives, I’ll live out that principle by demonstrating respect, listening to voices and leading with innovation and skill.”

Summarizing his platform and goals, Russell said: “The best we can hope for is to keep the needle moving forward and find a way to make it better. It’s so easy to criticize, whether it’s poverty or [another problem]. They are complex issues and to set up a straw man and claim that the metric is curing something, that’s ludacris.

You’re not going to cure those problems. They’ve been around since the beginning of time, but you can find ways to make it better.”

Mickey Hutchings

NEWS

Boone Town Councilwoman Lynne Mason is up for re-election this term. Along with her involvement with town council since 2001, she also works at Lost Province Brewing Co. on Depot Street.

LYNNE MASON’S ADVICE TO VOTERS Anna Dollar│

L

ynne Mason, Boone’s mayor pro tempore, has been serving on the town council since 2001.

While she is not running for any positions this year, she will remain in her position on the board after the election.

“I think one of our biggest issues is managing responsible growth and development while

protecting the small town feel that we have,” Mason said. “That ties over into working closely with Appalachian State because Appalachian helps drive some of the growth, especially with the increase of student enrollment, and so we have a really good working relationship with Appalachian.”

Mason takes the lives of students at Appalachian into a great deal of consideration. Since she

@Anna_Carr│News Reporter

serves on the town’s affordable housing committee, she said she wants to find adequate, affordable housing for students and non-students throughout Boone.

Mason said that the big complexes are market-driven, which can be a big burden to students.

Mason also said that she likes the idea of having students live closer to campus for their own convenience and to help with sus-

tainability in Boone.

“I am a big believer in making our community more multi modal,” Mason said. “We are actually working with a group of Appalachian students on skate boards, looking at human powered transportation as an alternate means of transportation. That could be bikes, inline skates, skateboards or scooters.”

While Mason is not a can-

didate this season, she said she hopes that the future mayor will also care about keeping up with Boone’s traditional, small town feeling along with how it is continuing to grow.

“I encourage people to read up on candidates and understand where they stand on issues and look at what they would be able to bring to the table in terms of part of solutions,” Mason said.

INTRODUCING THE N.C. GENERAL ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES Ella Shepherd│

T

he campaign for the North Carolina House District 93 seat has begun and the three candidates have started their campaigns.

The current representative, Jonathan Jordan, is being challenged for the position by Appalachian State professor Ray Russell and Robert Block, a junior political science major at Appalachian State University.

Ray Russell has taught computer science at Appalachian State for 26 years and also created his own website, raysweather.com, in 2002 and became a public figure.

His campaign website, rayfornc.com, describes his journey from professor to local weatherman to candidate for the N.C. District House seat.

At the Watauga County Democratic Rally on Sept. 30, Russell gave a speech announcing his plans for running.

Hunter Lynne Koch

After feeling angry in the wake of the presidential election, Russell said he believed that “there’s a thirst out there for something real, anything! Something decent and uplifting, anything! Something that transcends politics as we now know it.”

He was frustrated with the process that he felt Republicans used to write laws and described it with a metaphor.

“Bake the cake in the back room, put lots of nasty stuff in the middle, throw lots of icing on it and force it down our throats,” Russell said.

With the name recognition from Ray’s Weather, he felt that it was his responsibility to run for office and fight for what he thought was right.

Russell’s campaign is about change and understanding. He believes that politics should be less focused on taking down one’s opponents and more focused on respecting, listening

@ellakshep│Intern Opinion Writer

and leading.

While he is the only Democrat in this race, Russell is not the only one taking on Republican Jonathan Jordan.

App State student Robert Block announced his plan to run for office, focusing his campaign on improving education and moving to make North Carolina the first state that uses 100 percent clean energy.

Block grew up in a military family and at the age of 17 became the manager of a small business.

He said that he plans on using the skills and knowledge that he acquired from his job and from being a student at App State during his time in office.

On his website, robertblock4us.com, Block mentioned that he hates seeing North Carolina constantly disgraced in the media and said, “The state legislature in six years recruited a super majority of extreme far-

right politicians that only care about themselves. Only paying attention to their big donors, they leave constituents without a voice. The party should focus more on smart management, not petty party politics.”

Though he is the youngest candidate, he hopes that people will focus on his campaign and experience more than his age.

He finished his introduction of himself and said, “If you vote for me, I promise you will have a voice in Raleigh. I promise I will fight for everyone’s individual freedoms and their right to a higher standard of education.”

The third candidate running for office is the current representative Jonathan Jordan and he has currently held office for four terms.

One of Jordan’s main focuses during his initial campaign against Democrat Sue Counts was increased teacher pay and increased funding for schools. Ac-

cording to his Facebook page, Jonathan Jordan for North Carolina House of Representatives, he used his time in office to “increase funding for public schools by 18 percent and to give teachers a raise of over $10,000, the largest in state history.”

Jordan said he promised to continue his work with the education system if he continues to hold his current position.

According to High Country Press, Jordan plans to continue working on “tax reform, regulatory reform, working on jobs and the education system, teacher pay and per pupil spending.”

The election for North Carolina House of Representatives will take place in November 2018.

More information can be found at ballotpedia.org.

7

NEWS SAM FURGIUELE

Sam Furgiuele, former town of Boone attorney from 2001 to 2014, is running in this year’s municipal election for town council.

Furgiuele has resided in Boone with his wife, Peggy, since 1986 and has raised his three children here.

He also opened his own practice on King Street and worked in several legal areas before focusing on people wronged in Social Security disability benefits.

Furgiuele ultimately decided to run for town council and said it was his interest in public affairs that drove him to run.

Furgiuele said that his tenure as a former town attorney is a main factor in why he notices and cares so much about what is currently happening throughout Boone.

Furgiuele also said that the the design choices utilized throughout Boone have been affecting small, local businesses’ success.

“Small businesses do well, for certain. There has been a change of representation for some of these small businesses downtown, and some have had to file for bankruptcy, unfortunately, because they weren’t able to be successful downtown,” Furgiuele said. “This is unfortunate for the community, and I am definitely interested in helping with that.”

Furgiuele also said that he wants to create a new district devoted to apartments and small homes specifically for college students. He said that he wants these apartments to become more inviting to students by educating them on their rights as tenants.

–CHRISTINA BEALS, INTERN NEWS REPORTER

RENNIE BRANTZ

Rennie Brantz, current mayor of Boone, is running for re-election unopposed by any other candidate.

Prior to being mayor, Brantz taught history at Appalachian State from 1973 to 2005. Since 2005 he has served on the Boone Town Council.

In 2015, Brantz was quoted regarding his first mayoral run in the Watauga Democrat as saying, “My top goals will be representing Boone, helping develop our community agenda and interacting with all the citizens of Boone.”

In that same article in the Watauga Democrat, Brantz was quoted as talking about the primary role a mayor has over a town.

“I think the most important role comes in representing the town council and municipal government to the citizens of Boone,” Brantz said in the article. “In this role, the mayor acts as a lightning rod for citizen concerns and a spokesman for community priorities. Keeping Boone’s citizens informed and involved in municipal affairs is at the heart of this role.”

–BEN SESSOMS, NEWS EDITOR

QUINT DAVID

Quint David, current chair of the AppalCart, past town council member and alumnus of Appalachian State, is currently seeking his second term as a member of the town council.

“I’ve been committed to Boone for about 13 years now and I intend to stay here for however long it takes to make this the best town in the mountains that we can,” David said.

David said his primary focus is sustainability. However, he also wants to work on gentrification, job growth and planned growth.

“The biggest issue facing Boone right now is probably the way we divide our development standards is at odds with itself,” David said. “So, we want to maintain the small town feel, but when a majority of our workers and students live outside of town, what’s happening is a gentrification where only the wealthiest can come into town, afford apartments or afford to buy housing.”

David said that he believes that Boone is a great place but that we can all work together to make it better.

“I think we can make [Boone] better and something to really be proud of, not just the stores at King Street, but also the concrete mess that’s going down [highway] 321 right now,” David said. “I think we can do a lot better, and we have the opportunity to put things in place to do that.”

–JACKIE PARK, NEWS REPORTER

NEWS MARSHALL ASHCRAFT

After working for Watauga County Schools for 13 years as Public Information Officer, four years as executive director of the Children’s Council of Watauga County and 16 years in local government with the cities of Durham and Raleigh, Marshall Ashcraft has decided to give back to the community he has called home for two decades.

“I believe serving on the town council would be the place where I could do the most to keep Boone special for current and future residents,” Ashcraft said.

Ashcraft said that he feels that there are several important issues Boone is facing, but one stands out.

“The [issue] that rises to the top most often in the comments I hear is the challenge of handling growth, especially in multi-family housing marketed largely to students, while protecting our neighborhoods and the distinctive character of Boone,” Ashcraft said.

“We probably need to revisit the 2030 plan and our unified development ordinance to be sure we have the tools needed to ensure that new growth meets the needs of Boone without unacceptable tradeoffs.”

To accommodate the growth of the student population, Ashcraft said that Appalachian State should build more on-campus housing to drive down costs of apartments off-campus.

Ashcraft also said that he wants to improve wages for jobs in the county.

Although this is his first time running for elected office, Ashcraft said that his experience will suffice to guide him through the duties of having a seat.

–ANGELA MCLINTON, NEWS REPORTER

JEANNINE COLLINS

Jeannine Collins was appointed to the Boone Town Council in 2015 and she said she has loved every minute of it. In the upcoming municipal election, the Appalachian State graduate and owner and operator of a local real estate company is running for re-election on the council.

Collins said she believes that the biggest issue facing Boone right now is finding new revenue streams for the town without raising taxes. She said by encouraging the sale of government owned land to private entities, she believes it would bring in new revenue streams.

“The town likes working with local developers, local builders and local management companies, so I think working with them to find some of these solutions will help,” Collins said.

Collins is the chair of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts advisory board, an active former president of the Alumni Association and sponsors two university scholarships with her husband. In the past, Collins has been involved with the Yosef Club advisory board and was on the board of trustees from 2005 to 2013, serving as the chair from 2009 to 2013. “[She is] a consummate professional who is dedicated to improving the lives of the people in Boone,” Jim Deal, a former member of the board of trustees at Appalachian State, said. “She studies issues and arrives at well informed decisions.”

Collins said she believes that her transparency, integrity and honesty are the best things she has to offer voters.

–RACHEL GREENLAND, NEWS REPORTER

CONNIE ULMER

Connie Ulmer, a former Appalachian State professor in the Reich College of Education, is running for a seat on the town council.

On her campaign Facebook page, Ulmer said that she grew up in Chicago and moved to Boone 20 years ago to teach at Appalachian State.

“I chose to live in smaller communities to experience the peace and tranquility,” Ulmer said.

Ulmer also said on her campaign page that while the growth of Boone in recent years has been positive, there have been negative aspects as well.

“Boone has tripled its size, resources, population and its economic status, but at what cost?” Ulmer said.

Ulmer said that large-scale housing development projects have harmed both the student and nonstudent communities in Boone.

“The students are being charged outrageous rents for a single bedroom and are sometimes forced to share with roommates they don’t even know,” Ulmer said. “Housing has turned into places to dwell in, not homes to live in.”

Despite her concerns, Ulmer said on her campaign site that she is hopeful for Boone’s future.

“I have faith in our town and I know we can do better,” Ulmer said. “If we want to keep the hometown feeling most people come to Boone to experience, we need to initiate further conversations that benefit the whole town and embrace the neighborhood feeling that separates us from cities like New York and Chicago.”

–BEN SESSOMS, NEWS EDITOR

CHARLOTTE MIZELLE

After working for two years on the Boone Town Council, Charlotte Mizelle is running for reelection in hopes of continuing to improve the Boone community.

“I love working on the council,” Mizelle said. “I think people are better at jobs they enjoy doing and that’s exactly how I feel about working on the council.”

As Boone continues to grow with a larger student population, Mizelle said that the gentrification of the town needs to be controlled.

“We need family neighborhoods. We can’t have a town without them,” Mizelle said.

“Our economy should work for Boone, not against it.”

Mizelle said that she hopes that the town of Boone can grow to be more sustainable and offer jobs for Appalachian State graduates.

“When students go to App State, they love it so much that they want to stay, but the problem is there’s hardly any jobs in the area to be offered,” Mizelle said. “I want Boone to become an incubator for good, clean business.”

Mizelle said she wants to work to improve every aspect of Boone, such as building new apartment buildings and pledging for the town to become carbon-free by the year 2050.

“I’m going to keep working hard,” Mizelle said. “I love the town of Boone and want to make it a place that everyone else can love too.”

–ANNA MUCKENFUSS, INTERN NEWS REPORTER

Mickey Hutchings

OPINION

Blue Ridge Ballroom in the Plemmons Student Union was turned into an early voting site for students. Voting began on Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the ballroom remains an available voting location until Nov. 3.

WHAT EARLY VOTING IN THE UNION MEANS FOR ASU STUDENTS

O

n Oct. 26, members of the community, both old and young, gathered on Sanford Mall with the intention of protesting Watauga County Board of Elections member Bill Aceto. Aceto requested a stay of a Wake County Superior Court ruling allowing for the Plemmons Student Union to be used as an early voting site, in what has been an annual cause of political strife in Watauga County.

However, a last minute order from the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued on Oct. 25, denying Aceto’s appeal, changed the protestors’ agenda.

Unlike most, this gathering consisted of joyous speeches encouraging young people to get out and vote given by members of the Watauga Voting Rights Task Force and the Student Government Association.

Nick Williams, the SGA director of external affairs, opened the event and said, “It was a protest, now it is a celebration.”

Although this battle appears

10

Nate Fordyce is a freshman communication major from Chicago, Illinois. to have a happy ending, the road to establishing the student union as an early voting site was anything but simple and was fought until the very last minute.

Voting in the student union is nothing new, as it was used from 2006 up until 2014 when the Republican dominated Board of Elections voted 2-1 against any on-campus early voting sites. It happened again in 2016 after Chancellor Sheri Everts wrote directly to Aceto requesting the student union to be used for early voting.

This year, during a Watau-

ga Board of Elections meeting on Aug. 22, it seemed as if history was doomed to repeat itself when Aceto was able to kill the decision to utilize the student union as an early voting site.

Then, in what seemed like a beacon of light for this year’s early voting, Board of Elections member Democrat Stella Anderson petitioned an alternate plan for a one-stop on campus voting site, in which a Wake County Superior Court ruled in favor of on Oct. 12.

A week later, Aceto shut out that light by requesting a stay on the court ruling.

Having voted against early voting sites on campus since being on the Watauga Board of Elections in 2013, Aceto supports his argument with loose statistics and complaints of proximity to the Watauga Courthouse. In reality, his reasoning appears to be traced to a fear of college students who make up nearly one-third of the county’s population and their left-leaning views.

According to the Watauga

Democrat, the student union was the busiest early election site during the last presidential primary. The practicality paired with widespread knowledge of its location makes the student union an easily accessible location for college students, as well as Boone residents to cast their votes.

In a similar situation in 2014, Superior Court Judge Linda Stephens decided to move forward with an on-campus early voting site.

“The majority plan of the Watauga County Board of Elections on its face appears to have as a major purpose the elimination of an early voting site on the ASU campus,” Stephens said. “Based on this record, the court can conclude no other intent from that board’s decision other than to discourage student voting. A decision based on that intent is a significant infringement of students’ rights to vote and rises to the level of a constitutional violation of the right to vote.”

This voter suppression ex-

hibited by Aceto is nothing less than an infringement of the 26th Amendment which states, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.”

The fact that county officials are willing to scorn citizens’ constitutional rights in order to silence young voters should be reason enough to encourage people to get out and vote.

Voter suppression against young people has been a raging battle since the ‘70s and will continue to be a pressing issue for college students across the United States. What we can do as students of Appalachian State to combat this suppression is to participate in local level politics.

True democracy starts with members of the community taking action at a local level, so get out and cast your vote.

Halle Keighton

OPINION

HOW THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT AFFECTS @REALDONALDTRUMP

S

ince the Obama administration, social media has been one of the preferred methods of communicating official White House statements.

Using Twitter as a medium for relaying statements from the president can become controversial when tweets begin to be deleted and statements then become difficult to recover again. @POTUS is the official Twitter handle for President Donald Trump, but the majority of Twitter users know that @realDonaldTrump is the president’s preferred account.

Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, “The President is the President of the United States, so [his tweets are] considered official statements by the President of the United States,” on the topic of how Trump’s tweets should be examined, reported CNN. There was no clarification whether Spicer was referring to the official @POTUS account or Trump’s infamously more trafficked personal account.

According to the Presidential Records Act of 1978, offi-

Cartoon by Lindsey Wise

Kayla Smith is a freshman journalism major, from Concord, North Carolina. You can follow her on Twitter at @berkleys26. cial statements cannot be deleted unless they are properly archived first, the National Archives state.

The Presidential Records Act of 1978 also states that there is a distinction between the president’s personal records versus their presidential records, according to Politifact.

Since there is no distinction between Trump’s two Twitter accounts, it becomes more difficult to determine whether tweets from Trump’s personal account are considered personal or presidential.

Recently, Trump’s personal

Twitter account has been under scrutiny due to his tendency to delete tweets.

The controversy sparked when Trump tweeted in support of Republican Luther Strange during his campaign for senator of Alabama, PolitiFact reported.

When Strange lost the election, Trump deleted those tweets, and it is to be debated whether or not these tweets were for Trump’s personal or presidential campaign agenda, according to PolitiFact.

Should a record of those tweets be kept? Is it necessary to preserve those tweets based on the Presidential Records Act? When the motive behind Trump’s tweets becomes unclear, it in turn makes the archiving process unclear.

The Independent reported the deletion of another tweet from Trump’s personal account. This time, it was concerning his meeting, as the president, with senior military generals at his own resort, Mar-a-Lago, in Florida.

By deleting that tweet, Trump removed evidence of a meeting he had as the pres-

ident. This makes locating the record of such a meeting more difficult than if he had not erased his documentation of it.

David Ferriero, the head of National Archives, confirmed that the White House knows they should be capturing and archiving all of @realDonaldTrump posts, reported the Public Broadcasting Service.

PBS confirmed that the preservation of presidential records is up to the president and the White House counsel.

The White House has agreed to preserve Trump’s tweets, according to The Hill, but has not specified on the method by which they will be preserving his tweets.

Unfortunately, there is no way to “check up” on the White House. How do we know the strategy used for saving Trump’s tweets? How do we know that they are saving his tweets at all?

Social media, specifically Twitter, is monumental in the political sphere and Trump definitely tries to capitalize on it.

With the innovations of technology, nothing is ever actually deleted from the in-

ternet. It only takes a Google search to recover Trump’s deleted tweets, but that removes the integrity from his presidency.

Since 1981 and before social media, presidents have had to archive all statements regarding their presidency.

No one could simply click to delete, no one could remove ill-recieved posts and no one could “try again later” when they misspelled or misspoke.

In consonance with Time, if a statement was released on the White House’s website, no one would doubt the illegality of deleting that record. Why be so quick to dismiss the deletion of statements via a different medium?

The clear issue at hand is focused on the proper archiving, or lack thereof, behind Trump’s tweets. Trump deleting his posts is going to keep happening, but what he decides to remove from social media should be accounted for and not left as a destroyed presidential record.

11

OPINION

B

NEGATIVE NEWS CAUSES POLITICAL FATIGUE

etween white nationalist marches, ongoing revelations of blatant government corruption and the Republican Party’s new tax plan, I’m exhausted.

At this point in time it’s difficult to figure out just what to be outraged against because there is so much.

Lately, it seems like every five seconds there is another outrage to protest. I personally cannot remember a time in the last year when checking the news when I woke up didn’t induce some form of stress.

At this point, a single day without some form of incident would be an utter miracle.

Unfortunately, that probably will not happen anytime soon and, in all likelihood, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

The election of President Donald Trump was a turning point. Previously fringe beliefs that had been ignored and largely marginalized were suddenly given legitimacy.

In an interview with Charles

12

Q Russell is a junior journalism major from Charlotte, North Carolina. You can follow him on Twitter at @Q_M_Russell.

Bethea of The New Yorker about Trump’s election, Adam Domby, a professor of Southern History at the College of Charleston said: “We need to acknowledge that these beliefs have always been here and are not on the fringe. Now, people are just being open about it. They have taken off their hoods and are lighting their faces up for all to see with tiki torches. That’s a feeling of empowerment beyond measurement. No longer are they embarrassed or fearful of repercussions. In part, they see

their views as validated by the election.”

According to CNN, on Saturday, hundreds of white nationalists gathered in Shelbyville, Tennessee in a “White Lives Matter” rally.

While the second rally they planned in nearby Murfreesboro, Tennessee was canceled, this and the previous white nationalist rallies such as the one in Charlottesville, Virginia are distressing.

Not only are white nationalists emboldened to share their views publicly, but they are confident enough in them to march publicly.

Among the repercussions of Trump’s presidency, this is the worst by far.

A democratic congress could be elected and Trump and the rest of his ilk could be ousted and locked up, but that would not help.

America has a neo-Nazi problem and they won’t be ignored.

In addition to that, the Republicans in congress are trying to push through a tax overhaul bill that, according to the

nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, would redistribute three-quarters of savings to the top 20 percent of earners.

Furthermore, there is the fact that on Sept. 23, the Associated Press reported that the federal government told election officials in 21 states that hackers had targeted their systems before the 2016 presidential election.

This information came at a time when a special counsel, led by Robert Mueller, was and still is investigating potential coordination between Russia and associates of Trump, who vehemently denies this.

On the topic of Trump, it would be impossible to forget the near constant stream of lies coming from the president.

According to Politifact, 48 percent of what Trump publicly says is false, 21 percent is mostly false, 15 percent is only half true, 12 percent is mostly true and only 5 percent is true.

Combine all of these factors and more and it is no wonder that I and many others are exhausted.

It can be so discouraging to fight against this seemingly unstoppable tide of injustice and hate and sometimes it seems like it would be easier to turn a blind eye.

But, you can’t do that because then they would win and if they win, the “game” ceases to exist.

We all have to keep fighting, stay mad and stay outraged. Every time that they try to move the line in the sand, we have to push back twice as hard.

Every inch we lose sets us back 100 years, legitimizes them and lets them know that their hate and corruption is acceptable.

It tells the future that this is fine when it isn’t.

I’m going to keep fighting because it’s the right thing to do. I encourage everyone to do the same.

Cartoon by Lindsey Wise

OPINION

A THREAT TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

I

n the past several months, women’s reproductive rights have been placed under fire by the Trump administration.

The president recently issued a rule allowing employers to decide whether or not to provide birth control for women based on religious and moral dispositions.

According to a Chicago Tribune article, “The new regulation, issued by the Health and Human Services Department, allows a much broader group of employers and insurers to exempt themselves from covering contraceptives such as birth control pills on religious or moral grounds.”

This has the potential to leave a staggering amount of women without access to long-term contraceptives, which may not only increase the rate of unwanted pregnancy, but also have serious effects on women who take birth control to regulate medical problems.

Birth control can serve many purposes aside from contraception. Uses can range from easing menstrual cramps to treating ovarian cysts.

Endometriosis, for example, is a lifelong disease which causes the painful growth of uterine tissue on the exterior of the uterus or ovaries.

Endometriosis.org reported, “Studies indicate that women with minimal–mild endometriosis take longer to conceive (become pregnant) and are less likely to conceive than wom-

Hansen Dendinger is a freshman biology major from Waxhaw, North Carolina. You can follow her on Twitter at @HansenDendinger. en in general. For women with endometriosis, they may bind an ovary to the side of the pelvic wall, or they may extend between the bladder and the uterus, etc. Women with endometriosis describe the pain associated with adhesions as ‘stabbing, sharp, pulling, sickening, intense and nauseating.’”

Oral contraceptives provide the correct hormones to balance differences within the body, making birth control essential to the health of women afflicted with endometriosis.

“Whereas the cause of endometriosis remains unknown, we do know that the disease is exacerbated by oestrogen. Therefore, hormonal treatments for endometriosis are designed to attempt to temper oestrogen production in a woman’s body,” Ros Wood, a long-time advocate for women’s health, wrote on endometriosis.

org.

On its own, birth control is expensive, especially for high school and college-aged girls.

“Without insurance, the most reliable methods are costly – long-acting reversible contraceptives range from $500-$1,000, and the birth control pill or patch ranges from $160-$600/year,” the Charlotte Observer reported.

As the number of unwanted pregnancies grows, the current administration will only make it harder for women to take control of their bodies. Attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and ban other outlets for safe abortions also threaten the reproductive rights of women.

“During Trump’s first reckless weeks in office, he greatly accelerated the attacks on abortion rights that have already been underway for four decades—with the aim of overturning legal abortion altogether,” Sharon Smith, an editor for the IRS Review, wrote in an article.

“Women bear the emotional, physical, and ultimately the financial burden of carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term,” Smith continued. “This is the reason why, when abortion is illegal, women risk their lives to have abortions, for the sake of their own and their families’ survival.”

There is still hope for the coverage of birth control in the states.

However, governors and other representatives still have the power to protect reproductive

rights in their own states.

“State legislatures can require that insurers cover birth control without a co-pay; four states already have such a requirement.

States can protect family planning by increasing their support for these programs,” The New York Times’ Editorial Board wrote.

If Trump’s regulation remains in action, it will be up to the states to protect the rights of their female citizens.

Birth control is an essential part of women’s health, and frankly, the government has no business barring it no matter what women use it for.

People of religious backgrounds who oppose contraceptives and abortions do not have to partake in expressing their rights to reproduction, but should not restrict others from their medical rights and the ability to control their bodies.

“Sexual rights embrace human rights that are already recognised in national laws, international human rights documents and other consensus statements,” Vicci Tallis, a writer for the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa, wrote.

Tallis continued and said, “They include the right of all people to have the highest attainable standard of sexual health, including the right to access sexual health care services; seek, receive and impart information related to sexuality; positive and in-

Uses for oral birth control

31% – Cramps/Menstrual pain 28% – Menstrual regulation 14% – Treatment of acne 4% – Endometriosis

82%

of women aged 15-19 began using birth control for noncontraceptive purposes

clusive sexuality education; respect for bodily integrity; be able to choose their partner(s); decide to be sexually active or not; have consensual sexual relations; decide when, if and whom to marry; decide whether or not, and when, to have children; and, pursue a satisfying, safe and pleasurable sexual life.”

Compromising the rights of women not only endangers their health, but impedes on the freedoms that all women deserve in order to live a life as active and strong individuals.

CONSERVATIVES NEED BOLD IDEAS

R

epublicans have a millennial problem. According to a recent poll

by NBC News, only 26 percent of millennials have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, and only 21 percent of millennials approve of President Donald Trump’s job performance.

Many Republicans assume that young people are always more liberal and will eventually support Conservatives as they grow older, but I don’t think that is the case.

Republicans and Conservatives are not failing among millennials because millennials are liberal, but because they haven’t come up with any big ideas.

What is different from the Republican agenda now than 30 years ago? It is still the same arguments and same solutions: lower taxes and lower spending. While these are the backbone of conservative policy, they are not solutions in and of themselves.

Even worse, where Republican

Eric Cunningham is a senior journalism major from Hickory, North Carolina. You can follow him on Twitter at @DEricCunningham. policy is different, such as in the newfound opposition to free trade, it is a stance millennials don’t like.

According to a YouGov poll, only 12 percent of millennials think free trade deals are a bad thing.

Republicans are not appealing to millennials because their message has not changed to adjust to the information age. Republicans have been content to cede entire states and cities rather than craft in-

novative, free-market policy solutions to help their problems. This has to end.

So how can Republicans and Conservatives change course and present bold, optimistic ideas for the future?

To start, Conservatives should abandon protectionism and adapt their message fully for the modern age. That does not mean abandoning communities harmed by changes in the economy, but it does mean not harming the millions more who benefit from the innovation and lower prices of the modern global economy.

Republicans should embrace cities and present plans for how to improve them. Cities are the economic engine of this country, and Conservatives should want a seat at the table in governing them. Become the party not just of small government, but good government.

Conservatives should present a plan to reform and preserve Social Security for the future. According to a 2015 Gallup poll, only 34

percent of people under the age of 49 expect Social Security will pay them a benefit. This is unacceptable.

Conservatives should present a radical overhaul of the tax code, one aimed primarily at middle and low-class families, as well as an overhaul of the corporate tax code.

That being said, few people care about marginal tax rates for high-income groups. What they do care about is how it affects them personally and as a result, House Speaker Paul Ryan has advocated simplifying the tax form to one that fits on a postcard.

To go even further, look at ideas like return-free filing, where the government fills out and sends one’s return to them. Aside from TurboTax, who is going to say no to that?

These are not particularly challenging ideas. They are bigger and bolder than what Conservatives are promoting today, but they won’t start a debate. What ideas would?

Well to start, Conservatives

need to look to areas they have ceded to liberals for years. The environment is one of them. Some Conservatives have made the mistake of assuming any environmental policy is liberal and because of that have allowed Liberals to dominate such an important issue.

A start might be to consider a revenue-neutral carbon tax, with all additional revenue funding tax cuts in other areas. Conservatives aren’t close to being sold on this idea, and it has problems, but it has gained traction among some Conservative intellectuals and warrants debate.

Another area Conservatives could look to is more sustainable power. Coal is not the only way to make power, or even the best one. Nuclear plants, hydroelectric and even solar should all be cornerstones of a conservative energy policy.

The conservative solution to problems is not just ignoring things.

It is in finding bold, market-oriented solutions that keep government small, but also make it better.

13

OPINION

T

BARRING FELONS FROM VOTING WEAKENS DEMOCRACY

he right to vote is a fundamental aspect of any functional democracy. Everyone has the right to make their voices heard to cause change and make a difference in the direction a country takes.

Without the right to vote, the overall power of the people is weakened.

Unfortunately, there is a group of people in the United States who are barred from voting: convicted felons.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, “In 38 states and the District of Columbia, most ex-felons automatically gain the right to vote upon the completion of their sentence.”

Those 38 states and Washington, D.C. range from never taking away convicted felons’ right to vote, even in jail, to requiring felons to go through parole and probationary periods following their release.

However, in Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee and Wyoming, felons may lose their right to

Joshua Baldwin is a freshman computer science major from Greensboro, North Carolina. vote permanently.

According to The Sentencing Project, “The United States remains one of the world’s strictest nations when it comes to denying the right to vote to citizens convicted of crimes.

An estimated 6.1 million Americans are forbidden to vote because of ‘felony disenfranchisement,’ or laws restricting voting rights for those convicted of felony-level crimes.”

This disenfranchisement of felons creates a group of second-class citizens.

Convicted felons are punished for their crimes by being removed from society and put in

prisons. However, the sentence often does not stop for felons after their time is served.

Felons struggle to find work when released from prison and can be effectively ostracized from society based on their past mistakes.

Prisons should be used as a means for reform rather than a means for revenge.

A stigma exists against former criminals in today’s society, one that greatly harms felons’ chances for successful reintegration into it, especially when some felons are making an honest effort to better themselves.

According to Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, “[...] by assuming that a felon is unable to participate productively in society after completing their punishment, we send the message that those who have done wrong do not have the potential to improve.”

It is not okay that 6.1 million United States convicted felons are barred from participating in democratic processes. That figure amounts to 2.5 percent of the

voting population.

Felons should have the right to participate in democracy in order to make their voices heard, just as anyone else does.

However, not all is lost. In Florida, where felons released from prison are barred from having their voting rights restored without direct approval from the governor, a grassroots campaign is underway to receive the required signatures for a ballot measure that would allow the people to vote on a constitutional amendment to give the right to vote back to felons.

Florida alone is home to 1.68 million of the 6.1 million felons without the right to vote.

While Florida does offer a clemency process, it can take many years and there is no guarantee that the governor would grant back the right to vote.

According to Renato Sago, a writer for National Public Radio, “Under Florida Gov. Rick Scott, 2,807 people have had their voting rights restored out of more than 29,611 cases the clemency board had reviewed as of Oct. 5.”

If the required 766,200 sig-

natures required for putting constitutional amendments on the ballot are acquired and the ballot measure is approved, then all felons would regain their right to vote and the arduous clemency process would be done away with.

Furthermore, if the measure is successful, other states that bar felons from voting may take note and reassess their own laws.

Florida could potentially vote on the issue as soon as the 2018 midterms.

Felons are still human beings, despite the crimes they have committed. Everyone should have the chance to improve themselves by learning from their mistakes. Ostracizing felons does nothing but further harm and stigmatize them.

In order to have a well-functioning society and democracy, more must be done to ensure successful felon reintegration. Giving all felons the right to vote is the best first step to take.

Join.

The Appalachian Staff Meetings: Thursdays and Sundays 7:00 pm The Appalachian office (Room 217) in PSU Questions? Contact outreach@theappalachianonline.com

14

Cartoon by Lindsey Wise

SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS

App News is a service of the Division of Student Affairs. Email wilkeso@appstate.edu for submissions with subject line: APP NEWS PAGE. Submissions should not exceed 100 words and must include the event title, date/time, location and cost, and a contact email, phone and/or URL. Announcements will be edited as needed and will run as space allows. Preference is given for events that are free or have a nominal cost.

WHAT TO DO NEEDED! POLITICAL CARTOONISTS The Appalachian student newspaper is looking for students interested in getting their political cartoons and illustrations published.

Use your illustration talents to express your opinions and commentary on current events.

Email adviser@theappalachianonline.com for questions or interest.

DESIGN THE APPALACHIAN Want to design this paper? Email adviser@ theappalachianonline.com to express interest!

ADVERTISE IN THE APPALACHIAN Advertise your buisnesses and services to the student population of Appalachian State University while also supporting the student staff of The Appalachian! Visit http://theappalachianonline.com/advertise-with-us/ or email buisness@theappalachianonline.com with inquiries.

GET YOUR CREATIVITY PUBLISHED The Peel Literature and Arts Review is looking for student submissions of design, photography, fashion, poetry, prose, music, short stories and more! Our final deadline is Nov. 3 at midnight. Visit thepeelreview.submittable.com and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @thepeelreview. Email any questions or concerns to adviser@theappalachianonline.com

bring is a water bottle, your lunch and a willingness to learn while helping others! We will provide the tools, materials and instructions!

Be sure to wear old clothes and old closed-toe shoes. Please call us to schedule your time today! This will take place Wednesdays at the Habitat for Humanity - Watauga County/ReStore, 1200 Archie Carroll Road, Boone, North Carolina 28607.

joy to a family in need! Monetary donations should be directed to Nicolas Wright, on the second floor of the Plemmons Student Union.

Wright can be reached at 828-262-6252 or by email at wrightnt@appstate.edu.

The basket drop-off location is Three Top Mountain, which is located on the first floor of Plemmons Student Union. Drop off date: Nov. 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

IASE LOTTERY

LAWRENCE ROSS - CAMPUS RACISM TALK

This spring break, consider going on an International Alternative Service Experience (iASE) and explore a variety of social issues while working with communities across the globe! Spend a week meeting and creating deeper connections with other Appalachian State students while serving in a different country and engaging in thoughtful dialogue that will create lasting impressions throughout your academic career. In order to sign up, come to the iASE Lottery on Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. in Table Rock room of PSU. All international service programs are worth one school credit a perfect way to earn school credit and gain a new experience!

THANKSGIVING BASKET DRIVE

Lawrence Ross is a bestselling author, lecturer, writer, filmmaker, social media and consumer trends expert. On Nov. 6 from 7-9 p.m. in the Schaefer Center he will be giving his KNOW BETTER, DO BETTER lecture.

This hour and a half multimedia lecture is entertaining, educational and thought-provoking.

Talking about racism is challenging, but Ross believes that students are more than mature enough to meet that challenge. “The goal of this lecture is not to develop non-racists, but ANTI-RACISTS”.

DE-STRESS FEST De-Stress Fest will help you prepare for finals and the holidays with FREE massages, therapy dogs, coloring and stress management tips! Sponsored by the Office of Transfer Services this event will occur Wednesday, Nov.15 from noon-3 p.m. in Linville Falls (226 PSU).

floor of Plemmons Student Union.

RA responsibilities include meeting one-onone with their residents, conducting floor meetings and discussions, promoting opportunities for residents to engage with each other and campus partners, posting educational bulletin boards and facilitating other educational components of the residential learning plan.

HOMELESS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS Hunger and Homelessness Awareness has typically been hosted by ACT the week before Thanksgiving. This year, we are promoting awareness all year long by hosting an event a month because hunger and homelessness does not just happen the week before Thanksgiving.

To kick off this effort, we are hosting our first event of the year -- a short documentary and a discussion panel. Join to learn about homelessness and mental illness on Nov. 7 from 6-7 p.m. in Three Top Room, Plemmons Student Union!

ALPHA O’S DONUT 5K RUN Come to Alpha O’s Donut Run 5K for donuts, drinks and philanthropy Nov. 5 at Duck Pond Field! It is $12 to register and included in that you get three donuts and a drink. The donuts will be handed out at stops along the route. You may walk or run the 5K, and the first five people to finish will get an award! Check-in starts at 9:30 a.m., and the 5K starts at 10 a.m.. The proceeds go to arthritis research grants for the Arthritis Foundation and CARRA. If you cannot participate, we also encourage you to make a donation! Registration and donations can both be done on the website: https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Boone/AlphaOsDonutRun5K

Join us as we continue building the fifth home on our neighborhood, GreenWood, for the Love family. You can choose to volunteer from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m. to 4 p.m, or 9 a.m. to 4 p.m each Wednesday. All you need to

Fraternity and sorority life and Hospitality House would like to provide your organization or office with the opportunity to sponsor a Thanksgiving basket to be delivered to a family in need this holiday season. As we embark on the second year of our Thanksgiving basket drive, please help us reach our goal of 100 baskets this holiday season!

By providing a basket, you are committing to completely fill the basket with the items on the attached list. By dividing the list of items among your members or colleagues, you can easily provide an entire basket of food to bring

THURSDAY, NOV. 2

FRIDAY, NOV. 3

SATURDAY, NOV. 4

SUNDAY, NOV. 5

Student Flu Clinic

Geology Lecture Series

RA Recruitment Session

Alpha O’s Donut 5k Run

Financial Wellness Workshop

Fly Fishing Film Tour

The Peel Final Deadline

RA Recruitment Session

11:59 p.m. thepeelreview.com Free

9-10 p.m.

Room 417, PSU Free

MONDAY, NOV. 6

TUESDAY, NOV. 7

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8

THURSDAY, NOV. 9

Lawrence Ross - Campus Racism

Homeless with Mental Illness

Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity

Eating Disorder Support Group

iASE Lottery

Ambassadors Fall 2017 Forum

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

4:30-7:30 p.m.

Roess Dining Hall Free

6-7 p.m.

Room 421, Belk Library Free

7-9 p.m.

The Schaefer Center Free

9 p.m.

Table Rock Room, PSU

3:30-4:30 p.m.

Room 293, Rankin Science West Free

RA RECRUITMENT If you are considering the RA position for 2018-19 academic year, you must attend ONE information session in order to apply! You will be given the link to apply at the information session. Information sessions are going to be held Oct. 29 - Nov. 5 (9-10 p.m.) on the fourth

9-10 p.m.

Room 417, PSU Free

RA Recruitment Session

6:30-9 p.m.

The Schaefer Center $12

6 p.m.

Three Top Room, PSU Free

6:30-7:45 p.m.

Parkway Ballroom, PSU Free

9:30 a.m.

Duck Pond Field $12

9-10 p.m.

Room 417, PSU Free

9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Habitat for Humanity - Watauga County/ ReStore 1200 Archie Carroll Road, Boone, NC 28607

7 p.m.

The Women’s Center, PSU Free

Leadership 101 Serires 5-6 p.m.

Tater Hill Room, PSU Free

15

"

!

Ͳ ůƵƵƐĞ ǁ ǁŝƚŚ ĐĐŽŵƉƵƚĞƌ ůĂď͕ ĨŝƚŶĞƐƐƐ

Ͳ YƵĂůŝƚLJ &hZE/^, ƚǁŽͲĂŶĚ ĨĨŽƵƌ

ĐĞŶƚĞƌ͕ ĂĂŶĚ ŐŐĂŵĞ ƌƌŽŽ Žŵ

ďĞĚƌŽŽŵ ŵ ĂĂƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚƐ

Ͳ ^ƵŶĚĞĐŬ ǁ ǁŝƚŚ Ś ƐƐǁŝŵŵŝŶŐ Ɖ ƉŽŽů Θ Θ Ś ŚŽƚ ƚƵď

Ͳ /E E //s/ h > ůůĞĂƐĞƐ

Ͳ dĞŶŶŝƐ͕ ď ďĂƐŬĞƚď ďĂůůů͕ ĂŶĚ ǀǀŽůůĞLJďĂůůů ĐŽƵƌƚƐƐ

Ͳ >> ͲͲ //E >h^/s ƌƌĞŶƚ ĂĂŶĚ Ŷ ŶŽ Ƶ ƵƚŝůŝŝƚLJ

Ͳ ĞĂĚďŽůƚ ůůŽĐŬƐ͕ ƐƐƉƌŝŶ ŶŬůĞƌ ĂĂŶĚ ƐƐĞĐƵƌŝƚLJLJ

ĚĞƉŽƐŝƚƐ

ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ŝŝŶ Ğ ĞĂĐŚ ĂĂƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚ

Ͳ ZŽŽŵŵĂƚĞ ŵ ŵĂƚĐŚŝŶŐ Ɖ ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ

Ͳ KŶ ƐƐŝƚĞ ŵĂŝŶƚĞŶĂŶĐĞ ĂĂŶĚ ŵ ŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ Ͳ

Ͳ ƚŚĞƌŶĞƚ Θ Θ t tŝĨĨŝ ŝŝŶĐůƵĚĞĚ

ƉƉĂů Zd ƐŚƵƚƚůĞ ƐƐĞƌǀŝĐĞ Ͳ WŝĐŶŝĐ ĂĂƌĞĂ ǁ ǁŝƚŚ ŐŐƌŝůůƐ Ͳ ,ĂŵŵŽĐŬ ' 'ĂƌĚĞŶ

Ăůů ď ďĞŐŝŶŶŝŶŐ ĞĐĞŵďĞƌ ϭ ϭƐƚ &Ž Žƌ Ă >> ^/E' WWK/EdD Ed͊ Application available online, must bring complete packet to your appointment XIJDI XJMM C CF PO ' 'FCSV VBSZ OE P PS SE "ppointments Gilled on a Girst come, Girst serve basis.

289 Ambling Way, Boone, NC 28607

(828)263-0100

www.universityhighlands.com