News we should know

News You Should Know

The Wooster Blade staff recognizes the multitude of both worldwide and local news and our inability to cover all news stories that need covered, so for this issue we chose to do a news in brief page. This page focuses on student voices and their coverage of the

Ukranian War, the third grade reading guarantee, the new Supreme Court term and protests in Iran. Groups criticize the Third Grade Reading Guarantee

CALEB SINGER-HOLDEN

staff writer

In 2012, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed a law that would make third grade students pass a test at the end of the school year based on a specific third grade reading level. If the students were to fail that test, they would be retained in the third grade for the next school year. Currently, there is a new bill that was passed in the Ohio house, which would remove the law. “This law does not take conditions like poverty into consideration. There are things that interfere with student learning that educators have no control over,” Karen Linch, Cornerstone elementary teacher, said. Linch said she felt that the Third Grade Reading Guarantee caused only stress and disappointment. ”I felt like a failure seeing my school’s test scores compared to the other elementary buildings in the district. I started the school year feeling defeated,” Linch said. She continued saying, “Teachers are learners; this law seems to expect all teachers to be experts right from the get go and that is just not the case.” The Ohio Senate will be voting on this issue later this year.

Iranian Hijab protests continue

RHYS FLORENCE-SMITH

staff writer

On Sept. 16, Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman died of a heart attack after three days in the custody of the Iranian morality police after she took her Hijab off. According to Amini’s father, in an interview with BBC Persian on Sept. 22, her body had bruises, indicating police brutality. Amini’s death has sparked protests by the Iranian people over the right to remove a Hijab, a religious head covering many Muslim women wear as a sign of modesty, privacy and pride. As protests intensified, riots broke out, especially outside the prisons in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Government response to the protests has been severe: as of Oct. 15, Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated a death toll of 233, including 32 children. Meanwhile, as the protests enter their fifth week, some women of Iran continue to remove their Hijabs, openly rejecting Iran’s laws over morality.

Ukraine war updates

TRISTAN MILLER

staff writer

In recent weeks, the war in Ukraine has turned decidedly against invading Russian forces and caused renewed hope for Ukrainian victory. The Associated Press website features a live update panel concerning the Russia-Ukraine war. The website is updated daily by AP News editors. On Aug. 29, Ukrainian armed forces launched a massive counterattack aimed at recapturing large regions in the south of the country that had been previously taken by Russia. A week later, a second offensive began in the north to retake key cities like Kharkiv and these attacks have been very successful. According to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky in a speech given Sept. 12, Ukrainian forces successfully liberated more than 6000 sqaure km from Russian control as reported by Sana Noor Haq fron CNN on Sept. 12. Russia has been in an almost constant state of retreat since August and Ukraine has nearly been restored to its pre-war borders in many places. Unfortunately, the Russian government refuses to admit defeat or negotiate peace, sparking fear from many in the west about how the war can be fully resolved. The possibility of nuclear escalation, along with larger military drafts, has been threatened many times by Russian president Vladimir Putin. Most recently, in late September, Putin announced a new draft,calling up more than 100,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine, Even though Ukraine is currently winning the war, it is very hard to tell how the conflict will fully resolve at this point in time.

Fair use photo courtesy of euronews_persian on Instagram

Fair use photo courtesy of npr on Instagram Top: Woman in Iran cuts off her hair in protest of the Iranian Hijab protests which attempt to control the Hijab wearing of women. Bottom: Damage to a Ukraine village due to continued attacks from Russia. President Vladmir Putin is now threatening nuclear attacks and larger military drafts.

New Supreme Court term begins

NORA LEVY

sports editor

A new Supreme Court term has started and with this, there are new faces and new issues. The new face on the court is President Biden’s new appointee, Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson who has now been sworn in to replace Justice Breyer. One important case being heard by the court in their 2022-23 term is Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (2022). According to ballotpedia.org , the case will decide, “how to interpret the Clean Water Act to decide what land falls within the EPA’s wetland regulatory jurisdiction.” Sackett v. EPA could have many implications on the future of our Earth. In an October 3 article from earthjustice.org, it is emphasized that “If polluters can act with impunity and without environmental review, the consequences for wetlands connected with lakes and rivers could be catastrophic.” Another important upcoming decision is Merrill v. Milligan. Oyez.org explains that, “Alabama created a redistricting plan for its seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. One of the districts in the plan is a majorityBlack district. Registered voters and several organizations challenged the map, arguing that the state had illegally packed Black voters into a single district while dividing other clusters of Black voters across multiple districts.” The NAACP Legal Defense Fund explains the impacts of Merrill v. Milligan will be widespread as, “the court is also examining the role of race in redistricting nationwide.” The ramifications of the Sackett v. EPA and Merrill v. Milligan court cases will be important for future generations. WHS History Dept. member Bryan Ehrlinspiel also emphasizes that the opinion written by Judge Thomas concerning abortion, “opened up the possibility to over turn laws that cover contraceptives as well as the current law allowing same sex marriage.” Many important cases with ramifications for everyday Americans may come before the court as a result of the opinion written by Justice Thomas. The impact of these decisions may be highly impactful in the future of pollution and the Earth, not to mention the voting rights of citizens across the nation.